Raye had awoken Xellie early the next morning. It didn’t seem as if Raye had actually slept at all. Since Raye wasn’t actually human, Xellie no longer felt the need to question this. Raye provided an enormous breakfast, after which they left without paying anything.

In the bright morning sunlight, the town seemed busier than it should. Soldiers patrolled every street corner. The marketplace seemed to be running low on food and drink, as if some people were panic buying.

Overhearing a group of women Xellie realised what had happened. The city Raye had mentioned avoiding on the way to this place had been attacked by demons. The survivors had fled and here they were preparing to receive them. Usually, that would involve the refugees being put through hostile examinations. The townsfolk would want to determine if people who fled had been possessed or cursed.

“Hey, Raye...” Xellie said, causing Raye to halt her brisk pace. “Where’d you go last night?”

“Where do you think?” Raye sounded irritated.

“We could have saved them!” Xellie blurted out. “You were able to deal with...”

“Not. Now.” Raye grabbed Xellie and pulled her aside into a quiet alley. “This isn’t a good time or place for this.”

“How can you be so heartless?” Xellie pushed Raye off her, glaring at her with anger. “You have all that power but you won’t help them?”

“First of all,” Raye replied calmly, not fazed by the anger thrown in her direction. “There’s no knowing that I alone, or you and I would have been strong enough for the forces that attacked them. And second, it is our directive to not get involved. To do so compromises the desire of Humans to improve if they can so willingly depend on us. We cannot be everywhere at once.”

“That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t try to improve.”

“It is the will of our superiors. This bureaucracy exists for a reason, irritating as it may be.”

“You know you could just work on it a bit at a time and decimate their forces so these things stop.”

“Even if I were allowed to do that...” Raye indicated back out into the street and started walking. “I would have chosen to not endanger you.”

The plan was to walk whilst in sight of the cities, with Raye flying, carrying Xellie between such points. The journey they had planned out would now only take a few days instead of a month. Despite being a nervous flyer, this was a welcome change to the original plan. Instead of a demanding schedule of a full day of fast-paced walking and only one meal a day.

Passing decimated towns left abandoned, Xellie began to wonder about the current state of her homeland. It seemed that demonic invasions had become increasingly more vicious and widespread. On top of that, despite Raye’s explanation, she felt misgivings toward the Valkyrie for not being willing to assist people. With the huge information network that Raye had access to, via birds, her partner and other valkyries, Xellie couldn’t comprehend Raye’s unwillingness to get involved.

Walking away from the next town, the ground underneath changed from scrub to stone and ash, with rubble dotted around the landscape. Pockets of the ash still smouldered, with the occasional lick of flame dancing on the surface. This was the cursed desert, everything burned down decades ago to remove every living thing and block demons from spreading further.

Xellie focused on looking out to the horizon, the blackness of the ashen desert stretching into infinity. The rhythmic crunch of her boots against the ground focused her thoughts.

She had so many questions for Raye, that Xellie didn’t know where to begin.

“How did the demons cross the cursed desert?” she asked.

“Someone unsealed Ashmeviti.” Raye replied with a sigh. “He has been sending minions boosted with his power to look for ...”

Raye stopped speaking and walking as she considered her words.

“To look for ... that which... could bring him unspeakable power.”

“Doesn’t he already have unspeakable power?” Xellie asked, stopping next to Raye. “What could be so strong?”

“He could break the limitations he has on which souls he can reap.” Raye started walking again, at an increased pace. “Do you understand the peril here? If he could take any human soul he desires, he can simply build an army of human souls and spread his evil through the whole world.”

“Then we should destroy what he’s searching for!” Xellie exclaimed. “It’s outside of Taode?”

“Undesirable,” Raye said coldly. “I refuse to destroy anything with such value to the world. He is not the only one that could benefit. And no, we have made arrangements to move this threat inside the restricted zones to minimise casualties.”

“So how does that work? He enters Taode in a frenzy to find this thing and he wipes out the residents there because what? You’re too lazy to chase him through the rest of the continent?”

Raye rolled her eyes, taking a breath to compose herself.

“If he leaves the restricted zone, we can’t seal him using the infrastructure there already. By the time more arrangements are made, he could have spread his darkness across the entire continent, if he chose to stop there.”

“I guess Taode is best equipped for what you’re doing anyway. We do have the best chance of fighting him, in the whole world.”

“That’s the spirit,” Raye replied with a wry smile, pointing across the horizon. “See that old outpost there? You reach that, we can fly the rest of the desert and set up camp. I must leave you for a short while.”

“Why? .... Where do you live anyway?” Xellie asked after thinking for a moment.

“I have duties to attend to,” Raye stated.

“Sure but... Where do you go when you just vanish? Do you just stop existing? Or what happens?”

“It’s a different plane of existence. It’s not easy to swap between the two, it requires great bursts of energy... which manifests itself as light in the sky and as our wings. There is a portal which mortals could use, but I must not tell you where that is.”

“I... see.” Xellie didn’t actually quite understand but didn't want to admit it, so she didn’t question it any further. Instead, she considered a question that could give her some related answers. “Hey.... where’s your spear? Where does it go?”

“It’s here.” Raye took the leather-bound staff, no longer than her forearm, from her belt and pointed it toward the sky. It grew in length, shining and golden, with a glowing head, shaped similarly to the beak of a bird. Knowing what the next question was, Raye handed the spear over, watching intently.

As Xellie took hold of the leather grip, the spear shrunk back down into its innocuous wooden form once more. The tiny remaining tip of energy glowed weakly.

“It was not made for you,” Raye said, taking her spear back and tucking it into her belt. “This weapon draws on the power inside and your connection to the other realms. You cannot use it.”

“But... someday... right?” Xellie asked sounding a little dejected.

“These weapons are not toys.” Raye seemed to be considering something. “However, it did react to you and I do believe you will need something to protect yourself. I am not sure if there is a suitable item for a human to wield. And if you are gifted such a thing, you must use it responsibly or there will be consequences.”

“You’d really give me something like that?” Xellie hadn’t expected this at all.

“You’re going to need it. Wait here.” Raye replied, vanishing suddenly.

With a dejected huff, Xellie looked to the outpost barely visible on the horizon, then down at the blackened ground.

One step at a time. One crunchy step at a time.

The sound of her boots on the ground became almost mesmerizing, intently focused on the moment. There was nothing for miles except herself and her footsteps.

The heat and fumes coming up from the smouldering ash, combined with the setting sun made the horizon almost invisible. There was no resting here, save for on a few stone platforms built for travellers, though they were few and far between.

The outpost didn’t appear to get any closer. Soon the warm ashen ground started to become appealing.

“I’m here,” Raye announced from behind, lifting Xellie off the ground a few feet and flying her over the remaining desert. By Xellie’s guess, the remaining distance would have taken her until morning to walk.

The old outpost stood as a tall stone tower, surrounded by broken walls, and covered in overgrowth.

“Rest here,” Raye said, dropping some firewood onto the ground and lighting it with the tip of her spear. “I found something for you. It’s being fine-tuned to fit a human right now.”

“You really think I’ll need it huh?” Xellie stared up into the sky. It seemed so peaceful right now, yet Raye acted as if there was an imminent threat.

“Let’s suppose you harbour powers similar to mine.” Raye paused, obviously giving a lot of thought to what to say next. “Demons would seek to strike you down before they develop fully and capture your soul to prevent you from joining our forces. So yes, in that case, you will need it. If not, however, then you can use it to try and make the world a better place. Especially since you can get involved and I cannot.”

This almost seemed as if Raye was apologizing for not helping the town that had left obliterated the previous day.

“Thanks, Raye.”

A few moments of silence passed between them. Xellie found herself wondering about the state of places she knew once more. If Raye gave her an awesomely strong, divine weapon how much of a difference could she make? Being only one person?

“So long as you know your limitations, one person can indeed have a huge impact upon the world,” Raye said, settling to sit next to Xellie on the grassy ground.

As she sat trying to imagine what Raye’s life was actually like, Xellie found one question that she thought could give her a little insight into a Valkyrie’s day-to-day life and pass off as an innocent question.

“What happened to...”

“Your father?” Raye cut in, giving a quiet sigh. “He was killed as a means to... get to me.”

“Are you still in contact with him?”

“...no.” Raye’s response was hesitant. “And that isn’t such a terrible thing. If I were able to speak with him, I would choose not to.”

“So...” Raye was hiding something and Xellie was determined to press the issue. “Why can’t you speak with him? Was he not good enough?”

“Quite the opposite.” Raye was starting to sound a little snappy. “As I’ve mentioned before. Bureaucracy.”

“So you can but you’re not allowed?”

“I... Can you just stop?” Raye snapped, immediately taking a deep breath to calm herself. “I apologise. It’s only natural for you to be curious.”

“Personal is it?” Xellie mentally filed away Raye’s reaction. After all, seeing her get flustered and knowing which buttons to press could be useful later on.

Raye didn’t reply immediately. Instead, she unclipped her hairpiece and lay it on her lap, running her fingers through the feathers.

“I’m not supposed to talk about it.” She admitted, her voice wavering with emotion. “You are right, I am banned from communicating with him. It’s my own fault though. I chose to put my own feelings before my duties... but sometimes... just sometimes... Breaking the rules is worth it; regardless of the consequences. I don’t regret the choice I made that night.”

Raye reached over and took Xellie’s hand into her own as she kept talking. “I wish there had been another way... but all I can do now is to prove that I did the right thing.”

“What happened?”

“I can’t...Please don’t.” Raye turned her gaze down into her lap, studying her hairpiece.

“Mmm, what does that do?” Xellie decided to change the subject.

“This?” Raye held the feathered headband up so Xellie could get a closer look. “It is how I see the world... would you like to try it?”

Xellie nodded, so Raye lightly touched the hairpiece to the side of Xellie’s head.

At first, Xellie felt surrounded by the same voices she had heard back at the inn. At first, whispering, growing louder and louder in intensity. The voices continued to grow louder and in number. Soon there were so many voices that there was no way to discern one from another. Overwhelmed, she pushed Raye’s hand away.

“Too much?” Raye asked kindly, as she secured it in her own hair. “I am sure that in time you will be able to handle this.”

“I’m not sure I want to,” Xellie said rubbing her temples and grimacing at the headache she had gained.

“Don’t do that again.” came Vella’s voice from in the tree above them. “It’s one thing to take it off, it’s another to have your brat child mentally screaming into it.”

Xellie and Raye both looked up into the tree simultaneously, getting an up-skirt view of Vella.

“Vella please,” Raye replied irately.

“I won’t tell.” Vella grinned and slipped off the tree branch until she was hanging upside-down from her knees. “Don’t be such a baby.” She added, laughing at Xellie’s pained expression.

“Don’t you think she needs human friends though? Hanging out with mamma all the time is just not cool.”

“Don’t you think you should mind your own business?” Raye asked, standing up so she now stood face to face with the upside-down Vella.

“Your mind is my business.” Vella giggled. “Without you, I have no business to mind.”

Raye sighed.

“If you travel with us, you’ll have to put on pants.”

“No thank you,” Vella replied, vanishing immediately afterwards.

“Umm....” Xellie looked around in confusion. “What’s the deal with her?”

“The ‘deal’ with Vella is that she’s a supremely powerful immortal being who is extremely bored,” Raye answered, sounding concerned. “I suggest you don’t antagonize her, no matter how much she tries to belittle you.”

“Pretty sure she hates me.”

“What?” Raye rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t hate you. She just doesn’t think you’re capable of handling our kind of power.” Raye then added in an amused whisper. “She’s jealous because I’m spending so much time down here and she’s under a curfew.”

“Even Valkyries get jealous huh?” Xellie laughed.

“We feel as much as you do. Please rest.”