23.

The Darkest Rise

Something had overcome her, and figuring out what that something was had consumed Sianna's thoughts for the past few days...or for whatever counted as days in this damn place. The two suns over them set and rose familiarly enough. Appearing in their place like a manifesting ghost was a mossy green moon that never waxed. Despite the exchanging lights, the sky retained its yellow-green color, but all those abnormalities weren't what had Sianna worried.

It had been that damn waterfall.

Sianna had felt mesmerized when she saw it. It had been like the red skull tree's allure except while that pull had been strange and almost sinister, the waterfall's calling had been peaceful and pure. Pure what, Sianna didn't know but it had dominated her and threaded through her like a seamstress's swift needle,

Each drop of water that had fallen and rolled down her skin had graced her with a serenity she had never felt before. She had been washed with an invigoration that consumed her with nothing but tranquility, and within the calmness rose unfamiliar desires, but she couldn't grasp what those desires were. All she knew was that she got fucking naked and then told Reth to get fucking naked so they could be fucking naked together.

Saints, what the hell was I thinking?

She sighed, her sight caught by the smaller of the two suns. She found it peculiar that she could stare at it without her eyes watering. There were no patterns on its surface though; it was like a polished crimson pearl: flawless and bright.

Sianna heard the rustle of someone waking up and from the corner of her eyes she saw a figure sit up. The last thing she wanted was for someone to bother her. She liked it when she was the sole person awake; she was alone. It felt like her thoughts were more private and less filtered. Sianna felt truer to herself.

She kept still, hoping to appear asleep, wishing for the morning stillness not to disappear, but it was no use. The movement of day had started, and looking down at her with a hand on his hip was Lycin.

His face was shadowed, but she could still see his bright, green eyes. They always reminded her of the pulp she would spit out when she finished chewing her morning mint leaves.
His eyes also reminded her of his existence. Sianna sighed, already annoyed with the new day. She closed her eyes and rubbed them, seeing her tiny eyelid veins stretch and explode like dancing lightning.

"We're apparently living on a corpse now, stuck inside a tree that has a sky with two suns. Whatever could be on your mind, Sianna?" Lycin asked.

She could feel his words were said through a grin. Sianna frowned, keeping her eyes closed. "What do you want, Lycin?"

"I was a little saddened to see that I didn't wake up with you cuddled up against me again."

She rolled away from him, and opened her eyes, coming face to face with a sleeping Iari. It had been him she had snuggled up against during the night. Sianna bit down a smile at the thought of his embarrassed stutters and red face had he woken up to see her alongside him. If she had to choose a cuddle partner between him, Lycin, and Reth, she preferred Iari. No hesitation there.

"Are you hungry?" Lycin asked. Of course he still hadn't left.

"No," Sianna said.

"Are you sure? You really haven't been eating much lately." Genuine concern rung in Lycin's voice and for some reason it bothered her more than his usual deviousness.

"I'm fine. Just prepare some for everyone else."

"And for you too." Lycin gave a single chuckle before walking away.

Sianna heard him wake and order Calera to prepare breakfast.

Saints forbid he does anything himself.

Lycin wasn't the only one that had noticed her faltering eating habits. During their extravagant breakfast of hard cheese and dry meat, Iari had given Sianna hesitant looks that betrayed his desire to say something to her, but he held his tongue. Reth, on the other hand, insisted she eat something and even offered his own food. She had to order him into silence, something she regretted when she saw the dejection flash across his face.

Sianna stood up, eager for breakfast to end. "We have to find Aldermeck and the others today."

"Just because you didn't eat doesn't mean the rest of us are done," Lycin said, taking another bite of his bread. His expression as he chewed showed how stale it was.

"Finding them is our best shot to get out of here."

"Of course, Sianna, because we'll just keep on walking and eventually find them. It is not like the landscape around us magickally changes."

Sianna flung the bent tin cup in her hand at Lycin. Calera caught it before it hit him, but the water splashed over his face and darkened his vest. He wiped his cheek with his hand, signature crooked grin on his lips.

"I'm sorry," Iari said, his head bowed.

Sianna shook her head, dismissing his apology. The boy could create fire to warm their food, summon water to fill their canteens, beckon a wind to cool them off, and probably even move the earth itself if they were still on normal land, but his magick couldn't find a way to reconcile them with Aldermeck and the others.

Breakfast was finished in silence and soon they were ready to continue their journey that proved to be fruitless with each passing day. Like their past treks, Sianna took point, followed by Reth and Iari while Lycin and Calera took the rear. She didn't know where she was leading them. She just picked a direction at random and kept walking towards it in what she hoped was a straight line. For all she knew, she may have passed the same furry hill twice, but she figured they were heading somewhere since they hadn't encountered that damn peace giving waterfall.

Sianna was half listening to Iari lecture Reth on how the fica root mixed with the leaves of something or other help cool burns when she noticed the darting shadow out of the corner of her eyes. She stopped, turning towards where she thought it had went, but all she saw was the light green sky, the fur covered ground, and the occasional red-barked trees that broke through the horizon.

"Ser, what is it?" Reth asked.

Sianna kept her eyes on the spot that had caught her attention. "I'm...not sure. I thought I saw something."

"Hallucinations are common when you don't eat properly," Lycin said from behind her.

She was ready to launch the obscenities waiting on her tongue, when she saw it again. The shooting blur of a shadow.

"There. Did you see it?" Sianna pointed.

"Sianna?" Iari said.

She and Lycin stared at her like she was crazy.

"Ser, I do not see nor do I sense anything," Reth said, his gaze dutifully scanning where his ser had pointed.

Sianna squinted at the horizon. How could they not have seen it? It had sped out across the open, rustling the overgrown fur. She gritted her teeth as she walked to where the eerie shadow had made its path. By her third step, the shadow reappeared, still as stone, a shapeless mass hovering by one of the crimson trees. Yet there were no reactions from Reth and the others.

Am I finally going crazy in the damn place?

"No."

Sianna froze. The voice that had spoken was a water and oil mixture of a male and a female's voice. She had heard it before when she had been on the ship, and from the flurry of gasps and approaching footsteps behind her, everyone else heard it now too.

The shadow manifested.

Ivory fingers punctured through the blackness, growing out like dotted ripples. They stretched out, curved and layered until they connected to form the wings Sianna knew they would. Arrow ribs and an elongated spine emerged from the diminishing shadow, and when the curling, silver fire-eyes opened, Sianna couldn't stop the raspy breath that shot out of her mouth.

She drew her sword, her armadura gauntlet clanking against the hilt. The heavy, familiar sound half-soothed her jumping nerves. It was a sound from her world, a sound from home. If only she had the rest of the armor, she knew her heart wouldn't feel like it was lodged between her ribs.

"So it's you again," Sianna said and licked her lips, noticing how dry they were.

The skeleton seemed pleased with her words, its floating frame rising higher into the air. "I'm glad you remembered me."

"This isn't your first time seeing this...thing?" Lycin asked.

"No, but that you can see it too really is a relief," Sianna said.

"Ser, we never doubted you," Reth spoke as he took his usual place next to her.

She gave a small smile. "I know you never did, but..."

Sianna's words faded when she noticed Iari. He walked up to the skeleton; his pacing was slow, but his steps were confident. Everything stilled, all eyes on Iari as he approached the floating bones that seemed to wait for him like this was an expected meeting. Iari gazed up at the bones and the expression in his eyes was fierce, a look Sianna had never seen on him before.

The skeleton descended in front of Iari and extended an arm layered with boney barbs. It took Sianna a second to remember what happened when it had done that to her. She ran towards them with her drawn sword by her side, ready to be swung.

"Iari, get away!" she said, but she was too far, felt she was too slow.

Reth shot past her, fluttering the loose strands of hair around her face. Sianna halted and watched as Reth in one swift movement pulled Iari away from the floating bones and pointed his armadura blade at it.

The flames swirling in the undead creature's eye sockets exploded. The fire arched around its forehead, crowning its skull with silver thorns of fire. It chuckled. "Reth."

The Rhokin didn't flinch. "Are you the one that constantly plagues my ser?"

"Can Reth kill something that's already dead?" Sianna heard Lycin ask, his voice low.

She glanced at him but said nothing, noticing the skeleton had lowered to meet Reth eye to eye. It was eerie, how the two stared at each other, and Sianna felt that if Reth's intensity could also manifest as fire, his crown would be matched with a flowing robe of flames.

But still...

Sianna felt uneasy, and it took her a moment to realize she was worried. Worried something might happen to Reth. To Iari. It only took another moment to comprehend this had been happening for some time now. When it had started, she didn't know. All she remembered were the Magus battles.

Her heart would beat so fast, it seemed to still, and her breath would catch with such intensity, she didn't need it. Her body was not her own, moved by a force beyond her rational understanding, a primal wave of energy that allowed her to drift and not care for anything or anyone, but then the tug appeared.

The taste of adrenaline was as familiar to Sianna as the taste of frost, but that tug had refused her the indulgences that left her empty of fear. There were consequences that could impact others now, in turn impact her, if she was careless. That tug had been unrecognizable. Until now.

Lycin squeezing her arm awoke her from her thoughts. She saw Reth's sword pierce through the undead creature's head. It jabbed under its jaw, protruding out from the top of the skull, a picked clean, sun-washed head on a black spike.

The skeleton was unfazed. It opened its mouth, Reth's sword appearing like a shiny, black tongue. The jaw unhinged, dropping. It fell onto the armadura's edge and split in two, peppering the blade with blanched dust, broken teeth chinking on it like soft rain.

Reth's eyes narrowed and he jumped back, taking the comatose Iari with him, but he had left his sword behind, skewered inside the skull. Calera had reacted as well, positioned in front of Lycin. Sianna could see a pair of her odd, semi-transparent arms arched out from the Rhokin's back.

Sianna's heart raced.

Red mist snaked out from the skeleton's broken, open mouth. Sianna was granted a second of thought before she blacked out, and all she could think of was how irritating the mist was in this world.

◌-◌-◌

She noticed the ground below her was paved. Sianna's eye shot open and her palms groped the smoothness. Relief flooded her. It had all been a dream. A drunken dream probably. That would explain why she was passed out on the street. Except she would never drink to such an excess.

She tried to stand, but a weight kept her down. Lycin's head was resting on her breast, an arm thrown over her chest. Calera was sprawled over her too, the Rhokin's legs tangled with her own. Sianna wiggled out from under them. The crash of Lycin's head hitting the ground was audible enough that Sianna cringed.

He groaned and placed a hand on his forehead, blinking. "What did you do, Sianna?"

"What the hell makes you think I did anything?" She stood up.

He staggered to his feet. "You're the only one that gives me headaches. Where are we?"

She took in the scenery for the first time. "I don't know," she whispered.

The jade sky above them was gone. In its place were millions of leaves the color of a sunset. It felt like they were shaded by a giant tree, but no such thing was in sight. It was an endless foliage of color. The fur below them was gone too.

What Sianna had thought were cobblestones were actually scales, gigantic with shallow, smoothed craters on them. Separating each one from the other were rows of feathers, and nestled within the white lines were flowers and mushrooms.

The blossoms were the size of shields. Each one was a solid color but every known hue was present. A tight blub was in front of Sianna, its petals loosening the more she stared at it. When it bloomed, tiny orbs of light released into the air, the shattering of a stained glass window breaking in slow motion.

"Are those the fairies?" Lycin asked also observing the magnificent view.

Sianna tried to find their corpses within the radiant glow, but it was impossible. All she could see was light. "Maybe," she said.

"Do these do anything?" Lycin said as he pointed to a neighboring mushroom.

The fungi were as big as the flowers and twice as colorful. The upside down bowls sported waves of shades that reminded Sianna of the ocean colliding with a rocky shore. Others held diluted rings of the same hue. A few were spotted with brown or white dots.

"This place is too colorful for my taste," Lycin said shaking his head.

Sianna agreed, but she wasn't about to let him know that.

They took tentative steps forward. After a few minutes, Sianna spotted Reth and Iari. Their backs were towards her, staring at something on the ground. It was Reth's sword, ruined, as if something had melted off only half the blade. He picked it up and inspected it with his gloved hands.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Sianna asked Iari as she forced him to face her. "What made you think walking up to-"

Iari's eyes were cast down. If humans had had the inability to wear emotions on their faces, Iari's expression would be the default.

Both of Sianna's hands grasped his shoulders. "Iari?"

The user blinked and that small action brought life into him. He stared at her, eyes widening as a veil of red caressed his cheeks. "S -Sianna, you..." He shook his head.

She gaped at him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

His blushed deepened. "Nothin'! I was jus' thinkin' about what tha' skeleton told me."

Sianna felt the blood freeze in her veins. "What it told you?"

Iari shook his head, gaze captured by the ground again.

"Iari, speak. This involves my ser. I must know as well," Reth said, his damaged sword still in his hand.

The young user pursed his lips, glancing between the two. His words came out in a whisper. "It said it would see you soon, Sianna."

"Iari!"

Everyone turned to the familiar voice to see Kota. She ran towards them, swift as a cat. The giant flowers around her feet rustled. The tiny balls of light danced with Kota's jewels, illuminating the Nayichi with rainbow diamonds.

"Iari, I found you!" Kota said as she embraced him with lustrous arms.

"K-Kota," Iari said, his face flustered, "where have you been?"

"Waiting."

"Waiting? You were expecting us?" Sianna asked.

Kota faced her and grinned. "It was more like hoping. It was Meryl's idea to stay put in hopes you would find us."

"She's with you?"

She nodded, setting off another round of sparkles from her jewels.

Sianna rubbed her watering eyes. "Damn it, Kota. Your jewels are hurting my eyes."

"Mine too," Iari said.

"You humans are so delicate," Kota said, the starry rainbows around her disappearing as her fairing skin ate up her jewels.

"I like you better in that form anyway." Lycin grinned.

She rolled her green eyes.

"Is Deneck with you as well?" Reth asked Kota.

She smiled. "Yes, and your friend is well and good, Rhokin."

He nodded, but despite the simple action, Sianna knew it was a sign of relief.

"So shall we get on to our joyous reunion?" Lycin asked.

"Yes," Kota said, "follow me."

The Nayichi took Iari's hand in her own, igniting another blush from him, and lead the way. How Kota knew her way through such a dense area was impressive. Whenever Sianna lost sight of her, she searched for the grouped fairy orbs that marked the Nayichi's path. With the comforting thought of soon seeing Aldermeck, of soon everyone reuniting, Sianna relaxed long enough to give the scenery around her a second look. There had been something about it that bothered her.

The flowers were plentiful, giant lilacs on dark, rippled water. Only these lilacs bloomed death. The petals were smooth and metallic looking, the light from the fairies reflecting on them the way the sun would off a new blade.

She passed by a flower that was completely open, yet empty of fairies. The middle was hollow, a hole that dug into the ground. Sianna could see the meaty bumps of the corpse's flesh bordered by a frame of petals.

The thought of a worm bursting out made her upper lip curl up. Just as she was about to turn away, one of the giant mushrooms next to the blossom shook and popped out of the ground. A pale, stretched face peered at her with multiple black eyes. The mushroom on top of its head sat like a hat.

Sianna gasped.

"Ser?" Reth asked.

More mushrooms burst from the ground. Clouds of spores thickened the ground, hiding the scales and the flowers, but not the creatures themselves. Faces, all the features black like holes on skulls, gaped at them. Some were simply heads sitting on piles of pale roots while others appeared humanoid. Their limbs were long and thin like vines. A few of the bodies were dotted with white or red spots, but all shared the same smooth and grey skin, a contrast to the flamboyant mushrooms on their head.

One of the creatures, a small one with a plump face, wobbled up to Calera. It gawked up at her and, with what Sianna figured was its mouth, uttered a strange noise. It resonated like footsteps walking through tall grass. It spoke in a way that sounded like the footsteps were hurried, running, and ended on a note where the footsteps faltered.

Kota laughed when she saw everyone's startled faces. "They're not aggressive."

The creature tilted it head, fully captivated by Calera. She looked down at it and mimicked its action on a less animated level. Sianna watched the odd scene play out. Even though this strange being had empty holes for eyes, more warmth appeared in them than in Calera's cold, silver stare.

Lycin chuckled. "It's seems you made a friend, Calera."

She turned to him and he nodded, his way of allowing Calera to speak, Sianna had noticed.

"I do not want a friend, ser," Calera said. "Shall I kill it?"

"No!" Kota dashed to the female Rhokin's side. "Attacking it will cause the others to attack you."

"I thought you said they were harmless," Sianna said.

"I said they were not aggressive, but they can be if provoked. Leave it be. It will wander away eventually."

"Why did it even wander here to begin with?" Lycin asked.

"Like most things on this corpse, it's attracted to magick. This one was probably braver than the others. As I said before, they are quite docile."

Lycin smirked. "If it's attracted to magick, then I guess my Rhokin is more powerful than yours, Sianna."

"I'm sure Reth has you beat in some other way," Sianna said, enjoying the scowl that overtook Lycin's face.

Iari chuckled. "I understoo' that one."

"Shouldn't we get going?" Lycin insisted.

"For once Lycin is right," Kota said, taking point again.

He sighed. "Come, Calera. Say goodbye to your friend."

Calera gave the mushroom monster a hesitant pat before walking past it to join the fuming Lycin that trotted to the front of the group. Sianna's pace was a few steps slower than his, curious to see if the creature would follow, but it stayed put, literally rooting into the ground as its feet dug through the feathery layers between the scales. It slipped into its burrow so only its lime green mushroom could be seen.

"Ser," Reth whispered, bending down towards Sianna so only she could hear.

She gave a half smile, amused by childlike action. "Yes, Reth?" she whispered back.

"You did not mean what you told to Calera's ser, did you?"

It took her a moment to understand he was asking about Lycin. She snorted. "I don't know, Reth, what do you think?"

"I think you would need to have seen his as well to make your words valid."

"I'm pretty sure I'm right without seeing it."

The look he gave her made her laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interuptin' somethin'?" Iari asked, making his way towards Sianna and Reth.

"No. What do you want, Iari?" she asked.

His cheeks tinged red. "There is somethin' I thin' you should know. About the skeleton an' what it said."

"I still don't understand that. How did it talk to you? I didn't hear it say anything."

"It was through magick, but..." He looked at the ground.

"But what, Iari?"

"Iari!" Kota called.

She had stopped walking and everyone did as well. The Nayichi stared at Iari, and even though she glowered at him with human eyes, there was a primal intensity in them that no human could achieve. To Sianna's surprise, Iari met Kota with a glare of his own.

"The skeleton says it knows you, Sianna," Iari said, still looking at Kota.
The Nayichi frowned.

"I don' know what it mean' by tha' but I wanted you to know," Iari added.

Kota shook her head, but Sianna noticed her intensity had diminished.

"Iari," Sianna said, halting him with a hand on his shoulder, "thank you for telling me what you did."

He smiled at her, his eyes gleaming.

The rest of the walk felt like a blur as did all the thoughts Sianna had. Her head was a broth of mushroom creatures, fairy corpses, floating skeletons, and Iari's words were the meaty bits in it all. She sighed through her nose.

I should've had breakfast after all, but still...

Cold sweat coated her back and the hair on the nape of her neck was standing on end.

The skeleton knows me, but it also seems to know Reth. What the hell does it want with us? Or could it be something else?

Her eyes flickered to her Rhokin. His profile was sleek and strong if a little rugged with the stubble he had grown the past few days. Not having a dagger to shave must be driving him crazy. His cool, silver eyes met hers.

"Ser?" he asked.

She shook her head, dismissing more than his word. No, she refused to believe Reth might have to do something with that undead abomination. At least not intentionally. Instead of feeding her scrambling thoughts, Sianna focused on walking. One foot in front of the other. That she understood.

After what felt like an hour, Kota stopped. They were at a campsite framed by a perfect circle of mushrooms. It unsettled Sianna to know they were surrounded by fungi monsters, even if they were passive. Sleeping with her sword that night would put her more at ease.

As she walked deeper into the camp, Sianna noticed the huge ball of vines that hung overhead like a chandelier. Its rich green color made it appear almost black, and its size had her worried it might fall and crush someone.

"Sianna!" Aldermeck's voice rang.

She felt Aldermeck's squeezing arms around her before Sianna even saw her face. She managed to free an arm out from Aldermeck's hug to awkwardly return the embrace. "It is good to see you too, Ser Alder-Meryl."

Aldermeck faced her with a huge smile, her hands on Sianna's shoulders. "I knew this damn corpse would not turn you into one."

"I knew it would not do the same to you."

Aldermeck laughed. Her blue eyes were warm like a summer pond as she brushed Sianna's hair and pushed it behind her ear. "In all seriousness, Sianna, I am glad to see you alive."

Sianna found herself embarrassed at the overwhelming affection, and she fumbled for words.

"It's alright. My feelings aren't hurt since I didn't receive a welcoming hug," Lycin said as he walked to the middle of the camp and sat down. "But you can welcome me with food."

"What makes you think we have any?" Aldermeck said.

"The fact that only you and Deneck were eating food while we were eating for five."

"We were eating for three. Though your human food all tastes like dirt," Kota said as she walked to the heaped supplies. She tossed a small sack of food to Lycin who caught it and gave the contents an unsatisfied look.

"I don't think you can conjure up something with your magick, Iari?" Lycin asked.

Iari rubbed the back of his neck. "If I coul' I would've done it a lon' time ago."

"I figured. At least we won't run out of water."

"What do you mean?" Aldermeck said.

"Iari," Kota said, "you can...?"

He nodded, apparently understanding her unfinished question. The Nayichi looked at the ball of vines above with pensive eyes.

Sianna tuned out the conversation, feeling drained yet restless. She settled away from the group, wishing to be alone, an observer. She watched as Aldermeck, Iari, and Kota continued their talk while Lycin munched on a brown lump of something. Though Calera sat next to him, her eyes were drawn towards Reth.

Even from this distance, Sianna could see the longing in the female Rhokin's gaze. She covered her half smile with her finger, not understanding why a Rhokin's crush amused her so much. Maybe because it was just so damn cute. So damn human.

And of course Reth had no idea.

He stood next to Deneck, absorbed by his words. His usual indifference was present in his posture, but there was a warm glow that radiated through. Deneck's signature smile erupted on his lips at something Reth said, and to Sianna's surprise, the blond Rhokin returned the gesture with the same enthusiasm.

A thud like someone falling to the ground following by the crash of falling objects drew Sianna back to the middle of camp. She saw Iari on his back and scattered around him were their supplies. What had they been trying to do?

"Are you alright?" Kota asked Iari as he sat up.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his head. "Scales hurt."

Lycin laughed. "Climbing is not your strong suit, Iari."

"Lycin," Aldermeck snapped, "help out for once and have Calera carry him up with one of her arms."

He crossed his own arms and snickered. "Why?"

"Because I am telling you to do so."

"I don't take orders from you anymore. Or Sianna."

She pressed her lips and glared at him. "So you have finally 'earned' your cloak?"

He grinned.

"Does Iari need help with something?" Reth asked, approaching the group.

"Yes," Aldermeck said. "Your platforms. Iari can climb them like steps."

"Can't we just cut it down?" Iari suggested.

Kota shook her head. "No blade can cut it down."

"Then Reth will help. If you would please-"

"Fine!" Lycin interrupted Aldermeck. "Calera will help. No need to summon lightning to do such a simple task."

Task? What the hell are they trying to do?

Sianna observed them for a few more seconds until curiosity drew her to her feet and pushed her to walk towards them. "What's going on?"

"Sianna!" Iari smiled at her. "I'm tryin' to touch tha'." He pointed to the gathered vines that hung over their heads.

She gave him a face. "Why?"

"To see Zerahdin," Kota said.

"Zerahdin?"

"The Lich King. He's gonna get us outta here," Iari added.

Kota waved her hands as if dismissing his words. "We can get to that later. Reth, help Iari. We need to hurry."

"I already said Calera will do it," Lycin snapped.

"Whoever. We just need to do it now."

"You heard what we're doing Calera. Carry Iari."

The Rhokin nodded and an opaque arm burst from her back. It wrapped around the astonished Iari and lifted him up to the twisted foliage. He raised his arms to it as if to embrace it, but only his fingertips made contact. Rays of light burst from the touch, flashing blue, white, green, and red.

Iari pulled away, but the lights intensified, growing and draping around the vines like kaleidoscopic ribbons. When the mass of vegetation was engulfed, the lights unwrapped, pulling the vines apart like multicolored snakes slithering out of a nest.

A monstrous hourglass was revealed, hanging in the air of its own accord. The frame was dark knots of wood, tiny branches poking out in a way that reminded Sianna of skeletal fingers. The base and top weren't traditionally flat but half spheres of innumerable bones twisted within one another and coated red just like the bark of the giant crimson tree Sianna had encountered.

The hourglass was empty though. The polished glass held a blue-grey sheen to it, but it held no sand. Strange enough, it appeared transparent, like any other glass, but Sianna couldn't see through it. It was like seeing glass through glass against glass. Sianna rubbed her eyes at the bizarre sight.

"The symbols, Iari," Kota called up to him.

He nodded and with the pad of his index finger traced something on the bottom belly of the hourglass. He repeated it three more times, and the four symbols blazed with their own light: red, blue, green, and white. They disappeared, summoning a mound of black sand on the top stage of the hourglass that at once began to fall.

"You can bring me down now!" Iari said.

But before he reached the ground, the hourglass dropped. A flurry of snow exploded from the impact. Frost ran across the scales, freezing the circle of mushrooms around them. Except it wasn't snow or frost. It appeared too lustrous, too reflective. Sianna crouched, placing a hand on the turquoise substance that coated the ground. She saw her reflection, saw her ragged face and sunken eyes.

"Crystal?" Aldermeck said.

Kota nodded. "Everything around us is going to slowly turn to crystal, turn to his domain. Once the sand runs out, the gateway will be completely open and we will be able to cross it and see Zerahdin."

"And how long is that going to take?" Lycin asked and kicked the crystal with the heel of his foot.

"Half an hour, I thin'," Iari said.

"Half an hour? That thing is enormous! The sand looks enough to fill several graves! It will take days for that thing to finish," Aldermeck said.

Iari shook his head. "No, I know for sure it's half an hour."

"How are you so sure?"

"Magick." He smiled.

Sianna drummed her fingers on the hilt of her sword. She saw as the crystal versions of Aldermeck and Iari talked. She saw as Kota's double crossed her arms, the look of worry in her human eyes more intense than anything she'd ever seen in an actual person.

A scrapping sound caught her attention. She saw Reth with his broken sword in his hand draw the blade against one of the crystalized mushrooms. He brought the armadura up to his eyes and scrutinized the filed down material.

Sianna wrinkled her brow. "Reth, are you sharpening your sword against that thing?"

"It is a surprisingly good whetstone, ser, and I need a reliable weapon," he said.

"Don't. The noise it makes is deafening," Lycin said.

Sianna smirked at Lycin and by the look of his frown she figured he knew what she was going to say. "File away, Reth."

Time filed away as well. Sianna didn't know what she noticed first: that the scraping sound of Reth sharpening his sword had stopped or all she could see was nothing but crystal. The hourglass showed it was on its last handfuls of grains. How so much sand fell so quickly was lost to her.

"It's almost time," Kota said, pacing in front of the hourglass. "I'm not sure how long the trek will be to reach him, but once we do, whatever happens, do not speak to Zerahdin."

"And why not? I like to think I am a great person to talk to."

The voice was raspy and soft, yet it boomed with clarity. The contradicting sound left an uncanny sensation in Sianna's ears, but when she saw from what the voice came from, she gasped.

The floating entity was a skeleton the size of a mountain giant. He was clad in a purple and blue robe, frayed to strips at the end, and a golden tabard. His clothes swayed and swirled with slow moments as if underwater. Heavy chains lay across his chest, originating from the collar around his neck, and Sianna suspected that was where the constant rattling sound was coming from.

There was a silver crown on his skull head, around the black horns that curved into the crystalized sky. In his skeletal hands was a scythe with an edge that was as long as Sianna was tall. Reflected on the blade were the countless fairy corpses that floated around the colossal skeleton.

Zerahdin, it had to be him, leaned down, staring at everyone with his empty eye sockets. "Why are you all gaping at me like that? I know I took on the right anatomy. Is it my human tongue that I missed? Did I take on the wrong language?" He seemed to be talking to himself by the end of his sentence.

Kota took a hesitant step up to him. "Zeh-Zerahdin, why-why are you here?"

His face of death didn't physically change, but Sianna felt like a wave of amusement overtook it.

"You are looking for me, no?" he said.

"Yes, but you never appear to those seeking you. We always have to find you."

He shrugged, straightening up. "Three humans have entered-what was it you called it?-The Fresh Corpse. That is two more than I have ever seen. I was curious."

"I suppose." Kota still appeared shaken.

"I can also guess what it is that you all want, but why there is a Nayichi so far away from her tribe has me puzzled."

She dropped her human disguise, revealing her grey skin with her multicolored jewels. Kota looked at Zerahdin with something in her orange eyes that Sianna didn't understand, but the Lich King seemingly did for he nodded.

"How quaint and even more interesting," he said. "No, exciting. Yes, this is all very exciting."
"Then you will do it?" Kota asked.

Zerahdin laughed, a crackle like the sound before a fire catches flame. "The only way humans can leave this corpse is if they are corpses themselves."

"You mean dead? How is that even possible?" Aldermeck asked.

Kota shot her a glare that told her to keep quiet.

Zerahdin also turned to Aldermeck, the chains around his chest clanking louder. "I knew I was speaking the right language."

"Yes, we understand you well enough, but what you are saying makes no sense," Aldermeck said, ignoring Kota.

"It's as I said."

"Leave dead? All of us must die?"

"No, only the humans. These other creations are neither alive nor dead, and your dear Nayichi, well, as a magickal being of this land, she can come and go anywhere as she pleases."

Kota hissed out a series of sounds Sianna had come to recognize as the Nayichi language. "There is no other way, then?" she asked the Lich King in the Dracarrian tongue.

"I'm afraid not," Zerahdin said, "but I'm sure you know what to do."

"Yes."

Sianna saw the Nayichi's hair grow. It slid out from under her skin, a sword drawn from its sheath. The single, thick lock fanned out like the branches of a tree it resembled. Kota turned around to face Sianna and the others.

"This won't hurt," she said.

Sianna knew what she meant by those words, but by then, Kota's hair had already speared through her neck.

◌-◌-◌

Author's Note: This was supposed to have been up since JULY, but noooooooo. Fucking keyboard had to glitch on me. Stupid thing.

Anyway...as always. Thanks so much for putting up with my lazy ass and I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. Lots of fun and magickal stuff is gonna happen in Ayodite. I'm excited for the character development that I (hope) is gonna come out from it too.

Oh! If you're wondering how the next Calathus chapter is coming along, follow me on Twitter. I had been posting the word count and stuff on it for this chapter. Updates will be posted on it, including when the new chapters go up. I'm thinking of posting art, including fanart there too. So yeah...

Twitter: @Lady_Lucia19

Thanks! :D

Lich King drawn by the awesome @Dancingdryad