Ar'Kendrithyst

Erick had gone to bed early and woken up with the sun. No attacks came in the middle of the night; the day was already better than what Erick had expected. Jane made coffee-tea, and however she had done it, she had accomplished a brew much better than Erick’s attempts.

“Big day,” Jane said, sipping her coffee on the veranda. The sun had yet to rise above the city walls, but already the sky was awash in golds and reds. “Are you prepared?”

“Should be.” Erick refilled his cup from the pot nearby. “Are you going to join me?”

“Yes. Some of it. Most of it, actually.” She held her coffee. “Mog asked a lot of people to be there, mostly on the sidelines. I was going to be there anyway. Something is going to happen, for sure.”

Erick smiled. “You haven’t been out to the farms for a rain yet, have you?”

“I’ve met everyone, but no. I haven’t been there for a rain.”

Erick drank his coffee-tea. Gazing at the hot green liquid, he said, “I hope there’s some non-sacrilegious way to take a piss out there.”

Jane chuckled.

She went quiet.

She said, “I felt like you were going to get yourself killed until a few days ago when you went and destroyed those mimics. Then you rescued me from the spiders, and went on to kill a hundred mimics around the farm… Now you’re getting beat up every day at the Guild. But you’re also getting up every time.”

Erick joked, “That’s making news, eh?”

“It is! And… It’s…” She blurted out, “It’s nice. Okay? It’s nice to know that you’re here. I didn’t think you were really here-here, seeing what I was seeing, until… Until very recently.”

Erick set his coffee down. He listened.

“You have this trusting nature and I didn’t… I’ve never respected it. Especially lately.” She blurted, “Thank the gods we were labeled ‘planar’ or else… I don’t think the incani would have stopped with the attack on the Sewerhouse. One of us would have died and I don’t know which would have been worse. You leaving me, or me leaving you. I’m just…”

Erick felt his eyes cloud, but he held back. Jane wasn’t done.

“I’m glad that didn’t happen. I’m glad you killed those mimics. You always used to talk about the social contract when I was a girl, about helping your neighbors as a way to help yourself; that expecting a return was failing to understand that the contract is never about getting a return. It’s about faith.” She sniffled. “I’m really glad to see your faith hasn’t been misplaced—” She looked over to Poi standing at the side. “Guards are still weird to me, but I’m glad they’re here. I’m also glad to see that you’ve stepped up to your end of the social contract.” She smiled, looking away from Erick, at the rising sun. “I hope I can keep up with you.”

Erick watched the sky, listening to Jane.

He said, “Life on Veird isn't that different from Earth.”

Jane sipped her coffee, then nodded, saying, “Sure… There’s monsters and gods and everything else. But. We’re just closer to the front lines on Veird. It’s a luxury to be able to fight over school funding and zoning; here, luxury is carved out of the desert with blood and sweat, then served up on the dinner table.”

Erick nodded.

Jane and Erick both watched the brightening sky.

- - - -

The temple was the same as before; massive, 8 pillared, with a statue of Atunir in the back. The only change to the center of the farms was a small, four walled, no-roofed hut with a hole in the bottom, located just outside of the Ring of Gods. As far as bathrooms went, Erick had seen worse. At least the room was stone and sturdy.

The farms themselves looked a lot dirtier than the last time Erick had seen them. Most of the land had been tilled under, but the small grasses in front of Erick were yellow. Erick pointed out the yellowing to Valok.

Erick said, "They were perfectly healthy before, weren’t they? Shouldn’t some water still be in the soil, or did they really dry out this fast?”

Apogough answered, “That’s [Grow] fatigue, not drying. We tilled and planted new crops in every field, but it looks like we missed some weeds.”

“Look here, now.” Valok pointed toward the temple. A few young dragonkin were hanging out; one of them was Pinkscale, Valok’s daughter. “We got runners for anything you want. If you don’t ask for them, they’ve been instructed to stay away and not make much noise.”

Erick looked to the temple, then looked beyond, to Ar’Kendrithyst.

Apogough asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just waiting for the drama to start. I’m expecting fireballs, but I’m also expecting to be surprised.”

Valok, Apogough, and Poi, joined Erick in looking at the walls of the Dead City.

Poi said, “We have contingencies in place. If there are interruptions, then there are interruptions. This experiment will be cut short upon first violence. Hopefully, nothing happens, but we are prepared for many possible events.”

Erick nodded. “Then I guess… We’re ready?”

“Ready,” Valok said.

“Whenever you are,” Apogough said.

Krakina was not there. Erick felt a bit sad at that.

But the show must go on.

Erick said a prayer to the gods, then—

[Exalted Storm Aura].

Fog rolled in, then up. Clouds began to roil, spreading across the farms, then a bit further. Muted thunder echoed across the Crystal Forest as silver light coalesced in the sky. Platinum rain fell. Yellowed grasses perked right up, turning green, but no further; they weren’t proper targets for Erick’s magic. Apple trees, wheat fields, rice paddies, vines of fruits and bushes of spicy peppers; every crop began to [Grow], as every waterway began to fill. The cows joyfully mooed in the gentle rain as their pasture turned lush, vibrant, and tasty.

Erick moved out of the rain and in to the temple. He went to his bench and took a book out of his shoulderbag. It was one of several novels he had borrowed from Zago after he returned her books on flying, and showed off his unusual aura.

She had said his [Flight of a Thousand Hands Aura] was a good flight spell, and quite similar to the usual one already in the Script; but no one bought that version of [Fly]. Upon reading the description, Erick could see why they didn’t, and why neither Zago nor her books recommend the option.