There was hesitance written on his face as he studied the portal dividing them apart. Quickly, a firm resolve settled over. “Whatever you need.”

“Do you remember Jor’lan and what we sang to save him?”

He nodded, and tipped his chin up to his squad besides him.

“I can hear you just fine from over here which means if I can get a lot of you to sing louder then perhaps it will reach here to save a snow tribesgirl from the deepest stage of dream sickness. And I’m telling you, she is in so deep she’s lost. I’m gonna need the lot of you to help guide her way out.”

Lann’a, small with glittering eyes and hair unclouded of purple streaks, raced up towards the portal with determination “We can’t say no to that, behagthi. Snow tribespeople are snow tribespeople. We help whenever we can.”

River glanced behind them as a hush fell over the other groups of children residing in the battle arena pits. A chorus of them divided by groups. Around the benches of the battle arena sat a united tribespeople audience whose reactions were a mix of fear and curiosity.

In that moment, she realized that there were a thousand stares upon her all this time.

U’tu made a two-finger salute over his temples, a brave flourish that came with a confident smile. “We practiced for weeks to get our music right as a group. Lots of chaos and mending egos, what can we say? We are sun tribe after all, we take great pride in everything we hold dear. It’s why we celebrate you. Today will be the third day of the River festival.” He bounced on his heels, “During this time we are holding a singing competition to whichever group does well best. You should have seen Lei’la yesterday, she held a dancing competition.”

“That’s enough of you.” Behind him appeared a plump, blonde-haired little girl wearing glasses with a shy smile. “We will gladly help, River. It is very good to see you again.”

“Galiyo luna.” She smiled, “Did I use that right?”

“Galiya luna.” The squad behind U’tu said at the same time, arms opening wide before bowing.

As they did, River mimicked their gesture of bowing. “Stand by me?”

Little Lei’la’s eyes twinkled as she pushed off U’tu by the chest and took her place in the middle of the squad. “When the night has come..” she sang.

River supported Lei’la’s big booming voice, it far exceeded her soft voice so she sang it merely at a low pitch to preserve her energy with the portals.

Twisting around to face an older Lann’a, she found several other doorways opening in a circular manner with their entrances facing to the middle. She waved them away with a dismissing thought until one portal remained. Then she willed the sun tribe portal to open wider, larger with a lift of her arms. As the chorus intensified into a lilting chant with their echoes filling the chambers of the central hearth, Lann’a’s glazed expression loosened.

A teenage Jor’lan rushed to her side, resting a palm over her cheek. “She is warming up.” He whispered in disbelief.

The chorus went on, chanting on a dizzying breathy chorus. A power ballad that transcends dimensions to guide lost souls back home. While a dancing Lei’la grew emboldened in her movements, weaving and ducking with her three animals that formed a play of rainbow lights around her.

To River’s surprise, their dancing forms turned non-corporeal like misty spray under direct sunlight, becoming transparent as morning dew drops. Three beasts flew into her twirling limbs, disappearing until her glow brightened to a massive spark. It flickered and was gone completely, leaving Lei’la clutching to a red weave of a giant blanket with square patches woven together in ornate tapestry.

With a stuttering breath, Lei’la unrolled it like a carpet and there it was. Woven in fine threads and shapes, a symbolic mythological retelling of three beasts in action. Wolf, bear, and dove rolling around on abundant fields of amber grasslands, playing together with joy in their hearts that the very threads of the weave sparkled gold.

“My princess, tell me what’s going on?” worried Jor’lan.

At once, Lann’a fell forward and would have dropped to her knees if Jor’lan hadn’t caught her. Breathing harshly, she clutched his arm standing straighter. “Stop! Stop. I can’t hold him back.” Pressing her eyes closed, she groaned as she fell forward again.

Jor’lan was stepping back with shaking legs as if he was about to fall backwards. The snow princess was on the ground encased in black shadows, tentacles made of darkness extending upwards from her spine.

It was too fast for River’s eyes to follow but its sudden movement left a black arc overhead as it leapt towards her.

Holden and Me’ren instantly flanked on her sides, their arms crossing over her front. The swirling mass of shadow landed in front of them. It stood on two legs as it took form, rising up from its hips up to the furry shoulders, golden eyes, and a massive snout oozing with purple slime. The lower half of it was humanoid with a plain burlap fabric tied up and wrapped around its hips. But its upper half revealed a large black dog growing like a massive tree, slouching forward when it grew past the ceiling.

A shot of wind blew on her left side, so strong that the sudden rush of it bit into her skin. Holden disappeared. He had winded to god knows where. She couldn’t see. Those fuckers moved in impossible speed.

The black dog had disappeared, too. And her glance fell on Jor’lan clutching Lann’a tight to his chest. She also held him back with a fiercer hug, her cheeks fully pressed into his chest as if she refused to let go. Not in a million years.

Shrieks pierced through the disquiet air behind her. Again, she twisted back around to see the black dog had grown thrice its initial size. From its spine grew black tentacles the size of tree trunks as it split and split, multiplying tentacles by the second as it swept over the battle arena. With one swipe of a tentacle, it had cut open dozens of sun tribespeople into two, ripping them apart. The audience on the benches, slack-jawed and lifeless with their eyes wide open in stark terror.

Heart beating wildly, she could feel it jackhammering against her ribcage. With a hard swallow, she let her shocked gaze wander down.

There.

On the ground was U’tu laying down on the ground with his arm shot forward towards the portal. Utterly still. His back not dropping or rising. Frozen rigid. Only the harsh winds swept his blonde hair to the side.

The deafening screams dwindled down to an echo in her ears, she felt an arm against her stomach pressing her backwards as her fingers reached for the invisible force of a portal dividing them.

Flaming dust motes fell gently to the ground, it grabbed her attention away from the lifeless bodies piling on top of each other with no recognizable movement.

Up on the skies were streaks of fire, flaming so hot it turned blue. Werewolves in their half-human, half-beastly form were shooting streaks of blue fire from their arms. Hundreds of them aiming at the towering giant of a black dog.

The golden-eyed giant of a beast was unperturbed. It puffed up his chest, prompting more purple slime to ooze out of its snout and grew twice bigger than before. It bowed forward, prompting several more tentacles to multiply into even longer lengths.

River watched slack-jawed as those very tentacles swiped wildly around its vicinity, toppling down large domed tents in a row with a single wave of a tentacle. The battle arena were scattered with large domed tents set up, decorated with festive colors. The black dog standing upright on its two hind legs began marching down for it, leaving a trail of dead bodies behind. No one was spared. Not one.

In a matter of a minute, the blue streaking fires thrown haphazardly across the sky had stopped until all that was left moving were fiery dust motes sparkling like glittering gold in the air.

Me’ren dug his strong arms tighter around River’s midsection when she lunged at the weakening portal. His forehead falling to the crook of her neck as fog around them evaporated. The welcome balm of his sweet powdery scent soothed the flames constricting around her lungs. He spoke in her mind gently, his tone all too understanding than she deserved. An eternal beast. One of the oldest. One whose power had been marked with corruption upon its death. It is everything it knows. Corruption. Whatever sound you can make out of this throat-- A caging hold wrapped around her throat in a tight grip. It will never break a corruption like that of beast whose death sparked Natura Brumcia into a blinding rage.