Today was the day she would make her Papa proud. She studied with him for centuries to ensure she was well informed of politics, scripture, and history. It was her first time on Umara, and Kelani was determined to do everything correctly; to the letter. The only problem was, there was so much of the mortal world she didn’t know. Her books were always second-hand accounts written by her kind. This was her chance to learn firsthand knowledge that would grace their bookshelves. She was living history in the making.

The Mortal world was much drier and dustier than she imagined. She floated above the sand, avoiding getting rocks in her sandals. Also, the noise. Everything made a sound. Living breathing life filled the world. The travellers around them chatted, laughed, or whispered. Even the animals accompanying them spoke in their own language. Some more disgruntled than others.

Her mind loved facts. Papa said it was a positive quality to have. But at every word her mind seized on it, with an iron grip trying to submit into her immortal memory. Names, gossip, directions, and instructions all swirled together into a jarring dissonance. It took every effort to focus. If she wasn’t careful, she would have unsavory gossip about a woman’s neighbour imprinted in her brain for eternity.

Kelani followed behind another group of travellers. A family carrying everything they own with a four-legged creature with a wagging tail in tow. The Passage of Prosperity snaked under the hot desert and led travellers to the Kingdom of the First Mages. Mortals call it the Kingdom of Ancients, but she liked the name in her own tongue. Iron lanterns, with elaborate designs lined the walls, casting shadows over the smooth stone. Carvings, bigger than houses depicting the first encounters with her kind. She spied Papa, the chief god, delivering the sacred tableaus to the Mages. She watched their history, their growth, and developments as she passed.

How simple it all looked, neatly depicted in the artist’s talented hand. The growth of their civilization bloomed over the stone face. But so did the wars, the countless battles between the mortals and the mythical beast leaders of the continent. But as she passed by the story of the building of the First Kingdom, she paused. From the records she knew the period was rife with wars. Mages and Innocents fought for power and land. Governance switched rulers so often they only had three lines in history marking their achievements and existence. But that period was nowhere on the mural.

Odd, she thought, stepping closer to inspect the carvings. Running her fingers over the dull grooves, she noticed the colour didn’t match the rest of the wall. The other panels on either side where smoother, someone took great care to sand the rough toolmarks away. The edges of the engravings were softer, worn down over centuries. But the panel that caught her eye, was missing that level of care. It was still beautiful, but it was newer. At the bottom corner, she spied the faded edges of older letters. Someone was rewriting history. Worse yet it was out in the open for anyone to see. No guilt or shame, blatant disrespect to the Gods and the story of creation. Why the Mages covered it up, created an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

“Lani!” a voice called from her left. To her horror, the translucent form of her younger sister dangled from the top of a cart full of squawking creatures in cages. “Look what I found!”

“Osana, get down from there.”

They were careful to use their magic to conceal themselves from the mortals. But that didn’t stop Osana from getting herself in trouble. Kelani whisked herself across the passage, crossing the space in a blink of an eye. Her sister crawled over the cages and had successfully spooked the feathered ones.

“Don’t be such a wet blanket,” she hung off a bigger cage with hoof horned animals chewing hay. “Papa has one of these in his garden. They chew anything you give them.”

“Do these creatures not have a palate or any discernment?”

“I dunno, Papa called them goats. Look he’s happy!”

“How can you possibly know that without touching him?”

“His little tail, tails wag when they’re happy.”

If her education failed her, it was in the category of creatures. Her texts illustrated the rare elusive ones from the ancient days but left out the common ones in the mortal world. Papa had a realm full of both kinds, which Osana frequented more often than her. Her sister was more capable of understanding them. It had something to do with emotions, something Kelani also didn’t understand.

Happy? An interesting observation, she thought as she snapped her fingers. A pop sounded from above and a heavy silver adorned book fell into her waiting hands. On its own, it opened to a fresh page, and she used her finger to write a note; wagging tails means happy. She smiled at her work; not even one day with the mortals and she was making great progress. She closed it with a satisfying slam before banishing it away with another snap of her fingers.

The ground under her feet groaned like an ancient behemoth waking from its slumber. The sound of stone grating against stone, drew her eyes to the tunnel ahead. A sliver of sunlight crawled towards her. Inching the length of the space until she felt the warmth on her toes. It exploded over them, vanquishing the shadows and the people near her. As her eyes adjusted, she saw the exit. Joining her sister’s side, she witnessed four Mages in crimson robes used staffs to coax the doors open.

At first, she thought they moved on their own, but the fluttering of magic led her to notice the staffs in their hands. The gemstones resting on top glowed as they responded to their master’s commands. She waited, watching the obedient sandstone reveal what was on the other side. Osana couldn’t wait any longer, she yanked her through the passageway; approaching the rocky path bathed in daylight. A wide canyon stretched in front of them. The entire kingdom nestled into the rock haven. Buildings crowded the center space while small trails of water meandered over the sand. Leafy trees, plants, and fountains decorated market squares.

“This is actually happening…” she whispered watching the groups maneuver over the path.

“Isn’t this great!” The excitement bubbled over Osana’s lithe frame. Her short hair floated out past her ears as she bobbed a few inches over the ground. “We’re doing it, can you believe it Lani, it’s happening!”

Osana was waiting for centuries to explore the mortal world. Ever since Papa allowed her to play in the Garden with all his pets. It was all she talked about. Seeing Umara for herself. In the wild. But it wasn't wild, there were homes, towers, and winding streets. Even the tall spire climbing above the buildings signified the culture that prosper under the burning sun. From the vantage point she spied the Oracle’s temple carved into the canyon wall. Sculptures of two angels stand larger than life flanking the winding stairs.

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Her heart fluttered, all the wisdom and knowledge ever known by the mortals was before her. And she dreamed of reading every word. She never forgot the moment Papa told her there were books still unread. Stories she never heard, and they were under her nose all along. In a dusty mortal land, that for the longest time, she never thought much about.

She didn’t plan to visit until they were further along. But everything changed when Sherseas dropped that book. It wasn’t as impressive as Jhee, a simple paper with stained and bent pages. Sherseas didn’t think much of it and left it behind before setting off for something else. When Kilani saw it, she plucked it from the floor recognising the problem. It wasn’t one of theirs.

Papa insisted nothing from the Mortal Realm enter the Pantheon. And nothing from the Pantheon got left behind in the Mortal Realm. But Sherseas was careless. The temptation of the forbidden knowledge was too great. It clamped to her chest and sent tingles over her body. In a secluded place she opened her prize. Poetry. Lines and stanzas of love, beauty, grief, and anger. She never knew those emotions. That’s Osana’s magic. But the passion of the words and imagery hooked her. It wasn’t simply knowing them. She needed to know them beyond knowing. She didn’t know at the time but what she was so desperate to understand was how to feel.

“We must remember our objective.”

“I know, I know, but we can still have fun. You don’t have to be so serious all the time Lani, let down your hair.” She tugged on her braid and chuckled.

“This is serious. We spent a century convincing Papa to let us do this. We need to prove to him that we are worthy enough to be part of the Pantheon. That we can assist the mortals; able to confidently answer their prayers.”

“Then we’ll get to have little shrines in their little houses. Oh, do you think they’ll talk to us? Won’t that be great, it’ll be like having little friends all over Umara. We won’t be alone anymore!”

Osana took her hand and pulled her over the path with the biggest smile on her face. They enter the busy market, where she grips Osana's hand. Partly to keep her from wandering but also to keep focused. The world seemed to fill with people at accelerated rate. She had trouble hearing her own thoughts. Worse yet, she struggled to remember her plan. The directions and instructions spilled together as the trembling tambourines sang out from a line of dancers.

They ducked into an empty alley, hoping to get a break from the noise and the sun. From the shadows Osana gawked at the people passing by. But the only thing that could settle Kelani’s mind, was reading. She snapped her fingers, summoning Jhee into her palms. She flipped passed pages of historical figures to one of a calendar. It’s the day of Blessings. She looked around, noticing groups of people heading towards the Oracle’s Temple. Today was the day they could offer their blessing to the gods through the Oracle and receive one in return.

“So, what do we do first?” her sister asked, staring at the musicians by the fountain.

“The best course of action will be to find a mortal to assist.”

“Easy, look there, that one is trying to give away that food. If we take it from him, I’m sure he’ll be grateful.”

“No, it must be important. A worthy mortal who has a problem they are struggling to solve. But with our abilities we should be able to give them a better life. So, taking someone’s food is not going to satisfy the criteria. And it is one mortal each. That is what Papa said.”

“Wait we aren’t doing this together? But we do everything together.”

“Rules are rules. Papa was clear. Also, we need to use our abilities wisely. Mages do not possess our kind of magic and we do not want to draw attention to ourselves.”

“Are we going to use that amulet Alma gave us?”

“Oh right,” she reached into her bag and fumbled with the objects inside until she found it. “Alma said we should disguise ourselves in a mortal vessel. She warned us that our magic may be limited because of the fragile body. Good news is, even in human form we are still immortal. Just don’t break the vessel or the mortal will see our true form.”

“Is that bad,”

“It is not recommended; mortals cannot be trusted to think rationally in times of distress.”

“I got it. How do we find someone to help?”

“I suspect we have to go out there and look.”

It was a simple answer, but as Kelani watched the throngs of people from the alleyway, doubt crept in. There’re more people than she imagined. Everything looked bigger from the ground. mortals came in all shapes and sizes. Some smiled and laugh. Other’s frown and grimace. She wanted to set the example for her sister, give her the information she needed to succeed. But even she struggled with determining whether a mortal was worthy or not. There were too many of them; she couldn’t predict how they would react to her. Her body began to curl into itself.

“It’s time Lani,”

For once her sister was right. She held the amulet in the palm of her hand. Alma was wise and possessed all the knowledge of countless lifetimes. She constructed the charm with twisted strands of her hair, a metallic rock that glimmered with specks of flickering stars, and fragments of human bones carved into various skulls. When Osana placed her hand in hers, Alama’s magic washed over them.

It swam through her, quick like melting silver and warm to the touch. It spread like tiny feelers absorbing the details around her. As her body read the world, it familiarized itself with every inch of the alley. The coarse sand beneath, the cool stones of the buildings, even the fragrant spices mixing with the hot air. Her muscles relaxed. The foreign landscape revealed itself as she floated to the ground. It was soft. The sand slipped between her toes; it was unlike anything she’d felt before. Beside her Osana hopped from one foot to the next, kicking up dust and giggling.

“We did it!” Then her eyes widen, “…we did it.”

She stood spellbound, watching her sister transform before her eyes. The silver in her ear length hair washed away, turning into a dark brown with pink streak on her left side. A russet, reddish brown, hue bloomed over her skin, the first time a form of colour kissed it. Her golden eyes remained. Kelani felt the magic transforming her, turning her translucent skin into a warm copper hue. She no longer felt wispy and spectral, but solid.

“Lani, look…”

Osana grabbed her long braid, holding the end for her to see. Her silver colour also vanished, becoming a brownish black but her usual orange streak remained.

“We look like one of them now.”

She inspected her clothes, noting the weight of the cottons and silk sleeves. Alma told them the magic would work, but she never believed she would see her body change in such a way. She held out her hands and see that it blocked the sunlight. Under the weight crushing her chest, a small flutter pulsed. She was ready to interact with them, without drawing attention to herself. To live among them, even for a short time, and learn their secrets.

Osana squealed and danced around the alley. Her excitement was contagious, and she hopped in one spot, trying to dispel the energy bubbling inside her. It was happening, it was real, she was standing in the mortal world. She couldn’t believe it. But her sister grabbed her hand and together they stepped from the shadows.