Construction on a new city had begin in Y’shuah and, although it would take several years to complete, it was named Pele, after the man who led the Chofumah to their new home.

But, while most of everyone celebrated this new development, Vah clicked her tongue as she stood at the foot of what would eventually become a twenty meter tall stone statue of me.

It stood in the center of the marketplace where food from the north was distributed so Vah had to look at it every time she left her home to get food. The market sat in the center of the city or, more accurately, it foundations.

Vah had made her hatred for Sav’taism very clear to Pele during their time together and it wasn’t really a secret.

She, like most Chofumah, had to silently suffer under Ua’s rule for the longest time.

A rule which was brought about by the blessings of a god Ua worshiped.

Vah made her way back into the Cavern and eventually returned home to find her daughter kneeling in front of a blue ceramic bowl that was half filled with water from the ocean.

The little girl had her hands firmly clasped together and this, it seemed, made Vah smile.

“What are you praying for?” Vah asked as she placed the food she’d gotten in the kitchen area of her little home.

“I asked the Great Father for more tea!” Tal yelled while hopping onto her feet.

“Aww, I’m not sure if your prayer will be answered since that tea comes from a place that’s very, very far away.” Vah smiled making her daughter pout.

The topic of their conversation was tea made from leaves which were only found in the Forest Afor. These leaves had since begun to run out in the stockpile of goods the Chofumah had brought to Y’shuah.

Tal knew this but, unlike other children, she had been taught all she knew by Vah herself who made sure to place special emphasis on the Great Father or the Ocean God, Aviyv.

In an older form of the faith the Chofumah practiced, he was the creator of all things and a sizable group of Chofumah still believed that, although I had been lumped in as the creator of life specifically.

The fact that Ua had decided to name me Sav’ta only helped further increase my importance in the religion.

How did I feel about being deified?

Not much.

I had limited my interactions with the humanoids to such a degree that what I felt or thought didn’t really matter so long as I didn’t physically interfere.

“AHHHH!”

I quickly turned to the chieftain’s home and frowned upon seeing Emunah tightly holding Amiytz who wasn’t moving even though his eyes were open.

I, unfortunately, didn’t need to check his Life Energy because it was clear that he was dead but that wasn’t what made my brows twist.

No, what I wanted to know was how.

I scanned his entire body and saw no signs of physical damage meaning that the person who killed him was a magician but no one was running away or acting suspicious meaning that the killer was probably someone very close to Amiytz.

I wondered if Emunah had killed her own son but why would she?

I knew she had a few screws loose but I saw no reason why she would kill her own son.

Emunah’s two daughters ran into the main bedroom alongside several guards and it wasn’t long before the house was filled with all manner of people but among them, among all those beating hearts, two stood out to me.

Those of Emunah’s daughters.

Hearts which had been racing since I shifted my focus to the chieftain’s house.

Had they killed their half brother?

If so, then why?

Did they want the throne?

If so then they had gotten rid of one of two obstacles since Tal was Pele’s other child and although Vah didn’t want her daughter to be involved in any of the politics, Amiytz’s death had just flung them into the middle of what would undoubtedly become a succession crisis.

I decided to keep an eye on Emunah’s daughters as Amiytz’s body was carefully inspected by several Blessed Sisters who arrived to no concrete conclusions as Emunah loudly wept behind them.

It also seemed as though I wasn’t the only one with my eye on the sisters.

Whispers filled the air and they suspected that the killer was a magician but the only magician’s around were Emunah and her daughters.

Stolen novel; please report.

Most of the guards were old school warriors who had never been taught a thing about magic but since Emunah was the Queen of the Chofumah, no one spoke about their suspicions too loudly.

Imani and Kukiyah eventually arrived to comfort Emunah but while Imani did that, Kukiyah pulled his daughters to the side and offered them a hug.

I then watched as the face of his first born, L'vanah, twisted with what I could only describe as rage all while her sister, Shemesh, ceaselessly wept.

Things were bound to get choppy for the Chofumah but while they mourned the loss of their prince, I turned to the far south to Kimbilio which had grown to be almost as big as Central Hatua only its population was far more diverse with over half of the people being of Chofumah descent and the rest being Umande.

The Northern Path had been completed and, almost predictively, Ua made sure that the road was routinely patrolled.

Heziyn didn’t seem to mind and instead focused her time on improving the lives of the people in Kimbilio. People who had begun to sing her praise as though she was their queen, something which Heziyn humbly dismissed.

“I’m telling you! He started working twice as hard afterwards! Haha!” Ed heartily laughed making Heziyn smile warmly. He had since gained quite a bit of weight and his rounded cheeks only emphasized his bright smile.

The two sat in his office and had spent the better part of the evening chatting and laughing away since not much in the way of conflict ever occurred in Kimbilio, once they completed their supervisory and administrative duties, there was not much else for them to do and so they spent most of their time talking. Whether it was with other people or themselves.

They spent so much time together that a few whispers speculated that Heziyn was Ed’s second wife.

These rumours never really got very far since whenever the topic of marriage came up, Heziyn would proudly smile and state her love for Mlezi.

This puzzled a lot of people since the King of the Umande had been dead for years but the people loved Heziyn enough to not question her.

“If there was one thing that I learnt back in Hatua, it was that people would do anything for more Glass. It’s just a shame it is so restricted. Even now the Crystal Lands sparkle brightly, abundant as ever.” Heziyn weakly laughed while holding a cup of wine in her small, aged hands.

“Yeah.” Ed chuckled before letting out a deep, wine scented sigh.

“Hatua.” He muttered with a slightly dimmer expression.

“I can’t even recall what that place looked like all that time ago. Not because of the years that have passed since I was last there… but the fear and hunger that consumed me over there.”

Heziyn’s eyes lowered.

“We tried so hard and for so long that desperation became all that we knew.” He said although his voice was now a deep growl.

“Desperate to eat, to drink water… to survive. Hehe, but who’s to say that death wasn’t the better option-“

“Ed!” Heziyn cried making Ed’s face twist a little.

“Sorry- I… I don’t know what came over me.” He apologized but this just made Heziyn’s eyes express even more concern.

However, she chose to remain silent and watched as his eyes slowly drifted to the side.

“Heziyn?” He called.

“Yes?”

“What happens to us after we die?”

Heziyn’s eyes widened.

“Well… According to the divine teachings, we shed our worldly flesh and ascend to Nurukes where we are embraced by Our Lady, Sav’ta, who’s love knows no bounds.”

Ed chuckled at Heziyn’s answer making her brows furrow a little.

“I know all that but I have always felt that my soul was damned to suffer in Giza.” He sighed before taking a deep breath and looking into Heziyn’s eyes.

“Anyway, how far off is the actuation of the your grand plan again?” He asked and it’s here that Heziyn’s eyes narrowed.

“Ah… are you worried?” Heziyn asked while taking a sip of her wine which was made from grapes which were grown in Kimbilio. There was nothing particularly special about it and it was, in fact, far weaker than the wines made in Central Hatua but everyone in Kimbilio preferred it.

“I-I’m not worried! Just a little curious… and maybe even a little anxious.” Ed muttered while rocking his cup back and forth on the table.

Heziyn smiled before finishing her cup's contents and sighing as she looked up.

“Well, you should be worried because I don’t really have much of a plan.”

Ed’s eyes widened.

“What?” He burped.

“Yes. Whatever comes to pass will come and on that day, my only hope is that you will be ready.”

“Those words imply that you have at least some sort of idea in mind although I feel as though you won’t share it even if I ask.” Ed sighed making Heziyn smile.

“Correct. All I need you to do… is trust me.” She said.

Ed’s jaws clenched for a bit but he nodded shortly after and grabbed a nearby jar full of wine that sat next to him.

“I have and will always trust you, Heziyn. And when the day comes… I’ll try not to act surprised and I’ll tell everyone that I knew what was going on all along, haha!” He laughed.

The two then drank until the morning sun rose but Kimbilio was a peaceful place. So, for a little while, they were allowed to completely lower their guards.

I thought about Ed’s question.

In some distant time I would have said that nothing happened after death but my existence as Sav’ta was proof of the contrary.

The soul also existed and although I had no idea what it was exactly or how it worked or where it came from, it was there meaning that there was possibly a near infinite number of things that existed beyond the bounds of what I could perceive.

I had once died and was reborn but what governed this process?

And was I a unique case or was this a common occurrence-

Ugh!

I had thought about all this a million times before and each time made me feel worse than before since it seemed as though, even as I was, as a Planet with the power of Glass in my control… I still couldn’t escape that which would come for all.

That, however, didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try.

I turned to Central Hatua as night fell unto the land.

Resting his head on his arms which were atop the guardrails of the palace’s outer wall, was Musa.

He had done this every other evening although this was the first time that Ua joined him atop the wall with Modo in tow.

She was in her night gown and was visibly cold but she kept her glaring eyes at the city below.

“Y-you can’t see it, my love, but untold dangers lurk in the shadows beneath.” Ua shivered while wrapping her right arm around Musa who kept his gaze on the northern horizon.

“I’m… not so sure.”

Ua frowned a little at the boy’s words.

“All I have ever seen is a peaceful city full of people I want to meet and talk to.”

“Are you implying that your mother is lying?” Ua asked with narrowed eyes.

“No. I’m just saying that I can’t see the horrors you’ve told me about. That’s all.”

Ua bit her teeth.

“If that’s the case then it’s only a matter of time. I am fighting desperately to keep your eyes from seeing it but one day you will. Thieves, murderers, traitors and more are waiting beyond the walls that the King and I built and on that day, as you sit on my throne and wear my crown, they will turn their blades towards you.”

Musa turned and silently gasped upon seeing his mother’s stiff expression.

“My only hope is that you will be ready when that day comes because if you are not… you will die.”

Musa’s eyes trembled making Ua nodded once before smiling.

“But you won’t have to worry about any of that so long as you stay your head on my bosom.” She said while spreading her arms.

Musa, after swallowing, walked into Ua’s embrace.

“Good.”