A portal opened, and a god, who was and was not a giant, walked through.

Lar looked around and found the environment strangely beautiful. This high up in the mountains, there were usually no animals and very few plants. However, what he saw here was an oasis teeming with life. Small creatures ran around the lake fighting for food. The plants competed for space closer to the lake, a competition that was slow but just as fierce.

The sun was not in the sky, but the moon was, a gentle light to match the gentle breeze that brushed against his face.

“Wow. I am thousands of years old and have never seen something like this before. You can't even tell that you’re so high in the air," said a voice from behind.

Ah, he had gotten distracted. He should be more careful if he was going to be dealing with a dragoness known as the Queen of Cunning. He turned around to face his guest. Lady Sravana was in her human form and was sitting at the edge of one of the highest cliffs in all three realms. She was tall and pale in a way that had nothing to do with the color of her dry skin. There was a burning fire in her dark eyes that he had seen in few of the gods, even.

“I discovered this one before I was a god,“ he told her, “and have found many more among the thousands of mountains on this continent. Finding these is still one of the only adventures that offer me a good challenge."

"Irregularities in the Flow?" she asked, looking genuinely curious. Not that genuine meant anything to her.

He nodded, "I have several theories for the mechanism but have not been able to confirm. Almost got eaten by a few ancient spirits once,” he laughed softly.

That was an experience he would not forget. They had not even tripped his wards. He had only survived because he could make a portal faster than any single creature- alive, dead, or divine.

"The Yerai?" She said, "It’s been a while since I saw one of those. Though, I have been hearing that they have been attacking the Brerae more nowadays?"

Lar waved a hand, "That’s just because they are moving overground more. They have gotten ambitious since the success of their southern cities," he said and looked at her, "Why did you ask for this meeting, dragoness?"

"And how did you even make it up these mountains of doom before your ascension?" she asked, ignoring his offer to stop with the banter.

Well, he had almost died several times before taking shelter in this very place. Besides, that was not the most dangerous of journeys he had undertaken. But telling her this, something she already knew anyway, would be making the wrong move. She had not been straightforward because she was playing with him and the only way to not lose was to not play at all.

So he stared at her, "I am not Mari or Aasafi, dragoness, to play a dangerous game of words. Get to the point, and if I ever feel like I am being manipulated I will just leave.”

"Sorry, big guy, force of habit," she sighed. She stood up and dusted herself.

"I want to make a deal,” she announced.

He raised an eyebrow.

“I will give you my word that none of the Highborn or those under us will ever harm a giant," she said.

He raised his other eyebrow.

"That is not worth that much considering that the last time giants and dragons fought was five thousand years ago, let alone the others. And I don’t need to tell you how my reputation with my kind will be affected if they found out that I’m making deals with you, Cursebringer,” he said.

“Keeping it secret would obviously be part of the deal," she said with a wave, looking a little miffed. As if there was no need to even say such a thing.

"Besides," she continued, "You haven't even heard what I want from you. Which is what you need to judge its worth against."

He conceded the point with a nod but didn't say anything, bending down to look at a small furry creature that was nibbling at his leg instead. It was smaller than his fingers and had white fur. It looked somewhat like a house cat the humans grew as pets, but there was something different about it.

The dragoness sighed softly and continued when it was obvious he wouldn't be speaking.

"I need you to find a solution to a magical conundrum I have," she said slowly and paused for a moment before continuing with her problem.

He frowned in confusion. Why did she need... Oh. Oh.

"There is none better than you at the magic of boundaries," she said.

He stood up and faced the dragoness. She had earned his full attention. "Do you think me a fool?" he asked, "You would ask me to betray my own kind?"

She laughed, but her laughter rang of mockery. "Your kind? You were raised a god by the Will of humans. I wonder what the giants would think if they heard you refer to the gods as your kind instead of them after that dramatic speech you made to them all those years ago."

"That an individual can be multiple things to multiple people and have many loyalties is not something I would expect you to understand. Regardless, you ask me to bring about my own death for no gain at all," he replied angrily.

"Think," the Queen of Cunning said, "Think for once. You will lose your power, yes. But in the aftermath? All who live will not be able to harm your kind by the word I would give. You lot can finally realize your dream- no interference from anyone. If we succeed, you will gain much. If we fail, you don't lose anything anyway. Or is this you becoming too fond of your powers to let that come in the way of a better life for all of the giant folk?"

He ignored the last barb but forced himself to think from a more neutral point of view. That was a fair point she had made. The more critical factor was whether she could get the same knowledge from elsewhere.

He did not know for sure because he had never experimented with this. If there was even the slightest chance she could get her answers from another source- the Aruks possibly knew methods for such a thing- then he had no choice but to agree to this. For if she won, and he had no word from her protecting the giants, then it was inevitable they would be destroyed or enslaved.

No, on the surface it seemed like he had a choice, but he really didn't. She knew that as well, he thought, turning to meet the eyes of the dragoness. Otherwise, she wouldn't even have come.

"Very well," he said to the visible delight of the dragoness, "but I will choose the wording."

"Whatever you want, big guy," she replied.

When the moon set on the oasis a few hours later, Lar was still pondering the implications of the oath he had given, lying on the soft grass of the oasis. He decided that it was best to uphold his side of the oath as soon as he could and stood up. He opened a portal to an endless cavern of black ash and walked through.