No one spoke as we made our way home.

We dropped Hekima and Cheche by their house which was a few minutes down from the Temple of Tablets in a neighbourhood that was designated specifically for Caretakers.

This left Tal and I to cover the rest of the distance alone and in an even deeper silence.

We eventually entered our home to find Musa in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Tal's eyes widened and she immediately ran to Musa who turned around and picked her up as she fell into his arms.

“Big bro!” She cried happily while I joined them in the kitchen.

“Hey!” Musa greeted while putting a smiling Tal down.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” She asked and, for a second, Musa glanced at me.

He then returned his eyes to Tal before grinning.

“Err… I needed a break, is all.”

“Oh? Then does that mean you’re sleeping over?”

“Yes?”

Tal let out several excited noises and this was my cue to exit the kitchen.

I made my way down to the bedroom where I fell onto bed with a sigh.

I trusted Musa to talk to Tal and I was going to give them the privacy they needed so I shifted my perspective all the way down to Kimbilio.

Ed and his son, Chibuk, were going over some plans for a Tram System that would transport resources across the surface of the moon.

This was the end goal and I was glad to see that everyone was working so hard on it but the trams couldn’t rely on conventional Combustion.

We wanted to develop a gravity rail system but I only knew so much about the engineering required to actually make it work so I tasked Musa and countless engineers to figure it out.

This is how it went most of the time.

I would tell the humanoids about a technology from Earth and its basic principles.

They would then take what they knew and develop that same technology from what I’d told them.

They had the benefit of having Glass but for some reason, they weren’t able to make use of Glass Transference – the technique which allowed me to create things from Glass Energy.

I assumed it was because they could never fully grasp the truth of the machinations that drove the cosmos and thus could not manipulate them unlike me who could look at the very atomic structure of things and copy what I saw or remembered.

I wasn’t sure but this didn’t hinder their breakneck speed and progress.

I turned to Akili who still lived in the barracks just north of Kimbilio.

He laid on his bed with his two wives.

His five children were in the next room and they had grown splendidly.

Something I found interesting was that Akili had asked that Makaa teach the children Mbegu history and traditions.

He wanted them to preserve it and his timing was apt because Makaa died shortly after he taught them all that he knew.

Makaa had become quite renowned in all the world after he taught people Blood Magic which went on to be used by doctors to save countless lives.

Bleeding out was a thing of the past since blood could be held in place and cycled by a second party or doctor.

The Ilem known as Kimya was still alive although she has retired and now acted as a sort of aunt to Akili’s children.

Her accomplishments included training countless Ilem who were the special forces of Teva.

As for how people got about, cars were slowly being used for transport but not enough people knew how to drive to fill the roads and so most cars and trucks were used to transport goods and services.

The main mode of transport was good old fashioned trains.

Just about every major city was connected by railway lines and they also helped with the transportation of goods.

I turned to Kupumzika, capital city of Hatua and checked up on Saidia who sat in her office which was the largest and highest in the HDA.

She wore a regal and modest white gown and head wrap which left only her face and hands exposed.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She had gained quite a few wrinkles but those only accentuated her smile as the door opened revealing her wife, Tiyrah – who served in the Hatuan Army as a captain. She wore her dark brown uniform and green beret over her shortly cut hair.

“I’m pretty sure this building closed an hour ago.” Tiyrah whistled as Sadia sleepily rubbed her eyes.

“That may be true but these documents aren’t gonna read themselves.”

Tiyrah scoffed while walking up to Saidia’s desk and sitting on it.

“Alight. I’ll keep you company while you work- Ooh, we could even spend the night here, since you like this place so much.” Tiyrah giggled but this just made Saidia roll her eyes.

“Nice try but I know you won’t be able to sit still for a single minute let alone the whole night.”

Tiyrah's eyes widened.

“Is that what you think?” She droned before standing up and removing her blazer.

She then rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and turned to leave after dropping her blazer on Saidia’s table.

“I’m gonna grab some food in the cafeteria and I’m gonna show you just how still I can sit!” She yelled as she stormed out of the office.

Saidia’s smile brightened and it was here that I thought about all she has accomplished.

With a work force of twenty thousand unpaid men, who had surrendered after General Modo’s short rebellion, she built plumbing and electrical infrastructure for Hatua, Y’shuah and even the Island of Tablets.

She also built roads and railway lines alongside General Pazia who was unfortunately terminally ill due to the Curse of the Fire Breakers.

He told me shortly after I revealed myself to my denizens that he wanted to fight against his nature. He wanted to build, to create and to teach.

I made a mental note to visit him later before turning to Y’shuah.

Chozek sat in the dining room of his palace which stood on the southern tip of the city of Pele and sitting next to him was his step daughter, Shemesh.

She had become incredibly skinny, something that could clearly be seen even though she covered herself in baggy clothing and wore a head wrap.

Nothing could be done to hide her sunken cheeks or baggy eyes.

It seemed as though the guilt of being an accomplice in her half brother’s death was still gnawing at her.

Her brother being Amiytz, the boy who was supposed to inherit the throne from Pele.

Shemesh tried to make up for what happened by being a good woman who always put others before herself but it seemed as though it was all taking its toll on her.

She spent all of her days as her father’s secretary and she spent most of her nights governing Y’shuah in order to lighten the load on Chozek’s shoulders.

And as for Chozek, he was trying his best to be a good leader but there was one particular problem that troubled him.

I had learnt soon after I revealed myself to my denizens that some of them, mostly Aviyvists, didn’t take a liking to my presence.

This led to an increase in tensions between Sav’taists and Aviyvists in Y’shuah.

Emunah only poured fuel on the fire by placing all Aviyvists under watch at all times and things took a turn for the worst when the head Aviyvist Selenologer, Kiynah, killed Lahat and blamed it on the Sav’taists.

After retrieving Lahat’s body and burying it, the Aviyvist populous protested and demanded justice.

They also wanted a district for themselves and weapons for protection but Emunah denied them everything because, according to her, everything in this world was a gift from Sav’ta and so by choosing Aviyvism, they chose to stray from the light and thus deserved nothing.

This predictably raised tensions and the first act of violence came in the form of an attempt to burn my temple but not only were the arsonist apprehended before they could do anything, my temples were almost entirely made out of metal so there wasn’t much to set fire to.

Anyway, things continued to escalate and Emunah eventually decided that enough was enough so she began policing the practice of Aviyvism in general with her Guards, the White Helms – elite soldiers who she had asked Chozek to train personally. They were masters of Uyil Torsion and they were ruthless warriors.

Aviyvists started practicing their faith less and less in public as the years went by but while some of them were seemingly content with their circumstances, a small contingent of vengeful Aviyvists gathered in secret and they plotted their revenge in the shadows.

It was among these individuals that Emunah’s daughter, L’vanah, found company.

She always had a complicated relationship with her mother and although they never antagonized each other outright, it was clear that there was tension between them even though Emunah said that she forgave her for killing her son.

Emunah repeated these words to Shemesh before she died but L'vanah, it seemed, was unable to accept this and so she sought new purpose in the company of those who lurked in the shadows. An offshoot cult of Aviyvists who called themselves the Children of Aviyv.

They were located deep in the Elephantine Forest, in the tunnels beneath where five thousand of them had chosen to settle.

Why wasn’t I helping Chozek with this?

Because I wanted him to figure out.

What was the point if I helped them with every little thing?

What would they do when they were alone in the vastness of space?

Chozek would need to figure out a way you deal with the Aviyvists or find someone who could.

I turned to a small house on the outskirts of Pele where Azar had settled.

He lived by himself and when he wasn’t working at a local restaurant, he was painting.

I had asked him to paint a portrait depicting me and my children but he said he didn’t feel worthy and ask for some time to polish his skills.

I allowed this, of course.

My favourite pieces of his were one that depicted Ayit who had died of old age.

Azar managed to depict the old chief’s weary dignity and I rather enjoyed that.

The other was a portrait of Pazia.

It seemed as though Azar was trying to start a new painting and so he sat in his messy living room before a blank canvas.

He let out a groan while tapping his chin.

I decided to turn away from the thoughtful artist and turned to the tunnels beneath the Elephantine Forest. L’vanah and a few other Aviyvists sat around a table in the dining room of a small wooden home.

Before choosing to abandon her sister, she worked as a cleaner at the Great Library where she gathered information and knowledge which she fed to the cult.

She was partly behind most attempts at terrorism by her group, the worst of which being the attack on the Royal Palace in an attempt to kill Chozek and Shemesh

“Uyil Torsion is the wall and we have tried time and time again to break but… we may need an alternative strategy.” A middle aged man said.

His name was Refu – an ex soldier in the armies of Y’shuah and who once held the rank of captain.

He was tall and so muscular that his lose fitting clothes were almost a tight fit.

His hair was cut short and his face was lined with long, thin scars. Scars which he insisted remain unhealed because he probably thought they looked cool.

“We must find a way to undo the binds-“

Someone tried saying but L’vanah clicked her tongue loudly.

“We could waste our time trying to undo knots made of string that we can’t even touch or develop a technique of our own.”

Refu’s eyes narrowed.

“And what do you have in mind?”

“The Dark Mother has been watching us and, regardless of how hard we try, our movements are being monitored. I suspect she is informing the dogs of our plans and so what we need is a way… to blind a gods eye.”