Similarly, the Order of the Dragon was content to believe that Captain Yael had been bewitched by the Black Guard's sinister arts and that was why she fought Captain Bomilcar to the death. In all truth, the late Captain was not so well loved, but the Dragoons were honor-bound to see that her blood was answered for.

And of course the Queen would join her forefathers in the royal crypt and her plot that threatened all that lived and breathed would be buried with her. 'Expedient' was the best way to describe the whole matter.

The fight against the Black Guard was over by sundown. None of the Guardsmen were close to the match of Captain Jibril and whatever arts they wielded could not prevail over the sheer numbers set against them. It was a good thing matters were settled quickly for a number of reasons, not least of which being the sudden restlessness that came over Tellus when the great enemy had been defeated.

Tobias was not going to let her go alone, but they could not simply slip away like thieves in the night lest they arouse fresh suspicion. In particular, now that he had been restored to his former station, Tobias could not very well be absent for the Queen's funeral. Fortunately, it would be many days before representatives of the great houses could be assembled from the four corners of the kingdom. All he had to do was come up with an excuse to get away.

That excuse came with the idea for Tobias to head up a caravan that would make the circuit through the western half of the kingdom and inform the great houses of the Queen's death. It may not have been a direct course, but it was probably the best compromise they could hope for.

They set out on the third day with a lance from each of the three knightly orders, along with a number of court officials and attendants. There were two parties going eastward, one from the north and the other from the south. Tobias' group traveled with the northern party as far as Hanno, where the northern party went on to Taher while Tobias' group went to Nakum. They would spend a day at each stop along the way. The delays did nothing to improve Tellus' restlessness. Shoshanna used her powers to try to suppress these feelings, but after nearly a week's time, both of them were reaching their limit.

They were on the road to Utica when Tellus' power started to grow unstable. No one was injured, thankfully, but clearly time was short. At Shoshanna's suggestion, Tobias used her status as a pariah and his offense against the priest of Baal as reasons for not entering Utica. He would circumvent the city and rejoin the caravan in Kartzet. The court officials saw the diplomatic advantage in the move, but the knights did not want him to be without an escort.

Tobias tried to impress on them the importance of the orders being represented and they relented only after Tobias accepted a man-at-arms from each lance. A mere three men would be easier to deal with.

The next day they arrived at the Pit of Athirat. Tobias had the men-at-arms stay back at a distance while he took Tellus on ahead with Tym'r and Shoshanna. the memory of what happened the last time they were there left him feeling uneasy the closer they got to the edge of the pit.

Tellus took a moment to stare down into the void below. When she turned to face Tobias, it seemed like she was forcibly tearing herself away from the pull of the abyss.

Tobias still did not believe all this about the Heart of the World, but he did accept that there was something down there that had spoken to Tellus and was calling her back. Perhaps it was even a good thing, but he was reluctant to let her go.

Though worn by the strain of the insistent call for her to return over these past several days, Tellus appeared strangely serene.

Tobias did not know what else to do—this was likely the last he would ever see her—, so he clumsily embraced her.

Tellus returned his embrace, saying, "I'll never be far. Whenever you see the green grass, feel the summer breeze or hear the waves crashing on the shore, I am there."

Tellus pulled away a little, stood on her tiptoes and kissed Tobias on the cheek. She could not stop her tears, but she still did her best to hide her sadness with a weak smile.

She stretched out her arms and fell backward. And with that, she was gone.

Tobias just stood there for a while. Was this really for the best? Once she went down there and returned three days later. She would not be coming back this time, though.

Finally he turned to walked away. Tym'r did not say anything, only rested a heavy paw on his shoulder. Likewise, Shoshanna clasped his hand in her own. No words were needed. No words would have changed anything.

They made their way up the cliff to where the men-at-arms and the horses were waiting. Seeing only three of them return, one of the men-at-arms asked, "What happened to the girl, my lord?"

Tobias looked at the man and replied, "She went home."

He mounted his horse. Without Tellus there, it felt empty.

He asked Tym'r, "What will you do now, Tym'r? Will you return to your people?"

Tobias tightened his grip on the reins.

Tobias looked back to the pit and said, "If Tellus is really down below working for the sake of this world, those of us above have to do our part."

Her thoughts often turned to Tobias. Her heart ached over leaving him behind, but this was how it had to be. This was the moment she was born for. This was her purpose.

In this place hidden from the light of the sun, there was no counting the hours. Tellus tried to pass the time in meditation, like the sages of the tower in Laban, focusing her power and separating herself from everything she had lost. She was not doing a very good job of it, but she would have all the time in the world to refine her technique, it would seem.

When she finally reached the chamber where her mother could be found, the crystals began to glow to light her way. The black vines that had once infested the place lay scattered about, withered and broken. The cluster of roots at the center of the chamber opened up as Tellus approached to reveal the woman inside. Gaia. Her mother.

It had not been so long since the last time Tellus was here, but her mother looked much weaker now. Perhaps the enemy had lashed out at her in its death throes or perhaps she spent most of her remaining power to help them. Either way, she did not have much longer.

Tellus thought back on her life in the world above. There were not many regrets, only a few things she did not want to let go of. She could not dwell on that, though. As the voice in her head kept reminding her, this was her purpose.

She climbed up the roots to her mother. For the first time, she embraced her. As she held her mother, she could feel the roots moving around her, through her. It did not hurt. It was not so much that the roots pierced her as it was that they were merging with her, becoming of one substance.

The last of her mother's life flowed into her. The burden had been passed. She could feel herself the changing. Her old body was just a small part of what she was becoming. The earth was her flesh, the water her blood, the wind her breath. She was now the world and the world was her. She could feel every living thing that crept on the land and swam in the sea and now it was her duty to watch over them.