"I had thought you protected us voluntarily," Vivian stated apologetically.

"I don't particularly mind not having the choice; your race has always treated mine with respect. Not that I'd expect much else considering yours is the weakest, and mine is near the strongest," Isa replied, then clarified, "I approve the fact that your people lack arrogance."

"How can you converse so casually, she just ate a Champion! A Champion!" Annika lost her composure. He was there to end her life, yet he lost his own literally to the jaws of defeat.

"Dragons will be dragons." Vivian shrugged, stating the obvious. "Furthermore, she does enjoy her meal more when her prey is stronger. I wanted to ask, Isa, are the maupia strong?"

"Not particularly, they excel at running away; I've never actually had to fight one, just catch it. That in itself is a challenge." Isa licked her lips.

The conversation died down, everyone running to keep up with Isa as she leisurely walked on. She left an impossible to miss trail in her wake.

"Isa, can you fly instead?" Vivian asked.

"Are you worried about my footprints? They'll disappear soon enough. It's about the same as you walking on grass; it bounces right back up." Isa laughed.

"You're confusing minutes with decades." Jaden retorted.

"When you've lived as long as I, years become minutes," Isa replied. "Besides, I'm doing the forest a favor. It has room to improve. My footprints will become a line of beautiful groves. At least, until the forest reclaims them fully."

"Jaden, what happened to Anya?" Vivian asked.

"I don't know the details either, and I more or less watched it happen."

That's disappointing. Vivian dropped the topic and looked over at Annika. Why did the god want her for the vessel to reincarnate the sphinx? Royal blood doesn't make sense; blood is just blood after all. Vivian moved her gaze back to Jaden. Is that still true in the case of a god?

"Annika, at what point, specifically, did you get your name?"

"When?" Annika questioned, thinking back on it. "I refused the initial contract. God tried to force it on me, creating a racial-wide contract that anyone could accept on my behalf. At her end of the contract, she had to grant me a wish within her power. I think anyone would accept it at that point, but I couldn't. My wish was to have myself completely erased from existence with the sphinx inside me. After that, she gave me this name and exiled me."

"Interesting, we completely overlooked something important." Vivian scratched her chin.

"What do you mean?"

"Why didn't she just erase you, that's within her power, right? She didn't give you a name to kill you. It wasn't in your fate to be the vessel; otherwise, you couldn't refuse so completely, she gave you a name to make it a possibility. The question that remains is, why does she want you?" Vivian mused.

Annika paled, "My royal blood? When I die, my line will end. I don't know of anything else."

"This is a great risk she's gambling on," Vivian stated. "Is your blood special?"

"If not for my blood, why me? What risk is there for her?" Annika asked, her curiosity evident in her tone.

"What does a name grant?" Vivian fired back with disappointment in her tone.

"What do you mean, I'm released from fate." Annika retorted.

"Exactly. A name," Vivian paused, "makes it possible to accomplish tasks beyond your destiny. Tasks such as killing a god. Everyone fears getting a name because of that one line -you draw the attention of the gods- without fully comprehending why they pay attention. They fear you."

Jaden looked at his mother. She's right. When I was ambushed and defending myself against the other god's pets, only Othello made any wounds that mattered. He was the only named present. Even I was nameless.

"I wonder if I'd be alive now if I had no name when Othello stepped on me," Vivian muttered under her breath, "I'm no god, neither was he. But that I'm alive after I clashed with that overwhelming difference in power seems a farce."

"I wasn't there," Isa said thoughtfully. "But I believe there was a lot of intervention from named people. I wouldn't mind fighting Othello; he sounds tasty."

You may get that chance. Vivian cast a somber glance over Annika. Vivian sighed and turned her gaze toward the city. Home. At last.

Thud.

Training is pointless now. Evan sighed, I can't hit the dummy before the dagger slips from my hands anymore.

"Rest. Yes, important." the peons training near Evan paused their routine in unison.

"You're-" Evan was silenced by a hand over his mouth.

"Quiet. Yes, silence. We have the same task. Just waiting for named to appear. You acting weak to drop guard?"

"No," Evan sighed.

"Train. Yes, keep at it. But, rest now. Death approaches." the peons warned before they blended into the shadows and vanished.

"Evan, how is your training?" Queen asked, entering the training grounds, "I've brought you a little something from the kitchen."

"Did you make that?" Evan looked over the slice of cake in her hands hungrily, even as an itch formed in his mind.

"Oh, no, you know I can't cook." Queen laughed lightly.

"Why for me?" Evan looked at her, slowly growing wary.

"I'm just showing my encouragement for your effort," Queen replied with a disarming smile.

Brawn entered noisily, "I wonder where Chef is, I went to 'liberate' some fresh bread from the kitchen, but there wasn't any."

"Queen!" he exclaimed in surprise, he saluted smartly and didn't move until she waved her hand.

She offered the cake to Evan. He took it while hiding his reluctance. A warning about death, the Head Chef missing, Evan had doubts about this cake in his hands. Brawn walked up and clapped him hard on the back, caught off guard Evan dropped the cake. It fell to the ground, forgotten.

"How's your training coming?"

Queen clicked her tongue in annoyance. She changed the subject before Evan could respond, "The rescue mission?"

"Successful, we saved them all with King's help, and his mother."

"She recovered fully then? I hadn't expected that so soon." Queen bit her thumbnail in contemplation.

"Brains and I were shocked as well. If they had some miracle cure, why didn't they apply it right away?" Brawn asked, reaching into his tunic out of habit. He pulled his hand out empty; he had forgotten there was no bread to take.

"We- We had to wait until Matriarch was better to move her," Evan stated.

"Ah, that explains it," Brawn nodded, "and we interrupted that. Good thing I was there in that case."

"Where's Brains?" Queen asked.

"Recovering, he expended all his mana to clean up a blunder I made, along with the help we took and all the rescuees," Brawn answered.

"Is that so," Queen thought it over. "Well, it can't be helped. Come with me."

"Eh?" Brawn hadn't expected this turn of events.

"I want a full report," Queen frowned as she looked at him.

"Yes, Queen," Brawn sighed in resignation.

"I'll make sure there's plenty for you to eat," Queen smiled alarmingly sweetly.

"There's no need to trouble yourself, I'm not worthy of such treatment," Brawn forced a smile as he followed Queen to the throne room.

Aren't you? Princess loyalist spy. Queen maintained her sweet smile as they made their way through the halls.

Evan looked down at the cake; it had burrowed into the ground, leaving a putrid odor behind. "That was intended for me?" Evan swallowed hard. Brawn had saved him a great deal of pain, if not his life.

Anya sat with Molli. They worked diligently together. Anya separated raspberries and their vine, including the root, every bit of the Dragon Leaf plant, and the Rowan tree as well. No part escaped her scrutiny. Molli had never worked with such pristine raw ingredients before; it filled her with an eagerness she couldn't contain. She jumped into her task, documenting the components and their sources as Anya as presented them to her.

No one had ever dissected the vine before; the ratio of time spent to the yield was abysmal and deterred even the most tenacious of alchemists. But that's not the only reason. This didn't bother Anya. To her, this was no different than working with the raspberry fruit.

"Anya, what is this?" Molli inquired as she watched hundreds of tiny vines squeezed dry of a syrupy fluid.

Raspberry.

"Where is the rest of the plant?" Molli asked, "There are no thorns present."

Raspberries are a vine. They have no structure and are extremely thin and frail. As such, the vines grow around another plant. Codependence for stability and protection. They near always weave into thorn bushes. That leads to the misconception that raspberries are a bush. The coloring on the vine blends in perfectly as well.

A testament to teamwork. The raspberry draws animals; the thorn protects it.

"What is the benefit for the thorn bush?"

Blood. Why do you think it has thorns?

Anya yawned widely, the sudden action a new sensation for her. She relished it even as it drew her attention to yet another. She felt tired.

"Anya, you should rest."

I've never needed to before.

"You've been separated from your source of rest and nourishment for at least a few days."

I see this form has downsides. Anya looked down at her hands. Now I understand your need for 'sleep' at least.

Anya waved her hand, suspending her work. The plants filling the alchemy workshop retracted into the walls, ceiling, and the ground. Anya as well became wrapped within a series of vines and disappeared underground.

I shall take my leave for now, please do not overwork yourself either.

Molli looked over the sheer amount of raw materials as her face contorted, her interest fading quickly, "I'll put these away for now."

"Daddy," Emily rested her staff on the ground, leaning it against her shoulder, "why dosh Mommy avoid me?"

"She doesn't anymore." Bayne smiled at his daughter, taking a break from his practice. "She's not the cold shoulder she used to be."

"But I shtill shensh shadnesh in her." Emily frowned a rare event.

"Honey," Bayne ruffled her hair. "There's always-"

"You remember, too, don't you?" Emily pouted, looking up at her father.

"The memories from lifetimes ago?" Bayne sighed, "Why do they always resurface when life is going well?"

"I don't know either," Molli interrupted, "I wish they'd stayed buried, forgotten forever."

"I'm shorry, Mommy. Knowing what you lived through. The fate you shpared me and everyone from at that time." Emily sobbed as she hugged her mother tightly.

Molli sighed, sadness choking her words, tears streaming down her face. "How many times have we been reborn, to have our lives torn asunder?"

"Our god has finally returned," Bayne interjected, "Our efforts over the years have borne fruit. The prophecy is at hand."

"Prophecy?" Molli laughed, "Those nonsense lines we spread all those years ago?"

"It was the first Oracle Daryl ever received," Lulu interrupted, "None of us believed them at first."

"And then the events came to pass," Bayne added.

"But, the ones that have yet to come," Daryl started, "will truly flip the world upside down."

Princess paced in front of her throne. "Failure. Yes, unacceptable, how long have you known you were compromised?"

"Since the beginning, Highness." Brains forced through his pounding headache.

"Now. Yes, action. We can't wait any longer. I'm not about to lose my most loyal retainer."

"But the named," Brains interrupted.

"Doomed. Yes, a bad choice. Jaden told me as much. He can't pull it off with what we have in place," Princess whistled shrilly. The underground den emptied, leaving Brains utterly alone.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Princess." Brains rubbed his temples, "You won't get a second chance."

He rose to his feet and turned his eyes up at the ceiling. Hearing the dulled sounds of distant combat, he shook his head, "I failed to prevent the civil war."

He turned on his heel and pushed his body harder than the fatigue and pain would allow. "I must inform King. Yes, a named god, only he can stop my people from killing each other. I can only hope he's attached to one of them enough to stop this, even- even if it's the fake."