The village had hardly changed in the short time Jake was gone. Six months wasn’t long enough for drastic changes to the area and it made remembering the walk back to his Auntie’s tent very easy. She didn’t need to direct him anywhere new nor introduce him to any new faces. If he had to point out the most deviant detail; one woman he remembered being pregnant was no longer so. Otherwise, home was just as he left it. Quiet and peaceful with the occasional shout from playing children or distant laughter. Most of all, his Auntie’s tent remained as recognizable and inviting as ever.

The familiar flap swung open as his Auntie pushed it aside and Jake stepped through into the warm hearth he remembered so dearly. The moment he stepped inside his nose was overwhelmed by the strong smell of tea, filling his head with the sweet aroma of comfort. Along with the slight tinge of spice lingering as evidence of a recent meal, his sinuses opened and cleared. Jake could feel the change in the air temperature within the tent, as the sun failed to penetrate the thick canvas protecting the space. The cool air tickled his skin, providing natural relief from the oppressive heat. The sand was cooler as well and he would be comfortable walking barefoot without burning the soles of his feet.

“I’ll brew some tea. Set your things where you feel best, Lyaha.” Auntie Rayne stepped out of her sandals and motioned for him to do the same. Her experience with his father likely told her that she would just get in the way of all of his gear, something Jake was thankful for. Rather than fuss, she left him to his devices and focused on preparing something to drink.

“Yes, Auntie.” Jake did as told and set down his pack beside the front flap. The gear inside rattled briefly before he used the pack as a temporary seat. He unlaced his boots, pulled on the eyelets to stretch the leather, then pulled his feet free. The socks were thick and moist, wet with sweat. He had considered traveling without socks on his return trip to minimize the waste of clothes, however he elected to endure the burden. Only because he could cover the fatigue with magic, of course.

Walking barefoot would have left a nasty film of residue on the leather and the friction of skin to boot would have increased the hot spots and blisters. Thus, when regulating his body to keep himself safe from the desert’s fierce nature, he put special care into his feet. He kept them cool, dry, and regularly tended to the fatigue in the muscles. Even when he gradually peeled away his aura and relinquished his body back to nature, his feet remained protected. One’s feet were a lifeline on long distance journeys. Failure to take care of them would have crippled his progress.

Now exposed to the cool air and gritty sand, Jake placed his feet down. The motion was tender, careful, as he was uncertain of how he’d like it. Though familiar and inviting everything had been so far, it was the crunch beneath his feet that made him frown. Jake found the sensation to be almost foreign. His feet were calloused now, harder. Tougher from all of the harsh walking in the underground pit in his boots. To place those same feet on the grainy sand made him oddly uncomfortable. It took a few moments for him to get over the feeling and move on.

Jake shed the rest of his excess gear and even his shirt to allow his skin to breathe. He rolled the bottoms of his pants up to his knees to further ventilate his body. He then applied a thin film of water to whisk away the sweat and grime. The water was promptly dumped into the sand in the corner near the front flap, cast into the ground and disposed of. It was no bath but it would do for now. He once more kept the knives on his back out of habit and personal choice, not wanting to be caught without them should something happen. He doubted anything would happen at home within his own village but not having a weapon within his arm's reach, he learned, gave him a great sense of anxiety.

“Do you need help, Auntie?” Finished getting comfortable, Jake closed his pack and turned to where his Auntie was boiling a pot of water.

She waved him off without turning. “No, Lyaha. Have a seat and be patient.”

Jake huffed and nodded, resolving himself to do as he was told. “Alright.” Before he stepped to the table, he checked the pair of water buckets near the entrance. Both were nearly empty. Without hesitating, the boy extended a finger and created a pair of water spheres above them. After altering their sizes, he dropped the spheres into the buckets, filling them up to their edges. When he turned to step towards the table, he noticed his Auntie was looking at him.

Jake froze for a moment, unsure of what to do and if he should say anything to her. He wasn’t ashamed of his magic nor was he going to continue hiding his abilities from her. Not now. After spending time in the Ravine, he'd grown too proud of it. Magic was his greatest tool and it gave him the opportunity to become who he was now. Even if his Auntie hated him for it or said something off-hand about it, he wasn’t so immature to be bothered anymore.

Strangely enough, though she’d watched him, she said nothing. Her head returned to the pot as she monitored the heat and Jake sat down at the table without uttering a word. It was almost alarming how silent she was compared to how dramatic she had been before.

The revelation that he was a magi hadn’t been scary in that it made him a mage. Rather she made it clear that she hated the harm it could put him in. She was right and he had been foolish for not taking her words more seriously. Being young and unaware of the strength at his fingertips, Jake was blind to her fear. Wholly ignorant of it as he bullishly charged into the fray. As if expecting it all to work out fine simply because he suddenly could throw some balls of water and fire around. It was a false confidence. Fueled by the lack of experience paired with an invincible mentality due to the presence of the Arachkin Guardian at his side. He’d certainly learned the consequences of that mentality, survived them, and grew from them. From what he had faced, if he hadn’t matured within the Ravine then he would have no right to even call himself a man.

“Lyaha?” His Auntie’s voice snapped the boy out of a distant stare. He blinked, his mind coming back to reality. She frowned, the thin dimples along her cheeks becoming valleys as she looked at him.

“Ah, oh. Sorry, Auntie.” Jake collected himself again before shaking off the brain lag. He adjusted on his cushion and scooched closer to the table, smiling as he waited for her to sit down with him.

Auntie Rayne stood for an extra moment, staring at him as if he’d missed something.

“Did you want a snack?”

Had she already asked and he’d missed it? “No thanks, Auntie. Just tea is okay for now.”

She smiled sheepishly as she knelt down on her cushion across from him. She placed the pot on the table and then set out two cups. As the tea finished brewing between them, her hands neatly folded across her lap. “Is everything okay, Lyaha? You seem… quiet.” She must have caught on to more than just Jake's change in demeanor.

In the Ravine, Jake had learned how to be as silent as possible within the tunnels. Doing so allowed him to pick up any sounds of Maedra either close or far. Any tiny alarm could give him and his allies that momentary edge needed to win. Only when guards were placed or if Jake put out Alert sigils did they allow themselves to be noisier than usual. Now that he was topside, he must have done the same out of habit.

“I’m fine, Auntie. It’s just something I learned, I guess.” Jake shrugged and gave his Auntie at least a reason for it. He didn’t want to brush her off. He knew it would hurt her if he did.

“I uh… I’m sorry, Auntie. For leaving the way I did. I… I never planned to be away for so long.” He found it difficult to voice his apology and lay bare his feelings.

Auntie’s lips quivered for a moment and she lowered her eyes. “Where did you go, Lyaha?” Her hands fidgeted in her lap, anxious and uneasy. She had many questions. Jake could see it on her face, so he’d answer them without hiding anything from her. It was what she deserved.

“The Ravine, Auntie.” Jake spoke the place's name without pause and his hands gripped his pants. His eyes flashed with memories as he remembered the place.

“The Ravine…” She murmured, still in disbelief. Or, maybe she didn’t want to believe. “Really?”

He nodded resolutely. “Yes.”

Auntie Rayne took a moment to check the tea. Finding it ready, she filled their cups before returning the pot to the table. She sat there, staring at the liquid between her hands as she breathed deeply. After taking a sip to savor the fresh flavor, she looked straight into his eyes. Her stare bore through him, not shying away from the distance in his gaze. “What happened, Lyaha?”

Jake felt his jaw tighten, unwilling to ignore the courage she summoned to speak to him so directly. If she was serious and planned to talk to him, he would hold nothing back. Jake drank from his own cup, draining a third of it to saturate his throat. Then he sighed. “I went to war, Auntie. I traveled to the Ravine in search of a way to better myself as a mage and as a person. Instead, I learned just how difficult the burden I now carry truly is. I lost friends, people I considered family, and I know I lost pieces of myself as well. In six months, I learned so much about who I am, what I must do, and what it may cost me. But, I also came to realize that I cannot shy away from it.” As his mind drifted, recalling the events of the last six months, his eyes lowered to the liquid swaying in his cup. He found himself lost in those memories, uncertain of what to share, what not to say, and where to begin.

“For those that I left behind I must become someone worthy of the gifts they have given me.” Jake squeezed his cup, his body tensing up as their faces flashed behind his eyes. It made him want to curl up into a ball and hide himself away for a while. Not out of fear but pure disappointment.

As if sensing that, his Auntie reached over the table and placed her hand over his arm. “I am here to listen to your story, Lyaha.” She spoke to him gently, showing him her patience as she gave him the peace to collect his thoughts. “Do not hold it in. Your father too had many things he carried and it wore him down over the years. But whenever he spoke with me, with your mother, I know it helped him accept the outcome of what he experienced. So, speak to me, my child. Your Auntie will hear the worries of your heart.”

Jake’s jaw clenched tight and he stared down at her hand. He struggled with what to do, uncertain and afraid of listening to her. The memories were still clear and the pain so fresh his heart wasn’t truly healed. Just thinking about it all made him want to shatter.

“Lyaha. Look at me.”

Listening, he raised his gaze. She smiled at him and raised her hand to his face. His Auntie cupped his cheek, her small thumb brushing over his skin. The heat of her touch melted away his anxiety, bringing peace to the torment in his heart. The kindness in her eyes. Though his Auntie had never seen anything like the events within the Ravine, or any of the things his father experienced, those eyes of hers weren’t blind to any of it. Maybe it was because she knew he might turn out this way that she was so determined to keep him from it.

He took a long breath, steadied his mind, and exhaled. “Before I left, Auntie, remember I told you I had gone to the Ravine?” Jake backtracked, wanting first to provide his Auntie with all she would need. “When I went there, I found something. Two things actually. The first was a friend, my friend Chul E’tana…”

The tale began at the beginning. The very beginning. From before he encountered the Maedra with Chul and instead to when he first set his eyes on the vast darkness that would soon become the catalyst of his new life. The tea in his hands slowly lost its heat as Jake shared his story with his Auntie. The Ravine was where it all started. A place of wonder, a place of potential. A place that challenged his imagination. It was the place his father had returned from, defeated. It was a place where Jake had been told of riches, treasures, and beautiful sights.

However, it was a place nothing like that. It lived up to its terrible nature. Cold, desolate, and far less forgiving than the desert. It was void of life and snuffed out with an iron grip. It was inhabited by a massive creature known as a Guardian, the Arachkin known as Chul E’tana who was tasked with containing the Maedra within it while also protecting the Gates of Judgement from the unworthy. It was at those very Gates where Jake’s trials began and where his friendship with the exiled and forgotten Arachkin was fostered.

She listened in stunned silence as he described the Gods, how he’d met them on the Heavenly Plane, and how they’d blessed him with magic. He took a moment then to take off his necklace and show her. He showed her the shard of Chul’s Mana Stone, the Finder’s Gem gifted to him by the Dwarf God Thaedrun. He then told her about the tattoos she had glanced at, explained to her their meanings, that he was no longer a normal person but an Apostle for those Gods, and he even demonstrated to her just what the gift from Lady Ferynith was capable of. He cast spells on every element he’d learned thus far, showing his gifted power.

Though she doubted his words, something he expected since she was such a devout follower of Salar, she did not dismiss him. The marks, the physical gift, and Jake’s magic were overwhelming evidence. His words were unquestionably true, and it was impossible not to believe them. However, Jake did not try to change her beliefs. Though he had met with several Gods, that did not mean there weren’t more.

Only then did he share with her what happened when he traveled back to the Ravine the second time. That fateful morning when he and Chul stepped out of the front gates, unaware of the tragedy awaiting them. Blissfully ignorant to the fact that they would not be returning for dinner. Instead of a quick trip to and from, they came face to face with a reality that was cruel and unforgiving. The Maedra Chul had been suppressing for so long had resurfaced, their numbers surging in his absence to retake the empty canyon. Chul used his overwhelming power to eradicate them, displaying a magical prowess Jake could not describe. In the face of such power, the Maedra were reduced to mounds of flesh and melted corpses.

Jake then described the Dragon Vein, the mana pool, and how he’d struggled to control that power. How it nearly killed him and how he’d been forced to change his very body to adapt to its power. Only for it still to not be enough, as the pairing came face to face with a being beyond both their strength. The Maudrake. Chul, the Arachkin Guardian with sufficient strength, calm of mind, and experience to take on a Maedra attack, was overwhelmed by an enemy truly terrifying. The battle was grand and Chul gave everything he had and more to try and kill the beast. All for it to still not be enough. Instead, knowing the end was near, Chul sacrificed himself to give Jake a second chance.

Oh how Jake regretted that moment and every choice he made leading up to it. Even now, he was ashamed of himself for it. He hated how he had taken Chul’s kindness and wisdom for granted. He hated how arrogant he had been, how immature he’d let himself be. How weak and useless he was even when his dearest friend struggled. Jake had been a burden. Dead weight. No gift at the time would have changed that. Jake had been too weak to change the course of that fight and was part of the reason Chul died, as Chul was forced to protect him instead of fight with his full attention on the Maudrake.

“I don’t think that is quite true, Lyaha,” his Auntie spoke up and gave him a warm smile. “Your friend fought so hard because you were there, my dear. Sure, things might have been different without you present but I do not believe he would have changed anything he’d done.” Auntie Rayne placed her hand atop his again, stroking his skin with her thumb to ease his nerves. “It’s when you are forced to protect what you hold dear that you find the strength and courage to struggle against any challenge. Something I believe you already know to be true, yes?” Without hearing the rest of his story, Auntie Rayne knew the boy in front of her was not the same. She could see it in his eyes, in his hands. He was no longer the boy who ran from danger. No. He was someone who would stand in front of it without daring to turn his eyes away from it.

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He had the same eyes his father did.

Jake nodded quietly and lowered his eyes. “Yes, Auntie.”

“Good. More tea?” She noticed his cup was nearly empty. Jake finished what was left and asked for a refill. As she raised the pot, he continued to speak.

Following the fight with the Maudrake, Jake told her about the three siblings that saved him from the flow of mana he drowned in. He shared the surprise he felt seeing another species other than the Maedra in the Ravine, how different they were from Humans, and also how damn annoying he’d found them. They followed him no matter how many times he shooed them away, one of them practically clinging to him as she fretted over his injuries. She irritated him to no end but he could not find it in him to yell or throw her aside. They were brave enough to help him so he didn’t tread on their kindness.

From there, he told her of how he encountered the Maedra again, this time without Chul to help him. He needed to use almost all of his strength to keep them away and learned again just how weak he was. It was frustrating and challenged him to do better. He developed his magic further, trained as his body rested, and forced himself to adapt to the new world he was now stuck in. Using those new skills, Jake eventually returned to the Dragon Vein and where he had lost Chul.

“I was too late, though…” Jake grimaced and looked down at the back of his right hand. The scar was still clear as day. “Chul had been killed by the Maudrake and his body was missing. Only my partner's mana crystal was left behind.”

His Auntie looked down at his hand, finally noticing the mark there. “Is that when you took the shard?”

“No. That’s when I truly felt lost. I didn’t know what to do now that he was gone and I cried. I broke down and my body felt numb. I hugged the crystal as if it were his corpse and sobbed. Well, until the Maedra came again. They were incessant. They never give you a chance to breathe or rest for more than a few seconds before another horde is running at you from the darkness. So I did the only thing I could think of…” Jake’s voice trailed off as he recalled that moment. The moment he made his decision.

“To fight?” His Auntie asked.

Jake nodded. “To fight. They were in a King’s domain. His domain. And even though he was dead, I wasn’t going to let them have their way.”

From then, little by little, Jake shared his story, every detail. Every face and name. He glossed over the minor things but shared it all with her, yielding only to answer small questions for context or explaining what a word meant.

Six months of hell finally fell from his lips. The emotions trapped within them burst forth until he recalled the final moments he spent in the village. The frustrations he faced. The disappointments. The struggles. The anger and hatred. And in the end, the feeling of defeat. When he looked for Yae, he never found her. When he was brought to where Xul was hurt, Xul was barely hanging on. He was in a state where even with medical attention, he would never live a normal life if he survived. Jake described the destruction he saw in the village, both of the structures and those who survived. The hopelessness of it all and the end of several generations in the blink of an eye. Genocide.

He had felt numb again. Weak and useless. Even though he defeated the Black Knight, Jake failed elsewhere. Jake had never balanced the scales in the Ravine. The Maedra were too strong, too quick, and too numerous. By relying on the Oryx to shore up weaknesses, Jake ultimately created failure points that he could not protect, and the Maedra exploited them.

That is when he learned that no matter how much faith he put into others, if they were too weak to defend themselves then they didn’t belong in the fight in the first place. The Oryx were a feeble race and their existence was a blessing allowed only because Chul E’tana, Guardian of the Ravine, made it so. Without the Arachkin’s dutiful nature in expelling the Maedra, the Oryx would never have existed. With no one to fight their battles, it was only a matter of time before the Maedra devoured them.

Thus, Jake took it upon himself to take that mantle. Armed with his cleansing spells that would purify the mana within the Ravine and with the two dragonkin companions, he hunted the Maedra. Not for the Oryx, but for the people who trusted their futures to him. For Chul, who passed the torch of defending the Ravine to Jake. For Xul, whose family wanted nothing more than a peaceful life. And for Yae, who Jake wanted to give a quiet place to rest.

“After we’d killed them all…” Jake paused, his jaw tensing again as tension returned to his shoulders. He remembered its sinister face clearly. “We hunted It. The Maudrake that took my friend, Chul. We searched the valley at the bottom of the Ravine from one end to the other, running for days, killing the leftovers as we put a plan together. When we found it, it was lumbering around the entrance to the Dragon Vein. Just where we thought it’d be.” Jake stopped there for a moment, drinking the last of his tea. It was his sixth cup and the end of their second pot.

“Did you kill it?” She nudged him. Her current cup of tea filled halfway and already lost its heat.

Jake nodded. “We did. We overwhelmed its magic resistance and tore it apart. We attacked it mostly with magic since it was so large and Xaudrix was on sister-duty. But that was fine. If I could have fought it on my own, I would have. So long as it was killed, the method didn’t matter.” Jake clutched his cup but immediately caught himself, easing his grip. He doubted that he could but he didn’t want to break the thing. “When it fell and I shattered its heart, I finally felt like everything was over. I got my revenge and everyone I'd lost could finally rest. Chul. Yae. Tul. Mora. The Oryx Warriors I fought beside. Hulgrok and Sid. Deris and her niece. The people I failed to protect because I was too weak, too slow, and too much of a coward…”

“Lyaha…” His Auntie noticed his downward spiral and tried to console him, but the boy shook his head.

There was nothing she could say. He knew he’d come up short. That was why so many people died. “Auntie, in my hands I held the strength to kill all those Maedra from the beginning. I know, I had to learn to control it before I could do that. That was not the case in the end. Before that final operation I had plenty of control. I had plenty of experience. I could have entered those tunnels alone and protected them all. But I played the fool. I acted like I needed to follow their rules and fight alongside them honorably. I acted as if I was one of them because I believed it was their fight. I believed that I was there to help them achieve their own victory. Instead of just squashing the problem and giving them the safety and freedom of life without the Maedra, I let them dictate what to do.” Jake’s hands curled into fists.

“I let myself be weak and listened to those weaker than me because I thought it was the righteous decision. I thought that by letting them win on their terms, they might learn. They might grow. They might become stronger and capable of fighting without me. I thought that maybe if I showed them how to fight and kill the Maedra, shared with them my magic, and lent them just a fraction of my strength, they could do it all on their own. Like a parent teaching a toddler to walk.” His hands shook from how tightly he squeezed his fists. His skin stretched and his forearms flexed. He felt the self-loathing course through his body, burning away at his mind and his heart.

He let go of it. Released the tension in his hands and unfurled his fists. “But I was wrong, Auntie. They couldn’t learn. They were doomed to die and I accepted that when I watched that village fall. The Oryx people were too weak to compete with the Maedra. Their numbers were always too few, their equipment too poor, their minds too immature. Their tactics lacked decisiveness. No matter how much I helped them, they still found ways to slip up and die. So, I decided to handle it alone. I cleansed the entire Ravine with the dragonkin and eradicated the Maedra so that another village like Ewana would never suffer again.”

Jake’s eyes lifted to meet his Auntie’s. Her face was a mix of emotion, uncertain of how to take what he said to her. He didn’t hide how he felt or thought. Even if it made him look like a terrible person. “They could not protect themselves so I did it all for them. I won’t let someone else lose their Yae, or their Xul and Tul. I won't lose another Chul. No matter what I have to learn or how far I have to go. So long as there are things that threaten the peace of this world, I will learn whatever it takes to ensure those things are destroyed.”

“Even if it means changing who you are?” Another voice entered the tent and warning alarms sounded off in Jake’s mind. He jolted, his spine straightening.

His entire body turned towards the voice’s owner who was sitting just inside the front tent flap. Wearing a knee-length blue magi robe, tied closed by a thin white sash around her waist, she was an individual Jake did not want to see yet. Her hair was tied in an elegant set of three braids, all wrapped into a single tail. She had a light blue flower hair pin tucked over her right ear and light blue eyeshadow over both eyes. The last time he saw her, she was dressed in Guardsman armor. Now, she looked every bit the woman he knew her to always be.

“When did you-”

“When you said you made it to the village, Ewana.” She cut him off as she got to her feet. The motion was smooth as she avoided kicking up the sand or ruffling her skirt.

“From then?!” Jake racked his brain over how he’d missed her entering the tent. However, he remembered that was the same time his Auntie loudly poured them both a refill in their cups. Focusing too hard on his own story, Jake must’ve let his guard down and she chose that time to show up.

Regardless, before him stood Elana. From her expression, she was not happy. Auntie shifted in her seat as if she was planning to stand but the new face motioned her to remain seated. Elana plucked the pot from the table and carried it to the kitchen so she could brew the fresh pot herself. “You sounded like quite a martyr there in the end, Jake. Six months in that place really turned you that narrow minded?” After refilling the pot and setting it to boil, she turned to face him. Her arms crossed beneath her chest as her eyebrows furrowed. Beneath those eyes, Jake felt himself instantly driven into a corner.

Yet, he no longer feared her stare. He had learned his values, who he was as a person. He would make the same decision he made in the aftermath of the Maedra horde again without hesitation. If it meant peace for the world, a small sacrifice was worth the price.

“Martyrs are fools driven blindly by perfect ideals and false scriptures. I witnessed the Oryx's failures time and time again first hand. Killing the Maedra and clearing the Ravine for them was the only solution to keep them alive.” Jake maintained his calm and placed his hands in his lap. “If I left them to continue their fighting, Ewana would have been only the first of many villages to fall.”

Elana lifted her eyebrow. “Oh? You sound absolutely certain about that. You think they needed your help to such an extent?” The woman turned as the pot whistled and her hands nimbly plucked the pot off the flame before snuffing it out.

Her prodding seemed odd but Jake knew she lacked critical information. “What are you getting at, Elana?”

The woman returned to the table, set the pot between them, and then added the flavor-filled leaves to the hot water. “You sounded so full of yourself is all. I was wondering why you thought so strongly that without your intervention, those people would all die."

Her voice was flat, nonchalant as if she were merely putting off the true danger of the Maedra. Jake couldn’t believe it but he also understood she hadn’t experienced the beasts first hand. No one in the village had. Thus he did not expect her to understand his choice. Maybe it was just his mindset that she questioned.

“You chose to fight for them. Admirable. Yet your reasoning makes it sound like you put yourself on that pedestal.” Elana placed the lid onto the pot, finishing her work, and then relaxed into her cushion as it brewed. “When did they ever ask you to do those things? When did they ever ask you to cleanse the Ravine? To finish their fight for them? Hm?”

Jake opened his mouth but stopped with his tongue stuck in his throat. Indeed, they never asked. Only when the council called for him did anyone in that village ask for him to fight for them. It was always Jake stuffing his nose into their business, trying to snatch the weight from them and carry it himself. The Oryx might have been a weak race but they had pride in what they had achieved. They’d earned their right to live in the Ravine and were willing to die for it, if that was what it meant. Jake took that from them.

He frowned, unable to hold Elana’s gaze. “I did what I thought was right at the time.”

“You did what you believed was right. I don’t fault you for that, Jake. However, I want you to understand that you don’t have to carry the burden of other people’s fights.” Elana leaned forward, trying to put herself into his peripheral vision. “Six months you were gone, Jake, fighting in a place you didn’t need to. For people who never asked. Why?”

“Because it was what Chul would have done. I did it to protect the people that became very dear to me and to protect the people who would carry on Ewana’s legacy.” Jake’s fingers gripped his legs as he fought the sudden urge to snap at her. “Is that not enough?”

Elana relented, looking instead at Auntie Rayne. Auntie Rayne gave her a soft smile and nodded.

“So long as you did it to protect those people, Jake, that is what matters.” Elana reached for the pot and poured everyone a fresh cup. “Just do not let the power go to your head, yes? Don’t lose yourself doing these things. I might hit you if you do." After pouring the tea, Elana returned the pot to the center before sipping from her cup.

“Since when did I have to do things because you said so?” Jake huffed and took a sip of the tea he’d been given. The flavor was strong but brewed almost perfectly to his taste. Something Elana had been working on for many years. He’d never tell her she was doing it right, though, out of spite.

“Oh? You didn't tell him, Auntie?" Elana glanced at Auntie Rayne again as she set her cup on the table.

Jake suddenly felt uneasy as his Auntie laughed.

“No, sorry dear. He looked so tired and I wanted to help him relax, so I asked him about his trip. He only returned this morning.” Auntie adjusted in her cushion to help herself get more comfortable as she too took a drink from her cup.

Elana sighed and shook her head. “It’s fine. Anyways. Now that you’re back, we are getting married.” She spoke bluntly, as usual.

Jake, however, rolled his eyes. “This again? Auntie, would you tell her-” Jake stopped, feeling both eyes on him. “Oh. Wait, you're serious.”

“I am.” Elana’s eyes narrowed and she glared at him. “You’re sixteen now, Jake. I retained my womanhood after my ceremony with the expectation that our families would arrange us together. After you left, I also became a magi, so I can freely choose whomever I wish to be my partner.”

“You crafty bit-”

“It was my decision, Lyaha.” Auntie quickly intervened before Jake spit out his lowly insult. “Elana cares for you, boy, and she has been here for us since you were young. You two have been together since I can remember. I see how she looks at you and though I know you may not feel the same way, I know the two of you will be happy together.” His Auntie smiled and folded her hands on top of the table. “This is not to corner you, my boy. I only want you to be happy.”

"As do I." Taking a deep breath, Elana positioned her body towards him, adjusting her cushions. “I’ve always been serious about you, about us.” She blushed, her cheeks darkening as she lowered her eyes. “M-Maybe not always, but since we were little…” Her voice softened, trailing off as she reached up to twirl a strand of hair. “You always ran away from my feelings like some brat and I never knew what to do but I told myself to never quit.”

As if steeling herself, Elana took a deep breath and lowered her head. “I love you, Lyaha Furrow. I wish to be your wride.”

Suddenly, the tent grew quiet. Jake looked at his Auntie, who put a hand over her mouth.

“My what-” “I said bride.” “No I think-” “I said bride.”

Jake suddenly felt the room temperature drop as he sensed something angry building beside him. His Auntie giggled as Jake choked on how to answer her question. His Auntie eventually waved her hand at him, telling him to speak. To say something.

Sighing, Jake turned to face Elana, who still had not raised her head. “You know, I’ve known your emotions for a while, Elana. I don’t think you’ve ever hidden them and you’ve made it clear how you feel.” Jake moved closer to her, grabbing her shoulders to coax her into raising her head. "But I’ve told you before. I cannot give you the family you desire. I cannot love you the way you want. Now that I’ve been outside of the village and have experienced just a piece of the world, the desire to explore it all burns even stronger.”

“I cannot be your husband, Elana. I cannot bring you the joy you seek.” Jake told her straight, denying their marriage with a serious face and a reason well beyond what he had given her once before. It wasn’t that he couldn’t love her. No, he certainly felt deeply for her. But she was a gorgeous woman with strength, pride, and intelligence that he could not foster. He would be the worst husband for her because he would not be there at all.

“Then give me a child.”

“Excuse me. You’re skipping steps here.” Jake recoiled, pulling his hands back.

Elana snatched his wrists. “If you’re going to leave me here in this place, give me something!” She snarled, her eyes widening. “I’ll take it if I have to.”

“What?! Auntie help!” Jake jerked his hands but she held on firmly, her grip solid as she leaned towards him. Auntie Rayne cackled off to the left of him.

“Oh you two. Stop it, Elana. Let him be.” Auntie Rayne laughed and chortled, her body shaking as she enjoyed the sight of the young couple in front of her. “Whether you want to or not, Lyaha, your bride will be Elana. It has been finalized already in the village. Within the family, what you have said is already understood.” She paused, taking a moment to drink some tea. “Elana is not wrong, however. All we want is a child. Someone to carry on your legacy in the village. As a man, it is not just your duty to provide a child for your own family but for your blood.”

Jake raised his eyebrows and his jaw dropped. “Did… Did you sell me off?”

Auntie Rayne chuckled. “Of course not, my dear. That was done years ago.” She giggled as she slurped more tea.

Defeated and tired, Jake sighed and planted his hands behind him, supporting his body as he leaned back onto them. “You women are witches.”

“Be thankful I’m pretty.” Elana giggled and slid to his side. She leaned over, her lips just a few inches from his ear. “Darling~”

The whisper sent a shiver down his spine. A shiver of fear.