Myrine dreamed of the stars. She drifted along the gravitational waves as she floated through the cosmos. Each sight was more breathtaking than the last. As she weaved through galaxies she was accompanied by three motes of light. The yellow light burned with a fervor and zeal that was unmatched. Its pair, the blue light, was more reserved, stopping to inspect anything and everything that caught its eye. Finally there was the purple light. It slinked through the darkness of space like a predator beneath the waves. Wherever Myrine turned the purple light was right behind her, watching for anything that might get too close.

  Suddenly the yellow and blue lights froze, they changed direction as they shot right towards Myrine with murderous intent. Before she could react the purple light struck, devouring its siblings without remorse. Something inside of Myrine died as she cried out in anguish. The lights were her creations, they were a part of her; and now two of them were gone forever.

  Myrine turned to face the purple light. As she looked into the depths of its soul she saw a yawning abyss. A darkness that could swallow the universe if given the chance. She felt a chill run down her spine as the purple light crept ever closer. It reached out for her…

  Myrine awoke with a start as she tried to scream. A gentle hand covered her mouth as a soothing male voice whispered. “Calm yourself child. You were having a nightmare again.”

  Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Myrine sat up as she tried to sort her thoughts out. Her life had seemed so simple before the attack on her village. It wasn’t much, but it was hers. Now she found herself in the company of the hybrid Phi and the strange Fel. The two had warned her that the target of the attack had been her, and that unless they took her somewhere safe the people after her would never stop. That had been almost a month ago, and ever since they had been marching through the wilds without end.

  Even with all of the winter gear and clothing that Skarstooth could offer, Myrine still shivered in the cold winter's night as she bundled the leathers and furs closer for warmth.

  She thought back to all the people that died during that night. It was hard to accept that it was her fault. When she had first been told she had felt inconsolable, yet now she struggled to feel that same remorse. It was like she knew she should be sad, but couldn’t muster the energy to feel it.

  Their makeshift camp was just a few blankets in the woods, the remains of a firepit that was made in a way to reduce smoke, and what was left of a deer that Phi was in the process of processing.

  The proper term was gralloching.

  Myrine felt her head swim as the word forced its way into her mind without warning. It had been happening more and more lately.

  Phi smiled with his deformed mouth as he went back to work. Fel for their part was cooking while trying to hold in a terrible cough. Each time they lost the battle, their body spasmed and convulsed in pain. Though it seemed to do little in stopping their brooding.

  “You’re staring again.” Fel said.

  “Are you going to tell me what you are?”

  “Will it stop you from staring?”

  Myrine shrugged. “Maybe.”

  Fel sighed as they glanced over at the distant Phi. They seemed to be considering something as they finally motioned for Myrine to approach.

  With a giddy smile Myrine scurried over to sit by the fire. The flames gave off just enough heat to ease the ever present chill of the winter night. “So what are you?” She whispered.

  “You see this soup?” Fel said without warning. “I am just like it.”

  Myrine waited for the rest of the explanation, but it never came. “That’s it? You’re soup!?” Fel shot her a look that made her lower her voice. “Come on. You can’t just drop some nonsense and expect me to take that.”

  Fel tapped the ladle in their hand as they seemed to weigh the options. “Most people are one singular thing, but you and I are different.” Myrine raised an eyebrow at being included in the metaphor. “We aren’t just one thing. We are many, each ingredient adding itself to the collective pot, every experience, every beginning and ending is just another spice or flavor that lends itself to the soup.” They stirred the pot slowly as they sprinkled in a small bit of salt. “This life, this version of us, is just the newest ingredient in the pot. Overtime, you will find it hard to separate the you you are now, with the you’s that came before.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Myrine said in disbelief.

  “It means you shouldn’t be surprised if memories from your previous ingredients start worming their way into your mind.” Fel’s tone made it clear that the conversation was over.

  That left Myrine to wander over to Phi in a stupor as she pointed at Fel. “Do you understand anything they say?”

  Phi cocked his head. “Sometimes.” He said with a grin. “Though I have been traveling with them for months, and I’ve known them for several years prior. I have learned that Fel is simply Fel. They are a singular force that shares only what they want, when they want. The only ones who could ever truly reach them were their siblings.”

  Myrine leaned closer so Fel wouldn’t hear her. “Are they all like Fel?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “You know…” Myrine gestured wildly in the air as she struggled to put her thoughts into words.

  Phi stopped his work for a moment. “Fel was born as a triplet. Which in the Twin’s culture is a bit of a mystery to outsiders.”

  “There are triplets? Makes the name ‘Twins’ feel a bit misleading.”

  “There is only ever one triplet at any given time. When Fel passes, in that moment somewhere in the world another Twin will give birth, and they will now be the proud parents of the new set of triplets.”

  Myrine frowned. “Isn’t that just like-”

  “The Celestials? Yes. Which makes it all the stranger. The exact process for the Gods' reincarnation is a closely guarded secret even inside the Court. Yet, for a thousand years the very same thing has been happening in the Black Coast without so much as a whisper of it spreading to the Empire as a whole. What does that tell you?”

  Myrine replied without pause. “That the Twins are really good at keeping secrets.”

  Phi raised his finger. “Exactly.” He returned to his work as Myrine digested the man’s odd words.

  “Can they be trusted?” Myrine hadn’t meant to speak out loud, the thought had spilled forth without warning.

  “For one reason or another, the Twin’s and their whole identity is based on secrets. Having lived amongst them for years I can tell you that it is second nature to them. They view showing themselves to others as a risk; understandable considering their history of persecution.” Phi spoke with a softness, like he was a teacher giving a lecture.

  “Didn’t they kill the All Mother’s children?”

  Phi froze.

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  Myrine stammered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

  “No. No it isn't that.” The man took a deep breath as he glanced upwards. “We will never know what part they played in the downfall of our progenitors. There can be no question that they had their role in the murder of Gods, but I struggle to fathom why? The All Mother saw fit to punish them for eternity, yet those that were present are long dead and gone, forgotten to time.”

  Something washed over Myrine, a wisp of a memory. She stood on top of a hill surrounded by a group of kneeling Twins. When she spoke, it was with another's voice. “Killing them would have been a waste.”

  It took a moment for Myrine to realize that she had spoken the words aloud.

  Phi blinked for a moment. “A bold stance, and perhaps that’s what it boiled down to, but the truth is the only one that can answer the question of what really happened is the All Mother herself.” Despite his blindness, Phi seemed to stare at Myrine from the corner of his eye.

  The conversation lulled naturally as Myrine wandered to a nearby stump and sat with her thoughts. The two traveling companions she found herself with were unlike anything she had seen, yet they genuinely seemed to have her best interest at heart. Though every time she asked where it was they were going exactly the pair seemed to dodge the question.

  She remembered leaving her village, the priest that had watched over her growing up had thrown a fit at the pair of strangers demanding to take Myrine in the night. When they mentioned that the hired assassins wouldn’t stop until she was dead, he changed his tune pretty quickly.

  Fel called out that dinner was ready and soon the three were sitting in silence as they ate yet another bland meal. The lack of ingredients meant that the soup was closer to flavored water, but it was just the right thing to warm Myrine’s bones again.

  Without warning Fel began to cough. A fit dragged on into an uncomfortable amount of time, each harsh rasp seemed to send their body into full spasms. After what felt like an eternity they finally seemed to settle.

  “Fel. Is there anything we can do to help your condition?” Phi asked.

  “The only way is to find out why my connection to the All Mother has been severed. Once we-” Fel paused, realizing that they were speaking too much.

  Phi dropped his spoon. “Fel. We can’t keep hiding everything from everyone. Now is the time for honesty.” His murky white eyes seemed to plead with Fel.

  They rubbed their temple before finally dropping their bowl to the ground. “Fine.” They turned to Myrine. “Do you really want to know why those mercenaries were in Skarstooth? Why they’re hunting you across the whole Empire?” The deep green eyes of Fel seemed to pierce right through Myrine as she fought to keep her composure under that harsh stare.

  “Please.” Myrine said.

  Nodding for a moment, Fel stood to their full height as they towered above. Even weakened as they were, they radiated a commanding aura that demanded one's attention. “Long ago humanity found the Celestials. The first to offer their bodies were the saints.”

  “I was raised in a church. I know that much.”

  Ignoring the snide remake Fel continued. “Eventually the saints died. When that happened the Celestials took new hosts to sustain themselves.”

  “I feel like I am repeating myself. Again, I was raised in a church.”

  “The process is kept secret. When a Celestial dies, their soul travels to a new body, but there is no way to know where in the world the new host will be. While the God and the host’s souls become one, they are vulnerable. That is why the Court never announces when a God dies, instead waiting until after the process is complete.” Fel paused, seeming uncertain for the first time as they struggled to find the right words.

  Myrine looked down at the dropped bowl, seeing the different ingredients all blended together. Unable to tell where one began and another ended until it finally dawned on her.

  “Holy shit. I’m soup”

  Phi snorted. “I never thought a God would call themselves soup.”

  The sheer absurdity was too much to take as Myrine simply tapped her finger against the bowl. “Which…Do you know…Who or what I-” Her brain tried desperately to process what she was being told. She was an orphan, a nobody, just a regular Tideborn, and now she was being told that her body would be a vessel for a God.

  Fel tried to wave a hand dismissively but stopped. ”You are to be the vessel of the All Mother.”

  Before Myrine could process what she had just heard, Phi walked over and knelt before her.

  “Oh I hate that.” Myrine said without thought.

  “Myrine. Even if you didn’t house a God's soul within you, I would still swear to keep you safe.”

  “Does that mean I’m going to die?”

  Fel and Phi looked at each other without saying a word.

  “Is that a yes?” Her voice began to waver.

  It was Fel that came to offer a comforting hand to Myrine’s shoulder first. “It isn’t like dying. It’s more like waking up after sleepwalking. You will still be Myrine, you’ll just also be more than that. As the other memories from the past come into focus you will view them through your new eyes.”

  Myrine looked at the handsome androgynous stranger. “You say it like you’ve been through this before.”

  Fel gave a sigh. “That’s because I have.” The others sat silently waiting to see if Fel would share any more of their mysterious nature. “There is always a single triplet amongst the Twins. When- if that triplet reaches puberty then they undergo a change, and I am reincarnated. Again, and again, and again…” Their voice grew distant as they stared off into the distance.

  “Why?” Myrine was surprised to find it was Phi that was asking the question.

  “I can’t say.”

  “Can’t? Or won’t?”

  “Is there a difference?” Fel said as they began to cough once more.

  Myrine felt her head spin as she sat in disbelief. “How many times have you reincarnated?”

  Fel held up their fingers as they mumbled to themself. “Thirty four times.”

  “By the saints.”

  The three grew quiet as they tried to find the nerve to speak again after so many revelations. Once again it fell on Myrine to ask a question that had been eating away at her. “So where are we going? If I’m going to host a God, are you taking me somewhere safe?”

  Phi cleared his throat. “The plan is to take you to meet the All Mother’s, er, your Avatar.” He gestured at Fel. “Apparently you are missing your divine power. If what we heard from a particular assassin is correct, your last words were that you ‘trusted them to your favorite child’, our bet is that that means you gave them to your avatar for safe keeping.”

  “My avatar…” Myrine could do little but sit there and repeat the odd word as her brain melted in her skull from trying to process everything she was being told. “And, what’s the rush? You said I was vulnerable right now but I’ve never heard of a God being killed, not their spirit anyways.”

  Fel clicked their tongue. “Whoever is pulling the strings behind this is incredibly knowledgeable. They somehow knew of your previous hosts' impending death, and in the confusion they stole an artifact of the NightFather. A weapon that can destroy the very soul itself.”

  “Wait. So the Nightfather sent his followers after me with a weapon that can destroy my soul?!”

  “No. The Night Father would never break the oaths that bind him, though he did bend about a dozen or more of them when he warned me of what was happening. He risked all out war with the Court to ensure your safety. The Old Gods are unpredictable, some might see them as the harbingers of damnation, but the fundamental truth is that they benefit from the balance of the world. They need humanity as a food source, and unrest and conflict would only sour their meals.”

  Myrine rubbed her eyes. “So. Where are we going? To the capital?”

  “Not quite.” Fel pointed off in the distance. “The capital is too far, and too risky, we have reason to believe that some amongst the Court are responsible for trying to kill you. The plan is to keep moving for a couple months until your powers manifest enough to call out for your Avatar directly.” Fel said with a shrug.

  Phi seemed to read the mood as he interjected. “We won’t be camping the whole time. As soon as we lose our pursuers we’ll find somewhere to lay low. Though, it’ll still be a long winter.”

  Myrine stood up and walked away without another word. The others didn’t seem to mind, it wasn’t like she could outrun two inhuman warriors. She listened to the crunch of her footsteps as each step cracked the hard ground. Finally she had the answers she had been looking for, and now she wanted nothing more than to scrub it from her mind. The way she saw it, she either lived for the next few months running and hiding while her mind and body were slowly eaten away by the goddess that was rudely invading her personal space. Or she could look forward to being killed or captured by ruthless killers and mercenaries. Honestly, both options seemed pretty piss poor.

  She knelt down, curling into a ball as she tried to cry. Try as she might, the tears just wouldn’t form. It felt like she was floating outside her body as she watched everything going on, too far removed to feel invested in the situation. Like an observer.

  As she thought over the situation she found herself agreeing with Phi and Fel, seeing the logic in their decision. A part of her knew it was the proper choice, the mature one; but yet there was a part of her that screamed, wanting to be selfish and angry at the unjust world that had thrust this all upon her out of the blue. She had no say in this, she hadn’t offered herself up to be the host to a god.

  She tried to hold on to that anger, that injustice, but she felt it slipping through her fingers as a calmness overtook her. Something was smothering her emotions, and she was unable to fight back against it.

  Myrine returned to the camp, her pose and demeanor shifting as she held her head high. The others glanced up and seemed to notice that something was different. They stood hesitantly as they shared a look.

  “We agree with your idea.” Myrine said.

  Phi raised an eyebrow. “We?”

  Fel frowned. “It's started.”