Notes - I've uploaded this chapter and the epilogue together. It's only fitting. And, thank you so much for reading this far! XD

Disclaimer - While I do wish that I had a hand in writing up the Tortallan universe, we all know that the ever-fabulous Tamora Pierce was its sole creator. So yeah, I don't own these characters. At all.

Chapter 18
Circuition

Gods rarely admit their foolishness. In fact, throughout history, you'll find that when a god does own up to his mistakes, the world probably implodes in the process. That means that if there had been a time in history where gods apologized, nobody knew about it. How could they? That world was probably long gone by now.

The Divine Realms was still present, so it only meant that Mithros and his Pantheon were as stubborn as they come. It suited Kyprioth well, he supposed, since he wasn't very keen on losing his soon-to-be-reclaimed Kyprish Isles, let alone a world. So he merely stood there, waiting for the congregation of gods to abate into silence.

It didn't take very long. Mythros had raised his arm, his skin glistening like black porcelain glass. He'd set his siblings in their proper place.

There were many matters at hand, now that the threat of the Ysandir had come to an end. Kyprioth himself had gone to check, knowing where his Chosen would be. He had risked slight danger, but what did it matter to him? If the Chosen lost, then the world as they knew it would have ceased to exist anyway. If they'd won, then there was nothing at all to worry about!

The Crooked God had found George Cooper and lord Myscha of Tirragen standing over the body of Count Peldor, who was most obviously dead. His only reply then was a raised eyebrow, but in time he'd come to discuss the situation with the baron of Pirate's Swoop.

"Kyprioth, your report was not given in full," Mithros' booming voice reverberated around the room. "Shakith and Gainel may know everything that has happened, but not all of us are gifted mind-readers. Not even on our best days, brother."

The Trickster shrugged. "I told you all I could surmise from the end result. When I'd arrived, there were five Chosen within the Chaos vents, three of which were completely...er...shall we say, injured almost beyond repair?"

"Which three?"

Kyprioth rolled his eyes. Why was he repeating the obvious? They had transferred all of the Chosen into the healing goddess' domain for recuperation. Slowly, he ticked the status of the Chosen in his fingers. "King Jonathan of Tortall used up much of his energy in order to channel the Jewel of Vitality; he was unconscious when I found him, but in due time he will recover his strength. Sir Alanna the Lioness of Tortall was grievously injured; she'd lost a lot of blood and was immediately rushed to the Goddess' chambers for special healing, I was told her condition was being remedied. Imperial Princess Alexa..."

He'd paused, his face creasing into a frown. Mithros waited for him to continue. "Imperial Princess Alexa of Tusaine could not be wakened; I suspect it was due to the release of Ysandir energy that had been coursing through her veins, and when Ylon and Ylanda died, I was told she had just collapsed from exhaustion. Her status as of now has not been made known to me, though I was assured it will be a positive outcome."

"And what of the other two?" the leader of the gods asked.

"Numair Salmalin of Tyra and former Lord Thom of Tortall were unharmed. A little shaken and exhausted, yes, and had Alanna died on the spot, I believe Thom would have as well. But as you see, he's both alive and well, so we can safely say that neither of them are passing from us today."

"Was that all, then?"

Kyprioth nodded. "That was all."

There was a brief silence. Then, Mithros shook his head. "You've neglected to tell me the status of three more Chosen, those that were not inside the Chaos vents."

The Trickster was hoping he'd be able to spare those three from the report. Perhaps not. His brother knew everything that had happened; he was only getting Kyprioth to display all evidence to the assembly for proper judgment. Only, George Cooper had killed a Chosen...

"Lord Myscha of Tortall was swiftly transported back to his fief in Tirragen, all memory of these events wiped away. Baron George Cooper of Tortall has refused to return until his wife comes back with him, so he is in the company of the Cat, who came back down from the skies after his encounter and temporary incapacitation against Ylira. Count..."

Here he paused again. If only his blasted rogue of a Chosen had found some other way to render Peldor temporary immobility! "Count Peldor of the Copper Isles lost much blood from a cut throat; he was dead when I found him, and declared too far gone for resurrection according to the Black God. He was slain by George Cooper."

There was a faint murmuring of voices amongst his brothers and sisters. This made Kyprioth nervous. He didn't like it when his petty siblings murmured. That meant bad things for people. Mortals, especially.

White-eyed Shakith had approached the throne then, her head dipped low enough so only the Great Mother Goddess and Mithros could hear her words. Kyprioth guessed that she was telling them what the other gods had decided. Once she was done, the Goddess of Seers stepped down.

"Those of us who partook in this dangerous game knew of the consequences that would befall on the Chosen who were not ready for testing," Mithros began, all attention now focused on him. "We have news that three have fallen in the Divine Realms, two by Peldor's hand. This is a sad undertaking, but all three shall be honored for what they used to represent in us, not for what they went through in the attempts to survive here."

"For that, George Cooper shall not face fatal repercussion for the murder of Count Peldor," he continued. Kyprioth let out a silent whoop of relief. Now he had a wager to collect from the Hag for betting against him! He grinned in spite of himself. "Count Peldor, as I am to understand it, had a hand in the murder of Zephyrus Muhassin Tasikhe of Carthak, and had the count survived, his punishment would have been equal to George Cooper's. It is only fair. By the request of Shakith, Thom shall take his place amongst the demi-gods for his services to the Divine Realms, and for his aid against the malicious planning of our sister of Chaos, Uusoae. Those who object this ruling, speak now."

The gods were rarely in dissent once a judgment was made, and this was another one of those times. Kyprioth cleared his throat. The Goddess tilted her head to acknowledge that he could speak. "There is the matter of their memories."

"The royalty will have their memories erased, it will only clutter their minds when they should focus on their countries," the Great Mother Goddess said. "As for my daughter, her husband, and the sorcerer, their destinies take them to a far greater field. We will have need of them once more, and any memory they possess may help them succeed. I will ask that most of what they have seen here will remain in tact."

"So mote it be," Mithros replied.

That wasn't so bad, Kyprioth thought.

Alanna blinked back the sunlight streaming through the window of her room. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head, only realizing that that brought even more pain. The Lioness turned to her side and yelped, remembering her last moments in the dark, cavernous expanse of the Divine Realms...

The appearance of a furnished room greeted her, and the image of a tall, bearded red-head came to view, his purple eyes shining with delight. "You're awake!"

"You're here!" she looked around. "Where is here?"

Thom snorted. "Don't you recognize your own room when you see it?"

The lady knight blushed. "I thought it was too good to be true. Was I just dreaming then?"

Her brother placed a hand on the side of her stomach and she winced. Okay, so it hadn't been a dream. Thom sighed. "For a brief moment there, we thought the Black God was coming to fetch you. You hadn't moved after you let that dagger into Ylon."

"What happened exactly?"

Thom proceeded to tell her. "Well, after you'd gotten injured, Alexa and I'd yelled at you to get out. You were losing so much blood. But like the insane woman that you are—which I should have expected, seeing as I'm your damn twin brother—you went ahead and stabbed him. Remember that dagger Jon had given you for George? Well, we'd retrieved it, of course, after Ylon turned to dust. I'm afraid the dagger's power is lost. All of the weapons designed to destroy the Nameless Ones had reverted back to being just normal weapons after the Ysandir disappeared. As for what happened afterward, well, Numair and I gathered you, Jon, and Alexa together. Thankfully K—one of the gods found us and whisked us away to the chamber of the Great Mother Goddess."

"The...the Great Mother Goddess' chambers?" Alanna's eyes widened. "How out of it was I?"

He scratched his head. "You didn't wake up for weeks, if we're going by mortal time. The Goddess herself had to administer her own healing spells to drag you away from the Black God."

"It also helped a bit that your dishonorable husband argued had a few forceful words with the Black God about claiming you," Thom smirked. "You'd be surprised how much the Black God listened to the silly man. Nevermind, I'm sure he'll tell you when you're ready to get up."

"George is here, then?" Alanna made to alight from her bed. Thom hurried to her side to help her. She waved him away and managed on her own.

"They all are," Thom told her. "Well, Numair and Alexa anyway. Jon had already left for Corus. He's going to have to smooth things over with Thayet and the rest of his council, because technically speaking, you've all been gone for over a month now, and there'd been no word sent to the capital at all."

Alanna groaned. What a mess.

"Jon and the imperial princess have no recollection of what happened in the Divine Realms. Jon just thinks some powerful force had witched him, and that he'd gone to Numair for aid. Of course, Alexa knows enough not to ask questions of the memories that were wiped from her, but we've been sworn not to talk about it. And you're not to tell her or Jon either. Or anyone else, for that matter."

The Lioness nodded. "Why didn't they take our memories?"

"Gods have their reasons, I suppose," Thom shrugged, though she had a suspicion that he knew them. After a slight pause, he turned to her. "Listen, I'm not one for goodbyes, and there's always only been one person I owe a proper farewell to anyway. So shall we part ways here, sister?"

"You're not coming back to cause any more trouble, are you?" she eyed him suspiciously.

He laughed. "I think I've paid all my dues in the Divine Realms. It's safe to say that you and I won't meet again in the Mortal Realms."

It had saddened her a bit to hear her brother say that. But she'd already accepted it, in more ways than one. "Besides, I suppose I'll see you back up there, whenever I...you know, snuff it, is that the term?"

"Let's hope it's not for a hundred more years," Thom winked at her. He vanished, leaving the Lioness standing there, faintly smiling at the hidden secret that only she and her twin properly shared.

Everyone had gathered at the dining hall. George was entertaining Alexa at the end of the table, and Numair stood as Alanna entered the hall. The Lioness shook her head, letting him know that there was no need for formalities in Pirate's Swoop. The sorcerer grinned and sat back down.

When George looked up, his hazel eyes twinkled. "Ah, and here's the lass that prowls the Swoop like she owns it."

"That's because I'm married to the one who actually does own the place," Alanna responded. She sat next to him and squeezed his hand. There would be time later for proper "carryin' on," as George always put it.

"How are you holding up, Alexa?" Alanna asked the imperial princess, who was now primly dressed in clean riding gear, braids neatly restyled down her back.

"Besides the curiosity that Baron George and Numair are refusing to quench?" she smiled cheerily, "I am ready to return to my country, if it pleases you. My father must sorely miss me, even if I am just a daughter."

"I'm to accompany her," Numair told them. Somehow Alanna wasn't surprised. "She'd need a proper escort anyhow, and I don't have any pressing engagements. I'm sure Jon can handle Gary and his assembly of nobles when he gets back."

Alanna grimaced. She doubted anyone could actually handle Lord Gareth of Naxen. "Numair, proper escorts for females tend to be nuns with the Gift. Why not find a few at the City of the Gods?"

"And travel all the way north for it?" Numair looked aghast. "I can well behave myself! Plus, if you haven't noticed, I'm pretty good with sorcery. And when did you start getting all proper?"

The Lioness sighed. "If you wanted my blessing, all you had to do was ask."

"That's not what I meant, Lioness."

George chuckled. "No dawdlin' at Tusaine, Numair. You still have to return to Jon at some point."

"Yes, yes," Numair sighed. He looked at Alexa and smiled gently. "But first, the princess needs to go home."