The gods could only sit back for so long. They were summoned as usual by Sabele but a change could be seen in the child. Not a very good change. Amsit always rubbed at her chest when she returned from seeing the priestess, a frown constantly adorning her face when she peeked in to check on her.

"Where is Haven?"

"She has been summoned by some priestess by the sea," Venés replied casually.

"Okay. Where is Ugaras?"

"Also summoned," Diez didn't even look up as she strung together an instrument.

"Egenitez?"

"I am here," he appeared behind Amist. He stood at 6'7", being the tallest of the gods. His brown, muddy hair fell into his eyes and gave him a rugged look.

"Please help me out with something!" She clapped her hands together, giving a small pout in her plea.

"And that would be?"

"Well you see, Seren had agreed to help out too. We wanted to make a spring but we would need a nice cave to put the spring in. We were hoping you would be able to do that." She twisted her fingers and gave a sheepish smile.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the child priestess, now would it?"

"Her name is Sabele and so what if it is?" Amist put her hands on her hips but lost her motherly authority when she had to crane her head to look up at the tall god.

"Tell me where." He sighed, as if the fight would have been hopeless, and followed the small goddess (small compared to him) out the door.

So, Amist finally managed to gather Haven, Ugaras, Egenitez, and Seren. Silently, they floated above the cave. Venés had mentioned a perfect space for the priestess that would provide for the perfect spring. Plus, this would provide some avenging of the killed hunter. Even if two years had passed, hard feeling still circled among the gods.

Egenitez, the god of the earth, began their “procedure” with a large earthquake. They heard the chimes clatter in her entrance as well as people screaming from below in terror at the sudden wake up. The part of the wall that was blank fell down and left crumbled stone everywhere.

Along with that, large boulders rolled down the mountainside and crashed into the harbor, destroying ships and docks loaded still with precious cargo. Next, Seren provided an endless stream of water to form in the hidden spring. Ugaras heated it up, keeping the spring and consequently the room, warm.

The gods were quick to leave, slightly peeved by the goddesses who giggled around them.

Amist walked about with Haven, both invisible to the priestess who currently ran around to put things back where they were. Moving through the crumbled stone, they found a natural extra space. A small space, but once cleaned out, would provide good storage.

They both smiled at what Egenitez had done for her in his own way.

He hid the entrance to the spring with a crack that ran along the wall, keeping it secretive and private. It didn’t seem very big, but once inside they had plenty of room to scoot sideways to the spring.

The cave it sat in was much wider and higher than that of Sabele's. In the middle the spring, a small hole from above provided light from the moon which shone down onto it.

"I say I provide a natural look to this place, huh?" As she spoke, Haven brought in vines to line the walls with various flowers that grew and sprouted in every direction. Some even glowed in the dark.

"I say we did a good job, right? All she has to do is clean out the mess." Amist looked around, happy with their work.

"Yep. Let's go. I'm sure Agous will hear of what we've done." Disappearing, they left Sabele to discover the new additions to her home. Which, she was delighted by, but for the life of her could not figure out exactly who had done it.

Sabele had indeed used the small space as a storage room as predicted, allowing her more room to add shelves for her tools and more room on her desk to work. She found the spring a few months later during the dead of winter. She always noticed how warm it was and discovered the source of the heat.

Following the narrow pathway, she stumbled upon the spring and cried. By then she had turned fourteen, and a private area to bath became exceedingly important. Sabele never truly knew when she was being watched and if the river could be seen just beyond her dome. Now, she didn't have to wonder or worry.

It would be another seven long years before the village decided to act up as if the earthquake had silenced their hatred and increased their fear of their gods. People still came to Sabele and brought things for her.

Eztil-Catl’s wife had died the following night after the hunter had burned. Suddenly, she had passed in her sleep. Ripped from him with only brutal memories to keep him warm at night. After her death, his children began to act up again, stealing, fighting, even started a fire at one point. He knew he had to be cursed. There was no other explanation.

His fellow friends and those in High Guard, a division only the head chief could lead, believed him and swore they’d help him rid the source of such a problem.

Sabele bloomed wonderfully. As a grown woman, many took her much more seriously, especially as word of her greatness grew. She could summon the gods for help and well known to be in their favor. She treated illnesses with quick cures as if she’d been doing this for centuries.

They also believed that as she grew, so did her power. In some cases, they were correct but Sabele never practiced exactly what she could do and couldn't. She did what she needed to do and if her powers could aid her they did and that was the extent of their purpose.

"Excuse us, priestess. Could you help my Zarän? He's very ill with high fever and horrible rashes." The mother carried her child through the curtains and laid her down for Sabele to inspect.

"I'll work something up for you and have a messenger deliver it as soon as it's finished." Sabele quickly wrote down in a messy scribble what the child's symptoms were before escorting them out of her cave. Sabele had begun to do that ever since Zack. She shooed them out quickly, hating every second they were in her presence.

After Zack's death, she had become even more anti-social. For two weeks she refused to see any visitors and threatened to curse those who tried to push her into coming out and helping them. That was until a young boy had come to her.

His mother was very ill and he had no idea what to do. The local doctors had nothing to give them that would work and they were running low on money by just trying.

"Please. I know you don't want anything to do with us. I can understand why but my mother needs help and you're my last hope. I'll get anything you require, do anything you ask, just please save her. Please!" The boy sobbed by the end of his plea.

Sabele tried to yell at him. Tried to shoo him away. Tried everything to get rid of him but instead, she found herself stepping out into the chilly air, light snow sticking to her hair, and pulling the child into her arms. He was only a few years younger than herself but he was a head taller than her. Despite his taller appearance, at that moment, he felt like a small child in her arms.

"Take me to her." Grabbing her notebook and cloaking herself, she followed the boy into town.

If people recognized her, they didn't publically express it. She reached the home of a merchant, middle class to be exact. It was tidy and home-y with nice decor that brightened the home up.

"Father isn't home. My mother is upstairs in bed. Follow me," humbly, Sabele followed.

She felt uncomfortable being in the house. The nicely furnished home compared to her dull cave made her gut twist in jealousy.

"Darling? Is that you? Where have you been?" It was croaky but definitely a woman's voice.

"Yes, mama. I am home now and I've brought help." Stepping to the side, he allowed his mother to view the new guest. She gasped when Sabele removed her cloak.

"They say you won't receive anyone and will curse those who try to force your help. Do not curse my boy."

"If I was forced into coming here, I would have cursed him and had him return home. I haven't cursed him, ma'am." Inspecting the woman, she took down notes and mumbled to herself.

"What's wrong with her?" Sabele ground her teeth together at the boy's anxious tone.

"I may not have cursed your son but someone has cursed you." The room fell silent. Then a cry broke from her lips.

The woman's eyes filled with tears of sorrow. Her son grabbed onto her tightly, providing a comfort Sabele envied. She envied everything about these people. She hated these people.

Yet, she felt pity for the ones crying before her. Pity for the poor boy who was being scolded by his mother just because he accidentally slipped into the mud. Pity for the girl whose toy was stolen by her older brother and his friends to tease her.

"I shall leave now." Before anyone could protest or even hear her words for that matter, Sabele cloaked herself and left the home.

All around her, she saw people who would gladly see her burn at the stake but she pitied them. She pitied all of them for reasons unknown to her. Pushing these thoughts away, she scurried out of the town.

When she reached her cave, she had paced and paced. Nothing in her notes had said anything about curses so she decided to ask something of the gods but who to ask? She started with Tatisic who did not answer which was unusual but she brushed it off. Then Valcite who also did not answer. On she went through Saphite, Ugaras, Fliana, and even Diez but no one answered. Finally, she called on Agous.

"You've summoned me?" Sabele was in the Great Hall again. The cold marble seeped through her clothes and gave her goosebumps.

"I'm sorry. I've come for advice on curses. I've been left with nothing to help me or guide me. Perhaps you can?"

"Why me? Have you not tried other gods?" Agous already knew the answer but he was curious as to why she tried to summon the others.

They were all off on some celebration a northern city was having. They decided to ignore all calls but he had heard her and when she called for him, answered her.

"I'm not entirely sure who I should ask this from. So I tried to get guidance from the others I hoped could point me in the right direction but none answered."

"Except for me."

"Yes, sir." Sabele took a deep breath. He was intimidating even though she had never seen his face and her heart thundered in her chest.

"Come here, child." Agous moved silently down the steps to sit only a few feet away from her.

When she looked up, he waved her over and patted the spot next to him. Sabele came and sat next to him, looking at her feet and then eventually looking around the empty hall.

The room bended in a large semi-circle formation and lined with columns. The front doors were wide opened, allowing Sabele to view white cobblestone paths that led out to different buildings where the gods lived. Around the wall of the semi-circle sat lots of thrones which were placed by round tables, all made of different material like marble, silver, or gold. These thrones and tables sat on a higher platform that had stairs leading down onto the main flooring. Behind her, the throne sat on a different platform entirely with its own staircase to lead down to the floor. It was all beautifully magnificent to her. A dream. A very surreal dream.

Then, Agous spoke, breaking Sabele's surreal thoughts and having her focus back on the matter at hand.

"When dealing with curses, it's important to know three basic things. Who cast it, what will the curse do, and why the curse was cast. In this case, the mother was cursed by a teen who lived a few streets away. The boy's mother had refused the fact that they loved each other for various reasons. Reasons which could be valid, I might add. So, the teen cursed her to live in agony until she died or allowed their love to continue." Agous looked down at Sabele who seemed lost in thought.

"So, the who is a teenage girl, the curse causes agony on the mother until she dies or gives in, and then the why is because she refused them to love one another?"

"Very good. You learn quickly. Now, you should tell the mother to give in. Tell her to let them and have her son find out things the hard way. Experience is the best teacher, after all. With that all settled, I would like to ask you something."

"Okay." This time Sabele looked up at the god.

Tall and intimidating, he looked relaxed where he sat. His golden eyes, eyes that all gods possessed, seemed calculating but calm as if no worries had ever plagued his mind. His brown hair easily blew in the wind despite the short strands.

"You've refused to help people for two weeks now but you've changed your mind. Why is that?" Agous couldn't figure it out for the life of him.

He sat studying her for the past month. Watching her interact with others and then comparing it to how she interacted with the hunter. Since his death, she's been cold to everyone until now.

"I pitied him. He's younger than me, yes but he's also taller. However, in that one moment where he was crying outside my home, he didn't seem so tall. He seemed really small. Like a baby.” Sabele provided the best answer. She couldn't tell why he looked the way he did or why she felt the way she did or even what pushed her to do the things she had done.

"I see," for a while, they sat in silence. Then Agous spoke slowly, "Sabele. We have not. We will not. Ever. Abandon you. You are our priestess. Most see us as rude, arrogant, and evasive and we can be those things just like anyone else in this world. But, we take on our responsibilities and that includes protecting our communicators," he patted her head softly and she smiled at him.

"I know. Thank you, Mister Agous. I should probably go fix the curse now."

"Summon me if you have any need of assistance again." That was the last time Sabele spoke to him.

Still only a child at the age of twelve, she found herself building walls. Her mind years ahead of her body. Being polite but cold, never friendly to those who visited her. She stopped thinking about someone ever helping her again. Sabele didn't trust the world anymore.