Six months had passed and Ua’s pregnancy had become impossible to hide which didn’t really matter she didn’t bother hiding it.

Anytime someone from outside her palace asked how it was possible she simply told her that Sav’ta had blessed her with a divine child. One who would be all-powerful and all-loving in the physical plane.

Her council of Shangazi had learnt the truth of her pregnancy from the maids but no one spoke openly about it out of fear.

A fear that stemmed not from a threat of violence... But joy on Ua’s part.

Ever since becoming pregnant, she had become unnervingly happy.

She awoke with a smile and slept grin.

Rumours from the unaware spread across the land and they said that she had lost her mind after losing her husband but anyone who had interacted with her knew that what she was displaying was far more twisted than the simple effects of grief.

Imani had returned to Hatua for the first time in years alongside the wife of chief Kukiyah, Emunah. Kukiyah himself couldn’t come since he had entered a somewhat comatose state after watching Ua’s men slaughter his people. As for Emunah herself, she was actually once one of the first Blessed Sisters and she, like Imani, saw how unfairly the Chofumah were being treated and so she left along with him but what many didn’t know was that Imani himself was the reason she left.

After seeing him advocate for the better treatment of the Chofumah, she was drawn to him and even though he had a family of his own, she asked that he marry her.

Imani declined and although Emunah was initially heartbroken, she vowed to follow him on his quest to make the southern continent a better place for everyone.

She eventually settled and married Chief Kukiyah although she primarily did it to have sway over him to aid with Imani’s ambitions.

The two sat before Ua but were separated by a two-by-five-meter wide, fish-filled pool which had been built into the audience room.

The entire room was also filled with plants and flowers because Ua thought it would be best if she had sources of Life Energy all around her.

The maids were horrified at the thought that if she couldn’t find any plants, she would have used people instead but she laughed and assured them she wouldn’t.

“Ahem!” Emunah sounded, breaking the silence of the room and snapping Ua out of her daze.

She blinked a few times before looking at Imani and warmly smiling.

“Sorry. I just couldn’t believe that you were actually in front of me, in this place, in this land, after all this time.”

Imani’s face twisted with hatred but he bit his teeth and both Emunah and Ua saw that he was holding many of his words.

“We... We have learnt from our mistakes, my lady, and have come to you asking- begging for forgiveness.” Emunah said with a lowered head.

Imani chose to remain sitting upright.

“Mmm? I am but a mere woman, like you, so who am I to deal out forgiveness? Whatever troubles your heart is between you and Our Lady.” Ua said while gently rubbing her belly.

“Oh- of course. Well, this summer has been harsh on our people-“

“We want food.” Imani interrupted making Ua raise a brow.

“How much?”

“As much as you can give,” Imani said through gnashed teeth.

“Oh? That’s quite a lot but... What are you willing to pay for it?” Ua asked with narrowed eyes.

“HAVE YOU NOT TAKEN ENOUGH ALREADY?” Imani yelled but Emunah hurriedly placed her hands on his in an attempt to calm him.

“If all you came here to do was yell at me then I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Imani’s eyes quivered with rage.

“What...” He heavily breathed.

“What do you want in exchange?”

Ua’s eyes turned to the ceiling for a moment.

They then returned to Imani only this time they were a little wider allowing Imani to see their bright grey irises.

“I want the Forest Afor.”

Confusion swallowed Imani’s face.

Then dread.

“WHY?” He cried.

“Meerkats have been fleeing to all parts of the continent. If I allow them to continue like this I imagine it won’t be long before Hatua is surrounded by enemies. With Afor and the coast, Hatua will become a solid wall between either side of the continent reducing our fronts to two. So, join me again, dear Imani, so that we can protect and, most importantly, feed our people. You will have the same autonomy as before only you will report things to me every now and then. What do you think?” Ua asked with a warm smile.

Imani’s face shifted through countless emotions.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

It eventually settled in a look of defeat and so he sighed but just before he could say anything, Pele opened the great wooden doors of the audience room, allowing Jua to enter.

He had lost a significant amount of weight, to the point that his cheeks were hollowed and his clothes hung loosely from his body.

He walked up to Imani and leaned over to his ear.

“What is promised is but the continuation of an old suffering. Follow me if you want to go beyond the horizon and begin anew.” Jua whispered before leaving the room.

Imani’s eyes widened to their limits and it looked like he was trying his hardest to think about what to do.

“C-could you give us a little bit of time to decide-“

“If you leave this door without reaching an agreement with me then I will consider you as an enemy,” Ua said with half-open eyes.

Imani turned to Emunah whose eyes shook with fear.

He turned to Ua once more and took a deep breath.

“Alright. The Forest Afor is yours.”

Ua smiled.

“Good. You may leave now. I will send a few of my Shangazi who will help with everything including watching over the shipment of food.”

Imani nodded before standing up and leaving the room alongside Emunah.

The two then made their way to the exit where they were met by Jua.

He walked up to Imani, his weak steps looked painful, even to watch. They were driven and purposeful yet they trembled and jolted erratically along with his arms.

“There is still time. Do what you have to keep your people alive but the time for True Exodus is coming and they may very well need you upon crossing the northern horizon.” Jua wheezed but this made Imani’s brows twist.

“But what lies there apart from more water?”

“Land.” Jua smiled before turning to Heziyn, who stood by the door. She gently held his hand before helping him towards the stairs but before he completely ascended, he turned to Imani once more.

“Visit me by the farmhouse if you want to continue this discussion,” Jua said before being taken to his room.

Imani turned to Emunah but she remained silent.

He let out a pained groan before leading Emunah all the way back to the Forest Afor.

He had moved into the chief’s house, in a spare room which was once used to store dried meats, after losing his family and acted as regent while Kukiyah recovered.

His room was filled with the old stone tablets which Emunah and the original Blessed Sisters created after first receiving knowledge from Ua.

Imani always believed that Mlezi and Ua were lying about the limited nature of Glass and so tried studying it closely only to ultimately realize that, although it was powerful, it was used up entirely when someone used magic and was incredibly rare.

The Crystal Lands still had an abundance of Glass but, upon further exploring the Southern Continent, Ua and everyone learnt that the Crystal Lands were the only reliable source of Glass with the others, Glass embedded in rock or larger chunks being buried underground, being far too rare.

Ua also controlled the extraction of Glass from the Crystal Lands so no one could just walk into them and take whatever they wanted.

In order to harvest Glass, one would need to join Ua’s Gatherers but they didn’t work much since Ua rationed Glass so as to not deplete it quickly.

Imani let out a sigh as he sat against one of the walls in his room.

It was right next to a window allowing him to look out into the treetop village.

The full moon’s light bathed his weary face and illuminated the villagers who were still rebuilding all that had been burnt during the slaughter by Ua’s men.

“May I come in?” Emunah asked prompting Imani to turn to her.

She wore a pale grey silk gown which tightly clung to her body. It was so thin that the fine details of her skin were clear thanks to the moonlight.

“This is your house. Do as you please.” Imani scoffed.

Emunah’s eyes narrowed as she stepped into the room.

She then walked up to Imani’s side and sat by his side and softly sighed after taking a deep breath.

“I think you did the right thing by choosing the needs of our people over all else.” She said while offering Imani her hand but he simply crossed his arms in response.

“At no point, in that room and in that time, did I truly have the freedom to choose?”

Emunah’s brows furrowed a little.

“I suppose that’s true but, although Ua is many things, she is not a liar. She will send the food and our people will be fed-“

“While being made to join her ranks and work their lives away.” Imani scoffed.

“If it displeases you then why did you-“

“The boy…” Imani muttered.

“I have seen all of his contraptions, the failures and the successes. I feel… I feel as though he may very well have the key that will free your people from their cruel binds.”

Emunah forcefully slid her hand in between his arms and rested her head on his shoulder.

“They are our people. Also, how do you think he’ll get all of us across the horizon?” She asked.

“That’s what I’ll ask him when next we meet.”

.

..

“So… you discovered land beyond the horizon that holds a shard of Glass that’s as big as a mountain?” Imani asked while standing beside Jua, who sat on a long bamboo chair.

He, Heziyn, Pele, Imani and Emunah stood on the beach along the northern shore in a spot a few kilometres to the west of Abanafash.

Flying above were two of Jua’s scouts—warriors who wore protective leather suits and carried bags of Glass that fuelled their flight.

They were able to do this since Jua had unlimited access to all of the Glass in Hatua. He had spent years trying to see if safe flight was possible and although a person could easily fly across the ocean Makor, they would need to be protected from the elements all while having enough Glass for the entire flight and so Jua developed special flight suits which kept its wearers warm and protected. They also had a bag attached to their backs and it could carry up to fifty kilograms of Glass.

This Glass would be used up as the person flew around and the heavier they were, the faster the Glass was used. For an average person, fifty kilograms could keep them afloat for hours if they were mostly still. This time was reduced the faster a person moved and was further reduced by things like air friction.

Jua had used these suits to send men further and further northwards and I was elated after they discovered the Island of Tablets. Some of them feared that it was some kind of interstice between the physical and spirit worlds but Jua assured them that what they had seen was just another shard of Glass on a remote island and when they asked about the city on the island, Jua had no answer as he wasn’t sure. He supposed that ancient humanoids built it but, again, he couldn’t be sure.

Jua’s men had yet to step foot on my island, much to my disappointment but it was only a matter of time before humanoid steps graced my temple’s floors and so I chose to remain patient.

I had yet to decide on whether I would interact with them or not.

“Yes. It may very well be the largest shard of Glass in this world.” Jua answered while adjusting his wide-rimmed straw hat which protected him from the bright and hot afternoon sun. He wore a pair of shorts and a shirt at the insistence of Heziyn who wanted him to sunbathe.

“I don’t think I need to tell you how this would change things for the Chofumah, let alone our kind as a whole,” Jua added making Imani turn to the east where a fleet of ships of peculiar design could be seen moored by the pier. They all had their tops covered in a manner similar to a turtle only their top shells were lined with spikes. The ships were also much larger than the others by the pier, averaging at four hundred meters long.

“So that’s why you were building all those,” Imani muttered.

“Yes, but I never want it to seem as though this is something you had no choice in so when the day comes and they set sail, you will be free to either stand within or without,” Jua said but this made Imani chuckle.

“What?” Jua asked with a tilted head.

“It’s nothing. I just realized that the apple never really falls far from the tree.” Imani laughed while turning to Jua whose brows had furrowed a little.

“I’m not too sure about myself but when the time comes, we will fit as many Chofumah as possible on those ships.”