On Theron, the first Wazad flies over the land toward the domain of Tara that is mountainous and also covered in colorful vegetation. The beings of Theron move about their business below him and he stops at a cluster of homes in the rocky and vibrant terrain. Tara’s mountain is the center of her domain and it has a flat top, like a plateau, and there are clusters of homes built on the ascent to the top. Wazad is wary about arriving to visit Tara unannounced; when he delivered the Daemon Kilmo and Cotta to her, he thought that she would be happy to see him, but she nearly destroyed the Daemon in her surprise; Wazad had trapped them with his magic and he sent them ahead of his own arrival and when he arrived, Tara was throwing balls of fire at them and yelling angrily. She almost hit Wazad with a fireball, but he has sharp instincts and managed to dodge it quickly.
Now, Wazad stops at the cluster of homes nearest the plateau at the top of her mountain, and the theries who notice him, gather around the spot where he lands. It is a group of male theries who use the stone found on Tara’s mountain to make blocks for the construction of homes and other buildings on Theron.
“Welcome, Wazad!” the tallest of the theries said enthusiastically. “It is not everyday that the wizard of the Therosi is spotted around these parts.”
“Thank you for your welcome. I am headed to see Tara, do you know if she is on the plateau?”
“We have not seen her depart today,” the tall theri says, “but we do not always see when she departs her plateau. Usually we do, so it is most likely that she is there.”
“Would any of you mind going up to announce my arrival?” Wazad asks and the tall theri is happy to scale the rest of the mountain to the plateau. It isn’t long before he is climbing back down.
“She welcomes you, Wazad,” the tall theri says enthusiastically.
Wazad thanks them by using his magic to carve blocks of stone from the mountain and stacking them neatly. “If you need help getting them down, I can lend a hand when I am done on the plateau.”
“You have done plenty,” the tall theri says as all the males kneel to Wazad. “You bless us.”
Wazad smiles as he floats to the plateau that is practically a jungle at the top of the mountain. There are dirt roads carved into the thick flora and he lands on one, then takes the road to the center of Tara’s mountain. When he arrives, she sits in an earthen throne, eyes closed, basking in the light of the comet overhead.
“I hate to disturb you, Tara,” Wazad says respectfully.
“No worry,” Tara says and opens her eyes. She has tan brown skin, and short black hair that frames her round face. She has round eyes that seem to smile with her mouth as it smiles at Wazad. “You are always welcome here, Wazad. I can’t apologize enough for what happened the last time you were here. I just don’t like surprises.”
“No need to apologize, I understand completely. I came to see how the Daemon have settled here, if they are still here of course.”
Tara chuckles. “You want to know why I requested them don’t you?”
Wazad shakes his head. “That is your business. I just know that they caused problems on Arada, so I wanted to make sure you weren’t having any troubles.”
“Brigette took your lower spacetime Wazad, didn’t she?” Tara asks. “I should tell you what is happening. Those Daemon things are very good tools of death and I took notice when they attacked the inhabitants of Arada. They can kill beings of Outer Spacetime with their abilities, so I spied on them. I knew that once the Loa subdued them, they would not kill them. Brigette and the Baron La Croix would have taken them and I didn’t want that. Beings of death like us, only get stronger in the presence of beings that are skilled at bringing death. I didn’t want the unique energies of these Daemon to allow the powers of the Loa to grow larger than the Mao Ri. There is conflict brewing among the pantheons of Outer Spacetime. I have noticed that Arada is amassing power. I think they plan to declare themselves the rulers of all of Outer Spacetime.”
“Is that true? I haven’t noticed any amassing of powers, though…” Wazad is suddenly speaking to himself, “I did notice power spikes in Ame-tsuchi, but I assumed the Kami were celebrating a holiday.”
“It’s not just the Kami in Ame-tsuchi, or the Loa in Arada,” Tara said. “Even the Aifyns and their Kings are getting more powerful. I think they were all intimidated by the arrival of the Transverse. They assume that she allies with us just like you and they do not like to be weak compared to anything.”
“Well, I believe that we have angered the Loa, specifically Brigette, by taking those Daemon. She took my lower spacetime Wazad. I want to go retrieve him so that I can return him to lower spacetime, but I don’t want to cause an incident.”
“Then don’t,” Tara says. “Your little Wazad is fine. I will not let anything happen to him. Let me continue my work and I will continue to monitor him, while we all welcome the Transverse back to Theron to complete her trials.”
“The Transverse is back?”
“She and Garoa have just arrived.” Tara stands from her earthen throne, and the fabrics that wrap her body flow behind her as she stands next to Wazad. She hooks an arm around his. “Let’s get to the Emporium.”
The Ice Prince looks angry and he pouts.
“You don’t have to go now,” he says. “You’re the transverse, you can move faster than everything in Outer Spacetime. You can stay here with us a while longer. No offense, Garoa, but I think the Therosi are just being possessive over you. They’re afraid you will make other allies in Outer Spacetime.”
“We are not possessive,” Garoa says. They all stand on top of one of the large walls of the Halfyn stronghold. “We just want to see the Transverse realize her potential. Halfyn will be here when she is done, we will return. I really like it here.”
“You both better,” the Ice Prince says. “I will miss you both so much.” He hugs Maria.
“It was such a good time going on this journey with you all,” Maria says, “but it’s probably time I get back to lower spacetime and my friends there.”
“I can’t believe you’ll be leaving us soon,” Garoa says and she hugs Maria and the Ice Prince together. “We made a good team, didn’t we?”
“We did,” the Ice Prince says.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the Halfyn Heir says. “But the Prince and I must get back. The Royals are waiting for us.”
“I know,” the Ice Prince says and he hugs the two women one last time. “You both better make it back for the wedding.”
“Are you kidding?” Maria says. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You know how to reach me?”
“I will reach Garoa and she knows how to reach you in lower spacetime.”
Maria and Garoa leave Halfyn shortly after, then the Aifyn Line altogether, and there is a large crowd waiting at Wazad’s Emporium to welcome them back to Theron. Maria demonstrates her Wynd Ryding abilities and all of the Mao Ri declare her the Transverse, then they escort her to the corner of Outer Spacetime that contains the roots of the ancient tree of existence to watch proudly as she flies towards it. She is tiny compared to the dark brown roots that are massive in space, like a tree with no leaves growing upside down and extremely large. When she touches one branch of the massive roots, she disappears from Outer Spacetime, and reappears in the space above the planet Bludon. She knows that she has finally returned and she flies eagerly to the surface to see Issac and Zacchaeus.
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