As the elf began to move, a thin and wispy strand of light reached out from Ma’tuk and latched onto Gage. Slowly it faded away until it was no longer visible. Deep inside himself, he felt an ever so slight shift. Before he could look inward, the elf sat up. Gage watched with a water bottle in hand as the elf supported himself with a trembling arm and was clutching his head with his free hand.

Gage glanced at Ma’tuk, and the orb gave a slight bob. “Here, drink this.” He offered out the bottle, “But take it slow. If you drink too much too quickly, well… it’s not good.” The elf had frozen when he first spoke up, a look of confusion spreading across his face as he listened to the words. With slight hesitation, the elf took the bottle and took a sniff before sipping some of the water.

As the water passed his lips, Gage could see him restrain himself from gulping it down. Instead, taking only a few sips at a time. “Thank you, my friend. I am gratefu-.” Gage watched the elf as the sharp green eyes looked over at him before slowly going wide. “Ceðraer Thjótindë! What happened to your ears?”

Something about the way the elf said that made Gage flush slightly. “My ears have always been this way. I am human, my name is Gage, kin. Gage’kin. And this,” he gestured to the dog and orb, “Is Eshu while the light is... an honest blessing from my god. It is called Ma’tuk.”

The elf turned his head towards the two before moving his eyes away from Gage to actually look at them. There were a few moments of silence before the elf spoke again. “I am,” he paused a moment, glancing and frowning down at the bottle in his hand before seeming to resolve something internally. “I am known as Elfric, second son to Ari and Torlief of the Eárvar Sírjór.”

“Elf. Ric.” Gage had to hold back from massaging his temples and keep a straight face. Thankfully, he recovered before Elfric looked back at him. “It is a pleasure and an honor to meet you Elfric.” He gave a nod of his head to the elf.

Elfric took a look around him, a puzzled expression on his face. “Where are we? I lost track of what was going on out in that... Eyðlóm. It is still hot, but much nicer here. And these furnishings. I am unfamiliar.” He took a look at the water bottle in his hands before taking another sip. “Even this material. It is like glass but malleable?”

“It is called ‘plastic’, though I highly doubt you will come across it much anymore than this. While more durable than glass, it can still break. It is good to use for travel. Which is something we will need to do, after you recover.” Looking the elf over, pursing his lips, Gage continued. “You have used a couple of words that the spell did not really translate.” His brow creased as he looked at Ma’tuk.

The orb grew a little brighter. “Ah! Yes, well those are their names, rather than a general use of the word. You see when a word is spoken, what you mean is translated. But when a name, or proper noun, is said, that is what it is. Some other important distinctions or exclamations follow this path as well.”

“What words did not translate?” Elfric sat forward, resting his arms on his legs as he brought them up to sit cross-legged. He looked… focused. Gage paused at the intensity, then repeated the words as best he could.

“Ah, Ceðraer Thjótindë.” Elfric started, “It means, how should I say, the spear has will? The spear, eh, demands it? It is used as a calling out to the Elohar.” Seeing Gage’s look, “The gods.”

“The spear has will? The spear demands it?” Gage’s eye caught Elfric’s items, which were just off to the side. “Oh, By the Spear?”

“Yes! That is it!” The elf almost knocked himself over with his excitement. Taking a moment to collect himself and sip some water. “Eárvar Sírjór is the name of my clan. We are named after the snow that is found during the first green of spring. Eyðlóm, you can say is something of the opposite. It is a wasteland. Where nothing grows.” He trailed off afterwards, “We are still in the Eyðlóm?”

Taking in a deep breath, Gage nodded. “I was here in my home when, well, when the ‘end of the world’...” He had to stop, taking a moment to catch his breath. “I took a hit to the head when it started, and I was knocked out. When I awoke, I was here, alone. Well, with Eshu.”

“So, it is true then. The world is forever changed and the Elohar are... dead?” The elf whispered the final word, glancing about him to have his gaze end on Ma’tuk. “But not all of them?”

Gage hesitated, glancing at Ma’tuk as well and wondering how to proceed. “Kin is a new god. Born with the creation of this new world.” He paused and looked at Elfric. “I do not know much about the gods, but if not for Kin I would still be wounded.” The silence stretched out between them for a time. “What do you mean by the ‘Elohar are dead’? Ma’tuk had to explain it to me for the gods of my world and what happened to them. Why do you think yours are gone?”

Elfric shrugged, “I do not know the full details. The Shield Maiden had finished repairing her shield twice since this happened.” Catching Gage’s confusion, “Two cycles of the moon ago. It was then when those who served the Elohar received direct word from them. It has been an age since such a thing has occurred, but never before had all of them reached out at once.” He seemed to shrink a little before continuing. “They warned of a Ragnalorëk. A true Ragnalorëk, a war to end all. That they would seek to win this battle. They also warned that it would be costly. Should they succeed, the world would be spared but forever changed. The cost would be the Elohar themselves.”

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There was silence between them once more. Eshu stood, his jaw dropping open as he began to pant slightly and walked over to Elfric. He sat and looked up at him with a doggy smile. Elfric reached out. “We did not know when it was going to happen. Just soon. I was in the hills near the mountains. You could still see the snow. It had not fully retreated yet. Then the world began to shake. The sky spun between day and night. The ground split beneath me and I fell in. I landed in a pile of... of hot snow? It was coarse and did not cling to itself well. I found myself between two large hills, each made of this hot snow. I decided to head towards my village, but I never came across it.”

“I...” Gage stopped and thought carefully before he responded. “I cannot promise you that your village is fine, but it is possible they are simply no longer where they were. My town is no longer around my home. I do not know if it survived, but this new world of ours is made of a few different worlds that were falling apart, or so I have been told. They may be gone, but they may also be out there somewhere.”

The elf was silent for a moment, then lifted his hand and started to pet Eshu. It was then that Ma’tuk spoke up and startled all of them. “Sand! It is called ‘sand.’ Um,” It’s light changed as a soft peach color wound through it. “I mean. In Gage’kin’s language it is called sand, the ‘hot snow.’ Sand.” It seemed to shrink slightly, embarrassed by its outburst.

With an incredulous look, Gage took a deep breath and began to chuckle. “Thank you Ma’tuk.” Turning back to Elfric, "Look, I do not know what your body is like compared to mine but I would expect it to be a day, perhaps two for you to recover. Even then you would have to take it easy. That being said, I plan to try to make it out of the desert. I have some supplies, they will not last forever, but hopefully for long enough. Would you be willing to come with me? I think together we would have a better chance.” Offering his hand out to Elfric, “What do you say?”

Elfric reached over and clasped his arm against Gage’s, gripping at his forearm. Gage closed his own hand over Elfric’s. The elf spoke, “It is a plan, my friend. I look forward to the journey and together, by the grace of the Shield Maiden we will make it through.” He sat there beaming for a moment, then his face seemed to crumple as he turned his head away. Gage pretended not to notice the tears. “I suppose, it may be more fitting since I am sitting here thanks to the same one who saved you…” he hesitated. “Did he require of you to serve him, after he healed you?” His grip tightened slightly on Gage’s forearm.

Gage was already shaking his head. “On my world, the gods were not as… active as they sound to have been on yours. From our histories, myths and legends, they very may well have been ages ago. By the time the end of the world happened, many still worshipped a wide variety of religions, but I was uncertain of what to believe. After all this and my life being saved, I figured why not?” Smiling ruefully, “Perhaps not the best way to get into it, but it felt… right.”

The elf relaxed a bit. “Very well then. With Kin’s blessing, may we make it through this ordeal and see this new world.”

Deep inside himself, Gage felt a slight jolt and a tingle ran through him. “Rest, take the water slowly. Eshu will stay here with you and Ma’tuk or I will be in to check on you every now and then. I am going to be outside for a bit.” They released each other. Elfric slowly lowered himself back down to the ground.

He waited for a response, but Elfric only nodded slightly, his eyes already closed. Gage stood and made his way back up to the hole. This time he took Eshu with him, to give the dog a chance to stretch his legs and to make his mess outside of the house. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any stinky little surprises hiding away somewhere. Gage sat on its ledge once more. It was twilight, the heat of the day slowly fading away. When Elfric had spoken at the end, Gage had felt something deep inside. In the spot he had imagined his… haven? It seemed an apt enough name to call that inner space he had created.

Excitement coursed through him. He had felt a sort of rush at Elfric’s words. He was curious at what it had been, or what it could mean. Fighting the urge to rush, he laid his hands in his lap and began to breathe. He almost fell into the waves of his energy, the pulsing of his blood rushing through his body. Each time he mediated, it was getting easier to go deeper, to connect with himself.

It was gradual as he watched his pink light pulse around him, and he found himself walking down the canyon. A thin trickle rolled down the waterway next to him, away from his pool. With a pause, he reached down to touch the water. As he did so, it reminded him of Ma’tuk. In his ears he could hear the faint whispers of countless languages. Pulling his fingers back from the water… ‘was it water? Or a manifestation of the Kin’s power? His power,’ he corrected himself, ‘being channeled to Ma’tuk to perform the translations.’ He was certain that is what this small trickle was. ‘Would this whole creek fill if he used more of his power on others like that?’

Moving on he found his way into his haven. This time however, the pool was a little fuller. It was not much, but it was noticeable. Elfric’s words, or perhaps prayer, had bolstered the water of the pool. Checking the water coming into the pool from above, the thread of water that had been winding down the rock wall into the pool had not changed. It was as thin and weak as it had been before. It seemed that while the elf had offered the prayer, he was not a believer? That didn’t sit right. No, it was more like he hadn’t committed to the god. Elfric certainly believed in the gods, and Kin’s existence, but he had seemed concerned about needing to follow him. Something to ask about later.

For now, he stood there, listening to the water flowing and burbling along. The soft, warm heat of the sun above wrapping around him while the shade of the canyon offered a cooling breeze. It was peaceful here. For the first time since the world had ended, Gage felt like he had no worries. There was a bright outlook to the future. Then and there he resolved to fulfill Elfric’s prayer. He would lead them out of the desert. They would survive this ordeal.