AQORMSo, you may be asking why I left the group behind on what was obviously a dangerous area. Was I really such a coward, you ask, that I would value long life over the lives of my friends? Well, that''s complicated. I very much didn''t want leave them, and I had no issues with the dark. In fact, we elves have superior vision in low-light and even total darkness. There was a specific reason why I chose not to head down there immediately.

    I had read novels. While Elias pored over boring nonfiction, I knew from many examples in ancient literature of authors like Terry Brooks''s Sword of Shannara, that it was an extremely bad idea to enter a room or area as an entire group. Not only did you risk a trapped room that could potentially lock you in forever, but even if there were no traps to speak of, avoiding an ambush was key. I decided to hold off until a certain amount of time passed before I entered.

    After waiting maybe a half-hour, I climbed down the stairs and looked around. I can imagine how it looked to people who couldn''t see in the dark, but to me it looked downright silly. Elias and Zoe were casting the same effect over and over again, lighting up the room in a small radius for a second or so. Nevras was swinging his sword at anything that moved in a vain attempt to ward it off, and basically swinging wide.

    To my eyes, I could perceive that certain things were darker than others, but short of magically-created darkness, nothing was actually blinding or even that hard to see. Instead, I saw color tones in the same hues as one might see in the few minutes after sunset. In other words, it was sort of like how some people had more cones and could see more colors, only for rods. I was a tetrachromat too, meaning not only could I see in the dark, but all colors were in higher vibrancy too. The downside was that my pupils had a longer adjustment period, especially to bright light. After waiting a few minutes to get my eyes right, I rushed forward.

    My friends seemed to be trying to get to Ambrosia, who was glaring at some glowing letters on a plaque. I cannot begin to explain how this looked, but I found it embarrassing that human eyes were actually this poor. They couldn''t see what seemed so obvious.

    My geomancy is kind of a one-trick thing. I can only cast effects that have an affinity to my terrain. On a mountain, I can use stones, in a forest I can use vines, in a snowy area (even a snow mountain or forest) I can create ice and snow. The form of the geomancy was somewhat subjective, meaning that while standing in a plains could allow me to generate air, I could decide the direction and whether it was a whirlwind, a gust of wind, or a crosswind with pressure enough to cut objects. In holy places, I would use holy attacks, while in a pitch dark area, my geomancy would naturally use darkness. Against living creatures in a cave, this was no problem. But this cave had undead, which the geomancy was decidedly worthless against.

    Elves had an ability that most other races did not. They could read Elvish. Most languages, as you know, are an acquired ability. Elvish, however, was a racial language, and it was not spoken, only read. Ostensibly, Elvish was a pictographic language, only the pictographs were projected not as sound but as memories. For instance, the written character resembling a ''tree'', when read would evoke an image. To a large extent, elves were psychic, in that they could imprint these memories simply by drawing out such images. Two people writing the same pictograph could mean an oak or a maple tree, or one or many trees; only an elf could write like this, and only another elf could interpret, even though the pictographs seemed easy to read.

    With this ability, the elves keyed their technology to Elvish runes, allowing them to be activated simply by touching the rune. With this ability, I could use elf artifacts to turn the tide of battle in my favor, even an effect that wasn''t related to my geomancy. Unfortunately, because I was from a mixed race, I inherited nothing. What, you thought I had some sort of super-cool mystical item? Nah, not a chance.

    My geomancy was no good here either. I basically slashed up these undead with my elven blades. The elven metal was effective against all supernatural beings, from demons to undead to other fey. When it touched them, rather than cutting them up like a normal weapon, and having them ignore the pain, they screamed as if still alive, then they crumbled into dust. It couldn''t really touch ghosts though. I wound up having to dodge a sword swing or two from Nevras, though, he saw fast movement nearby and raised his sword defensively. “Wait, wait!” I yelled as I did a split to dive under his blade in time. He asked, “What are you doing down there, Aqorm?” I explained most of my reasons above, leaving out some of the more embarrassing motivations. “I''ll be okay,” said Nevras, “but Elias needs to get to where Ambrosia is. Can you help him walk over there?” Moving past the steadily rising undead, I grasped Elias''s hand. He said, “I have no mystic power left, but... FeyFire!” I watched with shock as Elias used the grand legacy of the elf race, and without using a trace of mystic power. “What... how did you...?” I saw his nose bleed, as he explained, “In your years of reading, you must surely have heard of Team Abilities.”

    Ah yes, Team Abilities. A means of using unique abilities or those ordinarily not usable by the caster. It had risks, though, like physical injury or in severe cases it caused pretty bad internal bleeding. Normally, this was done by casting spells in sync with each other, so any boy band or magical girl squad could do that one. But it is said according to legend that if two people are in love, no amount of spell-syncing was necessary, the person could just use the ability. Was Elias... did he have feelings for me?

    I watched the effect. This was a spell common to High Elves, which I pretty much couldn''t use, though my distant ancestors probably could. Fey Fire is not an actual fire, but a sort of light that not only lights a room but is well suited for getting rid of optical of illusions. As he used it, the room became well-lit. “I can see again!” cried Nevras. He started slashing down undead, even though his sword could not put them down permanently (though since they kept coming, it probably didn''t matter). They were beginning to build out of control, but Nevras cleared a path for Elias and I to walk to Ambrosia. Finally, we made it to where she stood.

    ELIAS

    “Hey, could you read this for me?” Ambrosia said. I looked at the plaque, and read aloud, ?Seek the answers within.? As I spoke, the plaque stopped glowing, yet I noticed that Ambrosia instead was glowing. Suddenly, the tablet seemed to vibrate with a strange type of energy. “I understand now!” she exclaimed. “All this time, I was looking to others for my answers. I should have believed more in myself...” The undead in this room suddenly collapsed. In its place, a maelstrom of necromantic energy swirled about the room, cobbling together bones, sinews, tendons, and flesh. The result looked (loosely) like a person. Finally, even the loose metal from fallen explorers pieced together. There was a man riding on some kind of beast, in iron armor, with a bronze shakujo, a staff with a six hanging rings inside it. If we ever defeated this guy, I would make this weapon my own. But first, I wisely decided to free up some mystic power by canceling my Exorcism that had been a continuing prayer. It just wasn''t much good right now, and even though that only renewed a small amount, it was enough to heal. I needed it after that last move. S~ea??h the N??elFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    I noticed that one of the trigrams on the Crest of her arm had lit up. As before, I suspected Ambrosia had learned a skill in reverse order, but this time it was likely to be handy for us. I wondered what exactly this did.

    AMBROSIA

    My hand felt like it had some sort of rash. It was tingling like crazy, almost as badly as when I first noticed the Crest. One of the black trigrams on the tattoo had turned white. I suddenly knew what each one meant. I was aware that this was the Heaven trigram, and I had the power of Alexander. I also began to see small threads of the memory I had lost during those six months. I saw... a jacket being given to me, I felt the brush of other lips on mine, and I tasted... the odd taste of Dream Fish. Was this the power of the trigram?

    I used the trigram of Alexander. Unlike the Trigrams ritual, which I had decided was impractical for most battles due to its random nature, the power of the Oracles seemed straightforward and simple to use. I did a sort of dance called the Brush Knee Twist Step, which involved waving my hands while turning in a specific pattern. Energy built up, and out came a holy tornado focused on a target at range. The trigram that I used began to shine, and I saw a circle of some sort glow on the ground below me. It looked similar to the tattoo on my hand, except this one had 64 different patterns. From outside the circle, a rush almost like a gust of wind pulsed out and then suddenly there was an intense light.

    While I had been building my power, the others were fighting the creature. Nevras had taken a chunk out of the legs of the beast this thing was riding using his Wave Thrust, Zoe was slashing at it with her scythe, and Aqorm had jumped atop the back of the critter and grabbed the undead thing''s staff while it was still distracted. Elias had cast what few support abilities he could before his mystic power ran out. Thankfully, since the area was not crawling with undead, everyone could finally drink some of the potions I gave them.

    Mana potions tended to be hard to drink while being attacked, but they were very effective. A person''s spiritual essence was relatively hard to restore, unlike their physical health. Some good food, a soak in a hot tub, or some herbal extracts, these would usually start the body on its path to healing. Usually, actually dreaming was required to restore mystic power. From what I learned in my schooling, it was like this: all living things had a spirit given to them by God. The spirit would be able to pray or use runes, or otherwise tap into the divine energy of the universe. Atheists couldn''t though, because their concept of reality without belief in God meant that they denied conventional reality for everyone else, giving them a Rival Power of Antimagic. Which is kinda cool, except they completely had no mystic power and couldn''t even use secondhand magic, like using teleportation circles or having someone heal them. When the average person slept, their soul would touch the astral plane and be able to refresh their spirit. Although many people believe their prayers were a gift from God, that wasn''t directly the case. It was more like the caster and God were partners, one making a renewable space where prayers could be drawn from and the other as conduit for using the energy on Earth. This meant, of course, that mana potions generally weren''t used in large quantities, since they were basically a gentle hallucinogen.

    Elias and Zoe resumed their casting, using offensive effects on the beast and rider. It was tougher than normal despite both fire and holy attacks having a definite effect. At that moment, however, the wave of light from Alexander''s Crest poured into its body. It was as if the body never existed. The flesh was erased from the body, followed by the muscle mass, and then the bones themselves faded from existence. It was like it had never been, all merging into the light. The room was at peace.

    After that, we talked to the Aiken master, who congratulated us and reminded us that he would see us when we needed the last trigram. After walking all the way back down, we notified the gatekeepers that we would like to be let out. “Where to next?” I asked Nevras. “Let''s talk to my mom and dad,” Nevras said, “they might know something.” This time I understood who they were, so I simply nodded.

    The boat ride was fairly quick, as the captain knew what he was doing. We landed on rocky shores in an area that was dreary and dismal. As I was to discover, almost every time we visited Phoenix, it never stopped raining. Something about a sub-climate. Coming to town was difficult, as the constant rain interfered with the casting of thaumaturgy, because active runes are like written words that can be “washed away.” Thankfully, we had some half-decent fighters around now. The island was filled with mycozoe, “animals” made of fungus, who walked around and ate decaying stuff and fecal matter, and “pooped” out soil. Because of their diet, they were relative pacifists, but some were unsafe to eat.

    We finally made it to the town proper, a quaint village built along the side of a mountain. Houses littered the sides of the mountain, and there were a few people milling about. Nevras kept pointing out random people, like a wolfman, “This is Admiral ''Blackfang'' Johnson. I believe I told you about him, and how he got bitten by valdrserkers during a campaign.” He explained that valdrserkers are those who have mastered a type of nature magic known as Skin Magic, that involves using skins to fully assume the form of a wolf. It gets worse. What made valdrserkers so dangerous was their curse. Most of those who were bitten or scratched by them died instantly, but the rest would become stuck as werewolves.

    Next, he pointed to a girl in pigtails who he told us was the owner of a clothing store. Then he showed us an old priest who raised him while his parents were away. Then he pointed to some guy in a jacket, “This is... blast it! I can''t be expected to remember every guy here who knows me!” Then we met a woman that Nevras introduced as Koren Mithros. The talked for a while about old times. I kinda ignored them until they made me part of the conversation. He asked her if she had any information about the Oracle.

    “Ah, yes!” she said. “The Oracle is said to be master of eight mystical abilities, which act as a key to the Tao. When these keys are in place on the Oracle''s body, the Oracle should be able to become the Oracle of Tao. But... the legend says something else is needed to actually use the power.” I could tell there was some information that was just outside of our reach. Nevras sensed it too, and he pressed her, “C''mon Koren, I know you can remember!” She shook her head and scowled, “Sorry, Nevras, but I was never taught that part of the legend. Nobody was. Since human existence, there has only been one Oracle of Tao, and shortly after realizing his power, he mysteriously disappeared. There just isn''t a written record.” She turned directly to me, “But enough about this. Is she your new girlfriend?” She didn''t seem jealous, but rather curious. She struck me as the type of former lover who wanted the guy to be happy regardless. I totally did not blush. Nope, not at all. Maybe a little. But it''s not like I like him or anything, okay? I managed to get the words out, “I''m...I''m just the Oracle. We''re just traveling together, to save the world. That''s all.” She laughed at me, “Your blush says otherwise. Well, Nevras, I''m flattered to know you found someone so nice to replace me. And the world will be in capable hands, so long as she keeps her mind on task.” Why does everyone think I was blushing?

    NEVRAS

    After catching up with an old flame, and seeing the cutest blush on Ambrosia''s face, we decided to say nothing of this, and instead wandered the town in silence. The old town inn had turned from a profitable business to a homeless center funded by the local Taoist shrine. There were copies of the I Ching and the ChuangTzu strewn about, along with Mohist texts. I checked out the sign to Phoenix, it still read, ?Welcome to Phoenix, the town of new sights and sounds home of Nevras, the unstoppable warrior.? I gather being the crown prince did entitle me to a certain amount of slack, but they didn''t even think to change it. Ambrosia suppressed a giggle.

    After some wandering, I caught sight of my old trainer Kurasawa. He taught me all the techniques I know today. This was a striking man in long brown pants, golden armor, blue gloves, and a green cloak. He wore a sword tied crosswise across his back, angled to easily be drawn. I introduced him, “This is my martial arts tutor, Kurasawa. When I was in the royal army, he taught me my moves.” Kurasawa turned to me, “Not everything. He graduated before I could teach him my final technique. Well? Are you ready to complete your training, Nevras?”

    I motioned to the others to back away since the two of us would be fighting alone. I didn''t want anyone ruining my training. This battle appeared to outsiders to be moving very quickly, yet to the two of us, every movement seemed an eternity. I used my Speed Slash to cut at him several times, yet such was the expertise of this man that he blocked all of them. “Too slow,” he said, “and you are still too gentle a swordsman. If that had connected, I would still have only a scratch on me.” We traded blows, parrying each other''s attacks before they did any major damage. I attacked him with the Standing Jump Thrust, but he scoffed, and turned it aside with a quick slash. “No,” he scolded, “that is not the way I taught you to do this technique. It is good that you know it, but it puts you at a disadvantage.” I was confused, so I asked, “How is that?” He explained, “It makes you a sitting duck. I always taught you to dodge and attack, so you should only use that when are forced into a corner. You simply do not have the body weight to use this like that.” He stopped the battle to show me how to adapt this technique to my personal strengths, shifting my weight forward, and then using my speed instead of strength to add power to the attack.

    We resumed the battle, having a heated battle of techniques. He knocked away my Pierce attack with a well-timed Speed Slash, and then blocked my Wave Thrust with one of his own. Yet our strength clearly was not on the same level. When our two attacks touched, he was largely unaffected except for a slight scratch, yet I was knocked back and cut in several places. I noticed he was holding back, but I felt weak in comparison. I decided to try the technique I had seen from Sera. “Vacuum Slice!” I screamed, turning the blade black and sending out a swipe of antimatter. Kurasawa was actually frightened, and lunged out of the way. “Hey, whoa!” he exclaimed. “That technique... I didn''t teach you instant kill moves. Where did you learn this?” I explained my encounter with Sera and Phim. He scolded me, “You shouldn''t use that on people. Not unless you have no other options...” then he continued, “but learning an advanced skill like that... You are finally ready to learn my ultimate technique. You remember my teaching method. Learn by watching.”

    I saw the attack as it formed. This attack clearly required much longer to prepare than normal, leaving him open to attack. I was frightened by the sheer power of his battle aura. I knew instinctively that this was the legendary Dragon Roar. I saw how he built so much power, I saw the strain it put on his body, and I saw him thrust forward, releasing all of his energy.

    What happened to me? I felt like I had been dreaming for a long time. Hours later, I was sitting at a priest''s temple. “You were lucky!” Ambrosia said, with a concerned look on her face. “There was a priest here that could actually manage to perform a revival. Be careful, okay?” I felt a lapse in memory, and no, I don''t recall any near-death experience. It was like this during a revival. You usually didn''t get to experience the Afterlife and live to tell of it, because after the practice of revival became common, it was common for entrance into the Afterlife to be delayed three days, until rot set in. Of course, adventurers would sometimes just return to the save point or temple, ignoring an Afterlife entirely until they were tired of this life.

    I remembered everything about the technique. Kurasawa was at the foot of my bed, along with Elias and the others. “You have done well to survive my attacks,” he said. He continued as I nodded or shook my head to individual questions. I could not yet speak as the revival sickness had not worn off. He explained, “This technique will be very effective if ever you find dragons in your quest. Be careful not to use it on regular humans, for the power is great enough to seriously kill them. From now on, you should travel the land learning new skills from local masters. One day, you shall be able to learn your own ultimate technique...” Ultimate techniques. Each one, much like a signature, was unique to the user. Could I really become a master swordsman? After a long period of rest and recovery, I got back on my feet, and returned to our journey.

    AMBROSIA

    I was so relieved! After that awful man stabbed Nevras right through the chest, I was about ready to kill him. Elias, Zoe, and Aqorm helped me haul his body to the priest. I had carried him before, so I knew he was actually fairly light. But we were also carrying all of his armor and gear, since I wasn''t about to leave it hanging around. We watched the priests perform the ceremony of resurrection. There isn''t really a way to adequately describe a revival without either making it sound horribly sterile or going into grand descriptions of religion, so I''ll just describe the event as it happened.

    ELIAS

    Revival is not a sure thing. If the body had decayed or was turned to dust, it would take a resurrection to bring them back. And even if the body was intact, the person had to want to come back. There is Revive prayer performed by priests, and then there is resurrection which allows even a badly wounded or completely destroyed body to be brought back, and then there is the true version of resurrection, which to my knowledge has only happened once, when Jesus came back. Needless to say, nobody really knows how that one works, but he pretty much is back now, so I suppose I could ask him. The priest''s variety could best be described as merely an analogy for the real thing, the conquering of death completely. Yet that was a miracle, this is a ritual. Every time that I perform this, an important or valuable thing is sacrificed. In the old days, some people wanted to sacrifice their own lives to bring back loved ones. I cannot imagine how that would help anyone. Loved ones would much prefer their beloved to be here with them. Nowadays, it was usually jewelry, or in some cases a particularly treasured memento. I even heard that some people put their own memories into the ritual, losing pieces of their past.

    AMBROSIA

    Elias sacrificed a treasured book that he had collected in his childhood, in order to do the resurrection. Poor guy. This book looked like it had only been printed once. The priest said some words and I saw a thin beam of light shine on Nevras. I''d like to say that angels or some other divine event happened, but... time somehow jumped forward despite all of us watching intently.

    Our lives should have been changed forever by watching a resurrection, but honestly, I just wanted to return to my mission. We walked along the island, through heavy grass while torrential rain poured on our heads. We swam through muddy areas where leeches had to later be picked off. We set up the tent and organized our supplies. Finally, we made it to a bridge.

    The bridge was clearly necessary. Many of us were halfway decent swimmers, but there were high cliffs on either side of the water. Falling in from that height would probably be very painful. The bridge was a typical wood slat and rope bridge, but it was far from one of these old worn out things. No expense had be spared in keeping it in good repair and there was even a troll collector. I mean toll collector. The large oni had deep red skin, and a large metal club which he appeared to be good at. The sign next to him read, ?Pay the troll his due, or he''ll stomp all over you!? Catchy! The toll came out to be 5000 Gold, including a pass for return trips. We could have paid him or fought him, but it was kind of a lot of money. I asked Nevras, “So... should we pay this guy or fight?”

    NEVRAS

    I don''t often appear angry. Depressed, yes, sometimes, but more often than not, I just seem calm and under control. A prince or princess should never show their feelings, I was told. Or that it would be impolite to become angry at one''s subjects. Yet all of my life, it was endless training in court etiquette or how to be tactful during negotiations or table manners, or any number of things that simply boiled do to “don''t act out, restrain yourself.” I was taught by Kurasawa that even while fighting, not to use my techniques to cause death, if I could help it. I was the crown prince, yet I was always treated like a leashed dog. I never was allowed to be a kid during childhood, and I was never allowed the rebellious teenage years either. When I acted up, I was shut down. Anger? Yes, I knew about anger. But it was usually well-hidden, and “safely” directed at myself. I didn''t know how to use it appropriately. I had been taught to channel anger by my parents to avoid losing my temper inappropriately. Which ideally was what usually happened. What was left was an emptiness. I cannot be sure whether this truly was the best method of coping, but I no longer felt angry afterward, I guess. I no longer felt anything.

    I loathe bullies, and even more than that, I was approaching our kingdom and... I don''t wanna talk about it. So trust me when I say that seeing this big brute who was not our people extort visitors to the palace was making me more than a little pissed off. Empty it out, I thought to myself. Even if we paid, everyone after would also be hit up for money, and beaten to a pulp if they couldn''t pay. I attacked.

    Oni are not like other trolls. They aren''t weak to fire, they are living but darkness-aligned, so he was resistant to basically all of Elias''s offensive prayers. They cannot regenerate detached limbs, but they can reattach them and they do still have fast healing. The others backed me up with thaumaturgy and attacks when they saw me pull my sword, but the attacks only slowed him down. It was time to use the Vacuum Slice.

    The Vacuum Slice is actually creepy to behold when used to its full potential. I agree with Kurasawa, I cannot imagine using this on a person, or in fact anything besides a troll, robot, or undead. The blade glowed black as I swung through limbs, torso, shoulders, and finally the head. Because of the Void aura, these were cut through cleanly, as if they were the sharpest knife in the world. Well, cut isn''t the right word, more like sucked matter away. Oni were tough, and well able to piece themselves together, but running water is fatal to oni. I tossed the chunks into the river below and walked on. The others just stared.

    Ambrosia seemed concerned, but then concern gave way to disgust. No, not, “you''re horrible person, and you disgust me” disgust. The kind that was more, “I have to pretend to go somewhere for another reason, then probably throw up.” She had just seen someone turned from a large hulk into a mass of limbs and organs in just a few seconds. To be honest, I was disgusted with myself too. But the other kind.

    After she gathered her stomach, she decided to talk to me about it. “Are you okay?” asked Ambrosia. I sobbed, “It wasn''t even about the oni thing. I''m just really stressed about meeting my folks, and this critter rubbed me the wrong way, and...” Ambrosia gave me a long hug. “Shh,” she placated, “you don''t have to say anything more.”

    AMBROSIA

    We walked in silence across the bridge to the castle. It was a long winding road through wooded area. Like the other side of the island, it was rainforest, but this area was covered with trees, and damp fallen logs, moss, and sludge. It was slow going for an area that was close enough to be seen. I was constantly worried that some critter would jump out at us, and we''d be unable to use magic because of the rain.

    The palace could have been straight out of a fairytale. There were spires and balconies and all sorts of other features. It even looked like they had a sun roof in one area. Behind the castle, a garden covered with wildflowers grew. “This is where I grew up,” Nevras explained. “Wow! Nice-” Aqorm cut me off, “Nice shack!” Nevras glared at her. I muttered, “I wish I remembered where I was born...”

    A distant memory tugged at me. I saw the vague image of an old temple. It was one of those with columns and triangular arches. Uhhh a Greek style? Atop the building were stone angels with a shield and spear. Standing beneath such arches, I saw my mother with her deep red hair covered by a blue bandanna and a simple brown dress. She appeared to be managing the temple. She was beautiful. But when I tried to remember my father, things became fuzzy. I could vaguely see something, but it was like I was viewing through static, and I couldn''t remember anything said...

    The inside of the palace was like a small shopping mall. It was laid out in wide open floors and there were stairs to upper areas with only a few rooms. The lobby floor had a kitchen with a dumbwaiter for sending food up to any floor, a bedroom for the maids (many of who bore more than a passing resemblance to Nevras, although they had apparently dyed and styled their hair to look otherwise). “The area over there,” he pointed, “leads to the basement. We have a prison down there.” Aqorm wanted to go, and made it clear from her constant requests that she would likely keep asking.

    “Leave us,” Nevras said to the prison guards. It was clear that a royal prison was far nicer than a regular prison. Not more comfortable for the prisoners, of course, but just generally looked far more clean, well lit, and less filthy than one would expect. The prison was designed so the prisoners which were known to rape or otherwise hurt others were in separate cells, while those who got along with each other were stuck together.

    There were about four beings in the room. To the left end in a separate cell was a hardened criminal. In the group cell, there was a young woman, who was only guilty of the small crime of stealing a loaf of bread to feed a family. There was a little girl who was locked up for selling First Material. This wasn''t a crime, but stealing it from the palace was. And there was a floating mass of fire. I asked, “What exactly is that?” Elias explained, “This is a remnant, the spiritual remainder of a soul with a strong emotional attachment to a place.” Aqorm unlocked the prison gates, and called out to the prisoners, “Anyone want to come out? This is the prince right here, I''m sure he''ll forgive your crimes.” Nevras glared at her for a second, before shrugging and nodding.

    The hardened criminal was receiving free food and clothing and a place to rest. This was paid for as part of a merchant''s initiative, they paid for these prisons in order to keep themselves safe from theft and murder. The little girl could hawk her wares to any visitor who stopped by the prison. The spirit would not depart either. Except for the woman, everyone was happy to stay in this prison. “Nobody else will leave?” Nevras asked, “Prisoner 24601, what is your name? You are free to go.” She introduced herself as Jean. I didn''t catch her last name. He gave her a royal issue of exoneration, meaning even if the guards caught her, they couldn''t hold her anymore. Elias seemed to be pleased with Aqorm''s actions, even though I couldn''t imagine why. I couldn''t imagine someone like that being okay with setting potentially dangerous criminals loose.

    We moved from the basement to the second floor. This floor appeared to showcase the Phoenix castle''s vast wealth. The entire floor lacked windows of the first floor yet was lit instead by a Glow Orb. These things were very handy to have around, but the original inventor was apparently selling them at a huge profit. I was hoping soon they would become publicly affordable, but it might be a while before I could own one.

    Around the room, treasures of all sorts were scattered about the area. Some were medals of great achievement, such as medals of honor for stopping wars and helping to set up the Council; on the other end of the spectrum were heirlooms from shameful eras. Massive amounts of fur from the fur trade, Nazi gold, and a piece of ivory artwork from the UN all lined this area. The weirdest object was a pouch of 30 coins of pure silver covered with what appeared to be an aura of darkness. The coins periodically trickled through the bag to a basin below. Was that blood?!? Nevras emptied the basin to feed a tree which glowed brightly, before facing away from all of these things. Before we left, I noticed a floor-length mirror that was probably worth more than my life. He urged me onward, into a small room off to the side. “Come,” he said.

    The room here was not gaudy or ostentatious. It was a small, dimly-lit room containing only one treasure chest. I wondered why he wanted this above all other treasures. He explained, “If we are to complete this quest, we''ll probably need this. This is our most precious royal treasure, the Gigas Gloves. We''ll need strength for our journey, to move away obstacles.”

    Finally, we arrived at the top floor of the palace. To either side of the room stood the royal guard. Nevras had already mentioned Komogu, who was more feminine looking in person. Next was Numin, the only female in the group, and who Nevras had apparently dated at one point. Then, there was Dashino, a man who looked like a mad scientist and kept talking about events that were about 2000 years before his time as though he had personal knowledge of them. There wasn''t a sane one among them, besides Numin, and I hated her.

    I looked towards the throne, and then back to Nevras. He seemed visibly afraid of his folks. “What''s up?” I asked. Nevras stopped cringing long enough to tell me, “For years my parents made me feel unworthy. ''This isn''t what to do'' or ''That isn''t right'' or ''You need to do this better'' and that was when they weren''t outright upset with me. When they were, they might even shout at me. And I lived in mortal fear of them discovering my secret stash of royal dresses and gowns. They would probably kill me.” I led him back downstairs for a second, and talked him through this. “Look, Nevras,” I said, “I didn''t have a ton of time with my parents, but I know they could be strict at times, even if they were the sweetest people. Not everyone grows the same way, there are all kinds of parents and children so I can''t really speak for everyone. But most healthy parents want you to learn and grow. And I think if you tried having a positive attitude and just telling them how you really feel, they might surprise you. Just talk to them, you''ll see.” Nevras''s face brightened, “Are you sure?”

    “What, do I look like a psychic? No, I''m not sure!” I responded. We went back to the throne room. Nevras struggled to speak, but I grabbed his shoulder, letting him know I was there for him. He placed his arm around my waist.

    We talked to King Charis first. Nevras said, “I have something to confess, all of this time I''ve been hiding who I really am...” King Charis shrugged, “Nevras, we knew about your genetic condition, and we have known for years about your crossdressing. We have always loved you, and always will. I''m sorry we pushed you so hard, we just were afraid you wouldn''t make a strong ruler.” They said ruler, not ''king''. The meaning was not lost on me, though Nevras appeared to have not noticed, so great was his shock about being caught. Gradually, Nevras spoke, “Years? And you never commented at all?” King Charis responded, “It simply wasn''t important. Whether you want to become a girl, if this is a phase, or whatever else, we will always love you. I know my wife comes across as harsh, but as you know, it takes a tough ruler to make a tender kingdom.”

    He noticed me, and more importantly, where our arms were. “Is she the one whom you will marry? Phoenix would be glad to have you as ruler, Miss...” I was shocked on several levels. First, that we would marry. We had been kinda tight for a while now, even though my memories still weren''t up to par, but marriage? I just couldn''t think about that.

    I addressed the other issue I had, instead, “Ummm, up until a few months ago, I was a beggar on the streets.” He faux-gasped, “A commoner? Whatever will we do?” Okay, maybe he didn''t need to be quite that sarcastic.

    “She''s the Oracle of Tao, and we''re traveling together on a quest, we like each other, but we''re still dealing with issues,” Nevras explained. The King nodded, “Oh, I see. Well, you know I''m just a figurehead. It you want anything real done, talk to the queen. Unless... is there anything else we can do for you?” I pulled out some embarrassing pictures of Nevras. “Ah, I see. Blackmail, is it? Well, I don''t really handle the purse strings, but I will arrange to set up an offshore account in Kushiyama of about 50 million Gold. And I will need the negatives too,” he said as he calmly wiped out all pictures from my cellphone, then smashed it with his heel. Through all of this, I never saw anger or heard a raised voice. Creepy. “Great! Now, Nevras, in exchange for this money, you will need forfeit your Royal Crest now. You understand, I cannot continue to pay money now. Should you decide to rule, both are yours. But you will always be welcome in this household, regardless of your decision,” he said, directing us to talk to his wife.

    NEVRAS

    It may surprise people to know that I do not identify as a girl, nor do I want a sex change. In the early 21st century, a rash of people due to political propaganda believed that they were really a girl trapped in a boy''s body or vice versa. This was either a lie, or an outright delusion. The truth was more complicated, because the truth was this was a large-scale State trick. First, convince people that who they are is wrong, then convince that their group should have rights, when actually their real right to procreate was being taken away. This was a fancy way of castrating the population, in order to further marginalize people. In essence, this “surgery” left them worse off than when they started. When a gender revolution began in earnest, the first thing they did was do away with gendered restrooms, and to make a sex change that actually worked.

    The reason given was no longer that people believed that they were really the opposite sex, and more that they wanted to be the opposite sex. This statement had a chance of actually being true, and as a result had a far greater appeal than things like “social justice.” The actual process of a sex change now involves something very akin to a cocoon. It wasn''t homosexuality, it wasn''t forbidden under 22:5, it produced families that could have children, and aside from the initial act of wanting to be the opposite gender, it didn''t even seem to be at odds with what God wanted (since it was produced through thaumaturgy). It was initially rejected because people had childhood friends of the same sex that suddenly became eligible for dating them. Nowadays, I haven''t met a single person with a strong objection to it. Ironically, a person like me who did not want to become female, yet very much enjoyed women''s clothes, was still very much an outcast. At least, this is what I felt. Even if they do accept me, I still have trouble feeling comfortable in my own skin.

    Despite for the first time feeling like I wasn''t a horrible sinner, because I was loved despite everything, I was still filled with fear when facing my mother. I''m sorry, maybe it was those years of training... I can''t even pick up a fork without worrying whether it is the salad fork or a dinner fork. To my great relief, my mother, Queen Victoria spoke first. “Crown Heir Nevrasia Astra Fitz Embor Phoenix III,” she said, filling me with even more fear, as she hardly ever used my full name unless matters seemed serious, “what exactly have you been up to?” Ambrosia questioned me, “Why is your mom using that cute name I gave you in the marketplace?”