Second Lunar Disappearance, 12 CE | Somewhere on the outskirts of the Left Hand

Tonight, it was Jara's turn to keep watch as the others slept.

They had gotten lucky the past few days, but Jara knew better than to put his faith in luck. Something was bound to go wrong. That was how the universe worked. It would lull you into relaxing before driving a dagger through your chest. That was how they had lost Toby. They had been foolish to blindly accept the help of a guard. That would never happen again.

Shaking his head to clear out the depressing thoughts, Jara turned from his post outside the makeshift tent and looked in on his sleeping wife and child. Ket looked as beautiful as ever. When the moonlight caught her aquamarine scales just right, they would give off the prettiest shine. She slept peacefully, arm draped over Manil in a soft, but firm, grasp. Manil was the cutest little basilisk one could ever see, with his light brown scales and a cute little nose with that small white birthmark on it that looked like a smile. Likewise, a small smile crept onto Jara's face. He enjoyed these moments, fleeting as they were, where a family and their newborn could simply relax, not having to worry about when their next meal would be, or how much longer they'll have to run from the Emperor's Coven.

After giving his wife a quick kiss on the forehead, Jara returned to his lookout duty. The night was uneventful so far. A few rogue fairies had given him a small reprieve from the monotonous nothingness of the surrounding woods, but other than that the area was free of any other signs of life. He felt himself begin to succumb to sleep when he heard a noise off in the distance. It sounded like feet, making their way through the woods. Jara estimated there to be about five people in the approaching party based off the cadence of the footsteps. Suddenly, a shout broke through the rustling of leaves.

"We know where you are, demons! Just give yourselves over, and we'll make your deaths less painful."

Quickly, Jara opened the tent flap and shook Ket. His wife was scared by the sudden awakening, shooting upright.

"Ahh! What in the name of the Titan are you doing?"

"We have to leave. Hunters are close by and could show up at any minute. We need to go now! You get Manil and run, I'll fight off the hunters."

"Are you sure you can handle them?"

"Yes. Now go!"

Jara was lying. He knew this fight would end in his death. He knew that, and he accepted that. As long as his family was safe, that was all that mattered. Jara quickly began shifting forms, going from species to species as fast as possible. He depleted his reserves as much as he could without leaving himself sluggish. A hungry basilisk is a dangerous basilisk, after all.

Jara made his way out the front of the tent and waited. He looked around the area. Nothing was happening. Not a single butterknifefly, griffin, or demon hunter in sight.

"Hey! I'm right here! Come fight me face to face!"

Still nothing.

Deciding to go on the offensive, Jara began walking around the perimeter, making as much noise as he could.

"Come on! What are you, scared?"

A fireball flew past his face, narrowly missing.

"There we go! How hard was that?"

Jara laughed. He turned to face whoever had thrown that. He didn't know how long he was going to fight, but he did know that he was going to be dining in Fólkvangr by sunrise.

Meanwhile, Ket took off running out the back of the tent. One hand was carrying her child while the other was shifted into a sword, knocking away obstacles. The forests of the Left Hand were notorious for their hard to traverse terrain, and this patch was no exception. Tree branches swatted at her face, vines tangled her feet, and fairies screamed of their lust for skin, but she kept running.

Eventually, she grew tired. Her body was giving up on her. Her legs were burning, and her breathing was labored. She needed to find a place to slow down and catch her breath. Leaning her back against a nearby tree, she took those deep breaths like she had practiced. In-2-3-4, Out-2-3-4, In-2-3-4, Out-2-3-4. That was better. Manil had also calmed down as well, nestling into the crook of her elbow and taking a nap. As she slowly looked around and took in the surrounding scenery, she noticed a lake that miraculously wasn't boiling. Ever the opportunist, Ket made her way over to the body of water and gave it a closer look. She had to make sure there weren't any creatures lurking under the surface before she could risk taking a drink.

As she scrutinized the lake further, she noticed that it had an odd looking shine to it, like it wasn't water that was lapping at the edges of the sand, but something else entirely. It was an odd color as well, being a navy blue instead of the normal gray and red hues found in other bodies of water on the Isles. Suddenly, a long forgotten memory arose. Ket had heard stories about lakes like this. Her grandfather had told her that these spots were where the blood of the Titan and water had mixed together, ripping a hole in the fabric of reality and creating a portal between the realms.

Deciding to test her theory, she squatted down and dipped her finger into the lake. As her finger initially broke the surface, the lake felt warm and welcoming, but it eventually gave way to a cool and dry sensation, and she felt a light wind blowing just below the surface. Ket retracted her finger and stood up.

Ket then did what any sane demon would do in her situation: She closed her eyes, tucked Manil close to her chest, and dove into the lake.

July 16, 1983 | Outside the city limits of Neustadt, Pennsylvania

Ket slowly opened her eyes.

She looked down and saw Manil, still asleep and dreaming peacefully. Looking back up, she saw buildings on the horizon. However, she had never seen buildings that looked like these ones before.

Ket smiled.

They were free.