'I'll be damned, Ripha.' Baba Yaga's thoughts oozed bitterness. 'Your tower came up with my same solution.'

'Yes, but it didn't think about using the Dread Flames, and I'm sure no other mage could conduct such a delicate procedure with your skill.' Menadion said in an attempt to appease her friend's wounded pride.

'That's because the Infirmary doesn't know about the Dread Flames and never scanned a patient struck by them.' The Red Mother countered. 'Let's see what happens if I input Leegaain's explanation and my observations about Zoreth's life forces after Elysia treated her.'

A few seconds later, another telepathic chime signaled that a new treatment identical to the one suggested by Baba Yaga had been found.

'I knew it.' She grunted.

'You are still the best Healer I know.' Menadion replied.

'That goes without saying.' The Red Mother grunted. 'I mean, you couldn't build a decent cooking device to save your life. There is no way in Mogar that you can build a Healer.'

'That's a low blow!' Seven hundred years had passed, yet Menadion's stomach was still scarred by the terrible cooking of her creation. 'Nobody is perfect.'

'I can cook.' Baba Yaga said with a smug smile.

'And now so can I!' Menadion retorted. 'Sort of.'

'Nice save, Mom.' Solus chuckled.

'Enough with my cooking skills!' The First Ruler of the Flames blushed in embarrassment. 'Do we have a treatment for Zoreth or not?'

'We do.' Baba Yaga studied the data provided by the Infirmary and supplemented it with her own observations, brainstorming with the tower core for the optimal solution. 'How much longer do you need to recharge the Elemental Storage, Lith?'

'A few hours, if we shut down all the floors that are not necessary to keep Zoreth alive.' He replied. 'The Spirit Magic, however, would take days.'

'We don't have days.' She replied. 'Luckily, we also shouldn't need much Spirit Magic. We can get to work the moment the light and darkness tanks are filled. It should leave us enough time for a second attempt in case of failure.'

***

Lilax and Aryk had been guests in Salaark's palace for two days and were this close to regretting their escape from Raum's clutches.

They were well-fed, safe, and surrounded by wonders beyond their wildest dream, but also utterly humiliated. The two youths ate like famished trolls, had negligible conversation skills, and asked questions about everything.

Their ignorance baffled even Rena's triplets, but the children were always happy to explain the simplest things, like their siblings had done for them in the past. For teenagers like Lilax and Aryk, relying on someone so much younger than them was a crushing experience.

'And the worst part is they still don't know I can't read.' The two youths inwardly whined. 'The only silver lining is that when Leegaain brought us here, he fixed our teeth and hair.'

If not for Aryk's and Lilax's thin build and sheer ignorance, it would have been impossible to guess their humble origin.

"This is Onyx." Teryon introduced the two youths to a massive black-furred feline. "And this is Abominus." The huge crystal wolf answered with a polite nod.

"They are Aran's and Leria's loyal steeds." Lenart said. "Every Verhen gets their own magical protector, and we'll get to choose ours for our next birthday."

"Of course, ours will be much cooler." Falco said with a matter-of-fact attitude. "My Emperor Beast will be the most powerful of all."

"Dream on!" His siblings said in unison.

"Guys!" Aran put an end to the quarrel before it escalated. "Magical beasts are not pets, they are friends. And you don't choose your friends based on what they can do for you, but because they like you and you them."

"Well said, Aran." Leria nodded. "Keep up with that attitude, and no magical beast will like you."

"You shouldn't be so hard on your siblings, Leria." Rena patted the young girl's head. "When you were a little older than them, you put the poor Abominus through a lot."

"Mom!" Leria blushed hard, and for once Aran didn't dare add a jab of his own.

Back in the day, he had acted no better toward Onyx and didn't want to give Rena a reason to expose his shameful past as well.

"Don't you 'Mom' me, young lady. The truth is the truth." Rena replied. "Instead of scolding your siblings for mistakes they have not even made yet, teach them the lessons you've learned from your mistakes."

"Thanks, Mom." The triplets sniffled.

They were on the verge of tears from the humiliation of being rebuked in front of guests.

"And you three, listen to your sister." Rena hugged them. "A wise person learns from the mistakes of others, a normal person from their own, a stupid person doesn't learn at all."

"Yes, Mom!" The triplets returned the embrace. "Speaking of learning, isn't it time for our lesson?"

"What lesson?" Aryk felt a pit in his stomach every time a Verhen child interacted with their parents. It was a mix of longing, sadness, and envy.

"The children of my family learn how to read, write, and count early." Rena replied. "I teach them a few words every day and they practice with them."

"Can you teach me too?" Lilax asked. "I received only a few lessons in my life, and it's been too long since I practiced."

The young girl craved the attention of a parental figure and had no idea how long she had until Leegaain took her back to the Empire.

'I'm tired of feeling left out.' Lilax thought. 'Everyone already knows how stupid I am, so there's no harm in telling the truth.'

"Me too." Aryk raised his hand, one of the few things he still remembered from his first orphanage.

'It's not like I can pretend for much longer.' He inwardly sighed. 'Better to be honest about it now than being exposed later.'

"Sure." Rena just smiled while the children looked at Aryk and Lilax as though they had grown a second head. "Please, follow me."

Rena saved the two youths from more awkwardness by Warping to the oasis where Elina was playing with Surin and the other toddlers.

"Mom, Aryk and Lilax need to refresh their reading skills. Can you help them?"

"Sure." Elina nodded. "You take care of the triplets. We'll meet you for the morning snack."

Once Rena disappeared again, leaving the youths alone, Elina asked:

"Where do we start?" Leegaain had already informed the adults about Lilax's and Aryk's origin, so Rena had given them the privacy they needed to avoid public humiliation.

"From the beginning." Aryk said, his mouth dry and his eyes low in shame. "I never learned how to read."

"Same." Lilax nodded.

"I see." Elina smiled and pulled a spelling book out of her dimensional amulet. "We'll start from the alphabet, then. Don't worry too much. You speak well and know lots of words. Once you get the hang of it, reading is easy."

She wrote the letters in the sand one by one, associating a picture of a common item from the book to it.

Lilax and Aryk followed suit, and so did Elysia and Valeron.

"Is this what Miss Rena meant when she said that Verhen kids learn early, Miss Elina?" Lilax was flabbergasted.

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