To Know Sweet and Sour - Part Five (23-28)

Subject: To Know Sweet and Sour - Part Five (23-28) March 2nd 2020, 6:40 am

To Know Sweet and Sour
Chapter Twenty-Three
(Phesdorra)

It disturbed me when a plane flew overhead, but I heard an elf say, “They can’t see us. Something about our nature just does not register. We can be detected by humans, but not by those using instruments. There are times we discuss just how real we really are. Now that another age is passing, we wonder how real we will become.”

I asked, “Do you want to be considered as real?”

“Yes, that is a good question. As humans developed, we found our ways and our answers to no longer be helpful. I believe that is what the humans are going to learn as well. They are showing off their power, but are learning that they really are not as powerful as they thought. As strange as it sounds, they might end up not being considered real as well as us.”

Wanting to put the conversation on what I considered a useful topic, I said, “But we came hoping you could provide advice.”

“No. You came hoping we could supply some simple answers. Honestly, just the fact that we exist should be a simple answer to a question.”

“I knew you existed.”

The procession suddenly stopped. It alarmed me to see all the elves looking at me. I tried to flitter down where I could not be so easily seen, but their eyes followed. I then turned to see the horses of the ones in the lead, the ones holding the place of the royal couple in the procession, where they could clearly see me.

The one presently with the rank of king asked, “So, Phesdorra, why did you come?”

It was Dechant that answered, “For wisdom. You have faced the questions we are asking, so we sought advice on how to find our answers.”

“That is indeed a well worded question, but you are wrong. The humans faced the questions we once sought the answers to. They are the ones who need to come to us with the questions. You – you need to find your own answers just as the humans did. The humans however need to realize that they could well join us as the invisible people only noticed by rare individuals in rare moments. Instead of coming with their weapons, they need to come as friends.”

“Yes,” I said. “I wished Atagandes had sought to be my friend. He always acted as if he wanted to be my equal, but would seek to dominate me all the same.”

“That is the same attitude that our history says about the humans. It is good that you seek to be friendly with us.”

I saw him turn his horse to head back to the lead of the procession, but I had to say, “You have been friendly in return. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but we do ask that you do not forget us. During the age of the humans, we were lonely.”

I flew down to the caterpillar, and said, “Thank you for what you said.”

Dechant replied, “It really wasn’t much.”

“You are a lot wiser than one would think a caterpillar could be.”

“I’m a lot bigger than one would think a caterpillar could be.”

“Yes.” I turned about, then said, “I do believe the rest of us are the normal size for our kind.”

“I heard you had some years behind you, Phesdorra. You’re really not young, are you?”

While it was an odd question, I went ahead and answered, “It is hard to say things about age with my kind, Dechant, but I’m over eighty.”

“Yes, and I’m over thirty. Over thirty years of not becoming a butterfly.”

I landed next to him, then asked, “And when did you become bitter?”

“Cannot say. There was no announcement or anything. I just got this feeling I was to stay as I was. Cannot say that I knew I was bitter. I did start learning I could affect things. Does it show in my personality?”

The question took me by surprise, so I had to ask, “You mean do I think of you as a bitter person?”

“Yes.”

“No. I think of you as an odd caterpillar that occasionally shows himself to be wise.”

“Well, good – and, thanks. I was worried. I mean, you are a sweet person, Phesdorra. Vonall is – I guess – what I think salty would be. As for sour, I really find Brequir a little nicer than that.”

I laughed before saying, “He is far from being as sour as Atagandes.”

“Yes, well, that’s my point. I might represent Bitter, but I don’t think of myself as a bitter person. I’m not what I would like to be, but I’m not angry about it.”

“I think we are all positive personalities. I believe that is our challenge. We need to start this age as something positive. The humans are attempting to show off their power and force us to show off ours. I am glad to be able to put my powers to the test, but I would like for us to desire a normal life. Maybe we cannot have one ourselves, but we should make it possible for everyone else to have one.”

“I can agree with that, Phesdorra. Uh, Phesdorra…” Dechant’s voice went real low, so I moved closer to hear him ask, “Can you work with me? What I am, what I represent, it’s not right. I mean, I’m supposed to interact with everyone, but I really do not know how.”

I cautiously replied, “You are doing find, Dechant.”

“Yes, I’ve figured some things out, but it is not what we caterpillars do. You’re sweet, and I already said that I do not want to be seen as a bitter person. I’m just asking if you can help me learn how to… how to… how to get along – you know – how to respond to others.”

I bent over and kissed him. Doing the act on his mouth would have been difficult, as it was so low to the ground. I simply put my lips to the top of his head. When he did not respond, I did not know if he was perplexed, just slow to react, or just did not feel what I did. I thus made certain to have an arm squeeze him as I kissed him between the eyes.

He said, “Uh, yeah, but not so obvious.”

“No, Dechant, you let it happen. That’s it. You be who you are, but you just let others be who they are. If I feel like coming to you and kissing you, you deal with it.”

“Yes, but… but what if I felt like doing it to you?”

While I saw others watching, I was not going to stop what I considered to be a good thing. “Do you want to kiss me?”

“I don’t know. I mean caterpillars don’t do that. I however feel that since I am more than a normal caterpillar that I should act as more than a common caterpillar.”

“Well, part of actions like that is having it feel comfortable. Affection is not good if it has people feel uncomfortable. If you’re not comfortable then you probably should not do it. At the same time, if you feel uncomfortable when others do it to you, it could be a good thing. That has to do with how you feel about why the other person did it. If you think it was honest, let the moment happen and smile. If not, you might be right to be bitter.”

“Yeah, Phesdorra, that’s what I need – advice like that.”

Again hoping to keep the moment positive, I replied, “One thing I see in the alien divine champions is friendship. Let’s do that as well. Let’s be friends. As a friend, Dechant, feel free to come to me with any question or whatever.”

I saw him turn. There was a flat vehicle connected to a couple of elf horses. I did see some items placed around the edges, but Dechant headed to it in a manner of riding on it. I saw him turn to me then speak as if he did intend to ride.

“Will you join me, Phesdorra?” I saw him grimace, then ask, “If your wings get in the way, could you walk with me? I don’t think we are moving that fast.”

I had been flying with the procession, but I did not want to be ungracious. “My wings do get in the way at times, but I am used to them. Usually they bother other people.”

“I guess I can start getting used to them. If I do, I might finally become a butterfly.”

“Now don’t start hoping to be something you are not intended to be. I think you are quite special as a caterpillar.”

The elves showed their support for Dechant by assuring there was room for me with him in the trailer. The problem with my wings was not that they would bother him, but that they would flutter over the side and possibly disrupt the movement of others. The elves had me take a position in the trailer where the wings would be on the outside of the procession saying their color would help the majesty of the impression upon those watching.

As we began moving, the elves started speaking with us. I believe it helped Dechant and me to have topics of conversation to speak about. Instead of simply exchanging ideas, we got to hear a lot of things I doubt either of us had ever considered. Up to now both of us had been doing things to survive and learn our place in the world. What the elves presented to us was topics of philosophy with Dechant and me wishing the procession would have lasted longer in order to hear more concepts we had yet to conceive of on our own.

I did not see anything special about the place where the elves stopped. Of course, I did remember thinking the place we left would not have shown any traces of it once having been a residence for a community of people. As I saw the elves move about claiming places for their own and begin moving their belongings, I looked to see what the others of my group were doing.

Dechant somehow found them first, although I flew down hearing some laughter and not his call. Hallith was leaning against a tree. I guess some elves had chosen the tree, but they stood nearby as if something else had their attention other than the large man. Cornispe had a pile of wood on the ground as if he was going to start a fire, but Pesloe stood nearby simply looking at Ayither.

I arrived to hear the champion of storm say, “I have already said that Typhorsh does not speak on matters pertaining to you, Hallith.”

The large man replied, “You’re not doing anything wrong, Ayither, but only being yourself. I would speak against Typhorsh if he kept such sights from me.”

“But I feel as if I had done something wrong.” I saw her look around before saying, “I have cooked a meal before.”

Pesloe said, “But, Ayither, you spoke implying that I usually cooked for Cornispe. Actually, he usually cooks for me.”

Her husband admitted, “Well, it does depend upon what we are going to cook.”

An elf lady replied, “We will however let you cook.”

Hallith admitted, “You made the offer, Ayither, so you probably should.”

I said, “I can help. I probably cook more the way the people here expect. I can thus make certain that what you do comes out properly.”

Ayither looked to Hallith as she asked, “Did Kierle cook for you?”

He answered, “She was a slave, Ayither, a gift from the goddess of fire. A fabulous gift, do not get me wrong, but nothing like what you are or what type of life I expect you to share with me.”

Pesloe said, “Still, Ayither, it is good that you are willing. Tell you what, I will help as well. Might as well have a time of us ladies working together.”

Dechant moved up to say, “I cannot say that I am a lady, but I cannot allow too much sweet to flavor our food.”

Cornispe said, “I believe we are going to need a bigger pot, and probably more wood for the fire. Come on, Hallith, let’s make certain the ladies have what they need.”

As the two men moved off, Dechant said, “Friendship is a good thing. However bitter I might be, I can still be a friend.”

I thought those to be wonderful words. It was fun working with Ayither and Pesloe. The lady of water had experience in managing a large meal, but mostly just told stories of her family. I did prove that I knew the local spices, and found that the elves would work through me to add their own ingredients or make other suggestions. While Ayither actually seemed the less capable, she seemed passionate about helping. I found the time to be wonderful, and never felt I was with anyone other than friends.

Subject: Re: To Know Sweet and Sour - Part Five (23-28) March 7th 2020, 6:49 am

To Know Sweet and Sour
Chapter Twenty-Four
(Hallith)

I again found Ayither sleeping next to me. She settled against my body after helping everyone clean up the mess of the meal. With the elves active in setting up their new home, it was a good thing that we provided some food for them. I was against a tree dozing, but woke up hearing Ayither tell me she was my wife before sitting down and leaning upon me. Actually finding no discomfort in her presence, I drifted back off to sleep.

I came to with Pesloe kneeling near me where she could softly say, “Brequir is saying that we need to leave. We know where the elves are at, so if we have questions we can come. However, we probably need to distance ourselves from them to assure the humans do not involve them.” I was about to reply when she added, “Ayither is nothing like me or Kierle.”

I replied, “Yes, as she is something special I never had before. You were my princess, Pesloe. Kierle was a gift. Ayither is neither, but I believe I will be happy with her, and her with me.”

“You are what you are, Hallith. If she does not like that, it is too bad for her. I however believe she wants to be yours, so you be happy with her.”

“I don’t see why I won’t be.”

“I don’t either. I like her. I guess as your princess you wanted my approval. Okay, you got it. Now, no need to wake your darling intended. We are going to pack your horses. When she wakes up, do what you must then jump on your mount and catch up.”

I figured Pesloe knew, but went ahead and said, “She’s storm, so catching up will not be a problem.”

“We’re not, and I plan on talking with the elves for a time, so don’t feel rushed.”

I sat and found myself enjoying having Ayither with me. She was very lovely. Even though asleep I felt an energy within her. To believe this lady would be mine I found to be incredible, so I sat and let her sleep determined to enjoy my time with her.

When she opened her eyes, she said, “You could have done things with me.”

“No,” I replied. “I however know the time is coming when I can.” Simply wondering about any limits she might have on topics of conversation, I asked, “Is that how storms usually develop their relationships?”

“Those I know about, yes.”

“So, it is good that I’m not doing it that way?”

“Considering we are both to stay connected to the divine, yes. Those of storm that I know, and from what I heard from Slidell about those calm, those who take on a spouse usually focus on each other and not on their divine status. You are not taking me because you want to fulfill some physical desire. That is good, Hallith. You are accepting Typhorsh, and I will accept Zetrullid. That is what we are, and what we both hope to continue to be.” She kissed me while rising, then said, “Give me time, and we can start our day.”

I needed some time as well. It was lucky that I did not need a bath, as Vonall was in the water where Ayither went. Listening to the ladies speak to each other, I moved down the stream until I found a place deep enough to handle what needs I had.

Pesloe seemed annoyed to see me, but she simply said that she had not expected to take as long as she did. She spoke of Brequir wanting to go confront Atagandes. It seemed that the bear had support, so we would be heading to where the human who claimed to be sour had made his home. I assured Pesloe that I had no problem with the plans, and would expect to travel with the others.

I then heard, “If Hallith has no problems then I don’t either.”

Not really certain how much Ayither heard, I replied, “Well, you might –”

“Don’t say it!” Pesloe commanded. Seeing me hush, she then advanced to ask, “Ayither, who is putting the pressure on you? I know it’s not Hallith. Is it your god?”

Ayither replied, “No. I just –”

I interrupted her answer to say, “Slidell?”

“No! I’m just… I’m just willing.”

Pesloe then said, “Leave her alone, Hallith. The girl’s got to learn. Zetrullid knows that I went through a period like that. She has you, and you will be a lot easier to learn than Cornispe.”

From a distance I heard, “I know that wasn’t a compliment, but if my wife said it and she is not mad at me I will take it as one.”

Pesloe stepped up to me to say, “Ayither is trying to say that she will love you, Hallith. You will get used to each other.”

I heard the Champion of Storm say, “Yes, that is true. Hallith, you do not want me to do those things?”

Keeping my eyes on Pesloe, I replied, “Those are not the things I brought you to do, Ayither. Still, you’re right, there will be periods of…” I spun and advanced upon Ayither saying, “Calm! Those are things I expected you to associate with calm. I brought you with me promising that you could keep the storm.”

“I feel the storm, Hallith. Even doing these things I feel the storm.”

I grabbed the lady by the shoulders and declared, “I want to marry you, Ayither Champion of Storm. If I wanted another Kierle, I could have gotten one. I didn’t. As much as I treasured her presence in my life, she was not what I wanted. I saw your storm, and fell in love with it.”

I saw a sheepish expression cross her face before she said, “Typhorsh is laughing, but he already told me that I was yours.”

“Pesloe said we will get used to each other. Just tell me if Typhorsh is ever getting angry at me. Hearing that will bother me.”

“I am waiting to meet Zetrullid.”

“He’s a nice guy. I enjoy serving him.”

Pesloe said, “He is a rather pleasant deity. He and Hallith also get along real well. Don’t worry about him, Ayither, but keep your focus on your god.”

Ayither replied, “All I know about being a wife is from what I saw in others.”

“It is the children that will force certain ways. Be yourself around the men, as they will be themselves around you. I traveled with Hallith, Chertish, and Anerth for over four hundred years and never had a problem with them, although I was never a wife to them, and rarely a princess.”

I saw Ayither turn to me to say, “I feel secure in the storm, Hallith, but not secure as your wife. I feel a need to do certain things. Pesloe is surely right that I will learn, but right now I have nothing else to go on. Those I have in my past left their place as a divine champion, and I do not want that.”

Pesloe said, “Phesdorra?” Hearing a response, she said, “I believe Ayither needs us to hang around her more than she needs to hang around Hallith. Can we do that?”

The pixie flew toward us while saying, “We certainly can. I feel that we need to discuss Atagandes, so was hoping for time to talk.”

“Sounds good. Cornispe, try to keep Hallith entertained. If you don’t mind, we ladies are going to ride ahead.”

I stayed available should any of the ladies have needed help. None of them did, but I held my place. As the ladies moved off, I asked a question of Cornispe.

“How much more needs to be done?”

“Nothing more than allowing the ladies time.”

Realizing that we were just given the females the opportunity to gain some distance, I asked, “Think that’ll be enough of a lead?”

“If not, they can speed up. Odds are your lady of storm will ride back to you.”

That last sentence took me by surprise. I however thought on his words. I then thought over what I said. Forming a conclusion, I checked over my horse, loaded what items I had used during the night, then took off.

I rushed toward the ladies with my horse at a full gallop. I did not say anything, but simply stood in the saddle. As I went by the ladies I only did what was necessary to have my horse continue to rush forward.

Once a number of lengths ahead of them, I petted my mount then worked on performing a handstand. I was a large man, so the trick was difficult even on stable ground. While I had the strength in my arms to lift myself, keeping my body still was not something I practiced. Luckily, my horse had enough experience with me that a couple of falls did not bother it. Each time I quickly regained the back of the animal to keep my lead ahead of the ladies, although as expected I found one to ride up to me.

Ayither did not have a horse used to such antics, but before it could react she had also fallen. I knew the lady had good arm strength, so watched her float down thinking that she also was not one to practice holding her body steady. As she regained the back of her mount, I heard Pesloe mention something about my antics.

“Even Cornispe never tried to break his bones in that fashion.”

I softly spoke to Ayither. “Go back to talking. I rode ahead because if I was behind you I might have the horse run into you accidentally.”

She smiled while asking, “What are you doing?”

“Letting you know that I’m not Slidell. I will not fight your storm. I was a Quartermaster, and put up with more than your actions at their worst. If you are going to try to do the things of calm with your own little twist, I am going to do things of storm with my own little twist.”

“And I will love you for it.”

Ayither then rode back to where the other ladies were gathered. Pesloe looked to me for a moment, then turned her mount. I spent the day practicing as many tricks as I had perfected along with many more I had thought about or seen others perform. Never could get a handstand to work, but I managed most others involving movement of some kind. The problem with some was my large size disrupting the balance of my mount. That had me think to get a larger horse the next time. I knew my horse was from Davelda, but thought to check with Ferrigote about where he gained the larger mounts he used for when he was fully armored. As I considered the topic, I heard Ayither ride up from the other ladies to ask a question.

“Are you tired?”

“My horse is,” I answered. “It’s just a normal animal, but I have had it a number of years. Was thinking about getting a larger breed when this one finally deserves to be put to pasture.”

“Pesloe said that you killed many a horse.”

“I never killed a one. We grabbed horses like we grabbed weapons, clothes, whatever we felt we could use. For over the first century everything wore out rather quickly. Finally, we started gaining stuff that would last. I cannot remember when I gained this sword or this armor. I’ve had them a while, but they are not made of normal material and they are heavily enchanted.”

“I don’t believe my armor is enchanted.”

“We can ask around.”

I was going to say more, but Ayither moved against my mount and crossed over. I suddenly had the lady sitting before me. She grabbed my head and had our lips meet. We went through a period of passionate affection. I felt a strong wind come us around us. While I had no idea where things would lead, I allowed the storm to rage thinking that our presence before the others would curtail any extreme developments. Ayither continued to seek my affection, but I noticed her hands stayed on my upper body. I thus kept mine to certain safe parts of her even as I did all I could to satisfy her. She then shot up, but only to return sitting before me. Leaning back against me, she signaled my mount to again start moving.

“How hard is it to wait?” she asked.

“I try not to think about it,” I replied. “What I keep reminding you is that our marriage is eternal. Once I don’t have to wait anymore, I probably won’t. When I came home to Kierle, she knew I would demand her.”

“I will be demanding you, Hallith.”

“And one thing I desire about you is that you will stay in my life. I went over four hundred years from battle to battle to battle. I think I will much more enjoy over four hundred years of having you demanding me.”

Subject: Chapter Twenty-Five March 12th 2020, 7:00 am

To Know Sweet and Sour
Chapter Twenty-Five
(Hallith)

It was pleasantly interesting having Ayither in the saddle before me. It might seem strange, but for the first time I found myself thinking of her as a female. While one could not deny her gender, as she was a most lovely lady, I had still thought of her as nothing more than just another traveling companion. I had several over the years with Pesloe in my company for centuries. She was my princess however, and not someone I looked at as I had those women who I had claimed for nights during my loneliness. It had however come into my mind that my desire for Ayither was mostly as someone who could share my life. The fact that she could travel with me, could fight with me, and would perform stunts on a horse with me were the things that caused me to want her in my life. I actually enjoyed the time we spent speaking on topics I considered important to who I was, and somehow I came to understand those things were important to her as well. She sat before me and spoke in a manner very unlike me, but actually as I remembered my girls from Kierle speaking to me. Still, I saw her form in the saddle and could not help but recognizing her female features, and found myself interested in having such a vision as a constant part of my life.

As I listened to Ayither, I could only wonder why Pesloe never spoke in such manner around us men during all those centuries we fought as Quartermasters. Considering that she and Cornispe had managed a normal land and raised normal children, I thought to ask her if there were periods when she spoke that way now. Wondering if I was getting more of a woman than Pesloe, I did what I could to respond to Ayither in order to encourage her to continue to speak.

Hoping I would have an opportunity to speak to Pesloe on the topic, I turned upon hearing the approach of a horse. Instead of my fellow Quartermaster, I saw Vonall directing her mount forward with Dechant in front partially on the neck of the horse. As they approached, I heard the caterpillar ask a question.

"Ayither, how high can you fly?"

She continued to sit in front of me as she lifted her voice to answer, "If there is air, I can move in it."

"That plane way up there. Can you reach it?"

I looked up to see the trail of an aircraft at a very high altitude, although did not doubt what Ayither said. "It flies in the air, although it is moving very fast."

"I would like to bring it down, but by spoiling its fuel and not by destroying it."

"We will need to move now. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"I AM STORM!"

I watched as she shot up, paused to have a column of wind lift Dechant to her, then rapidly rose in the sky, although had to chuckle as Pesloe said, "You're not supposed to look up a woman's garments, Hallith, although I guess you can with her."

I replied, "White fluttering cloth is not really special to look at."

Vonall helped keep the topic from digressing as she asked, "Ayither can simply go from sitting peaceably with you to rushing through the sky?"

"You haven't been listening to her. The storm is there. I can feel it when she is with me."

Cornispe had to quip, "Yes, I have been noticing that."

I did not lose track of what I was saying. "Do not think she is ever calm."

Pesloe said, "But you are obviously happy with each other. That is what is important, Hallith. I hope you never lose that."

"As long as we never lose the connection with the gods behind us, I feel our love will continue."

"Yes, as that is something I don't have with Cornispe. Still, he has been devoted to our gods, and I am happy with him."

We all went back to looking up as a loud roar sounded overhead. What had been a white trail behind the plane now came out black as the craft could be seen losing altitude. Wondering about our two who had ascended, I continued to look up.

Brequir roared up, "Was it scary, Dechant?"

From above came the reply, "No. Ayither gave me no sense of being unable to control us. I also did not need to have her take me as high as I thought. I have to say that Vonall is correct. I feel that with some more practice I can affect things very far away."

From nearby I heard Cornispe say, "You're looking up the garments of Ayither again."

Without fear I replied, "Just seeing how much trouble they will be to remove."

"Ah, but the magic is when you realize that they have already undone everything for you."

Pesloe said, "All right, Cornispe, she is not yours to look at."

"Actually, I'm not. I looking at Hallith's smiling face. You get up there, and I will be the one looking with a smiling face."

"I will see about giving you your view sometime after all this is done."

"That was my wife that said that. Yes, we do have a happy marriage."

Ayither and Dechant settling to the ground stopped the banter between the two. My lady did exchange a moment of affection with me, but quickly focused on the discussion between the local divine champions. It seemed they had come up with a plan. I listened as the steps were discussed, then dropped from my horse to the ground hearing Ayither whisper a detail to me.

"We are to act together."

I replied, "I guess we should get used to it."

"No. I helped Dechant, so I expected to be put in a way that would help the others in the air. We are not the same. While we will belong to each other, we have separate talents."

I moved to my horse while saying, "Ayither, you also heard Dechant say that his power should increase in range. We know what we can do. We have been active as divine champions for a long time. We are now going to be married, so we should become used to being put together. If they need you or me, they can call us. You did not refuse Dechant, and I won't refuse any request either. Still, unless we see a need to be separate, we should assume we will be together."

Before I climbed back on my mount, I looked to Ayither. She had her focus on me. Seeing the others taking time in what I considered other private discussions, I saw no reason to rush my lady. Accepting she was storm, I did not doubt my actions would not take her by surprise. She saw me looking at her, and before I could ask she presented her own question.

"What demand will you place on me?"

"And what will I need to demand of you? What will I need to command you to do? From what I have seen, you are already more than willing to do a lot."

She moved close, kissed me, then said, "Typhorsh is demanding that I see what you have done. You have taken me to other immortal couples. You have shown me that with you I will be promoting things good. You are saying that you want us to be like the others that move about helping those in need. I agree, but... but it is not what I saw in the desire of Slidell or others."

"I can accept that."

"Everyone says you are a good man, Hallith, and I can accept that." She kissed me again, then said, "I will be a good wife."

I turned to put my arms around her, then said, "Ayither, you were not always with Slidell. You often moved about doing your own missions. I am generally out doing my own missions. We probably both need to get used to simply being with someone constantly. Yes, as my wife, there are things I am going to want from you constantly. Yes, as your husband, there are things with me that will probably bother you constantly. I am willing to accept you in my life. This however is a two-step process, so you do need to decide for yourself."

"I've decided, but my decision bothers me."

"For two nights you have slept against me. I could have done anything I wanted to you. I didn't. One, because it would not be right. Two, because as a divine champion I do have certain requirements in how I act. Once married, I will have the right and actually the requirement to fulfill certain desires with you. I am not going to belittle what I gain, or deny the changes my place in your life will force you to accept. Take the time to consider things one more time."

Phesdorra asked us if we were ready. Ayither did not turn from looking at me even as she yelled that we were. As I saw the others head to their mounts, she let me know that her storm was ready for whatever may happen.

"Tonight I will again put myself with you, and you will again have the opportunity to do with me as you will. I told you Typhorsh already considers me your wife. I understand your hesitation to take me, but, actually, I'm grateful. Trust however that when all is done, I will be committed to you."

I smiled as I replied, "That will be my demand."

Seeing the grin had me realize the beauty of the lady I would be claiming as my own. I had heard other men speak of doing things to rush a courtship with a pretty lady so as to get them before another man had the chance. I however found myself determined not to spoil the relationship I had with Ayither, and grinned thinking of what I would do to any man who thought they could win her from me.

I think Phesdorra was riding with Pesloe. I now found her coming to me. The little pixie was showing that she could move with enough speed to pass among us traveling on mounts. Considering that we had to pace ourselves with Brequir, I allowed that we were not riding that swiftly. While Ayither had been with me, I accepted that Phesdorra had felt safe in my company. When she took her place riding with me I however found her wanting to travel with me to assure that I heard certain plans.

"Hallith, I hope we won't get into trouble. While I want us to appear strong, I feel we will need Atagandes to still feel he has the advantage if we are to have a chance at speaking with him."

I replied, "Pesloe and I are used to coming into the middle of a drastic situation. Let me just warn you, Phesdorra, that when we go into action it can get a little extreme. I believe I can include Ayither in that."

"That is basically what Pesloe and Cornispe said as well. I just want you to know that I am seeking to give Atagandes one more chance to actually come to terms."

"I hate to tell you this, but he is not sour. He is evil."

"I feel that he believes the two are the same. I am glad that we have Brequir with us, as he is support for what you said. My own association with Atagandes has me believe that he is just mislead. Something in his research steered him wrong. I want a chance to have him turn from his path."

I felt bad having to say, "I doubt he will. Do you really have that strong of a friendship with him?"

"You have to understand that this age is very new. We who are being affected by the change are having to learn things without any rules. I learned of sweet basically in response to Atagandes learning of sour. I have come to learn that I was right, so it does bother me to think of Atagandes is wrong."

"Okay, Phesdorra, you have my support." Not wanting any improper trouble for the pixie, I asked, "Did you hear that, Ayither?"

The champion of storm replied, "I believe I heard enough. I will let you go over things with me to assure that I know what to do."

Phedorra said, "Thank you, both of you. Once over that rise you should be able to see the community of humans."

As she flew off, Ayither moved close to simply say, "I will wait for orders."

I wanted to ask something, but then thought of how to make the question not sound so bad. "Feel like you are back to working with calm?"

"No, Hallith, but I'm nervous. I know I am in a situation I have never been before."

"In this situation that might be good thing. Still, yes, let's check with each other before taking off to do what we do best."

Subject: Chapter Twenty-Six March 17th 2020, 6:31 am

To Know Sweet and Sour
Chapter Twenty-Six
(Phesdorra)

Flying up and ahead, I was relieved not to see the little community surrounded by military. I had been worried that I would not have any choice but to order an attack. Instead I felt unafraid when a military patrol suddenly turned to focus their weapons on me and move to surround my group.

One ordered, “All right, put down your weapons.”

Cornispe replied, “No.”

Hoping to prevent a catastrophe, I said, “We are divine champions. With the power of God we can be dangerous without our weapons. I would rather us keep our weapons and have you realize that we are dangerous. The hope is that you will come to accept that you need to seek some terms.”

I believe one of the men intended to shoot Brequir, hopefully in a leg, but instead the shooter and the men around him suddenly needed medical aid as his weapon exploded. As they took care of their wounded, I simply flew to land on the back of the bear. The one that had spoken earlier continued to speak to another, but I found myself believing there might be hope as he approached to hold out his communicator in a manner to enable me to hear.

Atagandes asked, “Phesdorra, what type of terms do you think I will accept?”

I replied, “What type of terms should you be seeking? Atagandes, God has ended the age of humans. Will we need to exterminate your kind? We went to the elves, and you attacked. That was the wrong thing to do.”

“You cannot exterminate us, Phesdorra.”

“I believe the presence of elves says we cannot, but we can claim control. Maybe not completely, but your age has come to an end. The question is whether you will become an invisible presence as have the elves.”

“What can I do to convince you otherwise?”

I looked with sorrow to the soldier holding out the communication device as I said, “I am afraid that I am the one that needs to do the convincing, Atagandes.”

Hearing the voice of Atagandes say, “Something is going to have to happen, Phesdorra,” I dropped to rub the fur of Brequir while saying, “Protect me.”

The bear replied, “Remember, you’re Sweet.”

“I know.”

I dropped to lay on his back while focusing my mind on traveling in its own way. I did feel that what I was doing was a demonstration of my power, but in a manner that would not affect all the men who Atagandes was putting in our way. It helped that he tried speaking to me, as I was able to use his voice as a means of directing my mind.

A very large form of Atagandes screamed at me, “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

He was human, so actually much larger than me. In entering people’s minds I however tended to face them more as an equal. I looked around to see wheels and gears turning without the signs of memories. The sight had me feel sorry for Atagandes, as he cared not for anything after its usefulness to him had passed. Without fear I looked to the larger form and started the discussion.

“I am sorry if you feel this is an attack.”

I found him to shrink down in size as he said, “Phesdorra, you cannot win.”

“Win? What can you win, Atagandes? You can do nothing except hold onto something whose time has passed. I can do nothing but act to advance something that has been set in motion by another greater than either of us. There is no winning or losing, Atagandes.”

“I can show you how powerful I am.”

I believe he intended his statement to help him increase in size, but I spoke to an apparition of him still close to where I could look him in the eyes. “No, Atagandes. All you can do is force us to kill more humans. What your arrogance will do is have us demonstrate the power of God.”

“Out of my mind, Phesdorra.”

I looked around then said, “Might as well, as I can see the truth.”

“And what is that?”

“Hupragordes is not the threat, but you are. You were going to use him as a shield just as you intended to use the rest of the military.”

“You cannot tell that. You are not that powerful.”

I believe I grew in size, as I suddenly found myself easily looking into his eyes. “You are the one that developed this talent. What you should have learned that time I entered Hallith’s mind was that this was a power beyond me. Something else is behind me supplying me with power and direction. Your time has passed, Atagandes. I do not know what purpose mankind will continue to provide. I honestly did not learn anything from the elves. I have to trust there is a reason for you to live on and not die away.”

“Out of my mind, Phesdorra.”

“I told you I have learned what I needed to know. I am sorry, Atagandes, but I don’t need to talk to you anymore.”

I picked myself up from the back of Brequir to see the soldier holding the communicator standing there perplexed as Atagandes yelled for the troops to attack us. Many moved into position to point their guns at us. I do not know if Brequir or Dechant did anything obvious, but I felt the results of the earlier soldier attempting to shoot us should have been enough evidence for what would result.

As the soldiers went to work to care those wounded along with the bodies of those who died, I ordered for my group to fall back. Not wanting to give any impression of retreating, or running away, I sought a position further back but from where I could still see the community. As we saw other soldiers moving as if to engage us, Dechant asked me my strategy.

I answered, “It is my hope to pull Atagandes out.”

The caterpillar had a few hands make a motion, then a vehicle could be heard having engine problems. “You mean your little mind trick wasn’t enough.”

“It didn’t give me the results I wanted, so I was hoping to try something else.”

“So, you don’t mind me doing things? I mean, I’m not intending to hurt them.”

Vonall said, “They are going to be hurt, but you are right not to make it your intention. Let the humans bring their doom upon themselves.”

“Doom?” I asked with a tone of exasperation. “I am not intending to cause them doom.”

“Their age is over. Whatever plan was desired for them as been fulfilled or passed. Still, you are right, Phesdorra, we should not desire to be the cause of their doom.”

I was grateful Brequir asked, “If their age has ended, shouldn’t their doom or victory have already come?”

“For their age, yes, but not for them. They can now decide how to end their domination. They can either be almost completely extinguished or gracefully find their numbers reduced.”

I looked up with others seeing planes lift off and circle to gain height before coming upon us. Just the type of plane surely let us know what was going to happen, but something inside me gave me assurance of my assumption. I do not remember speaking with the others, but Vonall spoke without any of us asking about her decision.

“Ayither, your power over air could help me.”

While I considered Ayither a friend, her response made it clear that she did not hear the same voice as me. “What do you want me to do?”

“The bombs need to drop straight down. They will release them trusting in their momentum to carry them to us, but they need to drop straight down.”

Ayither only nodded. I expected her to again shoot off into the air, but she merely held her place in the saddle. None of us spoke as the planes did indeed straighten their flight paths to directly approach us. I could not say that I knew exactly what Vonall did, and Ayither did not put on a show, but the bombs dropped straight down.

The explosions were loud. None of the damaging forces however came upon us. We passively watched as people, homes, and businesses were destroyed by the explosions.

I believe it was our inaction that had those facing us turn. While they probably wanted to blame us for the destruction, the bombs were not ours and we did nothing overtly to have them drop as they did. I watched with sorrow at what had happened, but held my place wondering why those with me did not turn from the carnage.

I asked, “Should we help them?”

Vonall answered, “Not without them asking.”

“Do we just stay here and watch?”

“We make certain that they had an opportunity to ask.”

Brequir asked, “So, we watch as the humans annihilate themselves?”

“History will record the fate of the humans. It will also record the rise of us who are to usher in this new age. I would like for history to speak well of us.”

I felt we would have turned around, but I suddenly found my head shocked by a scream from Atagandes, “PHESDORRA, HAS IT COME TO THIS?”

Seeing myself again confronted by Atagandes, although this image being about the same height as me, helped me to confidently reply, “What? Laughter? No, Atagandes, I am not laughing.”

“Laughing?”

“Are you only not laughing because the bombs fell on your people? Wouldn’t you be laughing if they had fallen on us?”

“You have a warped mentality, Phesdorra.”

“I am not the one that launched the bombers, Atagandes.”

He actually shrunk in size as he declared, “This is not over, Phesdorra!”

“Your age is Atagandes. If this is how you want the final chapter to be written, it is your decision.”

“Your words, Phesdorra, and I hope history records them.”

“I am not scared of my words being recorded, Atagandes, but my deeds. I want it written that I did seek to prevent doom from coming to the humans.” I almost sought the power to stop the mental confrontation, but paused feeling other words given to me. “You know, I really learned nothing from the elves. Still, I came away with a feeling of friendship and a hope that I would meet with them again. I am not even feeling that with you. While I will remember you, I doubt that history will.”

“Phesdorra, this is not over.”

“I wish that was true, Atagandes.”

Subject: Chapter Twenty-Seven March 22nd 2020, 6:44 am

To Know Sweet and Sour
Chapter Twenty-Seven
(Hallith)

I could not help but look around with the expectation of the situation to explode. That thought however had me pause. The others moved on ahead either with their own thoughts or just trusting that I would catch up. Strangely, it was not Ayither that came to me curious. She just smiled at me. It was however Pesloe that looked at me then came with an expectation of something being wrong.

She asked, “What’s bothering you, Hallith?”

“I’m just trying to remember, Pesloe. We’ve been in this situation before. I think we died in one of them.”

She looked around, then asked, “Are you certain?”

“I was trying to remember.”

Pesloe turned her head back-and-forth between me and Ayither, and I guess to help the Champion of Typhorsh said, “I believe he means another story to tell. As for just knowing how to go up against an army, I know he knows how to do that.”

I saw Pesloe look to me as she replied, “Yes. He can do that rather well. Still, this is not the time for it.”

I had to counter, “It also would not be the first time something attacked while I was thinking about something else.”

Ayither said, “Pesloe, you said you wanted to be there to hear the stories Hallith might tell. Well, if this was the place I would not stop him from telling them.”

Pesloe replied, “She’s going to get you killed, Hallith.”

I could not help but say, “She better find her way to Morlin before I go to Hurria looking for Typhorsh.” I then thought to change what I said. “Excuse me, Ayither. Before I storm into Hurria looking for Typhorsh.”

Pesloe commanded, “You better love her as much as Cornispe loves me.”

“Have I given you any indication that I won’t?”

“I’m going to Morlin with you, Hallith. I want to hear what Zetrullid says about her.”

“And what Chertish says about her.”

Pesloe looked to Ayither to admit, “That is the one to fear, but he is a lot calmer than when he was a Quartermaster. I think he will love you. If he says anything improper, it will simply be so you can say you heard such words from him. He had a mouth on him when he was a Quartermaster.”

Ayither replied, “I am looking forward to it.”

Cornispe rode up to ask, “Why aren’t you coming?”

His wife answered, “Hallith was trying to remember another story to tell.”

“Oh, well – Hallith, is it there, or can you work on it while riding?”

I muttered, ‘Work on it while riding.” I then moved to gain the reins of my horse before saying, “Ayither, don’t get me killed.”

I heard enough hoofbeats behind me to believe that all three of my companions joined me as I rode toward the entrenched army. Men readied weapons as I approached, but they wisely did not fire. I pulled on the reins at a distance not intended to imply any threat, then shouted my words.

“Do you understand what is happening?” When one of them simply barked a question as if not understanding, I clarified. “I am Hallith. I was one of the Quartermasters that came to this world about a couple of centuries ago. I fought for you humans then. I am not here because I have turned against you, but because the times have changed. You are no longer in the right. Your leaders are working to defy things, things that will lead to the eradication of humans on this planet. We have shown you that elves do live, but you attacked them. You are being shown that divine champions live, and you are attacking us. Do you understand that what you are doing is wrong? Do you understand the position you are putting me in?”

When no one took the initiative to speak, including to tell me to hush, I kept speaking. “I am not going to feel bad when I attack. I am not going to lose sleep over the number of you that I kill. I am not going to have remorse over the loss of human life. I represent a god, and am I here with those of your world that represent your God. My only concern will be if the gods approve of my actions. Think about that. If there is not a god that will feel remorse over your life, understand that your life, your existence, is forfeit.”

This time I believe no one spoke because they saw a bear approach, and when Brequir came beside my mount he rose to speak. “Yes, humans. We are not telling you to defy your leaders. We are telling you to seek God. If you are at peace with God then be at peace. If not, you need to determine why. Whether you die this day or not, what matters is not whether your leaders are pleased with you, but if God is pleased with you.”

Brequir dropped to his four feet, then began to turn when a soldier shouted out the question, “Is that man really the same man who came with the Quartermasters?”

The champion of Sour turned, then asked, “Did you just speak to a bear? When are you going to stop asking questions, and start looking for answers?”

I guess because she did not hear a quick answer, Pesloe began to speak from behind me. “Listen, you are not being lied to. Your leaders are honestly seeking to defy the coming of the new age. We are showing you that the attacks will not be successful. We can attack. We will win. We are not lying to you either. Just because the age has passed, your lives – the existence of the human race – have not. How you live your life – How you determine your life in the new age, is what you are now deciding. If defiance is how you want to be remembered, be at peace with it. You are not being lied to. We simply wanted you to understand what was at stake for you.”

I heard Vonall say, “We can leave now.”

Brequir however looked up at me and said, “Thank you, Hallith. Phesdorra was having us focus on Atagandes and the military leaders, but we did need to speak to the regular soldiers.”

I did not want to state that my actual reason was something else, although I did hope to imply it as I replied, “I am glad when what I do turns out to be the right thing.”

Ayither said, “Come on,” in a manner that bothered me, so I turned my mount and rode up next to her to assure that things were all right between us.

“I’m sorry, Ayither. I know that speeches are not the way of Typhorsh.”

“He said it was a good one, Hallith. He told me that it would help if I could do things like that. I however know that Slidell would laugh at me if I did.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time she laughed at you.”

I saw her smile as she replied, “And she needs to laugh more often. Those calm can be just boring.”

She then signaled her mount to move on ahead. I saw the others also heading away from the human civilization. I wondered about things, then about Ayither. I guess that I gave no command to my mount, as soon I heard Pesloe turning back to ask a question.

“What are you thinking about now, Hallith?”

“Oh.” I signaled my horse to begin moving as I answered, “Just about things and Ayither.”

“Good, as that is normal.”

“Normal? We are divine champions. What we just did in speaking to the people about annihilating them is normal. It is wives and husbands and property and children that are not normal.”

“Seems normal to me.”

“No, Pesloe.” I stopped my mount and looked at her as I said, “I worked with Ayither and other divine champions of her world. I worked with divine champions of black and white. I have spoken with Jelnaya. I am now working with the divine champions here. You are the only one in all that group that is married with property and children. You are not normal. I am so worried about my life with Ayither. On her world those taking on a normal life lose their status. Being a divine champion is however what I consider normal, although I know it is not.”

She had her mount bring her close enough to me to put a finger to my chest as she replied, “Then you keep coming to me. Not just because we have been companions for over four hundred years. Not just because you and me have a relationship that goes back before we were fellow divine champions. You come to me so you can let off any thoughts of just how unusual or normal your life is. Chertish is going to die, Hallith. Anerth is still out there going from battle to battle. You and me have taken this path, so you and me need to support each other. You keep coming to me.”

Ayither then rode up, although spoke as if she had been close and listening. “Tell her, Hallith.”

Instead of me, it was Pesloe that asked, “Tell me what?”

“That we will storm through the gates of whatever land Zetrullid calls home should we need to.”

Cornispe said, “It’s Morlin, Ayither. Hallith is going to take you there. I did what you are speaking of to win Pesloe. You can do it. Come to me if you need advice on how to get around trouble.”

I informed the lady, “He did. Getting to Morlin unwelcomed however was a little more difficult than your plan of charging into the divine realms. Still, I would say that if Cornispe could do it, we can as well.” I then turned to Pesloe to tell her, “I told you those of Ayither’s world lose their divine status when they marry. Slidell, Ayither’s good friend, is going to one day gain a husband, a family, and a grave. We have the promise of the gods that we will still be able to visit her.”

Pesloe looked to Ayither to ask, “So, what you were saying is that you would continue to visit even after my death?”

Ayither replied, “Yes.”

“I already told you that I approved of her, Hallith. Now, let’s see what we need to do next.”

Cornispe said, “I like her as well, Hallith. Did well. I’ve been letting Pesloe focus on her, but I believe I might see how my charm works on her.”

I replied, “You’ve been warned that she is storm, Cornispe. You don’t have any divine status, so be prepared to be blown away.”

“Come on, Hallith. I can handle Pesloe. How difficult do you think Ayither could be?”

Ayither replied, “You really want to learn?”

Pesloe said, “He just knows he will, Ayither. If there is one man that will find himself in trouble, it is my husband. Still, I love him, so be a little soft when you attack and stop short of actually killing him.”

Things became quiet for a moment, and in looking I saw Ayither focused on me, which had me say, “Hey, I am not going to argue with what Pesloe said about her own husband. In fact, what I know of him supports what she said.”

I guess Ayither waited for someone else to speak, as there was another moment of silence before she said, “I guess I do need to learn about Cornispe.”

Subject: Chapter Twenty-Eight March 27th 2020, 6:57 am

To Know Sweet and Sour
Chapter Twenty-Eight
(Phesdorra)

The laughter around the campfire became very loud at times. I actually felt sorry for some of the things told about Cornispe, although he was usually the one adding the details that had us see the humor. Considering what I learned of him in being about his house, I knew the man had a lot of respect. Even there he had an easy-going nature that did not stress his true importance. What erased any concern in laughing at him was that he was usually laughing just as hard himself.

I saw the signals from the alien divine champions as well as Brequir and Vonall. What caught me by surprise was a signal to Cornispe. Considering that we had been laughing at the man, it seemed strange to have him given a place of importance. He kept a smile on his face as he stood while checking his appearance even as Vonall signaled to the others that things were under control.

Not having noticed what the others had, it surprised me when a man commanded, "Hold it right there!"

That order obviously was not intended for his own men, as I heard the clicks of weapons being triggered. Nothing happened, except for some cursing. Feeling that his moment had come, Cornispe moved to the one that gave the order.

"Can we help you gentlemen?"

"We were told to remove those humans who sold out their own people, and take into custody the rest."

I found myself easily determining something, so flew forward while stating, "You're lying. You were to kill us, and keep the humans hoping to convince them to work for you."

"How do you know what our orders were?"

While I could have given the response, it was Pesloe that actually said, "Probably by where your guns were pointed."

As if being faced with the truth did not bother him, the military leader replied, "There are things we need to remove from our world, and things that we need to set right."

Cornispe said, "Good luck with that."

"Sir?"

"The animals are beginning to talk. Go exterminate them, then I guess become vegetarians. If the plants start talking, you might have problems eating after you wipe them out. Magic is becoming a part of your reality. You are going to find that others will also learn tricks to make your bullets into harmless pellets. You and your men are just going to have problems, but I hope it eases your mind that you tried."

"Are you saying that we should simply give up?"

Cornispe stepped back in order to put more of the soldiers in his field of vision as he asked, "Give up what? What are you men fighting for? If it is a life and a home, go claim it. If it is complete dominance of things around you, well you are going to find that fight to not go so well."

One of the soldiers asked, "You mean for us to mate with animals?"

"Uh, well, to each his own." I found the easy-going nature of Cornispe to work to his advantage as he replied, "That is my wife there. I dare for you to call her an animal. That is Hallith, and his lady is over there. They are rather active, but however they make love I doubt you would consider it unnatural."

It was Pesloe that made a growl. The smile from Cornispe gained some chuckles from the soldiers. He went over to kiss Pesloe, then turned back to the men to speak to them.

"Listen, I do not know what you have been told, or what you want to hear. I can say that I am with a group of people who can annihilate your forces. We have shown you some of what we can do. The fact however is that we are not doing that. Now, before you men decide to force us to show you just how terrible we can be, I suggest you think about what you are seeing and hearing before obeying what you are told by your leaders."

Suddenly over a radio could be heard a request for the leader of the squad to give a report with him replying, "We have engaged the enemy, and are being forced to stand down."

Over the radio came the response, "You have no option to stand down, Captain."

"Understood. Men, drop your weapons! We are surrendering!"

It was strange how neither side really knew how to handle the situation. Their weapons had been made ineffective, so they did not want them with us not feeling a need for them. We were not going to tie them up, so those that wanted to flee were allowed to do so. There was a moment of us just looking at each other not really knowing what to do, but luckily Brequir spoke up to resolve the situation.

"There is food, if you guys are hungry."

They checked out the food with some speaking surprise about there being meat as one of the entrees. We were drinking water. When one questioned the purity of the substance, Hallith had a spout of water come from the nearby stream and plop in the man's mug. He checked it out, but mentioned its clarity before tasting, then drinking it.

"Sir." He held out the mug, and after Hallith sent another amount of water into the vessel the soldier asked, "Is that magic?"

"No," Hallith answered. "My god is a water deity. I can just do things like that."

"There is just one God."

"The short answer to that is that He allowed me to come and help. I would think about just how strange you want your world to become before asking another question requiring a longer answer."

Another soldier asked, "Sir, does your world have talking bears and pixies?"

Hallith answered, "Talking bears, no. We also do not have pixies, although we have fairies and sprites. While different, they have enough in common to have had us accept Phesdorra when she arrived."

"She came to your world?"

I felt a need to answer that question. "I was sent into Hallith's mind, then his world, by our God. It was by the use of relics from an old church, a church from the age of humans, that I was sent to Hallith's world."

"Excuse me, ma'am."

Accepting that we had not been introduced, I provided my name. "Phesdorra."

"Yes, dear pixie, Phesdorra, but our God does not work that way."

"I cannot say that He is limited in how He works. I also must allow that the Quartermasters have been to our world before. Whatever His thoughts at that time, He must have approved of their presence at that time and approved of what they accomplished, as I cannot imagine Him allowing them to come again if He did not."

Some more discussion occurred, although everyone hushed when Dechant said, "They have launched a couple more planes. These are fighters and not bombers."

The captain of the military men asked, "How do you know that?"

"Are you saying that our God does not know?" He then looked to me while asking, "What should we do about them?"

I did not want them harmed. My desire to simply have them fly peacefully overhead however did not seem viable. The discussion became methods of simply removing their ability to fire the weapons. Finally, Ayither took Vonall up into the air. While the planes did pass overhead without us being harmed, what I saw go on in the sky had me worry about the pilots.

The radio that had been turned off, suddenly came on with the voice of Atagandes screaming, "PHESDORRA! We will win!"

Cornispe picked up the radio and replied, "I guess you have a reason to believe that, Atagandes. You escaped from my people. Right now your plans are not going so well however."

In an almost subdued tone, Atagandes said, "Let me speak to Phesdorra."

"She's a pixie, Atagandes. Are you expecting her to pick this thing up and put it to an ear? Just talk. She is here and listening."

To assure Atagandes that the words were true, I said, "I am here."

Atagandes replied, "I will figure out how to beat you, Phesdorra."

"You already lost that battle, Atagandes. Further, I am now joined with others. Our talents are varied, so I doubt you can come up with a plan that will counter all our options."

"I will stop you, Phesdorra."

"Yes, well, how are going to stop the animals from talking? How are you going to stop the changes that will enable magic to be worked? How are simply going to stop the march of time?"

Threats and curses came over the speaker. I saw the soldiers hang their heads in sorrow. Feeling that they needed hope, I spoke to try and get some positive words to come over the speaker.

"If you did win, Atagandes, what would you do? What type of life would you offer the people?"

He was quick to reply, "Why the type of life they had!"

"With you in charge?"

"We had elections, Phesdorra. I would hope to have a position of leadership, but the will of the people will decide."

I had tried to bait him into speaking of his arrogance, but hearing a rational reply had be try another tactic. "And animals."

"Animals would go back to being animals."

"How about pixies?"

"You're not natural, Phesdorra."

I had to counter that statement. "I believe I am, Atagandes. I had parents. I did not just appear. There were pixies all this time just like there were elves. I don't believe the world you want to live in is the world that really exists, or has ever existed. Denying the truth is to live a lie, Atagandes."

Seeing the radio again go dead, I began to feel tears come to my eyes as I asked, "How do we stop him?"

Brequir replied, "Time is on our side, Phesdorra."

"No. I have here champions from this other world. They have lives, family, and simply places where their gods would want them to be. They however are here now, so there should be an answer here now."

"Your answer would also be something that does not require us killing Atagandes."

I wiped my eyes while nodding, then said, "I would rather him live to see more of this new age. While things are just now being fully converted, it would be nice for him to see enough of what is to come to accept that it is good. I also want us to establish a foundation of doing good. Yes, Atagandes has to live."

Hallith looked to Ayither and not to me as he stated, "I can give you that."

It was not me that spoke of disbelief, but Pesloe. "Are you sure, Hallith?"

He stood while saying, "Yes, I'm sure. That doesn't mean that things won't go bad, but only that I know what to do. It was Aslerrida that started me on the path. She gave me Kierle. She set me on the path to gaining what could be a normal life. I have seen so much Pesloe. I am not talking about all those centuries of battle after battle as a Quartermaster. I am talking about since that time Cornispe appeared with his ring for you. I remember all that, Pesloe. I remember that journey, my time with Kierle, and these adventures since her death. This is my normal life. That is what Atagandes needs to see. He needs to face a normal life. In trying to become sour, in trying to become something he was not intended to be, he has denied himself a normal life. Well, I am going to present him with that."

"And how are you going to do that, Hallith?"

"I am going to take him to Chertish."

"You're what?"

Instead of explaining, he said, "I know Ayither will go with me. How about you, Pesloe?"

She pointed at Ayither while exclaiming, "She's your wife!"

Cornispe declared, "And Pesloe is going! Hallith is trying to perform a stupid stunt, and I cannot let him outdo me. You're my wife, Pesloe, so you are coming as well."

Brequir asked, "Where are we going?"

Hallith replied, "We have to first go get Atagandes."

I had to say, "And I am the best choice to enable that. Soldiers, enjoy the camp. Those that want to stay, go ahead. If Hallith says this will work then I believe it has a good chance of succeeding. I am going to support him."

» To Know Sweet and Sour - Part One (1-5)
» To Know Sweet and Sour - Part Two (6-10)
» To Know Sweet and Sour - Part Three (11-16)
» To Know Sweet and Sour - Part Four (17-22)
» To Know Sweet and Sour - Part Six (29 - 34)