The Awakening

by SniperGirl0907

The gods have been gone for too long: cursed to exist as giant voiceless monsters, they have awakened to find humanity at the edge of extinction, & at the mercy of the creatures known as 'titans'. Now, with the help of a young adventurous girl, a brave courageous mother, and their equally intrepid friends and family, they must find a way to save all mankind.

14. Chpt 13: An Impromptu Quest

I don't own Attack on Titan: just my OC's and the plot.

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The Awakening

Chapter 13: An Impromptu Quest

Dawn:

Indigo turned to deep Azure as the night turned to dawn, and the last few stars slowly disappeared behind the coming light of day: all around as far as one could hear the forest was still and quiet, save for the dawn chorus of the birds and the chirping of insects slowly stirring to life. The first rays of the sun began to light up the top-most layer of the forest canopy, gilding the leaves in rich warm gold: it would have been a most splendid morning for anyone to enjoy, had it not been for the distant thundering echoes of titan footfalls emanating up from the valley several miles away.

The damned monsters were everywhere: practically ten, fifteen to twenty titans for every mile walked, and with the sun slowly arching up into the sky they were starting to become active again. Clumsily getting up and wandering off, some simply ambled around aimlessly, but the vast majority were all walking northwards. "You think they're heading towards Trost?" Mabel thought aloud as she kept a firm hold of baby Phoebe: "Wouldn't be surprised if they are" Bren swallowed hard as he watched a particularly bulky thirteen meter class strolled right by, barely ten meters away.

After waking up and rechecking the provisions, the humans gathered together as the titans threw up a new concealment spell, and together they all moved as one through the forest. With Gustav and his sisters riding Boar: Mabel, Bren, Lawrence and the babies all riding Angel, and Bemadette's little brother's all seated within Midnight's palm, while everyone else travelled on foot; the elder Celts had their bows and quivers at the ready, while the kids, Bryson, Pascal and West were all kitted out in their ODM gear. No one flew through the trees though as the need to conserve gas was the main concern at hand: the only acceptation being if the concealment spell was to somehow fail, and their position was exposed. "Did we really have to bring the refill canisters with us? I mean, they're a little bulky aren't they?" Lucile glanced up at the three large gas canisters Shadow had tucked under one arm: "Not for him they're not: besides, considering how much money I forked out no way am I leaving them in that damn root cave to rust!" Miriam grumbled, "And anyway, we don't know what we're gonna find when we get to this 'hidden land': the brats'll need their tanks full if we encounter anything unfriendly; speaking of which, what can we expect to find Tyto?"

"According to the sagas, the whole land is supposed to be deserted" Tyto piped in as he read the map over again, "However, my grandfather said he and the rest of our kin had left markers on the island and in the heart of the city, as a way of confirming that it's the place they spoke of" "What kind of markers?" West asked offhand: "I don't know? But I'm sure we'll know them when we see them" Falken offered as he watched Evernight glide overhead, flying from perch to perch as she and the Ravens kept pace with their masters: "Hey Tyto? There's something I've been curious about since you first mentioned it...The way you talk about this 'Hidden land', and how your old man's old man and his buddies discovered it: you kinda make it sound like it's an inheritance or something" Pascal asked, brows knitted together in curiosity.

Passing a dubious sigh, Tyto confessed: "I wondered about that myself once, not long after he first recounted the story to me; and to be honest I secretly doubted if such a place could exist within the walls. I mean, if it were a valley that was somehow hidden away by the lay of the land that would be one thing. But the way he used to talk about it? The way he described the mountains, the lake, the island and the city? He made it sound like such a grand and vast place; somewhere that would easily take up the whole length of Maria from wall to wall... As for the land being an 'inheritance'? I don't know about that Pascal: by the time he got back, the wall cult had just started coming after us, and he probably figured that the hidden land would be a suitable place for us to retreat to in due course; seeing as no one had ever gone that deep into Maria before"

"But, surely if your predecessors were able to travel that far into the wilderness, why didn't the wall cult chase them all the way there?" Carla thought aloud: "Oh they did: but you see, the wall cult are mostly descended from those of nobility and far-off royal blood; people who are not at all suited for the demands of the wild. Many chased us into the wilderness, but without the proper knowledge and preparation needed to survive, most perished. I remember my grandfather telling me how: on the return journey from the hidden land he and his brothers passed by a good number of destroyed and abandoned campsites: many had died of the cold, hunger, dehydration, or in the worst cases, cannibalism" "Cannibalism? Seriously dad?" Ariana blinked in surprise: "You'd be amazed, and horrified, at what you can do when hunger forces your hand: that's why the Disciples always had a network of supply depots and halfway houses, so they could avoid incurring those kinds of losses" Tyto explained.

Glancing over at his sons, he noticed Dale talking to Claude, Drake and the Cooper twins, while holding one of his arrows in one hand; glancing at the arrowhead, he noticed the crystal point was coated in a strange bright green substance of some kind: "Hey Dale? What's that stuff on your arrow?" he asked offhand. "Oh this?" Dale smiled, "It's Midnight's venom: Claude came up with the idea to coat an arrowhead in the stuff to test it's potency; we dipped it into the venom once, let it dry, dipped it again, and repeated until it had all been used up. This is the result" he held the arrow up "Indeed" Claude beamed proudly as he jumped over a large log, "The next titan that comes along will be-

"-Oi! We don't have time for one of your mad-cap experiment's genius!" Gustav snapped in a hushed voice, being careful not to wake the babies up. "Oh don't worry! I promise it'll hardly take any time at all!" Claude smiled back as he took the arrow and held it up for Gustav to see, "If this stuff is as potent as I think it is: it should cripple a titan in virtually less than a minute!" "Well it looks like you won't have to wait long to test it out, look!" Miriam pointed to the right: everyone snapped their head's round in time to see a fat chubby ten meter titan slowly sauntering towards them with an odd limp and one arm extended above its head: "That oversized idiot's gonna plough right between us anyway, you might as well get rid of him!" the old woman added. "That's an abnormal: the one Midnight bit was just a normal titan, think it'll have the same reaction?" Bryson asked offhand, "Only one way to find out: Dale?" Claude handed him his arrow, "Certainly" the boy grinned as he locked the arrow into his bow and took aim, "Aim for the jugular if you can: we should get a near-instant result with a direct hit to the cardiovascular system" Claude added enthusiastically.

Everyone stopped and watched as Dale fired the poisoned arrow up into the titan's neck, hitting the jugular right under the jaw. Almost immediately, the titan stopped and seemed to become dazed, as within about a minute its tanned skin started to turn pale and pasty, dark circles appeared under its eyes, and the area around where the arrow was embedded started to turn grey. The titan's breathing grew short and shallow as it staggered around in a tight circle for several seconds, before toppling over and crashing to the ground with a resounding boom. There it lay, its whole body now a mix of deathly white and grey, with its head, face, neck and shoulders turning black. "Well, I'd say that was a resounding success!" Claude beamed as he threw his pack off, reached in for his journal and writing stick, and started quickly scribbling down notes: "Obviously if we had the time I'd love to be able to conduct further experiments on other size classes: see if the potency is a 'one size fits all' so to speak, or if the venom has slightly varying effects from individual to individual" he thought aloud as he finished writing and packed his journal away, before throwing his pack back on and following the rest of the group as they set off again; leaving the titan to languish where it had fallen. "Of course, if this 'city of lost memories' really does contain all the knowledge of mankind, there could be all the information anyone could ever wish to know about the titans!" Claude beamed as he walked with a spring in his step.

"Or anything for that matter..." Ariana thought aloud, before something suddenly occurred to her, "Actually, how do you 'store' memories? How would you be able to take them out of people's heads to begin with? ... Hey dad, when Great-grandpa Grey Owl told you about the city, did he say how those memories are kept there?"

"He was a bit vague," Tyto dithered as he recalled his Grandfather's story: "But he explained it as something along the lines of, 'a vast city of shining temples, taller than anything he'd ever seen before: filled with thousands of shelves that were lined with countless books; and housed all manner of strange and wondrous things, made by both nature and man alike" "Huh, sounds like it could be a library, or an archive of some kind?" Breck thought aloud, "A library?" Ariana raised an eyebrow, "What's a 'library'?" Rowan frowned. A little taken aback by the question, the doctor glanced over at his equally surprised brother and best friend, and explained: "Um? Well? It's a building that contains all kinds of books, which can be loaned out if you want them; you take them home to read at your leisure, and then when you're done you take them back so other people can borrow them"

"Really? That sounds pretty cool" Lucy smiled, "How come we never had anything like that in Shiganshina?" Drake exclaimed in surprise: "Eh, library's are something that are generally associated with the wealthy and educated: they're more common in the 'well-to-do' towns and cities of Sina; particularly Mitras. You don't find them in Rose or Maria I'm afraid" Claude explained regretfully. "But why not? I mean, a place that lets you read whatever you want? Whether it be to learn new stuff or just enjoy a good story: shouldn't that be something everyone can experience?" Shyla glanced over at him curiously, "Yeah, why can't everyone learn whatever they want?" Drake piped in. "Oh indubitably master Drake, Miss Shyla: the freedom of knowledge is something I believe everyone should be entitled to. But sadly, there are a lot of people in the interior that believe being knowledgeable comes at price. In many of those libraries you can indeed borrow whatever books you like, but they come at a rather hefty fee; one I'm afraid, that can be seldom afforded by those from the outerlands"

"It's true: I remember when I was studying medicine in Mitras, at the university library the fee for just one book would be enough to buy three sacks of flour" Breck threw in, "Seriously? That much?" Carla breathed in amazement: "Oh yes, and those were just standard medical text books: the more specialized volumes would probably pay for six horses and three cows" the doctor replied, "Whoa, that's a lot of money," Gale blinked in surprise, "No shit: that would set us up for months" Miriam thought aloud as she scratched her chin in contemplation. "Looks like we might have been in the wrong business all along" Pascal discreetly smirked, to which West couldn't help but smile. "But why does learning stuff have to cost so much?" Drake whined, "Well? Making and printing books isn't cheap, but then, making pamphlets doesn't exactly coat an arm and a leg either. It's more to do with the caste system than anything else: the idea that being able to afford an education gives off the appearance that you have money, and being able to go to the right school or academy means you know people with the right social standing and connections. Ultimately, everyone within the walls has been brought up to believe you can only really get ahead in life if you were born into wealth" Bryson explained frankly, "...It was one of the things that made me leave Sina: I couldn't stand the attitude of the nobles and upper classes, how they looked down on those they considered lesser than themselves; even a former Scout, who gave seven years of his life to fighting the titans and ensuring humanity didn't suffer their hunger, was not exempt" "It's sad to say. But for all its elegance and grandeur: Mitras is not a place where equality and fairness thrives" Claude threw in ruefully, "There's a reason why we have the old saying: 'He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have'"

A long pause of silence stretched out as the group headed down into a shaded glen, before Ariana turned to Bryson and asked him: "...Bryson? When we're done in the hidden land, and we all go to the interior to find new homes: do you think we could be happy there?"

The former Scout glanced down at her offhand, and with a dubious sigh replied: "...I don't know? ..." he gazed up at the paling morning sky through the canopy: "Things like money, possessions, status? If anyone tells you they matter more than anything else in life? don't listen to them; all that stuff is overrated. If you can find something that makes you happy: that gives you satisfaction and joy, even if it means you earn a pittance, or nothing at all; I'd say it's a worthwhile endeavour. Of course there'll always be those who criticize you, who might say you're lazy, or fanciful, or just plain crazy: but if it's something you really want to do, and you know you'll have no regrets doing it; then go for it. The only one really stopping you is yourself"

As she pondered his words of wisdom, Ariana remembered Armin, and his dream of leaving the walls to go see the ocean: she couldn't help but tear up as she remembered the day he showed her that book he found in his grandfather's attic; how his eyes were filled with such wonder and awe. He almost looked as if he'd strayed into dream, and a part of it became embedded in those bright blues of his. "Magpie? Are you alright sweetheart" Tyto leaned down, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine dad" Ariana quietly assured him, taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes: she fired her lines up into Shadow's back and flew up to sit herself down on his right shoulder; seeking solace in his company. The titan acknowledged her with a sideways glance and a soft upbeat hum, keeping his eyes forward as he took point, leading the group through the trees. Glancing at her again, he saw how she had a distant look in her eyes: as though her mind was far from the here and now. Holding a hand up, he spelt out with his smoke light,: What's on your mind? :

Ariana was quiet at first, before admitting: "Having to pay money just to learn stuff sounds so stupid: I mean, why does money have to be so important to some people anyway?" she glanced up at him, "I mean, don't me wrong: I know not everyone's like those people Bryson hates. Pascal and West used to steal gold and stuff to survive, the Willums had the Black Stallion because it had always been their home, and Mabel and Bren were saving up to buy their own house: anything else didn't really matter... Why can't that just be enough for some people?"

Shadow sighed ruefully as he spelt out,: Humans can be complicated, and sometimes they don't always make sense. One person's idea of happiness can be another's idea of suffering, and vice versa; it depends on the individual and how they see the world. And for some people, their view of the world is very obscured by a lot of things that aren't necessary. You can have all the gold in the world but that won't guarantee you happiness or fulfilment: and likewise, you might not have a single coin to your name, and yet you can find joy and delight in the simplest of things: he smiled warmly at her. Ariana couldn't help but smile as he spelt out, : Don't worry about it, you know what's important right? : She nodded: and with a glint of content in his glistening blue eyes, Shadow faced forward and carried on.

Having caught a glimpse of Shadow's words, Mabel gazed out into the forest as her mind wandered: thinking back over the years to her youth, to a time when things were very different for her...

If there is one thing you must remember above all else, it's that money is the only way to get anything done in this world; everyone has a price, and believe me girl, there is not a single human in this walled world who wouldn't give up their loved ones for the sake of a few gold coins. People are ruthless like that, that's what makes them so easy to manipulate.

"...Money isn't everything..." Mabel unconsciously mumbled to herself, "Hm? What's that sweet-pea?" Bren glanced over his shoulder at her: "Oh, uh sorry, I was just thinking aloud" she brushed off with a small smile: "Anything particular on your mind?" he smiled as Marigold sat on his knee, playing with one of Angel's long hackles: "Not really, just-...Thinking back to when we were kids" she admitted sheepishly; "You're thinking about that? Now of all times?" Bren couldn't help but blink in surprise. Mabel was quiet for a moment, before telling him frankly: "...I was thinking about the life I was born into, and how from the start part of me always knew it wasn't the life I wanted. I can't help but wonder: just how many other children like me there were, that wished to run away and live their lives on their own terms" she gazed down at baby Phoebe, who was fast asleep in her arms: "I hope, I wasn't the only one is all..." Knowing what she was talking about, Bren turned around and gently grasped her hand, and with a reassuring look in his eyes, told her: "I'm sure you can't have been the only one darling; I hope that anyone else who managed to pluck up the courage to do what you did, also found what they were looking for"

"Pluck up the courage to do what?" Lawrence yawned, having just woken up from a light doze after succumbing to the warm fluffy softness of Angel's feathers, with baby Clemmy seated on his lap; "Oh, don't worry sweetie, it's not important okay?" Mabel assured him as she playfully ruffled his hair, "Okay" he groggily replied as he checked to make sure Clemmy was still fast asleep. Gazing over at the young couple and their newly adopted brood, Boar couldn't help but admire Mabel's strength; as he used his divine powers to read her aura, he saw just how much she had gone through to become the person she was today.

Aura's were strange and fascinating things: the living substance of all life that reflected the character of the mind, body and spirit, aura's told a lot about a being's nature and state of existence, and humans were certainly no acceptation. No other lifeform in all of creation possessed an aura that read so much like book: intrinsically complicated, nuanced with emotion, thought, logic, reason, and the strange paradoxical relationship between moral ambiguity and transparency, which could differ greatly between one individual to another. Quite often these qualities were denoted in the aura by its size, shape, form, colour, and the flow of energy: no two auras were ever alike, even the Cooper and Raven twin's were different in their own slight ways; and even a god's aura, though greatly different from that of a mortal's, could be just as telling on a number of levels. Over the course of his long immortal years, Boar had come to find reading Aura's to be a curious affair: though humans were not perfect, he could see why Javorin found them so fascinating. In particular, the one thing that was most telling of a person's aura: was not the strength and courage they possessed at present, but rather, how they came to acquire that strength and courage in the first place.

Being a good person in a cruel world didn't come easy, more often than not one had to endure suffering to understand the difference between comfort and pain: that was the nature of human nature; and it was something that could either instil compassion, or cruelty. Some aura's, like Mabel's, 'felt' like metal: strong, confident, unyielding, and yet she wasn't hard on those around her or abrasive in her demeanour. At her core she was loving, caring, understanding and generous: but those endearing qualities didn't come from nowhere; metal (as it was understood during ancient times) was the universal element of ultimate strength. Metal can only become strong after being exposed to intense heat to purify it, put under great pressure to yield as much flexibility as possible, and then finally pounded over and over again, to give it its inherent durability and strength.

Boar didn't know Mabel's past, come to think of it no one else seemed to know where she and Bren originally came from either: all that was known was that they ran away to Maria to elope, a few years before the four Celtic families moved to Shiganshina, as her family didn't approve of Bren; but it was of no great concern to anyone. They clearly were not the types to get involved with criminals or anyone else of that ilk, and they weren't looking for anything else besides a roof over their heads and the means to financially support themselves: Derek too when he showed up at the Black Stallion not long after. No questions were asked, and despite Mabel fitting right in with the Willum household, she never did confide in anyone about her origins or how she first met Bren and his brother. It was clear from the start that some things were just too painful or too complicated to discuss: and it certainly reflected in her aura; from what he was able to discern, Boar could tell Mabel's childhood was neither easy nor happy; whatever happened back then, the one constant happiness that seemed to keep her from the clutches of utter despair was Bren. They both shared a long history together: found strength and resolve in each other, and ultimately that childhood friendship blossomed into love. But from the amount of emotional scars her aura bared, it was clear the life they made together didn't come without a price. Whatever it was she had to sacrifice to be with the man she loved, it was something she had been willing to abandon: to give up entirely for the sake of herself and her heart, and one that didn't leave her with any lingering regrets or doubts.

"Considering how guarded she is about her past, you have to wonder who she was before she came here to Maria" Hecate piped in: telepathically eavesdropping in on his train of thought: "...Whoever or whatever she was, it's clear she's compartmentalized that whole other life: locked it up in a little box and threw away the key; as far as she's concerned its ancient history" Boar sighed offhand, "And it's none of our business" Javorin reminded them both in a slightly mother-hen tone: "If she didn't confide in any of the others about it, she won't be willing to confide in us: don't go poking around where you're not wanted" "Yes 'All-father'" Boar glanced sarcastically up at his brother, "I can't help it if I have a natural curiosity: I'm a night roamer after all, we're naturally attracted to fellow dark horses..." Hecate smirked: "Anyway," she changed the subject in a more serious tone, "This 'Hidden land': what're you thinking? Shangri-La? Eldorado? It wouldn't be the first time a vast stretch of land was hidden out of sight and out of mind by magical means"

"Well we're on the European continent so that limits our options: I know the Black Forest had some secret places that humans were not allowed to go into, but those were mostly sanctuaries for the spirits and nature gods. An entire land surround by mountains with a lake and large island, plus a city built beneath a mountain? It doesn't ring any bells for me" Javorin shrugged. "I can't recall any place like that either, and this continent was one of my favourite stalking grounds back in the day: if there were any place like that, I'd have been the first to know about it" Boar threw in. "It's a shame the map's not more accurate, if I knew what it looked like from up in the air, I'd know if I'd flown over it at some point" Angel commented. "Well either way, we'll know more when we get there" Javorin thought aloud as he gave a wide berth to a trio of nine meter titans.

"Hey, we're nearly there" Ariana smiled as the pale face of wall Maria began to appear through the canopy in the distance: another fifteen minutes of walking soon brought the first part of the journey to its end, as the giant stone circle came into view. Gently removing Ariana off his shoulder as he knelt down to meet everyone's level, being careful to keep a firm hold of the canisters, Shadow listened and watched as Tyto took off his pack and got out the map again: "Finally, we can start the first true leg of the journey" he sighed with relief. "What?! That six mile hike didn't count?!" Pascal exclaimed as he leaned against one of the stones for a brief rest, "Six miles? Pft! Please, for some of us Celts that's just a stroll around the block: our sister clans up in the northern mountains and eastern highlands can walk for days following the herds on their winter migrations" Evrard waved off, "Wherever that map's leading us, it's nowhere even close to three miles". "That's a relief" Miriam scoffed, "Relief? But you're not even walking Miriam" West pointed out, "No, but someone has to think of Boar's poor back! If it weren't for our shitty creaky bones and bad backs he wouldn't have to carry us!" "Hmm? What'd you think bud? The old folk's getting too heavy for ya?" Clay smirked up at the tusked titan: Boar merely shook his head and hummed a low gurgling thrum, "Nah, he's good" Hazel waved off. "But still, how hard is the terrain going to be? Will it be easy to walk or will Boar have to carry us the rest of the way?" Rosemary asked worryingly. Laying the map flat on the ground, Tyto traced his finger over the line of text that wrapped around the illustration of the stone circle, seeing the look of anxiousness on his face, the others began to grow uneasy: "Uh dad? Is everything okay?" Ash asked worryingly: "... I have to confess, in my excitement I might have missed one or two things: like this text, it's similar to our own rune-symbols but I can't quite place what it says ," he lifted the map off the ground, and held it above his head for Shadow to get a better look, "...What do you think Shadow? You know a lot more about this than me"

Leaning down to focus on the text in question, Shadow squinted as he read through it, after a moment he blinked in surprise with a large smile pulling at the corners of his cheekless maw: "... Huh, so that's what they are" Javorin smiled, "What?" Angel pressed him, "You know what it says, don't you" Ariana realized; holding up his hand, Shadow spelt out, : This stone circle is the first of two doorways to the Hidden Land: "Doorways?" Claude glanced all around circle in confusion, "I'm afraid I don't quite follow ol' boy?"

"What kind of magics are we talking about here?" Hecate placed Bemadette's brother's down on Angel's back behind Lawrence, before folding her arms, "Teleportation, and slipping half-way between the realms" Javorin smiled, to which both Hecate and Herne glanced at each other in surprise, "You don't mean it's a- "-Oh yes, it is" he grinned as he stood up, and spelt out, : Make sure you all stand within the circle, and don't move until the fog clears, Okay?: "Fog? What're you talking about Shadow?" Bryson frowned in concern, as everyone bunched together, half worried as they wondered what was coming next. : You'll see: Shadow smirked slyly, before approaching one of the stones, and gently laying a hand down on part of the carved pattern in the rock.

All the markings on Shadow's body steadily lit up in their usual bright radiant blue, and his eyes glowed white as the carvings on the stone started to glow in a vivid emerald green: "Whoa! I didn't know the stone's could do that!" Ariana gawked, as all the stones illuminated and a gentle breeze began to kick up; then, from out of the dark shadows of the trees, the thick undergrowth and out from the canopy above, a thick heavy fog began to swirl around the stones, blotting out the forest and sky from sight, until only the stones and the grass within the clearing was visible. Everyone stayed close together, nervously watching as the fog continued to swirl around and around, while the stones eerie glow continued to light up the clearing as Shadow kept his hand on the one stone. Then as quickly as it began, within less than half a minute the fog began to slow and dissipate, until the air was clear again. Only, they weren't standing in the forest anymore ...

"Whoa! What the hell?!- Where are we?!" Bryson exclaimed in alarm as he gazed all around: "Wha-, we're in a totally different place?! How'd that work?!" Clay gasped, "That was quiet something" Lucile sighed in relief, "But it appears we're in a completely different place now" she gazed up at her surroundings "You think?!" West exclaimed in disbelief.

Everyone was taken aback by the scenery before them. All around in about a fifty foot wide circle, looming some two hundred feet high overhead were steep vertical cliff-faces, comprised of Chevron folds with flat-lying axial planes in varying hues of green, dark aqua and teal, dusty rose pink and striking rusty red: covered in an assortment of creeping vines and ivy, and at the very top, just barely visible past the top of the cliffs was a thick circle of pines and giant trees, with what seemed like a small circle of blue that was the sky. On the ground, the grassy clearing and the stones had remained exactly as they were: except here, flowers bloomed in the grass beyond the stones and were peeping out from between the rocks at the base of the circular cliff, adding splashes of colour to the already-striking rock formation. The only way out of this tall enclosed space was a vertically narrow gorge some twenty five feet wide that cut through the multicoloured rock, about thirty feet up the sides came closer together, until nearly right at the top they were practically touching one another, with only a tiny slither of sunlight streaming through the gap, lighting up the opposite side of the cove with a long thin serpentine line of golden light.

"HELLO!" Jaye shouted, chuckling as his voice echoed up the circular cliff and seemed to carry on up into the sky "ECHO!", "Holy shit-" Gustav breathed in astonishment, "... You titans can pull off some serious magic tricks when you want to, but I gotta say, that's gotta be the best show-stopper yet" he grinned, "Can't argue with that" Pascal concurred: "So? The stone circle issome kind of magical door? Except, instead of steeping through, the door 'step's through' for you? (what the hell am I even saying?!)" Dale thought aloud as his brain tried to wrap around what just happened. : Not quite : Shadow spelt out as he removed his hand from the stone, and the glowing in the carvings and in his tattoos died down until they were back to normal, : It's rather complicated to explain, but basically, we've all been transported to a place that is 'here', but at the same time is 'not here':

"That completely makes no sense what so ever" Pascal frowned dryly as he folded his arms,: I know, but you must remember, magic is not obliged to make sense. It is, like everything else in nature, simply what it is: Shadow replied, "And it is? ..." Pascal pressed him, expecting a more transparent answer, : I don't know? You tell me: Shadow smirked as he shrugged innocently; Pascal merely glared up at him frustration, he hated it when the titans were cryptically ambiguous like that.

"Well? Whatever this place is, it's only got one way out" Falken pointed to the gorge; "And the second door is waiting for us on the other side, right?" Tyto glanced up at Shadow, to which the titan nodded, "Okay, forward it is then..." Bryson shrugged as he followed Shadow into the narrow passage, with everyone else filing into place. The going was slow as Shadow and Midnight had to carefully walk sideways, to avoid bumping into the rocky sides and accidental dislodging any loose stones. The bottom of the gorge was covered in large rounded pebbles of all varying colours, and in the centre was a small rivulet of water, fed by dozens of smaller rivulets that trickled out of various cracks and openings in the rock. As they gazed up through the tiny gap between the gorge's sides, everyone could just make out small slithers of blue sky, mostly obscured by trees and their roots. "It's a good thing none of us are afraid of tight spaces, or this would be a most uncomfortable trek" Carla thought aloud: Angel chirped and nodded in agreement, desperately trying to hide her nervousness, as she didn't like being in such an enclosed space. "Keep it together brat, you'll be fine" Hecate sighed in exasperation: "I can't help it! I'm a Tempus goddess! I need to be out in the open with nothing keeping me trapped!" Elysia squeaked in a panic. "Yeah? Well I'd like the shadows in this place to be a little darker, but that's hardly going to happen until nightfall is it? Just suck it in and deal with it!"

The gorge carried on for another eight hundred yards or so, steadily growing wider and inclining downhill slightly, until finally the group emerged into a sprawling wooded valley: surrounded on all sides by more sheer vertical cliffs, and up ahead some two or three miles away, a single solitary mountain with a prominent peak covered in snow stood looming above the horizon. "Tyto..." Bryson breathed in astonishment, "That mountain: it's just as you described in your story", "...I know" Tyto breathed in amazement: holding his hand and reassuring him with her smile, Freya led him forward as the group pressed on.

The hike to the mountain was pretty easy going as the centre of the valley was mostly flat, but dotted around here and there were more standing stones with those strange patterns carved into their moss and lichen-covered surfaces: these ones were not arranged in any circles, they stood alone, spaced a hundred to two hundred yards apart; as if they were meant to serve as trail markers. The trees in this valley were mostly oak, birch, ash, hazel and sycamore, and some of the oldest trees anyone had ever seen, with a thick carpet of ferns, brackens and moss coating their roots, and trailing ivy and honeysuckle hanging from the branches like decorative swags: it was a very lush green place with an abundance of animals and insects to boot. Over the last mile leading up to the foot of the mountain, the forest began to thin out and give way to massive rocks and boulder fields, which were all hidden from the sun by the mountain's vast, seemingly endless shadow.

"Hey, something's just occurred to me; if we're still (technically) in Maria, what mountain is this?" Breck suddenly realized, "There're a lot of mountains in Maria, but none with a peak like that" Eraman offered as he kept an eye on his raven's, who were all circling overhead, cawing and cronking down to him; meanwhile Evernight sat perched on Falken's shoulder, giving her wings a rest. "So? Are we beyond the wall?" Mabel surmised, "According to the map, we're still inside Maria: which suffice to say shouldn't make any sense" Tyto replied as he reread the map. "We just travelled from one place to another in a cloud of magical fog without having to take a single step; anything to do with magic doesn't make sense! Period!" Pascal huffed sarcastically in exasperation: "I thought after all these years we all knew that by now?" "I have to confess; it is rather hard to draw the line between science and 'magic', if there is a line at all?" Claude thought aloud, "Oh there's a line alright genius, it's just not a straight one" Hecate glanced down at the scientist dryly: he didn't hear her of course, but then, after talking telepathically for so long, it had become somewhat of a habit for her and the other gods.

"What I don't understand is, those stones have been standing in Maria all this time, barely five miles from Shiganshina and hardly anyone else knows they're there; how come everyone missed them?" Carla thought aloud: "Oh trust me dear, everyone who lives in the forest know about the stones" Freya explained, "They just don't know who put them there or what they were intended for. To us Celts they were always 'the crossroads': a place where the spirits could transcend between this world and the next...Obviously that wasn't the case" "Well? Given what we experienced back there, I don't think they were that far off the mark as far as 'transcendence' is concerned..." Claude pointed out; but as he continued to ponder on the extraordinary phenomenon, something else suddenly occurred to him, "...-But wait a minute, we got here because Shadow 'awakened' the stone's power with his own, and presumably that's the only way to get here (thus far?), so? If he and the other 'magical' titans were not around when the Celts first discovered the hidden land, how did your ancestors get here in the first place Tyto?"

Tyto abruptly stopped as the realization suddenly dawned on him; his mind began to spin with confusion and questions: as did Evrard, Falken and Eraman. Seeing the shocked look in their eyes, Bryson suddenly realized: "... Your grandfather never said anything about the stones power?" "...No..." was all Tyto could say as he pressed his hand to his head, mentally trying to calm his growing shock: "...He never mentioned anything about the stones or what they were really for, I just assumed he trekked up here and found this place by accident. Why on earth would he not tell me about this?!"

"Maybe for the same reason we wouldn't be able to tell anyone else either. No one would believe him, maybe not even his own family?" Breck offered; thinking about it, Tyto realized he did have a point: a circle of magical giant stones that could whisk you away to another place in a swirling mass of fog? Of course no one would believe him. Even Tyto himself wouldn't have believed such a story had he not just witnessed the stone's power for himself. "...Okay, fair point: but that doesn't explain how he figured out how to 'awaken' the stones by himself. That information was never divulged!" Tyto exclaimed. "Maybe he did know how to awaken them; he just didn't divulge it for some reason?" Ash surmised, "But if he intended for the Celts to come back here one day, it wouldn't make any sense to keep that information from them: not when he had aspirations of them making this place their home" Falken threw in, "...Or maybe? ..." Dale reached down and pulled his father's hunting knife from out of its sheath, inspecting the symbol on the blade: "The information was there all along. Maybe it wasn't enough to simply tell you about it, you had to find it for yourself?" he thought aloud. "But Dale, half the Semitam's markings came from the tombs and the rest came from the titans themselves: we never would have figured it out if we only had one or the other" Lucius pointed out, before an idea began to form in his mind's eye: "...As weird and crazy as this sounds, could your predecessors have somehow known about the titans being in those tombs? And that one day they would eventually wake up? Did they know that the titans have those marking on their bodies, and would eventually go to seek the hidden land by creating the Semitam? ... Could it be possible, that your great grandfather and the other Celtic elders somehow prophesied the titan's awakening, and timed it so that when they finally woke up the Celts would be ready to go with them, by giving them their pieces of the map?" he hypothesized.

A long silence stretched out as everyone glanced at one another in a mix of realization and confusion: on some level Dale and Lucius's suggestions made sense in an uncanny kind of way; and it did seem to jive with what they themselves had already discovered and experienced first-hand. "Well? If that really was the old man Grey Owl's objective, he certainly hit the nail on the head" Pascal sighed in mental exasperation. "Well? It was clear from day one that the Celts and 'magical' titans were linked somehow: maybe they parted some of their magical ways to your ancestors before they were sealed away in those tombs?" Claude surmised, gazing over at Tyto and his family: "After all, you explained how the Celts were once known as the 'people of the secret places', that they used to journey to locations seldom known by the rest of humanity; well? No one in the three walls knew about the giant tombs, or the fact our titanic friends were buried inside them, even you gentlemen didn't know about their existence: and yet in the dark of night with no stars or map to guide her, Ariana 'found' the grove they were nestled in; for the longest time I just thought it was sheer random luck she found the place, but after hearing this hypothesis, I'm beginning to think maybe it wasn't just chance?" he explained. Miriam was about to object, when Ariana suddenly spoke up: "...Actually? Now that you mention it Claude: there was something that happened that night I couldn't explain; when it was all over and I was back home I didn't think anything of it. Until now"

"What was it darling?" Freya blinked in surprise, as did Tyto: "... Well? It's kinda hard to explain," Ariana thought aloud as she recalled the night she first met Shadow: "But at one point when I was wandering through the forest, I thought I heard a voice telling me to go somewhere: I didn't know where at the time, and the undergrowth was so dark I didn't want to risk going in there, for fear a bear or wolf could be lying in wait. And yet-... I don't know why, but I just got this intense feeling that something was there on the other side of the darkness, and that I would be okay if I went 'there'. Against my better judgement I walked through that undergrowth, half expecting to be attacked: but eventually I reached the other side and that's where I found the grove of giant trees...It's weird; looking back on it now, it wasn't a voice exactly: but rather, 'a feeling speaking to my instincts', if that makes any sense?" she explained sheepishly.

"...Hmm? ..." Claude knitted his brows together, as the cogs in his brain turned at full speed: "...Could it be possible that the Celts not only shared a close relationship with the 'magical' titans at some point in the past, but shared a kinship that transcended the boundaries of each other's species? We know that Shadow, Midnight and Boar can sense when someone's lying: and to a greater or lesser degree even peer into our very memories, but what if it went deeper than that? What if they shared a common culture? Something that would have run deep between them: like instinct, or the power to control and manipulate magic?"

"Could that really have been possible?" Elysia glanced up at Javorin in surprise, "It was well known to many that the Celts and nature gods had a good understanding of one another: given their nomadic culture and reliance on the wild for their survival, I wouldn't be surprised if a few of those gods taught them a spell or two" Javorin explained. "Magical potential being passed down through certain bloodlines wouldn't be unusual either" Hecate threw in, "Back in the day there were a good number of ethnic groups who were descended from some of the most powerful witches, wizards and mages of the ancient world. Even a tiny fraction of their power survived well into the then-modern age, resting within the blood of those individuals as little more than part of their instincts. The Celts were one such ethnicity; chances are Ariana must have 'heard' the spirits telling her where to go...It wouldn't be the first time they did something like that"

"You mean, as in they might have taught them how to do their own magic and stuff?" West blinked in surprise, "Why not? We already surmised as much when Tyto first showed us the Semitam, what if it went much further than just the map?" Claude glanced up at Shadow, "You said so yourself, it is possible for anyone to learn simplistic and basic incantations; what if, the Celts (or whoever created the Semitam at least), not only learned the basics of magic, but also mastered a much more advanced form of that power. I mean, how else could the Semitam have been hidden the way it was?"

Shadow and Midnight both glanced dubiously at one another for a moment, before Shadow spelt out,: It is possible, but the kinds of magics used to hide the Semitam and entrap us within those tombs, would have been exceptionally powerful; not just anyone could wield them. It would have taken an experienced Wizard or Mage to control them, and even then the act of casting the spells would have been fairly dangerous:

"-So wait a minute-, your saying we might be descended from wizards?!" Clay exclaimed, "Sweet!" Rowan nodded with a satisfied smile, "You? A wizard?! Please, you'd only turn your sister into a toad!" Jaye chuckled, "So would you!" Clay retorted, to which both Josefa and Hazel both smacked their brothers upside the head. "Well? I don't know about that..." Tyto dubiously thought aloud, "But I suppose it's possible our ancestors could've learned how to awaken the stone circle at least. That makes sense" "-Oh my god!" Derek exclaimed suddenly, "What if that's the reason the first king attempted to wipe out the Celts?! If he knew they had knowledge of magical powers, and could probably use said powers to overthrow him somehow, that would give him more than just a few sleepless nights!" "And maybe? When he 'altered' everyone's memory and erased all knowledge of the outside world, he probably thought all the Celts knowledge of those magical powers would be wiped out too: but they weren't; that must be why he took a particular interest in trying to wipe us out. More so than the Asians" Dale reasoned, "... And so to counteract the purge, the Celts took all their knowledge and hid it in plain sight: encrypting it into symbols and artworks, recounting it through fables, sagas and fairytales. The only knowledge of magic in the world, knowingly orunknowingly handed down from one generation to the next" Bryson realized.

"But then- ..." Ariana nervously thought aloud: "If that's true, how many clans (besides ours) are there left alive with that knowledge in hand? And how many still know what it actually is?" At the mention of the other Celtic clans, Tyto suddenly realized in horror: "...Oh my god! I completely forgot!-" "What? What is it brother?" Evrard laid a hand on his shoulder, as the Grey Owl elder nearly dropped to his knees in shock: "The other clans: they're still out there in the wilds of Maria! Out there with the titans running loose!"

At that moment, the atmosphere grew thick and cold with horror, as the realization dawned on everyone: for the longest time no one spoke as the reality of it sank in; there was no way they could turn back now, and there was no way they could locate and save them all. No one knew where the other clans were: even Shadow and the other titans hadn't seen or heard of any of them in the five years they'd been living within the walls. As if loosing Bestla, Skadi and Ran was hard enough, now the Grey Owls, Red Boars, Ravens and Black Hawks had to deal with the bitter fact that they, in all likelihood, were the very last of their people. The last Celts to walk this earth: the only ones to have survived both the Disciples and the titans. Having lost her home, aunties and best friends: for Ariana the sting didn't hit as hard, but it still hurt to know that the rest of her people were now living on borrowed time; hiding from the titans as best they could, and praying their survival skills would stave off the inevitable for as long as possible. It would only take one or two titans to wipe out a whole clan, and they would be gone forever. How delighted the Wall Cult's Disciples must be right now, knowing the titans are doing their dirty work for them, while they remain safe behind walls Rose and Sina. As the Celts tried to come to terms with the fate of their kin, everyone else just felt horrible.

"...Oh god...Tyto-, I'm so sorry-, I..." Bryson nervously uttered, not really sure what else to say: Tyto only gazed at him ruefully, before placing his hand on his shoulder and sighing deeply; not sure what to say himself. "...How many clans are there?" Breck asked ruefully: "...All over Maria? I don't know," Tyto shook his head, "With the wall cult ever vigilant, gathering and migrating in large groups was always dangerous, so every clan had to make their own way through Maria by themselves. Some smaller clans like ours would join together for protection: but as a whole, it's impossible to say how many survived the first purge some ninety eight years ago; and since the wilds of Maria are a vast green labyrinth, communication is just about impossible unless you lived within a ten mile radius of a neighbouring clan". "Geez..." Rowan pressed his hand to his forehead as his face scrunched up with a look of hopelessness in his eyes, "...Why did this have to happen? Why did that titan destroy the wall? What the hell did we do to deserve this? What did anyone do to deserve this?!"

Finally regaining her composure, Freya couldn't help but sigh: "...What do we do now? ...". Carla placed a hand on her shoulder, and told her softly, "...We press on: we've come this far, let's go to the place your elders spoke of...If all of you really are the last of your people? Then you owe it to them to complete this journey..." With tears welling up in her eyes, Freya hugged Carla tightly, before glancing over at her family: "She's right, let's carry on eh?" And without another word, the whole group sombrely set off once again.

After another several hundred yards of navigating a wide boulder field and another large narrow gorge, the group finally arrived at the very base of the mountain; the vertical side of which seemed to reach up into the sky, going on forever as it encompassed everyone's field of vision. And there, situated in the rock was the second door. Over thirty meters tall, the broad Gothic arch double stone doors were covered in the most intricate carvings yet, which spread out from the door themselves to cover the frame, ground, surrounding rock-face and boulders. In the middle of the doors there was the carved image of some kind of tree, with light beams streaming from it and long curling branches spread out, and what looked like a flame in the centre: below that on the trunk was a crown, and below that at the base of the roots was a flower of some kind (a Tudor rose? Claude recalled vaguely), and surrounded by the roots was the sun half rising; or setting? Either way it looked like half a sun. Below that, a stepped pyramid comprised of seven layers took up the rest of the door, and on each of the layers bar the top most one directly below the tree: there were little arches within which there were faces, all with their eyes closed and depicted with blank expressions. Though basic, the whole carving was quite something and even the titans seemed to be impressed by it: "Wow, now that's a door..." Derek breathed as he ran up to it and gently ran a hand over part of the carvings: "This must have taken a fair few decades to carve out!" he called back to everyone, "How big are the hinges do you think? And what're they made out of to support stone as big as this?!" "I dunno? You're the architect you figure it out!" Miriam shrugged, "Actually, there's no key hole, or any kind of lock that I can see" Lucius thought aloud as he scanned the doors up and down.

: That's because they don't need one, their locked and protected by powerful magics: Shadow spelt out as he kneeled down to take another look at the map, scanning his eyes over the relevant text as Tyto held it up for him; "Right. So no ordinary lock-pick's gonna open them huh? Typical" Pascal glanced up at the titan sarcastically, "Hell, I don't think even a cannon could blast them open" Poppy commented offhand as she walked up to the doors for a closer look. Nodding his head in satisfaction, Shadow stood back up and approached the door, "Well? What's the charm or counter-spell?" Boar asked offhand, "Nothing big or fancy, it's just a simple parting spell" Javorin stated as he reached up and placed his finger on the sealed gap: the tattoos around his wrist glowing as he reached out to the magics embedded within the stone structure...

I hereby command you part and open, so the way may be revealed to us

Suddenly, all the carved lines on the doors flashed blue like a ripple in still water: there was a deep boom that echoed from somewhere deep in the rock, followed by a low rumble of stone grinding hard against stone. As the doors slowly swung open, Derek and Poppy jumped and ran back to the group, just in time to see the doors come to a halt, and the dark passageway inside revealed for the first in over an age as a sudden gust of stale air blew up from out of the darkness. The doors were unbelievably bulky, over ten feet thick and completely carved out of solid rock, the hinges too by the looks of it. "...Whoa..." Ariana breathed as she stood before the threshold, gazing into the passageway, "It's really dark in there"

"Hang on a sec..." Tyto said offhand as he and the others took off their packs, and grabbed the torches they'd made the day before: with Boar setting them alight with his 'fire power', everyone pressed on; walking into the gloom of the thirty meter high passageway. Suddenly, the doors slowly closed on their own, and sealed shut with a dull boom that echoed down the sides of the carved out rock: everyone was nervous, but not deterred as they continued walking. Between the flickering of the flames and listening to their footsteps echo down into the dark, they saw the sides of the passageway were covered in yet more carved patterns and images, this time it was much more varied, from just random shapes and lines to animals and people, but further along, they saw several images that made them all stop and stare up at the walls in wonder. "Is that a titan? ..." Ash stepped closer to the wall for a better look, "Yeah, except, he's just like ours; all those people gathered around him look happy, they're not running away" Gale pointed out.

The image in question depicted a titan: happy and smiling, surrounded by many humans, but instead of running away in fear all the humans were smiling up at the creature: one human was even standing on his palm, and the titan himself was covered all over in markings; not as intricate and detailed as Shadow, Midnight, Boar and Angel's, but it was clear this was a titan of their same ilk. "...You're right, and look at the markings he's covered with..." Ariana gazed up at Shadow, "He's just like you guys". "Look, there's more..." Ashlyn held her torch up to light the rest of the wall. Slowly strolling along, everyone scanned the passageway as more titans appeared from out of the darkness: there were all kinds of titans, of all manner of shapes and sizes, and all with uniquely different markings. Some were like Angel, with the bodies, tails and wings of birds, but with human faces and heads: some were like Boar, half-titan and half-creature with tusks, tails, hooves, fur and other animalistic features; and some were part animal with the upper half of a titan but with the antlers and lower half of a deer, or like a fish, with the upper half of a titan and the tail of a giant fish with gills instead of ears, some were shaped like mountain cats, wolves, bears and foxes, with only the heads of a titan, and some were even part snake with long serpentine bodies from the waist down. The rest were all entirely humanoid with long pointed ears, some with long flowing hair that almost seemed to turn into water or clouds, and others stood with their feet planted in the ground as if they were trees, with vines and flowers growing up their legs and bodies. All the images of the humans, titans and animals were intertwined together in an intricate pattern of lines, circles, dots, and spirals, as if it were one enormous tapestry, and every figure were a design in the overall depiction.

Gazing up at the images, and seeing the similarity in them to Shadow, Midnight, Boar and Angel: everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of awe, and familiarity to the figures; as if the people depicted in the carvings were not too dissimilar from them on some level. "Looks like your theory about the Celts and the magical titans could be right on the mark genius" Pascal thought aloud as he glanced over at Claude, "Do you think all these titans could be the rest of your kind Shadow?" Ariana thought aloud, "Makes sense, there had to be more than four, right?" Rowan shrugged: "It's really quite extraordinary," Claude thought aloud with a beaming smile spread across his face, utterly entranced by the carvings "To think, there was once a whole other species of titan in the world; one that wasn't hell-bent on consuming humans, but living in harmony with them!" "...They must have thought of them as family: they all look fairly happy together" Carla smiled as she noticed one particular titan holding three smiling children in its palms. As she gazed up at all the carvings, Angel steadily lost her fear of the dark passageway, and smiled as she noticed all the different bird titans in flight. "Do you think they could be the other gods? The ones we could never find?" She surmised: Shadow, Midnight and Boar all glanced at each other in astonishment, "You don't suppose-, they're here do you?" she gasped, "Only one way to find out" Shadow replied anxiously as he pressed on: daring to hope, but at the same time, trying not to get his hopes up too high; for fear of encountering disappointment and heartache.

The passageway carried on for over two miles, steadily descending downhill with more intricately carved images lining the walls and ceiling: little by little the passageway grew wider and taller, and soon the sound of a huge waterfall could be heard in the distance. Following the sound of the thundering water, the tunnel began to fill with blue light, until the group emerged into a vast tall cave that seemed to be part of a lake: as the water's edge lapped at the side of the rock, the cave mouth was completely covered by an enormous waterfall over forty meters high, completely obscuring the view beyond it, and nearly all but deafening everyone with the constant thundering roar of the falling water. The rest of the cave was filled with glistening stalactites suspended from the ceiling and dripping with water, while the floor was covered in stalagmites with pools of water trapped between each one and covered in various species of algae and mosses, all varying hues of green. "WOW! This is one hell of a cave dad!" Ash shouted, "I know, it's quite something!"He shouted back, "Well which way do we go now?" Miriam shouted, "I'm not sure, give me a sec!" Tyto shouted as he consulted the map yet again: "Uh? I don't know about you guys but I don't see any way out big enough for you to squeeze through!" Belle glanced up at the titans. Indeed, there were various other openings in the cave that obviously lead to the outside, as sunlight poured through one particularly large opening on the right: but they were all too small for the titans to squeeze through, the only opening that would allow them enough room to leave was the one right ahead with the gigantic waterfall spilling over its mouth. "They could shrink down to their animal forms! That won't be a problem!" Lucile shouted, "But we don't know what's out there! We might need some serious muscle to give us cover in case shit goes down!" Gustav pointed out.

"Looks like we don't have much choice," Tyto shouted, "The map says we go straight through the waterfall! That's where the island is!" "That's all well and good except we ain't got a boat handy! What'd you reckon we do instead?" Derek shouted back. Gazing down at the water, Hecate suddenly got an idea: "How about we take the iceberg express?" "Iceberg express?" Elysia glanced at her weirdly. Midnight approached the water's edge and kneeled down, extending her arms out and holding her hands over the water, all her markings glowed pale lilac as sparkling white snowflakes appeared from her hands, and swirled all across the water's surface. Through her magic the water froze into a giant boat-shaped block of ice over twenty five feet wide and fifty five feet long, and slowly began to rise some fifteen feet above the water's surface. As everyone gazed at the crude ice sculpture in amazement, Ariana suddenly remembered how it looked like an 'iceberg': a giant mass of frozen water that was commonly found in the waters around the frozen wastelands; one of the many wondrous things described in Armin's book. Before long, the structure was complete and Midnight carefully stepped onto it: it sank a few feet into the water, but it held her weight without cracking; with a satisfied smile, she gestured for everyone to hop aboard. Shooting their lines into her upper arm to fly up and sit on her shoulder, Ash, Rowan and Dale all gazed up at her with satisfied grins spread across their faces, "Did we ever tell you how awesome you are?" Rowan patted her on the cheek, 'Hm? You three can afford to mention it more' she thought offhand as she gazed down at them with a wink.

Stepping onto the front end carefully so as to balance the weight out, Shadow gently lowered the gas tanks down to the deck, and stood as still as possible while Boar and Angel stepped onto the middle of the ice, followed by the humans. With everyone safely aboard, the iceberg boat drifted away from the edge of the rock, and headed out towards the waterfall: propelled by Midnight's manipulation of the water, forming strong currents to push and pull it along. As they neared the waterfall, the black and white Titaness held up one hand and the waterfall parted like a set of giant drapes: eliciting a few wow's and whoa's from the kids and grown-ups alike, even Bemadette's hard-to-please little brothers were impressed. Once on the other side of the waterfall, the whole group found themselves staring into a thick gloomy pea-soup-like fog; "Great, what now? We ain't being whisked off to somewhere else are we?" Miriam grumbled. "Javorin?" Elysia worried, "This doesn't feel like normal fog" "Hang on a minute..." the god flexed his powers, reaching out into the fog and reading all the ambient auras present; what he saw, made him smile with relief: "...That's because it's not normal fog, it's a guardian spirit; it's keeping our destination hidden from us until it can determine whether we're a threat or not"

"So? you're the prince of all spirits, tell it we're not here to do any harm" Hecate gestured to the air around her: with his tattoos glowing with the flow of his power and spiritual energies, Javorin reached his mind out to the omnipotent entity, and conveying a sense of peace and benevolence, recited the ancient words:

Elneenya-mor-hanna-freyra: peace be with you mighty one, and all that you protect; I Javorin, god of wisdom, guidance, nourishment and balance, speak on behalf of these humans, and ask that you grant them safe passage through your mists

Almost right away, Javorin felt a sense of acknowledgement from the spirit, as if it were pleased to have been asked in such a respectful and gracious manner (spirits were usually nit-pickers for decorum: it was half the reason they use to fall out with humans so frequently back in the day; because of the rudeness of some humans, some spirits would raise hell over the littlest of slights), and within minutes, the fog began to part and sunlight filled the air. Pascal was about to say something, when the view before him suddenly made his train of thought come to screeching halt, and his jaw practically smashed into the ice as it dropped to the floor: as did everyone else's, as they were unable to avert their gaze from the scenery ahead...

It was the Hidden land, more or less as Tyto described it, but so much more: beyond just mere words, beyond what any painter could ever hope to capture on canvas, or any musician in the notes of the sweetest song ever sung...

The lake was the richest shade of sapphire blue, and seemed to stretch on forever into the both north and the south: beyond that, tall majestic snow-capped-mountains reached up into the sky, with thick alpine forests carpeting their slopes and foot hills in rich shades of pine and deciduous green. But between the mountains and lake there was an island: a good few miles in length and covered in dense tall forest; but on the north side of the island, stood the most spectacular and breathtaking sight of all. A tree of unbelievable size and proportions, probably some two hundred plus meters tall, it virtually encompassed one sixth of the sky as its huge branches stretched out in all directions, shrouding half the island in dappled shadow and sunlight. "...Dad...That-...That's the biggest tree I've ever seen" Ariana gawked as she stared up at it amazement: "...I think that's the biggest tree anyone's ever seen Magpie" her father replied in equal astonishment.

Unbeknown to the humans, the gods were equally as astounded, for this tree, was one they had not seen in over an age: "Javorin..." Elysia gawked, "Is that, Yggdrasil? The Yggdrasil?!" "You better believe it kid! I'd recognize that tree anywhere!" Herne grinned, "Yggdrasil? It's still alive?" Hecate blinked in surprise: "After all this time, it's managed to endure into this age?" she smiled in relief. "If Yggdrasil is still alive, that can only mean-..." Javorin smiled happily as he realized what this meant, "Find us somewhere to land on the island Hecate, I have to see for myself" he gazed over at her, and without another word she directed the iceberg boat towards the island.

As they steadily approached the north end of the island, the great tree loomed overhead, getting bigger with every meter they came closer: forcing everyone to crane their heads right back so as to get a better look; the base of the tree was equally as vast and encompassing, with the biggest roots imaginable. So wide in diameter that they looked to be almost as big as wall Maria, and so long in length that they completely covered the whole end of the island in a seemingly endless tangled network of intertwining and curling wood; some of the roots even extended out into the water, forming secure pillars and flying buttresses for the great tree to remain anchored to its spot; and growing out of the numerous cracks and crevasse of the bark was a carpet of mosses, lichens, ferns and other ground-hugging plants. Growing off the roots and everywhere in between was a thick forest of equally vast and tall trees, their root systems fully fused to the roots of the giant tree, feeding and sustaining them: while growing out of every available nook and cranny was a veritable range of smaller trees, bushes, creepers and vines in every shade of green imaginable, and blooming with flowers in every colour one could imagine. Amid the vast knot-work of roots was a wall of rock that towered high above the lake, in varying in hues of dull lilac and periwinkle that kept the great tree some forty meters above the water's surface.

Never in their lives had any of the humans seen such a vast and grand landscape, so huge in size and proportion that it extended beyond the range of their vision and made them feel like tiny ants, and so breathtaking in the scope of its richness and lush splendour, that it almost felt as if they'd left the mortal world far behind, and had wandered into some heavenly paradise: one that was untouched by human hands, and totally free of the world they knew within the walls.

As the iceberg boat moved closer to the edge of the rocky shore, Midnight brought the ice up alongside one of the behemoth roots that extended down into the water, which curved up and then down again, forming a natural jetty that would allow everyone to walk up to the island. The root was covered in mosses and small plants, with a few small trees along the sides, and long thick creeper-like bushes that hung down to kiss the water, each with leaves as big as tea plates and with huge bright pink, orange and yellow trumpet-shaped flowers that were buzzing with bees and other insects.

"Think we should take it slow? They look like their heads are about to explode" Hecate smirked, "I think my head's about to explode!" Elysia gawked, "I've flown over Yggdrasil enough times to see it was big: but by the All-father, I hadno idea it was this huge!" "Life really is different when you're on the ground huh?" Javorin smirked, "Yeah no shit!" Elysia grinned as she resumed her place next to Carla's side. "What the hell kinda tree is that?" Pascal was finally able to speak again, after picking his proverbial jaw up off the ice, "I have to confess" Claude adjusted his pince-nez on the bridge of his nose, "It's no species of tree I've ever seen before" "Yeah no shit, even the giant trees of the titans grove aren't that huge!" Gustav threw in, "A tree that gigantic, how old do you think it must be?" Derek thought aloud as he stroked his beard in contemplation, "Oh great Sina it would've taken hundreds-, no, thousands upon thousands of years to get this big!" Claude exclaimed. "The rest of the forest looks just as big too" Bren gazed over at his wife, and then up at the vast wall of green that loomed over the top of the rocky cliff and peeked out from in between the giant roots: "Everyone stay close and watch your blind spots: there could be predators hiding in there" Tyto warned as he readied his bow and quiver. Taking that as their cue to cover the rest of the group, the other Celts all kept their bows and arrows at the ready, as the others tentatively walked up the giant root, and into the dense green foliage.

The sun became obscured by the vast canopy of the great tree, shrouding the forest below in patchy dappled light: and below the upper canopy, everything seemed to be tinted the same shade of green as meagre patches of sunlight shone through the leaves. The humans kept snapping their heads back and forth as they tried to take in their surroundings, all the while wondering and worrying what might be hiding just out of sight. This forest was very strange, the bird calls were totally different, the insects that buzzed and chirped were unfamiliar, and many of the trees and plants were not like those that grew in Maria: their leaves were more broader and oddly shaped, most were shiny and variegated in their colouration, and those that bore flowers were weirdly shaped and coloured too: half the trees that formed the majority of the canopy were growing from out of the great tree's root system, while the rest stood firmly in the ground amid the countless root caves and naturally formed arches, bows, spirals and multi-serpentine curves of the great tree's gigantic roots. It was warmer here too: much more humid, as if the air felt thick and dense with moisture, heightening the ambient scents of the forest and making everything damp. And with every step they took, there was the growing feeling that they were being watched.

"Tyto? ..." Evrard glanced over at the Grey Owl elder in a hushed dubious tone, "I know Evrard, I feel it too" Tyto nodded, his eyes and ears trained on the thicket: "Question is, might it eat us, or can we eat it?" Falken swallowed hard as he kept his children close. As she scanned the bushes for any sign of a predator, Ariana stopped and squinted as something caught her eye: she thought at first her eyes were being fooled somehow, but when she looked again, she stared at the object in surprise; "Magpie? Why've you stopped darling?" Freya asked her daughter in a hushed voice.

Everyone stopped as Ariana pointed: "There's a house over there," Ariana stated; "What?" Evrard exclaimed, not sure if he heard her right: "A house, over there through those trees!" Ariana insisted. Training their eyes in the direction she was pointing, everyone stared in amazement, as indeed; there, in a small clearing nestled beneath one of the larger tree roots which had a stout tree growing overhead, was a small two story house. Run down and abandoned, and looking as if it had seen better days, the building was intact save for some tiles that had dislodged and fallen off the roof, and part of the chimney looked as if it had caved in. "Whoa, what the hell's that doing here?" Brendis thought aloud from where he sat on Angel's back: "Is it safe to approach Shadow?" Tyto glanced up at the titan, who nodded in reply.

Cautiously stepping towards the house, Tyto, Evrard, Bryson and Pascal looked the building up and down: it was clear no one had lived here in a very long time, as the windows and their frames were caked in mildew and lichens with a few cracked glass panes here and there, small mosses and ferns peeked out of every crack and crevice in the brickwork, and a good portion of the roof and chimney were choked in vines and creepers, most of which looked like it had been growing here for a good number of years. The overall appearance of the building indicated a hunter (or hunters) must have lived here, as the eaves, doorway and windowsills were adorned with animal skulls, antlers, bones, and other bits and pieces collected from the forest: all neatly arranged together in different motifs to form a primitive yet morbidly decorative facade which was overrun with more various greenery growing out of the bones; grim, yet strangely beautiful in a way.

Wiping away some of the mildew with the sleeve of his shirt, Bryson peered in through the window and gazed around the gloomy room inside. It must have been a parlour or family room, for there was a large fireplace against the back wall: there were several pieces of furniture scattered randomly around the room that were covered in grey dust sheets; several wooden crates over in the far corner next to the fireplace that seemed to contain a collection of plates, jugs, tools, utensils and other practical things, while in the other corner were three large rugs all rolled up and neatly stacked up in a pile. Around the right side of the house Evrard saw the remains of a stable and cart house: the roof and side wall were half demolished but the foundations were still intact; and around the left side of the building Pascal and Tyto found, what must have been a dove cote, as the structure in question was a cylindrical dry wall tower about six meters tall with a conical roof, and studded with about two dozen holes that looked to be just the right size for a dove or pigeon to land on and walk through; all covered in ivy and vines.

"Well? Anyone home?" Miriam barked: "Whoever lived here ain't here now!" Pascal called back. "But look at how everything's been put away, and there are dust sheets covering everything" Bryson gestured to the window: "Whoever they were, they expected to return here someday" "Obviously that day never came..." Tyto sighed offhand as he walked around to the back of the house, where the root that loomed over it protruded up out of the ground. As the gentlemen rounded the corner, they stopped as they spotted a large ivy-covered ladder leaning against the side of the root: following it up, they nearly gasped as they saw another house sitting atop the root, bigger than the one on the ground and held in place by a series of thick wooden pillars, with a wide boardwalk that extended all around the sides and along to the root, forming a sizable pathway that led off around the other side of the tree. "What the hell?-, How'd you build a house on top of a big-ass tree root like this?" Pascal frowned in bemusement, "...Oh my god, it's not just the root! Look!" Bryson pointed up into the tree. About twenty five meters up, nestled at the top of the thick truck where the tree spit up to form its numerous branches, they saw a three-tiered set of platforms: one right above the other and spaced several meters apart, all held in place by more stout wooden pillars, and a strange yellow substance no one could identify: "Stay here, I'm going up for a better look" Bryson stated as he shot his lines up at the middle platform, and sailed up to land on the lower level: "Be careful!" Tyto called up to him.

Recalling his lines back, Bryson was taken aback by what he found: it was another house, three stories tall and built in the same basic architecture as the one on the ground, but this one was made entirely from wood, and had been dressed up to look more like a cabin; it's facade was more basic with bare walls, except for a large set of antlers hanging above the front door. Its four corners hugged four massive pillars that supported the two upper levels, all the edges of which were supported by a series of arches that were made from a bright daffodil yellow crystal. But this crystal was no mineral Bryson had ever seen before: from what he remembered of Claude's vast geological collection in his lab, he knew there was no crystal that was shaped like this, that looked as if it had been deliberately sculpted like clay; but as he ran his hand over the smooth glass-like surface, he couldn't feel any indentations or marks that would indicate it had been chiselled, or deliberately manipulated in anyway. The whole thing looked and felt as natural as the trees themselves, which made no sense at all.

Deciding to leave the mystery crystal the Claude, Bryson turned his attention back to the house as he wandered along the huge boardwalk that served as a make-shift courtyard of sorts: the whole structure had been created with the growth of the trees and plants in mind, as the entire platform was suspended in part by a series of thick vines that had been deliberately intertwined around the support pillars for additional strength. By the side of the house at the edge of the platform, the vines had even been twisted and pleated, which had fused together over time to form a large spiral that went up to the levels above and down to an unseen area on the opposite side of the tree, with a flight of stairs carved out of the central vine. It was incredible, a remarkable feat of resourcefulness and architectural engineering. Utilizing trees to build a home? Who would've thought? Bryson couldn't help but smile as he knew Derek would be ecstatic at the sight of this, never mind watching him work as he would (inevitably) try to figure out how such a feat could be achieved. As he gazed up and around the canopy of the tree, Bryson blinked in surprise at the native wildlife flitting and flying about between the branches: here were the birds whose calls he'd heard down on the ground, but hadn't seen on account of the thick canopy. These were nothing like the bird species he had seen in the Marian forest: they were all various shapes and sizes, with different shaped bills too; all of them possessed a dazzling array of plumages. Some of which were so vividly iridescent, that they lit up in the sun in a range of colours he never imaged had existed before. "...Wow..." he couldn't help but smile: Claude was going to have one hell of field day, that's for sure.

"Holy geez-" Pascal gasped as he landed on the platform by the house, "This is some neighbourhood huh? Or it was at least" he gazed around the tree house in amazement, "Yeah, that's for sure" Bryson nodded. "Hey!" Ariana shouted up to the two gentlemen from where she stood on Shadow's shoulder, "-What'd you find guys?" "A house built up in a tree" Bryson stated as he and Pascal jumped down onto the titan's shoulder, "Which, is either mad, genius: or both" he smiled; "Well it seems like it was the trend here at one time, look" Ariana pointed to the other huge trees nearby. The two gentlemen stared in wonder and amazement at, what was practically a whole city block of houses nestled amid the branches like bird's nests or hugging the sides of the trunks like bracket fungus: all interconnected by a network of boardwalks, vine bridges and staircases, and smaller branches deliberately manipulated to form a series of winding paths that stretched between the trees. The houses were all unique in their architecture and design; no two were alike as they hugged their allotted area of the tree they were built onto: and each, (although they were not like the grand mansions and castles of wall Sina), was simply breathtaking just as it was. Many were larger than the average town house with large windowsills and baloneys, cylindrical towers with colonial roofs on the sides, and quite a few had large glass conservatories and atriums attached to the back ends, all supported in place by big broad wooden platforms that served as patios, open and enclosed courtyards, front and back yards, and even small crossroads where more than three bridges connected together. It was so surreal, and yet so enchanting: like a scene from the pages of a fairytale.

"Isn't this place incredible?! I mean-, just look at those buildings!-" Derek smiled as he bounced back and forth on his heels with glee, gawking up at the grand tree houses like a child who had just been inside a candy shop for the first time in his life: his eyes were wide and glistening with wonder, as he stared up into the unique arboreal dwellings. "Living in trees? That actually sounds kinda cool" Drake smiled, "Oh my god we simply have to go up there to get a better look!" "It's impressive alright," Tyto nodded, "But for now, it would be wise to stay together: let's try to find somewhere safe to make camp, and then we can go exploring" he suggested, "So where do we go?" Rosemary asked offhand. "We try to find water, once we have a source of hydration we can worry about everything else" Breck suggested: "Agreed, let's press on" Tyto nodded.

"-Wait a minute!" Clay exclaimed in surprise, "-What on earth is that?!" he pointed up to a dense cluster of bright orange flowers that were trailing down the side of a nearby tree: gazing up, everyone instantly saw the creature in question, and stared at it in a mix of curiosity and weirdness. It was a tiny bird-shaped insect with a long needle-like proboscis and wings beating so fast that they were loudly humming: it was probably no bigger than an adult's thumb, and unusually it had no antennae or any visible legs or abdomen: it's whole body was one sleek form with what looked like a bright green and yellow fan-shaped tail while the rest of it was all dark green with a distinct iridescent red patch on its head. The tiny creature hovered over the flowers with the stillness of a kestrel, dipping its long proboscis into the flower for several seconds, before hovering away and moving along to another flower. "Oh great Sina..." Claude gasped as he approached the tree and gazed up the creature, which continued to hover over the flowers unfazed: "That's no insect species I've ever seen before" he smiled, "It almost looks like a bird" Hazel raised an eyebrow: suddenly, Boar began chucking: "Oh yeah? What do you know we don't huh?" Hazel folded her arms, : That's because it is a bird: he spelt out, "Say what?" West cocked his head to one side with a raised eyebrow, "A bird?" Claude glanced back up at the creature; holding out his hand, Boar whistled a little tune, and the tiny creature zipped over everyone's heads (making most of them duck on instinct) and landed on his waiting finger.

Lowering his hand for everyone to get a closer look, Boar smiled smugly as the humans gawked at, what was indeed, the tiniest little bird they'd ever seen in their whole lives. As it warbled a high-pitched song, they saw its proboscis was actually it's bill, and its iridescent exoskeleton was in fact its plumage. "Well great Sina on a unicorn!" Claude laughed, "That is remarkable! A bird adapted the fly like an insect!" : It's called a humming bird: Shadow clarified, : They're found in other parts of the outside world, but it would seem they've made a home here with all these flowers providing them with food: "Flowers? Food?" Claude did a double take up at the titan: as if on cue, the humming bird flew back to its flowers and starting probing its long bill into them again. : Yes, humming birds feed almost exclusively on nectar, it's why they hover like that, to reach the best flowers that grow on the furthest-most branches: Shadow added as he pointed up into the canopy, where there were dozens of different species of humming birds, all glistening as their feather's caught the light and filling the air with the droning hum of their wing beats. With so many bright and vivid colours all flashing at once, the whole underside of the canopy looked like it was shining with gemstones and diamonds, and with the flowers all boasting their own colours, the whole scene made everyone gaze up in wonder and awe. "Oh my god that's so pretty!" Poppy beamed ecstatically, "They are quite beautiful aren't they?" Rosemary smiled, "Like little lords and ladies all dressed up to go see the king!" Lucile chuckled, "Their so beautiful," Carla couldn't help but smile, "You could watch them all day and never be bored" "Indubitably!" Claude smiled as he craned his head right back for a better look, "Looks like you'll have a 'buddy' for your exploration of this place Derek ol' boy, I've got a whole journal of notes to take on the flora and fauna of this place!"

"Huh, if that's just the birds what else can we expect to see?" Gustav frowned dubiously, "Gustav ol boy' I can't wait to see!" Claude puffed out his chest with a renewed sense of excitement as he marched after Tyto, who the continued on into the dense greenery.

A mile's trek led them deeper into the forest; navigating the great tree's roots as if they were trying to find their way around a stack of randomly scattered giant tree logs: it was just one huge labyrinth of wood with no clear trails or distinguishable landmarks. There were many rises, log tunnels, bows and curves to follow, protruding roots to climb over and under, and large root caves that extended for many meters underground or into the trees themselves: it was all so big and so tall it was like trying to scale small mountainsides without climbing gear. And what solid ground there was steadily descended downwards, in an incline so subtle that it was barely noticeable; in addition to all the smaller trees and dense undergrowth that the titans gently moved to one side, allowing Boar and Angel to carry their passengers safely.

Whist trying to retain what bearings they had, keeping the great tree behind them and to their left for easy reference: the group began to see more and more tree houses; here in this area of the forest, the trees were over forty to sixty meters tall, with clusters of several or more buildings built in and around the trunks and seated atop the bases of the trees crowns: all linked up by a vast network of bridges and boardwalks that were built onto the stoutest branches, and went on for many hundreds of meters between each tree. There were a good number of buildings on the ground too: built into the sides of the trees or partially underground where the forest floor would rise up by a couple of dozen meters in places. But these were not like the buildings everyone was familiar with; instead of being post and beam houses with distinct dark timber frames, the houses were all plastered white (though, more green on account of all the mildew, moss and lichens covering the walls and roofs), and either had tiled or thatched roofs. Some were not even made from bricks and mortar at all: some were large boats that had been turned upside down, with windows cut out from their hulls and a single door cut out of their sterns, with the entire hull doubling up as the walls and roof in one. Others were giant logs that had been sealed off at both ends, save for a door cut out in one, and small windows cut out of the sides of the log with a chimney protruding from the top side. Giant hollowed roots and dead trees had been made into viable shelters too, and even a huge stack of giant tun barrels each had a single door and a set of windows in one end. As they kept heading further into the centre of the island, the number of arboreal and terrestrial buildings seem to grow in number, as everywhere they looked, there seemed to be an overgrown front door or the edge of a wild front garden nestled among the trees and bushes.

With the humans of this strange place long since gone, the islands other residents had claimed the strange town for themselves: every now and then someone would catch a fleeting glimpse of something moving through the undergrowth, or between the branches up in the canopy. Aside from all the unfamiliar bird species there were a good number of spotted and furrow deer, several other species of squirrels beside the red and grey, dormice and other rodents of varying species, owls, and even weasels and stoats; but there were other animals here that had never been seen before. Like the small weasel-like creatures with short pointed faces, bright rust red fur, and long bushy black and red tails that watched them from a distance (Red tailed mongoose, Boar called them): large carnivores that looked like a cross between a short-eared dog and a long-tailed cat with velvety brown tawny fur and eyes that seemed to glow gold in the shadows of the trees (A fossa, Boar elaborated); and a large type of cat that had striking golden sandy fur, with black marbled spots and stripes with brown in-between, and pale golden brown eyes that pierced the darkness of the canopy and watched them curiously (an Ocelot, Boar explained). The insects too were a sight to behold, as large butterflies of varying shapes, sizes and colours fluttered about from flower to flower: beetles that looked like metallic jewels with their bright colourful wing cases, or like strange and terrifying miniature monsters with huge elaborate horns and spikes protruding from their exoskeletons, and centipedes and millipedes as long as a man's arm scuttled and snaked about the leaf litter, while hiding among the bushes and lazing about on the branches, various colourful unknown species of lizards and snakes idly went about their day, unconcerned by the new arrivals.

"We are definitely not in Maria anymore" Ash thought aloud as he watched a vivid shiny blue beetle the size of his fist scuttle under a log: "I think we must be approaching the town centre, so to speak: these buildings are everywhere around here" Mabel thought aloud as they passed beneath a wide set of suspended vine bridges some forty meters above the ground: "I'm just wondering what happened to all the people that lived here: it's clear this place was a thriving community at one point: why did they abandon it?" Bryson thought aloud: "And why didn't they come back?" Tyto added dubiously. "What gets me is the condition of this place" Derek interjected enthusiastically, "This 'town' has been abandoned for a very long time, and yet most of the buildings are still in relatively good shape: aside from a few dislodged roof tiles, overgrown thatched roofs, cracked windows and just general overgrown weeds everywhere, I reckon we could move into one of these buildings and live quite comfortably"

"You guys have been around Yggdrasil before, who were the humans that lived here?" Elysia asked offhand as she kept pace with Carla, "I'm ashamed to say I don't remember" Javorin sighed as he gazed up at the tree houses, "Which doesn't make any sense: I can recall visiting Yggdrasil long ago, but I don't remember this island or anything else about the Hidden land" he knitted his brows together in dubious confusion: "Could it be part of the curse that made us into titans? We already surmised as much since none of us remember how we ended up in those tombs: could it extend to make us forget other parts of our lives too?" Elysia raised a sceptical eyebrow, "Selective memory loss wouldn't be too difficult for someone who knows the right incantations: but the fact all four of us remember Yggdrasil itself should've put a dampener on such a curse" Hecate thought aloud as she frowned in contemplation. "What'd you mean 'put a dampener on it'?" Elysia asked in concern: "She means that simply remembering something related to something else, should've broken the curse a little bit," Herne explained: "All memories can't be totally erased from existence kid: it's not like wiping chalk off a blackboard, more like locking them up in a little box and hiding the key. All memories are interlinked: from hour to hour, day to day, all lives exist in the sequence of time as it passes by, and like the threads of a tapestry it all connects up; memories are pretty much the same, and it's amazing how different memories correspond to one another. Therefore, if you inflict someone with a memory curse to make them forget something specific: there's a chance that if the cursed individual thinks of something that relates to the forgotten memory, that could trigger said memory to reawaken and the curse would be broken"

"Huh. But then, why not just wipe the memory out altogether?" Elysia thought aloud: "Because it's just not possible" Hecate explained dryly: "Memory is part and part of the fabric of a being's existence: it is the essence of our past that is the foundation of who and what we are; the starting point from which we embark on our journey through life. Once a memory comes into existence it cannot be destroyed: only transformed into manna, and allowed to be returned to the ocean of creation once the soul who possessed it has finally passed into the eternal realm...Besides; the fact that memory is integral to the foundation of a being's persona and psyche means that tampering with it has always carried a heavy penalty: any god, human or spirit that sought to change an individual's destiny by altering their memories, be they for good or bad reasons, would have to face the consequences, regardless of who they were..."

"...Wait a minute" Javorin stopped, the humans gazed up at him in confusion, but he ignored them as the cogs in his head turned: "We all remember Yggdrasil, but nothing else related to it? And if we really were inflicted with a simple memory curse, shouldn't our memories have reawakened, or at least begin to reawaken?" he gazed up at Yggdrasil and frowned. "What're you thinking brother?" Herne knitted his thick bushy eyebrows together, "I'm thinking, something about our 'selective memory loss' is off..." Javorin thought aloud as he stepped over to the nearest tree, "Most memory-based magics are not the kind an average wizard can summon up on a whim: and suffice to say, cursing a whole plethora of memories related to just one memory specifically is damned hard work, even for us gods...What I'm trying to say is: I think this could be the other way around; it's not that we can't remember anything else to do with Yggdrasil, but rather, the fact we can remember Yggdrasil at all" he explained as he placed his hand on the trunk, and the tattoos on his arm began to glow as he reached out to the forest: reaching out to the spirits and their energies to help him find what he was looking for. All the while the humans remained quiet, as they knew he was unresponsive whenever he did this. "What's he searching for?" Bryson frowned in alarm, "Dunno, but he had a serious look on his face just a second ago" Ariana called down from where she stood on Shadow's shoulder, watching his radiant blue eyes glow as he summoned his power.

Through the vast network of tree roots and the mycelium of fungi, Javorin searched every inch of the island, finally reaching out to the great tree: it's energies were like a vast endless ocean, rich in life and magic, and deep with memories of times long since passed from living memory; it gave him a warm feeling of content and serenity, as he felt the beating heart of the world through its roots, and the whispering breath of the heavens through its leaves. Eventually, after searching the tree up and down, he found what he was looking for: through his mind's eye, he saw a circular talisman hanging from one of the branches, made from a strange red crystal and hanging by a leather cord, it had three charm-symbols carved into the face, each of which corresponded to the magics he had surmised were at work here. "...Just as I thought" he thought aloud, "Someone's placed a breaking spell up in one of Yggdrasil's branches: its power is filtering down through the tree and being dispersed out among the forest..."

But the second before he removed his hand from the tree and broke the connection: a powerful presence flittered past his psychic sight, one as powerful if not more powerful than himself; and felt as if it radiated peace and serenity...

We've been expecting you

Follow the trail just a little further

We're waiting for you

Shadow flinched suddenly, causing Ariana to fall off his shoulder as he stepped back from the tree in alarm: fortunately he wasn't so far out of it that he wasn't aware of the girl, and smoothly caught her in his hand as he regained his composure. Everyone nearly jumped in alarm, and when they saw the look on his face, they knew something serious had just happened. "Shadow? What's wrong?" Bryson asked him worryingly, "Hey big guy, what's got you jumpy all of a sudden?" Ariana patted him on the wrist. Shadow turned and glanced down at the human's, and then back up at the other three titans in a mixed state of shock and bewilderment: "Javorin? What just happened?" Herne asked worryingly. Javorin smiled, and looked as if he was about to cry as he replied, "...They are here" "They? Who's 'they'?" Elysia frowned, "Who's here?" Hecate asked.

Suddenly, Bryson jerked as he shivered all over, "Titans!" he hissed between his clenched teeth, "Titans everywhere!". At that moment, the bushes and trees rustled as something large moved towards them from all directions, and then stopped. Then, one by one, titans appeared from out of the dense greenery, melting out of the trees and undergrowth as if they were one and the same as the forest, eliciting a series of gasps from the humans as they froze on the spot. The titans were a mix of male and female, all between five to six meters tall, and as beautiful and handsome as fairytale princes and princesses: all with the same style of tattoos as Shadow, Midnight, Boar and Angel, all had pointed elfish ears, and striking green eyes that glistened in every hue of green imaginable. Many had vines and flowers intertwined into beautiful garlands in their hair, while some grew and blossomed around their arms and necks like bracelets and necklaces. More rustling from the undergrowth announced the arrival of more titans, but these were not like any other titan the humans had ever seen before. They were around five to seven meters tall with golden tanned skin and white freckles over their noses and cheeks, fiery red ginger hair and glistening green eyes, but from the waist down they had the body and legs of fallow deer, complete with ears and antlers: the females had smaller antlers that only reached about a meter and a half, while the males had racks as big as Boars forearms. Then, from out the other sides of the undergrowth, more strange animalistic-looking titans appeared: a few were snake-like from the waist down with long serpentine bodies that were covered in glistening green scales and reached over twenty to thirty meters long; others were more fallow deer-types, only some were sliver and grey instead of tawny and red. From out of the canopy more fully humanoid titans appeared, climbing down out of the trees as if they were cats on the prowl: they too had elfish ears and piercing green eyes, but their arms and legs looked more like tree bark instead of skin, with mosses and lichens growing in between the creases and folds of the bark. Following them were several bird titans that swooped down through the gaps in the top-most layer of the canopy, and perched on the branches overhanging the clearing: Carla smiled as she saw they were just like Angel, with markings on only their faces and necks, they had avian wings, tails, necks and digigrade feet, but humanoid bodies, legs, heads and faces; but unlike Angel they all had different coloured plumages, different shaped tails, wings and crests. And from another side of the clearing, another strange set of titans showed up: they had the head, neck and shoulders of a humanoid titan, but the legs, body and tail of a red fox, with honey-gold hair and golden amber eyes; they to had markings, on their fur as well as their faces.

"Holy Sina!-" Bryson jumped back, everyone huddled close together as the titans completely surrounded them: "Uh, this is just a wild guess, but I'm thinking these guys are the welcoming party?" Pascal thought aloud offhand as he stared up at all the titans, who were gazing down at them as if they'd never seen humans before. "Yeah no shit" Rowan nodded, "Guess these guys must be the locals?" Derek smiled nervously: "Uh? Guys? What do we do now?" West swallowed hard.

Approaching the humans with a child-like innocence, the titans all gathered around, smiling with curiosity and wonder, before bowing to the four larger titans in a show of respect. "Lords Javorin and Herne, ladies Hecate and Elysia: on behalf of the Dryades, Anthosia and Fauna of Yggdrasil island, we welcome thee and your company" one of the gods spoke in a courteous tone. "Nature gods?" Javorin blinked in surprise, smiling in sheer delight as he placed the gas canisters down on the ground: "My goodness, this is a pleasant surprise!" 'Yeah, no shit!' Hecate thought in surprise, rather taken aback by the 'welcoming party'. "Indeed my lord, long have we awaited the arrival of a fellow god: we had no idea it would be the Overseer of Mankind himself" the younger god smiled, "If he had told us in advance we would have prepared the ambrosia!" one of the bird-gods grinned, "He?" Herne frowned: "He who?" "Ah-, yes, he said not to ruin the surprise: please, follow us. He and the others are most eager to meet you all, especially you my lord" the younger god replied as he beckoned them to follow: the gods-turned-titans all backed off and followed him as he led the way further into the forest. "Uh Shadow? Care to let us in on what these guys are up to?" Tyto discreetly tapped Javorin on the ankle: with a reassuring smile, he replied, :It's okay, there's someone waiting for us, come: he beckoned them to follow, "Is it alright if my companions comes too?" he asked, gesturing down to the humans, "But of course, he is eager to meet them also!"

"Great Sina would you look at all these different titans?!" Claude grinned ear to ear as he practically skipped along after the group, with all the various humanoid and animal titans keeping pace with them: "-And all with the same style of markings! These have got to be of the same variety as ours for sure!" "They all must live here on the island" Ariana smiled as she gazed up at them, trying to get a good look at each variety, "Shadow! Are these your kin?!" she called up, :Extended kin: he spelt out, :It's a very big family we're a part of: "Yeah no shit" Miriam blinked in surprise, "The cost of all those birthday presents must a nightmare!" "Look at all those bird titans Angel," Carla thought aloud, "Are they your cousins too?" "Hey! Are you guys my cousins?!" Elysia called up to the other avian titans that were hopping from branch to branch, "We are all cousins, cousin" one smiled, "All of divine blood are brother, sister and cousin alike" another smiled. "Huh?" Elysia frowned in confusion, "He basically means yes brat" Hecate huffed: "Oh okay. Cool!" Elysia smiled as she nodded down at Carla. "Is it just me of do all these titans look just like the ones carved into the walls of the mountain tunnel?" Dale thought aloud, "I was just thinking that" Bryson replied offhand. "So you guys were all afflicted with the same curse too huh?" Herne asked, "Indeed my lord, but it is hardly a hindrance: our powers are intact and we are able to talk amongst ourselves through our thoughts" the younger god replied, "The only concern is that our memories are not what they once were" another goddess piped in "But not to worry, all will be explained when you meet him" another god interjected, "Okay, who's this 'he' you're referring too? I don't like surprises" Hecate folded her arms.

"Even if their good ones?"

Javorin, Herne and Hecate stopped abruptly with sudden shock reflected in their eyes: "Uh Shadow? ... Guys? You okay? ..." Ariana tapped Shadow on the ankle, but he didn't reply as he stared straight ahead. There was a clearing only a short distance away, and standing in the middle of it was another titan: fifteen meters tall with dark slicked back auburn hair and covered head to toe in the same style of tattoos as Shadow, he wore an old tatty grey blindfold over his eyes and seemed to have a slit running up the middle of his forehead. Gazing at the new arrivals, a small smile crossed his lips as he took a step forward: "...I have to confess: though I foresaw this, it is still wonderful to see you all here at long last" he spoke in cool measured voice.

"... Jarus?! ..." Javorin nearly stammered in surprise, "Jarus?" Elysia raised an eyebrow, "Who's Jarus?" "OUR BIG BROTHER THAT'S WHO!" Herne swiftly but gently removed the elder Willum siblings from his back (much to their alarm and dismay), before bounding over to the god like an over-excited dog and throwing his arms around him, nearly knocking him over, "-Big bro J! By the All-father you're a sight for a sore eye!" Herne laughed telepathically, while externally he laughed with a gruff hoarse chuckle that sounded more animalistic than human, "So kind of you to remember I only have one left" Jarus smiled as he patted him on the back, "It's so good to see you again Herne" "-Jarus!" Javorin ran to him and threw his arms around him too, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you little brother" he patted him on the head; "You're here? You've been here this whole time?!" Javorin gazed at him in heartfelt surprise, holding back the tears that threaten to spill from his eyes, "Well? not on the island per se, I came here to give my favourite brothers and cousins a proper welcome," he gazed over at Hecate, "And don't think I've forgotten you dear cousin; don't lie, I know you're just as pleased to see me alive and well" he smiled as the black and white goddess approached with a small smile on her lips, and pulled him into her embrace, "Nice to see the gods favourite wise-ass is still around to bore us with his boundless trivia" she smirked, "Nice to know the god's mightiest is still around to flick her sharp tongue in my general direction as always" he shot back with a sly smirk of his own, "Please, don't flatter yourself" she smiled, "But seriously, it's great to see you again Jarus". He bowed in respect, before turning his attention to Elysia, who felt very out of place here: "And you must be Elysia" "Uh, yeah, nice to meet you" she sheepishly smiled, wondering how on earth he knew her name: "From what I have glimpsed, you have been a most interesting addition to my brother's company: a Tempus goddess who enjoys living on the ground? Quite the scandal wouldn't you say?" he grinned with a raised eyebrow. "Wait-, how do you know I've been living on the ground?" Elysia blinked in surprise, "Because I saw it come to pass, when I glanced into the future five years ago," he replied, to which she stared at him weirdly: "Please, allow me to properly introduce myself" he stated in a more formal tone, "I am Jarus: God of the sacred word and all written knowledge, council to mankind, seer of time and truth, servant of destiny, and guardian of the city of Omnes Scientiam" "Seer of time and truth? You can gaze into time itself?" she gasped, "Not all the time (excuse the pun), but yes, essentially; and only when necessary" he clarified, "See that slit on his forehead kid? That's his third eye, that's what allows him to see across all of time and space" Herne pointed to his forehead. Leaning forward so she could see more clearly, Jarus opened his third eye, revealing a glowing golden orb that peered down at her: Elysia nearly jumped back in alarm, a little grossed out, but she didn't dare let it show: "Forgive the brat, she's not too wise on who's who in the 'extended' family tree" Hecate threw in, "Easily forgiveable: Tempus gods are not known for staying in one place too long: they tend to go wherever the wind blows. Though it would appear you have become the general acceptation Elysia," Jarus gazed down at the younger goddess: "Well? I kinda had a reason to stick around" she smiled sheepishly, gazing over at Carla. "Indeed; and speaking of which," Jarus gestured down to the humans, who were all staring up at them in a mix of surprise and weirded out nervousness. "Please, allow me to get a good look of your company" he smiled as he approached them.

"Guys? What just happened?" Pascal glanced at everyone, "A family reunion by the looks of it, they all seem very happy to see one another" Carla offered: "Uh, well? He seems happy to see us too, he's coming this way" West swallowed hard as he and the others backed up a little, allowing the new titan to kneel down in front of them. "Indeed, I am most delighted to meet you all" the titan smiled in a deep smooth voice that softly echoed across the clearing; everyone froze in alarm, "You talked?" Ariana blinked in surprise, "YOU TALKED?!" Claude grinned madly, "A titan, just talked?!" Bryson exclaimed in disbelief. "Of course, I am the only titan here that is capable of speech" the giant replied: "YOU CAN TALK?! ACCTUALLY TALK?!" Hecate gawked in shock, "BRO! When did this happen?!" Herne exclaimed, "God of the scared word remember? The power over speech and spoken word is my domain; that was something the curse couldn't overcome, apparently" he told her, "That sort of makes sense" Javorin scratched his head. Gazing at one another, the humans were all as amazed as they were dumbfounded: "Well shit, a titan who can talk: who'd have thought it possible?" Gustav scratched his head in amazement: "Well? This is another big first" Dale thought aloud, "Indeed, and speaking of which: you are the first humans to step foot on this island in over a century" the titan replied; "Wait-, what?" Rowan did a double take up at the titan, "-Uh, hang on" Bryson interrupted, stepping up to the titan with a serious look in his eye: "...Forgive my forwardness: but, since it's obvious you're a titan of great intelligence and coherence, I take it you have a name?" "Oh, please forgive me, it has been so long since anyone new has come here that my manners are rather lacking: I am the Keeper" the giant replied with a courteous bow, "The keeper?" Carla raised an eyebrow, "The 'Keeper?'" Hecate frowned dubiously, "You were not the first to think it wise to conceal your true identity from the humans: least it might complicate matters if they knew what we really were" Jarus replied, Javorin blinked in surprise as he suddenly realized: "You foresaw this?" "Not necessarily: I'll explain later". "Yes, the Keeper: guardian of the city of Omnes Scientiam, and keeper of all its libraries, museums and archives" the titan replied, "The city of what?" Evrard frowned, "The city of Omnes Scientiam" he clarified, "The one greatest source of all knowledge in the known world: the place where all mankind came to be enlightened, and receive the wisdom of ages past"

Everyone glanced at one another in confusion, not having a clue what he was talking about, until it suddenly clicked for Lucius: "-Oh wait! Are you talking about the city of lost memories?!" he eagerly asked. "... City of 'lost memories?'" the titan pondered the name for a brief moment, seeming unsure of what he was referring to: "Please, allow me to explain," Tyto stepped in, holding up the Semitam: "... See, it's a bit of a long story, but we've journeyed from the land beyond the hidden mountains: our home was destroyed in a great cataclysm and we cannot go back without risking death... I am Tyto of the Grey Owl clan, my grandfather journeyed to this land long ago with his kin, nearly a hundred years ago in fact, and they discovered the city and its many wonders. He returned with the promise that we too may journey to find it someday; well? After losing our homes and our loved ones, today is that day, and if the city you speak of is indeed the place we are looking for, we would be ever so grateful if you would allow us entrance into its walls, and learn of the world that has been stolen from mankind by the titans" he spoke graciously, bowing respectively. The titan gazed down at him for a moment, before pointing to the Semitam: "My I?", "Of course" Tyto nodded as he handed him the Semitam. Everyone watched in silence as the titan laid the map flat in his palm, and held it close to his face as if inspecting it in detail. For a moment everyone wondered what he was doing, on account his eyes were blindfolded, until the slit in his forehead opened up, and everyone gasped as they saw a third gold eye peer down at the map "Okay, that's a little weird, even for a magical titan!" Josefa whispered under her breath. After an uneasy few moments of waiting and inspecting, the titan gazed down at Tyto with his third eye, and asked: "...You made this yourself?" "Ah-, yes, with the help of my brothers, and friends here" Tyto explained, gesturing to the rest of the group, "And you figured out how to unlock its power?" the titan asked bluntly, not giving away any emotion. At that, everyone glanced at one another as they all suddenly realized, this titan was much more than what he appeared to be: "... You, know what this is?" Bryson frowned, "Of course, a Semitam is quite useful for keeping locations confidential, though, unless you have the key and know how to unlock it, it is impossible to read otherwise" the Keeper explained, "I am familiar with all disciplines of sorcery and the mystic arts: the magics that created this are not unknown to me" he handed the map back to Tyto, "Tell me: how did you happen upon this map? And how did you locate the key, may I ask?"

Glancing at one another as they remembered the events of yesterday, and the events leading up to it, the whole group wasn't too sure where to start; "Well? It uh, it's complicated. Let me start from the beginning..." Tyto cleared his throat: and for the next half hour or so he told the Keeper everything: from Ariana and Carla's first encounter with Shadow and Angel five years ago, to Pascal and West's accidental involvement when the rest of the kids first encountered them; the night of the storm, and the rest of the group's first introduction. He spoke of how over the following years, Claude, Breck, Bryson and Derek dedicated themselves to studying the titans and their powers, while he and his extended family helped to translate the tattoos and tomb carvings, eventually creating the Semitam. He also told the Keeper of the events of the day before last, about how the 'giant' and 'armoured' titans attacked Shiganshina, allowing the regular titans to overrun the city, and eventually all of Maria: forcing them to fight for their lives and flee into the forest, where the following day they happened upon the key to the Semitam, and decided to go with their giant friends to the Hidden land. As Tyto relayed the events of the past five years, everyone had their own input as to how they got involved, and how the loss of Shiganshina bound them together in this 'impromptu quest'. As they all listened in, the other titans were totally entranced by the elder Grey Owl's story: gazing around, many of the group noticed how their eyes reflected a mix of amazement, delight, shock, and sorrow; especially when he told of how many people died in Shiganshina. All the while the Keeper listened, he never interrupted nor gave any hint as to what he was thinking: his simply sat there, listening as Tyto finished relaying his story; he sat in contemplation for a moment, before finally admitting: "...I wondered why the trees were so restless that day..."

"Huh? ..." Ariana raised eyebrow, "-Wait, you knew something bad was going on?" "Yes; that day, when your city fell to the 'regular titans': I could hear the trees and the spirits within them growing restless, something bad was coming. Though what exactly I couldn't ascertain: it was not until sunset, when I could hear the cries of the people and smell their blood soaking into the roots that we all realized something terrible had happened. But, of course it was too late to do anything by then: I had wanted to go and help, I couldn't simply abandon my post... I am aggrieved, and sad that such a loss of life came to pass: I am though, thankful to all of you for not leaving my brothers and sisters for dead"

"Well? We're just happy they were able to regenerate: even if it did take the better part of five hours. Besides, it's going to take a lot more than just an armoured titan to get the better of our titanic friends here" Claude smiled up at Shadow and co. "Hang on; Shadow, Midnight, Boar and Angel are your brothers and sisters?" Bren asked offhand, "I think he means more the figurative kinda brothers and sisters Bren" Derek explained discreetly: "Figurative or literal, such distinctions matter not to us: we are all of the same world and the life that exists within it. As such, we are one and same: the one made many, the many made different, and in our differences; uniqueness, diversity and the cycle of change, that ensure balance and harmony in one and all" the Keeper smiled down at Tyto, "You're ancestors understood this, and knew that life does not merely stop at death". "No, it doesn't..." Tyto nodded, rather surprised he knew that little pearl of Celtic wisdom, "Did you know the Celts? Keeper?" he asked eagerly: "Long long ago, in another age when the world was very different to what it is now," he nodded, "Theirs was a peaceful and magnanimous culture: living in harmony with the wilds of nature, and learning the ways of the spirits and gods...You say your grandfather came to this place a hundred years ago, correct?" the Keeper asked, gesturing to the animal-titans to approach.

"Tell me, do any of these look familiar? " he asked as several deer titans stepped forth carrying a series of large idols: carved from giant tree wood, each one was an animal stylized in the Celtic design; they were an owl, a deer, a raven, a bear, a wolf, an otter, a dove, a boar and an eagle. They all looked worn and aged, as if they'd been exposed to the elements for a good long while, with mosses and lichens poking out from between the gaps in the carved patterns. Gazing at the idols in amazement, Tyto and the other Celts all recognized the carvings and their meanings, and as they approached closer to touch them, they recognized the idol of the Grey Owl. As he stroked the Owl's face, he couldn't help but be reminded of the fact his people were now at the mercy of the regular titans, and little by little, would be slowly wiped out: blinking away the tears that welled up in his eyes, his breath hitched as he smiled in nostalgic delight: "...This is the totem of my clan: the grey owl that sees all and knows the secret places of the forest; swift, silent and wise" he glanced up at the Keeper, "We found these in the centre of the island; there were other's carved by other clans, but we decided to leave them where we found them. In the city...". Everyone gazed up at the Keeper in astonishment; he merely smiled, and told them: "Though I was not here to greet your fellow clansmen a hundred years ago, I and the rest of my kin are able to fulfil their wishes and grant you entrance to the gates of Omnes Scientiam, as well as grant you sanctuary within this land. Besides, the rest of us are eager to meet you all," he gazed over the group, "Come, let us go join them" he stood back up with all the other titans flowing suit. "What right now?" Tyto blinked in surprise, "No time like the present: the whole day lies ahead of us, and there is much to see" the Keeper smiled as he steadily strode away out of the clearing, gesturing for the humans and titans to follow him. With a renewed sense of excitement, the humans followed after him with a spring in their step: ready and willing to see whatever lay ahead. Boar allowed the senior Willum siblings to remount him, though not before getting chewed out for all but throwing them off his back: and Angel kneeled down to let Carla take her rightful place on her shoulder.

Shooting her lines into his shoulder and flying up to be next to him, Ariana stood on Shadow's shoulder as he strode through the trees: discreetly leaning next to his ear and exclaiming in a hushed voice, "Holy shit! You never told me you had a brother who can talk! When were you gonna let me in on that little secret?!", : It was never any secret Ariana, he just never came up in conversation is all: Shadow replied with his smoke light, "Even so, you could've at least dropped a hint. This is so awesome!" she grinned in giddy exasperation as she sat herself down on his shoulder and leaned into his neck. "Quite effective," Jarus observed as the smoke light dissipated: "The conversations must sound a little one-sided; still, at least it teaches the children proper spelling, grammar and punctuation" he thought aloud. "Okay, I know you know more than your letting on: you always do" Javorin looked at him dubiously, "So what's been going on these last five years?" he asked as he fell into step alongside him: "A lot of detective work, and trying to make sense of a world that has changed beyond recognition..." Jarus sighed. "That's putting it mildly" Hecate frowned dryly, "There's a lot we need to talk about, but first, let us attend to the humans; Asteria and Aureia are keen to meet them" "Asteria and Aureia are here?" Javorin blinked in surprise, "But of course, as are Nyiera and Silendra, and all the others" "Wait, Nyiera and Silendra are here?!" Hecate exclaimed.

At that moment, as if on cue, a loud ear-splitting avian screech echoed through the canopy as an enormous dark shadow swiftly flew over the trees, blotting out all the light: it banked left and circled back around, and with a biting cold gust of wind it landed in the space between the trees ahead of them, kicking up the leaf litter on the forest floor with several powerful flaps of its wings. Many of the other animal-titans nervously darted back into the undergrowth as the giant figure stood up and revealed itself in full: it was another bird titan, the biggest yet; standing over twenty meters tall with wings of an unbelievable size and span, she had a plumage that was as black as a starless moonless night and white as sun-bleached bones, with a double-pointed crest that swept back into two curved points: almost resembling a set of horns, and on the sides of her tail were two large curved feathers that virtually wrapped her on the ground as she folded her wings over her chest, making them resemble a long trailing cloak. Her face was stoic and stone-like with a cold piercing gaze that cut into the soul of any who gazed upon her: with eyes that glistened with rich violet and amethyst, just like Midnight's. She had long pointed ears with feathered tuffs on the tips, and a regular mouth with pale lilac lips, but she had no cheeks except for a pair of fleshy strands either side of the corners of her mouth, with long shark-like teeth exposed, interlocked neatly together as she let out a long sinister hiss. Just like Angel she too had a series of black markings running up and down her face and neck, though her's were much more elaborate. Down on the ground the humans instinctively stepped back as they caught sight of the formidable talons on each feathered foot: black and shiny like polished iron, they looked like they could rip apart the biggest titan with very little effort, and on the bend of each wing they noticed she had a three fingered hand. Both index fingers and thumbs were opposable with small claws, but the middle finger was longer and more robust, with an even bigger hooked talon on the end, while the last two fingers were fused together to form the remainder of the wing. The giant avian titan regarded the other titans with an impassive look for a moment, before she smiled down at Midnight: "Well well, look at you little sister, all 'grown up' and looking every bit as terrifying as the last time I saw you" she smirked in a smooth voice.

"Nyiera?" Hecate gasped in astonishment, "Oh come now, who else?" Nyiera unfolded one wing and pulled her in for a hug, "I always was your favourite big sister, right?" "Nyiera?..." Javorin blinked in surprise: "You look intimidating as always" "Like, twenty percent more intimidating" Herne threw in, "Flattered: you two always were a real pair of charmers" Nyiera purred with a sultry smile. A little taken aback, Hecate stepped back as she looked her up and down: "...You look quite-, bigger than the last time we met" was all she could think to say, to which Nyiera let out a hearty chuckle: "That's putting it lightly: as if being the goddess of justice, vengeance and retribution was harrowing enough, now I have the form to look the part. And as you can see, it has quite the desired effect" she gestured down to the humans on the ground, who were all trying to hide behind Javorin's ankles. But up on his shoulder, Ariana was staring at her in a mix of surprise and confusion: Nyiera noticed her, and shot her a sly smile, "...Well, nice to see you again too brat" she thought aloud, to which both Javorin and Hecate frowned: "You know Ariana?" he asked, "That's her name? Huh..." Nyiera casually replied, she about to say something else when Ariana suddenly exclaimed: "-It is you!" she shot up and patted Javorin on his jaw: "Shadow! This is the titan that rescued me, Eren and Mikasa from those traffickers up on the mountain last year: holy crap no wonder I thought it was Midnight! you both have the exact same eyes!" she beamed as she glanced back and forth between Midnight and the new titan. At that, the humans all glanced at one another, "...That's the titan you saw Magpie?" Tyto called up to his daughter, "I'm positive dad! It's her!" she shouted back, before smiling up at the avian titan: "So what's your name?".

"This is Storming, the biggest and mightiest of the flyers," the Keeper introduced, "Yeah no shit, she looks like she could lift a whole titan clear off the ground" Pascal discreetly whispered to West, who nodded in agreement. "You'll undoubtedly see her around, as she has made her nest up in the branches of the great tree" the Keeper added. "Stormwing?" Hecate raised an eyebrow up at her, "Don't look at me, it was his idea" Nyiera glanced over at Jarus dryly, "Still, as pseudonyms go at least I got to pick mine; and considering my elemental power, I figured it'd do the job" she shrugged, "And 'Midnight?' you could do worse I suppose?" she smiled, "...That's true" Hecate couldn't help but smile, knowing she had a point. "Stormwing?" Carla thought aloud, "She certainly looks like she can raise a storm with those huge wings". At that, Nyiera's attention was then drawn to the nervous-looking Elysia, who was trying to maintain her composure as best she could: as the giant bird titan loomed over her, the smaller avian swallowed hard as she tried to break the ice: "So uh, you're Hecate's big sister huh?" "Indeed" Nyiera smiled deviously, "And you're certainly an odd one; a Tempus goddess living on the ground, and cavorting with other gods and humans no less. How scandalous", "I-, quite like living on the ground actually: you'd be surprised how much more you see compared to all the way up in the air" she smiled nervously, "Uh huh?" Nyiera shot her a deadpan look, "Are you sure it's not because of your little 'pet' here?" she grinned down at Carla, who stood on Elysia's shoulder anxiously, while the Fitzsimmons and Bemadette's little brothers froze in alarm; at that, Elysia ruffled her feathers and stood up as straight as she could (being careful not to throw the humans off her back), trying to look more imposing: "Hey, leave Carla alone! You got something to say about her, tell it to my face!" she sternly stated. Nyiera gazed down at her impassively for a moment, before smiling, "...So you have got a spine. Well that's a relief, for a moment I thought you'd be taking off to hide up in a cloud somewhere; looks like you and I are going to get along just fine...". Elysia didn't reply as Nyiera straitened up and addressed the other gods, "If you'll excuse me, I've got some things to tie up elsewhere: we'll talk later; oh, and if you're expecting an explanation as to that little 'rescue' last year? Don't worry, I haven't glazed over that..." she glanced over at Javorin, before readdressing her sister, "Silendra's keen to meet you too, but go with these guys for now, we'll have plenty of time to catch up later" "Promise?" Hecate asked eagerly, "Promise. Don't go having too much fun without me now" she smiled. Unfurling her wings and spreading them out, she flapped them so hard that the down-draft nearly knocked the humans off their feet: as the leaf litter all around was kicked up again, they watched as she took off up through the trees and soared up into the air, clearing the underside of Yggdrasil's canopy, and disappearing up and over it.

"Angel? You okay?" Carla asked worryingly as Angel folded her feathers flat: the bird titan glanced at her and nodded with a reassuring chirp, "What was that all about?" the raven-haired woman glanced back up at the hole in the canopy where Stormwing had flown up through: "Just a small 'jest' on Stormwing's part" the Keeper explained nonchalantly, "She can be a tad critical at times: but she means no ill will by it; she just likes to be sure you can hold your own in the face of danger" "How come she didn't stick around after she saved me?" Ariana asked offhand, "Ah... I'm afraid the answer to that question is rather complicated: but all will be explained later, I assure you" "It had better be" Javorin frowned as he crossed his armed, giving him a a very mother-hen sort of look, "I assure you brother, none of us here have anything to hide: but the situation is not as straight-forward as we'd like it to be... Now come, I promise I will explain everything later"

Following the Keeper as he led the way through the forest, the group kept looking behind them as they noticed all the other humanoid and animal titans took their time nervously re-emerging from the undergrowth and trees, constantly looking up above, as if keeping an eye out for Stormwing: "...I take it Stormwing's not well liked down here on the ground?" Breck observed as he walked alongside Boar: "She can be a tad 'austere' at times: her temperament is not as approachable as most others, especially when she's riled up. But she has a good heart and is actually quite agreeable, once you get to know her". "Sounds like someone we know" West elbowed Pascal as he glanced over at Miriam, to which the former thief couldn't help but try to stifle his chuckle: "She looks like an awesome killing machine to me" Rowan smirked, "With those talons, no wonder all the other titans are scared of her". "She never was keen on nature gods" Hecate thought aloud offhand, "Even those that could cut it were hard up to meet her expectations..." she gazed over at Jarus, "What's changed? She was never this 'accommodating' before" "Yeah, she didn't shoot me one of her 'black looks' this time" Herne commented. "Much has changed, and we've all had to change too, in order to remain flexible" Jarus sighed.

"So, may I ask where you're taking us? Exactly?" Bryson asked as he flew up to perch on Shadow's other shoulder, "To the city of 'lost memories' of course: there are many ways into it, but today we'll take the simple route through the mountain door" the Keeper replied. "So the city really is inside a mountain?" Claude asked eagerly, "Indeed. Carved from the heart of the great eastern mountain, it has been protected by the ambient magics of this land for many thousands of years, as well as it's guardians" the titan nodded. "You said you were the city's guardian: who else protects the city?" Tyto asked, "There are four of us: there's myself, then there's Rhiannon, the lady of the lake: after her there's Freyr, the great mountain guardian: and finally Starlight, she's also the keeper of the great tree" he gestured to Yggdrasil, "No doubt you will see her around, she likes to wander the island on occasion. All four of us protect the city in unison, and all of us answer to the ruler of Omnes Scientiam; Queen Aurora" "Queen?! You guys have a queen?!" Gustav gawked, "Of course, she is the ruler of this land: and it is by her grace and kindness that any and all who seek sanctuary, may find in within her kingdom; regardless of political, religious or cultural beliefs, if anyone is seeking safety, comfort, and freedom: they shall find it here" the Keeper explained, "Well, that's mighty generous of her" Breck smiled offhand, "Great Sina! If I'd known I'd be meeting royalty today I'd have put a clean shirt on at the very least!" Claude panicked as he tried frantically to dust off all the dirt on his shirt and waistcoat: "Don't worry, such formalities are not required" the Keeper smirked, "The queen asks only that you present yourselves as yourselves, and stand revealed for what you truly are; there are no secrets you can keep from her, that she will not see" "So basically she can read our minds: like Shadow and the other magical titans?" Bryson frowned dubiously, "Yes, but unlike the rest of us, she is the most powerful, oldest, and wisest of our kind: her gaze sees all and her mind's eye can peer into even the most guarded of thoughts, thus lying the her is rather futile" the titan glanced sideways at him. "Hey, that won't be a problem: we ain't go no secrets, right guys?" Clay glanced over at everyone, to which many voiced their agreement. "Who're you talking about?" Javorin asked offhand, "Ah, if I told you, that would ruin the surprise" Jarus smiled.

Before long, the titans and humans reached the eastern side of the island, which fell away to reveal a vertical cliff that loomed some forty five meters above the lake, with one of Yggdrasil's giant roots hugging the cliff tightly, and the various trees of the forest hanging onto the rocks as they leaned dangerously over the edge. At the bottom of the cliff there appeared to be the remains of a small boat yard and dock, complete with a long stone jetty and large boat house that sat on the water: plus a small sandy beach that had several various types of boats sitting on large wooden posts out of the water. "Whoa, that's some drop" Derek swallowed hard, "Yeah, but check out the view..." Hazel smiled as she looked out across the sapphire blue water: on the other side of the lake some two miles away, the great mountains stretched from north to south in an unbroken chain that reached many thousands of feet into the sky; their peaks capped with snow, and on the steep hilly slopes below were acres upon acres of untouched evergreen forest, complete with ancient giant trees which gave way to thick deciduous woodland nearer to the waters edge. But the most impressive part of this breathtaking scenery, was the one giant mountain that loomed over all the others: at its base there was a vast crescent-shaped inlet that stood vertically hundreds of feet above the water; in its centre was a huge rugged sculpture, seemingly carved out of the side of the mountain that resembled a king sitting on his throne, complete with a spiked crown and a beard and mane comprised of dense forest; the whole structure must have been some couple of hundred meters tall at the most, and well over eighty to ninety meters across his broad chest. "Behold, the great eastern mountain, and the mountain guardian, Freyr" the Keeper announced. "He certainly looks imposing: quite a feat of engineering, carving that hansom fellow out of the mountainside eh?" Claude lightly elbowed Derek, "Indeed, a good few decades I'd reckon" he scratched the back of his neck as he gazed at the impressive monolith.

"Whoever said he was a statue?" the Keeper smirked as he held his fingers to his mouth, and whistled loudly: the sound pierced the air at a deafening pitch, forcing everyone to cover their ears as the sound carried across the water, and echoed off the mountain slopes. But before anyone had the chance to demand an explanation, a deep thundering rumble emanated from below the ground, echoing at such a low tone that it was almost inaudible: the leafs on the trees all quivered as every bird in the land took flight, the water rippled and sloshed about as fish began leaping out to try and get away, and all the other humanoid and animal titans rushed to cliff-side to see what was going on. Through their feet the humans could feel the deep rumble, even atop Shadow's shoulders Ariana and Bryson could feel the vibrations as it resonated through their bones like delicate porcelain. "Shadow? What's going on?" Ariana nearly panicked as she patted him on the ear for reassurance: "Jarus? Who or what did you just summon bro?" Herne frowned in alarm, "An old acquaintance of yours, I believe" Jarus smiled as he looked out across the lake; "Holy shit! LOOK!-" Miriam gasped as she pointed to the mountain inlet.

The 'statue' of the king had apparently taken on a life of its own as its eyes slowly opened and glowed bright gold: a smile crossed his lips, cracking the stone as his face contorted into a look of delight; the sounds of rocks fracturing and boulders tumbling down boomed over the lake's surface as the great stone monolith got up from his throne, and stood tall over the lake, casting a shadow that reached all the way to the island. The humans stared at the vast giant in sheer disbelief, their eyes practically popping out of their heads and their jaws hitting the ground as their minds tried to wrap around what they were looking at. "That's, a titan?!" Bryson gawked as he finally picked his jaw up off Shadow's shoulder, "Oh my god, that's got to be the biggest titan anyone's ever seen!" Carla gasped, "Or ever is for all we know?!" Mabel concurred in equal dismay. "Holy shit how big is he?!" Jaye stepped back a little, "Uh, looks about two hundred meters from here I'd say" Claude swallowed hard "Two hundred and fifty five to be exact: that's taller than Yggdrasil," the Keeper smiled, "No one passes this way into the city, without him knowing about it" "Yeah no shit!" Pascal scoffed nervously. While the humans nearly freaked out at the sight of the great stone giant, the gods were rather surprised as all but Elysia recognized him: "Oureas?..." Herne raised an eyebrow, before smiling in delight, "OUREAS! Great All-father! Long time no see old friend!" "Likewise, great god of the hunt" a deep booming voice echoed through their minds, "Long have I wondered when you would return to grace my slopes again" "Likewise! You always knew how to make the best hunting grounds!" Herne called back. "You two know each other?" Elysia blinked in surprise, "Know each other? Me n' Oureas here go way back: I helped to introduce the native wildlife to the European Alps after he finished crafting them" Herne grinned, "Crafting?" the goddess frowned weirdly at him, "Oureas is a mountain god" Javorin explained, "He and his brothers created all the mountain ranges of the earth: he's one of the oldest nature gods in existence; one of the very few who witnessed the beginning of the world, and helped to shape it with his earthquakes and volcanoes" Elysia stared at the monolith in amazement: "... So that's where earthquakes come from? I always wondered which gods were responsible for those" "Well? The more you know brat" Hecate shrugged, "Jeez, the curse took a real number on you old friend" Herne called back, "'Tis but an afterthought: though it would seem it was an improvement upon your unsightly visage" the mountain god replied with a humorous smirk: Herne let out a hearty bellowing laugh, before grinning, "Nice to know you haven't lost your sense of humour!" "Likewise old friend" Oureas replied with a respectful bow of his head, "...Oureas, would you be so kind as to let our guests here enter the city?" Jarus interjected, "Of course: I would say proceed, but Nimue has yet to give her approval. But tell our guests they are welcome through my door anytime..." the mountain god smiled before carefully sitting himself back down on his throne, closing his eyes, and seemingly going back to sleep: turning back into the great stone carving he had been before, as if he'd never moved in the first place. "...Wow" was all Ariana could say, "Wow indeed, there are not many who can be unimpressed by his size and scale" the Keeper thought aloud, "I'll bet" Clade grinned, "All I can think of, is how big was his tomb?!" Ash gawked, "Oh, Freyr was not imprisoned in any tomb, his cursed sleep ensured he remained motionless upon his throne, his body frozen in place, being one with the mountain for untold centuries" the Keeper explained, "I was going to say: there couldn't possibly beany tomb big enough to hold him" Herne thought aloud, "Indeed, nor any big enough to hold Nimue either" "Nimue? She's really here?" Javorin blinked in surprise, "Of course, she chose Rhiannon as her pseudonym: she and the other water gods protect the city from the water, while Oureas guards it from the land and skies" Jarus replied casually, "Other water gods?" Elysia asked offhand.

"Hey Shadow? Why's that titan swimming in the lake down there?" Ariana pointed to the lake, where indeed, swimming some twenty meters from the boathouse was a humanoid titan; at first glance it looked to be about a nine to ten meter class, and looked quite content as it treaded the water, watching them curiously with a child-like smile. "Huh: looks like magical titans have no problem swimming" Bryson thought aloud as he spotted the markings on its face: "You mean regular titans can't swim?" Ariana glanced over at him, "Not that I know of, I've never seen regular titans go near deep rivers or any large body of water" he looked back at her: the swimming titan then surprised everyone as it let the rest of its body float to the surface, revealing a long shimmering golden-green fish tail, complete with fins and a forked caudal fin: " A fish titan? Sure why not? Since every other variety of animal titan under the sun is here" Pascal shrugged casually. At that moment, the water erupted with dozens and dozens of more 'fish titans': all varying in size class and with tails ranging from olive green and gold to deep blue and turquoise; and all of them had the same swirling spiralling markings all over their faces, bodies and tails. "More of the welcoming party I presume?" Bryson smiled, "Actually, they're here to provide your transport across the lake" the Keeper smiled as he watched them swim to the boat yard, and together they all dragged one of the larger boats from out of its berth by the boathouse, out towards the jetty using a couple of long pieces of worn rope to guide it into place: "The second guardian has yet to greet you all, we will meet her half-way across; please proceed down to the boat via the path" he pointed to the old overgrown path near the edge of the cliff-side, before summoning his power to turn himself into a barn owl, and flying down to the jetty.

"Looks like we're walking the rest of the way, that path's too narrow for Boar and Angel to tread safely" Rosemary observed, "Yeah I noticed: someone help me get off here!" Miriam grumbled as she swung leg over and tried to jump down off Boar's back, only for Claude, Breck and Derek to rush over and catch her just in the nick of time: the other humans dismounted their titans and approached the cliff-side with the others; watching their titanic friends turn themselves into their bird forms, and flying down to wait with the keeper. "It looks pretty steep" Lucile worried as she tried to avoid snagging her dress on some of the larger trailing brambles, "Well its a good thing we're in no rush then..." Tyto thought aloud as he and his brothers took point. Following the steep path down the cliff, the humans were all careful to stay as close to the rock-face as possible: even though the path was a good three meters wide, the fact there were no railings or fencing of any kind made everyone nervous of the prospect of inadvertently falling, which was a good forty five meter drop from the forest to the water. Eventually, they reached the boat yard, which was a lot bigger that what they saw from above: set back into the cliff in a series of large caves and alcoves, most were a series of dry docks, some with half-built boats sitting motionless on their supports, and overgrown with ivy and flowering vines. In fact, the entire dock and it's boats were overrun with plant life, and the broad jetty which jutted out into the lake for a good forty meters, had a large weeping willow rooted to the end, surrounded by a collection of smaller bushes and overrun with more ivy and vines. "...Looks like this place was pretty busy at one time" Derek thought aloud as he glanced over at the dry docks: "For this many boats to be here, and some still in the process of being built, there must have been other communities situated around the lake" "So how come the people didn't just head for the shore?" Rowan frowned in curiosity, "Whatever forced them to leave, didn't just affect the island: it forced everyone everywhere in this land to go" Dale realized, "Question is, could that same thing still be here?" Mabel worried as she held baby Clemmy on her hip, "I doubt it, if something was up Shadow and the others would have warned us already" Poppy thought aloud, "Yeah, but remember, they didn't sense how bad that storm was going to be three years ago; they may be able to sense things we can't, but that doesn't mean they can sense everything" Bryson sighed as he followed everyone towards the waiting boat.

The boat (which was a sizeable barge) was quite old and worn, with a few pieces of planking missing here and there: it's mast and rudder were gone and it had a good number of plants and creepers growing out of all its nooks and crannies; but the hull was largely intact and able to adequately stay afloat. After walking up the gangplank and hoisting it onto the creaky desk, the humans hung on as the fish titans guided it out onto the lake, and started smoothly pushing and pulling it along, until they were going at a steady pace: all the while the titans remained perched on the side railings, watching their charges as they gazed down at the fish titans, who were all happily trailing after the boat in its wake; arching up and down through the water like a needle and thread through silk. Meanwhile, as Lucius studied the boat up and down, he realized something troubling: "This boat's not big enough to hold your weight if you transform back again" he glanced over at the Keeper, who nodded with a hoot: "...We're going to have to meet the second guardian on our own, without introduction aren't we?" he realized. : Without introduction, yes: the keeper waved his wing, spelling out his own smoke light which was a bright crimson, :But don't worry, she knows I'm here; you'll be okay: "She?" Lucius knitted his brows together in confusion.

Suddenly, all the fish titan that were trailing after the boat's wake quickly darted away, disappearing into the deep sapphire depths, while the others that were moving the boat hugged the hull as close as they could, as if moving out the way for something large to pass by. "What's going on?" Tyto frowned in confusion, "... Uh, guys?" Lucy pointed ahead. About half a mile away, something big was moving just below the surface of the water, causing a massive bulge in the surface tension followed by an enormous wake to erupt and follow right behind it; but behind that, a huge spiked dorsal fin broke the surface and towered nine meters above the water. The giant creature was moving at an usually fast pace, but slowed down the closer it came to the boat. When it got within in about two hundred yards, the creature banked on its right side, and the fin disappeared beneath the water as the giant circled the craft before stopping in front of the starboard bow. It was hard to make out exactly what it was on account of the choppy wake it had thrown up, but as the waves passed and levelled out, everyone could make out a humanoid torso. Then, the creature lifted its head up out of the water, barely twenty meters from the boat: it looked like a giant beautiful woman; her eyes glistening with hues of green, aqua and blue while her skin had tinges of shimmering pale mint green around her eyes and fin-shaped ears, with symmetrical markings around her eyes: and instead of hair, a great thundering waterfall cascaded off her head. Judging from the dimensions of her face and head, she looked to be absolutely huge: bigger even than the titan that destroyed Shiganshina's outer gate, and as she she slowly rose up out of the water, everyone saw just how big she was. From the waist up she had to be a good forty to fifty meters tall, her arms were covered in rich green scales with fins on the outsides of her wrists, and her long fingers were webbed with claws on the end: she had a set of four gills right beneath her jaw, and all over her were curling swirling markings that interconnected into one long continual design that ran up and down the length of her body.

Gazing up at her, the humans were as amazed as they were nervous: she wasn't anywhere near as big as Freyr, but being so close to a titan of such gigantic proportions, for a moment it brought back memories of Shiganshina. The giant titaness then slowly moved away from the boat, as if sensing their unease, to a safe three hundred yards away: she gazed down at them with a peaceful caring smile, as all the fish titan returned to the surface, and smiled up at her; like little children eager to meet their mother again. "... The lady of the lake, I take it?" Tyto nervously gestured to her, to which the owl nodded: "Uh, hello there! The Keeper tells us you're one of the guardians of the city, correct?" Claude called up to her, to which she nodded, "Ah uh, would you be so kind as to let us pass? Please?" he nervously smiled. With an almost humorous smile. The giantess nodded, and pointed to the inlet where the great mountain guardian sat; "Oh boy, we gotta go past him?!" West worried, "Uh? I don't think he's going to be too concerned about us" Dale speculated aloud as the fish titans resumed their steering of the boat, and headed straight for the foot of the mountain. Off the stern, the giant titaness waved good bye, before diving down into the lake with all the other fish titans following close behind. Her giant green and blue tail lifted up out of the water, glistening like countless millions of emeralds, topaz's, and sapphires in the sunlight, and smoothly slipped down under the deep blue water, without causing too much wake.

"Wow, she had to be well over a hundred and forty meters long with that tail!" Ash realized, "Kinda makes you think: if she and 'his majesty' up there are the biggest titans around here, what other size-class of titans are there that can get that big? If not bigger?" Lucy thought aloud, gesturing to Freyr up ahead, "Heh: all I know is, if I were still a Scout I'd be having kittens by now" Bryson couldn't help but laugh, "I think the Scouts would have way more than just kittens if they saw the titans here!" Carla laughed, to which everyone else couldn't help but join in, as they pictured the 'strength and wisdom of humanity' being confronted with a whole tribe of friendly titans, who would want to play with them rather than eat them. "Oh my god, that would be a sight to see!" Freya wiped the tears from her eyes as she doubled over, "Can you imagine it? The Scouts, trying to go up against you guys?!" Rowan laughed as he lightly patted Midnight on the back, to which she nodded with a caw. "I know I foresaw the humans you'd bring with you were not an 'average' lot: but I can see now, its hardly going to be dull around here" Jarus dead-panned: "HA! You only just figured that out bro?!" Herne couldn't help but laugh, "Nyiera's gonna have a riot with these guys!" "That's If she doesn't eat them out of annoyance first" Hecate smirked, "She can try" Javorin stated with a sly smirk. Jarus simply shook his head and smiled; it was so nice to hear human laughter again.

As everyone regained their composure, Ariana stopped as she noticed something familiar off in the distance: "...Whoa...Guys look! It's wall Maria!" she pointed to the south: sure enough, at the other end of the lake a good eight miles away, the pale whitish-grey face of wall Maria stood out against the horizon, disappearing and reappearing behind the end of the two great mountain ranges that flanked the lake on its eastern and western shores. "What? What the hell's that doing here?" Miriam exclaimed; flying in front of everyone and perching on the railing, the Keeper got their attention as he spelt out with one wing, :That wall is at the very edge of the Hidden land's boarders; the only reason you can see it, is because there is no mountain to hide it:. "So we are still inside Maria..." Tyto realized; for a moment no one spoke as they watched the wall, there was no joy or dread, just a feeling of vexation; flying up to perch on Tyto's shoulder, the Keeper spelt out :What's wrong?:. Glancing at the owl impassively before letting out a deep troubling sigh, Tyto explained: "...It's just that-,... Considering the way we had come in order to reach this place: we thought the Hidden land was far beyond the walls... Turns out its not..." :And that's bad?: the Keeper replied with a curious hoot. "No it-..." Tyto tried to get his thoughts straight, "...Keeper, do the regular titans have any way of finding this place?" :Not unless they travel via the stone circle, that is the only way into the Hidden land, and even then they've got to be able to open the stone doors, which is impossible, for only we are capable of that: "You're sure?" :Possessive...Do not worry, you're perectly safe here:.

As the boat entered the inlet, wall Maria disappeared out of sight as the forested slopes of the mountain obscured it from view: facing forward, many of the group gawked as the vast form of Freyr loomed overhead. At this distance they could see his entire throne was covered in forest, with a waterfall cascading out of a small opening in both armrests, which thundered down the sides of the cliffs and echoed out across the lake; they also saw his body was covered in the same basic markings as all the standing stones they'd seen; but here, instead of being carved out, the patterns and designs looked more like a different coloured rock, darker and more prominent up close. Up right ahead, everyone saw a giant opening in the vertical face of the inlet, right at the base of the monolith's throne between his feet. As the boat entered the cave's mouth, the humans gazed up both his legs, and were taken aback by just how big he actually was: his shins alone had to be as tall as the first titan that attacked Shiganshina; no doubt if confronted with it again, this 'guardian' could easily pick it up in one hand without even breaking a sweat. Truly, this day was full of surprises: and they all wondered just how many more were yet to come.

After clearing the cave mouth, the boat carried on into the pitch blackness, until no one could see anything at all: it was impossible to tell where they were going, they could feel the boat turning slightly to the left, and then a few minutes later to the right; they could only surmise the fish titans knew the way, and knew exactly what they were doing to avoid bumping into the rocky walls. "Hello?" Belle called out, listening to her echo as it carried far into the gloom: "Long tunnel guys" she thought aloud, "Well duh, we're inside a mountain" Clay deadpanned, "Considering its the base of the mountain, this could take a while, as this is where the densest rock is likely to be" Dale replied, "Quite" Claude nodded, "And considering how big the mountain looked from the island, I've got the distinct impression this particular leg of the journey could be the longest yet" "At least let's have some light in here" Miriam interjected; Tyto and the other Celts reached for the torches in their packs, but just as they reached for their flints, a strange glow overhead made them gaze up, and stare in awe.

"Whoa, look at that" Ariana smiled in wonder, "The rocks are glowing?" Bemadette blinked in amazement. All over the walls and ceiling of the tunnel, the rocks were covered in strange lichen-shaped blobs that were glowing in a mix of green and blue: it wasn't a bright glow like that of a flame, more like a soft steady dimly-lit glow, like moonlight or starlight; "Oh great Sina! Bioluminescent fungi!" Claude exclaimed with delight."Bio- what?" Pascal glanced over at the scientist with a weirded-out look. "Bioluminescent fungi, a verity of fungus that glows in the dark" he elaborated, "I've only ever seen one like this before: in a mountain cave in one Sina's protected nature reserves. Mind you, that specimen was only a few centimetres across and in a cluster no bigger than a meter in diameter; this however is so much more!" he smiled, "What's a 'fungus'?" Brendis frowned in bewilderment, "Oh, its a type of mushroom or toadstool, except its a different shape" Ariana clarified, "Can we eat it?" Brendan smiled eagerly, "Absolutely not! These types of fungus are known to be extremely poisonous! Why, just a single nibble off the edge would be enough to kill you!" Claude exclaimed in horror, "He's right, I've seen similar 'glowing fungus' growing in some select trees deep in the forest: we Celts use them as rat poison" Evrard chimed in. "Still though, its real pretty to look at" Gale smiled, "First a beautiful lake and island, then countless flowers, pretty little humming birds: beautiful magical titans, and now glowing mushrooms: what a paradise this is" Lucile smiled in a daydream-like wonderment. " ...Yeah I guess?" Bryson scratched his head.

After twenty more minutes of gliding softly through the water, guided by the glow of the fungi, the cave tunnel opened out into a large seemingly endless cavern, where every tiny little sound could be heard echoing all around: and up ahead, the glow of the fungi had given way to... daylight? "Hang on, are we still inside the mountain? That can't be sunlight, surely" West thought aloud. The cavern was filled with a thick hazy mist that carried the scent of earth and water, and up above through the gloom, a distant series of lights could been seen, trying to part the darkness in a soft sun-like glow; "Not unless the sun split itself into hundreds of little suns" Josefa replied offhand, "What on earth are those lights? And where'd this mist come from?" Breck thought aloud. "Another guardian spirit?" Elysia asked offhand, "Indeed, and its a big one too" Javorin nodded; reaching out to the spirit, he asked politely if they could reach their destination; obliging, the spirit parted its mists: revealing the cavern in full...

Everyone's train of thought stopped dead in their tracks as they gazed at the sight before them: the cavern was virtually endless as it towered many hundreds of meters above them, all the way up to a narrow opening through which a slither of the blue sky could be seen. But all over the roof and walls of the vast mountain interior were hundreds and hundreds of giant white crystals: as long and stout as Maria's giant trees, some were as pure as freshly fallen snow, while others were off-white with various other colours blended therein; but all of them were shining brightly, catching the sunlight through the opening, and reflecting it down into the centre of the cavern, where the city of Omnes Scientiam stood. Like a cut jewel in a crown, the city seemed to glisten in gold and silver, it's shining walls reflected the sunlight from the crystals above, lighting up the whole inside of the mountain as if it were outside, directly under the clear sky. The city was comprised of a giant tiered pyramid that rose hundreds of meters up into the open space of the cavern, crescent in shape as it hugged the walls with hundreds of crystals flanking it on both sides: its glistening white tiers were lined with gigantic arched windows that glowed from the inside, and at the very top seated upon a colossal knoll-like hill was a giant white tree that seemed to shimmer with starlight amid its leaves. The mist concealed the bottom half of the structure where the water met the first tier, but it was still a breathtaking sight never the less: and as the boat drew ever closer, a feeling of relief and victory swept over the group as they gazed up at the city, and smiled in overwhelming joy. "The city of lost memories..." Belle breathed in awe, before she punched the air with a cry of elation, hugging Rowan and Ariana around the neck, "WE DID IT! WE'RE FINALLY HERE!". At that, all the other children cheered in joy and excitement, hugging their parents as they took in the view; at the back of his mind, Tyto allowed a small measure of triumph to let him smile, as he remembered his grandfather and all the stories he told of this place: gazing up at the shining city, he felt he had done him proud this day, as well as the rest of his family as they joined in with their children's elation.

" ...Thank you for letting them have this Jarus" Javorin smiled fondly as he watched Ariana get tossed up in the air by her brothers: "The city and the knowledge within its great halls are never to be hoarded; to be enlightened and find wisdom is the right of all beings, the cities gates are never closed to anyone" Jarus glanced over at his brother, "So decrees the Queen of Omnes Scientiam", "So do we get any hints as to who her majesty is?" Hecate smiled, "I'm still not giving anything away" Jarus chuckled. As the fish titans guided the boat through the mists, the city dropped in an out of sight before a long broad jetty appeared up ahead. It was much more ornate than the one on the island: carved out of snow white marble with the effigies of fish and water lining the sides, at the very end it had two large swans gazing over the water with a spherical glass lantern hanging from their beaks. The fish titans carefully moved the boat into place, bringing it to a steady stop: Gustav, Tyto, Falken, and Eraman then placed the gangplank over the gap between the deck and the jetty, and everyone disembarked; the titans flew up and changed back into their original forms, gazing down into the water and bidding the fish titans farewell as they left the boat, and retreated down into the indigo blue darkness of the water. "I take it you didn't find Rhiannon too imposing?" the Keeper smiled, "Oh no not at all: and I just realized you have a twisted sense of humour" Pascal deadpanned sarcastically up at the blindfolded titan, who couldn't help but chuckle, "Just keeping you on your toes: there may not be a risk of being eaten in this land, but you still have to keep your head on a swivel; being accidentally stepped on is a prospect I'd like to try and avoid if you please" "You and me both" Javorin sighed in exasperation as he watched his charges follow Jarus, falling into step alongside him and the others.

As the mists completely rolled back to reveal the path ahead, the shining city came back into view, and it seemed even more grand and beautiful up close: at the end of the jetty there was a vast white wall towering some eighty meters above the water; it was the first tier of the city, and it seemed to stretch on forever, from one side of the mountain interior to the other, with a beautiful ornate gate some thirty meters high. Made of white marble and alabaster stone, the gate's outer frame was comprised of a myriad of effigies, reliefs and statues, all depicting various people, plants and animals in intertwining poses, all linked together; the detail of the carvings was so fine and precise that all the figures looked like they could be real, and move at any given moment. "Oh, that is exquisite..." Derek stared up at the gateway, utterly entranced by its beauty: "Ignore him, he's an architect by trade: likes to look at pretty buildings all day" Pascal deadpanned: "Oh really? Then I think you'll enjoy the city's architectural variety" the Keeper smiled; "Really?!" Derek beamed, perking up like a hungry dog that had just spotted a string of sausages: "Oh great, now we'll never hear the end of it from him" Miriam groaned dryly as she hung onto her grandnieces for support, while Fox and Shyla tried to stifle their giggles. "I think taking enjoyment in ones pursuits can be quite fulfilling: you'd be surprised how much you can do when you're doing the thing you love the most" Lucile chimed in. "And what is it you love to do, Lucile?" the Keeper asked curiously, "Oh, I've always had a 'thing' for wool: spinning it, dying it and eventually knitting it; don't know why, there's just something about that lovely fluffiness that feels good when it slips through your fingers" she smiled nostalgically. "It's true, she does know how to make the best sweaters and what-not: me though? I kinda like making jams and fruit wines; especially if its Shadow's fruit. He always grows the best tasting fruits and vegetables" Freya smiled up at said titan, who merely smiled in gratitude, "He always did have a 'knack' for growing things," The Keeper smiled over at Shadow: "Encouraging them to their full potential, and bringing out the best in them...But then, he's like with many people he meets: he just has that special 'something' that resonates deep down within, and draws out the best in everyone" the Keeper smiled thoughtfully. "...Yeah..." Ariana couldn't help but smile as she pondered back over the years she and Shadow had been together, and could relate to what the Keeper was talking about. Shadow was special indeed, he had an air about him that put people at ease, and made it easy from them to be open with him: and she was certain it had something to do with those beautiful warm blue eyes of his.

After they walked through the gate, the humans found themselves at the foot of a giant ornate staircase that ascended over a hundred meters up, flanked on both sides by lofty walls that had yet more effigies and carvings adorning them all the way up to the top: but what really struck the humans was the fact the stairs were absolutely huge! Built to accommodate a titan's feet rather than a human's, just getting up one stair alone would mean having to climb up on both hands and knees. There were a separate set of human-sized staircases that ran parallel to either side of the main one, right alongside the titan-sized marble railings. But still, walking or climbing up all those stairs was a daunting proposition: even for the fittest among the group; and especially for the elder Willum siblings who could already feel their bones aching just by looking at the damned thing. "...Whoa, grandfather never said anything about this place being built for titans" Tyto scratched his head as he gazed wide-eyed at the giant stairs. "Uh, Boar buddy? Do you mind?" Clay gestured to the old folks: the tusked titan obliged with a friendly grunt, and crouched down on his haunches to let them remount him, "Well, I dunno about you guys but I'm taking the express route" Pascal stated as he shot his lines up at the decorated walls and flew off up, accidentally smashing some of the carved effigies with his ODM gear's grappling hooks: "PASCAL!-" Ariana exclaimed in a panic, but he hadn't heard her as he continued on up over the stairs: she watched as the remains of a bird and woman fell to the stairs, smashing into more pieces as they hit the floor: "Oh not to worry, that will fix itself" the Keeper waved off unconcernedly; confused, Ariana and the others glanced back up at the damage, only to see a white aura encase the broken alabaster stone, and within a few seconds the stone seemed to 'grow' back into place, reforming into the carvings exactly as they were before, while down on the stairs the broken pieces rapidly evaporated into nothingness. "-Whoa!" Ariana blinked in surprise, "Whoa indeed..." Miriam breathed, "That little magic trick must save a fortune in repairs" "We try to be as self-sufficient as possible in this place: hiring sculptures and plasterers for repair-work is all well and good, but quality work like this is notoriously hard to come by; and now that humanity is at the brink of extinction, it is now even rarer" the Keeper sighed offhand as he watched the other children, Bryson and West take off on their ODM gear up the staircase, "A restoration spell?" Hecate raised an eyebrow, "That would certainly explain why this place isn't decaying the way ordinary stone is supposed to" "Indeed, and you'll notice the lack of dust and cobwebs too: thanks mostly to the repelling charms we put in place to keep the dust sprites and spiders at bay" Jarus smiled as led the way, with the rest of the group seated in the god-titans hands, gazing up at the walls as their titanic friends carried them up the giants stairs.

After the relatively short climb up (relatively short for a fifteen-meter class titan), the god-titans and their charges reached the top, with the ODM gear users waiting patiently: the further up they climbed, the more Javorin and the others began to feel the potency of the magics in this place; all kinds of spells and charms keeping the city safe and in good shape, like an insect preserved in amber; unblemished, untarnished, and seemingly new.

As they entered through another beautifully opulent doorway, the humans found themselves taking in yet another marvellous sight: a colossal grand atrium, and like the staircase it too had been built to accommodate titans rather than humans, as it was so big it could practically fit several city blocks within its near-boundless space. It was comprised of yet more white marble and alabaster stone, with yet more beautiful carvings, reliefs and effigies lining the walls and columns that held up the roof. The entire floor was one huge colourful mosaic depicting all kinds of animals and plants in great detail, and high overhead some fifty meters up, the entire roof was one giant glass dome made up of hexagonal panes that let in the light from all the crystals on the cavern ceiling hundreds of meters above. While everyone else was impressed by the atrium's size and architectural beauty, Derek was silently flipping out in sheer elation, as he gazed starry-eyed up at the glass roof with a ridiculous idiotic smile spread across his face, virtually frozen in place as he was at a complete loss for words. "Ah, you made it, and just in time to welcome our guests too" the Keeper smiled: glancing up, the humans noticed he hadn't been speaking to them. "Is that-..." Javorin frowned in bemusement, as the god-titan's aura seemed quite familiar.

Following the Keeper's gaze across the vast space to the opposite side of the indoor courtyard, there was another beautifully ornate set of double doors, in which another titan stood. As they entered the atrium, everyone blinked in amazement, as this titan was by far the strangest they'd seen yet. She stood up to fifteen meters tall, but that was only the top half of her body and tail, as the rest of her was comprised of a huge serpentine form over thirty five meters long: but unlike the other snake titans they'd seen on the island, this one possessed a lot of avian features, as she had an enormous pair of colourful wings on her back, gradiating from aqua into green, to yellow and then into pinkish-red, with an impressive crest of pale green and yellow trailing hackles instead of hair, and a pair of flank plumes on each shoulder, made up of yellow, pink and purple hackles. As she smoothly slithered into the atrium like water over rock, everyone saw that instead of being covered in reptilian scales, her whole body was lined with tiny teal green feathers and a ridge of pink, purple and blue iridescent plume-like feathers running down her serpentine back: except for a row of cream-coloured scutes that went from her neck, over her chest and abdomen, all the way down to her beautifully plumed tail. She had a series of complex markings going from her face down to the upper-most part of her tail, expect they gradiated from purple, to magenta into golden yellow: and in one hand she carried a crystal staff that was made up of every colour imaginable.

With a welcoming smile, the avian-serpentine titan bowed respectively to the humans as she stopped in front of their titans, before gazing at Javorin with her dazzling magenta and gold eyes. "Javorin, long time no see," she smiled with a sweet exotic voice; "Quetzathena?" Javorin smiled in pleasant surprise: "By All-father, you're here too?" "Technically I never left: the Bifrost within Yggdrasil is still my responsibility, regardless of this peculiar curse; and seeing as the arts fall under my divine jurisdiction, this place has become a home away from home" she smiled sweetly at him, before gazing over at Herne and Hecate, "And Hecate, Herne, how wonderful to see you both looking so well; you in particular Hecate, your new corporal form rather suits you" "So I've been told," Hecate smirked nonchalantly as she glanced the goddess up and down, "You certainly look, more you". "I feel it represents my true self quite nicely" she stated with a slight air of pride, "Well? You always did know how to express your true inner beauty: who'd have thought it'd show through your curse too?" Herne shrugged with a cheeky smile, "Flattering as always Herne: you look classically hansom yourself" "Classically hansom? Heh, that's a new one" Herne couldn't help but chuckle. "So, who're all your new friends?" she gazed down at the humans seated in their hands,before noticing Elysia, "And a Tempus Goddess? Here on the ground? My my, today is just full of surprises" "Indeed," Jarus smiled as he addressed the humans: "Everyone, may I introduce Iris: she's one of the librarian's and teachers here in the city: if there is anything in particular you need to find, please do not hesitate to ask her, or her familiars for assistance" the Keeper announced.

"Familiars?" Carla frowned in bemusement as she hung onto Angel's hackles: Clay suddenly heard something moving around on the floor, peering down the side of Boar's head to see what it was, he nearly jumped out of his skin with a surprised yelp when he saw a huge heavily-bodied snake peering up at the tusked titan. Over ten meters long with a robust head and round eyes, it had a bright greenish-gold colouration with a diamond/saddle pattern running down its flanks: but unlike regular snakes, this one had a set of emerald green wings about a third of the way down its body, with a ridge of golden feathers running down its back all the way to its plumed tail, which was a mix of green, gold and orange. It's head too was adorned with a set of plumes and a crest that decorated its jaws and neck, giving it a very regal look: the creature sniffed Boar up and down with its forked tongue for a moment, before slithering off to join its mistress at her side; seemingly satisfied with the new arrival.

"-HOLY SHIT! What is that thing?!" Pascal panicked as he back-peddled away from the serpent, retreating behind Midnight's towering form, "Whoa! There's more of them?!" West gasped as more and more of the winged creatures appeared from out behind the columns along the walls: all of them varying in colouration and sizes, and seemingly curious as they slithered closer to the god-titans ankles. "These are Iris's familiars, the knowledge seekers: they roam the city as its keepers and guardian's; ensuring nothing is stolen or put out of place" the Keeper explained as one of the snakes slithered over both his feet before flapping its wings and taking off out of the atrium. "Wouldn't a guard dog simply be better?!" Miriam grumbled as she hairy-eyeballed some of the creatures that were gazing up at her. "Oh we did try once, but the one we had in mind is still in service to his current place of residence: and the fact he had three heads wouldn't have made house-training easy" the Keeper sighed dryly at the memory of said creature; "Cerberus?! You wanted to have Cerberus guarding this place?!" Hecate exclaimed in astonishment, "It wasn't my idea, believe me. You can thank the humans that resided here for that short-sighted idea, before I put them to rights" Jarus stated matter-of-factly: prompting a few raised eyebrows from Javorin, Herne and Hecate: "Why in All-father's name would anyone want to use that raging brute for anything? Besides turning a small country into flaming ruins" Javorin exclaimed in dismay, "Like I said before, there's a lot that needs explaining; now come, the queen is waiting for us" "Three heads? What?" Ashlyn knitted her brows together, wondering if she'd heard him right: "Never mind" the Keeper waved off: getting back to the subject at hand, "They're perfectly harmless with a calm temperament: and they have no venom; but if they catch you stealing or breaking anything, they will strike you down hard and fast, and without hesitation"

"Hands off the breakables and valuables, got it" Hazel nodded as she retreated into Boars mane, only to gasp in alarm as she saw the two biggest winged serpents slither into the atrium: at over fifty meters long with a set of truly impressive wings, one was black as a raven with iridescent colours shimmering in its scales and feathers, while the other was as white and radiant as a pearl, with iridescent colours shimmering amid its plumage and scales too; both had an impressive set of crests atop their heads, with feathered ridges running down their backs to their plumed tails. Both gazed down at the humans curiously, before flanking their mistress and submissively lowering their heads as she affectionately scratched them both behind their crests . "Ah this is Quetz," the Keeper pointed to the white serpent, "And this is Coatl" he gestured to the black one, "Their the city's 'guard dogs', so to speak: any army that would seek to march upon the city would have to go through them first; between Quetz's icy breath and Coatl's white hot flames, there're not many who can claim the honour of surviving a fight with them" "Yeah no shit," Rowan gazed at the giant serpents in awe. "I'd have thought security wouldn't be too much of an issue for you guys: I mean, the whole city's situated inside a mountain, inside a magical land that's only got one way in, that can only be found via a magical map, that can only be read with a special 'key'. Don't you think things are pretty tight as they are?" Poppy thought aloud: "One can never be too careful: especially when you house the total sum of all of humanity's knowledge and wisdom under one roof..." the Keeper replied. "Shall we?" Quetzathena gestured for them to follow her, "We have the whole city to show them" "Indeed" Jarus nodded, "Anyway. Let us proceed, we have much to show you all" he turned and walked towards the double doors with the other god-titan's following close behind, and with the dozens of winged serpents trailing after them. "Oh this is going to be great!" Claude beamed, "Amen to that!" Derek concurred in giddy excitement as they ran ahead like overexcited school boys.

The next few hours passed by in a wondrous daze as everyone was given a grand tour of the city: steadily climbing up through the various levels to the top, the Keeper and Iris led them through grand opulent libraries that could hold entire towns and villages, archives the size of Mitras packed with countless documents, scrolls, books and artefacts relating to times and events long since past; even the museums were a whole new experience for the humans, as they had nothing even remotely similar back home. What a concept. Whole buildings filled with countless wonders and treasures from all over the outside world and across ages past: everything from finely taxidermied animals and other specimens of the natural world, to artefacts from other human cultures (which was a culture shock to say the least: who knew there could be so many other 'verities' of humans and societies?); specimens and examples of the sciences, proving and documenting the secret workings of the world and beyond: functioning models of technologies and engineering years if not decades ahead of the walled world's time, and countless paintings, sculptures, literature, textiles, crafts and all other dazzling, awe-inspiring and perplexing examples of the arts and all their close branches. Even the study of magic and the mystic arts had a whole level all to itself, with the history of this strange and enigmatic 'science' displayed in full. The buildings which housed all these boundless wonders were purposely built to reflect every cultural heritage of the 'human race'. Some styles of architecture were very similar to what everyone knew back home, others were quite different to the point they were considered 'quirky': and some were so foreign, unfamiliar, and built using such extraordinary skills and techniques, that they practically defied all logic; putting the culture of the walled world into stark perspective.

But the city was not just confined to one whole super-sized building containing tens of smaller buildings, or just examples and specimens sitting idly behind glass cases and sitting on bookshelves: around the outside of each tier between the buildings and the walls was a space a few city blocks wide, and packed therein were finely landscaped gardens that spanned from one side of the mountainous cavern to the other, each housing countless specimens of plants from all over the world. Built for the sake of aesthetics and housing more artefacts, more architectural marvels sat amid the artificial landscapes like jewels in a green crown. On the natural history level, there were dozens of 'aquariums': giant glass boxes that housed all kinds of fishes and creatures that thrived in the water, both salty and fresh; elsewhere on the same level, there were 'terrariums', more glass boxes, but these ones housed all kinds of insects and other strange alien creatures that had never been seen by human eyes for well over an age.

But what caught everyone's attention the most, was how everything from the buildings to the stairways to the exhibits were all titan-sized, with tens of hundreds of suspended paths, bridges and walkways for humans to safely traverse without having to ever step foot on the ground. Even the biggest libraries housed titan-sized books the size of small cottages. Was this place built by magical titans? It would certainly make sense considering the sheer scale of the whole place, but the fact there were so many structures that took human's and their size into account confirmed that indeed, humans and magical titans did share a close relationship at one point in the past; and it would seem it was not just limited to the Celts.

As they carried their charges in their hands or let them stand upon their shoulders, the gods couldn't help smile: it was both amazing and humbling to see their aura's swell with awe, and a nice feeling of being overwhelmed, and yet still wanting to know more; drinking it all in with the infinite curiosity of a child. Javorin struggled to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes: being here now in this incredible place, it was such a stark contrast to the day before last; to think they were at deaths door, nearly consumed by fire, titan hunger and grief. And now, they were wondering through the halls of humanity's greatest achievement: practically a whole other world that seemed so far away from the one they knew. Deep down, he silently thanked his father and the ancient ones for allowing them the opportunity to make the journey, and reached out to those who were not fortunate enough to still be with them; 'Bestla, Skadi, Ran, Eren, Armin, Mikasa: wherever you all are, I hope you can be at peace; your families are alive, and their going to be okay'.

Finally, as they reached the top of the final flight of titan-sized stairs, the gods noticed how they had now left the main building, and were now outside upon a colossal balcony, gazing down at the city through its many domed roofs and grand towering windows. High above, the cavernous ceiling was less than a hundred meters away, its many white crystals jutting out of the rock in every direction in huge long spires that looked like giant church towers. The narrow opening through which the sky could be seen was more noticeable: up here, everyone saw how the giant white crystals caught the sunlight, and refracted it down onto the gardens, providing the plants with ample sunlight to grow and thrive. "Holy Jeez, we're finally at the top? Don't get me wrong that was some tour, but we'd need like fourteen gas refills just to get up here" West exclaimed as he took a moment to check his ODM's tanks, fortunately he had an hour's worth of gas left: "There are a number of shortcuts to get around much quicker, but those can be explored later. We're finally here..." he turned and gazed up at the very top of the city.

The final level was a giant knoll-like hill that reached some couple of hundred feet above the crescent wall that held it in place, and perched on the top surrounded by a ring of huge standing stones was another giant tree: more or less the same as Yggdrasil but smaller, about a hundred meters or so tall; and unlike Yggdrasil, this tree was all white. From its roots to its bark and to its leaves, the whole organism sparkled like diamonds in the sun, while amid its leaves were millions of tiny star-like lights, dimly glowing amongst the branches and twigs, and twinkling as such, as if a whole section of the night sky had fallen to the earth, and this tree had caught it. "...Whoa. That's no tree you'll ever find in Maria" Hawk commented offhand, "Indeed: this is the tree of knowledge, the one source of all wisdom in the known realms; one bite of its fruit will fill your mind with all the knowledge of the universe. But consequently, such a infinite amount of information will cause your brain to be completely overwhelmed, and you will die thereafter" the Keeper explained earnestly, "Seriously? That kinda sucks" Belle gazed up at him in amazement, "Seriously: it is not in my nature to fool, lie, or make light of anything dire. And when I say the fruits on this tree are never to be eaten, I mean it. Also, no branch or root is to be chopped off, nor any leaf is to be picked while it remains upon the tree; understand? ...This is a sacred place that has stood unchanged since the beginning of the world, and we will ensure it continues to remain so until the earth breaths its final breath" he warned. "Fair enough" Tyto nodded; everyone else voiced their agreements also. "So I take it this is where the Queen resides?" Freya thought aloud: "Her majesty is the keeper of the tree, as well as the founder and ruler of this city, she has presided over this land for countless millennia, and will do so for many more to come; of all of us, she was the first to see the world come into being, and will be the last to witness its passing into the end of all things. From this place of enlightenment, she sees and rules all" the Keeper stated with reverence . "Very poetic, now quit with the suspense, who is it that so keen to meet us?" Hecate demanded.

"Can you not guess?"

Hearing the soft feminine voice, everyone gazed up at the tall flight of stairs leading to the hill, as they watched another titan descended down to the balcony. She was fifteen meters tall, and bathed in pure unblemished white: skin as smooth and flawless as virgin snow, giving off a radiant aura with white markings that glowed like starlight and moonlight. Her face was fair and beautiful with eyes like shimmering pearls, and she had dense white wispy 'clouds' exuding from her all-white hair that seemed to float all around her, like water plants in a slow-flowing river: it fell down her back and pooled around her legs in a thick mist that trailed behind her like a bridal train, radiant and glowing as it sparked in the refracted sunlight. In one hand she carried a simple rod made of white crystal, topped with a shining white light that had a rainbow aura around it: and all around her were tens of large white butterflies hovering in and out of her misty hair. Her whole presence lit up the balcony in a soft white light, with a strange feeling of calm and peace settling over the place: and as they locked eyes on her, the humans were all totally taken aback by the sheer depth and radiance of her beauty; so pure, so ethereal, it was as if they'd all strayed into a dream.

As they placed their passengers back on the ground, the god-titans happily stepped forward as they recognized her right away. "Aureia..." Javorin smiled fondly as he held out his arms to pull her into a gentle hug, to which she happily obliged: "Javorin, my beloved sister's son; welcome home," she greeted in a soft gentle voice, before glancing over at an equally delighted Hecate and Herne, who both stepped froward to hug her too: "Do not think I have forgotten you my darling niece and nephew: it is good to see both again after so long an age" "You too Aureia" Herne smiled happily: "You look damn good for an ancient one, no surprises there" Hecate grinned offhand, "You look quite good yourself" Aureia replied happily as she let them go, gazing over at Elysia, who on the one hand was happy for her cousins at seeing them so happy, but at the same time, feeling like she was sticking out like a sore thumb: "You must be Elysia. Come, it's alright: let me get better look at you..." she beckoned her over, Elysia nervously stepped forward, unsure what to expect or say: but as Aureia gently lay her hands on her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug, the weather goddess was taken aback: "I am so glad you could make it. You have come so far, and grown so much: truly, you have done well" "Um? ...Thank you?" Elysia anxiously replied, "There is no need to feel afraid" Aureia gazed down at her tenderly in a mother-like way, "We are all equal, there is no difference between one god and the next..." she assured her as she stood back up and turned to address the humans. "Everyone, my I present Queen Aurora: ruler of the city of Omnes Scientiam, and our aunt" the Keeper presented in a formal tone. "YOUR AUNT?!" Pascal, West and the kids exclaimed, to which everyone else cuffed them over the back of their heads: "Is that any way to behave in front of royalty?!" Freya scolded her children: "-I'm so sorry your highness, they didn't mean to speak out of turn" she quickly apologized, "It's quite alright: we prefer to keep our formality's a little more relaxed here, I don't want people thinking they have to flaunt themselves just to save face" she assured her. Everyone did a double take, wondering if they heard what they really heard, "Whoa, what was that?!" Rowan held his head in alarm, "I heard you talk, but it was like it was coming from inside my head!" Gale suddenly realized: "That's called telepathy, or 'mind tongue' as you all like to call it" the Keeper explained, "That's mind tongue?! Holy crap that's amazing!" Belle exclaimed in excitement, "That's how you guys talk to one another?! My oh my god that's amazing!" she gazed up at Shadow, who nodded with a smile: "But how come we can hear you, and not Shadow, Midnight, Boar and Angel?" Lucius asked curiously, "Such is her power: able to resonate across all minds, and allow her thoughts to be heard by all" the Keeper explained.

"And as such, I convey to you all my sincerest thanks and gratitude, for bringing my nephews and nieces home" Aureia smiled down at the humans, her voice ringing softly like a crystal bell through their minds: "Oh, 'twas nothing your majesty: and I may I say on behalf of all of us here: we sincerely thank you for allowing us to lay our eyes upon your beautiful and awe-inspiring city" Claude bowed low and as courteously as possible, looking a little silly, but he didn't care; he was savouring every minute of it: "Indeed, we're truly thankful for your generosity and hospitality" Tyto added in equal reverence, "What we've all seen here, in this land, and in this city... I don't think there are any words that can sum up the depth and breadth, of what we have discovered here today"

"...Ah yes" the queen nodded, "Though you have been told stories of this place, this is the first time any human has come here for over an age" "I think it's fair to say, this is the first time anyone of this walled world has ever come here: besides Tyto's predecessors" Bryson pointed out, trying not to come off as too forward: "Ah yes, the walls..." she gazed southwards, as if able to see right through the mountain, and out across the lake to wall Maria: "I do not recall such a structure straddling the southern boarder of my kingdom so ubiquitously: the world has changed much since before our entombment," "Then, you must also be aware of the titans: that is why the walls were built in the first place; and it would seem Wall Maria is protecting your boarders as we speak" Bryson gazed up at her. Glancing down at the humans, the queen kneeled down to meet their eye-level, and stated: "It is true, your people's wall keeps the southern boarder safe. And even without it, the Hidden land would still remain unseen by those who reside beyond the mountains: but the titans concern me greatly; though they can never reach us here in this kingdom, they swarm the land beyond, chasing after those who flee to the second wall beyond"

"You know about wall Rose?" Bryson raised an eyebrow, "Forgive me if this sounds a tad obvious: but how can that be possible if you've been here these past five years? Even with titans like Stormwing venturing out to watch the world from the skies, there'd only be so much information you'd be able to gather at any one time" he observed; "...I can see why your counsel is most valued among your company: you know how to 'read between the lines', so to speak" she smiled down at him, before her expression turned serious: "It is true we have been observing the coming and goings of this 'walled world' for the past five years: if only to understand the nature of this new age, and how mankind has changed. But our ability to gather information has been limited by our 'predicament'"

"The curse" Tyto nodded, "Shadow explained to us that you and all your kin were 'very different' at one point, long before you were sealed away in those tombs..." he stepped forward, and anxiously asked: "...If I may ask, majesty: just-, what were you, exactly? Only, I get the impression that while you were not always titans, you were not exactly 'human' either...". An uneasy silence fell over the group as the queen gazed down at Tyto impassively: Ariana and her brothers gazed at their father in surprise, wondering where on earth he came up with such a question, while everyone else merely stood there in a mix of anxiousness and confusion, waiting to see how the queen would react.

Standing as still as a statue, trying not to let her fear show: Elysia's heart was racing as she began to grow uncomfortably scared; "He knows?!" she swallowed fretfully, "Of course he knows brat: they may not be oracles but they're not stupid" Hecate folded her arms, "Wait a minute, you knew that they knew?!" she exclaimed in a panic, glancing over at the black and white goddess: "Kid, this day was coming right from the get-go; we knew one day we'd have to come clean about who we really are, it was just a question of making sure they were ready and not going to take it the wrong way" Herne sighed in exasperation, "But what if they do take it the wrong way?! After all that bullshit the wall cult put them through, you'd seriously expect them to believe in any divine being, let alone a god?!" Elysia argued, "And why the hell didn't you tell me about this sooner?!" "Because we knew this is how you'd react? You may be a goddess but you're still a kid, brat: you got a lot to learn about how to handle these kinds of situations" Hecate shot her a sarcastic look. "I've not been comfortable about this either Elysia: but we can't lie by omission to them: not any more; not after everything we've been through together" Javorin sighed, "...Besides, with you in their presence we don't have much of a choice" he glanced over at Jarus, "It is true I can only speak the truth: if they approached me about the subject I'd have no choice but to tell them; we're damned if we do and damned if we don't" the blindfolded god shrugged casually "...Besides, I've already foreseen this, and I know how they will react to it". Elysia froze, her mind racing with fear: the fact Jarus was so calm and stoic about his premonition only confounded her anxiety even more. "Elysia..." Aureia gently reached out to her, almost immediately Elysia felt her thoughts calm down and her fear ease away as she looked into those shining white eyes of her's, "...Do you trust in your friends? … After everything you've all been through, together: do you have reason to doubt them now?"

Passing a deep sigh as she thought back to the day before last, and the years that came before it: Elysia nervously admitted: "...What I am-...what I am to them, the bird titan Angel, is totally different to what I used to be. Before I met Carla, I was a gust wind in the air, and I existed as such for as long as I can remember. I never stopped for anything or anyone, never took an interest in the people I passed by, and I never cared about anything going on in the world. I saw countless things the humans did on the ground below, some of them were incredible and amazing, but others were harrowing and unspeakable too. In all that time, it never even occurred to me to ask why? To not even go down and just take a look, to wonder why the humans did what they did... All that-...All those years: I could've done so much more than just drive the winds of the world, but I chose to look away, and I have no excuses ...I'd rather be Angel the bird titan, than Elysia the Tempus goddess, who could've been a friend to humanity, but chose not to because she didn't think she could anything else but a breath of wind"

"So you'd rather live a lie out of penance for your naivety, than to have to tell them the truth?" Jarus surmised, "Naivety is not a crime: and neither is growing up: all gods and goddess have to find their own path in life, even if it takes them thousands of years. We've all come the same way: you are no different to the countless other gods that came before you" "Elysia, if Carla is really your best friend, she'll understand; don't worry" Javorin smiled, "...How will she take it?..." Elysia looked up at Jarus nervously, "...Why don't you let Aureia explain, and find out" he smiled in understanding.

Gazing back over at Aureia, Elysia didn't feel comfortable with this: she didn't like it when it came to situations like these, but what choice did she have? She knew she couldn't deny Carla anything, let alone lie to her face about something she knew not to be true. Playing the role of Angel the bird titan may have been a lie, but it was one that was simple for both of them to live by: titans were the only beings of power the humans of this age recognized and acknowledged, even if they weren't gods they still ruled over the humans from beyond the walls; it was straightforward, far less complicated than having explain the ins and outs of what a god was, and what role they served in the world. A divine being of vast unimaginable power, incomprehensible to the human mind, being able to do anything they want on a whim: there was a reason the gods chose to keep their identities a secret from the humans, least one of them, or all of them might get ideas and start asking the gods to abuse their powers for their own personal gain. Anything from demanding a whole mountain of gold, to total dominion over the world and their fellow man: it wouldn't be the first time humans had given into their vices upon discovering they were friends with a god, and it was not inconceivable for some to give into their weaknesses despite living the life of a good, kind and honest person; greed, power, pride, lust, anger, vanity: these were the poisons of humanity that the gods always had to contend with back in the day, and it didn't help that anyone could be capable of turning into someone else, when faced with the prospect of wielding the means to reshape their lives and their destiny's.

Living as a bird titan: being a mysterious titan/creature hybrid that could fly, control the weather, turn invisible, and heal any injuries with her tears, was a far better prospect than having to be a goddess, and living with all that it implied. Including the inevitable question of 'if your so powerful and almighty why didn't you stop the titans from invading Shiganshina?'

Elysia began to cry: she didn't want this, she didn't want to have to explain why; she didn't know how? As her glowing ice blue tears rolled down her cheeks, she managed to keep her composure, but as Carla glanced at her with worry, she knew she'd have to say something. "...Elysia?..." Hecate grabbed her attention, "...This may be your first time doing this? But it isn't ours, and it sure as hell won't be our last," she glanced over at her with an honest look of reassurance; that took Elysia totally by surprise, Hecate had never been nice to her like this before, and listened as she continued "...You don't have to say anything right now, just watch and learn, okay? And have a little faith in your friends okay? It's one thing for humans to have faith in gods; but it's quite another for gods to put their faith in humans..." Hecate glanced over at Javorin with a smile: "...That's why you convinced me to take a chance on the brats when we first met them, isn't it?" "It's not impossible for humans to understand power and responsibility: they may not always get it right, but there is grace in their failings; something that's easy for us to forget about them..." Javorin replied, before readdressing Elysia, "Whatever happens, just remember that we're here for you, and each other okay? Family sticks together no matter what, and as far as I'm concerned, you're part of my family Elysia. You, and everyone here"

Elysia nodded, sniffled a little, and took a deep breath as she glanced over at Aureia with a discreet nod: letting her know she was ready. With a motherly smile, Aureia gazed back down at the humans, and in a serious tone she replied to Tyto's question: "...What we were before and what we are now, is a secret we have kept hidden since we first awakened: in light of what has happened these past five years, I have no qualms with confiding the truth in you all; but once I have finished explaining, I will pose a question. One I want you all think about very carefully: because once you give me your final answer, you cannot go back... And I cannot promise that you be the same as you are now..."

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Sorry for taking so damn long uploading this chapter, but I've had one set-back after another. At the start of January I was all set to resume the story after taking Christmas off, when I came down with the mother of all colds, that drained the muse right out of me for nigh on 2 weeks, and then just when I managed to get back int my groove, my laptop uped and died on me and I had to get a new one, but not before having to go to a pro and salvaging the hard-drive which only had ALL MY FRICKIN' WORK ON! but fortunetly everything was intact, including this chapter. so I get writing again on the new lappy, but not week into nearly completing the chapter, something goes wrong and I lost over 30 pages of work! GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! But acctually, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because after looing back over what I initially wrote, I realized just how far off course I'd went, and how unrealistic it was in terms of the plot and story as a whole: soafter rereading my notes I got back on track, and thankfully, I managed to set it right :) So, yeah it's been one of those months, but hey, it all came right in the end. :)

A/N: BTW, this was not an easy chapter to write, as there was so much to cram in (that's half the reason I went so off track writing it in the first place); there's a lot to the hidden land and the city of Omnes Scientiam, the basics of which have been discribed in this chapter, but new stuff will be unveiled here and there as the story progresses. This chapter is important as it marks a turning point in the story, and the next few chapters are going to be important in terms of where our heros go from here.

Also, If the dialogue between the gods seemed a little odd, that was deliberate: Jarus is a god who can see across time (ie. he can look into the past, presnt and furture: there are limitations to this power, but that will be explored in the next chapter), so when Javorin and co first met him, they knew what was likely to play out, in terms of how the humans intro to the city and other gods was likely to go, and the fact Tyto asked them what were they really (before and after being cursed) was sort of the 'confirmation' the gods needed to tell them about their true identies. This revilation won't be touched on directly, but elements of it will apppear throughout the story in flash-back and memory form. I just thought I add this explination in case anyone was confused as to what was going on: don't worry, it's not poor writing on my part ^^' It'll all become cler as the story progresses, don't worry. :)

So, hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was a bitch to write but it turned out good in the end; hope you come back for more next time, because things are gonna start getting interesting from here on out. ;)

Please R&R before clicking off, and cheers dears!