From the lake, a great figure rose, shrouded first in the tons of churning water, which crashed into Trenton in a desperate attempt to find level ground. It wasn’t quite the same as Drya’s emergence all those months ago. It looked more like someone rising from the waters rather than forming from them.

  He dug his feet into the earth, bearing the weight of the crashing water, eyes locked upon the great being. The figure was humanoid in nature, much like the other spirits he’d seen, bearing close resemblance to a human woman. Although, she was notably more…or rather, less clothed than other spirits he’d seen. It seems they didn’t really have a need for clothing in nature as it once was.

  Her skin was a full blue orchid color, her flesh plump and well nourished with purple, faintly glowing, tattoos crawling over its surface, swirling like the winds of a tide. Her hair was that of a waterfall, crashing down over her voluptuous form in such a way that her…particulars were well covered. Luckily, only her upper half rose out of the water, some 50 about, so anything from the upper waist down was lost under the waters.

  Her eyes bored down onto Trenton, mouth twisted down into a slight frown, her eyebrows drawn equally as far up, almost like they were offsetting the motion. At every side, spirits slowly gathered, the ones adorning the sky pausing midair to watch, others atop adjacent hills peering over with wide eyes and hesitant smiles.

  “...I’d heard tell that a new human was causing a ruckus in the mortal plane. Drya herself stopped by to tell me to keep an eye on him, watch his journey. Send him aid when most he needed it…but this…this she did not tell me,” the woman lowered herself down into the water, folding her arms on the thin strip of beach in front of Trenton, placing her head atop it and looking at Trenton from a closer perch. “She did not tell me that it drenched itself in the blood of its kin like it were wearing a cloak. She did not tell me that it traveled with my long lost daughter by its side. And worst of all, she did not tell me it wore the scarab necklace…speak of yourself, boy. I’d like to know the character you bear. Tell me your story.”

  Trenton took in a deep breath, projecting his voice for all to hear. Little by little, he recounted his journey up to this point. The strife, the hardship, the suffering, the success, the death and murder, and above it all, the one single purpose that so drove him–to survive.

  All the while he spoke, the spirits around him seemed to grow more and more enthralled with his tale. When he told them of the close fight with the blood crazed man they gasped, whispering amonst themselves. When he told them of Leo’s sacrifice, and the death he almost had, they wept and cried, holding each other close. When he told them of their last stand at the Academy, and the darkness that almost consumed them, they shivered, color draining from their faces.

  “...and now I stand before you, seeking the ambassador to the cloud isles and looking for the vault within this domain on behalf of the scholar Era. I ask for your mercy and generosity.”

  The large spirit woman was silent for a time, none of the woes of his story visibly moving her in the slightest, her eyes locked placidly on Trenton throughout the entirety of his speech, never once shifting or swaying.

  “Well, that’s certainly one hell of a story. Can’t say I envy you,” a new voice called out to Trenton from behind.

  Trenton turned over his shoulder, gazing at the elvish man leaned back atop the nearest hill. His black hair was long, but well groomed, clearly washed and cared for. It was tied in a neat bundle behind his head, stray locks falling across his shoulders, with two falling to either side of his eyes, which themselves were remarkably sharp, pulled a little to either side. He was clean shaven, his form well built, albeit his height more or less unremarkable.

  He stood looking down at Trenton with the slightest smile on his lips. Then, in an instant, he was gone. He didn’t move an inch, didn’t speak a single word, simply disappearing into thin air like he was never even there to begin with–a perfect cast–magic done without verbal or somatic components.

  “Sorry, I thought it rude to gawk at you like a gazelle on the plains,” the man’s voice came again, this time from just before Trenton.

  Trenton jumped back, drawing his warhammer and whipping himself back around to face the lake again. Sure enough, the man stood there, one hand resting inside the folds of his toga, his form loose and relaxed. He held up the other hand, palm open whilst bowing his head.

  “Calm, I mean you no harm. I really did just want to get a little closer,” he extended his right hand to Trenton, which Trenton took without much hesitation. “The names Tatchum, and I meant what I said earlier. By the sounds of it, you’ve gone through more pain in a year than most countries in their lifetime. It actually reminds me of Wimbleton. With the life he lived, you’d think it would’ve broken his will. But no, I’ve never met a boy so resolute as him, and now, you. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised he chose to travel with you after all this time. I’d heard a little of what was going on up to this point, but I didn’t realize just how large the conflict was. I suppose now is the proper time to insert myself. You were looking for the cloud isles ambassador? Well you’ve found him. What do you plan to do now?”

  Trenton paused for a second, disregarding the man’s praise and collecting himself, “You’re the cloud isles ambassador? Truly? You can take us to the cloud isles?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The man nodded, “Sure can. Now, I’m not technically supposed to let outsiders in without express permission, national security stuff. Given I’m the only way in and out, it’s important we keep a tight register. And since I haven't been in touch directly with Wimbleton or the queen for…a while, I technically, legally, can’t let you in. There’s a vetting process for this kind of thing, takes decades, honestly-”

  “We don’t have decades to wait! Whatever it takes, I need you to get us away from the surface. Another day spent on the ground and we’ll all be culled. If it’s a concession you need, I’ll make it. If it’s labour you want, I can do it. There is no price I won’t pay. I haven't come this far to let an opportunity like this slip me by.”

  The man rubbed his chin, partaking Trenton silently, “...I do admire your determination, and I wager it’s not your own life that worries you. You’re right, you don’t have the time to wait…but that also means you’ll need to convince the queen and elders that you deserve to stay. A bypass is even more complicated than the normal vetting process. But I can say confidently I’m rooting for you. I’ll bring you there and vouch for your character. The rest is up to you. If they determine you’re unfit to stay, there’s nothing I can do for you.”

  “And if we do, we’ll be safe?”

  “Safest place on Everil.”

  Trenton nodded, “I’ll convince them.”

  Tatchum nodded, “I’m glad you’re confident, and I wish you the best. I’ll need some time to prepare, so I’ll stop getting in your way, let you tend to this vault business. Big ask to get a task from Era himself. Oh and,” the man turned around, bowing low to the large spirit woman, who’d been watching them quietly the whole time, “I apologise for interrupting, ma’am. I hope you can understand its importance. Thank you for allowing my stay. It was insightful, truly, and beyond words helpful. I’ll take your time no longer.”

  “It was a pleasure to have you, Tatchum. I do so hope you’ll visit again sometime. I know the younglings love your stories. Be away and with peace,” the large woman said.

  Without another word, Tatchum disappeared, still holding the bow as he vanished into thin air.

  “Now,” the woman’s eyes turned to Trenton, “I suppose that tends to the first of your desires. Trenton, was it? You’re something of a rather spectacular specimen. Even among humans, I must say I’ve not met many with your mettle, although I’m so graced as to not have met many at all. Maybe Drya loved your kind once, but I don’t share that sentiment. I was hesitant to let you in here at all. Your deeds are impressive, and your character is strong. After all, you’ve returned my daughter to me, safe after all these years. For that much, I grant you my respect. But I do not grant you access to the vault.”

  “Your…daughter?” Trenton asked, confused. Surely she wasn’t-

  “Yes, my daughter. I am one of the three elder spirits, and that little girl you’ve traveling with, Millie, is my daughter, my own flesh and water. For reasons unbeknownst to me, she disappeared from this paradise many years ago, entering the carnage and chaos of your world. You couldn’t even imagine how worried I was, my daughter taken and ravaged by human bandits. But now she is returned, and I am deeply grateful. She is a very important girl. Her life is simply too valuable to risk. You’ve done the spirits a great service,” the woman said, in a notably not very grateful tone.

  It seemed even with everything that Trenton had done, her hatred still took claim over her heart. She didn’t even speak of her daughter like her own child, more of a prize she’d been sad to see slip off the shelf. It was disgraceful, in a way. This was one of the spirits' elders?

  “Millie told me she cared little for this place. She told me she did not want to return. She spoke of it like a prison without walls. Never once did she speak of you with love in her heart. I wouldn’t have even brought her here if the circumstances were to demand it. She is not a bird to be caged. If the human world is her desire, you have no right to keep her here. When we leave, if she does not wish to stay, I will take her with me. On this I will not yield,” Trenton said, anger of his own bubbling up in his throat.

  She leaned forward, grimace pitching down even further, voice booming, “You will not speak of what my daughter needs to me!” The waves began to churn around Trenton, surging forward towards him, wrapping around and grasping his ankles. Trenton stood his ground, taking the onslaught with steel in his blood, something dimly churning at the base of his neck, bubbling. “7 years I thought her lost to your world, ripped apart by your savages! You haven't the slightest IDEA the ANGUISH I’VE BEEN SUFFERING ALL THIS TIME! THESE ‘PRISONS’ ARE THE ONLY THINGS KEEPING US SAFE, KEEPING US AWAY FROM THE HELL YOU CARVED! AND YOU COME WALTZING IN HERE, DEMANDING TO REND MY DAUGHTER FROM ME AGAIN!? I SHOULD KILL YOU WHERE YOU-”

  “Silence.”

  The sound boomed across the fields, amplified by the wild burst of an imposing presence from deep within Trenton’s core. For a moment, he didn’t even realize that he’d said it, neither the voice nor the words his own, his body merely the conduit. Instantly, the woman’s tongue stilled and the water receded. She backed away into the water, scratching at her throat, eyes wide.

  “Better. I never really was fond of you, Pnalla, always complaining and blaming the humans for everything. You had the opportunity to fight for your home, but you turned it down like a coward, choosing to blame the humans for the problems you never tried to fix. Do not think I’ve forgiven you. Open the vault, Pnalla. You’ve been waiting for our return. And now we have. Do not defy me.”

  The elder spirit’s face twisted and contracted, her throat heaving outwards in a wild attempt to speak, but no matter how she tried, the words would not come. Whatever presence that was, it binded her absolutely. There was no defying its will.

  Pnalla descended back into the water, disappearing from view completely, the other spirits around Trenton too stunned to move. Then, with screams of his name echoing off in the distance, just like Trenton had seen all that time ago in the vision, the earth shook as a colossal bridge and an island at the center of the lake rose from the churning water, a purple orb hovering just above the island's core.