Lei’la was impressed that Maksim, the snow tribe prince, caught on to the timing of her forward strokes fast. There was a time long ago that it would have taken ages to synchronize in tandem. It used to be that way with U’tu when they were kids, until they learned each other’s rhythms and were finally able to ride the turbulent waves of the Battle Trial Mountains.

She twisted backwards to see the prince paddling forward in time with her, his countenance with ease and patience.

“What is the snow princess like?” he asked above the sound of choppy waves passing the river stream.

“She’s amazing.” Continuing to paddle forward, “She and I used to be friends. It was unlikely, you know? There is a vast ocean that divides us. She’s chill and I’m not. But if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been able to discover my love for weaving. We may come from different tribes, but we get along really well.”

Behind her, she heard him say “Is she doing well?”

Her perception going forward was getting dim, and she took a deep breath. The blue stones encased in the walls grew sparse until there was none to light their way. “I don’t know. We don’t talk that much anymore.”

“Paddle to the left, there’s a boulder across.”

“Right, you snow tribespeople and your heightened visions in the dark.”

“It’s a gift we use well.” He said, his tone like dull ice.

She told herself there was nothing scary about him. Snow tribespeople used to terrorize sun tribe long ago, way back in their ancient wars but that was in the past. It’s different now.

A moment of silence, finally she said “You ought go talk to the snow princess.”

“Even if I do go to your cursed princess, I don’t think I’ll make much of a difference.”

“Please try, anyways?” She whispered, pushing her luck “I don’t know about you, but it helps to know someone or have someone with the same troubles I got. By Brumcia, U’tu used to be.. whatever. I’m just saying it’s not everyday someone with the same curse comes into our life. I’m sure Lann’a would be happy to hear from you.”

“If she will have me, then I might.”

“Good because Lann’a never talks about it. She needs to hear it from someone like you who has got it.”

He let out a scoffing guffaw, shaking his head. “When did she receive the curse?”

“Couple of seasons ago. Have you ever heard of a tribal princess before in any tribe?”

“I can’t say I have.”

“Hard to believe, isn’t it? It came out of nowhere. It’s how we figured our snow prince must well be truly gone. One day, she surprised us with her new snow tribe powers. Nearly blew my head off. Came as a shock to everyone, and even more shocking once the Ensign Council heard about it. Immediately, they corralled her here underground to keep her cursed power contained. Plus, this is a temporary place so she won’t do much damage. It’s a perfect place to train a snow princess.”

He whistled through his teeth and said “Women aren’t supposed to bear curses.”

“In truth, nobody likes it too. It’s a strong omen for worse things to come. Like drawing in another behagthi.”

Stubborn lines marred the edges of his mouth when he scowled, “A behagthi brings greater chaos and light. Anyone who has any real knowledge about them are madmen.”

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She chuckled, casting a glance over her shoulder “Both a curse and a gift. Behagthis are a study in contradiction. I’ve long wondered about it ever since I received their myths since my early days in weaving. They’re very hard to comprehend. It’s no wonder our shamans go mad.”

When they were out of sight from the others, Maksim stopped paddling altogether and sped up the pace. The rush of water coming in huge waves around their liembel. “Like attracts like,” he said. “A chaotic Brumcia will draw in a behagthi’s chaos. The similarities stop there, though. Everything else about River is different.”

She groaned in frustration, dropping her paddle inside. The stream going faster than she could keep up. “All of them are different. They’re a huge massive loot box of tips and tricks from another universe. A consequence for our world’s sickness. What sane tribespeople would come to understand them?”

“We live for madness. It’s how Natura Brumcia made us. Though we can evolve to a greater form like the Great World. A wise and logical form of state. And by the looks of it, this world has evolved far surpassing mine own. Tell me, what did it cost to unify every tribe?”

She tensed at his blatant question. Too high, the price was too high. A century of eternal beasts roaming the lands with devastation at their wake. It nearly wiped out tribespeople as a species.

He continued, “Since you mentioned the eternal beasts, it has been in my mind. I wonder what got them here in this world, out in the open.”

Her mouth went dry as a desert. Picking up the paddle again, she held it against chest.

Silence stretched between them, the sound of running water beginning to sound too loud for her ears. When she didn’t answer, he asked. “Isn’t it a snow princess duty to watch over them, keep them contained in their orchards from other dimensions?”

Getting into history’s nitty gritty made her nerves run amock, Lei’la had seen firsthand what a cursed power looked like when out of control. She had to be careful on what she told Maksim. “The Ensign Council won’t let her use her passing power. They say they won’t let poison touch Brumcia’s waters.”

“The Great World’s oceans, then? The divine sea, thrice sea, spirit sea. There is much water out there to use for passing through dimensions.”

“No one will have her. No one will let her.”

The paddle he was holding broke in two under his grip. “She’s a princess. She doesn’t need permission to do it.” he cursed. “If she isn’t allowed to go to her waters, then how the fuck is she purging the poison she’s been gathering all this time?”

“Ever since becoming snow princess? Never.”

Their boat tilted from a thrashing wave that threatened to overturn it, “Fuck. I hadn’t expected that. We must get to her right away. If she doesn’t get to purge the poison, and she is still alive, then she must have found to purge it in some other way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Passing through portals is more than what it seems. Each travel means our body is decimated and reborn. Chances are, if she hasn’t reborn yet, then it must mean she’s feeding the corruption she has gathered onto something other than herself.”

“No! She won’t do that. Lann’a is the sweetest, most kindest tribesperson I’ve met.” She blanched, mouth falling open. “Before she left dark tribe city, I saw her hair beginning to whiten like River. If she hasn’t purged the poison, then she must be taking it unto herself.”

A muscle clenched in his jaw. “Her curse is eternity. She won’t die. But the experience must be living hell for her.” he sighed, “I can’t imagine.”

“The tribes hasn’t been the same ever since we unified. It used to be princes who calls the shots for our fate. Now it’s the dark assembly who manages our whole lives since our dark majesty is going mad under the weight of our curses.”

Maksim didn’t answer for quite a while. It was a lot to digest. Corruption has convoluted the integrity of ancient tribal structure ever since the eternal beasts arrived in this universe.

Few moments later as they kept staring ahead, he said “Steer for the middle tunnel.”

She pulled in a deep breath. “Of course.”

The flow of water in the middle tunnel grew gentle and smooth, its path straightforward and the blue glowing stones were wild in abundance among the walls. However thousands of red spiders glided over the surface of its stream, travelling in masses. Their migration well on its way.

“Where are they headed now?” asked the snow tribe prince.

“They are travelling east.”

“It must be magion season, is it not? The heat is driving them away.”

She replied weakly, “That and the recent intense surge of drought.”

“What is the sun prince thinking?” he said in disgust.

She fell quiet.

“Surely, the infamous god tribe must have done their work. What is the god prince doing about this matter?”

“Maksim.” she fully turned back around to face him, and meet his eyes filled with ire. “The sun prince and the god prince are gone. The dark tribe king killed them”

He laughed outright, the sound filling exterior with cavernous echoes. When her blank face remained, he stared into her, noting for some kind of deception. “Who told these lies to you?”

She gave a weary sigh “They are not lies.”

“Then you had better elaborate further. Because no tribespeople with sense could ever go down to such deprave lengths by igniting the Great World’s ire this way. By Brumcia, they are divine heroes! No one in their right mind will kill them off, not without inviting wrathful consequences.”

Her fists tightened, moisture pooling in her eyes “It didn’t come right away. We didn’t notice it until it was too late. The gods has forsaken us.”

“Simply return the curses to their rightful territory.”

“It’s not just the curses.” she sighed, her wrinkles appearing as her brows came together. “The behagthis that came. They came twice and he..” a breath hitched.

“Do not even insinuate or even say anything further unless it is true.”

She whispered, “He killed them all.”

A shrill ungodly sound rang from within the caverns, the red spiders convulsed their bodies up and down in a frantic panic.

Lei’la’s jaw fell, “What is happening with them?”

Maksim clenched his jaw as she peered over the thousands of red spiders stopping their tracks above the stream. Their bodies bobbing up and down, and a ringing sound producing a cacophany of ungodly panic. “They heard.”