We followed Yaga into her home, which turned out to be the hollowed-out base of the largest sequoia I'd ever seen. The entrance was hidden behind a curtain of hanging moss, and as we stepped inside, I couldn't help but let out a low whistle of appreciation.

I looked around at the interior as Stormy trotted about as if she already owned the place.

The inside of the tree was surprisingly spacious, with multiple levels connected by spiral staircases made of interwoven roots. Shelves carved directly into the wood lined the walls, filled with an assortment of jars, books, and what looked suspiciously like a vast collection of pickled body parts inside of organic-looking jars.

I couldn't help but notice Cali's wide-eyed expression as she took in our surroundings. The Arcanicx looked like she was torn between fascination and the urge to bolt for the door.

"So, Cali," I said, nudging her. "What do you think? Is this better than the Court of the Witch-Empress of Skulldug or what?”

"It’s... um, certainly unique," she managed, her ears twitching nervously.

I noted that Stormy found a cozy spot on top of what looked like a human skull and was contentedly grooming herself.

“It’s exceptionally cozy here,” I commented, noting the much larger interior than the single room presented to me inside of our dream meetings. “Also it's very warm outside. Are you somehow manipulating the local weather with giant, magical sequoias? Do witches prevent global cooling?”

“You know, I thought that I was sensing something awfully annoying grating on my domain,” the Yaga said as she lit the stove with a match. “Turns out it's just you, Ioan.”

"Just me? Aw, you missed me," I smiled. "Say, what are all these pickled body parts? Sentimental keepsakes from your other students? Should I have brought you a present? Sorry, is it okay for Stormy to sit on that skull?”

“It’s… fine,” the Yaga sighed, settling into her fancy root-formed chair and waving a hand in front of her for us to take up the smaller seats facing her. “So... you walked here.”

“Yep,” I nodded. “Is the silver-gray fog bordering your domain one of your protective spells?”

“No,” the Yaga said. “The fog is a spell cast by the Gygr. It poisons the land and hides a…”

“A Jotun,” I said. “I know. We met him on our way here. A very chatty fellow! He could use a shower though. Smells like a swamp.”

Cali looked between me and the Yaga, looking like her brain was going to boil out of her head trying to guess how and why I was so casual with the Yaga.

“Ioan, you’ve left Svalbard when I expressly told you not to,” the Yaga said with a frown.

Before I could comment on her shaming, the Yaga resumed talking.

“How much does Cali know about what you are?” She asked, waving a hand at Cali.

“Nothing,” I said. “Cali is still a work in progress. Keeps trying to enslave me and whatnot. You know how it is with strays."

Cali's tail lashed in indignation. 'I am not a stray! I'll have you know I come from one of the most prestigious families in Iridium!' Her glare expressed. She didn’t say anything out loud though, too terrified of the arcane powers of the Nordstaii Yaga and my potential connection with her.

"See what I mean?" I stage-whispered at the Yaga. “Look at the glares she’s sending me.”

My joke ratio was rather high today, as I was trying hard to diffuse my over-maxed stress-o-meter of meeting Mr. Aclard Dulsea face to face.

“Right,” the Yaga said. “Deal with her, if you please, Acorn.”

A black raven suddenly materialized on the right side of the back of the chair that Cali was inhabiting . The raven pecked Cali in the neck with a beak covered in something distinctively green. Cali mewled, grabbing her neck. Then she slid onto the chair, head lolling. A bit of drool emerged from her mouth, her tongue out as her eyes closed.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Stormy opened a single violet eye to regard the raven and then closed it, returning to her skull-snoozing.

I blinked, surprised by the sudden turn of events. Acorn had moved so fast I'd barely seen it or maybe it simply wielded powers equal to Cali's invisi-cloak.

"Well," I said, turning to Yaga, "that's one way to, uh, take a kitten out of the conversation. Is she going to be okay?"

Yaga waved a dismissive hand. "She's sleeping. Now, we can talk freely."

“Is it a problem if I left Svalbard?” I asked. “Should I have stayed there, growing weather-altering sequoias or something?”

“That… would have been preferable,” the Yaga sighed. “To answer your previous question–yes, me and the other Yaga are trying to stop the advance of the glaciers.”

“And are you succeeding?” I asked.

“We’re trying,” the Yaga sighed. “Alas, we are fighting a river with a wooden spoon. The glaciers will win, given enough time."

“That sounds... bad,” I said.

"Such is life," the Yaga said.

I nodded, settling back into my chair. "Right. So, about those Jotuns..."

“Start from the beginning, if you please, Ioan,” the Yaga said sternly. “And don’t skip out on the details. I want to know everything.”

I recounted the events since our last dream meeting, starting with me digging up my glade with a shovel, experiments on understanding the nature of my domain and using Stormy and magic blacksmithing to create a magical remote to control one of my domain’s functions. I explained how I killed two out of three bandits and described my encounter with Cali, her attempt to enslave me with a blood contract, and my subsequent discovery of her true nature as a Felix Arcanicx.

I detailed our interactions, the dragonglass gathering, and the gradual stripping away of Cali's Star-Shard magic tools. I made sure to emphasize the Gygr-featuring dream Cali had experienced and our meeting with the named Jotun in the forest.

Throughout my tale, Yaga listened intently, her expression growing more grim. When I finished, she remained silent for a long moment, her fingers steepled beneath her chin.

"You've been busy," she said finally as she grabbed herself a hot cup of tea and sipped it. "And reckless.”

“You should know me by now,” I shrugged, noting that I wasn't offered tea. “It’s what I do best–break the rules recklessly.”

“Regardless of your disregard for orthodox witchcraft… things are far worse than I feared," she said. "The Gygr of the Chernobog is growing bolder."

“Bolder how?” I asked.

“Using any and all means, involving the Arcanicx in our centuries-long match,” she waved a hand at Cali.

“What match?”

“Between growth and decay,” the Yaga said. “I create and she destroys. That’s how it goes. My sister and I… represent the fundamental forces of nature. I wield life and she wields… death.”

“Sister?” I frowned.

“Chrizantia, like me, was an apprentice of Yaga Baga,” Grandhilda sighed. “The dragon was hungry that day. Nary seven hundred years ago, Zarnitza destroyed two nearby villages - Shalish and Cherno. Christi and I were reborn during the same day thanks to Yaga Baga. We studied together under the same Master, and met together in dreams often. I did as I was told. Christi wanted… more.”

I leaned forward, intrigued. "More?"

Yaga sighed, her ancient eyes seeming to look through me and into some distant past. "Chrizantia was always ambitious, always pushing boundaries… just as you are. Where I saw balance in nature, she saw limitations to be overcome, rules to break. She believed that by harnessing the power of the Abyssal Void, by bogging up her domain, she could achieve true immortality. Christi wanted to save the Nordstaii people, push back the glaciers and even save the world from the poison of the Wormwood Star."

"And I'm guessing that didn't work out so well for her?" I asked.

"No," Yaga said grimly. "It did not. She delved too deep into forbidden magics, consorting with outsider entities from the deep Void. In her quest for power, she lost her humanity, selfishly dove too deep into herself, becoming a Gygr, a being of pure corruption and decay."

I whistled low. "Talk about a career change. So now she's your forever-nemesis?"

Yaga nodded. "For centuries, we've been locked in a struggle. I nurtured life to push back against the encroaching glaciers and the White Blight. She sought to twist the natural order to her will to take instead of give, spreading death far past her domain.”

“Wait,” I said as I looked at my master with wide eyes as a piece of the puzzle clicked in place. “The White Blight… did Chrizantia create it?”

“Yes,” Grandhilda answered. “She did. You know... you remind me of her, Ioan.”

“What?” I sputtered. “I’m not gonna create a magical, tree-killing plague!”

“I don’t know what you might or might not do,” Grandhinda said. “You’re flapping aimlessly like a headless chicken, doing incredibly reckless things, getting involved in blood magic.”

“I haven’t touched any blood magic, I swear!” I said.

“You bound her with blood magic contracts,” Yaga pointed a long, dark fingernail at the passed out Arcanicx. “To yourself. These things start with a few drops here and there, Ioan. Blood magic is an incredible power, but it gradually corrupts the body and draws the soul closer to the Void.”

“What was I supposed to do?” I complained. “I… I couldn’t just kill her! Stormy told me that she has to live, for now, so that we can survive! I wanted to study her mind-control magic, to understand her kind. If she is to be believed then Empress Amari will send another Sorceress after me, then another and so on! Every seventy seven days, until these magical-cat people drag me to their princess' court in Skulldug!”