Ta-Vet couldn’t sleep as he waited until the dead of night.

He went to the entrance of the kitchen and found a large marble loose tile. He found a large bag, filled with money and precious jewels. He quickly closed it, worried that he found the wrong bag, but upon further inspection, it was the only one.

Ta-Vet truly believed she was not lying to him now, and he now was ready to leave.

He quickly went up to the day room, wearing a large hooded jacket and boots to obscure his face when he left. Aeris was waiting for him, tired and yawning. The babies were asleep and she smiled when she saw him come in

“It’s time to go,” she whispered. “I will miss you.”

Ta-Vet opened his mouth, trying to say the same back, but closed it. He couldn’t, and he didn’t want to feel strange around her any longer.

“I have one more gift,” she told him.

She took off her cape and promptly tore off the end. Ta-Vet was shocked, as the bright glowing cape she wore ripped so easily. He watched in awe as the cape grew back to its original length.

“Wrap the baby in this,” she said. “He will be protected from anything.” Ta-Vet did as instructed, and wrapped the blue-eyed baby in the blanket.

“I have one of my own to protect the other. We will be fine. I need you to take the watch and sword. Don’t use either.”

Her eyes glowed black, as she was serious in her words. “These are not the sort of things one wants in here, especially with Leofric.”

“What shall we do with them,” Ta-Vet asked.

“I plan on burying them in a place no one will look,” Aeris said. “Isolda should have never trapped the gods in here, but I worry what would have happened if they still roamed freely, eating us all.”

Ta-Vet looked at her, his nose tingling and eyes watering in fear.

“That is just a tale, is it not,” Ta-Vet asked. “That cannot be true. ”

“How else would we have the powers that we do,” Aeris replied. “We are truly descendants of the gods, and you would be wise to remember this. They are not kind.”

Ta-Vet could hear the watch complain, and it gave him a headache.

She is a born liar, the watch screamed. They stole it from us! They are not the true rulers of Masona.

This is not the province of Masona, Ta-Vet thought. This is the province of Rex on Ionadis.

They have stolen the true name of this land as well, Infiniti screamed. They are all thieves!

Ta-Vet now knew that he was in too deep with all this new information and decided to ignore whatever the watch said. The watch however was not quiet. He began his long spew of complaints.

That filthy Prima and Isolda are nothing but whores, the watch screamed. You are nothing but thieves and whores!

“Shut up before I put you back in there,” Aeris barked.

Infiniti was now silent, biding his time for revenge against the children of Prima and Isolda. They were thieves and murderers, taking advantage of their benevolence and kindness.

At least, that was how Infiniti saw it.

Aeris worked quickly to make sure everything was packed in her simple knapsack, and she put on her coat.

That fucking watch is going to expose us all, Aeris thought. If I can’t hide it I can at least throw it into the volcano on Mt. Ignis.

“Near the servant’s quarters is a tunnel,” she told Ta-Vet. “It is behind the painting of Amora. Push it. I will use another route.” Ta-Vet nodded quickly, nervous that the plan would fail.

“Go now,” she commanded.

Ta-Vet quickly walked down the halls. The torn part of the cape seemed to have grown as well. It wrapped around the baby and lit up the dark halls. Ta-Vet tried to be brave, as he wanted desperately to please his mother.

He tried to walk fast enough to be quick, but not so fast that he would wake the baby. Once he got to the entrance of the servant’s quarters, he stopped at the painting of the goddess of love, Amora.

He stood in front of the painting, finding it ironic that a painting of the goddess of love was near the entrance of the servants' quarters. It was a penn for all the unloved bastards of the noble houses of Rex, and they would die never knowing love from their own parents.

Ta-Vet pushed the picture gently, nervous to damage it. Instead, his hand went straight through. It was an illusion. He walked right through it, to the other side, and there was a long marble hallway.

It was dark, but the strange blanket illuminated the tunnel. Ta-Vet’s heart beat fast as he knew he would leave alive, and that he would be a free man.

“Solara shines down upon us,” Ta-Vet whispered to the baby. “We will live.”

The tunnel opened up at the other side of the Hearth Castle’s walls. He walked through the forest in the dark, nervous about any wild animals. The light of the blanket was strangely soothing, and after some time he finally came out to the edge of the forest.

There at the top of a hill, was the Red Tree.

It was fabled to be the entrance to the dining hall of the gods. That when they walked with the mortals they would host many dinners near the strange red tree.

Its bark was red, its leaves were red, and even some of the dirt around it had a red tint. Many claimed it turned that color because the gods ate the flesh of man, but Ta-Vet did not believe that.

He believed in the gods, that they were all kind and benevolent, and even brought his own Book of Dawn, passed down from his family through generations.

However, all of that was starting to change as pieces of the truth slowly came together.

Ta-Vet stared at his Book of Dawn, wondering what kind of lies it held.

The leather was old and strange, and it had a star sewn on the front. He thought about reading it to calm his nerves, but then realized he couldn’t read in the dark. He sat under the tree, and suddenly a voice called out.

Son of Prima, the sword hissed. Put me down!

Ta-Vet jerked and was afraid. He didn’t want to put the sword and just leave it there, because he knew that it was dangerous. Ta-Vet had no problem staying awake, as he had to listen to the sword and watch argue all night.

He waited for hours, and he became impatient. The baby began to wail, and he had no milk. He stuck his pinkie in its mouth, and that seemed to quiet him until the baby fell back asleep again.

Ta-Vet waited so long, he awoke when a woman called out to him.

She looked quite worried about him.

“What are you doing with this babe out here,” she asked. “Are you mad? He’ll get sick!”

Ta-Vet looked around and saw the sun slowly creeping over the horizon. He felt sick to his stomach and knew he had been tricked.

Ta-Vet knew he had been fed the lies of a witch.

Of course, she’s a liar, the sword laughed. All children of Prima are born liars.

Ta-Vet quickly stood up and explained himself. “I got lost in the forest. This is...my son.”

The woman did not believe him. The only likeness they had was blue eyes. Ta-Vet’s skin was light brown, as was his hair. The baby was pale, probably from the cold, and it looked nothing like him.

“This child is stolen, isn’t it,” the woman shrieked. “It has blue eyes and a tuft of red hair. And its ears! This child is of noble birth, and you-”

Ta-Vet panicked and punched her in the throat. She made a strange noise and clutched her neck. Ta-Vet ran and didn’t look back.

He ran until he could no more, and then he was lost once again.