Now that I'm comfortable with flying the boat and we're not in immediate danger, there's a few things I want to try. I need to get some skills related to skyships, as well as get my family up to speed on them as well. We're doing drills on working the ropes and furling and unfurling the sails.

I bring the skyboat into the air and just hover there above the village. Although aether is flowing out from Corwen's own aether core, it flows around and through the boat without impeding it. I was unable to fly over Nefern, but my own Hearth welcomes me.

Gripping the tiller, I take a deep breath and feel the vessel around me. I absorb the concept of the skyboat. I examine it carefully through all of my senses. Each concept shimmers in my [Ghost Eyes], and as I'm searching for damage, a notification pops up.

Skill increased: Enhanced Soul (Ghost Eyes) Skill acquired: Enhanced Senses (Vehicle Diagnosis) Description: The ability to determine the status of a vehicle you are using, displaying which modules are active and pinpointing damaged or malfunctioning areas.

Another window pops up in my third eye.

Name The Celestial Duck Type Aethercraft Class Pinnace Power On Mode Manual Owner You Control Weak Durability 953/1000

It includes side, top-down, and rear views of the boat with parts labeled. Damaged areas are highlighted in red. We took a few bumps on the way out and I'm not sure how good of shape Carter the gnome kept his boat. (I wonder if he's still in Amroth.)

I suppose it should not surprise me that the people who build these boats want them to be user-friendly. Or would I get the same amount of information from a goblin kayak made of Splottfish bones and hide? I'll have to check next time I'm down there. They probably all have this skill.

During some downtime, I try to teach the others some version of [Chameleon Aura], but they may need to try the actual technique itself once we get back to the Secret Garden again. The place is full of secretiveness to absorb. I could try absorbing that concept into my feet to make myself quiet, too. Belladonna had to have shown us that technique for a reason, but we were too busy brute-forcing the stealth dungeon to unlock it.

I'm sure that particular encounter wasn't a reincarnators-only puzzle. Belladonna and Anise seemed to expect that we should be able to do it. Well, we can always go back later, once the HOA are no longer complaining about our oversized tree and overgrown garden.

"But I don't wanna go to the Spooky Grove again," Griffin whines. "That place is for babies. Me and Willow are eight today, so we should do something more exciting!"

"You don't want to fight giant spiders?" I ask cheekily. "Well, I still need to deliver some books to the nice ghost who lives in the inn, so I suppose you can stay home if you don't want to come."

Griffin pouts. "Oh alright. But we gotta go someplace new soon! The tower climb was nice but everyone keeps doing fun things but us!"

Aunt Hazel waddles over and tucks a wool scarf around Griffin's neck. "The snows have barely melted, but at least you won't need to walk."

Willow waves around the new wooden staff I made her for her naming day. The carving on the top even almost looks like a bird, but she doesn't judge my [Woodworking] skills and is pretending that it's a magic staff and she's a wizard already.

My little sister Juniper is still 7 for the next few weeks, but she's coming along too. She's much quieter, and passively watching the twins be energetic. Unseen by anyone else, the ghost connected to her ring hovers behind her shoulder. I don't know what Liu Xing has been telling her, but both of their auras are content.

"And be careful you don't nick yourself with that knife, little adventurer," Aunt Hazel goes on. "If you get hurt, go to an Elite right away so they can heal you. Don't just rely on your [Rapid Healing] to make sure a cut doesn't get infected."

"Yes, Mom," Griffin says exasperatedly.

Aunt Hazel turns to her daughter. "Are you ready to go, Willow? Did you get all your supplies? I assume you're using the staff."

Willow nods, then holds up a satchel full of seed pods. "I made potions."

"Healing and curing potions?" Aunt Hazel takes a pod out of the bag and examines it dubiously.

"No, they're for the spiders!" Willow says. "Throw this at them and it splashes all over them and their carry-pace gets softer. Then we poke them in the weak spot and they die!"

"These are last year's jewelweed pods," Aunt Hazel says. "Did you have permission to use the plant storage?"

"Um… kind of?" Willow hedges.

The pod pops in Aunt Hazel's hand, a gooey pink liquid oozing through her fingers.

"It doesn't hurt humans!" Willow quickly assures her. "We don't have carry-paces."

Aunt Hazel sighs. "Well, you still be careful anyway." She mumbles a soft chant, "Away you go, ebb and flow, make it neat and clean." The potion vanishes, leaving her hand clean.

"I made healing and curing potions," Juniper puts in.

Being unable to do "real" magic yet has not discouraged them. I think I may have neglected potions a bit. (To be fair, I've been busy.)

Colt and Poppy are coming along as well, in part to make up for the dumb ear prank. They haven't done as much dungeon delving as us, but they're eager to get some experience in.

The Celestial Duck sits in the village green between the school and the guest house. The skyboat's silky aether sails are furled and the arcane sigils painted over the wooden hull are unlit.

Aunt Hazel packs a lunch and extra supplies into the boat. We'll be back well before dark, but she still gave us enough food to last us all a week.

Basil comes out with his own pack and a wizard staff much better than the ones I've been carving, with actual glowing sigils engraved on it. The 22-year-old [Nurturing Wizard] is just young enough not to be considered an uncle to me. I've mostly only known him as Meadow's brother who only just finished school last year and quickly took up a position in the Hearth cooking and taking care of the babies. Today, he's filling the role of responsible adult in our little field trip.

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"Good day, kids," Basil says. "I am Basil Corwen, not to be confused with Basalt Hebron. I am taller and clean-shaven. Is everyone ready to go?"

Snickers ripple among the kids, then nods and a chorus of eager agreement.

We pile into my skyboat and have the twins unfurl the sails as they've practiced. They're smart and motivated, so they've caught on quick enough. The port sail extends, then the starboard. The physical wind catches them, but that's far from enough to lift the boat by itself.

"I'm gonna be a sky pirate when I grow up!" Griffin declares, taking a dashing pose at the prow of the boat. A gust of wind flutters his black knit scarf.

Basil speaks up, "Unless you're flying the ship, sit down and don't run around, you hear me, kids? Anyone messing around will left on the ground and have to walk home."

"You wouldn't," Griffin says, but he still settles down and takes a seat in the middle of the boat next to his twin.

Aunt Hazel sighs. "It was too much to hope for that at least one of you would have been like me. Instead you're both like Anise."

"Is that why you had to make another one?" Griffin says, pointing to her large belly. "Maybe our next little sibling will be a good boring Hearthkeeper."

"Hearthkeepers keep the Hearth running so the adventurers have a safe place to come home to," Aunt Hazel says. "I can only hope that all my babies always come home to me."

Once everyone is seated and ready, I grab the tiller and the skyboat lifts into the air against the indigo sky. As absurd as it is to have a tiller on the back of a flying boat that isn't connected to a rudder or anything, at least I'm getting a good handle on the controls now. We gain altitude and I turn us to the southeast, in the direction of the Spooky Grove, and we're off.

Skills increased: Enhanced Senses (Wind Detection), Survival (Sense of Direction)

"Wheee!" Griffin exclaims, leaning out of his seat to watch the ground fall away beneath us.

"Griffin, sit down," Basil says firmly.

"I'm sitting!" Griffin insists, while technically some of his bottom still has contact with the seat.

"Plant both cheeks on that seat, Griffin," Basil says.

"Keep seated if you want to see something fun I figured out how to do," I say.

I turn the tiller at an angle and the boat starts rolling. Soon we're entirely upside down, though the gravity enchantments in the skyboat keep us from falling. The children variously react in a cacophony of shrieks, laughter, or complete nonchalance.

"Alright, this has been fun, but can we please turn upright again?" Rowan asks. "Otherwise you're going to be seeing which way my breakfast goes when it comes out of me."

I grin and turn the boat so we're level with the ground again.

Skills increased: Enhanced Soul (Aether Sailing), Mechanics (Piloting)

The Spooky Grove isn't a long flight. Even with the speed penalty from my weak control over the skyboat, it only takes us an hour to get there.

Aether wind constantly presses against aether sails, forcing them away. Every aether core does this. It's difficult to get close to an aether core unless it's yours. I can freely land inside the walls of Corwen Village, but can't even pass over the Spooky Grove without being pushed away up into the air and flipped upside down.

"Drake!" Rowan exclaims.

"Sorry, I had to try!" I yell, turning us upright again and bringing us in for a landing as close as I can get us.

Skills increased: Clairvoyance (Aether Sense), Enhanced Feet (Soft Landing)

I've seen the same aether wind with domains, skymotes, even the Great Orb itself. Tempest's aether wind doesn't impede me, just like Corwen welcomes me. Belladonna had explained that these penalties would cancel out if you have someone on board who belongs to that core. Invaders are at a disadvantage unless they have local help. The first thing one must do when visiting a new skymote is to find local help.

I would dearly love to visit another skymote, but right now I haven't even visited another domain yet. I'm badly itching about getting out to Flux, but it will have to wait. I would just get horribly murdered by the captain's Epic mom if I tried. And without having someone from Flux on board, I would have a much more difficult time flying over the domain. This is likely why sky ports are located on the edge of the domain, and why we see so few skyships just flying over. They won't pass over if they don't have to.

Leaving the kids to cut loose on puzzles and giant spiders, I head into the inn and go upstairs to meet the French ghost, Estelle.

"I brought you some books," I say, pulling them out of my pack and setting them on a table.

"Eternal Love, Forbidden Temptation, and Sensual Redemption," Estelle reads their titles aloud. "New ones I haven't read yet. Excellent. Though probably not very different from every other romance novel I've read."

"Well, given that I don't write romance, that's the best I can do," I say.

Estelle chuckles. "Oh, I don't blame you. Thank you for the books. Even terrible ones can be entertaining. The misconceptions some people have about anatomy are quite amusing at times."

I head into the courtyard, pull a pillow out of my bag, and take a seat on the dry fountain in the middle of the weedy garden. There's something I want to do, and it's not unlocking skills today. Though that might wind up happening anyway. Surrounded by death between these protective walls, I seek to reach back into my own history. I need answers and I can't keep running from them. I trust I had a reason for suppressing my memories, but… I have to know.

Before I can even get started, Juniper comes into the courtyard. "I didn't feel like fighting and thought you could use the company."

"Well, I'm glad you're here, either way," I say with a grin. "How has Liu Xing been working out for her?"

"He is wise and doesn't let me neglect my studies," Juniper says. "I've unlocked five new skills since you gave me this ring."

"Liu Xing," I say, turning to the ghost at her side. "What happened to Earth?"

"Apocalypse," the ghost replies. "I uncovered those memories. Do not. Not unless you want to watch everything you cared about die."

"I already know everything died," I say. "And everything I care about is here now."

Liu Xing nods. "That's fair."

"Was it the system?" I ask. "Did the advent of the system cause the apocalypse?"

"No. The system was the only reason we recovered. The dead began to rise. The undead consumed much of the world before we developed the system and were able to fight back wielding the power of aether."

"This would have resulted in a horrific flashback if you hadn't been here to ask, wouldn't it."

"Very likely," Liu Xing says. "You still have the option of experiencing a horrific flashback if you really want to. I don't recommend it, though."

"How did we wind up with… this?" I gesture toward the indigo orb in the sky, Zenith's disc shining green along with most of the skymotes visible from here.

Liu Xing looks up, though I'm not sure how well he can actually see in his current form. "Aether cores are eternal. Earth was not. The stars themselves were not. You have seen the Void. You have felt the visceral dread every human feels when they gaze into it even if they don't truly understand what it means. You do, though."

"The heat death of the universe," I say. "Everything that didn't become aether evaporated. That much I understand. But why didn't they just make more stars and planets? Why do we have a Dyson swarm orbiting a giant crystal sphere?"

The ghost shrugs. "That decision I cannot explain, but it is likely due to stars being very expensive to create for very little benefit they can't replicate on a smaller scale."

"What were the stars?" Juniper asks.

"Picture the Great Orb, but much further away and made of fire," I say. "The closest one was like Tiganna's skymote, and the further ones like the other skymotes, but they looked like the tiniest pinpricks of light since they were so far away but many of them were so bright that we could see them from unimaginable distances. Everything in the Crystalline Heavens is close together, but space is big. You wouldn't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is."

"If it's so big, will the skymotes ever fill it?" Juniper wonders.

"I don't know," Liu Xing says. "The Great Orb continues to grow, but at the rate of millimeters for eons. More aether cores continue to form. Perhaps one day they will entirely fill the vastness that is space, but as they're intelligent, it is doubtful that they will allow a disastrous crunch to occur."

Skills increased: Clairvoyance (Spirit Hearing), Recollection (Insight), Enhanced Senses (Gentle Soul)

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