To enter Vanoge there are two visible roads. The first, which Sely and Endya are crossing, is the path that runs along the rock face. The second, observed by Sely, is a small road that follows the valley to a forest.

“What's over there?” Sely asks, pointing to the forest.

Endya turns to look. “Creraga, the arachnid forest. It is forbidden to approach without permission.”

“Oh…”

“Here, look” Endya stops at a fork in the path. “From here you go down to Vanoge. As you can see, it's a five-minute walk from here.”

“I guess we won't get off though, if you say so.” Sely looks thoughtfully at the valley.

“Yes, from this other road that goes up, we will arrive at the master's house.”

“Doesn't my father live in the city?”

Endya shakes his head. “No, he is very respected but… well, there is a lot of mistrust of what is not understood.”

“Hmm… I don't understand, I feel wary of your words, hehe.”

“No, haha, that's not what I meant!”

“So, I understand even less!”

Endya bursts out laughing and his hair comes out of his tail and falls around his face. They are still wet from the rain and the breeze makes them sway.

Wahh! He's really beautiful, are lions like this!?

Of course... lions are more... oh well, never mind.

“Hey, why are you so red?” Endya ties up his hair. “Did I say something wrong?”

Sely shakes her head vigorously in denial.

“Well, come Sely, we're almost there.”

⁂

Going up the slope, a structure emerges close to the fjord. The circular shape, the thick concrete walls worn out by the sea. The roof is gutted and a huge antenna points to the sky.

“Wow!” Sely had never seen a building so large, even in ruins.

How tall will it be? Ten, twenty, at least forty meters?

“Do you like it?” Endya stopped to look at her.

She reciprocates, observes the cloudy sky, and returns to focus on that massive ruin.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Does my father live there?”

“Yes, it is an ancient observatory. He built a house and laboratory inside. Come.”

⁂

A wooden door is the entrance. Sely notes that, at that point, the entire wall was rebuilt with wood and stone. She caresses those surfaces with her hand. She is smooth, while the rest of the ruins are made of rough concrete.

“Rocks from the plateau and wood from the forest?”

“Exact. When I was little your father already lived here. Come on, come in.” Endya opens the creaking door and disappears inside.

Sely follows him, finding herself inside a small dark room, barricaded with wooden planks. The smell of the two soaked and bedraggled men is immediately covered by sulfur and burnt moss.

“Yuck!”

“Hahaha, yes, well get used to it. The smell here is never the best.”

“Uh, it reminds me of the concoctions my mom makes!”

“Is she an alchemist too?”

Sely wrinkles her nose and inhales in rapid sequence about ten times. She rubs her nostrils and finally returns to normal. “Ninth. She prepares us poisons for traps and other things. In theory, my bullets are also poisoned, not that it helps...”

Endya shows a moment of fear, but she quickly recovers.

“Well, in any case, make yourself at home. While we wait, let me prepare you something to thank you for.”

Sely wanders around the room. There are three tables, filled with cards and trinkets. There are no windows and the light comes from the adjacent room, which has no door. The ceiling in this first room is low and everything makes it look more like a hovel than a house.

How nice that it's warm. It feels really good to be sheltered from the sea wind!

The smell comes from a closed saucepan that Sely approaches.

“Sely, then?”

The girl looks back at Endya, dropping the smelly pot.

“In truth, I would like to get changed, my clothes are soaked and I haven't washed or changed for eighty-odd days…”

“AH! Eh... I think you'll have to wait to wash yourself. Excuse me, but the public toilet is in the city.”

“Ooh… I see.”

Endya looks apologetic and thoughtful. He pulled his hair back, showing his smooth forehead, and his dark eyebrows.

Sely would like to say something to him, like “It's okay”, but she fears breaking the spell.

Mom never warned me about their charms…

After a few moments, Endya breaks the silence. “There's no bathroom, but I can bring you a temporary change. Wait here, I'll go get it from there.”

Sneaking into the next room, Endya steps out of Sely's line of sight.

The girl looks around, looking for a place to sit. She doesn't know when Toslevi will arrive, nor has this situation been presented to her: Vanoge is teeming with life and her father is even important. Look at the house he has all to himself!

How wonderful, I thought I would find myself in front of two little houses on a cross, with Dad ready to wait for me...

Eeh, come on, I might read something while I wait.

Taking a chair from a table, Sely sits down and places her bag on the ground. She starts searching inside and takes out a book with a leather dust jacket. It is almost a cloth, which wraps the entire tome. Sely opens it, taking out the Silver Chronicles.

Despite the waterproof protection, the pages turn yellow…

Between now and a while they'll grow moldy, ugh.

Well! Let's read again, let's see...

It's not that Sely needs to reread them. She knows the Silver Chronicles practically by heart and they are her favorite book. And the only one she has ever read.

However, in those pages, every time she reopens them, Sely finds comfort. Her doubts subside, and her mood improves.

How useful they were to her in those days of crossing.

“Well,” Sely comments aloud, “A long time ago they came to the earth. Insects of different shapes, colors, and intelligence. The invasion was short, the world changed and their kingdom was born: Selenia.”