Chapter 23
The morning was colder than it had been recently.

The skies were gloomy and overcast.
The only other signs of life were the black shapes of the birds above the horizon. They ascended over the river in a delta formation as the ships Slowly drifted until. Eventually, they found their moorings at the end of a long journey.

The smell of driftwood was fragrant.

The sound of wood kissing stone lingered in the atmosphere as the boats inertias cut through the tranquil waters. Moving inside the quayside and finding their tethers at the end of a journey that ended at the river’s edge at Mārin village.

Coming home the feeling of bliss lightened the hearts of passengers, as the familiar sights met their eyes and reinvigorated their sense of purpose. it was only tainted by
The nimbostratus clouds that loomed overhead. Darkness and foreboding lingered and was mirrored in the surface of the once turquoise waters of the river, as the surface reflection painted a particular portrait of clouds gathering in the upper limits of the ether. Superstition would denote it as a warning. It indeed was an unwelcome portent of things to come like the sky herself had lowered her veil, as she too looked away and could not bear the anticipation of what was about to follow.

Some may have contemplated, was time running out?

Is this the beginning of the end of days?

The strange creature that lived in the crystal jar
Emrys occasionally liked to observe people, in much
The same way that people watched the birds. He found the window of his eye floating around the atmosphere as he would oversee Martian interactions serendipitously. The everyday little small things that appeared trivial but were of great importance to them, customs and ceremony. He was curious to see how Min and kay would now interact In lieu of their fraught and new situation.

There was also something different about the makeup of his reality. He was…after all a being of magic.

Something formless, amorphous that lingered over him. Perhaps it had always been there, a voice that called to him, a distant echo in time and space, he couldn’t always hear it, but he knew it was there!

It conversed softly to him and then it dissolved into the wind. He wasn’t sure if he should trust it, but It made him feel calm. So, he always welcomed it. Was it the voice of his own cognizance or was it something else he wondered?

A crowd of people had amassed along the promenade. The feisty and spirited youth and the gnarly and angry elderly as they stood behind the rebel’s and delighted to see a glimpse of the champions steeped in allegories and myth.
Knowing that real danger was ever encroaching but choosing to stand firm anyway.

The heroes.

The man at arms Vir Okota whose prowess with any weapon was almost legendary ….he seemed smaller in real life. Followed by Wi Sako, the mighty a substantial bearlike figure of a man with a pure white mane of hair. He was a musician of sensuality. Some that witnessed his music said the ground where he had performed resonated, that they could still hear the notes in the air even though he had moved on after his act had finished, his melodies remained.

Then there was Tum jai, who was someone not to be overlooked, the black Executioner the man you’d want defending your liberty even if the underworld had laid a claim to your soul, incredibly smart and resourceful he would find some small reprieve a Technicality so you could live for another day.

The Pa ’mina and dark horse Una. The red witch, she was still a mystery, but just maybe she was the one who was the most powerful of all because she was an unknown property.

The familiar sight of Vee Vee was greeted with waves of cheers as though he had not recognised himself to be a hero at all, it was apparent that a new narrative in the annals of his life was being written he was one of their own, after all.

The Wildcard Li Min, the best sword in the land, staggered inebriated on nepenthe she seemed almost a lost shadow of herself, a disappointment that did not quite live up to the hype that proceeded her. The crowd was significantly quiet as she looked at them in contempt and almost seemed ready to wade into them and have fisticuffs, after all, she was Catalunian.

lastly, the figure of Li kay disembarked the boats as the crowd cheered the Grandmarshal and he saluted them with a thumbs up gesture.
As the crowd lamented and saluted with stretched out arms as if they were hailing Caesar

The villagers stood at the side of the road as the party of warriors marched slowly up toward the gates of Li kays villa and past the banners that hung vertically and read “WE SHALL NOT BE COWED.”

As he neared his home he spoke into one of his bracers “ Ourainne open up the villa we’re home, and ready the guest quarters we have company!”

The party entered the courtyard as Min slowly looked upon the garden, the birds watched on as they perched in rows, flapped and sang from the perimeter wall.

The first sight that met them was the sight of snow lilies that were in bloom, they were pretty and tended to creep up the trellises and hung like ribbons from the pergolas like garlands of red and white and purple that swayed softly like chimes in the breeze. Min looked on for a moment, it was as if she had been here before and was replaying a distant memory one of happiness lost, and so it was a sword thrust in her side, as she started to weep again as the effects of nepenthe ran out like the sand of a broken hourglass.

Kay seeing her distress moved closer to her to console her .. he spoke gently a side of him he seldom let show “Min what is the matter please tell me starflower!”
“ I ..I know you’ve suffered greatly, “ he said as he tried in vain to make a connection with her. At first, her lips moved as if she wanted to talk, but it was almost as if she were incapable as if she could not find the words. It was an act he would surely regret as Mins stubborn side resurfaced as she took a literal swipe at him slapping him across his face sending him reeling back a couple of paces. It was not fooling him it was apparent she was evading the inevitable.

Emrys perceived Martians have bizarre courting rituals.

As she went storming into the bowels of the house.

“I didn’t deserve that!” He thought aloud “Always was feisty that one !” said the enigmatic tones of Tumjai’s voice.
“I remember now!” as he called Ūna over to him “ oon please check on her and make sure she’s ok” as he nursed his aching jaw.

The voice to someone without ears was like an itch sometimes, try as he might to ignore it, it merely stayed it was never really saying anything at all, it just called his name “ em~er~ris … Emrys!”
Maybe he had dreamt it? If he had eyelids to close and were capable of sleep.

Emry’s curiousness drew his attention to ūna and min as he interloped on their conversation.

Min sat staring through the window upstairs from the room that the little Sprite had occupied before this all began.
Studying the view of the garden wall and the street outside.

She sat an exceptional woman in shapeliness with her clear complexion and magical light raspberry blonde hair That only showed in the bright sunlight. She munched the sleeve of her emerald silks as she sat pensively on her chaise lounge.

It was then she noticed the reflection of ūna in the window pane. Min looked to be miming as she tried and looked laboured as she fought hard to get her words out, “why?“ she Said shakily As she barely managed to utter the words.

Ūna placed one of her hands on her shoulder as Min placed her hand to meet it as if she was comforted in knowing it was there.

“I can’t answer that!”
She dismissed the rhetorical question, “but I think there’s a conversation you need to hear !” said ūna On a cryptic note “ though you may not want to!”
Min stared hard at her faint reflection as if she wanted to see the likeness of someone else.

“You don’t remember me, do you!?!” Min cast a cursory glance towards her “ or the little girl with wine coloured hair that was not your daughter, the moor bought in from the cold on that fateful day “ it was painful recounting those days for ūna, but she recalled it vividly.

“I remember, I remember the smell of your perfume… you smelt of lyger berries ….the kind words you used to make me feel special, I couldn’t tell you then!” Her words made Mins heart feel fluttery as if someone had given the greatest of compliments and butterflies were nestling in her stomach a sensation she had not been accustomed to in recent years.” Though I did want to!!” Ūna concluded her sentence as
A sense of regret descended over her…

“ it’s a little bit ironic, I also remember the love in your eyes when you spoke about Elkie!” Capturing her complete attention like a lantern that lured the moth ever closer she turned and looked at her with her full undivided attention.
“It was nice to hear that someone could be proud of them despite the fact they had winette coloured hair!”
“ and it was nice to see two people in love, I saw it that day when you looked at Li kay in the alley of the safe house !” Mins face dropped as anger began to spread across her face like a plant growing roots. ūna had walked her gently to the edge of her proverbial life and was wondering if she were about to fall or fly. “that day In The alley, I tried to tell you, I tried to warn you that it was not Li kay .. it was something else a changeling!” Mins heart quickened as it literally felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.
“ what …. hmm!” She said goading Min “you look like you have something to say!”
“ is that wishing that you took Elkie and left me there to die, don’t you think I don’t already know that… about you!!”
“Don’t you think I don’t wish that every day!?????”
“You feel anger toward me, you think it was the demon that did that to you …are you so sure it wasn’t you who felt sinful and wicked and dripping with malice….so what are you going to do about it, I’m here, and I’m not Grozette!!!”

Min felt griping guilt as it overcame her and then resentment and anger like a cauldron of seething rage but when she accessed her own feelings, she felt cleansed as if she knew they were hers and hers alone.
“ NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”
She shouted at the top of her lungs.
“You’re wrong about me I don’t wish any of those things at all!”
She heard the familiar tones of her Catalunian accent as she discovered her voice like a conscientious objector standing in adversity alone.
“So .. !” said ūna “ you are made of sterner stuff!!”
“Did you feel differences in emotion?” The red witch examined her as she remade eye contact that could only be categorized as being wild, bold or having a death wish.
“ that’s how you know your free …of the demons I mean …so do yourself a favour live free!”
Ūna turned to leave toward the spiral staircase “I have regrets!!!” Uttered Min which gave pause and cause for ūna to stare back at her.
“ nothing is ever over, it’s not where you start it’s where you finish! “
As she descended the spiral staircase from the higher ground into the depths of the villa.

It was only a short time later that kay visited her “I err bought you some Mek touriah!” He Exclaimed like an awkward schoolboy as he laid the platter on a small table as he turned to leave, “I’m sorry!” She said into the open air he looked back with eyes that were tortured “it’s ok it doesn’t hurt too much.“
“No … Not for the slap!”
“I’m sorry for everything!” She said shyly as if she were being punished as she blushed with embarrassment.
she took a small spoonful of Mek touriah, she sighed as she exclaimed “oh god!!! “
“What?” Asked kay
“This Mek touriah, it’s awful!!!”
“Yeah, it is!!!!” Agreed kay as the chemistry that was still there reignited the air and laughter ensued through the hallowed halls of the villa.

Back in the courtyard, Vee was listening to Tumjai as he sat just the two of them as they swapped stories. Jai was glad he met this young man he was a bit naive and sometimes made himself to be more gullible than he was, but he also saw the world in an interesting way, it was part of his charisma and even his defense mechanism.
Vee was hanging on Tumjai’s every word “really, I think you’re pulling my leg!” Exclaimed vee
Jai saw something in the young man a quality of what men like kay and he could have been if they had lived in fairer times.

A descant figure in the distance approached it was a beautiful woman, in an elegant dress. Their eye was drawn to her immediately as the beauty stood closer to them they recognized her rare winette hair and the faint lilac lines that had been covered in makeup, it was paschėlle ūna. she interrupted their conversation as she boldly took Vee vees arm and said: “ excuse me Mr. Tumjai, but we have a dinner date!”
“we do!” he quickly corrected himself as he couldn’t believe his luck “er, yes we do!” he thought a little
“But I’m not even dressed!” Ūna interrupted “I like you just the way you are !”
Vee looked back at jai as if he were being abducted. Poor lad, thought Tumjai as he remarked:” well if you’re not going, then I am!” With a hearty laugh. As vee got whisked away.

Poor thing he was outgunned and had no defense against the most noble of poisons of the heart, the female sex. Jai thought, as slowly, very slowly a familiar feeling began to gently take hold of him. It was like the stifled dull sound of whimpering and anguish as he started to see in front of his eyes two figures lying on the ground male and female hanging onto one another but deathly still, in a puddle of unnamed black liquid.
Underground. It was ūna and Vee, a tear began to roll down the hardened crispy black complexion as he felt a very genuine chill.
As he cried out “No Oh no!! Please no!”

He looked over to the ampule jar where Emrys was, wiped his eyes and sighed.

Later in time
Emrys contemplated what he had observed. As he began folding his consciousness back in on itself as he returned to being a dim sphere of light no bigger than a firefly as he almost squashed himself down to complete zeroness. It was then Emrys had the notion again a faraway echo of almost incoherentness as it said Emrys, he replied “yes!” And “is it almost time, …….something wonderful !”