Hours went by, and Godshards came and went from the island. Yet Ruth and Sheba remained by the beach. Ruth was grateful for Sheba’s company, even if she didn’t have the answers for her. The sun was setting behind the trees, and darkness was creeping in. Ruth could see the distant red glows of fires in her periphery.

  Ruth believed that the island needed to become more than a glorified camp. More and more Godshards were coming by the year and Godshards always had to leave to get more things. Much like the storm inside Ruth, this cannot go on forever. Megan was on board with it, it was just the question of how.

  Isn’t that the story of Ruth’s life so far? The struggle of ‘how’.

  A third person took a seat next to them. Elias had that gentle smile Ruth found endearing, like a kindly uncle she never had. “How are you feeling?” he signed.

  “Terrible,” Ruth signed as she kicked the sand idly.

  “This isn’t over, you know. We’ll figure out a way yet!”

  Ruth frowned and her head tilted. “How?”

  “Haven’t you paid attention in Megan’s classes? It is in the spirit of Adam to adapt. Nothing we know is ever set in stone. We must not be afraid to embrace the opportunity to learn something new.”

  Ruth waved him off. He always said that about Adam. She signed sharply and sloppily, “I’m not like Adam. I couldn’t be more different. He was a hero, I’m just a deaf girl dying from the inside out.”

  “If only you had met him, Ruth,” Elias signed. “Adam never saw himself as a hero. As some grand savior. He was down to earth, uncaring of his reputation. He was just a man who wanted to help people. He had to figure out so much on his own.”

  “So his book says.”

  Elias shuddered. It was fascinating to Ruth to read, waves of distant sadness, mourning and joy came to the surface before dissipating again. Decades later Elias still held fondness of his teacher and mourned his passing. “Adam struggled far more than what he told people in his writing. He wandered for a century, and he encountered many dangers. Sometimes he couldn’t muster a spell properly and had to flee. Sometimes he was too late to save people. He had to find out the hard way that he couldn’t have children.”

  Ruth’s eyes widened. “That’s awful! How did he cope?”

  “He kept going, because he had hope. He believed in a bright future, if he just kept at it!” Elias gestured at the island. “You can see the result. Adam wrote down everything. He didn’t want people lashing out blindly in the dark like he did. He laid the foundations, if we try hard enough, we can build on it! The power of belief is indomitable. If it is strong enough, not even the very mountains can stand in its way.”

  Ruth shook her head, “All I feel is a curse. I feel like I don’t belong anywhere. Benelim and humans alike look down on me. Both cultures bother me terribly in different ways, and no one cares or listens.”

  “None of that is true. Do you know what I see?” Ruth shook her head. “I foresee a woman born of two worlds, who will rise up and save both of them. She will usher in a golden age for both of her peoples. Her name will ring out in the lands forever, as one of the greats, up there with Adam.”

  Ruth teared up. “Do you really mean that?” she signed, slowly and cautiously.

  “It’ll take time, but it’ll happen all the same,” signed Elias. “We’ll take it one step at a time, you and I. All I ask is you never stop believing. Can you do that for me, Ruth?”

  Ruth nodded, a fire rekindled in her spirit.

  A month went by with little improvement. Yet Ruth held onto Elias’ words like a piece of driftwood in a raging sea. With little else to do, Ruth focused her efforts elsewhere, seeking to turn their glorified camp into something more civilized. Ruth, Megan and Sheba all put their heads together. They would need help from others from the shore. Mikel’s spellcraft was good and he started laying down the foundations for proper buildings, but he was only one Godshard.

  Elias maintained the idea that Godshards needed the island to be for themselves only, with non-Shards kept to a minimum. Megan decided to make a second camp upon the shore. A place where volunteers could gather and stay, lest they overcrowd the island or stay any longer than necessary.

  It was hard to find help.

  They sought assistance from the local tribunes of the plebs. Sheba and Megan went as far south as the ancient city of Submersio and the town of Vetorefug. The tribunes, while receptive to the idea of paying back the Godshards for their efforts over the years, wouldn’t agree to anything short of a quid pro quo.

  This was unacceptable to Elias. The Godshards must function outside of the geopolitical order. Elias told them that there were blackhearted people in the Republic of Primus who have long desired to use the Godshards for their own ends. Fiona and Lea rallied what locals they could, and soon work finally began. Progress was slow and minimal, the people who deigned to help were faithful but few.

  Perhaps it was good that more activity was happening on the shore, since a special visitor arrived on one particular day. He would have missed their island otherwise. Ruth and Sheba were discussing plans when Mikel leapt onto the island, his face excited yet perplexed.

  Ruth couldn’t understand what he was saying. His signs were too sloppy and his lips were too fast. It must have been important though, since Mother and Aunt Kathy perked to attention. Mother was at Ruth’s side in the next moment.

  “What is he saying?” signed Ruth with a pout.

  Mother’s hands shook as she staggered to sign, “We have an important guest on the shore.”

  Ruth frowned, she figured that. She signed impatiently, “Who?”

  “High King Ioannis!”

  Ruth gasped. Mikel turned to Ruth. “He wishes to speak to you,” he signed. “We need to go, now!”

  Ruth nodded excitedly, the familiar sensation enveloping her as she took flight, her Benelim parents at her side. As they approached the shore, an azure light shone out from the secondary camp. Like a blue star had come to earth. Its soul burned brighter than any Benelim. Before she could ponder more, they landed in the middle of the camp.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Waiting patiently in the center stood four people, standing tall and proud.

  Two were merely royal guards, draped in golden clad scaled armor, helmets with chainmail that covered everything except their glowing eyes, and wielding two battle axes, large and broad. Never had Ruth seen Benelim so fierce looking!

  They flanked the legendary monarch himself.

  High King Ioannis was dressed more meekly than Ruth had expected. A simple plain tunic and pants. His outfit was more akin to a teacher or a farmer than a high king. If it wasn’t for an emerald crown upon his head, he could have been mistaken for any other Benelim. His face was boxy and his eyes were weathered and beaming with wisdom. His expression was constantly shifting. Yet it wasn’t out of anxiousness, merely a man who was so lost in his world that thoughts and ideas were shimmering to the surface, only to descend once more.

  The woman next to him was the source of the blue light. She was tall, adorned in a long blue dress that swirled in the mild breeze. Her eyes shone a solid blue and rippled with passion. She had two wings, sapphire and translucent, like a butterfly. One of her shoulders was bare, covered in three rows of blue carnations in perpetual bloom, rising up from her aged scarred tissue. Oh the timelessness in her gaze! Ruth could only imagine the life she’s lived, if her micro expressions were anything to go by!

  Mother must have noticed Ruth’s fascination. “That is Amorfila,” she signed. “The high king’s wife. She is a Fallen Angyl, a Fayphim.”

  Aunt Kathy gestured frantically to them. “Bow! Now,” she signed.

  Ruth gasped and bowed swiftly, nearly forgetting her manners in her excitement. She grabbed Mother’s hand, signing in her palm, “What is going on? Why is he here?”

  Mother smiled. “Elias sent him a letter.” She let Ruth figure out the rest.

  Ruth was giddy. He was here! He was actually here! Oh, she had so much to ask him! What an honor this was! She saw him get on one knee, and Ruth couldn’t help herself but to look up. His smile was warm, even as it was hidden under a veneer of professionalism. Ruth lit up when he gestured his hands to sign, “Greetings, child. Do you know who I am?”

  Ruth nodded excitedly. Her signs were shakingly fiercely as she gestured, a storm mixed with excitement and nervousness. “You’re High King Ioannis. You created Benelim Sign Language. You gave me the ability to speak. I am forever grateful to you, Your Majesty.”

  Ioannis gave an affectionate dismissive wave. “It was nothing. I was simply helping my friend Orion,” he signed. “I understand you need to cast spells soon?”

  “I have to. Even if it wasn’t killing me, I wish to use my power for good. I want to be just like you! A hero, a friend to all. Benelim, humans and Gods alike. Can you help me, Your Majesty?”

  Ioannis nodded. “I will try.”

  Thus, a long afternoon began. They gave High King Ioannis some space in the shoreside settlement and his work began in earnest. Elias stayed with him, parchments quickly littered the ground. Ruth could see them talking to each other, secretively, their signs closed in and their lips tight. Amorfila saw it fit to stay with the others. She fluttered around them, waving and smiling all the while. Sheba pointed at her scars. Ruth was concerned that it might have been insensitive to ask, but Amorfila was quite open.

  She told them how she got wounded in the terrible final battle of the Second Wars in the Heavens. A vicious daemon struck her, his bladed claws were imbued with both magical and daemonic essence. As a result, the wound never healed. She renounced her violent ways after the war. Rejecting her ties to her angylic host and her master, the arch-angyl Jophiel. She became a Fayphim, bound to Terra. How fascinating, here was another woman who went from one world to another.

  “Did you ever keep in touch with the angyls of your host?” signed Ruth.

  Amorfila paused for a long moment. “Sometimes,” she signed back. “Jophiel is more considerate than most, but typically those ties are cut forever.”

  Ruth tilted her head. “Why?”

  Amorfila quietly exhaled. “I rejected their world for the mortal world. A life of violence and battle for one of peace and beauty. That is sacrilege to Angylic custom. That’s why they call us Fallen.”

  Ruth frowned. “But you were just following your heart.”

  Amorfila grew sad. “Be that as it may, child, they rejected me all the same. Sometimes broken ties can never be mended.”

  Ruth shook her head,“I don’t believe that. It’s never too late! Perhaps one day your two worlds can come together,” she signed, the gestures sharp and strong.

  Amorfila got down on one knee. Ruth’s vision was overwhelmed for a moment in a haze of blue. Her face was gentle and her smile tender. “You are wise to never give up hope. Never lose that spark, child. It could serve you well one day.”

  Just as the day was waning, Ioannis and Elias left the tent, parchments in hand. Ruth looked them over. Elias explained that the spells they translated were the five testing spells. They showed the original incantations, and the corresponding signs she needed to cast.

  Ruth nodded and took a deep breath. She quickly memorized the first one and took a step back. For a moment, she faltered, all eyes were on her. From High King Ioannis to Mother, to Elias to Sheba. Yet she saw encouragement in each and every one of their faces. This was it, now or never.

  Her hands were trembling, would that mess up the incantation? She closed her eyes, desperate to calm herself. This spell had four signs. With an exhale, she gestured the first one, then the second, then the third and fourth.

  Time stood still, before a flash shot her eyes open! A sparkle of light rocketed out of her hands, painting the darkening sky blue.

  Ruth grew a wide grin. She did it, she actually did it! Relief enveloped her as much as the excitement pushed her to keep going! She looked into the crowd, clapping and applauding. She couldn’t hear their excitement, but she didn’t need to hear it. She never needed to hear it. Mother’s proud face made her heart stop. Sheba was cheering her on. Even Elias and Ioannis had proud grins on their faces. Sheba gestured to the parchment. Could she do the others now, too? What was her limit?

  After looking over the second spell, she repeated the signs on the parchment. With a greater burst of sparkling light, the spell went perfectly! Emboldened, she rushed to try the third one. Another string of signs and she was rewarded with a greater flash of light.

  In the excitement, she almost missed Elias signing to her, “How are you feeling?”

  “I feel great! No strain at all!” she signed back. This was exhilarating, she was at least as powerful as Mikel. “I want to keep going!”

  Elias nodded and Ruth rushed to try the fourth one. It was almost like clockwork as the spell went successfully. The sparkle of light was now a burst of blue, white and green. It dazzled the audience, and even Ruth was caught up in the splendor for a moment. She was at least at the same level as Elias.

  “There is just one more!” signed Elias. “Are you up to it?”

  Ruth looked over the final parchment. It had three times as many signs. The notes mentioned precise gesturing, too. It might be difficult to cast. Not even Elias could cast it. He theorized that Adam could, but he was never able to try. This would be new territory. She glanced at Sheba and Mother, both of whom were nodding eagerly.

  Ruth took another deep breath, closing her eyes. No stimulus, just control, no distractions, just peace. With another exhale, she did each and every sign. With the final one, Ruth’s arms shot up above her head. Her eyes bulged as an immense stream of light and color shot out of her hands like a stream, exploding in a rippling burst of sparkling glory. The menagerie of hues painted the night sky. The sparkles kept going and going, like a miniature firework show.

  Ruth was lost in the beauty of it. She did that. She created that! Never had she felt more alive! She looked down upon her hands and felt newfound strength and power. She knew this was only the beginning, too! There was much to do, and little time! For now though, she rushed to embrace her friends and company. Never had Mother looked more proud than she did right then.

  Now, she was a Godshard.

  High King Ioannis stayed a couple more days, helping Elias and her translate more spells and guiding them on how to do it without him. It made sense, spellcraft in general was still quite young, with many new spells discovered nearly daily at times. It would be unreasonable to expect High King Ioannis to be roped up in their affairs. The fact he took time out of his life at all was a massive honor right there.