But, one day, Mican came into his chamber. Galarsmen tried not to show his terror. “There is something familiar about you. You weren’t wearing this the last time I came, were you?” He yanked a Tessite symbol off Galarsmen’s white robes.

“Wasa Mai chose one of us from each of the five worlds, to go to Ishah for training.”

Mican threw the Tessite symbol onto the floor with a musical clang! “Pah! Zheien are superstitious fools, to waste Tessite on healer’s robes! But, you had such a robe on Zhea~. Esta, I saw you—”

“Perhaps you saw my fae of generations past. My fae told me I resembled him, whose name I bear.”

“You have quite a collection of herbs.” Mican walked down the shelves of his herbs, and he sweated. Such effort, to hide those 3 from Mican’s telepathy. His is abnormally strong. He felt telepathy such as his, but from a Kajarian soldier.

“Where did you get this one from?” He jerked a vial out, and several others fell on the floor. A strip of cloth fell also, and covered them. Good.

“I found a trader with herbs of old Elshar. He did not know the plant, or its use, so I merely saved—”

Mican pounced and threw Galarsmen to the floor! He barely kept his head from hitting it, but pretended injury, as Mican intended.

Next he knew, Konomai held him. “What did he? Many of your herbs are missing, Master! I find umar seg with you. Rest.”

After his sleep, he rose quietly. Konomai slept on his bed. Vials still lay under that piece of cloth, an Elshar cloth with a purpose. He waved a containment to lift it back under the vials. And, with relief, he counted the 3 vials and put them back in their places.

Made the hand motions and sniffed at the leaf he did not dare to put on a shelf. Because of this leaf, he lived 5 times a normal lifespan. Because of mine poisons, the only thing that kept this colony alive was umar seg to remove some, and certain herbs he gathered from Ahstam’s garden. In tiny amounts, added to the umar seg, they kept people alive, but they forgot things. He did also. But, all of his healers forgot that he had been there 175 years. Most people in Esta Faho did not live past 50. A very few, who smelled this leaf at times, lived to their 90th year or maybe, 100. Why, of all the people he let smell his leaf, that only he lived this long?

And, all of them followed Wasa Mai without questioning his age. For, he was also over 200, not because of his leaf, but because he recloned himself. And, only I knew of that.

Why didn’t Mican simply kill me? Or take all of my herbs?

But, the herb in that cloth nae affects an Elshar. It gives a Kajarian a severe headache. After his sleep, certain memories are erased. Memories during an act of violence. An herb the Jain used against Eriganh himself to try to preserve their kind. Only to die because they turned their weapons against their own ethnic groups until the last two destroyed each other.

But, that cloth is the only barrier between our secrets and Mican. And I must forget about it.

Galarsmen used his vial of umar seg. Konomai held him when he woke.

“Oh, that’s clever—”

“We must not speak of this!” Pirad paced. “What can we do?”

Pinda walked with him. “Do we need to do anything? They moved, and Mican can’t come here, because of your protections.”

“Do you know what is happening on Earth, right now? There are Earthans with Gifts, in their January 19 selves, helping Ry’nao fight. Mican surely knows about it and is helping the others. Our other selves will have to help them, soon. Azure cannot do this alone.”

“Oh, but we have to wait until the Final Battle. When Adia and Eriganh fight, we strike.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Pinda whirled and put a paw on my head. “Tell Azure about Becky.”

“If she knows, Mican will know, and all my plans—”

“But, Becky can see where Mican is going! He already tried to change two timelines, and she saw it, and they didn’t change.”

Pirad added his cold hand. Icy! But, his three pairs of orange pupils came together in those green irises in yellow. And, they grew. “What if we had that cloth? Galarsmen does not need it now. He does not need 5th level herbs, now.”

Pinda waved, and held them all. “What should I do?”

“Is there an object that Mican uses every day? Where is he, most of every day? On his ship? In his chamber?”

Again, Pinda put his paw on my head.

Mican paced. I felt very uncomfortable, being in the same room with him! But this person is comfortable. Very comfortable. “Mican, dear, whatever is the matter?” They spoke Kajarian. Pinda knows Kajarian.

He rubbed his head. “I am missing something. There has to be a way—I know. I will port to Alb Seer before Pirad terraformed it. Before his meddlesome father built his lab there. Then I can—”

“They will know you used your Cube. Rentappenen—”

“Pah! Rentappenen. Once he is dead, I will take his cube. The Black is not as powerful as the Cube Of Many Colors. He combined all the Cubes that controlled timespace. Not one is powerful, because of the Council, but combined in the right way, it is more powerful than they ever dreamed. That Earthan has a weak copy of it. She can’t win!”

“What is she doing now?”

Mican looked, but Pinda jerked his hand, and they held that cloth. “What’s this? Galarsmen’s cloth?”

“Don’t touch it! Don’t—aaaaaahhh!” She fell! Her arm burned where the cloth touched it!

“No! Kutanah! Don’t change! It’s not time—”

She was on the floor. Mican looked scared. Her hand was five-fingered and gray. Kajarian skin is gray. Fingers have no fingernails, but sharp tips. But, the hand changed. Yellow skin, not sunny like the Zheien, but a muddy shade. The hand became clubbed and grew sharp teeth. Teeth that ground.

Mican pushed away. “You must not do that! Change yourself back!”

But, she had exposure to that poison that Tasafier’s brother’s family spread in that explosion. Cloth’s full of it! They rebuilt the facility because of that, and Mican thought all of it was lost, so he stopped trying to get into it. And some of the poisons were to prevent the Wasa Fen from mutating. Their enemies did forbidden experiments. And the unfortunate Kutanah, who tested a new genetic modification on herself, that made her Kajarian but increased her intelligence fivefold, changed. But, she didn’t change back to Wasa Fen. She changed into what her enemies devised, a mutation not compatible with life. As she watched Mican try to remember how to save her, suddenly she gave a low growl. And, with horror on his face, he waved for a vaporizer.

I gasped! Tom sat up and held me. “Becky! Galar, help her!”

Galar put both his hands on my head. “I need help!” I felt cold. Too cold to move.

Healers dove for our bed in Rainbow! Above us, the red sky showed me, it’s still night. Gotta calm down! But all those healers sang me to sleep.

I startled and Tom held my head down. Wept. “Nae this fear, Love. We are safe!”

Are we? But he has to think so. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Above me, the sky is getting orange at the horizon.

I reached up with both hands and stroked my husband’s blond curls. He smiled. “Dear wife. Rest. Is early.”

“I’m not sleepy.” They let me sit up. It’s Friday. Friday the 21st. Ten more days. Can I breathe?

A lady brought a tray of festival pastries. I had so many questions, but I can’t ask.

Like yesterday, Tom’s head nodded during the meal. “Galar, did I nae rest enough? I wish to enjoy the festival with my wife!”

But, Galar was sleeping again.

“Did he eat? Ejis!”

“My son, he waked long when Becky had such upset! I made sure he ate. Are you comforted, Daughter?” Via held me.

“Yeah.” I let him hold me. Zheien or Ishah, everybody holds everybody, and I’m getting spoiled! I just need to not think about Cube Armageddon that’s going on right now until the 31st!

“What upset you so?”

“I can’t talk about it!” I tried to slow down my breathing again. People watched us from all over the building! I don’t dare show him. Does he know where I went? But, does Mican?