Shadow Slave

The Great River was like it had always been - vast, dreamlike, and ceaseless. Its current gently carried the ketch forward, as if the harrowing storm had never happened. The seven suns slowly traveled across the azure sky, which was painted lilac in the east and vibrant crimson in the west.

For a while, Nephis and Sunny remained idle. Their bodies were still reeling from the terrible battle against the raging elements, and so were their minds. The invasive violence of broken time had left them drained and fragile.

Their hearts felt hollow, too.

Sunny silently lay on the wooden deck, staring at the sky. His head was empty, full of nothing but the sensation of a dull ache that radiated from all across his battered body.

It was good to hurt. Pain reminded him that he was alive.

There was the smell of wet wood, the peaceful sound of waves splashing against the sides of the ketch, and the warm sunlight. Most noteworthy of all, there was time.

He had never been aware of just how important the sense of time was before experiencing its absence. And why would he? People did not usually pay attention to immutable things, simply taking them for granted. But as it turned out, those things were not as absolute when higher beings were involved.

Now that they had escaped the storm, the natural flow of time returned in all its glory. Its reliable presence felt... reassuring. Time was at peace once again.

Time flowed.

Eventually, the dull ache permeating his body subsided. The pain in his heart grew duller, as well. New sensations took their place.

Thirst, hunger... caution, determination.

Sunny still felt numb, but his mind was slowly recovering.

He lingered for a while longer, then sat up with a quiet sigh.

The vista of the Great River around them was exactly as before the storm... which posed a bit of a problem.

Some time later, Sunny and Nephis were sitting at the bow of the ketch, looking soberly at several strange tools laying on the deck in front of them. One looked like a bronze astrolabe, another was akin to a sextant, and the third resembled a strange compass. All these had been gifted to them by Ananke, and were meant for navigating the Great River.

astrolabe, since there were no stars in the Tomb of Ariel. The second one could be considered a sextant, but the set of principles it was supposed

why they worked. The Great River was not a sphere, like Earth was, and it didn't revolve around a star. Instead, seven artificial suns revolved around the river. Nevertheless, there seemed to be some sort of curvature to it, which neither of

was all

Ananke had been their navigator, but now that she was gone,

Hence, the somber expressions.

Nephis sighed.

we were

scratched the back

and chaotic... but the water still flowed in

She frowned.

didn't spend weeks

so it was impossible to tell how long they had been fighting against

the point when Ananke's protections failed. After that, both Sunny and Nephis had

He grimaced.

no idea, but the fact remains. We are much further downstream than anticipated. So what? It's good news, really. It means that

And its sybil, Dusk.

River that corresponded to when the sybils had entered the Tomb of Ariel at the height of the Doom War. A long journey still awaited Sunny and Nephis if they wanted to

indeed a piece of great news, since the battered ketch did not look like it would be able to survive the perils of the

a while,

might

Her face darkened.

the Great River should be safer than the one we

be able to mask the presence of the ketch from the dwellers of the depths as efficiently. There were battles ahead of them, without a doubt... and while the abominations

complicated expression. The ketch had endured a lot in the storm. Too much, really.

survive a clash with a frenzied Nightmare Creature? What about one after that, and

His face turned grim.

don't think