Amdirlain’s PoV - Veht? - Mediterranean Sea


    Hours had passed and, with the sunset, Sarah had called it a night to get some rest. The waxing moon was nearly full, illuminating the rough terrain, and Amdirlain sat on the front porch, catching up with Klipyl and Jinfeng. While asking Jinfeng about the province she came from, Amdirlain heard rocks tumble from a cave and claws cutting furrows into stone.


    A quick extension of her Telepathy was enough to catch loud thoughts. A perspective from dozens of eyes showed a rough cave tunnel and hinted at the being’s nature; among their feminine feel, a glimpse of serpentine scales and a scaled clawed hand confirmed.


    “If you’d both go inside for a bit and ensure Sarah doesn’t follow me?” asked Amdirlain. “Don’t let anyone look through the windows.”


    “Is there another Dragon?”


    “No, not a Dragon, but you don’t want to make eye contact with this lady,” said Amdirlain. Rising to her feet, she flowed along the slope, heading towards the source of the sound.


    Though her public thoughts were getting stronger, Amdirlain didn’t find the Gorgon until she exited her cave. The shrubs and rocks provided a concealing cover for its entryway. The hunched figure had metallic gold wings arched over her, and she had a full head of writhing yellow-eyed asps in place of hair. Her simple attire was a piece of rawhide secured around her waist for modesty, as her scales were impervious to thorns and jagged rocks alike.


    Of course they left her behind; they’d make no space on the boat for monsters.


    Amdirlain walked towards her as yellow eyes blazed in the snake heads that writhed around her scaled features. The energy in their gazes battered against her but did little besides cause goosebumps to ripple across her skin from their petrification attempts.


    Though Analysis showed details that would make her an impossible fight for most mortals, Amdirlain felt only sympathy for her plight.


    “Sthen?, I didn’t expect to find you here.”


    The mythological figure ignored Amdirlain’s attempt at conversation and rushed forward, flexing clawed hands as if she were already wringing Amdirlain’s neck. Her golden wings snapped back with the force of Sthen?’s lunge. Amdirlain flowed forward and along the side of her attack.


    Quick footsteps danced Amdirlain sidewards across the rocky terrain. She intercepted Sthen?’s closest racking hand and deflected the attack to obstruct the Gorgon. A lunge and a shoulder check sent Sthen? tumbling, and Amdirlain leapt back to show her palms at waist level.


    “Peace.”


    Stone spikes stabbed for Amdirlain’s stomach, but she stepped atop one as it formed and lifted with it. Poised above more spikes, she skipped across the effect to alight on a boulder. Sthen? came forward at what, to Amdirlain, was a painfully slow pace, so she vanished just before claws and striking snakes made contact. The Gorgon spun about, seeking her with a victorious smirk, and Amdirlain shook her head.


    Do I levitate her? Why does she assume I vanished because the snakes might hurt me?


    Teleport brought Amdirlain close, and she swept Sthen? from her feet, dumping her unceremoniously to the ground.


    The snakes coiled and struck, but their venom trickled down unbroken skin as Amdirlain held her easily in place.


    “I know being dumped to the ground isn’t hurting you, Sthen?,” Amdirlain said, keeping her voice calm even as the snakes snapped and spat at her, but nothing gained purchase. Amdirlain released her and flowed back. Sthen? grunted and snarled as she rose and launched towards Amdirlain again, grabbing the hand raised to hold her at bay. When she couldn’t budge Amdirlain, she lashed out with a clawed foot that Amdirlain deflected and used the shift in their stance to twist Sthen? out of position, getting her hands off to one side. With a quick step, Amdirlain toppled Sthen? to the ground and pinned the Gorgon with a knee to the side of her ribs and a hand against her neck.


    “Stop!”


    How many times will I have to say that? I hope she’s not as dense as I can be.


    Amdirlain flared Dominion to life and added Muse’s Insight to inspire calm within the rage-filled Gorgon. She felt Sthen?’s will and anger slowly being ground down and kept the pressure up. Snakes struck fruitlessly at her forearms and hands.


    She needs to learn to fight better. Is this what happens when you can overpower someone with your gaze attacks? Do you learn no finesse or real combat skills? What will my powers do to me?


    “Sthen?, please stop. I don’t want to hurt you,” Amdirlain said, keeping her tone soft but firm as white flames crawled within her gaze. “Calm down, and I’ll let you up. Continue attacking me, and I’ll prove I can do more than embarrass you.”


    “How do you know my name?”‘ grunted Sthen?, but the snakes continued to bite.


    Amdirlain frowned and tried to tell a partial truth. “I’ve read the tales of how the Greek gods treated you and your sisters.”


    The snakes all reared back but held position. “You do not look Human. Are you one of their servants?”


    “I don’t serve them,” advised Amdirlain. “Are you aware most of the Greek gods are dead?”


    Sthen? went rigid under Amdirlain. “How is that possible?”


    “Zeus triggered a Gods’ War and found he bit off more than he could chew,” replied Amdirlain. “Will you attack me if I let you up?”


    “As if that concerns you,” Sthen? bit off every word accusingly. “You threw me around without effort.”


    Amdirlain sighed in exasperation. “The tales say you’re an Immortal, but I don’t want to cause you pain. I tried to restrain myself enough to avoid hurting you.”


    “You smell like a Mortal, and I can hear your heart beating,” said Sthen?.


    “I’m not, but what I am isn’t for you to know. You can either agree to behave, and I’ll let you up, or you can find yourself in trouble,” stated Amdirlain. “I’d prefer to talk to you and your sister.”


    “I don’t know where Euryálē is,” rasped Sthen?. “I’ve not seen her in over a thousand years, not since before the dragons destroyed the cities.”


    Amdirlain stepped back, and Sthen?’s gaze narrowed.


    “My apologies for bringing up a painful topic. I thought you’d be together.”


    The snakes hissed and undulated about as Sthen? shifted position to rise. Her toes dug into the earth as if to hurl herself at Amdirlain, but a frown brought her up short.


    “Why do you taunt me so?”


    “I’m not intending to mock or taunt you. You were treated with revulsion, just as they did the Minotaur. I will not hurt you, but I won’t let you hurt me or my companions,” declared Amdirlain. “Can we come to a peaceful agreement?”


    “Leave my lands,” snapped Sthen?. “I want no part of you or your solution.”


    “We will do so first thing in the morning. I won’t travel overnight as one of my companions can’t see in the dark,” said Amdirlain. “As an apology, would you like me to try to find your sister?”


    “Why would you do that?”


    “I’m familiar with what it’s like to be hunted and rejected, cut off from family,” said Amdirlain. “I wouldn’t want anyone undeserving to endure that when I had the chance to prevent it.”


    Sthen?’s mouth twisted scornfully. “Did you think I’d miss that clause? Are you going to say I deserve my fate?”


    “Apollo died rotting from the inside from the energy I fed him. He deserved far worse,” Amdirlain stated flatly. “Poseidon killed my first family, and he died without my hand around his heart. You are not the type I see needing punishment, Sthen?.”


    “Who are you?”


    “Someone the Greek gods failed to destroy,” Amdirlain waved toward Mount Olympus. “Did you know the Celestial version of Mount Olympus has been growing dark since the Pantheon died?”


    “You said most of them died,” accused Sthen?. “How is the Pantheon dead if some of them survived?”


    “Zeus drove Hestia out, and she didn’t fight in the Gods’ War. Nike gave up her powers and became a Celestial. When Athena tried to do the same, she died and ended up in the Titan’s Maze. She’s now a minor Celestial serving Hestia because of how badly the situation weakened her,” said Amdirlain.


    Sthen? paced jerkily back and forth, and her gaze flickered towards her cave with each circuit. Not wanting to push her further, Amdirlain deactivated Dominion and Muse’s Insight and sat on a nearby rock.


    “What do you want in return for helping me?”


    “Help others and don’t terrorise them,” replied Amdirlain. “I know you don’t need to petrify anyone. Your snakes and their gaze attacks are under your control.”


    Sthen? let out a hiss of disbelief. “Why should I help those who’d attack me?”


    “I didn’t say help everyone. I said help others,” Amdirlain said in a steely tone. “Some people won’t cooperate with you, just as you’ve not with me.”


    I can’t even point out that she tried to attack me first without making myself the biggest hypocrite after Sarah’s ambush of the Red Dragon. How often is striking first in this environment the biggest key to survival? Sarah’s killing of that Red Dragon was merely the most recent example; you just have to look at all the Priests of Set I butchered.


    “Fine, but only if you are successful. I won’t repay failure,” Sthen? spat the words out through grinding teeth.


    “Agreed. I don’t know why you haven’t seen her in so long, so this might take a few attempts,” cautioned Amdirlain.


    “You offered to help me, so best you’re able to deliver,” rasped Sthen?.


    The furious rage and hurt pride rolling off her had Amdirlain restraining a groan.


    Did I come across the same way when talking to the Lóm??


    “Would you prefer I retract the offer?” asked Amdirlain. “I didn’t even know you hadn’t seen Euryálē recently until you said so.”


    Amdirlain opened the Gate, focused on the Gorgon Euryálē, and felt the Spell being resisted. “She’s within a warded area.”


    Even as Amdirlain updated Sthen?, she cast spells and tried various Clairsentience techniques.


    “You’re trying to deceive me,” hissed Sthen?. “How cruel can you be?”


    “Something resisted the Spell I cast; depending on what efforts were used to keep her from being found, this might take a little while,” stated Amdirlain firmly. “That Spell was just the first option I tried, but there are other approaches.”


    “Oh, and how long are these approaches meant to take? Perhaps long enough for you to stay on this hill for weeks?”


    “I’ve already tried another three spells, and used a complementary Skill to help me narrow the approach to take,” replied Amdirlain calmly. “I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, so I wanted to be open about the result of my attempts. Someone dismembered her and separated her body parts, which caused the Spell’s focus to be more diffuse so it couldn’t cut through the wards. I won’t suggest some options."


    Sthen? snarled. “Why is my sister not worth the effort they’d take?”


    “It’s not the effort; they require a sample of your blood and the mechanisms to establish a sympathetic link. Since you don’t trust me, I didn’t consider them an option.”


    “What is that?” growled Sthen?. “All I wish is to be reunited with my sister.”


    She doesn’t have an arcane education to understand the risk that would expose her to if someone possessed it.


    Amdirlain held out a small crystal disc. “If you really don’t care, cut your thumb and put a few drops atop it so they won’t get contaminated. A sympathetic link provides a strong connection to an individual and their family, and works for other magics besides locating someone. There are other options I can try first if you don’t want to risk it.”


    “You already showed you can throw me around,” grunted Sthen?. “I know nothing about magic other than the blessings the gods provide to those who tormented my sisters and me.”


    Sthen? cut the pad of her thumb and smeared blood across the crystal that Amdirlain still held.


    That works.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    A nearby rock gained a rough map of Greece on its surface, and Amdirlain released the stone debris to one side. She plucked free hairs from her scalp with Far Hand and braided them into a thread to secure her old concealment pendant. With the end of the line held lightly, she began to dowse out the rough location of Euryálē, and the makeshift plumb line trembled to the map’s southeast. A force fought against her Clairsentience, and the line jumped about in her hand. Amdirlain reached out a hand to Sthen? and beckoned her to clasp it. The feedback continued to disrupt the techniques’ formation, and Amdirlain added Harmony as she invoked the image, seeking the patterns in its trigger.


    Her mind, used to tracking a myriad of songs, rode through the shockwaves, with Phoenix’s Rapture and Mental Hardening providing their support.


    “Think of when you last saw her,” ordered Amdirlain as she entwined a psychrometry technique into the attempt. The jerky movements of the plumb line tightened further, and Amdirlain witnessed snippets of her past. Blending the two techniques that fought in her mind spurred an insight into their common natures, and a Psi pattern formed. An image of gold pouring over the Gorgon flashed within Amdirlain’s mind, and the pendant snapped free to bury itself into the map. When Amdirlain pulled the pendant free, she recognised the location where the pendant had been lodged.


    [Advanced Clairsentience Unlocked!


    Advanced Clairsentience (1)


    Clairsentience [S] (72) absorbed into Advanced Clairsentience (1) -> [S] (1)]


    The wards she’s under didn’t block out my Clairsentience entirely, but I can’t pinpoint her location closer than an island since I didn’t memorise high resolution maps.


    “What is this carving?”


    “The formation of the land viewed from directly overhead,” replied Amdirlain. “I used the link with your blood and the carving’s resemblance to the land to isolate your sister’s location. Unfortunately, I don’t have a more precise map, as I wasn’t expecting to go island hopping south of Greece. From memory, Giaros is an arid island with little plant life. I don’t know if the fates captured her there or transported her afterwards.”


    My high school history lessons mentioned it as a place where exiles got tossed.


    “Those bitches betrayed both my sisters?!”


    Both? Did they set Médousa up, or does Sthen? see her death at Perseus’s hands as a betrayal?


    “Hephaestus contributed metal from his forge to cover her so she couldn’t heal afterwards,” continued Amdirlain, nodding sympathetically when Sthen? hissed in pain. “I’ll get someone to help us deal with it.”


    “Who is this person?”


    “My wife, so if you even attempt to hurt her, I’ll be very creative about ensuring you envy what your sister has endured. Is that clear?” Amdirlain asked, her tone suddenly cold.


    “If she can help free my sister, I’ll be indebted to her,” said Sthen?. Her eyes darted to the depression Amdirlain had caused by thumping her into the ground.


    Amdirlain motioned to the house, up the slope from their position. “Sarah, would you come out to meet Sthen??”


    Dressed in a red silk dress, Sarah stood on the front porch and waved at the pair.


    All of Sthen?’s snakes licked the air. “She smells Human.”


    Sarah reappeared closer to them and nodded to Sthen?. “I smell Human, but I’m not. You mentioned Giaros, but we’ve not been to that island.”


    “I’ll send a scrying eye that way if Sthen? agrees to my conditions for repayment,” said Amdirlain.


    “You’d leave my sister to suffer?”


    “I’m not taking any risks to free her without repayment,” said Amdirlain. “It’s not as if I’m even asking you to go out of your way. I said stop, as in don’t continue doing so, but I said nothing about making up for past wrongs.”


    “Your sister could well be insane after whatever was done to her, so we’re taking a risk just going near her,” added Sarah. “There are no metallic scents about you, so you’ve got nothing to compensate us for what Am has already done.”


    “She’s done nothing,” protested Sthen? vehemently, her hands balled into fists.


    “You saw enough of that map to provide someone a rough guideline if you had any allies to render help,” countered Sarah.


    “You’ve not said what you want from me,” said Sthen?.


    I’m not sure there is anything she can give me besides not going on a killing spree with her sister.


    “An agreement from you both,” said Amdirlain.


    ‘I’m glad you’re not helping her for free. If the sister goes nuts and massacres mortals, this could count against you,’ projected Sarah.


    ‘Worst case, I can always put them on one of the refreshed planets with no mortals around,’ returned Amdirlain.


    Should I only use magic? I could find her instantly with a song but I don’t know that the situation she’s in warrants that.


    A Spell created a focal point the size of a basketball that sped off towards the distant island. With a few course corrections provided by Precognition, they soon had a visual to work with, and Sarah teleported the three of them to the arid landscape. Amdirlain reassembled the pendant and resumed dowsing. They found a massive rock fall between two spurs from the mountain, with the pendant spinning in tight circles above it. A Spell threw the rocks and layers of dirt away towards the shore as Amdirlain dug downwards. Eventually, the regular line of stone blocks peeked out from the rough terrain, and spells scraped more dirt away, widening the pit until Amdirlain found the concealed structure’s side. Among other runes, Apollo’s symbol was etched into every block Amdirlain uncovered.


    “You’re turning into an excavator,” noted Sarah. “I’m not taking the symbols as a good omen.”


    Sthen? shot a glare at Sarah. “Why must you be so flippant when my sister is buried under all this?”


    A stern frown thinned Sarah’s lips. “Neither of us put your sister here, and you wouldn’t know where she was without Amdirlain. I understand you’re worried, but don’t take it out on us.”


    ‘I could eat her and spit her out. She’d heal, but might learn to be polite from the experience,’ projected Sarah.


    Amdirlain responded with the memory of her tussle with Sthen?.


    ‘It looks like they built this place and then buried it with an initial landslide,’ said Amdirlain. “Someone put in a lot of effort to hide it.”


    “When you can’t kill someone, you need to be inventive to ensure they don’t bother you,” stated Sarah. “Toss in the sadistic tendencies of some Greek gods, and I’m sure you can see where that leads. Mind if I finish freeing her? You and Sthen? could stand off out of the way, and I’ll bring her to you.”


    “I can handle it,” said Amdirlain.


    “While you can, and keep calm, do you think Sthen? can manage the same? She’s already on edge,” Sarah advised, looking across the slope at the Gorgon.


    “Shouldn’t we reverse it, and you move her off to one side?”


    “I was thinking you could take her back to the mainland. If I die, you can resurrect me. We don’t know what traps are waiting, and if this mountain blows up, it might do enough damage to take even you out. I don’t want you in the Abyss for a century,” said Sarah.


    Amdirlain grunted and reluctantly nodded. “Let’s get clear, Sthen?. We’ll hop back to the house and await Sarah’s return.”


    The wait was longer than Amdirlain liked, and ten minutes into it, she had to resist the temptation to pace. A cracking noise came from near Sthen? as she raked her claws against the rock, staring off towards the east.


    “It was in that direction, correct?” asked Sthen?, stabbing a finger towards the sea.


    “Yes,” agreed Amdirlain, and she leaned against the boulder behind her and let the silence return.


    It was an hour before Sarah appeared near them with a score of gold shapes floating around her. At a glance, their nature was clear. They looked like someone had poured molten gold over a Gorgon and cut her into pieces inside the molten metal so the wounds sealed over. Along each cut was an impression of Hephaestus’s symbol. Euryálē was still alive and aware within, but the projected thoughts were a maelstrom of pain, madness, and rage.


    “We’re going to need someone skilled at mental healing to tend her. She’s mad from being trapped in darkness and pain,” advised Sarah. “Can she turn someone to stone with her main eyes alone?”


    Sthen? jumped forward to snatch Euryálē’s head away and scratched frantically at the gold. “Yes.”


    Her nails skidded off the metal without leaving a mark on the enchanted materials. A careful glance at her with Soul Sight revealed another lonely Soul, trapped in a monstrous body, rejected and reviled by all except her sisters and parents.


    Do I want to give instructions I’m not confident about before healing someone?


    “Start getting her body back together. I’ll tend to her mind,” said Amdirlain. “Sthen? if you could think of when you last saw her again for me. I’ll use the age of those memories to track her last sane thoughts. Though if I can’t isolate them, I’ll rewind her experiences to the time of those memories.”


    “You know you can do this?”


    Amdirlain nodded firmly and unconsciously laid a reassuring hand on Sthen?’s shoulder only to pull away when the Gorgon jerked back. “Sorry, I know you’re worried about your sister. I just meant to reassure you. I’ve undone painful memories from someone trapped in an undead body for hundreds of years, and I’ve learnt more since I helped them.”


    “I thought you would avoid using that ability during the trip,” Sarah asked. “We can open a Gate and send them to get help in Mechanus.”


    “While I could calm Lutu without it, a telepath entering a mind filled with madness carries a risk.”


    “Restoring her body and letting her sit somewhere calming for a time might be all she needs,” proposed Sarah. “They can always place her in stasis until your trip is done.”


    “My trip isn’t a priority over someone’s pain, and calming won’t leave her unscarred,” said Amdirlain.


    Is it my responsibility to always help just because I can do something? I didn’t have to use True Song to resolve Lutu’s situation, and I’ll admit I neither need to heal Euryálē nor am I under obligation to do so. I could let someone else undertake the work, so why do I set aside my goals to heal her?


    ‘I can do so without risk to Euryálē or anyone else, and I don’t want to extend her suffering. I can attune Resonance to her and Sthen? before I activate it again,’ projected Amdirlain. ‘The Greek gods brought the sisters here because of Ori’s trap. It seems I’m taking care of old issues so far on this trip. Maybe that theme will continue with more healing inside myself. There is a difference this time, however: I’m not healing her because I feel I have to, I’m healing her because I want to, and I won’t mindlessly comply with instructions that prevent me from helping someone.’


    Sarah’s expression filled with warm amusement. ‘As long as it’s something you want to do and you’re not acting out of guilt, it’s an improvement.’


    Their exchange went unnoticed by Sthen?, who kept fruitlessly scratching at the metal over her sister. “This looks like gold, so why are my claws skidding off it?”


    “It’s Celestial steel,” corrected Sarah. “If the gods were alive, Hephaestus’s seal would have been a concern, but with him dead, we’re not risking divine wrath by tampering with it. I can free her from the Celestial steel, why don’t you shape a Psi crystal to put her into a slumber?”


    Amdirlain mentally tuned Resonance to include only Sarah, Sthen?, and Euryálē before she activated it.


    A soft melody sunk the tormented Euryálē into the oblivion of sleep and incited dreams of her youth. The age of Sthen?’s memories let Amdirlain track down the recollection within Euryálē’s mind, but the sour tours of pain and torment came from memories that followed shortly after them.


    “They captured her shortly after you last saw her,” said Amdirlain. “I can unwind the damage to that point or take the chance of leaving memories of suffering.”


    “Hasn’t she lived through enough?” snapped Sthen?.


    Hasn’t she lived through others taking enough from her?


    “I don’t know if she has done things she treasured after those events,” said Amdirlain, nodding in understanding at the immediate mockery she saw in Sthen?’s gaze. “I’ve found moments of peace alone that I’ve treasured.”


    “We were monsters others spurned and the champions of the gods hunted. We had no treasured memories except time with family,” Sthen? declared, her hands trembling as she cradled Euryálē’s head.


    That’s from your perspective. I’ll rewind the memories until the sour notes of insanity are gone, as I won’t be able to undo this once it’s done.


    Amdirlain started purging the music of all Euryálē’s more recent memories towards the time of the sister’s last parting. A nod from her had Sarah set to work, and the gold slowly peeled away from limbs. When the enchantment on each piece fractured, the metal would stream away under Sarah’s control. As Euryálē’s eye sockets became exposed, soft flesh immediately filled them. Sthen? turned her sister''s head so their gazes met, but her sister’s eyes merely closed in the calm sleep that Amdirlain had imposed. Sarah aligned exposed limbs together, and each melded together seamlessly without the slightest scar left behind. Sthen? stared at Sarah questioningly.


    “I’ve seen this happen to other beings. They heal the same way when you bring separated body parts close,” said Sarah, responding to Sthen?’s gaze.


    Well before Euryálē was healed, Amdirlain had removed the centuries of torture. She felt the approach of memories that matched when they’d parted when a notification flared.


    [Achievement: Fate’s Wildcard


    Details: You’ve broken through a Blessing set in place by the avatars of the Moirai to nullify Euryálē’s continued attempts at revenge and, after finding her location, restored Euryálē’s sanity.


    Reward: 100,000 experience


    Empress Malfex Levelled Up! x10


    Additional Tier 5 and 6 variant classes are now unlocked!


    - Oracle


    - Soul Custodian


    - Curse Breaker (3 Variants)]


    The rush of levels into her species hit Amdirlain as new strength flowed through her; she restrained a grunt as she considered what she’d learned.


    I’m glad you can keep your smartarse comments to yourself now, Gideon. Euryálē’s capture was only a few years after they parted ways.


    “She’s sane again,” advised Amdirlain.


    The news caused Sarah to pause in mid-restoration.


    “I’ll keep her slumbering until she’s together again,” continued Amdirlain.


    “That might be wise,” Sarah nodded tightly and pressed a severed hand to the wrist stump.


    They withdrew up the slope once Sarah completed the gruesome work, leaving Sthen? to wake her sister.


    Sthen? hugged Euryálē carefully when she awoke and spent some time reassuring her before signalling to approach.


    “It is strange to owe one outside my family,” said Euryálē, her hands trembling as they rubbed her arms. “You have my appreciation for your help.”


    She can’t remember it, so her body’s fading aches are unsettling.


    “If only we weren’t missing Médousa,” said Sthen?. “Without her, the wounds the Greek gods inflicted on us will never heal completely.”


    “You know you’re not in the realm of your birth?” asked Amdirlain.


    I’m not hunting for her across realms.


    Sthen? nodded. “The Greek gods forced us to live with them as our legends in the Mortal tales had lent them a strength of belief to persist in that realm as long as they did. Humanity finds it easier to believe in monsters than gods. When we arrived here, they stole the means we’d used to remain unobserved by mortals.”


    “Well, Médousa didn’t die in this realm,” replied Amdirlain. “Also, the tales I heard said she was Mortal, unlike you and Sthen?, so wouldn’t she have died of old age by now?"


    “Hades brought her Soul with him. The Fates boasted that he’d hold on to her forever,” replied Euryálē. “She should have been Immortal like us, but Lachesis maimed her to ensure Médousa couldn’t regenerate from the world and mocked us for not protecting her better.”


    How many other Soul Jars did he possess? Has Custodian sent Moloch to hunt a potential treasure trove? How is a Mortal woman who fell in love with a Titan an enemy?


    “Did he?”


    Will my trip involve picking up all the debris from the ruined civilisations that once inhabited these lands? First there was Lutu, who Ori left behind, and now Sthen?, and they want their sister found.


    “As far as I was told—it’s not as if Hades spoke to us regularly,” said Sthen?. “Thank you for rescuing my sister. I could smell the ages on the metal and Hephaestus’s touch. That makes it clear you didn’t fake his symbols. We are in your debt.”


    “It’s not a debt, just something to keep in mind if you have further interactions with mortals of any species,” countered Amdirlain. “If you’ll agree not to attack mortals first, or provoke fights, I’ll give you the ability to move among other species and not suffer rejection upon sight.”


    “How can you do this?”


    Do I give them Shapeshift? It’s a better power than Change Form and not as dangerous as Protean.


    “I have the means. So, if you commit not to prey upon mortals, I’ll restore the ability that the Greek gods stole from you.”


    The pair looked at each other and nodded as one.


    “We agree.”


    Amdirlain wove the melody of Shapeshifting into them, and after a few lessons in controlling the Power, they went on their way. Sarah interlaced her fingers with Amdirlain while they watched the two immortals walk away wearing the form of imposing Lizardfolk. Once they reached the bottom of the slope, Amdirlain disabled Resonance and ceased listening to the healing wounds of flesh and Soul alike.


    They deserve a chance at a better life, not being constantly reviled.