Damarys sat motionless behind the a rocky outcropping in the predawn, waiting for game to pass by on their way to the nearby salt lick. Her bow was ready with an arrow already nocked. All she’d need to do would be to draw back and release the arrow. Being back out in the wilds felt strange, even though she’d done this for most of her adult life. Only a few months had been spent getting Yomichi, and by extension Yume, back in order. The fact that it was now a council who ruled the nation, rather than Akumu, would take some time to get used to, but Jelvaic, Arjana, and Kasyn were up to the task. She’d been offered a place on the council as well but she’d declined. That wasn’t the sort of place she wanted to be.

Footsteps, faint, sounded and Damarys readied herself. A deer came into view a moment later and Damarys drew, aimed, and fired in one fluid motion. The deer dropped as the arrow pierced it’s heart, never even realizing Damarys was there. She cleaned the deer and then stowed it in her bag of holding. That was the last one she needed for her quota so she began the trek back to Yomichi. She was less than a day or so out so if she hurried she could sleep in her own bed tonight.

She wasn’t hunting for the feast of the soul tithe, and never would need to do so again, but instead was gathering meat for the celebration of restoring Yomichi. One month had passed since she and Kasyn had released Akumu from his long work and Jelvaic thought it was only fitting that there should be a celebration. He didn’t want to wait a year for the anniversary, either. Well, who was she to say no to a party. All she insisted on was that she be allowed to go out and hunt again.

As she walked, Damarys sang softly to herself, watching as the sun finally peaked up over the horizon and began filling the valley below with light. In another couple of miles she’d be able to see Yomichi, bathed in light. Her parents were supposed to be arriving today with their merchant ship and she wondered whether or not she’d be able to spot it on the Bokyaku River before she reached the foothills.

By midday she could see the city, though she couldn’t tell if any of the ships were her parent’s ship. What she did realize was that she was in almost the exact spot where she’d been attacked by the bear. It only took her a few minutes of searching around for her to find the decaying carcass. Mostly bone, fur, and sinew now, there wasn’t much left of the bear. Scavengers had picked apart the bits they could eat. To her surprise and slight discomfort she even found a few of her own bones from her lost arm. She briefly considered gathering them up and taking them back home, but to what end? She had no need for them and wouldn’t want to display them or show them off. In the end she satisfied herself with digging a shallow hole in the ground and placing them in there like a makeshift grave. She left no marker and said no words for her arm, but it felt right to bury them rather than leave them out in the open like that.

The rest of her hike back was uneventful and she arrived the main gate just as the sun was setting.

“Welcome back,” Kamillus nodded to her as she approached.

“Did I miss anything while I was away?” Damarys asked. She doubted anything had happened in the few days she’d been gone but felt like asking anyway.

“The delegates from Shinrai arrived, as well as more Sages of the Mercurial Robe,” Kamillus said with a shrug. “Everyone’s wanting admittance to the Toshokans.”

Damarys passed into the city and made her way to the butchers in Ichiba Wa where she could unload the animals she’d hunted. It had been a productive few days and she had dozens of animals for them to work on. She alone wouldn’t bring in enough meat for the celebration but between her and the other hunters there would be meat to spare.

“There you are,” a familiar voice said as Damarys left the butchers.

“Mom!” she exclaimed, turning and being greeted by a hug.

“How are you?” her dad asked, pointing to her prosthesis.

“I’m good, really good,” she assured them, flexing her fingers on both hands. “Are you all unloaded? Do you have a place to stay? Have you eaten?”

“One question at a time,” her dad chuckled, “but yes on all accounts. We finished up a few hours ago and have just been looking around, taking in all that’s changed.”

“We were offered a lot of money by someone from Shinrai to do some research for them in one of the Toshokans,” her mother said with a slight edge. “We refused and they left it at that.”

“Even citizens can’t just go into the Toshokans,” Damarys replied. “Permission still has to come from the council. What did they want to know?”

“They said they were interested in currents and navigational charts for the seas surrounding Shinrai.”

“Wouldn’t they already know all of that?”

“Maybe they think Akumu knew something they don’t.”

“Well, they must have broken the law just by asking us because they were arrested on the spot,” her dad put in.

“That sounds like something Jelvaic would do to put a stop to those sorts of offers,” Damarys said. “I expect they’ll be released pretty quickly though.”

That seemed to put her parents at ease and they spent the rest of the evening walking through the markets and seeing what was for sale. Her mom was especially interested in some of the enchanted jewelry but her dad never picked up on the hints and they left without buying anything. They ended the evening by getting a drink and watching the constellations as they moved slowly above them in the sky.

“You can see them much better out at sea,” her dad commented.

“I remember,” Damarys replied. “It’s the same when I’m out hunting.”

“I doubt they’re as brilliant,” her dad said. “And at sea there’s no hills or mountains to get in the way of your view. You can see from horizon to horizon in every direction.”

Damarys didn’t respond this time. It was a debate they’d had before and they all knew the old arguments.

“You’re not alone at sea, either,” her mom chimed in. “We have this wonderful young man who’s joined the crew recently. No wife, but very nice. You’d like him.”

There it was. Damarys wondered how long it would take for her parents to make that sort of observation or comment. She grinned despite herself as she shook her head.

“Nope, sorry, but I’m not marrying someone that I’ll only see once every few months.”

“If you were on the ship you’d get to see him all the time,” her mother purred.

“My home is here,” Damarys told them. “I’m a hunter, not a merchant or a sailor.”

This was another debate they’d had before, though one with a less convivial nature. Fortunately, neither her mom nor her dad pressed the issue, though Damarys assumed she would somehow bump into this particular young man while her parents were in port. She’d deal with him the same way she’d dealt with every other young man her parents had brought into her path and politely turn them down.

“I’m glad you’re doing alright,” her mom sighed at last and gave her another hug. “We were terribly worried when we heard what was going on here. Thank goodness you could get everything back to…well, not normal, exactly, but back to working.”

“It wasn’t just me,” Damarys said.

“We know that,” her dad replied, “but you were a big part of it, and we’re proud of you.”

“Thanks.”

They finished their drinks and said good night. Her parents had work to do tomorrow, selling their wares and restocking for their next voyage out of Yume but they’d had a good time catching up and visiting. Damarys was glad she and the others had preserved their nation for moments like these, insignificant though they may seem. Returning to normal, everyday life was what mattered the most to her and she was so glad to see the city doing just that. And who knows, maybe the sailor her parents mentioned would be interested in trying his hand at being a hunter rather than a sailor.

The End