2396 Ripples Through Mogar (Part 2)

"If not for the prism, I would have never been able to spend some time on the surface with my wife and child during the day while being able to protect them. For this, you have my thanks, Lady Dawn."

"You are welcome." The Horseman's voice came out of Nyka's mouth as the Firstborns gave her a deep bow.

"For me, it meant going back to my people for the first time in millennia." Ilthin said. "Reaching a Fringe is already hard but the moment the other Elves were to notice my lack of magic, they would have burned me like an abomination.

"All Elves are born as true mages and develop a blue core. No matter if my intentions are sincere, without my powers it takes a single zealot to kill me."

"To me, it just meant walking under the sun without being afraid of being a victim again yet I loved every moment of it." Bogdan said.

"Same for me." The Wendigo said.

"You gave me and countless others hope. Thank you, Dawn." Nyka said while apparently talking to her blouse.

"What are you talking about?" Solus asked.

"I think you are forgetting something important about me." Nyka chuckled. "I'm not a human turned into a Vampire. I'm a corpse that Mom raised as a Vampire with a spell.

"I never had the opportunity to look at the sun without dying for good nor do I have any memory of how living during the day feels. After bonding with Dawn to help you, however, I could finally experience what you guys take for granted and what the undead strive for.

"I was so happy after witnessing my first sunrise and found so much joy in seeing how different Mogar looks during the day that I decided to share such a gift with as many people as I could.

"Sunstones are great, but their light on the humidity that forms on our plants is nothing compared to the spectacle of sunlight sparkling on the morning dew. The flowers, the grass, heck, even the mud looks more vivid." Nyka's eyes shone with wonder at the memory.

"Yet every prism that Dawn makes weakens her and Chosen are supposed to be forever. Yet thanks to Baba Yaga, I could recover the prisms and use them on different undead every day.

"Once I'm on the road, however, I'm going to need my strength so I have to recover all of the prisms before we move out. That's why I asked you to come here. I want to gift those people lined up in front of Vladion's door one last dawn."

"And you are okay with that?" Solus moved her eyes from the crystal protruding from Nyka's chest to Baba Yaga.

"I admit that at first, I considered Nyka's request the most stupid thing I've ever heard." Dawn replied. "None of my previous hosts has ever considered me a gift nor did they ever think to share it with others.

"My prisms are a tool intended to give me the knowledge I need for the task that Mother assigned me and obedient servants that won't betray me. Nyka's idea of making so many Chosen, of leaving me weakened and them with their free will sounded idiotic at best.

"Yet after doing it once, it made me think. It reminded me of the importance of my mission and the people I'm supposed to fight for. It was… enlightening."

"Tista, you do your exercises at sunrise, right?" Nyka asked, receiving a nod in reply. "Come on then, follow me."

The young Vampire reached the entrance and started to produce one prism after the other, handing them to Baba Yaga so that she could seal their mind-controlling ability.

The Red Mother left a small channel open so that even though the Bright Day couldn't read the thoughts of her temporary Chosen, she could still share their emotions. Once Dawn was too weakened to produce more prisms, the Maiden Spirit Warped everyone on the surface.

"I'm proud of you, sweetie." Kalla rubbed her snout against Nyka's shoulder while the undead spread out, looking for the perfect spot from which to watch the sunrise.

"Thanks, Mom." The Vampire hugged her. "I'm going to miss you."

"Silly child, I'm not going anywhere." The Wight looked at her in confusion.

"But I am!" Nyka said in outrage. "Don't tell me that you've already forgotten about my trip?"

"What trip?" Kalla blurted out, making the Eyes jolt off her snout and triggering a ferocious quarrel as the blue of the horizon turned orange.

"Thank you, Epphy." The Maiden said after Hushing mother and daughter. "Dawn needed someone like Nyka. After so many power-hungry mages and blood-thirsty undead, a host as innocent as a child is what my daughter needed to have a fresh start.

"To look at Mogar with eyes that aren't clouded by greed and can appreciate the wonders of the simple things in life."

"No need to thank me. You should thank Nyka instead." Solus pondered those words, finding one more analogy between her and Dawn.

The relationship the Bright Day had with the Vampire was very similar to that between Lith and Solus back when he had just found her. He was bitter, cruel, and broken whereas she was naïve and pure.

"I already did." Baba Yaga replied. "Yet I consider this as your achievement as well. It was you who befriended Nyka. You have planned this moment for years and she offered herself as Dawn's host to be capable of accompanying you.

"To protect you during the War of the Griffon. Also, it was you who showed my daughter how the relationship between a Horseman and their host is supposed to be. If it wasn't for you, she would still be bonded to Acala and he would be nothing more than a mindless slave."

The Maiden turned around, feeling through her bond with Dawn how baffled the Horseman was at Nyka treating Kalla like a mother instead of a master. It brought back ancient memories that softened her heart hardened by the centuries.

"Even though you and Lith are just Guardian candidates, your actions are causing ripples that are affecting Mogar. You changed my children, Solus, while Lith's existence reconnected the Guardians of Garlen.

"Tyris has never spent so much time outside and she even helped the Royals by summoning Valeron's companions during the Battle for the White Griffon. As for Salaark and Leegaain, they wouldn't be so close nor Shargein would have been born.

"Yet it's too soon to tell if these changes will be for the better or worse. Only time will tell." She sighed, her mind wondering about Night and Orpal.

They were the result of those ripples and one of the biggest mistakes of Baba Yaga's life. A mistake she was determined to correct despite the pain it was going to cause her.

Tista joined them as soon as the sun was high enough to disrupt the delicate equilibrium between the light and darkness element.

"Are we going to stay in the Empire?" She looked at Vladion who was having a breakfast picnic with his family on the surface while the other undead were simply bathing in the sunlight.