Early in the morning, we packed our things, ate breakfast, and slummed around the island a bit more. Narin had gotten to see how I handle things, but she hadn't really gotten a taste of the island life. One of the things we did before lunch was watch the New Dominion flying team... who I had never met before now. I didn't even know we had one. Apparently they got third place in the Equestria games, which is kind of like the Olympics or something. For a good couple hours we just laid on the beach and watched them fly their cloud obstacle course. They were good. Really good. I could see how they got third place, given that the Wonderbolts would have gotten second, and whatever team Rainbow Dash was on would have come in first. Wouldn't it be something to have our team beat the equestrians next time around...

In any case, the clock chimed 12, waking us from our beach naps. I walked over and poked one of Narin's guards, who seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

"Hmm?" He cracked open an eye.

"It's noon, time to get going."

The guard, who's name I hadn't learned due to them being rather unapproachable in terms of small talk, awoke his empress. The whole lot of us gathered our bags, and began flying south, with Empress Narin taking the lead. We flew silently. As we reached the jungle the greenery from below pretty much killed any thermals so we actually had to work for our altitude.

"Nadene is somewhere in there. We might get lucky and run into her on our way back." Gilda pointed out.

"Not likely." I replied. "She is one cat in an entire jungle. Besides, if she went in there, it's probably because she doesn't want to be found. As much as I'd like to talk to her, well... she'll come out when she's ready. I don't want to trample on her feelings."

"Yeah." She replied.

After a couple days of uneventful travel, setting up camp whenever we needed to rest, the jungle gave way to some sandy plains, with clusters of tall grass poking through here and there, and rocky crags interspersed throughout. Ancient sandstone, uncovered by the shifting of dunes, their surfaces weathered and worn into round lumps of smooth stone, dotted the area. The heat coming off of it made flying nearly effortless, and the brilliant blue sky wasn't marred by a single cloud.

We camped that night, choosing to travel during the day to take advantage of the updrafts. The heat was bearable, for Gilda and Seth, that far up in the sky. I felt totally unaffected, and the snakes seemed to enjoy basking in the sun.

"The temperature issss going to drop ssssignificantly after ssssundown. We sssshould make camp."

Everyone sat around a roaring campfire, except for me, as I had dropped all of my equipment at the side so I could BE the campfire. There wasn't enough twigs and such to make a proper fire anyway. The warm glow coming off of me could likely be seen for miles, given the dark night sky as a backdrop. Eventually, everyone crawled inside their tents and went to sleep, myself included.

At dawn, we packed up and continued our journey. At one point, I could see a fairly large city on the horizon. We approached it quickly.

"There are ssseveral townssss that lay further out. We bypasssssed them and went sssstraight for the capital." Narin explained. Of course, she'd want me to see as little of the country itself, such as the locations of smaller towns, in order to deny me tactical information in case I wanted to launch a raiding party. I didn't care much for the outlying towns anyway. On reaching the city, Narin had us land in front of one of the gates. A quartet of guards eyed us warily, but seeing their Empress, didn't raise any concerns. That's when I remembered that I was about to enter a city full of borderline-xenophobes. Gilda, Seth and I moved up closer to the Empress.

When we entered the city proper, I took note that most of the buildings were made of sandstone. They were bleached by the sun, but they didn't have the same worn appearance of the rocks I had seen outside of the city. Almost as though they had never weathered a sandstorm. Indeed, within the city itself, there was very little sand at all. It had been cleared away and replaced with proper dirt and earth.

"The city'ssss farming dissstrict is on the far sssside, next to the temple disssstrict. We have 'earth minessss' where we did not for gold or jewelssss, but ssssoil that issss good for planting, and the priestessssesss ssssing for rain to water the cropsss."

"What kind of crops do you grow?" I asked.

"Mosssstly wheat, barley, and other grainssss. We don't eat it though, it'ssss all ussssed for animal feed." Right, they're snakes, makes sense that they'd be mostly, if not entirely, carnivorous.

Within the city, being flanked by a large number of guards, the townsfolk, all quetzals, slithered and flew here and there, going about their business. On noticing us, they looked somewhat confused, before letting out calls of excitement and joy. Hearing the ruckus, people began poking their heads out of their windows and cheering.

We made our way to the palace. Once inside, the doors were closed, and Narin declared that she would explain the situation the next day, because she was taking today to catch up on what she missed while she was gone, and didn't want any disruptions.

"That was not the welcome I was expecting." I declared.

"My people were worried about your potential threat, the very reassson I went to the meeting. The fact that I have returned here with you... many of my people believe I have defeated you, and you now belong to me. They were celebrating my victory, jussst asss much asss my return."

"Hmm, that might not be a bad thing. We haven't told them that, they've assumed it. Let's just let them keep assuming it. At the very least, it should give us all some peace and quiet."

"Indeed. Tomorrow I'll introduce you asss the king of the New Dominion, explain that you are not a threat to usss, and leave it at that. Let the people run their rumorsss. Alssso, tomorrow I would like you to witness the rain ceremony. My daughter, Karin, is a priestess, and will be asking Tlaloc to bring rain to the farms. Remain at my ssside when we move through the city to avoid any difficultiesssss."

"Agreed."

For most of the day, we stayed in the palace, becoming accustomed to its layout and where things were so we wouldn't get lost, while the Empress dealt with the things that had piled up while she had been away. While this was going on, we were introduced to the rest of the royal family. Srinja, or, Sssssrija, not really sure how much emphasis to put on the S, was Narins 'first' along with his son, Naji. These two were the ones that stood out the most to me, mostly because they were the first ones we met, and there was a very large number of people to meet. It was impossible to remember them all, or even half. Something like sixty or so who were part of the Empress's 'family by assassination'. Many of them were part of the family before she took over as Empress, and, along with the country, she inherited them as well. Naji was a bright eyed lad who tended to flit this way or that, moving in very practiced motions that created no sound at all. Seth looked at him intently, as though trying to figure out his movements, before we moved on to the next group, and the next, and the next, and the next.

When night came, Gilda, Seth and I all settled down into our private room, with guards posted outside our door. They seemed to rest easily enough. I did not. I knew that here, we were miles of rough terrain away from any who wished us harm, surrounded by the highly trained guards of a nation where assassination was the standard, and yet, knowing that I lacked the presence of Chrysalis and her constant vigil, I simply could not put my mind at ease. I gazed out our window at the moon, which seemed overly large. As I stared at it I felt a pounding in my chest and a tingle in my mind. I began to breathe heavily as I reached my claw out towards it, as though to grasp it and pluck it from the sky. Suddenly, I snapped out of my trance as the effect faded, feeling... refreshed. My anxiety had faded and I felt a remarkable sense of peace.

"Heh... that's right. To think I forgot about that. I've been so focused on keeping everyone out..." I knocked my knuckles against my head. "Alright, I'll put my faith in you tonight, Luna."

That morning, when I awoke, all was normal. Well, with the exception that Seth's shadow was not a Seth-shaped shadow, but a large oval on the ground, quite some distance away from him, which seemed to bulge out of the floor.

"Guards!" In an instant, the pair assigned to our door came rushing through, and on noticing the lump of shadow, lowered their spears at it, rather confused. Seth woke up as the intrusion, and noticing everyone looking at him, decided to explain.

"Caught someone last night. Wanted to go back to bed, deal with it in the morning." His shadow receded, revealing Naji, who was quite awake, and covered his eyes to shield them from the sudden brightness. The guards sighed, shook their heads, and ceased their aggressive posture.

"What are you doing in our room?" I asked. The guards looked to each other, and I overheard whispers of 'Are you going to tell her?' and 'You do it, I had to lassst time.' before one slithered off, the other remaining to keep an eye on things.

"Practicing." Naji replied. "I need more practice." He said curtly, in a rather refined tone

"I agree." I responded. "However, I would advise not practicing on us."

"If I could bend shadows, I would not have been caught." He said to Seth, mostly ignoring me. "How do you do it?"

"I unno. Just can." Seth answered in a very unrefined tone, in a drastic contrast to Naji's own speech pattern. "Sumthin about chaos and mice, a cat in a box and butterfly wings."

Naji just looked confused.

"Yeah, I don't understand how the absence of light can take physical form either. Don't think too much about it, you'll hurt yourself."

At this, Narin entered the room to scold the boy, with the guard who left previously following behind. She spewed the standard of motherly beratement before asking a more important question. "And how did you get in the room anyway?"

"Went in the vent." Naji's formerly regal vocalizations became just as plain as Seth's under his mother's scrutiny. I stayed quiet the entire time. He looked to me for help, perhaps thinking I'd say 'It's fine, it's no big deal' or something like that. Noticing his glance, I gave him a wolfish smile to let him know he was on his own for this one.

"Mom, how was I sssupposssed to know they were sssorcerersss?"

"You're sssupposed to ssstalk your target firssst to learn more about them, not jussst dive in head firssst! I thought I taught you better than that." In actually listening to Narin's chiding, I realized she wasn't scolding him for breaking in to our room to practice assassinating us with his wooden knife, she was scolding him for getting caught. I could only laugh internally, not wanting to interrupt.

"In any case, since we didn't notice an assassin in our room and immediately splatter them before they could explain themselves, I think it's safe to say you got lucky." I directed this statement towards the snake child. "Though now you know better. Relying on luck is not good either, because one day it runs out."

"Will you teach me magic?" Narin shook her head no. She's right, that would require a much longer stay here than we had planned, and, given the country's method of balancing power, it would be interfering in external affairs. If he were to grow up, using the magic I taught him to gain power here and become the leader, who knows what kind of person he would become. I could not teach him magic unless I personally stayed to ensure he didn't misuse it. My secrets getting out allowed Fia to build power in that way, and I do not need another Ancientwell incident. Disrupting the balance of power in the world is not a good idea..... knowing that, why the heck do I REALLY want to teach him magic for some reason? In this instance, I will strangle my eccentric desire and go with the logical course of action.

"No, it's not something to take lightly. Besides, you haven't even mastered stealth yet. Finish that first. Turning invisible won't do you any good if you plod around like an elephant." You need a silence spell for that, but it wouldn't stop the floor from shaking, you'd need something to negate the vibrations... and I'm literally considering making an elephant ninja now. I need to stop.

"Well, since we're all awake now, should be prepare to head out into the city?"

And so we did. The empress went up front, with a guard flanking me and my family on either side, and one behind. It felt almost like we were prisoners being escorted to our execution. Instead of a gallows, we were lead through the city. There was still some excitement at seeing us, trailing behind the empress, but most of the curiosity was gone at this point. Likely, the rumor mill had been grinding away since we arrived yesterday morning, and the whole city knew about it by now. Still, there were some who looked at us quizzically, some measure of doubt in their minds, though none dared raise the question to the empress. If she had something to say to her people, she would say it in her own time.

Indeed, yesterday, among her paperwork, she had already sent out the notice regarding who we were, and that we were not a threat to her people. I suppose some just hadn't heard the news yet. Something about that didn't sit well with me. Just giving a written notice feels so, impersonal. Then again, I suppose the whole purpose was to have as few questions as possible.

We were very much left alone as we made our way past the temple district, into the farming district on the south side of the city. There I saw several of the winged snakes wearing wide brimmed hats of straw, and loose clothing, designed to breathe. All were dyed brilliantly. It seemed that vibrancy was central to the quetzal culture. Several of these farmers were working in what looked like rabbit pens. Others were digging up burrows.

"We eat mossstly rabbit and rodentssss. Possum, vole, and rat. They are what we grow the grain for."

"You eat rats?" Gilda asked in an almost accusatory manner.

"Indeed. You ate some last night, it was delivered to your room." Gilda seemed put off by that.

"Wait, that was rat?" I asked.

"Indeed." Narin replied.

"That was some damn good rat." Gilda looked at me with the same off-putting glare. "What? When I was in the Black-Marsh I ate uncooked, diseased rat in order to survive. These are farm raised and well prepared. You could probably make a rat burger that tastes fantastic." Here I was in a totally different culture, some things were so alien, and yet others were shockingly similar.

We eventually passed out of the rodent farm into large wheat fields. These fields were of raised dirt, held in place by large, interlocking borders made of cut stone. In a shocking contrast to usual attire, a group of quetzals were standing out in one of the fields, wearing white robes with slight blue accents.

"This is my daughter Karin, priestess of Tlaloc. Karin, this is the King North, of the New Dominion, his 'first' Gilda, and their son, Seth."

"Blessings of the sky upon you." She turned to look at Gilda. "I see you are of the sky as well." This, I found odd, considering that we're all griffins. She then addressed all of us. "The ceremony is about to begin. I ask that you be silent throughout. This is something not often witnessed by outsiders. We would not want Tlaloc to take offense, though, you..." She specifically directed this to Gilda again. "... you may join us."

"Do you have any idea why..." I began asking Narin.

"I do not. Very strange. Unorthodox. Never before hasss thisss occurred."

Gilda took her place among the priestesses, who began instructing her. They formed a circle, and, each in turn, raised their heads to the sky, each letting out a different tone, held as a steady exhale for minutes on end. When it seemed they would run out of breath, they merely continued, almost as though they had an endless reserve of air in their lungs, as though breathing was something entirely optional. The clouds began to gather overhead, forming out of nothingness. That is when I saw Gilda begin to glow a vibrant blue. Someone less learned would be in awe, or shock. I knew precisely what it was.

A few hundred years ago, during storms, sailors would notice the masts of their ships alight with a blue glow. They also noticed that, if this occurred, the ship would not be struck by lightning. They called this 'Saint Eremo's fire', Eremo being the patron saint of sailors. They believed that this blue fire was his divine protection against the storm, since, lightning striking the mast could split it, or set the sails on fire. Either way, even if the ship survived the storm, with no mast or sails, they'd be stuck rowing to the next harbour. Given food supply on board was limited, it could be a death sentence. Eventually the pronunciation got screwed up, and the protective glow became known as 'St. Elmo's fire'.

Of course, the real phenomena was that the build up of electrons on the ship caused the air around the highest points of the ship to become ionized, giving it the blue glow. Since something with a vast negative charge will repel another negative charge, lightning couldn't strike the ship. You can imitate the effect by putting your hand on a Van-De-Graaff ball and putting your finger near something, the tip will turn blue.

As the singing reached its crescendo and Gilda added her own voice to the chorus, a great bolt of lightning surged from her, up into the clouds. It looked as if she had cracked open the sky, and the rain came pouring forth. As the life giving waters came down, all the priestesses, and Gilda, began to dance in the rain as celebration.

Do you seek redemption?

"What?" I looked around.

Do you seek redemption?

"I... don't deserve it."

And that is precisely why you do. Do you seek it?"

"Yes?" I answered, unsure. I realized that I was being spoken to the same way Hades had spoken to me before. This voice, however, was definitely NOT Hades.

Then it shall be yours, child of misery. When she sang, she sang for you, and now, when I weep, I weep for you. Be cleansed, so that I weep no more.

As the rain fell on me, I noticed it evaporating as it touched me, turning to steam. It did not do this with anyone else. As the steam stopped and I began to get drenched like everyone else there, I noticed a heaviness in my heart, one that had been there so long I had not noticed it for a long time, slowly fading away. I felt, light. Jovial. Calm. Pure. My whole body tingled with the sensation. I laughed. Not in sadism, or contempt, or any kind of negativity. I laughed in sheer joy. It was... indescribable. My heart began to pound in my chest again, but not in the same way as it had the night before. This was entirely different, entirely good.

Gilda came over to me, laughing as well. I could tell she felt the same way. Even Seth, who was an abnormally reserved child, was totally joyous.

"Gilda.... I think we've seen enough. Everything we needed to see."

"That was incredible. I think you're right. I'm glad we came here. This was something we needed to experience. I had used my natural weather magic before, to force the clouds to do my bidding, but this was totally different, something by a completely different nature. It's like I knew precisely what to do, and everything else flowed. As the singing began. I never felt more tranquil. When I added my own voice the release was pure joy. Lets stay and relax for a few days, then head home."

The next few days passed uneventfully. The red mists of my magic filled the palace, such that any who drew near to it would see the billowing clouds spilling from it, and have a taste of my inner peace for themselves.

Chrysalis is going to get fat.

Author's Notes:

This is a damn good rat burger.
What are the three shells for? *unified laughter*

He doesn't know what the shells are for!
And then nobody in the movie ever explains it.

I recently had an experience in which some bad things happened, none of which were my fault, however, coworkers decided to lie and make me a scape goat, in order to save themselves. I became wracked with worry, frantic, panicked. I tried playing Hearthstone as a distraction, when Tirion Fordring told me to 'Put your faith in the light.' I stopped, meditated, prayed, and became inspired. I was able to expose my co-worker's lies, save my job, and learned to have faith. For someone with anxiety and paranoia (which isn't really paranoia because I'm usually right) issues I refuse to take meds for, this is a big deal. That being said, I had already planned this scene for about a month already, but I couldn't get the motivation to. It suddenly felt like the right time to write it and the words flowed.

Art mimics life. Embrace tranquility.