Unbound

After Thalgrym’s declaration, Pit and everyone else were confined to their ships, forced to wait out the night in the ancient berths near the eyrie. As the moons crested above the foggy horizon, Pit sat on the deck, staring around at the floating islands and picking apart what he had said to the council.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper," he muttered, trailing a crystal claw across the deck. It skipped across the surface, unable to scratch through the high-quality material. “Maybe I could’ve said something…better.”

"Cut that out,” Evie said, dropping from the ropes above.

“Oh, hey. Thought you’d fallen asleep up there.”

Evie stretched, her armor moving smoothly with her motions. “I did for a good glass. Then I woke up to your belly achin’.”

Pit stared at the deck again. “Oh. I'm just... I'm worried that we screwed this up."

Evie snorted a laugh. "Screwed it up? That Thalgrym guy wasn't willing to listen to us in the first place. They're keepin’ their Unbound safe from us and from everyone else. They're not going to let us see her. Not unless we give them somethin’ good. And, honestly, you gave them everythin’ you could. Don't beat yourself up about it."

"I guess. Maybe I should’ve talked about all the good things we've done. All the bad monsters we've killed, and the places we, you know, made better."

"Look, Pit, I don't know what their deal is here, but they’re awful skittish with outsiders. Plus, we drove nine boats into their house. Makes sense that they're gonna be defensive."

"Ho, the ship!"

Pit craned his head over the railing, and Evie joined him. Below, standing atop the star-shaped pattern on the platform, was a Korvaa with raven feathers and a silver stole.

"Wonderment?" Pit asked.

"Hello, Pit. Honored Tenku, may I come aboard?"

Pit exchanged a look with Evie, and she shrugged. "Fine with me."

Soon after, the Korvaa was on the deck, looking about in clear wonder. "This Manaship is extremely impressive. Far more advanced than the ones I've seen in the Void."

"Oh yeah, it's a good one. Even by normal standards, though, those pirate ships were pretty bad.”

The Korvaa ran a hand over the smooth railing. “This is an ancient craft, is it not?”

"About as old as the Nym," Evie confirmed.

Wonderment's eyes widened a bit farther. "That is remarkable."

"So, what’re you doin’ here?" Evie asked.

"Ah, of course," Wonderment said, clearing his throat. "I came to offer my thanks." He dropped to a single knee and bent low before Pit. "I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude for the deeds you and your Companion performed for us, those many months ago. There was never enough time before, in the Void. Things were too hectic, you had to leave, and honestly, we never were certain we'd see you again."

Pit pushed the bird man upright with a single paw. "Nah, you don't have to do that. We were happy to help. We wish…I wish we could have done more," Pit said.

"What you accomplished…it was more than any reasonable person could have asked for. You couldn't control what the pirates did. But you saved us, in more ways than one."

Pit tilted his head. "How exactly did you guys escape the Void?"

"Ah," Wonderment clapped his hands. "To answer that, I need to ask for one more favor."

"Hm? What is that?"

"Ho, the ship," came a second cry, this one higher pitched.

"May I bring another aboard?" he asked.

Pit nodded. "Of course, what are you—"

Flying up from below came a brown-hued Korvaa that resembled a hawk. She landed on the deck, and all at once, Pit recognized her.

"Estrid?"

"Hello, Pit," she said.

"You... of course you survived, too. That's great!" Pit rushed forward, forgetting in his haste that he was much, much bigger than he used to be. Estrid and Wonderment backed up, startled by his sudden speed.

"Oh, sorry!”

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Estrid craned her neck to look up at him. "You've grown quite a bit since last I saw you, and you've learned to speak. How wonderful."

"For a while now," Pit said. "My size is... well, let me fix it." He activated the gem embedded in his barding, and his Mask swirled around him, shrinking down in a flash of light until he was a Dire Hound once more. "There. Easier to meet your eye."

"Oh, my." Estrid held her hand to her chest, a smile splitting her beak. "A bit more like your old self, I think.”

“I got big because I needed to—it's my path. But this..." Pit looked down at his tiny paws. "This is for me."

Estrid's smile only grew wider, and she traced a scar down her face. "We've all endured changes. I'm happy that yours are for the better."

"How'd it happen?" Evie asked. "If you don't mind me asking. I'm Evie, by the way. Friend of Pit and Felix's."

"Well met, Evie. A friend of theirs I would hope could be a friend of mine. And I don't mind. Not anymore. It was a sore point for a while, but living here in this beautiful place has healed me in more ways than one."

"Does this have to do with how you escaped the Void?" Pit looked between the two of them.

Wonderment nodded, and Estrid patted him on the head. "Yes. We followed your lead, Pit, and took our fight to the pirates."

Pit sucked in a breath. "There were still some alive?"

"Only a few," Wonderment said. "Enough to give us trouble, though, even with command of one of their galleons."

"The kids," Pit suddenly remembered. "Are they... they're here?"

Estrid's expression softened. "They're thriving in this world in a way I never hoped they could. They've developed core spaces, of all things." Her eyes were extra bright in the light of the floating lanterns. "Kili, Nell, and Jain have made fast friends with dozens of other children in the Enclave.”

“They're a delight to watch," Wonderment added. "Seeing them is like medicine. Already the horrors of the Void have vanished from many of the children."

"Never to return," Estrid said firmly. "This is our home now, beneath the sun and sky, and for some it's the only home they'll ever know."

Pit quirked his head. "What do you mean?"

"I brought one last thing with us from the Void. A brother for the children."

Pit trilled happily. "That's wonderful!"

"It is." Estrid was beaming now, and the brightness in her eyes trickled softly down her feathered cheeks. "Little Bateo Jr. A final gift from my husband."

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"Oh wow." Pit grasped for the right words to say, but his vocabulary was too thin to express himself. Bateo Jr. The idea made his chest hurt.

"It is a happy thing, Pit. Don't be sad on my account." Estrid cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. "Well, I've gone and made myself a mess. You asked me about our escape from the Void, yes?"

Pit nodded, eager to get the topic back on solid ground. "I did."

"That is why we've come here tonight," she admitted. "As I said, we took the fight to the pirates. Most were dead, but a few still controlled their base. Luckily, not enough to stand up to our entire community. The Korvaa of Echo's Reach took the pirate base and the remaining ships and resources. We turned them to better use. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last of our problems.”

“A monstrosity had started to hunt the Void," Wonderment said. "It ate everything and anything, from Tenebrils to Narhallows. Nothing was safe from its appetite."

Pit's eyes widened. He had a feeling he knew exactly what they were talking about. Whalemaw.

"Some wished to return to Echo’s Reach, and it was they who first encountered the beast. Less than half survived by fleeing into the dark while our community, charred and broken as it had become, was swallowed whole. They fled to join us in the pirate's base, finding shelter from the creature via the Desolation shielding it bore.”

Pit recalled the white dome that had protected the pirate’s fortress. It had been the only thing they had ever seen that could tear into the Whalemaw’s hide.

Wonderment shuddered. “The shielding kept the beast at bay, burning its flesh when it drew near, but few among us believed that would be enough. So, when Estrid found a map, it was like a light through the dark."

Estrid laughed. "Turns out the pirates knew of a Domain that would routinely show up near their settlement. Knowing the relationship of Domains and the Void, as Wonderment has studied them for a great many years, we encouraged the community to seek it out. We hoped it would be a way out, much in the same way that you and your Companion escaped the Void. Then again, we never knew if you had, or if you had simply perished in the Desolation. All we had to go on was hope."

"It was worth the risk," Wonderment said, putting his hand on Estrid's shoulder. "I had an idea. Even Knowledge and Grand Detachment, despite all their biases, settled their disputes enough to work together. You see, a collapsing Domain could be a way to flee between the edges of the Void and the Corporeal realm here. My research indicated it was possible, at least.”

Estrid nodded. “A thin hope, but it was all we had. So we piled into the remaining galleons and ventured out into the black.”

“While the Whalemaw was still after you?” Pit asked incredulously.

“Whale—? We never knew its name,” Wonderment admitted. “But thankfully, the creature was off devouring some other portion of the Void. We were able to get by without drawing its attention.

“Still, it was a dangerous risk, and we were uncertain if it would work, but we did not go unarmed. We reached the Domain without being devoured, and found that it still stood, providing that unique, invisible blockage a Domain sheath created.”

“How did you break into the sheath?” Pit chirruped. “The Domains are heavily protected.”

Estrid grimaced. “Yet another risk, and perhaps one greater by far. Before we left, we dug deep into the knowledge of our ancestors and managed to dismantle the shielding from the pirate base. The Desolation shield they used to keep the beast at bay was now used as a blade.”

“Whoa.”

“With that blade, we cut into the side of the domain sheath. We—we were not ready for the energies that poured out of it.”

“Truth. A great deal of Mana, more than we had ever seen, poured into the Void, spiraling over our ships like great tidal waves that almost capsized us. It was all we could do to keep ourselves upright, let alone sail into the breach that we had created. And in the distance, we heard the beast’s horrible cry. It was coming, along with swarms other voidbeasts, eager for a meal.”

Estrid touched the scar above her eye. “Tenebrils by the thousands came at us, eager to eat the Mana that poured over our ships. We fought them off, keeping them away from the weaker of us, but a few of us sustained injuries.”

“We couldn’t rest, though. Worse was coming. Hungry things flew in the dark, and the bellowing grew ever closer. But then, out of the chaos, a voice called to us. It was beautiful, a song woven into words that split apart the unruly Mana, and a doorway opened into the wild breach.” Estrid’s expression took on a soft quality, as if she were staring once again at something wondrous. “A woman with brilliant, multi-colored wings stepped through. She beckoned us, and just like that, she saved us from the Void.”

“Wait.” Evie held up a hand. “Was that—?”

“Yes, Princess Ondine. She had somehow sensed our struggle and reached through the barriers between Realms and pulled us through.”

Pit stared, beak agape. “How’d she do that?”

“That has never been explained, but I understand that it was something to do with her nature.” Estrid hesitated. "She is the Unbound you seek, Pit.”

“Yeah.”

“Wonderment told me what you said in the Hall of Songs. Your Companion, Felix. He is Unbound, too?"

Pit nodded.

"That…makes a great deal of sense. I’m honored to have been touched by two Unbound.”

“Most people aren’t that happy to find out,” Pit admitted.

“Then they’re fools,” she said firmly. “Many living in this city now were once in the Void. Not just Echo's Reach, but other communities scattered across the dark. Princess Ondine saved them all. She’s made it her purpose to open up these strange gateways, rescuing people from the black.”

Wonderment cleared his throat. “It is a selfless act. It hurts her every time she does it. But she has not stopped. Not until recently, when the shadowbeasts began to attack."

"Yes," Estrid said. "The shadowbeasts. Monstrous things. Seeking to ruin what we have here. This glorious sky, the rain, the sun, and the trees. Every day, we sit beneath them during the children's study period, and I can only think of him." Estrid took a deep, cleansing breath, and Pit felt her spirit tremble with a somber contentment. "I wish Bateo could have seen them all."

Pit swallowed. "Me, too.”

“But that is why we must protect this place. We know the monsters are hunting us. The Stormwardens move us across Sunara, but the shadowbeasts... Thalgrym did not mention that they are strong and growing more numerous by the day. They want our Princess, but they cannot have her.”

“We're here to save anyone and everyone that wants to come with us.” Pit pushed out his small, doggy chest. “I can fight the shadowbeasts, but we're not going to be able to fight them all. We need to leave here immediately, before the gods make things worse like they always do. But the council won't believe me."

"No, they won't," Estrid said. "They won't risk their Princess. She means too much to all of us, and she is safe. Currently."

"We've got two gods coming for her throat," Evie said. "She's not safe. They will find her."

Pit nodded enthusiastically. "But we have others like her. My Companion. And Beef and Archie. More by now, I hope. Together, we're stronger.”

“So we come to the final reason I came to see you tonight, Pit. I know of a way to convince the council, but it is a risk."

Pit’s ears perked up. "I’m not afraid of risks."

As dawn neared, Pit, in full grown form, burst into the council chambers.

"This is not allowed!" one of the tenku screeched.

Thalgrym held up a winged claw, stopping any further outbursts. "You approach us during our deliberation, Pit. You would have had to evade our sentries to make it to us without raising an alarm. How did you do so?"

"It wasn't very hard," Pit said, coming to a stop a little ways away from the group of councilors. "Just a matter of stealth and speed." And a little Masking. It’s harder to notice a tiny Dire pup.

Thalgrym sniffed, his Dragon-like face tipping upward into the air. "You smell of the Void. Of shadow. Do you deal in Noctis' fell powers?"

"What? No," Pit said. "It's a stealth Skill. I borrowed it from my Companion."

"He can borrow skills?" a Korvaa asked, eyes wide.

"I mean, I can. This one was better than the one I have. But when I use them both together..." Pit shook his head. "That's not important. It's not why I'm here."

Thalgrym rumbled in his chest. "The Wayfinder also tells us that your Evolution is influenced by a Primordial. This was not mentioned during your testimony. Is this true?"

Pit frowned. "It is. My Companion ate one in Ahkestria."

"He ate—?" A few of the other councilors looked faint.

One, the Korvaa that looked like a heron, spoke up. "The Primordials are twisted beasts. We have seen them from a great distance once, perhaps twice. They bend all that come too close, infecting them with their foul power…but you do not reek of their wrongness. How have you remained whole?"

"Oh, easy. My Companion cleansed the flesh curse from the Primordial before he ate it."

A startled murmuring swept through the council, devolving into a dozen smaller conversations.

Over them all, Thalgrym considered Pit. "Easy, you say. To have accomplished such a task…that is a power beyond any I’ve ever known. Yet that does not excuse your presence here, well before our judgment was to be delivered. What is your intent, Shaper of Chaos?"

"I'm done waiting for your judgment. I need to get your Princess out of here and somewhere safer, or else we're all screwed."

Thalgrym narrowed his bright orange eyes. "Long before they became twisted, Primordials were the embodiment of creation. They were pillars; the foundation. When the gods fought them, they harmed Creation itself.” He lifted his chin. “Show me your Evolution.”

Pit frowned but saw no harm in that. He brought up his status sheet and showed them just that portion.

Race: Chimera - Tenku - Primordial Storm Tyrant

"So it is true."

"I don't care what you think about my Evolution," Pit snapped. "I'm done waiting." He drew himself up, making sure he'd gone over these words many times on his way over. Estrid had been specific. "I invoke the right to be tested by the Tempest."

The murmuring of the councilors died out entirely.

"I see Wonderment spoke to you," Thalgrym rumbled. Suddenly, he hissed out a laugh. "Fine then, we will let the storm decide your fate."

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