Within the Temple of Time Frozen at the top of Mount Gauz, The Final Holy Horn of Calren Zod’s Petrified Brood, the Zedwara of Omens, Visions, and Dreams meditated as she almost always did, seated on the Heavenly Pillow and breathing in the awakening smoke of The Ever-Burning Quanna Pipe. It was passed around twice in a day with her participating Shonwaree devotees, who conducted on and off days in service.

All in support of The Visionary Tapestry that painted the sky of the Spirit World with the shifting auspices of the Future To Be. None but minotaurs and their Zedwarorra had ever seen it, and few even among them, only accessible first by a natural trek through the harshest, bleakest terrain near the untouched northern pole. Its path was hardship itself.

Mount Gauz was the last place even minotaur life or their divine could exist before the Last Step. If Calren Zod’s mighty titans fell before it, none would ever surpass them. And so it was at the titan’s horn that time was opened and spread like a book by Elkei Oeswa-Bessi, the Zedwara so charged by Fate to watch and glean until the end for the signs.

At the appointed time, she felt the flicker, the shift that was the herald of the Deciding Days. When she cast her gaze up, the confirmation was on display. The Tapestry held the truth of the stars as the physical sky itself marred and lied in its displacement.

‘When memory is mirrored’…

She felt the qua-ouswek at the sight — it was a special feeling and emotion of the minotaurs, who could not put it to the common, lowlander tongues. Satisfaction and the grim resignation of honor and obligation ‘coming home.’

Elkei raised her hand up slowly. This motion was noticed by the twelve devotees meditating in her presence, gathered around the great central brazier that heated the temple. They looked up at her rapturously, for they could sense very rare words were about to be uttered.

The divine being Elkei made an announcing call from deep within her throat that resonated through the temple chamber and the spirit world at once. After a long pause of peace, she declared, “The sky has lost its weariness and danced anew; Little Sister appears in the stars. The Deciding Days have begun, the Final Conflict looms. Nu’Rammata must rise, the descendants of the Petrified Brood must rise and meet The End with honor. Let us hope and pray for preservation. Pray against the Eater of Memory.”

The devotees all knelt their horns and hands to the floor and prayed. Soon, the Walkers chosen among them would go and spread the word far and wide — to all that would hear them.

And I must conspire to see Father Mountain’s nap to finally end. He must not sleep through The End. I hope he won’t be grumpy…

But he would probably be grumpy.

✦•············•✦•···········•✦

The party of Samantha, Azure, Dart, and Redberry headed out from the strange, new realm built on the carcass of a shadow spirit. It was actually quite healthy and… growing, slowly but inexorably. Red claimed not to fully, consciously know what she’d done, only that it was a big, living jungle.

Ultimately, there was a mutual agreement to just leave it be as a monument to what had transpired there. Whether it would serve any other purpose… who knew?

It was definitely quicker going returning to Calrenazzod compared to getting to that far-off and isolated location. For Samantha, that had been hours — Red was even more amazed, claiming it had felt like she’d wandered for days until she’d been ambushed.

Redberry was fairly distracted along the way, as it wasn’t long before communication with demiplanes was accessible, and she had a lot of explaining to do… as well as congratulations to hear. They would all no doubt sense that she had been healed. Ultimately, Sammy caught her smiling and teary-eyed quite often as she side-eyed reactions to Red’s internal communications.

Eventually, they caught sight of the sun, and soon thereafter the outline of Calrenazzod could be discerned in the distance through the fog.

At this point, arriving close to Samantha’s domain, Redberry stopped and approached Samantha. “Bye for now, hmm? Momentarily. I must go to my realm. I scarcely recognize… anything, honestly. It all feels cast in a new light. And everyone is celebratory. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, considering who caused it.” She grinned and held her arms out for a hug.

Sammy chuckled as she gave her sister in divinity a warm hug. “Take whatever time you need, Red. I’m just glad you’re better. It’s all I care about.”

Redberry leaned back from the hug while still gripping Sammy, and fixed her with an intense and sober gaze, eye-to-eye. “I owe you far more than that, Samantha. We will discuss the things we can do together very soon. Though so much memory is stolen from me, I still have my raw capabilities back and am at your disposal. We are allies, we are sisters deeper than blood. You’ve returned my hope to me, and so I will help see your dreams come alive in turn.”

Taking a deep breath, Sammy returned the gaze and didn’t immediately react. “I don’t want you to suffer again, Red. You don’t have to jump into the rapids I’m kicking up just out of gratitude.”

The green-skinned goddess grinned rather fiercely. “Your river runs through the Mother of Nature now, Goddess of Fate, and she has awoken from winter into a new spring. The river will flow far stronger and I will not hear otherwise. And do you think I am unaware of your other gift? That by your tying of my threads I’ve been woven into eternity? As a mortal, I imagine, should we finally die here. But with you. Tied forever with you. Can you deny it?”

Sammy was speechless for a moment. She swallowed and shook her head slightly. “I… I didn’t do it intentionally… it just kinda… happened…”

“I certainly hope you’re not trying to apologize for it. Because that would be silly, hmm? No matter what anyone does to me, here, I will never taste oblivion. Something of all that I have struggled for will pass on. And I will live always for a purpose… defiance, isn’t it?”

“We are still learning what we fight for…” Sammy looked away for a moment and formed a tight, supportive smile for her friend. “But yes. To deny oppression, tyranny, inevitable corruption, and destructive decline that threatens us all again and again. To fight for a better way and a better existence for everyone. That is what I want.”

Redberry nodded slowly as she let go of Samantha’s waist and took her currently un-gauntleted hands, eyes dropping to study them and their rings. “Freedom and Life shall prevail.” She bowed her head down to kiss Sammy’s hand solemnly. “As the Jewel of Light and Hope shines from above.”

Sammy felt embarrassed by it, but she ruthlessly fought it down as she nodded just as solemnly. “So she does. The Horizon is near, my beloved sister. May your spring bear much fruit.”

To think, someone as powerful as her serving me… even if technically she’s not a ‘party member.’ Well. Captain America and company needed their Hulk, right? She’s even maybe a Dr. Banner with the expertise she has.

She was seeing again and again in past lives, and then even more confirmation from such things as the Hall and Lovie’s bizarre story, that she was usually quite the Top Dog aside from the Sage and maybe a few stand-outs among the deities of a world. Pieces were coming together, even if she lacked raw levels.

‘The team’ for whatever inevitable battle awaited was filling out nicely, and whatever the FT said, Redberry was a kickass addition for the end and the lead-up. Not that it had anything to do with why she saved her.

Redberry said her final farewells, promised once more another meeting ‘very soon,’ and zoomed off toward Calrenazzod. Unlike Samantha, her realm was ground-bound and anchored somewhere deep in the swamp, as made sense. Sammy found it a bit amusing that she really did shine down on Red and her realm.

Who’s the moth, again, hmm?

Azure floated over and kissed Sammy on the cheek, grinning happily despite her prevailing weakness. “Nicely done, oh Cuteness Incarnate! It never ceases to amaze me how self-sacrificing our way from task to task somehow works out like gold. I can see why you need the Domain of Fate.”

Sammy snickered. “You ain’t kidding. Without that, I’d be complete toast by now. I doubt my predecessors leaned on it so heavily. But hey, [Light] came through hardcore this time around, didn’t it?”

“Indubitably.”

“Not just for burning butts anymore! Hope Lasers!”

Dart came into view, polymorphing into a literal gleaming cheerleader with multicolored glowing pom poms, hopping up and shaking them while singing, “Hope, Hope, can’t be beat! Hope, Hope, feel the heat! Aich Oh Pee Eee! Ell Eye Gee-Aich-Tee! Gooooooo Light!”

Sammy rolled her eyes at the performance and gave a mock fingers-lightly-tapping-the-palm clap. “Sterling, Dart. Sterling.”

The cheerleader smiled cutely with her head cocked to one side. “Thanks!”

Azure was looking the outfit up and down judiciously, with interest. “Samantha… later, I need you to… replicate this for me on your person…”

“Wha-...” Sammy stammered, and then she felt her cheeks get warmer. “Oh, um… sure…hehe…”

Dart immediately poofed out of the form into a dragon body seemingly designed to give them a disgusted glare. “Degenerate pervs. Hmph.” He turned and testily flew off in the direction of Samantha’s realm without another word.

Sammy and Azure both snickered at each other and then Sammy said, “Oh! I forgot about my new stuff. Need to check over it…”

Azure nodded but gestured with a hand at the departing form of Dart. “Can you do it as we go? I think I’m still stuck in the middle of a thick forest in the domain of territorial giant spider creatures, remember?”

“Oh, right, yeah…” Sammy put her arm around Azure and flew off toward the demiplane realm, while mentally opening up the new Status effect…

“Oh, cool! I can summon fae! Maybe a unicorn, eh Blueberry?”

Azure made a sour face at her and muttered, “Might as well — they prefer you anyway. Will probably dance a jig with you as the summoner…”

Sammy laughed. “Ah, come on, don’t be like that!” She quickly checked over her upgrade to The Dawn Will Rise…

Oh hey, +6 Effective Levels to resisting some things! Jumping June Beans, that’ll be incredible if the base bonus also goes up! Wait… did I really just… jumping ju-what?! That came fr- Oh man, are these past lives turning me into a huge nerd?! Fuck no! Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck: it’s a great word. No need for weird replacements, brain!