A groan came from Copper's location.

"Grimliss!" the mare shouted. "Don't move."

The stag rubbed his skull and forced her off of him. "I'll be fine. It'll subside soon."

"So it IS sentient," Ball commented.

"They're not supposed to be, though," Swirls added.

Grimliss looked at the three anyubinites and frowned. "What in the world did you do to me?"

Hora looked at the undead stag for a moment and exhaled loudly. "Nothing. We just have a 'touch' with our gods of death."

"God'S'?" Grimliss emphasized on the 'S'.

"Yes, Gods. You honestly don't think there's only one, do you?"

"No, but per culture..." Grimliss rubbed his pseudo-face. "Almost lost track of myself. Um...You have a LITERAL touch of spirit absolution?"

The three 'jackals' nodded.

"What is a spiritual absolution touch?" Stelimus asked.

"Some creatures in this world, be they beast or plant, have the innate ability to send spirits to the other world and directly into the arms of their deity of death."

"And we all have that touch," Hora said. "Generations have allowed to be this way, but," He rubbed his chin. "We've never seen spirits as 'alive', so to speak. Ours tend to be wandering entities defined by a single emotion they felt before death. I'm honestly surprised you're still anchored to this plane," he nodded.

"I have more experience in these matters than you think."

"Of that I have no doubt," Hora chuckled. He faced Stelimus again and grinned. "Shall we away to newer lands, your majesty?"

Stelimus held up his hoof, forgetting for just a brief second that he had no fingers. "A minute, please."

"Of course," Hora nodded. "Take your time."

Stelimus was about to say something and got his uncle's hoof on his muzzle instead.

"I know. Don't worry. I'm great at multi-tasking. Plus, with me being a god-king AND linked to death, your nobles will not be so inclined to try and start a civil war that they won't win."

"So you're basically a Vampire Count with an endless horde of skeletons and wraiths?"

"I don't know what a 'Vampire Count' is," he pondered. "But yes."

Celestia and Luna also stepped forward.

"We will also work to the best of our ability to prevent any incidents between our two peoples," Luna assured.

"The nobles will be especially difficult to negotiate with, however," Celestia sighed.

"Then it's settled," Stelimus nodded. "The Black Snow will come back. It always does, and while I'm not entirely certain I can trust these three, I have no choice but to go with them."

Copper buffed up her face in annoyance. She jumped to the deer and grabbed hold of his foreleg. "I'm going with you. I'm your queen after all." Her eyes started sparkling and a stupid, open-mouthed grin grew on her face. "Why, this could be a great, romantic trip."

Stelimus frowned and looked at Celestia giggling to herself in the corner of his eyes. "I should take a contingent of guards. Perhaps--"

"No," Grimliss said.

"But--"

"I said no. Those imbeciles still don't trust you. They might be a 'well oiled machine," Grimliss mocked. "but the ones putting in that oil are the ones trying to get rid of you." He looked to the two that had already taken their places at the base of the podium. "Take those two. They're surprisingly competent and won't leave your side while you're over there."

"Are you sure?" Grimliss asked.

"Yes, Grimliss. I'm sure," Grimliss answered himself.

Everyone just stared at him with horrified expressions. Stelimus tapped him on the head several times to grab his attention. "What are you doing?"

"Having the conversation for you."

"I'd slap you if I wanted to, but I won't."

"Then you should leave. It's not nice to make the first contact waiting."

Stelimus nodded and looked at the anyubinites. "Should we take water or anything else to prolong our lives where you live?"

"We have large reserves of water specifically for you," Hora explained. "Being accustomed to the desert, we need less water than the average creature. You will require as much as possible." He pointed to their coats. "Unless you want to shave your coats off."

"No," the royal couple replied bluntly.

Hora raised his bony hands in defeat. "If you say so."

Stelimus faced his uncle again and grinned. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Stelimus," Grimliss started. "I've lived for five-thousand years."

"Yeah, and only three in society," Yolumay spoke aggressively. "Now let's go." She flicked her head to the side to gesture Stelimus to go. "I have a people to squash after I learn of their combat techniques."

"You two come as well." Stelimus gestured to the two guards who somehow teleported right next to him and Copper.

Hora took his guests with him and left the palace, leaving the royal pony sisters and Grimliss behind. While the two ponies didn't know or feel anything with spirits, Grimliss felt something large nearby and traced it to the thrones. A large, blue, shapeless cloud of morphing mist was hiding behind the right arm. Curious, the stag lifted his right hoof to start moving there, but the precise moment the magic coursing through his body reached his non-existent tendons, the mist dissipated.

"What was that?" he thought to himself.

"Something wrong, Grimliss?" Celestia asked.

"No. No, I'm fine." He clapped his hooves together enthusiastically. "Now, what should we start with in diplomatic discussions?"

The boat of the anyubinites was docked on a beach far to the south where the tundra no longer held domain. Gregary had been in the icy wastes for so long he had forgotten what the green plains looked like. Sure, he had the special garden that Winter Fields, but it didn't provide the same sensation, especially with the feeling of grass on his hooves. There no mountains in sight, save for a few very tall hills, and not much artificial to see either. The area had been practically left alone even with all the forests around that Stelimus thought would make a great amount of lumber for whatever insane amount of races existed in this bizarre reality. There WAS the sight of some smoke rising from over the hills, but most of the group considered it to be campers or hunters. At least, the pony and deer thought so. The three jackals didn't care. Despite what the Anyubinites had said, Radivus and Tenyom were carrying bags full of provisions they took from the market as the trip would last two weeks going from the tundra to the sea. The anyubinites gradually took off their cloth covers and wrapped them around their wastes to lengthen their 'kilts' to the ground. The hotter it became, the better they felt and the worse the deer and single pony felt.

After about ten days of traveling, the air started becoming cooler and more bearable, but the jackals started wrapping themselves in their cloths again. The air started becoming saltier as well and filling with the smell of fish and kelp. They were near the sea, and a small encampment complete with wooden stake barricades surrounded the single boat waiting for the group. Hora spoke in a language foreign to Stelimus, but the anyubinite guards lowered their body-sized shields and spears and backed away from the openings of the barricade. A single fire had been made in the middle of the camp and was easily wide enough to roast three pigs in a line if someone placed a spit there. Only two tents of red and white striped cloth had been set up, and underneath them were various chests and open, wooden containers filled with wood or stone. They were only there for material protection and the sailors lived in the ship itself.

As for the ship, it had been repositioned sideways after landing and was reachable via a little platform connecting from the sandy beach to the back deck. Just as Stelimus expected, the ship was akin to the 'banana' boats of Ancient Egypt complete with the curved ends, but the design was...off. The entire ship was black. On both ends were narrowing lengths curling inwards to point at the ship and whose ends were carved to resemble Lilies of the Nile, but next to them were two rods composed of two, thinner rods twisting three times until ending in a black ball covered by a blue flame. The central area where there was usually a little building protecting the entrance to the crew quarters was not a solid build of wood but more designed and extending across two-thirds of the ship. The walls were hollowed out, leaving various lines swirling and curving towards a central image identical to the symbol on Hora's torso. The roof of the construct was not a solid piece of wood intended only to cover the cabin. Instead, it took on a practically flat aspect all the way to the border of the cabin until the roof's corners extended outwards and ended in a single, open Lily of the Nile.

"What the...hell?" Stelimus thought.

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