Dying was not as terrible as everyone made it out to be, or at least that was how she found it. She estimated that she had died around one hundred times in her very long life, the mercy of The Ghost made one hundred and one. She was grateful that he had given her what she wanted without question or argument.
She could only imagine how Epharis was going to react when he found her body and watched it disintegrate into the wind.
Opening her eyes, she found she was sitting on the ground that was no ground, her legs crossed and pulled up against her chest, her arms resting atop her knees that were not knees. She was not a ghost, but she didn't have a body, she simply was.
Pushing herself to her feet, she looked down and found two ribbons that protruded from her chest, a black one led along the path that was no path, the other was a deep crimson that went off behind her somewhere.
She knew where the first ribbon would take her, back to life. The other however…
Turning, she looked into the distance, and the longer she looked, the more the heavy mist began to form into shapes, and then figures.
They were shifting and incomplete, nothing but a face set into an amorphous, vaguely human shape with a tattered grey ribbon protruding from their chests.
This was the land of the dead, every one of those figures was a dead mythical creature who had yet to pass on to their next lives.
Some chose to stay, to welcome their friends and family when it was their time, some were too scared to move on. Others too stubborn and then there were those who wanted to watch their loved ones.
There was no colour to that world, only a white path, grey smoke and a pale grey sky. She too was grey, though she could see herself as she was in life rather than the shapeless forms she saw around her.
As she stepped off the path, the crowd began to shift restlessly, her presence an affront to the dead unless she stayed on the path.
They moved away from her, none paying any real attention, only trying to keep away, much like the shark swimming through the school of fish. They kept a good three feet from her, leaving her encircled but untouched.
The ribbon she followed led her deeper into the crowd of creatures, her pace slow and careful.
Each step left her feeling more strained, exhausted. She was pulling her tether to life tighter and it was straining to hold her. She didn't care, she wanted to find the end of the second ribbon before it snapped.
She knew her little sister Avadari wouldn't be there, the destruction of the sword that had ended her life had freed all of those who had been trapped, but she would have moved on immediately. Ava had never been afraid of death and even welcomed her next life. Ava was the strong one, not her. Ava was the bravest woman she had ever known.
It had bothered Etani at the time, but she accepted her sister as just being weird. There was no point in trying to find her in that place.
She felt an odd tugging sensation at her mind and chest, glancing back, she saw one of the spirits had gotten caught on her life ribbon, trying to move past but unable to. It pushed against the ribbon, straining and she felt the ribbon begin to fray.
Turning back to her path, she hurried to reach the end of the crimson ribbon that she suspected, or maybe hoped, would link her and her twin and burst into a small clearing.
Letari sat there, her form curled into a ball and she looked so small, like a child.
It was not entirely wrong, Letari's mind had snapped when they were only young, the loss of their mother, and then her twin's first death. Letari had never truly grown up.
Without thinking, she extended her hand to her sister, the head lifting to look up at her.
Her face registered confusion and then recognition. Her hand extended and grasped Etani's.
As their hands touched, she recalled the warning to never touch a remnant of the dead, not ever.
But it was too late, and their fingers enclosed.
Pain ripped through her as the ribbon that linked them turned black and exploded, throwing them both backwards where they were forcefully slammed into life.
***
Panic filled their mind as they struggled to understand what was going on and to get to the surface before they drowned. Wouldn't that be ironic? Drowning in the pool of rebirth?
Bursting to the surface, her arms refused to work properly as their minds struggled to fit together in the space designed for one, both fighting to get control. Eventually they managed to get to the shore and drag themselves out of the water, naked and disorientated.
"Have to get back…" she gasped
'No, not going back!'
"Calm… think…"
'No, run now! Danger! They see!'
Her eyes turned to see a figure in a white robe was staring and then bolted from the cavern.
Both minds swore in unison and both hands lifted, both were bitten and two lines in the air were drawn.
Both tried to pass through each opening, but they only had one body.
Swearing again, Etani crushed her sister down and threw their body through the opening, staggering to run as she knew their people would be after her.
Her body was clumsy, new and confused, but she worked out running quickly.
Letari wasn't happy, snapping and fighting to get control to the point where she staggered again, nearly falling.
Squashing Letari down with one hand on her head in their mind, Etani took control and they ran faster and faster as her muscles began to work.
It was always hard in the beginning, a new body meant new muscles and they didn't like being forced to work so soon.
She knew where she was, it wasn't the first time she had to run from the cavern, and she knew how to avoid the town, except it was no longer a little town but a very large town. She had never bothered to learn what country she was in, nor why the people there were all so uniformly pale with dark wooden houses.
Cursing the plague that was humanity, she changed course and sprinted as fast as she was able towards the north, her long legs carrying her over the ground as though she had wings.
Thanks to her mixed breed, it was well known that trying to catch her by chasing would never work, she was simply too fast. There had been a cruel joke that she had to be part cheetah thanks to her speed, but she didn't find it offensive. The shape of her iris, her reflexes, her ability to see well at night, and her speed all made her think there was a werecat in her family tree somewhere.
She ran full tilt for a good hour until she knew she was going to be safe enough to stop, panting hard and leaning against a tree.
She needed to find clothing, and she needed to figure out what was going on.
'We have to go back,' she thought to Letari.
'No, don't want to go back. Lich is bad.'
'I don't care, we have to.'
She had to wonder if the lich felt her return to life as well as her death and how long she was able to get away with hiding out in the countryside. She didn't think it would work, but it was a fun thought.
Heading first west and then doubling back, she knew they would think she had continued north as they tracked her, but she needed to head south towards Ayathian once more. It would take about a month to get there and she considered going through Faerie, but she would need clothes first.
By the time they found a village, it was nearly sunrise the next morning, and she was quick to find a pair of clothes to steal, glamouring a few stones into the appearance of coins and leaving them as payment.
It would last long enough for the coins to exchange hands six times before turning back into stones, by then it would be too hard to lead back to the owner of the pants and shirt she stole.
Keeping off the main roads, she headed south for another hour before she decided it was the right place to slip between realities.
It was odd if one thought about it, Faerie was smaller than the human world, so stepping three paces could open onto a totally different realm to the one you opened those three paces back. That was why they were so focused on intent. If one intended for an opening to appear in a particular spot, it usually opened onto that spot. But one still had to try and line it up properly or one could open a door from their own home and end up falling into an active volcano. It also depended on the time of day, weather, and how the mood of the Courts was doing at the time.
No one ever claimed Faerie made sense.
Enjoying the feel of the wind tickling her face, she bit into her finger and slipped inside Faerie.
The moment she did, her mind warped, struggling to feed two minds in one body with the magic of Faerie.
Bending forward, she heaved, nearly vomiting as she tried to focus enough to see what she was doing.
Stumbling blindly forward, she leant against a tree and tried to remain still, the world around her waving and swaying.
It settled slowly, painfully slowly, and finally she was able to see again.
'Don't like…' the voice in her head muttered resentfully.
"Me neither," she replied aloud, finally able to straighten up.
Setting off through the trees, she paused to see in the distance, a forest made entirely of enormous red capped mushrooms.
Staring, she tried to figure out what it was she was looking at when the warmth of the place registered.
Oh no, she had slipped through into Summer.
***
Looking around herself quickly, she knew she was a trespasser. One did not cross into another Court without invitation, even if you weren't formally aligned.
Setting off at a run, she had absolutely no idea where she was. She had never been in Summer before and couldn't tell where she needed to be in order to get to which part of the world, but she could see the roiling clouds of Winter in the distance and so, she turned in the direction of the corner that would be Ceress.
She realised quickly that she wasn't alone as the sound of hooves approached, a centaur with a large spear coming up on her.
Cursing, she spun, prepared to fight but he simply looked at her with big, soft brown eyes.
"Hail stranger!" he called. He had chestnut brown skin and a large, tall body to match his incredibly broad chest. His fur and hair all a similar shade of rich, warm brown. He was shaggy, his shoulder length hair done in braids and a skirt covering his back, laden with a water skin, horn and a large belt with coins that jangled merrily. Across his back was a quiver with a bow.
"Good day, centaur," she said warily. "I meant no disrespect; I came here by accident and am leaving as quickly as I can."
The centaur nodded and smiled at her, his posture relaxing.
"Good, thought you might be a Winter spy."
"Celestrial," she replied quickly, taking the moment to rest while she had the chance.
He looked surprised as he studied her, she shrugged.
"Half-bred."
"Didn't know they had those," he said, becoming wary.
"No, and they don't like it very much. I've been on the run for a long, long time."
"Why not join one of the other Courts?"
"I prefer the human world actually. If there's one thing to say for humans, their politics are less… Deadly."
The centaur boomed out a laugh, knowing full well what she meant.
"Well Celestrial half-breed, you are about two hours sprint from the border to Celestria."
"Celestria?" she asked, frowning.
He frowned too, studying her. "That is the name of the Court."
"No, it's Ceress," she said, confused.
"Before it was Ceress, it was Celestria. Thus, the name of your kind. Do they not teach your young your history?"
"No, not at all. What is your name? I might have to call upon you to learn more about this Celestria when I have more time," she was still frowning, taking in the information and unable to think why they would change the name.
"Barron Browncoat," he said proudly.
"Barron Browncoat, it is a pleasure. I'm Etania Daewen," she replied, accepting his offered hand.
He shook it and smiled, but something in his eyes had changed.
"It is an honour, young one. You should hurry, the Hunt will start before too much longer."
She nodded and headed off at a sprint, feeling his eyes on her as she left.