Vayra sat on the edge of the cliff, her legs crossed beneath her, eyes shut. She cried, she laughed, and finally, she stayed perfectly still, dreaming of the future.

  First, she sailed the Stream on the Harmony, approaching vague, not-yet-seen planets and setting foot on their shores. But there was no detail to the dream; she’d have to do that herself. She’d have to see them with her own eyes.

  Next, she duelled Admirals and Grand Admirals, fighting off their attempts to claim dominion over swathes of space, entire star systems. There would be chaos after Karmion’s death, and petty dictators would rise all across the galaxy.

  It was her duty to stop them.

  But most importantly, she lived. She sat across a table from Phasoné, eating a lavish meal, or walked along the shores of an imaginary estate, sipping steaming coffee while waves lapped at their feet. Phasoné’s projection had more detail than ever, all the way down to colours and proper volume.

  There were flashes of the two hugging and laying together, of building a house, of cooking meals and walking and sparring for fun. Washing off in the river, Phasoné combing the knots out of Vayra’s hair—Vayra was still otherwise too incapable of it. A few adopted God-heirs scampered around them, who had no parents otherwise. Vayra and Phasoné took care of them.

  Slowly, the dreams and visions faded, and she opened her eyes tentatively. Phasoné had retreated back inside her, and it was eerily silent. Not even a wind blew across the fields anymore. A half-night had passed, and now, it was morning. The cargo haulers far below had scattered, sailing off to their destination or ferrying survivors back to safe star systems, and many of the Velaydian ships assisted in the effort.

  But her senses still cried out, not in warning, but just in recognition. Someone was approaching from behind.

  King Tallerion marched toward her, holding his arms out. A bandage circled his head, and his arm was in a sling, but still no guards or aides followed him. He’d probably ordered them not to.

  “Congratulations, Mediator,” he said. “You are victorious.”

  “There’s…still going to be a lot of work to do,” she replied. “If we’re going to purge the God-heirs and reestablish a mortal government…there will be opponents. There are entire generations raised under Karmion’s rule, who worshiped him. We’ll have to tell them we killed him.”

  “We will.” King Tallerion stepped up beside her. “It will take time, and much more blood will be spilled before it’s done, but we will do our best. I trust you will be with us?”

  “Of course. You’ll have my help all the way.”

  “Wonderful. Then…we must return to Thronehome. I am sure there will be much to discuss.”

  The Hyovao arrived in the Kamoro system a few days after the battle. Myrrir’s spirit had already began decaying, and he used a walking stick to help him navigate his ship. As they navigated down to the system’s main planet, he marched to the quarterdeck railing and faced the entirety of his crew.

  “I am leaving this life,” he told them. “I am sorry for everything I put this crew through, and I release you all from my service. Please go and live your lives to their fullest. If you need anything from me, I will be here on this very planet, and I’ll do my best to provide it. I appoint Coxswain Darley as the captain, and I wish you all the best of luck.”

  The Hyovao approached the port and circled around until it found a berth. When the ship stopped moving, he climbed overboard and marched across the berth, through the city, and out into the countryside beyond. News of Karmion’s death was only just arriving, and an air of stunned silence hung over everything. No one looked up and spoke to him.

  None of the travellers along the path to the village made a comment, either. Most of them probably didn’t know, but those who did were obvious. They hung their heads and walked slowly.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  After a few days—maybe a week; Myrrir wasn’t keeping track—he arrived in the peaceful valley and approached the Moro-Ka village.

  Last time he’d entered, it hadn’t been on the best terms, but he would do his very best to make amends and make things right. It was the least he could do.

  When Glade’s body reformed, he stood on an endless plane of gray ash and dark sky. Mountains stood in the distance, and a weight settled on his shoulders, like gravity had just doubled. There was light, though he couldn’t tell where it came from, and an inky haze obscured the distance.

  Enormous beasts with four legs and a snake-like trunk capable of winding around their bodies twice over prowled in the distance, and a blocky, wheeled vehicle of some sort trundled along the horizon in the opposite direction.

  A feeling of immense disorientation ran through his body, and he fell to his knees for a moment.

  Then Ameena appeared beside him, robes as colourful as ever, and set a hand on his shoulder.

  He pushed himself back up to his feet, then tightened his fists. There was plenty of distance left to climb, and there were still twelve angry gods out there.

  He smiled, then, with heavy steps, set off across the endless plain.

  Vayra scrunched her bangs up into a clump as she walked down one of Thronehome’s port’s piers, groaning and breathing a sigh of relief at the same time. It’d been a few days since she’d returned to the Velaydian administrative capital, and it’d been meeting after meeting. With the Order of Balance, with Parliamentarians, with Lords and Ladies and military advisors, generals and admirals.

  Finally, she was free.

  She broke into a run, then jumped up onto the Harmony’s main deck.

  Pels, Bremi, and a slew of officers stood on deck, staring at her and waiting. “So?” Pels asked. “Where are we off to today?”

  “Please be some place cool!” Bremi chirped, then apologized softly when one of the lieutenants glared at him.

  Vayra folded her fingers together and smiled. “It sounds like we have some rowdy God-heirs trying to make a push past Muspellar. I think we could be most helpful there.”

  “You…think?” Pels asked. “Do we have orders, or…”

  “Orders?” Vayra’s smile doubled, and she pulled a slip of parchment out of her haversack. The officers and crew visibly deflated for a moment, until she flipped it around and revealed King Tallerion’s seal. “You’ve all officially been released from the navy and reinstated as a freelance crew. No orders are required. We’ll sail where we need, where we want, and do what we need.”

  She handed the slip to Pels, and he read it. The man’s smile grew, and he held it up. “To Muspellar, then! To your posts, boys! Adventure awaits!”

  The crew and officers scattered, nattering jovially among themselves. Pels walked back to the quarterdeck. “Hull status, lieutenant?"

  “Carpenters report a perfect sailing condition, sir,” said Lieutenant McHyll.

  “All crew accounted for?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And the marines?” Vayra asked.

  “We have a full company again, ma’am,” McHyll replied, waling with them. “Under sergeants Kertogg and Tressdott.”

  “Captain and Mediator on deck!” called the coxswain when Pels and Vayra reached the top of the stairs.

  “On your word, ma’am,” Pels said, “and we raise the anchor.”

  Vayra stepped up to the front railing of the quarterdeck and leaned on it. “Set sail.”

  The End

  Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading to the end of the series. As it's my first series, I know it's not perfect, but thank you all for sticking to the end. I hope you guys enjoyed all the worlds and characters, and overall, just had a little bit of an escape with the series.

  For now, there won't be any new chapters coming up here, but I'll post updates when the books go live on amazon, and when my next series goes up on royal road. I've got a norse-aesthetic cultivation apocalypse with a somewhat weird setting in the works, and I hope that it'll have similar vibes to this story.

  Of course, I do have two other books on royal road as well, if you're looking for something else to read:

  Again, a massive thank you to anyone who read this far! If willing, the first two volumes have been edited and are available on amazon, or if you just want to help out the series, you can find them here:

  Reviews and ratings are the best way you can support me as an author and just help me keep creating worlds and stories like this (though they're probably gonna get created with or without support anyway...)

  That's all for now, though! Stay tuned for more RR releases, which I'll announce here when they're ready!

  ~kwerte/Felix