The band exited the portal back into Tyronah and Vaonie

welcomed them back.

‘Welcome! Welcome back, my children!’

The Araqhaiits bowed, this time Alduin did it instinctively.

‘Oh and look what we have here! Let me look at you, my

daughter!’

Hanali emerged from behind her siblings and greeted her new

master.

‘Hello.’

‘Hello is all you have to say for yourself?’

‘Excuse me?’

‘I recall you betrayed me back in Olana.’

‘Lord, Hanali is the reason that there were not more casual-

ties. You agreed to her offer, why are you treating her so?’ Alduin

intervened.

‘SILENCE!’ Vaonie shouted loudly.

Alduin dropped to the ground and found it difficult to move.

‘What a fool you are, Lodus! I have always thought you were,

by the way, I am not really surprised...’ Ophiin laughed.

Alduin lifted his head in order to listen on the conversation.

‘Well, Hanali? Any comment? Anything you’d like to say? An

apology maybe?’

‘I-I will not apologize. The only thing I regret is ending my

brother’s life. Choosing Austomia’s side instead of yours bore

the sole purpose of making the fight fair. I picked neither side’s

agenda.’

‘What does that mean, then? Share your thoughts regarding

what your creator has done to me! Look outside!’

Vaonie made the throne room transparent so Hanali could see

the realm with her own eyes. Its scenery. Its horrors.

‘Take a long look!’

They grabbed her by the neck and forced open her eyes. Alduin

tried to lift his hands and help but failed to do so. The Araqhaiits simply stood by and watched.

‘You are hurting me!’

‘Good! As you have hurt me! I will not let you go until you

see it all.’

Eventually she stopped resisting and simply stared at the land-

scape. Alduin also tilted his head to look out of curiosity. He

was in utter shock. He had no idea that this realm would be

that much different from Heonmeyu. Its vibe, the colorscheme

they picked for it, the creatures that roamed it. Everything

was different. A frightening display. The realm was colored in

monochromatic tones of red. The land was dark gray, trees were

colored in velvet red, bushes in darker red. Almost all of them

were engulfed by the flames of Tyronah. Vaonie was proba-

bly controlling them to stay in place and not spread as they did

not seem to move the way fire usually does. Maybe their sole

purpose was to strengthen a certain atmosphere?

The sky was almost pitch black, covered by a lot of dark

clouds. In addition to the flames, stars and many moons were

the sources of light here. The land was roamed by an incred-

ible amount of its inhabitants, Deovhaiits mainly but also a

few more species that Alduin had never witnessed before. The

Deovhaiits seemed to also be astonishingly varied. Some were

ginormous while some were even shorter than him. Their skin-

tones also varied from dark gray to brown, light red, pink et

cetera. Some of them had wings that varied in size. Some of

them had horns that varied in shapes. All of them were armed

in different brutal weapons and much to his surprise, were also

completely naked.

The variation that caught his eye the most were the light-

red Deovhaiits. They were about his height, had long horns that

resembled those of dragons, three tails that resembled those of

a monkey, four hands and two legs bearing sharp claws. Their eyes glowing in strong red, their pupils resembling those of

snakes and their hair was colored in black. They had many dif-

ferent hairstyles but almost all of them had long hair and several

braids in it. Despite their grotesque appearance, they appeared

beautiful in his eyes. Ophiin noticed his sight on them and let

out a long laugh.

‘I see you like the light-reds huh, Lodus?! Those are what you

mortals would call a ‘Succubus’. Their purpose is making mor-

tals let loose to their lust and greed, leaving their lives behind

and destroying it entirely! Those are also my favorite!’ Ophiin

laughed and said.

Alduin let out a grin but dropped it immediately when his eyes

met the disappointed glare of Hanali. After a few moments of

taking it all in, Vaonie let go off Hanali and let her speak.

‘Well? Now you understand what you have done to me? To

your brothers and sisters?’

‘I... I had no idea it would be this way... This is just horrible.

Everything about it. To think you went from being partner in

the creation of the realms to being a prisoner in this horrendous

world you now call home. I am at a loss for words. Truly.’

‘Mhmm,’ her siblings responded in unison.

‘Then? Will you apologize to us finally?’

‘No.’

Alduin smiled.

‘What?’

‘You heard me. Just like you stood by your decision to go

against Austomia and create needless dangers in Vanthea. I

stand by my decision to support the Sarathiins. And now I stand

by my decision to join the side of my remaining siblings, and

you. That is all I can say.’

‘I see.’

‘Well?’

‘Hmm?’

‘What do you think of it?’

‘That I love the way you turned out to be, my daughter. I am

truly proud of you. You took your stubbornness from me. Of

course I welcome you into my ranks!’ Vaonie laughed.

‘If Vaonie welcomes you then so do we, sister!’ Kans said.

‘Yes, yes. I actually quite missed you,’ Ophiin said.

Hanali grinned and looked at Alduin who smiled back. Her

conscience cleared finally. Her guilt diminished.

‘I hereby grant you the title of ‘Hanali the Peacemaker’. May

you serve me well, daughter.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Oh and another thing.’

‘Hmm?’

‘Alduin, stand.’

Alduin murmured something that resembled ‘but I can’t’ until

he suddenly got back the ability to move his body. He stood and

bowed.

‘I have another task for you.’

‘I am yours to command,’ he had gotten really good at this

ass-licking.

‘As both of you are new to this realm you shall explore it

together. Since you are more familiar with this realm than she

is, you are to help her settle in. Also, you are the one who got us

in this situation in the first place and the other Araqhaiits have

their other duties.’

‘Okay, my lord. I shall try my best to figure it out.’

‘Good. Hanali.’

‘Yes?’

‘Your task will be keeping an eye on Lodus. See to it that he

never goes against my word. You were once a Sarathiin and he

was once a mortal. Both of you need to get the hang of things

here. I trust you more than I do him. Understood?’

‘Yes, maker.’

‘Good.’

Hanali stood next to Alduin.

‘Araqhaiits, disperse!’

‘Aye!’ They all shouted in unison, except for Hanali and Al-

duin who remained in the throneroom.

Vaonie wore a confused look on their face.

‘Uh...’ Alduin said.

‘Yes?’ Vaonie sighed.

‘How do we get out of here exactly?’

Hanali laughed quietly.

‘Hey it’s a legitimate question, isn’t it?’

‘I told you to explore, so explore. There are no restricted sites

in Tyronah so just keep walking till you find what you seek.’

‘Alright then. Follow me, Hanali.’

‘Mhm.’

The throne room had about five doors in it and they were quite

spread out. They began walking towards the one closest to

Vaonie’s throne, to its left.

‘Lodus.’

‘Please call me Alduin. I still go by that name despite that

everyone seem to believe otherwise.’

‘Okay then. Alduin.’

‘Hmm?’

‘My maker said a thing about you being a mortal. What did

they mean by that?’

‘Oh, didn’t I tell you?’

‘Tell me what?’

‘I was born a Snow Elf in Vanthea, in the lands of Euphata.

I was a mortal.’

‘What the fuck? What are you doing here then?’

Alduin told her the story of his family’s fall while they were going

down a bunch of staircases.

‘I-I see... So that is what you meant when you told me you

had your family taken from you. I am sorry.’

‘For what? It was none of your doing.’

‘If only I was more aware of my maker’s doing, I could have

stopped them from creating the vampires. Maybe I could have

even convinced Austomia to let some creations stay which would

could have prevented the war... For that I apologize.’

Alduin stopped and held her hand.

‘It is not your fault. Look at me. It is not your fault. Okay?’

Hanali, utterly fazed by mortal compassion, stared in his eyes

but then looked away immediately.

‘I-I did not mean to make you uncomfortable. I am sorry,

Hanali.’

‘Don’t be. Let’s continue going.’

‘Hmm. Okay.’ He said, ‘through there’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Nope.’

‘Okay,’ she laughed.

He tried to open the door but it was incredibly heavy. He had

trouble moving it.

‘Need help?’

‘Seems so.’

‘Move aside.’

Her eyes began glowing in gorgeous purple and she pushed the

door with the palm of her right hand. It opened.

‘How did you do that?’

‘Aren’t you an Araqhaiit? You should already be familiar with

your body’s abilities.’

‘Only in technicality.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Vaonie made it so I remain part mortal. Meaning I cannot

even raise a finger if it goes against their wish. If I do anything

that angers them, I lose the ability to breathe, or exist even. I

am like a puppet.’

‘That is sad.’

‘Thank you...’

‘I’m sorry. I am not used to talking to mortals. I will try to

improve.’

‘It’s okay.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’

She smiled.

‘Anyways... I could deal with being a puppet. It is Vaonie’s

refusal to teach me how to use my powers that bothers me.’

‘Don’t worry.’

‘Why?’

‘I will teach you.’

‘Really?’

‘Of course. I owe you that. Plus, you could always teach me

about your culture. As I’ve said, I’ve never talked with a mortal

before...’

‘Deal.’

Alduin lifted his hand towards Hanali.

‘In my country we seal deals this way.’

They shook hands awkwardly. Hanali was embarrassed.

‘Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.’

‘Mhm.’

‘Have you ever met Deovhaiits?’

‘No. Have you?’

‘No. Would you like to?’

‘Certainly.’

‘Ah so you’re a curious one, like me. That’s good to hear.’

‘Uh huh’

He smiled and she smiled back.

‘Do you know where we’re going?’ She asked.

‘Absolutely not. I am just going with the flow. With whichever

door seems prettier. Logic like that,’ Alduin laughed.

‘Foolproof!’ She giggled.

‘I know, right?’ He said, ‘can I pick a door this time? You’ve

picked like fifteen doors at this point!’

‘Certainly.’

Vaonie’s castle was like a maze. Each door led to more and more

doors. Like they were both being tested.

‘Hmm... Three identical doors... Let’s go in the one in the

middle!’

‘As usual you can’t pick a side, huh?’

‘Shhhh.’

They went in and continued walking.

‘What languages do you speak?’

‘Well, as a Sarathiin I am supposed to oversee the entirety

of the mortals, so... All of them, I guess?’

‘Wow! How old are you?’

‘Never ask a lady that question! Weren’t you told so by your

mother?!’

‘I-... Uh... No. I’m sorry.’

‘I am only kidding with you! Divines aren’t that insecure!’

She giggled.

‘What? Why?’

‘Because... Uh...’

‘Yes?’

‘I can’t tell you yet.’

‘Oh. Alright. Anyways, back to your question. I honestly

couldn’t tell since in Heonmeyu the concept of time doesn’t

really exist the way it does in Vanthea. So both zero and infinity

years old?’

Alduin was utterly confused.

‘What about you?’

‘I spent a lot of time in a cage without any access to daylight

so I am not quite sure.’

‘Ah.’

‘But I am pretty sure that I should be seventeen years old.

Maybe close to eighteen.’

‘I see. What about the first question you asked me?’

‘The one regarding the languages?’

‘Yes.’

‘I speak both ancient elvish and modern snow-elvish. Also

a bit of Omnitongue for magic but I guess that’s it.’

‘Oh that is very little.’

‘Teach me then!’

‘Another thing to add to the list!’

‘Yes. It seems I’ll be owing you more than I could give,’ he

chuckled.

‘I am sure we will be able to find an arrangement...’

‘What did you have in mind?’

‘Too soon to think about it.’

‘True. Alright. By the way...’

‘Hmm?’

‘Why did the color of your eyes change back in Heonmeyu?’

‘Oh! No one explained to you how divine eyes work?’

‘No. By the way, let’s take that door,’ he pointed at one of

the doors.

‘Okay. So, about the eyes... The simplest explanation would

be that Sarathiins’ and Araqhaiits’ eyes glow in the color that cor-

responds to their standing in what is called ‘The Cosmic Purity

Scale”

‘The cosmic purity scale? What’s that?’

‘In simple terms it is a divine’s standing in the philosophical

question ‘Who was in the right? Austomia or Vaonie?”

‘Ah.’

‘Yes. The more you think that Austomia is innocent, the

bluer your eyes are. The more you deem Vaonie to be the one in

the right, the redder your eyes are.’

‘Ah! Then why are your eyes purple?’

‘I thought you’ve already known.’

‘Oh, right. You suck at picking sides!’ He laughed.

‘I would phrase it as ‘I possess the divine ability of absten-

tion”

‘Sure, sure.’

‘Is that doubt I am hearing?’

‘Me? Doubting you? Never!’

They laughed. They reached what seemed like an enormous gate

made of strange metal.

‘This looks like an exit, isn’t it?’ He asked.

‘I think so...’

Alduin tried to open the gate but failed to move it even slightly.

‘Why am I so weak here?’

‘Well, aren’t you in general?’ She giggled and then winked.

‘Mean!’

‘Sorry! Unlike the previous doors that you have failed to

open due to lack in brute power. This one is simply impossible

for you to open,’ she laughed.

‘Yes, thank you for pointing that out!’

‘I mean that it is impossible for you to open it because it is

not made of the usual matter you come across,’ he grew curious

and raised an eyebrow.

‘What do you mean?’

‘This gate is made of Talismirit.’

‘What’s that?’

‘My siblings have taught you nothing, huh?’

‘Something like that.’

‘Munesa.’

‘Watch your language,’ he laughed.

‘Talismirit is the first matter that has ever existed. Long ago,

Heonmeyu was just one huge landscape made of Talismirit. A

surface. A sandbox.’

‘Hmm...’

‘It is the purest form of matter and it can only be moved or

interacted with by pure divines.’

‘That explains why I failed to open the gate.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘In addition to that limit, Talismirit is also the source of

power for us divines. Each of the children has their own unique

Talismirit ability. Mine for example is copying another divine’s

ability for a fixed period of time. The color of the Talismirit one

uses changes to that of their eyes.’

‘Ah. So your Talismirit is colored in purple?’

‘Exactly. When not used the Talismirit returns to its default

color. Void-black.’

‘That is fascinating!’

‘The whole concept was thought of by my makers.’

‘Do I also have a Talismirit ability?’

‘Frankly, I have no clue.’

‘I guess I’ll have to find out...’

‘Probably, yes. Let me open the gate.’

‘Okay.’

‘Stand back.’

‘Okay.’

Alduin got a few steps away and watched Hanali closely. She

began levitating and her eyes glew in purple. Suddenly, the gate

shined in purple and moved in sync with Hanali’s right hand. It

opened.

‘Here you go!’

She grinned in utter pride.

‘If we find out that I can use that as well. Teach me this too!’

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

‘Fine! Let’s go out!’

‘Hmm?’

‘Go out into Tyronah. Out of the gate. What do you think

I meant? I don’t understand your confusion.’

‘Uh... Ignore it. Let’s go.’

‘Alright...’

They were greeted by four Deovhaiits guards that stood guard

in the entrance to Vaonie’s castle. The guards bowed. Alduin felt

like he should bow back but Hanali raised her hand and stopped him in the middle of lowering his head.

‘Don’t make them think of you as an equal,’ she whispered.

‘Why?’ He whispered back.

‘It could raise a rebellion against the Araqhaiits’ rule. We

don’t know how their mind functions and how they grasp the

concept of hierarchy.’

‘Oh. Alright.’

‘Thank you,’ she said to the guards.

They responded in Deovhaiitish, which apparently Hanali wasn’t

familiar with.

‘What?’

‘It seems there is a language that you don’t speak, huh?! I

knew it!’ He chuckled.

‘Not for long! I will ask my siblings to teach me their lan-

guage soon enough!’

‘I will join you then!’

‘Gladly,’ she smiled.

The Deovhaiits, offended by not being understood by one of

their leaders, pointed somewhere with their weapons.

‘You want us to go that direction? What’s there?’

The demons tried to mime it but failed to make them under-

stand.

‘Never mind... We will just explore and find out by ourselves.

Let’s go, Alduin.’

‘Yes. Thank you again. Uh... Ke’ev!’

The demons nodded and Hanali winked at him. They began

walking in the direction that was hinted. After a few dozen steps

they were met by large structures that resembled houses, colored

in all tones of red or orange that one could imagine. Some were

pink, some faded red, some crimson red, some immensely dark

red et cetera. The streets were filled to the brim with ‘citizens’.

The demons were going around doing their own thing. There

were merchants, blacksmith. Hanali spotted some children running around and smiled broadly. Alduin, upon noticing her

smile, smiled too.

‘What? Children are cute!’

‘I said nothing!’ He giggled.

‘Pffft.’

‘It looks like they have their very own culture in here! Look

there is a yellow house!’

‘Ooh! Look! There is a lady painting something over there!’

The gray-skinned woman was painting a rather odd picture.

The canvas was entirely black and had two white circles in the

middle of them. When they approached her, she added a white

smile to it. This startled Alduin who found it incredibly creepy.

Hanali laughed at him of course. Seeing a divine laugh made

the woman think she was laughing at her. She took her painting

and ran inside her house.

‘Nooo! Don’t go!!!’

The door was closed shut.

‘Do... Do you think I offended her?’

‘Maybe she thought your meanness towards me was actually

targeted towards her painting?’

‘You and your shenanigans! I am being serious here!’

‘Fine. We try to ask for her forgiveness.’

‘Let’s do that.’

They reached the doorstep of the woman’s house. Its color re-

sembled that of an orange. They knocked on the door. No one

answered. They knocked two more times until eventually the

door was opened. Much to their surprise, the one who answered

their knocks wasn’t the lady but rather a tall horned man. His

skin tone was lighter than that of the lady and his horns resem-

bled those of a bull. He had an axe in his left hand and seemed

angry. He was speaking to them in Deovhaiitish.

‘Uh... Help me here, Hanali.’

‘Uh... I,’ she pointed at herself, ‘Don’t,’ she made an X with

her hands, ‘Speak’, she mimicked a bird tweeting with her right

hand,‘Demonish,’ she pointed at the man.

The demon sighed and then proceeded to introduce himself to

Hanali in Omnitongue. Eventually the man called the lady to

come out and Hanali used the man as a translator to convey her

desire to apologize. In the end they said their goodbyes and the

man closed the door.

‘What did he say? What did you tell him? I’m not that fluent

in Omnitongue.’

‘He said that the lady is his daughter and that we scared her.

I apologized to her, he thanked me and then closed the door.’

‘That’s all?’

‘Kind of, yes.’

‘Huh. Okay.’

‘Why are they all naked, by the way? I find it unsettling.’

‘Maybe they find clothing to be unnecessary. I don’t know.’

‘If you could, would you also be naked?’

‘Uh... I don’t know. I never tried it.’

‘I see...’

‘Would you?’

‘I don’t know. It could be interesting.’

He blushed.

‘What? I am only saying what I thinking!’

‘Yes, I know. I am just surprised by your answer. I like your

curiosity.’

‘Thank you.’

They continued walking, looking at the rich culture of the de-

monic village. There were merchants that sold all kinds of prod-

ucts. Some sold weird food, some clothing, one offered Hanali

her house were she to agree to beat up her husband, claiming

he had been flirting with their neighbour.

‘They are weirdly human,’ he said.

‘Right?! I was just thinking that. This is very odd. I expected

them to just be vulgar, brutal and mindless.’

‘Yes.’

‘Their culture seems very human-ish. They even have a mor-

tal’s jealousy!’

‘Yes. What if... What if since Vaonie was stripped from

their ability to design humanity, they decided to make the Deovhaiits? As their own ‘humanity’, their own ‘civilization’ to

design.’

‘That might just be it! Well done! It sounds fitting of my

maker.’

‘Thank you, thank you!’

‘Ooh, look!’

‘What is that?’

‘It’s written in rather bad Omnitongue but if I read this

correctly, this is a tailor. For custom made clothing.’

‘Why in Munesa would there be a tailor in here if demons

don’t wear any clothes?’

‘I don’t know. Let’s find out!’

‘Sure!’

They entered the shop and were immediately greeted by a pink

colored demon with goat-like horns and two cat tails. Hanali

whispered to him that he was speaking Omnitongue but with

many grammatical errors. He laughed quietly.

‘Welcome! You are Araqhaiits are you not? Welcome to the

number one tailor shop in all of Tyronah!’

Ironically enough, the tailor was nude. Alduin told Hanali to

ask the man why he opened a shop for clothing if no one, not

even himself, wears any clothing.

‘A fine question, mi’lady! A fine question indeed! The answer

is that I don’t sell to Deovhaiits.’

‘Oh? Who are your customers then?’

‘You! Araqhaiits, who wish to look ‘classy”

‘Ah. Do you earn enough though? You only have six clients

and they probably don’t come in daily...’

‘Your brand? What is its name?’

‘I called it ‘Din La u Pol’, ‘The Lord of White’!’

‘What is he saying?’ Alduin whispered in her ear.

‘His shop is called ‘The Lord of White’.’

‘Ah.’

‘Well, merchant, color me intrigued! I have a business offer

for you!’

‘I am all ears!’

‘See the man to my left?’

‘Yes. Handsome lad.’

‘Yes [blushing]. Are you also a blacksmith?’

‘Yes, I am!’

‘I would like to design a special armor for him.’

‘Oh! I would love to!’

‘Good! Let me tell him about it.’

‘Alduin.’

‘Yes?’

‘We are going to get you nice clothes to wear.’

‘What? What is wrong with what I’m currently wearing?!’

‘It’s... Uh... Just trust me, okay?’

‘Not before you tell me what the problem is.’

‘It is just that your clothes don’t fit your status in my opinion.

Or you actually... Look, your pants don’t even fit you properly!’

Alduin felt embrassed and nodded in agreement. The man told

him to follow but he couldn’t understand.

‘I will come with him, as a translator. He does not speak

Omnitongue well enough.’

‘As you wish.’

‘Alduin, I will be coming with you, serving as your transla-

tor.’

‘Ah. Thank you.’

‘Sure.’

They followed the man into a room. He had many ideas regard-

ing a unique style for Alduin but all of them were declined im-

mediately by either Alduin or Hanali claiming he had no sense of style. Eventually they found an idea they had both loved. The

man told Hanali to tell him to strip so he can take his measure-

ments.

‘He says you should strip down so he could take your mea-

surements.’

‘What? Uh...’

‘What’s the problem?’

‘Uhm... I’ve just never actually stripped in front of a woman

before.’

Hanali burst out laughing.

‘Don’t laugh at me! I spent most of my life with the vampires.

My teenhood was practically stripped from me. It is what it is!

Hmph.’

‘Yes, I’m sorry.’

He glared at her.

‘Truly, I am.’

He sighed.

‘Is there a problem?’ The man asked.

‘He’s being shy.’

‘Isn’t he an Araqhaiit?’

‘He is. He will do it. Don’t worry.’

‘Alright.’

Eventually, Alduin was convinced and gathered up the courage to

go bear naked in front of Hanali. She tried her best not to make

him uncomfortable. The man approached him and measured

his body. Waist, legs, head, arms, stomach and the like.

‘And... We’re done!’

‘Alduin, he is saying he is done!’

‘Oh, really? Ask him how much time it would take him to

make it.’

‘Okay.’

‘He is asking how much time it would take you to make it.’

‘Uh, not long at all. I make it using magic. Tell him to wait

here and I’ll return in a bit. Also tell him that he can wear his

clothes back if he’d like.’

‘Alright.’

‘He is saying that he makes it using magic so it takes very

little time. He will call you when it’s ready.’

‘Alright! Thank you.’

‘Mhm,’ she smiled.

The man nodded to them and entered yet another room, closing

the door to it.

‘I am glad we finally found a design you liked,’ Alduin said.

‘It isn’t my fault that your taste is so basic!’

‘Since when is your taste more important than mine? It’s

supposed to be my outfit after all...’

‘Since I want you to have the best one!’

‘Ah. Hmm... Alright then,’ he smiled.

‘What was the colorscheme that you insisted on picking for

me?’

‘You will see. It’s a surprise.’

‘Come on!’

‘No!’

‘Ugh. Fine!’

‘It’s almost ready!’ The man shouted from the other room.

‘Good!’ She replied.

‘He’s saying it’s nearly done.’

‘Oh. Good.’

The man opened the door with a kick and wore a large smile on

his face. The outfit was apparently made of many pieces and

layers that require to be put one by one in an order.

‘Tell him to wear this. I imagine you already know the order

in which it should be put?’

‘Certainly.’

‘Alright listen. I told him to give you a few pairs of new

underpants so pick one and wear it.’

‘Okay.’

He put on black underpants. Then, he wore the obvious. Pants,

socks and boots. The pants were white and long, made of fabric.

The boots were that of a knight’s armor, in the color of silver and had a tiny bit of red on them as ornaments. Then, he wore the

off-white cotton shirt he was given.

‘Okay, this is where it would start being confusing for you.

Put on this vest, then the belt, then the amulet and then the

jacket.’

‘Alright.’

He put on a black leather vest that was decorated in silver. Then,

a silver metallic belt with a red gem in the middle and a dark

brown leather strap. Then, a silver necklace bearing the symbol

of Vaonie as a medallion. And then finally, a white long jacket

made of fabric, with silver buttons and red ornaments. The

jacket had a robe-ish vibe to it and reached his feet, yet it was

classy. He decided to keep it unbuttoned.

‘You look amazing! Go look in the mirror!’

Hanali summoned up a mirror for him to see.

‘Wow. This is beautiful! How did you know I would like

these colors so much?’

‘Well... You are a Snow Elf so I presumed that you like white.

Plus, I wanted you to have the contrast of being dressed in white

while serving a divine like Vaonie. Regarding the red, I don’t

know... It just felt fitting and it goes well with your red eyes.

Regarding the silver, same reason. It isn’t actually silver, it’s

more like white gold-ish. Nonetheless I think it’s stunning,

don’t you agree?’

‘Definitely!’

‘Good! I am glad! We are not ready though!’

‘Huh?’

‘Can’t you see? There are still a few pieces left on the table

for you!’

‘Ah.’

On the table sat a white cape and a silver pauldron shaped in

the shape of a fox.

‘I heard from my brothers that you picked a fox as your

official mount. So... I decided to make it the shape of a pauldron.

What do you think?!’

‘It’s. It’s beautiful. Thank you!’

‘I am glad you like it. Wear it!’

Alduin knew that putting on a pauldron on yourself could be

immensely difficult so he used telekinesis in order to put it on

right shoulder. The cape would then be attached to the right

shoulder via the pauldron. As one single piece of attire.

‘Good. Now look in the mirror again.’

And so he did.

‘Wow! I love it! I love how it gives me a royal vibe! I think

it shows very well the concept of how an Araqhaiit, while being

the purest form of ‘evil’, is also divine and pure as they are still a

god. I love it. Thank you, Hanali!’

She wore a broad smile.

‘I am glad you liked it.’

Alduin gave her a kiss on the cheek.

‘Wha-what did you just do?’

‘Oh! I’m sorry. Was that wrong of me? I’m sorry!’

‘No, no! It is okay. It is just... Very unusual to me...’

‘Bad unusual or good unusual?’

‘I am not sure... Good, I think? Maybe?’

Alduin blushed.

‘If it’s good unusual. May I make it regular?’

‘If you wish to.’

‘I do.’

‘Alright then,’ she smiled.

He smiled back.

‘Ask him how much he wants for it. Wait... Come to think

of it, we don’t even know what currency demons use...’

‘Right! I will check.’

She faced the merchant.

‘Hey! Are you still there? We would like to pay for your work!

We love it!’

The man came back into the room, grinning like a little kid.

‘I knew you would love it! Why wouldn’t you? I’m the best

there is!’

‘And also the only one,’ Alduin whispered to Hanali and they

both laughed.

‘Huh?’ The merchant asked.

‘He said you really are the best there is.’

‘Ah! Thank him for his kindness.’

‘He says thank you.’

‘With pleasure!’ Alduin giggled.

‘How much will this cost us? And how do we pay for it? What

do you Deovhaiits use for money?’

‘In Tyronah we don’t really have money, per se... We use a

special currency that is called a ‘token’. Tokens are the things we

use in order to gain entry into Vanthea and wreak havoc there.’

‘Hmm... I don’t quite follow...’

‘It’s quite complicated to explain. You should ask one of the

scholars in the big city, this village has none unfortunately.’

‘Oh. What is the name of this village by the way?’

‘It’s named ‘Qil Binor’. It means ‘Red Tree’ in our tongue.

Very unoriginal, I am aware... Were I to be the one to name it,

it would have been named differently.’

‘I see. Thank you for this knowledge. So, you lot exchange

entry fares into Vanthea basically? You pay with your right to

feast on mortals?’

‘Not only to feast but something like that, yes... Vaonie

wanted us to have a reason to make Tyronah thrive economically

and the like. They wanted us to build houses, shops et cetera.

To raise families. This is a rather small village, there are many

huge cities in this realm!’

‘Huh.’

Hanali translated everything to Alduin who listened in utter

fascination.

‘How do I pay you? I don’t have any tokens.’

‘Oh. Uhm... Frankly, I haven’t a clue. I could put it on your

tab.’

‘Would my word suffice?’

‘Of course.’

‘Let them have it. I will tell the overseer of the gates to let

you pass a few times for free,’ a familiar voice was heard.

‘Oh. Yes, my lord Vaonie. Whatever you command.’

‘No place is safe from Vaonie’s eavesdropping, huh?’

‘I heard that.’

‘I know...’ He frowned.

‘Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it... I used to live under Austo-

mia’s jurisdiction. You get used to the eavesdropping eventually.’

‘I sincerely hope you’re right...’

‘Trust me,’ she looked right into his eyes.

‘Alright. I will.’

‘Good. Let’s go find a place suitable for training. I’d like to

teach you a few things.’

‘Ooh. Okay. Let’s go. Ke’ev.’

‘No problem,’ the demon said.

They exited the store.

----------

Author's note - I hope to get reviews and feedback. Thank you :)