I should have expected it. The overwhelming force, the tortue, I should have seen it coming. The dwarves, their whole character, it should have tipped me off, long before walking into things, before foolishly agreeing.

The dwarven craftspeople were relentless in their pursuit of information for the items they wanted to craft for us, probing, prodding and interrogating with a fervor that scared me just a little. Especially the burly tailor, he seemed to be almost offended by the leather-armour I was wearing, tutting and muttering into his beard, making me wonder if he was placing dark curses onto me. On the other side of the room, Sigmir was in a fervoured discussion with the blacksmith, her Lok’nar held between them, as they gestured and pointed.

Finally, the dwarves seemed to have the information they needed and retreated. At the end, I had been reduced to a state that I mainly nodded, hummed and simply agreed, not feeling up to the task of resisting the excited tailor who seemed to have very firm opinions what kind of item I should wear. It reminded me why I hated to go shopping on Earth, pushy people that I couldn’t, or in this case shouldn’t, freeze with my mind were a scourge upon my soul.

I looked over to the others and recognised the look of exhaustion on their faces. I somehow doubted that they had ever experienced such an inquisitive and intrusive crowd, at least not one that you were not allowed to face with force of arms.

“How about I prepare us some dinner?” I asked, looking at my companions who made themselves comfortable, now that we were on our own.

“I’ll help you.” Sigmir offered, pushing herself up. There was no way I’d reject her help, so we stood together in the kitchen, using the supplies someone had placed inside to prepare some real food. I enjoyed the simple cuisine I could prepare over an open camp-fire, with limited supplies, while we were on the road but there was something special about cooking in a real kitchen, especially one with running water.

After looking around and taking stock of the supplies, I started to chuckle, causing Sigmir to raise an eyebrow, silently inquiring why I was laughing.

“Oh, I just decided on tomorrow's menu.” I admitted, realising that while the supplies would work, the dough would need some additional time, if I wanted to make pizza. There would be some effort, and a little research, involved but I was reasonably sure I could prepare the dough before going to the library allowing me to import that glorious food into the world of Mundus. I doubted I’d be the first but I was quite certain that none of my companions had ever had it.

But that was for tomorrow, for today, something simpler would have to do.

Later in the evening, I sat in front of the house, well-fed and content, looking up at the dark sky. The darkness felt pleasant, the heat of the day slowly fading away, giving way to a cold blanket, letting me breathe easily. Once again, Lenore sat on my shoulder, looking at the moon above, the twinkling stars.

“You are going to try again, to get a feel for the second divide?” she asked, ruffling her feathers a little.

“Yes, I am. It’s fascinating, you know? Just how similar the world within and the world outside are, the Astral River and the Astral Power, flowing through the channels within my body. I have once heard a tale about a universe in a grain of sand and it makes me wonder.” I admitted, closing my eyes as I let myself relax.

At first, my mind was drawn to the curious feeling of the night air, playing with the feathers I had grown, gently playing with them and tugging at them. I had never felt anything alike, making me wonder if it was a first step to gain an affinity for air- or wind-magic. But before I could even begin to consider gaining more affinities, I should focus on crossing the second divide.

Getting a feel for the power flowing into my body, I followed with it, letting my mind flow with the Astral Power inside. This time, I didn’t even try to get a feel for the entire system, simply letting myself go with the flow, knowing that wherever I went with the flow, I would still be within myself. I couldn’t get swept away from my body, as it was all my body.

Suddenly, I felt a curious sensation, as if something was tugging at myself and realised that, for some reason, the stream I was going with was separating in front of me, the flow of pure Ice, alongside a small amount of normal Astral Power moving away from the rest of power. Asserting my will, I anchored myself, letting the power flow around me, instead of moving with it and I realised just what I was looking at. It was the entrance to Lenore’s Hallow, where I had created a barrier, over two months ago, allowing her to enjoy her Hallow without feeling cold due to the pure Ice that was flowing within me. At some point, the barrier had become a subconscious construct, functioning without my attention and keeping Lenore’s Hallow reasonably warm. It made me wonder if I should try to dissolve it, now that Lenore had the ability to cast Ice-Magic, or if she would prefer the warmth.

Thinking of Lenore made me realise that there was a faint connection of power, flowing through the gate towards her Hallow but not into her Hallow, a connection I could feel and follow. Reaching out with my mind, I tried to do just that, follow the connection and for a split-second I felt as if I was in two places at once. It was a marvelous sensation, only marred by a pain as if I was split, not my body but my mind, a searing pain that made my mind go blank, made me want to curl up into a small ball, hoping for the pain to go away.

I felt a strange, tugging sensation and a short flash of outrage from Lenore, sa I did just that, finding a dark, empty space and curling up, making myself as small as I could. Somehow, the tugging sensation seemed to help with the pain, so I blindly reached out, tugging at whatever it was and pulled, just trying to make the pain go away.

Once the pain faded, I slowly regained my senses and realised that I was in a strangely dark place, but one filled with Astral Power. At the same time, I felt Lenore’s thoughts again, strangely clear and filled with worry and wonder, the earlier outrage now replaced with a undercurrent of amusement.

“You took my perch away.” I heard her mental voice, not only in my mind but echoing around me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked in return, my mind not quite up to speed. In return, Lenore was sending an image, a memory of herself, sitting on my shoulder, thinking about nothing in particular, only for my shoulder to suddenly vanish, forcing her to frantically flap her wings or tumble into the dust. Once she had managed to stabilise, she realised that my body, and even my clothes, were gone, causing her to look inwards, into herself.

And find me, as I had somehow created a Hallow, within her claws, which had now taken on a dark, crystalline appearance, even as Lenore gained a new ability, at least as long as I was within my Hallow.

At that point, the memory ended and I slowly sat down, ending up on a throne of ice, one I didn’t quite remember creating. Shaking my head, I tried to wrap my head around things, amazed by the events and my accomplishment, even if it was a purely coincidental one.

“Let’s soar, Sister. Let me show you what it means to feel the wind beneath your wings, to take to the skies!” Lenore pushed, her mental voice filled with excitement and pure joy. And I liked the idea, I had wanted to feel it myself, ever since I had experienced it in her memories for the first time.

“Let’s soar.” I agreed, letting my mind join with hers and a strange feeling of expansion came over me. It was similar to the feeling of the Raven’s Shadow, our Avatar-state, but now I was the one in the backseat and Lenore was the master of the body.

Yet, we were able to jump off the roof we had been sitting on, flap our wings and fly into the dark sky. Up, up we went, rising on the wind and deep within my soul I felt free. Free, without any shackles holding us, without worries, without burdens. Free, at last.