That evening, Ramii reached the Labyrinth with Hudyn and Katuo. He asked them to help carry his father’s keepsakes and all of Tlyna’s books from the house—a task that could take all night. They slipped into the Labyrinth from the rear. Ahead of them, the throng had hewn its way through the thorn forest, drawing ever closer to Ramii’s home.

  The three made it into the house. They hurriedly brought the keepsakes up from the underground chamber, packed the books together, and carried everything out onto the porch.

  BOOM!

  A thunderous blast rang out, and a blinding burst of light tore through the front yard. From a single point, myriad streams of light spiraled outward. Some shot into the sky, piercing the dark clouds. The heavens answered with jagged bolts of lightning, branching like roots. The rain stopped abruptly.

  The scene warped and twisted, whole stretches swallowed by shadow. Gusts of hot and cold wind rushed in, braided together.

  After a time, the air grew still. The strange point of light transformed into a radiant white orb, from which long, silky flames streamed outward. Out of the orb came three shadows, gradually taking form before astonished eyes. They bore the likeness of the eerie stranger within the Snaketongue Tree.

  Just as the young ones were about to dash into the house for weapons, a deep voice sounded from behind them:

  ‘Fear not, O henans.’

  Ramii spun around. One of the three beings moved the underside of its jaw, yet the voice did not seem to pass through the ears at all. Instead, it entered straight into their minds. Though the tongue was wholly unfamiliar, all three understood:

  ‘OaaDoara ~ We mean you no harm. We have come to the Roundland only to seek the truth. Speak as your people speak ~ Arinikha.’

  “You say you won’t harm us…” Ramii said, testing whether the creatures could understand him. “Then why did your kind attack us before?”

  ‘We are the ownan, hailing from the Realm of Aomry,’ one of them replied. ‘The one who attacked you must have been Goyk. They bear only two eyes, whereas we have three. Their skin is paler and lacks the brown mottling you see upon us.’

  The three studied the ownan closely. Their eyes and skin were indeed unlike those of the savage being within the Snaketongue Tree.

  “That Goyk attacked us the instant he saw us,” Ramii said. “I nearly died beneath his blade. When I came to, my mother was gone. Do you know where she is—Tlyna, my mother?”

  ‘OaaTikki ~ What a grave sin. The Goyk have harmed the henan, you and Tlyna among them. The ownan offer our sorrow and bear the blame. We are the Gate Keepers of the Zon’A, yet we allowed them to breach the Seal.’

  As the strangers explained, both the ownan and the Goyk came from a distant world called Aomry, a place reached only through a Zon’A Gate. In their tongue, humankind was called henan, meaning “Garden Keepers.” The goyk had captured Tlyna and taken her to the land of Ao’Hanoorat. Their purpose in coming here was to barter with Tlyna for a substance used in the making of a potion.

  “Then take me to Aomry,” Ramii said at once, after they had finished their explanation. “I want to go there.”

  “Don’t go, Ramii!” Katuo clutched Ramii’s arm with both hands, his face pale. “We shouldn’t trust these strangers so easily.”

  “Katuo’s right,” Hudyn said with a sage nod, putting on his wisest face. “Heaven alone knows if their words are true. Following them feels like a gamble. We’ll need to weigh it carefully. How about I flip a coin three times? Two heads, and we both go. Two tails—” Before Hudyn could finish, Katuo cut him off with a kick to the ankle, shooting him a fiery glare.

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  ‘OaaKiteh ~ O henans, consider well,’ an ownan spoke. ‘We shall await your choice. Such is the charge of the ownan. Whether you choose to journey or not, we will seek Tlyna and bring her back to this realm. For the next three nights in this Roundland, the Seal of the Zon’A Gate shall remain open. Should you decide to go to Aomry, we stand ready to guide your path.’

  One of the ownans drew near the children and offered them an oval seed, white as pearl. They said that, should the children truly wish to go, they must return this seed. Then they turned and stepped into the fiery orb. Before long, the orb shrank to a mere speck of light, hovering in the air.

  ~~~

  The children brought all the keepsakes and books to Mr. Rono’s house. They told him of the strange happenings of the night before and sought his counsel. Mr. Rono went into the bedchamber and returned with Ramii’s heirloom sword. He ran his trembling fingers over the inscriptions along the scabbard, then gently rubbed the black jade set into the hilt.

  “Aye, the wheel of fate turns ever true,” Mr. Rono murmured. “This is the famed silver sword of Sir Dorodam, young in years yet already a general commanding the cavalry. Lord Ronan himself once entreated a master alchemist of Bidueng to forge this singular blade for him. This peerless sword can cleave through any iron beneath the sun.

  I once told you it was Sir Dorodam who led his cavalry to intercept the enemy, allowing my infantry to escape and retreat in safety. It is said he perished after that battle…”

  He was silent for a long moment. Then he went on. “What you have told me is truly strange. This concerns life and death. Ramii, your family has time and again preserved the lives of my grandson and me. In truth, I would wish you to remain. I am deeply grateful to your parents and hold them in the highest esteem, as I do you.

  So, my child, make your choice according to your own judgment and your own instinct.”

  Without needing much time to think it over, Ramii resolved that very day. Despite his friend’s protests and refusal to let him follow, Hudyn set about packing his own clothes.

  “Save your breath, Ramii!” Hudyn snapped, his chin raised, his voice rising. “If you would journey alone, you must first tread over me where I fall. Think not so lightly of me. The debt I owe you shall be repaid in time. A warrior such as I cannot stand idle. Know this: I am coming with you, and that is the end of it.”

  He scratched his brow, striving to recall some weighty matter. “Ah! I must ask old Rono for a proper blade.”

  Katuo could not sit still. He fidgeted and kept glancing at Mr. Rono. When he saw Hudyn and Ramii with their gear prepared, he finally mustered the courage to meet his grandsire’s eyes. Before he could utter a word, Mr. Rono spoke:

  “Go with Ramii and Hudyn. I can fend for myself. Do not trouble yourself over me. We two still stand here by the grace of Ramii and Lady Tlyna. Do what you deem right.”

  Mr. Rono pressed a kiss to Katuo’s brow. His scarred, calloused hand passing through the boy’s hair. Then he called them closer and took their hands in his own.

  “I know full well that I am old and crippled,” Mr. Rono said. “Were I to journey with you, I fear I would only slow you down. Though my body fails me, the eyes of an old general still see keenly. I see the mettle in each of you. In times of war, you would have been formidable warriors. This journey may have begun the day the three of you first met.”

  He pressed their hands together more tightly. “Mark my words: whether in a child’s game or in the course of life itself, even the most gifted cannot claim victory alone. You three may not be bound by blood, but if you hold one another as true kin, no hardship will ever prove too great.”

  As night fell and the children made ready to depart, Mr. Rono embraced each of them in turn, offering final counsel. At length, he bade them farewell and turned away, so they might go. He could not bear the sight of Katuo’s tears.

  ~~~

  The children returned. The luminous speck still hovered there.

  Ramii extended his left hand, and the white seed rose from his palm, drifting into its glow. From it burst countless tongues of flame, blooming outward into a brilliant sphere of fire. They waited, motionless and tense.

  Soon, the three ownans emerged from the fiery sphere. One of them spoke:

  ‘OaaLoarin ~ Thus, you henans have opened your hearts to Aomry. Pray for safe keeping. Open your mouths, and receive these sacred seeds.’

  After a moment’s hesitation, the three parted their lips in assent. An ownan released three white seeds. They glowed and glided into their mouths.

  The children’s bellies began to swell. A burning sensation welled up from within, followed by an icy chill from without. Their bodies itched fiercely, then flared into excruciating agony, as though myriad needles were piercing their flesh. They collapsed to the ground, writhing and tearing at their clothes. All across their skin, countless fine hairs sprouted and lengthened. The instant the white hairs fully cloaked their forms, the torment ceased.

  ‘OaaSotika ~ The henan have overcome the travail of the flesh. Pray for safe keeping. Come with us into the Zon’A.’

  The three ownans advanced slowly into the fiery sphere. The three children, resembling snowmen, staggered after them.

  ~~~