"Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls."

― Kahlil G.

River followed echoes of a voice inside her mind. She doubted herself even as she pushed forward. Either this will prove she was going insane or things will finally make sense. All she hoped for was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Going blindly into the dark was something her grandfather taught her at a young age. It was a lesson she wished she wouldn't have to go through ever again.

Her childhood was filled with horrors and paralyzing anxiety to such an extent that finding her way out of it for the past 5 years in therapy only made her miss out on the best things life could offer for a girl in her early 20's.

The wolf's voice went away and she started pursuing towards his direction relentlessly. She had gone to hell and back already so doing it the second time around should prove easy. It was a dicey decision but it seemed she was already making a series of bad choices lately and the thrill of it somewhat invigorated her.

The path she was following opened to an amber meadow grasslands awashed with sunlight. It was high noon and she hadn't understood the immense pressure sitting on her shoulders until it melted away under the sun as soon as she stepped out under it. The feeling left her proud, accomplished, and free as if shadowy bondages were left behind in her wake.

Strangely, a honeyed taste started blooming in her mouth as if she had been eating sweet mangoes.

A dream, she thought, watching the wheat-like grass standing erect towards the summer sun. The amber grass was a couple feet taller than her head, gently swaying in the wind.

A clear voice rang inside her mind. But this time it was shrill and small, "Help!" it called out. She didn't know which direction it came from. Just that it was inside her head.

She looked back at the dark tunnel. Then, exhaled a shaky breath. Closing her eyes once again, she tried fixating on which direction it came from.

"Help!" it said. And she took blind careful steps towards that direction. If there was a monster at the end of this dream, then she'd like to get to know herself better.

Dr. Malia would be proud of her from facing her nightmares.

However, the tall grass was unlike anything she had ever known. Its long slender stalks felt brittle against her skin as she passed through them. Some of it making scores of scratches across her arms.

"Help!" the voice inside her head called out and she powered through the biting pain. It was weird how pain has such a grounding effect. It made it easier for her to focus on searching and hunting for that very sound that called to her in the first place.

A small calloused hand snatched her by the wrist, "You're not supposed to be here." said someone who was not inside her head. It was the same voice that called to her.

Lifting her eyes open, she frowned at the sight of him sitting cross-legged on the grass. He was younger than U'tu and his sun-kissed dirty blonde hair shone bright under the afternoon glow of the skies. She propped a hand over her brows to use as a shade under the sunlight to see better and discovered intelligent gray eyes looking up at her "You're not supposed to be here, either. What are you doing here?"

He swung his chin to the side, "I'm much better alone by myself."

She raised her brows, looking everywhere around them. Tall amber grass surrounded close. There was no way to tell which direction was safest to exit out of.

The kid's voice was sharp, sounding imperious enough to cut through metal. "That was me asking you to leave."

She snickered. The high handed manner in which he spoke reminded her of Rover, "You haven't answered my question."

"I don't have to speak to you."

"And I didn't have to get here, either. But here I am trying to make sense of everything."

"Then try to make sense of everything somewhere else." he said, crossing his arms.

"I don't think so," she uttered, mirroring the way he sat by sitting across him. The grass under her butt was scratchy and brittle like tiny pinpricks of thorns but she smiled at him like she had all the time in the world. "I think I'd like to rest here first. It was quite a trek."

She looked down to see she was wearing her usual pink nightgown in this dream: a strappy silk gown embedded with ornate lace.

He grumbled, pushing his spine straight and kept staring at the ground as he ignored her.

Time passed a stretch and it was becoming clear what his problem was. Suppressing a smile, she asked. "Are you stuck?"

"No." he fired back, indignant. His voice rising in an odd note. The cute kid had freckles across his nose and cheeks. "I'm contemplating the facts of life."

"Big word." she noted.

"Big words for strong warriors." he shrugged. Then winced. He was trying to play it cool by schooling his features to boredom but she saw the way his shoulder twitched awkwardly.

"What's on your back?"

"Nothing." he said quickly. Too quickly.

"I'm going to give you on the count of three. One.. two.."

"It's just a thorn. It's no big deal."

"Ah." Counting still worked wonders to children, she thought. "Tell me exactly what the deal is then. You know, if it's not such a big deal."

He gulped and gave it a thought for a long moment then sighed in defeat. "As you may well know, I am the sun prince. And I continue to be regarded as the finest among the warriors until I lost the race an hour ago when I tripped and fell. My elbow hit the ground hard." He turned his arm, showing a thick wand of a wooden branch lodged firmly into his elbow.

"How are you not bleeding?"

He swallowed hard, "I'm healing around it."

River saw firsthand how fast they heal. It must have been their were-wolf counterpart. "Is the healer coming here?"

He shook his head, brows furrowed, looking lost.

"You haven't told anyone yet." she shrugged, "So you lost. Everybody makes mistakes."

"Everybody makes mistakes. The sun prince never makes them. Not in front of his tribe. I must project strength, not weakness. Otherwise, what am I good for?"

He had a stubborn face but she was sure she could get through him "What's your name?" she asked.

His jaw tightened, "I don't answer to anyone wearing strange clothing."

She looked down again, noticing the shiny sheen of it under the light of the afternoon sun. It was her grandmother's 18th birthday gift: a pink pearlescent nightgown to serve as a reminder for evening rituals like skincare and divine baths. Her hand glided across the silky fabric, remembering what was written on the birthday card, Dearest granddaughter, for you a beautiful gift to remind you of evening care & comforts. I hope this gift finds you feeling lovely and refreshed. I give you this with all my love.

She smiled at the memory, "It was a gift from my grandmother who passed away. It isn't strange."

His nose twitched, turning to face her but not quite meeting her eyes, "I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother."

"Thanks. But I'm feeling more sorry about your elbow."

"I will take it out."

"How about I do that for you?"

He gritted his jaw even harder then nodded.

Moving to kneel beside him, the assumed thorn was thicker than any magical wand she ever saw in television. It was a thick dry branch embedded deeply in his elbow. "That.. must hurt a lot."

"I've had worse." he gritted.

She glanced at him, stunned. "I'm sorry to hear about that."

"I'm the sun prince" he said as a matter of fact like it explained everything. "But I'm weak. I lost an easy race. I'm not.." he stopped. "..they got the wrong boy to call a prince."

River figured she had to keep him talking to catch him unaware. Pulling that big-ass thorn needed quite a distraction. "Losing doesn't mean you're weak, you know."

"I'm expected to win. Nobody like me should be losing to races."

"What happens if the sun prince loses?"

"I don't know. This has never happened before."

"Well how do you get better if you don't learn from your mistakes?"

He looked taken aback. "The elders teach me."

"Won't it be awesome if you discover things on your own from your own mistakes? That way it's yours and nobody else will be able to take it away from you. You will get to carve out your own way instead of someone else carving it out for you."

He began growing pensive, "I thought you were supposed to help me."

She sighed, "I'm trying."

"What's the hold up?"

"Waiting for the right time."

"How do you know?"

"It's something I'm supposed to know when it comes."

"Are you scared?"

Putting her hair up in a ponytail, she grumbled. "Yeah, I am."

"How about you tell me what you do when you're scared?"

"Songs."

"What is that?" he asked seriously.

River had a conversation with Lei'la about the same thing once she told her about dancing. She learned that the closest thing this world had to songs are chanting and humming and they generally use it in ritual ceremonies. "Songs are musical notes. I use my mouth to say the words, except, I stretch-out the words and sounds as a way to show my deepest intentions."

"Ah. Like in chanting prayers, then." he said, wrinkling his nose. "I don't know how that helps."

"A lullaby song always helps. The emotions it evokes keeps me distracted from real problems." she said, growing thoughtful.

"What's a lullaby?"

"Where I'm from, it's something mothers perform for their children at night before going to bed. A lullaby song is supposed to establish a sense of protection to keep the bad monsters away when we're off to sleep. In my case, it helps when I get scared or anxious." she said, holding his shoulder with one hand and the end of the branch with the other. "Don't get scared."

He lifted a stubborn chin, "I'm not. Are you?"

She made a disbelieving chuckle, "And you were just sitting here alone for no other reason?"

"I told you I was contemplating the meaning of life." he said, his head falling back to watch the sky.

"Here we go, ok?" She licked her lips then began the slow notes of a lullaby song. It was a guttural expression of a heart breaking. She let out a feminine groan of sounds, a raw throaty chorus of insecurity and loneliness before ending it with a mercy given on a promise of love.

The kid was rapt in attention as he watched the sky, hairs on his skin lifting up.

Stories of heartbreak have a universal hook, she thought, but it seems it goes across all universes.

"Do it again." he said quietly.

She did, humming the start of it. At the first verse, she interrupted it by pulling the branch free with a loud squelch. The kid grunted and pushed a pouch bag to her. Inside it were knives, berries, and cotton fabrics. She used the clean cloth to wrap around his elbow to keep it from bleeding.

"That lullaby. It's so painful but beautiful, does that even make sense?"

She nodded, looking him in the eye challenging him. "It's a lullaby creation carved out from past mistakes."

He leaned in, "You are saying it wouldn't have been that kind of beautiful if mistakes weren't made?"

"Of course. What do you mean by that kind of beautiful?"

He grinned, dimples appearing on both sides of his mouth. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"So, are we good, now? You haven't told me your name yet."

He held his injured elbow close to him, "Aidan. My name is Aidan, your sun prince, if you don't already know. But I have a big guess that you're not exactly from around here."

She frowned. Dreams are built from memories. She watched his face more closely. He was unlike anyone she has ever seen before. His name was new to her. He was new. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

Confused, he said, "If it were, the pain would have woken me up ages ago. Are you feeling alright?"

"No, things aren't making much sense. I could have sworn I fell asleep, and I knew that this was a dream but I'm not so sure anymore. That's kind of been a theme lately, and I'm getting sick of it."

His eyes widened at her. "Woah."

She looked down, her hands were becoming transparent by the second. "What's happening?"

In a heartbeat, she woke with a start. A giant blonde wolf breathing on her face.

She froze.

The kid in her dream had eyes exactly like the wolf's eyes. Gray and intelligent. "Aidan?" she asked in a breath above a whisper.

His eyes squinted, words ringing inside her mind, you remember?

"I can hear you." she murmured in disbelief.

"Oh, great. Because it was starting to bother me." U'tu said, looking fresh and wide awake. Around him, the camp was gone and two bulks of tall leather bags sat beside him. The packed bags were so tall it came up to his shoulders. He patted it like they were buddies and said, "Come on, we better go. I've been hearing good things about the gatekeepers. I can't wait to meet them."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

She propped her bag on her shoulders, reached for the other set of straps on the base of the bag and wounded it around her hips snugly. Turning to face the wolf , she asked. "That wasn't just a dream, was it? We have met before when you were younger."

He nodded, It took me by surprise when you appeared again 21 years later. In that very same strange clothing of yours. I didn't know you were a behagthi, then.

"Does knowing your name truly complicate things?"

No one can know for sure. The last time a werewolf went full wolf was way back to those wild ages when nothing got properly documented. It was my intention to assume every bit of precaution, even superstitious ones.

She grew quiet. It dawned on her that this was her second day waking up to this universe. She might have to adopt a new theory of how this came to be but nothing logical came to mind.

Fully atop the wolf's back, they marched through the underground tunnels at a brisk pace. Her head whirled with questions. If magic and curses existed in this universe, how does anything ever make sense anymore?

Their early wolf ride inside tunnels of a Battle Trial mountain didn't take long as much as she had anticipated. A few moments later, they arrived at a large imposing wall structure built out of stones. On the front of it was a giant igloo house made from the same gray stones. There were no windows. It was a dreary sight to behold, and she shuddered at its confining presence of doom. Because, sooner or later, that graystone igloo with no windows is going to suffer a cave-in and someone is bound to be buried underneath it.

"The sun prince! We weren't expecting you so soon." A chestnut-haired guy exclaimed, he was in the middle of herding a pack of sheep with a wooden staff. He wore a beige wool sweater along with sensible grey pants. His hair was in short curls and it trembled with a dramatic sway as he stopped short in front of them.

Another guy appeared in a flash of movement she couldn't quite follow with her eyes, "You'd have known if you bothered checking in once in a while." he said, walking up to meet them. He wore a blue sweater with pants but what struck her odd was both of their eyes. It was blown black with no discernible whites around it but this guy notably has got his long brown hair pulled back in a top ponytail. "Hi, I'm called Me'ren. And this idiot is Na'reem. We're the Gatekeeper Brothers. You must be U'tu, River, and of course, the sun prince although you're looking a little bit different, teh?" he teased, then opened his arms, gesturing to their front door "It's wonderful to finally meet all of you. Come on in, if you please. We've been awaiting your arrival."

Like every building structure she found in this universe, the doors stood obnoxiously tall. Its makings were from iron and wood, and there was nothing decorative about it. It stood there like it had one purpose: to be a sensible door and that's about it.

Then, she looked up and up. The giant stone igloo was like a looming castle. River didn't realize she was staring until U'tu dragged her by the hand as the doors pulled open and she was greeted with a blast of warm cinnamon-scented air the moment she stepped inside. Dense luxurious fabrics adorned the walls with curtains and sun tribe tapestries with heavy woolen blankets thrown over every wooden surface. A roaring chimney washed the rooms in a golden sunset glow and her heart skipped a beat when she found a guy wearing a white cable-knit sweater pulling out a tray of fresh biscuits out of a brick oven.

Like the other brothers, his eyes were blown black but his body build was way bigger as if he goes to the gym on a daily basis. The way his tight-fitting sweater was snug around his muscles made it look uncomfortable but there was a lightness in his expression that made it seem like he didn't have a care in the world. His hair was shorn down to its roots, and he wore silver earrings. Something about him reminded her of a predatory shark, but damn, she really wants those cookies he was holding.

U'tu gawked in every direction, sparks shining in his eyes, "It's everything I thought it would be."

The guy in a luxurious white sweater pointed at the kid, "The infamous U'tu."

"That's me." he said, his chest puffing up.

"I'm Sul'ahvi. It's good to finally meet you. Come and get dinner. You must be starving. We've already prepared a feast ahead of time."

The kid didn't even bat an eye as he started scooping for food in his plate. "What are we celebrating?"

Sul'ahvi's brows creased, squinting at the kid in a calculating survey then straightened, shaking his head, "Must not have happened yet."

"I told you it was way too early." said Na'reem, lighting up more candles on every surface.

"Hi, I'm River." she greeted them.

"And I'm called Sul'ahvi," he said, a thin stubble around his jaw "You must be the curse breaker."

Me'ren corrected him, "I think the sun tribe prefers the term behagthi."

"Of course. The lot of you are scholars" Sul'ahvi said, rolling his eyes with his dimples making an appearance as he gave a radiant smile "Leather looks good on you."

"Thanks." said River.

"But where you're going you gonna need a few more layers to add." he said, turning to Me'ren "Did you remember to do the extra orders in time?"

"Would I ever forget? It's Na'reem you gotta worry about those deadlines."

At that, Na'reem perked up from his candles, "Shoot. I'm supposed to be finishing up last month's orders. Be right back." he ran up the stairs which had red carpeting thrown over it and were made of dark brown wood with iron railings on the side.

"It honestly didn't occur to him until you pointed it out." said Me'ren.

"I'm guessing all of you are not from the sun tribe?" she surmised.

"Gods, no. Not with those old-timers. Could you imagine?"

"I don't know what to imagine, truly." she said "I'm not from around here."

Sul'ahvi leaned down to her, peering at her close, "Are you though?"

"I think I have a good sense of knowing where I come from, thank you very much."

His grin started slowly, "Biscuits and gravy?"

Her gaze dropped to the feast sprawled atop a dinner table and said, "I thought you'd never ask."

They settled next to the fireplace with the wolf taking up much of the space. Everyone was done eating except for U'tu who was cradling a large plate of food in his lap and asked, "What do the gatekeepers do exactly?"

Me'ren placed cups of tea on the coffee table before sitting himself on a sofa chair closest to the fireplace. "Oh, you know. Keep the wild animals off the tunnels. Our pack of sheeps takes to the underground gardens naturally. Na'reem says it's the rocky mineral waters that keeps them extra prolific in growing wool at such a short amount of time. Because of it, business is doing great. Also as part of our gate-keeping duties, we make sure nobody passes the threshold to snow tribe. The snow mountains are poisonous up there so we make it possible for snow tribespeople to trade goods with other tribes with as much minimum interaction possible." he steepled his fingers together, watching the fire for a moment "Let's see, I make the by-products which are usually candles, threads and sweaters. Na'reem takes care of the animals. And Sul'ahvi manages the go-between relations for the tribes. Dangerous matters but someone has to do it."

"May I ask what tribe you are from?" she asked Na'reem who was blowing steam off his cup of tea. His beard was fully rugged around his mouth down to his neck. He wore a thin layer of beige sweater over his grey shirt. Pulling another layer of blanket over his shoulders, he answered, "Only the best tribe there is. We're from the dark tribe."

She looked to the wolf, "How many tribes are there?"

U'tu answered. "Only four. Sun tribe is the most popular. Snow tribe likes to keep to themselves. The dark tribe is literally everywhere. And the other tribe.."

We don't speak of the other tribe, said the wolf.

"Why not?"

"We're not sure if they even exist anymore." said Me'ren. "We haven't heard from them in centuries. Since you're new around here, River, it would be wise not to bring up the 4th tribe. It doesn't bode good things for anyone. Literally anyone."

"Right. No 4th Tribe talk. Duly noted." she said as Aidan murmured in her mind, that is an understatement. The fourth tribe are ghosts from an age of disaster and ruin. We don't bring them up unless we're trying to prevent another tribal war.

Sul'ahvi glides in the room carrying a pan of steaming hot apple pie, placing it on the coffee table across them, "Did you all leave room for dessert?"

The kid squealed in his chair, "Did I ever. I can't wait to tell Lei'la all about this, she would never believe me."

Sul'ahvi sat back "I think you underestimate poor Lei'la, dear U'tu."

"Do you know her?"

His smile was mysterious, "I've heard enough about her to know she has got great potential."

"Does she ever." he said in a mouthful of apple pie, "She won five bets with me on a row. That never happens. I have yet to pull a win on her."

"It won't be long, I'm sure."

He grinned, "I got my fingers-crossed."

The wolf perked up, turning to Me'ren, my sources say you know something more about the curses.

Me'ren sighed, relaxing into his chair, "Isn't this grand? Suddenly, the sun tribe doesn't know it all."

Growling, he took a threatening step, the things the elders know about you brothers. You won't like it once we make it known who you truly are. Who you all are.

Sul'ahvi stepped in between, "Now, now. It's not the time for discourse, I should know." he chuckled. "Which part of the curse would you like to know?"

All of it

"If that isn't where the problem lies, I would tell you."

He whirled to Sul'ahvi, gray eyes glowing, it wasn't a request.

Na'reem was in front of the wolf out of nowhere, River didn't even see him come in, "This is the fate of Natura Brumcia, my prince. As it is willed by the Great World."

It is true, then. You hold a connection to the Great World.

Na'reem glanced between his brothers and answered, "Yes. But it is faint, and we only carry glimpses of what is about to happen. We can't tell you the entirety of the curse as we don't have a true grip of what it is. Only that we are detached than what's natural because we're missing a brother."

Sitting back on his haunches, the wolf looked a few feet taller than everyone as he towered over them. Tell us what you know.

"Where do we start?"

The kid answered attentively, "The curses."

"Ah. Yes." Na'reem sat next to River on the couch, peering over at the wolf, "Between the elder shaman and the elder weaver, they have differing accounts of the Four Princes Curse, is that correct?"

The wolf tipped his head down in acknowledgment.

Na'reem scratched the back of his neck, "Over the years growing up, my brothers and I have had glimpses of how the curse of the four princes came to be in our dreams. Pieces of the puzzle but we've managed to piece them together somehow. Please know, it's not entirely accurate. We're still missing another brother whose dreams are vital to our complete understanding." he leaned to the kid, "What you're about to hear is going to be completely different than anything you have heard before."

Me'ren asked River, while his other arm disappeared behind his couch. "Have you heard of the Red Spider Creation?"

"I have." she answered, putting her empty cup of drink on the coffee table.

Me'ren clutched a red folded blanket close to his chest, and scowled, "Oh."

Na'reem grabbed the red blanket off him, and threw it open over River's lap with a sly grin, "He loves an excuse to tell this story."

With the pads of her fingers, she traced the intricate symbols patched in the blanket, "It is a wonder."

His smile was glowing, "Thanks. I believe it is my crowning achievement, best damned weaving I've ever made."

The wolf began growling in impatience.

Me'ren waved a dismissive hand, the golden rings on it glinting. "After the dawning of creation, the story goes, it was told that Brumcia was seated among the heavens because she didn't wish to feel the loss of her limbs."

Na'reem leaned in, piping up with a stronger dramatic tone "Soon after the first behagthi was pulled back to his own universe, Brumcia became heavy with grief and loneliness. She missed her one only friend, even though he had caused her great pain and change."

Me'ren looked pointedly to his brother in warning, then continued. "By and by, Natura Brumcia learned to manage her detached limbs by discovering their potent uses. Since she cannot spin herself anymore, she would spin her own detached limbs. She'd mix fire and air to make storms, water and air for ice, and then some."

River said, "She still found a way to brew her chaos."

He nodded, "Experimenting her limbs to the extent that vegetation finally rose up from the earth, infecting the waters with bacteria that grew from a potent dilution of earth and water, then given enough time the bacteria morphed and grew to sea creatures. They grew and grew again, evolving over time until it walked on land with four feet. The maiden Brumcia was too young at that time, and she hadn't known what time could do to her potent mixtures, but after seeing her sea creatures walking with their four feet on land, she was overcome with pride. She began grooming them and nurtured them into her likeness. Tried to make them better than she could ever be, using them as her own extension of her madness."

Na'reem butted in, raising his glass drink in study "Unfortunately, her inexperience reared its ugly head, her creature off-springs didn't turn out as she had hoped they would become. They were wildness incarnate, after all. And then it hit her. She came to realize that the one thing she desired the most was a behagthi that would show her another way of living, a transformation. She returned to her mixtures with greater purpose. This time around she will make a profound chaos so astronomical that it will call a behagthi across multiple universes. She brought upon a meteor fall of rocks and fire, black plagues that scourged her off-springs, multiple acts of terror that twisted into corruption, until eventually she was a maiden no more. But, a master of the universe, ruling evil and good, abundance and depravity, chaos and order. That is how she became to be recognized as the Great World. Whenever we pray for abundance and celebration; it will be to Natura Brumcia, the young maiden whose innocence brings peace. Whenever we pray for justice and order; it will be to the Great World. Same person, different aspect."

Me'ren coughed, "The chaos she brewed was big enough to pull a behagthi to her universe, all right. It ended up creating a devastating corruption for the four limbs. Out of her water limb came forth the snow tribe bringing boundaries and limitations to her creations and becoming her sentinels of terrors. Out of her earth limb came forth the dark tribe bringing dwellings and luxury; they became the instigators of greed. Out of her heavenly limb came forth the God tribe bringing visions and promises of hope; their inspiration prolonged the necessity of war, they were the reason why wars have stretched out for hundreds if not thousands of years. Bastards were the vicious winds that swept over fires of war into an even stronger blaze of a storm. Just a flick of their finger and tribes will come toppling down in a massacre."

Na'reem stretched his arms open-wide, resting it on the back of their sofa "Out of her fire limb came forth the sun tribe bringing legacy and remembrance; they became the became the avengers for justice. Each tribe got corrupted as a design to produce a chaos that will call upon a behagthi to this universe with every turn of the century. And each behagthi would push us to peace, balance, a new way of living," his chin tipped down, peering into River's gaze "World-changing transformation."

Her mouth went dry, "No pressure." she said

Me'ren cleared his throat, rubbing his temples "However, each prince of the tribe would carry the majority of the chaos as a burden. It's our curse. The sun tribe carries the wild beast spirit of the wolf. The dark tribe with their bear spirit. The snow with the serpent, and the god tribe with their eagle. For the past centuries, every prince from a tribe harbored the extreme qualities of their chaotic animal spirits, but never to such a degree where they actually become one." he said, staring at the wolf.

Do you know why this is happening? the wolf asked.

The brothers looked to each other, unsure. It was Na'reem who finally said, "We can surmise that it must be a new creation from Brumcia, another madness spirit that can push princes into their full wilder counterparts."

It can't be. Not another one of Brumcia's creations. You know what happened last time.

After a pregnant pause has passed, they said in unison. "Tribal wars."

The last tribal war is known by most to be undocumented. The elders believe it's because the god tribe wanted to disappear, because ever since the war ended, we've never heard from them since.

"Too afraid of the another war?" U'tu asked, an empty plate licked clean over his lap.

Not exactly. The god tribe harbors the freedom spirit of wildness. They are idealists, often living with their heads in the clouds, and refusing to answer to no one. They weren't exactly quiet about how much they wanted off the wars.

Me'ren worried over his bottom lip, "The Great World has tampered and tinkered in creating people for thousands of millenia. You never thought to think she has perfected it?"

"Impossible. She couldn't have. Our imperfections make us vessels for her divine chaos."

"Couldn't have what?" she asked, hating how her mind was elaborating traps with complex puzzles. She's still pegging on this strange situation as a strong hallucination induced by her very stressed-out psyche. Once this hallucinations pass, she and Dr. Malia will be discussing about this thoroughly.

Scratching his chestnut head, Me'ren seemed apologetic "We could only go based off what we found in our dreams. We are not entirely sure. Again, the last tribal war had been undocumented, there's nothing concrete about this whole new madness spirit that Brumcia might have created."

"Or so we thought." said Na'reem.

His two brothers groaned in sync, their hands quickly supporting their heads.

"We have a hunch" Na'reem started "that everything alluding to a perfect daughter of Brumcia had been destroyed by the god tribe. It must be why there hasn't been any wars since they disappeared."

The wolf huffed, Isn't that a far-off shot in the dark? A perfect daughter is not possible. It would go against her primal nature of chaos.

Na'reem leaned in further, "Okay, but get this--"

The wolf scoffed, cutting him off. Your hunch is baseless and entirely insane. Let's stick to the facts.

U'tu creased his eyebrows, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, "What's the hitch? Why is it so far off?"

We are the children of wildness and chaos. Peace is not in our blood.

The kid's face perked up, his back straightening "Not necessarily to behagthis."

They swiveled to River.

Lifting up a shoulder in a shrug, she said "Just tell me what to do to get myself home. I'm willing to do whatever it takes. The sooner we get started, the sooner this can be over."

Sul'ahvi said, "I know it sounds like a lot. And well, it looks like they didn't leave anything for me to tell you. That's pretty much the whole story."

U'tu took this in, staring down at the floor before saying, "River says that we got the Champion of the Ages wrong."

Aidan continued, she thinks it must be the one whose invention had gotten thousands killed.

"Not think." said River, narrowing her eyes at him, and I don't appreciate being spoken about as if I'm not right here in the room. It's rude.

Wolfish ears perked up straight and his snout pushed a sharp exhale, you speak to me in mind-speak? How?

She rolled her eyes, turning to the dark tribe brothers "I believe it true that this behagthi from the snow tribe must be your champion of the ages for having defeated thousands of people."

"The behagthi in the tower stronghold." The brothers looked to each other. "We had a feeling you would be coming for him."

Sul'ahvi. "The tower stronghold is a castle filled with bricks and stones. Iron bars and steel. It's a poisonous rut for tribal people who are waiting for their death sentence."

Na'reem scoffed, "You mistake this, brother. Death is too good for them. What happens in the tower stronghold is far more sinister than I care to discuss. It is only for the behagthi to await his death sentence, no one else dares to slight their Ensign Council."

"So much for a behagthi as a blessing to the Great World." U'tu grumbled, "What about the daughter of Brumcia?"

Aidan sneered, silliness and conspiracies. You're basing this off dreams. Even the most experienced shamans won't rely on it. It's far too tricky. As far as we know, a behagthi is the key to breaking the curse. If the shaman's prophecy is anything to go by, I must defeat this behagthi in the tower stronghold.

Me'ren laughed without humor, "That stronghold is the largest capital in the heart of snow tribe. It's the most guarded place in all the lands. Not to mention the fact that the air there is poisonous. Once you breathe it, then leaving the snow mountain is no longer an option or else death awaits you."

Na'reem opened a mini-journal from his pocket, "Tonight would be the ideal time to infiltrate the stronghold. Mass festivities in the central square so the security will be less guarded than usual. It's ideal to enter through the front gates to avoid any suspicions, and if they ever ask what you"re there for.." he spied U'tu, "the kid should make for a good cover. You can tell them you're personally delivering him for rehabilitation with expression instructions from the tribal king."

"May I see?" River pointed to his mini-journal, flipping it through page by page, "For someone who hasn't been to snow tribe, you sure do know a lot about it."

"I'd be a pretty crappy gatekeeper, if I didn't." he said mildly.

"Oh, by the way," Me'ren called from his chair, "Since you"re going undercover. The sun prince can't go with you."

The wolf protested with a growl and hovered over them like the wrath of God in a blink of a second.

Sul'ahvi took a brave step forward and said "You'll be hard to miss, sun prince. You're gonna be poking out like a sore thumb, no doubt about it. For a covert mission such as this, it's vital to be inconspicuous, don't you agree?"

Me'ren rested his hand on his brave brother's shoulder, "Yes, it's by far the best to advice that you stay out of the snow tribe's visible sight. And their second eyesight, which are thermal."

"I'm sorry what you mean by that?" River asked.

U'tu's eyes glittered, "Haven't you figured it out by now? The snow tribespeople are serpent vipers."

River let out a disbelieving breath, "Why, of course. If the sun tribe can change into wolves, why not the other tribes too?"

"Partially. We can only change at a partial level. Heck, even the best of us can shift up to a half point only." he said, excitement written on his face as he peered up at Aidan, "My sun prince is a miracle."