4th day of the 5th month 611th year of the 8th era

Tunio paced back and forth in the hallway of his house outside his wife’s room.

Irrawella screamed.

The sound pierced his soul.

The door opened and a nurse in a long-sleeved white dress and hat beckoned him in.

He stepped into the room where Irrawella lay panting on the bed, her body covered in sweat, the sheets beneath her covered in blood.

The doctor approached and presented a small baby to Tunio: “Your son.”

Tunio, awed, took the baby that was wrapped in a swaddling cloth, and looked into his eyes; they were deep green like his mother’s. The baby cried.

“Now, my dear, one more large push and we are done,” the doctor said.

She nodded and pushed, delivering the placenta. “Give me my son.”

Tunio brought him to her and placed him in her arms. “He is beautiful. What shall we name him?”

“Let’s call him Mulgooma after my father,” she whispered as the baby began to suckle.

“Mulgooma it shall be,” Tunio declared, stroking his wife’s face.

***

7th day of the 5th month 611thyear of the 8th era

Doris and Nitidia met at a small restaurant. They sat down.

“Did you hear that Tunio and Irrawella have a baby boy?” Doris asked.

“I heard you just delivered yourself,” Nitidia said.

“A baby girl, thank you for asking,” Doris smiled.

“Do you know who the father is?” Nitidia asked, a smirk on her face.

“I do. I am not going to tell the father though; he has his own family now and humans from the outside can sometimes get a little funny about their progeny.”

“The seals are still intact.” Nitidia picked up the menu and opened it.

Doris nodded. “We still don’t know what actually caused the first seal to fall.”

“That’s true. What we can establish is that the seals are not linked to the items of power.”

“I still think they are linked somehow. I don’t think it is a coincidence that one shows up mere months after the first one falls.”

“I agree it is not a coincidence. I believe they are not linked at all.”

“I still believe they are, but we are missing something.”

“We agree that getting Tunio to stop looking for the next item was a good idea,” Nitidia said.

“Yes, we can’t have too many items of power attuned to one person,” Doris said.

“Do you have people looking for the other items?”

“Don’t you?”

They both smiled at each other. Stein came over and took their order.

“We need to collect the items of power that are unattuned and get them stored, just in case a combination of them does cause falling of the seals,” Doris stated.

“We also need to work out why the first fell,” Nitidia said.

“I have a girl in the monastery who can relay any information she finds,” Doris boasted.

“The Sisterhood will not like that if they discover her,” Nitidia said, with a raised eyebrow.

Doris smiled at Nitidia.

“She is already there?” Nitidia asked.

Doris’s smile broadened. “She’s been there for a long time. I just had her turned to my side.”

“We need to combat the creeping despair. What if the items of power are designed to combat the effects of the seals falling?”

“We know about Corvitus and Veritas; we will watch the mood of the people.”

To be continued…