It had been a couple days since the group had left the Leoto Rainforest, Justice driving the vardo as Rizka sat with Eden, books between them as the bard worked to teach Eden what she called the "Trade Language." Apparently, each of these sounds and squiggles had meanings to them, and it would be wise to understand them. Every once in a while, she would try to repeat some of the words, but it easily strained her throat, causing her to choke and fight for the watering can. Humors aside, they were still guided for a set destination what would be quite a travel to reach.

Or would it?

"Whoa!" Eden's ears caught outside, catching Justice's voice as the vardo was pulled to a stop, causing the pair t peer out the window. Before them was a glowing arch with shimmering colors inside. It all fluctuated, causing Eden's ears to fall a bit flat. However, it seemed the others were not as afraid. Instead, they seemed a bit more… excited. "Well then, I would call this a great god-send," Justice stated, the end causing both him and Rizka to chuckle. However, Eden could only tilt her head in confusion. "This saves us an almost two week trip! We'll just travel to Tar Eisalae from here and talk to Drae there!" Huh?!

"Your awful pun aside," Rizka stated, shaking her head as she stilled her giggle, "I would agree. Besides, who would be looking for Eden in Parvpora?" She could barely see Justice nod to that before snapping the reigns, causing the horse to neigh in respond before quickly heading for the fluxing gate. Wide-eyed, Eden scrambled back into the cart, away from the window as much as possible with her tail fluffed up, unsure of what going through the arch would actually mean.

There wasn't even a hiccup in the movement of the vardo as they passed through the gate. One moment they were traveling through the expanse that was the Sarchu Valley, the next the dry lifeless breath was replaced by the kiss of a fresh autumn breeze. 

"Whoa… you two, look at this!" Justice said from the driver's seat, reaching back to eagerly tap the window sill. They were in the Jasumin Plains, yes, and the massive lake sparkled leagues in the distance. Around them people milled at the foot of what must have been the singular stone structure of stone that couldn't seem to make up its mind of the color, and high atop it was crowned the massive crystal orb that was the source of the aurora that had spread across all the skies of Revaliir. 

"Tar Eisalae… in all its glory. The Temple Library of Adraejen Porthyrius," Justice breathed as Rizka stuck her head through the window, her eyes bright with amazement. She reached down and touched Eden's shoulder to reassure her it was safe to look. 

From where the gate opened up they found themselves in the middle of the three wonders that Adraejen Porthyrius had built for the masses of the world. Nearest to them was the massive longhouse full of all the crafting materials a person could wish for and the finest forges found southwards of Baltil. Justice jumped down from his wagon seat as Rizka pushed open the vardo door to look around. 

"This is positively amazing," Rizka said. She pointed at the coliseum that was the Heka Arena, and she laughed. "You should enter the Challenges, Justice," she laughed. The blond man shook his head. "Nah. The last thing we need is any sort of attention drawn to us," Justice chuckled.

His eyes swept the growing crowds before he caught sight of the very God they had come to see, his aura unmistakable. 

"Hey, perfect! There's Lord Drae now!"

She tried to take to comfort with Rizka's assurance that everything was fine and normal. However, the scenary shock made her jump back, tail completely fluffed up and ears driven back. How could so much change so quickly?! The sights, the smells, the sounds… It was not like that seconds ago! Things went from quiet and tranquil to a complete bustle of life as many people wandered about and explored the land before them. Still, looking at Justice and Rizka, they seemed perfectly calm about the turn of events. Was… this normal? Should it have been like this from the start?

She worked hard to take deep breaths, trying to calm down her racing heart as the fur on her tail began to smooth over. They brought her here for a reason, so she should trust their judgement… Still, her mind was quick to make sure she had her weapon at the very least, moving a board aside to reveal the hidden compartment that housed her massive weapon, being sure not to leave the vardo without it.

She was sure to stick to their sides as the wandered and looked around, thought it did not take long for them to find someone to point them out. Was it the one they were seeking to help her? It was a man that…. that… It was strange. Her senses were sharp, but they failed to really pick up anything about him. He had this… glow to him that she could not even understand. What… what kind of person was he?

Rizka had failed to realize it wasn't going to be the portal itself that would shock Eden, but the total change of their environment. When she saw Eden's reaction she immediately put a hand on her arm to let her know that all was well. It took her a moment to calm, and when she was feeling up to it, Rizka guided her from the vardo, the tigerkin carrying her massive sword. Rizka didn't deny her this, after all, the sword was part of the reason they had come all this way to begin with. 

As Justice pointed him out, Rizka's face split into a smile and then proceeded to point him out to Eden. "That's who is going to help you!" she said. Justice was already sprinting away to go and speak to the dark haired half-elf. 

When approached by Justice, Drae grinned and shook the bard's hand warmly. "Hey, Justice. I didn't expect to see you here. I might have been hopeful, but I know you and Rizka don't deviate from your path much," he grinned. Justice chuckled. "We might not have, but as it happens we were on our way to Sularia to see you when we ran across your gate," Justice explained. 

"Oh? Now you have me intrigued," Drae said looking at the blond man in surprise. Justice proceeded to wave Rizka and Eden over to them, and Rizka walked with Eden. "Hello, Rizka," Drae said, smiling and giving the girl a polite bow. "Lord Drae, it is nice to see you again," Rizka grinned. "The pleasure is mine, Dear," Drae smiled as he lightly kissed the back of Rizka's hand. He straightened and looked to Eden and his interest was immediately engaged.

"Well now, who is this fine creature?" he asked. 
"This is Eden. She is actually the reason we came to see you," Justice explained. Drae looked the Tigerkin over, his silver eyes scrutinizing as he took in every aspect of her. 

"Yes, I see, quite an interesting conundrum we have here…" Drae mused softly. 
"You know why we have come then?" Rizka asked. 
"Yes, and I will help you," Drae said simply. He extended his hand to Eden, and spoke, but not using words. As a matter of fact, if anything, he was grunting at her in bear-speak. 

The closer she moved to the men before him, the more her senses could pick things up. One of them being a familiar smell from her beast attack sessions in the arena. She tried to think it over what they called it. Bear, was it? What was odd, though, was that it was not a smell that was on top of him, but more coming from him.  However, her thoughts stopped there when Rizka and she were in speaking distance with this man, starting to understand what this glow from him was. It was power that was radiating from his body. If he was to fight her…. she would easily by the prey. The thought alone forced her to swallow and compose herself as he moved over to talk with her.

Though, he did not use any sounds the others used. No, he growled, rumbled, and roared quietly like the bear he smelled like. Her eyes blinded confusedly at first, but the more he growled, the more echoes filled her ears. I mishmash of sounds and voices that felt familiar, for foreign still. The echoes spiraled around her, causing her to hold her in pain while her tail stood tall, as if to show she was not being intimidated, even if it was more of a bluff. The presence he alluded and the sounds that flooded her mind… What did it all mean?

They did come bring her here to help… right?

Eden's response to his bear speak was exactly what he had hoped to see. A grin split across the The Keeper's face as he turned his attention back to Justice and Rizka. 

"Seems my theory about this young tigerkin is correct. But I'll address that in a moment. Now," he said taking a good look at Eden's collar, "I assume that this collar presents the biggest problem right now. Those void-awful scribbles give her away. Let's fix that." Drae lifted his hand and waved it at the collar. Immediately the rather crude etchings in the metal were smoothed away, save it only be the Keeper's own personal symbol. For all intents and purposes, here it would be a mark for her freedom. 

"She wanted that her name be put on her blade," Rizka told him quickly. Drae nodded. "A wise place for it," he agreed and slowly reached out of Eden's sword. "Don't worry, girl, you'll get it back," he promised. Rizka nodded to Eden to let Drae see the bladed. When it was relinquished into his grasp, Drae lifted and examined the workmanship. 

"Beautiful blade…" he muttered examining it. He held the blade out and ran his dominant hand over the length of the blade. As he did so, letters in the Trade language etched into the blade, beautifully emblazoning the name EDEN into the tang, and the blade became keener than it had been before. Satisfied with his work, Drae offered the blade back to Eden. He rubbed his chin and leaned in again to get a better look at her now blank collar. 

"This has no way to be removed, does it…" It was more of a statement than a question, but still Rizka and Justice both nodded. Drae made a bit of a face. "That must have caused you great pain, my dear," he muttered softly. Gently and slowly he reached up and ran a finger over the collar. The metal shivered for a moment before it changed, becoming a bit thinner, with no indication that chains were ever intended to attach to it. In the link's place was now a simple clasp, and on the sides, two decorative hinges. 

"There… no longer is it a symbol of your enslavement. Like you, it has changed, and can now be removed, if you so choose. I will not remove it for you, that is up to you," Drae said with words, but also instilled in Eden's mind images of exactly what he had done to the collar. 

"Now… you my dear… there is a lot more to you than meets the eye," he said, looking her in the eye. "Oh yes… so much more." 

Drae suddenly started acting almost giddy. "Ho! I've been dying to do this!" he said with a grin as he regarded Eden. He shook out his hands briefly, then using his thumbs and index fingers made the shape of a triangle, which he then pressed to the 'third eye' area of Eden's forehead. His eyes glowed brightly for a moment before he closed them and a magic induced breeze picked up around them. His voice echoed around them, speaking in some ancient tongue. 

There was an intense pressure that suddenly fell over the immediate vicinity as Drae's chanting increased. Then, like the popping of a bubble, with almost an equally audible sound, the magical pressure subsided and the magical tension was released. With a grin, Drae removed his hands from Eden's head and stepped back. 

Then, knowingly, he grunted at her again in bearspeak.

"The beast inside you is strong… now, you have awakened and will become more than what you are."

Eden blinked as the god waved his hand over her neck before nodding satisfied. Did he do something within that moment? Her fingers went up to feel where the etchings used to be, but now it was suddenly gone! Every single mark was smoo– wait…. there was still something else there in place where her old owner's mark was. Tracing along it. she could tell it was different, but couldn't exactly tell how.

It seemed she was so entranced by what happened to the etchings that she failed to even realize her weapon was given away until it was returned, seeing the etching that rested upon it before tracing a finger along the newly engraved letters.After all, this was meant too be her name. How people would call her. If she could not speak it, maybe knowing how to trace it would suffice? Still, she nodded to herself. She was able to get what she needed after all. Another step further away from what she used to be.

However, Eden blinked in surprise to see Drae still close to her neck before feeling the weight of the shackle shift. As Drae spoke, Eden's full hands were feeling around to see what had been changed. There were new bumps and grooves on one end and… something on the other? Her fingers could not help but fiddle with it, trying to feel to tell what it was before a snapping click echoed through the air… her shoulders suddenly became lighter as the shackle's weight was quick to crash into the dirt floor. Her throat was finally exposed after all this time. While it was mainly dirty from rust filaments, dirt, and blood from not being able to properly clean it outside of dipping into water, there was a main standout on her neck: a long burn scar that dropped down it: Most like caused from when the shackle was forged the item in the first place, considering how aged the scar was.

When Drae began to chuckle like an excited school boy, Eden's ears could not help but fall back in nervousness before placing his hands on her forehead and start chanting. She was not sure what he had planned and wanted to step away, but she couldn't. Her legs felt locked. And the wind around them felt like she had nowhere to go. She felt trapped…

Just as fast things had settled down.No more chanting, wind…. uneasiness. All replaced by alertness when he spoke again, though this time feeling like an echo in her mind.

"What!?" was her reply, even though her lips did not move. More as if her thoughts echoed to his beast blood, rich with an orcish accent, yet the voice itself molded from her won battle cries. It was as if she more spoke through an animal's silent tongue to spread her message back to him. "What do? Explain!"

The Keeper grinned broadly as her flabbergasted expression and questioning mental projections to him. It had worked. It was all he could do to keep from dancing around like some novice at the Irian Mage College who had just had a major breakthrough. He kept his cool and looked at Eden calmly, and projected his more bestial thoughts towards her. 

"Sleeping inside you was the power to control and speak to beasts. Hibernating so to speak. What I have done is woken this power within you," he explained to her. "Now you will be able to call upon and speak to the beasts of the earth and those with beast blood as I do."

He couldn't help but giggle to himself, which was rather an odd sound coming from someone who rarely ever giggled in such a manner. You might expect a hearty chuckle or chortle, but a giggle? Even Justice had to raise his eyebrow at the Keeper. 
"Having a good time there, my Lord?" the bard commented as Rizka soaked a handkerchief with water and gingerly began dabbing it at Eden's now exposed throat. The bard knelt and picked up the collar before he looked at the Keeper and waited for his answer. 

"I take great pride in my job, Justice. No one has actually come to me for this type of thing before. I do get a sense of satisfaction out of the fact I actually get to use my powers to aide someone like this," he replied simply. Justice offered the collar back to Eden, wondering if she would want to keep the now less collar and more accessory. 

What… what was he talking about? Speak to beasts? Control them?! For all she knew, this man turned bear grumble into a voice and be able to read her thoughts! How was this going to prove anything he spoke of? And this man's actions… he was acting so proud of himself, like a gladiator who won his first match before understanding what grueling future it held for him. How could Rizka and Justice trust a man like him so much?

As Rizka went to wash the rust that coated her throat, exposing the burn scars even more, she could feel something a bit strange. It was her throat and how it moved. It was, as if for one, she was able to enjoy the air even more than before, swallowing big breaths like she was suddenly at a buffet table. It seemed that growing up with the shackle around her neck limited her breathing as well, meaning its freedom from it allowed her to take deeper breathes than before. In fact, maybe too much air…

As Justice held out the shackle, Eden looked down at it, feeling her vision starting to get a bit fuzzy. The world around her… blurred… footing lost. Was this… also.. his… doing? was her final thought before the world grew white, and the tigerkin fell over.

Drae was still grinning like a child with a new toy when Eden toppled over. Fortunately, Justice was there and caught her without a second though. 
"Yeah… saw that coming," the young blond bard muttered under his breath as he grunted under her weight before he picked her up.  Drae's grin fell and became a bit more sheepish and he rubbed the back of his head. 

"Heh, must have overwhelmed her," Drae chuckled. "I'll take the blame for that.She should be alright. I think the collar coming off had more of psychological effect than we might have expected," he said as Justice hoisted Eden up in her arms. 

"We can lay her down in the vardo," Rizka said with a bit of smile. "I think it will panic her less than if she woke up in a place that reeks of magic and is wholly unfamiliar to her," she said. 

"Touche," Drae said, understanding the young woman's logic. He waved his hand at the vardo and the horse that pulled it and an invisible force guided the horse's lead until the wagon drove past them enough for Justice to walk up the stair and through the door that opened with a wave of the Keeper's hand. The blond man placed Eden on the small bunk and Rizka was right there to place a cold cloth on the tigerkin's forehead before she went back to cleaning the grime and dirt from her friend's throat. Now that there was a chance to investigate Eden's scar more carefully, Rizka made a startling discovery. 

"Justice, Lord Drae come look," she said indicating to Eden's neck. "I don't think that her collar has been adjusted since she was a child."
"What do you mean?" Justice asked as he and Drae moved in to take a closer look. 
"She has a ridge in her neck from where the collar has dug in to her neck from years of wear," she said pointing to the tell tale marks that marred her neck aside from the scar. 
"It's a wonder she could breathe at all," Drae muttered. "Barbarians…"
"She's a survivor we have to give her credit for that," Justice commented. "Suddenly being able to breath proper? It might cause anyone to pass out," he added. 
"I trust you two will take good care of here then?" Drae asked. 
"Of course, sir. She is our friend, after all. Why else would we have brought her here to help her?"
"You have me at that again," Drae chuckled. "But I must return to organizing the Festival. It was good to see the pair of you again. Give her my best when she awakes."