Tala stood in the forest clearing, staring at an empty spot at the eastern side of the wide circle that was maintained as a waypoint for caravans on the way from Marliweather to Arconaven.

There were more than a half dozen such spots in this area alone to prevent the more intelligent threats from simply setting ambushes. So, even if it had been the right time of day for it, it wasn’t surprising that they’d found the place empty.

Not that she would have cared if it had been crowded with man or beast.

To her mind, it felt like lightning was striking, over and over from a clear sky, each strike arcing to end at the same point some fifteen feet above the ground.

It was right there. He stole me, right there.

By some quirk of fate, it was the first day of the new year, the seventh anniversary of Be-thric’s death.

She was standing where he had caught her at last, and she had killed him almost exactly seven years ago after breaking free of his hold.

She almost laughed, but for her desire to weep at the tension in her chest.

Rane stood beside her, and Terry rested on her shoulder. Both understood where this was, and both gave her the silence that she needed along with their support which she so craved.

Illie and Nalac had been asked to take the time to bathe and prepare for lunch. They had seemingly sensed that something was off, and thus, they hadn’t argued at all. They’d all stayed up late the night before, celebrating new beginnings and a new year, so, they’d been grateful for a bit of time to rest and for the chance to get cleaned up.

There’s snow on the ground… There wasn’t back then.

-No, it was spring when he found us.-

A thought flickered through her mind, disrupting her spiraling contemplations. Did they ever root out the coven of bog hags?

-The records indicated that there were no others in the near region. They were traced back north, seemingly having broken off of a group up that way.-

And? Tala trusted that Alat knew what she wanted to know.

-That group was taken care of, down to the last hag.- Alat’s voice was firm with satisfaction.

Good. There had at least been justice for the boys, the boys who had been killed under her watch.

-Oh, that’s interesting. Huh.-

What?

-Well, Rane did it. Or at least he was on the team that did.-

That did surprise Tala. Oh? I didn’t think he knew I was missing soon enough to have been involved.

-The logs of the unit leader state that he showed up in Arconaven just as they were about to leave and demanded to accompany them. He insisted that you were alive and that he needed to look for clues as to where you might be.-

That pulled a smile across Tala’s lips, despite the continued feeling of static tension throughout her whole body.

The overwhelming outpouring of gratitude that she felt toward Rane felt almost sacrilegious while faced with where it had happened.

She walked forward slowly, finally ready to approach the spot more closely.

Rane moved with her, near at hand should she have need, but not so close as to interfere with whatever she felt that she needed to do.

As her steps lightly pressed circles into the snow, Tala decided to break the silence, “You helped hunt down the bog hag coven?”

He gave a slow nod. “Bog hags are known to occasionally take Mage captives. As a Fused at the time, it was unlikely that you would have been so taken, but there was still a chance.”

“Because you knew I was alive.” There was an implicit question in the statement.

“I did.” He gave a wan smile. “I can’t explain it. It’s possible that it was all in my head—just wishful thinking. Regardless, I’m glad that the feeling was correct, whether magical, mundane, or pure fantasy.”

She nodded. “Me too.”

They lapsed back into silence.

Terry seemed to remember this place too. His demeanor and bearing almost matched what he had displayed at his old nest, if to a far lesser degree.

Tala reached up and scratched Terry’s head. “You somehow knew too. Your concept drove you to follow me, to come to my aid.”

He trilled softly.

“Your arrival likely saved me. I was feeling lost, alone, and utterly without hope. Then, the silly, wise old turtle told me to call for you. It felt useless, but I had nothing left. I called, and you actually heard me. You came.”

He trilled again, a mournful, yet somehow still happy tone.

“Thank you.”

Terry nuzzled into her cheek.

Tala then looked to Rane. “You’ve never explained everything that happened while I was gone, and I’ve never really asked.”

He shrugged, looking away as if he had something to hide. His posture straightened ever so slightly as if he were firming his resolve.

“You did something… didn’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

He hesitated, then nodded slowly, as if he wasn’t sure if even that was allowed.

“But you can’t tell me what?”

“I can’t say or indicate anything else. I’m sorry, Tala.” He gave a pained smile, clearly bracing for her to have a bad reaction to his response.

She nodded in return, feeling nothing but affection and gratitude for him. “Alright. I trust you.” He looked down at her, and she went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Thank you.”

He pulled her in for another kiss, then stepped back, smiling. “Of course.”

Her eyes returned to the spot in the air where she would have been sitting atop a wagon, and her smile—her happiness—bled away.

Her perfect memory supplied exactly where she had been.

As the memories pulled at her, she could practically hear his voice, ‘Found you.’

Tala shuddered, tears coming to her eyes unbidden.

“I felt so helpless.” She started as a whisper, but her voice grew in volume as she spoke. “They gave me power, prestige, and influence, but it was a golden cage. I could do anything I wanted, except it wasn’t me with that freedom. I could do anything that Tali wanted, and he was the one who had crafted Tali’s desires.”

Rane nodded, but didn’t otherwise respond, keeping hold of her hand, even though she hadn’t noticed him take it. The contact helped.

“I killed for them. Most of those who died deserved it, but some… some I wouldn’t have killed if given another choice.” Her voice dropped once again. “I liked many of them—the members of the House of Blood. They didn’t all have the same twisted nature that he did. I… I wanted to hate them all, but most were just living their lives in a society that I found abhorrent. Is it right to hate them for not fighting for change? Maybe…? But don’t we laud those who do fight? Don’t we hold up the Mages of our past as heroes who pushed for mundane rights and argued against slavery, against debtors’ prisons, or for meritocracy? Is it right to hate those who weren’t—or aren’t—heroes?”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Rane gave her a sad smile in return, letting her continue uninterrupted.

“They literally use human souls as fuel for their daily lives… they still are, and I’m not stopping them. I didn’t stop them while I was there, and I used all the same services and conveniences that they did.” She closed her eyes and swallowed. “I’m a hypocrite for even considering hating them for doing what I, myself did… right?” She looked up, meeting Rane’s gaze.

He took the question for what it was, a cue to break his attentive silence and respond, “I would say yes and no. You were a victim, plain and simple, but you excelled, escaped, and returned because you didn’t remain just a victim. You seized power where you could in order to escape. Was that power built with unethical means? It seems so, but you did not seek such out, and you even worked to alter what you could when and where possible, at least according to what you’ve been willing to share.”

She nodded, swallowing again and keeping her eyes closed.

“They have been born into that society, and it is possible that they have simply never considered anything different. I am sure that there are things about our society—here in the gated-human cities—that outsiders would find horrifying to one degree or another, and I don’t just mean our enemies. No society is perfect. That isn’t meant as an excuse, but we must judge average members of a society by the standards of the society they are in. Exactly like you said: we choose our heroes—those we think well of—precisely because they rose above the society of their time and place to strive for something more, something better. Being average isn’t to be praised, but it shouldn’t be a basis to be despised either.”

Tala let out a choking laugh. “So, it is hypocritical to feel hatred toward them.”

He gave a sad smile. “Only mildly. You were internally screaming for someone—anyone—to help you. No one did. You were horribly misused; that was known; and no one did anything about it.”

“They didn’t think anything could be done. You can’t unscramble an egg after all.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to defend them, to try to mitigate the distaste of what they’d allowed to continue.

-Really? You don’t know why?-

…Because I liked them. It is painful to think badly of those we care about, and despite everything, I still care for some of them.

Alat made a satisfied sound within Tala’s head and didn’t comment further.

Terry headbutted her again, nuzzling against her neck this time, eliciting an involuntary giggle at the ticklish nature of the contact.

“Stop that, Terry!” She moved his head away without opening her eyes, scratching it affectionately.

He simply trilled, nuzzling into her hands all the same.

Rane responded in the momentary quiet, “I can understand that. They saw a situation they didn’t like, but it was already done. It’s like with soulbonds. It makes no sense to insult, belittle, or demean a person’s soulbonds. They can’t be easily released at that point. It can be useful to try to help improve them, however, and from your stories, it seems like some of the arcanes of the House of Blood did just that. They tried to help you as much as they believed would be useful to you.”

“Yeah…” She opened her eyes, her gaze drawn back to the space above the ground. “That’s where my sovereignty was violated. That’s where my mind was obliterated, and I was made a slave.” She rubbed her neck even as she felt the dasgannach that was soulbound to her, linking her to her iron. “I was killed, but I returned. I was a slave—a treasured slave, but a slave all the same—but I won free. Much of what happened to me was awful, but not everything. I earned the position I was in, for better or for worse, and that changed me, partly making me who I am today.”

The air around her quivered under the influence of her aura.

Her soul resonated within her chest as she came to peace with a truth about herself.

Her every extremity tingled with barely contained sensation.

“I am an ex-slave. I am still an Eskau of the House of Blood.”

There was a concussion in the zeme around them as she took a major step forward in her advancement at that revelation, at that admission. She had thrown off the shackles of self-delusion and embraced a part of herself that she actively disliked. Even so, it was still a part of her, and she couldn’t deny it any more.

She knew that her eyes—her blood red eyes—were glowing more fiercely than ever, even as her aura roiled and shuddered around her, warping the very air.

She didn’t reach Paragon—no, that was still a ways off—but she did nearly reach the three-quarter mark, the yellow of her aura bleeding toward green.

This had been a major stumbling block in her path, and Lisa had pointed it out to her—purposely or not.

Her mundane gaze remained fixed on the spot in the air. “It’s right there that Tala the Mage died. Tala, the Eskau of the House of Blood, was born in Platoiri. I stand here now as both, and I always will be both.”

Her soul seemed to calm at the final assertion, her aura following suit.

She swayed slightly, feeling lightheaded after the inrush of power that accompanied her coming into better alignment with her own self, her own soul.

Terry trilled softly as the same advancement rolled through him, if to a lesser overall effect.

Rane was there in an instant, not helping yet, but now much closer just in case. She leaned into him, allowing him to wrap her up in his arms and hold her close.

Her own arms lifted and hugged him in return, allowing her to bury her face into his chest.

Terry squawked and flickered up to Rane’s shoulder, where he settled down to wait.

Tala didn’t cry, not really, but she definitely felt drained and had to wipe her eyes when she did pull back after a few minutes, giving a small smile up at Rane. “Nalac and Illie are ready for lunch. They’re almost to the dining room.” She looked around. “I don’t want to eat here. Let’s eat inside?”

Rane smiled down at her in return. “That would be wonderful.”

With an act of will, Tala moved the three of them into her sanctum, straight into their chairs at the table. They arrived just as Nalac and Illie stepped into the room, speaking with Metti who was walking with them.

Mistress Petra was carrying trays to the table as preparation for removal to another location or for a meal in this one. The Mage was nothing if not thorough in her preparations.

Seeing them arrive, Mistress Petra greeted them warmly and shifted into ‘eating in’ mode, quickly finishing setting the table.

Tala could have set it instantly—and she had… once—but Mistress Petra did not want Tala doing so. She’d made that abundantly clear.

She did accept Tala’s interference when they ate elsewhere, but within Tala’s private dining room? In her sanctum? No. Tala was not permitted to do much, if anything, to help.

It was an excellent meal—as always—and the conversation was engaging, if slightly subdued.

Master Simon, Mistress Petra, and Metti were invited to eat with Tala, Rane, Terry, Illie, and Nalac, and they gratefully accepted.

The twins happily expounded on all that they were excited to do with their newly completed education, and Mistress Petra failed in restraining her pointed looks at Metti.

The little girl, for her part, seemed utterly fascinated by the twins, clearly looking up to them even after their short time together.

Tala marveled at how much a little kindness and attention could affect a twelve year old, and she specifically did not lament the lack of much of that when she was that age.

Rane engaged here and there, but largely he was quiet, covertly—but obviously to her—focused on Tala.

She appreciated the care, even if she felt it was unneeded.

-He does care for you an awful lot.-

Yeah… He really does.

The meal passed uneventfully, and they were soon back on the move, covering the last bit of distance to Arconaven.

Tala did not deviate the little bit it would have taken to look at where the boys had been killed, at where she had slain the bog hags and the other arcanous creatures they’d enthralled. She felt no need.

Even as she headed northward—continuing to chat with her siblings and Rane—she felt a desire to go south for the first time in a long while. Truly south, back to Platoiri, to face the House of Blood as herself, as their Eskau returned from the dead.

It wasn’t a compulsion, nor was it anything else un-Real. It was simply a desire to go back and address the issues she’d left behind in Platoiri, many of which she knew were just as prevalent in the other arcane cities of this continent.

-To be fair, the Mountain Kings might have an entirely different societal system.-

That’s true… that might be why Thron was so much easier to get along with.

-That could be, but I suspect another reason.-

Oh?

-He was shorter than you. You liked being taller than someone else for once.-

I hate you sometimes.

-I love you, too.-

Tala moved her focus back to her great leaping steps through the air, pulsing power to the surface area expansion scripts on her feet for each one, letting her push off of the air itself.

It was essentially flying, but using her feet instead of wings as a bird would… and she couldn’t really glide, but there were birds that couldn’t glide, so the analogy worked.

Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds don’t really glide. Her analogy was apt.

-You didn’t actually know there was one before you thought of hummingbirds, did you.- It wasn’t a question.

Hush, you.

Tala gloried in the crisp wind pulling at her clothing and gliding over her skin.

She allowed a bit more of that breeze to penetrate the portal into her sanctum so that Nalac and Illie could enjoy it too. They shivered and hunkered down a bit, but their smiles grew just a bit as well.

This trip hadn’t been a part of Tala’s plan, but it had been worthwhile.

Terry even took the opportunity to absolutely crush a magical beast that they came across. It was hardly even a scrap for the avian, despite the cervid being a yellow-auraed creature of ice magic that would have absolutely crushed any caravan Tala had ever served as a Mage Protector for.

Terry killed it in less than a minute.

He really is coming into his own as a Refined level creature, and he was terrifying even without an aura.

-Indeed.-

All things considered, she hadn’t gotten that much more time with Illie and Nalac than she would have otherwise, but it still felt like it had been the right thing to do.

She did love her siblings, and she wanted to be there for them. Even as she thought that, she realized that she should be at her sisters’ weddings, despite them not explicitly asking her to be there.

It would be meaningful to her even if it was not really to them.

With that, she, Rane, and Terry covered the remaining distance to Arconaven, arriving late afternoon, when the sun was just about to touch the horizon.

All things considered, it had been a good day.