After parting ways with Norman and leaving that disturbing town behind, they walked across the plains of Axis Mundi for another hour or so before his mentor stopped.

  “Alright you two,” he turned to face them, “we’re nearly there.”

  “We are?” Galen asked, looking around.

  The same hot, dry plains continued to stretch out as far as the eye could see. He couldn’t see any buildings nearby or anything.

  “Yes,” Aleksi confirmed, “from here, we go underground.”

  Galen blinked, “We what?”

  Tufani raised a skeptical brow.

  Aleksi simply smiled at them for an awkward moment.

  Then Galen felt motion.

  He and the others began to sink into the ground, the hard dirt suddenly becoming soft like quicksand.

  “Whoa! What the-?!”

  “Close your mouth and cover your nose,” Aleksi warned, “it’s always unpleasant to get sand in those.”

  Galen barely managed to do so before the sand reached up to his face. He flailed in a panic as the ground devoured him. He saw nothing but darkness behind his closed eyes, though he still felt the sensation of falling.

  It felt like an eternity, but was, in actuality just a few moments before he fell past that sand and into open air.

  He gasped and snapped his eyes open just in time to see the ground rising quickly to meet him.

  Or rather, him falling to meet the ground.

  He quickly braced himself before he hit the rocky ground hard. He hadn’t fallen for long, so there were no broken bones. But it had still hurt!

  “Ow…” he muttered on the ground.

  “Well, that was amusing,” he heard a voice mutter.

  He raised his head and glared at what he thought would be Aleksi. Rather, it had been Tufani who’d spoken. She looked no worse for wear, and she looked down at him with an amused smile.

  That might be the first time I’ve seen her smile, he thought with wonder, beautiful…

  Galen flushed deeply, and scrambled to his feet, wincing as he did so.

  “Indeed it was,” he heard Aleksi’s voice say to the side.

  He turned, and annoyingly found his mentor was, likewise, fine. Only, unlike Aria, he was covered in sand, just as Galen was.

  He turned to Tufani, “How are you not covered in sand?”

  “I can use Wind, remember?”

  “Lucky…” he grumbled.

  Her amused smile grew, and Galen had to force himself to look away lest he have another embarrassing thought.

  He turned to his mentor, “Alright, Aleksi. What the hell was that?!”

  “That,” the man answered, “was one of the entrances that leads to our current hideout.”

  Galen frowned, but before he could ask, another voice, a heavily accented one, called out.

  “Well, that certainly was entertainin’.”

  He turned to see someone he didn’t recognize. The man was short. Surprisingly so. He had to be under five feet tall, though he had a long, thick, dark beard. Where he lacked in height, he made up for in width with muscle. The short man rubbed at his curly hair, “Good to see ya, brother. It’s been awhile.”

  “That it has, old friend,” Aleksi smiled.

  The short man regarded Galen and Tufani, “And these are who ya brought along? Which one is the Champion?”

  “I am,” Galen stepped forward.

  The squat man looked him up and down, “Ya weren’t kiddin’, mate. The Champion’s but a wee lad!”

  His brown eyes narrowed as he met Galen’s eyes, “He’s a bit tall, though, for a runt.”

  “Pardon?” he asked.

  The strange, muscular little man shrugged, “Meh, if Zareb says yer alright, then I suppose yer pardoned. From what he’s told us, ya didn’t exactly ask to be brought to Avani, anyway.”

  Galen blinked, “Who’s Zareb?”

  The short man guffawed. He then barked into laughter, “Zareb, ya didn’t tell him yer real name?!”

  Aleksi flushed, “I was going to get to that eventually, Komdar.”

  “Ya always say that!” Komdar stroked his beard, “but I can’t help but notice ya have a tendency to not get around to it.”

  “Tell me about it,” Galen agreed, looking at Aleksi with accusing eyes.

  His mentor coughed into his hand to clear the awkwardness he felt, “I wanted to wait until we actually reached the hideout, but it seems my hand has been forced. Lad, my real name is Zareb Aleksi Barus, one of the leaders of the Rebellion.”

  “So, Aleksi is your middle name?” Galen asked.

  His mentor nodded, “Yes, though I never used it. Even for paperwork. Which is why I thought it would be a good alias.”

  “You made your middle name your alias?” Galen repeated, raising a brow, “and it WORKED?!”

  Aleksi, or rather, Zareb, chuckled, “Yes, I could hardly believe it myself. I suppose it helped only a select few knew I had a middle name.”

  “And why is that?” he asked his mentor.

  Aleski, no, Zareb shrugged, “Never thought it was important.”

  He eyed Alek- Zareb.

  Oh to hell with it, he thought as he told his mentor, “I’m trying to think of you as Zareb, but… well, it’s weird!”

  Aleksi/Zareb raised a brow, “What are you trying to say, lad? Is something wrong with my name?”

  Galen quickly shook his head, “No, no! Your name is fine. I just… well, I still can’t help but think of you as Aleksi.”

  His mentor chuckled, “If it’s easier on you, lad, then you can keep referring to me as such. I don’t mind.”

  “Oh, thank goodness!” Galen sighed with relief.

  The man nodded, but frowned suddenly and asked, “Just to be clear, lad. It’s not that you think my first name is weird, right?”

  “I already told you, no,” he reiterated.

  “Well,” Komdar chimed in, “I think yer name is strange!”

  Aleksi rolled his eyes, “You think every non-dwarven name is strange, Komdar.”

  “That’s because they are,” he crossed his arms, “now, as mirthful as it is standin’ around talkin’ about the names given to us at birth without our consent, we best get goin’! And quickly!”

  “Wait, why?!” Aleksi asked, suddenly alarmed, “is the Dominion on our trail?!”

  Galen and Tufani tensed.

  Komdar shook his head, “No, worse.”

  “What could be worse than that?!” Galen asked, feeling a bit terrified.

  The short, bearded man looked to Aleksi as he answered, “Lusha is growin’ impatient with ya.”

  Galen frowned, and looked to his mentor. He’d heard Norman mention that name as well, but… “Who’s Lusha?”

  He was surprised to find Aleksi had grown pale. His mentor swallowed audibly and…

  Is he sweating?! Galen thought with widened eyes, he is! He’s sweating buckets! Just who is this?!

  “I see…” Aleksi ran a hand through his hair, “well… Maker have mercy… That’s not good. Though, I suppose I had this coming. We best get moving then. The longer I make her wait, the angrier she’ll be with me.”

  “Wait,” Tufani suddenly spoke up, “Lusha… that’s an elf’s name, is it not?”

  “Aye,” Komdar confirmed.

  She looked to Aleksi, “So, you were telling the truth about elves being in the Rebellion.”

  “Not just elves, lassy,” Komdar cut in as he pointed a thumb at himself, “some of us dwarves are a part of it too. Plus the rare and occasional half-bloods.”

  Tufani frowned, but Galen cut in before she could say anything, “You’re a dwarf?!”

  The dwarf scowled, “Of course I am! What did ya take me for?! A gnome? We aren’t THAT short ya little mud-walker! And besides, we’re WAY more fit than gnomes could ever hope to be! Far smarter too.”

  “Mud-walker?” Galen raised a brow before shaking his head, “wait, did you say gnomes?! Gnomes are a thing?!”

  “Of course!” Komdar barked, “what, were ya born yesterday?!”

  Before Galen could respond to that, the dwarf suddenly smacked himself on the forehead, and rather intensely he might add.

  “Wait! Of course yer so ignorant. Ya weren’t even born on Avani! Ha! Well, ya got a lot to learn,” Komdar began to walk, seemingly not feeling the impact of his own forehead smack, but Tufani stepped in front of him.

  “Earlier you mentioned… what did you call them? Half-bloods? What did you mean?”

  “Better for ya to see it than for me to explain it,” Komdar said dismissively, “now, quit yer yappin’ and get a move on! Now that I’m with y’all, the longer we take to get to our hideout, the more of Lusha’s ire I’ll draw to myself as well.”

  The dwarf actually shuddered, “I tell ya… Between the Dominion and her, I’d almost rather take my chances with those mud-walkers. Emphasis on almost.”

  Aleksi nodded in agreement, and ushered Galen and Tufani to follow, both brimming with questions as they did.

  ***

  Galen was surprised to find there was an entire underground network of tunnels sitting just below the plains of Axis Mundi.

  According to Aleksi, the tunnel they were in were man-made, but the vast majority of the tunnels were made by wildlife, both normal and Ether Beasts.

  He took a deep, relaxing breath as he relished in how much cooler it was down here compared to how it was outside. After dealing with the unrelenting heat of the Realm for days on end, this was a much needed reprieve.

  It’s no air conditioning, but it’s good enough, he thought with a smile.

  “You seem in a better mood,” Tufani noted as she walked alongside him.

  He jumped a bit, not having expected her to be the one to start a conversation. She eyed him with a stoic, unreadable expression.

  He took another deep breath as he responded, “Yeah… thing is, I really, really, REALLY hate the heat. My world had four seasons. Fall, winter, spring, and summer. Summer was the hottest of the four seasons, and I absolutely despise it.”

  “Really? I couldn’t tell,” the sarcasm absolutely dripped from her voice before she asked with a serious tone, “why do you hate it so? The heat, I mean.”

  “Well,” Galen sighed, “where the hell do I begin? For one, when it’s hot, you can’t really enjoy doing ANYTHING. In colder weather? There’s lots of things you can do to combat the cold. You can put on extra layers for warmth. You can eat hot soup or drink hot beverages. Etc.”

  He frowned as he continued, “When it’s hot though? It doesn’t matter what you do or how many layers you take off. You’ll still be hot and sweaty and dehydrated… And the heat makes the sunlight so much worse!”

  Tufani frowned, “The sunlight? What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Everything!” Galen cried out, “when it’s hot, the sunlight feels like it scorches the skin.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  She hummed, “So, you’re in a better mood because we’re in a cooler area?”

  “Pretty much,” Galen flushed, “uh… sorry for going on a rant there…”

  She didn’t respond, though she didn’t seem to mind. At least, he didn’t think she did.

  Jeez… she’s really hard to read… he noted as he couldn’t make out her thoughts through her stoic expression.

  They walked in silence for a few moments as they continued to follow Aleksi and Komdar. For some reason, Galen felt a nagging urge to talk more with Tufani, but he didn’t want to be too pushy. He mustered the courage, and asked, “So, what do you think?”

  She looked at him, intense blue eyes regarding him, “What do I think?”

  “Yeah,” he gulped, “about what I said. Or about the heat…”

  She turned away from him, and just when Galen thought she wouldn’t respond, she spoke, “I think… you were quite coddled.”

  “Coddled?”

  “Very,” she frowned, “I never focused much on the things you whined of. For me, it simply was. I’ve lived my whole life in this voiding Realm, enslaved to the Dominion. I had far worse things to complain about than the heat.”

  Galen deflated, “Oh… well, of course you did…”

  Well damn! Way to make me feel terrible… he thought.

  He frowned, not wanting to leave things off that horrendous note, “You’re right, you know.”

  She regarded him with a questioning look.

  “My world,” Galen began, “was a very peaceful one. Oh, there were conflicts to be sure. But nothing like here. At least, not the modern world I grew up in. The technology that Earth had developed… you’d be astounded if you saw it.”

  She scowled, “Well, allow me to amend my statement. You were horrendously coddled.”

  He chuckled, “Yes, I was. And I want to go back.”

  Tufani froze.

  He stopped and turned to give her a quizzical look.

  She stared at him, wide eyed and surprised. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She shook her head and jogged to meet up with him, and they both briskly walked as to not fall too far behind Aleksi and Komdar.

  “What was that about?” he asked.

  Tufani was silent for a long while. They made a few turns in the tunnels before she spoke again, “Were you speaking the truth?”

  “About?”

  “About wanting to return to your world.”

  Galen nodded, “It’s the whole reason why I initially sided with the Dominion, albeit reluctantly, when I was first summoned. Athanasius claimed that only he could return me to my world, but that he could only do so after he reunified the Realms. And I have family in my world that I have to get back to.”

  Tufani snorted, “No doubt a lie from that false god. To gain your cooperation.”

  He shrugged, “Probably? Who knows? Perhaps he was telling the truth. Or perhaps he told me partial truths. Or maybe it was all lies. I don’t know. But… I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

  She fell silent at that. Not doubt she was remembering how he’d saved her from his own guards. He smiled at her, “Just to be clear, I don’t blame you. Not one bit. I don’t think it was right to side with the Dominion. Not when it became obvious their goal was the conquest of this world. And especially not when I learned what they do to your people.”

  But in making that choice, he thought somberly, I’ve all but said goodbye to ever seeing my parents again...

  When he glanced to Tufani again, he saw that she seemed deeply troubled.

  He frowned, “What is it?”

  She looked at him, studying him, growing increasingly troubled and frustrated the longer she did. Finally she shook her head vigorously, “It’s nothing!”

  She sped up her walk to pass him by.

  Galen worried he might have said something to offend her. He felt a strange sensation in his mind. A feeling akin to someone politely knocking on the door, only in his head.

  Redian, he recognized.

  Curious, he opened the mental door to their connection.

  And was met with mischievous chuckles, “Smooth, boss. Real smooth!”

  Galen scowled, And just what on Earth do you mean by THAT?

  “First off, we’re not on Earth. We’re on Avani.”

  It’s just a saying, he thought back.

  “Second off,” Redian continued unabated, “I was referring to your attempt to butter yourself up to that elf girl. Tufani was it?”

  Butter up to her? What, you mean trying to get her to not hate my guts?

  “That,” the sword snickered, “and more~”

  What the hell are you on about?

  “I’m referring to what you fleshy lifeforms call ‘flirting’-”

  Galen shut the mental door to their connection so hard and fast that, had it been a real physical door, he might have damaged the frame. He could FEEL the blush that spread all the way to his ears.

  He felt Redian knocking on the mental door, but he ignored it. The sword, however, was being persistent, but he felt all the more stubborn in his resolve to not reopen the connection.

  That is, until Galen felt the Sentient Weapon knock in a manner suspiciously reminiscent of a certain red Italian plumber’s theme song. Curious, he reopened the mental door.

  Was that-

  “Yep!” Redian confirmed.

  How do you even know that song?!

  “Well, it’s quite simple, boss. You see I’m IN YOUR HEAD!” the sword reminded him, “at least, a part of me is. How many times do I gotta remind you?!”

  Didn’t I tell you to stay out of certain areas?!

  “Yes, but you didn’t specify which areas. Though, using my superior, artificial machine mind, I deducted which areas you wanted to me stay away from and not get anywhere close to. Things like-”

  Galen was about to shut the mental connection again, until Redian quickly said, “Alright, alright! I’ll stop.”

  He sighed and thought back to the sword, What the hell were going on about me flirting?

  “Isn’t that what you were doing?” Redian asked.

  NO! Not remotely!

  “Huh… you people are hard to figure out sometimes.”

  What do you mean, ‘you people’?

  “I mean you organic types.”

  I feel like you’re messing with me, Galen accused.

  “Yes.”

  He blinked, not having expected Redian to just out and admit it like that.

  I’m going to close the mental connection again.

  “That’s fair,” the sword acknowledged, “good luck with your flir-”

  Galen shut the mental door, and he liked to imagine he did it right on the Sentient Weapon’s nonexistent face.

  He felt a bit mortified as he sped up his walk to close the distance that had grown between himself and the others. He glanced to Tufani, who didn’t look his way, and felt his face grow warm as he quickly looked pointedly at the ground

  Stupid Redian… he mentally grumbled, it’s not like that…

  The memory of a certain portrait of a young woman he’d drawn back on Earth came to his mind. He shook his head vigorously to clear his thoughts.

  “What’s that face for, mud-walker?” the accented voice of Komdar asked.

  Galen looked up to see the dwarf giving him a funny look, “Huh?”

  “You were makin’ faces earlier,” the dwarf pointed out, “what’s that about? Ya hear voices? By the bounties of the earth, don’t tell me yer crazy.”

  Komdar looked accusingly at Aleksi, who raised a brow, “Why are you looking at me?”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time ya brought someone crazy to the Rebellion,” the dwarf grumbled.

  “Lusha isn’t crazy,” Aleksi refuted, “and I wasn’t the one who brought her. She brought me.”

  Galen raised a brow at how quickly his mentor came to this Lusha’s defense.

  “Point still stands. Tell me that again when she’s chewin’ ya out,” Komdar grumbled.

  “She’d have every right to do so,” Aleksi responded, “I’m sure she’s been worried sick.”

  “And she’s sick of worryin’,” the dwarf shuddered.

  Aleksi didn’t respond to that.

  Galen, feeling immensely curious, asked, “Who is this Lusha, exactly?”

  “I’ll tell you when we get to-” his mentor began before Komdar cut him off.

  “Yeah. No. None of that now,” the dwarf looked back to Galen, “Lusha’s his wife.”

  “His WIFE?!” Galen cried out.

  “Did I stutter?!” Komdar shook his head, “mud-walkers…”

  Galen whirled on Aleksi, “You’re married?!”

  The man shot an annoyed look to Komdar before responding, “Yes, lad. I am.”

  Aleksi shot him a glance, “I didn’t think it important to mention… lad, what’s with that look on your face?”

  The face in question was one of concern, “Huh… I didn’t think… Well damn, first you become my mentor. Then, I find out you were a spy. Now I find out you’re married? You’re raising a lot of red flags, Aleksi…”

  “Red flags? What’s that supposed to mean?” his mentor asked, confused.

  Galen thought about answering, but instead shook his head, “It’s nothing. I’d probably just worry you if I told you.”

  “It doesn’t sound like nothing to me, lad,” Aleksi pressed.

  “By ‘red flags’, the mud-walker is referrin’ to somethin’ that indicates or draws attention to a problem, danger, or irregularity,” Komdar explained, “in this case, he’s referrin’ to tropes often seen in various forms of fiction. Tropes such as a mentor character dyin’, or how the spy usually dies. Or how a happily married man will suffer an untimely demise, leaving his wife widowed. Often while carryin’ a child to add to the tragedy of the moment.”

  Galen, Aleksi, and even Tufani stared at the dwarf in surprise.

  “What?!” he called out, offended, “just because I’m a dwarf doesn’t mean I don’t read. As a matter of fact, I’m quite an avid reader in my free time!”

  “Seriously?” Galen asked before his brain could catch up to his mouth.

  Komdar glared daggers at him, “What was that, mud-walker?! What, you expected to me to be some sort of muscle headed buffoon just because I’m a dwarf?! I’ll have ya know, my people were one of the most technologically advanced races in all of Avani before the Great Fragmentation. That sort of achievement doesn’t come about from a bunch a meatheads!”

  Galen raised his hands to placate the agitated dwarf, “Uh… sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.”

  “Oh? Then what did ya mean?!” Komdar challenged, squaring up to him.

  It was a funny sight given Galen had several inches of height on the dwarf. Though, the humor was diminished by the bulging veins that swelled from Komdar’s muscular arms.

  “Nothing, I was just surprised you guys have free time. What with you all being in a rebellion and what not!” he quickly responded.

  “I bet!” the dwarf scowled suspiciously at him.

  Galen began to squirm under the gaze. That is, until Komdar suddenly began to laugh, “Oh, relax already! I’m just messin’ with ya!”

  He blinked, “You are?”

  “Quite so. I love messin’ with people with preconceived notions, ya know?”

  “Oh…” Galen gulped, “well… that’s good.”

  Komdar grinned, “Ya know, yer not bad for a mud-walker. Though I suppose you’d be a bit of an exception given yer from another world and all.”

  With that, the dwarf continued to lead the way. Aleksi simply shook his head, amused, as he followed.

  Tufani stepped up to Galen, “You know, I expected you to fold given how intimidated you looked.”

  “I wasn’t scared of him!”

  Tufani raised a brow, but said nothing as she too followed the others.

  “Really! I wasn’t!” he called after her as he ran to catch up.

  ***

  Galen didn’t know for how much longer they walked. It felt like hours, but could have easily only been one. They’d taken so many twists and turns that he was beginning to doubt Aleksi and Komdar knew the way.

  Eventually, they ran into what looked like a group of armed soldiers guarding an entrance to another tunnel. They didn’t appear to be soldiers of the Dominion, but one could never be too careful. Especially as they became alert upon noticing their presence.

  He tensed, as did Tufani next to him. Both of them had their hands on the pommels of their swords, ready to move at a moment’s notice.

  They needn’t have worried, however, as Aleksi walked up to the group with a broad grin, “Ah, finally! I was beginning to think we’d never arrive.”

  The soldiers looked stunned for a moment, before they suddenly let out a cheer. They all walked up to Aleksi, completely relaxed and nonchalant, as they welcomed him back and patted him on the shoulder.

  “What? No warm welcome for me?” Komdar asked as he too approached.

  “Why would we do that?” one of the soldiers asked, “you were only gone for a few days.”

  “And what a blissful few days that was,” said another wistfully.

  Komdar shook his head, “Mud-walkers…”

  The soldiers all turned to regard Galen and Tufani. One of them asked Aleksi, “General, is this…”

  “Yes,” Aleksi answered, “it is.”

  General? Galen noted.

  “Who’s the elf?” asked another soldier.

  “She is someone on a very important mission. I brought her so that we can help with her quest,” Aleksi explained.

  “You sure, General?” asked a soldier, eyeing Tufani with uncertainty, “she seems quite young to be on such an important-”

  “Mind your own business, hume!” Tufani interrupted, glaring daggers at the man.

  To his credit, he didn’t flinch. Rather he muttered, “Ah… a touchy one I see. It’s no bother. We’ve dealt with those kinds before.”

  Tufani didn’t respond, holding her tongue as Aleksi shot her a look.

  “So, this is the Champion that the Dominion summoned,” muttered another soldier, looking at Galen this time, “interesting. He’s also quite young.”

  “Don’t let his youth fool you,” Aleksi chuckled, “the lad’s quite capable.”

  Galen flushed at the compliment.

  “Well, you all better head inside. And quickly. Lusha is waiting. Especially for you, General,” said a soldier.

  Aleksi grimaced, “Yes, Komdar warned me. Best not to keep her waiting any longer.”

  They marched into the tunnel, and after only a few minutes, they found themselves in an utterly massive cavern. Galen was taken aback at the ridiculous size of the chamber, as well as how many people there were.

  Tents were set up all over the place, as well as crates carrying supplies. People moved about. Some speaking with one another. Others cooking. Some doing some mining. Etc.

  Galen could see most were human, though he did note quite a number of elves. He saw a few dwarfs too, but saw no indication of what Komdar had called “Half-bloods” around. Not that he knew what a half-blood was.

  “Elves…” Tufani whispered next to him, “my people… he really was telling the truth…”

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she reopened her blue orbs, her mask of stoicism returned. He noted as they walked through the massive cavern how many stopped and pointed when they saw their group. Particularly, when they saw Aleksi.

  The man in question gave a warm and kindly smile to the ones they passed. Galen could see they were heading towards the largest tent right in the middle of the chamber. Komdar stopped cold as they got close.

  “This is as close as I dare to get. I don’t want to get caught up in Lusha’s wrath,” the dwarf gave Aleksi a look of pity as he said this.

  “I understand. Thank you for helping us get here, my friend,” Aleksi responded.

  “Nothin’ to it. Now, get goin’! If yer still alive later, come find me so we can catch up properly.”

  Aleksi nodded, and Komdar turned and left in a hurry.

  “Well now,” Aleksi glanced to Galen and Tufani, “let’s head inside. There is much we have to discuss.”

  The trio entered the large tent, and inside was a young woman with blonde hair so light it was almost white tied back in a ponytail. Bangs framed her attractive features, and her sky blue eyes scanned what looked like maps laid out on a table. She raised her head abruptly as they came in, and instantly locked eyes with Aleksi.

  “Lusha,” the man greeted, “I’m… I’m back.”

  The woman’s eyes widened. Her lip quivered, and her eyes seemed to well up with emotion. Then, suddenly, anger replaced the expression, and she stormed towards Aleksi. Galen expected her to slap the man with how furious she looked.

  Just as she got within slapping distance, she grabbed Aleksi by the collar, and aggressively pulled him into a deep kiss.

  Oh, Galen flushed at the display of passionate affection, not what I expected.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tufani with a deep red blush and jaw agape, hands half covering her eyes, looking mortified.

  He couldn’t help but smile at the amusing reaction from her.

  After what felt like several moments, Lusha pulled away from Aleksi, who looked flustered.

  The man grinned, a tad breathless as he muttered, “Well now. I missed you too Lush-”

  That was when she slapped him.

  A huge thank you and special shoutout to my Lore Master tier Patrons, Mountain Knight and Conman2731. Your support is sincerely and greatly appreciated.

  https://www.patreon.com/GenZVall2025