"Thank you, Sav’ta,” Mlezi said with a bow as he stood in front of a wooden statuette of me. It had been made by Jua and although it wasn’t very detailed or smooth, it was fine that way.

The boy and his mother slept soundly next to Mlezi who promptly exited the hut with his diamond spear in hand.

A few things had changed during the three months since we parted ways.

For one, they kept the specifics of our time together secret and whenever someone asked what they were doing in the mountain, they simply said that they were being blessed and when someone asked by whom, they said my name.

They said that I was some sort of mother goddess and that they had witnessed a glimpse of the divine.

I was worried that our interactions would break their brains but I definitely didn’t expect this interpretation.

I also didn’t know why they were being vague about my existence although I can’t imagine how people would have reacted if they said that they were in the mountains training and studying with what was, from their perspective, an actual god.

In this sense, I suppose they made the right call.

Another new thing was the handful of huts that stood along the path that led to Mlezi’s home.

They belonged to five Umande exiles whom he had taken in. Each of them was a young man who had lost their home.

Two of them were kicked out for sleeping with Chofumah women since that was forbidden and the other three were men who disagreed with the Umande elders on one thing or another.

One of them advocated for the tribes to be conjoined and the other two wanted the tribe to move into the mountain for protection from the elements.

A common thing among them was that they all had families.

Whether it was a wife or children, they all had someone to take care of and so Mlezi took them in.

Those men could be seen doing burpees as the sun steadily rose.

“Good morning, sir!” They all greeted as they stood half-naked and covered in dirt.

Mlezi yawned in response as he walked up a large boulder which had a map of the Hatua Planes carved onto its topside.

“When do we leave?” One of the men asked as he led the others in joining Mlezi around the boulder.

Unlike Mlezi, who was now in his thirties, all but one of them were in their twenties and were overflowing with energy.

“As soon as you eat and bath because this may be the last time you get to properly do so or at all.” He growled while eyeing the map.

“Yes, sir! Should we wait for you and the others or…?”

“Mmm… I guess we should all bathe together. Alright, we will do so after breakfast.” Mlezi said.

“Alright! We’ll wake everyone up!” The foremost of the men said before rushing to his hut alongside the others.

Mlezi’s eyes narrowed as he inspected the part of the map labelled “Crystal Lands”.

It was fifty kilometres to the east and although it was indeed a region covered with large shards of Glass, it was also dry and lifeless.

The nearest water source to the Crystal Lands was a small stream that came all the way from Mount Kupumzika but it was still a few kilometres south of the Crystal Lands meaning Mlezi and his crew would need to take enough water to drink on the way and during their excavations. They would then go south and refill by the small stream before making their way back home.

Water was one problem but that region was also home to small, rabbit-like animals that fed on the Glass there. Killing them was hard enough due to their incredible speed but their bodies were also lined with HCT meaning Mlezi’s crew would all need spears that were strong enough to pierce their hides.

Mlezi would be fine since he had a needle-sharp diamond spear but his men all used wooden spears that had obsidian tips.

They needed something studier and so Mlezi had commissioned a Chofumah blacksmith to make his men some iron spear tips.

His ears perked up as he heard the sounds of children crying. Their mothers tried shushing them but to little avail.

Mlezi scoffed before returning to his hut to find that Ua and Jua were awake.

“Good morning.” She yawned as she led a sleepy Jua to my statuette.

Mlezi responded with a grunt as his wife and son deeply bowed.

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A knock then came from the doorway.

It was a Chofumah woman and she kept her head and eyes low as she spoke.

“Breakfast will be ready shortly.” She said before promptly leaving.

Mlezi’s jaw visibly clenched upon seeing her and it seemed as though he had yet to forgive the Chofumah for what happened all that time ago.

I would have lectured him on why it was wrong to place the blame of one person on the heads of the innocent but would I have been able to do any better if I was in his situation?

It seemed as though Ua felt the same way and I had a feeling their feelings were going to pass on to Jua who accompanied his parents out of the hut.

The three then sat by the porch and were served breakfast by the woman from before.

It came in the form of freshly baked flatbreads and some dried fruits.

The flatbreads were a Chofumah cuisine and were made using some flat iron pans Mlezi had traded for some meat two months prior.

Mlezi and his family eventually finished eating and he led his new group of fifteen people to the river where they all bathed although Mlezi and his family were in a more secluded part of the river which was surrounded by tall grasses.

It was here where Ua washed his back while humming a certain tune.

“We must prepare for the possibility that I may not return.”

Ua stopped humming.

“And what should I do should such a possibility come to be?” Ua asked with a stiff expression.

“You will have to lead the men in my stead. Continue teaching the women and raise Jua to be a capable man.” Mlezi said while looking at his son who playfully used Gravity Magic to temporarily float above the water. This also made his hair glow purple.

It was thanks to him and Ua that everyone in Mlezi’s care was able to enjoy bread every so often as he used Life Magic to make the soil around their homes fertile, allowing them to grow the crops they needed.

He could’ve easily forced the crops to grow and kept them alive using Life Magic but Ua figured that it wouldn’t be sustainable in the long run since Glass was a finite resource.

So, they focused on making the land crop-ready.

Ua let out a deep sigh.

“You know… I now see, after all these years, why I prefer it when you speak less.”

“Mmm? You do? Why?” Mlezi asked making Ua pinch his cheek.

“Because you spout less nonsense. You will go to the Crystal Lands and you will return, lest you rob Jua of a father.” Mlezi turned around and looked into Ua’s serious eyes.

He then gave her a nod.

Ua nodded back before gently hugging his head.

“Good luck, my dear.”

.

..

A few hours had passed and Mlezi’s men had gotten their new spear tips.

Three of them would be going with him while the other two stayed and protected their home.

Everyone said their goodbyes and the group of four promptly made their way west.

They carried with them waterskins that held about two litres of water each and leather bags that had a capacity of about three kilograms but this was more than enough when it came to Glass.

They also had pouches full of dried meats and fruits.

All that stood in their way was fifty kilometres of land.

.

..

A full day had passed as Mlezi’s group walked across the Hatua Planes and, by walking at a fair pace and avoiding any dangerous creatures they came across, they eventually reached the Crystal Lands.

The men had to narrow their eyes as the pillars of Glass brightly reflected the afternoon sun’s light.

Some of them were twenty meters tall but what caught the bulk of was the small creatures that hopped around from shard to shard.

Their dull grey hides stood out in a sea of reflective crystals.

Mlezi glanced at his men and saw that they were quite tired from their walk and so, with his spear, he pointed at a large rock a few meters to their left.

They all walked towards it and promptly sat at its side.

They sat in silence, allowing Mlezi to contemplate their next move.

They had run out of water and were low on energy so they needed to avoid getting noticed by the entire colony of rabbits while also making sure they didn’t exhaust themselves since it was incredibly hot and there was no shade for kilometres.

The single positive thing was that the stream could be seen from the rock where they sat.

Mlezi eyed a cluster of Glass shards to the far north that appeared to be unoccupied.

“Mmm…” He droned.

“Yes, sir?” One of his men asked.

“See that area over there?” Mlezi asked making his men look in the direction he was pointing at with his spear.

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s clear of those fuzzy creatures but it’s also quite far away from the river. If we go for it, we may very well have to run back home.” He explained making his men drone thoughtfully.

“Sir, we could just circle back to the river using this way.” One of his men, a young man called Imani, suggested.

“Mmm… good call. Let's go.”

Mlezi then led his men all the way to the northern edge of the Crystal Lands and they stopped in front of one of the large pillars.

They didn’t have any tools to break it apart but littered at its feet were smaller shards which Mlezi and his men placed into their bags.

They did so swiftly and diligently.

“Say, sir,” Imani called as he shoved as much Glass into his back as possible.

“Yes?”

“We’re all exiles, right?”

“Yes.”

“Oh- I was just wondering if we could, I don’t know, buy our way back into the village. I mean, if we could teach the elders just how amazing Glass is as well, then surely things would change for the better, right?” Imani asked making Mlezi pause.

“You still want to go back?” Mlezi asked with furrowed brows.

Imani lowered his head and weakly sighed.

“My parents are still down there, sir. They are enduring hard times just like everyone else. Should we not offer them what help we can?”

Mlezi scoffed before returning to filling his bag.

“You should have considered all that before you bedded that woman but it seems as though your desire to help was overwhelmed by the desire in your lower body.”

Imani’s brows knotted.

“Also, do not paint me as some callous old man who stubbornly refuses to help. If anyone wants something, they can come and we can trade. That’s how it was for you three.”

Imani begrudgingly lowered his head after hearing Mlezi’s words but just as he shoved the last piece of Glass into his bag, he heard something from his left making him jerk his head in that direction.

His eyes then widened to their limits upon seeing a rabbit-like creature only it was a meter tall and had a maw which was lined with countess needle-like teeth. Its HCT fur was so thick it appeared fuzzy. Their forepaws were also lined with small needle-like claws and they had tall ears that were also covered with HCT fur.

He opened his mouth to yell out Mlezi’s name but the Glass Gatherer to his right firmly placed his hand above his mouth and pressed it shut while dragging him back.

Mlezi then stood in front of Imani who got up with the help of his fellow Gatherer just as the rabbit was joined by several others.

“Sir, I thought you said this area was clear.” Imani whimpered as the rabbits all started glowing purple.

The air around them was suddenly filled with countless sparks as they started floating and it was with a sweat-lined brow that Mlezi said.

“I was wrong .”