Morana lingered a long while during their goodbye from the nymphs. Lillwen promised her to see her again as soon as the two found time, and Yeosang also offered her to arrange meetings once they were back home and safe. When Lillwen left, her gentle touch to Morana's fingers offered solace to the girl's pout. She and Wynn disappeared into the waves after asking Hongjoong for updates concerning the political situation and its changes.

They were back in the Vault of Heaven, but the foreign territory was close. Morana walked the beach with Pebble in her arms since she was afraid to lose her and the steady weight of her sister offered unexpected consolation.

Aodhán was with her, trailing patterns into the sand while they waited for the adults to decide on the best course of action. Apparently, it was too risky to fly to map out the route since their faces were known across the lands. Seemed like some people were not so fond of Seonghwa and his group, and they had their eyes everywhere around them.

Aodhán formed figures with the water. They watched a crab wander past on its determined path into the endless ocean. Morana wished she could breathe underwater too and explore the fathomless depths.

"What do you think of our emmya?" Morana asked her brother. She would never fault him for his views, since he was her only family by blood. And one of the few elves she could feel connected to.

Aodhán shrugged. The rain let up and some sparse rays of light brightened his golden locks, peering from his dark hood. To the untrained eye, he carried himself like a mage, not like a celestial prince.

"I know he did everything to protect us. I'm proud to be his son," Aodhán replied. He perked up when Yunho called for them and followed as Buddy herded them with the rest of the group.

Conflicted, Morana grumbled to herself as she joined the others in the grass.

-

After spending the night in the safe area of the Vault of Heaven, they packed their bags to peer into the Crystal Sphere on their way through. Since the kingdoms were neighbours, they wouldn't make it as far as to one of the castles, but they might find a nearby elven village. On the way there, everyone kept warning Morana.

"You have to wear your hood at all times," Yeosang insisted and tugged it around her ears so neither their tips nor her horns were in view.

"Stay close to us and hold on tight when we grab you to flee," San asked her, and while he didn't sound as frantic, the warning was sharp. Even if she passed as a demon child and no nefarious darkspawn princess, her company easily gave her away.

Maybe bringing a famous diplomat from every single race wasn't the wisest choice for her party.

"Try to make as little sound as possible. Orcs don't hear well, but goblins do," Hongjoong muttered to her if just to add to the demands of the others.

Though Morana rolled her eyes at the nagging from every direction, she complied. It wasn't in her warrior heart to submit easily - and Yunho scolded Wooyoung for teaching her that way - but she knew this journey would end abruptly if she didn't yield to their demands. Thus, the girl pouted to herself, tugging Pebble close against her chest.

Pebble had no rules to yield to. Pebble even got away with utter silence.

"What if we find a demon?" Morana asked, hushing her voice since they had been wandering west for a while now. The forests here were abundant in their spring blossoms, but who knew what hid among them?

"Then we leave," Yunho replied before someone else got to speak. "I won't kill one of their kind."

A tense silence fell over the group. Morana peered among them, but she couldn't read their faces. Only Aodhán's mutual confusion filtered through to her.

The siblings exchanged a look. Thinking each other most sane in this mess. Then they marched on.

Soon, their surroundings changed. It was subtle at first, the occasional fallen tree and dirt hill; nothing that couldn't be excused with a storm. But the further they roamed among the dead leaves of the last year, the more bizarre the landscape became.

No birds greeted Onyx from the trees anymore. Mulberry poked his beak into the earth on the hunt for food but came up only with a confused noise when he found no life nearby.

Buddy whimpered, sticking close to Yunho's side with his tail tucked between his hind legs.

And Hongjoong's face grew more sinister with every step.

More trees unearthed. Fallen over with their roots still attached when giants knocked into them like toys. Massive patches of the forest were yanked away entirely, as if a gigantic beast dug a swathe with brute force. The remaining nature didn't sprout flowers and had no souls to whisper to Morana with; to invite her to sit and play. No new mushrooms emerged from the dead earth.

As if all life left this area.

Morana shuddered. She reached for Yeosang's hand, concerned with the dryad, and found him looking wilted as well. As if the stillness in the air sucked all the life out of him.

"Why is the land so dead?" Aodhán asked, perturbed after he ran his fingers along the wilted brown leaves of a hawthorn that seemed eternally stuck in its misery, not planning to liven up again.

"After the war, the faeries tending to nature no longer wanted to return to this place. They feared the orcs and their brood and wept for the fallen elves," Hongjoong muttered and pain swung in his voice because he had seen this place when it was still healthy. When everything rejoiced about the beauty of life.

Did that mean this area hadn't changed in ten years? No improvement? No seasons?

"The despicable amounts of blood that soaked into this ground made it infertile. Most of it was vile and poisonous, but too much poured from the very creatures nature cherished so much. The trees and the flowers also have souls. And they were heartbroken, drinking up the life of those they adored," San added. His right arm tucked to his body, aching with the memory of that time.

Upset, Morana squeezed Yeosang's hand. He loved nature, treated it as his friend. If none of it was available for him to spend time with, Morana would be there for him. She knew the feeling of being left alone by everyone like her.

After a few more splintered trees and rocks split by unnatural forces, Yunho squinted into the distance. Onyx sailed overhead, wise enough not to caw until he landed on Wooyoung's shoulder to chatter his beak to him.

He confirmed what Yunho was trying to see.

"There are some tents ahead. Do we have to duck into hiding so soon?" He warned the group, but San shook his head before Hongjoong had to shroud them in his cloak of magic.

"Those are our soldiers. They patrol the border so no orcs will enter our territory."

Awed, Morana tried to catch a glimpse of them. Were they all as broad and strong as San? The people up on the clouds had seemed free and careless, but San's military background was impressive.

"Best we get a peek from there. I originally wanted to push in and safeguard the Crystal Sphere, but their forces were overwhelming."

"Not to mention other kingdoms might have disagreed with the distribution of land and regarded your seizing it as a danger," Yunho added, to which Hongjoong sent him a look.

"You humans are the only ones who worry about how much land they can get out of a war when our emperor just disappeared." He didn't say it to insult Yunho, balancing a thin line of dividing him from the rest of his people. When Yunho agreed, Morana was awed by how they could communicate their differences without judgment. She had never seen Wooyoung and Yeosang fight about these things, either.

Gathered up behind San, they followed him through the miserable leftovers of the forest. Traces of fires blackened the ground and the splintered wood. Morana saw no bodies, but the occasional fallen piece of metal crunched under her feet. Tattered fabrics swayed ghostly in the wind.

They reached the tents around lunchtime and were greeted by a few men lounging around to eat before switching shifts. When San stepped from the burnt thicket, they sprung to their feet, standing at attention.

"Settle," San muttered, beckoning them to sit. Mellow for a king. But from what Morana gathered, Seonghwa had been the most mellow ruler of all.

"What do we owe the honour, Your Majesty?" The commander of the troops in golden armour and capes matching their wings asked. Their eyes grew wider and wider as the rest of the troupe made it into their camp.

"We are passing through on a private quest. What is the situation in this area?" San asked and the other soldiers hurried to eat up, all boredom forgotten as they were eager to look good before their king. Morana watched them suspiciously. She caught a few glancing back, full of awe and fear.

Somehow, she liked this feeling. The attention of her person and name was bothersome, but she approved of being feared and respected. Would she also govern an army one day? Would they be loyal to her, like they were to San?

Wooyoung massaged Morana's shoulders with idle hands while the commander fumbled for a map to show San.

"We didn't have any major run-ins with larger groups in recent days. We get rid of the goblin plague wherever we can, but their source seems endless. A few elves found refuge in the nearby villages," he briefed San. Thoughtful, the seraph nodded along.

"What is a goblin?" Morana asked Wooyoung, thinking these were people of yet another kingdom she hadn't heard of.

"Children of orcs and elves," he replied, voice strained. Morana made a face.

What elf would want a child with an orc? Whenever Morana heard of them, they sounded brutish and villainous, not like good parents.

Perhaps her father having a child with a demon wasn't so outlandish after all.

"Are there any elven villages nearby you have secured completely?" San was calm with his questions. Mulberry explored around the camp and Yeosang stood to the side, frowning to himself when the earth didn't respond to his searching roots.

"Just two," the commander replied. He pointed them out to San and Morana was so curious. She wanted to see what those looked like. Had the war ruined them, too?

"We are travelling north, so we would like to pass near the closest one that is safe."

"Then this one should be fine. Would you like me to send an elite for your protection?"

Not San needed that protection. But his companions.

"No need," Hongjoong replied in San's stead, just as authoritative of a voice. "We best minimise the attention we draw on us."

San glanced at Morana. She sat down on the ground since she was bored and her legs were tired. Pebble wandered about to peer at chests and books, never asking questions, just moving on to look at the next thing. She was so fun to watch.

"Prepare for us to stay for a night. I won't risk getting caught out in the dark without safety nearby. We will depart in the early morning when the orcs and demons are still hidden in their burrows," he called, and Morana's other uncles didn't argue with him. They spread out to check their surroundings and Hongjoong consulted the soldiers about where he should put his spells and how they had to act around his magic.

Morana peered up at Aodhán when he held out his hand for her. His grin was boyish, but his glow was dulled. Though the sun hadn't shone today, it was almost as if a shadow hung over this land. Stifling out all warmth and joy. Morana had felt cold since nature started dying.

Soon, they had eaten and calmed down in their respective tents. Morana stayed with Aodhán and Hongjoong for maximum security and she didn't go out to wander even when she was curious about the night sky under this blanket of doom.

She looked forward to the next day. Although she also noticed the nervous hammering of her heart whenever she looked into the dead, devastated woods.

Whatever did that to the peaceful nature didn't halt before anything.

They needed to be careful.