The secretary sat still, her face vacant, unreadable.

  Her gaze slowly drifted their camp- Edur’s bag was still there, mocking her. A silent monument to her failure. A silent reminder of his absence.

  Slowly, she stood up. The remnants of Edur’s magic were still at work, closing the small wound on her neck. A st parting gift before he was gone.

  She took a step toward the bag.

  Vannie slowly marched towards his bag, one step at a time.

  On the first step, a memory returned: the day he was brought in. Dirty, skinny, frail.

  He was a stranger and a danger. If not for Era’s pleading—and Gavin’s intervention—he might’ve been killed on the spot.

  Perhaps that’s what they should’ve done, perhaps that way, he would’ve been spared of the suffering he now will know.

  The second step came with another memory. She reminisced about the day they both spoke to each other for the first time.

  It was three days after he woke up. She’d found him on one of his rare strolls outside his chamber. He was at the southern gate, his regard silently directed into where he came from, The Last Forest.

  Edur, although he was actually nameless then, asked her if one without memories could still live without burden in his heart. She couldn’t recall exactly what she said, but it seemed to have calmed him. He thanked her before she went back to the city hall to finish some meaningless paperwork.

  Now, she would trade the world to not have left him alone that day.

  The third step was the heaviest, as she remembered when all fell apart- barely a week ago.

  The Commander mistook him for something else. Maybe an elf. Maybe worse. They could’ve cleared the misunderstanding, like they did when he first arrived in Holbeck. But that would’ve meant expining too much. The origin of his features. His strange power, where he had come from- something possible only through magical means, hence that would’ve led him to war.

  Vannie took the final step, stopping before the bag.

  It y in the thick snow, still daunting her. Her expression was passive—but if anyone had looked closely, they would’ve seen the cracks. A tremble in her eyes. A twitch at her lips.

  Was this how it ended? Will he vanish just like a mirage? With only the vilgers’ memories to prove he ever existed? Would he be forgotten, just to be a fleeting event no one will recall in the coming years?

  What was the point of coming, in the first pce, then? What was the point of his existence?

  Will he suffer for the rest of his life, taken away for manual bor or gods know what?

  She crouched slowly and reached for the bag. Her hands moved as if through water. Numb. Mechanical. She opened it. Fumbled inside. Her fingers brushed something ft and rough.

  A letter.

  She opened it.

  The handwriting was childish- grossly uneven, as if a juvenile wrote it. And in fact, It was from little Gristle. He thought Edur was the Gifter from old stories. The man who brought presents to good children all around the world. Of course, Edur had no idea. He thought the boy was just asking him for toys. So he bought them. Spent all his allowance. Got scolded by Albus for a whole day.

  Of course, Edur didn’t know about such legends, and thought the boy was just asking him to buy these things…

  He had spent all of his allowance to buy him his toys, and ended up being reprimanded by Albus for the whole day. The atmosphere that day at the vilge was very cheerful, the kids celebrating and thinking the Gifter had really granted one of the kids’ wishes.

  Something fell on the paper as Vannie was reading the wish letter, staining the next word she was about to read.

  A water droplet.

  Where did it come from?

  Then another followed. And another.

  Tears.

  She sobbed silently, clutching the letter to her chest. This one letter alone had shattered her doubts. It proved he belonged to Holbeck. And there was more of them.

  Just before her was an undeniable proof that his pce was with Holbeck- with them.

  This one letter alone chased away her doubt and self-condemnation with such ease one might wonder if they had come by to begin with.

  She cried for the innocent boy she couldn’t protect. The one she’d come to see as the son she never had.

  She cried because she failed to fulfill yet another mission, like she did long ago, the result costing the death of her comrades and her retirement.

  She pulled another letter from the bag. This one was from Era—written in her usual dramatic, lovesick tone. Still wasting paper when she could’ve just told him all this in person… Of course, Edur, ever dense, treated her with kindness and like a sister.

  Vannie cried, her knees buckling as she colpsed. She punched the snow, again and again, her body trembling.

  Above her, snow began to fall. Winter cried with her, though she didn’t notice.

  Eventually, her sobs quieted. After sorrow came stillness. And then— Anger.

  Not the cold kind. She wasn’t Edur.

  No, her anger was alive, bzing, bright, vibrant.

  She slid the letters back into Edur’s bag, picked it up along with her own, which was just next to his, and slung both of them over her shoulder. Then she turned and began to walk.

  She couldn’t save him. But someone back at the vilge could. Someone with power. With authority.

  Maybe they’d enlist him in the army. But also, maybe he’d be pced far from danger... His healing alone could preserve him.

  Hopefully.

  Sometimes, you don’t get to choose between good and evil. Sometimes, you just choose your poison.

  ***

  Edur opened his eyes.

  Or, at least, he tried to.

  They remained closed.

  Slowly, he sat up, rubbing them with both hands, trying to clear his vision.

  Nothing.

  He tried again, harder this time.

  Same result.

  Confusion surged, as well as panic.

  Have I gone blind? What happened?

  Where’s Vannie?

  He stood up unsteadily, hands outstretched, tentatively walking and fumbling for support.

  His fingers brushed something rough and uneven. He traced his fingers across the surface, the shape and scent were familiar.

  Bark.

  It was a tree.

  Was he in a forest?

  Edur didn’t like that a tiny bit, The memories hit him like cold water- his first days, wandering in fear, lost and alone.

  ‘No, no, no..’

  He ran. Where? he didn’t know… again.

  He didn’t make it very far before he tripped and fell smming head first into another tree. His nose cracked against the trunk with a sickening snap.

  Pain exploded. Raw, violent, immediate, overwhelming.

  He clutched his face, feeling hot blood trickling through his fingers. The agony was sharp, blinding, real.

  It took all his willpower not to scream right there and then.

  He waited for the pain to recede, for his healing to get to work.

  But this time, the pain wasn’t temporary.

  It was persistent, agonizing, stinging.

  …

  His healing wasn’t working.

  Panic turned into dread, and quickly shifted to terror.

  His mind was in chaos, his senses useless.

  He couldn’t feel his own body falling off the side, rolling a few times.

  Pain came in waves, from the tip of his broken nose to the sole of his feet, bouncing back up for another round of suffering. The boy was quivering, barely holding his sobs, which came in short and rasp breaths.

  Vannie? Where’s Vannie? Era? Albus? Gavin? Eda?

  “Someone, please help…” he whimpered.

  Yet no one answered.

  That doesn’t mean no one came, though.

  His soce was found once again high in the sky.

  Above him, the clouds parted, moonlight poured through, revealing his surroundings and bringing light to Edur's realm of suffering.

  The youth could see again.

  The gentle light, silver and silent.

  Until it was not.

  Something was wrong.

  High above the trees, the moon was too big, too close, dominating half of the sky like a watchul god. He could see every crater and every scar on its surface with disturbing details..

  Would he be able to reach it, this time?

  He felt reluctant to try, for some reason.

  A seed of doubt bloomed in his mind, an instinctive fear.

  The moon- which he always thought of as his quiet comfort and companion since his day of waking- now felt… probing, invasive, inquisitive. Peering at him, his body, his soul.

  He felt the immense need to hide, hide from Her gaze…

  Wait… who was ‘Her’?

  Edur just now realized that he no longer felt pain in his nose, the blood in his hand mysteriously vanished.

  He looked around, more confused than anything.

  Only trees and the celestial body caught fell under his gaze.

  “What is going on? Where am I?” asked a voice- just behind him.

  Edur quickly spun around, scanning the forest for the source of the sound.

  Nothing.

  “What? Who’s that? I’m sure I just heard someone..” repeated the elusive voice, this time above him.

  Edur looked up, but shuddered at the sight of the moon, he stepped further in the shade of the spruce tree, which was close to futile. He could see it through the waxy needles.

  “All of these are questions you’re asking, aren’t they?” chuckled the voice, echoing this time throughout the forest, and tone like a ughter behind a curtain

  Edur was too abashed to usher a sound, his eyes darting left and right, up and down for the-

  -Just before him, a silhouette manifested out of nowhere.

  Edur flinched back, stumbling backward. He would’ve fell and hit his head against yet another trunk if not for the figure catching his wrist in time.

  “Ah, sorry friend, I guess I kinda took it too far, eh?” snickered the vague silhouette, the moonlight seemingly flowing through it; not quite revealing its appearance.

  The voice- which Edur assumed to be that of a young man, although he was not too sure, it was too elusive and slippery for his ears to catch their tune- helped him steady on his feet.

  Edur just stared bnkly at the human-shaped translucent shadow…well stared straight through it.

  Finally, his mind calmed down enough for him to ask questions, his mind’s attempt at rationalizing things and evaluating the situation.

  “Who are you? Where am I? Wha-”

  The moonlight surged. Edur shuddered, the cold light pressing against his skin like a weight.

  What was wrong with it tonight? Why did the astral body give the young man so much fright, it who once brought him comfort and soce whenever his soul was lost…?

  “It’s here to collect her dues, you could say.” murmured the figure, unbothered. Edur didn’t voice those st questions.

  He looked skyward, where the light intensified. Edur clutched his head as pain pulsed through him again.

  "Fair reaction," said the figure calmly, watching him. "Come with me."

  He felt the ground disappear for a heartbeat—then nd softly beneath him.

  They stood in mist. Endless. Translucent. Gentle. Above them, the sky was peach and rose, painted in dreamy hues. The sun hung above, soft and distant.

  Were they on clouds?

  Edur was even more baffled, weren’t they in a forest in the middle of the night, is this magic?

  “Yes and no. It’s magic in the sense of the term… Well, no matter. She won’t be able to suspect a thing here. A few more minutes and all of would come crumbling down.”

  Edur turned to the speaker.

  Now, the figure had form: a tall man with spiraling ginger hair and sparkling green eyes. He wore a silk tunic the color of spring leaves. Goat horns curled from his head, and… were those hooves instead of legs? ccking lightly on the mist.

  "So you can see me now. Good, good," the satyr grinned.

  "You can read my mind?" Edur asked.

  "Friend, we are in your mind," he replied, arms spread wide. "That’s why I can hear the things you don’t say. We’re also in my Fabric, but... that’s another story."

  Edur gnced around again. It was peaceful. Surreal. Better than the forest, at least.

  "So, who are you? What just happened? Why are—"

  "Tsk, tsk," the satyr cut in, pcing a finger over Edur’s lips. "I’ll tell you what you need to know when you need to know it."

  He stepped back as a plush divan appeared behind him. Reclining with impossible elegance, he conjured a gss of wine from nowhere.

  Edur frowned. "Well, it’s rude not to introduce yourself, don’t you think? What should I call you—Goathead?"

  The satyr froze mid-sip.

  Edur smirked, feeling daring for no apparent reason.

  "You do have a point," the satyr muttered. With a sigh, he snapped his fingers. A chair appeared before Edur.

  “Have a seat, first!” He said, throwing the wine gss away as it vanished mysteriously.

  Edur cautiously touched the chair first.

  It didn’t disappear on him, good.

  He carefully sat down, as if the chair was made of shards of gss.

  “My name? Yes, I have many names, titles… But you can call me Grail.” he extended his hand, his bright teeth showing as he grinned.

  The satyr leaned forward, extending a strong, elegant hand.

  Edur took it.

  "I’m... Edur."

  Grail leaned back on the sofa, whistling a tune that stirred something in Edur.

  It was familiar.

  Wait—he knew this melody.

  It was the same one he caught himself humming absentmindedly, day after day, while sweeping floors or watching bread rise in the oven.

  Hesitantly, Edur joined in, their two voices twining like thread. The tune was simple, almost childish, but there was a depth to it—like it had been sung before memory itself.

  For a moment, the misty air was filled with energy and hope, the singing voices twining like thread to compose the dreams of the world. Each note was where it should be, doing what it should do, plucking a heart’s correct string.

  Perhaps, if someone were to listen, they might’ve forgotten to even breathe or think, all of their brain’s power attempting to register every single tune, entranced by it. Alone, Edur’s tune was simply alluring, but combined with the illusive man, it went beyond simple music.

  It was the voice of the world.

  And they sang, the clouds twirling and humming in beat along them.

  Grail grinned once they reached the coda of the song.

  “Might be a bit childish,” he said, “but I am gd you could remembered it.”

  Edur hesitated before asking,

  “...Do you know me?”

  The question seemed pin, but it hung in the air like a shroud ripped from within. He hadn’t picked up this song from anywhere, hadn’t teached it to anyone—yet Grail knew the song. That meant something. That meant... he had to know.

  Grail kept smiling, already ahead of him, most probably hearing these thoughts.

  “Of course I do. I held you when you were just a baby!” He followed his words by pantomiming cradling an infant, rocking his arms with exaggerated tenderness.

  “...Dad?”

  For the first time since he saw him, Edur saw a new emotion in that always cheerful face- Pure surprise and astonishment.

  Then, he burst out ughing, clutching his stomach, his body convulsing as he struggled to stop ughing.

  Embarrassed, Edur Then—

  He burst into ughter. Full-bodied, wheezing, clutching his sides like he was about to fall off the couch.

  Edur flushed, more embarrassed than offended, and waited for the storm of hirity pass, sitting there while the charming man slowly calmed down, a chuckle or two escaping even as he sat back down.

  “Ah… By myself, I needed that. Thank you! No one could make me ugh like you did, that’s for sure!” excimed Grail, a rare sincere smile on his face.

  But then, his eyes went serious as his smile faded.

  “Alright, it would be cruel of me to stretch this longer, so listen close.”

  Edur straightened in his seat. Finally, answers to his questions.

  “Yes, I knew you before your current predicament. Yes, I know the reason as to why and how.

  Am I allowed to be here and expin it to you? Absolutely fucking not. Thankfully, none seemed aware of your existence… Apart from Selvynna.”

  he sighed, gncing up at the false and dull sun above the dreamy sky. “She began to harbor some doubts and was a hair’s width away from finding you.”

  Figures. It wouldn’t be that easy. He opened his mouth to protest, but something in Grail’s aura… His mind buzzed and he felt the need to throw up.

  Grail really didn’t want Edur to voice those questions.

  Alright, maybe he really couldn’t persuade him to change his mind.

  “So… Why tell me that? To nag me? Make fun of my state? Were we on bad terms?”

  Grail only shook his horned head.

  “No, quite the opposite. “You see, I don’t like how things ended, this isn’t the ending I wished for.”

  “The reason I told you is to give you something you cked so far… A mission, a purpose.” He continued, his jester now perfectly gone.

  “A chance to recover what you have lost and what you never had.” he decred, his hoofs clicking softly against one another.

  “I finally sensed your presence the moment your power cracked through the seal. The moment the frost answered you. And thank the Space I managed to sense it! They really did drop you in the middle of nowhere..”

  Anyways, that’s when I knew I finally found you and I slipped into your mind… which worries me, because I shouldn’t have been able to.”

  He gnced sideways. “Which means you’re unconscious. Or dying. Or both.”

  Although it is slightly concerning that I was able to. It means you are either unconscious or asleep…

  No matter, you won’t die, I think. You’ll have to- oh! You’re waking up, let’s continue this conversation next time, then.” Gd to see you again, alive and well.”

  Before Edur could protest, the world faded to bck as everything turned to void.

  Edur woke up, his head heavy, The horse-drawn cart vibrated and bounced with every pothole in the path.

  Its chains obstruct its wrists in their squalid familiarity, clinking with every jolt of the cart.

  “Ah… You’re finally awake.” came a gruff voice from somewhere, already pulling Edur back into chains and cold reality.