It was perhaps a half-hour of walking, all of them carrying Darren the whole way, with Thomas carrying both his and Darren’s pack. It was not easy going, but soon enough, they came to a small encampment set into the woods. A middle-aged woman was the first to spy them, and seeing both Darren and Thomas with the small party, she cried out in surprise.

“What…what is going on, Jotr? Who are these people?”

“Tahrun and Tahnus. They are People of the Goddess. But…there is no goddess. Kahuku, please get my father. And my grandfather. This man is hurt.”

“But….”

“Mother,” Sintiwa said, “it was my arrow that injured him. Please.”

“I promise,” Thomas added, “we mean you no harm.”

The woman’s eyes went wide when Thomas spoke, and she looked back at her daughter; Sintiwa nodded, slightly, and the woman sighed. “Yes, yes. Very well. But Jotr, son of Tja, I hope you know what you’re asking.”

“As do I, Kahuku,” Jotr said.

A few minutes later, Tja, son of Wokswur, leader of the Setting Sun People of the Big Lake, had come to meet his son at the edge of the camp. His father was kneeling down next to the injured man, as was Jotr.

Unlike his father and eldest son, Tja had never been fascinated with learning; he was a hunter, and a good one, and a good leader for his people – but he was not the sort to ruminate on the metaphysical ramifications of there being no goddess (if the visitors could be believed). He didn’t care about that; he just cared about what these visitors meant for his people.

“So are you going to make us join you?” he asked, pointedly, as Thomas completed the Cliffs Notes version of the status of Avalon.

“Absolutely not,” Thomas said. “I will admit, there will be some figuring out how to deal with you on our end – but that is a problem for us to solve. Your rights will be protected. You and your peoples have lived here for centuries. And I will make sure that does not change.”

“But what…what if we want to see your lands?” Asesa asked, shyly. She had seen enough magic in this short time to begin to imagine what wonders might exist in the world of the People of the Goddess, and she very much wanted to see them for herself.

“We…are going to have much to discuss,” Thomas said. “We have been through this kind of things many times. Never on Avalon, but in the wider Empire….”

“Pardon,” Lotr said, hearing an unfamiliar word. “What is Abtokrator?”

“Ah, yes,” Thomas said. “The Titan Empire. The larger nation that we are in. It is made up of five species. Titans – the people like the Goddess; Humans – that’s us; Avartle – they are furry, with six legs; the Dunnermac – they actually live in water much of the time – and Ler, who are large, loud, and strong lizard people. The Titans are the ones who made it, but all of us are a part of it.”

“Are they smaller than us? Like we are smaller than the Goddess?” Lotr asked.

“No,” Thomas said. “Actually, we are the smallest known intelligent people.”

“So we are now part of this…land of giants?” Tja said.

“It’s…complicated,” Thomas said. “This land is a part of the Empire. But this world, Avalon, is run mostly by humans, like us, and we have a great deal of say in what happens here. So while this may be a part of the Empire, that would not change much for you or your people. I have worked with others similar to you; if you want, you can live your life within the Empire and Avalon, and not have to worry about us much, not unless you want to. Or you can live your life as you want, but have regular contact with us, and work with us occasionally. Or you can join with us, as equal partners, accepting our rules, but only by your agreement. The goal is to make sure that what makes you and your people unique – we want to make sure that is not harmed. And we have rules that allow us to protect and aid you, no matter what path your people choose.”

“This man has lost a great deal of blood,” Wokswur said. “With your permission, I would like to feed him herbal broth while he rests. We have found that it helps.”

Thomas nodded. “Do what you feel is best. It is appreciated.”

“Jotr, help me to move him,” Wokswur said.

“Of course, grandfather. But…Tahnus…you said you have been through this. Are there others, like us, who fled the goddess?”

“Not that we know of, not on Avalon,” Thomas said. “But there are many who fled her people, on many different worlds. Many who built lives on their own. My work is to help these groups when they are discovered. And so it is my duty to help you.”

Tja nodded. This, he could work with – something concrete. He could ask what other groups had chosen, ask about their paths. “Tell me, how have things gone for those people?”

“Well. Where to begin,” Thomas said. He thought for a second, and said, “Let me tell you about the first group we know of, a group that called itself The Tribe. My boss, Thurfrit, was their chronicler. They were living near a house owned by Titans – people the size of the goddess….”

* * *

Darren woke up feeling much better; an older man was watching over him, one he didn’t recognize. He had a bowl of broth that he had been apparently spooning into Darren’s mouth, and he smiled as Darren awoke.

“Ah! You are awake again. Do you remember coming here?”

Darren frowned. “I remember being shot with an arrow…then Tommy talked to someone…I remember them carrying me…and I kinda remember getting here. How long….”

“The sun nears the horizon,” the man said. “The great moon will be our light soon.”

“So a few hours, anyhow. Where’s Thomas?”

“He is talking with my son, Tja. I am Wokswur, son of Kjo. Shaman for the Setting Sun People of the Big Lake. My son is our leader,” he added, with no small amount of pride.

“I’m Darren Xanthopolous,” Darren said. “My son, Teddy, is leader of my people,” he added, with a similar pride in his voice.

“Thomas has been explaining…quite a bit. Though I do not quite know what to think. It seems….”

“Probably seems like it’s too good to be true…or some kinda trick. It isn’t,” Darren said. “Did Tommy tell you where I’m from?”

“He said…he said you were from Earth,” Wokswur said. “That…I find that hardest of all to believe. Earth is where we were taken from.”

“And where I was taken from,” Darren said. “Just more recently than you were.”

Wokswur shook his head. “And the goddess isn’t real.”

“She isn’t a goddess,” Darren said. “And she doesn’t want you to bow down to her or anything. She’s…she’s a friend. A good friend.”

“I just want to know what happens next,” Wokswur said. “Thomas keeps saying that it will be our choice, but….”

“It will be,” Darren said. “Damn lucky Thomas was along for this trip, ‘cause he’s the best person to handle things. Except for maybe my daughter. He just wants you and yours to live like you want to.”

“Still,” Wokswur said, “you can understand why…well…why others might question.”

As Wokswur said that, Darren caught on to the background noise, which was not the quiet of the forest. It was humans engaged in a rather loud and heated discussion. He’d been a general officer; more to the point, he’d been a noncom. He knew the sound of a group that was just this side of coming apart at the seams.

“Damn hell,” he said, starting to sit up.

“You need to rest,” Wokswur said.

“Need to back up Tommy,” Darren said. “If I come back without him my daughter won’t give me a moment’s rest this side of the grave.”

Wokswur appeared ready to argue that their visitors were in no danger, but he could hear Xeke tab Ekinune beginning to really ramp up into a string of invective, and he realized that he may not be telling the truth if he said that.

“I will be back, in a moment,” Wokswur said, grabbing a small pouch and hurrying to the center of the encampment.

Darren realized almost immediately that he would not be able to walk after him; the instant he moved his leg it burned with pain.

He took a few deep breaths, and prepared to roll out of bed and drag himself out, but as he did so he heard the voices die down, and heard the voice of the old man who had been helping him, suddenly booming across the camp in a commanding tone.

“That is enough,” Wokswur said. “You behave as frightened children hearing the tale of the Goddess for the first time. That is all well and good – for children. But you are not children. At least, I thought you were not. You hold yourselves as people? Prove it.”

Xeke – a large, imposing man who had been the most successful hunter in their tribe for many years, spat on the ground. “You ask us to trust a towar? You, who taught us what the Goddess did to us?”

Wokswur looked over at Thomas. The young man was calm in the face of the anger and questioning. Wokswur didn’t know if the machine that he and Jotr were using had taught the young man that towar meant something akin to “demon,” but even if he didn’t, it was clear from Xeke’s tone that it wasn’t meant to be polite.

But if Thomas was offended, he didn’t show it. Indeed, he didn’t speak up and defend himself; instead, he looked to Wokswur.

Faith is a funny thing. Wokswur had learned of the Goddess when he was but a boy, and he had feared her ever since. And he still did. But he also knew what the Goddess was said to be, and what her towartowar were meant to be like.

They were not meant to be like Thomas or Darren.

“You did not listen,” Wokswur said, “when I told you. So I must tell you again. All of you. The story of the Close People, and our exodus.” As he said this, he threw the small pouch into the fire; it was soon engulfed by the flames, and began pouring a bright white smoke into the twilight sky. “Listen carefully.

“Once, we lived free on a world called Earth. We were made by the Gods as their seekers; there are many truths, so we were made to find them all. We were placed on the Earth, to learn and to grow, and to build and create, and we obeyed our Gods, and they blessed us with a happy life. In gratitude, we gave them gifts of our animals and foods, and they were pleased by them. But there were some among us, some wicked people, who thought our Gods must want more – that our gifts were not enough. That they would be even more pleased with the gift of our fellow humans, and that if we gave them to the Gods, we would become Gods ourselves. And this was our grave mistake.”

Wokswur turned slowly, catching the gaze of each member of the tribe. “Our Gods did not like this gift. They did not wish to feed on us – and they were disgusted by it. They made us to seek the truths; we conjured a lie. They turned on us, and they discussed how to correct us. All but one of the Gods did this. But one God thought this gift to be proper.

“She was not one of our Gods; indeed, she had no people who loved or worshipped her. She commanded a world with animals and plants, but no people to live within it. So she came to our lands, and demanded that she be allowed to take us; our Gods, in their disgust, said that she could take as many of us as she could carry, but when she had all that she could carry, she must leave the rest, so that, having seen what their sins had brought, they would be better and more honorable worshippers on Earth. Remember this – Earth still exists, my people. We are separated from her, but we may someday return, if we are good.

“This false God took us from our lands, and brought us to a new place, with a new moon and a new sun, and told us that we must worship her as we had worshipped our other Gods. Some of us accepted, and became her towartowar, willing to kill each other for her entertainment. But our ancestors had seen the anger in our Gods, and we had learned our lesson; we would not harm each other, not for her amusement. Not even if she would harm us. And so we fled her lands, and traveled toward the setting sun, for many days and months, until we were certain that she would not follow, that she would not harm us.

“We still fought amongst ourselves. We did kill each other – for some time. But we eventually realized that this was no better than the towartowar; and so the Twelve Tribes joined together, and forged a peace, and agreed to work together. And together, we hide,” Wokswur said. “We hide away from the Goddess and her demands. But we remain on guard. One day, the towartowar may come, and kill us for the amusement of the Goddess, and she may try to take the rest of us back to her encampment to kill more of us there. But if we are good, our Gods may take pity on us, and send messengers from Earth to tell us that we may return home, once and for all. This is the story of our people; there are many stories about this story, but it is the story on which all others depend.”

He paused, and looked around the encampment. “You have heard from Tanhus here that the man I treat, Tahrun – he is from Earth. Tanhus has told us that the Goddess is not a real Goddess – that she was only large person, and that the last person to play Goddess admitted it, and apologized, and has worked with the people of their lands. The Goddess and her Demons – they would never pretend that the Goddess did not exist! This would be heresy. And they would never choose not to attack us when they had the chance – they would slaughter us for the entertainment of the Goddess.”

He turned to his grandson. “Jotr, you have said that, though Tanhus had a weapon, he did not use it. This is confirmed by your companions. The only blood that was shed was Tahrun’s. Tahrun, a man from Earth. A messenger, from Earth.”

He threw his arms wide. “Do you not see? Is it not clear? We know – we have long known – that the story of the Goddess was not complete. That each shaman changes the story just a little in the telling. We know this because when the Twelve Tribes gather, each shaman tells the story differently. We know that this must mean that over time, we have forgotten things that happened – and invented things that did not. But we also know that the truth of the story is in the fact that when the Goddess took our people, they fled her. They saw her as a false God. And that as they fled, our people held out hope that one day, our old Gods from Earth would send a messenger to us, so that we could be part of humanity once again.”

Jotr had been listening, but suddenly leaped to his feet. “The Goddess is false – the Goddess herself admits it! And…and the messengers….”

He looked at Thomas, eyes wide. “The messengers have come.”

“The messengers have come,” Wokswur said. “They are people, of course – just people, like us. And we need not rush back to Earth, not yet. But Tanhus – Earth is still there, is it not?”

Thomas smiled. “I’ve been there, once, since First Contact. It is…amazing. And the peoples of Earth – they would be delighted to meet with you, and welcome you home. They have offered what is called ‘right of return’ – the descendants of stolen humans can return to their ancestral homelands to visit, and can move there permanently after a certain amount of time. Not many have taken them up on it yet – but as a human, it has been nice to know I could.”

Xeke looked at Thomas carefully. “You could be lying. Demons lie.”

“I could be,” Thomas said, evenly. “You are wise to be skeptical, Xeke. But as Wokswur said – your stories say that the demons you fear would come and kill you. I will not harm you, and neither will Darren, and neither will anyone else. Not as long as I live.”

Xeke snorted. “If you lie, then we will only know when the Goddess is consuming us.”

“Pryvani would sooner die than do that,” Thomas said. “And if any of her people tried, she would gladly kill them to save us. I know this, because she has.”

Xeke sighed. “I suppose,” he said, “if you were lying…she would be very interested to hear that you had denied her. Still…I am uneasy.”

Thomas rose, and walked over to the burly man. He nodded to him, and smiled. “You would be a fool not to be, and you are clearly no fool. Give us a chance to prove ourselves. We will not let you down.”

There was a distant whine, and suddenly, the group looked up in surprise. “What…what is that?” Xeke asked.

“Don’t worry, just a shuttle,” Thomas said. “They’re here to get Darren back to safety. And they will be gone soon enough.”

He walked over to the shaman. “Thank you, Wokswur, son of Kjo, for speaking up. And more that that, thanks for taking care of Darren.”

“I am glad I could. If you are who I think you are….”

“We aren’t angels or messengers,” Thomas said. “We’re just people.”

“The messengers should just be people,” Wokswur said. “Between you and me…I have never met a God. I wonder if the True Gods were not stories, like the Goddess. But I do believe in fate, and I do believe that you have come to us to help us become one with the rest of the human people. As for your wife’s father – that is our fault, Tahnus, son of Nuk. Now, let us go retrieve your friend.”

They entered the tent; Darren had rolled over to face the door, and it appeared that he had exhausted himself with the effort. “Your people are here for you, Tahren. By the way, uh…what is your father’s name?” Wokswur asked. Darren glanced over at Thomas.

“It’s polite,” Thomas said, “like the Russian patronymic.”

Darren nodded at that. “Darren, son of Daniel. And…thanks, Wokswur, son of Kjo, for keeping me alive.”

“I am honored to have helped you, Tahren, son of Tahnur.”

Thomas slipped back out and walked toward the small silver shuttle; he had given very specific instructions, and fortunately, Amelia had jumped in to back him up…but he still was aware that they might be sending a unit of peacekeepers out to subdue the assailants, and that was something he was not going to allow.

They were a fascinating people. This tribe numbered around 250, but they were one of a dozen tribes in and around the lakes. When winter came they would join together into a small city of about 3000 people, sharing their stores and working together, only to break up and go off on their own again when the spring came.

There, the leaders of all the tribes would sit together to discuss issues that had come up between them, and seek to accommodate each other. They would also occasionally trade people, when a particular tribe had too few or too many people of marrying age, so that all tribes stayed about the same size, and all remained healthy and relatively equal.

It was a brilliant structure, and Thomas was quite fascinated by it, and more than that, quite determined to preserve it for these people, even if that meant fighting his future brother-in-law.

But happily, the first person off the shuttle was the short, dark-haired ball of will that had agreed to marry him, and she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight when she saw him.

“I told Dad this was ridiculous,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“And is he okay?”

“He’s awake now. His knee’s a mess, I know dad’s gonna…dad?”

Nick was trailing Amelia, and smiled when he saw Thomas. “Couldn’t say no to this. You say he’s awake? That’s very good, but we’ll still need to get him a transfusion. As for his knee…we can rebuild knees. Where is he?”

“Over this way. He’s being cared for by Wokswur, son of Kjo, their shaman. He’s been giving him broth.”

“Got it,” Nick said. “That’d help with the hypotension. Local healers are smart. Medicine didn’t get to where it is all in one jump. I’m sure he’s been in good hands.”

“Once they shot him with an arrow,” Lysis said, stepping off after Nick, along with two young medics.

“Lysis, I’m sorry,” Thomas said. “I….”

“It was Darren’s idea,” Lysis said. “I’m just glad he’s okay.”

“I’m fine, quit your worrying,” Darren said, hopping along, his arms around the shoulders of Jotr and another young man. “But my adventuring is over, now that I took an arrow to the knee.”

Darren looked around the blank faces. “Nobody? Damn it, gonna have to tell Twit that, he’ll appreciate it.”

“I appreciated it, Darren, it just wasn’t funny,” Nick said, kneeling down to take a look. “Yeah, that knee is going to take some work.” Looking over his shoulder, he saw two medics approaching. “O-neg, no additional plasma, no saline yet…need to bring his red count up first.”

“Yes, Dr. Archer,” one of the medics said, setting down a mobile cot for Darren, one that floated on gravitics. “Epistratichos Xanthopolous.”

“Yes?” Darren and Lysis said, together.

“The injured one, I think,” Nick said, with a grin, as the medics took over for the young men.

When he was on the gurney, Lysis bent down, kissed his forehead, and lightly punched his chest. “You’re supposed to be retired.”

“You’re the fool that married me,” Darren said.

“I know,” Lysis sighed. And then, just for a moment, she rubbed her eyes. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“I’ll try not to,” Darren said. “Tommy Boy, you comin’?”

Thomas looked at the shuttle, then back over his shoulder. “Darren…you’re in really good hands. And…I need to meet with the Close People for a bit longer. I don’t want to cut the trip short, but….”

Darren smiled wide, and held his hand up for Thomas to grasp. “You handled that crisis like a pro, Thomas. Coulda gone sideways half a dozen times. Stayed cool as a cucumber.”

“I…don’t want you to think I wasn’t furious, or that I didn’t worry,” Thomas said.

“You shot the gun. Yeah, up in the air, but…you gave ‘em a threat. You didn’t just invite them to sing kumbaya right away. But like any good soldier…you didn’t keep fighting when you didn’t have to.” He looked over to Lysis. “Does Teddy know?”

“He does; Thomas, Amelia has brought the proclamation with, but you and she have been appointed envoys to the people in the Western Territories. Zhan was sending up a communications relay, so you should be able to reach him with any questions.”

“I told him to back off, because this is our job,” Amelia said.

“He’s the President of Avalon,” Thomas replied.

“And my brother, so.”

“And if he didn’t listen to you, Melia, he’ll listen to me,” Darren added. “You and Amelia have the experience here. If he’s smart, he’ll listen, and he’s smart.” He looked over to the young man, Jotr. There was a young woman who he had drug over to see him off, one who was studying the ground. Thomas walked over to him.

“Jotr, son of Tja, this is my partner, Amelia, daughter of Lysis.”

“Anurya, daughter of Rusis, I greet you. Tahrun, my partner, Sintiwa, daughter of Nartar, has something to say to you,” Jotr said.

Sintiwa coughed, and said, quietly, “It was my arrow…I am the one who shot the arrow. I am…I thought you would take us to the goddess. I….”

She looked up, somewhat defiantly, and Jotr. “I still fear you might,” Sintiwa said.

“I understand. I won’t. We won’t. I promise,” Darren said.

“My brother is leader of this world,” Amelia said. “And while I joke…know that he understands. We all understand. We are humans; we have not been free for very long. We won’t use our freedom to keep others from being free. Thomas and I are here to ensure that you and your people will always be free.”

“He has said so,” Sintiwa said. “I…am glad to hear other say it too.”

“We’ll prove it. And Miss Sintiwa, daughter of…Nartar, right?” Darren asked.

“Yes, that is right,” Sintiwa said.

“Sure Tommy Boy told you, but…no hard feelings from me. Dr. Nick will patch me up good as new, and even if you’d hit me in the heart…you were guarding your people from what you thought was a threat. No shame in that. Just next time, maybe ask a few questions before you shoot, okay?”

Sintiwa nodded. And sniflled back tears. “I am…I am sorry. And in your debt.”

“Tell ya what,” Darren said. “I was on your land without asking first; if you forgive me for that, I’ll forgive you for the arrow, and we’re all even. Deal?”

“I’m not sure what that last word was, but…yes,” Sintiwa said. “I would like that.”

Darren nodded, and smiled. “All right. Amelia, you brought provisions?”

“They’re dropping a week’s worth of MREs, so let Alex know that we’re coming to Rixie’s and ordering everything on the menu when we get back.”

“Will do,” Darren said. “And Amelia?”

“Yes, daddy?”

“Your fiancé’s a good man. Don’t screw up and lose him.”

Amelia threw her arms around her father, and said, “I told you.”

“Yeah, you did.”

The delegation, save for Amelia, climbed back onto the shuttle, and it lifted off into the twilight. “I suppose you will say that it is just a machine,” Jotr said.

“It is,” Thomas said. “Like your canoes. If someone had never seen a canoe, and then saw you floating on water, they may think you were doing something impossible, or using magic. It’s just a machine.”

“But your machines…if we came across a people who had no arrows, we could take them all. And you could take us all,” Sintiwa said, quietly. “Whether or not there’s a goddess, you are much stronger than we are. Why…why do you not try to conquer us?”

“Like Amelia said, we know what it’s like not to be free. We’re not going to do that to you.”

“Exactly,” Amelia said. “We are here to let you know what your rights are, and how we can help you. And if, in the end, you don’t want our help, well….”

“Then we leave,” Thomas said. “We keep your lands safe, we keep outsiders out…and we do not bother you until you ask us to.”

Jotr nodded. “We have prepared a tent for the two of you. I know, it may not seem like much, if your homes are like your other machines.”

“It will be perfect, and it is much appreciated,” Amelia said.

They walked back toward the camp. Thomas put his arm around his fiancée’s waist, and pulled her close. “I am not sure how I pulled this off,” he said.

“Because you’re fucking good at this, I’ve told you that,” Amelia said. “And you really impressed dad. Like, really impressed him.”

“I mean, I suppose, doing first aid when he went down….”

“No, not that. You did your duty. I know, from what he said to you…you held it together, and soldiered through, and put the mission first. There’s nothing you could have done that would have impressed him more than that. Or me.”

She lay her head on his shoulder. “This is gonna be our trickiest negotiation yet, you know. It’s easy to negotiate with the Titans, they feel guilty. But with fellow humans…this’ll be tough.”

“Nah,” Thomas said. “This is going to be easy. I’ve got you.”