It wasn’t with caution that the goddess walked the purple lands. A fire burned deep in her green eyes as she phased from island and to island. Softly she reached down and cupped an  ice flower. It was shaped like a bell. She called them Snowbelles but they had many other names. They were tundra flowers developed from deep magic long forgotten in the depths of the snow. She had named her daughter after these rare beautiful flowers. They were the symbol of long forgotten arcane magic. The flower was cold to her touch and her warmth began to slowly melt the soft edges. “Silly me.” Only enchanted gloves could pick these flowers.

She softly blew a breathe of air from her lips as the flower became whole again. This realm was something completely special to her. It had become real the moment she took the mantle of life. This was her Walk of Rebirth. So many souls had traveled through here already. They were like lost sheep looking to go home. She had created beings of this world to guide them. She had brought souls back to help her.

A frown appeared on her face as she thought of Kira. “All these years and still all she can be is consumed.” The darkness had to be purged from her. It wasn’t a good thing and a portion of her poor realm had already suffered at Kira’s hands. “Six hundred years of anger. She still hasn’t let go of her demons.” She had a curse and now Cyprus had that same curse. She frowned a bit more as she thought of her sister. “Not the same one. Kira was at least a nice girl when born.” Cyprus had been a monster. She was a monster.

Her fist clenched a bit at the thought and she took a gentle breath as she breathed in the sweet air. Her long red hair was flowing at her sides and her dress was oddly matching for the area. It was a soft sea blue. Strapless with flowing skirts at the bottom. It faded into a darker purple towards the edges. It did match this realm and maybe that was why she chose to wear it. This place would have it’s peace yet. “I do wish my family would behave itself at least a little bit.”

"I hate to say it love, but I think that would be a pipe dream," Drae said as he came up behind her, his staff in hand. "And I swear, if this is the inside of your mind, I want out now," he added flatly. "It is strangely reminiscent of mini you."

His hair was down tossing lightly in the breeze created by the floating islands and waterfalls. His steely gray gaze took in the atmosphere, and the floating islands, and he could not help but feel impressed by the strange energy that electrified the air here in this strange realm. 
"So this is the Soul Stream. I must say, it isn't what I expected…" he said thoughtfully. "There is definitely an odd feeling in the air here. A heaviness in the back of your mind, but still distant. I am going to assume that is the corruption you spoke about."

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up, as if he was being stalked. His eyes flashed and he turned, his face half contorting into a bear's maw and he whirled around with a snarl. There was a frightened hiss, and as a grinning cheshire cat turned into vapor and floated quickly away. 

"Bloody tricksters…"

Angela let out a chuckle as Drae came up beside her. “It’s only a pipe dream because my family is too large to control every aspect of it. Even the good ones get on my nerves at times.” She was thinking of Toya as she spoke and chuckled lightly once more. “This isn’t the inside of my mind at all.” She looked around and knew that what he said about the little her was true. “Maybe that’s because being a child you are more influenced by your power than anything. This place while I can shape it has largely been untouched. I just keep it breathing. Before it wasn’t as grand or filled with life but once I became life I could make it a better place. I don’t want to completely change it but at least give it a more homey feel.. at least as much as I can.”

She nodded to him. “Well, it is a realm where the confusing just happens to be normal. Things in death don’t have to make sense and rebirth isn’t any better. That feeling you have is exactly what I was speaking about. It’s there but distant. More like a fly buzzing around you. Kira doesn’t mean for it to be this way. She was dead long before I was born. However, the curse that she had was very large the reason why Cyprus is as much of a bitch as she is. Kira was strong and had it placed on her half way through her life. Cyprus was born with it and it corrupted her entirely before she took her first breath. Kira can have it purged from her and that is the hope.”

She felt the cat appear and a soft smile appeared on her face. “The tricksters here… were always here. Some say that they are the spirits of those who wish to guide but were tricksters in life. I can’t tell you either way but we’ll see.”  

The goddess began her walk across the island and took a look back at Drae. “Are you feeling alright? I want to make sure my husband is especially comfortable in this place.” It was a part of her and she needed Drae to be comfortable with her. “The last thing I want is for you to not like something that is a part of me. Though I can’t make you like everything about me Adraejen.” She gave a soft smile as she walked about the island. “The caretakers of this realm are my parents. I never thought you would get to meet them. They died during Adeluna’s attack on Arri. Most of my older family did to protect the citizens.” She had never went into detail why it was only the Empress Willow and the Five Queens. They were separated by generations of family but yet none of the family before the queens and after the empress were alive. She wondered if Drae thought about it or pondered it.

"Bitch is an understatement, Love, and you know it. Curse or no curse, I don't think it would have influenced her so if she hadn't been predisposed for some sort of evil. I've seen truly good individuals with dark curses fight against their darker natures and win in the end. If you want an example, I will point you to the werebears I spent time with on the Nyella. Some were born that way, some were afflicted as I was. Regardless, they do all in their power to keep from passing on their affliction unless an individual is offered the power. I was an odd case, granted, but my case is as rare as the feral one who bit me," he pointed out to her. "Many others of the Lycan bloodline can say the same. Vampires too." He shot a warning glance at yet another chesire cat that was creeping up on him.

"At least there is hope for one of them," he said with a slight scoff. 

He followed behind Angela as she walked across the strange floating island. He sighed when she asked if he was all right. 
"Ang, to be honest, I don't think any living being could be properly comfortable here, with maybe the exception of you," he told her honestly. "And it hasn't anything to do with you personally, that I promise. I've come to accept the Soul Stream and believe in its power as I do yours and you. And even though it was brought to life by you at your ascension, this is not a place where the living are meant to trod, and that was made evident by the need of these," he said as he lifted the fine chain of Lacriamium that was about his neck. "If not for this, I would not be allowed to pass into this place, nor would the others who have found their way here without the loss of their souls." 

He walked up beside her. "Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful here, and your power clearly gives it a life of its own and it mimics you. I could never dislike it because of that. But I wonder about the possible consequences of having so many living souls intruding here. I get it though, the more people here, the more likely we are to purge the darkness from Kira, but I am concerned about any lasting imbalance, especially if individuals get trapped here. Not about the individuals themselves, unless they are of our acquaintance, mind you, but the effect that the living can have upon the pure innocence here."

He chuckled softly. "I look forward to the honor of meeting them. Sapphire explained all that to me while she was taking me through the family history. A right bloodbath, but the Rosenites prevailed, despite heavy losses to the royal families," he commented softly. "I assume that many of them have already been borne down the River of Lost Memories?"

Angela looked to be a tad confused by her husband for a moment before thinking it more. “No living person will be stuck here. It’s impossible.” She chewed on her lip for a moment as she thought about the precautions she had taken. “Though the creatures here will try and keep the living here, I’ve tried to create a fail-safe in case it closes and there are people in here. Hopefully, it works if not I’ll be working over time to get the people out. The plan is for those stuck here to appear in the Gardens. The might land hard on their asses but that is the plan. If it fails I’ll have to bring them out by myself. As long as they have the necklaces on they can get out. Anything else is better than what will happen if we can’t get the corruption out.” There was a cautious glance from Angela. 

There were more thoughts pouring into her head as she continued with him. “I’m not so much worried about the innocence of this place. It’s been here since the creation of who knows what. I’m probably not the first person to attempt to cleanse it and I doubt in the long life of the world I’ll be the last. I can repair anything but this corruption is one thing I can’t do by myself. Maybe it’s because I don’t have the faith in myself that I should.”

The goddess smiled towards him and was glad he was happy. “This might be the only time you’ll be able to do so. Yes, it was a bloodbath. No matter how many of us were trained… there were many who were not. It led to many deaths.” Thinking about his question she hummed softly. “Some have but others have chosen to stay. They are acting as waypoints for the oracles of Arri. Here there are some who have chosen to assist me. It shows greatly how much my parents care about our success since they took up residency here.”

Angela found the mushroom and pointed at it. “We’re using that.” She took hold of Drae and kissed his lips softly. “I don’t want this to shock you but we are going… flying.” The one place it didn’t bother her. She threw their bodies into the mushroom and hung onto him tightly. Before long they landed in a pile of pillows like those made in her temple. She laid out in the pillows sprawled. “It’s the one thing I can do that I can’t do out in the real world without panicking.” She let out a laugh and a heavy breath as she watched the night sky above them. “This is the Garden of Souls.”

"As long as you have a back-up plan, I won't be concerned," Drae said simply.

He took Angela's hand and squeezed it gently as she told him about the war. "The best training in the world cannot help you if all were not trained equally," he said wryly. "But at least they are at peace, either here as anchors or in their new lives on Revaliir," he added. 

He eyed the mushroom that Angela had pointed out, and wondered exactly what she meant by they were going to use it. His thoughts were scattered momentarily as she kissed him though. He quirked a dark eyebrow at her. "You hate flying," he said skeptically, but didn't argue as she grabbed him and the two of them bounced onto the mushroom and were vaulted through the air at high speed and great distance. The wind raked through his free flowing hair, and stung his eyes, but he couldn't help but let out a whoop of excitement. He stayed on the ground mostly for Angela's convenience, but truth be told, the warlock loved the momentary freedom from gravity. He'd always wanted his own pair of wings or to be able to fly in general. He could technically do it now with the help of magic, but where was the fun in that if the best part of the sensation was the part when you came back down? He loved the feeling of his heart and stomach leaping into his throat and the adrenaline rush he got as the ground rushed back up at them. Typically the landing was the hardest part, but with a pile of the softest pillows in creation at the end of their fall, what was there to fear?

There was a soft "pffft" as they landed and the explosion of pillows was impressive and partially buried them as they landed. Drae couldn't help but laugh out loud out of pure enjoyment. "Now THAT I could get used to," he chuckled, and smiled broadly at her as she made the comment about this being the only place she could handle flying through the air. He looked up at the orchid moon and the deep twilight. This place he liked. The bear liked it too. It was a place that both of them seemed at peace for one reason or another. Maybe it was the moon. It was soothing here. Unfortunately though, the dark energy still buzzed in the back of his skull and almost destroyed the calm of the place. 

"This is where the souls come to be regrown before they take their journey down the river, correct?" he asked Angela making sure he had his facts straight. He had learned about the concept of the Soul Stream from her, but the details he was still a little hazy on. He sat up and pulled himself from the pillows and began looking around at the strange trees and flowers that grew there.

She rolled on the pillows and stared at him. “I know how you much you love things like that.” Her eyes were a bit sad. “Maybe I could make something like this for you back home.” She mused a bit. “Not that I would accompany you there. Feet firmly on the ground anywhere but here.” She nodded to herself as if it were a rule. 

Getting up the goddess saw that he was happy here and nodded at his description. “Yes, it is where all the memories are lost and they can become anew again.” She got up from the pillows and made her way over to the flowers. There was one that was ready and she opened it gently. With the utmost care, she pulled a newly made baby from the flower. “See?” The soul of a baby was so unique. It glowed but it was more serene. It was more upset with her for taking it out of the flower. “I’m sorry I made her cold.” She hushed the child.

A strange man made his way over to her and she gave a smile. “This is Vanator he is my faithful servant here.” She offered up the child to him and he took it with ease. “Has everything been smooth?” She tilted her head.

Vanator shook her head. “Not completely. We’ve had to completely reroute where the souls drift to once they are here for fear that Kira will get them. She took some already.” Angela frowned a bit and nodded.

“Keep up the good work. There are lots more souls for harvesting.” She let Vanator be on his way as he stalked over to the river with the paper boats. “That makes me sad but at least things have been rerouted.” She smiled at Drae and looked at the sea of trees and flowers. “Each one is a person. The longer the life the longer it takes for a person to be reborn. It’s a lot of work for the poor flowers believe me.”

Drae sighed. "Ah flight. What I would have given to have been born with wings," he said as he looked up at the Orchid moon before he stood up and began looking about the massive garden with its strange glowing lights inside the flowers and trees. He moved up behind Angela as she opened one of the flowers and removed the tiny soul of a baby girl. He was reminded of when Rohan was born and he smiled serenely as he leaned in over Angela's shoulder and gently reached down to hold the baby soul's hand as she fussed. 

He noticed the movement of the man who approached them, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he relaxed as Angela introduced Vanator to Drae and handed the baby soul to the caretaker. His brow furrowed as Angela and Vanator discussed things that had been done to circumnavigate Kira, and then they were walking again along the river, watching the paper boats carrying their precious cargo. 

"What happens to the souls that run afoul of Kira?" Drae asked Angela softly as they followed the boats along.