The clouds had broken, and sunlight spilled through, a small mercy in the cold. In some other parts of the Stake, the storm still raged.
Sol stood and walked to Old Chief Rahzgir, stopping before the rubble of the house. He bowed, deep and respectful.
"I'm thankful for your lesson, zhe'har." He kept his body lowered. "I don't know how I could repay this, but I swear, I will go back someday and—"
His words were cut clean in the middle. Old Chief Rahzgir was already in front of him, both hands clasping Sol's shoulders, forcing him upright.
"What is this nonsense about repayment?" The Old Chief's face was as serious as it had been when he first told Sol he would temper him like steel.
Sol did feel tempered. Not like steel, though. He felt different. Renewed, as if his body had been broken into thousands of pieces and rebuilt.
"You will do no such thing," the Old Chief continued. "You will move forward. That is what you will do."
"But... the house..."
"It's just a house, gja'rim. I have hundreds upon hundreds of years of experience building houses and walls greater and stronger than this. You think this one mere setback will stop me?"
"The remembrance crystals... your clothes... the cauldron..."
"Hmhmhmhmhmhm!! All might be gone, but the most important ones still exist within my memories. I can always go back to the village and ask for Rahzmir's help regarding the crystals, so don't you worry about a thing." He patted Sol's back, then guided him toward Wanwan's mother. The owl was no longer there. "What you must do now, instead, is to understand."
Sol didn't answer. He was still confused about the Snow White Garm's existence, why she had helped him against the Nhiven, and why she had come again, now, to assist in pacifying his hunger.
"This is Haati." Wanwan's mother looked into Sol's eyes. Those crystalline sapphires of hers shone even more brightly beneath the sun. "Haati, you already know who this child is."
The Old Chief slapped Sol on the back. The sting bloomed for a heartbeat, but Sol stayed firm. "He's my gja'rim."
Nia, Wanwan, and the four pups were huddled together atop the snow, basking in the warm daylight. The pups, tired from the battle and the snowfight, clumped together and dozed without a care in the world. Nia looked like she wanted to let her own pressure slip away too, but she couldn't stop herself from listening.
"Haati is one of the two Zheran, Guardian Beasts of the Stake," the Old Chief said. "What she does, together with the Nhiven, is make sure the Rimelord cannot do whatever she wants, or cover the entire region in an unceasing, uncaring cold. She has been here even longer than we have, even before we moved into this region five hundred years ago." The Old Chief caressed Haati's fur near her left ear, and Haati lowered her head, letting him ruffle her coat.
He continued, voice warming as memory did. "She has been a good friend to us, the Nhevari of Elm. At least, that is what I and my sons understand. The other Garms, the darker-furred ones from the Lowlands, are a different matter entirely. A different breed of problems. But sweet Haati here, back then together with Skoll, her mate and the pups' sire, held dominion over the Stake even before Korviana ascended as the Rimelord, becoming the Apex."
Haati lowered her head further, then sat directly in front of Sol and the Old Chief.
The Old Chief glanced at Sol, understanding the boy was still a bit intimidated by Haati's size, and gestured him closer. "Come. Introduce yourself."
"I…" Sol swallowed. "Uhm. Okay…"
He stepped forward until he stood right before Haati's face. Even seated, she still towered over him by a few heads. "You've met me before, Haati. My name is—" And again, he was cut off.
"Sol. I have known your name a long time, little sun."
The voice emanated from everywhere. Haati did not open her mouth to speak. She would never be able to form the same syllables Sol could, yet her intention was clear, and it echoed inside everyone's mind.
Nia stood up so fast she startled the pups. "Woah! Wanwan's mom can talk?" She ran toward Sol and stopped in front of Haati as well. "I'm Nia! Nice to meet you, Wanwan's mom!"
"And it is good to meet you, little flower. Have my pups troubled you?"
Something in Haati's expression softened. It might have been wishful thinking, but it felt real.
"Oh, no. Yeah. They eat a lot. By a lot, I mean A LOT. And they're heavy, and their tongues are rough, and they don't want to be bathed, andffffffff—"
Sol nervously clapped a hand over Nia's mouth. "Ahahahahahahahahahah!!" He looked at Haati, still smiling, still embarrassed. "She doesn't mean any of that. Right, Nia?"
"Mmmmm-hmmmm!!" Nia nodded, then paused as if thinking hard, then frowned and shook her head. "Mmmmm-hmmmm."
"They are exactly as they should be." Haati's smile looked genuine now. Under the sun, her pups rolled and sighed in the snow, uncaring. "However, as much as I want to continue this peaceful conversation, I must impart a few pieces of information before you continue your journey. You intend to go to the village, correct?"
Nia looked at Sol.
Sol looked back at her, unsure. When he first met her, he had thought of returning to Elm. He had wanted to prove himself, make Rahzar shut his mouth, perhaps even earn respect by bringing Nia to the elders.
If he had done what he wanted back then, Nia would have been used as a living mana purifier for Elm. Her nature as a sorcerer, or perhaps a maegi, would allow them to do it. The Mana around Elm would be purified for a time, perhaps longer than a few dozen years, considering how powerful she was.
But that was then.
Sol no longer wanted to give Nia to the elders. There was no desire left in him to chase approval from Elm. Nia's presence, Wanwan's, the Old Chief's, the four pups', and even Haati's, were more than enough.
So he found himself without an answer, and that confusion sat quiet in his throat.
"I did want to take you back to the village, yes," Sol said at last. "But… we no longer have to do that." He looked at Nia carefully, choosing each word. "You said you wanted to meet with the Seven Lords. I might be able to help you with that. You might want somebody to protect you along the way."
Nia nodded. "Yes, the Seven Lor— was it Lords? Or was it Crowns? Huh…"
The Old Chief stepped closer and stopped beside Haati. "It is the Crowns. They are the ones chosen by the Stars—the Princes of Gehenna, to represent them. The Stars chose them as Incarnates, and the Seven Crowns hold absolute power over each region. Usually not in an authoritative way, but in a more tame way. Like how Haati and the Nhiven guard the Stake from the Rimelord." He flicked his gaze to the mountain and back. "They exist out there, somewhere. You just have to find them."
Incarnates…? Sol's thoughts slipped back to the white-hooded man. Does that have something to do with me? Or do I have something to do with the Seven Crowns?
The Old Chief continued. "Naama might know way, way more than I do! Incarnates, Crowns, and whatnots. Nhevar was never counted as a region by the Princes. Not in Gehenna, not here. That is why we are outside their sphere of influence. Besides, we cannot really go anywhere from this land."
"Teacher Naama does?"
"Yes. Of course Gazmir's wife is the smartest woman in the village. He chose well." The Old Chief's grin widened. "Or did she choose well? Hmhmhmhmhmhm. There lies the mystery!"
Sol and Nia looked at each other and smiled.
This version of the Old Chief felt tamed, subdued. Like a kind-hearted, well-meaning grandfather who loved stories. He stood somewhere between the previous stern teacher Old Chief and the unpredictable Ol' Crazy.
"Zhe'har—"
"Grandpa," the Old Chief said. "It is easier that way."
Sol was taken aback by that request. It's not unheard of to call one's master 'father' or 'grandfather', but it was certainly rare. No one in the village did that to their masters.
Do I have a choice in this? I would rather not call someone who's not my grandpa, my grandpa...
"Do I... have a choice?" Sol squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for retaliation from his old master.
The Old Chief lifted one brow. "What? You do not want to humor these old bones? I might not have long in this world, you know!"
Eh... That's cheating... Now I really do not have a choice.
"Master Grandpa," Sol said, face flat.
"Nononnononono! Drop the Master!"
"Ugh. Grand-Master."
"Oy."
"Alrightalrightalright! Grandpa! There! I said it!"
The Old Chief smiled. Sol could have sworn flowers bloomed around his face. Pure contentment. Like that single word was payment enough for all the destruction Sol's Shade had caused.
"Wait, I already call you Grandpa Rahzgir," Nia chimed in, bright as ever. "Grandpa~ Rahzgir~."
"Oh, that is true, that is true." The Old Chief's laugh piled on itself. "Oh! Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm! How happy! Not one, but two. My. I can die happy now!—"
"—Please don't die just yet," Nia said, soft but firm.
"Of course I won't! It is just a matter of speech! I won't go anywhere until I see my great-grandchildren!" He looked at Sol and Nia, face blank, then winked.
Sol and Nia stared at each other. Both frowned, processing. Then realization struck, and they both looked away in opposite directions, cheeks flushed.
The Old Chief clapped his hands once. "Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm!! The beauty of youth!! Of course that should wait until later!! Just know that you have my blessings. Haati, you might want to continue."
"Fufu, of course." Haati nodded.
"Then let me explain this shortly. Sol, child. This mountain has been under siege by the Rimelord for the last fifteen years, and I believe it has something to do with your birth."
"My… birth?"
"Yes. Fifteen years ago, a great calamity happened in the region of this mountain. Something unprecedented. The skies were burning with flame, and it was not just any flame." Haati paused. She rose, stepped, and faced the sun before continuing. "The burning was gold. Exactly like the mending of your scars."
Sol looked down at his body. Nia looked too, and only then seemed to register that the golden gleam was fused into him, not sitting on the surface like paint.
"That's true…" Nia leaned closer, eyes narrowing with thought. "I thought it was a temporary side effect of your transformation. But now that I've seen it closely, it feels like you were healed using some other method that wasn't mine." Her gaze lingered a moment too long, and Sol stepped back, awkwardly. "Oh. Are you embarrassed?"
I need to find something to cover myself up...
"No." Sol's cheeks were definitely flushed. He was not used to being watched while shirtless.
"Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm! I will find you something from the house." The Old Chief headed toward the rubble and left the three of them in the sun's warmth.
The river flowed freely in front of them. Fish jumped now and then, flashes of movement against the water. Across the bank, the forest stirred. Trees swayed. Birds flitted low, retreating toward the Lowlands before the sun set.
"Something... told me I am an Incarnate," Sol said, breaking the silence.
Nia looked at him, curious. Haati did not react.
"And were you able to perceive this person fully?"
"Yes… and no." Sol's gaze went distant. "It was dark. Everything was shaped like this place. I was rampaging with the red and, or black flame cloak—or veil. Whatever it was. I did not even seem like myself. One singular instance of what was happening here. That was what he showed me." Sol sat near the river. Nia sat beside him. Haati lowered herself to the ground. "I… have no idea what it meant, but then he offered me his hand. I do not think there was a choice in that moment."
"So you took his hand."
Haati's voice echoed softly around them. The blue flame aura at her chest seemed gentler now, as if she was no longer built for battle.
"So I took his hand." Sol nodded once. "Was that a mistake?"
"I cannot tell, little sun. However, what I can tell is that it was something you needed to do. If you had not made that choice, perhaps the girl and my pups would not be joining us, basking in the warm light right now." Haati turned her head toward her pups. Wanwan yawned wide, blinked a few times, then padded over. He stopped behind Sol and Nia, slumped down, and dozed off again. "He was always a difficult one, you know. This boy."
"Wanwan?"
"Wanwan… such a fitting name. He cries louder than the rest, fears more than the rest, worries more than the rest. Skoll told me he would not live up to his name, but I believed he would." Haati studied Sol and Nia, then blinked once. "He found both of you, after all."
"What was his name, then?" Nia asked, purely curious. "If Wanwan is not a good name, we can call him by his real name instead. Of course, if you wish for it, Aunt Haati."
"Fufu. Aunt Haati sounds lovely. But no, little flower. Wanwan is a good name for him." Wanwan's ears perked, then he huffed a long breath and relaxed again. "Skoll, his late sire, wanted to name him Hrodvitnir. An allusion to the Wolf of Legend. The one believed to be able to swallow the sun, preventing its explosion at the final gasp of existence, and with it, preventing total annihilation."
"Hrodvitnir…" Sol glanced back at Wanwan, sleeping soundly, snoring a little. "That's a really—"
"—Really really really difficult name to pronounce!" Nia cut him off, as usual. "Wah! Hortvid. Hort. Horbibibi. Horbibnir."
Sol wasn't annoyed. He just smiled. "Yeah. It is kind of difficult for our tongue."
"Is it not fitting? A boy with the name of the sun, and a wolf believed to be able to swallow it whole? Strange, is it not… how names gather around one another." Haati's gaze rested on all three of them, then her voice lowered, gentle but heavy. "And both of you accompany the flower fated to bloom right before the ending began. It feels like there is some truth to the stories."
Sol and Nia looked at each other.
"Do not worry. It is just an old story. One that might make sense if it were narrated by a more reliable storyteller." Haati rose and stepped closer, then lowered her head until she could look into Sol's eyes. "Allow me to indulge in a selfish request, little sun."
Sol held her gaze.
"Will you allow me to witness my son's journey alongside you?"
Haati blinked, sapphire-bright. Wanwan perked his ears and lifted his head. Nia watched, suddenly still.
A smile broke across Sol's face.
"Of course I will."