38 – Aphelion’s Peak.

Yolin looked at me with a face of absolute confusion for a few seconds. I sat up on the bed and faced her.

“Doesn't matter,” I chuckled, stroking her cheeks and giving her a quick kiss.

“You know,” she said, taking my hands into hers and looking me in the eye. “Sometimes, you confuse me.”

“In a good way?” I asked, leaning my forehead on hers.

“Mostly, yes,” she replied with a smile.

“I just thought of a good way to advance a skill, is all,” I commented, bombarding her face with kisses.

“What does metallic gears have to do with it?” she asked, humming in delight at the affection. “And why would you need to surpass it? You're a Halve.”

“Ah, that,” I chuckled. “It's supposed to be a very powerful weapon of mass destruction in a piece of fiction. And my new skill could go beyond that.”

“Weapon of mass destruction?” she repeated, tilting her head. “Isn't that just a wide area rank 3 spell?”

“Kind of,” I nodded. “Like Lapia's Solar Epitaph, but with a spear.”

“Sounds dangerous,” she muttered, arching a white eyebrow.

“It is,” I confirmed with a smirk. “And I am dangerous.” I added with a playful growl.

“Mhhm,” she purred. “That, you are, Natasha.”

We laughed quietly, and I placed my hands on her ribs.

Her eyes went wide, and her face turned serious. I felt her pulse quicken under her exposed skin.

“Don't,” she whispered. “Please.”

I had found the Oni's weak spot. She was surprisingly ticklish.

Her hands grabbed my chest, and her fingers were dangerously close to my sensitive nipples.

“It appears we are at a stalemate, Yolin Makav,” I whispered, acting as the villain.

Slowly, we removed our hands from each other.

“You're as ruthless as ever, Natasha Novak,” she accused me, squinting her eyes.

I got up and off the bed with a giggle, then looked out the window. One sun had already gone behind the horizon, and the other would soon follow.

“Hey, Lapia,” Yolin called out to the napping woman. “Time to wake up.”

I heard a kiss and turned around in time to see the Oni giving the Elf a few kisses on the cheek. A smile formed on my face and I leaned my back on the window ledge.

Lapia took a deep breath that turned into a yawn, then groaned.

“What time is it?” the still sleepy Wizard asked.

I retrieved my black pocket watch from my storage and gave it a look.

“Twenty past ten,” I supplied.

She sighed and got up, then we left the bedroom and came out to the front yard of the cabin. There, Bonte was piling sticks for, I assumed, the bonfire we'd light up later. Bromisnar was playing a relaxing tune with his lute, sitting on a chair near the pile. Alyssa was chatting with Pokora about something or other. They were on the sandy shore of the lake, far enough from the water and the cabin.

I grabbed two lounge chairs and brought them to the sand for Lapia and Yolin to sit down. Then, I fetched one for myself.

As we enjoyed the Satyr's music, Bonte started singing as he fixed a few sticks.

“As the suns rise, so do the Protectors~ Eternal watchers, forever our saviors~”

His high pitched voice rang comfortably, maybe Bromisnar taught him a little.

Not this song again.

My eyebrows rose, and I looked around. The night was slowly consuming the world. The town's lights didn't turn on, my glow becoming more and more noticeable around me. The moons were nowhere to be seen, and the starts slowly made their appearance in the sky. It had rained through the day, so the skies were crisp clear.

Bromisnar hummed loudly, and Alyssa began clapping with a rhythm as her own hum took on a higher pitch, though still deep as her lovely voice was.

“Divines and Protectors~ To guide the ancestors~ Made sure we'd never die~” The Tigea continued.

“Ages, Eras, Years, and Perils~! The Protector stood unbroken and high~!” Alyssa joined.

“High~” Bromisnar stretched the word in a deep voice.

“For if they fell, no being would remain~ To face the dangers that roamed back then~” Pokora joined with a smile.

Their voices joined in a chorus, and their clapping accompanied the Satyr's lute.

“And if you meet~ Those who allowed us to be~Be thankful and don't take aim~ They're not one of us, nor ones to be shy~ As conflict they yearn, since the beginning of time~ Their permission we need, to rest and to thrive~ Their gift you must cherish~If you don't want to die~”

Of all things they could sing about, they chose a song about my species. Not the suns, not the moons, not even the Aphelion itself. I was absolutely sure it was a calculated strike.

“Fear not the Protector, they share our nature~To love, to care, and to hope for the future~They sing, they cry, they cherish, they die~Even give birth some times!~”

They laughed, clapped, and cheered after finishing. The last bit of the song was pretty welcomed in my opinion. It brought the idea of a dangerous being down to normal life standards. Maybe that's what people believed in the most, rather than worshiping us like Gods. Perhaps a Halve fixed a bit of the many songs to not be seen as the apex creature.

Conversation filled the atmosphere, and I relaxed on my chair while looking at the night sky.

Lapia walked over to me and sat on my lap. Then, gestured to the sky where uncountable stars dotted the view.

“Look,” the Elf said, pointing at a specific area. “That's the Protector Constellation. The brightest in the sky.”

I saw distant stars surrounded by the uncaring void of space.

“Where?” I asked, squinting to try and find a shape.

She produced a thin book, and leafed through it until she found a specific page.

“Here,” she pointed at the paper, where a stick figure holding another stick stood. Then, she pointed at the same place in the sky, “That's there.”

Slowly, I managed to find what she was talking about. It was very basic, but the complete darkness helped a lot in spotting it, even with my glow.

Then, she proceeded to point out other constellations. The Guide or God, which pointed north and people used while traversing the seas. The Cleric, the Warrior, the Wizard, the Archer, the Craftsman, the Scout, the Performer, and the Merchant. Most weren't visible since we didn't have a full view of space around Galeia. She used the book to show them.

“Do Gods not have a constellation of their own?” I asked after spotting the Warrior constellation, which was below the Protector.

“No, they don't,” she replied with a chuckle. “If a Divine becomes a God today, it'd be hard to find a definite constellation for them. Much like there's no constellation for every single Halve. There would be millions of them in the sky. In the Second Age of E'er, a lot of Halves showed up. It'd be hard to fit them all in the sky, don't you think?”

“But each class Path represents a God, right?” I questioned. “For example, Shorvanna introduced the Way of the Warrior, right? Doesn't that mean that's her personal constellation?”

“No, silly,” she giggled, hugging my neck. “That's for everyone that chooses that Path, not just for her.”

“I see,” I muttered with a nod. “Do constellations matter when it comes to births?”

“Births?” she repeated, looking at me. “Not at all. Why would they?”

“No, like, when a person is born under the Warrior,” I offered. “Do they feel like they should become one?”

She stared into my eyes for a few seconds.

“That... would make the Merchant path empty,” she said with a smile. “It goes above the sea, and the north of Makah.”

“That's were Giants live, right?” I asked, remembering the info I had about the species of the world.

She nodded. “That's right.”

“I see,” I hummed, looking up at the sky.

Bromisnar's lute took on a catchy tune, and everyone stood up at the same time. Yolin walked to me and took my hand after Lapia removed her big butt from my lap.

“Want to dance?” the Oni asked me with a smile.

“Sure!” I replied with a nod.

Lapia snapped her fingers and the bonfire lit up, illuminating the area around us. I noticed a lot of bonfires lighting up along the shore of the lake, most of them quite far away from the cabins in the resort.

The dance was pretty simple. Lock arms, circle each other three times, then face the partner and clap two times. We changed dancing partners often, every thirty seconds or so. Lapia was pretty good, Alyssa had ways to go, Bonte was a ball of energy, Bromisnar had the steps down to a science, Pokora sucked, and Yolin was pretty smooth.

I also sucked because it was my first time doing that dance, obviously. This was not something that would be doable at a club, so I had to take it slow.

Still, the night felt intimate so far. We drank a little while singing a few songs more in line with the event itself rather than an ode to my species.

I stared at Pokora for a few minutes. The Elf looked happy, laughing with everyone and sharing jokes of her own. I had a hard time thinking about what it would mean to have a regular mind after being reborn in another world. The woman exuded belonging, not just in her physical appearance as that was undoubtedly that of an Elmari Elf, but more in her attitude. She knew the songs, the references to literature, the many regions and peoples of Galeia. Even as she sneaked glances at me, I could see a small reverence beneath the familiar gaze one would give a fellow former earthling. Reverence maybe as a fan of my work, or to my species.

I admit I was a bit curious. Thinking the woman had trouble adapting to another world. Her lack of relationships, though superficially meaningless, hinted at something I wasn't too interested in prying, nor had the knowledge to arrive at an educated conclusion.

An Elf through and through, I thought back on what she said the night before.

In the end, it was none of my business. She was a her own person, and she had every right to live life the way she saw fit.

Yolin joined me for the night, bouncing back jokes and explaining to me those I didn't understand. Mostly references to monsters, magic, Gods, other Halves, or things exclusive to Galeia.

Groups of people showed up a few times, walking along the shore. A few sold things like souvenirs and local foodstuffs. Others were bands of Performers singing and playing instruments. I had to suffer through five versions of the same song dedicated to Halves. Apparently, the name of that particular piece of music is 'Eternal Watchers' according to Bromisnar.

That's when I learned where the Watchers got their name and purpose.

I produced a bag of polupis and chew on a few while enjoying the night.

Quick footsteps made me turn back, and I saw a person running pretty damn slowly towards me.

Can't a woman catch a break? I wondered, squinting at the approaching figure.

“Your excellency!” the person screamed.

The voice sounded male, and pretty young at that. Mid teens at best.

As the individual approached, I noticed a few shapes following closely. They resembled dogs, but skinnier and with scales of all things. I didn't sense any particular danger from them, but a little something made me queasy so I slowly stood up from my chair and faced him. Yolin noticed too and turned around.

The young man stopped a few meters away from me, panting after the run. The light from the bonfire bathed him and a young Lupum boy was revealed.

“Your... haaa... Excellency!” he gasped, bending at the waist and supporting himself on his knees.

“Yeah?” I asked, producing a water bottle and handing it to him. “What's the matter?”

“A pack of Vok'ren showed up to the north!” he informed me while wiping his sweat, his face full of fear and worry as he took the drink with his free hand.

Fuck.