“We were the dominators of our world. Any battle, or war, we won. The elmannise were superior both physically and mentally to anything else. That was until the omen arrived.

“We could not solve the problem of the massive void omen. Hundreds of elmannise groups were sent to complete the fable. Unfortunately, eventually we ran out of volunteers. This void merged with our world, introducing a vile plague.

“This plague was slow acting, nobody saw it coming. Our people began dropping like Jisus, one by one. There were only a few thousand who were unaffected. I and the high priestess decided our people needed to flee. So, once the next void showed up, we crossed worlds.

“We were fully intent on staying here until we saw how vile this world was. Sadly, we could not leave. The voids in this cursed land would never show no matter how long we waited, and the suns prevented us from looking further.

“So, this world that was once our savior, became our prison. Now, we can’t leave to search for any more fable rifts. Our people have lost their motivation and new elmannise aren’t bound to our old world. Aside from this, we are unable to cross the sky chasm. The four suns burn too quickly and with too much aggression. This is our home and also our graveyard.”

The high priest spoke solemnly through his entire story. Though, it was a respectful solemnity, not sadness. He had not shed a single tear throughout the entirety of the elmannise journey. He did not regret it, he respected it. This was what the high priest and priestess needed to do for their people, this was a fact that could not be changed.

He scanned the non-responsive group of guests, afraid to offend. With a slight squint of his eyebrows, he again spoke. “Questions.”

Again his voice rang out like a command, not a possibility. He would listen to their questions, and decide whether or not to answer.

“What does it mean to be bound?” Syllis eagerly asked. Her companions looked at her in horror. It was as if they were all thinking ‘how primitive is your knowledge of fable rifts?’

To Syllis, this was not a dumb question, she was intrigued. Whether she should have known or not, how could she have known?

“To be bound is your only connection to your home world within a void. Any void you enter while already in a void will bring you back to wherever you are ‘bound.’ This is why having children in a void is a last resort, a parent cannot go home without their children, they want to stay.”

The priest answered with sincerity, not treating Syllis like an animal. He treated her like a person, not ridiculing her inept knowledge on this subject unlike her companions.

“What’s the ‘sky chasm,’ high priest and high priestess?” Clyde continued his honest, diligent and leader-like personality.

Syllis knew internally that he was not the character he portrayed. To her, he was a sick man. A bastard who had blackmailed her into prematurely putting her life on the line.

‘Seriously. I still had a good six months before the fable rift. Clark and Dalea were not nearly ready to send you away.’ The secare nymph ran through her thoughts like she was talking to Clyde.

The high priestess instead took care of this question. “The sky chasm is the only way back to the surface. The walls of Abyssia are unscalable and we do not have the ability to mold so close to the surface.

“The chasm is lined with glow-trees and crop growth. It is a massive expanse, taking our soldiers around three months to travel only half of its length. They ran out of supplies and could not withstand the burning suns and returned.

“The blackstone walls extend incredibly high into the sky, much too high to scale. Brimstone burns blue at night only to recede once the four suns rise . Gravel skin bears burrow into these walls to evade the suns. Taran seep into the floors to evade the suns.

“This is the most crucial step to crossing. Originally we attempted to use glow-tree sheets to cover our soldiers doing the day, but it takes much too many sheets. Many sheets are needed due to the heat that ends up flowing through them. It is truly a hopeless endeavor.”

The high priestess was nearly as stoic as the high priest. Yet, her seductive tone was riddled with a slight sadness in the back, regret.

The outsider group took a few bites of food each before preparing for another question.

Clyde wiped his mouth with his sleeve before speaking. “So then what about—”

“Hold on.” The high priest’s tone this time, sounded even more commanding, like a rumbling earthquake. “We have told you our story. Now, you must tell us yours.”

Clyde looked defeated briefly, he had been intrigued by the elmannise and wanted to learn as much as he could as quickly as possible.

He did not dare let out a sigh. “It is only fair, I will describe our story. How far back would you like it to begin?” Clyde asked earnestly.

“Begin the moment before you entered your void.” The priest spoke, his mouth half full. He was intent on his guests treating him with respect, that rule did not exactly go both ways.

“Very well.” Clyde briefly cleared his throat, preparing for a long story. “It began as we were rounding an icy lake. The call of the void rang out, beckoning us…”

Clyde recounted the entire story, without skipping any details, aside from the use of their bonds. Safe for Aura’s of course, her bond was already noticed when they first landed in Abyssia. They had fallen down the large entrance into the void atop one of her bizarre balloon-like creatures.

He told them of the disagreement beforehand, their experience upon arrival, the blazing suns, the fall into the void and of course their detainment.

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Near the end, Clyde tried to shoot for some flattery. He praised the guards for their manners and complimented the high priest and priestess on their ability as leaders.

“Your people must trust you with every part of their being. It is envious, not achievable in our home world of Ethrailia.”

“Hmm.” The high priest merely grumbled as an offhand response as he thought through Clyde’s story.

The high priestess spoke. “Ah… I miss the days when we had a mere one sun. Now those Taran are attempting to invade every day…”

She mumbled the later half of her words, as though they were meant only for herself and the high priest.

Syllis’ pupils dilated and she opened her eyelids wide. She glanced around at her various companions.

Clyde had shared the same expression while Aura hid hers, remaining indifferent. Korman was shaken still, not giving much feedback, verbally or otherwise.

“Excuse me, high priest and high priestess. May we ask a couple more questions?” The diplomatic man inquired.

“You may.” The high priest allowed it.

“When you say that there used to be only one sun, what do you mean by that?” Clyde asked the crucial question.

“It is as simple as it sounds.” The high priestess answered. “We used to have one, and now we have four. Oh how the times change.”

“Right, forgive me for not making myself clear.” Clyde apologized sincerely. “What I meant was how and when did the amount of suns change?” He awaited their response.

This question lights a bulb within the high priest and priestess. They never saw the outside, hardly thinking of the chasm at all, including the four suns. They were busy caring for their people after all. After being reminded of it, the priest and priestess indeed were off put, it was peculiar.

Their faces reflected this fact. They were almost afraid of the implications that their thoughts would bring.

“When we arrived, there was a single sun. It glowed bright, but allowed for our people to work outside during the day for longer. While the single sun was shining, the sky took much, much longer to begin to burn. Roughly eight times as long.

“Eventually that sun grew, igniting the sky four times slower than now. It was a jarring change, but not nearly as much as when it split apart, becoming two. The sky burned at the same speed until both suns grew, burning the sky at half the speed it does now. Then, they split again, and grew until today. Now, it is impossible to work outside during the day. The sky burns in a mere hour.”

The high priest organized the information concisely. The problem of the suns became incredibly important. When they were out of sight, he had begun to disregard them. Now that they had been brought up, he was confronted with a scary thought.

This was the same thought that Syllis and her companions had been thinking after listening to him speak.

‘The suns will grow to eight soon, and they will burn hotter, and faster.’ Syllis remarked within, unsure of whether to be horrified or amazed. ‘Whatever civilization created such an intricate tale should be applauded.’

“High priest and high priestess, how many years have you lived here?” Clyde asked with a slight urgency in his voice.

“20 years.” The high priest provided a concise response.

“And can you recall when the suns split?” Clyde asked further, he needed information. No longer did he care for respect or honorifics. He had seen from the looks on the leaders’ faces that this was a problem for them as well.

The high priestess’ voice soothing voice rang out. “The first time was in our fifteenth year in Abyssia. We were so shocked, having lived here for so long, none of us expected it. The second was more than a year ago. The suns had grown at an incredible rate!”

Clyde turned as he finished, towards his companions. Each of them had been internally hoping for certain answers, this was not the one they wanted.

‘If the first split happened four years before the second, then there would be two years before the third… No, there had been no split before the first. Unless there was some event to kickstart it, this is not a linear string of events. It is becoming faster.

‘At minimum there will be six months considering we don’t know how far into the twentieth year we are. We have six months, we can do this in six months.’ Syllis reassured herself, though doubt continued to start within.

The secare nymph was only half certain of this hope though. It had taken the elmannise three months to move half the length of the chasm. This would place the entire chasm at six months to cross, this was the same as the minimum prediction.

‘The elmannise probably had to continuously harvest new glow-tree sheets the further they went, this must have consumed much more time that could be spent walking. Yes, we could likely cross within four months if we were entirely efficient!’

Syllis nearly prayed to Coryzan again within. She was not religious, but perhaps karma had played a part in this hope.

“High priest and priestess, I believe that the next time the sun splits, will be in less than a year.” Clyde spoke harshly.

Their faces were shocked. The elmannise were likely not as savvy in mathematics as nymphs and humans were, and by extension every other race in Ethrailia. The schools had always put a great focus on math, the elmannise might not have had a similar concept.

“I see.” The high priest fell into great deliberation.

“Oh no! We must warn the wall! These suns are going to eat at our Abyssia again! Oh and the Taran will try harder to intrude!” The high priestess was in full blown panic mode. Gradually, she quieted down.

“Would you mind if I asked a couple more questions?” Clyde spoke softly. He did not wish to come off as entitled, he was humble.

Silent nods replaced the usual commanding tone.

“Your wall at the edge of the chasm is being invaded, correct?” After seeing a few nods, he continued. “Could you tell us about the wall and why it is being invaded?”

The high priestess was the one to answer. Her counterpart was still deep in thought.

“The wall is a settlement of ours at the edge of our Abyssia, where the suns meet our city. The Taran are much more hostile than the gravel bears. They are formless, able to morph however they please and are afraid.

“The four suns eat away at our Abyss, they have slowly been gaining ground. The Taran who seep into the ground are likely afraid that their shelter below the earth is not stable enough and will soon be overridden.

“Thinking about it now. Perhaps the Taran had known about the suns’ imminent splitting all along, hence their desperation.”

The high priestess only sighed as she finished.

Syllis almost laughed, a soft smile curving up her face. This was where she would place one of her wry, self-deprecating laughs.

“I see…” Clyde mumbled slightly, thinking everything through.

This was a lot of information to take in at once. While it was difficult to wrap their heads around it, they did not have the time to mess around.

“Please, high priest and high priestess, could we be shown to the wall by one of your people?” Clyde asked fervently. He was ready to beg if needed.

They needed to get to the wall. Clyde and the rest of them were already thinking that if they could get to the end of the chasm before the suns split, then they could have a chance at escaping. It was not much to go off of, but it was the best they had.

“Of course!” The high priestess’ voice sounded more energetic now, or perhaps only more urgent.

They called for a servant of theirs. It was a small boy, unusual for the elmannise.

“Ehtis, pleasure to meet you, honored guests.” The brown haired boy greeted them with a heavy kneel against the ground.