A long day’s worth of walking left everyone tired. He had gotten used to traveling so much, that it didn’t overly bother him. But even he could appreciate moments such as these when they could relax a little.

They still had a few days until they reached the border. Once they crossed it, none of them would be seeing much rest from that point forward.

In the meantime, he walked by several huddled-up groups gathered around fires. He didn’t have his own fire yet but scrounged up some sticks. As he reached the little area near a packed cart, he dropped the bundle of sticks down into a pile and began lighting it.

With a little bit of patience and perseverance, a small flame began to appear. He blew air onto it causing the small flame to grow in size. The flame intensified until it no longer required air from his lungs to fuel it any further.

“Welp, good night!” Juna said with no delay whatsoever. She settled down onto the dirt ground near the fire and propped up her head on a large bag she used to carry some of her belongings along their journey westward.

It didn’t take her long to pass out. He was a bit envious. He could hardly fall asleep at a reasonable rate whatsoever. Instead, he was forced to turn it into a sort of ritual hoping that eventually, he’d pass out.

Rather than force such a thing, he sat comfortably by the fire hearing numerous fires crackling throughout this area they were in. He sat on an old big log leaning forward.

The flames danced around. He emptied his mind of thoughts only focusing on it. For a moment, it had his full attention. But when Lar turned over as she lay on the ground, one eye popped open and went straight for him.

She pulled herself up and got right on up onto her two feet approaching him.

“Can’t fall asleep?” he asked scooting over a little.

She sat down beside him to his right. “I suppose not.”

As if in defiance of their inability to sleep easy themselves, he could hear Juna snore a little. What does a guy like me have to do to get some sleep like that? Minus the snoring of course.

They watched the fire together while everyone else was either already asleep or attempting to fall asleep. Silvy and Abigail slept comfortably beside Frederek at another makeshift fire nearby.

Kiran kept his hands clasped together tightening them a little. Lar ended up leaning forward peering at him.

“What?” he said.

“You’ve got this weird look on your face.”

“I do?”

“Uh-huh.”

Keeping any annoying feelings from her was basically impossible. It didn’t matter how much effort he put into trying to look normal. She always knew something was up.

“You’re being awfully quiet.”

Come on Lar. Do you have to do this to me right now?

An evil smile erupted across her face. She hadn’t read his mind—or so he thought—and yet she read him with absolute ease.

“What can I even say?”

“Oh I don’t know. Maybe you could start by telling me about what’s bothering you.”

“And if I said it was you right now—” She began to pinch him a little. “Hey, watch it there.” She pulled her hand away from him and puffed out her cheeks. “You know me Lar. I was only joking. But fine. If you absolutely must know what’s been bothering me then I’d say it has to be my own thoughts.”

“Go on.”

Why don’t you go on and get some sleep? “I’ve had a lot more time to think about things since we left Valak. I didn’t have a lot of time to do much thinking while we were there considering everything that was happening. Let’s just say, that I’ve been struggling to reconcile with a few things.”

She nodded her head. “Uh-huh. Now get more specific.”

He sighed finding her insistence painful at times. “It has to do with my soul.”

“I knew it.”

“You did?”

“Of course I did.”

He furrowed his brows towards her.

“Oh alright. I didn’t know what exactly was bothering you but it doesn’t surprise me at all that it has something to do with your soul. So what’s the matter with it this time?”

“I mean as far as I’m aware, it’s fine for now. I haven’t been messing with it since we were at the cave. For obvious reasons, I’m not that fond of experiencing those negative effects I incurred anytime soon.”

“I would imagine. If I had some strange voice speaking to me offering to grant me power, I’d run off in the opposite direction. No one offers anyone immense power without a severe cost associated with it.”

“You might be right about that. But I’ve also been thinking about the state of my soul and how it became damaged or broken in the first place.”

When he came back to life, he hadn’t appeared in this world fully intact and whole. He came here as a husk with a body falling apart bit by bit. Until he met Lar, he was truly in a pathetic state of being. But despite linking their souls together, his was not fully repaired. Something had caused his soul to become damaged.

And he thought he knew why now that he knew more about his past and his ability to manipulate souls like Noreko.

“I never really explained to you what my first memory was when I came back to life.”

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“If you had told me, I doubt I would’ve forgotten.”

“It’s not a memory I’m too fond of.” Just recalling it whatsoever caused him to feel immensely uneasy. He remembered his arms being torn apart and his body sliced apart to a disgusting degree. And then like that, a fire that appeared black swallowed him whole. “My first memory,” he said, “was of me being murdered. That was the first thing I saw when I woke up in this world once more. And believe me, it felt just as real as everything feels right now as we sit here by this fire.”

He spread out his palm towards the nearby fire feeling its warmth. It felt as real as the heat.

“Do you know or recognize whoever it was that murdered you?”

Kiran shook his head. “For whatever reason, I’ve never been able to get a good look at them. I struggle to see them whatsoever. Their figure is faint and obscured.” He tried to recall what they looked like but all he could remember was their sword made out of a crystal and they had long brown hair.

As he remembered this detail about their sword that he hadn’t thought about in quite some time, he began to wonder whether their sword was made out of a much larger arcane root. If that was the source of their power, then no wonder he was so viciously defeated. They had utilized an immense source of power against him which only made him think he might’ve resorted to taking particular actions that would compromise his soul at the time. That could explain the state of his soul, but he couldn’t be certain about that.

“I think it’s possible that during that moment, I might’ve done something similar to what I did in that cave. That would at least explain why my soul is not fully intact.”

“Or there’s another explanation for it.”

“It’s entirely possible, but I think it’s reasonable to assume it had to do with me causing the damage myself. Regardless of what happened that day, they killed me and now here I am once more.”

“I can’t imagine there are many alive who are capable of recalling their own death or murder. The good news is that whoever it was that killed you, is likely dead.”

“And what if they’re not?” It was a scary thought to think about. He hadn’t considered the possibility but if Kiran was alive right now, who was to say they weren’t either? “What if they’re out there somewhere? If I can’t even recognize who they are, I could potentially run into them and not even realize it.”

Lar began to appear a bit frustrated. “We’ve already had to deal with someone as troubling as Noreko. Now you’re making me consider an even more nightmarish possibility.”

“Ah, sorry. These concerns are better left to myself I think.”

“It’s a little late for that. But no, it’s better that you’ve told me. You probably should’ve told me these details a little sooner, but I won’t hold it against you. If this person who murdered you is somehow out there, then we’ll just have to remain as diligent as ever. Although If I were to guess, I doubt they’re anywhere in this particular domain so if we stay here after all of our work is said and done, we should be safe from them.”

It frustrated him beyond belief that he couldn’t recall who they were. Like so much else in his previous life, it eluded him and remained a mystery.

“I’m curious,” he said catching her wandering gaze, “since souls are considered quite sacred to familiars in particular, what is your perspective on all of this?”

“I find it all most troublesome indeed. It would seem I’ve bound myself to a most troublesome human!” Despite what she said, she smiled. “But I don’t regret binding my soul to yours, even if you’ve put me in so much trouble. And if I’m to be perfectly honest with myself, I can’t act as if I don’t have any responsibility. I most certainly do. I sort of knew all the way back then however when we first met, that there was a lot of strangeness surrounding you.”

“Yet you wanted for us to bind our souls together despite all of that.”

“I had been wandering out there for many years. As strange as it may sound, I liked being alone out there for a while. But eventually, I began to crave something different. Eventually, I thought it would be better to not be alone any longer so when we crossed paths I took the opportunity.”

He knew even less about Lar’s past than his own. She wasn’t entirely forthcoming about it still. She seemed willing to, or at least more willing than she used to be but that didn’t mean she’d actually go through with it yet.

It wasn’t an easy thing to speak about one’s past. He had gone through it with Juna and seen how painful of an experience it was for her. She ultimately came out better for it or at least that appeared to be the case so far. Whether Lar’s past was as troublesome as her’s remained to be seen. He just knew that whenever she was ready, he would lend her a helpful ear.

* * *

A storm approached them from the west. It came from beyond the border that they recently gained sight of. Lightning revealed the desolate landscape full of faraway mountains and endless stretches of land covered in desolate hills.

He stood on a hill as they all stopped for a moment to gain their bearings. Lucias peered out while Halmond flew up in the air having returned from doing some reconnaissance.

Halmond landed and transformed. “I have seen what we’re up against.” They all eagerly awaited what he had to say. “It is as we suspected.” He directed his attention towards Rinas and Kiran briefly. “Your people have become surrounded and occupied by Lady Meredith’s forces. It doesn’t appear that any harm is coming to them. I did manage to sneak in and monitor everything to see what all was going on. It doesn’t appear to me that any harm is being directed towards them, but that can change quite quickly once they realize we’re here.”

“Let us get closer,” Lucias said. “Once we’ve neared the encampment, I will have you send them a message so that we can convene a discussion amongst us all so that we can prevent any unnecessary bloodshed.”

Halmond bowed his head slightly.

The fact that Lucias was entering their territory, would undoubtedly upset them, but he had already upset them by having sent them to that cave of hers previously. There wasn’t much more for him to do to make things worse for their relations. Kiran just hoped that he was as persuasive as he portrayed himself to be.

If things got out of hand—which was a high likelihood—they’d have no choice but to fight. He’d have to dig out the arcane root and use it.

An intense wind began to push against them. It roared ahead of the storm with absolute fury. “We must continue,” Lucias stated firmly. With his command, they all pushed through the wind together as one.

Overall, their forces weren’t all that large. They had maybe a hundred people or more. The rest of them were still at Valak. Felmir stayed behind to continue Valak’s restoration and protection while they were away. Neither he nor Lucias seemed all that concerned about the banespawn after their failure. Whatever reinforcements they had and the ones lucky enough to escape Valak rather than remain there any longer had all run back to Eylswaer with their literal tails between their legs. Or well, at least that was the case for the ones who had tails.

After several more miles of walking, he began to notice more light. The hill up ahead hid it quite well, but it was in fact there. It was where the rest of their people were and had remained for all this time.

“It’s time,” Lucias said to Halmond. “Inform them that we are here to convene a discussion. Insist that they bring every lord of theirs with them to an agreed-upon location that is safe for all of us.”

Halmond turned back into an eagle and flew to the west once more. “Worry not. They will agree to speak with me.”

“He seems quite certain about that,” Juna whispered from behind him.

“Let’s hope he’s right,” Silvy whispered back.

When Halmond returned yet again, he appeared eager to inform him of things. “They’ve agreed to meet at a location just north of here. There are some ruins that we’re sure to spot. That is where we will convene with them.”

“Good. I knew they’d agree to speak with me. They may fear or hate me, but they like most mortals, will do whatever they can to keep themselves alive.”

If there was one major component to his persuasion, it wouldn’t even have to be the fact that he was good with words. He was a Divine Familiar. If they knew that or suspected it, that reason alone would make them wary of not at the very least try to negotiate things peacefully.

“Only a few of us shall go,” Lucias said. “I want you,” he said pointing at Kiran, “Yorais and Rinas to come with me. The rest of you shall remain here and stay on guard.”

“What if they try something?” Halmond said with valid concern.

“They won’t try anything. I’m confident about that. But if you must, keep a close eye on things from the sky. If you see trouble approaching us from the outside, come and alert us immediately.”