I entered the hut and the first thing I noticed was that it looked the same as Kiandra’s, yet also markedly distinct from it. The furniture was similar, and it did give a comfy feeling, but there were two main things that made it quite different.

The first one was that Kiandra’s hut was as small on the outside as on the inside, making it feel cozy. Meanwhile, this old lady’s one only seemed small on the outside. But once inside, it looked at least twice as big. Yet, every bit and cranny gave the place an inviting feeling. Especially the big hearth at the center of the main room, warming the place  physically and emotionally as well.

The other different thing was a feeling of easiness that just went through my entire body. For some reason, I felt like I  just left every bit of anxiety and every worry right on the front door. 

While I was absorbed in all my feelings leaving, the old lady poured a cup of tea. With the cup in her hand, she prompted me to sit beside the hearth that began crackling as small flames ignited from the embers.

My mind was completely abstracted, so everything the old lady said was what I wanted to do. That made me not even question her gestures towards a sofa. I probably wouldn't have been able to say no, even if she were pointing to my gallows.

Luckily, it wasn’t that. As I sat down, the old lady looked at me and her gaze brought me back to this plane.

“Hello, Istas,” she said with a voice that would have dropped me to the floor if I weren’t already sitting.

Doubtful, I was about to ask her how she knew my name, but she answered before I could form the words.

“You told me,” she said, again  with her powerful yet calm voice. “As anyone that needs my will to form their bond, you introduced yourself to me.”

It took me a moment to where she was getting at by those words. I had never introduced myself to her. I didn’t even know who she was. But suddenly, an idea came to my mind.

“Wouldn’t that make you Cailleach?” I said in a tone that was almost a  whisper. She simply replied with a nod that left me speechless. Opening my eyes wider than ever in my life. All I could muster was a single word:

“Goddess?”

Cailleach cackled like an old lady from a fairy tale, which eased some of my stupor. She gazed at me and with serious eyes that could make you believe they had all the answers in the world, and just made a ‘so-so’ gesture with her hand before going back to her tea.

That reaction, so out of place, made me come back to the moment. Yet again, when I was going to ask her something she answered first.

“It’s not that easy.” Cailleach moved the embers apart so they would not burn so fast. Then, she took another sip of her tea, as if she had all the time in the world to ponder, and continued. 

“I would love to give you a direct answer, since it seems you have some kind of trauma with long speeches. But I do think the longer one is really the best one for you to understand.”

The hearth’s smoke began spreading all around the hut, but when it got to me, it had no scent. Though, it did get denser with each second that passed, darkening any light inside the hut.

I got a bit scared at first, but then some light cut through the blackness of the smoke. Although I could see, what I saw was something I wasn’t expecting at all.

“For the bond Kiandra created with you and I, I have seen she has already told you how demons and familiars are created,” Cailleach began her explanation. “But she didn’t tell you how gods came to be.” Her voice came from every direction.

Slowly, a group of people that was so life-like that I could even smell their scents began materializing. A lovely floral smell from one lady, the smell of the earth after a rain from another. Every one of them had a particular smell that, if I hadn’t seen them, would believe only nature itself could have.

“Gods, come in all sizes and shapes” The old lady’s voice flooded the place. At the same time, all the people except for a beautiful lady vanished from the place. I couldn’t help but think that, if Kiandra could see the showomanship of Cailleach, I’m sure she would never stop being jealous. I also thought the old lady knew.

“But before being gods, they were human.” The lady in front of me got smaller and lost her fragrance, along a shine that I hadn’t noticed was there before it faded away.

“As I think you already know, everything needs a will to be. That is even more so when we talk about gods.” As a little will-o’-wisp appeared, the old lady continued. “A strong willed person can become a familiar.”

“If a really strong will appear, a demon is formed.” A man in a suit appeared. “But the will of the people can mold it even when they wield all that power.” The man's appearance changed, turning his skin red and horns grew on his head.

“And there is a third type of being that comes from this kind of shaping.” With these words, the spirit and the demon disappeared and the lady stood tall in front of me.

“When a lot of people start to believe in the same thing, and do so with all their heart, that becomes a wave in the Sea of Wills. And that wave binds people that embodies those beliefs. Thus, they get power.” 

A spectral wave came and filled the lady who shouted and fell to the floor. But after a moment, the fragrance she had came back to her, as well as the brightness from before.

“These are people who are fated to help other people and do great things. Heroes, most of the time. But sometimes, this grows even more as the wave is so big that it fills many people that end up embodying the same will.”

Many old ladies similar to the one in front of me appeared and got the same wave poured into them, one by one. 

“But, the world doesn’t like that many embody the same. So, it merges them into one unique being that embodies all that faith.”

The old ladies merged with a painful scream that almost tore my heart. I had to block the light that began radiating from the being that was forming.

“As you may think, that is not good for the minds of all those people. Some of their minds just get lost. Some of them fuse. There are even cases in which they coexist in one body. And that body is what we call a god.”

The light faded slowly revealing a lady who, although still had the wrinkles and the wise air around her, also had an air of power all over.

The image started to vanish. In the spot where the magnificent lady was, began appearing the silhouette of an old lady in a seat, sipping a cup of tea. And all the power the lady had, just disappeared.

“The power of the gods is always in sync with the will they receive. So, if there is no more power, the god just stops being one.”

I looked at her in shock. Has Cailleach stopped being a goddess? Had that been the reason why the binding with Arlott didn’t work?

“No, and no,” Cailleach said, seriously starting to bother me with her mind reading trick. 

“I know that it bothers you,” she continued while pouring herself another cup of tea. Both with a calmness that only made the answer sting more “But it helps to quicken the conversation.”

She really made me reevaluate Kiandra’s monologues.

“So, going back to the god part, I’m only one piece of the complete Cailleach. The faith in me is not strong enough to make us all merge together, so there are more than one with my powers.”

Looking at her, I felt she had much more to say about it, but also that she didn’t want to talk about this topic. So, I just let that go.

After some deep breathing, she went back to sipping from the cup. Though  this time, I could see that there was more with her doing this. This was some kind of mask she used, and it wasn’t my place to try and look behind it. At least not for now.

“Now, regarding that child… Arlott?” I quickly nodded. Although this got me thinking, if she was so good at knowing Kiandra and me, even in our conversations, why didn’t she know about Arlott?

“So yeah, Arlott will not be able to do magic nor do a bonding, unless she has a god or goddess to help her out.”

After hearing that, I gazed at her and waited for the answers to my non-verbalized questions. But this time, she didn’t say anything.

“Why wouldn't she?” I finally asked. “Kiandra can do some magic without me. So, why wouldn't Arlott be able to do so?” I considered it for a second. “Don’t you want to help her?”

Cailleach took a deep breath and looked back at me before continuing.

“Look, magic is not something anyone can do. You already know that part.” She stopped, building up some tension I was sure was on purpose. She finished her second cup, poured even more and continued.

“So, how do you think Kiandra does magic if it's not through her connection with you?” Cailleach changed her tone to a more serious one.

“Ehm, she uses her will?” I answered more as a formality than anything else.

“Yes and no.” Cailleach nodded. “She needs to use her own will, and that is harmful for humans. And if she ends up using too much, it could even kill her.” 

The old lady moved a little on her chair, it seemed this was not a topic she was comfortable with.

“So, witches use the will of their gods to do this. But it’s something that works in both ways.”

Cailleach looked at the floor and her voice lost a big part of the force she used before.

“They have to believe in the god. Feed the god with their faith-created will. That creates a type of bond in which the god can help.” She sighed, starting to look even tired. “But Arlott doesn’t believe in me. I can’t help her.”

So that’s why Arlott couldn’t do magic. Without a connection with Cailleach, she wouldn’t  be able to do a bond. And without a bond, I’m forced back into the Sea of Wills.

At that moment, Cailleach looked at her wrist as if she had a watch, which she totally didn’t have, and began rumbling.

“Damn, look at the hour! It’s time for you to go back to them.” After that she started to craft something that I couldn’t really see.

She poured some tea right over the embers, and some flames got trapped in it. Then, they  froze-up, creating a bracelet that looked like a crystal.

“This will help you if you are in a dire situation.“ Cailleach gestured at the bracelet. Then, she made a really quick and thin braid and made another bracelet with it. This time, though, she encased it in the embers of the hearth.

“This bracelet will link you to me.” Cailleach said, raising the bracelet made of embers to my eyes. “It’s not a strong bond, but it’s enough to anchor you to the world of the living, even without being familiar. If you want to change realms, just give it a little prayer in my name.” She finished that with a wink, before shooing me from her home.

Once I was out, I turned and thanked her with all my heart. When I was ready to leave, Cailleach surprised me with a thigh hug.

“Thanks for believing in me.”

She pushed me away quickly, but I got a little glimpse of a smile from her face. When I turned back again, the hut had completely disappeared and the Sea of Will returned to its usual denseness.

With all that, I began walking over to Kiandra’s hut. 

The walk was a slow one. I tested the bracelet, praying in and out of the living realm, until the bracelet gave me a little zap. I think that Cailleach wasn’t too happy with me playing like this.

As I was thinking about what the other bracelet did, I remembered how it all began with the attack of the monsters. My lost anxiety came back with even more dread than before meeting Cailleach. I started running, thinking about Breena, and hoping she wouldn’t be forced into the Sea of wills like I was.