The river took them surprisingly far enough that they decided to stop near a slower current in the depths of the night to rest. Everything since Orania looked pretty much the same, lush greens with a mixture of orange, with even some specks of the Black Forest peaking their head out here and there which meant that they weren't going as fast as they'd liked to, or this general area was just big.

Nevertheless, Rowan woke up before the two, and the first thing they did was locate a mossy stump, place the compass on it and shoot at its glass. Whenever the arrow's tip made contact, it sparked little fires, but the Tributal thought it wasn't enough.

Soon, small embers turned into medium-sized explosions, waking both Atomu and Chyuuichi, with the Mirillian immediately kin on joining Rowan in the adventure of exploding the item, even if the other party insisted that this wasn't what they were doing.

Atomu waited near the boat until he heard Rowan's scream.

"What happened?!" he ran in, panicked.

"Did it work?" Chyuuichi squinted his eyes before his neck was squeezed by Rowan's iron grip.

"DON'T THRASH YOUR SCYTHE AT MY COMPASS!"

A few minutes later, the three were sitting on the boat again, with the first hour being filled with awkward and angry silence despite the landscape taking a shift towards something new. The air grew thicker, every leaf and every plant seemed a little moist, and soon, the watery roads shifted towards wider paths, intersecting with other bifurcations of rivers, connecting into a massive body of water.

Plants climbed up little grassy islands, forming drooping trees or willows hanging above the sides of a massive lake spread across a few kilometres.

The Paladian had to wrestle himself, at that very moment. He had quite the story to tell since his people often talked about steaming, hot springs found somewhere near Saphrith, and seemingly unreachable to the naked eye. One would go on a limb to compare it to Orania, but the thing was that no one wanted to share because they vowed to return there one day, and then completely forgot what road let them there.

There were mentions of massive lakes, and even a thousand waterfalls going into a sinkhole filled with even more of the same liquid, but Atomu couldn't even pitch the idea because Rowan's angered brows suggested that even if he were to say something amid his indecent fury directed at Chyuuichi, the boat would be flipped over.

All until Chyuuichi spoke out of nowhere. "Rowan. I'm sorry."

Rowan made a strange noise, pouting, turning to the side. Atomu immediately turned around. "What?" they squinted their eyes.

"Yeah, um." Chyuuichi scratched the back of his head. "Ya weren't trying to destroy the compass, right?"

"Sorry?" Rowan shook their head. "Sorry?"

"That's what I am." Chyuuichi nodded.

"Wait, Atomu, you're hearing this, right?" The Tributal pulled on the Paladian's shirt. "Chyuuichi's sorry?"

Atomu squinted his eyes and furrowed his brows. "You're acting like Chyuuichi never feels remorse..."

"Ah! Ah...!" Rowan pointed. "My One, Chyuuichi!"

Chyuuichi tilted his head, before smiling. "Okay!" he nodded. "If that was all it took to break this awkward silence then I'm not that stupid, turns out!"

Chyuuichi spent the next thirty minutes chasing after the boat since Rowan pushed him off.

Eventually, with steering using their hands and a dream, the three made it to the other side, where the first hints of what is called the Orawood Jungle revealed themselves.

Some people called it the Lignorian Jungle instead, and there was a cute reason for that, namely, it wasn't filled to the brim with the same stories or dangers people often assigned to Orawood, even if the mentioned was infested with things a forest would be infested with.

Spare the Black Forest, and the jungle wasn't that different from Orawood, except for the absence of any normal animals. Not too many vivid or interesting birds, but you're much more likely to encounter an iguana while treading through the indecipherable greens and something resembling both a parrot and a toucan, said in witchtales to swooping and throwing you into the waters while simultaneously stealing all of your items to eat them. That story came from Erans and no one knew if it was true.

The jungle was very lush. The word lush was a great understatement, a few Paladians used the word llovious instead, which stemmed from the tree type which mainly painted the area.

Jungle meant that everything was moist and wet, and the air was filled with particles of water floating up from the wet ground onto the belows of larger leaves, eventually creating this sort of consistent rain effect at all times. It wasn't anything even remotely close to rain, however. Paladians often recalled such weather as particularly annoying or wetter than a sweater (they came up with that strange saying), but the only thing that brought water onto you was sweat.

Sweat, because it was damn hot. The sun didn't push through, but the wind didn't either, meaning that all the heat eventually creeping in through the entirety of Gorro got trapped inside without an exit. During the Second War, in the frostiest of Yules, many humans used this place as a refuge from the abysmal temperatures, but the Klakunhoi only wanted to escape, so they kept treading forward.

Atomu pushed a bigger leaf, Rowan caught it and then intentionally swung it at Chyuuichi.

"The leaf attacked me!" Chyuuichi stood up, huffing.

"W- Wasn't pushing him into the water already enough?" Atomu whispered.

"The things he does unintentionally are usually worse. Just look at him." Rowan pointed, as Chyuuichi crouched near a red fruit.

"CHYUUICHI, THAT'S VISTA!" Atomu raised his voice.

"Is that bad?" Chyuuichi stood up.

"They're poisonous, damn it, did you forget?" Atomu reached his hand out. "Come on, please, just... follow us so we can already get out of here." he shook his head, with a few drops of sweat landing on his bruised hand. He sighed, in exhaustion.

"Well, I am trying if it isn't for Rowan who's trying to constantly push me down!" Chyuuichi put both hands on his hips. "I'm starting to think that we're not Bahiim!"

"...and he somehow remembers that word." Rowan nodded to themselves, strutting forward.

Atomu put a hand over his sweaty face, rubbing more off and in turn rubbing more in, breathing out, hastily. It was either the two's constant bickering or the heat that caused him to get a little nauseous as time went on.

Ever since Chyuuichi admitted to feeling fine Rowan took every opportunity to bully him. Then again, Chyuuichi's been acting premiumly idiotic as of late, that even Atomu can't connect with his notions.

Or maybe, he was exaggerating and everything was back to how it once was. Maybe, it was the heat. It must've been. It was a little cold in Orania, but the farther they travelled, the more the sun-scorched and the hotter the air became. At times, he thought that Harabara wouldn't be so bad in comparison. Theories or not, one thing was for certain, Atomu didn't have to search for an answer.

He needed a break from this heat.

Out of the blue, and possibly in frustration, Atomu let out a strange, quiet growl and the two quickly turned around.

It took a while for the Paladian to realise that he halved a poor man's argument with that strange noise, and then sighed, looking up. "We need a way to stop this!"

"Stop what?" Chyuuichi asked. "Rowan's face from getting uglier?"

"WHAT CAME INTO YOU, YOU FILTHY WRETCHED SON OF A-"

"THE HEAT!" Atomu raised his voice, stepping back. "The damn s-scorching heat. I can't breathe and think straight through it. How did anyone even tread through this jungle without going insane?" he put his hands on his mind, trying to concentrate, but couldn't.

Rowan stepped forward, sighing. "Don't you have a way to find out the answer to your question?"

"What do you mean?" Atomu shook his head.

"The Glyph Vial, Atomu," they replied. "...and perhaps, if you didn't see the broken twigs and branches and scratches on the llove trees, suggesting that the people who came here immediately went up. Way earlier, but I trusted you when you said that we only have to push straight."

Atomu stepped back, his wet hand landing inside the bag, eventually unearthing the slippery vial.

"Yer saying that I could've avoided the leaf hitting my face?"

"I still would've done so." Rowan fixed their collar, closing one eye as the other watched Atomu's actions.

One shake changed its colour into a dim purple and with one blink, something inside the barks of the surrounding trees formed itself.

Rowan opened their mouth, Chyuuichi stared in awe, and Atomu gulped.

"What on Errarion are these supposed to mean?" Chyuuichi put a hand over his head, squinting very hard. The present glyphs were indecipherable, and perhaps without meaning. Yet, Atomu stepped around and stuffed the item into Chyuuichi's hands.

"You can see it now, can't you?" Atomu blinked, and the glyphs changed into what Chyuuichi described with his expression, which now shifted into complete amazement.

"Give me that!" Rowan snatched it from his hands, looking up. "So," they spoke. "The glyphs change into scribbles when someone holds the vial." they stepped closer, putting their hand on the bark, feeling additional warmth surging in. They quickly put it away, turning around. "We have to jump from here, and then to... this..? Wait."

"Let me hold it." Atomu extended his arm, and Rowan passed the item over. "F-From here, to here, and then grab this branch..." he added, walking around the tree. "Make a leap for the other leaf and follow the branches like a..." he squinted his eyes. "Like a staircase!" he smiled, before turning to the other two.

Rowan's eyes were half-close. "So only you can see the full picture, Atomu."

Atomu blinked a couple of times and then looked back at the item in his hands. "I g-guess that's how it's supposed to work,"

"Magic, I guess. I don't want to dwell on it." Rowan chuckled. "Come on, let's not waste our time. Sweat is getting into places it probably shouldn't, am I right?"

The three quickly started their ascension, moving up and following Atomu's advice and words with full precision. Well, they would've, if Rowan didn't try to act all high and mighty at first but when they steeped at higher levels, Atomu simply led the other two.

At one point, he had to borrow Chyuuichi's rope, creating a thin line from one tree to the other. Vial still in hand, he followed each tip, only to realise that the history, much like Mariam said, was always there in the first place.

Stepping, he spotted muddy footsteps on the sides of trees, marked in the same way the fiery glyphs told them to advance. Some leaves had massive rips, straying further from the road, indicating that someone didn't make it through, while others had dents from how many hands landed on them, climbing up. Some were massive and spread across many more trees, but only one path led to peeking their heads above the crowns and seeing everything in full detail.

Atomu was the first to do so.

The sun felt like a relief, even though it had been nothing along those lines on the days they travelled through Orawood, and the sky was mostly clear, spare the few lines of clouds etching over the pinkish sky. The Paladian sighed in relief, leaning back. With a squint, he swore he could see Saphrith peaking its head out across the thousands of trees.

Perhaps fog still obscured it, but its recognizable shape always drawn in various tales was there, a white atop other hills, and even further mountains.

Rowan and Chyuuichi's heads quickly appeared, but instead of bickering or whatnot, the three appreciated the silence.

It felt like the last stretch was going to be a calm stroll towards refuge and safety. Towards answers, prayers, and belief.

Chyuuichi beamed, lightly, before moving upwards, his boot checking around the thick leaves above the jungle, which didn't necessarily fold under his step. With another smile, he hopped forwards, landing on yet another one, without crashing. "It's safe!"

Rowan didn't necessarily trust his words, and checked it out for themselves, before giving Atomu a thumbs-up.

The Paladian climbed up, glancing at the vial and then back at the leafy road ahead. The scribbled glyphs started fading the further they went, and the dim purple turned into a blue. It seemed there was a limit, but it was enough to lend them a hand earlier.

Chyuuichi skipped around as if he were on a field full of breezy, Herbes flowers. Arms spread, without a worry or care in the world. When Rowan turned to the sight, the Mirillian didn't seem as much of a nuisance, especially when all of this unbearable warmth wasn't present.

"Don't run too far off, Chyuuichi! We won't be able to catch up to you!" Atomu raised his voice, with a beam.

"It's okay!" Chyuuichi yelled.

Atomu sighed, and Rowan fixed their glasses.

"Doesn't feel like Orawood anymore, does it?" Rowan asked.

Atomu blinked. "I'm n-not really sure."

"A part of this forest extends to the edges of Malikan," Rowan explained. "...and the sights from the highlands usually look something along the lines of..." they reached their hand out. "All of this."

"Malikan, huh?"

Rowan put their hand down, turning to the Paladian. Their glance suggested that they already knew what Atomu wanted to say.

"Talking about Malikan, I wanted to ask you about something," Atomu added.