Before Waverly could react, Edsel had already cut across the old injury on her left arm. She cried out and stumbled as the blade connected with her flesh, reopening the wound. A spray of blood spilled onto the deck.

"I already killed you once just then. Lucky that my aim was only for your arm." Edsel sneered.

He swung his blade intimidatingly. It was half the length of a spear and flashed dangerously in the sunlight. Waverly could not tell what it was made from and she did not bother to think on it. She unsheathed her Karya as well, brandishing the green blade. Her short sword hung still on her belt and would be of no use for the moment.

"A cultivator's weapon will do you no good against me." Edsel mocked with smug confidence.

Waverly struck but the god moved like he was made of liquid. The weight of his blade nearly knocked her own sword out of her grip but she held on fast enough to prevent it. In this moment, he gave her another cut across her cheekbone.

"Now you have two." He winced mockingly.

He watched Waverly, enjoying every bit of her difficulty. If the duel bored him, he would kill her.

"I reckon no one has ever revealed to you that you talk way too much for a god." Waverly retorted and struck again.

This time she was able to knock him down but he quickly became formless like spilled honey and materialized next to the ship's masts.

"You will be the first and last mortal to realize that." Edsel said, pointing the edge of his blade at her.

He jumped down from the top of the mast and Waverly wasted no time in tackling him. She shoved him with all her might and he collided with the bulwark on the port side of Estoso.

"You have strength, Zanaan. You only fail to use it." He commended.

He placed his foot against the bulwark and shoved Waverly back. The force sent her spiralling uncontrollably but she screeched to a stop before she could topple down the stairwell. Edsel approached with incredible speed and for a moment, Waverly feared he would slice her to bits.

There was a subsequent ferocious sword clash between them for a length of time until Waverly began to tire first. Her arms felt heavy and weak. Her injury burned, disallowing her to switch sword hands. Edsel made mockery of her during the fight by faking to have an injured arm as well and then he would cackle like a mad man and make things even more difficult, biding his time until when he was finally ready to end her.

At last, he knocked her sword away and had his wedged near a sensitive vein in her neck.

Waverly panted as she remained on one knee, her good arm raised in surrender. Edsel did not seem to be out of breath even in the slightest.

"Not so brazen now, are you Zanaan?" He teased. The mad glint in his eyes was still there but then he suddenly hesitated.

"Well, will you not go on and take my head off?" Waverly prodded.

Every bone in her body screamed in pain and she was already willing to give up. She watched Edsel. He had been enjoying his victory until something had suddenly caught his attention.

He was staring at Waverly's wrist with obvious jealousy.

"How have you come to acquire so much wealth as this?" He asked, his brows knitting.

When he was not trying to take her head off, his kind features returned. Waverly scowled at him. She wondered why he looked so nice when he was indeed a violent, insane recluse.

"What?" She asked and risked glancing down at her hand.

The bracelets Judson had made for her jingled on her wrist; tiny rubies knocking against onyx against blue sapphires and other precious stones of incredibly high value.

Waverly moved her arm securely behind her back when she realized Edsel was interested in the stones dangling freely from her bracelets.

"My sacrifice!" Edsel spat greedily. "The boy promised me a thousand and twenty two precious stones. You have more than that amount around your wrist. Give them to me and i will let you pass."

He put his sword down and occasionally glanced at Waverly's wrist. There was so much greed in his eyes that Waverly almost felt pity for him.

"No. These are mine. Judson gave them to me and i will never give them away to you or to anyone else." Waverly said and retreated backwards.

Edsel glared at her. "If you will not give them willingly then i will kill you and have them for my own."

He lifted his sword for the final blow.

The sunlight appeared to flicker overhead and a few tiny seeds fell like rain around Edsel. This distracted and made him look up. A strong wind blew from above and before Edsel could react, he was already getting entangled by vines. He struggled against the plants but they grew rather stubbornly, wrapping around him with intense vigour. He groaned and tried to move but the vines grew even thicker, coiling and twisting around his arms and fingers. He groaned and subsequently dropped his sword.

Waverly looked up where a flying figure was descending. A wide smile spread across her face when he landed on the deck.

"Whatever caused you so much delay?"

Judson strode over holding a small brown sack. The injury on his white wing was gone. He had on new clothes - apparently, better ones he had woven from plant life. He dropped the brown sack at Edsel's feet and walked over to Waverly.

"What is the meaning of this?" Edsel inquired distastefully. He writhed and contorted, his form flickering with a purplish light as though he intended to become liquid again but the vines were much too strong for him to break free of.

Waverly looked at Judson and the silent conversation she was so used to having with him passed between them.

"Payment. Precisely, one thousand and twenty two precious stones as promised." Waverly announced.

The vines began to retreat until Edsel was free but as they did, they took chunks of his clothes with them. He huffed in protest and glared with caution at Judson then proceeded to open the sack. Truly, it was filled halfway to the brim with sparkling gemstones.

Edsel grinned wider than the horizon.

"Ah." He sighed contentedly and picked up the sack. "You have such wonderful gifts, boy. These will not do but my word indeed is my word. You may cross."

"I was going to cross with or without a sacrifice." Waverly mildly challenged, glaring at him.

"Oh, were you, Zanaan? I almost took your head off." Edsel said.

"And yet you did not because a few earth stones took away your attention." Waverly scowled.

Edsel lifted one eyebrow. Waverly thought he looked very elegant. She almost sticked herself with her Karya for thinking such.

He smiled and looked at Judson. "Your friend takes for granted every thing you do for her. Believe me that even your presence is. . . quite ignored."

With that, he vanished in the sunlight.

Waverly and Judson stood in silence for a short while before Waverly turned to face him.

"I am truly sorry i let go of your hand, Jud."

Judson nodded gently and gestured that he understood then opened his hand. Waverly saw that a tiny yellow sapphire rested in his palm. It was the one gem she did not have yet.

"You found a yellow one!" She gasped in excitement.

She released one bracelet and gave it to Judson who quickly fastened the sapphire to it. The bracelets briefly casted a dull glow on Waverly's hand then returned to normal. She felt oddly stronger than she had been a few moments before.

"Come. I must tell you how i have obtained my own ship." She squeaked in glee while grabbing at his arms.

She shared the story of the strange deity she had met, how he gifted her a ship after guiding her on a raft she had built, the strange drink he offered her and how he kept the storm at bay whilst he spoke to her.

Judson could not put together who the god was but assumed he was one of the fewer, truly generous ones.

After Waverly's tale, Judson proceeded to tell her of his own little adventure. Moments after their separation, he had run right into a marshland. This part of the In Between was mostly barren - covered in peat and very boggy in some places - so much that Judson did not know which way to go. He searched for Waverly and stumbled around for quite a long while hoping to cross paths with her again. Many at times he found himself sinking in a very unpleasant swamp overrun by mosquitoes, bugs and frogs. He found it very disheartening tjat the land was vast and yet with diminishing life. By the eve of the next day, he was approached by the spirit of a dying ebony tree - the only one he had come across in the marshland. The spirit was male and had identified himself as Hebenyf.

Hebenyf was frail and old, and bald and his skin was black as petra oil. He told Judson the story of how the marshland came to be and Judson, in turn, told the story to Waverly.

Thousands of years ago when the Gateway realm was abundant on all sides and the marshland used to harbor plenty trees and nature blossomed in it, there was a great merriment. All the spirits of nature gathered and sang praises to Juniper for spring was soon to come even though in the In Between, spring came very late. The nature spirits spent a glorious time raving wildly, drinking wine and flirting with the Derews and Skyling girls - for the goddess would look upon her followers and find pleasure in their fervor.

One particular spirit became overwhelmed with drunken ardor that he made a very loud insulting comment in regards to the goddess. These comments were forbidden to be spoken afterwards even in a form of telltale. Juniper was greatly offended for she had overheard those comments. She sent a plague called The Groan upon where the spirits partied. This caused the land to rot and become levelled to barrenness.

Through her messenger, Lica who was the spirit of the Willow tree, Juniper warned that the marshland would remain the way it was until a true lover of nature would redeem it. Hebenyf had pleaded with Judson, whom he sensed was a true lover of nature, to heal the marshland. Judson was unsure of how to heal an entire land. He had healed tiny plants or small injuries but never a land as a big as the marsh. He decided to give it a try nohow. He had said a prayer to Juniper and apologized deeply on behalf of the spirits of the marshland. After his prayer, Judson took out a couple of seeds from his shirt pocket and planted them. It was with difficulty he found clean water but with a few drops, the seeds were watered.

Using every bit of his strength, he willed the seeds to grow and after a while, they did. It was a thing of wonder to watch an entire marshland transform into paradise - plants of many kinds grew in the widest berth, trees and healthy grasses enveloped every inch of the land until not a single rot was seen. The spirits were granted peace once more after many thousand years. Hebenyf faded away peacefully and with gladness because he had spent so long waiting for a savior while his life force was being sapped by the daunt of the environment.

Judson left the new paradise afterwards but before that - with the help of many tree spirits - he dug up the earth and salvaged the stones he had promised to give Edsel. He pleaded with one of the Skyling girls (angel-like daughters and servants to the goddess Cret) to fly around the realm and notify him of Waverly's whereabouts and that was how he was able to find her.

"You met a Skyling? You planted an entire forest?" Waverly asked with her mouth hanging half open.

A slice of carrot hung from her lower lip. Judson chuckled and picked it away. He had made dinner for the both of them and his story was so elaborate that he still told it even while they ate.

"That is truly wonderful." Waverly yelped. She sat on the deck and placed one hand on the floor next to her empty plate.

"You have such magical talents. Do you remember how you came to have them?"

Judson frowned. He seemed to be struggling to remember but no memory came to him. He shook his head in a sad kind of regret.

"We are best friends, Jud. I would like it if you stopped withholding certain things from me. We must trust each other to be capable of working perfectly as a team."

Judson looked up at the moonlight. It was obviously nightfall now which meant they ought to have left a lot of the realm behind and was finally at its edge. The moon was only a half one but Waverly was happy to see it. She felt very relieved because being without moonlight for nineteen days had somehow drained her. Seeing it now gave her a new type of strength. It made her fearless and she believed she could do anything.

This was why she loved watching the moon back home with Judson. It gave her the feeling that it was something she knew - personally. A celestial she was safe under and comfortable with. The moon shone a bright white but none of its yellow hue reflected on the land. Waverly found this a little bit strange.

"Do you know of the reason why Lord Edsel calls me Zanaan?" Waverly asked with a painful wince. Judson had bandaged every single one of her injuries including the ones Edsel recently gave her but her bones felt very sore, as if she had placed them inside a grinder for hours.

Judson met Waverly's eyes. She held his gaze firmly such that he was unable to look away.

"I do not. But i have suspected for a long time, Waverly, that you are one."

Waverly shifted uncomfortably, feeling very frightened again.

Being a Zanaan was a rare occurrence. It was hardwork and a very dangerous affair. If she was indeed a god's offspring then she had unwillingly signed up for a life of severe suffering. She learned of a few godly children from her lessons with HalfHyde. These godly children had the worst lives possible and at every turn, people wanted to kill them or kill the people around them because they were seen as a taboo in all the realms.

Waverly had always felt she was a taboo as well but hearing her best friend voice out her own suspicions made her even more provoked. In some twisted way, she wanted to run and leave her body behind for someone else. She did not want to be Zanaan and worst of all, she did not know which god spawned her.

Waverly turned away and bit her lip nervously. "It does not matter. Whoever this god may be that is my true father, he abandoned me with Pa and never came back to make sure i was alright. I do not give care for who he is and i wish he never reveals himself to me."

Judson wanted to reach out to hold Waverly's hand but he retreated and as he did, she glimpsed it.

"Why do you feel nervous to touch me? Do i frighten you?" Waverly asked.

"N-no. I just. . ."

"Do you fear me now because i am Zanaan?" Waverly asked.

Her voice sounded like she was on the verge of anger but she seemed to restrain herself. "I do not blame you. I blame whoever the coward is that made me and dumped me with Pa."

With that she stood up and glared out at the calm waters. The bluish grayness of the night seemed to settle on the surface of the ocean and made the weather feel serene and enjoyable. The half moon reflected on the water. It was a strange moon. A different kind from the one in Bremeton. One side of it was pure yellow and the other was pale white. It was fairly larger than the moon in Bremeton and if one stared at it for too long, it made one think they were staring at a single large eyeball.

Waverly suddenly kicked her plate in fury and sent it skittering across the deck to smash against the bulwark. Judson was startled. His right wing twitched nervously as he sensed that Waverly was about to throw one of her temper tantrums. If she ran out of things to break before her anger subsided then Estoso would be in grave danger.

The more plates she kicked, the more plates he slid toward her. There was anything he could do to stop any of her episodes or prevent it. The least he could do was provide her with things to break until she tired out. Waverly kicked plates until her toes bled out, since she did so barefooted. Her boots had gone completely bad and were useless to wear. Judson could not fix them nor make her new ones unless they made it to land where he could fashion footwear out of thin vines.

Eventually, Waverly gave up kicking plates. She sat down in exhaustion on one of the long wooden benches in the corner with a broad table in the middle. This was where light meals were supposed to be eaten on the ship.

Judson came up and sat beside her. After a while of silence, he spoke. "I also am Zanaan."

Waverly looked at him in surprise for a minute then her surprise turned into shock before finally melting into relief. Ever since their first meeting it had been quite obvious that he was no ordinary person.

"Do you know which god spawned you?"

He nodded gently and Waverly knotted her brows when she realized he was trying to hide a smile.

"The Derews told it to me that night i stayed outside the tent. I did not want to believe them but i am sure now that they spoke the truth. You and i have both known all along which deity bore me."

Waverly tensed. She hoped Judson's parent was not one of the arrogant ones like Edsel. She had learned about many other gods and wished that the Gateway keeper belonged amongst the least she would ever cross paths with again.

Staring calculating into Judson's face, it was difficult to tell his ancestry just by looking at him. He looked like a Shade, an Elf and a Skyling all at once. His features were delicately pretty in the manner of a female's and many attimes people had mistaken him for a young girl.

Waverly had known him since he was eight and all he had ever done since then was tend to plants, grow gardens, fuss over spring coming late, discover precious stones in the earth, make herbal tea, healing potions and. . .

Waverly gasped as realization dawned on her like a warm shower. "Juniper. Your mother is Juniper."

Judson finally smiled. A gleeful smile.

"Oh, Jud!" Waverly cried happily and hugged him tight. "I should have realized all along."

"I should have as well but i thought it to be impossible. Me, a child of the goddess of nature." Judson said.

His wistful tone carried a certain pride that was always present whenever he talked about the goddess. Waverly took his hand. She felt truly happy for him. He had admired Juniper his whole life and the new discovery that she was his mother made him feel beyond elated. Waverly could see wisps of resemblance between him and the goddess now. He possessed the same thoughtfulness that was usually related with Juniper, according to HalfHyde's study books. She was also possibly the reason for Judson's girlish beauty, his kind soul and how smart he was about nature.

"That is why you were able to heal the forest. Because Juniper is your ma, i mean. . . er, would it be an error to refer her as your ma?"

Judson laughed and shook his head. "I do not know."

"Have you met her?" Waverly whispered.

His excitement suddenly seemed to drown and his face clouded over with sadness. This made Waverly regret her question.

Nevertheless, he shook his head.

"No one has seen any god or goddess in a fairly long time. Like Hebenyf told me, Juniper has not shown herself for over a thousand years. Her voice can be heard oftentimes as claimed by some of her followers but her presence has not been felt since The Groan."

"But Edsel is here." Waverly growled then her tone softened. "And the generous god that gave Estoso to me."

Judson hummed. "Maybe because these gods needed to be here. No one can cross the In Between without encountering Edsel anyway."

"You speak the truth!" She agreed. "But who is that god who gave me help? I would very much like to know who he really is. He felt to me as fantastic. Like a presence i should only feel and not gaze upon."

"I cannot tell. Maybe we might meet him again, with luck."

"With luck!" Waverly mumbled.

She talked with Judson into the night about random things until they both fell into a deep slumber out on the deck. Estoso sailed calmly by herself for the next two days. Whether it was the work of some strange magic or the fact that the two were extremely worn out from all their troubles and travels, Waverly and Judson slept all through the remaining days of their journey.

They only awoke when Estoso bumped hard against a piece of rock.

Waverly stirred first.

For a fleeting second she was startled to wake up to the sight of Judson sleeping directly in front of her, for her mind was befuddled from long slumber. She thought she was back home and that Judson was supposed to be lost but then she remembered all of the previous events and sat up. Her back felt rather stiff as she did and this made her bitterly regret not settling inside one of the comfortable cabins down below.

When she saw what Estoso had bumped into, she shook Judson awake.

"Jud? Jud, wake up!"

Judson groaned and snuggled his knees against his chest, his white wing splayed out on the deck like a cushion. Waverly doubted he felt sore at all. She climbed up to the top of the mast to get a better view of the place they had come upon.

When she looked down at Judson, she realized just how scrawny and small he seemed from the height. If a large bird were to fly overhead, it could mistake him for an overgrown butterfly or even a moth. She plucked off a loose slab of wood from the mast and let it drop close to Judson's head. The impact jerked him awake and he slowly sat up.

With one hand he shielded his eyes from the blinding sunlight and watched Waverly climb down the mast.

"Good news and bad news, Jud." She began. "We have left the Gateway realm at last but i do not know where on earth we are now. Look."

She turned and pointed to the mouth of an enormous cave they had sailed to.

The Moon Spawn|
Book 01