“Wow…” I gasped as we stood atop an invisible platform that overlooked the lush green forests of western Agna or Charian.

Sitting on the edge of a sheer cliff was the village of Omri, home of the Black Moons.

It was a circular arrangement of tall houses made of dark woods and at the centre of the village sat a rather large pond or pool which perfectly reflected the blue morning sky, creating the illusion that one would fall into the sky if one dared step into the pool.

Astír teleported us to the outer wall of the village. The wall, or outer perimeter cut into the forest in a wide semi circle.

Two golden knights awaited us at the front gate and although their armour was pretty standard, it was adorned with pitch black silky fringes.

Also, sitting at the centre of their chest pieces was the crest of the moon instead of the crest of the sun.

“Hello, Astír, Sidus and…”

“My name is Zuri, consort to Prince Caligo.” I said with a curtsy.

“Oh- pleasure to meet you ma’am. Do you have business with the Black Moons?” The leftmost knight asked.

“Yes. There is an ongoing investigation in Serenumlatus and we would like to use their services.” I said and the knight simply nodded before reaching out to open the tall iron gate.

I thanked the knight before entering the village with Astír and Sidus in tow.

We made our way up the sole path that led to the inner part of the village but on our way, I spotted a handful of men dressed in black robes and it looked like they were foraging the forest for something. Like Sidus said, their eyes were bound by dark binds and sitting at the centre of their robes was the crest of a black moon.

We eventually arrived at the pool that perfectly mirrored the sky only standing next to it was a golden knight.

He walked up to his and greeted us with a nod.

“Hello, Yahmi.” Astír greeted.

“Yes, I have already called for the high priest. Give him a moment.” The knight referred to as Yahmi said.

My eyes narrowed as I looked the knight over.

“No, he’s not a time magician.” Sidus laughed upon noticing my intrigued expression.

He then pointed towards the foremost house where a man could very seen exiting.

“That man, however, is.” Sidus said as the man walked towards us.

I noticed that even though his eyes were covered he knew exactly where to walk in order to meet us.

“Greetings, esteemed guests. I am Gondara, High Priest of the Black Moons. It truly is a pleasure to meet you. Well, to meet you specifically, ma’am.” The priest said with a smile while looking in my direction.

“Err… yes. We need your help in Serenumlatus.” I said.

“Ah… of course. It would be an honour to aid you.” Gondara said but something was puzzling me.

“I need to be close to my target in order to see its past.” Gondara said with a chuckle.

I hid my flustered face behind my hands as I was beginning to think that people could read my thoughts.

Maybe it was because of my bald head!

“Haha! No one can read thoughts. At least, no one is known to. Sidus answered your puzzled expression earlier because not only does he know you quite well, you reveal much of yourself. That is not necessarily a bad thing but it is in your nature. And as for me, I can see across time. All I did was see a timeline, a possible future where you spoke your thoughts.” Gondara said with a bright smile. His tanned, wrinkly face twisted with delight.

“Ah… I see.” I said even though nothing he said had helped with my feeling of embarrassment.

“Anyway, to answer your question further, the further something is from me or any other time magician, the… foggier it’s time is. It becomes muddled by the timelines of other things. Being closer allows us to hone in on somethings past and its many possible futures.”

“I see.”

“Yes. Anyway, lead the way. I actually wanted to send Yahmi out to grab somethings in the market, but I can simply do that myself now.”

I nodded and like that, we began our trip to Serenumlatus.

I noticed instantly that the air was heavy and the people were all giving each other unsavoury glances.

Serenumlatus was situated along the western coast of Lanceberg and so harsh seaborne winds blew across the city and adding to the harsh atmosphere was the grey sky.

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We made our way to a part of the pier that had been sectioned off by some Liland knights and we walked up to one of them, a middle aged man who wore silver knight leggings but only wore a leather jacket and nothing else.

Sitting at his waist was a silver sword and adorning his gruff face was a frown.

He noticed me and my entourage and immediately tried fixing his face but I could see that he was beyond tired.

“Good morning, ma’am!” He greeted.

“Good morning. I take it you are the knight in charge of the investigation?”

“Yes, ma’am! Frourá of the Liland Corps!”

I nodded before looking at the burnt remains of a boat that floated next to the dock.

It was a fairly small boat which could probably only fit three people if two of them sat on top of each other.

I saw various burnt goods here and there and so I assumed it was used by small-time merchants.

“What have you learnt so far?” I asked while following Frourá onto the dock allowing us a better view of the vessel.

“All we know for sure is that the fire was caused by that lantern. The wick’s glass housing was shattered and so I assume someone threw it onto the vessel while the crew were sleeping.” Frourá explained.

“So you are certain that it was a murder?” I asked as Gondara walked to the edge of the dock.

“Yes. Although we are struggling to find any suspects. We also cannot figure out why it was these two who were killed specifically. There were also no witnesses and so our search has been fruitless so far.” Frourá said.

“Ah…” Gondara sounded.

“Did you see something?” I asked.

“Yes. These two men were killed by sheer bad luck. Umm… madam Astír, there is a small rusty nail in between those two boxes. Could you get it?”

Astír nodded before raising her right hand.

A small nail then floated out from between the boxes Gondara had pointed out.

“That nail once sat firmly on that arch and it performed the function of holding up the lantern. It did this for many long years, but alas, all that is crumbles and so last night, as the crew slept, it fell along with the lantern.” Gondara explaining after snatching the nail which floated mid air.

“So… it was an accident?” The knight asked.

“Yes.” Gondara said.

“I see. Well, thank you for assisting us in this investigation. We will inform the people of this news and prepare the crew for burial.”

I nodded before leading my entourage off the dock.

We then made our way to the market place where Gondara bought a few things. Fish, some herbs, some spices and some wool.

“Has King Luno told you the truth about his father?” Gondara asked as we made our way to Serenumlatus’s teleportation platforms.

“No.”

“Oh- well, I will allow him to tell you himself. All you should know as of right now is that all that is was meant to be. All for the sake of the Great Plot, as we time magicians like to call it.”

“Umm…” I sounded, unable to fully understand what Gondara meant.

He sighed before raising his index finger.

“You see, there is only one timeline. Ours. When it comes to the past, we time magicians can see, with profound clarity, the truth of everything. Well, up to a certain extent. The extent where one would go mad since there is only so much the mind is allowed to know. The one thing that remains elusive is the future. Remember how I was able to know you wanted to ask me a question? Well, that is only because you, in one of infinite possible futures, outwardly asked. With this in mind, we can see that some possible futures, even though they might not occur, are more probable than others. Where am I going with this? You see, I have a theory… I think that the Old King… ah, damn it all, I cannot speak until the Moon King has. So you will have to wait until then but trust me. It will reshape the way you see not only history but the way our very kingdom is shaped.” Gondara said with a grin.

We eventually returned to Omri where we accompanied Gondara to his house as the sun fell.

“Hurry up and speak with the Moon King because I feel as though you and I have much to discuss and plan.” Gondara said with a bright smile.

I nodded before leading Astír and Sidus out of the village.

We then teleported all the way back to Middlen where we made our to Gera’s office.

We reported our success although I barely remember anything he said since I was still trying to recover from everything I had learnt from Gondara.

We wished Gera a goodnight and made our home where I wished both Astír and Sidus goodnight before stumbling into the bedroom where I collapsed onto bed where Caligo awaited me.

“Art thou well? I have never seen thee wear such an… exhausted expression before.” Caligo asked.

“Time… history… re-evaluation… revelation.” I muttered with my head buried in the pillows.

Caligo softly chuckled before covering me in a blanket and allowing me to sleep.

.

..

Caligo awoke with a yawn only to gasp upon seeing me wide awake and staring at the ceiling.

“What in the world happened yesterday?” Caligo asked while sitting my limp self up.

“We visited the Black Moons.” I whimpered.

“Oh… well, although I am sure thou hast myriad questions, I have to prepare breakfast.” Caligo said while crawling out if bed.

“Wake up the boys, please.” He said before leaving the room.

I sighed and, after staring at nothing for a good minute, I crawled out of bed.

I then made to the boys’ room where I found all of them peacefully sleeping.

The little sleeping collective was shielded from the bright morning sunlight by the tall dark curtains that hung in front of the room’s equally tall windows.

I walked up to Adia’s bed and gently uncovered his head.

“Mmm?” He whimpered.

“Rise and shine. Caligo is making breakfast.” I whispered.

“Are you gonna eat with us?”

I nodded.

“OK.” He whimpered.

I then woke Penari and the others up before leading them down to the dining room where we sat around the table.

“Uncle Lham said he wanted to speak with you yesterday.” Adia yawned.

“True, he said that he wanted to tell you something really important!” Penari yelled even though he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Is that so? I will speak with him later, then.” I said.

Caligo, who was wearing a stained white apron, eventually arrive along with a few Hands and they placed plates in front of everyone’s chair. It was a simple breakfast. Two slices of bread, some scrambled eggs and some ham.

Caligo sat next to me signalling that we begin eating but at various points, I found myself chewing nothing.

I rapidly blinked as Caligo teasingly tapped my foot with his.

“Let me guess, Gondara said many things which thou art finding… incomprehensible.” Caligo said.

“Yes. One thing that stood out was the Old King. He said that Luno would have to be the one who told me the truth.” I said and this made Caligo frown a bit.

“Whatever thou learns, just remember, everything father did was for the best.”

I nodded before finishing my food.

I then gave Caligo a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room.

I made my way to the quarters beneath the palace where I found Lham discussing something with Astír who was still wearing her white robe.

“Good morning. I was just about to see if I could speak with you before you left for work, but here you are.” Lham said after noticing me.

“Yes, the boys told me you had something to tell me.”

“I actually wanted your permission for something.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“I want the boys to all become Hands.”