The inside of HalfHyde's quarters was unbelievable.

If she had thought the Master House was impressive, she was wrong. From furniture to general decor, architectural brilliance, and space, everything appeared too perfect to be real.

Waverly gaped at one thing to another, unable to voice a compliment as none seemed befitting enough. Being inside the beautiful, well spaced room only proved her father's worth had finally been recognized. She covered her mouth with both hands, growing misty eyed.

HalfHyde came to grip her shoulders, smiling. "Ye must not feel overwhelmed by any of what beautifies tis place. None be intended for permanence."

She removed her hand to speak, her breath quivering. "It doesn't change the fact that you earned all of it. I am proud of you, Pa!"

The Half-Elf chuckled, a sign that he was flattered. "It be the words of praise uttered from ye that I believe in the most. Every other seems a mockery or overstated."

"Have you lived here since you left the Grand Ale?" Judson thought, inspecting a potted plant set atop stylish upholstery.

"Aye, since the time." HalfHyde took Waverly's hand and led her to sit in a single chair. "Tis be but one of a number in the same level."

Albeit witnessing the general standard of living back in the Grand Ale, Waverly never really thought that the King's Lords shared a particular building and were residing in different quarters within. She had always assumed a single courtier lived in a separate house.

She accepted the steaming teacup her father handed to her as sat on the armrest and put an arm over her shoulder.

"It be something of a fortnight or more to reach the Lower South from here. Ye will have need for another horse. If travel be made by foot, ye will arrive far later."

"That is partly the reason we came to you first, HalfHyde." Judson disclosed. "Not only do we need another horse, but a seal as well to cross the bridge of Bridge with."

Waverly narrowed her eyes at him, realizing he had since intended to visit HalfHyde. For some reason, she found it impressive that he planned ahead of things.

She looked up at her father when he took her hand. His eyes were clouding.

"I still fear that my eyes deceive me. I am yet to accept that ye sits by my side. What if ye tarry a few days with me first?"

She turned to Judson, who looked just as conflicted as she did. In truth, she wanted very much to stay a while. She had missed her father dearly. But some things were urgent and needed attention before they got out of hand.

Judson came forward. "I understand you want to compensate for the time lost, and I would not hesitate to leave her with you had the case been any different, but we have to leave, HalfHyde. The witch cannot be given allowances else she attempt something unspeakable."

His words seemed to be floating midair because for the first time, Waverly sensed that her father was not listening to reason.

She put the teacup down and tightened her grip on his hand, looking into his dark eyes. In them was a lot of sadness.

"I promise to return at once, Pa. I want more than anything to stay with you, but this is important. She seeks me out and intends to trap me again."

At that, HalfHyde's sentiment washed off. His features sterned, retur YYning him to his usual demeanour. He guided her to rise and stand before him.

"A foolish thing it would be to pay no ear to caution. My meeting with the King be hereby postponed."

He heaved a sigh, rubbing down her arms with fatherly affection in his stare. "Ye has done me proud, Waverly. There be much we should discuss when ye returns and much I intend for ye to hear. But ye must set off right away."

He beelined a tall bookshelf where thousands of different scrolls were neatly stashed in neat rows and pulled one free. When he returned with it, she saw that it was a seal of permission.

"Ye must swear to me that ye will return unscathed. Too hard will it be for me to bear in my age to find ye has fallen in harm's way."

She beamed widely. "I promise."

Again, he drew her into a hug, rocking them sideways.

"I love you, Pa."

He drew back to cup her face in one hand. "It compares not to my love for ye. Return soon."

Then, he looked at Judson. "A stately carriage is what ye needs to travel. I will provide mine."

Outside, trimmed hedges and fine fences separated the compound from other similar houses. Standing inside one now, Waverly understood the reason why the buildings seemed shiny to her as a child – all of the windows were finished with small pieces of glass work. Whenever sunlight hit them, they would reflect against each other, giving the illusion that the entire building shone.

The realization made her laugh internally.

HalfHyde helped her into a lovely coach drawn by a single horse whilst Judson strapped their own horse as a second. Afterwards, he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Ye must beware of roadside bandits." The Half-Elf cautiously stated in a low voice. "Even in broad daylight they swarm and stalk the high roads well as the lonely ones. Take absolute care! They be dangers more worrisome than the Triad itself."

Waverly inched near the door in time to hear her father's last sentence, but by then, he was already walking toward her. She took his hand and he stroked her hair, smiling affectionately.

"I'll see you soon, Pa."

He gently nodded. "Farewell!"

As the carriage glided across bumpy roads, she leaned out to look around at the town she had not seen for longer than five years. When she last left Lake Borough, it had been to search for a cure for Judson in his home realm of Dakriton. Since then, she never came back.

Now, nostalgia was hitting hard, like large bricks in the face. She could remember every road, every turn; the places she played in against HalfHyde's rules; the markets and cobbled streets as well as the housing placements. Nothing had changed, at least not significantly. She would have liked to see her old home again more than anything, but it was destroyed during the last war, influencing HalfHyde's immediate relocation to the Grand Ale.

People streamed by, going about their daily business on the streets as the day unfurled with time. Waverly watched them pass with their straightforward gazes, not sparing a glance at the passing carriage. No face looked familiar to her, so she sank into the leathery seat under her and shut her eyes.

"Are you alright in there?" Judson's voice came just as the roads thinned out into lesser inhabited parts.

"I wish I could've seen the lake before we left." She confessed, relaxing into the vehicle wall. All around, a sudden quiet fell that, albeit comfortable, made her uneasy.

"You will!" He assured matter-of-factly. "I promise that you will."

Heaving a sigh, she allowed her eyes and thoughts wander to childhood memories of the lake.

It was where she first learned to swim. She could recall Pa strapping her to a rope, which was linked firmly around his torso, and wading just past the lakeshore. After the count of three, he tossed her right into the crispy clear water. She could remember sinking fast, leagues deep per minute, panicking about her inability to stop herself from descending further.

Somehow, the fear of drowning melted off when she saw HalfHyde's rippling figure above the water, beckoning for her to come to him. The next three tosses that followed after that became easy as throwing stones.

She became inseparable with the lake.

There were even times when she would dive into the water to hide from her father, especially when he started tutoring her. Those frequent underwater hideaways taught her to hold her breath for long minutes.

Waverly chuckled at how nonchalant and stubborn she had been as a child. HalfHyde's patience really was put through the test with her. It filled her with appreciation for all of his sacrifices - small and big. Had he given up on teaching and training her in all the ways that he did, she would have easily been history long ago — she would never have survived Nys.

Troubled neighing sounds from horses and a sudden, startling jerk of the whole carriage brought Waverly's subconscious to the present. Judson tipped right off his seat as both horses came to an abrupt halt. Grabbing hold of the nearest beam, she waited for the coach to steady before climbing out.

"Judson? Wha—"

The sharp end of a sword appeared in her face and made her gasp softly. On the other end was a well dressed fellow.

"Good day, milady! If you would be so kind as to gently step away from the carriage so those beautiful eyes may remain in their natural place."

As instructed, she inched away, going around the car with his blade still touching the nape of her neck. Then, it became clear that they were being robbed. An entire band of men and even young women, were flanking the carriage to ransack it.

Meanwhile, Judson was rising from the ground with a painful moan, clutching at one side of his head. It looked like he had been hit by something heavy. She made a direct lunge for him, but was held back by a pair of strong arms.

"Ah, ah, ah!" The man with the sword warned, ticking his index. "You shan't move else you get hurt."

"Take whatever you want." She implored calmly. "Just don't hurt him."

By then, Judson had risen to a stand, but his expression showed that he was from pleased. The lead bandit brought the blade from her neck to his.

"I wouldn't move if I were you."

Judson stared at the fellow for a moment, then at his party. "Do you have any idea where you come from?"

The bandit's face contorted with utter confusion. "That's nothing of my business nor yours."

"Well, then," Judson went to stand next to Waverly. "You better leave right now or else—"

The sword came forward again to point at them. "Or else what?"

"I introduce you to your roots."

The man began to laugh and his party gathered around with their loot to join him.

"Listen, lad," The leader said, brandishing his sword. He was oddly presentable for a thief. "I've met your kind before. You think you're tough. You don't scare me!"

As if on cue, his group exposed different kinds of weapons, mostly crossbows. Judson's wing lifted in time to shield Waverly from flying arrows, though she doubted any of the projectiles even touched him because she felt his powers hum at that very same moment.

Of a sudden, stomping footsteps made her frown. Her eyes darted about in search and went wide at the sight of a huge creature. An armoured Phantanid. It stormed into the scenario and using its powerful fists, knocked the bandits out cold as if they were simple furballs. Only two were able to escape with their hands flailing above their heads and terrified screams in their wake.

"Stay away!" the Phantanid yelled after the pair.

Waverly shared a look with Judson. The creature was female.

With the humans out of sight, she heaved a tired sigh and looked around at the unconscious bodies lying about.

"I hate being hostile!" Her mumble was a bit sad.

Then, she noticed the pair she had unknowingly rescued.

"Oooh!" She yelped with a small chuckle. "Didn't see either of you there. Sorry! Were those dimbos bothering you? Glad we've gotten rid of them now."

Waverly stared at the hybrid, who was standing half as tall as the surrounding trees. Clad in impressive brass armour, she was a very threatening sight, with curving tusks of ivory huge enough to stick a mature bull. But underneath all of that imposing demeanour, the Phantanid's identity was clear as day.

"Lily!" She breathed, approaching with expression of awe.

The creature was instantly taken aback at hearing her name. She placed a hand the size of a log on her breastplate in surprise. "You know my name. Oh! That's interesting. Do I know who you are?"

To further inspect, she bent low, much of her skin wrinkling at the forehead. In no time, her narrow eyes grew to the size of saucepans and the longest gasp came out of her.

"Waverly!"

She looked at Judson with the same expression. "And you!"

Unexpectedly, she scooped Waverly up in her bulky arms and in a tight hug, spinning about joyously. By the time she was let down again, Waverly felt very lightheaded and could not feel her forearms anymore.

Judson rushed to hold her before she hit the ground.

Lily, on the other hand, was too excited to cool down.

"I can't believe it! It's really you! I thought I would never ever see you again. . . or him! Oh! This is marvelous! It's been so long! Where have you been all this time? Where are you going? You really must stop by my home for breakfast! We have so much to talk about!"

Waverly stared at Judson's face, trying to formulate the right words, but Lily was on a roll whilst picking up the bodies of each bandit in one hand, as if they weighed nothing even altogether. Next, she went behind their carriage and picked it up to place against her shoulder. It was exhilarating to witness such strength.

"Come along then! It's this way! I'm so glad to see you, I really am!"

Exasperation was clear on Judson's face as he watched the Phantanid multitask and also lead the horses away.

"We won't stay for too long, I promise." Waverly assured and kissed him for persuasion.

The streets were empty, thankfully, but unrecognizable. Lily, whose stomping footsteps made the ground quiver, cooled at last when they entered into town because she appeared to care about causing a disturbance.

Soon, the front steps of a tall house was looming over them.

"I remember this place." Judson mumbled, gazing up at the structure. "Although it was not this big at the time."

Lily seemed to overhear that bit. "I did a rebuild three years ago after the invasions were over."

"Invasions?"

She tossed the bandits over a fence, like ears of corn, and with utmost care, set the vehicle down. Both horses stood in front of it, neighing softly. It was a surprise that they did not find the Phantanid terrifying.

Inside, everything was humongous, yet the same as Waverly remembered it. She glanced up at the spot in the balcony, where had she first spied Lily's brother.

Then, a question suddenly swam into her mind, and with it, cold dread.

"Do you. . ." She slowly turned to face Lily. "live all alone?"

Lily heaved an exhausted sigh, ushering them to sit. Though she was huge, her furniture were human sized. It was touchingly considerate. She disappeared into a corner – the kitchen area – and came back with a tray full of finger sized food.

After setting them before her guests, she knelt behind the couch so as not to appear imposing.

"Tell us what happened." Waverly urged, taking Judson's hand in her own to tap against it gently.

Lily sighed again and her huge head fell low. Her eyes, however, were still visible. "I was outside in the garden when they came. There was such a ruckus everywhere. I was afraid; I didn't know what was going on, so I hid in the orchard. Hours passed before Humbert came to fetch me. He said we needed to run. We were intercepted right by the fence by these. . ."

Her skin wrinkled again as she looked away, remembering.

"There were hundreds of them, they'd swarmed the whole town; burning, seizing, and terrorising people. One of them said they were also recruiting. They took my brother by force. My father tried to protest and. . . th-they split his skull right in front of us."

Waverly went rigid and stole a surreptitious glance at Judson, whose expression she could not decipher at all. He did seem to be paying close attention.

"When Humbert saw what they had done, he was furious and refused to go with them. They killed him, too."

"Oh, Lily!"

"I would've been killed as well because they didn't want girls. I saw the monstrous thing lift his blade. But when he struck, he was repelled. They all were."

Then, Judson spoke up. "By what?"

Lily straightened a bit to reach for something around her neck. A long necklace of thin rope. Hanging on the end as a pendant was a yellow stone too small to fit such a large rope. But it shone with great brilliance and filled the room with power. .

Waverly gasped at the sight and stood from her chair, walking with her hand held out to collect it. Lily allowed her observe the gemstone in silence for a few moments.

When she looked up, her eyes were misty. "You kept it."

Lily nodded. "The cat's eye protected me that day and every day after, until the Unrest came to an end. Prior to the troubles, I had no idea the true measures of its power. I turned it into a necklace when my wrists grew too big for the bracelet."

Waverly rolled the stone inside her palm. She long learned that every one of Judson's precious gifts were meant to serve a singular purpose. That the cat's eye had spared Lily's life felt a much better outcome than her own protection.

"You are the only surviving Phantanid in the East." Judson chirped in almost knowingly. "You work for the King. You wear the royal heraldry on your armour."

Lily's eyes narrowed. "I did my best to help the people rebuild what they'd lost to war and suffering. I lost much, too, but I didn't allow my sorrows triumph."

"Crillion and Humbert would be very proud of you." Waverly complimented, handing the gemstone back.

Lily's smile and pride showed in her eyes. "Thank you. Because of your generosity, the East has been much safer, save for those miscreants that show up once in a while."

Judson rose to join Waverly. "Many find it difficult to abandon crime as it was the order of the day during the Unrest. It profited both men and beast alike."

"The King has charged me with protecting the people night and day for that particular reason. Inasmuch as I don't blame them for their desires, I wish they would realize there are harmless ways to earn a living."

Then, the Phantanid looked from one face to the other. "Where were you headed anyway? And where have you both been for the last seven years?"

Judson gave an answer. "We travel to the Lower South."

Lily's eyes came to rest on Waverly and she stared in a way that showed adoration. "We all heard of your bravery there during the war. But afterwards, some dreadful news came from the Elves that you had gone missing."

"She hardly stays missing." Judson provided, coming to hold Waverly's arms. "And we should be thankful!"

Waverly smiled up at him as did Lily. Then, the latter arose. In her full height, she appeared majestic.

"Allow me to escort you to the bridge of Bridge. It would be my greatest pleasure."

"I fear that is exactly what we aim to avoid, Lily." Judson put out a bit sadly. "Her return must be kept under wraps until the time is right."

Lily seemed to understand at once. "As you wish. I am truly very happy to see you both alive and well."

In spite of her promise to not play escort, she strolled behind the carriage until the outskirts of Slumber Hill were far behind them before turning around to leave.

Now, even as they rode through familiar routes, Waverly's mind stayed on Lily's story. She loosely recalled the warning prophecy from that old Dakritonian priest. The line 'a gift of protection transposed in a moment ' was now clear to her and seemed to have been fulfilled after all.

One thing she knew well about prophecies and visions was that they usually took significance from the most insignificant of things. For example, no one – not even her – would have ever thought that something as trifle as gifting a gemstone could shape one's fate. It made her worry what the rest of the prophecy meant, and also think on how her life could have gone in an entirely different direction had she not given the cat's eye gemstone to Lily.

Perhaps it could have saved her from falling into Nys or at least helped her out. It was hard to tell.

Simple ponderings soon turned to deep worry and anxiety as she meditated on the last two phrases of the prophecy – a shattered soul and a duty of atonement.

What did any of that mean?

If a shattered soul meant her present state of torture, then that bit was already settled. But a duty of atonement was very much still as unclear as murky water under heavy rain.

Lost in thought, she drifted off and woke when the carriage hit a bump.

They were on the high roads where hardly there were any houses save disunited campsites and ruins. She gawked at the passing sights because she never really saw the impact of the war in her own home realm. Although a lot of restoration had taken place and the realm was healing, most dilapidated structures acted as proof of their past struggles.

It hurt Waverly all over again to see these things. She thought if the Elves could have taken such a hard blow, then how Humans had endured the war was a miracle. However, she trusted that they had showed resilience. They were not as weak as other realms often played them out to be.

Little by little, the high roads sloped into more forested ones before eventually bringing them into the mouth of the Bridge.

Waverly pushed the door open to step out. Sitting for such long hours made her realize why she preferred to walk on most of her journeys. She glimpsed Judson going to stand at the start of the Bridge to hold up their seal. First, the parchment hung in the air, then it rolled open. After a moment, it disappeared into thin air.

"Can you believe that is the first time I've actually witnessed a seal being a accepted?" She pitched, chuckling at the reality of it.

"Yes, because all the other times you have crossed into realms like a bandit yourself." He replied, coming to hold her shoulders. "We will rest once we get to the other side."

Looking up at him with a smile, Waverly glimpsed something else from over his shoulder in the far distance. The outline of a person. But when she blinked, it was gone.

Despite her efforts to appear normal, Judson noticed her unease and turned to look. For a few moments, he stared at the Bridge, then back at her.

"Go on, get in!" He cooed, holding the carriage door open and his free hand put to help her climb in.

As the carriage reached the other end of the bridge, Waverly poked her head out the window to look back and saw Lord Edsel, watching in silence. He stood too far off to make out anything more than his figure, but she thought his features were set in a mournful sort of way.

She stared on until the bridge of Bridge warbled out of sight, presenting newer terrain.

True to Judson's words, they halted next to a loud winding stream with beautiful low vegetation spread out, like carpets all around.

Waverly stretched her limbs by walking about while Judson fed and watered the horses. Though it was a bit depressing that their destination was still a long way off, she tried to focus on enjoying the trip. Many times in the past she had failed to pay mind to the process whilst travelling.

Standing idly in front of the stream, she watched tiny fishes swim around, until Judson brought her a small bouquet of wildflowers and an apple.

She accepted both with a beam of pleasure. "How do I know which one to eat first?"

At that, he laughed aloud. "So you do have Diarmaid's humor!"

"What do you mean? Diarmaid has my humor!"

"I can assure you it has become hard to differentiate between the two of you now, only Diarmaid's not half as lovely."

It was her turn to laugh as he led her back to the carriage.

Just as the horses started off again, something slammed into the vehicle and sent it into a violent somersault. Waverly was not very sure if she was bleeding, but warm liquid oozed from the back of her head. The car, which was now upside down, had begun to tip. It took a moment for her to realize that it was hanging off the edge of the road roughly a hundred feet above a very nasty drop.

With each movement, the car's weight tipped even more.

Her vision went fuzzy from the uncomfortable position and she felt blood rushing fast into her brain. The flowers Judson had given her only seconds ago sailed out of the window and disappeared from sight. Her hands and legs were too cramped to be freed without using force. And the slightest bit of such would send her to a painful demise.

Before she knew it, the environment began to morph in her eyes, melting to become Nys. She heard Judson yelling her name, but it seemed to come from the farthest place. Her consciousness had begun to tunnel.

Unexpectedly, the illusion washed off, as if wiped clean from her mind. Rough scuffling noises, like that from aggressive fights, and hard grunts accentuated by rushing water became audible. Though she could not see whomever Judson was battling, she knew it was larger than he was.

They were always larger.

When she kicked the door open, she caught sight of something humanoid yet strange. The carriage gave a groan as it inched further out. Waverly could feel just how much time she had left to escape before it became impossible. The horses, both of whom had broken free during the impact, were hovering at a safe distance from the fight, neighing worriedly. She knew the animals' concern was genuine though not necessarily targeted at her.

With care and good timing, she threw herself out of the carriage. Immediately she did, it fell off the road. Then, she tossed upright to better inspect their attackers – beings resembled humans sculpted out of dried earth. Quagmires.

"Hlsana! Run!" Judson prompted when he got the chance to break free of the creature's chokehold.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than more Quagmires poured into the scene. Without wasting time, Waverly sprinted for a horse and began to gallop away.

However, she became aware of how quickly her pursuers poured in from every corner in a swarming chase. From the unnatural glow their footprints left behind, she felt very certain they had come out of Nys.

Hekate sent them.

Her breaths turned to loud pants of panic as the frightening things neared her horse and began to claw at the animal. She could hardly focus on whether or not the path she had taken was the right one because the equine only ran in whatever direction its legs led them both.

She cried out when a Quagmire's hand closed around her calf, but the horse took a sharp turn and dislodged its grip, leaving a painful scratch on her skin. That did not stop the others from tailing closer than ever.

Just as one of them dared to leap at the horse, the most unexpected thing happened.

A great silver wolf lunged at it out of absolutely nowhere.

Waverly slowed her horse down to stare with wide eyes as an outright carnage played before her. Every single Quagmire was liquidated under the canine's paw.

Then, silence reigned.

She slid off her horse in sheer excitement, her eyes filling up as she sped toward the godly animal. Her second best friend.

"Chestnut!"

He shrunk to a pup and dove into her embrace before she could get any closer. His excitement was palpable as he nuzzled her over and over again, panting aloud.

"I'm so happy to see you! How did you know where to find me? Oh, that doesn't matter! I'm just very glad you're here now."

In their revelry, a worried Judson came galloping on the second horse, then cooled altogether when he met the heartwarming sight. Nonetheless, he made sure she was not physically injured before receiving his own round of face licks from Chestnut.

"I really thought I would never see you again, old friend." He chuckled, picking the wolf up to hold him in a cradle. "You waited to make a spectacular entrance, am I right?"

Chestnut whuffed in response.

"Our carriage is gone." Waverly announced, taking note of her dirty dress. Oddly enough, it hurt to see Brynhild's hard work tarnished in that way. In fact, it felt disrespectful.

"Can you ride?" Judson put Chestnut down and came to take her hand, his eyes full of worry. "She will keep trying. We have to reach the South before she tries again."

She looked at Chestnut. Nothing about him had changed over the years chiefly because he was a godly animal. But his eyes did shine brighter and gave him a look of eagerness that she recognized very well.

"I doubt she will succeed if the gigantic wolf of an Entonian goddess is right behind us."

Judson helped her climb onto her horse again. "We do need an escort after all. I probably should have just let Lily tag along."

"Care to join us like old times, boy?" She cooed to Chestnut, who was furiously wagging his tail.

As if to answer her question, the wolf engorged to full size. Seeing him like that made Waverly breathe easy and feel much safer. In addition, it ignited a wave of nostalgia that practically washed her with warmth from head to foot.

She riled her horse with a little kick as Judson climbed onto his.

"Just so you know, you will be telling your father about the carriage yourself." He put out, trotting to catch up to her.

Waverly snorted a laugh. "I thought you were friends now?"

He shrugged with genuine uncertainty. "I still think he thinks about biting my head off."

"Then that's all the confirmation you need concerning your friendship."

"Pardon?"

"There's hardly anyone whose head Pa doesn't want to bite off, especially mine." She grinned.

"How relieving to know I have no hope whatsoever."

With their laughter ringing through the forest, the pair kept a steady trot for the rest of their journey.