Escaping the impending Siege of Paideia wasn’t all that hard to do. We merely had to take the northern gate and cut through the forest until we entered the Portisolan Republic. Easy peasy.

For me.

For Seren and Fluminix it was a much more laborious journey, as there were no roads in the forest, only trails. On many occasions Seren wondered if we were lost. On some occasions we almost got lost due to Fluminix’s wandering interests, and her budding hunting skills, sometimes puffing away in a cloud of darkness to hunt in the middle of the night.

When we entered the city of Portisola, after trekking for well over a week, the first thing I did was to seek out the local Adventurer Guild. Mainly because they were, supposedly, apolitical, but also because they were the only ones here who wanted to handle my letters with respect. It was also the best place for me to inquire about any ships heading west that might be willing to take us along.

Thankfully – because otherwise I might have had to deal with Portisolan officials seeking me out and asking all kinds of diplomatic questions about the situation at Paideia – we didn’t have to wait all that long before we boarded a ship and set off away from Umbrea and its eternally messy geopolitics.

*******

After a layover in Tarvo and another in Ribausson, we finally reached the island nation that was Seren’s homeland, Gueredon.

The Mac an Ghorta farm was located in the central region of the country’s biggest island, about an hour’s walk outside of the nearby village. The farm may have been a small farmstead, once upon a time, but it was now a hamlet consisting of one main farm – where her parents lived – and several smaller farms next to it – presumably belonging to her siblings and other relatives.

It was a lovely sight, really. The houses were half-buried and dug into the clay ground, half built with the dug-up clay and timber. Inside of the thatched roofs of the houses in the village, these had grass growing on top of the roof, making them blend into their surroundings.

It was very quaint.

Ever since we got off the ship and made our way inland, Seren had grown increasingly nervous and fidgety. Which I understood. It was always nerve-wracking to introduce your partner to your family.

“Promise me, you’ll behave?” she nervously asked me for the millionth time.

“I will be nothing but courteous, my dear,” I assured her once more. “I even brought them a gift, to break the ice.”

“I’m still not sure this is such a good idea,” she muttered anxiously.

“What? The gift?” I asked, knowing full well it wasn’t about the gift.

She snorted a little laugh, a momentary break from her nerves. “No, the gift is perfect. You’re perfect. It’s just...”

“Your parents will love me,” I said reassuringly. “Once they get to know me.”

She winced. “Yes, that’s what I’m worried about...”

“Oh, no need to worry. I won’t steal your family away from you,” I said with a playful smile, before I pointed towards the fields ahead of us. “Look, they’re already scrambling to greet us.”

The hamlet ahead looked like a kicked bees’ nest. People were frantically gathering in the square, whilst the bell of the chapel was rung with urgency.

“I don’t think that’s the welcome party you were hoping for,” Seren said slowly with her eyes narrowed at her former home.

I hummed thoughtfully as I took in the sight and we slowly drew closer. “No, perhaps not. But it is the welcome party I was expecting.

“After all, it isn’t the first since we left Umbrea.”

She sighed and shook her head. “As casual about things like this, as always. Aren’t you ever scared they’ll actually pose a threat to you?”

“Out here?” I asked rhetorically. “No. The closest thing to making an earnest attempt on my life is the one we left behind at Paideia, and even that one I’ve long since covered.”

She sighed again, in defeat this time. “Let’s just get this over with.”

As we silently approached the hamlet, its residents made a shaky defensive line of pitchforks, hoes and other farming tools. Their hunters had their bows drawn and their nerves were close to firing their arrows before they were told to.

“Seren!?” someone called out in alarm as we were close enough for them to notice her in our trio. “What are you doing out there, girl?! Get away from that abomination and the overgrown lizard! We’ll cover you!”

I couldn’t help it. I really tried to stop myself. But I still chuckled, which earned me a glare and an elbow to my ribs from Seren, before she sighed yet again.

“Will you just put down your... weapons and listen, before you make accusations?!” she yelled back.

“Are you mad, girl!?” the same man called out again, whom I was starting to assume was her father. “Has the vile witch enthralled you!?”

“He isn’t wrong,” I said quietly with a chuckle.

Seren sighed for the fourth time. “You aren’t helping...”

I had the good sense to look chastised.

“Dad, she isn’t here to harm you, you old fool! Nor is the dragon harmful!” she yelled back to her family, before quietly adding, “Most of the time, at least.”

“I even brought a gift for you!” I added in the vain hope that it would help get us welcomed.

“You think coming here with my KIDNAPPED daughter counts as a gift?!” her father sputtered back. “I swear, I’ll bring Goddess’ wrath down upon you if you’ve laid a hand on her, you spawn of Nox.”

Seren sighed one final time. “Well, we tried...”

I placed my hand on her opposite shoulder and pulled her in a side hug. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault,” she said to reassure me, though I knew she was close to crying and it was definitely my fault.

We turned around and left them, the hamlet that had been her home and the people she had called family.

*******

As we were on the last ship of our journey to our final destination of our trip, we gathered at the bow of the ship – despite the air having grown uncomfortably cold for those that were affected by such things. Huddled together, we stared out at the choppy, dark waves as a storm front passed us by in the distance.

Seren had been in our cabin a lot ever since we left Gueredon, crying, so I was happy to see her out and about. To help make it more comfortable, I got a spell going that gave me a nice and cosy body temperature, which had her leaning into me even more.

“What are Fluminix’s kin like?” she asked softly, her words almost getting lost in the wind.

“Argumentative,” I answered. “But that’s to be expected of a species that naturally lives for centuries and have an overabundance of pride from the first several of those.”

She snorted a little, which had me looking at her with a soft smile, before she said, “I can see why you love them.”

“There’s that, sure,” I carefully said. “But it’s more than that. Some of them I’ve known since they were hatchlings. Some, well one, I’ve known since before I became a lich. They’re... family to me. A constant presence that I know can relate to some of the things I struggle with.

“And they, in return, love to poke fun at me, test me, tease me, grumble about me being ‘only human’, and... well, you get the idea.”

She let out a little laugh. “They sound like a riot.”

“A riot if the riot consists of beings older than most countries and strong enough to level the world if they wanted to,” I added with a little chuckle. “Not that they want to. They are quite fond of their seclusion.”

“Which is why you’re happy to break it?” she asked teasingly, as she ran her hand over Fluminix’s head scales when the infant dragon bumped against her head.

“Not at all,” I half-lied. “Anyway, how about a little story to pass the time?”

Fluminix’s excited little squeak was all I really needed, but I still waited for Seren to nod.

“Alright then,” I said, as Seren rested her head against mine. “How about a tale from the other side of the world, from a land that holds more seas and oceans than it does land?

“No objections?” I asked without waiting. “Good.

“There once lived a family on the island of Napelau, a part of the vast spread of islands of the southern parts of the Dagwan Ocean. For generations, the peoples of these islands had travelled across the seas and ocean to reach new shores, and when no more shores could be found with her vessels, they roamed between the settled islands.

“Some for trade. Some for diplomacy. Some to find new or old family. Some to start a more settled life. Some just for the sake of the journey, for the adventure of braving the seas.

“Napelau is one of the more remote islands, despite it being located rather central in the chain of islands. This meant that being able to make the journey to distant shores was a highly valued skill, especially compared to those that lived in the islands farther to their south, where island life had become more important than their ancestral skill of seafaring. Something they also took great pride in.

“None more so than Malia-pwe, who was one of the island’s most skilled voyagers. Since a young age, she had made numerous crossings. First as an apprentice, and later as either part of a crew or solo.

“If one were to ask her, there was no-one who knew the seas better than her.

“On one of those journeys, someone claimed that which no-one had been able to claim thus far, despite having told many that they had.

“Ngara-pach had enraptured her, like no-one or nothing had. The woman had a charm to her that tamed the adventurous voyager, and they returned to Napelau and settled down. Starting a family together, which expanded when they adopted the orphaned Lani.

“For once, the allure of the seas didn’t appeal to Malia-pwe as strongly, and her voyages became shorter and closer to home. Mostly going out to fish or to just... sail around on her own for a little bit.

“Still, the sedentary life was not for her, and the call to travel returned to her, around the time their daughter was getting old enough to make her first voyage. And there was one voyage that Malia-pwe felt was overdue.

“When she proposed to Ngara-pach to sail north, to Ngara-pach’s home island and to the island that had once, temporarily, called home, she was pleasantly surprised to get enthusiastic reply that Ngara-pach wanted to turn it into a proper family journey.

“Unbeknownst to Malia-pwe, Ngara-pach had long since heard rumours about her wife, but recently she had witnessed Malia-pwe with one of her exes. The two of them had looked awfully close and overly friendly with one another, which made Ngara-pach doubt her wife’s fidelity.”

“Sounds suspiciously like someone I know,” Seren interjected teasingly.

“Shush,” I scolded lightly. “Anyway, for the upcoming voyage, they prepared their family’s outrigger boat. It was a boat that Malia-pwe built with her family on the island of Sólalap, way up north from Napelau. It was purpose built for her voyage south, to earn Ngara-pach’s hand in marriage.

“Now, when I say family, I don’t mean family as in tied by blood, but a found family that she built over her voyaging years,” I explained, interjecting my own story.

“Why didn’t they settle down there then, instead of on Napelau?” Seren asked curiously.

“Wouldn’t know,” I said with a shrug. “The story doesn’t say.”

“Conveniently,” she retorted teasingly, earning her a light shoulder bump from me.

“Anyway, the three of them set off on their journey north, when the winds favoured it. Which also meant that the seas were rougher than during the rest of the year. The voyage having become not just a test of their collective sailing skill, but also one of bravery. For few choose to traverse the seas during that time of the year.

“With an inexperienced crew, Malia-pwe’s skills were pushed to the limit. Ngara-pach learned that, despite her troubles, the rough seas demanded she heeded her wife’s commands. Lani showed great promise as a sailor, as she was a quick study under Malia-pwe’s guidance.

“When the sea calmed, they would fish to supplement their otherwise stale supplies. Their greatest catches were preserved as best they could. Either for themselves when they couldn’t fish, or for Ngara-pach’s family once they arrived on Yalúw.

“When they reached their first destination, they were not exactly welcomed with open arms. After all, Ngara-pach’s family had never really been a huge fan of Malia-pwe and had only given their approval for the marriage upon Ngara-pach’s insistence. So, when the trio offered them their best, preserved fish, Ngara-pach’s family reluctantly offered them the hospitality that tradition asked them to give.”

“Hm, I think I see where you get your inspiration for picking stories from,” Seren interjected with a playful note, laced with residual sadness for how things had gone with her own family.

“I said ‘shush’, didn’t I?” I asked with a playfully scolding look. “Any relevance for current events in my close proximity is merely coincidental.”

She snorted in disbelief, but didn’t say anything, which allowed me to continue, “While Ngara-pach’s family was reluctant to host the trio, the rest of the village were less reserved in their warmth. They happily traded with the trio for the few wares the three of them had brought with them from Napelau and were excited to exchange stories, both of the trio’s voyage and those told on their home island.

“After spending several days on Yalúw, the trio set off north again, this time crossing waters that were more coastal and thus slightly calmer. They fished some more and this stretch gave Malia-pwe more opportunity to impart some of her skill to her daughter, as opposed to having her learn under stress and emergencies. She even let her daughter steer for a while.

“When they arrived on Sólalap they were welcomed with open arms and a lavish feast by Malia-pwe’s family. It had been way too long, according to her family.

“During the feast, they shared stories. Including those from her roaming voyager days. Tall tales of romantic conquest and more reasonable tales of their actual adventures were told with abandon, much to Ngara-pach’s dismay. She did not enjoy hearing about all the women her wife had been with, how many of them Malia-pwe had promised to wed, only for her to disappear on them.

“So, with the festivities still ongoing, Ngara-pach sneaked away and found refuge along the shore. When Malia-pwe found her not long after, Ngara-pach finally aired her troubles. Malia-pwe was pained by it, but understood where her wife came from. So, she told Ngara-pach precisely why she was different to her, and why she would never leave her.

“Malia-pwe told Ngara-pach about how she felt when they first met. Most of the women Malia-pwe had been with were mostly interested in her because she was a voyager, an adventurous woman. Ngara-pach, on the other hand, seemed completely disinterested in that part of Malia-pwe, almost snobbishly so. When they met, Malia-pwe felt like Ngara-pach was meeting and talking to Malia-pwe, not to another voyager. It was Ngara-pach that gave Malia-pwe a sense of belonging she never had, a sense of home.

“Though Ngara-pach’s troubles persisted, she at least felt more reassured, and the both of them rejoined the others. When they did, they found Lani to be at the centre of attention, with everyone having taken an interest in their daughter.

“So it was, that they knew their daughter would be in good hands here, that leaving their daughter in the care of Malia-pwe’s family would grant her opportunities they couldn’t back on Napelau. Even if it pained them to part ways from their daughter, they knew their choice was right.

“After their time on Sólalap came to an end, the two of them sailed back to their home island. Their hearts both heavy and lightened.”

“That was nice...” Seren said, as she hugged me closer.

I hummed softly in agreement as my eyes drifted down to Fluminix. Would it be wrong to potentially consider her my daughter? Was parting ways truly the best option?

With those troubling thoughts running through my mind, we sailed ever closer to the icy lands of Cycnic.