It was still ninth bell when I got to the Treehouse, to momma Janes’ humble abode, and she had me climb up to eat breakfast with them. They, she and Nova, had waited for me, both sure I would come back.

However, when we started talking…

“You finally lost your mind,” I said to momma Jane.

“Loke!” Nova shouted reproachfully.

“What!? It’s suicide! Seventeen men? How could two of us ever be able to take down seventeen men? And those are only the ones you saw! There could be more."

“It would be three of us!” Nova added.

“You go crab training and shut up! You don’t get a saying in this!”

Nova was about to open her mouth, but instead, she got all red and started pouting.

“I wouldn’t ask you if I knew it wasn’t possible,” said momma Jane.

Her face was a hard mask, but I could see her unwavering decision behind that. She would go even without me.

Thinking about her proposal, I studied her. She had a vein about to pop on her forehead where the tattoos of her half-elven lineage marked her as unwanted. The right term was that of murk-blood but calling somebody that would be tantamount to challenging them to a duel to the death.

Nobody knew about her story, but she was hardly the only half-blood around; there had been an entire family back at the village before they died to the plague. And although they were not very respected, as long as one of their parents was a human Flow-born, even half-bloods could live in the City. Or at least, we had seen them on the edges of Sundoor.

The Clock-engineer once told me that it was not that rare for a young big-name to get fixated on an Elven maiden, given their beauty, and betroth her, although most of the time it didn’t go so smoothly. In fact, many half-blood were probably sons and daughters that slaves had had with their masters.

However, tattoos were possessed only by those that first belonged to Elven society.

If one found a half-blood with tattoos coming from the City, then it meant they had come from far away. They had come from beyond the waters.

No, I had no idea what it meant to come from beyond the waters, having never been to the sea, but I guessed it meant that they were not from around these parts.

Finally, something used both in our societies and theirs was the “cutting of the ears.”

Half-blood had their ears cut in half; they were obliquely removed with a scalpel so that all recognized them. They would not be able to show the distinct trait of an Elf. Of course, that was not something half-blood sons and daughters of rich families were subjected to. Still, there were groups of prideful Elves around, cutting the ears of the unfortunate ones that got on their hands.

They were called Ear-hunters.

Anyway, momma Jane didn’t take my silence for a yes; she was about to get up from the breakfast table since I wasn’t answering.

Then I did, sighing, “We need to be prepared, really prepared.”

M.J. looked at me but shook her head, “I don’t know when they are going to move.”

“I won’t attack without first studying their base. Besides, there is an even better reason to go check them out now."

“I already counted off the ones we killed yesterday; the number is still seventeen. I have a rough estimate of their classes too if that-”

I shook my head, “I have something better.”

“Really?” Nova answered, now intrigued enough to stop pouting.

“I’ve unlocked a proper Trace Perk.”

“Really?” It was momma Jane’s turn to be surprised. A full Trace Skill was an extremely rare ability. Those that had it were easily invited to Dungeon explorations groups; of course, if they were born blessed by the Flow.

“I don’t believe it!” Nova said, more as a challenge than anything else.

“You don’t!? Then let’s see what happens when I do this,” I turned toward momma Jane, “May I?”

She nodded, “Go ahead.”

I marked her as my target in mind, and her information was now for my ears.

Jane Varriel, Stone Brawler Level ??, Blue Tamer Level 41

Health: 100%

Stamina: 99%

Agility: Intermediate

Constitution: High

Strength: Moderate

Focus: Intermediate

Perception: Low-Intermediate

Willpower: High

Strengths: Constitution, Willpower

Weaknesses: Leafy Tirrell, Roana Dowson, Her pets

Race: Half-Human, Half-Elf

Sex: Female

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 85 kg

Age: 36

Origins: Dream Forest

Family: Leafy Tirrell, Roana Dowson, Loke Nightfold, Nova Nightfold

It didn’t occur to me right away that she considered us her family. So I started reciting what I now knew.

We had never known her family name or her Classes' level, so it was clear I wasn’t lying. I knew these discerning abilities to have a highly dependent range on the user and the target’s levels.

It seemed that the Stone Brawler Class could be a rank higher than Advanced, she had probably evolved it twice, but I knew Blue Tamer to be an Advanced Class; it was common enough, at least amid those that dwelled in the vicinity of the forest.

When I finally understood what I was about to say out loud, I stopped and closed my eyes in defeat. I really had to help her; even if Roana was already dead, it was momma Jane and Roana we were talking about.

“That’s a good ability, Loke. But try to weigh its uses; people get really mad over being Traced unwillingly."

I knew it wasn’t a threat or anything of the likes; she was sincerely warning me over it. Still, she used to be much fiercer in the past; she had dulled considerably since Leafy decided to leave to join the military, and the slave traders took Roana.

As much as it was weird, I wanted her back, the usual her; we wanted her back.

“And you say you never get lucky!” Nova exclaimed.

“Well, maybe Skills are not susceptible to bad luck?”

“You should stop thinking about Shade Stars as bad luck. I thought I taught you that. It’s a matter of equilibrium,” said momma Jane. “Did you ever think about how lucky you’ve got not to be susceptible to the plague?”

It was true. I always forgot to consider that.

Gramps said that if one really belonged to the Shade, he would be immune to the plague, while if they were blessed by the Flow, they would be immune all the same.

Nobody in the village had been born with more Shade Stars or Flow Stars than us; maybe it was because of that. I couldn’t know.

Followed a few seconds of awkward silence where momma Jane picked up our clean plates.

The house was full to the brim with pelts, wood sculptures momma Jane had made of her previous pets, and the usual furniture. Kitchen utensils, a table, stools, a water basin, and wooden chests she built to store her things.

I took my decision, sighing, “Ok.”

“Ok?” Nova said.

“Ok, I’m on board. But we do it my way; I get stronger weapons from the clock-engineer, we prepare an attack plan, a contingency plan, then we strike.”

M.J. turned toward me, and she had a smile finally illuminating her face.

“I wouldn’t ask you if you were not the only one I could count on, and not because of your abilities. You are a true fighter even though you’re barely sixteen,” she said. “But who else could I ask?” She justified herself, but I didn’t need that; I knew already.

My deceased master had brought me here for her to teach me Taming. They had a good relationship, maybe even something more than that, he would have helped her, for Sun’s sake, many in the village would have.

We all hated slave traders. But there was not one able-bodied fighter left in the village. The last functioning Hunter had lost his ability to hunt two years ago, then died last year. He was called Venk, and he was the one that taught me how to be a Hunter.

“No need to say anything, just give me the time to get back to the village; I have to catch some more game, then I need to go and see the Clock-engineer. I’m almost out of arrows, and I need other things to help you take down seventeen men,” I put emphasis on the number.

She nodded, but her smile did not leave her lips. I hoped her smug smile would return shiner than before.

“Alright!” Nova shouted, “we’re going to get Roana back. I know it!”

“You stay home,” both Jane and I said in a chorus.

She answered by throwing a tantrum.

It was high time we left; the Tailcat I caught had bled profusely; it had probably entirely bled out, so it was safe for transportation.

I also wanted to take a look at Ronda’s grave before we left. The first thing Jane had done was to return her to nature.

I sat by it and talked to her, “You have been the best companion I’ve ever had, little one. I’d be lucky to find another one as faithful as you.”

Momma Jane had dug her Crystal for me to store. Like all pets, their Crystals grew several times bigger than normal when binding with a Tamer.

Jane reached me there.

“It’s better if you do not tame another creature for this one; I’ll bring both my Eagle-rocks with me while we strike; they will cover for us. However, there’s something for you, something yesterday’s bastards have left for you."

We went back to the tree's feet, and she removed a pelt cover from the ground.

Under the pelt were hiding objects I really loved to see.

A Flow-gun, a long-bow, and a quiver with at least three dozen arrows. They were not those I used. But it was better than nothing.

I wouldn't say I liked Flow-guns. They needed a lot of Flow to shoot, plus they did not work during the night, or at least, not without a huge consumption of Crystals, if they hadn’t been charged beforehand.

But they packed quite the punch, so they were good as a last resort.

I examined the gun first. It obviously had a one-slot drum, and its barrel was rather long.

My Hunting teacher had explained to me that it was so to better condense the Flow projectile.

However, the true problem with Flow-guns was their dependence on a high level of Constitution.

One could not wildly shoot with them. Just as there was Shade plague, there was something called Flow poisoning; Gramps said that it brought a thing called cancer.

The gun worked by using the body of the user as a catalyst for the ambient Flow, then it solidified the projectile in the drum and finally shot.

It took a lot of Flow, and for that reason, it had to be given a long time for charging, and, more importantly, it was recommended not to shoot more than one projectile a day, especially for those that did not have a good enough Constitution or the appropriate Class.

(Modified) Simple Flow-gun

Durability: 93%

Flow Density: 25

Strengths: Powerful shot

Weaknesses: High level of Constitution

This simple Flow-gun has been modified to shoot projectiles 1.5 times stronger than the norm.

Yeah, I couldn’t use that, not at all. With my measly 8 points of Constitution, I had to triple it at least to be free of worry.

Of course, there were ways to work around those restrictions, but it was something for the rich and the delvers.

I analyzed the bow next.

Simple Longbow of sniping

Durability: 89%

Strengths: Powerful shot

Weaknesses: Not for medium-range combat

Simple Longbow for sniping far away targets, the maximum damage will be obtained at a distance of 300 meters and up to 1 kilometer.

That too wasn’t for me, I could not hunt with a longbow, or at least, it was not the way I did it.

I used a short bow. It was practical, fast, and shined at medium range.

The arrows, though, I already knew I could work with them, for now.

I analyzed the first one.

Chainsaw metal-head Arrow

Durability: 97%

Strength: + 3

An arrow built to deal a lot of damage by sawing its victim's flesh. It works better against leather, fur, and flesh.

This I could work with. There were thirty-seven arrows for me. Although they were not as strong as the arrows I used, the boost in Strength was significant. They would utterly fail against armored individuals or beasts, but again, so would mine if I didn’t hit their weak spots.

“I’ll take them all if you don’t need them. The clock-engineer is gonna ask for a lot for what I’m gonna need.”

“They’re all yours, Loke. Use them as you see fit; if it gives me my Ro back…” she paused.

"You know what? I’m gonna give you something much more valuable if we come back. I’d give it to you now, but I’ll have to bring you deep in the forest to do so.”

“You don’t need to do anything of the like, M.J., I would have helped you sooner if I knew Roana was still nearby. I thought they had… sold her already,” my eyes shied away from hers.

“Actually, I’m not one hundred percent sure she’s there, but when I scouted them… they were talking about… about a girl that fit her description," she stated, darkly, and tightening her fists, "They said they had her in the back of their encampment.”

So, we’re not even sure she’s there, I realized.

“Once the bastards are all dead, we shall see for ourselves.” After I said those few words, we parted. Nova and I had to hurry, and we needed to cut for the Monolith before we went back.

We took the already cooked rag-troll’s leg, the Tailcat, and all our things, and we departed for the village.

“How did momma Jane look to you?” I asked my sister.

“She’s… dulled. It reminded me of aunt Dola when Pivvin… when he died of the plague."

"Yeah..."

There was nothing that drew people to lose all their hopes in life more than when they lost somebody they loved. I was reaching a certain thought when Nova said it out loud for me.

“Why do you think they went back to the front?” She was obviously talking about our parents.

I hoped Gramps and I were enough to fill the void that our parents' absence left, but I understood that we would never be enough to replace them in her heart.

Not that she had really met them, she could have no memories of them, she was too small. Yet, in my case, no one in the village had been enough for me to replace them. I had been inconsolable when they left ten years ago.

The void I felt had been too much for me to take; how would Nova easily accept it? Only because she was two when they left? I didn’t believe that to be enough. There were families, complete families in the village; mine, instead, had chosen to be shattered.

“I don’t know why they did what they did. I know just what Gramps says,” I knew that she already understood it.

“To help build a better world for us; yeah…” she didn’t believe it, I didn’t believe it. I bet even Gramps didn’t. Or maybe it was the bitterness in me speaking.

Everyone had seen the different, better approach the people from the City were having toward us, toward the regulars, and even toward Shade-cursed like me and other races.

The war was having its effects, but it was taking its sweet damn time.

I remembered still really clearly when they departed, the unbearable sadness of that day and the promise my mother made me.

Tears in her beautiful eyes, she had said, “I’ll come back, baby; I swear I will. Maybe not next year, maybe not the one after that, but I will. You focus on becoming as strong and valorous as your dad. I’ll show you off to all my friends, and they’ll see then that we have the most beautiful and strong child in the land, no, in the world!”

My father told me just weird words, but I took them to heart, “Take care of Nova, Loke. You are family, and family is sacred; forever. Not only here but everywhere you’ll go. If you consider someone to be your family, you’ll be sure to have become richer. The larger your family is, the happier and stronger you’ll be.” He kneeled and took me by my shoulders, “The village can be family for you, Loke. They are your treasure; if you can help them, do so; you’ll be happy when they are happy, just like with family. You won’t have to feel what you are feeling now if you think of them as part of you.”

With time, I realized that dad wasn’t expecting to come back home at that point. And yet, he had chosen to go and left me with a riddle that I slowly but surely unraveled.

Yeah, the villagers were not enough to replace the true warmth of a loving father and mother, but helping them had given me all the warmth that I needed to become the person I was now.

If I could manage to convey that to Nova, then I knew I had met my father’s hopes and dreams.

But there was still a long way to go.

With the village destroyed by the plague, it still seemed like losing my family all over again.

There was a limit to how much a person could do, and I was about to reach it; the rest was in the hands of fate; meanwhile, I would take my chance to fight with this fate and bring it to the ground, no, hunt it down, together with the damn illness affecting our aunts, uncles, moms, fathers, brothers, and sisters.

Nova could actually be the one capable of it.

If I were to be the spectator, the guardian, watching over her dream, then I would, and I would protect her without fail.