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The following week after the incident, Karina spent the days quite pleasantly. One day, Karina said to Letholdus, “I think you should travel abroad with your father.”

“How so, he doesn’t trust me,” said Letholdus.

“Yes, but you can be a pack mule, at the very least. You can then work your way up, in the family business,” said Karina laughing.

The two were in Karina’s bedroom getting dressed after bathing. Letholdus commented, “You are getting a bit of a belly.”

“Yes, and you are becoming more foolish by the day,” said Karina sneering. She added, “You should ask your mother about it. Maybe then the light of understanding can fall upon you.”

Letholdus left rather confused. After having a heart to heart conversation with his mother, he came to realize the nature of Karina’s enlarging sides. It took a bit of coaxing on Karina’s side to force Letholdus to agree to travel abroad. He figured he had abused Marduke’s hospitality enough. It was time to settle down, and get a home of his own, to make room for his ever-expanding family. It was a good a time as any, as well, because between Vindkald and Vaikus, Marduke’s home was becoming a bit annoying. Also, Zibanu tended to act a little on edge, whenever Karina was about. He pretended he was cool, with her, but in reality he was not. Whenever Zibanu was with anyone of Marduke’s blood relatives, he felt like he did not belong.

It never did quite help the fact that at times the siblings would leave him completely out of the conversation, and that at times some would laugh at things that he could not see.  Moments like those highlighted the fact that poor Marduke was a completely different type of being. Marduke did not aim to make Zibanu feel inferior, still one could only pretend to be a normal fellow for so long before it became exhausting. Marduke was slowly nearing that tipping point, while Nalini had never bothered to try, and Rimaru was in the red zone like Banshee the Chihuahua, and so he require constant monitoring.

Overall, things seemed a little tense in the city, but it was quelled by an overabundance of information regarding the incident. Not only the tiny newspapers, but there was bar gossiping as well about the duel. Flamen’s cult was losing followers like crazy, due to the seemingly erratic behavior of Janus. This small insignificant local event did provide relative peace to the region. With Flamen demoralized because of the petty actions of his son, the protests stopped occurring in the ally tributary regions belonging to Marduke. Even in the regions that segmented away from the Kingdom, there was less instability. The roads became safer, and so, Letholdus and his family left Veragerung one frozen Spring in search of money.

With her husband gone, Karina breathed in a sigh of relief. During the days she went to school, she developed the habit of gibberish singing. From time to time, even the tiny dragons, and the little birds would join in. On this particular day, Karina had Brunhilda as an attaché. She was jabbering on about nonsense that Karina pretended to understand. It all boiled down to the fact that Brunhilda wanted to munch on some of the architecture, but was not allowed. From time to time, she would get distracted by a group of ants passing by. She was very particular about ants, and ants were very particular about her, as well.

Today, she had a particularly large Dinoponera ant on her shoulder. Every once and a while, a helpful stranger would try to remove the ant, but Brunhilda would respond with angry, gibberish shouting. When Karina arrived at her classroom, she found all her students, except Janus who was acting a little crazy. Even Suntaria was there as well. She was the first to greet Karina. She said, “Hello, teacher. How is Janus doing?”

“He is fine. A little thin from lack of sunlight, but he will eventually be moved to a summer cottage owned by his father, outside the city. It has a waterfall, and everything, and a nice river to drown in as well,” explained Karina.

“Is it safe to be out of the city?” asked Regin.

“It is as safe as any other place. Even here, one may never know when death may strike,” said Karina grimly.

“Yes, there may be guards in most corners, but there is not enough of them to keep the fellow standing beside you from suddenly stabbing you in the shoulder,” said Picolina.

“You are only saying that because I am sharpening my knife,” said Lucian. He had arrived a little earlier, and had started doing an inventory check. He had noticed that his knife was a little dull, and so he decided to sharpen it a little to pass the time.

The whole Janus situation had everyone a bit on edge. Babysel said changing the subject, “So, what nonsense are we talking about today. Oh, and by and by, is the baby kicking or whatever?”

Karina nimbly sat down, as if the swelling mass beneath her chest was not there. Smiling, she said, “Do you want to feel it, or some other cliché.”

“I would, but I don’t want your husband to find out, and to stab me,” said Babysel laughing.

“Yes, who knew that Letholdus had it in him to fight back,” said Suntaria surprised.

“He was always such a wuss when growing up,” said Mico remembering the little fellow. Whenever Letholdus was challenged, he always ran away to his mommy. He did the same thing too, up until recently, whenever me met with any violent confrontation.

This change in character had left Carmenta rather thoughtful indeed, as well. In the end, she realized that Letholdus was not so much of a coward, as a non-confrontational type of fellow. The alley where the incident had taken place did not have any exists, so it was the cornered rat scenario. When describing the incident, Letholdus had been a little too simple for everyone’s taste. He simply said, “Janus came at me, and I was forced to defend myself. I was lucky to have come out alive, and without killing my opponent.”

A couple of kids had seen the incident, but their descriptions of the events were a little too confusing, with the vine attacks of the dagger, and the power of the goddess manifesting itself inside Janus. It was odd, considering the popular belief that Gods only sided with Good people. This insignificant incident alone had large ramifications, but that did not seem too obvious at the time.  

After going on tangents for a bit, Lucian eventually said, “So, do you have any silly stories for us?”

“Yes, but they are more of parables,” said Karina.

“Parables?” repeated Lucian unfamiliar with the term.

“Oh, you mean like one of those moral metaphorical type of stories that the priests are so fond of telling?” stated Carmenta.

“More or less. So yeah. My grandma was ruminating on a silly idea. She thought that what if people first came into the world out of a magic coffin. If you came out as an old person, people celebrated that you had an old life, and if you came out young, they got sad because you were not going to live long,” started Karina.

“Well, in that fake world, old age would be on a pedestal, instead of the cultural vibe of today, were it is fashionable to be ripped and under 30,” said Mico using a series of bizarre phrasings.

“What?” asked Babysel confused.

“It means that old people would be preferred over young people,” said Karina.

“What about accidental deaths, or illness, and what if a disgruntled young person started killing old people?” asked Carmenta.

“That does happen today, with and without a magic coffin…I just don’t know the answer to your question, Carmenta. I told this story idea out there, to vent it, but if you are going to pick it apart, then it is not worth using it,” said Karina sighing.

“Aww… you are no fun,” said Babysel frowning.

“So, what happens when you reach the end of your natural life span? Do you enter your parent’s womb, being un birth, or will you enter another one of those convenient, ethereal types of whatever, like a glowing orchid or whatnot?” asked Mico.

“That is something to consider,” said Karina.

“Yep, cause what if they kill your destined biological parents, before you are unborn, then what happens to you? Do you like fade away or something?” asked Mico.

“The idea seems pretty stupid if you ask me,” said Casimir finally contributing to the conversation.

“How so? Elaborate, so I can forward this critique to my dear, old, overworked grandmother,” said Karina.

“Overworked, what do you have her doing? Raising your grandnephew. There comes a time when they should be allowed to relax,” said Carmenta sighing.

“I don’t know. Some people do not do well, with relaxing,” said Karina sadly, “I do so wish, but even should money enter the family, there is a good chance that she would continue mortifying herself, cause that’s the type of person she wants to be, a martyr.”

“That doesn’t sound like a fair thing to say about your grandmother, Karina,” said Casimir.

“Well, it doesn’t matter much, in the long scheme of things,” said Karina sighing.

“If it will help, you could remove the bizarre coffin out of the picture. You could just make it that people are born looking like old farts, and then they die looking like babies,” suggested Regin.

“That idea has been done before, and besides, people tend to idolize the middle ground state, and look down on the start and ending of life,” said Karina, “As with most things, we spend most of our lifespan in one helpless form or another. In the first years of our lives we are dependent on our parents, and in the latter, we depend on our own children.”

“Speak for yourself,” said Mico shuddering, “I depend on no one.”

“And that maid who feeds you, and cleans your house is not someone you depend on?” asked Karina sarcastically.

“I guess, the moral of the day is understanding interdependence. It doesn’t matter how strong we feel at the time, in the end, we spend most of our life, needing others to lend us a helping hand,” said Suntaria.

“Still sucks though,” said Regin, “I wish we were not born helpless.”

“Yeah, but if you were not born helpless, you could become a solitary creature like the dragons,” said Karina.

“I wish I was a dragon,” said Casimir sadly.

“Me too,” said Mico sighing.

Brunhilda said a bunch of gibberish, in response.

Regin asked, “What did the girl say?”

“I don’t know. I don’t speak dragon mumbo jumbo,” said Karina.

“In what way is that girl a dragon?” asked Mico.

“In the same way that her father Muldred is a dragon. You have seen him transform from man to beast before,” explained Karina.

“I see,” said Mico.

“I have never seen a dragon change form; how does it work?” asked Picolina.

“The transformation can be magical, or hormonal,” started explaining Karina. Remembering where she was she said, “Alchemic, I mean, not hormonal.”

“I see,” said the students nodding in response.

“Can you give her a potion to see if she transforms?” asked Picolina.

“Brrrunhilda is not a pet, for me to mess with,” said Karina.

“Why so much emphasis on the rrrrs?” asked Casimir.

“Well, anyone with a named with a lot of rrs is usually a type of dragon. Their true names are growls, and guttural sounds that the human cannot pronounce. It is for this reason that their human names includes their true name in the pronunciation,” explained Karina.

The gossiping about little Brunhilda continued for a bit. She indeed was such a dainty maiden in her human form. None of the students could guess that she was such a belligerent little dragon.

As the students were leaving, Karina said, “The next class will be our last lesson. I think you folks are just about ready to head out into the big wide world as model citizens.”

“If it is to be the final lesson, we could do a party with everyone,” suggested Babysel.

“Not a chance,” said Suntaria, “Don’t forget Letholdus is traveling abroad, and Janus is a little indisposed.”

“They are fine! Just because the boys are being big babies doesn’t mean we cannot have some fun,” said Regin smiling.

“I suppose it is tradition to goof off in the final class, but I promise to bring you a final lesson that none of you will ever forget,” said Karina ominously.

The inflation she used did not inspire Mico too much confidence. The other students just scoffed at the inflation Karina had used. Aside from those magic boards she had given them, her classes had been pretty much standard.

While Karina was going downstairs, she gave a step into a puddle. Looking down on the floor, she said, “What a bother.”

Casimir who was the last person to depart said, “Are you alright? Is it about that time, do you need a doctor.”

Karina cleaned the floor, with the folds of her dress. She then teleported back to her home. Casimir had never seen her depart in such a fashion. It gave him plenty to think about. When he reached the final part of the stairs, he saw all the students assembled.

Lucian said, “Is it about that time?”

“Yes, how did you hear?” asked Casimir.

“This library echoes a lot, which sucks, considering that it was designed to be all hush, hush and quiet,” said Lucian.

“The new librarian is such a gossip, isn’t she,” commented Carmenta.

In response to this observation, the librarian started hushing the little group of students. They went outside to discuss the prospect of the new kid, and if Karina was going to end the classes for good, as was tradition among teachers who suddenly had kids to bother about. The only maidens who did not follow that tradition taught, because they were not rich.

During the birthing, Amrita came to see Karina with a midwife. The delivery of the kid was uneventful. So much so, that Amrita worried about the rumors that Karina was a type of monster. She did not cry once, when giving birth to the child. She seemed in fact bored by the entire proceedings, almost as if she was engaging in a type of farce.  

When Amrita came to see the baby in the crib, she was half scared that it would be some type of scaly monster. The child instead was normal, too normal, which made her even more suspicious.

Amrita asked Karina while she fed her brat, “What are you going to name him?”

“I dunno,” said Karina shrugging her shoulders, “What do you want to name him?”

“Haven’t you asked my son what he likes?” asked Amrita.

“He said I should decide, and so I have decided not to decide upon his name, cause it violates the costumes of my people,” said Karina.

“You mean Customs,” corrected Amrita.

“Yes, that. So, what do you want to name him?” asked Karina.

“We should name him Hidalgo,” said a man entering the scene.

Karina’s face became aglow with happiness. It had been a such a long time since she had been truly happy. The man was dressed in wizard robes, with a strand of silver hair over one eye, which was cyan color. The other was a regular brown color. He stretched his thin hands to receive the daughter with the little bundle of joy.

Karina forgot completely that Amrita was there. The lady was a little too confused to say anything. Her first instinct was to imagine that the wizard fellow was the girl’s lover. This suspicion was quickly dissipated when Rimaru entered the room, saying, “Daddy!”

The father and his children looked at one another. As the light of understanding fell upon them. Sighing with relief, Karina said, “Well, then is it finally over?”

“It is never going to be, but at least with this time shift, the higher beings will stop affecting the us with their petty nonsense. There is nothing worse than being a casualty in someone else’s war,” whispered Proteus.

“But what about your stuff?” asked Karina.

“I have it with me, it is just going to be a little bit of a pain, to have to keep fetching stuff from the auria. It will just be an extra step,” said Proteus, “By and by, the Sleepers no longer need to dream, so they are going to start awakening.”

“And what of the Palace of Creation?” asked Rimaru.

“That place… or should I say that creature… we have no need of it. We are smart enough to discover things on our own. We lived once before without it, and we can go back to not relying on it all the same,” said Proteus.

Amrita had heard of the whole telepathy thing, and she found it a bit annoying. She left the room, since she did not feel part of the family of weirdoes. As she was walking through the hallways, she ran into Kanon. He said sternly, “Don’t go.”

“Why? I have no business among those strange creatures,” said Amrita.

“That attitude just won’t do. You have more in common with those people than you actually think. You perceive the world, with the same eyes, you taste the fruits with the same mouth, and you smell the flowers with the same nose. The way you see the world is one and the same. Isn’t that enough?” asked Kanon.

“For you, perhaps, but I am uncertain,” said Amrita.

“As are we all, there is no guarantee of what the future may hold, but at least in the now, we should make the best effort to be happy,” said Kanon.

“There is more to life than being happy,” said Amrita.

She was about to elaborate more on duty, and helping your fellow man, when Kanon interrupted her by saying, “What is the point of building a patrimony, of helping others, when you are unhappy. Don’t you see that with negative emotions, everything you touch, everything you do will turn to poison. You need to find your own happiness first before bothering about anything else, Lady Amrita.”

Amrita left to her home rather thoughtful. She pondered her own happiness, or lack thereof. She could not remember the last time she was happy, or even remotely content. Everything in her life had always been, you have to do this, you have to do that. With a haggard, weary step, she made her way towards the liquor cabinet. She poured herself a glass of wine, as she used to do in secret when she was wee small. She had given up many things she enjoyed in her road to becoming a mature lady. She had given up her petit drinking vice, her dolls, the pink petticoats she enjoyed, her long, beautiful hair, the jewelry and even the makeup as well.  She came towards her vanity, and she picked up the most beautiful of pearls, and she adorned herself. She then painted her face. When she concluded, she adjusted her small reading glasses to get a more complete look. She smiled, and then started laughing. The laughter eventually turned into a sob, a sob that nobody heard, except maybe a little bird.

The following day, Karina sent a letter to Letholdus. She had written in the letter the name of their son, Hidalgo. Hidalgo seemed like an unusual name for the kid, but why not. Letholdus was happy to at least be father. With the news of the birth of the kid, the merchant caravan started making their way back to Veragerung. Mixed with the correspondence was an unmarked letter. When Letholdus opened it, it simply read: “It worked, more the pity. I am sorry if I did you any bodily harm.”

Letholdus sighed, and he burned the letter. His father Adolfus came in, and he asked, “What’s the matter, my boy?”

“It’s a boy,” said Letholdus smiling.

“Say what! My boy had a boy! How lucky indeed, we gotta celebrate!” said Adolfus.

“Would you be just as happy, had it been a little girl?” asked Letholdus.

“Why must you make it a thing? That wife of yours with her philosophical nonsense has the bad habit of filling your head with stupid ideas,” said Adolfus sighing. He added, “Yes, son, a boy would work better, and you know why? Because we must live in this land, and breathe the same air as our brethren. Things may be changing in Veragerung, but people stay the same. When you travel enough, then you will understand my son. Then you will understand.”