Chrysanthemum\u2019s subtle scent blew upon the halting wind. A breeze which moved between the dappled light, spotted shadows traced beneath the sky of branches.<\/p>\n
Green eyes, like the leaves of the very trees she stood underneath, opened. The young woman\u2019s torn clothing ruffled in the breeze. A splatter of dried blood rendered scentless stained her upper sleeve, beyond which recently-mended flesh lay, like a pale scar between her royal blue tunic, sewn together and mended with the sigil of House Veltras in patterns around the edges.<\/p>\n
Ryoka Griffin felt the wind shift her raven-dark hair and looked around to see an aged wall of bark in front of her. Wonderingly, she put her hand out and felt at the rough texture. The bark flaked away in her grasp.<\/p>\n
\u201cStrange.\u201d<\/p>\n
She murmured, her voice slightly husky in the changed air. The changed world. The young woman studied the tree\u2019s trunk. Then she looked around.<\/p>\n
What had before been a small clearing in the forest had changed without sound, only in perception. A vast trunk lay in front of Ryoka, akin to a wall of wood. She stared at it. And realized that what had been before a tree was now\u2014<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s tree stretched upwards, so vast it had a beginning and no end.<\/em> The roots she could have run across, stumbling, scraping at her knees, feeling the rough bark of countless ages ascending upwards.<\/p>\n The tree towered beyond the limits of her vision. High overhead, leaves so vast as to be rooftops of their own betrayed the false sky with faint points of light.<\/p>\n And the branches continued to stretch across the sky. Reaching out, and then tangling with\u2026<\/p>\n Other branches, like a spider web across the forest\u2019s ceiling. Ryoka gazed upwards and a flash of insight revealed the truth: this was but one tree in a forest.<\/p>\n And yet, the one tree encompassed more than she had beheld the moments prior. The young woman started, and her heart caught in her throat, adding a wobbling cadence to her next words.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n A slight exhalation of breath. Then she turned and saw how the land beyond lands had altered.<\/p>\n The ring of fungi had altered markedly as well. What had been slightly discolored, ordinary whitecaps or some other form of indigenous fungi had sprouted higher. Until Ryoka could safely walk under the vast caps of reds and violets, gaze upwards at the lines of the mushroom\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n And see life, where life had not been before.<\/em><\/p>\n A profusion of webs caught her eye, scintillating lines of glittering silk spun with dewdrops and the remnants of prey. The young woman reaching out to touch the uneven mushroom\u2019s stalk snatched a hand back.<\/p>\n For she saw the glittering eggs <\/em>lining the trunk. And overhead, the interior webs splayed about the inside of the mushroom\u2019s cap, eaten into the half-rotten vegetation.<\/p>\n Spiders<\/em>, not Shield Spiders but of a stranger variety still, stared down at her. Hanging from strands of silk, some as large as her head.<\/p>\n Tens of thousands. The largest of them began to creep downwards and Ryoka leapt away from the fungi, a curse on her lips. She stumbled forwards\u2014foot striking a shard of pain from a buried rock\u2014<\/p>\n Into the heart of the faerie circle of mushrooms. The young woman halted as the wind blew again, catching an unwary foot as it drifted downwards. The tug was fierce and insistent, a physical barrier of air which resisted and pushed her back.<\/p>\n To safety. For Ryoka Griffin saw the grass had grown wild, in profusion, bearing plentiful, fat seeds, among wild flowers and plants of every nature.<\/p>\n No weed but grew in this forest, as there was no great gardener. Already, Ryoka had felt the prickling of weeds; a nettle\u2019s faint kiss which made her swear and adjust her posture.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened? This wasn\u2019t here a moment ago.\u201d<\/p>\n The confusion tangling her thoughts did nothing to change the reality she now found herself in. Indeed, Ryoka believed this<\/em> circumstance more than that of a second ago. A second kiss of another nettle made her reach for the emergency boots she carried in her bag of holding.<\/p>\n Ryoka sat on the grass of the faerie circle, applying a balm which soothed the biting itch and at the same time put on socks and the enchanted boots she had taken from the Archmage\u2019s mansion.<\/p>\n The worn leather was a tad bit too large for her and left room on her feet\u2014but it was preferable to standing on the grass. She had used it to run over stone and rock, and Hedault had claimed they would be proof against the thickest of thorns. A wise investment to keep them, Ryoka reflected in that moment.<\/p>\n Still, the City Runner\u2019s eyes were roaming the glade nonstop. Now she stood below a single<\/em> tree, and this circle of mushrooms, however vast and home to inclement life, a footnote before the tree itself.<\/p>\n Life chittered around her, creeping spiders which she hastily stood up to avoid contact with, forest beetles, and, climbing the lesser trees craving for light, squirrels and other mundane animals.<\/p>\n Even there, though, Ryoka espied a difference. One of the squirrels turned a multi-faceted eye, yet still flesh rather than chitin, at her. Eight eyes where one should be. It was as long as her arm minus the ragged tail, and it regarded Ryoka as a possible foe, rather than danger. She backed up\u2014<\/p>\n And the wind blew her foot back. This time the City Runner\u2019s stunned mind focused on what lay beneath.<\/p>\n An egg.<\/em> It was ovoid, glittering. The translucent membrane faintly orange crossed with strands of green and turquoise. A large egg, to make no mistake of it; as large as a stomach, or perhaps a basketball, half-sunken into a depression in the ground.<\/p>\n It lay perfectly in the center of the faerie ring. And Ryoka, backing up now, realized that the spiders, wildlife, all avoided the grass around this spot for about six feet. The wind had twice protected her from stepping on it.<\/p>\n For good reason, it seemed. The egg lay at a natural ley line between the mushrooms, which were so evenly spaced as to be unnatural, for all they had grown with the perfect randomness of nature.<\/p>\n The mushrooms were not in themselves anything perfect; for all they were vast titans to the normal fauna. Some were half-rotted. And Ryoka suspected each were infested by the arachnid populations, which consumed local wildlife, and no doubt cannibalized each other.<\/p>\n But through the imperfection of the component parts had come this ideal spot. And into it\u2014the potentiality had begat life. Either that<\/em>, the Wind Runner thought, or this place has sprung into being around this very egg.<\/em><\/p>\n She gazed into its depths and saw a shape forming within the translucence. If she had dreamt of a winged shape, or some sparkle of a glorious being, the Wind Runner was disappointed.<\/p>\n But only just. The budding spider glowed.<\/em> With the same vividness of existence that Melidore had, a kind of supernatural aura below the skin that Ryoka sensed, by virtue of her own understanding of immortals.<\/p>\n To summarize then: she backed away slowly, feeling the building hostility in the caps of the faerie ring towards her. If she had stepped unwisely, it would have been her last gesture, she knew.<\/p>\n The wind had saved her from disturbing this spider. Its lesser kin had built nets around it, perhaps as a form of worship. Perhaps to be consumed, or led to some glorious future when it was born.<\/p>\n A single spider\u2019s egg. Ryoka could not fathom what<\/em> the adult of it would be\u2014or if it had ever walked this world. All she knew was that as she hurriedly stomped out of the faerie\u2019s ring, she crushed spiders covering the grass, and began to run before the adults took further umbrage at her intrusion.<\/p>\n A faerie ring.<\/em> Trees so vast each one could have been a world\u2019s tree in my world.<\/em> Ah, I see it now.<\/em><\/p>\n The Wind Runner caught her breath sixty meters away from the ring of mushrooms. More strangeness; she felt the stitch in her side more keenly now. A sharp, ragged bit of pain.<\/p>\n She had not felt such in her flight from the Wild Hunt before. Nor, Ryoka realized with another gasp of insight, had she perceived the distance she\u2019d crossed in any quantifiable form.<\/p>\n Here, she did, in every step across mottled grass, over more thistles her boots protected her from. She was realer<\/em> in this place than before.<\/p>\n She had run past countless trees of the same ilk she stood under. Thus; she had no doubt crossed leagues upon leagues in her other perception.<\/p>\n \u201cPerception is the key. Drink me. Alice in Wonderland syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wind Runner chuckled to herself. Of course. Faerie rules. Alice in Wonderland syndrome, like the story it was based off of\u2014and Ryoka\u2019s experience to some degree\u2014was when someone perceived things as being larger and smaller than they were.<\/p>\n Extend that metaphor to her current condition and Ryoka\u2019s hypothesis was that she had shifted everything<\/em>, not just her sense of scale. The humble trees had been here, instead of the forest a moment ago. Or\u2026had they truly been so humble?<\/p>\n Questions without answer. The City Runner walked on, shuddering and brushing off a hanging spider from her sleeves. She could not say whether this was better, in truth. Now, she keenly felt she was in a forest without end<\/em>, such that her only hope did not lie in simply running as far as she could. Even in this place, she would take countless days to find the edge, even if she retraced her steps.<\/p>\n Could she shift her viewpoint once more? The Wind Runner tried, but she did not quite fathom how she had done it to begin with. Perhaps it was unconscious. Or perhaps\u2014<\/p>\n A noise stopped her, a rumbling susurration of vast lungs within the forest. It was so intense a sound that the spiders went silent, the other wildlife quieted, and Ryoka Griffin herself felt her heart stop in her chest, a flash of panic overwhelming her other senses and thoughts.<\/p>\n What was that sound?<\/em> She glanced about her\u2014and then saw the beast which had uttered the noise.<\/p>\n It was, naturally\u2026the rabbit. But what had been a mere white rabbit, small, without noticeable detail was now\u2026<\/p>\n A vast, raggedly-furred creature stared down at Ryoka. A torn ear near the left\u2019s tip, brambles and thorns caught in the pelt of the lord of rabbits. Some ancient beast with eyes far too intelligent and cunning for a regular animal.<\/p>\n Teeth, as it yawned,<\/em> that could tear her apart in a single bite.<\/em> Its passage through the forest had left countless burrs and other markings on its fur, but a lance<\/em> would have hardly penetrated its body.<\/p>\n It regarded Ryoka, slightly unkindly, but with indifference. She gulped and halted in her tracks, her bowels suddenly urging her to walk behind a tree.<\/p>\n She was too afraid to move. Ryoka\u2019s flippant comment the moment before dried her mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014I\u2014I\u2019m sorry if I offended you. Lord Rabbit?\u201d<\/p>\n She felt as though this beast were not an animal, but akin to something far greater. At least it could have eaten<\/em> Carn Wolves for breakfast. She saw one vast eye open, and the brown sclera, in itself a tapestry of complex biology, regard her for a second. She saw the untorn ear flick, and the great thing heave itself to its feet with a sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cGranted, mortal.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n The rabbit spoke. Ryoka felt her jaw drop; she had expected intelligence. Not vocalization. She saw the muscle and fur ripple<\/em>\u2014then it launched<\/em> itself from its hindquarters.<\/p>\n The lord of rabbits or whatever it was, leapt out of sight. Bounded off a trunk\u2014and vanished. The leap was so fast that the passage of air made her stumble. She felt<\/em> the impact; caught herself, whirled\u2014<\/p>\n And it was gone.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014buh\u2014that was\u2014did I\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n Stupefied, the young woman stared at the flattened bit of grass. Then around at the forest of the fae. She felt grateful for having met whatever she had met. Then\u2014terribly uneasy. She heard a chittering<\/em> and realized that she had benefitted from more than one way by the white rabbit\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n It had staved off the wrath of the spiders.<\/em> Ryoka glanced over her shoulder as a wave of multi-faceted legs and eyes surged towards her. Shield Spiders and these magical ancestors alike. She ran, heart and legs pumping.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n —-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The strobing pattern of lights was growing harder to watch from the ritual. It seemed as though countless conceivable spells were melding together to form one complex, unknowable effect.<\/p>\n That was how it appeared to the Blighted King, Othius the Fourth. To the mages, struggling as they linked hands and forced magic into the ritual, the effect might have been different.<\/p>\n He was keenly aware of the flaws in the moment. The stone dust shaking down from the ceiling, possibly disrupting the intricate magical flows.<\/p>\n His own disorganized clothes, slightly askew. Twice now he had attempted to correct it and failed, given up for sheer annoyance. This moment should have been timeless.<\/p>\n Instead, Othius kept staring at Nereshal. The man was one of the imperfections. He kept exhorting the others. The [Chronomancer]\u2019s job was to be such, but it still rankled.<\/p>\n \u201cMaintain your mana flows! High Mage Lerid! Your output is faltering!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n As if he were coaching students.<\/em> Othius bore it as a necessity. Still, he longed to tell Nereshal to be silent.<\/em> As well as inform the man he has some spittle glistening on his chin.<\/p>\n But Othius had forgone his servants, his host of colorful and resplendent courtiers and accompaniment. This was to be secret.<\/p>\n For this ritual would differ in considerable ways from those past. <\/em>Already, the scope<\/em> was far different.<\/p>\n \u201cTen thousand souls we sacrificed for a bare handful, a fraction of that last time. This time shall be different. Even spread out as they may be. I will bring the Demon Kingdom down to its knees and purge Rhir before my end.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n The compulsion gripped Othius. Nereshal nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cIt shall be, my king.\u201d<\/p>\n The Blighted King scowled, for he had not wished a response nor meant to voice that feeling aloud. But Nereshal at least understood part of Othius\u2019 great burden, his determination like adamantine to do what must be done.<\/em><\/p>\n Ten thousand of Rhir\u2019s children had been sacrificed unborn last time. This time\u2026<\/p>\n High Mage Laisa cried out as the magnitude of the spell struck her again. She was only providing power<\/em>, yet\u2014yet something seemed wrong<\/em> to her.<\/p>\n \u201cYour Majesty! Please, let us lessen the scope <\/em>of it!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n Othius snapped his reply. He had heard their fears. The spell was exponentially more powerful the more it was scaled up. The High Mages feared what it could do. But let it tear a hole between worlds! Let it bring him the armies the children had spoken of.<\/em><\/p>\n Let it be a worthy end, such that the world would ever remember his name. The Blighted King knew the incisive moment was still ahead. He waited, sitting impatiently, adjusting his clothing.<\/p>\n Laisa\u2014Laisa felt something was going wrong.<\/em> But she could not stop this. Not now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n —-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After about four hours of trekking through the undergrowth, Ryoka had trusted to the wind to see her to safety.<\/p>\n Her connection to it was immeasurably stronger than it had been in her first stage of perception. She felt it carry her around treacherous cliffs disguised in the underbrush, towards some destination\u2014Ivolethe perhaps\u2014and most crucially, away from the myriad dangers here.<\/p>\n The spiders were only the first of them. Twice, Ryoka had spotted vast shapes moving through the lesser trees amid the world-sized ones. Once, a shape high<\/em> overhead, and a call so terrifying she\u2019d huddled under a root network in fear for fifteen minutes before coming out.<\/p>\n Flora and fauna were strange. She passed by a perfectly red tree, taking care not to touch<\/em> the bark, and did not eat any of the fruits or drink from the water of any stream.<\/p>\n And still\u2014she felt the pursuers at times. In this modality, they were like distant blizzards sweeping across tens of miles away. Still so cold they sent wildlife running. And this time\u2014she was sure she would not outrun them.<\/p>\n Perhaps her humble place in the forest was just as well. But Ryoka still cursed as she saw another<\/em> flat lake barring her way. The wind urged her to not even go around the shore, and Ryoka did not trust the serene, glowing yellow-blue waters.<\/p>\n Anything could lurk there. And yet, for all she had seen great beasts, even chased strange predators away with the stink-potions, she had not seen one of the fae<\/em> yet. No living forms of sentience besides the rabbit, the pursuers, and the warrior.<\/p>\n Ryoka was beginning to believe she would never meet anyone. That was when she did. The wind blew her left\u2014and she came upon a door set into one of the vast trees.<\/p>\n It was slightly larger than she, but a homey thing, with a cut, decorative opening lined with glass at the top. No sign or windows or anything else, but Ryoka thought it was a wonderful little door.<\/p>\n She did not knock. Nor did the wind urge her that way. In fact, the instant Ryoka laid eyes on it, it tugged<\/em> her urgently back. As if the wind itself had not expected the door to be here.<\/p>\n Hardly reassuring. Ryoka backed up, licking her lips nervously. The wind blew her backwards\u2014<\/p>\n And nearly into the\u2026foot\u2026Ryoka stared at a huge, cracked toenail. Fungus and dirt underneath. Yellowing, unclipped. A foul odor. How had she not seen it a second before?<\/p>\n The answer came as she looked up at the tiptoeing giant<\/em> thing behind her. It grinned<\/em>, three eyes focused on her. Its skin was off-yellow, its \u2018hair\u2019 long, a continuous growth from its spine to its neck. It exhaled fumes with the noxious odor of putrid meat and\u2014<\/p>\n At this point descriptions needed to end because Ryoka was already backing up. She scrabbled for a potion at her belt.<\/p>\n \u201cW-wh\u2014stay back!\u201d<\/p>\n The thing did not answer her. It bent down<\/em>, down, <\/em>as it took a step as quiet as the rustle of leaves. It was so large one finger was larger than her. But still, it had crept up on her.<\/p>\n \u201cMortal flesh.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n That was all it said. Or\u2014Ryoka heard a rumbling tongue. Words that hurt<\/em> her ears. But she understood the meaning. She saw the hand dart forwards. She screamed, and tossed the potion.<\/p>\n The burning oil struck the hand. It didn\u2019t so much as stop it. Ryoka saw the huge hand move towards her\u2014<\/p>\n The wind blasted<\/em> her off her feet. That saved her life. The giant had misjudged his strength; had he struck her, she would have been paste. As it was, she landed with a bone-jarring thump. The thing made a sound.<\/p>\n \u201cWind and mortals and hunting cold. Long have I hungered for flesh, since eight stars grew cold.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u2026Is what the translation said. His true tongue she half-heard, a rumbling sound conceived before Humans had ever existed. She scrambled backwards, but it was so quick.<\/em> It blocked her on one side, digging up dirt to form a vast wall\u2014then did it again.<\/p>\n Like a boy would to trap a frog or mouse. Ryoka scrabbled for something that could harm this<\/em> thing. Carefully, it bent, trying to squeeze<\/em> her with two fingers.<\/p>\n From peace to death in an instant. This was the authentic fae experience. Ryoka cried out for the wind, and it assailed the monster, but it just laughed as the wind barely blew a refreshing breeze that moved the strands of hair slightly. Ryoka resolved to toss the pepper potion into its eye when it grabbed her when she heard a voice.<\/p>\n \u201cCome inside. Or do you wish to let it eat you?\u201d<\/p>\n Both Ryoka and the three-eyed giant looked over.<\/p>\n The door had opened. Someone stood in the humble, lovely little home. Ryoka\u2019s eyes focused on a furry face. Two tufts of bushy hair that might have concealed ears.<\/p>\n Forest brown, russet brown, and a slightly rotund figure. She had\u2026spectacles. And blinked up at Ryoka with a broom in hand. Ryoka thought she saw a pointed nose\u2014but again, descriptions were not for this moment.<\/p>\n \u201cWh\u2014wh\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome in.<\/em> If you wish to. But I rather think that your hunters and this one would eat you. I promise to do no harm.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka hesitated. Above her, the giant was rumbling.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is mine! My mortal!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAway with you.\u201d<\/p>\n The kindly woman waved her broom at it. He growled<\/em> furiously and two beady eyes narrowed. Hers. His were locked on Ryoka\u2019s. She looked at the woman, the door, and had a thought.<\/p>\n Brownie.<\/em> Ryoka took a chance as the wind tugged at her. Between the giant and the woman?<\/p>\n She dove<\/em>. The giant howled<\/em>. Ryoka rolled past the furry, rotund figure. She saw a long tail, almost like a rat\u2019s? And she realized the woman had been wearing an\u2026apron\u2026<\/p>\n Right before she shut the door. Ryoka leapt to her feet on the wooden, homey ground.<\/p>\n \u201cNo! Don\u2019t\u2014<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n A roar<\/em> shook the air just outside the door. A roar so loud the entire world\u2019s tree shook.<\/em> The giant voiced its fury\u2014and then Ryoka heard a howl.<\/em><\/p>\n If one was a person\u2019s fury, for all he was primitive and a titan\u2014the other was animal. Primal. Ryoka heard a shout of fear, and then crashing<\/em> footsteps. She herself quaked, but then there was only a kindly sigh and the door opened. A smiling woman walked inside with the apron and broom.<\/p>\n Brownie?<\/em> Ryoka gaped. She had heard tales of the faerie folk who were helpers to mortals, fierce protectors if angered, but mostly just gave out food and were helpful guests or even servants for a time. But she had never dreamed of finding one of them<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, and you won\u2019t, not thinking as you do. My, why did you want to see things this way,<\/em> girl? And why did you come into the forest? The city would have been safer, even with the cold folk hunting you. Well, all\u2019s mended now you\u2019re here. Come, sit, sit.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman swept past Ryoka in a moment. The Wind Runner whirled with the passing\u2014<\/p>\n And she found herself sitting in a comfy, nature\u2019s home. A seat made of a stump, a smooth table, a kitchen leading into the dining room, and two open windows that revealed nature without a guard of glass.<\/p>\n She looked around, and found she was holding a wooden mug and staring down at a plate of food. The woman smiled at her.<\/p>\n \u201cYour wind is rather flighty. It should have taken you out<\/em> of the forest long ago, but perhaps it feared the Winter Court more than what lay here. Silly wind.\u201d<\/p>\n She blew something into the air and it swirled about before landing on the floor. Tea leaves? She also addressed the breeze around Ryoka as if it were one kind of wind.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course it is. Now, eat. It has been far too long since your kind stepped foot in my home. I hope what you have is to your liking?\u201d<\/p>\n Again, the woman spoke. Ryoka jumped; but like Sikeri\u2026she peered into her mug. She saw a thick liquid, creamy, slightly yellow\u2026she took a suspicious sip.<\/p>\n Eggnog? With nutmeg? That was what it seemed to Ryoka. She smacked her lips then stared at the pancakes and eggs with syrup on them that the woman had been cooking. Ryoka blinked at her cup, and realized it was the fifth one she\u2019d had.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know\u2014excuse me, thank you for saving me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWould you stop saying that, Miss Ryoka? It\u2019s the sixth time, you know. Gratitude wears.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n A spoon tapped Ryoka on the head. Hard. The woman handed Ryoka another cup. The Wind Runner realized she was sipping\u2014and she\u2019d eaten part of the food in front of her! She put down the fork instantly.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014I shouldn\u2019t do this. Eat food? Here? Thank you for saving me, but I don\u2019t even know who\u2014what\u2014<\/em>you are.\u201d<\/p>\n She stared at the woman with trepidation. How had she sat long enough to have five cups of drink? The food? She was sure<\/em> this woman didn\u2019t know how to make fluffy pancakes and processed butter the exact way Ryoka liked them, and if they had factory-produced chicken eggs\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cSit.<\/em> My, you\u2019re a strange one. So anxious.\u201d<\/p>\n This time the bonk<\/em> on Ryoka\u2019s head actually made Ryoka see stars. She slumped into the chair and the woman tsked.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I invite someone into my home, they will<\/em> partake of my hospitality. What you eat is what you desire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cP-pancakes and eggs?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore reassuring than some grand feast, I imagine. What a delightful little drink you have.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman had a cup of her own, sipping it as if she had no idea what she\u2019d served Ryoka. She smiled, and was sitting before Ryoka could blink.<\/p>\n \u201cI know, I know, it\u2019s all sudden and you\u2019re terribly frightened. Mortals often are. Especially when they used to get lost in this forest. Those who met me\u2014well, they were usually braver sorts than you. But you must have been special to get here. Even today.\u201d<\/p>\n She looked Ryoka in the eye. Ryoka opened her mouth\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cYour friend? Ah, she\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014Time fast forwarded again. Ryoka stared at the slight stain around a cup; sure proof that you needed a coaster. She stared up in alarm and the eyes twinkled at her.<\/p>\n Green, like hers, amid brown.<\/em> The\u2026brownie\u2026if that was what she was, rolled her eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s impolite. But you\u2019re in a hurry, so I thought you needed the content<\/em> without the delivery. How do you feel? Another cup?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka realized her bladder was empty, her stomach was full\u2014but she\u2019d been digesting it, and she felt relaxed. Her bug bites were soothed, and the chafing on her feet? She stared at the bandages wrapped around her bare feet, a primitive but effective foot covering.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long was I here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFive minutes. And five hours. Would you like to sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka hesitated.<\/p>\n \u201cI ate faerie food\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been over this. Don\u2019t start fretting. My, you panic about everything.<\/em> Do I wash my hands?\u201d<\/p>\n She snorted. Ryoka leaned out of the way of the spoon of wrath. She must have asked that. The woman waved a finger.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is hardly that<\/em> food. If you meet the tricksters, don\u2019t talk or take anything from them. But we could hardly all be getting about if all food was wondrous entrapments, could we?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose that\u2019s so. Um\u2014t-thank you. Have I asked what you are?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFour times.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd did you answer?\u201d<\/p>\n Twinkling eyes were her response. Ryoka looked around the room.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lovely home you have here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI made it of the biggest tree I could find, but it\u2019s still somewhat small.<\/em> But that\u2019s perspective for you. If I wanted, it could be vast. But I like keeping it here. Now, tell me more about this world of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka did, or thought she did. Another minute passed and she was sitting up on a couch, apparently hand-stuffed. The fabric\u2026leather? Some hide, soft. Comfortable as could be.<\/p>\n \u201cI see. I see. You\u2019re from that place.<\/em> Such a terrible thing. No wonder they hunt you so. So Ivolethe<\/em> must be one of the Winter Court. They seldom come here. Your breeze tugged you in both directions because you want to go in.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka leaned forwards. She blinked at the dishes she was washing. She must have insisted, because the woman was taking her ease, smoking a pipe as she watched.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. You came from the outer place. Gateways. The forest and city? Well, we\u2019re closer, but you want to go at least one level further. That\u2019s where the courts are.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy in<\/em>, do you mean, a different level of\u2026? Another plane? No\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Blink.<\/em> Ryoka had it, and wondered how long it had taken.<\/p>\n \u201cFour minutes. You do know some things.\u201d<\/p>\n Ah.<\/em> She vocalized the answer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all one plane. But instead of geographical distance<\/em>, I\u2019m travelling across areas. I need to go through the forest or city to get to the next spot.\u201d<\/p>\n A beaming smile was her answer. Ryoka felt like she\u2019d won a medal. The woman waved a paw.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd now you\u2019re rested and you have proper footwear for your journey! I\u2019ll take you to the edge of the forest as well. All in less than ten minutes. Just as you wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka stood, and wondered if she had stayed here ten minutes or ten days. The woman seemed to be moving Ryoka<\/em> through her time as she pleased. Perhaps that was for Ryoka\u2019s benefit, but\u2014<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She stood, looking up at the two framed pictures. And knew they were not framed nor pictures. That was just how they saw them.<\/em><\/p>\n The sunlight was rising and her gracious hostess still abed. The Wind Runner looked up at them and then realized she had slept in the little one\u2019s rooms.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThen\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes, my dear. Even we die. Just not of <\/em>age.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Ryoka spun, guiltily. Her hostess was looking at her, tiredly from the opening. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I didn\u2019t mean to\u2014\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Wind Runner spoke nervously. The woman shook her head as she walked past the two books Ryoka had read yesterday.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI invited you into my home, Miss Ryoka Griffin. Now, rest. You must rest. You ran further than you <\/em>know, from the cold folk. One more day\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n But as she looked up at Ryoka, the young woman knew her welcome was\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Memory flooded back. Ryoka looked at the stranger.<\/p>\n \u201cNama?\u201d<\/p>\n Nama the\u2026hostess\u2026smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew you\u2019d figure out how to remember your stay. Sooner rather than later. Some never remember.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how I can repay your hospitality. Will you take something, at least? Gold? Potions?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n The eyes lit up. Ryoka saw a moment of greed, or perhaps, simply desire in the woman\u2019s eyes at last.<\/p>\n \u201cNow those are<\/em> things of value. Don\u2019t give them away so lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey are? I mean\u2014they are. Because\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka\u2019s entire collection of items was set out on a table. The woman plucked three healing potions from the bag and looked at Ryoka.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course they are. They\u2019re from your<\/em> world\u2019s rules, after all. And each world has different rules. For instance\u2026these? Very valuable. I will have three, if that is fair.\u201d<\/p>\n She shook the best of the healing potions in the bag of holding at Ryoka. The young woman thought it was cheap\u2014but she saw the hostess\u2019 meaning.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, Nama. Take them. And if you want\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. You may have need of healing.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman stopped Ryoka. Slowly, the Runner nodded and put them into her pack.<\/p>\n Twenty minutes. When she rose, Ryoka Griffin stretched. She felt light as a feather. The bindings on her feet? A second skin that neither thorn nor insect would pierce. She had never felt better.<\/p>\n She would remember her stay. Later. But she was in a hurry, so she turned and bowed. Nama tsked.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be rid of me so quickly, Ryoka Griffin. I can at least take you through the city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to, Nama. Really\u2014just to the city will do. You\u2019ve been such a gracious hostess this\u2026week?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka tried. She saw the lips move upwards, and the fur ripple, as it did when she amused or delighted her hostess. The apron was still there, but Nama had changed broom for walking stick.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are so stubborn. Perhaps. I will at least take you out of the forest. At least you know this trick.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka followed the older woman\u2014so much older\u2014<\/em>to the door. Ryoka belatedly wiped her feet on the welcome mat, guiltily, and got a chuckle. She saw the door open\u2014<\/p>\n And there were some trees, small, younger, some underbrush, and less than a hundred meters to the road. Beyond it lay the city.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to go through it. Just the outskirts. But better than the forest.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka stepped out hesitantly and stared about the landscape. This was not<\/em> the forest where she had encountered the sneaking giant. She glanced at the door; Nama winked.<\/p>\n Ah.<\/em> The same trick. Ryoka Griffin exhaled slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Nama. I think I can go from here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure? If you\u2019re not, just call for me. As long as you\u2019re here<\/em>, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka was tempted. But at the same time she had a feeling that Nama wanted to be\u2026here.<\/p>\n In her home. It was too much of an imposition to ask her to leave the memories behind, even for as long as it took. And Ryoka felt light on her feet.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m good. See?\u201d<\/p>\n She hopped up and down. She got a laugh again. Nama waved from the opening as Ryoka jogged for the road. The city beyond it\u2014<\/p>\n What a strange encounter. Like this mode of thinking\u2014a faerie\u2019s story. Nama was right, though. In between lecturing Ryoka, she had told her she should have stayed with the mundanity of the first vision. She\u2019d gone faster, then.<\/p>\n But Ryoka had wanted to see <\/em>wonders. So, this had occurred.<\/p>\n Now she jogged out of the forest and saw the city in the distance. Only\u2014<\/p>\n Something was wrong.<\/em> She left the forest behind, travelling that road which was really just filler between places in a moment and a long time. Seeing the city approach.<\/p>\n But what had been just a city like one from home was\u2026different now. Ryoka\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2026what is this?\u201d<\/p>\n She came to a halt. Her bound feet uncertainly stopping on the dirt path. Ryoka looked ahead, to where dirt became stone. The city lay beyond.<\/p>\n