The night fell unnoticed upon Alba. Large bonfires dotted the dim lands and shadows danced around them. Voices sang loud and refused to tire. They filled the Song of the Winds with music and cheers to spread around the Wild Lands.

Verano sat in a hut by the shadow of the Wall of Siegfrieda, the construction that separated the lands of the Kingdom of Alba and the Western Tribe of the North Sea. He was too exhausted to party. He lied down with Arnaud Jr and Marzia by his side. Yet his brother's snores did not allow him to sleep. His sister wrapped her arms so tightly around Verano that the lavender scent in her hair was more vivid than in a field of flowers.

"I can't sleep," sighed the boy as he stood up from their mat.

He stretched himself and readied to leave the hut, yet the sight of his siblings being so close to him robbed Verano of a tear. He was home.

"I'll be right back," he rustled to his sleeping siblings, "I'll see how Ness is holding up."

He left the hut and made his way through the encampment. He thanked the Grey Guardian that the warriors were too drunk to recognize him. Yet he saw a familiar face drinking alone near the edge of the party.

"Giovanni?" The boy rose his voice.

"V-Verano?" Faltered Giovanni.

"So good to see you, amico! (Friend!)” Remarked Verano smiling at his old friend. “Why haven't you talked to me?"

"It's..." Giovanni looked away and heaved a heavy sigh, jealous. "It's complicated."

"Don't worry about this! I want to see what you have been building. You have been making weird things, right?"

"Not recently." The boy frowned. "King Heinrich did not care about my machines..."

"Screw him. You're great," said Verano with a wide smile on his face, "you must carry on!"

"I have no name, Verano. It’s not so easy for people like me." Replied Giovanni with a sad scowl on his face. "I'm not the Avatar. I'm not a noble and I might be even lower than just a pleb." He ranted. "I'm just a bastard that someone dumped and walked away. Don’t you know how much it hurts to do not have a history? To do not know who you really are?"

Verano frowned at his necklace with the kamaritan inscriptions. The object had never left his side, even during bondage. Yet he still had no clue of why he carried that accessory. Yet he narrowed his eyes at his friend and lied:

"No, but I have my suspicions."

"You know what?” Giovanni frowned. “I'm sorry for having asked that. I'm a bit drunk and feeling bitter right now. I know the Sforzas adopted you."

"No, I think you were right to complain. I'd not know what it is to do have a history," he glanced at his hut and saw, through the gap, Arnaud Jr, and Marzia sleeping. "I think I belong to a great family."

Giovanni glared at the girl as she slept.

"You sure do." He sipped his mug to hide the sorrow on his expression.

"Listen," Verano grabbed his friend's shoulder, "I'll see how my Sea Serpent is doing. Come by in the future for us to explore together."

"Carry on, amico mio..." Giovanni sipped his mug of ale. "Carry on."

"Grazie! (Thanks) Good night!" Said Verano with a smile on his face as he walked away.

Yet Giovanni did not reciprocate. He only drank and his scowl grew uglier with every sip.

"We were supposed to be on the same level…” The boy snorted. “Yet I'm a failure. And he is the Avatar."

Verano walked to the shores. He made his way through bushes and trees. Spirits glowed in the dim wilderness and gossiped as he passed.

"There she is!" He saw the shadow of a Sea Serpent basking under the Full Moon's gleam. Yet a familiar face amused the creature. “Wait,” Verano faltered, “that is—“

Thyra petted Ness's face and fed it, unaware that the boy observed her. She had a smile as bright as the Moon reigning over the sky.

"I thought you had gone home..." Remarked the boy as he approached her.

She hid her smile and glanced at him.

"That is what we told you.” Replied Thyra. “W-We came here to make sure that your people wouldn't try anything. You can't trust the fire scum."

"Really?" Verano frowned, disappointed. "I thought you had come to see me..."

"I'd never do such a thing!" She blushed and narrowed her eyes at the Sea Serpent.

Verano watched her as she fed Ness. The animal ate a fish and rested its head on her lap. The boy could barely speak. The pale moonlight on the girl’s pale face overthrew him.

"H-Hey, Thyra," he hesitated, "we are Ness's family, right? Y-You'd mind if I took her with me for now? The world is big and walking would take too long."

"Do what you want." She looked away and crossed her arms. "Just don't use it against the Northmen."

Verano frowned.

"Your people and mine will have to fight again, right?" He asked.

Thyra yanked the ax from her chest and saw the names of her ancestors.

"They will.” She faced him. "But not now. Many died during Hagen's Mutiny. I'm glad that he is locked and waiting for a fate worse than death. Yet thanks to him, all my people can do right now is to defend and wait for a new generation of warriors to come by. Until then," she frowned upon the Ring of Niebel that she had stolen from Hagen, "this is our protection."

The boy sighed. He felt as a part of him died whenever he saw her alone.

"It doesn't have to be like this, Thyra;" said Verano, "I know how much your ancestors mean to you. But if I learned something in Alba, is that things can’t stay the same forever. The old ways must give in someday.”

"How dare you say this to me?"

"Think about it!" He insisted. "Had you followed what your ancestors did and drowned me in the North Sea, all your men would be dead right now." He argued. "You taught me that Water is the element of survival. Maybe to survive, sometimes, we just need to change and do what is right. I came to Alba from a very distant land because I was looking for a thrill and warmth that I already had at home. I just needed to mature to be able to see it. Maybe your people don’t need to sail so far to find happiness. I think if you try and change, you’ll see that all that your people need is already here...” He narrowed her eyes at her. “Very close to them.”

"Maybe..." She shuddered. "Maybe you are right, dumb fire scum."

"Listen," he approached her until he could hear her breath, "I haven't forgotten what happened between me and Erik, your brother. Sometimes I like to think that it was those strange voices that killed him, but I just know it is not true." He confessed. "I was the one who could not tame my anger. This killed him, and I regret it every day. So much that I almost lost you because of that regret. I keep making mistakes."

"About my brother..." She rose her head to the sky. The Northern Lights roamed the clouds They served her as a good excuse to do not look him in the eyes and blush. "Stop talking like he is dead. Haven't you learned anything about the Northmen? We don't fear death." She glanced at him. The tears on her cheek mirrored the moonlight. "Heroes never die. They just wait for us."

"G-G-Grazie..." (Thank you) Gasped Verano. He felt as if the woman set him free from a mountain that crushed his shoulder. The boy often felt as if Erik's corpse grasped his knee wherever he went.

Thyra took Ness’s head off her lap and stood up.

"It's time for me to go," she announced, "I think I’ve said all that…” She held herself not to sob. “That had to be spoken. I’ll go.” She spoke as if she tried to run away from him without catching his attention.

Yet her attempt was futile.

"Hey, Thyra..." Verano rose his voice. "When you threw yourself to protect me from Hagen's attack, you knew that the Ring would save your life?"

"O-O-Of..." She faltered. "O-Of course I knew, dumb fire scum! I'd never..."

Verano smiled. He did not believe a word that she said.

"You know, Thyra," he blushed, "I-I think I like you. I don't know how to say this, but I..."

She mumbled noises, unsure what to say. Her skin was so red that a strawberry would envy her:

"T-T-Take these thoughts away from your head, dumb fire scum!" She protested. "What exists between us is complicity and that is all there is! I hate you and you shouldn’t think otherwise. You are no more than a future enemy! And besides, your creepy Princess Snob has already marked her territory. I can feel her stupid lavender smell all the way from here!" She stepped back as if she tried to run away from him. "You take me for stupid court damsel who is looking for drama to fill her empty life--"

She stumbled on a rock.

"Thyra!" Verano ran to catch her.

“Kyu!” Growled Ness.

The creature was faster. It moved its head to support the girl's back as she fell.

Verano sighed in relief:

"T-Thank you, girl--"

He stumbled on the same rock and fell by Thyra’s side. He rose his right hand around her waist to remain standing.

Thyra grumbled:

“What you think you are…” She lost her air.

They faced each other from up close and their reflections filled each other's irises. Verano could hear her heart beating faster underneath her armor, contrary to all that she said. And like Johann Martel once told him, the heart does not lie.

"I-I know you won't believe me," mumbled Verano without taking his hand off her waist, “But none of this was on purpose--"

They exchanged a clumsy kiss. They touched lips and drew each other closer so that they shared the warmth of their breaths. Their embrace felt even warmer amidst the cold breeze of the North Sea.

Spirits watched from the wilds and gossiped about both had no idea what they did. Yet they moved away as an eerie observer in white robes approached to watch the couple from the wilds. Dust passed through his body as if he had no physical form. A carpet and a pipe of narghile littered the ground near him. He was the stranger who talked to Thyra as she approached the Black Hills.

A Spirit in the form of a centipede walked through the forest and reached the man. He glanced at the being.

"You're late." Said the man with his eyes once again narrowed at Verano and Thyra.

"I apologize, teacher," the head of the centipede glanced at the bodies of Northmen attached to its surface, "some of them were really deep in the mud." The creature faced the kiss young couple. “That looks disgusting. Humans are nasty creatures. Why would he choose anyone over Marzia?”

The white-robed man ignored the pointless gossip.

"It seems that the Moon's Spirit was correct. Both the Iblis and the White Spirit share the body of the Avatar. As of now, the White Spirit is stronger, but not for long. The Iblis's red eyes have begun to manifest themselves. The Iblis is feeding on his hatred and growing stronger. It is a matter of time before the Dark Avatar returns to this world."

"The Moon's Spirit has told you to extract the Iblis, teacher?”

"Not yet. Hadi," he referred to Verano's real name, "is yet too weak and young. Only the strongest hatred will free the Iblis and give me a chance to extract it from his body. He's just a boy."

"We must hurry, teacher." Said the centipede Spirit. "If Hadi meets the Grey Guardian, we will be in trouble. I'm sure that decrepit being will fail to see the danger that a new Avatar represents. The Iblis has the power to corrupt all the Spirits in the world and destroy both this realm and the other."

"The Sultan of Hélika will take care of it. He's rallying the largest army ever assembled. He'll destroy Heaven's Shrine and raze the Empire of the Holy Flame. We must bid our time. And besides," he glanced at Verano as the boy watched Thyra walk away, "I'd like to see my son mature."

Avatar: The Wild Lands