Our meeting with the bear lord over and most of the day gone, we returned to Mount Aeternia. I found myself dreading what came next more than my encounters with the Sahevin or the Unclean clans and their mountain of a bear lord.

Not because the leviathans were dangerous, but because of what they represented.

Tamrie leaving.

She was waiting for us when we landed, pacing back and forth. Ari was standing nearby, hands folded neatly over each other as they talked quietly.

It was only as Inertia clanged down that either of them noticed us.

"Perry," Tamrie cried out, running over and taking my face in her hands, moving it back and forth.

"Uh, hi," I said, putting my hand on hers and gently pulling it away from my face. "Missed you too?"

"The Tethered said you fought the Bear lord! I thought you were going there to talk, not to fight!" Tamrie exclaimed, slugging me in the arm, hard. She'd effectively caused more damage than Tillan had our whole fight.

Rubbing my arm while running Restore form through it, I chuckled. "It was… friendly. I told you we might have to spar."

"Spar? They said that a mountain collapsed!"

"Only a small hill," I protested. "Honestly, it was only like a hundred feet tall and barely slowed him."

"It was fraying awesome! The big guy was all over the place, tearing up rocks bigger than Inertia and tossing them everywhere! And the whole time, Papa was just like… nope, nah, not even close!" Her words not sufficient, Bevel did a remarkable job demonstrating as she whipped herself back and forth over our heads.

"I regret choosing not to attend. It seems we missed out on quite the event," Ari said, stepping forward. "I hesitate to interrupt, but the train is due to arrive in Southport soon. I believe you wanted to be there."

"Right, yes, let's go," I said, grateful that we wouldn't be going straight to the leviathans.

Tamrie nuzzled up against my side. "Were you really dodging boulders the size of Inertia?"

"Most were bigger," I admitted, shaking my head. "Not dense though. Would've just shattered against Aegis. And we were fighting atop a mana-well. Meant I could use as many spells as I needed."

"Fraying. Awesome," Bevel reiterated with a raised hand, dancing back and forth ahead of us, just off the ground.

Another chuckle escaped me as we made our way down to the Waygates. We went through, splitting up as soon as we were beyond the threshold, those of us who'd been in attendance that morning flying over to the approaching train just before it pulled into the station.

The train would've easily made it to Southport far earlier, except all those people aboard weren't just there for show. Most were there to check over the train as it repeatedly went through stress tests, continually stopping and starting throughout the day.

All those tests had apparently eaten up even more of the day than our trip to meet the bear lord.

We didn't bother hiding in the engine cab, taking up position to wave to the waiting crowd as the train inched into town.

The idea of keeping off the track hadn't really sunk in for most of the locals yet, despite the fact it was twenty feet below the stone plateau most of Southport was built into. That just meant the Tethered had hung nets along the sides.

I wrote down a note to add railings and signs.

Once the train inched its way into the bare-boned station, we did a quick greeting, I made some noises about the glory of Cape Aeternia, then we made our escape.

Soon as we were out of the crowd, Bevel's excitement returned, audible whoosh and smash noises escaping her mouth, each one accompanied by a gust of her own as she bounced over us.

Tamrie and Ari were waiting at the edge of the settlement, which I took a moment to look over. Despite the fact I barely visited, it'd already become the largest community in Cape Aeternia, with refugees pouring in constantly.

It was the landing point for so many, and with the train running, soon, Southport would be the gateway to the rest of Cape Aeternia. Really wished I'd gotten ahead of the name. Next time. I'd gotten Esbee to make a list. And we'd name Settlements before anyone moved in, going forward.

A rolling cheer pulled me out of my thoughts, a group of people below encouraging a pair of acrobatic Tethered as they showed off on one of the nets hanging over the street. Now that the train had arrived, the festival picked up once more.

Unfortunately, we were leaving that behind. We returned to the Waygate and made our way east, using Overflow City as our exit.

The Shapers assigned to Ari had already made remarkable progress, the area around the Waygate nearly unrecognizable. Even the stone overhead had been cleared, allowing light to bathe the underground city in all its resplendent glory. To the point it felt brighter than the aboveground city we'd just left.

Wondered if it was an enchantment or some property of the stone overhead.

Either way, several of the buildings had been restored to their original austere appearance, including the Shaper's guild. Though that one was a little less austere.

Much as I wanted to explore, our meeting waited.

Outside, Aeternia's Shield floated above. Ascending, we flew through the open hanger door, finally enchanted to allow in-flight loading and unloading. Just 'cause it was designed to work without, didn't mean it wasn't a very useful enchantment to have in place.

Setting down on the deck, we were greeted by a Tethered I didn't recognize. It took me a second to realize they were a refugee, just dressed in the traditional woven clothing of the Tethered.

I had a feeling I should've established an actual uniform for each arm of our military and guards. Making a note to talk to Vendil about that too, I followed the not-a-Tethered to the observation deck located over the hanger door at the very front of the ship. No reason to bug the crew on the bridge.

Being at the very front gave us a commanding view of the landscape as Aeternia's shield took us east to the promontory the leviathan had shown us in its display of light just before Tamrie's awakening.

Sure enough, there was a pod of them swimming just off shore. The smaller ones were diving and climbing, attempting to throw themselves upwards with the ocean at their backs.

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When we descended, with Tamrie held firmly between Ari and I, the play jumping broke into a furious spray of water until the largest leviathan present rose up, dropping a tidal wave of water over them. Apparently chastened, the younger leviathans settled down.

However, that only meant we now had the undivided attention of a dozen killer whale-esque creatures of the deep, the smallest of which couldn't have been less than a hundred feet long.

They waited in relative silence until Tamrie, Ari and I settled down on the tip of the promontory, Bevel hovering just behind while Inertia and Tresla watched from the ship above.

After Ari and I released her, Tamrie put her hand forward slightly, as if uncertain. Then after a moment, she made a fist with her other hand, nodding to herself and taking a step forward.

At that moment, clouds seemed to pass over, the night growing suddenly dark.

And in that dark, a light.

The hand she'd been holding forward tentatively glowed as she held it up. Her look of uncertainty faded, as she pulsed outward, pushing back the darkness and bathing the stone in her light.

After a couple seconds, she took another step forward. And another.

It wasn't long until she was about to run out of ground. I could see her fist still clenched tight, but she didn't stop.

She reached the edge.

And the ocean rose up to greet her.

I'd thought I'd learned the truth of magic. Measured and understood.

As Tamrie walked down to those leviathans, her hand raised, soft pulses of light bathing the ocean in gentle radiance as it rose up to meet her, I remembered something crucial.

I knew nothing.

Tamrie had a connection to the ocean I'd never felt with my own magic, despite hours upon hours of study.

She intuited it.

A glance at Bevel, wondering if she felt the same, then back to Tamrie.

She was talking to them now, taking turns trading pulses of light back and forth, standing in front of that giant being, stopping less than a hundred feet from its immense form. A tiny speck of life that shone as brightly as those before her.

It was… I was lucky to have been part of her journey, I realized. She'd never belonged in Aeternia.

Not truly.

It was so obvious, seeing her there, amongst giants. She should've been out of place, next to them.

Instead, it was as if she'd been walking through one of those old MAD magazine covers my old man had loved, with their overly emphasized art and goofy faces. And only now had she stepped into reality.

At the time, I thought it might've just been me, but later, I'd discover that everyone felt the same.

The leviathans introduced themselves one at a time, swimming up to her, beaming their colorful pulses before making room for the next.

And Tamrie greeted them all, laughing and smiling as she kneeled down on the waves.

She hadn't come home.

Home had come to her.

…MLI…

"Rainbow Under the Moon wants for me to thank you for taking care of me," Tamrie said, having returned to the rocky ground of the promontory, the partially cloudy night sky casting her half in shadow.

"Tamrie, you okay?" I asked, stepping forward. There was a distant look to her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"I… yes. Just… feels like I been strugglin' 'gainst the waves all my life, only to realize how much easier it was to swim along," Tamrie said, leaning against me.

"Mother said… she said that it was always like that, if she spent too long ashore," Ari said, laying a hand on Tamrie's arm.

Tamrie shook her head, eyes clearing as she looked up at me. Then she leaned forward and squeezed hard enough to make me wheeze. "Gonna miss you, Perry."

"I'll miss you too. But… you're not going yet, right?" I asked. I didn't much like the note of desperation in my voice when I asked, no matter how honest it was.

"No… no, they'll give me time. Up to a month, if'n I need," Tamrie said, wiping at her cheek. "And they'll keep the fishmen away 'till then."

"A month… a month is good," I said, pulling her tight again.

"Perry, I don't… I won't be staying a full month," Tamrie said, reaching up to touch my cheek when I loosened my grasp. "Can't do that to… to you. You're already… spendin' an entire month with me right here… I see it so clearly now. Everything. So clear."

There were tears in her eyes. I didn't want there to be tears in her eyes. I didn't want the blurring in mine either.

"What… what do you see so clearly?" I asked, voice hoarse.

"What it would do to you, to have to wait. To be part of something so divided. It's not who you are," Tamrie said, stroking my cheek. "You'll love me, for'a certain. But waiting for me, it'd break everything beautiful about you. Nearly has already, and I haven't even gone."

"So… what? We just give up?"

"Not… exactly," Tamrie said, her gaze flicking to the side.

"What? Ari? You can't just replace my love for you with another person, Tamrie. It doesn't work that way," I said, laughing at the absurdity.

"Wouldn't be replacing," Tamrie said, leaning forward and placing a kiss on my cheek. "Not gonna stop loving you. Just… not gonna be here. Won't be dead or nothin'."

"Worse, you'll be promoted," I said, laughing to myself at a joke no one else got. Bitter laughter to match bittersweet tears.

"It'll be okay, Papa," Bevel said, suddenly clutching at my side. "I won't leave you. Never."

"Oh Bevel," I said, shifting to hold her, running a hand through her hair. "I know. I know, it's not… I won't leave you either."

I took a deep breath. It was better than Lindsey. Tamrie was right, in theory, even if she'd looked to the wrong person.

Wrong people.

It wasn't the same.

I wasn't the same.

Besides, it hadn't killed me then, it wouldn't now.

"So… I guess we're not doing this, anymore," I said, kissing the top of her head.

She let out a sob but nodded into my chest.

"Yeah. Okay," I said, stroking her back, cold clarity washing over me, isolating the pain. Telling me exactly which part of my body was producing it, and what to do to… make it go away.

It was the first time I'd really understood what Pain Clarity did.

It was so tempting to follow its advice, to simply delve within myself using Restore Form to 'fix' it.

Yet I wouldn't be who I was if not for what I went through after Lindsey. And I was proud of who I'd become, mostly. Running from my pain wasn't something I'd choose, no matter the source.

I repressed the clarity and the pain settled in place once more, pulling at my heart. But I could bear it. Would. I owed Tamrie that much, at least.

We separated, both of us still teary eyed. Bevel refused to release her clamp-like hold, and I chuckled as I ruffled her hair.

"You okay, Papa?"

"No, but I will be," I said, sharing a sad smile with Tamrie.

"Aye. Never an easy thing," Tamrie said, wiping her eyes. "Know it means much as a puddle in the ocean, but really am sorry, Perry."

"Like I said, I'll be okay. Let's focus on the important part. You're a Caller of the Deeps, and you can talk to leviathans, woo!" The woo might've been a little anemic, but it got a crooked smile out of her.

"It is rather incredible, Tamrie my dear To know the words is one thing, but to see it in truth…" Ari's voice held more than a hint of awe as she linked her arm with Tamrie's.

I couldn't help but notice how Ari avoided looking in my direction, despite how I was avoiding looking in her direction as well. An enhanced mind and body wasn't always a good thing.

"So, Rainbow, did he have anything else to say?" I asked, deciding to address the leviathan in the room.

"Rainbow Under the Moon," Tamrie corrected before frowning. "Sorry. Sounds wrong if'n you leave any out. Already gave ya the short name, such as it is."

"Right. Rainbow Under the Moon then. Did he… well, was it all just about you being a Caller of the Deep? Or… I don't know… he mentioned keeping the Sahevin at bay, any chance he could help us find a more permanent solution? Or even just tell us more about them so we could create better defenses? Or maybe-"

"Papa," Bevel said softly. It was enough to stop me from rambling.

"Right. Just, you're not going to be here long and they could… help," I said, keeping it short.

Tamrie nodded, hands curling into fists once more. "For certain, I can ask. Least I can do, leaving you all like this."

"I… could I come down with you?" Ari asked, her voice soft.

Tamrie smiled, a genuine smile. "Course! They're really quite sweet. Big ol' squish-hearts, they are."

Ari nodded as Tamrie led her off the edge of the platform, flying as the ocean rose to catch Tamrie, who wasn't even paying attention as she forced out a constant narrative about the leviathans below. Might not have sounded forced, to a person who didn't know her. But I could hear it.

Ari glanced back for a second, her eyes meeting mine, and flicking away instantly when our gazes met.

"I'm sorry, Papa," Bevel muttered as they reached the leviathans once more.

"It's not your fault, kiddo," I said, giving her a squeeze.

"It is though!" Bevel hissed out.

"Oh? How is it your fault? Did you make Tamrie a Caller of the Deep?" I asked, chuckling.

"No. Not exactly," Bevel said, shifting her feet.

"What do you mean, not exactly?" I asked, wondering if she'd tampered with something. Much as I hated to admit it, Bevel would've had more opportunity to do so than anyone. And the knowledge required to do so.

"I… I went to the wishing rock, and I prayed really hard for Tamrie to be taken away so you and Ma-iss Ari could be together," Bevel said, before breaking out in sobs as she clutched at my side.

"Oh Bevel," I said, running my hand through her hair as I hugged her close once more. "Wishes can't do things like that."

"Can too," Bevel said, shaking her head. "Worked last time."

"What wish did you make that came through before?"

"I wished for a new Papa."

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