Chapter Three: In Sonar, We Trust

Deception surround him, he was adamant of it. Such a plain of existence could not be found, nor be fathomed. Cold feet etched upon reflecting tiles, the awe-enraptured man looked out beyond the marble bridge and gazed at the utopia.

Stretching, jade pools ravishing the eyes with its magnificent gleam, rippled softly onto the radiant, golden steps ascending towards the grandiose temple centred amongst imposing towers. The palatial structure was beyond his imagination, a concept too incomprehensible for a man who's life tied him to humble dwellings. Formed with bountiful, extravagant ores to shame the Kaisar, it reached high into the depths of the sky, reflecting the permanence of grandeur that rang throughout the realm.

His awestruck features slowly drifted up the temple's front and peered into the enigmatic backdrop. Beyond the temple, majestic waters fell over the mountains. An orchestral calm tickling his ears to counteract the sinistrous perception they gave off.

An aberrant jungle grew incongruous over the mountains. Overzealous in its growth, an overbearing tree, uncanny to Gawande, towered over the jungle. However this tree was different to his memory. It's roots extending over the jungle rather than underground, they cloaked the foliage protectively. Who would get close enough to such a peculiar environment?

A guttural roar forced the hedgehog from his astonishment and to look up to the ether. The sight caused him to stagger back. Dancing amidst the encircling clouds, a limbless dragon scoped the atmosphere. Stretching wings fluttered delicately, the token-shaped hairs lightening the turquoise skies.

This celestial plain, so mystifying from the world he knew, he was convinced it was a dream.

Mī rhasis anak, Sonar o Mendesa.

"Huh?" He breathed out, turning to the whisper he could only just recall.

Tiet, dorither...

Ümai.

At the command of the hushed voice, he was ripped from the perplexing world and through a vortex of cosmic benevolence. A canvas of starry skies and stellar population transcended across fields of existence and brought him back to the one who summoned him from his peace.

Eyes shooting open, his body shot up, a deep gasp craving air sounding aloud.

His breath was rapid, his heart on the verge of leaving him. The irrational beat jolted his mind. His chest. It had been inflicted during battle.

Battle? What happened to the battle?

Placing his hand on his chest, he was befuddled to see he had suffered no damage. This revelation only brought more questions than it had answers. Were these memories true? Had he truly suffered fatal injuries during battle?

If he had been in battle, where was he now? Where were his people?

Sonar examined his surroundings. Ahead of him were a blend of overlapping fabrics of yellow, red, blue and green. Decorated in a swirling pattern and upheld by wooden beams, an opening in the centre allowed the sun's rays to shine onto the rugged ground. The furs of the grizzly Driina and the Ibras blanketed the floor to provide warmth. He realised the same fur covering was draped over his body.

Flames flickered within rounds bottles of glass hanging down from the beams. A group of these strange torches hung over a table where message boards and documents on thin material lay. What this material was, he did not have knowledge of.

More wary than he had been, he scoped the bottles of liquids accumulating on the table. Vials he could remember seeing Valen practicing herbalism with, he concluded he was under the care of a healer.

Valen was the only herbalist within Mendesa... Had he been healed by another tribe?

Drawing the covers back, he stood up from the canopy bed. His body still traumatised from it's previous infliction, his spinning mind caused him to stumble back and grab the fabric encircling the place of rest. He dropped back onto the cushions beneath him, the canopy falling on top of his body.

"With ease, Toa. You've only just awaken."

His heart boomed to the voice that endeavoured to soothe him. He knew that voice, trusted it with his life, bought his heart to quicken. Of course, how had he not realised sooner? Her floral fragrance blessed the air he breathed, was embedded in the fabrics around him.

He had found her.

Or rather, she had found him.

Eager like a lost-one to claim a home, Sonar rose onto his elbows to meet his longful lover... He was transfixed. Body stiffening at first glimpse, he felt a heavy feeling suffocate his stomach.

His imagination could not concoct a finer representation. Anything his mind had fabricated disintegrated with no regret. A wave of peace washed over him. Their worlds together as one, her image instilled in his memory.

He felt complete... if not a little negation to her presence.

The pink hedgehog came to his aid, removing the canopy off of him and checking his body for ailments. Occupied by her care, her distracted gaze allowed him to study her thoroughly. A rather petite frame possessing toned definition in her abdomen and legs. Her bare hands were dyed a plum purple, reaching up to her forearms. The dye's end meeting the golden bangles, much like his own, that enclosed her arms. They were more detailed than his own. Golden leaves intricate around amethysts, a symbol to her status.

Shoulder length quills fell over her face, shielding her jade eyes from him. He followed the length of her hair, her two front quills being longer than the rest to purposely fall over her exposed chest.

May Shaltō scorn him. To bear his eyes on her nudity was not merely out of desire, but curiosity. A woman's natural form was foreign to his sight. The Mendesa men would be required to be initiated into the Nedran Kü ceremony; coming of age ceremony, before even considering courtship. A trial to test their abilities to hunt and protect any potential partner and offspring. While an avid hunter with the strength to protect, in the ways of willpower to temptation, he discovered he had yet to gain any.

Drought overcame his throat as he swallowed back the harsh nerves that infested his pharynx. A creature possessing such beauty had devastating effects over him.

"Toa. The name suits you well," she told him as she pressed her hand against his chest, his heart fluttering to her touch. "Your wounds were fatal, but you held onto life just long enough to be saved."

Her words had reached him, but were not processed. Gormless, he gawped in return, contradicting the flood of thoughts suffocating his mind. His assumptions had proven to be true; he had been in battle, and subsequently lost.

Was he the only one to be lost to that battle?

"You were engaged in conflict with a Voltiin," she explained, "a dangerous mage with the power to control Tulrakan minions. It would seem you were able to defeat her with a purification field."

His inaudible response brought a delicate giggle from her lips. Peering back to her loved one, a small smile grew onto her face to see his perplexed expression. It was as if she had told him the moon had turned a shade of blue. She couldn't help but be humoured by his innocence.

A dry mutter managed to surface on his tongue, rolling off the tip and just sound enough to reach her. "...Amarythe..."

Her warmed features relaxed subsequently to his calling; lips minimised and parted, her eyes brightened like the peak of dawn. As he witnessed her shoulders shiver, Sonar's brows lowered at his concern. Had he gotten her name wrong? If her name was not Amarythe, had he just called her by another woman's name?

After enduring a wretched silence, he witnessed the woman breathed out a shaky breath and smiled fleetingly before she rose to her feet. She headed into the extending room. The sound of water being poured caused Sonar's ears to flinch.

"You were in Yondr, were you not?" came her voice from a small distance. "Magnificent temple? Towers shaming the peak of Gawande? A peculiar dragon protecting the realm?"

Ashamed by his own faltering persona, the blue hedgehog slowly pulled himself up and shook the remaining coy from his mind. "You depict the realm well," he answered her. Yondr? the spirit realm?

He really did die?

An insecure hand moved back to his now healed chest. Scarless, cleansed and vitalised, his mind rejected the reality from the lack of physical evidence.

This was the work of sakilo. Extraordinary.

"You were deep in the plains of Yondr. To Vonirn... yet that was to be expected, being who you are."

"I do not follow..." Sonar scrunched his mature features towards the woman walking back to him.

Vonirn? It was not a familiar place to him. Every mortal was knowledgeable of Yondr; the afterlife, home to the souls. Its appearance of course was not known to no living creature. Sonar believed it was an endless field of green with unlimited resources. A place where all souls would come together and reunite.

Apart of him had thought he would find his mother if he was truly inYondr. Vonirn? A different plain within Yondr? There were multiple plains?

... Why had she already assumed he would be inVonirn?

Though he had expected answers from the blush-hue woman, she merely giggled and crouched before him.

"You shall learn in time, ni aioté... In this moment, know you are alive and well, as are your people."

"They survived?!" he perked up, "Tokala, Acha, Volka... they all live?"

"Alu. They have rested well and feasted to their fill. So take ease, Toa. All is well."

A soundless chuckle existing from his relief poured from his lips. Had she not been near, the minor necessity to breathe would not be possible.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, the heir of Mendesa grasped the hands of the woman before him and brought them to his chest. Lowering his head to her small hands in his, he placed a thankful kiss on her knuckles and smiled to her.

"Anak kana, ni aioté."

Her body had long turned to ice once he had took her hands in his. His sweet kiss thawing her from her solid position, the heat rising in her chest combusted in an instant, ferociously flaring through her entire body and rippling familiar stirrings in her stomach.

At the threatening pace of her heart, she gasped desperately for air, her hands clinging to his chest and punishing him for causing such emotions from her by stabbing her nails into his skin.

"Oh, a brutish fiend you are, Sonar. Being so bold before a woman, away from the eyes of many. Are you trying to break me?" Her long bangs fell before her eyes, masking the strong desire she dared to display behind her hair.

He flinched to her darkening voice. Once drizzling in honey, was now seasoned with tempting cinnamon heat. As he gazed into the depths of her enchanting orbs, she reflected her desires onto him, mirroring the blazing warmth from the pit of his stomach, to boil and bubble to his chest. His heart began to pound hungrily, pulling at the strings. A chiming beat he could feel was tearing at his veins and yearning to burst.

The man sucked in air, his eyes refusing to blink out of their hypnotic trance.

Her hands still gripped to his chest, she pushed him back onto her bed, his body proving to be compliant and effortlessly dropping onto the furs beneath them. Like a prowling verdken, the woman crawled towards him, moving over his body and bringing her hips to rest on top of his waist.

"Time has long stood still since I have waited for you, Sonar. With every moon's glory, my desires only grow ever more insufferable... Tiet, ni aioté... will you permit me to indulge?"

As though her words were infused with magic, he was spellbound. Head trapped in a whirlwind of irrationality and illogical thought. His reality lost to him, he followed the yearning for the girl he had chased through the wind.

His throat taking the consistency of sand, he nodded his confirmation. The look of devious intent flashed in her flirtatious smile, causing the corner of his lips to rise with excitement.

She pounced like the hunting chena and encased his lips with her own. Her hunger unveiled, she brought her hands to his face and devoured him. Raw and unrestrained, her kiss spilled a timeless craving that overwhelmed her lover.

However he would not allow his stunned state to be shown. In fact, her strong greed was welcomed desperately. Amarythe was everything he desired to be; daring, brazen, unchained from her title and prestige. To have full autonomy from what was expected of them. Only she provided the key that was to break him from tradition and custom.

Uncertainty shedding with every enclosing movement, his hands slivered around her waist. His rough fingers embedded deep into her blush pelt and traced up her slender back. Her soft hairs tickling his finger tips, the sensation brought the girl out of the kiss and her back arching in response to his touch.

"You torture me so..." she breathed out, her head tipping back as if too heavy to uphold.

"At the mere touch?" he teased her, persisting to make her body quake to his hands against her bare form.

"Has it not always been this way, Toa?" Her lips were brought to his chest and placed petal-soft kisses against his skin. "How disheveled I become to the touch of hal Jora Vein o Mendesa." a gasp broke from her lips to his hands leisurely travelling to her abdomen and upwards, brushing against her ribs. "Sonar..."

A deep growl pushed from the back of his throat as he pulled himself up and crushed his lips back onto her own, capturing her weak cry. Reinforcing the prowess he held over her passion, he secured her onto his lap, and pressed her harshly against him. Dominating her in a battle of lust, Amarythe swooned into his embrace, giving into his eager yet tender caresses.

The protruding sensation evoked a smirk from the pink woman. Too immersed to withdraw from his kiss, an impish hand moved down between them and grasp his desire.

"Hmph-" he gasped. Pulling away, he dropped his sight onto her mischievous actions.

"By the gods... I have been blessed."

"Uh... heh. A-ahora..." Sonar lowered his eyes away from hers, humiliation zapping his confidence.

"Oré. Such a gift does not need forgiveness. You must express your gratitude to the Gods. I shall surely do the same."

Her hips rosed from his mid section and moved south over his standing manhood. Hesitancy washed over her as she peered back to the young man under her. He watched every slight movement, detecting any regret she may of held before she proceeded. A tickling smile stretched across her face, both revealing her momentarily tentative mind and assuring him of her certainty. This was a moment they had long dreamt of, craved from an agonising distance.

She inhaled. Ready.

Performing at a drastically slow pace, she lowered herself onto him. Friction brought a grimace to her features, wrinkling at the pain.

"Ergh..." the woman grunted.

"Amarythe-" Sonar's upper body rose up. His hands gripped anxiously to her waist, all the while retaining his own pleasure.

"Cease your movement," she commanded. Breathing away her discomfort, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her forehead fell onto his. "just... lira mae."

At her command, he pulled her into another kiss and distracted her from the rough collision. Reinstating the heavy atmosphere, he lavished her lips, his hands at her waist continuing to entice her with their caresses.

His attention was effective. Expressing her enthusiasm through her moans, the pink woman relaxed her thighs and lowered herself onto her lover. Her grip tightening around his neck, the pleasurable sensations rippled through the couple, responding in gasps and groans that cared not for those whom heard.

Sonar gave the lead to his adjusting partner. A moment's gaze at her wondrous performance, his eyes rolled back. The feeling was glorious, mind-boggling. Their rendezvous through the wind and dream state could not compare to this euphoric deliciousness. Had he have known the great pleasure this act could provide, he would have searched the world, fought off every blight variant in his path and even make his way back from Yondr a lot sooner.

The consequence to her rush now subsided, she surrendered to the static coursing through her. The surging currents snapped and sparked up her spine and connected with her mind. A beaming light blinded her subconscience before fading to uncover the gathered memories of all that they were. Every uttered breath, every ounce of warmth through the subtle wind. She soaked it all in, no word unturned. Each treasured recollection chimed through her mind, resonating into her heart and translating the ringing into him.

In your arms, I have learnt to take breath. I have learnt to break down these wretched walls that once confined me. Can you see me, Sonar? As I see you?

She clinged to his back quills and pulled.

Let it out.

Responding with amorous approval, Sonar groaned and pulled her hips down onto him. Her movements having proven to be well accustomed to the delectable act, he encouraged her by vigorously moving her against him and brought his own thrusts into their copulation.

A fluttering laughter sounded from her quivering lips that drew into a subconscious smile.

Feel me.

Let it be known.

Fill me.

Only you can set me free.

"Sonar!"

Her moans vocalised, ringing through the air. Hands grasping his shoulders and gripped for dear life. Liberation sounded with every cry, her laughter spilling into her exclamation.

"Rythe..." the shortened name muttered off his lips.

Head bearing too much weight, he lowered himself to rest his forehead against her chest. He breathed in her scent eagerly, the inebrity taking immediate effect. His panting breath dense against her chest, he captured the girl's gasp by capsulating his lips onto her perked breast.

She cried out, her hands moving into his quills to entice his further treatment. "S-Sonar..."

Her lover snarled like a feral beast that he was under her heated spell. Their bodies were long drenched in their shared sweat, dampening their pelts and glossing their colliding skin. He longed for it all to never end. Her sounds, the dazzling aroma of their conjoined scent, the burning heat that pooled like an eruption. He was exhausted and all the while could not get enough.

"Baët sol anak," he muttered, his lidded eyes falling onto hers as he pulled his heavy head back.

In return, a lazy smile appeared on her lips. She moved in for an ardent kiss, one he avidly reciprocated.

Letting out a long groan, he held her thighs to prevent her movements and was delicate when moving onto his knees. Her legs squeezing his waist, he brought one hand up her back, the other guiding her onto him.

He bucked with the stamina of a turbulent charger.

"Ah!" Amarythe screamed. Her cries were incessant, whimpering from the intolerance.

The level of ecstasy became insufferable, yet sensational. As if lightning wringled within, a mightiful boom minced her body with every thrust.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Mī aioté anak... mī aioté anak...

Her head shook rapidly to the tightening within her. Squeezing his shoulders for easement, she let out a final scream and announced her peak.

Sonar groaned into her hair, his body shaking to the destructive climax consuming him. Panting heavily in his recovery, he placed a chaste kiss on her quivering lips, the taste of her salty tears startling him.

"Anak errabran?" he questioned, bringing a hand to rest against her cheek. "Did I hurt you?"

Amarythe giggled softly. "Oré, ni aioté. I am but enthralled."

Relieved to hear she experienced no discomfort, his head dropped with a fatigued sigh and nuzzled his forehead against her bangs. "As am I."

She playfully nuzzled back, inviting him to laugh alongside her. A light moment in the aftermath of intimacy to savour their bonding. Breaths gradually coming down from quickened endurance, the couple held one another lovingly, relishing the content silence.

"E-erm... ahora, Ura Amarythe..." Sounded a timid, feminine voice.

The intrusion came like the spear of an opposing tribe. This violation of privacy had penetrated the blue hedgehog, stunting his tranquil breaths and locking them within his narrowing airway. A bewildered eye peered over his lover's shoulder at the veridan mongoose in ivory robes. She appeared in a condition much like his own; mortified and awkward.

Sonar lowered his gaze, taking refuge by placing his forehead against Amarythe's chest.

Amarythe stared back at the woman, her dull eyes making a successful endeavour to make her feel inferior. "You dare enter my quarters?" she spoke indifferently, her tone was surprising to the man. A bitterness that was unknown to him.

"I come with a message from the Iyanifa. Hal Jora o Nagi has ordered your immediate return to Visyn."

"Alu. Just as he has from the previous dawn, and the dawn before that," she scoffed. "You come to me with well known information, Nera."

Turning back to the humiliated man, the lady soothed him with the ginger caresses of his drooping quills. He could not find the confidence to look up at her. Empathetic to his shame, she placed a sweet kiss over his hair, smiling against his warm fur.

"W-well..." Nera stuttered, her cheeks scorned. "Ura Lenora has stated that, uh, 'now you have made the awakening of Mendesa's heir knowledgeable for all to hear, we must answer the Jora's summonce'".

The backhanded comment caused Amarythe to sneer. "Then at her command, begin the shift."

"Y-yes, ni ura."

Shock kept her grounded. At first hand witnessing the change in the goddess of life in the arms of the man they had crossed the lands to find. In her own mind, the lady was stone; without emotion, hardened by the years of knowledge and teaching. Although she had seen a warming within her when treating the sick, the emotion she had blared out had revealed the lost lady held captive deep in her soul.

She had heard the truth of the goddess. How blind she had been.

"...Did you intend to watch us part?" Amarythe questioned her over her shoulder.

"O-oh! Forgive me, ni Ura." She bowed before the jora vein and hurried to turn and leave.

The swish of the parting cloth affirming the woman's departure, Amarythe sighed and bestowed another kiss on Sonar's head.

"Ni ahora. The priestesses do not usually pose such insolent behaviour."

"Nanda..." he mumbled, his eyes still held south.

Their was an adorable quality in his bashful demeanour. A man who would not toast his goblet to his successful trials of fornication in a gathering of other ruggish individuals. He was reserved, prideful.

Refreshing.

"You are comparable to that of a newborn babe," she giggled.

"Eh?" Sonar raised his head and raised an eyebrow. "Biatu mai?"

Her hands fell into his right before they tightened their grasp. A final kiss to his unprepared lips brought a light blush to his cheeks.

"You are endearing, ni aioté."

Another amused laughter left the woman as she carefully removed herself from his body. Assisting him onto his feet, she took the man's hand and lead him into the extended room. A large, round tub filled with steaming water resided in the right corner. Beside the wooden bath was a table consisting of picked flowers and plants along with vials with fragranced oils.

The steam rised through the circular opening in the centre of the roof, long encircling the aroma of hannukka and ginger through the room.

"Come, Sonar," Amarythe coaxed the man. Brushing her fingers down his arm, she walked passed him and made her way into the tub. She carefully lowered herself into the warm waters and rested her crossed arms against the edge. "bathe with me."

Contrary to their erotic entanglement moments prior, the blue hedgehog was apprehensive. Clarity making its appearance, he was questioning whether sharing a bath with a woman was acceptable.

Especially when he was...

...Bethrothed.

He was bludgeoned with that fact. In waiting of forming an alliance with the Lady of Tyne, and here he was, limbs entwined with another woman, participating in intimate acts only a wedded man was permitted to partake in.

Esaal.

How did he forget that?!

A sharp inhalation jabbed his chest. It was undetermined whether Amarythe was aware of Indira. She had never mentioned the woman, and neither did he dare to bring her up in her ethereal presence. Could he possibly deliver such devastating news to the one who possessed his heart?

How would he ever look into her eyes again knowing he had defiled them with treachery?

"Sonar?" His lover tilted her head. "You hesitate?"

He flinched, blinking himself back into reality. His thoughts had turned away from him, leaving him to face the blushing hedgehog in silence.

"Ah, I see," she said, rising from the water. "Events are moving quickly, are they not? You must be brimming with dubiety."

Jumping at the chance to discard the unwanted talk of his engagement, Sonar nodded firmly to the goddess. "I do have questions..."

Amarythe smiled, grasping his loose hand and pulling him towards the tub. "Then let us explore the wonders of your mind."

Like the moth hopelessly drawn to the flame, Sonar followed the young woman into the steaming bath. Taking his seat opposite her, he sat awkwardly for a moment before he reclined back against the edge.

The woman in waiting shortly moved over to the table and picked up a plant. Squeezing the bud in her hand, it's slippery substance poured onto her hand. She wavered over to him and ran the liquid through his raining quills. His eyes fluttered shut to her hands curling and weaving through his hair.

"Awapuhi," she informed him. "A natural cleanser. Very fragrant."

Her touch had the power to send him through the clouds. The way her fingers performed their ministrations through his quills alleviated his concerns and unease. Nostalgia filled his head. This treatment that brought him close to his mother in days of old.

A veil of tears came over his eyes, though he did not dare release them.

"So, Jora Vein o Mendesa, now your head falls in it's leisure, tell me your thoughts. What knowledge do you desire most?"

Blinking the tears away, Sonar raised his head to look into her eyes. "You said you expect a man such as myself to appear in Vonirn. Why? What do you know of this realm and what of me elicits qualities to reach it?"

Expected though premature, Amarythe smiled and withdrew from the blue hedgehog. "That... will be known in due course-"

"Then that of the purification field?"

Taken back by his impatience, the healer held her breath and turned her back to him. "Take heed, Toa. All shall come to light."

"So much for exploring the wonders of my mind. The answers are as veiled as my lover."

"Ooh. That was a dagger to the heart, Jora Vein," she said lightheartedly, dipping lower into the water til her chin rippled the surface. Her demeanour changed to a solemn nature. "Over many winters, I have been that of a poet, reciting tales of my life through the ether, waiting in longing... Yet you prove to know not of my world... You took a lifetime to come find me, even when I told you where to find me. Almost as if you lacked the information... How little do you know of me, ni aioté?"

Her lover paused, his eyes fixed to hers. Little emotion was portrayed on his strong features, though a glint of astonishment nevertheless was translating through his gaze.

"Minimal," he answered.

His honesty caused her to recoil. The jade of her iris' sparkled against the surface of the water as she faced her reflection. Her desolation tainted the water that was absorbed into his skin, for her pain caused him pain and the blame drew the ache further into his heart.

Desperate to soothe her, Sonar reached out and brought a hand to her cheek. "Many of your words were lost in the wind, but know my love for you did not get swept by the makani."

She smiled and nuzzled into his hand. "I do not question your love, Toa... Perhaps your abilities had yet to flourish. That, or he's intervened on our intimacy."

"Huh-?"

A lethargic distortion swept over him. His vision jittering like the image before him could not be processed. His head slumped back to the dizzying condition.

Then he recovered. The recovery came so soon, he couldn't be sure anything had happened.

"What-?"

"We have returned," Amarythe stated, her laid back demeanour making him question if anything had truly happened. She slipped out of the water and roughly dried herself off in a towel that hung from a divider. Smoothing out her glossy, petal-pink fur, she turned back to the blue hedgehog, ignorant to his stupefaction. "Come out when you are ready. I am certain your people will rejoice to your resurrection."

She was gone before he could rise out of the water. Bothered by the mountainous enquires, Sonar plopped himself back into the tub and leaned against the rim. He sighed heavily, his head in a swarm of perplexity. The bridged memories from the misty forest, to the quarters of his long awaited lover was vast. In the time he had awoken, he had found Amarythe, learnt of his resurrection and had broke his chaste.

It was a lot to process, though it all came second to the little knowledge he unearthed of Vonirn. Realms within Yondr, a place a being like him would return to... Why? What was his lady hiding?

He was itching to know more. More of her knowledge, more of whom she was.

Determination lighting in his bloodstream, Sonar pulled himself from out of the tub and patted himself dry with one of the hanging towels. Until he would get his answers, he would seek out his people.

o - o - o - o - o - o - o

Stepping out onto warm sand, the ambient sounds of Visyn's citizens going about their daily lives buzzed through the air. A raucous of small talk, hurried steps of workers along with the clogging chargers pulling wagons and crates.

This all faded from his perception as he gazed at the fortified sandstone walls protecting the city within. Embellished with ornate pillars on either side of the drawn, golden gates, the environs of Visyn emitted prominence from the outskirts.

Wrapped in awe, Sonar wandered forwards and speculated his new surroundings. The soothing burn of the soft gold beneath his feet being an unwonted phenomenon compared to cool grass and even more chilling stone he was used to. Strong walls, the bustling life of the city and its people; it was stupendous.

His astonishment increased as he turned back to Amarythe's tent. The humble, rather standard yurt appeared much bigger on the inside.

"Sonar!" cried the voice of the Mendesa fox.

His attention spinning directly to the young male, Sonar gasped upon seeing his people gathered together, looking to him with the same relief that consumed his facial muscles. In delight, he rushed to his warriors and was willingly swept into their embrace.

"You breathe!" Tokala rejoiced. Slamming into his best friend's chest, the boy's arms clinged to the jora vein's waist, ignoring every formal protocol to express his alleviation. "Anak kana, Shaltō."

"Tokala," Sonar breathed out, embracing the fox without hesitation. "By Shaltō's blessing, we all live another day."

"Welcome back, Jora Vein," Acha smiled to the man. "I am glad the battle in the forest was not our last."

"As am I. We must give our gratitude to Amarythe and the priestesses."

"Ah, the wind maiden. So she lives," The kaaron kāne snickered. "I hereby stand corrected. She is not a Sireth."

"Why do you talk as though this woman is not a stranger?" Acha frowned at the fox. With the flustered reactions from the jora vein and lead ranger going unnoticed, she expressed her concerns about her superstitions. "That pink hedgehog and the rest of Visyn are a sakr tribe. We must remain vigilant. We have little knowledge of their capabilities."

"Come now, Acha," Volka tried to reason with the warrior. "The priestesses saved us from death. We owe them our lives."

Sonar nodded. "Volka's right. No matter our conflicting views on sakilo, without it, we'd not be standing here now. Keep your opinions close and show your appreciation."

Though rebuking the commander's disregard to the magic users, Acha reluctantly bowed their head in agreement.

"Their customs are unusual here," Tokala commented, his gaze was distracted by the cloth-less men and women among the adorned natives. Entranced by the new, feminine sight, he fixated on the Visynian women. "... Most welcomed..."

"Kala..." Sonar scolded the young boy.

"Where in Caldola have you been?!"

The irate yellings of an ivory hedgehog caught the attention of the guests. Their eyes zipping back to towards the tempered man, the Mendesa warriors were stunned to see the hedgehog draped in gold bracers and a regal war bonnet fixed with the purple feathers of the Tefulu bird. His striking appearance and authoritive stature could only indicate that this was the Jora of the Nagi tribe.

He stood before his daughter and the priestesses with his guards close behind him. A figure of red standing out in height amongst the rest gave off just as much unnerving energy as the jora. He silently stared down at the women, awaiting an explanation from Amarythe and the Iyanifa.

"You have been gone for three moons and with not a word!" the father shrieked.

"I am aware of my own actions..." Amarythe held a defensive tone.

"Ni ärark et yorntan..." he scoffed. His disapproval moved to the high priestess. "Who shall I blame for my child's disobedience?"

"With respect, ni Jora. The order of Hal Kraahin Urutukhi is obligated to follow the orders of Shaltō. This obligation was acknowledged by the Jora when enlisting the young Jora Vein."

Clicking his tongue, the white pelted hedgehog turned his head towards the group of guests. Eyes ablazed, he reigned a tyrannical glower to the heir of Mendesa as though his presence on his land offended him. The young man did not flinch to his intimidation. Gathering guidance from the fox, the pair made their approach to the Jora, the warriors in tow.

Baelfyre scoffed yet again. "And what desire would Shaltō possess to bring cave dwellers to my land?" he questioned, turning his attention to Sonar. Disgusted by the sehir's attendance, he expressed his revulsion on his features.

"Amahan," his daughter rebuked him through gritted teeth.

Just as ineffective as his glower had been, Sonar did not bat an eye. A hand to his heart and head bearing south, he greeted the Jora with poise. "An honour it is, Jora Baelfyre. I, Sonar; Jora Vein o Mendesa, am humbled by you-"

"Yunkai, child. Before you dare impart your audacity, remember my hospitality has not yet been granted." -he circled the blue pelted hedgehog, eyeing him at every angle. -"Mendesa's heir... how incongruous," he smirked. "Tell me, boy, what do you make of Visyn? Must be revolutionary to a child of the forest-"

"Amahan..." Amarythe gave another warning to her father. Her annoyance barely brushed the man's pelt.

"-Ah, but no longer does your clan reside in the Kaba Forest. Without the power of kaos, you now dwell beneath the earth. Heh, how you have fallen..."

Having heard enough of her father's slander to the Mendesa tribe, Amarythe stepped between the jora and Sonar, her rage aimed at the ruler of Visyn. "Yunkai, Amah-"

"You speak truth, Jora. Mendesa has fallen greatly since the battle for Kaba Forest," Sonar interjected.

Somewhat surprised by the boy's agreement, Baelfyre shortly smiled, both smug and reconsiderate to his initial judgement over the youth.

"But together, we thrive. Through the hardship and toil Mendesa has faced, we have prospered. Our bonds tightened, our weapons enhanced. Our flesh bears the strain of that we have endured, strengthened like the stone that shape our homes. Mendesa have foundered, but more than that, we have flourished. Without the use of sakilo."

Without the motion granted by the young leader himself, his men and women enforced the power of their jora vein's speech by beating their swords against metal shields. The combined clang boomed a clear message to the people of Visyn; imposing unity.

This message was not appreciated by the ruler of Visyn. He bore a look so icy, Sonar was reminded of the frostfall that blanketed the withered leaves of the winter season. "You shame me before my people, Cave Dweller?" he spat with venomous bile. "Let not your title convince you of your security in Visyn. A sehir, foot-bare on sakr sands, you are in need of more than Mendesa values."

Sharing near identical heights: the ruler of Visyn just a hair taller, he delivered his disapproving scowl to the stoic jora vein of Mendesa. Though he had not intended for his effusion to be offensive, to show remorse would be considered a surrender. He could not back down now.

Appearing as a guardian angel, Amarythe stepped before the blue leader and lowered her head to her father. Her burning eyes glaring upwards to scorch the turquoise pair staring back at her with competing aminosity.

"You will hold back your tongue, Amahan. Lest you desire to have it extracted," she growled under her breath. Her threatening tone was skillfully unheard by those close by.

Baelfyre stepped towards his kin, lowering his neck to her eye level. "Have courage, ärark, and reprise your words."

His child held her ground. Eyes frolicking wildly with disdain. With assertion, she closed the remaining space and pressed her forehead harshly against his. "By the order of Shaltō, hal Jora Vein o Mendesa appears in Visyn. You dare show disapproval to his ideals? May the divine ruler show grace to the one who rejects his will."

"Tsk-" Baelfyre recoiled like he had been inflicted by a lethal thorn. He rose back to his great stature and displayed his authority with the significant difference in height. A strong contempt was held across his wrinkled facial muscles, one that would bring his subjects to surrender, but not his daughter.

Through bitterness, the ruler turned back to the blue heir and welcomed the vagabonds. "Visyn grants its hospitality to hal evadāne o Mendesa." - He turned to the brawny echidna who waited patiently for his order.- "Boulder."

"Yes, ni Jora."

"See to it that our guests are accommodated inVahtar."

"Yes, ni Jora."

"We must welcome our guests with a feast," Amarythe interjected.

"Do you not think you're asking enough from your father?"

"Amahan. I am but a disciple to the mighty Shaltō. He requires Mendesa's Jora Vein to be treated with significance."

Before Baelfyre could burst a blood vessel, Lenora stepped forward and bowed to the Jora. "The order of Hal Kraahin Urutukhi shall take care of the feast, ni Jora. We do not wish to burden you with our responsibilities."

"Rightfully so. I have my own responsibilities to tend to," Baelfyre said, as a matter of factly. "I entrust you will care for these dwellers during their stay."

"An honour it will be, ni Jora," Lenora responded.

Nodding his head to the Iyanifa, Baelfyre strided back to his golden carriage, ignorant to the formalities of his guests and subjects. His guards in tow, they made their way back through the gates and to the temple: his not-so-humble abode.

Sincere with solemn expression, Amarythe stood beside Sonar and watched her father's departure. "Pay little mind to ni amahan... he was not always this way..."

Sonar turned his head in Amarythe's direction. There was a unique kind of pain conveyed on her face. One he was all too familiar with. He yearned to know more, to enquire the meaning behind the sullen demeanour. However, at the approach of the incensed echidna, her feelings faded and were shielded by a falsified smile.

"Ah, Boulder. You appear to be in good health," she beamed.

"You have been gone for three moons, ni Ura," the red pelted male spoke in such a low, grimacing tone, it could freeze flowing waters.

"Right you are, ni Enesa. Observant as ever..."

To the blue jora vein's surprise, the protector to the lady of Nagi took hold of Amarythe's wrist and yanked her towards him. He was miraculously poised. Though judging by the flaring nostrils, it seemed he was merely showing grace to Visyn's jora vein.

"Hal Jora spared me not for losing you."

Amarythe nodded as if she was already aware of the occurrence. Her smile was wiped from her lips for a more serious reaction. "Ni ahora, Boulder. I was away on duty. Was not my place to alert you-"

Sniff.

The action was abrupt. Unexpected and unappreciated. Taking a step back, Amarythe looked uneasy as the protector breathed in her scent like a beast.

His nose lingered from the pink heiress and onto the blue. Just as disturbed as his lover had been, Sonar leaned back, away from the towering man.

Boulder whipped his unamused persona back to Amarythe. "You are marked in his scent."

"Huh?!" Amarythe gasped. Her head sweeping in each direction, she denied his claim in a messy frenzy. "Boulder! You shame me so! H-hal Jora Vein o Mendesa inhabited my quarters, so it is my scent that defiles him."

"Do you entertain me out of mockery, ni Ura? This hedgehog remained in your gatherings, yet you bear his scent in your fur?"

Mendesa's jora vein swallowed back his nerves and did not dare to breathe before the beast. A man possessing the instincts of a wildling, enough to detect scent after washing away their sins was a deadly opponent.

Almost as deadly as the suspicious, harsh gaze of Tokala... He chose to ignore his stare.

"H-hal Jora Vein et mesthol hal Ura o Tyne. Choose your words carefully, Boulder. Is your Jora Vein unchaste in your eyes?"

Delivering a quick scan to Sonar, Boulder bowed his head, placing his hand to his heart. "Never, ni Ura."

"Good." Amarythe smiled, giddy with the win. "Now we have sorted this claim, come, we have a feast to prepare in honour of our guests. We must make haste." -She turned to her blue beau and extended her hand to him.- "Sonar, allow me to escort you to Vahtar, the temple of Visyn."

His eyes hesitated over the purple-dyed hand, being wary of those who were watching him: Tokala; practically melting with anticipation. Acha; as sceptical as a sehir would be to the sakr. Volka was deeply involved in the drama of it all, and Boulder... by the Gods, his eyes were brutally murdering the blue heir over and over again.

Yet he was in good fortune. For his lover was a healer, a master healer at that. Should her shield slain him for breathing the same air as his lady, he would place his faith into the goddess that she would bring him back to be slaughtered again.

Regrettably making brief eye contact with the man who wished to rip out his spleen, Sonar took hold of the healer's hand and lead the large group of Mendesa warriors and priestesses through the city.

"You knew of my betrothal to Indira?" Sonar whispered to the pink hedgehog.

His question brought on a mischievous grin. She turned towards him, leaning closely with her impish allure that brought his body heat to ascend. "There is nothing I do not know about you, Toa."


Venturing through Visyn was as parallel as this world and Yondr. A maze of narrow roads and elaborate buildings where not an inch was not preoccupied by a member of the Nagi tribe. In the lower half of the city, the stores and homes matched the sublime sheen the warm sands gave off. An off white, though articulate and smooth. The care that went into the architecture was telling of the Jora's attentiveness to his people. That, or he was very dedicated to keeping up appearances.

North of Visyn was a golden child: gifted with pristine marble homes and roads and embellished with resplendent, ivory pillars leading either side of the more widened streets. Decorated with well kept flowers and vines, they guided the guests to a marvel of a temple entrance, one Sonar believed to be the home of Visyn's Jora and Jora Vein. He was perplexed to find this grand place was but a welcoming entry into the gardens leading to Vahtar.

A circular estate with pillars from beginning to end, bearing the weight of the marble roofing and the lavish statues of guarding chena. A variety of plants; from the exotic palm tree, to the fragranced hannukka flower exhibited this garden, giving off the irresistible aroma which was bringing on a delirious condition to Mendesa's next jora. So much so, he gained extra support by the goddess: to Boulder's displeasure.

Passing the pretentious fountain in the centre of the garden, they made it through the long, lit halls leading to a white stone platform brushing over the azure blue waters across from the temple of Vahtar. A platform large and durable enough to carry every one of them and by guessing, with the power of sakilo, moved leisurely towards Vahtar.

Sonar did not envy the workers who had possibly spent their entire lives building such an enormous temple. A four story, cloud-aspiring temple Sonar was certain could accommodate every Nagi member and moreso. A monument constructed of the world's most valuable minerals. Mendesa's heir internally questioned whether there was now a global crisis for loss of resources.

They had been met with many servants awaiting them at the bottom of the reaching steps of Vahtar. From the moment the platform docked at the first step, the servants bowed their heads to the jora vein of Nagi, extended their greeting to the jora vein of Mendesa and offloaded the equipment of the warriors into their rather incapable hands before guiding them to their rooms.

Yes, they were each given a room of their own, with Sonar being granted a more opulent living quarters given his yet-to-be-apprised importance. More pillars encompassed his large bed adorned in numerous furs. There were steps leading down from his bed and into a pond sized bath he quickly grew cautious not to fall into. Unduly accessorised with artworks, symbols and flowers, it was clear just how far they had travelled from the modest Kaba Forest.

Amarythe had long left his side. After asking the servants to take the guests to their rooms, she had stated she'd see him at the feast and with haste, rushed off with the Boulder and the priestesses. This did nothing for his whirling mind. While his body moved, he was still trying to mentally catch up everything that was happening. More and more questions continuing to pile, none yet answered.

It was a relief when a servant came to escort him to the banquet. Taking place in the throne room, Sonar's eyes did not know where to look. Capacious in size, the room maintained the theme of excessive use of pillars embedded in the arching walls and scaling to the high ceilings decorated in Nagi's eight-pointed star symbol. This same symbol embellished the centre chamber in ebony onyx and was blanketed in quartz tiling upto the two golden thrones. One desolate and forlorn, the other holding the prestige derierre of the jora. Surrounded by courtesans knelt at his feet, they fed the jora with the finest fruits and kept his goblet plentiful with wine.

His staring to the ruler's pampering caused the man in question to look his way. Disgruntled and peeved by his presence, the ruler turned his gaze back to his youthful entertainers.

How was a man to entertain that many women?

"Your people, Jora Vein o Mendesa," the servant directed the blue leader to the Mendesa warriors.

Situated west of the throne room, his people sat on silk cushions and dyed driina furs. Filled with luxurious meats and rich wine, his people cheered to their jora vein.

His people were not the only ones conquering this corner of the room. His men and women were occupied by the tempting pleasures of Vahtar's courtesans.

Tokala was engrossed in the experience. "Ané, ni Jora Vein!" He near yelled, holding up a half empty goblet of wine.

"Tokala... perhaps you have indulged more than your adolescent body can tolerate..." Sonar said, astonished to see his best friend in such a state.

"Eh?! Such talk! My body is as formidable as hal Jora Vein himself. To that you say..." He held up his cup in toast to their leader.

Acknowledging the toast, his warriors cheered a raucous once more.

"With respect, Sonar. You do not put yourself in a position to preach sobriety when you have been first to indulge."

The fox was fortunate the jora vein did not currently possess his twin blades. Taking a seat beside the intoxicated boy, he was handed a goblet of wine by a cloth-less woman who gave him a suggestive smile upon withdrawing from him.

"I did not engage myself with the goddess..." he lied with the goblet to his lips.

His best friend noted his unwillingness to make eye contact. His eyes were looking around at the many attendees. "If that is what the Jora Vein claims, who am I to object?"

"It would seem wine gives you knowledge."

"And you, a sharp tongue."

Repenting from the indulgence, Acha sat with her arms and legs crossed. "This behaviour is against the Gods."

"Biatu mai? To eat and drink dishonours the Gods?" Tokala hiccuped.

She glared back to the blonde male, taking his questioning as mockery. "These women bare themselves before many. Those who do wish to cover themselves adorn themselves in fabrics that appear invisible to the eye."

"I think it's freeing," Volka added his opinion. "Are we not all born without the cloth? Why must we dictate whom wears it?"

"Eotet, Volka," Tokala raised his cup. "Let go of your judgement, Acha, if not for one night. As hal Jora Vein has stated, we are in gratitude to the Nagi tribe for it is they who saved us from the Blight and offered us their hospitality. Lower your guard."

Still adamant to not surrender, Acha turned her head away from the fox and huffed defiantly. "If I did not know better, I would claim that wine has turned you sakr."

"Then I shall use the mighty power of sakilo to bring down the height of your nose."

Sensing the badger was ready to pounce, Volka lightly patted her shoulder and distracted her with fruits on a silver tray.

Relieved to have the tension de-escalated, Sonar drowned out the talk of his people and took in the ambience of the feast. The harmonious tune sang from the tabla drums and sarod strings pleased his ears: upbeat, yet keeping to the sophistication of the banquet. A change to the double sided drums played in Mendesa's celebrations.

Bong!

The low chimes of a gong brought the room to silence. Unprepared for the abrupt quiet, Sonar observed the reactions of the Jora and Nagi guests. Their attention turned to the entrance, he chose to follow their eyes.

Beautiful, harrowing melodies of kulning singing graced the room with its chilling effect. The owners of the eery singing was no other than the priestesses of hal Kraahin Urutukhi. Swaying into the room like delicate swans, they colonated in the centre of the eight-pointed star and danced in mirrored movements, not one out of sync.

Dressed in white, traditional sirrathias, Sonar had forgotten his previous scolding to Tokala for staring. Diamond encrusted coverings of the bosom and flowing skirts that fluttered like ribbons with every graceful movement. The jewellery around their waists jingled like a wealthy man's pockets, drawing in attention when it could have been deemed improper. Over their faced, crystal tasseled veils covered their faces, leaving only their eyes to be seen. A drastic contrast to their priestess robes.

There was a special place for him in Caldola if he continued to gawp at this performance.

Perhaps he would burn with content to the incoming appearance. Vocalising above the priestesses with her balkan singing, Amarythe sashayed into the throne room as though she owned the palatial temple. In her own purple sirrathia, Sonar's emerald eyes nearly detached themselves from their sockets. His gawping now made shameless, the childish giggling of Tokala and Volka failed to reach his ears. Not even Boulder's staring from the opposite side of the room had reached him.

Her lips poured hair-raising notes: soothing, if not disquieting. Her dance imitating the slivering orith, she waded to the priestesses, harmonising with their song.

"In the eyes of Shaltō, we gather here tonight. Mighty ruler of the realm, we bring forth your kin and return him to his glory," Lenora recited, making her entrance in her usual robes.

In her hands, she carried a pot filled with purified sand. The pot was handed to the goddess whom drizzled the granules into a circle. On the surface of the sand, the priestesses placed white candles beside one another and lit them. To the astonishment of those outside the activity, the flames glowed a blue aura.

"This is the work of sakilo," Acha gasped, mortified by the supposed ritual.

"Acha, take heed," Volka implored. "We know not the meaning behind this."

"Jora Vein?" she turned to her leader for guidance. Though Sonar could not bring his sight away from Amarythe.

At the final candle's light, a light pillar beamed through the ceiling, its celestial brilliance mesmerising those who witnessed it. Blinding blue streamed from their world, to Vonirn. A gateway.

"Step forth, Sonar o Mendesa. Heed the call of the Sar," Lenora instructed.

All eyes within the room fell onto him, all fearing to blink should they miss his movements. This vigilant spectating brought him supreme unease. He was never one for being made a spectacle, especially in such a sizeable audience. And to know he was selected to waltz into the surging light beam, it was not helping his nerves to stay in line.

His guardian angel however refused to let him feel uncertainty alone. Holding out a hand before him, she smiled down at him, assuring him of his safety.

He could not reject a goddess.

Hand in hand, the hedgehogs walked towards the Iyanifa. She bowed her head towards the blue heir and allowed Amarythe to guide him into the light. The goddess gave the boy's hand a gentle squeeze and another assuring smile. His judgement still wary, he met her confident gaze and absorbed the certainty he needed to fulfil his role.

Breathing out a sharp sigh, Sonar stepped into the light.

Whoosh!

The light responded to his presence, its surging rays now streaming down in an excited frenzy. From behind the jora, the glass-less archways welcomed the sounds of the clouds rumbling overhead. They crashed and boomed a violent incoming, a sudden storm.

"Mark your kin, Mighty One! Bestow the name and grant him his glory!"

"Sonar...?" Tokala stared in awe to his dear friend wrapped in light. Lifted off his feet, chest protruding outward, he did not appear in pain, but in fulfilment. His veins bursting onto the surface of his skin, he gripped his fists tightly to the power coursing through him.

BOOM!

The roar of the heavens resounded through the temple, its walls trembling in fear to its magnificence. Flinching to this phenomenon, the jora looked back to the arches. Flashes of blue ripped through the lands leading to their position.

"What is this?!" he exclaimed, turning back to the Iyanifa and his daughter. His child's response left him perturbed. She was laughing, euphoric.

Dropping to their knees, Amarythe and the priestesses bowed in worship to the blue hedgehog.

CRACK!

A flash of blue shot through the archways and illuminated the room with its imposing strike. Alarmed, the screaming guests coward from the lightning.

As the flash evaporated, as did the light pillar. From the candle ring, the blue hedgehog now stood on his feet. Eyes blinded in white and fashioning glowing, thunder strike markings across his body, he stared down at the worshiping priestesses, baffled by their actions.

"We reside in worship to you, Sonar. Demigod of the wind and storm," Lenora declared.

As one, the priestesses all chanted. "Tsun esa Sonar keim."

The glow of his markings fading, the people around him faded with them. Their cheers and applause blocked from his mind, he found himself too stupefied to move. In some ways, his questions had been answered. And yet, his head span to the remembrance of the Battle for Kaba Forest.

Through the celebrations and merriment, his lover rose up before him and leaned close enough for him to hear her whisper.

"Come, Sar Sonar. We have much to discuss."


In the dark of night, the newly anointed god, along with his trusted followers; Tokala, Acha and Volka, were escorted out of Vahtar and towards Tudan, west of Visyn. On the backs of Visynian chargers, the ride to the home of the priestesses turned out to be a voiceless venture. Moon's glory granting permission for a soundless slumber, the city fell peaceful. A far different circumstance to sundown in the heir's homeland. Having adapted to the sounds of distant growls and clattering bones in the dark of night, Sonar was certain he was hearing phantom howls.

He was thankful to hear the charger's battering hooves. With every short glance he gave his closest companions, he was met with sobering, colour drained faces. Sights set on the road ahead, it would take another spiritual intervention to bring them out of their comatose stares.

Ahead of the pack, the priestesses and Amarythe directed their way. As if detecting his eyes falling onto her, the keeper to his heart looked back over her shoulder and blessed him with an endearing smile. Besotted by the gesture alone, he immediately forgot the dreaded silence and the chafe from the charger's leather barding.

Out of the city's lighting and into the dark fall of the forests, the demigod's well adjusted eyesight lingered on the contrasts between the capital, and the secluded lands. Dwellings of farmers and countrymen scattered in the furthering fields, the untouched forestation nursing the bloom of wildflowers. Two vast landscapes coexisted just a charger ride away. It was bemusing to him.

The mounts before him had shortly come to a halt before a tower. Instructing his own to cease its movements, Sonar and his companions goggled the mass of a spire behind the steeple columns on either side of the entrance. Assembled with an unidentifiable substance as black as tourmaline, its architecture authoritive and regal, the settlement was an ill match in a place like Visyn. With gloomy steps heading to portentous archways, the sheer windowpanes emitted the ember glows of the ritual candles, minacious to the eyes of the sceptical sehir.

"Sonar..." Volka enquired upon the guidance of his leader. "Ah, Sar Sonar... Are we to head into this... sanctum?"

"Do the sehir not beseech the callings of Shaltō?" Amarythe appeared beside Sonar's stallion, saving the ox from Sonar's bothered gaze. "Fear not, my gallant guests. There is not a more God-filled sanctuary than Tudan." Displaying a grin so captivating, the warrior stammered but for a moment, then surrendered his head low.

Still detecting Acha and Volka's hesitation, Sonar leapt off his charger and shouldered them a look to follow. They conceded.

"Rest assured, Toa. You and your people shall be safe."

"I would not have left my warriors back in Vahtar had I not trusted you."

A coquettish giggle and an arm linking in his was her response. Finding the priestesses awaiting them at the door, they followed through the prodigious doors and through the illuminated halls of Tudan. Moon's glory was not necessary through the arcade windows, not when the blue aura light seemingly ran through the corridors without a light source. Looking around, Sonar could not see a torch or candle in sight. Was this sakilo again?

Making turns and descending steps, they passed many room doors on their way. Each wooden door receiving its own name of recognition: Dining Hall, Library, Prayer Room but to name a few. He speculated Visyn was more accustomed to using Elguin than Aexun as their language. There were decorated frames around certain doors of which he had yet to question why. Though as he passed the last, his saliva thinned. Tsun esa Khalo keim? Surely not.

"Through here," Lenora instructed, her hand pressed against a door.

Forming a line behind the Iyanifa, Amarythe and the priestesses followed her into the room. Not knowing what to do with themselves, Sonar's comrades fell in line and waited for their commander to go first.

Apprehensive himself, the blue hedgehog breathed in deeply and made his way into the room.

He paused at the door frame.

In the centre chamber, a tree barked in white radiated sky crystal leaves that hung low over the circling benches. The cool ambience painted the stone walls and cobble floors. He was reposed out of his shock.

His beloved gesturing him to sit, he shepherded his clan to sit opposite to the heiress and the priestesses.

Lenora stood in front of the tree. "You sit before Ugataar. Sister of Gawande, and creations of Gaia - the Goddess of Quintessence. In here, we receive the blessings of Shaltō and heed his call."

Her tone and demeanour worldly and refined, even the god of the wind and storm found himself beneath her. The senior woman, rasin coloured fur fading white with age, stood with little emotion occupying her appearance. Topaz shine that could have once possessed her iris were dulled, disinterested perhaps, stared straight ahead, making contact with no one or nothing in particular. Her aura was icy, though he felt it was unintentional.

"Have you heard the tale of our ruler?" she questioned the Mendesa tribe.

Silently requesting permission to speak from his jora vein, Tokala spoke. "In Yondr, Shaltō resides. It was there he created our world, though barren and without light it had been. It was through the love of his wife, Gaia, he brought eternal light to the world: Tikal, the Goddess of the Sun. Gaia gave us water and soil to preserve life, cattle and resource. Through Shaltō's blessing, this would not be made possible."

Lenora nodded, signalling her emotionless approval. "And what of Khalo-?"

"That name is not to be mentioned," Acha spat.

"Hehe- I like this one," laughed the pink hedgehog.

"And for what do you shame that name?" she smirked.

"He is no God. He is but a bastard that brings shame on the ruler."

"My, such blasphemy. Benammus hal zainurüs, Shaltō."

Acha shot up from her seat, her fists balled. "Reprise your words, ni Ura!"

"Acha!" Sonar rebuked his warrior.

"Yunkai!"

The low and magisterial voice echoed through the chamber, wiping out any animosity there had been. Sonar had hidden his jumping heart. So the woman did possess the ability to show feeling.

"We dare not show disgrace before the ruler," The Iyanifa reprimanded all life forms. Her sights in particular falling on the still smirking hedgehog. "Less talk from you, Amarythe."

"But of course, Iyanifa."

Her half-hearted yield was ignored. Turning back to the Mendesa clan, Lenora continued to explain. "Khalo is a misfortune, conceived from hal Sar o Yebis, Shi-Abani. A god beyond our realm. It was he who brought himself onto Gaia and defiled her. Believing she had betrayed her husband, the guilt smothered Gaia and her heart bled out days after Khalo's birth."

"And yet you claim his innocence, Jora Vein o Nagi?" Acha dared to question the girl across from her. She was quickly brought back into her place by Sonar's glare.

"You blame a child for their conception?" Amarythe questioned back, earning no response from the already disciplined woman.

Volka appeared puzzled. "Wait. God from beyond our realm? There is thought of many realms?"

Lenora nodded. "There are other worlds than this one."

"And in other worlds, you see?" Tokala breathed out in amazement.

"I see what Shaltō wishes for me to see. To my eyes, he had given Yondr and Vonirn. A plain for the subjects of Shaltō, and the realm of the Gods... It is my understanding that hal Sar Sonar has been gifted with his own plain of existence, Makani fuanes: wind travel."

"... That is how we met?" Sonar conveyed through a whisper, his voice harboured by perplexity. Amarythe nodded back to him.

"The presence of Khalo angered Shaltō," The head priestess returned to the main story. "Though taking him in as his own, he could not accept him with a full heart. For the boy's father had defiled his wife, forced his seed to grow. He shunned him, favouring only his daughter, Tikal. This brought resentment to Khalo and through resentment, Tikal was slain... Overcome with the loss of his wife and daughter, Shaltō forged the forsaken plains of Caldola. Forty years of crafting went into the most heinous lands. Every moment dedicated to his scorn and grief."

"Khalo got what he deserved," Acha spoke through grinding teeth.

"Shaltō bears remorse for his punishment. Not for Khalo, but for his subjects." Lenora bowed her head. "From Shi-Abani, Khalo inherited the power over resurrection... The power he controls is sakilo jebel. It is not made for this realm."

Volka moved off the bench and onto his knees, placing a hand over his heart and bowing his head before Ugataar. "Kabekron Shaltō et. He can stop Khalo."

"Not as simple as one would think," Amarythe told the ox, avoiding Lenora's scolding stare. "Sakilo jebel is as the name depicts; jebel. Not only is our God incapable of such magic, to enter Caldola, especially now with Khalo's creations, he would be outnumbered, and surely die."

"There is not a cure to the Blight?" Sonar questioned, bewildered by the possibility.

"That is why you were brought here, Sonar o Mendesa. As Shaltō's creation, you and Amarythe are our only hope of survival."

Sonar's bugged eyes fell onto the Iyanifa, to blink being an impossible endeavour.

"Each tribe holds one of Shaltō's blessings: Kaos Emerara. If you can gather all seven, you must travel to the island of Eldor and combine the Kaos Emeralds with the Emerara Misar. With that power, you must return Pheone, hal Sarsora de Choroke, to Khalo and expell his power from this world."

"Will you do it?" Eagerness spilling from the pink Sarsora herself. She leapt up from her seat and scurried towards her lover, dropping onto her knees before him in a pleaful worship. "You are our only hope, Sonar. Say you'll save us?"

Her dire appeared genuine, distant from the cocky attitude she had held throughout their time together. A brief sweep over her mentor and priesthood sisters, Sonar held his breath to see them just as astonished by her behaviour.

Yet she herself cared not who witnessed her grovelling. After a pregnant silence, the heir to Kaba Forest reached for the girl's hands and pulled her up so they were both on their feet.

"You have my word. I'll stop Pheone and Khalo."

His agreement to the life or death crusade brought on a child-like glee. Bouncing merrily on her heels, hands rapidly clapping and a exuberant spin for good measure, the girl jumped into his embrace, wrapping her arms so tightly around his neck, she forced his shoulders to fall towards her.

"I knew you would set me free." whispered the tearful goddess.

What she meant by that, he did not know.