When I finally woke up, my mother was standing up and looking at me with hope and confusion.

"Oh, Wynne! My child, you're alive!" Mother said with such love and kindness.

"I did it; I did; I saved you!" I exclaimed with utter delight.

"Yes, you did, and I mean, of course, you did; I am your mother." Mother said.

"Well… I mean yes, but it has been years." I said, hoping my mother did not freak out.

"What?! Years?! None of my children bothered to go and try to save me before then." Mother asked, and they were rather displeased.

"Well, you must under-," I said before my mother cut me off.

"What is there to understand? I raised you better than this!" Mother huffed.

"You are beyond reasoning." I sighed.

"I am beyond reasoning because I have been suffering constantly! Living through nightmares! Witnessing the most dreadful things for years! All because my children were too thoughtless to save their mother!" Mother screamed, and behind their eyes was pure rage.

"I don’t know what you suffered, but we had our reasons! You should be appreciative I put you out of your misery!" I said, getting annoyed with how rude my mother was being despite the fact that I saved them.

"Grateful?! I suffered for years because none of my family bothered to try and save me!" Mother screamed in rage.

"Grandfather tried to save you! They died trying!" I bellowed.

"They didn’t save me now, did they?" Mother cried in anger.

"They died to try and save you! You need to be more grateful!" I screamed as I got up.

"Silence!" Pax said as they teleported in between us.

"Oh, Goddess Pax!" I said, then I bowed.

"This is Pax? Quit ruining our fight; this is none of your business!" Mother snapped at Pax.

I looked stunned, then horrified—this was one of the elder gods that my mother was speaking to! Being downright rude could receive very dire consequences! Pax turned to me, completely ignoring my mother.

"Wynne, your mother is going to experience a very tough journey of self-improvement, and since you are traveling with them, you must learn to be patient and a guide," Pax said calmly.

"Excuse me! Im talking to you!" My mother said, rather exasperated at Pax.

"I understand," I said.

"Your mother… Khubus had their reasons for the punishment even before the spirit possessed your mother. You will be remarkably mature, kind, and patient after this journey back to your home island. Even so, along with how courageous you have been to save your mother, I will call upon my fellow gods to support you." Pax said.

"Stop overlooking me!" Mother said, desperately attempting to get either Pax’s attention or mine.

Still, Pax disregarded them, and out of politeness for the conversation I was having and since I was exasperated with my mother at this point,

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Pax, that is a very generous gift!" I say this with a full heart.

"It will be subtle and only rarely, as Uxaldir decreed in the Sensperian age that gods cannot interfere with mortal affairs too much. The only notable gift will be from the goddess of flight and the element of air." Pax said.

"That would be Aviana, right?" I asked.

"Indeed." Pax agreed.

"Aren’t no other gods except Uxaldir and Khubus allowed within the Ageless Garden? The god Rielos tried, and they nearly evaporated but were pulled back by you." I say this while tilting my head to the side.

"Rielos was not allowed into the Ageless Garden; however, when I deem a god or goddess worthy to set foot in the Ageless Garden for a certain time, they will not evaporate. Farewell for now, Wynne Amari." Pax said, before fading away.

As I gave another bow, I realized my mother was standing behind Pax, and they looked enraged.

"How dare you ignore me!" Mother bellowed.

I threw my hands up and gave an exasperated sigh.

"I was talking to an elder god!" I sighed.

My mother just turned away, obviously quite peeved with me. Before anything else was said, as Pax promised, Aviana had come. Many people thought that they were very pretty, as depicted in tales. Their skin was fair and pale, nearly completely white, and their hair had a white glow to it. Their eyes were gray and cloudy, as though depicting a rainy day, and they were wearing silky and flowy white robes with glyphs in pure white all over them. I recognized them as different words for air and flight.

"Wynne Amari, is it? Oh, such a shame you lost a cloak... Well, thankfully, I am graceful enough to bestow another upon you for your grandmother!" Aviana exclaimed.

"Grandmother!? Do I look old to you?" Mother said with great offense

"The cloak is needed for my mother; apologies for her behavior," I said, wishing that at least around the gods my mother could have some respect.

"Ah! Right… Well, as soon as you go back, you need to give the cloaks to the elders, please! As tradition calls it." Aviana said this and began channeling a ball of power into a single point. Then they muttered something, and a traditional cloak appeared. When Aviana put the cloak into the ball of power, the diamonds of stamina for the cloak appeared where they should. There was as much as there could be, which meant me and my mother could go as far as we would like.

"Here you are! Now then, Wynne, you have a less pleasant traveler now... At least they have a mortal body. Oh! Also, more good news for you, dear: your grandfather made it to the afterlife safe and sound!" Aviana said happily.

Then it hit me—the sadness, the grief. Grandfather was gone and in the afterlife. No longer would I hear his wisdom.

"Now, don’t sulk; I have one last secret gift for you, dear! Come here!" Aviana said, cutting off my train of thought.

I obeyed and walked over to them. As soon as I did, Aviana placed her palm on my forehead, and I began to float. I was rather shocked, as the cloak was not being used.

"Arali e Yliatra Aviana Eqali Wynne," Aviana said, and the tips of my already white hair began to glow white.

"What just happened?" I asked with a shaky voice, as I was rather scared of what happened.

"I used the language of the gods to give you my blessing! You’ll find out the perks soon enough, dear! Now, see you later!" Aviana said, then they disappeared into smoke.

"Why do you get a blessing and I do not?" Mother said with a pinched expression.

"Because I traveled over here to get you, which is an act of bravery," I said, trying to keep a calm expression.

"Honestly, I raised you! I should get a reward for that!" Mother said, obviously annoyed that they did not get a blessing.

"You have a cloak; now let us go, please. We have plenty of stops to make before we arrive on the home island." I said, my expression slightly faltering to look slightly annoyed.

"No! I want a blessing!" Mother said, with their muscles tensing to the point where it was noticeable.

"We have to go!" I said, not holding back how annoyed I was getting.

"No!" Mother refused.

"I said NOW!" I shouted, and my voice held such force that my mother stumbled.

I was shocked, then decided that it was a perk of being blessed by Aviana.

"Fine." Mother said, still quite annoyed.

As we made our way out of the Ageless Garden, I stayed silent. I now realized why my mother had been punished; they were not exactly pleasant to be around. As we reached the entrance and I stepped out, my things were dropped in front of me.

"Can you carry the brown bag? It has food and other things." I asked politely.

"No! That stinks, and so do you! When was the last time you showered?" Mother asked in a very rude tone.

"Nevermind…" I said, my face tightening as I held back shouting since I knew it would not get me anywhere.

I guided my mother to fly, taking all the snappy comments with apparent ease despite wanting to retaliate. We made our way down and then stood at the edge of the temple.

"Are you ready to leave?" I asked.

"Please, you took your sweet time trying to ‘teach’ me how to fly; let's." Mother said, and with that remark, we took off.