Spending the rest of the day at the Galya was intense, but not the same as the previous ones. Finnian left Ailfryd’s house with renewed strength, though with extra weight on his shoulders. At least they could do the sightseeing tour Aer had promised him, which was a nice change after all. The only downfall was the frenzy caused by new visitors.

Near Ailfryd’s house, right at the foot of the large tree, there was an entrance to what could be the trunk, but instead, it looked like a kindergarten in a magically expanded environment, like its tent. Circular in appearance, several elthean ensured that the eggs remained in place, checking if they were about to open and other details that escaped him from the so-called “carers”. Those oval eggs of different sizes, colours, and drawings radiated life with their presence, emerging from the soil itself as if flowers were treated. However, the most impressive thing was not that, but to see an elthean born.

“Do you see how it moves?” Rune said as soon as they approached one of the eggs.

“This one is very close to getting out!” Aer exclaimed.

“Keep calm. You don’t want to frighten the newborn, don’t you?” Ailfryd reprimanded them.

The egg waved in place, cracking the shell from the inside. But, instead of breaking, it emitted a flash as soon as it was fully opened, letting see a small elthean very similar to a stuffed marshmallow with brown-eyed in a cradle where the egg was once.

“They have where to sleep and be cared for,” Ead explained, as attentive as always.

“Do you want to hold it?” Ailfryd suggested him.

He didn’t know what was more curious, whether to see an elthean baby, to have Ailfryd hold him with his tiny arms, or give the baby to him without waiting for his answer. The creature was as soft and delicate as its appearance, making it more careful than before. He had never caught someone so small in his arms, whether human or elthean. He looked at him with a cute gaze for a brief moment. He might be thinking about whether he liked him or not; until the elthean laughed and then cried a little after feeling hungry.

“If you get tired of being a Signer, you can always help around here,” Ailfryd said, laughing.

Ailfryd’s duties were more than taking care of the babies. After all, he has a lot of help from the carers and his second in command, Lunaluz, who attended to other concerns while they were there.

Once completed, they followed the road to the Middle Area, where housing and business took place. Some were made of stone, but others respected the trees and lived inside them, always in harmony with nature. Although they did not stop, there were schools, businesses of different types, healers, bookstores, and many movements. In the Outer Area, farms with their current crops (which went beyond berries and vegetables), there were also lakes where they took water and even food. And that was only a tiny part of what was part of Galya as a whole.

“We may come at another time when we are getting that much attention,” Aer suggested, pointing out the obvious.

They had a little group following them, but always at a reasonable distance. Those elthean were so interested in them that they did not pretend their enthusiasm. Even Ailfryd insisted on resting in the cabin where he woke up, so nobody could disturb then. After all, it was near the Guardians and away from the loud plaza.

“You are very quiet. Too much for you. Is something wrong? Aer said.

“It’s funny that especially you say that,” Finnian admitted without hiding a smile.

When they arrived in their temporal home, the blue-ish elthean recommended that he not sleep too soon. After all, there were better times to visit some memorable sites at Galya. Climbing the staircase around the tree, he soon realized there were more of that in the forest. Even elevators!

Wooden bridges and lianas connected large wooden surfaces with houses, always respecting the branches and tops of the trees. However, with the night already in, the only ones who saw there were vigilantes, elthean patrolling inside and outside. Now more than ever, they should be careful, even with the silence that reigned.

After climbing more stairs, too many to be counted, they soon reached the Great Viewpoint. Made of wood, it was a circular observatory on the highest part of the Galya that did not have outstanding work, but it was not necessary either. They could see above the trees, perceiving similar observatories, but most importantly, seeing the outside more easily. The fireflies. The same ones they saw when they arrived the night before swarmed around Galya as if the stars had been stuck on the earth.

“You’re keener than others. Had they told you?” Finnian murmured with a half-smile as soon as his partner asked him again.

“Or you’re an open book when you’re worried about something,” Aer said.

The views could take anyone words. Unlike having feet on the ground, the leafiness of the forest created a beautiful sea, unique from what any surface of the water could offer. The limits of the Galya were marked by thorn vines. Even when no elthean with bad intentions could enter. That place was like a new world with so much to explore on the inside.

“I have not enough words to describe all of this. Isn’t anyone watching here at this time? A big-eye elthean with huge binoculars?” Finnian said, helping her hands.

“You’ll know Lizzie, but don’t be mean to her. She is susceptible to her appearance,” Aer said, releasing a laugh. “What? Did you think we didn’t know what binoculars were?”

“Now I’m looking forward to meeting her,” Finnian admitted, full of curiosity.

“Noone could see these observatories, not from outside the perimeter,” Aer assured him with his usual optimism. “In addition, here we are safer than ever.”

He understood why Aer and Rune wanted to see Galya with his own eyes: So that he would enjoy it without creating expectations. Anyway, after a forest with spiders and an evil witch, this was thousand times more welcoming.

“Why do you think I’ve taken you up here?” Aer inquired, rolling his gaze to see that Finnian wasn’t talking.

“For the views?” Finnian said, frowning his eyebrows. “Or are you messing with me? “

“In part. They are beautiful, and the sunrise is amazing, but today it’s up to you to rest,” said Aer, smiling at Finnian. “There is something that it’s in your mind. Rune and Leith have also realized, but we don’t want to press you. Although we know you didn’t tell us everything.”

“I would trust in you without hesitation. It’s just that….”

Until now, he hadn’t had time to assimilate everything that was going on, but it was strange to have friends in that way. Most preferred to bother him in his world than to become his friend, all because he didn’t like what others did. But in Elthea, he was always under the spotlight. A part of him would love to have an invisibility cloak and disappear for a while. To his surprise, Aer understood him too well.

“You’ve already seen Rune. She’s… always looks after others, strong. When we became friends, it wasn’t like that. The other elthean set me aside for being different as well,” Aer said seriously, looking first toward the horizon and then looking at it. “But we have found ourselves. You are not alone or will not be alone again.”

“Last night, I felt like I lost myself. I was more connected than ever to you, Rune and Leith,” Finnian explained, slurred on. “And yet I fell. I sunk into a pit I couldn’t get out of.”

Then he dreamed things so realistic that he didn’t know whether they were real or his imagination. He was afraid to close his eyes and not reopen them, but also what could be found wherever he was. And despite that, something made him want to stay there. Everything he didn’t have in his home, in his world, was in Elthea.

“How am I supposed to fulfil my mission if I am afraid? There is something dark out there, even I perceive it,” Finnian admitted. “But at the same time, I am terrified of what will happen when it find ourselves, what it can do to you. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. What would I do without you, Rune and Leith?”

His voice broke, and then he started to cry. He sobbed for fear of the unknown, for that elthean who was looking for them. By Ariel and what he was able to do. For their nightmares and for everything that he saw in them will still happen.

That was enough for Aer to get touched too. The elthean began to cry, hugging him. It could be much easier now that they were both like that, and it would even seem ridiculous if it wasn’t comforting to see that he wasn’t the only one with fears.

“You’re never going to stay alone. Didn’t you know yet? “Aer exclaimed, with his failing a bit for the cry. “We don’t expect you to know all the answers. We will find them together! Why do you think I evolved yesterday? Because you believed in me and gave me the power to do it. United, we will be able to uncover any mystery.”

“What if I wanted a different answer? What if you prefer not to fight?” Finnian said.

“But Finn… Sometimes there’s no choice but to do it,” Aer said. “That’s how are things in Elthea. And from what you have told me, even in your world, there are difficulties.”

Elthea and Earth could be pretty different sites, but they also had their similarities. In both, you had to fight, work hard even when you were scared and tired. But as in his home, some people believed in him and supported him.