Where in the Kriyan devils did she go? The shaman who came by his cabin earlier told him that he wasn’t allowed to see her until after the Ceremony of arrival was over. It was the will of the Goddess, he had said, that to enter the sacred Island of Tib’tai, women and men should do so on their own, separate paths to symbolise their different destinies in life.

So there Fye stood in a line to descend the ship from the stairwell and onto the much smaller and more modest looking wooden port where an elder shaman stood, firm as a rock, waiting to greet them one by one.

There was chanting, there were exchanges of ritual greetings and bowing, oh so much bowing! One of the younger shamans stood behind him and kept correcting his posture and instructing him what to do and when. It was somewhat humiliating, he found himself thinking, albeit not too unpleasant. After all, at one point in his not too distant past, the young prince had contemplated coming to this exact place and going through even more rites to perhaps himself become one of the Children of Eni.

The island was beautiful, full of life and he would be lying to himself not to admit that being here, surrounded by men only, he could feel as safe as he had ever been since he ran away from the palace. There was just one thing weighing on his mind as he finally reached the elder shaman who greeted him with a bow and tucked a beautiful orange flower behind his ear.

Where did Linda go? Did the shamans get the women to descend first? But then where were those twin Wind boys? He wanted to ask someone, but for at least a few more hours he wouldn’t be able to interrupt the Ceremony to do so.

When the last of the shamans had descended from the ship and the elder shaman had given each of them a flower to wear in their hair, he turned towards the small rocky path up the terrace and led the way. It was a typical mountain path, too narrow to walk side by side, so they continued filing upwards one by one.

Fye was never much for sports or fitness, as it was un-manly to do these things and he had to be careful not to exert his body for fear of gaining too much muscle. Muscular men were unattractive, after all. Of course, that meant that pretty soon he started feeling his legs and stomach ache in various places from the strain of the almost vertical climb up the second terrace. Did they have to go all the way up?

He found himself regretting never having trained anything at all. It was all because of his bad genes, he mused. Unlike the boys and men on the Wind continent, who were strong, yet appeared slender and gentle like willow trees, Fire tribe males gained muscle easily and it showed. Still, would it have been so bad to bulk up like an ugly beast of burden if that meant not feeling so weak during this strenuous climb? Perhaps it was high time he threw his vanity aside.

“You can do it, boy”, one of the older shamans, walking behind him said, as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Just breathe deeply and let your body hold the oxy as you make your steps. We will be up soon.”

*****************************

“I can’t believe this. Is she really dead? Such a tragedy! She was always so kind.”

“So strange, I had no idea she was Giftless.”

“It can’t be - I saw her use her Gift with my own eyes! She saved our little Dew from falling debris! I never forget a face - I’m sure it was her!”

Zeb stretched her back and felt the pleasant crack of relief. She had been sitting in the same position in their little apartment for the past 12 hours, sifting through various social rooms, newscast comments and blogs on the topic of the dead windstorm. Most comments were the typical condolences, surprise that the Warden was Giftless or both. Many more still were lamenting the decline of the windstorms altogether - “they lost so many during the last Great War”, “the Goddess has not been kind to the Wind twin”, etc.

At some point Zeb was starting to wonder if she should finally take a break and then she saw it. “It can’t be”, the commentator said, “I saw her use her Gift with my own eyes!”. The comment was signed “anonymous” but for a seasoned computer veteran like the lieutenant that was child’s play. Any user who can’t be bothered to properly register on a site is unlikely to go through the hassle of declining and disabling the long list of data mining bots most socials and media sites used by the mat’ric ton. Within mere hours, she could have this person’s entire online footprint, including approximate location and enough information to eventually accurately identify them.

This was a good start to be sure, but she had her work cut out for her from here on out. She threw a cursory glance at her second screen where the web scraper was still building the copycat site of the Alaian truth for her. The crown jewel of the Lieutenant’s plan - resurrect a ghost from the not so distant past and drive a wedge between Aquina Wotar and her criminal on a leash.

A good hacker never relies on one method alone, Zeb reminded herself to remain humble. A little social engineering here, a little rerouting of traffic there were just tricks any rookie could play. However the lady Suffo Matrix was anything but a rookie, of course. Sooner or later, she was bound to find out what the earth lady was doing on her “behalf” and Goddess be with the Lieutenant when that day comes.

For now though, Zeb still had some time to prepare. Judging from the latest satintel they received before shutting down comms with the Dh’ivan, the windstorm anarchist was on the Recreation Isles doing the Prophet only knew what with that powerless girl the Ruling over sea had dug up from somewhere. Which meant that for a time, Zeb could pretend to be the creator of the Alaian truth relatively unimpeded, at least until she was able to saw the seed of doubt in the people of AWA.

Tomorrow, she would work her computer magic and track down the commentator who had supposedly seen the lady Aeris in action. Then the real fun would begin, but for now, she needed sleep.

**********************************

Linda found herself once again almost running, trying to catch up with the group. Aeris Lee led them through a patch of thick forest with such confidence that she had to wonder how many times he had visited the Isle of Shamans before. Judging by Wint’s surprise when he showed them the elevator to the top terrace, the girl wasn’t the only one who thought the Tailwind had been here a number of times already.

“Ain’t this the Path of Ladies?” Wint muttered under her breath, thinking only Linda could hear.

“Not if the Reverend Brother calls on someone urgently and there are no ladies to accompany that someone.” The man replied with an even tone, as if he had just said the weather was nice and not what he actually implied, namely - that the rigid ritualistic shamans could cast away their tradition and ceremony for something as trivial as a meeting.

“Ah see, so yer a bigshot ‘round these parts, eh?”

Lee’s only response to Wint’s provocation was a dry smile before he pushed the button to the top terrace and the old elevator closed its heavy doors. This was an old cargo lift of sorts, but it looked well maintained. It was also spacious enough so Linda and the windstorm could be on one side and the Tailwind and twins on the other with a good few mat’ri between them.

“Fine, pretend ye didn’t hear, but let me ask ye another thing then and that I will insist ye answer.” Wint started again, crossing her arms over her large chest. “Ah thought ye said ye wanted me to listen.”

The man turned to face her and spread his arms in a gesture of surrender.

“Captive audience, my lady.”

“Are ye the one they call Big Brother?”

The twins laughed. Then Lee laughed, but this time there was no malice or icy chill - just genuine mirth.

“I shall take this as a compliment to my youthful looks, lady Tempayah, but I assure you - I am perhaps more of an uncle than a brother, however big.” He laughed again but stopped himself when he saw the warning glint in Wint’s catlike eyes. “I am serious - this Big Brother you speak of is definitely not me and I can prove it.” The windstorm’s raised eyebrows were all the response he got, so he continued, tapping a couple of fingers to his temples. “Big Brother has eyes which are blue like the ocean on a sunny day, they say. You and I both know I could never pull this off, light eyes are not my style.”

“You could’ve had some Herb potions?” Linda jumped in.

“Ew, that’s cheating.” Lei made a disgusted grimace. “Papa would never do that.”

“The Herb is a crutch.” Aeris Lee confirmed, his voice like sharp steel all of a sudden. Had she offended him with her comment? “And an addictive one at that.”

It looked like he wanted to go on, but the elevator clanked to a stop and slowly opened its large doors. They had arrived and an elder shaman stood to greet them.

“Lady Tempayah, lady Pearce, may the Goddess grant you good he…” He did a bit of a double-take when he raised his head and saw the three Wind men behind them.

“Yeah, yeah, these three exotic beauties hitched a ride with us on the lady train, ‘parently not for the first time, either.” Wint’s terse tone served to shake the shaman out of his stupor. “Please have mercy on their souls.”

“Linda!” Someone shouted in excitement and a few short moments later a fiery haired boy flew past the greeter and windstorm to wrap his arms around the girl’s neck. “Where have you been?”

At this point the shaman decided to cut his losses and with a bow which looked like it was more directed towards the Wind men than anyone else, he shuffled back towards the ornate wooden gate ahead. This time it was the twins who helped Linda wrestle the young prince off her shoulders, as she stood there dumbstruck by the boy’s sudden outburst of warmth and familiarity. She wasn’t too sure if this was better or worse than his previous holier-than-thou routine.

“Let go! Have you no sense as to who I am?” Fye protested as Linda sighed in relief - ah, there was good ol’ Mr Obnoxious.

“Lady Tempayah!” A familiar voice came from behind the prince’s back. “I see you’ve met our other distinguished guest.”

Linda blinked a few times in confusion as brother Ma’ala stood shoulder to shoulder with Fye and gave them a bow. The shaman was beautiful in his long colorful ceremonial robes which shimmered with different color as he moved. His eyes sparkled blue as the ocean when he lifted his head and stared right at her not-father’s face.

“Welcome, Master Lee, the waters have changed quite a number of times since your last visit. I trust your journey with us was comfortable?”

Master Lee? Linda’s brain threw itself in high gear. Master was an old word, rarely used outside shamanic circles and was typically reserved for the highest status members of the Order. Journey with us? Did that mean he was on the ship with them earlier? Was he the one watching her all this time?

“I am, as always, grateful for your assistance, Reverend Brother.” Aeris Lee bowed to the shaman. “I am also hopeful that one day soon you will stop insisting on calling me “Master” - while I respect your ways, I take no part in them.”

“Even as times move forward, old things resurface inevitably” the shaman said with an enigmatic smile. ”In the olden days, the title of Master used to mean something else entirely, before we in the Order became the last ones to still use it. Perhaps we shall use it again as it was intended.”

You could cut the tension in the air between the two men with a knife. For a brief moment Linda wondered if telepathy was amongst the arsenal of abilities on this planet, as it seemed like the conversation was still going on in silence. Brother Ma’ala broke the staring contest off first.

“Let us join the others inside the living quarters, please. We have prepared great feasts for your bodies and if you should accept them - for your souls, as well.”

They went up the steep stone path to the large wooden gate which led to the Central Temple gardens and living areas. The door closed behind them with incredible ease and silence for something that looked so ancient. It had beautiful flowers carved onto it and looked like it was regularly maintained and painted. Even though the day star had long set to the West and the moons reigned over the sky, the garden itself was well lit by paper lanterns which hung from wires, tied to the trees around.

Linda was fascinated by the gardens - they looked cultivated enough, but it seemed that the shamans preferred to let Mother Nature unfold the flora’s beauty in her own way for the most part. There were carefully maintained ponds of water with beautiful water flowers inside, there were tall trees with incredible fragrant petals blowing in the wind, there were even small animals scuttling in the grass and bushes and those monkey-looking thinks - jayas, Linda remembered, with their huge blue eyes, four front paws and curly tails.

In the center, towering above everything else and concealing the entrance to the main Temple from view, an enormous bru’ankh’ai tree reached for the heavens above. From this close, it was pretty obvious it was actually a mushroom with its crowns not made of leaves, but caps and gills and stems branching out from the main one instead. It had taken on a liana-like plant as a symbiote, which had partly fused with its stems and bore sweet-smelling red fruit. The caps had warts which were pulsing fluorescent white light that made it look even more alive - as if it might move or sprout fairies from its core or something mystical and beautiful like that.

Linda was moving towards it, hypnotized, and almost missed where they were actually headed. With all these natural wonders surrounding them, she hadn’t noticed the small buildings, huddled together in a semicircle, a respectable, yet cosy distance away from the base of the bru’ankh’ai. In fairness, they were all but completely swallowed by the various plants and lianas which had crawled over their pillars and walls all the way to the roofs. Upon closer inspection, she noted that the dwellings weren’t nearly as tiny as she initially thought - everything just looked dwarfed in comparison to the enormous glowing mushroom tree at the center.

No two houses looked alike, as they each had their distinctive style from each corner of this huge, extraordinary planet, but they all had a wooden porch, overlooking the sacred bru’ankh’ai and the Temple behind it. On each porch there were numerous large pillows and small round tables, almost collapsing under the weight of the food and drink cramped on top of them. Most of the shamans who were currently residing on the top terrace of the Island were already sitting around, enjoying the beautiful night and refreshments, but had left ample seating spaces for their guests to come join them, if they so wished. And oh, how Linda wished.

One lean yet incredibly strong hand grabbed her shoulder and stopped her advance to the nearest feast instantly. She whipped her head around in surprise to meet her not-father’s steel gaze.

“Apologies, Reverend Brother, but I was hoping for a more … private spot.” The man said, barely turning his head towards Brother Ma’ala.

The shaman’s face was like a stone mask, despite all the warmth of the surrounding lights - it looked distant and impenetrable like Tib’tai itself. For a few heartbeats he just stood there, studying Aeris Lee’s unyielding expression, before relenting once again:

“But of course, you must all be exhausted and this noise wouldn’t do you any good.” He ruffled through his colorful ceremonial robes for a moment before handing the Tailwind a round chip of sorts - an electronic key. “The House of Eastern Wind is unoccupied at present. I trust you still remember how to find it, Master Lee?”

The other man just barely concealed his grimace but quickly grabbed the offered token and bowed.

“I am thankful for your hospitality, Reverend Brother. Come on, boys, F… Linda, let’s finish our cave talk somewhere more pleasant.”

Linda couldn’t help the wistful sigh that escaped her as she turned to follow her not-father away from the shining lights and beautiful fae-like shamans at the feast. Wint was of course still glued to her back like a shadow, but the last pair of footsteps behind her were suddenly cut off by one of the twins.

“Sorry, dude, ‘tis a private affair this one.” The wind boy said.

“Then why is she coming?” Fye pouted, gesturing towards the windstorm.

“I ain’t gotta explain meself to ye, brat”, Wint proclaimed with a huff as she crossed her arms over her large chest. “Go get the shamans to teach ye how to dance or something marginally useful like that for a few wee hours - we won’t take long.”

Fye looked at Linda and she felt parts of her heart break at the pleading and fear in those gorgeous golden brown eyes. He may have felt safe around the men on the Island before, but now the world was cold and cruel again, trying to take the one person who made him feel truly seen and heard away from him.

“Come with me, boy, it’ll be alright.” Brother Ma’ala placed a comforting hand on the prince’s shoulder. “There is nothing to fear here, the Recreation Isles are a long way away and you are safe.”

Oh, right, Linda felt like kicking herself in the ass, the shamans had no idea who their fiery-haired guest was. For all they were concerned, he was just another poor victim of human trafficking who happened to be from the fire tribe. She turned a pleading look of her own towards Wint, but the windstorm just pursed her lips and made a show of ignoring her.

“I’ll be right back.” The girl still proclaimed loudly as the Reverend Brother pushed the boy towards one of the porches. “You’ll see, won’t be long.”

Fye didn’t respond, and the twins were already half carrying her towards the far west end of the garden. “I’m sorry, Your Highness”, Linda thought with such strength that if Alaians did have telepathy, there was no way he didn’t get the message. “I have to see this through, wherever it takes me…”