It was interesting seeing the world through another's eyes. Kitaya had learned more about Aldeheid in the two days she'd spent on his shoulders than in the two hundred plus years they'd lived together. While she wasn't privy to what went on the depths of his mind, she did often get subtle emotional cues that manifested themselves as various sensations.

His sadness, like icy pins pricking at her skin, she'd felt while they were playing a game of Tactica with Lady Hiroh. His happiness, like morning sunshine, she'd felt when Leandyr told him his swordplay was improving. A flash of angry heat immediately followed it -- akin to stepping barefooted on hot stone – when the Swordmaster told him he still had all the grace and style of a drunken ogre.

He was a daydreamer who got lost in his own head more often than not. Too many times Kitaya had caught him staring off into the distance for extended periods of time. She wondered what kept his mind constantly occupied. Worry? Fear?

At least they'd adjusted better to the bond in their time since the ceremony. Aldeheid wasn't getting sick or dizzy anymore, and they could talk to each other without being plagued by crippling headaches.

Everything she'd been told about the bond had been true. She felt irrevocably tied to Aldeheid in some way. There was also a sense of oneness whenever they were together as magician and cape. Like they were two sides of the same coin.

Together, they sat atop Bellyn, just outside the eastern gate. From there, they had a spectacular view of the savanna. The setting sun had the landscape ablaze in orange-yellow light. Nylarah had asked for them to visit her before their travels, but an hour and several messengers later she'd yet to emerge from the temple.

They would be leaving Kon the following morning to search for Mellidius. They didn't have much leads to go on, except what Nylarah had told them. So they'd be heading east, towards the outskirts of the backlands. They only had three weeks to follow up on their leads, then they'd have to return to Kon for the summit.

"Kitten?" Aldeheid's voice was quiet and a little raspy, which – from what she'd learnt – meant he had something grave on his mind.

Kitaya knew it would be a useless endeavour to ask what was troubling him. "Hm?"

"Is everything alright? You're being very quiet."

"Just enjoying the view. And you're being quiet yourself."

"I was just thinking... Do you believe it's selfish that we're leaving everyone to go look for Mellidius?"

"No." A heaviness fell over her like a wet blanket. She wasn't sure what emotion to associate with this sensation. Worry?

He curled a blade of grass around his finger "I don't think it's fair to drag you into my selfish endeavours. You're a valuable member of the cause. You should stay here to help in whatever way you can, and I'll go."

"I'm only going to say this once, angel eyes, so listen carefully. No one –not even the people who may dislike me – has the gall to question my commitment to this cause. Furthermore..." She paused for a moment, and the next words she spoke made her blood bitter. "As much as Mellidius infuriates me, as much as I want to sock his smug face and beat him senseless for abandoning everyone, he would make and invaluable addition to our front."

"I see. Thank you, kitten." At his words the heavy sensation lifted.

"Why?"

"Well, you always know what to say. To ease my mind."

"Am I interrupting something?"

The world went sideways as Aldeheid startled and fell sideways in the grass. Nylarah's bare feet appeared before his eyes a moment later, her gold anklet glinting in the light.

Kitaya willed herself back to normal form, the sensation of insects crawling over her skin lingering. "Give us a warning next time." She took Aldeheid's arm and pulled him to his feet. For the first time, she got a good look at the High Priestess.

Her hair was hanging loose, the tight, white coils framing her head. Dark circles surrounded her eyes and her face was puffy.

"Are you alright? You look as though you've seen death."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Nylarah's face. "You're not entirely wrong." She held out her bag in a shaking hand. "Take it." When Kitaya reached for it, she pulled her hand back. "No, not you." She flicked her head at Aldeheid. "You."

Aldeheid reached for the back, but Kitaya grabbed his wrist before he could take it. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of her gut.

"Nylarah, what's happening?" She stared down the High Priestess, and the air grew thick with tension as she got no answer. It was rare for Nylarah to ask for anyone to see her at the temple and even rarer for her to appear so flustered.

"I was told it was for his protection. And the rest." She looked over her shoulder, as though she expected a ghost to materialize behind her. "I cannot speak it."

"Will you stop being so cryptic for—"

Nylarah seized her by the shoulders, squeezing so hard that her nails dug into Kitaya's skin. "I cannot speak it, Kitaya." Both her bag and staff fell, the former spilling its contents while the latter rolling away. He gaze was like wild like a rabid animal. "I try to and the words suffocate me."

Aldeheid moved to intervene but Nylarah pushed Kitaya away and punched him. Her fist cracked as it slammed into his jaw, and he doubled over in the grass.

"This is your fault!" she spat, her words like venom. "Everything was fine and then you showed up! How could you? We welcomed you. We made you a part of our family."

Kitaya was too stunned to do or say anything. She felt as though she were witnessing a rare cosmic event. She looked at Aldeheid who was pushing himself from the grass, one hand on his jaw. Then at Nylarah, standing over him, hands fiisted and eyes ablaze. In all her years she'd never seen Nylarah raise her hand to hit anyone. She was even more of a pacifist than Kemah.

"Ny, please," she said, gently laying a hand on the Priestess' shoulder. Her heart was fluttering in her chest and the sinking feeling in her gut redoubled. "Calm down. Let's just talk, alright? About anything. Have you eaten? Have you been sleeping enough?"

For a while they stayed quiet. There was no movement save for the grass and no sound save for the breeze. It was as though they were suspended in time while the rest of the world went on around them.

The Nylarah's shoulders began to shake. She looked down at her hand as though it had betrayed her and her eyes glistened with tears. "What am I doing?" She fisted her hands in her hair and fell to her knees. "I'm so sorry."

Kitaya looked to Aldeheid, who – bless his heart – still had his wits about him. Unlike her, who could only stand and stare in disbelief.

He knelt in front of Nylarah. "It's alright. I'm not angry." His words did nothing to quiet Nylarah's sobs. He looked up at Kitaya, the worry in his eyes palpable. "We should get help."

"Right uh..." Kiataya looked around, expecting help to leap from thin air. Get it together. She gave herself a mental kick. "Go to the temple and tell the Priests what happened. I'll stay here with her."

Aldeheid nodded and ran off, sliding down Bellyn's back and disappearing into the building a moment later. Kitaya took his place and wrapped an arm around Nylarah's shoulder. Offering comfort and support was the only thing she could think to do.

When Nylarah's sobs finally quieted to hiccups, she spoke. "If I'd known having a magician was all it took to break the pacifist in you, I would've been bonded ages ago." Her bad joke was met with silence. "Is something going to happen? Should I talk to Eriani."

"I believe she already knows." Nylarah's voice was a hoarse whisper. "In the last two hundred or so years, she's tripled the size of the army, doubled the size of the Shujaa and has been actively expanding the Stone Legion. She has them running drills every ten days instead of every moon like usual. She knows..."

Was Eriani expecting a war? Kitaya wondered. She needed to have a talk with her altori as soon as she returned to the castle. If Kon was in danger, then their search for Mellidius may need to be pushed back.

"Kitaya, make sure Aldeheid takes what is in that bag." She leaned her head on Kitaya's shoulder and heaved a miserable sigh.

"You're scaring me, Ny. I'm used to you being infuriatingly cryptic but this is..." Kitaya couldn't find the words.

"Sometimes the gods reveal things to me. Sometimes it's the answers to questions I've pondered over for years. Sometimes it's good omens, sometimes bad. Sometimes there are loopholes."

"Is this about the thin spaces?"

"I you want to know what's happening, find Mellidius. Don't come back until you do. There's no other explanation I can give you. I've tried writing it on paper, but the ink burns away. I've tried carving it into the walls but the stone crumbles. I feel as though I'm going mad."

Kitaya opened her mouth to speak but pounding footfalls silenced her. Aldeheidleapt onto Bellyn's back with a priestess in tow. She bustled over to where Kitaya and Nylarah sat.

"Your Eminence," she said, dark eyes filled with worry. She doted over Nylar smoothing her hair and giving her a soft cloth to wipe her tear-stained face. "You shouldn't work so hard. You'll wear yourself out."

"It's quite fine, Caramine. I just haven't been myself lately,' Nylarah said.

Aldeheid walked past them, brows scrunched as he stared out at Kon. "Kitaya, what does red smoke mean?"

Kitaya jumped her feet and whirled around, Surely enough, plumes of red smoke rose over the buildings, curling into the sky. Her heart rate tripled. "Caramine, can you take care of Nylarah for me?"

"Yes ma'am," the Priestess replied.

"Aldeheid, we need to get back to the castle now."