Shyra felt her consciousness sharpen, this time without the headache bashing through her skull. Her sense of smell was the first to return, and she could sense medicinal herbs brewing over a fire. She even recognized a few of them- herbs for wounds and bleeding.

Then she realized that she was lying down on a hard surface, and a soft pillow was protecting her neck from spraining. She tried to move her limbs, but her body felt too tired to sustain any movement. So she relaxed and focused on her ears, trying to find clues about her location.

She could hear faint murmurs from a group of people. They were too hushed for her to make out the words, but a male voice was speaking in a non-stop string of sentences. It vaguely reminded her of the way machine guns fired.

She soon grew bored of lying down with nothing to do, so she began moving her fingers again. To her delight, she was able to twitch the ends of her fingers. After that she cranked open her eyes bit by bit, letting herself get used to the increase in light before attempting it again. By the time she was able to open her eyes, everyone else in the room noticed that she was awake and began crowding around her, making it difficult for her to breathe.

"Give her a little space, guys," the male voice from earlier said, and they moved away, giving her breathing space. She sensed them waiting as she took her time to stretch her body and swing her legs over the edge of the cot.

To her surprise, once the heaviness of the tranquilizer wore away, she felt more clear-headed than she had felt for a long time. So she took a moment to observe her new environment.

The room they were in was a simple healer's cabin, with rows of herbs lining the walls, table, and cauldron. She even spotted modern medicine in the fray, but it being expensive, she only spotted common medicines for painkillers, colds and bruises. The rest of the room was bare, and the furniture was a couple of chairs that her friends were occupying, and the cot which she'd been lying on.

"Ahem," the guy said, clearing his throat and drawing everyone's attention to him. Shyra narrowed her honeyed eyes as she took in his presence.

The first thing about him that caught her attention was his age. He seemed to be in his late twenties, and after hanging out with people of her age for so long, an older guy like him caught her by surprise. He had shaggy black hair that hung over his eyes in a manner that made her want to reach out and brush it from his eyes. He was wearing a loose white achkan and matching white pants that were bundled around the ankles. Even his sleeves were folded up to his elbows.

"What's happening?" she asked, remembering that they were supposed to be on a spaceship, and not in a stranger's house. "Why are we here? What are we... What happened to the ship?"

"The thing is," Naor began, gripping his long staff, "When our ship crashed here, it plowed through this guy's carrot field. That was the voice we heard before you fainted."

"Oh," Shyra said, her eyes wide. She looked at the guy again, this time in a new light. "I'm so sorry for the damage we must have caused. I wish there were something we could do, but we're on a tight schedule."

"I know," he said, speaking for the first time since she woke up. "Your friends told me about what happened to Emperor Mahi and the others. And that you're on a mission to save them."

"Ah, I see," she said, casting a glare at them for revealing all their secrets. Naor turned his palms up and shrugged. "Well, since you know everything, I hope you'll let us go."

"Let you go?" he laughed. "I'm not the one keeping you here. Your broken ship is. Until the local mechanic fixes it, you can't go anywhere."

"So we're stuck here?" Shyra whispered, fisting her hands on her lap. Hira reached over and unclenched her fists, and Shyra got the message and took a deep breath. "Okay, it's fine. It's cool. We can wait for a while-"

"Ahsan bhaiya?" someone knocked sharply on the door. "Are you there?"

"Who's that?" Shyra asked, reaching for her dagger by instinct. "Did she say bhaiya? Older brother?"

"Oh, that's just Vaia," Ahsan said with a chuckle, getting up and crossing the room. "She's a regular customer of mine." he opened the door, and a little girl of ten barged into his house, dumping a cloth bag on the table and placing her hands on her hips.

"Bhaiya," she said, turning in circles and inspecting the room. "I need tulsi pastes, arishtam, jeerakadrishya, and a little bit of your time... wait, who are all these people?" she said, noticing them for the first time.

"These are my guests," Ahsan interrupted, bustling around the room and placing her items in the bag. When he didn't offer any further explanations, she narrowed her eyes at them and placed a few coins on his table.

"Sure," she said, and Shyra could sense that the girl was still suspicious of them. "The festivities are going to start soon, so hurry up if you don't wanna miss it. Your... guests are welcome to join if they'd like."

"Thank you for your offer. We'll consider it," Shyra said with a kind smile. Vaia, startled at being spoken to by her, threw her one last glance before grabbing her bag and running through the door.

"Sorry about that. She's too inquisitive," Ahsan said with an apologetic smile. "But she's right. You guys should come and join us. It'll be fun."

"I would love to, but we're on a critical mission," Shyra said, twisting her fingers on her lap. "We can't afford to waste time."

"But until we have a method of transport, we can't continue our mission," Arina interjected. "Until it's fixed, can't we go and enjoy ourselves for a while?"

"She's right," Hira said, giving her pleading eyes. "It's been a long time since I visited a local festival. Being an empress has its own restrictions as well. I would love to experience these people's customs."

When she turned to Naor, he shrugged in response. "Yeah sure, why not. It'll be fun."

Fun. Fun. Fun. Shyra was tired of hearing that word. There would be no fun and excitement, or even happiness for that matter, until Mahi was safe and sound. But looking at their heart eyes, she felt the tiniest tug of empathy. Maybe it wasn't right to be happy when Mahi was in trouble. But she could have a few moments of distraction, right?

"Okay," Shyra agreed. "Just until the ship is fixed."

Everyone cheered and waved their fists in the air. Ahsan chuckled at their enthusiasm and picked up a travel bag. "Let's go then. Adventure awaits us, and she is quite the fickle temptress, so we must not tarry, lest she dance away."

Arina hollered at his poetic words, and they set out to the center of the nearby village, where the annual festival was being held. Along the way, Ahsan began explaining its specifics.

"The people living here practice a kind of magic," he began. When the gang glanced at each other, he laughed and shook his head. "No, no. Not the destructive kind. Have you heard of the concept of meditation?"

"Yeah. Meditation, or dhyana, was a yogic practice where people attained supreme consciousness by emptying their mind of all thoughts."

"Exactly. These people do something similar. They practice intense meditation, and with a little help from magic, they are able to detach their consciousness, or soul, from their body."

Shyra widened her eyes. She had never heard of this practice during her classes or from her books, and the way Ahsah was describing it made her apprehensive of the whole process. And based on Hira, Arina and Naor's expressions, they were thinking the same thing.

Ahsan noticed their expressions, but to Shyra's annoyance, instead of reassuring them, he muttered a 'you'll see' and strode ahead. Shyra wanted to discuss it further, but the village soon came into view, and Ahsan waved his arms with a flourish.

"Ladies and gentleman, here we are! Welcome to the annual festival of the Toyol!"

Naor whistled appreciatively and pushed past them, placing his hands on his hips at the sight. "That looks so cool! Sign me up for that!" And Shyra hated to admit it, but he was right.

The village of Toyol looked like any other village from the outside, but it was the residents who added a twist of flavor to it. There were villagers moving around the place and setting up the premises, and like Ahsan had explained, many of them had ghostly versions of themselves floating above their bodies. As far as she could make out, they were attached to their bodies, and moved in accordance to the body.

"I told ya." Ahsan grinned. "In fact, today's festival is about something similar. Its main event is a test for the little ones, where they try to separate themselves for the first time. Even Vaia will be taking part this year. Apart from that, there are many other side events for adults and people who don't have magic."

Shyra felt the beginnings of a grin lift her lips. "Then let's explore everything this village has to offer." They all cheered and spread into the crowd to find activities.

Shyra found an impromptu wrestling match she just had to take part in, so she challenged the toughest looking person she could see, before she could think it through. Ah well. Even if I lose, these people will never know who I am.

"Do you really think you can defeat me?" the guy asked, taking a seat on the grimy table.

"Of course I do," she replied with a grin, sitting opposite to him. "Otherwise I wouldn't have challenged you, right?"

He huffed at her witty remark and placed his arm on the table, and she wrapped her hand around his and got into position. When the referee slapped his knee, they both began pulling the others' hand in the opposite direction.

Shyra had anticipated his strength, and she smirked as he saw his eyes widen in surprise when she didn't fail. Aahil had taught her all kinds of fighting, and arm wrestling was no exception. It was a sport of strength, but if the right techniques were applied, one could win against a stronger opponent.

Her hand began beating his and they both sank toward her right, much to the hollering of the crowd. She could see sweat beading his forehead as he tried to counter his slip-up, but before he knew it, Shyra had slammed his hand on the table. The guy grunted and massaged his hand, giving her a humbled nod. She smiled in return, grabbed the handful of coins that they handed as a prize, and wandered to the main event.

A stage had been erected at the center of the village, and a huge crowd gathered around it to watch the children. They were seated cross-legged in a row facing the audience, and their eyes were closed in meditation. Somehow, even the audience remained quiet as they watched them.

Among them, Vaia seemed to be doing the worst. Her eyes were screwed shut rather than remaining serene, and her hands were fisted instead of the relaxed pose recommended for meditation. Shyra could see wisps of fog forming over the children's heads. Before she knew it, one child achieved his goal and opened his eyes with the most serene expression she had ever seen. It almost made her want to sit beside them and meditate.

A loud noise interrupted the proceedings, and the audience turned toward it with annoyance. "Must be those rowdy people fighting again," a bystander said with a disgusted shake of his head. They soon turned back to the children, who hadn't been disturbed in the slightest. She had the feeling that many of them could meditate through a stampede.

"Shyra!" a loud voice called, clapping a hand on her shoulder. She almost shrugged it off by instinct, but realized that it was Arina who was shaking her shoulder. "We have a problem. Ahsan is... injured."

"What?" she asked, spinning around. Arina gestured to a small crowd at a corner of the street, where the fights had happened a kshana ago.

"He got injured over there. A petty fight broke out and he tried to stop it, but in all the pull-and-push, he got a head injury. It's pretty nasty."