Aylah stood on the cliff side nearest to her home, gentle breezes slowly building into gusts. Below, dark clouds swirled. Flashes of blue began to trace their way through the swirling mass of storm clouds below. She could hear the rumble, as well as feel a slight tremor, whenever the blue streaks ran their course toward the mountain. She would have to wait to descend. She wanted to leave soon and was growing ever anxious to begin.

  “This will slow you,”

  A tall man walked up from behind Aylah, “But do not fear, the storm will pass”

  He stood head and shoulders above Aylah. He had the same sky-blue eyes, which were typical of the people of Onterrin. Beside his eyes were traces of crow's feet and laugh lines that looked like they had been neglected for a long time. The worry lines of a furrowed brow were the fresher markings on the aging face. He was wellbuilt with muscle and looked as though he was more than familiar with the use of weapons of war. He wore a sleeveless jerkin. The two-tone skin markings were most prevalent on his arms, but they were interlaced with many scars. The man’s stern gaze never left the storm below. He eyed it with a hunger that affected Aylah, though she was unable to fully define for herself what effect it was.

  After some time of silence, Aylah began to say, “Father, I don’t want-”

  “Want is a useless word, Aylah.” He said, cutting her off, “You have been called by the Fades. What you want is gone, there is now only the task.”

  It was then that he turned to his daughter and looked down at her sternly, “You know what must be done, child. Do not fail… for the good of Onterrin.”

  He then turned his cold eyes back to the storm and the world below. Those eyes. Those eyes that no longer saw her, only what she could be used for. She wanted to reach out to her father, whether emotionally or physically didn’t matter. She steeled herself and she raised her hand, but as she did, the arm which she was about to grasp began to bulge and elongate. This happened all over the man’s body. The man's arms and legs were replaced by large bat-like wings and claws. Aylah watched as her father’s neck grew and upon it, his head began to reform itself into that of a vicious creature. The worst was his eyes. The eyes changed physically, but the hunger, rage, and pain all remained the same. Aylah backed away, taking a quick step to distance herself from the ferocious beast, but the creature turned and fixed its hungry eyes on her. With a single, blinding motion, the creature lunged forward, took one of the claws on his wings, and pierced Aylah’s heart.

  Aylah woke with a start. It was the dead of night still. The dream lingered in her mind in flawless detail. A tear took its course from her eye down to her cheek and to the forest below and it was followed by many others.

  Mist swirled under the forest canopy, illuminated by the sun peeking through the leaves. The dew clung to Diago’s cloak, which he had used as a blanket. The morning came too fast for Diago. He struggled to sleep with his mind so distracted. When Thatch mentioned the Arochm last night, the War of the Kings, his mind wandered to his parents. It was not a subject he was comfortable with, so he tried his best to push it away as often as it would arrive. But last night, he was tired and once again the thought had caught him off guard.

  For a while, he was stuck wrestling with the thoughts that accompanied the mention of his father and mother. Unfortunately, the thoughts wrestled back. For Diago, it was a matter of identity. He knew himself to be one thing, but the truth of where he came from told him something entirely different. He had gone to get firewood, as well as some moss to make a bed with, and all the while he was unable to focus. His thoughts carried him out to the salt flat where he remained for some time underneath the brilliant night sky. Diago spent some time repressing thoughts and emotions until finally, the swirling inside him had come to a breaking point. Out of impulse and frustration, he had declared to himself,

  “No!… no. I am Diago of Tunaan.”

  After he had confirmed it in himself, the swirling had stopped. He was able to relax a little. He made his choice and that was that. To him, it wasn’t rejecting truth, it was accepting what he knew and was safe with. He would not be the son of Eton and Fara. He is the son of Sulien.

  There was a small part of him that, when he had chosen this, felt a deep longing and grief. However, that part was quickly swept to the side and ignored while he gripped tightly to the sense of peace he had created for himself. Deciding to move on from the topic, before any more thoughts arose, he had managed to find a name for his jynx. Saama.

  Now, Diago was lying against Saama in the early morning, only feeling marginally rejuvenated from his restless night. He could feel the jynx’s chest rise and fall as it slept. The more time he spent with Saama, the more he felt a connection to her. Though he could not explain it, he felt like she could understand him. It was comforting.

  He arose and began to pet her gently. At his touch, a gentle wheeze came from Saama. She woke up, arched her back, and stretched every limb. She yawned, revealing two large primary fangs, and two rows of razor-sharp teeth. When she had finished, she walked over to Diago and took her place by his side.

  “Good morning,” he said, petting her again.

  “Good morning to you too”

  Diago turned to the side. Thatch was cooking four small rodents over the fire. Behind him were a few raaglin fruits. It smelled good and it caused him to realize that he had not eaten since yesterday morning and was starving. Diago’s mouth began to water as he reached out for one of the rodents.

  “They aren’t ready yet!” Said Rayna firmly, while pushing his hand away.

  “Guess she is still upset from yesterday,” Diago thought to himself. He looked to

  Thatch for aid but found none. Thatch seemed distracted, but trying to hide it.

  Diago, unable to tear his eyes away from the food that was practically begging to be eaten, began to examine his brain as well as his stomach. The cooking creature was about a foot long and had only two strong legs for appendages.

  “This looks like a guko, how did you catch one?” Diago asked, just before an arrow landed right in front of him. Diago jumped back in surprise. When he got a better look, he saw that there was another rodent on the end of it, pinned to the forest floor.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Diago whipped his head upward and shouted, “Hey! Watch it tantoos!”

  Aylah’s head peaked over the side of the branch she had slept on, “Oh sorry

  Sunburn, didn’t see you there” she said. She looked tired and distracted.

  “liar,” was the sour reply.

  Aylah hopped down and picked up the fresh kill. She took out the arrow and threw it toward Saama, who snapped it up and wheezed gratefully.

  “To answer your question, it was easy. One arrow each was all it took”

  Diago just stared at her like he was trying to see if she was messing with him.

  Aylah’s brow furrowed as she asked, “What’s the problem?”

  Thatch was the one to reply this time, “guko are very hard to hunt around here. Due to living in such a harsh environment with lots of predators, guko are incredibly skilled at avoiding and evading. They have keen senses of smell and hearing and they often do not come out of any hiding spot even if the noise or smell is far away. You’ve caught something more rare than you realize.”

  “And you caught five of them!” Added Rayna with a smile.

  “Oh… I was just perched in a tree and saw them in a small clearing,” Aylah said bashfully.

  “Please excuse her freakish everything, she is in fact a freak” added Diago

  “Don’t you two start again!” Said Rayna with exasperation. It was a good thing she did too, because they were about to. Aylah was even preparing a clenched fist to gift to Diago. They both stopped, but Rayna was still eyeing Diago. It was clear she wanted him to do something, but he wasn’t getting it. Diago looked up at Thatch for some help. This time he noticed and Thatch mouthed the words “say thank you” and then indicated to Aylah. Diago looked back at Rayna who cocked her brow at him. Diago groaned quietly and then turned to Aylah,

  “Thank you for getting the food tantoos”

  It was not a very convincing performance. But it satisfied.

  “I’m just glad Saama likes it,” Said Aylah without realizing.

  “Whose Saama?” asked Rayna

  Aylah’s eyes widened, but not as wide as Diago’s.

  “You were eavesdropping!” Diago shouted

  “No! I was-”

  “Eavesdropping. So much for trust, I guess-”

  “I was just checking to make sure-”

  “That you could hear well enough? Well, apparently you have no issue!”

  “Food’s ready!” Thatch said, with a smile that screamed ‘Stop fighting or I’ll cook you next’.

  Hunger quickly took the place of anger and there was an immediate ceasefire. It was delicious. Guko meat is highly prized, not just for its rarity, but for its flavor as well. There was a natural spice to it that came from the various plants that it consumes. Diago also tore into one of the raaglin fruits, which Aylah found repulsive, but was too engrossed in her guko to complain much.

  None of them realized how hungry they were until they had eaten. Now that they were full, both Diago and Aylah felt a little foolish for the argument before. However, they silently agreed to simply move on, rather than apologize.

  As he ate, Diago felt a familiar pain inside his head before a phrase rang out inside his mind, “it wouldn’t hurt to try to be more friendly, Diago”

  He met Thatch’s knowing gaze and replied, “Hey, can you teach me to keep people out of my head like Saarsken?”

  Thatch sighed, “Understood. I’ll leave it…for now”

  However, instead of withdrawing, Thatch remained in Diago’s head. He continued,

  “I need to request something of you”

  “I will try to think about maybe being more friendly, happy?” Diago mentally replied after an eye roll.

  Thatch smirked, “While I’m glad to hear that, what I have to say is a different, more delicate, matter.” As he said this, his smirk faded, “it’s about Rayna.”

  Diago eyed the young girl. Both she and Aylah were eating in silence.

  “What about her?”

  “She cannot come with us. It’s too dangerous. The three of us were called, we must go. The same is not true for her. She wants to go with us, but I can’t let her in good conscience.”

  Diago considered the conflict yesterday. The firstborn’s attack was not something he’d ever want to experience again, but he knew that as they continued on this path, it was very likely that they would face it again. He shuddered at the thought. Thatch must have understood where his mind had gone given his next words,

  “You understand then”

  Diago nodded and mentally replied, “I do…But I don’t know how I am supposed to help though”

  Thatch shifted in his place, “Not directly, but you can. That night in the canyon, you mentioned that you had a father near Rant. That he took you in?”

  Diago met Thatch’s eyes again. Within them was a sincerity and a drive that reminded him of Sulien. He looked back again to the man’s daughter, who had finished her guko and was biting into a raaglin fruit, which caused Aylah’s nose to curl. Diago knew that Sulien’s heart would be too big to refuse to help someone. He looked back to Thatch and nodded before sending thoughts to him,

  “I understand. She would be safe there. Sul wouldn’t let anything happen to anyone under his watch”

  “So you’ll help?” Thatch’s thoughts were hopeful and full of gratitude.

  Diago nodded.

  “Thank you, Diago.”

  Diago felt the mental pain subside a little and withdraw, but one final word was sent before Thatch’s mind had fully detached from his,

  “Don’t think I have forgotten that it was you that saved my daughter. I am forever indebted”

  Thatch smiled at Diago. Diago shifted in his place, the thought of this grown man being indebted to him made him uncomfortable. Thankfully, he didn’t have to dwell on that for long. Thatch arose from his place on the tree root and looked at Aylah and Diago,

  “Would you two excuse my daughter and I for a moment? Rayna, please come with me”

  Aylah looked toward Diago, who then nodded to her. Rayna looked up from her raaglin fruit. She didn’t look pleased by the summons, but she obeyed. She and Thatch retreated deeper into the woods, leaving Aylah and Diago alone. Saama was awake and lounging on a tree branch, keeping an eye on Diago below.

  The two sat in silence. Thatch’s encouragement to try to be more friendly echoed in his head, so he attempted.

  “So…did you sleep well last night?”

  The look on Aylah’s face after he had asked made him regret that he said anything.

  Her face fell and her mood soured.

  “No” was the curt reply.

  “Oh okay…”

  Silence. Uncomfortable silence.

  Aylah stood, “I should get ready. We should leave soon”

  Diago stood too, “Yeah- yes, that sounds good.”

  The rest of the morning was spent gathering together what few things they had. It didn’t take very long, but it took long enough for Thatch and Rayna to return. When they did, the silence only grew louder. It was clear that the argument was not pleasant. Rayna’s eyes were red and puffy. Thatch looked disheartened. Neither Aylah nor Diago broached the topic of what happened. Diago had known from the start and Aylah had heard their argument.

  Once camp was broken they all made their way toward Rant. It was not very far from where they had been camping. By the end of the morning, they had reached the outskirts of the town. The Merchant’s Lot was visible in the distance. However, they all paused. Aylah and Diago lagged back as Rayna and Thatch turned to each other. Rayna looked very upset, but in the face of the moment she could not avoid, her emotions drove her not toward anger, but grief. She broke down.

  Thatch pulled her in for a hug and held her tightly until her tears had subsided. She pulled away and looked up at her father.

  “I love you, Dad,” she said, still whimpering

  Thatch pulled her in again, “I love you too Rayna, more than I could ever say”

  “Just…come back for me”

  Thatch kissed her on the forehead, “Always, my dearest”

  Rayna pulled away and turned toward Diago and Aylah, she sniffled before speaking, “Thank you both for saving me and my dad…”

  Neither Aylah nor Diago knew what to say. Rayna continued, “Look out for my dad…promise?”

  Aylah placed a hand on Rayna’s shoulder, “We will do everything we can”

  Aylah then nudged Diago, which annoyed him because he was going to promise anyway, “I promise”

  Rayna gave a weak smile, “you have to look out for each other too”

  “That one might be difficult,” Diago said.

  Aylah punched him in the shoulder, which caused Saama to growl, though she did not intervene.

  Aylah turned to Rayna, “we will”

  Rayna was about to turn to leave, but Diago reached out to her, “Rayna…when you see Sul, tell him…tell him I’m sorry I missed dinner… and tell him…tell him I’ll come back soon”

  Rayna nodded. She gave one final look toward everyone and then she was off, following the directions that Diago had given. They watched her go. Then they all turned toward Rant.

  Thatch didn’t move as Diago and Aylah came up beside him.

  “You ready big guy?” Asked Diago, trying to sound cheerful.

  Thatch sighed, but managed a weak smile, “let’s go”

  Together they made their way toward the Merchant’s Lot.