It's ironic, the Hero thought to themselves, that while the towns on the surface seemed darker, the one below the ground was bursting with colour.

Where before they had been frozen, Ravenloss had been abandoned aside from the half-spider Chaosweavers, it was now teaming with life from all across Greenguard; humans, elves, minotaurs, even a few Atelans. The lights on the streets and from the now occupied and decorated houses and shops reflected off the underground flora, and the stalls in the market sold all kinds of items, from food to clothing to weapons; a far cry from the last time they had visited.

However, despite Ravenloss' newfound colour and beauty, there was a sense of fear in the air that became clearer as the Hero approached the Equilibrium Gate and saw the strange purple magic of the Void leaking through, turning the path leading up to it almost incorporeal and corrupting and moving the houses, bushes and rocks around it.

Sa'vaya said that Tomix was in Pellow Village so that would be their first stop, they decided, nodding to Dorian as he warned them to be careful. It had been far too long since they had seen him, not since before they had to go to Willowshire to deal with Gorgok before the whole Earth Orb saga (and oh so much had happened since then; the Ultimate Orb and the Super Mega Ultra Darkness Dracolich, the Wrath of Wargoth and then being frozen by Jaania for five years and emerging into a world that was familiar and yet so different…).

The Hero had missed him, and the two of them had much catching up to do (hopefully his hunt for Lust had gone well); after all, he was the first person outside of Oaklore and Falconreach that they were visiting since they had thawed.

Despite the growing corruption of Ravenloss, Pellow Village looked much the same as they remembered as they emerged from the Equilibrium Gate with the market to their left, the grove to their right and the statue of Pandora in front of them. Speaking of Pandora, they hadn't had a chance to reunite with her yet – aside from feeling an intense surge of joy when they thawed – as she evidently wanted them to get their bearings first (after all, it wouldn't do for them to be disorientated from newly thawing and run the risk of making it worse if Pandora materialised), but hopefully they could have their reunion soon.

Very soon, it turned out, as once they had entered the grove where the Glow Tree was, a familiar flash of light emanated from the cube by their side.

The Hero turned with a smile. "Hi Pandora."

Their SoulAlly returned the smile. "I missed you, Hero. How are you?"

"I missed you too," the Hero replied softly. "I'm…okay. As okay as I can be, I think. But you know me, Pandora; I keep going no matter what! How are you? Were you okay while I was frozen? I know my dragon had Serenity and others in Falconreach to look after them."

Pandora gave a tinkling laugh. "I know you do, Hero. I look forward to being able to weave by your side once more. It was hard, but I had Aegis and Tomix visit to keep me company."

"I'm glad you had them," the Hero's smile widened. "And me too; I can't wait to weave with you again. Maybe Tomix will have some new tricks to teach us."

"It's possible," Pandora agreed before a block of ice materialised and shrunk away, revealing a familiar light blue spirit.

"Pandora? What are you doing in Pellow-oh," a smile slowly spread over Aegis' face when he noticed the Hero. "That makes sense. Hello, Hero. It is good to see you again."

"Hey Aegis," the Hero waved before cocking their head to one side. "Good to see you too. You look…different from what I remember."

"Ah yes," Aegis looked down at his shield. "While you were frozen, on Pandora's request, I attempted to melt the ice crystal but the magic was too powerful. I am attuned with the element of Ice so the magic was able to change my appearance."

"I see," the Hero nodded. "Well thanks for trying, Aegis."

"You are most welcome," Aegis grinned. "By the way, Tomix is just to the right of the grove, at the edge of Pellow Village."

"Thanks, Aegis!" the Hero grinned back. "Hopefully we'll be able to have a proper catch up later, and with you Pandora back home where we don't have to worry about something exploding."

"I look forward to it," Aegis laughed as Pandora – who had been gazing at the Hero with a look of maternal affection – smiled and vanished back into the cube, before disappearing himself in another flash of ice.

The Hero glanced down at the floor, their cheeks beginning to hurt from smiling so much; after so long frozen, it was good to see some close friends again. And now to see one who they regarded as one of the closest of them all. They rounded the corner to the edge of Pellow Village where a wooden structure that looked like the beginning of a ship was moored, with a familiar white haired figure standing in front of it.

"Tomix!"

The Soulweaver turned and his eyes lit up. "Hero? So it is true, you are alive and well! These past few years have been really tough for all of us. I believe we have a lot catching up to do."

"We absolutely do," the Hero grinned, darting over and enveloping Tomix in a hug before he could protest. "How are you? What's happening with Ravenloss?"

Tomix made a show of dusting himself off once the Hero had released him before returning the grin. "It seems the Equilibrium Gate cannot be closed, and the Void is bleeding through it. Unfortunately, I can't find a way to stop it. The area around the gate is off-limits, for the safety of people living in the city."

"I see," the Hero nodded. "What about Riadne and Izaac? Are they still here?"

"They are," Tomix lifted his hand to point back towards the Equilibrium Gate. "Riadne is currently helping in the Ravenloss Orphanage. She will be joining me, once this ship is ready. When the Chaosweavers were driven out of Ravenloss, she turned her attention to help rebuild it. As for Izaac, he has been studying Pellow Village... for all these years apparently. Do me a favour and don't raise your voice while talking with him. He's gone a little cuckoo. It seems the void has a strong influence on the weak-minded. You should be careful."

The Hero blinked. "Hey! You were never joking before! What happened?"

Tomix smirked. "You are only young once, but you can be immature forever."

"I…think I've read that somewhere before," the Hero mused, stroking their chin.

"Quite possibly," Tomix nodded sagely.

"So I never got the chance to ask after we banished Greed, but what exactly happened to your hands? Are they alright?"

"Ah, yes..." Tomix gave a wry grin. "You see, SpiritLooms are not supposed to break. The ones I had were already damaged because of what was sealed within them. The weaving accident I had as a kid must have damaged them even more. They... they also fused with my arms... I couldn't replace them neither repair them. Once they broke, it felt...it...let's just say it wasn't a pleasant feeling... Eh, cutting to the chase, I lost my hands. My physical, material hands. What you are seeing here, is my soul. I shaped a part of it to look like hands. I can't touch nor grab anything physical. I still can fight though, so don't think I'm useless..."

"You're definitely not useless, Tomix," the Hero declared. "It's always an honour to fight by your side, and you're an amazing teacher as well! What about your hunt for the corrupted spirits? Did you banish Lust?"

Tomix's grin faltered and he sighed shakily. "Before banishing Lust, she revealed to me, that Aspar is Envy. I did not believe it at first, why would I? Aspar was my best friend... He vanished a few months after I banished Lust. I thought he'd come back, like he did before when we were hunting Wrath. But he hasn't. I'm still feeling the bond, but it's become corrupted. I'm trying really hard not to believe that Aspar is Envy, but all the evidence is telling... I have really good memories of our journeys, and I hate to think he's been Envy this whole time. Fooling me. Using me... Using me for his own plans...or something. I don't know. But I do know where he is now. He's heading into the Ynnungaap. I'm not really sure why though. To get there, I need a ship, a flying ship. A ship strong enough to reach Ynnungaap. I need all the help I can get, you are welcome to join me Hero, if you wish. You are one of those who I can still consider a friend..."

"Oh…" the Hero covered their mouth with their hand. "Oh Tomix, I'm so sorry. Of course I'll come with you to stop him. What's the Ynnungaap?"

"Thank you, Hero," Tomix replied. "Ynnungaap is a location beyond the void, also known as Deep Void. It is where the void core is located. I'm guessing this might be Asp-I'm sorry, Envy's point of destination. But why? What could he accomplish with the void core? I thought I knew him well..."

"We'll find out what he's planning, Tomix," the Hero vowed. "And we'll stop him! What about your SoulWeaving though?"

"I had to form a bond with a different elemental spirit, I couldn't weave without Aspar by my side. I visited the plane of elemental spirits and came across a familiar figure; Aegis. We travelled to visit Pandora, and discussed my quest as we did so, and so became SoulAllies."

"Oh wow!" the Hero jabbed their finger behind them in the direction of the grove. "We just saw Aegis. That explains why he's in Pellow Village if he's your SoulAlly! I'm so happy for you two. So where do we start on our mission to stop Envy?"

"Straight back into it, huh Hero?" Tomix laughed. "Well we need people to help us build the ship. I think the first step would be visiting Edelia, the school of Soulweaving. The Headmaster can give us supplies and people for the ship. On our way there, you can show me some Soulweaving so I know you're not too rusty! And who knows, maybe I'll have time to teach you some advanced techniques and can call you 'Master Soulweaver' soon."

"Looking forward to it, Tomix! Let's get going!" the Hero grinned, turning and running back towards the Equilibrium Gate.

Tomix watched them go, shaking his head fondly before following at a more leisurely pace. No matter how much things had changed, they were still raring to go on an adventure. And he had to admit, he was looking forward to showing them Edelia…

The Soulweaver stopped suddenly, his eyes widening with realisation. Hopefully while they were meeting the headmaster, the topic of which elemental spirit the Hero was bonded to wouldn't come up. Headmaster Zellaraneish and the Hero. Baltael and Pandora.

An impromptu family reunion may not go too well.


Disclaimer: DragonFable is owned by Artix Entertainment. Dialogue taken from talking to Tomix in Book Three Falconreach before Ravenloss was open, and then in Pellow Village.