The first thing her ears pick out is the sweet tweeting of birds calling out to each other and the rustle of leaves brushing against the branches in a morning breeze. She lies on her back, the ground beneath her soft but wet from the morning dew. Wiggling her fingers, she searches to either side of her touching damp leaves, she grabs a handful and opens her eyes to a wall of green and yellow foliage filling her vision.

Where am I? she wonders, attempting to sit but regreting it instantly as her body screams at her in pain, the bulk of her stomach not complying with her head. She lies back gently, feeling the comfort of the leaves as they envelop her. Her hands move to her bump as she closes her eyes, trying to clear her mind. How did I... She bolts upright looking from left to right, gasping at the pain as she attempts to suck air into her lungs without letting out the little that remains in her shrinking stomach.

"Manu!" she hisses. "Where are you?" she peers up, swivelling her head around searching for the traitor. Moving gently to her knees, her hands go to her belt searching for her sword and dagger. Gone. Her hands rummage blindly through the fallen leaves beside her. "Nothing," she whispers.

Fear creeps into her now as she peers around again, searching for any hint of danger. Her eyes pick out oak and spruce trees knotted together making a thick grove to her right and thick foliage with a few thickets of beech to her left but the rest are mostly old and ancient oaks surrounding her. She listens intently for the smallest sound. Listening for the snapping of a twig as someone brushes past it or the crunch of leaves under the sole of a boot.

Nothing. Only the light rustle of leaves in the wind and the chirping of birds high up above me.

With a groan she gets to her feet and stretches up, her eyes scanning her surroundings all the while. Turning, she strains her vision attempting to look through the heavy foliage of the trees. She tilts her head up slightly towards the light of the twin suns breaking through various points above.

"The suns are low, nearly dusk. How long have I been out? And where am I?" she wonders aloud

"Hello, Freya," comes a wispy voice from behind.

Freya spins around falling into a defensive stance on instinct alone. The pain she feels tucking into the back of her mind ready to be released when the time was right. She takes a step back as her eyes try to focus on what she is seeing.

"Did you... Did you s-say... My name?" The question fumbles from her. Her mind a jumbled mess trying to make sense of the creature in front of her eyes.

The wispy voice clears a little but is airy like the being of another word. "Yes. Yes, I did." The creature is still, unmoving yet airborne at the same time.

A small buzzing reaches Freya's ears but nothing else. Invisible wings? The thought enters her subconscious then flits away. "What are you?" she dares to ask.

The round bug-like creature peers at her. The eyes, six in all, bore into her very soul. Freya's emerald eyes stare deeply into the shiny, black pools of the strange bugs, unable to look away, unable to break the contact at all. She is held there by some invisible force, not malicious, she thinks. This calms her only a little bit, but her body is still frozen where she stands.

"I am Lorenthenanass. Well, that is the shortened version. But you can call me Lor if you like?"

The voice is clearer now to Freya. This creature seems not to have a mouth, but the speech comes from somewhere, surely? What are you?

"I am what you would call a Javar or Quintalah to some," it replies to her silent question.

"How did?" gasps Freya suddenly aware she could now look away but realising she no longer wanted to.

"I am not talking to you aloud, Freya. We are talking in your mind. But it is nice to hear your voice. I always liked to listen to you humans." It finishes with a small giggle it seemed. The creature's eyes glow the tiniest bit as it catches the light from the suns in the growing darkness.

She realises she can move freely now, her limbs no longer rooted and frozen to the spot, she straightens up then it comes, a dull ache and the pain of an overdue bump. "The old stories tell of Javar. But I have not heard the term, how did you say, Quintal?"

"Quintalah," it corrects her. "But that is of little import right now."

"Hmm," Freya muses, still not sure what to make of this development. She plays with the words in her head. Javar, Quintalah, Lorenthe... No, that one I will not get. I will stick with Lor. "Lor?"

"Yes, I like the way you say it," it giggles once more as wispy tendrils appear from somewhere within. They reach out touching the leaves and branches, it turns them a deeper shade of green at first then they begin to sparkle with the last rays of light. The tendrils stretch, touching leaves and branches alike turning the forest into a range of light and deep greens, yellows and browns, then even the ground under Freya's feet begins to glow a deep maroon mixed with brown and interspersed with small patches of vibrant grass.

"Wow," utters Freya. She stares as the forest around her begins to glow. She was not aware of just how dark it had become until now where she can see almost every tree trunk within a hundred paces. "How did you do that?"

"I come from majic. I should say, I evolved with the majic of this world." A humming sound emanates from Lor before it speaks again. "I am a Caster. Well, that is what we were called long ago. I am the—"

"Why do you hum?" Freya interrupts. Her ears picking up the low thrumming the creature seems to be making constantly.

It eyes her, almost rooting her to the spot once again but then turns away shakily. "Those are my wings. Eight human footsteps long for each one and a man's foot wide."

"What?" Freya breaks off, unable to continue with any other word.

"The humming sound. You asked if I hum? The answer is yes." The creature's words are clear now, no hint of distortion in its voice.

"Oh." She closes her mouth, staring at it. "This is very strange for me, I hope you can see that. I know about the magic of this world but I have never seen anything like you." She balls her hands into fists and rubs at her eyes still not completely sure at what her eyes are showing her.

"It is understandable. My kind has not shown ourselves for an age. Your mages and mag'i know some but many of their clans have forgotten more than they remember." The creature turns to face Freya again, the dark, beady eyes fixing her gaze. "But enough of that talk now," it muses, the tone somehow lighter. "You are special, Freya. More so than the others who lay decaying in that tomb you named after Raygor."

Freya begins to well up at the mention of Raygor. The memory of where her beloved entered but could not leave. "Folknor," she whispers, wiping at her bleary eyes. "By the God's, what has this baby done to me? I am just a mixed sack of emotion, racked with pain."

"Hush now, Freya. Do not be disheartened. You will see your beloved again one day. Folknor is waiting on the other side. I can sense him watching over you. But I fear we have some hard times ahead and I will need your help with that."

Freya stares at Lor now, her eyes soften as the creature comes closer, her body no longer shying away from what her eyes are showing her. "What do you mean?" she asks. "What can I do?"

"As I said, you are special. And now I believe the only one left of this world. For now anyway. There will be more someday, maybe not for an age but there is strength in your blood."

Lor reaches out with a wispy tendril, it moves through the air like rising smoke from a fire and settles itself across Freya's cheek. It makes her flinch but only a little before she relaxes feeling a renewed strength fill her. "What are you doing to me?"

"I am filling you with my strength, you will need it soon."

"What for?"

"For the arrival, Freya. It draws near."

Freya looks at her puzzled before opening her mouth to speak. "You mean?"

"Yes, the baby is coming soon. That is what happens when you have to fight as ferociously as you have been."

"Ah, well I did not have much of a choice on that front."

"I know, I have been watching you for a while now. But enough of that talk, it is not important and we were talking about that little girl inside of you," Lor finishes.

"I knew it was going to be a girl! She has been kicking me non-stop for a whole cycle now." She rubs at her belly now with both hands, caressing what lays within.

"It is time, Freya. We have work to do and the babe needs to come now."

Freya looks up from her stomach now, her eyes peering into the dark globes in front of her, "What do you mean, Now?"

"I will help you. There is no need to be alarmed, my child. It will be safe, that I promise."

Freya, looking at Lor now with suspicion in her eyes covers herself with her arms attempting to protect her unborn child. "No. No, it is not time yet. She is fine..."

"The rigours and strain of what you just went through are putting a strain on the babe. She has to come now."

Freya steps back, now not sure about anything that the creature has spoken. It wants her. To take my baby. I will not let it. "No!" she commands, her voice echoing through the forest almost pushing Lor back through the air. Her chest glows emerald green as she clutches at her stomach still.

"Good, you still have your Brightstone," Lor says softly, unafraid at the glow. She moves back now, her wispy tendrils falling away. "I did not mean to scare you. I only wish to help, Freya. I mean you no harm. The babe is yours and yours alone."

Freya breathes in deeply calming herself. She feels drained now as the brightstone ebbs and then begins to fade. Her mind runs through what she knows of Lor: A strange bug-like creature speaks to her through her mind, saved me from falling to my death. By the God's you can hear me now, can't you?

"Yes," Lor replies simply.

"Why did you save me? And also where are we?"

"I have brought you to Wryamt Forest, it is a safe haven for all creatures including humans. I saved you because you and that babe you carry are special, its bloodline will produce another like you. Someone to bring this world together and maybe stop them for good."

Clutching at her belly again, Freya eyes the creature. "Wryamt Forest? That is not far from the cave. How did we get here so quickly? Wait! Stop who?"

"Oskari!" Lor seems to hiss it if that was possible. "Tainted things. Gone for now but they will return, that I am sure of."

"Oskari," Freya exclaims. "I thought we had defeated them?"

"For now, but we will not have to worry about those creatures, not for some time, I hope." Lor moves close to Freya now, its presence more calming than before. "It is time, Freya. The babe needs to enter this world."

"I am not ready," she whispers looking down again. "I need more time to find somewhere safe to raise her."

"You are safe here, you and her. And there is a small village to the east. That is where she will grow and learn about this world in peace. I have seen it."

"You have... seen it?" she wonders.

"Hmm, another trait I have been... tolerated over the years." The tendrils drift to Freya airily, drifting up towards her face. "Now be still, this will be painless but the sensation will be strange to even you."

This time Freya does not baulk at the touch, her eyes fixing Lor with an icy stare, her body goes rigid trying not to fight what she knows must happen. "If you harm her I will—"

"Keep still and hush now," the voice is smooth and calming. It washes over her like water over rocks on a windless day.

Freya's body calms and her hands drop away, her eyelids become heavy as the wispy tendrils wash over bringing a sudden surge of ecstasy. Her eyes roll back showing pure white before a low hum begins to echo around them.

The hum intensifies before Lor begins to speak. The words are strange to Freya's ears, not one of them she recognises. "Froogana, malinga, aranissha, orougo, hanassa, groowan, namta." A great light bursts forth from Lor engulfing her in a brilliant display of changing colours making her sparkle in the new night. It blinds Freya making her clamp her eyes shut, her hands move to cover her face and she takes a step back but stops as if an invisible line is keeping her tethered there. The light continues to grow, she starts to sweat as the space around them begins to heat up. Then with a small popping sound darkness envelops them both.

Freya sways on shaky legs, her skin tingles and her body drained of energy and somehow lighter, her vision darkened and she can hear the faint hint of rustling leaves far away. Opening her eyes, Freya's mouth drops open as her vision clears and she almost sinks to the floor. Floating in front of her, level with her chest is a naked baby girl, her arms and legs curled up hugging herself suspended by Lor's air-like tendrils.

Freya sags under the exertion falling to her knees. "My baby."

"You did well," says Lor. The creature's wispy arms move closer bringing the baby down to her eye level. "Meet your daughter."

Freya wells up at the sight of her, she wipes at her eyes holding her arms out. "Please," she says. "I need to hold her."

"Of course," Lor says, lowering the baby into Freya's outstretched arms.

She cradles her, hugging her tightly to her breast. She soothes her getting lost in the bundle of joy. "Hello little one," she says brushing her forehead. "What shall we call you then? You are a beauty, aren't you?"

"You will name her something strong, I have no doubt."

Freya looks up at Lor now with tears in her eyes, "Thank you," she mouths. Then her eyes move over her little girl. "You will be called, Meena. That was your aunt's name. Meena, yes that suits you."

Freya sits there just watching without speaking a single word. And Lor lets her, knowing the feeling all too well. She watches Freya now, a sudden yearning assaulting her as she does so, a yearning for what was lost so long ago.

"Lor?"

The name brings the creature from thought. "Yes?"

"What now?" asks Freya.

"You have a little time with her. She will be looked after in the village, that I can promise."

"As soon as I saw her, I knew. I knew I had to give her up. To keep her safe, I must." Freya sobs at the idea. Her body is racked with the pain of losing her.

"You may watch over her. There is a way. And all of her bloodline. You can protect her and even guide her to a point."

"What must I do?"

"Spend this time with her and enjoy it. We will take her to the village in the morning and see her safe."

Freya nods, accepting this with the thought that she knows this is the best way to keep her safe.

⛬

Freya rubs bleary eyes with the back of her left hand, her right arm still cradling the sleeping Meena to her breast. She sits on the leaf-covered ground still, her legs a long time numb from lack of movement. She drops her hand and stares at Meena, her heart full for the first time since Folknor had fallen.

"It is time," the voice of Lor breaks her thoughts. It is light and wispy again after the silence.

She looks up reluctantly and nods, "Very well. Help me stand?"Lor's wispy tendrils stretch from her body and wrap gently around Freya's body and slowly lift her to her feet. Freya wiggles her toes and stamps her feet to get her blood flowing again. Her legs tingle as it returns. "I am ready," Freya says with a sad smile.

"This way," Lor says, pointing a smooth tendril through a patch of old oak trees. Freya follows on unsteady legs at first but after a few steps, she steadies. They walk through the bunches of oaks and birch then through a grove of brightly coloured ferns then through a clump of smaller oaks as they near the edge of the forest.

They walk through the last copse of birch trees and out onto the edge of Wryamt Forest. Freya shades her eyes as the twin suns blaze out from a new dawn. It warms her instantly, her skin feeling ablaze with energy after no sleep. Her face flushes as she stares, taking in the rays of light. Opening her eyes, she can see a small village spreading out in front of her. A few buildings clump together in the centre with various small huts dotted between and all around. She can see smoke drifting up from several chimneys blowing to the west in the morning breeze.

"I can go no further. No other human can see my true form."

Freya turns now, looking at the strange creature in front of her. The dark pools of Lor's eyes look back at her with nothingness. "Can I not have more time?"

"I am afraid not. Not if you want to keep her safe?" Lor replies.

"Where?"

"They are all good people. I have sensed no wrongdoing here. Not a single soul."

Freya nods, "Very well." She looks down at the village from atop the small mound they find themselves on. "I will take her to the outskirts," she says then starts to walk in silence.

Freya makes her way across the small distance to the edge of the village and picks out one of the huts at the very edge. Her senses tingling for fear at what she may not be able to do. This is how I keep her safe. She makes it to a nicely kept hut, the outside mud-caked but painted white and surrounded by clumps of colourful flowers. She can see no movement through the window so carries on towards the front. She stops just shy of a rocky pathway leading to a plain oak door.

She cuddles Meena tightly a last time, kisses her small cheek then sets her down on the doorstep. Kneeling, she brushes a finger across her brow, "Meena, my sweet. You are loved and never forget that. Go and enjoy your life and be happy." She removes the necklace her sister gave her, folds it and places it in the makeshift blanket Meena is wrapped in. "This is for you to remember." She sobs shedding a tear that runs down her cheek, it spills off falling and drops onto Meena's cheek. At first, Meena squirms screwing up her chubby face but then she relaxes and opens her eyes warily for the first time. Freya sobs again as she peers down on bright emerald eyes. "I love you," she mouths with another sob. Freya stands, turns on her heel and sprints back towards the forest's edge. She doesn't look back once for fear that she would never be able to leave her again.

Puffing, she makes it back to where she left Lor. The creature is waiting for her, the black eyes fixing her with its empty gaze. "That must have been hard?"

Freya stares back, holding her gaze as if a wounded animal. "I cannot talk about it," she says holding in the pain of loss.

"Very well. Come, we must find a place to hide it."

"Hide what?" she asks.

"Your brightstone, of course. It must be hidden where only someone of your bloodline will find it." Lor turns away from the village and drifts back towards the forest.

"Wait! Why my brightstone?"

"If you are not separated from it. The other stone holders will be drawn to it. It is safer if you are separated from it and it is hidden. Now come along young queen." Freya follows in silence. Her feet leading her to where ever Lor drifts.

She is roused from her trance as the shadows deepen around her giving her a cool chill across her skin. "Where are we?" she asks.

"This is an ancient oak. The first planted in this forest. We are in the centre here."

"It is beautiful," she muses. "Why are we here?"

"The nock up there," Lor points with a tendril. "That is where you will hide your brightstone."

"Oh, how do I—" she is stopped abruptly as her feet leave the ground. "What! Wait, stop!"

"Calm yourself. This is not the first time."

Freya floats up gradually until she is level with a small nock in the trunk. Then slowly she feels herself being pushed forwards and into the hole. With hands outstretched, she reaches for the sides of the hole and grabs hold of a small root sticking out from the side. The force holding her disappears and she clambers inside. Moving to the back on hands and knees she stops, taking out the brightstone from her jerkin. She holds the gemstone in her hands as it glows brighter, illuminating the space. "You have helped me for an age, but Lor is right, I think." She places it down and covers it with a pile of leaves. She moves back and the glow starts to fade, the light leaving her in darkness. She clambers out and starts the climb down but is pulled into nothingness with a scream.

"Stop that!" she shouts.

"I am sorry, but this is quicker."

Freya reaches solid ground and the presence of Lor is broken. "It may be quicker but next time warn me."

"There won't be a next time. What must happen now is for the survival of both of us."

"What do you—" she begins, but before she can finish, Lor thrusts towards her without warning and enters her as if a ghost would go through a wall. The creature rushes through her, into her very being to become a part of her. Freya's thoughts become intermingled with rushing images and scripture. Her head throbs at the influx of information.

She screams silently as creature and human fuse together into something new.