Zalia was sat on the surprisingly soft back of the glittering starlight wolf who had become her friend, the breeze lightly pulling at her hair and clothes. She had lost the wide-brim hat that Ember had bought for her when the Astar had captured her. Despite her initial complaints about the matching outfit she shared with Aylie, she kind of missed the hat. It had been the first thing that Ember had bought for her, and a piece of fuel to the intense fire that was now the emotions shared between them.
The starlight wolf had brought them far up into the sky, where they now waited.
“Is there anything I should know before meeting this Balance person? Are we meeting them here?”
“Patience child, they will be here soon. I have brought you here to be witness to the words spoken, nothing more. Speak if you feel you have something to contribute, otherwise it is best that I explain our position.”
Zalia adjusted herself a little, getting more comfortable. She wasn’t exactly afraid of the height, being able to fly and all, but it was the highest she had ever been outside of a plane before. There was nothing between her and endless open air but the slightly incorporeal form of a wolf made of starlight.
“Alright, I can do that.”
She felt out of place, as if what she was about to witness wasn’t something that someone of her rank or place in the world was meant to. Shouldn’t the wolf have taken Hildebrandt instead? She was almost Emerald rank after all, with power much more significant than Zalia’s own.
“And, you said you would make a sacrifice? What will that be?”
The powerful aura of the wolf, while still mostly unreadable to her, showed a hint of mirth at her continued questions.
“Everything and nothing. Hush now, they arrive.”
The air in front of them warped and then a tiny little creature appeared. It was round and fluffy, almost like one of those small dogs that had their hair groomed and cut to make them look like a little ball. Her first thought was, “Awww,” quickly followed by, “Boreal would probably want to know what it tastes like.”
Both of those thoughts left her mind as she felt the confusing mixture of things her senses picked up. To Aura Observation, it was both not there and everywhere at the same time. She could feel that it was entirely neutral as a being, yet only managed to be so by the perfect balance of sides. It gave a sense of a board balanced on a ball only by the perfect distribution of the million weights across its surface.
She picked all of that up in an instant, the sense of balance about the creature more accurate to what it really was than the little fluffy ball that it was currently presented as. This creature felt different to the other gods she had encountered in a way she couldn’t quite define.
This thought was underpinned by the starlight wolf bowing down to it.
Zalia followed suit, awkwardly trying to bow on the already angled wolf’s back.
“Balance, I come to petition your help. A trade.”
“Make your petition young one.”
Balance calling the starlight wolf young one put her a little on edge. She had seen the story of Nateysta, which explained how the starlight wolf was so old that it had been guiding even the other gods into their power. Yet somehow, it was younger than this being?
“I have learned that the Astar work with the demons in their attempt to take this world. They disturb the balance of life here.”
There was a moment of silence, Zalia feeling a cold bead of sweat roll down her face as they maintained their bowed posture.
“Every action has a reaction, do you understand the price for what you ask?”
Zalia was a little confused. There seemed to be a subtext to the conversation she didn’t understand, or maybe her translation powers were severely simplifying what was said. What exactly had the starlight wolf asked for?
“I am willing to personally pay the price for my petition.”
Her heart beat quicker, worry and confusion playing through her mind. Whatever the starlight wolf was asking for, surely it couldn’t be worth a… a sacrifice. What was it losing? What was it losing it for?
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Very well.”
Balance vanished, leaving no disturbance in the air or trace of its having been there.
Zalia blinked and looked around, but nothing had changed.
“Soooo, what exactly is the price for what just happened? And also what just happened?”
“Stand and stay strong Zalia. I have given us a chance, it is up to you to guide others on the path that will lead to your success now.”
Her concern grew.
“Up to me now? What about you?”
She had a sinking feeling she knew what the price had been.
“I’ll see you on the other side, young Druid.”
The stars above them began to slowly fade, before disappearing entirely. The only source of light was the glowing starlight wolf beneath her, the darkness outside of which even her enhanced eyes could not penetrate.
“Guide them. For me.”
The light of the wolf blinked out.
⪼ ⪢ ℋ 𝒶𝓃𝒹 ℋ ⪡ ⪻
For the... eighth time? Ninth time? In recent months, Zalia woke up without full awareness of where exactly she was.
She lay on a small cot, blankets covering her. It was inside of a comfortable tent that had a large hide covering the floor. The flaps of the tent were secured by a series of small straps of leather that looped around hooks. Sun was shining against the sides of the hide tent, throwing shadows across the area and highlighting the central tent pole by the light streaming through a hole at the peak of the tent.
The only other source of light in the tent was the tiny wolf puppy made of starlight, glowing gently as it slept in her lap.
Zalia gently sat up and reached a hand forward, stroking the side of the puppy. It woke up and looked at her with curious eyes, head tilted to the side.
“What did you do?” she asked it.
It tilted its head to the other side as if trying to decipher her words yet not quite being able to.
A hand reached through the flaps of the tent and began unhooking the leather straps one by one. She was about to summon her sword and prepare to fight her way free if she had to, the memories of being woken by her captors to be tortured over the past month and a half fresh in her mind.
Before she got the chance though, she saw the jet black hair, then the head, of Ember push through the flaps and into the tent, followed by the rest of her.
Not being able to fully form words, a burst of emotions ranging from misery all the way to happiness broke free from her in the form of a strangled-sounding cry.
Ember rushed over and knelt beside the cot, grabbing Zalia into a tight hug. The starlight puppy wriggled around, trying not to get crushed between the two of them.
“It’s alright,” Ember whispered, “I’ve got you. We’ve got you.”
Zalia started crying, the stress and pain of her experience flowing away in one long, comfortable and safe hug. A hug powered by strong emotional healing magic.
“You’ve really got to stop being the reason my emotional healing levels so quickly.”
She sob-laughed at that.
“I’ll try my best.”
Her voice was rough and raw, but she felt a lot better. Ember tended to have that effect on her.
Zalia pulled back, holding one hand on the side of Ember’s face.
“How are you? Are the others alright?”
Ember smiled, taking her hand and pulling her up, the starlight puppy rolling off onto the cot.
“Don’t worry, they’re alright. I just wanted you to myself for a moment.”
Zalia scooped up the puppy under her arm as Ember pulled her out of the tent. She was immediately assaulted by both Boreal and Aylie latching on to her.
“Oh, I’ve missed you all so much.”
A fresh wave of tears rolled down her face but was quickly overcome with happiness. She was with her family again, safe. The biggest issue that sat on her shoulders at that moment was what to do with the super cute starlight puppy wriggling in protest under her arm.
She handed it to Aylie.
“Here, hold this.”
Aylie took the puppy awkwardly and quickly received some radiant licks to the chin.
“Where did you get the starlight puppy, if I may ask?” Ember asked.
Zalia inspected the little thing and knew, not just from the description she received, that it was indeed the new form of the starlight wolf.
Starlight wolf pup - Tin rank (Ascendant)
She wasn’t exactly sure what Ascendant Tin rank meant, but it confirmed her suspicions.
“That, is my dear friend, the starlight wolf. It made a bargain with something called Balance to help us. This is the sacrifice it made.”
Aylie looked at the puppy with wider eyes, coming to the realisation that the wriggling starlight was the very same spirit that had blessed her.
“It’s taken care of us, from afar sure, but has done so nonetheless. Now it’s our turn to take care of it, I think.”
“It made a bargain? What exactly did it bargain for?”
Zalia scratched her head.
“Well, I’m not exactly sure. I guess we’ll find out?”
At that moment, a portal was ripped open in reality beside them, and her old friend Ro-ak, better known as Nateysta, tumbled out.