As Teya collected a bucket of Chronacist crystals for me, I set up my microscope to examine them more closely.

The crystals were fascinating - according to what Galateya revealed, they seemed to have been produced by blood magic, but unlike Cali's blood-magic artifacts, there were no negative trails or corrupting influences visible within them.

I peered through the lens, adjusting the focus to get a better look at the crystal structure. It was intricate, almost fractal in nature, with patterns that seemed to shift and change as I watched.

The more I observed, the more I realized how similar these crystals were to the ones in my own blood.

"Teya," I called out. "I need to ask you something about these crystals and your... existence."

Through Stormy's meows and paw taps, I began to interrogate Galateya about her long history as a river spirit. As she explained, a pattern began to emerge.

"So, let me get this straight," I said, piecing together the information. "You've been fulfilling bargains in exchange for blood sacrifices for millennia?"

Teya's watery avatar nodded, and Stormy tapped 'Yes' on the Codex.

My mind clicked.

Why didn’t Galateya turn evil like the Gygr? Was it because she chose to wield water, not void?

Bargains. Fulfillment. Trades. Running water. Deeper, darker Void-trails manifested in Bobliss. Void trails within Cali's lavalier.

"Teya... I think that you achieved a state of balance over millennia by serving humanity," I speculated aloud. "The fulfilled wishes, pacts with humans, running water which was difficult to master with magic - these aren’t just about selfish control. You didn’t desire power, didn’t step towards darkness. Fulfilling human desires to the letter must have kept you... anchored, preventing you from falling into the Abyss."

Teya's faces ripped as she nodded at me in agreement.

"I do wonder if cursed domains are cursed because they're made from selfish desires," I pondered.

My gaze drifted to where Bobliss's body was still being ground down by the river. An idea struck me.

"Teya," I said, "I need more of Bobliss's blood."

As Teya provided me with another fresh sample of the Champion's blood, I retrieved one of Cali's contracts. With careful precision, I soaked the gold pen in Bobliss's blood, hoping that it would theoretically bind the fallen Champion.

Then, I signed the page while holding the pen with iron tongs as "Jarl Bobliss".

For a moment, it seemed to work. The blood seeped into the parchment through the gold pen, the contract glowing faintly with magical energy, silver-blue tendrils extending from the contract to the Bobliss-sphere in the river. But then, to my dismay, a void-black hexagram formed over the contract and gold tube and the paper suddenly burst into black flames, burning away to ash in seconds.

“Minus one contract,” I sighed.

The river spirit tilted her head at me.

"I think Bobliss has somehow made himself impossible to bind," I explained. "Perhaps through a blood pact with the Gygr? It would explain why he's so hard to kill and why Cali couldn’t influence him with her charisma."

Teya seemed to consider my words.

"This complicates things," I continued, pacing back and forth. "If we can't bind him, and we can't fully destroy him, what options do we have?"

Teya gesticulated something.

“Hhh–rrrr-ttt,” Stormy mewled.

“Right,” I said, tapping my chin. “His heart. He said that his heart isn’t in his body. Maybe that’s what makes him immovable. Hopefully if we mess up uncle George’s farm enough, it’ll mess up Bobby too.”

Hypothesis: Witches remain mentally stable as long as they serve humanity, making trades for their potions. Yaga Grandhilda used blood magic of the people of Svalbard to create me, as a pact with its people. A selfish witch, on the other hand, turns into a Gygr because she uses blood magic to amplify her own desires. More selfishness produces deeper connection to the Abyss. Fallen Heroes fall to the void because they see themselves as the center of the world like Bobliss.

I wrote into the Codex.

. . .

I spent the next few days working on figuring out how Teya's water control functioned. I left her and Stormy with a Voicecast stone and the farcast orb sending the kitten orders and rode on Castella upstream, giving Teya orders to form specific shapes across the river, to see how far her range actually extended.

It turned out that Teya could form specific shapes within the water only within 10 meter distance from her megalith, which likely functioned as her 'brain'. The river itself, filled with Chronacist sand particles functioned as her 'body', but the further upstream I went, the more Teya's control over water decayed. Oh, sure, she could make the upstream water wiggle or push up to obliterate ice, but that was about it, she couldn't actually form the image of the shuttle once the 10 meter threshold was crossed.

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At around 100 meters out, her water control was still there, but very patchy, nothing complex.

At around five kilometers out, her control over the river vanished almost completely, only causing randomly rippling eddies in the stream. She told me that she could 'sense' the river further out, but couldn't actually do much with the water.

Returning back to Svalbard, I tested how much weight Teya's water arms could lift and how precisely she could 'bend' water in her 10x10 meter imaginary bubble.

Thus armed with new knowledge, I spent the rest of my time working on Teya's new form.

Using leather scraps, tar and animal skins from Svalbard, I crafted a set of watertight armor. The design was intricate, with channels and chambers to allow water to flow freely throughout the suit. I reinforced the joints with metal fittings and added a large, sturdy backpack to house her megalith.

As I worked, Teya continued to gather Chronacist crystals from up and down the river, bringing more of herself to Svalbard to increase her local control.

Finally, the day came to test our creation. I used tar to cover the suit with a thick layer of Chronacist crystals. Then I filled the suit with water and Chronacist powder mix and carefully placed Teya's megalith in the large backpack.

Then, I waited.

At first, nothing happened. The suit lay motionless on the ground. Then, slowly, the fingers of the gauntlets began to twitch. The arm lifted, then the torso. It was eerie to watch the faceless armor move of its own accord.

Teya's watery avatar appeared next to the suit projected by the megalith. Then, she stepped into the suit, filling its insides, her head flickering inside of the otherwise empty Nordstaii-style helmet.

“L-lrrlllegs! aIiii…. Nhvfffffff lerggsss!” Through Stormy, Teya expressed her joy at being able to move on land again after so many epochs of being just a ghost.

"How does it feel to have legs?" I asked, grinning at the suit.

"Strrr-nnngg," Stormy mewed. "Ddd-fff-rrr-nnn-ttt."

"Strange and different," I translated. "I bet. Take your time getting used to it. We can make adjustments as needed."

Her movements were still a bit jerky and uncertain, like a toddler learning to walk, but there was an undeniable grace to them as well. Sitting on the ground, she turned her head towards me and gestured for me to come closer. I approached, curious about what she wanted.

“Hrrrrr-ppp… mrrrreeee… ssstannndd,” Stormy mewled.

I grabbed Teya’s leather-covered hands pulling her up.

“Mrr... hhneeelll-pfff…. mrrrrreee… wlllkkk,” Stormy spoke into my ear.

I grabbed Teya’s armored hand and we took a step forward as she clung to my shoulder. Then another. Then another.

With each step and creak of the armor suit, Teya’s footsteps became more confident as she learned to balance the heavy megalith on her back. We walked hand in hand down the river’s shore amongst the ruins of disassembled Svalbard and then ascended up a wooden stairwell into our ship.

“Gifffff… mrrreee… a bbbb-boow,” Teya said through the kitten.

I went into the storage shed and grabbed the biggest bow I could find, returning with it.

I watched with fascination as Teya carefully grasped the large huntsman’s bow. I placed a bucket of arrows next to her. Her movements were still a bit stiff, but there was focused passion in her posture that was impossible to miss.

She nocked an arrow, her leather-clad fingers fumbling slightly with the motions.

"You got it!" I encouraged.

Galateya nodded, her helmet turning slightly in my direction before refocusing on the nearby dead pine tree. She drew the bowstring back, the leather of her suit creaking slightly with the effort.

For a moment, she held the pose, water rushing audibly through her suit as she adjusted her aim. Then, with a soft twang, she released the arrow. It flew wide, missing the target by several feet and disappearing into the underbrush.

"Not bad for a first try," I commented.

Teya reached out for another arrow in the bucket, a focused look on her liquid, magic-woven face.

“Were you an archer when you were alive?” I asked curiously.

“Yrrrrrsssss,” Stormy replied as Teya’s watery lips moved. “Grrrrnndddfff-trrrr ttggh hh-uuu-nrrrtin.”

“Grandfather taught you how to hunt?” I commented.

“Esssss,” Stormy replied.

Galateya drew the arrow again with the strength of water-powered muscles, took her time to aim again and sent it flying. This time, the iron-tipped arrow struck the pine tree, making it shake, sending snow flying from dead branches.

Teya raised her fist in a triumphant gesture and did a little happy jig the leather of the joints of her suit creaking with the movement.

“Great job,” I said.

Teya lowered the bow and then walked to where I stood, focusing her face on Stormy sitting on my shoulder.

She reached out and slowly and carefully pulled me into a tight embrace. Thanks to an excessive layer of powdered Chronacist covering the suit of armor, she knew exactly where I was, felt my presence through her crystals as water and land magics collided against each other, producing invisible grating sparks.

I was momentarily startled by the unexpected contact of her hug. Looking into the helmet, I saw that a hundred human faces flowed into each other, each one filled with joy, trails of glittering water shimmering down the faces. She was crying too, I realised.

The hug was an odd sensation. The leather armor was cold and slightly damp to the touch, but I could feel the subtle movements of the water rushing within, almost like a pulse of a beating heart. It was as if I was being embraced by the river itself.

"Mrrnnnk ouuuu," Stormy mewed softly from my shoulder, translating Teya's emotions as the river spirit held onto me. “Mrrrnnnkkuuu…. Sssssooo… mrrchhhh!”

I patted her back, feeling a lump form in my throat.

This moment felt monumental, like witnessing history being made. Here was a girl who had been trapped as a river for millennia, now able to express physical affection for the first time in eons.

"You're welcome," I smiled back at her. "I'm glad I could help."

“Mrrrrroooo,” Stormy said.

“More what?” I blinked.

“Mroooo brrrrooood-iiiiisss,” Stormy mewled.

“You want another body?” I blinked. “What kind?”

“Aiiiii….dddrrrrrriikke… aaa… bb-rrgggg drroooggg,” Stormy repeated, sending what looked like an annoyed glance of violet-silver eyes at Galateya.

“A dog?” I laughed. “You want a... water dog to control too?”

“A vrrrrruu brrrgggg onnnnee!” Stormy voiced out as Galateya grabbed my hands, squeezing them. "Rrrrrrun fffffassssstttt!"

The kitten then added a head shake with a mild look of disapproval.

“Srrrrryy Sstrrmy,” Stormy said for Galateya.

The river spirit reached out the grumpy kitten on my shoulder with a leathery hand and gave Stormy a scratch behind the ears.

Stormy melted into the scritch, seemingly approving of the river-dog-person with a soft purr, as long as she dispensed the pets.