BOOM! The sound of the meteorite connecting with the surface of Garsuna was followed by the hurtling of trees, dirt, rocks, debris, creatures, humans and deities sent flying in all directions. Zilliad leapt into the sky and looked towards the epicenter. All she could see was a dirty brown cloud rapidly approaching Isaa's ship.

Zilliad focused all of her energy in locating Isaa and Sab amongst her rapidly shifting web of wind. She made some slight adjustments in her positioning in the sky, and then braced herself with a stiff tailwind that flowed opposite the meteor's shockwave. Zilliad then created a spherical wind barrier around her body that would deflect the oncoming whirlwind. The first objects to come were the trees and rocks. They moved so quickly; it was as if they were fired out of a cannon. Next came the dust and subsequently, the darkness.

Zilliad created a funnel that projected into the space in front of her. The wind pushed aside the dust, creating a small window of visibility. Zilliad could see the silhouettes of creatures and humans as they were pushed aside by her wind funnel. Suddenly, Isaa came barreling through Zilliad’s wind barrier. Zilliad attempted to slow her uncle’s momentum, but the force of the meteor proved too strong. Isaa’s back crashed into Zilliad’s stomach just as Sab's body zoomed past. Both the deity of the sea and Zilliad plummeted through the murky dirt cloud like falling stars.

Isaa flailed his arms, legs, and wings trying to find anything to stabilize himself. The pair's collision dazed Zilliad, making her unable to stop their trajectory with her winds. They both smacked into the surface of Garsuna, bouncing several times before their bodies came to a resting position. Zilliad heard Sab crash into the surface several yards away. It was a while until either of the deities or Zilliad attempted to stand.

Zilliad grasped the ground with both of her palms in an attempt to stay in place. Debris continued to whip around and with her wind barrier now decimated, several objects smacked into Zilliad, Isaa, and Sab. The sound of the Ruonian's lifeless body rolling over itself was the only noise that could be heard over the screaming winds.

When Zilliad finally got to her feet, the torrential air currents had died down and turned into nothing more than a stiff gale. The dust lingered in the air and would remain suspended for several hours. The dust particles in the air dulled Zilliad’s senses and made her web of wind feel as if it were a net in the water.

“We must unite the remainder of our forces with Haboo,” Sab declared as he limped towards Zilliad and Isaa.

Isaa had been injured in his fight with the Ruonian and his right leg had been crushed. Isaa used his golden trident like a crutch to lift himself off the ground. Zilliad had no idea the deities could be rendered so vulnerable.

“If there are any left,” Isaa replied grimly. “We never should have separated ourselves from the others. Curse that Apena and its recklessness for Garsunan life.”

“There was no way of knowing the Maker of the Sky would have traveled so quickly,” Sab was trying to calm his brother’s predictably rising temper. “And no way of knowing that it would sacrifice the lives of its own creatures to try and stop us.”

“There was one way of knowing… Sego…” Isaa growled, turning to Zilliad. “Take us back to the ship, now.”

"Yes, uncle," Zilliad said with a nod.

The trio leapt into the sky and glided along Zilliad’s currents until they reached Isaa’s ship. As they flew through the dust, the particles scratched and scraped Zilliad’s skin, leaving her face rubbed raw. The newfound redness of Zilliad's skin amplified the greyness of her eyes.

The ship had been blown over onto its side and there were several holes where rocks and trees penetrated the haul. Zilliad gently directed herself and the two deities to land beside the ship where they found Sego and Cajo. The humans had abandoned the ship and now sat in small clusters by the still waters of Lake Jezero. Zilliad counted less than sixty human survivors. Sego was still winded and sat with his back leaning against ship. Cajo was using her power of the shadows to carry trees and rocks out of the ship's lower decks. Isaa immediately limped towards Sego, the clanging of his trident a foreboding message for the deity of time who stared blankly into the sky.

Isaa grabbed Sego by the throat and hoisted him into the air and proceeded to add another hole to the ship as he slammed Sego into the rough wood. Sego dropped his hourglass as he desperately tried to free himself from Isaa's grip.

“You foresaw this didn’t you?!” Isaa screamed, “you knew that this would happen!”

“No,” Sego choked as he forced words past his narrowed windpipe, “the hourglass can only show me the many possible futures." Sego coughed lightly before saying, "nothing can ever be certain.”

“You didn’t say a word about Apena!” Isaa yelled as he pressed Sego even harder into the ship.

Sab and Cajo came up behind Isaa and both placed a hand on the deity of the sea. Zilliad feared that her uncle would have killed Sego if the others hadn't interfered.

“Cool it brother,” Sab growled, “we have enough enemies as it is. We should not be fighting amongst ourselves.”

Isaa dropped Sego and Sego’s knees hit the ground as he clenched his throat, struggling for breath. Once recovered, Sego grabbed his hourglass and got to his feet.

“Apena's appearance wasn’t a possibility until we had already set our course. Even then, the chances were slim to none. I am sorry Isaa, I have failed you.” All of the humans had directed their attention and now held their gaze towards the deities.

“Restore my leg, then restore my ship,” Isaa spat as he presented his flattened leg to the deity of time.

Sego placed both of his hands on Isaa's leg, and the air around Isaa's leg began to shimmer. Then, Isaa's leg started to inflate as if inhaling and became restored to its regular form. Isaa pivoted to walk towards Lake Jezero while Sego began reverting the ship, hole by hole.

Zilliad saw this as an opportunity to mingle with the humans. Her life had been short up to this point and she had spent most of it with her father’s people. Zilliad had a growing interest in the other half of her heritage. The humans sat in small groups of four to six and spoke amongst themselves. Zilliad found the closest group and joined them.

“... if we only had the creatures to worry about, this would be over much quicker,” a burly man said.

“The Makers are what give us the most trouble,” a stout woman agreed. “I say leave the Makers to the deities, and we can handle the slow-witted beasts.”

“It is not like we have much of an option. You saw that meteor, there is no stopping those monsters,” a slim man stated as he trembled.

“Have faith, the deities will lead us to freedom,” the stout woman retorted.

“Freedom? Can you say that for Clyde? Or Yudy? Or any of our fallen comrades?”

A long pause fell over the human’s conversation. It was Zilliad who broke the silence.

“The Makers will be stopped…”

All of the humans whipped their heads around to stare at the unfamiliar face, immediately noticing the wings sprouting from Zilliad’s back.

“Another half-breed,” the slim man said as he shook his head. “Which of the deities spawned you?”

“Haboo is my father."

“Take this as a word of caution, half-breed, the deities don’t give a damn about any of us. To them, we are all replaceable, nothing more than tools. Even you.”

Zilliad stared blankly into the slim man’s eyes, not really sure what to make of his declaration.

“They are fighting for the very freedom of Garsuna…” Zilliad began reciting what Isaa had told her, but the slim man wouldn’t let her finish.

“They only wish to free themselves!"

“How would you like to live your lives as slaves to the demands of the Makers?” Zilliad crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive stance.

“The Makers, the deities. What does it matter? We are merely puppets to the higher powers,” the burly man cut in.

The other humans in the group nodded. It was then that Sego had finished restoring the ship back to its original, pristine state. Isaa and Sab worked together to put the ship into the now dirtied waters of Lake Jezero. Isaa reached for the ship with the waters while Sab manipulated the soil under the ship to turn into a downward slope. Cajo came to the humans to direct them back onto the ship and Zilliad followed. Once Isaa's ship got caught in the River Bols's current, Isaa retired to his cabin room, followed by Sego.

Zilliad didn’t follow the humans into the lower deck of the ship, instead she stayed on the top deck with Sab and Cajo. Zilliad felt most comfortable outside, and she relished in the feeling of the winds as they blew through her pure white hair. Zilliad watched as the water carried the massive wooden vessel downstream as her mind was invaded by the events of the past day.

Isaa had taught her that the Makers had become an oppressive force. The Makers commanded the deities and the other creatures of Garsuna to always be hunting for an elusive target. The deities now want to live a life free of the Maker’s orders, so they created the humans to combat the Makers and their forces. It was apparent to Zilliad that the humans feel the same way towards the deities as the deities feel towards the Makers. Whose side should she be on? Zilliad knew her place in both worlds was to obey the deities and rule the humans. How could she rule beings that despise her and obey beings that look down on her?

“You should get some rest,” Sab said, interfering with Zilliad’s contemplation. “We will be in Vatiguth by tomorrow.”

“Sab, do the Makers care for the happiness of their creations?” Zilliad asked.

“No, they only care about preserving their perfect world. The Makers blame Chosrgel for all of their imperfections and thus made all of life to stop it. I imagine they do little other than think of themselves."

“Do you care about the human’s happiness?”

Sab stared into Zilliad's cloudy, gray eyes with an astonished look, but it was Cajo who answered.

“The humans exist to serve us. Their happiness comes from our happiness,” the deity of the shadows stated matter-of-factly.

Zilliad had her answer. She saw the deities were no better than the Makers were with the way they treated their creations. Zilliad was going to be different.

“I see,” Zilliad said as she pivoted to walk towards the ship’s cabin. “I'm heading to sleep.”

Zilliad slept throughout the night and for the majority of the next day. She didn’t realize how drained her body was. When Zilliad finally awoke, Isaa’s ship was docked in a harbor that she assumed was Vatiguth. As Zilliad exited the ship’s cabin, she could feel another ship that wasn't Isaa's disturbing her web of wind to the north, along the River Conbols. There also seemed to be something augmenting the winds around this mysterious, new vessel.