"It was described to me as aether," Mimoza said lying back. The treelines overhead mostly covered the sun. Spots of light shined down on them as the wagon travelled forward. Astrin sat at the front of the cart guiding the horse with the ropes at hand. Gaiana sat next to Mimoza in the back, legs hugged within her arms as she listened.

"Aether is primal. Pure aura reserved for the Gods. It is primordial, it is the fifth element, and it is inside of us. Deviants are essentially instruments to aether, drawing upon this celestial energy that is reserved to the divine will of the Gods."

"So Aether is like light?" Gaiana asked. "Its like lightning then, but how does that explain when you became dirt?"

Astrin raised an eyebrow at that. Mimoza replied, "when I say energy or aether, it's important to not think of it like lightning. Lighting is simply one form of many energies, and aether is the most primal form of them all."

Astrin's chin lifted up, "oh, like Atoms then?"

Mimoza raised an eyebrow, "excuse me?"

"I'd heard a philosopher talk about it once. Basically, all things that exist are made up of tiny invisible parts called 'atoms'. They're small and have no qualities, but large chunks of them make up everything in existence. Once you break down everything that exists, you'll only have the atoms left. And with those atoms, anything can be created."

Mimoza hummed in amusement, "atom control then. Yes, I can see that. Deviants have atom control. Essentially, deviants like myself have hearts full of aether. The aether passes through my veins, transforming my blood into purple. And with the aether in my heart and veins, I can morph my body into many elements, and even control certain elements close to me."

"Like fire," Astrin said quietly, remembering the green flames from the night before.

"So I can control Aether?" Gaiana asked. "Zora... Or rather, Pandora said I was a deviant. Did she use her deviant powers to control me?"

"Yes and no," Mimoza answered. "Pandora is a special case. Needless to say, Pandora could control you using an aether crystal. Aether crystals are rare emeralds that contain aether inside. With it, she used it to manipulate your body."

"Aether Crystal?" Astrin said. Astrin reached for his satchel as light shined out of it. He held up a crystal at hand. "You mean like this?"

Mimoza's eyes shot a stare at him, "where did you get that?"

"Um, from the Aethiopian girl who saved me last night. She gave it to me before going after the twin. Said it would keep me safe."

"Aethi-, Aethiopia has scholars?"

Astrin shrugged, "you know more about this than I do."

Gaiana raised a hand and interrupted, "Was she pretty?"

He raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

"Was she a fine specimen to look at?"

He squinted, "why does that even matter?"

"It might matter," Gaiana said looking up, "she might've been a siren seductress, putting a curse on you without you knowing it."

Astrin's eyes widened. Mimoza shook her head, "relax Astrin, sirens don't exist. It had to be a scholar. May I see that for a moment?" Astrin passed the crystal to Mimoza.

Upon touching it, a spark zapped out. It trickled across her arms and nearly opened one of her stitched wounds. It fell onto the wagon in front of her. She shook her hand in pain, "ouch."

Gaiana's eyes widened. She effortlessly picked up the crystal and stared at it. Light shifted inside, swirling as Giana's emerald-colored eyes stared into it. "This feels... Alive."

"It's an aether crystal," Mimoza said rubbing her hands. "Scholars use it to kill deviants."

Gaiana dropped the crystal and her voice piqued, "what?"

Mimoza looked over at Astrin and nodded for him to pick up the crystal. He returned it to his satchel and faced forward again. "Guard that with your life, Astrin. If she said it would keep you safe, it's probably true. Scholars are known for protecting mortals from deviants."

"Using aether to fight aether then," Astrin murmured.

Mimoza explained, "deviants are born with aether in their hearts, but aether comes from more places then one. Some crystals may contain them. And if someone is trained well in how to control aether from crystals, then that person can be just as powerful as a deviant."

Gaiana asked, "so she controlled me with a crystal? How come she didn't do that to you?"

Mimoza tapped at Gaiana's shoulder, and Gaiana put her hand on the tattoo behind her back. Mimoza explained, "I don't have an aether seal on me. Scholars are masters in the art of aether manipulation. And since aether comes from crystals and deviants, a scholar can use a deviant's aether just as easily as they can use crystal aether... Essentially, scholars know how to enslave our kind. That tattoo behind your back? It's a deviant seal. It was designed to enslave you because you're a deviant."

"But I was born with this tattoo," Gaiana stressed, "I've had it my whole life. You're telling me I was marked to be a slave my whole life?"

Mimoza stayed quiet. They both knew the answer to that question. Gaiana asked, "why didn't you warn me? You've seen this tattoo, and you knew about all of this, didn't you know that it was a mark meant to enslave me? A mark meant to brand me as a deviant?"

"I didn't know because I couldn't know. Scholars have to study many years to understand the complexities of aether manipulation. While we deviants are naturally gifted with aether, attuned in how to use it, scholars must study. There are thousands of different kinds of markings, and it's impossible to tell the difference between a scholar aether mark, and a phoenician slave tattoo."

Gaiana's eyes furrowed. She couldn't blame Mimoza, but she wasn't happy either. Astrin said, "to be fair, it does look really phoenician."

"It might still be," Mimoza said, "scholars hail from everywhere, it seems. It's not impossible that a phoenician scholar mark would look very phoenician."

"But this scholar thing," Astrin said. "Could anyone be a scholar? I have a crystal now, can I use it to control deviants?"

"Fuck you," Gaiana said glaring at him.

The horse stomped its feet while Astrin's head perked back. He hadn't thought that Gaiana would take that as an insult. Backtracking on his statement, he told her, "I meant for bad deviants, like the bad deviant that killed my squad."

"Still, fuck you."

Mimoza shook her head, "don't get your hopes up, Astrin. I said it takes many years to study crystal aether. To be more specific, it takes a lifetime to understand aether. If you weren't adopted by a scholar by the time you were five, there's no hope that you'll understand aether crystals well enough to fight a deviant."

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Astrin frowned at that. Gaiana grinned at him, "hah, fuck you."

"I wasn't trying to-"

"Fuck. You."

Astrin paused, and left it at that. Mimoza shook her head at them. She said, "Gaiana, try and understand. We deviants? We're dangerous. There are many many forces that are after us because of our powers."

"I saw you beat Pandora. Just teach me how to use aether, and we can kill her together."

"It isn't that simple, Gaiana. You haven't even awakened yet. I can't train you if your latent abilities are sleeping."

Gaiana frowned at her. She asked, "am I a God?"

"What?"

"I think it's worth asking now. Am I descended from a God or not?"

Mimoza bit her lip, as though avoiding the question. Astrin commented, "you're a pretty frail God, if I'm being honest here." Gaiana stretched her arms forward. She pulled them back and forth several times. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to smite you with lightning."

"Stop that," Astrin and Mimoza said together.

"How do I put this," Mimoza rubbed at her chin. "You see, when I was growing up, I was taught to believe that yes, deviants are of a race of Gods. That we're descended from the Gods of old, and that our bloodline allows us to will the elements on a whim. But traveling more, I've seen that different races of people will have different explanations of what deviants truly are. Some say deviants have invisible spirits over their shoulder, guiding powers for the spirit's personal will. Others say we are destined for greatness, meant to serve man as noble warriors to save mortals from each other... Many think we are monsters. Casted out from the afterlife, and cursed to live on the mortal realm because of our accursed nature."

"Deviants," Astrin repeated the phrase, "I suppose more people say its the latter than the rest?"

Mimoza nodded. "Deviants are powerful, but we're still human. We fight and kill for just as many stupid reasons as men do."

"So which is it?" Gaiana asked. "Are we monsters, or a race of Gods?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Horseshit," Gaiana said clenching her fists. "I think it matters a lot. I spent my whole life as a slave, and now you're saying I'm some sort of monster? Which is it? Am I something worse or better than a mortal?"

Mimoza's eyes scrunched. She didn't want to disappoint Gaiana, but she couldn't lie to her either. "There's no way of truly knowing. Whether we're gods or demons doesn't matter, because others will react in accordance to their own personal beliefs. In Persia, deviants are kept as slaves to serve the empire. In Egypt, deviants are exterminated to keep them from harming humanity. In Greece, well, in Greece deviants are most free. And we're only free here because we can be revered as Gods."

Gaiana's nose crinkled, she wanted a straightforward answer but Mimoza couldn't provide one for her. Mimoza said, "Gaiana, believe me when I say this. When it comes to power, how you use it matters far more than where it came from."

"I don't have a lot going for me anymore," Gaiana said in a colder tone. She glared at Mimoza like a disappointed daughter would. "Do me a favor, next time I need some words of comfort, just lie to me. And say something that'll make me feel better about this garbage life I'm living as."

Mimoza stayed quiet. Just as their relationship had always been, Mimoza's words rarely ever got through to her. Astrin said, "deviants are most free in Greece?"

Mimoza nodded, "it's why I came here to live here. After I escaped the war at Anatolia, I came here to live peacefully. Deviants are seen as divine here, so there are very few scholars that hunt deviants."

"Olympus," Gaiana said sternly. "What's it like there? Will they truly accept me?"

Mimoza bit her lip, "I'm not sure."

Gaiana flailed her arms in the air, expressing her growing disdain towards Mimoza. Even the horse neighed from Gaiana's frustration."You're a terrible teacher, you know that?"

Mimoza could've argued, but she didn't take the disrespect personally. Gaiana had plenty of reason to be angry after everything she'd lost, and she wasn't going to drive an innocent girl away when she was obviously helpless to her own predicament.

"I know I am," Mimoza said. "Olympus is a secret city. Hidden somewhere in Greece that no knows about. Every Polis has a single scholar, a Charon, entrusted with the location of Olympus. Charon's are responsible for maintaining harmony between the deviants in their specified polis, but they also serve as guides for awakening deviants. They'll lead a deviant to Olympus if they choose to live there. I thought Zora was the Charon of Athens, but Pandora killed him and took his title. We'll have to go to the next polis, Thebes, to find a Charon to lead Gaiana to Olympus."

"And then she'll be safe?" Astrin asked.

"Pandora is strong, but she can't capture you if a city full of deviant are there to protect you."

"City of deviants," Gaiana hummed, "do you mean like Atlantis?"

"Atlantis?" Mimoza's voice piqued, "what's Atlantis?"

"Pandora told me about an ancient city full of deviants called Atlantis. She said I descended from there, and she needed me to find relics of its people."

Mimoza shook her head, "I've never even heard of Atlantis. I only know of Olympus, the sanctuary for Greek deviants today. Is that what Pandora wants from you? To find remnants of this city?"

Gaiana only shrugged. Pandora's plans didn't truly concern her, since she had no intention of helping Pandora in any way.

"I've heard of it," Astrin said. "Some students at the Symposium talked about it often, wondering what the city was like. They called it utopia, a city so perfect that Greeks could only dream to emulate it. It was destroyed by Poseidon due to their own greed, setting an example of why men should never disregard the Gods."

"Oh no," Mimoza shook her head, "I'm not sure what Pandora is planning, but if she needs Gaiana to find Atlantean remnants, its vital we prevent that. Whenever Pandora accomplishes the goals she sets out for, the results tend to be... Apocalyptic."

Astrin swallowed. Gaiana rolled her eyes. Despite believing in every word that Mimoza said, Gaiana only had a single goal in mind. "If I go to this city, they'll teach me how to use my aether? Can they teach me how to kill Pandora?"

Mimoza's eyes widened, "oh no Gaiana, you can't want that."

"Why not? She killed Sophus. If I can't get justice, what good is having powers for?"

"Powers aren't a blessing, they're a curse. If scholars aren't trying to enslave you, deviants will want to slay you. Pandora is one of a kind, a deviant who's a master at crystal manipulation. I only survived last night because I was lucky, and I still came out more crippled than I ever have been before. She'll be back with twice as much resolve. And if you're not in Olympus by then, you, and everyone around you will die."

Gaiana shook her head, "I don't have anyone I care about anymore. I could care less about what she does to me, I'd rather die trying than never seek out justice at all."

Mimoza shook her head harder. The moving wagon bumped on a stone as it moved. "Gaiana... What you want isn't justice, its vengeance. Vengeance will get you nowhere."

Gaiana glared at her, "you're not my master, you're a stranger. I don't know why you're helping me, but with or without you, I will seek out my resolve one way or another."

Mimoza rested her palm onto her eyes. She thought back to her years fighting in the Ionian revolt.

Eziz, a kind and noble deviant from the Median kingdom. Respected and beloved by everyone around him. He had three sons before heading off to war. Pandora sent pieces of him to his sons, over the course of several years.

Mergan the marksman specialized in deviant lightning. He enjoyed making flashes of light into the sky, making them dance in the air to entertain his people in the Assyrian kingdom. Pandora figured out a clever invention. She tied him to the top of an obelisk. He was bounded so that he'd be kept alive using an aether crystal. Each time it rained, lightning would strike him. It took years for his allied scholar to undo the aether trap, and put him out of his misery.

Yusite was a deviant from the Hittite tribes. A farmer who wanted nothing to do with that war. Mimoza had a fondness to him, and would've married him if he were still alive. He'd gone missing for six months before he was found at the bottom of a lake. A medallion scribed with Pandora's parting message was around his neck. It read: 'for yielding to a God before yielding to me.'

Mimoza had once thought of going off to hunt Pandora on her own. If she had, she'd have died a long time ago. Mimoza said to Gaiana, "before I came to Greece, I was offered to go on an expedition with a group of deviants. The purpose was to travel across Anatolia, and hunt down the dishonorable warriors during the Ionian war. This included deviants and scholars, Persians and Greeks alike. Their goal was to enact justice on everyone who committed crimes against the innocents during the Ionian revolt."

Leaves brushed as Mimoza pointed toward Gaiana, "forty-nine deviants from across the region united under a banner to try and kill Pandora. Two came back alive, and they only lived because Pandora wanted them to pass a message of what she was capable of. If forty-nine deviants together couldn't stop Pandora, what makes you think you could fare better?"

Gaiana stared at her for a long moment. A cold wind passed over all of them. She said, "you really don't get it, do you? I don't want to kill Pandora, I want to die trying. If I can't have the honor of killing her, I'll at least have the honor of dying trying to avenge Sophus."

Astrin murmured, "would Sophus really want you to die for nothing?"

Gaiana snapped at him, "Sophus isn't here anymore, and it's all Pandora's fault!"

Gaiana stayed quiet for a long time. The wagon brushed softly across the tall grass it brushed against. What Gaiana wanted wasn't bred out of reason, but molded out of spite. There would be no convincing her against this, she would aim for what she wanted one way or another.

Mimoza let out a heavy sigh as a gust of leaves fell from the treetops. "Very well," Mimoza said coolly, "I'll take you to Olympus, and you can train once you get there. Once that is complete, you'll be free to go after Pandora alone."

Gaiana nodded, not realizing she was sealing her own fate.