Sida sat with her legs crossed, digging her toes into the sand. The island of Matao was a green and fertile land where the smell of tropical fruits were blown about by the breeze. She rubbed her left hand where the Tatu of the Tarako was scratched. She had taken off the bandages Elei had placed on it earlier in the day, and she held back her tears over the sight of her newly inked Tatu now ripped by that great beast.

And for some reason, Talis decided to tame that thing. How could she do that after what it did to me?

Sida had always looked up to Talis. Though the walker was only four years older than her, Talis was the most accomplished Netsu of the last two hundred years. More than that, Sida thought of Talis as a big sister. For Talis to have befriended the creature that so brutalized her felt like a slight to Sida. It was worse because she could no longer use the Tatu that she had just been granted.

She eyed the Tatu and thought of when she first saw the Flame Tatu in use. The unimaginable beauty of the flame mesmerized her as they danced across her eyes. Her father had shown her the Tatu which he had born himself.

“This is a Tarako, Sida.” He had said, pointing to the Tatu on his left forearm.

“What’s a Tarako?” Sida had asked him.

“A Tarako is a magnificent creature that once protected our people long ago from Kutune’s second descent. The warrior came from the sky, but the Tarako banded together to slow her down. They all gave their lives that day to protect what they could of our plane. The Forgotten God sent them to us to protect us.”

Sida drew the Tarako into the sand with her finger. She started with the back legs, making them small and clawed. Next, she drew a curving line down toward the mouth which she drew spewing fire.

“The Forgotten God sent them to us to protect us.” Sida echoed her father’s words as she drew the arms.

Sida looked up and squinted as she saw a ship appear in the distance. For a moment she considered burning her Dark Tatu and disappearing back into the trees until she saw Elei’s face beaming on the boat.

“Chee-hoo!” Elei shouted.

His voice echoed across the open waters, and despite herself, Sida smiled. Elei hopped out of the small boat, putting down the oars he was using, and grabbed a rope at the bow.

“Do you know where the dock is?” Elei asked.

“You missed it by a long shot.” Sida pointed to the dock which was a ways off down the beach.

“Help me out then, ya?”

Elei still stood in the water which was up to his stomach. Sida stood up and brushed the sand off herself when she suddenly noticed the passenger in the vessel.

“Hello, Sida. How are you feeling?” Natia implored.

Sida hid her grimace at seeing the Walker leader. “I’m fine.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Natia didn’t move from her seated position in the small dingy as she spoke.

Elei extended the length of rope to Sida who took it. The two of them both pulled and brought the boat to the dock where Elei tied it up. The sun was still setting as the three of them walked away from the dock toward the village of Vaiu which was established at the point of the Otua peninsula on the southwest part of the island. The few houses were made of straw and coconut trees. Sida knew that the people of Vaiu would be waking up by now, and she watched as lamps were lit in windows of the small huts.

“Where are you staying?” Elei questioned.

“With my father, just up the path.” Sida pointed to a hut where the lights were still out.

“May we?” Natia requested with an extending of her arm.

Sida sighed and led them to the hut. There was no door on the outside of the hut. The people of Vaiu were not private people. They shared everything they owned with one another, both the good and the bad. Sida had grown up hearing the sounds of joy, sorrow, anger, and love from every neighbor in her town. Her own father made no noise when they came in.

She found him where she had left him a couple hours before, lying on his bed made of straw and covered with cotton sheets. “Matama.” Sida called to him as she placed her hand on his grey hair.

He stirred and opened his eyes. “Birmi, is that you?”

“No, Matama, it’s Sida. Your daughter.”

His eyes were milky with age as he looked at her and squinted. “Oh, of course. Maesa, my Sida. Mali.”

“It’s alright, Matama. Are you rested?” Sida brushed his hair with her hand gently.

“I’m fine, help me up.” He extended his hand.

Sida took it helped him sit up. Her father looked around and spotted the other two. His eyes filled with fear and he raised a trembling hand in an attempt to make a finger and point at Natia.

“Who is she?” He asked, never breaking focus on Natia.

“This is Natia. She is a portal walker, like myself. So is Elei, here.”

Elei frowned as he saw the older man. “Is he alright?”

“He’s fine.” Natia said as she elbowed Elei.

“Ow.” Elei grimaced.

“I’ll get you something to drink and eat, Matama. You rest, ya?” Sida instructed as she lay her father back down on his bed.

“Papaya, maybe?” He asked.

Sida noticed dribble coming from his mouth and wiped it away with the bottom of her shirt. “I’ll see what’s available.”

Sida looked to Elei and Natia and tilted her head back to the doorway to indicate for them to follow. She led them away from the hut and toward a stand where an older woman carried a basket of bananas that she placed down beside a dozen other identical baskets, each with their own fruit inside.

“Talo, Sida.” The woman smiled.

“Talo, Marti.” Sida replied as she eyed the fruit. “Got any papaya today? My Matama wants some.”

“Haven’t seen any papaya for a week or so. How is he doing?” Marti asked.

“It comes and goes.”

“I’ll see if any of the pickers have had luck on the southern part of the island.”

“Fafe, Marti.” Sida grinned as she grabbed a couple of bananas. “Help yourself.”

Elei inspected the guava while Natia took a banana. They walked back to the hut, passing by other Netsu men and women who were getting lengths of rope and walking the path east out of the island toward the fruit trees. They arrived back at Sida’s home where she took a mortar and pestle to the banana after peeling it. She mashed it into a paste which she fed to her father using a spoon. The older man still laid in his bed. None of them spoke while he ate, and when he was finished Sida took back the bowl and indicated for them to follow. She led them back through the small village to a river that flowed into the ocean where a number of younger children were cleaning dishes in the water.

Natia finally spoke up. “Does he have others who take care of him when you are gone?”

“Marti helps him when she can. My brother and his wife as well.” Sida pointed to a hut next to hers. “They live there with their newborn.”

“Do you mind if I ask what’s wrong with him?” Elei asked.

“Elei!” Natia grimaced.

“No, it’s okay. Nothing is wrong with him, really. His mind just leaves him on occasion. He calls me Birmi sometimes, that was my mom’s name. She died about ten years back in a tsunami.” Sida forced a smile. “But you didn’t come here to talk about that.”

Elei extended his hand and took the dish from her. He dried it using his shirt. “No, we didn’t.”

“We came to ask you to come back to Hunei. Talis has returned.”

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“Why should I care?” Sida grimaced at the mention of Talis.

“Because that cave we were in?” Elei’s grin lit up his face while he spoke. “It was a prime world.”

“Wait, really?” Sida asked.

“We’re putting together a larger exploratory group. You’ve been asked to join since you have some experience on the plane.” Natia explained.

Sida frowned. “I don’t want to join a group with Talis. I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I can work with her again after she brought that creature back with her.”

“You mean Hansu? She’s got complete control over that thing, trust me. I fed it out of my hand just a few hours ago.” Elei said.

“Regardless of your feelings about Talis, she’s not who requested you on her team.” Natia told her.

“Then whose team would I be on?” Sida asked.

Istyn shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s simple.” Talis stated. “If we want peace with the Verlass then we have to understand them.”

“It makes sense to me.” Kloe added as she cut a chunk of mango with her knife and offered the fruit to Magda.

Magda took the offering and inspected it. “What’s this called again?”

“That’s a mango.” Kloe answered as Magda took a bite. “In battle, you gotta look for your enemy’s weak points. Say you’re up against one of those battle bears.”

“The ones that wore armor?” Talis asked.

“Yeah, those things were huge! They were covered head to toe with thick plate armor, but they had a weak spot on their backs, so the only way to defeat them was to outmaneuver them in combat.”

“Learned that one the hard way.” Talis added rubbing her shoulder where a small scar remained from what Istyn assumed must have been the battle. “Glad we had a healer on that mission.”

“So we find whatever weakness the Verlass have and use that to barter peace?” Istyn asked.

“Think of it more like insurance, in case talks fail.” Magda said through a mouthful of mango. “Can I have more of this?”

“Help yourself.” Kloe handed her the knife and bowl of the fruit.

The group sat in the portal’s field at a table where the rest of the walkers were also eating lunch.

“But why do you want me to lead this mission?” Istyn pried.

“You have experience fighting them already.” Talis said.

“I didn’t actually see any of them.”

“But you still beat them back and saved Magda here and many others.” Talis grabbed the wrist of a passing walker carrying a bowl of fruit. “Can I?”

The man smiled and handed it to her. Talis placed the bowl in front of Magda whose eyes went wide with curiosity. The Tolacin beamed and started figuring out how to peel a banana. Istyn picked it up and pulled it apart from the top and handed it back to her.

“Oh, it’s stickier than I expected.” Magda exclaimed before she bit into the fruit.

“If we settle on this world, we need to bring some seeds.” Kloe said resolutely.

“Istyn, you’re a dark walker,” Talis started. “A malan good one at that.”

“Language.” Kloe mumbled with a smile.

Talis elbowed Kloe and continued. “You can lead a team, a small group to find out more about the Verlass and keep yourselves shadowed. Take Magda, she can record everything and bring it back to us.”

“And what if we get caught?” Istyn asked.

“Don’t.” Kloe offered.

“Mithia Walker!” A voice came from behind the group.

Approaching were three other Netsu. Istyn recognized Natia leading the group but the other two were new to him. One, a young boy with a large grin and bright white hair, the other a girl hiding her face behind long black bangs with red tints on the end. Istyn recognized the Tatu of Darkness across the girl's chest.

“You must be Sida.” Istyn inquired.

The girl nodded. “Maetha Istyn.”

“Sida and Elei have agreed to accompany you on your trip through the portal.” Natia explained.

“Are they my team or yours?” Istyn asked Talis.

“I thought Sida could help you keep your team dark, but it's up to you if you want Elei here or Aliope as your healer.”

Istyn stood up and stuck out his hand to Elei, emulating the Tolacin. He grabbed Elei’s wrist and shook it hard. “Welcome to the team.”

Jeha waited nervously in the cave beside the glow of the portal’s light. Aliope sat beside him playing with a seed between his fingers.

“What are we waiting for, exactly?” Aliope asked.

“The council,” Jeha stated. “I sent a messenger this morning to the capital to let them know that we’ve secured Princess Lina, we’re just waiting to hear back from them.”

“Why don’t we just take her there ourselves?”

“It’s too dangerous. I had forty able-bodied soldiers yesterday, now look at us.”

Aliope glanced around the cavern and saw groups of twos and threes huddled together in different areas. Some held torches, while others fiddled with their weapons. They were so full of promise just two days ago.

“So you’ve got a council too, eh?” Aliope inquired.

“Since the royal family was all but killed, yes. Though now that we’ve found Princess Lina, I’m not sure what will happen next.” Jeha answered.

“Her family was killed? By the Verlass?” Aliope looked over at Lina who sat with Florin near the portal. Florin was playing with the edging of the portal and Lina sat with her arms over her legs, looking scared.

“We thought her dead as well, until last month when we got word from the citizens of Montserrat that they were under attack.”

“A month? Why did it take you so long to respond?”

“It wasn't my choice.” Jeha retorted. “The council decides everything, and they took their time to respond on purpose.”

“Why’s that?”

Jeha glanced at Lina. “The council members were trying to punish them.”

“Punish them?”

“The citizens of Monserrat were once all members of the royal guard, tasked with the duty of protecting Lina and her family. Lina was only two when the Verlass infiltrated the palace and slaughtered the royal family. The guard abandoned the capital after the siege on the royal family, that was ten years ago. It was one week ago yesterday that they provided proof that they had Lina in their care. Apparently, they had taken her from the palace the day of the assault and hidden her away this whole time.”

“What kind of proof?” Aliope asked.

Jeha took his satchel off his side and pulled out a brooch in the shape of an animal with two large horns on its head and a long face. Swirls of vines surrounded the animal on either side. Jeha showed it to Aliope. “This is an Ibekso. They used to live in the mountains of Tolacin before the great cataclysm. It’s the crest of the royal family. This brooch was delivered to us by a messenger claiming that it belonged to a living member of the royal family. My platoon was sent to determine the truth of this claim.”

“Looks pretty true to me then, ya?” Aliope reached for the brooch and palmed it before handing it back to Jeha. “How did you know it was her when you saw her?”

Jeha winced as a memory crept into his mind’s eye. “Her sister, Rava and I were… friends. We would play in the courtyard of the palace and dream of a time when peace would return to Catal.”

Aliope narrowed his gaze. “You’re confusing me, is your home called Catal or Tolacin?”

“It was once called Tolacin. We still call ourselves the name of our planet, but many generations ago there was an event that caused our planet and another to collide. We call this the cataclysm. The combination of these two worlds created a new one, which we are now on. We call this world Catal.”

“I think I’m getting it.” Aliope said. “The other world, is that where the Verlass are from?”

“Yes.” Jeha responded. “Ours was a world of peace. Our God was one God, our people were one people. We were Ubiae.”

“Ubiae?”

“Taken from the name for our God, Ubium. It means order.”

“Lapo.” Aliope narrowed his eyes and stared at the portal.

“What’s that?” Jeha asked.

“Nothing, it’s just that this all sounds familiar to me.”

“Familiar?”

Aliope nodded. “On our planet, we are two people. The Netsu like me, dark-skinned, able to bear Tatu. Then there are the Oni, worshippers of the sun. They are light-skinned, lighter than you. They believe that the sun is a God, one of light and creation, while many of our kind worship another God whose name has been lost to time and the constant destruction wrought on our planet by another celestial body that enters our path every fifty of our years. We call that other planet Kutune. The name of a powerful warring leader from the Oni who tried and failed to convert or kill every Netsu on our planet. It is said that Kutune was saved by On, the sun God when she was captured by our people and that he gave her power to destroy us by turning her into what she is now.”

Jeha thought before he spoke, processing the information. “Your people and mine, both of us are constantly at war with another people with a different God. This is fortune, Aliope.”

Aliope grimaced. “Fortune?”

“If these Gods do exist, then they have brought us together for a purpose. We have the blessing of the divine on our side, my friend.” Jeha put his hand on Aliope’s shoulder firmly.

Aliope grinned showing off his opalescent teeth. The portal shone brightly beside the two younger children and Jeha stood up abruptly. Through the portal walked Talis, followed by Kloe, Istyn, Magda, and two others that Jeha did not recognize. Jeha walked up to Talis and bowed to her with his fist over his heart as he learned to be the customary Netsu greeting.

“Talo, Jeha. How is everyone?” Talis asked, returning the salute.

“Anxious, though I’m sure things will be better now that you have returned.” Jeha responded.

One of the two that Jeha did not recognize called out to Aliope. “Chee-hoo!”

Aliope returned the shout and the two of them came together, pressing their foreheads against one another and breathing in.

“Good to see you, brother!” The younger boy said.

“And you, Elei. How’s matina?” Aliope answered.

Elei straightened up. “Lapo, I forgot to see her before I left.”

“You malan bilgo!” Aliope grinned and pulled in the boy under his arm, messing up the long white locks on his head.

“Your brother?” Jeha asked.

“Adopted. My parents took him in a few years back after he washed up on our island.” Aliope answered.

Talis spoke up. “And this is Sida. She’s a dark walker like Istyn.”

Jeha bowed to Sida and Elei both after Aliope released him. “An honor. Where are the rest of your people?”

Kloe sided up next to Talis. “They’re staying back, for now, we need to convince them further, that’s why we brought Sida and Elei. We’re going to help you win this war.”