Placing our bags down for a moment, I frowned at the answer I’d been waiting for… as Vim handed me Tor’s heart.

With a heavy heart of my own, I sighed as I held the small heart that surprisingly had multiple colors within. There were blues and greens and… maybe some other colors too? It was hard to tell here in the sunlight; surprisingly the heart wasn’t very bright at all. Nowhere near as bright as some of the others I’d seen.

“Vim…” I whispered a bit disappointingly as I glanced at him. He looked… fine, I guess. None of his clothes looked even dirty, let alone torn or ruined. Had Tor not put up much a fight or something…?

“I had to, Renn,” Vim answered.

“Did you? Really…? Honestly?”

He frowned and nodded at me. “He did not resist, Renn. He accepted it… because even he knew it was the only acceptable outcome,” he said.

“Why though? What was his reason? How did he even betray us, did he even betray us?” I asked, correcting myself at the end there. As it was I had no real confirmation he’d even done so.

Vim though nodded again. “He had been getting orders. From a god,” he said simply.

From… a god? My shoulders slumped as I again looked to his heart. It now felt heavy, even though it was everything but. “So…”

“So he was no longer trustworthy, on any level. Because a god, rather their direct creators, can give monarchs orders. Ones that they fulfill and obey, regardless of their own desires. It is an order bound by souls. Tor was no longer safe to trust because of it,” Vim said.

Orders… he’d brought that up before, but I wasn’t entirely sure how that worked. Was he saying that a god could give someone an order, and no matter what they wanted or felt they’d do it? Or at least, attempt to do so…?

I mean, in theory that was what made a god a god… but…

Sighing softly, I glanced around for a moment… as I expected something, or someone, to say or do something odd.

Vim and I were alone in front of the cavern that led to Tor’s home… or at least, what had once been his home. He had done as he had promised; he had lit a torch and waved it at me from a distance. It had taken me a bit longer than I had wanted to get here after seeing the signal, since I had rounded the village and not gone through it, but it also felt like it hadn’t taken me long at all. Mostly because I had been stressed out the whole way here.

It had not taken Vim long to signal for me. Less than an hour after he had left me on that mountain, he had been waving me down. It was almost… sad how swiftly he handled things, sometimes.

“Couldn’t you have just… killed the god instead?” I asked softly as I stared down at Tor’s heart. It almost made me feel dirt holding it, though not because it actually was. This should not be in my hand, it should still be in that cute little monarch…

“And how many souls would you have sacrificed willingly until I did so, Renn?” Vim asked.

I bit the inside of my lip, and wasn’t able to answer. Because it was something I couldn’t answer.

He was right. I’d not sacrifice anyone, no one here in this village or even complete strangers, just to give Vim time to track down and kill this said god.

But did that really make his actions right? Were they truly justified…? Was there not possibly another way, somehow…? I looked around again, as if in hopes of an answer, and of course found nothing.

“This feels wrong, Vim,” I said as I stopped looking around. I felt as if someone should be crying, or throwing a fit or something… and instead we were just… standing here and talking all nonchalantly. As if talking about the weather, and not the death and betrayal of a monarch. One who was important, too.

“I’m sure. But… this was expected. Even if Light and the rest had never had such prophecies of his betrayal, I always expect each and every monarch to eventually need culling. For most of the time I knew Miss Beak, I had even expected a day to come that I’d be forced to put her down,” Vim said.

I groaned at that. “Do you think that way about me too?”

“What…? Of course not, you’re not a monarch,” he said with a chuckle.

But I had the heart of one now, didn’t I…?

“Can a god give me orders, Vim…? Like they do a monarch? Like one did Tor?” I asked. I was afraid to hear the answer, but had to.

Vim frowned at me. “No. Even if the creator of one of the hearts you’ve absorbed showed up, you’re technically not a monarch. Also, you don’t have those hearts inside you Renn. You have your own heart. You made a new one, in a sense, inside of you. One that was formed by the original one you absorbed, yes, but nonetheless your own. Not one made by someone else,” he said.

I noted he spoke calmly, and with a tiny smile. He was amused I’d even asked which was relieving. That meant he wasn’t telling me some kind of half-truth or avoiding the subject. And that the mere idea of it was funny to him, which further told me how unlikely it was.

“So… the, or a, god’s ability to control someone is dependent on the heart inside?” I asked, for clarification.

“Well… no. To be honest you’re not… entirely safe. If the god who created your ancestor, the firstborn in the line of the heart you absorbed, then there is actually a connection. They’d not be able to outright order you around though, the way they would be able to a monarch. You’re… different. Enough so to keep you free and safe from such threats,” Vim said. This time I noted the way he frowned, and the words he used.

He didn’t want to outright tell me the truth. I could tell it rather clearly, even if I didn’t or wasn’t able to see the way he was kind of keeping his eyes away from me. As if to make sure he’d not meet my gaze and look me in the eyes.

Vim confidently said I didn’t need to fear being ordered around by a god. Yet… I was also not completely free of their influence either. That was what I got from his words, and the way he didn’t say certain things so obviously.

I was used to him not telling me the whole truth. Long used to it.

But why…? What truth was he trying to hide? It was likely for a good reason, a just purpose, but… what could it be?

If there was no threat of a god being able to order me around… what point was there in keeping such a thing a secret…? Was it something to do with the hearts themselves? The monarchs? Maybe something he knew that he wasn’t supposed to? Maybe he wasn’t worried over telling me such things at all, but simply realized he was being so open with me and thus instinctively retreated? I sometimes noticed he did so without even realizing it. As if it was some kind of weird defense mechanism or something.

Should I prod some more…? Or would he get upset? I had other things I wanted to talk about, after all, and I didn’t know if I should push the limits just yet…

“So he’s really gone,” I said softly, as to both change the topic a slight and to set up my next question.

Vim nodded. “Yes. He mentioned he’d never met his god, though he had called her a she. So their voice, the one that he heard in his head at least, had likely been very feminine,” Vim said, and did so with an odd frown… as if such information was very odd.

“Are… female gods rare…?” I asked carefully. So far, Stance and Havoc, had been men, right? But many of the gods spoken about in the bibles and tomes I’d read spoke more of female gods than not… not to mention the obvious one, his mother.

Vim frowned as he reached up to scratch mindlessly at his neck. “Actually no. There hadn’t been many men amongst them, and a lot of them died quickly for one reason or another… Taking that into consideration it is a bit odd the last few I’ve encountered have all been men, huh?”

Oh…? “You said once that they can change themselves at will, though,” I said.

He blinked and his frown deepened as he glanced at me. “Had I…?” he said softly, but then shrugged. “They can, but as far as I’m aware most didn’t go that far with it. The few who went too far died… you can only change yourself to a point before something breaks,” he said.

Breaks…? “What breaks.”

“Not sure. Sometimes I just… found dead gods. Torn apart by their own spells. Much like how Stance’s mind had been broken, he had attempted something that his body could not endure. I’m honestly not sure why some break and others don’t,” he said.

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A hurried question nearly escaped my lips, but I bit it back. I chewed on the inside of my lip for a moment as I kept myself from asking if his parents had done such things too.

Luckily Vim hadn’t noticed as he gestured down the path that led up to the cave we stood in front of. The one that led to the village in the canyon. “Let us go then, I guess,” he said.

Go…? “Where, Vim? To report to Light what happened?” I asked. Vim walked over to the bags I’d brought down from the mountain and went to picking them, as to carry them once more.

“Hm…? To the village. To let everyone know what happened. Light already sent people here, some of her people. They’ve all been expecting this for some time, likely for months,” he said.

Huh? “Really?”

He nodded and sighed as he tightened one of the straps on the bags. “I’ve not talked to them yet, or even know who they are, but Frerit had said there’s a small group here and more are planning to show up. They’ve been planning for Tor’s death, or at least his removal, for some time.”

“Why didn’t they bring it up earlier? If at least to me?” I asked, a tad offended. Hadn’t Light promised to let me know of such things from now on?

“Maybe they hadn’t known until after we parted ways, Renn. We have been busy up in the north,” he said.

We had been, but it hadn’t felt so long ago. It had only been a few months since I’d left Telmik, and not long before that Lumen… and also…

I tried not to think too deeply of all the prophecies I’d read about last time I had been in Telmik. None had been about Tor’s betrayal, but… quite a few of them had been about stuff that had yet to happen. Namely, the supposed biggest one, being a never ending harsh winter that would wipe out more life than not.

I’d been wanting to ask Vim about it, but I’d been hesitant to. Since I wasn’t sure yet just how far away such troubles were. He hated being told of dangers and prophecies as they happened, or even the ones from the past, let alone ones far in the future.

While I squirmed a bit over what to ask, and what not to, Vim stepped over to me. I stood up a bit straighter, and as I did my ears went stiff as I frowned up at him. He was looking down at me with a sad look, one that made me a bit on guard.

Had killing Tor been difficult for him, I wonder…? Not physically, but…

“From what I gathered, Renn, Tor’s been under the command of his god for the whole time,” he then said.

My ears softened, and one of them fluttered as I slowly nodded. “Okay…?”

Vim’s eyes held my own, unwaveringly, as they narrowed. “This whole time. A shock, but not… really. Not anymore. Yet, the cause for him and her to become active, and thus cause this…” Vim then pointed downward, and I didn’t need to glance to know what he was speaking of. He had pointed at my hand, and the heart clasped within it. “Was recent.”

I gulped. “How recent…?”

“About the time we met, recent,” he answered.

Great. “How…? Or… why?” I asked, my tail coiling behind me. Why’d he look so worried? Should I be worried too now?

Vim took in a deep breath and after a moment of holding it in he sighed it out. We were close enough that I felt his breath on my ears, and I didn’t like how hot it had felt. If that heat had come from a normal person I’d think them sick. “I’m not sure what they’re planning Renn… but I think it’s time I made a new rule, one for us. A personal one,” he said.

I blinked as he reached over… and with a gentle touch he grabbed my leather breastplate. He tugged on it ever so softly, since it had gotten a bit off-centered thanks to my hurrying here while carrying more bags than I usually did. He put it back in its proper place and even tugged a bit on my shirt and undershirt too as if to make me look presentable again or something.

Waiting for him to continue, to tell me of this new rule, I found myself instead watching him focus on my attire. He started to fuss over the way my sleeve rolled up, then went to untangling one of my longer braids that had gotten stuck under one of the leather hooks on my shoulder.

Although a tad annoyed he had gone quiet, I ended up enjoying the few moments of his attention. He usually did occasionally did such things, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to in a long time since moments like this only came when we traveled together. It wasn’t often my clothes got ruffled or out of place at home, after all…

Honestly it wasn’t often that I became so disheveled in the first place. I was usually pretty good at paying attention to my clothes and stuff.

“Your braids are coming undone,” he then said.

“Well…” I wasn’t going to tell him that I’d been neglecting them on purpose.

Vim sighed as he went to retying one of them. I was a little surprised to see him so easily braid a section of my hair, and do so almost… perfectly. Should I be annoyed or glad that he was so adept at it, I wonder?

“Tor didn’t say much. But I read between the lines,” Vim then said, forcing my attention away from him braiding my hair. I frowned up at him and waited for him to continue, as he sighed again. “Whoever he was speaking to… from what I can tell, only really became interested in what was going on here once you were brought up.”

I slowly blinked as I nodded. “What’s that mean, Vim…?”

“I’m not sure yet. At first I figured it was just a threat, like the one Havoc had given… but what if it isn’t? I’m not even sure if her message this time was a threat, really,” he said.

“Her message…?”

He blinked, and then glanced up at me as he finished up with my braid. “Tor had a message. From her to me. Or us, maybe… He told me that my vengeance must end, and that I have one opportunity. That I need to take it, or…”

“Or what? I’ll be dead? So the same thing as Havoc then?” I asked. If so then nothing changed, right…? Vim had not been willing to entertain that threat with Havoc either, not sure why it coming from another god or monarch would change that.

“Rather…” Vim paused a moment, tapped my chest with a soft finger and frowned. “If you don’t take it, she might,” he said, obviously repeating what he’d been told.

“She might…? Me you mean?” I asked, trying to understand. Was the god saying I had an opportunity…? To do what? For what reason? And even if I did, what would I possible do that would go against Vim’s own desires and choices?

“Honestly that’s what I’m wondering. At first I interpreted it as Tor linking it to the god who made him, but… what if it’s you?”

“What if it is…? And what kind of choice are we even talking about?” I asked.

“Rather than a choice, it’s an opportunity. That can be more than a choice… it’s a more… hm…” Vim went quiet as he pondered it, and he glanced down a bit as he did. I watched him study something beneath my face, either my chest or maybe my hands and tail that kept wiggling near him, and waited some more.

After a few long moments, I decided to stop waiting. “Do you know which god he speaks of?” I asked.

“No. There’s… a few that come to mind. Tor and his line had been those whose abilities dealt with illusions. There had been several who had dabbled in that back then, but I had not paid any of them much mind so I can’t remember.”

“Why hadn’t you?”

“They had not been a real threat to me. As I told you, illusions don’t work on me. Even the ones that do.”

Even the ones that do…? “Doesn’t explain how I’m able to put the wool over your eyes so easily,” I said, teasing him a little.

Vim smirked at that. “Right?”

I enjoyed his smirk for a moment… and then decided to return to the important matter at hand. “So…?”

His smirk faltered a bit, but didn’t die off completely. It lived on as a soft smile. “I want you to stay near me from now on. No matter what happens, where I must go, or what anyone says,” he said.

For a tiny moment my heart swelled at such a thing… but then the realization of his meaning, his true meaning, dawned on me and my shoulders became heavy and slumped. “It’s that bad, Vim…?” I asked softly.

He nodded slowly. “It might be. Until we know for sure…? I just want to be safe. Please.”

But… “But…” I whispered as I thought of my home. The one I was trying to build up north. All my friends. Family. The people who had even left their own homes, such as Merit, to come join me. The people that were waiting for me to prepare a place for them, like Tundra or Narli and her family…

Vim held my eyes as he nodded again, this time a tad gentler. “Yes. That means you might not get to go back north anytime soon. I’m sorry.”

I gulped. “But Vim…”

“Unless… you really wish to. Then I won’t fight it. I’ll never stop you Renn, from doing what you want to do… just know the risks. Know that if you do…”

Taking in a deep breath, I shuddered it out as I realized what he was saying. Actually saying.

He was saying that it was about to get so dangerous… that if I wasn’t near him I could die. If it wasn’t already that dangerous this moment.

“But our home…” I whispered.

“Mhm… think about it as we deal with the headache heading our way,” he said.

“Hm?” I turned, and sure enough could hear the sound of footsteps. Coming up towards us from the path. Though I couldn’t see the owner, I could tell whoever was coming this way was light-footed… and wearing thin sandals maybe. Not too uncommon, especially in the warmer weather.

Vim patted me on the shoulder as he sighed and stepped around me. Likely to head first and greet whoever was coming our way. “Just ponder it, Renn. I’ll always support you, regardless. But… I love you, and I want you safe. And if there really are gods out there interested in you, for whatever reason, then I can’t do that with you too far away from me,” he said.

Grumbling at him, and the person getting closer who was going to keep me from asking questions and expressing concerns… I decided to quickly put Tor’s heart away. I opened the small monarch pouch, the one on my waist, as to put it away and as I did…

“Uh oh…” I groaned as I stared into the small pouch. And how dark it was within it.

“What…?” Vim turned around right as a younger girl, Frerit by the looks of it, enter view. She noticed us as I did her and picked up her pace, but was still too far to greet just yet.

“Um… the heart. Ugh…” I wasn’t sure how to say it, and I didn’t need to. Vim didn’t even need to glance into the, now empty, pouch to realize what I meant and he closed his eyes and groaned even louder than I just had.

Smiling a little sheepishly, I wondered again just how I did it… as I put Tor’s heart into the pouch that was now empty, since I had seemingly absorbed the other heart that Vim had given me only hours ago before he had headed into Tor’s cave as to confront him.

It was either that or I had dropped it somehow, but I knew that wasn’t the case. These pouches were made of monarch leather, and had these neat little things he called zippers on them. They didn’t come loose like a normal pouch did.

“Sorry,” I said lightly as Frerit drew near, waving happily at me as she did.

Vim only groaned even more, showing more emotion over this than Tor’s death or the cause of it.

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