Date: March 9th, year 1286 Location: Wilderness, Kingdom of Specta

  They had been traveling through the forest for a day now while following a river flowing from the North, and Julian was walking while holding his head in disbelief. Nyx was walking next to him, holding Beatrice’s hand as they trudged through the woods.

  - “So let me sum it up… you’re basically the entire universe, you created everything and everyone, including the four gods and us. And now you’re reincarnated as a human…” He mutters.

  - “That’s right! Well, I didn’t create you. The planet did ! At the start, it was only humans, and elves came a bit later. And there’s also a bunch of human variants that weren’t around when I got scattered, like the ones with animal ears and tails!” Nyx replies.

  - “But…” Beatrice speaks up, looking up at Nyx. “You said Vivianne killed you… is that true? She’s supposed to be nice…”

  - “Oh Vivianne is definitely nice ! Well all the gods are nice, but she’s definitely the nicest one. Also, she didn’t kill me ! She just kind of put me to sleep for a little bit, I guess?”

  - “...I don’t understand…”

  - “There’s also the fact that she tried to kill Vivianne.” Julian comments. “I’d say they’re on even terms now. But at the same time, I really struggle to believe that. If you’re a god, then why are you so…”

  - “Hm?” Nyx tilts her head to the side.

  - “How could I put this… childish? Or just almost entirely dysfunctional as a lifeform, I guess.”

  - “I’m not childish! I’m just me, and that’s what I am!”

  - “Dysfunctional it is then.”

  - “What does that mean?”

  - “Nothing important.” Julian turns to look directly at her. “I think you might have gotten your memories altered by something. I wouldn’t say you’re Night Touched, but you’re definitely showing a few symptoms…”

  - “What’s a Night Touched? People have brought them up before, but never told me what it means!”

  - “Basically, they’re people who go completely crazy and develop space related magics out of nowhere. You look… somewhat stable, and you’re not trying to kill anyone.”

  - “They go crazy and they develop space magics?...” Nyx looks up for a second, then completely freezes in place and stops walking. “Ah.”

  - “What’s going on?”

  - “Nyx?” Beatrice stops too.

  - “It’s… it’s fine!” Nyx smiles. “I was just thinking about… stuff!”

  Erm… That sounds a lot like what happened to the humans that survived when I tried to communicate with them directly… But why is it still happening though? I already had stopped doing that by the time I made the other gods! Hmmm… I need to ask Solomon what’s going on next time I see him, he probably knows. And I absolutely can’t let Julian and Beatrice know this might be my fault, I’ve got a reputation to uphold! I still remember some of my first followers getting mad at me when they figured out that I made their lifespan infinite for a short period of time…

  - “...Alright.” Julian sighs. “The biggest thing that’s making you sound insane is that you mentioned two moons in your story. We only have one, so that’s immediately debunked.”

  - “I knew something was weird!” Nyx exclaims. “I never saw the second moon ever since I became a human, so I thought my eyesight was just bad, but now it makes sense! It’s just not here! What happened to the other moon then?”

  - “Nothing?... We’ve only had one moon for as long as I know.”

  - “Weird. Guess that’s that then!”

  - “I can’t believe you’re really a goddess…” Beatrice smiles, admiration underlying her voice. “Can I be a goddess too?”

  - “Sure! But I can’t turn you right now, since I can’t wish for anything!”

  - “Yay!”

  - “Don’t tell me you’re buying that stuff…” Julian says as he looks down to Beatrice, incredulous.

  - “I know Nyx is telling the truth ! She never lied before!”

  - “You’re way too gullible… Then again you’re a child.”

  - “I’m not gullible…”

  - “So you don’t believe me?” Nyx tells Julian. “Guess that was to be expected, nobody besides father does!”

  - “Wait, you’ve been going around telling people about this?” Julian raises an eyebrow. “You really should stop.”

  - “Why?”

  - “Some people really won’t take too kindly to the joke, especially the religious kind like priests and such. I don’t know if you’d be executed, but it’s not desirable to be on the bad side of any church.”

  - “Oh so they’ll be mad? Sure, it’s not like I have to tell people ! It’s more fun that way anyways, I don’t want people to start worshipping me!”

  - “At least you can listen to reason.” Julian sits down next to a tree and exhales. “Alright we’re taking a break here, we need food.”

  - “What are we eating today?”

  - “I don’t know. Probably a wild boar.”

  - “Again?...”

  - “If you have any complaints, you can always go hungry. Or you can hunt for yourself, but I doubt there’ll be much left of the animal if you get your hands on it.”

  - “But you’re such a bad cook… I miss Alice’s meals…”

  - “You…” Julian’s cheeks turn a slight shade of red. “Well deal with it, unless you think you can do better!”

  - “That’s a funny reaction! I don’t see you like that often!” Nyx cackles.

  - “It’s much better than the food we had at the orphanage.” Beatrice comments while giving Julian a weak smile.

  - “That’s probably not a high bar to clear…” Julian sighs and walks away from them in search of the day’s lunch.

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  Date: April 15th, year 1286 Location: Northern mountain range, Kingdom of Specta

  They were running through the mountain trail, chased by a cascade of flames powerful enough to shatter the stone behind them. At its origin was a dragon with red scales, no taller than ten meters and with yellow eyes literally burning with rage.

  - “WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS?!” Julian yells in Nyx’s direction, who was carrying Beatrice on her shoulders. Her hands were also covered in a slimy red and yellow substance.

  - “I was craving eggs!” Nyx replies as a jet of flames passes right next to her face, almost hitting Beatrice. “I’m tired of eating boars and deer!”

  - “Aaaah!” Beatrice screams, holding her head in her hands in terror.

  - “DRAGON EGGS AREN’T EDIBLE!”

  - “My bad! I also didn’t mean to break it, I thought it’d be more resistant!”

  The dragon roars, and Julian grabs Nyx’s wrist before jumping into a cavity in the ground, leading into a small cavern. Inside, a few startled bats take flight and leave through the opening. They see the dragon start chasing after the bats, and soon stop hearing its flame breath clashing with the rock making up the ground as it ascends into the sky.

  - “Are we safe?...” Beatrice asks as she slowly opens her eyes.

  - “Yes!” Nyx replies as she puts her down and pats her head, leaving a puddle of the red and yellow substance on her hair.

  - “Do you constantly have to make my life harder?!” Julian exclaims. “We’ve been traveling for a month, and that’s the fourth time you almost caused us to die! And it’s getting worse every time!”

  - “That’s true…” Beatrice comments as she tries to wipe her hair. “The first time was the giant praying mantis thing…”

  - “But I killed it!” Nyx replies, flailing her hands around and raining egg yolk around her. Beatrice quickly steps to the side to avoid the droplets, and a few of them hit Julian's forehead. She sees a vein pop up under the yolk.

  - “Yeah and then you surpassed yourself by walking us straight into the burrow of a giant anaconda wielding Water magic, claiming you found a great place for shelter.” Julian angrily continues, sitting on the ground to catch his breath and wipe his face. “If it wasn’t for me noticing before we got attacked, it probably would’ve killed us all.”

  - “But then I killed it too!”

  - “And the third time… I don’t even want to talk about it.”

  Beatrice vigorously nods when he says that.

  - “And now you get us attacked by a dragon of all things. I knew there were some in these mountains, but I didn’t expect to run into one… We’re lucky that fire dragons generally have terrible eyesight.”

  - “I learned from my mistakes…” Nyx pouts. “Plus it makes for a more interesting story to tell!”

  - “Yeah no, I’d rather our travel be boring. This was hell.” Julian replies.

  - “Wait, was?” Beatrice notes.

  - “Well yeah it still IS hell, but at least we’re almost at our destination.”

  - “Oh are we?!” Nyx exclaims. “I liked traveling though…”

  - “Too bad. Also, wash the egg yolk from your hands when you can, I don’t want any serpents attacking us.”

  - “Why?”

  - “Serpents, or at least the magic ones, feed on dragon eggs. If they smell you, we’re in for a world of pain. Again.”

  - “Oh okay!”

  They climb their way up to the opening in the ceiling of the cavern, and return to the surface. Their surroundings were charred, and the dragon was nowhere to be seen. They quickly exit the area, and after about an hour of walking they stop in front of a cliff. In front of them, a vast expanse of blue water was stretching for tens of kilometers.

  - “Oh, the sea! It’s been a long time!” Nyx comments.

  - “From there, we just need to take the ferry to the capital.” Julian says as he points down.

  Nyx looks in that direction, and sees a few small settlements lined along the coast.

  - “I see houses! And there are boats too! I hope it doesn’t turn out like that village we found, where-”

  - “We don’t talk about the third incident.” Julian cuts.

  - “Right… Oh, there’s also people fighting over there!”

  - “Sometimes I forget you have that good of an eyesight.” He comments before pausing. “Wait, fighting?”

  - “Yes! I think they’re dealing with bandits? I can’t tell…”

  - “...Alright we’re delaying the break. Let’s get down there.”

  The group navigates their way down the cliff, and reaches the nearest village a few hours later. It seemed to be a small but well off town, with stone paved roads and a variety of stores visible everywhere. The words “Welcome to Moon Harbor“ were carved on a wooden sign next to the entrance. However, it was almost completely empty of people.

  - “What happened?...” Julian asks, looking around to find anyone.

  - “Woah this village is much nicer than Oakvale!” Nyx comments before turning towards the sea. “Everyone is gathered over there near the boats though. There’s a bigger boat too, with metal plates on it!”

  - “Oh no.”

  - “What?”

  - “Pirates!...” Beatrice exclaims. “Nyx, you need to help them!...”

  - “The pirates? They need help?”

  - “No, the people who live here!”

  - “Oh. If you say so!”

  Julian immediately dashes towards the town’s port, and Nyx follows him while carrying Beatrice on her shoulders. When they reach it, they see all the townsfolk gathered in a circle, on their knees. Surrounding them were a group of people wearing parts of leather and metal armor, wielding mostly swords. They were going through the townspeople asking questions while other pirates were loading bags of grain onto their boat.

  - “Nyx.” Julian turns towards her. “Just like we practiced.”

  - “Oh, intimidation?” Nyx replies, her eyes sparkling in excitement.

  - “What’s that?” They hear a gruff voice shout from the boat as a bearded man jumps down using a rope.

  Given his ostentatious attire, he most likely was their leader. Or at least that’s what Nyx deduced. A miniature sun appears about ten meters above her head, emitting a searing heat.

  - “Nice to meet you, pirates!” Nyx shouts with a hand dramatically extended towards them. “I’m Nyx, an ancient spirit of the sky! Erm, what am I supposed to ask them again?...” Julian quickly whispers a few words in her ear. “Right uh, release the villagers or suffer my wrath!”

  - “A spirit of the damn sky?!...” The leader of the pirates repeats, almost choking on his own words as he looks up at the miniature sun. “Alright we’ll comply, don’t shoot... whatever that is!”

  The pirates swiftly begin releasing the villagers and return the stolen goods before they board their ship again. Julian prompts Nyx to threaten them into also surrendering a majority of their own possessions, which included boxes of jewelry and a crates containing a shipment of blue magic crystals they were smuggling.

  - “And don’t let me catch you doing this again!” Nyx shouts. “Or I’ll curse youuuu!”

  - “Yes ma’am!” The captain replies.

  - “No curses please!” Another pirate shouts.

  - “Good!” Nyx gives them a thumbs up. “But uh… don’t hesitate to get up to no good if you feel like it! I won’t curse you!”

  - “What?...” One of the pirates asks.

  - “That wasn’t in the script!...” Julian angrily whispers.

  - “I don’t want them to stop pirating though?...” Nyx whispers back.

  - “Pirating?...”

  - “Doing pirate stuff!...” Nyx turns back to the pirates. “Alright goodbye!”

  The pirates raise their anchor as quickly as they possibly can while Nyx is approached by a very old man with long, white hair and a white beard. He was wearing a simple white shirt, with worn down brown pants and a metal belt decorated with an anchor around his waist.

  - “Thank you little missy.” He says as he slightly bows his head. “They attacked us on the only day of the month the Arcane Guard wasn’t on duty, you saved the livelihoods of a lot of people.”

  - “No problem!” Nyx replies. “Granted it would’ve made for a cool story…”

  - “What would?”

  - “Nothing!” Julian interrupts, staring daggers at Nyx. “She’s probably Night Touched, don’t mind her.”

  - “Oh, that’s unfortunate, but I can’t say I didn’t expect that. I figured she wasn’t a spirit, but these pirates from Polemys couldn’t tell. She’s weirdly docile for a Night Touched though…”

  - “But I’m not-” Nyx starts.

  - “Anyways!” Julian cuts again. “We just wanted to take the ferry to Crystal Rose, do you know if the ferry operator is willing to sail today?”

  - “He would be very willing, yes, since the people crossing just saved his life, along with that of his family.”

  - “Oh that’s great. Where is he?”

  - “Right there.” The old man points his thumb at himself. “I also happen to be the mayor, at least when I’m in town. You can call me Adrian.”

  - “I’m Nyx!” Nyx exclaims.

  - “And I’m Beatrice…” Beatrice adds in a low voice.

  - “Julian.” Julian sighs. "Man I really need a break now."

  - “Well then get ready, we’re leaving port tomorrow morning!” Adrian concludes. "You can stay at one of the city's taverns free of charge, I'm sure the townspeople will want to reward you for your help."