The caravan was quiet when Isaac returned with Slate and the kids, Vythin close behind. Slate ushered the children to some bedrolls laid under a cart nearby as he went into the back of a cart himself. Isaac glanced back at Vythin and saw him frowning. "What’s wrong?" Isaac asked.

  "I thought I was done with sleeping on the ground...y’know, god of wealth and all that," Vythin replied.

  Isaac tilted his head quizzically, "Can’t you just make another bed like yesterday?"

  Vythin glanced around, his expression growing more serious, "I could do that, but should we really reveal ourselves here? Well, more than we have. I don’t think that we should be as open about our new nature and should play it close to the chest for the time being. You heard what Umbra said during the Shattering. Other gods might try to kill us for our Shards. We might be some of the first gods created, but there are more."

  Isaac sighed and glanced towards the children under the cart, "I think that ship has sailed. People talk, you know. Kids more so."

  Vythin grinned, "Well, Slate did say they were his students. Maybe we can talk to their parents and see if we can convince them that the children are just overly imaginative?"

  Slate poked his head out of the back of his cart, the flames of the dim fire crossing his face with shadow casting him in a sinister appearance. "That’s a... sensitive topic. Come on in, I made space for both of you."

  If it’s all the same I’m used to sleeping under the stars, Isaac thought. Vythin walked over and hopped into the cart, while Isaac stood at the back where the opening was and looked in. Several barrels and crates were pushed to the sides and some bags of trade goods were covered with blankets in the center.

  Slate quietly began to speak, "Those children are sticking to me very closely because their parents aren’t on this trip."

  Vythin stared attentively sitting upright and Isaac leaned in closer to hear clearly as Slate continued, "Their last name is Rodsman. Their family works in Highpass, wealthy silversmiths. And these two were considered...defective by their parents. Because of a minor birth defect. Both of them..." Slate’s expression was calm but there was a roiling rage behind his eyes that seemingly blazed on their own as he paused. "They wanted to send the children away...anywhere but Highpass. They didn’t care about where or how they would get by. Just paid for them to get on the next caravan out of town."

  Sounds like a sad situation, Isaac thought. But Slate’s expression isn’t what caught his eye at this moment. Vythin’s face was a scowl of pure anger and hatred. Oh, that must have hit a nerve, Isaac thought.

  Vythin growled, his voice dropping several octaves just like it did when he spoke as a dragon, "Where are they now?" The sound chilled Isaac’s blood. The words carried a malicious intent that was palpable.

  Slate shrugged, "The parents? They’re up in Highpass with their other 12 children."

  Vythin’s expression softened slightly, but the killer intent was written across his demeanor, "Then they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. I'll need to pay them a visit someday."

  Isaac spoke, "Are you planning on bringing the kids along wherever we end up going then, Slate?"

  Slate scoffed, "Not into obvious danger, no. But I plan on keeping them close until suitable housing and accommodation can be found. I can't abandon them. It's not the moral thing to do."

  Vythin sighed, his tone returning to normal for his humanoid form. "Their parents did to them what my father did to me... We’ll take care of them. I’ll help however I can. If you want to keep teaching them, Slate, I’ll make sure they’re cared for."

  Isaac spoke up once more, "Don’t New Gods have better things to do than deal with children? Why not just fly them off to a nearby village, pay a family to take care of them, and then be on our way?"

  Vythin snapped his head to glower at Isaac, "No. I’m powerful enough now to change things. And for all I know those people would take the money then kick them out. People are selfish, evil pricks."

  Isaac shrugged, "Fine, do what you will. I want nothing to do with them though, and I won’t take unnecessary risks to ensure their well-being."

  Vythin laid back and closed his eyes, "Then it’s settled. The children come with us to the Badlands tomorrow-"

  Slate interrupted, "We don’t know what we will find there. And I’m not risking taking them into a dangerous place."

  I’ll just deal with this now. Isaac stepped away from the cart and walked down to the river as the other two argued back and forth over what to do with the children in the meantime. Focus on what you desire and channel the heat...make it stay. Isaac knelt and placed his palms flat on the grassy riverbank. He focused and felt the heat build inside him before shooting down his arms in a radiant green stream. After the light vanished, he stepped back as the ground rumbled. A mighty cherry tree, easily fifty feet tall and half as wide across, shot up into existence. Isaac walked forward and put his hands on the tree. The shape, the form. Envision the desired design. Just like the Ogo woodshapers back in Kumawara. Isaac tapped once more into the heat, and it shot out into the tree as a doorway formed in the bark. He smiled as sweat dripped off him. He stepped back taking in a deep breath of the sweet night air and walked back to the caravan with shaky steps.

  He poked his head into Slate’s cart and saw him and Vythin laying there with a dour expression whilst Slate read a book with a perturbed look. "Ahem," Isaac said as both other gods looked up. He smiled wryly, "I have a surprise. Come on and get the kids."

  Slate rolled up and got out of the cart, going to the children under the cart and rousing them, taking them by the hand and guiding them to follow Isaac.

  Vythin caught up to Isaac, "What’s all this about then?"

  Isaac just grinned, "You’ll see." He led them to the tree.

  Slate stopped as soon as they rounded the small hill that they crested laying between the caravan and the river, "You can’t be serious. I’ve read about these!”

  Isaac gripped the handle of the bark-door, pushing it open. A well-lit interior - the glow of fungi strewn across the ceiling providing the light. A small house built from the tree itself, with several doors that sat ajar. Furniture, simple but functional, dotted the main room. Isaac pointed to the left-most door. "There’s a room for the children. I was able to make beds but not blankets, I trust you can fix that issue?" he asked, turning to Vythin. Vythin just nodded and with a flash of gold a pile of blankets and pillows appeared on the floor. So, his control over wealth is able to make anything. That seems quite powerful. Not wanting for anything is going to be handy.

  Slate instructed the kids to get some of the linens and the children rushed to their room, the sounds of "ooh," and "ahh" coming through to the entrance. Isaac closed the front door and shut the latch behind him.

  Vythin turned, "I thought you didn’t like children?"

  Isaac stared at Vythin, "This isn’t for their benefit alone. Now we have some privacy, and a temporary place to keep them since you want to bring them along. Zohkah didn’t say all of us needed to visit the Badlands. I thought you or Slate could stay here with the kids while I went with whoever didn’t stay to check it out."

  Slate walked out of the children’s room, closing the door behind him, and approached the other two gods, "I’ll stick around here for the time being. I can teach the children a little bit about surviving in the wild and how to live off the land - should the worst happen."

  Vythin nodded and looked back at Isaac, "I guess that means that you and I will be going to the Starfall Badlands tomorrow. Let’s get some rest." He put a hand on Isaac’s shoulder. "Thank you, Isaac. This was kind of you."

  It wasn’t much, really, Isaac thought as he picked up some blankets and went to his own room. Staring at the ceiling he fell into a contented sleep.

  Isaac roused to a knocking at the door. Who in The Void could that be? He opened the door to his room and saw Vythin standing at the front door of the treehouse. He had a hand up and was chatting cordially with a beast of a man who stood there. Easily as tall as Isaac and much broader, with an enormous sword slung over one back and an emblem of a red sparrow on a field of white emblazoned on his pauldrons. Isaac walked up behind Vythin and stood with his arms crossed.

  "Oi then? I suppose you’re this bloke’s partner?" the tall man said.

  Isaac blinked rapidly. Does he think that Vythin and I... we…

  Vythin interrupted, "Oh no, you must have the wrong impression. I apologize, maybe my wording was off. Isaac here is just an adventuring friend."

  "Roight, and that Professor fellow is also in here somewhere?" The tall man asked.

  "Yes," Isaac replied, "As are two of his students. Is the caravan preparing to leave?"

  The tall man nodded and crossed his arms, leaning on the doorframe. "Aye, that’s right on the spot. Can’t leave until everyone is accounted for. Are they coming, or saying bye?"

  Slate appeared and approached, "Yes, I believe I will be taking my leave of the caravan. I’ll come get my cart. The children are under my care as well." He tapped Vythin on the shoulder, "Can you help me move it? The pack animals are unfortunately part of the caravan and were loaned to me."

  Vythin nodded as the tall man let out a bellowing laugh, "This little runt is going to pull a cart? I’d love to see that show." He left and made his way back from where he came from.

  Slate and Vythin stepped out and followed. Isaac looked around. The children’s door is still shut. Late sleepers? Either way, everyone will be hungry. Isaac went outside and started a fire using dried grass and leaves, pulling out some rations from his satchel and making a quick gruel. He heard a creaking noise and looked up as Vythin was pulling the cart behind himself with one hand, laughing and joking with Slate.

  "Did you see his face? Oh, that was priceless!" Vythin said.

  Slate chuckled, "It was good seeing that bastard put in his place. Every night on the road he would make sure to tap the side of my cart on patrol to wake me up. All the Red Sparrow Mercenaries are like that. Too full of themselves and ‘holier than thou.’ Hanslow in particular."

  Vythin pulled the cart off to the side of the tree and approached Isaac, "What’s for breakfast, honey?" He said with a wink and a grin and obviously poking fun at the earlier misunderstanding.

  Isaac held up a hand with the middle finger extended and pulled out some wooden mugs, "First, I’m in a relationship. Second, I don’t swing that way. Third, it’s gruel." Vythin waved his hand over the pot and a flash of gold shot out and into the food. Isaac dipped a finger in to test the flavor. Wow, that's delicious. He looked up and just saw Vythin grinning. If he sticks around, I won’t ever need to lift a finger.

  Slate fetched the children and all of them ate.

  Isaac stood, stretching before glancing at Vythin. "Right then, off to the Badlands?"

  Vythin nodded and took several paces away from the tree. A flash of gold tinged black surrounded him, and then there stood a dragon.

  Slate whistled, "Impressive! Not the biggest on record, but I’m sure that will change the older you get."

  Vythin snorted and Isaac leapt up onto his back, wrapping a piece of leather around one of the spines along his crest to hold on. The children just looked up with wonder.

  "We’ll be back either tomorrow or the next day," Isaac stated. "He flies fast."

  Slate and the children waved as Vythin leaped forward a few times before jumping into the air, his wings beating to climb higher and higher as he carried them both aloft, until the tree was a small dot below.

  "How are we going to deal with the falling stars?" Vythin asked, his loud booming voice rushing back to Isaac’s keen ears.

  "I’m sure that you can dodge them well-enough. And if not, I can shoot them." Isaac channeled heat down his arm and manifested a bow, preparing a glowing arrow.

  The ride was relatively uneventful. The Starfall Badlands were a desolate place, covered with rocks that had crashed to the ground from the skies above. Quite literally a field of fallen stars. Isaac did not know much about the region outside of the rumors that the falling stars were filled with adamantine, and carried the souls of those who had passed away awaiting rebirth on Heimfold. And, Isaac saw the real deal - falling stars. Huge streaking comets of stone and metal that flew from the skies - as if they were confined to this specific region of the world to avoid collateral damage.

  Vythin did a wonderful job of dodging the falling stars. Isaac didn’t even have to fire his bow once. Only a few days flying, and he already is this skilled? I wonder what I could do with some real practice and training. Isaac sat back and mused on some ideas for ways he could practice. He took an occasional shot at the shooting stars above and consistently found his mark, the hardened stone shattering into thousands of pieces as the force of his arrows carried through them.

  "Do you see that over there to the left?" Vythin asked.

  Isaac looked over and saw quite a peculiar sight. In the middle of this vast area, pocked with craters and devoid of life, there was a small city. Surrounded by stone walls easily ten feet deep, with a front gate and seemingly abandoned. "Yeah, I see it. Think that’s what Zohkah was talking about?" Isaac shouted back.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  As they approached Vythin barely dodged a falling star that came from behind and above them and it rocketed towards the town. Much to Isaac’s surprise, the falling star impacted some type of barrier, invisible to his eyes, that seemed to extend from the walls into the sky; the debris crumbling and falling along the outside of the structure, where a pile of crushed rock sat slowly forming a mound.

  Isaac shouted, "Ride around it. I’ll fire some test shots and see if the barrier is around the whole thing." Vythin veered towards the wall, and Isaac loosed arrows as they flew around, determining that the whole city was surrounded by the barrier.

  Vythin hovered in the air and craned his head back. "I’m going to drop you off and fly up to see how high this goes - maybe we can go over the top?"

  Isaac nodded, "Right. I’ll scout that gateway."

  Vythin descended and as he swept low to the ground Isaac leapt off, acrobatically rolling as he landed and sprang up to his feet. Vythin ascended and soon was a receding dot above.

  No knowing what might be out here. Isaac pulled a hand back as another arrow appeared and made his way along the base of the stone wall, occasionally reaching out his hand to touch it, only to find a barrier between it and him.

  He made his way to the front gate. The doors themselves were missing, but the old, rusted hinges were still there. Isaac reached out expecting resistance, but felt none, his hand passing forward into the open air.

  It doesn’t cover the gate. Let’s see how high. He loosed several bolts and about five feet above the top of the wall they began to dissipate against the barrier. As he stood staring, he felt a large rush of air and glanced behind as Vythin made a smooth landing, de-shifting into his hybrid form, scraping some frost from his face and arms.

  "I flew up until I had trouble breathing and my scales started to frost over. It goes all the way up that high. Any luck down here?"

  Isaac nodded and pushed his hand forward, "Yes. It would seem that the barrier has a gap here, the whole gate and a little above it." Vythin nodded and walked into the city, Isaac a few steps behind.

  "I forgot to ask; do you use any weapons?" Isaac asked.

  Vythin glanced back and brandished one of his claws, "I used to be really good with a knife. Now I have some really sharp ones on my hands."

  Isaac chuckled at the slight jest, but knew that people who were skilled with knives were generally unsavory folk. I wonder where he learned his skills with a blade.

  The two made their way to the city center. The whole place was about a mile square, and a large empty marketplace with an enormous well lay at the center. Crystal clear water pooled in the well, but there was no sign of life. Every floor was covered in well-worked stone tiles placed in an immaculate identical pattern.

  "A ghost town," Isaac muttered.

  Vythin nodded, "The barrier would make this place a great stronghold. And if we found a way to get people through the Badlands unharmed, we could easily make this place our own."

  Isaac replied, "Thinking about your future followers, eh?"

  Vythin knelt and dipped his claw in the water, pulling it up and licking it. "The water is clean and tastes pure. Empty buildings in need of a little renovation. I think this is a great opportunity. We'd be fools not to take advantage of it."

  Isaac was about to respond when he heard a creaking noise from the southern end of the square. He nocked an arrow and aimed in that direction. As he did so Vythin took up a defensive posture and growled, "The undead are here. Prepare yourself."

  Isaac tensed. The undead? I thought they were only a legend - a story to keep children scared, he thought. From the east and west there was more creaking, and the sound of bare bone slapping stone rang out. "How many do you think?" He asked.

  Vythin backed up and looked at him, panic in his eyes, "I’ve never heard this many before. Hundreds, if not a thousand. We need to get to high ground." He began running back towards the gate to the north that they entered from, and Isaac followed behind. Glancing back, he saw a small army of misshapen and disheveled creatures. The sounds of wailing and moaning began to pick up as the two made it to the stairs leading up to the walls near the gate. Skeletal corpses barely held together with ligaments stretched loose; an army of the rotten and long gone.

  Vythin hurried up the stairs as Isaac followed. Once they reached the top Vythin paled, and Isaac felt his blood go cold. How can there be so many?

  Every main street was filled with walking corpses. Some skeletal, their skin stretched tightly over their bodies making their bones easily visible. Some bloated, like a corpse rotting away in a humid swap, shuffled forwards as limbs fell away.

  Vythin looked at Isaac, "I don’t know what to do! I’ve never seen this many before outside of The Dead Scar."

  Isaac glanced out over the horde which slowly approached the walls. "We could just bottleneck them at the stairs. You stand in front; I can pick them off as they come. We’re gods after all, they don’t seem like they would be much of a challenge."

  Vythin shook his head, "No you don’t want to get toe-to-toe with those things. They can overwhelm you easily."

  Isaac stared out across the city, his mind working. We are faster than them. We could go out the gate and lure them out into the open, let them chase us, pick them off. But that could take days.

  Vythin grabbed Isaac by the shoulder, "I think I have an idea. We could try to find some place that we can funnel the undead into."

  Isaac replied, "A staircase leading up to a wall isn’t good enough?"

  Vythin shook his head, "No, the undead will climb on top of and over each other, and if they got on both sides we would be trapped. We need somewhere that is enclosed, where they can only approach us a few at a time. Then they can’t overrun us, and I should be able to hold them back whilst you pick them off. That, or we just keep on the move. They’re slow but eventually they can figure out patterns, so we can’t do that forever…They also get faster over open terrain, so running isn't an option. Unless we want to abandon this place. And I want it for myself."

  Isaac scanned the city and spotted a place devoid of buildings near the south-eastern edge. "There," he pointed, "no buildings means that whoever built this place had that area set aside for something. We can make our way over there along the building tops, or you could turn into a dragon again and fly us over?"

  Vythin shook his head once more, "I don’t want to use all of my heat. I think I have two more transformations left in me, and I want to have one usable to escape if need be. We need to clear out this city for ourselves."

  Isaac saw an odd gleam in his eyes and nodded. "Follow my lead then, city roofs aren’t too different from tree branches back home." Isaac jumped off the wall and down ten feet onto the stone frame of a building. Glancing back, he saw Vythin land as well, albeit with a bit more wobble in his legs, but he appeared to be somewhat acrobatic. Isaac shot continuously into the horde and the undead began to fall; but their numbers were vast. Some began to climb atop each other, proving Vythin's theory as they began to rise towards the rooftops.

  The two made their way across the city from roof to roof until they reached the large-open area. The whole time the horde of the undead followed them, their groaning and chattering becoming quite unnerving. As the two looked down into this open place they saw a large series of circles dug into the ground, descending to a large tunnel entrance. Isaac spoke, "A mine. Makes sense then; a place constantly impacted by falling stars would have lots of metal."

  Vythin nodded and looked down into the teeming hordes below.

  "Let me think for a minute." Isaac stared at the horde below for a few moments, then back at the cave. Space...I’ve tapped into that domain once to travel quickly. Maybe I can go faster. He grabbed Vythin and gritted his teeth. "Hold on, I’m going to try something. Be ready to shift and get us out of here."

  "Wait what are you-" Vythin began to protest, but Isaac ignored him. Concentrating his vision on the tunnel entrance. I want to be there, as fast as possible, he thought. Willing himself to go to that destination. He felt the heat swell within him, and the world seemed to contract in front of him. He grabbed Vythin's shoulder and took a step forward through the slight ripple in space. Isaac felt winded but was flooded with relief as his footstep met solid stone in front of the mine entrance.

  "What just happened?" Vythin asked, seeming disoriented and regaining his bearings.

  Isaac replied, panting slightly, getting control of his breath as the understanding dawned on him, "I think…I think I changed the space between up there and down here." He leaned back and sucked in a deep breath, "I warped space to make the distance a single step."

  Vythin pulled Isaac along after him as he descended into the mines, "We need to find a narrower tunnel to funnel those monsters. I've got plenty of endurance, and these scales can take a beating I'm sure."

  They descended into the depths, a few moments passing before the noise of the horde echoed down the tunnels. A large single shaft seemed to bore deep underground, spiraling, and in some places the barrier was present against one wall of the tunnel. It goes underground as well? Whoever put this here must have never wanted any surprise visitors, Isaac thought. Vythin held up a hand and a light appeared illuminating their way. Following metal cart tracks they reached the bottom of the shaft and found a dead end.

  "This is as deep as it goes. Help me move some of these mining carts, we can make a barricade to help funnel them." Vythin began moving the carts, and after a short pause Isaac helped.

  "Are you sure cornering ourselves was the best idea?" Isaac asked.

  "No, I’m not. But this is how I held them off back home, and it always seemed to work just fine there. Although not against this large of a group. But I wasn’t a god then, either." He had a manic grin on his face, "I can finally shred the things that kept me trapped."

  Isaac nodded and they finished setting up the barricade.

  Vythin stepped into the small gap they had left and picked up a minecart with each hand, wielding them like clubs. Isaac stood behind and knocked an arrow as the horde rounded the bend.

  Twhip! Isaac’s shots zipped through the air, slamming into the front lines of the horde of undead creatures. Nock, aim, pull, release. The mantra echoed through Isaac’s mind as he settled into an easy rhythm, the arrows flying forth, several shots every second.

  Vythin wielded the mine carts with a frightening strength as he pulverized the incoming horde, swinging the wooden and metal conveyances with ease. He smashed over and over, hand over hand...and the horde continued to come, the reanimated corpses of the fallen melting away or disintegrating into dust.

  Hours seemed to pass as Isaac started to breathe laboriously, his arm cramping horrendously as he continued his repetition. Vythin seemed to be growing weary as well, several of the mine-carts having been smashed to bits as he used them. But a figurative light at the end of the tunnel appeared; the horde stopped rounding the bend in the passage. Isaac shot with a renewed vigor as Vythin let out a yell and charged forward, using the carts as a battering ram, finishing off the last of the undead. The two collapsed, Vythin to his knees and Isaac against the tunnel wall as the last creature was pulverized.

  "That...was...a lot," Vythin said between gulps of air.

  Yeah, it was, but we beat them.

  Both rested for several minutes until they composed themselves. Vythin stretched and rubbed his arms. "I’ve only ever dealt with maybe… ten, before. And that was with traps and snares. We must have killed hundreds. Thousands, even."

  Isaac dismissed his bow and rolled his shoulders back, "I lost count of how many times I fired. Let’s head back up to the surface."

  Vythin walked over to the wall and put his face against it. What is he doing now? Isaac thought.

  Vythin’s eyes glazed over, and he looked at Isaac, mesmerized, and pointed back to the wall. "They were mining Titansteel here. I can sense it, a vein right behind this rock."

  "Titansteel? Terra’s Divine Metal?" Isaac asked.

  Vythin nodded, "It’s so valuable…and there’s so much."

  Divine Metal was the most precious crafting material for smiths and metallurgists in existence. One existed for each of the main gods, and they made fantastic weapons and armor, as well as having intrinsic properties. Isaac knew well enough that a vein of Titansteel would fetch a high price, and a suit of armor made from the material would almost never dent or require maintenance.

  Isaac grabbed his shoulders and shook him, and Vythin snapped out of it, glancing around. "We have to get to the surface and see where these creatures came from. Clear out the city." He dragged Vythin for a few steps before Vythin shook his hand off and followed of his own volition.

  The two ascended and left the mine, arriving on the surface to utter silence. Isaac glanced around and then led the way up the winding slopes, past abandoned mining equipment and long-decayed ropes and wooden supports. The two entered the city proper once more and made their way to the center of town. The Sun and The Inferno - Lux and Ignis' respective celestial bodies - had nearly set in the distance.

  Vythin sat down on the lip of the large well and pulled a cup out of his pocket, scooping several sips. Isaac dunked his head in and took several gulps before leaning back against the well-edge.

  "How are we going to find out where they came from?" Isaac asked.

  Vythin stared down at his cup before throwing it off to the side, the object bouncing a few times before vanishing. "From my experience there’s two things. Either they were exposed to Empire’s Folly over in the Plague Woods - which is in the Kingdom of Cruxia - or they were raised by some mage. I don’t see how it could be the former, which leaves a mage being responsible."

  Isaac glanced over at Vythin, "Aren’t undead technically from The Void? At least in the old story I remember that’s where they came from."

  Vythin nodded, "When The Void Invasion happened and the gates opened on Heimfold, some creatures were turned into the undead. Most, I think, were dealt with - or corralled into the Dead Scar near where I lived. The Black Scale Axan - those who prepare the dead in the Kingdom of Cruxia - found a way to reverse engineer the spell and turn it into a plague. They used that plague against The Empire of Drekfen when they were trying to conquer the world."

  Isaac slowly nodded, "You know quite a lot about it."

  Vythin replied, "I lived in Cruxia with...someone who had records of all the events. I was near the Dead Scar itself and saw the citadels of those mages who became undead themselves. There was even a giant ziggurat in the center of The Dead Scar…my roommate said to never go there, and I don't want to. Where I was ended up being a safe place for an outlaw to hide out. Who wants to chase a criminal into a place like that?" He looked down at the stone tiles and muttered something to himself.

  Isaac smiled slightly and stood, "I wouldn’t have guessed you for a criminal."

  Vythin retorted, "If you call stealing to live being a criminal, then yes. I left home to try and make money for my brother and mother after my father left us. I got tangled with...some bad folks. I made good money and was ready to travel home when we got caught. I ran away and was trapped for over a year, in a cave…"

  Isaac put a hand on his shoulder, "You have nothing to be ashamed of in that case. You were trying to help your family survive, anyone would have done the same in your position."

  Vythin smiled and looked up at Isaac, then looked past him and stood up, shoving Isaac behind him, and taking up a fighting stance. Isaac looked as well and saw a figure floating down the southern thoroughfare towards them. It hovered a foot off the ground, dressed in a large, tattered robe, holding a staff with a red crystal at the top. The hood was swept back by a skeletal hand as a skull with glowing green orbs where the eyes should be stared at them across the town center.

  A rattling, gasping voice rang out, "It was you that slew my armies, then."

  Vythin smiled and took a few steps forward, "Yes! We are gods, come to take this city for ourselves."

  Isaac manifested his bow and moved to the side to get a clear shot, taking a bead on the creature but holding to see what happened. I hope you know what you’re doing, Vythin.

  "You dare speak down to Restor the Ever-living?! You will become the new foundation to my army!" The rattling voice cried out as the red crystal hummed with power.

  Isaac immediately let loose a bolt and to his surprise a shield of force sprang up to meet his shot.

  Vythin charged forwards, transforming into his fully draconic form as he did so, barreling down on the creature. The skeletal figure raised an arm and a dull brown beam shot out and struck Vythin, who noticeably slowed. He roared as he continued to bear down on the creature.

  Isaac moved sideways to the flank and let loose more arrows, each being repelled by the barrier surrounding this creature. It cackled and pointed the staff at him, and Isaac somersaulted backwards, dodging a red beam that scorched the ground he was just standing on.

  Focus...Get through to it. He closed his eyes and drew back his hand, a bolt of green forming once more. As he let it loose and it streaked towards the creature, he opened his eyes. The bolt disappeared and the creature tilted its head for a moment as the arrow appeared in his eye socket. It let out a ghastly scream and Isaac smiled. He felt himself noticeably weaken as his legs began to buckle and he took a knee, the expenditure of heat too great as he neared his limits; warping space around the projectile was no easy feat.

  The creature turned his stave once more to Isaac and the crystal began to glow, but before a beam could fire Vythin slammed into the creature sending it flying into a nearby building. Isaac watched in fascination as the skeletal figure struggled to his feet. Vythin tore at the creature who screamed in rage. Isaac ran over as fast as he could in his weakened state, seeing flashes of various colors striking Vythin - but he appeared to be consumed by anger, not heeding the gaping wounds appearing on his body, or the white, decaying pockmarks slowly growing along his form. Isaac got line of sight right as the creature was crushed under Vythin’s claw.

  "Good work! That was a close one. He almost had me there." Isaac moved up as Vythin turned around. He looked even worse on the front, covered in more white marks and gashes as he collapsed, the ground cracking under his bulk. No! Don’t die on me. Isaac closed the distance between himself and Vythin and laid a hand on the large form. He’s breathing but there’s so much blood...there’s got to be something I can do. Isaac closed his eyes and pictured an injured tree, bark stripped away, and boughs torn off. He imagined the bark returning and the limbs growing back over time. Now do the same thing for him. Opening his eyes, he felt the heat once more go down his arms and into Vythin’s body. He watched as the wounds began to produce a silvery liquid like sap, then began close; the white marks fading away. Vythin shuddered and then slowly stood, glancing around. I can’t believe that worked, Isaac thought as he slipped into unconsciousness.