Blink immediate leapt from the woman beneath him and threw the blade from his hands along the deck. It skittered and clattered against some barrels bound to the side with ropes. How? How did that sword find me? I left it in the cabin! It was then that he remembered he had attacked someone. Looking back at the figure on the floor he realised that it was the same black clad mage with the many folded patterned skirts that had saved him the night before. I’ve killed her! No, no, no, no, no! He scrambled forward to help her but stopped as he saw her sit up with hands in front of her.

‘Are you ok?’ he exclaimed. ‘I’m sorry. Please forgive me! Are you…’ she waved her arms and shook her head. The many bracelets jangled as she did so.

‘It is I that should apologise. I should not have startled you.’ Blink looked at the person in front of him with a startled expression. The voice that spoke to him could not have been from a woman, it was deep and seemed to rhythmically echo as they spoke. He looked at the frame of the figure before him and the loose high-collared shirt and colourfully layered silks that made a skirt. He saw that the clothing had elaborate embroidering in silver and golden threads that made arrays of shapes and patterns that seemed to shift with every movement. The person’s face was smooth with round striking features. Their large dark eyes were made more prominent by the purple and gold hues of makeup. Their dark lips were plump and painted with three silver lines through the middle of the upper lip and two half circles on either side of the lower lip. They wore the same beads and adornments in their braids. They certainly looked like a woman, not any woman Blink had ever seen before, but feminine, nonetheless.

‘My name is Nessus Tal’Alafondres, child of the Ghel’Narran, but you can call me Nessus,’ he spoke with that same deep accent that engulfed each word as it was said. He stood and held a hand for Blink to pull them to their feet. He cautiously took it. Nessus was taller than Blink and it was difficult to tell their age just by looking at them, but Blink thought they couldn’t be much older than Ra’Handa. Blink had heard stories of the Ghel, they were said to be fierce fighters and monstrous creatures. They came from the southern continent, which he had heard to be a vast wasteland. The northern continent of Haydellon had been at war with the southern continent of Tara’keshan over a thousand years ago. The war ended with the destruction of the Ghel’Narran cities. The Ghel had since become wanderers with no real home that Blink knew of. The nightmarish tales he had heard of them said they were demons, stealing children in the night, murderers, and tamers of horrific beasts. In all his life he had never seen one before. Looking at Nessus it was hard to believe any of the tales. Certainly the mage looked stranger than anyone Blink had seen before, but they surely could not be the fearsome demons of those stories.

‘Are you sure you’re ok?’ Blink finally got out after staring too long at Nessus. He was beautiful and it was easy to be lost in the strangeness of those features.

‘I am fine,’ he smiled. ‘Although, I am not so used to others being so concerned for me. Are you well after the events of last night?’ the large earrings jangling as they asked.

‘I’m much better thanks to you. I don’t know what you did, but I’m glad you did it.’ Blink tried not to look in the direction he had thrown the blade. Nessus watched him carefully.

‘I did what was needed. You would have harmed yourself or others if I had not,’ Nessus said directly. The abrupt frankness of the statement surprised Blink, although he did not detect any intention of insult in Nessus’ voice.

‘I… wasn’t myself,’ Blink said weakly. It was all he could think to say and even to his ears it sounded lacking. Nessus gave a little smile of understanding, their purple eyes disconcerting Blink all the more.

‘Has that happened to you before?’ asked Nessus in their straightforward manner.

‘No!’ said Blink immediately and added almost apologetically, ‘no…nothing like that.’ Blink thought of the man from his dreams. The man he didn’t want to think of as his father. Is that what I looked like to everyone? Some savage beast, ready to kill and maim.

‘You… used magic didn’t you’ Blink asked changing the subject.

‘Of a sort. Although it seems I was… over-zealous,’ said Nessus. ‘Your friend, the half-orc, was not happy to see me when I came to visit you in your sleep,’ Nessus added. It sounded more a statement of facts. Blink again detected no sign of anger in their voice. These Ghel are certainly strange, nothing of the tales he heard said they were so frank. Then again, the tales he had heard said they would sooner cannibalise than speak to you, let alone converse with any manner or honesty.

‘We’re not used to magic really,’ Blink thought of all the times Demera and Horrog had used what magics they knew to make his life miserable. Blink thought it sounded very much like a lie and added, ‘well I suppose not like that’.

‘People will always fear that which they do not understand, especially when the thing they do not understand holds a power in itself. Your friend would not be the first to view me with distrust. They will also not be the last, said Nessus. Blink thought there was something of an accepted sadness in that. It seemed the first real expression of emotion from Nessus thus far. Blink considered for a moment all Nessus must face from the folk of the world, the loneliness of people’s ignorant fear. He left it at that and said no more on the matter. Blink supposed Nessus knew far more than he let on. In truth, Ra’Handa’s distrust of Nessus was far more to do with their long childhood friendship and her knowledge of all Blink had endured as a slave. She didn’t fear magic as such, no more than any sane person should.

‘She doesn’t mean anything by it. Ra is pretty accepting of most people, being a half-orc and all. I’m sorry if she was rude to you,’ Bink said apologetically.

‘She is a good friend, this Ra. I feel she would do anything for you,’ said Nessus as if reading his thoughts.

‘Yes… she would. We’ve been together as long as I can remember. She’s like a sister more than a friend,’ added Blink.

‘You are indeed an abundant person then. To have such connection,’ he said looking toward the sea searchingly. Blink felt his face warm at that. He had never thought himself abundant as Nessus put it. He’d never considered himself lucky or anything really. He had always had it stuck in his mind that he was a slave and could not be or want for anything more. He supposed that Nessus may be right in some way, he and Ra’Handa would do anything for one another. He was grateful for what they had. Blink join Nessus in looking at the sea together.

‘That sword of yours,’ said Neuss with a curious hanging of a pause, before adding, ‘I had attempted to bind it so that it would do no further harm, but you seem to have summoned it again’.

‘Summoned it?’ said Blink incredulously. ‘I want nothing to do with that thing. Least of all to… summon it,’ he said avoiding looking at where he knew it still lay on the deck. Nessus seemed to have noticed his avoidance and moved toward it.

‘It is a curious thing,’ said Nessus as he walked and stooped to pick it up.

‘Don’t touch it!’ Blink exclaimed. Nessus ignored his plea and reached down picking up the blade. He turned it and seemed to feel its balance and weight. What is wrong with Nessus? Isn’t he worried about that thing turning him into a monster too? Nessus moved the blade through the air around himself with elegant flowing movements. He paused and held it out for Blink to take. There was a looked of furrowed puzzlement on the mage’s dark features.

‘No. Please. Don’t bring that thing anywhere near me,’ Blink said as he held up his hands defensively.

‘This blade is tied to you. It will not accept any other as its bearer. It will follow you until you accept it,’ the words were said as if he had been handing Blink a harmless broom to clean the deck with.

‘I don’t want it. I’d never accept something like that. If you like so much you keep it,’ he said maintaining distance between them.

‘I spoke with the blade. It would not speak back to me but called for you,’ he said again indicating that Blink should take the sword.

‘Whatever that thing is it turned me into a killer the other night. Some monster that you had to stop with magic. I care what the sword said to you. You can go ahead and tell it to find someone else to torment,’ Blink said his voice growing louder and he went on. He was beginning to feel frustrated with Nessus. Why must he keep pushing this? Just leave it be already.

‘Do you think it so that the sword made you a monster? Do you really think it would find another?’ Nessus asked curiously, turning the sword in their hands again. Blink could have sworn that Nessus were speaking to the sword somehow, silently, secretly. It unnerved Blink and he began to wonder again about the tales of the Ghel’Narran. ‘Then throw it in the ocean,’ he said suddenly. Blink looked at Nessus with utter astonishment. The man before him stood calmly holding a sword that seemed cursed and that had twisted Blink just the night before and he seemed not to care at all. ‘You do it,’ Blink said finally, feeling a little childish in that moment. It made him feel he had refused a dare as would the slum children of Bonny.

‘Very well. If this is your wish,’ Nessus threw the blade over the side of the ship into the sea like it was nothing but the core of an apple he was finished with. There was the plunk of it hitting the water and nothing more. Blink waited a moment, but the sword didn’t reappear in his hand or nearby. It was gone. He let out a breath of relief and walked over the side and leaned against the edge of the ship. Nessus joined him. They watched silently listening to the waves and the water for some time. The sun began to set, and the sky was stained with colours like dye running through dyers cloth. As the darkness and the stars awoke above them the ship mates lit lanterns illuminating the deck.

‘Do you know what it is Nessus? The sword I mean,’ Blink asked breaking the silence. He had been thinking hard about this as they stood there. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know in truth but asking seemed the only way to make the thoughts stop.

‘I only know that it belongs to you and no other. It would speak of nothing else,’ it was unsettling to think that the sword could talk or worse still belong to him. To his mind he had done nothing to claim ownership of it. Nothing except open that terrible box as he was commanded to. How he rankled inside at the thought of that night.

‘What do you mean by speak?’ he asked reluctantly. Nessus waited before replying as if considering the question.

‘The Ghel’Narran are the tongue to the breaches of the realms,’ they said in recitation. The frankness of his previous speech given over to metaphor.

‘That doesn’t really explain anything Nessus,’ snapped Blink with a little unveiled annoyance. Blink felt a knot of embarrassment, but Nessus did not seem to notice nor mind.

‘No… I suppose it doesn’t,’ he sighed. ‘It is something my vidar would tell me. My people are scattered now and much of what was known is lost or hidden. We seek The Knowledge and believe it will find us again. Beyond that all I can say is that I feel the speech of your sword in my heart and not my ears.’ Nessus spoke with a deep sadness as he said this. Blink nodded his head but did not really understand anything of what Nessus spoke of. Blink wondered if the sword had ever spoken to him. Perhaps it was the sword that sent those fractured dreams.

‘What is a vidar?’ Blink asked after a moment veering the conversation away from the sword.

‘My vidar is the Ghel’Narran I am bonded to for life,’ he said smiling softly.

‘Like a wife? But… you’re so young!’ Blink blurted out before thinking. Nessus chuckled at this. It was a deep pleasant laugh. It was knowing and kind.

‘Wife? No,’ he laughed. ‘The Ghel’Narran do not have wives or husbands, only vidar. We are both male and female and yet neither at the same time. We are just the Ghel’Narran.’ Nessus continued to smile as they saw the marked confusion on Blink’s face. Both male and female… but also neither. What does that even mean?

‘The Ghel are all connected. We all share the souls of one another. Our elders pass their souls to us as they die so that we may know all they and their elders have ever known. When Ghel are close by we can touch one another’s souls. When you have felt the soul of all others of your people both ages past and present, gender means very little. We are Ghel’Narran, the they, the us, we have no he or she. My vidar and I are bonded so that we may be connected no matter the distance. Does this help?’ asked Nessus after their explanation. Blink thought a moment on the question. He wondered what it was that made him a man, it had always been assumed and accepted, he supposed he did different work than the women, and their clothes were different, but then he was not sure that was it either. Moreover he thought what it must be like to feel the soul of another person, let alone, your entire race. Blink had laid with one of the serving girls of another estate. He supposed he felt many things then. But was it the same as a soul? These reeling questions and thoughts made his headache a little as he tried to understand.

‘I think I understand… well sort of. You’re a man and a woman? Or was it neither?’ said Blink feeling foolish in his explanation. It was clear he did not understand. Nessus smiled in amusement. Clearly it did not bother Nessus and there was some joy to be found in Blink’s confusion.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

‘It is enough that you try. Just call me Nessus or they rather than he,’ they said simply. Blink felt he still did not fully understand but he supposed it was easy enough to do as Nessus asked.

‘I can do that. To be connected to so many people like that. You must never feel alone,’ said Blink. Nessus’ expression changed then. It was marred with a deep sorrow, and they appeared to retreat within.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,’ said Blink not rightly knowing what he apologised for.

‘Do not apologise when you have made no fault,’ was all Nessus said on the matter.

‘So… why are you heading to Dayargain?’ Blink asked awkwardly.

‘I am searching for The Knowledge as all my people do,’ they said as though it were obvious. ‘Many people come from all over to Dayargain and I hope to find someone that can teach me the things I have lost. Why do you go there?’ their bluntness returning.

‘Ra and I are headed there to join a guild. Make some coin and keep travelling. That’s all,’ he said. He was still not certain he wanted to follow this plan at all. Not if it meant fighting anymore monsters.

‘The guilds and the Daybreaker are the defence against the unrested. You will join them then?’ asked Nessus.

‘For a bit, I guess. Though I’m not sold on the idea. Just until we can move on,’ said Blink. He really did hope it would be a short time. He would have to convince Ra’Handa when it was time to leave of course. Dragging her away from that fantasy of glory wouldn’t be easy.

‘People say the Ghel’Narran caused the dead to awaken and that they wander from our homeland. Without the Daybreaker the world would have been lost to them a thousand years ago. I am not so sure,’ they scoffed at the last statement. Blink too had heard the stories of the Ghel’Narran cursing the world with the undead and the Daybreaker being the last line of defence. Everyone knew of the Corruption that was at its strongest in those wastelands. The Ghel were even blamed for the small sprouting of Corruptions in other lands, though no one seemed to have a clear answer for why or how.

‘Why go there at all if that’s what people will think?’ asked Blink.

‘Do you so readily deny yourself the world simply because of what others will think?’ they said, the question wielded as a jab to Blink’s own question. There was more truth in that than Blink have liked to admit. He had always lived a life by what other said and thought.

‘I suppose you’re right. I hope you find what you’re looking for Nessus,’ he said with sincerity.

‘As do I. It is time I ate and returned to my quarters. It has been most pleasant and enlightening Blink. Ghel haren; ghel parta; ghel de ghel,’ Nessus held out their hand and Blink took it gladly. Blink was pleased that Nessus had been nothing like what others said of the Ghel. Although much of what they had spoken of still left him feeling confused, he felt he had learned something from the Ghel’Narran. ‘Perhaps we will meet again. Farewell Blink,’ with that the mage walked away in a flurry of jangled jewellery and coloured silks.

The remainder of the trip to Dayargain was uneventful. Captain Rollo kept a close eye on both Blink and Ra’Handa but never again pushed the subject of their hiding on his ship. He paid particular attention to Ra’Handa and made loose threats of stuffing her in a barrel for the night if he caught her stealing from the passengers. It did little to dissuade her and she spoke often of various gems or bawdy bit of jewellery they came across. As far as Blink could tell she never attempted to steal again but he could ever see that glint in her eye that goaded her to try. There had been one evening as they finished their shifts that she spoke of getting back at Nessus for that spell they had used. She seemed to have taken a painstaking inventory of every piece or worth on the person. Blink had to please particularly hard that even for her to do nothing and leave things stand. Despite her boasting of skill it seemed the threat of magical retribution help her at bay more than any pleading of Blink.

Blink had spoken with Danu on occasion but learned little about her own reasons for heading to Dayargain. She seems determined to keep those to herself. At times he would see her in her tabby cat form watching from the prow of the ship swishing her tail or then again leaping from the side to become a gull. It was disconcerting to see her form change so easily and Blink wasn’t sure he would ever get used to it. The other passengers were equally if not more perturbed by the sudden changes. More than once a startled scream came from somewhere on the ship decreeing her a witch of some kind. She seemed rather annoyed by the accusation, yet her joyous riding of the winds or sea soon took over.

Nessus kept to themself and at times Blink would overhear other passengers gossiping about them; the same nightmarish children’s tales he had been told as a youngling. Although Nessus was strange, Blink believed in these old tales less and less since meeting them. Although, they had not been long away from Bonny he had already encountered many things far beyond the small world he had escaped. It seemed he and the small-minded folk of Bonny knew less of the world in truth than he had been led to believe.

Blink dreamed often of the sword and woke in feverish fits. He always checked the end of the bed expecting to see a snarling drooling wolf, but it had not returned since Nessus had thrown it overboard. Blink would sigh with relief and collapse back into the sheets only to return to fitful dreams of caravans and howling wolves in the distance. It was in the last stretch of their journey that Rollo came to them in their small sleeping quarters. They were preparing for their last watch before arriving in Dayargain.

‘There will be no need of that younglings,’ he said sternly. The music in his accent was ever present although now he sounded serious and concerned. ‘One of mast-crows have spotted a ship far behind us waving the flag of Dayargain’ he stopped and watched their expressions. Blink tried hard not to look at Ra’Handa and to maintain his own composure. Have they caught up to us? Where are my weapons? We might need to a run for it… his thought ran a sudden gauntlet of possibility and need to flee until he remembered that he was on a ship. There was nowhere to run. Should Rollo turn them in they would have no escape or way to defend themselves. They were entirely at his mercy. Although he had shown great kindness in allowing them to stay aboard and work for their fare, he doubted very much he would feel the same should he discover Blink as an escaped slave and murderer.

‘Hmm… nothing?’ he said accusingly.

‘Well, we are near Dayargain aren’t we?’ said Ra’Handa. ‘What’s the worry?’ she added cooly. For once Blink was relieved by her quick thinking and level head in a crisis. It would be no strange thing for such a ship to be spotted near its home port.

‘What is the worry?’ Rollo said mockingly. ‘The worry my dear is that I like my head where it is attached.’

‘Why would they harm you?’ Blink did his best to sound convincing. Rollo raised an eyebrow, and Blink thought he perhaps could take some lessons from Ra’Handa.

‘I have not asked why you boarded my ship and I still do not wish to know. I had hoped we would arrive without incident and that any pursuer you may have might spend more of their days searching Bonny before making for sea. I need to know if they are looking for you,’ he eyed them both, his manicured brows furrowed searching for a potential lie.

‘Us? Why would the Daybreaker be looking for us?’ Ra’Handa said, somehow managing to sound sincere.

‘A Magpie and a slave dog of Horrog’s you mean,’ he said with deadly seriousness. ‘Yes, why would the city of the dawn’s light care about you two?’ His tone said to give up the evasion of truth, the music and patience gone from his voice. He knows I was a slave of Horrog! He knows Horrog! Blink could feel the fear and panic welling up inside him. His skin started to feel like it was on fire burning him from the inside out. The hairs on the back of neck prickled standing on end. I won’t go back there. I can’t! He thought, and a flash of sharp fangs and mottled fur caught his vision for but a moment. It was enough to bring him back to his senses.

‘Yes. They are looking for us,’ said Ra’Handa. Blink scowled at her suddenly forgetting the fear and heat that threatened to release that beast again. ‘We took som…’

‘No! I do not wish to know,’ said Rollo raising his voice and hands in front of him. ‘I have no love of the guards of Dayargain. But I must keep my crew and passengers safe no matter the cost. That is my duty. As is the duty of all who venture to the great oceans.’

‘Rollo please don’t hand us over to them. We just need to get to…,’ Blink was cut off by Rollo again.

‘You are my passengers and crew are you not?’ Blink and Ra’Handa exchanged anxious looks. ‘It is my duty to protect my passengers and crew as I have just said. You will be safe, but the dog and magpie must return to their old nest,’ he said with a weight in his words. There was a silent agreement that passed between them all in that moment. They nodded gingerly in understanding, and it seemed enough for Captain Rollo gave a flourishing bow and bit himself farewell.

The captain left them to collect their things and return to the cargo hold. They did not speak a word until they were there. They argued for a time about many things but mostly if they could truly trust Rollo not to turn them over. He had everything to gain by doing so and risked far more should he be found out. They agonised over the decision before they had to accept there were no good options, for to run would certainly make them known. Fighting would do no better against well trained and heavily armoured guard. It was best to place their trust in the round captain that trust far had given them no cause to fear him. They stayed and waited, their fates in the hands of others. The ship was soon hailed, and they could hear the guards of Dayargain boarding the ship. The heavy clang of their armour rang on the floorboards above them. Looking up through the grate to the surface Blink saw the familiar flowing dark robes of the Lady Jadissa. Her footfalls barely made a sound at all as she moved. They waited, holding their breath for what seemed an eternity. There were audible sounds of grievance as they searched the rooms of passengers. Their protests were ignored, and they gradually made their way through the entire ship. Before long they made their way to the cargo hold where Blink and Ra’Handa lay in hiding. They had shifted some of the good in the back making room for themselves. They both held their breath as two guard looked about the cargo of barrels and crates and odd assortment of netted bags. They both appeared not much older the Blink, their youthful appearance out of place in the heavy armour. Moreover, one was a young woman which had not been evident from the doorway when they entered. The women Blink had always known where either servants, thieves, or nobles. It made sense that they too should be able to do as their male counterparts, yet it still surprised him. It was yet more evidence that his life as a slave to Horrog had taken more from him than his freedom. Blink didn’t know what enlistment entailed but to obtain the rank afforded to that gleaming armour he must surely mean more winters that these two had seen. As the two Daybreaker made their way to the back of the cargo searchingly, a rolling voice could be heard through the grate above halting the two young Daybreaker. The young woman merely gave the other a nod and they left. Both Blink and Ra’Handa sighed catching their breath.

‘My dear lady and your champion, as you can well see there are no stow aways aboard my vessel,’ said Rollo diplomatically. He somehow managed to make it sound almost jovial, this invasion of his ship.

‘Should you hear anything of the boy or the little statue you will let us know,’ Lady Jadissa said. Her voice was welcoming and charming yet there was no question it was a command rather than a request as she spoke. ‘He is wanted for thievery and more, as for the statue it is of no great value to any but myself, a family heirloom I would pay so dearly to have returned,’ she said loud enough that any others aboard the ship might hear. She hoped the lure of gold would be enough to loosen the tongues of Rollo’s crew when they arrived in Dayargain.

‘Of course my Lady,’ Blink thought he could hear Rollo’s form sweeping low into a bow as she spoke.

‘Your ship will remain in the dock. My guard will see to that and keep close watch until your business in the city is done,’ came a stern deep voice that could only have been Bornwald’s. ‘You will find us in the Paragon’s Spire. Ever reign the king,’ he said banging a fist to his chest plate. With that the heavy sounds of armoured feet left the deck of the ship and were gone. In the same swiftness with which they had arrived so too did they leave. Is that it? Are we safe? Blink thought to himself. They slowly made their way through the cargo leaving the safety of their hiding place. Before they could make their way entirely forward the door creaked open slightly. Both Ra’Handa and Blink gripped their weapons ready to fight their way out if they had to. No one was there that they could see. It was then that a large fluffy tabby jumped up from behind some barrels. They both jumped with fright as the tabby shifted into the familiar form of Danu. She laughed hysterically.

‘Scaredy cats,’ she said wickedly.

‘I should skin you the next time you scare me like that!’ Blink threatened half-heartedly. Ra’Handa regained herself and pretended she had known all along.

‘Rollo asked me to sit in on his meeting and listen. He’s a good man you know,’ she added reassuringly.

‘So, you know what happened?’ Blink asked.

‘Rollo told me some things and the rest I heard from the big guard with the yellowy red hair.’ Bornwald, Blink thought to himself. ‘That dark elf was there too. I’m pretty sure she knew it was me in my cat form watching. She never said anything…. But she knew,’ it was said without any sign there had been danger. It was as though she had commented on the weather and nothing more.

‘He said you had stollen from a wealthy merchant there and asked if Rollo had seen you on board. What did you take by the way?’ she peaked with curiosity at that.

‘Nothin’ you need to worry about,’ Ra’Handa said defensively.

‘So you did take something then,’ she smiled proudly at that. When they didn’t volunteer anything further, she pouted and said, ‘suit yourself then. I don’t really care either way’. She was a poor liar at the least. Blink rolled his eyes and looked at her wonderingly.

‘What did Rollo say, Danu?’ he said wishing she would get to the point.

‘Rollo said he had found two stowaways on the ship not a day out of Bonny.’ So, he did turn us in. But then why is Danu here instead of Bornwald putting us in chains?

‘He said he threw you both overboard along with your bags the moment he found you. That big guard was angry after that. Threatened to tear the ship apart. I don’t think he really believed Rollo,’ Danu sounded as if she were discussing this over tea in a dining room rather than a ship cargo hold with a pair of runaway thieves.

‘After that Rollo said something about someone and some other person I’ve never heard of. I got bored by that point and didn’t really pay much attention. He seemed like he knew what he was doing. And just like that they left.’ She got bored… in the middle of an argument to determine our lives.

‘Was there anything else? Anything helpful Danu?’ Blink said pointedly.

‘Oh yes! Rollo said to stay down here until we reach Dayargain and when we do, we should head to The Iron Lioness. We will find safety and a guild there,’ she looked to the ceiling as if the conversation was written there for her to read and recall. ‘Wait... what did you mean by anything helpful?’ Blink chose to ignore the question. They stayed in the cargo hold the remainder of the journey. Danu left their side briefly to collect her things from her room and returned as the tabby cat. She curled herself up on some bags of grain and slept purring loudly. Ra’Handa and Blink didn’t talk much after that. They decided to take turns keeping watch until their arrival just in case. It was Blink that awoke Ra’Handa this time. He heard the helmsman call for land ahead. They moved through the cargo to the edge of the ship and found some space between the wood to see through. It was early morning they guessed from the amount of light outside. Ahead of them coming into the view they saw a city far greater than anything Blink could have dreamed of. He had heard tales of cities from the sailors, but nothing prepared him for the sheer magnitude of buildings before him. Dayargain appeared as whitewashed stone buildings piled high on top of one another. The buildings appeared in a ring around a central tower that glistened in the light. As the ship moved into the port, they passed through two giant statues of the same white stone as the city. They were so lifelike Blink imagined them stepping into the ocean and obliterating the ship as they passed through. One was a king adorned in armour with a great sword by his side and the other a robed queen with a wreath upon her free-flowing hair. Their hands were cupped together in front of them in which they both appeared to be holding nothing but light. A small sun beamed rays of light within the palms of their hands. As they pulled into the docks Blink looked at both Danu and Ra’Handa. They too were mesmerised by the scene in front of them although it was Ra’Handa that made Blink nervous. She wore that same look in her gleaming dark eyes that said she would get him into more trouble than he was ready for.