Iris sighed heavily as exhaustion kicked in for her, yet after what felt like hours to her, her head finally stopped spinning. She groaned as she looked down at the bucket, moving it aside with a disgusted sigh. She looked back towards Arylos and nodded slowly while she repositioned herself. She turned around and examined the large structure, still spinning slowly with a low hum as various runes carved into it flashed in various blues and whites. She gasped as she turned away and saw other similar structures lining the hall all of which were attended to by various figures in blue and silver armor; some interacting with the structure itself while others were watching the structure from afar, standing at tall glowing pedestals with blue hoods covering their faces.

She turned back to the structure closest to her and she saw the same figure that gave her the bucket interacting with glowing shapes and lights on the pedestal they stood at. Eventually, the figure looked up at Arylos and Iris with an otherworldly silver glow in their eyes, their face hidden by the shadow of their hood. “Oresoi veg’jhen’de!” they shouted loudly in a tongue Iris couldn’t recognize.

“Yoros,” Arylos replied to the figure before quickly motioning to grab Iris. “Come on honey, we’re blocking the loading area,” he said while pulling Iris back to her feet. Before Iris could question him, Arylos pulled her to the side and sat her down on a long stone pew against one of the pillars in the hall. She watched the figure from before then interact with their pedestal once more and the machine in front of them spun back to life.

Iris watched the various runes glow and remain glowing brightly as the machine’s ring spun faster and its hum turned into a loud roar. As the machine spun faster, the inside of the ring shone a brilliant blue and white and a pulsing sound accompanied the machine. She watched as silhouettes of four people shone in the doorway opened by the machine and with thudding sounds, the people emerged from the doorway, chattering in a similar sounding foreign tongue as they walked away from the door like passengers on an arriving ship.

“What is this place?” Iris asked softly, enamored by her surroundings and the strange people.

“This is Fol’hagesta,” Arylos answered, smiling to himself. “Think of this as a port or harbor, but for Templarians.”

“And those, my dear girl are Realm Gates,” Bellona said while walking up next to Iris and pointing at the loudly humming machines. “Those are how we go from planet to planet. Essentially, you were hit with a major case of motion sickness; you were sent hurtling through time and space at high speeds, faster than you’ve ever been before.”

“I think that’s enough terminology for her,” Arylos said with a laugh while taking a firm hold of his staff and lifting himself from the pew. “You will eventually get used to it the more you use them, but the sickness is temporary; you should be better now.”

“I guess; my head doesn’t hurt as much anymore,” Iris said while rubbing her forehead.

“Good,” a familiar deep voice sounded from behind Iris, startling her for a moment as she jerked around and locked eyes with Anoron. “I expect you to make yourselves at home; we begin work in the morning. As for housing, I can let you stay in the tower; that way you are well guarded and–”

“I have a plan for housing,” Arylos cut in sharply, rejecting Anoron’s offer.

“You don’t intend to buy property from me that you won’t maintain in a thousand years, do you?” Anoron asked as his mechanical eyes narrowed.

“Knowing me, it will be less than a hundred,” Arylos replied with a furious gaze. “Better that than staying in the tower.”

Anoron watched Arylos closely before letting out a sigh and backing away. “Just make sure that when you’re done with it, you sell it back to Templarius’s people,” he requested before looking around and gesturing for Eir to come close. “I will expect you at the tower for our committee meeting at the third hour in the morning; do not be late.”

“At three? You can’t be serious! That’s too early!” Eir complained.

Anoron growled in a deep voice that hummed in Eir’s ears as he quickly knelt down and stared into Eir’s eyes as the machinery in his own eyes whirred and the lenses shifted to a narrow point. “Do we have a problem with it, valkyrjha?”

Eir gasped and quickly shook her head. “No Jedah,” she said in a defeated whisper.

Anoron’s eyes clicked and the pinpoint pupils returned to a normal shape. “Good, I will see you then.” With a wave of his hand, Anoron walked away from the group, vanishing in a soft burst of light.

With Anoron gone, Arylos turned towards Eir and snapped his fingers. “You shouldn’t try and be so casual with him; unlike me, he outranks all of you.”

“But you let us be so casual with you,” Bellona said in a shy voice.

“Yeah, because I’m not a self-righteous ass,” Arylos answered before turning towards Iris and lifting his hand for her to take. “Come, we have places to be.”

Iris nodded and took Arylos’s hand as he lifted her back to her feet. “What do we do in the meantime?” she asked while looking around the hall once more, enamored by the architecture.

“You and I are going to settle in,” Arylos said before turning towards Bellon and Eir. “Do you two want to stay with us?”

“I actually have a mind to stay in the tower,” Bellona answered. “I might be able to convince Anoron to give me some sort of rank in his military; it might give me a voice going forward.”

“What about you Eir? I don’t think you can rejoin the valkyries,” Arylos said softly.

Eir shook her head with a soft smile. “No, but I still might join Bellona. I’m pretty sure Odin pronounced me dead so I can’t go to Andlang, but I might be able to serve in the Armada.”

“Sounds like I’ll once again be your ‘sen’yakara’ as Iris’s Kaiyumae would say!” Bellona said proudly while wrapping an arm around Eir and pulling her close, all the while the young valkyrie groaned.

Iris chuckled to herself while Arylos grunted before walking ahead of the women. “Then let us get ourselves settled in,” he said while gesturing for Iris to follow him. As she followed him, he walked through the hall between the imposing pillars and followed the groups of people leaving the hall and approaching a large archway in the stone walls. As they approached the opening, Iris watched Arylos reach for a hood on his robes and pulled it over his head to cover his face. Iris felt a touch of nostalgia that surprised her, having seen Arylos in this image in his memories of Mortehksun and some depictions of the ancient Titan. She began to wonder what he was more concerned of; harsh sunlight or people recognizing him.

As they walked through the tall archway, Iris realized it had nothing to do with sunlight at all. She beheld a large stone city with blue and gold accents and ceramic roofs on each building that spread out until the horizon was blocked by a large stone wall with glowing and softly humming runes carved into them. She locked eyes with a massive tower that split the sky in half; its spire adorned with glass and glowing runes with various statues and reliefs carved into the gray.

Yet the sky that crowned the tower bewitched her; an endless sea of stars and glowing clouds that stretched into the beyond. The night sky of Kaiyumi could not compare against the endless beautiful expanse of the starlit sea. It was just like Arylos’s memories; gems of starlight scattered across a woman’s velvet dress. In the sea of stars, she could see various planets and moons hanging low in the sky, including one large and purple planet with rings surrounding it covered in clouds and deep purple craters in the landscape.

In the sea of stars, thick white clouds ran through the sky with beams of light that danced in the heavenly sky. An aurora that flashed with brilliant blues, greens, and purples. In the clouds beyond, Iris could see orange and red clouds and stars that contrasted beautifully against the masterpiece of the divine sky. She could not help but lose herself in the infinite, pondering the eternal nature of reality itself while watching the universe she knew and lived in swirl around her.

“Everyone has the same reaction,” Arylos said with a laugh while watching Iris’s jaw slacken, admiring the beauty. Yet his words woke her from her trance and she turned towards Arylos while pointing back up at the sky, unable to get the words out.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Bellona said while walking up to the other side of Iris. “Templarius sits at the very center of reality; that out there is reality itself at its heart.”

“And this is just the Royal City; there’s more out there,” Eir said while laughing and tapping Iris on her shoulder.

“Enough teasing the poor girl,” Arylos said with a disappointed sigh. “I would also be careful about speaking Kaiyumian around here; you’ll be destined to raise suspicions.”

“But then Iris can’t understand us,” Bellona said in a confused tone.

“I can interpret for her then,” Arylos answered in a cold voice, Iris noticing that he was still using Kaiyumian, or at least making his Titanic speech in a way she can understand.

“Oho? I can’t help but to think that’s a handicap you’re using to make sure she doesn’t leave your side,” Eir said in a sly voice.

Arylos growled and turned back towards Eir and all Iris could see was the glowing red of his eyes under his hood. “Aha! I’m sorry, that was rude of me,” Eir apologized while waving her hands.

Iris grumbled to herself before lowering her head. “I’m sorry,” she said softly while feeling her eyes burn; knowing that she was the odd one out.

Arylos let out a sigh before pulling Iris close and kneeling down for her. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he said softly while nuzzling his face against hers, his beard tickling her face.

“Oh dear, here we go with the affection display,” Bellona said with a disgusted grunt before grabbing Eir’s shoulder. “We’re going to head towards the tower; you lovebirds have fun.”

Arylos laughed to himself and he could hear Iris chuckle as well. “Come now,” he said while taking Iris by her hand and gingerly pulling her along through the stone streets. As she walked, she took in the feel of being in a different world as she walked past the stall street lamps hanging from ornate stone pillars, yet surrounded by the foreign beauty, Iris couldn’t help but to hang her head low in shame.

“I’m sorry that I’m such a bother,” Iris said softly while tugging on Arylos’s sleeve.

“No one said anything like that,” Arylos said quickly.

“But aren’t you thinking it? What if I can’t fit in here?” Iris asked while feeling regret for coming. “I don’t know the language, I barely know the culture, and who knows if I can actually fight. Let’s face it; I’m just a pretty face you brought along.”

Arylos chuckled to himself while moving his staff to his other hand so he could wrap his arm around Iris’s shoulders. “For starters, you’re not just a pretty face; you’re my other half, my better half. And to be very candid, whether or not your face is pretty shouldn’t be any other man’s business.”

Iris felt a touch of warmth come to her cheeks, embarrassed by Arylos’s implication. “But–”

“Secondly, I barely know Kaiyumian so I can’t judge you,” Arylos continued, cutting off Iris before she could doubt herself. “And do I let that get in the way of living with you on Kaiyumi?”

“I wouldn’t say you fit in, you big idiot,” Iris grumbled while turning away.

“And finally, does it really matter if you fit in?” Arylos asked, running past Iris’s pouting. “We’re here for a job for which both of us want to spend as little time to complete as possible. Templarius is beautiful and all, but Kaiyumi is our home, isn’t it? Unless you plan to live here, don’t trouble yourself with those thoughts, and don’t beat yourself up for imagined failings.”

“Easy for you to say,” Iris grumbled softly.

“Coming from the girl who fell in love with the first man to give her love and affection,” Arylos said with an annoying smile.

Iris’s face went beet red and she slapped the Titan’s bicep as Arylos laughed. “You fell for me within a week of meeting me, you ass!” Iris exclaimed in embarrassment.

Arylos laughed and tousled Iris’s hair, causing the girl to grumble more. “I couldn’t help myself though. By the way, we’re here now.”

Iris turned around and looked at the house Arylos was pointing out. The tall almost four story house stood tall and wide in a fenced plot of land. Iris gazed at the stone work with blue paints and silver accents that ran along the edges of the giant house. From some of the balconies, Iris saw a large banner hung from the truces, stitched with blue fabric and silver borders with a large silver sword in the middle with wings sprouting from the hilt and guard. It was a mansion meant for kings and gods; not a little human girl from Kaiyumi.

“Honey, you’re not going to do what you did in Sentoraya and go in there and buy the house, are you?” Iris asked nervously as Arylos approached the front doors that reflected the sky’s rainbow light in its refracted glass windows.

Arylos chuckled and turned around with a smile Iris hated. “Kind of hard to buy a house that you already own, don’t you think?”

Iris processed Arylos’s words before letting out a soft “Eh?”. She repeated the words in her mind and wondered if Arylos’s grammar was off, but it wasn’t that.

“EHHHHHHH?!” Iris squealed loudly, making Arylos wonder if she was some kind of banshee. While she loved her newlywed husband, times like this reminded her just how much she hates him sometimes.