Kai sat on his throne in the Hall of Perifrey. He was miserable. Staring at a black beetle that crawled across the wooden floor in front of him, he was thinking about the traitor, Vala. Vala lied to him, lied about the gem, pretending to ask the gods to show her its location.

He needed that gem for his god, Amaia. It was the only way he would get what he wanted from her.

He wanted more power. To be above every other awakened. To be worshipped by all, awakened and non awakened. She needed the gem to rule the gods, and to give him that power. It was easy to say out loud, but this dam gem was eluding him to no end. He knew his niece had to have some information about it. A few of Vala's supporters he had tortured over the last weeks told him as much.

He recalled the memory of the woman. "Vala said Kaida would be the one to control the gem used by Perifrey himself." She wept before died, praying to Ota for help.

Months ago his men track Bellator and Kaida to the mountain of Perifrey. Eventually they found the cave opening the villagers called the mouth of the mountain. Out of six men who went to the mountain, two showed up a week later. They said the other four went into the mountain and never came back out.

Kai sent three more groups of men to investigate the mountain again, obviously not successful with the capture of Bellator, or Kaida. He would have assumed they got lost themselves in the mountain, but Amaia says they have not, and they will still lead him to the gem she so desperately wants.

Amaia was trapped in a realm of her own, only able to communicate with Kai through chance. He stumbled across a scroll, in an old abandoned cave dwelling that Treydon and himself discovered and explored as boys. The scroll being in an early language was obviously not of any use to Kai, but he still studied it. Making many notes with many different thoughts. Kai told everyone that he knew the scroll would lead him to his fate. Up until he was a young man Treydon thought his brother's obsession with the scroll was purely an unanswered puzzle he wanted to solve. Kai searched for years, through every scroll, stone tablets, every historical record there was. Then he found an old Wiseman, his ancestors passed their knowledge down their family line, including the language that Kai was in search for. The wise one translated the scroll. After he did so, he begged Kai to burn the scroll, not to go any farther with it. This angered Kai, enraged him. This was something he had been working for since he was a boy. He would never give it up. He killed the man as payment for his knowledge, and advice.

Kai learned about Amaia. How Ota discovered her plan to take over the throne, and to kill the other gods. He knew that Ota stopped her from killing anymore gods and that when Amaia was banished, her followers declared war on anyone who wouldn't oppose Ota. They lost the war, and Ota prevailed and remained King of gods, and the awakened who fought for Amaia were stripped of their magics, and more.

Kai felt like he understood Amaia's need for power that she was denied. That it made them the same. He felt that she was his fate.

He started talking to her, sacrificing goats, lambs, any other animal he had seen fit to please the banished god. He spread knowledge of her and told many stories about her, whether they were true or not didn't matter. He just wanted them to love her, the way he loved her.

After many years of his devotion, he had some how create a bond with her allowing her to talk to Kai, He was the only one she could hear. Why?

She gave Kai a vision of herself. She was beautiful, and powerful, that much he knew already, but to see her face? He would never love another, the way he loves Amaia. She would be the one to grant him his deepest desire. Power.

Gods thrived off the love they received. They can be fickle, narcissistic creatures. Amaia especially, and she soaked up every bit of attention, and affection that Kai gave her. He would be the one to release her. He would be the one who helped her get revenge.

A man stepped out from the shadows beside Kai's throne. His eyes were gone, and replaced with two rubies. Dressed in a long black hooded cloak with bones sewn on all around it, carved with runes. Dark ones. He slithered in front of Kai, the staff he held, knocking against the wood each step he took, echoing off the walls.

"I have news Magus." He croaked.

"What is Seer?" Kai demanded.

This seer Kai had gained support from, and had been guiding Kai with his quest for free Amaia. The seer wanted Amaia's release as well.

"I have seen Kaida coming here," he told Kai.

"Where is she now?" He asked unamused.

"Sorry, mighty one, Ota has hidden them from me." said the seer.

"Very well, Borge. When will she come?" he asked, irritated.

"That I do not know. The winter will be over, and she will have grown stronger. She does not come alone." He warned.

Kai sighed. After a few moments he asked, "Will my brother be there?"

"Yes." Borge responded.

"Good. I will need him in the end anyways." With that Kai stood up and walked out of the Hall. Borge slithering back to the shadows.

~

Sigurd was watching Willow play in the snow outside in the early morning. A murder of crows in the tree next to the barn, giving off a few caw's waking up the forest. It was quiet with a few waking noises of lazy animals. A sharp pain filled Sigurd's head. Grabbing it crying out in pain.

The sounds of battle were screaming in his head. Kaida... Treydon. They were all yelling, trying to stop something. Kaida was screaming, crying.

"NO!" Sigurd yelled. "NO!" he didn't want to hear it anymore. He didn't want to know these things. He wasn't strong enough.

He hated being a seer. He wished the gods would take it away.

He started to sing a song. Loud. Clapping. This is how he would push away the visions.

Hearing Sigurd yell, I came out of the house to find him singing. I was confused.

"Are you okay, Sigurd?" I asked.

He looked at me, he was sad. "Sometimes I am." He said

"What about now? Are you okay right now?" I pushed.

"No, I am not. I want my seer powers to be relinquished. I do not want to know the deaths of my friends. I do not want to hear you dyeing" He confessed.

I just gave him a hug. I knew this was what he struggled with. This is what made Sigurd, Sigurd. I hoped they would listen to his request, and grant it.

"I will pray to Ota with you. I don't want you to suffer, Sigurd." I said, holding his sweaty hand.

He hugged me. "I knew you were going to be my true friend, Kaida. I will help you learn what I can. While I can."

We left it at that, I didn't want to ask him what he had just heard, and felt. I didn't need to. Whatever it was, was coming soon enough.

"Sigurd?" I asked

"Yes, dragon lady?" he answered, causing me to laugh.

"Have your powers always been this way for you? Even as a child?" I was curious if he struggled his whole life like me, or if something happened.

"Yes. Since my seer powers developed, they have always just been voices." He told me.

"I'm sorry, You deserve more." It was the truth. I was sorry that Sigurd, who proved to be wise, and loving, had to suffer with this burden. I decided I would try to help Sigurd with his quest to have his powers taken from him. If anyone deserved peace, it was the man who has been tortured by screaming voices, and the sounds of battle since he was a small child.

Sigurd said nothing, just held my arm with his as we walked.

"Have you tried to talk to Aadi, Kaida?" Sigurd asked me as we entered the house.

"You mean pray to him?" I asked?

"No, I mean talk to him. Here, come." He motioned for me to sit with him in front of the fireplace. I did.

He pulled out a herb pouch from his pocket and tossed it into the fire. "For Aadi." He explained.

We sat cross legged, our hands resting on our knees.

"Think about Aadi. Think about your body breathing, your blood flowing, your heart beating in your chest. About Aadi's heart beside yours." Sigurd said to me.

I was thinking of Aadi, his black hair, his golden eyes, his olive colored skin. The armor he wore, and his beautiful sword. How his sister ripped his heart from his chest, the betrayal on his face. How his twin took his life for his power. I thought about how long he must have been waiting, knowing that one day Amaia would return. I thought about how he had loved Loa, how she gave her life for him. I pictured him on the edge of the river from my dream. About pulling me up from the water, his hand grabbing my wrist.

I felt a warming in my chest. My body felt strong, and... nothing.

I opened one eye and peeked out at Sigurd. He was smiling.

"That's a start!" He said happily.

"What's a start? Nothing happened." I said

"You were surrounded by a light. Not a bright one. Really low and soft, it was there though!" He was still grinning like I had just shot colored sparks out of my ears.

Shaking my head I chuckled. "Well, that is a start then. I was never able to glow like a torch before."

We laughed together, standing up and helping ourselves to some porridge.

"We should try again Sigurd. I'm glad you are here." I leaned over and gave him a playful shove with my hip.

"I am too, Kaida. Your family is lovely and have made me feel very welcome here. I have never felt so at home anywhere. And your mother has been helping me through my hardships. She is a good listener, and has wise advice. Your father... I could not be more thankful to the gods then to share a roof with the rightful Magus. He is very humble." He bowed his head to me.

I hugged him.

Aimee came out from her room with a grumpy look on her face. She stomped over to the water bucket and messily poured a cup for herself, huffing away.

"What in the world is wrong with you?" I asked her amused.

"I'm tired." She snapped at me.

"Why didn't you sleep longer then? You don't have to get up this morning" I told her.

"Yes, I do. I promised my father I would go to the village for some trading today. We need to leave early, father wants the best options, and to avoid the large crowds. Dusken Harbor's supplies show up today." She told me.

"I'll go too." I said. I needed to go to town anyway. I wanted to pick up some grain from the stores, and If anyone had some new Damascus steel come through. I wanted to look into a few new weapons.

"As well as me." Said Sigurd.

Bellator and my mother would stay home and mind the farm. Bellator told me he didn't didn't feel right leaving my mother on her own. Even though there were three other families and others that lived on the farm property.