“This is where you’ll be staying,” Bedros said, ducking into the low doorway of one of the stone huts ahead of Xan and Dee.

Despite the dome-shaped roof and rounded appearance of the huts, the inside was square, with a floor of hard-packed dirt. A small Ember Sang sat in a raised fire pit, providing both light and warmth. Three small beds covered in fur blankets lined the walls.

“Chamber pot’s there,” Bedros said, gesturing towards one of the far corners.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Dee said. She made a beeline for it, but about halfway there she stopped and turned around. She cleared her throat. “A little privacy, please?”

“Oh, right, sure,” Xan said. He and Bedros ducked back outside. The air was chill, and a light sprinkle of snow was starting to fall. Shadow playfully pounced at the flakes.

“Do you require anything else?” Bedros asked Xan.

“No, thank you, we should be quite comfortable,” Xan replied.

Bedros grunted in affirmation. Then he started slightly when Shadow blinked up onto Xan’s shoulders.

“Strange little creature,” he muttered as he turned to leave.

“What, not staying to guard us?” Xan called after him. Bedros turned back.

“Why should we guard you? We have nothing to fear from you,” Bedros said.

“I’m just surprised, is all. Keeper Hovo all but made it clear he wasn’t too fond of us being here,” Xan said.

“While it is true that many of us, including Keeper Hovo, are not fond of outsiders,” Bedros said after a pause, “not one of us in their right mind would deny you proper hospitality. It is our duty as Verdans, after all.”

“Your duty, huh…” Xan muttered to himself as Bedros turned away again. Then a thought occurred to him, and he called after Bedros once more.

“Say, Bedros?”

Bedros turned back with a questioning look on his face.

“That play Rowan and his family put on tonight—” Xan said, “did that really happen, or is it just one of your people’s stories?”

Without hesitating, Bedros said with conviction, “Of course it really happened.”

Something about Bedros’ complete air of confidence when he answered bothered Xan, and he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out: “But how do you know? The Sundering was hundreds of years ago. For all you know, it could be just a myth.”

There was a long pause. Xan became flushed with embarrassment and looked away.

“I’m sorry, that was rude of me—”

“Not at all,” Bedros said. He gave Xan a thoughtful look. Then he raised his hand, palm facing the ground. “Stone, come.”

A small gray-and-white striped stone the size of an egg immediately leapt up into Bedros’ hand. He turned his hand over and stared at the stone for a moment longer before answering:

“I know because I have no reason to doubt. To doubt would be to deny the gifts I have been given.” He looked up at Xan, placing a hand over his heart. “All Verdans, when they come of age, gain the ability to hear the voices of what we have been given charge over. We of the line of Ignas are able to hear the voices of the earth and stone.”

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“So, Taika-?” Xan began to ask.

“She is of the line of Essos. Her charge is to hear the voices of all the beasts,” Bedros said.

“I see…” Xan mused.

“Also,” Bedros continued, “we gain the ability to speak with the Voice of the Earth Mother. So, not only can we hear the voices of those under our charge, we can use our own voice to command them.”

“You mean you can control them.”

“Yes and no,” Bedros said, looking back down at the stone. “Everything around us are all the Earth Mother’s creations. They respect the power and the charge we have been given. But we are not gods. Our power has limits.”

Xan immediately thought of Katar. Even with all of the shrine devotees and Keeper Hovo working together, they hadn’t been able to avail him of his illness. Resentment began to build in his chest, and he said angrily, “Well, what’s the point, then?”

Bedros looked up at him. “The point, captain, is that’s exactly why we share the story of our origin. It serves to not only tell us where our power comes from, but also why we have it in the first place. Break.”

He took the stone in his hands, and with seemingly little effort, broke the rock in two.

“Our abilities are mighty, and if misused can cause great harm. But if used correctly, they can also be used to heal and to mend. Return.”

He put the two halves of the stone together, then held it up to show Xan that it had been made whole again.

“That is why the Earth Mother gave us our charge, along with our power. To ensure that even for generations after, we would use it as a force for good in the world.”

Xan stared at the stone. Then he folded his arms.

“Well, it hardly seems fair to have all that responsibility thrust upon you,” he said.

“Maybe not,” Bedros said, “but one cannot have power without the responsibility that comes with it. And since I already have that power, my choice becomes how I will use it…. I thought a disciple of Sterre such as yourself would already understand that.”

“Well, I suppose…” Xan trailed off, looking away awkwardly.

Bedros smiled. Then he gently tossed the stone to Xan, who despite being caught off guard still managed to catch it.

“And even if it is all a myth,” Bedros said, “all stories have a little bit of truth hidden in them. And I choose to believe in that.”

With that, Bedros turned to leave, raising his hand in a farewell gesture.

“I wish you a restful eve, captain,” he said as he walked away.

“You as well!” Xan called after him, returning the gesture.

For a long moment after, Xan stood there amongst the falling snow, thinking over the conversation he had just had. Shadow crept down his arm to sniff the stone that Bedros had tossed him. Xan absentmindedly reached up to pet her.

“Hey, is Bedros still here?” Dee said, suddenly appearing from out of the hut.

“No, he just left a bit ago. Why?” Xan said.

Dee pointed back towards the hut. “There’s three beds in there,” she said.

“Yeah, and…?” Xan said, not really registering what she was saying.

“And there are only two of us,” Dee pressed.

For a moment, Xan still didn’t understand what she was getting at. Then, right as the realization hit him, Taika appeared out of the night’s shadows, Sage perched on her shoulder. There was a pause as the three of them stared at each other. Then Dee wordlessly ducked back into the hut.

“Dee-!” Taika tried to call after her. Then she sighed, reaching up to pet Sage. Xan shuffled in place, trying to think of something to say. Finally, he rubbed his hands together and buried them in his pits.

“Man, it’s cold out here,” he said.

“Mmhmm,” Taika agreed.

“… It’s warm in there,” Xan then said, gesturing towards the hut. Taika nodded. There was another long, awkward pause.

“Well, best be heading to bed. Good night,” he said quickly, moving to duck back into the hut.

“Xan!” Taika said, and he turned back. Taika lowered her eyes, her cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry I hit you,” she said quietly.

“And I’m sorry for your loss,” Xan said gently.

“Thank you,” Taika said. She sniffed, then wiped her eyes. Then she held up her arm, and Sage shuffled out onto it.

“Alright, I’m going to sleep. Happy hunting, Sage,” she said to the owl. Sage cooed before noiselessly taking off into the night. Taika watched him go for a moment. Then she ducked through the doorway and into the hut.

“Good night, Xan,” she said as she went.

“Good night, Taika,” Xan said.

Once she was inside the hut, Xan pulled out Bedros’ stone and looked at it again. He gave it an experimental toss, slid it into his pocket, then ducked through the doorway and into the hut as well. He was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.