Michael set out for England yesterday, and we were brought before the Queen of Heaven to update her about our progress. Akshainie did most of the talking, since she was the one actually answering to this authority, and I mostly just answered questions when asked. It took some explanation to demonstrate why we were shifting our focus to the Brood sites rather than attacking the cult members themselves, but the Queen understood the gravity of the situation when we talked about them corrupting locus points to trap ancient entities and siphon their power. The Queen didn’t seem entirely convinced I needed Akshainie’s help for this, however, and we spent the night trying to locate our next target and worrying about whether or not she would even have clearance to leave Iravati.

It was nearing dawn when we finally managed to trace the web of connections to the actual entry on Nachash. Knowing that we were on a time limit and we’d used connections to find him in the first place, we skipped right past the pages of people affiliated with him and went straight to locations. We picked out the first few and decided we would go to whichever of those was closest to a river to begin, but before we could begin determining which that was we were brought back before the Queen. It was a grueling encounter, in which we argued for our approach and Akshainie’s involvement in it for hours. In the end, the Queen agreed that the work was important enough to see finished and that Iravati was invested enough to send a warrior, and Akshainie was sent out again on the condition that she check in more frequently and that I be open to input from Iravati about future targets. We agreed to these terms.

We presented the locations we had picked out, and granted the aid of the court staff to find the best route between them. It took some digging, as Iravati’s map collection was outdated and never particularly concerned with the human world beyond the Indus Valley region. We ended up needing to travel with a couple scribes to the river and seek information from travelers to fill in the gaps, and this at least helped us with two of the three sites we were seeking. The third was much more difficult to nail down, so we split up, with one scribe and Akshainie continuing to seek information from travelers while I took the other scribe out of the city to the physical world, where my phone would work and I could try to reach some contacts with modern maps. My initial attempts failed to yield any results, but then I reached Dr. Harris.

“Look,” she told me, “I’m rather busy at the moment. But listen, we have this situation, got this promising girl looking into it, but it sounds like she’ll need help.”

“I suppose you’d have time to look into my question if I can offer support,” I said.

“That’s the short of it, yeah.”

“Well, tell me what you know about it, and I’ll see what I can do.”

She gave me a brief overview of the situation and promised to have a case file available for me when I arrived, which I assured her I would do quickly if I could get there. She told me to let her know, and we returned to Iravati. There, I learned that Akshainie had no better fortune finding the site than I did, so we returned to the Queen and I told her about the proposal from Dr. Harris. After a conversation about the nature of Harris’ work, the Queen conceded that it sounded like the best option available. We’ve been urged to rest and gather supplies for the remainder of the day and set out first thing in the morning. After a brief conversation to inform Dr. Harris we will be arriving tomorrow and a trip through the market, Akshainie and I have returned to her family’s estate to prepare for our next mission.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we emerged from the supernatural realm onto the banks of the Ravi River yesterday. We’d been scouting a path for realignment for a few days, and knew that if we’d reached this point and all was going well Iravati wouldn’t be far behind, but we hadn’t discussed how we would know when realignment was complete. I suspect most of our company was having the same thought, as everyone turned to watch the river and wait. Everyone except the courier, that is, who was speaking rapid Sanskrit into a glowing ball of energy he’d been using to communicate with the city all along. Multiple soldiers were fiddling with their armor or swords, and only Michael took the time to check if any other mortals were watching this group of naga that just appeared out of thin air with two random white men in tow. I got the impression no one was, by Michael’s relaxed pose as he walked over to me and turned his attention to the water.

“What are we watching for?” I asked.

“Iravati,” he answered in a flat tone.

“And how will we know when it arrives?”

“You’ll know, priest.”

I sighed and continued watching the river. It was another half hour of waiting and listening to the courier rattle off his information, with occasional checks against his notes, before he suddenly went silent. We all turned to look at him as he waited a moment, then gave a short statement that sounded like the answer to a question, then dismissed the ball of energy and turned to the river. Before I could fully follow his gaze back to the river, the ground began to shake and knocked me off balance. I looked around at the others, but the snake bodies of the naga were better able to handle the shaking than my legs, and Michael was floating about an inch off the ground. He smiled at me before offering me a hand.

“I think I’ll wait,” I grumbled as the ground shook again.

Michael shrugged and turned back to the river. The water was churning wildly, white foam splashing off of it in every direction. There was a shimmer, ever so slightly visible as though the sunlight was catching on tall sheets of ice, and I realized the forms looked like the walls of Iravati. I leaned forward to rest my arms on my knees as I watched the city seem to barely begin to form and then vanish again, over and over, and then suddenly everything stopped. The ground was still, the water began to calm, and the city completely disappeared. I stood and wiped the sand from my clothes as the courier and half the soldiers moved forward. There was no summoning this time, no gate opening from under the river, no change to the water. The scouts merely slipped into the water and vanished, and then emerged a moment later. The courier yelled something I didn’t understand, and everyone else but me erupted into cheers.

We re-entered the city to something of an impromptu parade, with thousands of naga taking to the streets and cheering on the company. Most of the focus was on the courier and soldiers, with only a few naga even seeming to notice Michael and me.

“Do we not count?” I asked him softly.

He rested his hand on my shoulder. “This isn’t our victory. Let’s just take it as it comes.”

“I don’t think I expected the man I met in England to hold such a stance.”

“Aslaug made sure to beat it into my head before I came here.” With that he was gone, slipping away into the crowd. By the time I caught sight of him again he was talking to the court mage, so I decided not to hassle him.

The celebration quickly became an outright party as naga from across the city brought out food or alcohol or instruments and just joined in. I quickly got lost in the crowded streets, and wandered for about an hour before I found somewhere I could sit and enjoy some fruit I’d picked up along the way. As I began to cut the fruit open, I heard a familiar voice.

“You’re doing that wrong, English,” Akshainie said.

I pulled the knife from the fruit and stood, facing her. “Still German.”

“Still doing it wrong.” She smiled.

I held the fruit and the knife out to her. “Then show me.”

She took the fruit but pushed the hand with the knife away as she slithered a little closer. “This is a mango, Bene. You can have no shame when eating a mango, it’s too pure for that. Ruins the flavor.” She took a large bite out of the mango, the juice running down her chin and dripping onto her armor, then placed the fruit back in my hand. I didn’t break eye contact with her as I did the same, and I have to admit, it did taste better than the one I’d had in the market when we first met. I wonder how much of that was really my approach to the fruit. Her face lit up for a moment, and then she started to laugh as I quickly put the knife away and tried to wipe the juice from my chin.

It suddenly occurred to me that we hadn’t seen each other in over a week, not since that dinner with Michael where she explained the effects of separation from the river. I hadn’t bathed or had a decent place to sleep for the last few of those days, while we were out scouting ahead, and I must have looked a complete mess even before the mango. She looked tired, for her part, but generally seemed to have fared better in our time apart than I had. As I watched her and lost sight of everything else happening around us, she seemed to slowly realize what I was thinking about.

“I missed you,” she said, before taking a quick breath as if catching herself before saying more.

I rested my hand against her cheek and she closed her eyes and leaned into it. “I missed you, too. You’ll have to tell me all about your adventures this past week.”

“My adventures! Bene, I was mostly standing around waiting for a war that never came. But you, out  there in the void? How was that for you? It was your first time, right?”

“It was, yeah. Very…dull, the void.”

“Yes, but I know who went with you, and I doubt they were very dull.”

“That’s true,” I laughed, “I assume you know Divit’s jokes, then.”

“Unless he picked up new ones while I’ve been gone.” She looped her arm around mine and we started heading down the street. “You better tell me some of them just to be sure.” She picked up a bottle of some kind of liquor as she led me back to my apartment, where we talked and drank away from the crowd for hours until we both fell asleep.

The work of realignment proved itself more difficult than I had anticipated today.

The process had been going well so far, we were holding to schedule and anticipating completion tomorrow. The work had been difficult, however, so we were pulling longer hours the last couple days. Today, in the ninth hour of work, something gave way.

It began with a sudden resistance. When it was reported to me, I expected it was one of the brief hindrances we had encountered throughout, and went to add my will to the realignment for the push we would need to get through it. This had been more than enough in every previous instance, so I grew concerned when all I felt was more resistance, as if the plane of Iravati was grinding against something unmovable. I halted all the work and gathered the advisers and mages together to work out what we were dealing with. The soldiers, of course, took it as a bad sign and evacuated everyone in Iravati not actively working on realignment to more secure, and thankfully elevated, regions of the city. We came to a conclusion fairly quickly, that it was simply a bit of unusually strong turbulence in the flow of the realms, but were not permitted to continue until the evacuation was completed. We took the opportunity to rest and recharge, and within three hours we were back at it. We gathered a group of strong spellcasters, united our efforts, and pushed. For a moment nothing much seemed to happen, but then we felt the realm push past the resistance and come free.

And Iravati immediately began to flood.

Massive waves battered it from every direction, and alarms went off all through the city. The soldiers, who were already in position in case an enemy broke through, leapt into action securing the parts of the city everyone had evacuated to and grabbing materials for makeshift dams. Akshainie came tearing up the hill to where we were working. She ordered that every watermancer join her, and turned to me.

“Whatever you lot did, undo it!” she demanded.

“We only moved the city along the planned path!” I answered.

“Then take it back, and figure out another way!” With that, she and six mages rushed off toward the water, and as I watched some of it began to stop in place and flow in another direction. I turned to the remaining mages, all of whom were watching me as if waiting for directions.

“You heard the woman! Let’s back it up and check our records!” So we resumed position and began pushing the other way. The resistance was much lighter this way, and after only about 20 minutes we managed to lodge the plane back in the grinding turbulence we had encountered before. The water stopped rising as soon as we did, and I sent most of the mages down to help the watermancers and soldiers in whatever way they could as the court mage and I reviewed our plans.

It took us a couple hours, but what we ultimately realised was that all our planar maps were out of date. I had brought the ones included in the file on Iravati, which were accurate to the time when Iravati was separated from the mortal plane. The city had its own maps, and while they had made updates where they could, the information was woefully incomplete. We would need to scout out the rest of the region we were passing through during realignment, and determine any course corrections on the way. The work would take longer, but we feel we have a way to reduce that impact and get the information we need. The Queen of Heaven has granted me a courier and a platoon of soldiers, and at daybreak we will set out into the planar void and begin charting a new path. The courier can relay messages back to the court mage, who will oversee the actual process of realignment following the path we find.

God grant us ease in our journey.

As we were preparing to go to the work site this morning, Michael found himself short on toothpaste. I informed him I had an extra tube in my luggage he was welcome to, but when he emerged from my room he was carrying two books.

“What are these?” he asked, turning them over in his hands. “Is this a Book of Shadows?”

“The Book of Shadows, actually.” I stood and reached for them. “You’ll want to be careful with that, it has defenses.”

“I’m sorry. This is the original?”

“Yes.”

“How did you get your hands on the original Book of Shadows? Was the Vatican holding it this whole time?”

“Quite the opposite.” I snatched the book from his hand. “My mother won it in a gamble. I inherited it.”

“Who the hell did your mother win it from?”

“Asmodeus.”

Michael shook his head and raised his hands. “You never cease to surprise, priest. So what’s this other book?”

“That came from Henry, Matteson’s father. He said it was a sort of index for the Book of Shadows, but he didn’t have time to really show me how it works before he died.”

“The Consociationes Daemonum? You mean to tell me that Anchor’s personal library included a copy of the bloody Consociationes Daemonum? And he just…let you take it?”

“I did tell you it was quite the collection.”

“This absolutely puts it into the impressive category. Where did he get this?”

“I have no idea.”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“Few things are more cryptic to me than a Matteson.”

He sat down and began flipping through the book. “I’ve heard of these books, you know. I had to study a great many occult works as part of my training. Copies of the Book of Shadows are rare, and copies that work are rarer still; the copy we could find for me to study was only available on loan for a day at a time from a strange man in a tower on the edge of the Abyss. I had to hand over a chunk of my soul as collateral until I returned it. Thankfully his days are longer than ours, but I have to tell you, that was a very strange period of my life.”

“And the Consociationes Daemonum?”

“Rumors, mostly. The last known copy was sold in auction to an American woman using what we believe was an assumed name in 1912. There was speculation that she returned to the colonies on the Titanic, and it was the book that cursed the ship to fail. No one knows if the story is true, or if so, whether or not the book sank with the ship. But,” he said, closing it, “I know how to use it. We had to be prepared, you see. Things like this pop up unexpectedly from time to time.”

“So you can teach me how to use that to read this?” I asked, holding up the Book of Shadows.

“I can indeed. If only to have a chance to see them in action. But right now, we have work to do.”

I nodded and we put the books safely back in my luggage before heading out.

“We don’t actually have that much water,” Akshainie said. It was the evening, and she had joined Michael and I at the apartment for dinner. She was, at this point, responding to Michael asking about the sanitation conditions in the prison.

“This is a water-aligned city of water spirits!” Michael cried. “How could it possibly be lacking water?”

Akshainie set her fork down and glared at him. “You know, for someone who prides himself on magical knowledge, you sure are stupid sometimes.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“This is a river city. It gets its water from the River Network. Do you know what the River Network is?”

“I’m aware of it.”

“Then you should be aware that its nature is defined, to a large degree, by the actual rivers of the mortal world.” She took up her fork again and stabbed it into her rice. “The physical rivers that your ancestors cut us off from.”

“Wait,” I said, “are you telling us Iravati has been severed from the River Network this whole time?”

“All the water we have in Iravati is the water that was within our borders when we were separated from the world, and any water we’ve been able to carry in or magically summon. It’s why we have to leave the city and then go into the physical river to access the River Network, and that’s a recent development. It took us 70 years to figure out how to travel to the mortal realm after the schism.”

“Akshainie, I’m so sorry,” Michael said. “I didn’t realize, I don’t think they knew—”

“Do you think it would have mattered to them if they did know? Do you think that would have stopped them? Look at the history of your empire and then look me in the eye and tell me they wouldn’t have seen that as all the more reason to do it!” She glared at Michael for a moment, apparently expecting a reply. When she didn’t get one, she stormed off toward the bedrooms. I looked over to Michael, who was staring into his rice with a blank stare, and then rose and rested my hand on his shoulder.

“It’s good to know how important this work is,” I said, “so you can better understand how to address it.” He nodded, and I patted his shoulder before heading back into my bedroom. Akshainie was tightly coiled on the floor, her arms crossed under her chin and resting on her tail as she stared off into the distance. I sat on the bed next to her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how bad things were here.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I suppose not. But you do know it’s not his, either, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” she grumbled.

“I’m not going to tell you not to be mad at his family, or his country, or even him for all the ways this has played out for each of you. I know that it doesn’t undo any of the problems your people have faced while being cut off. It doesn’t erase the past.”

“Then why did you come in here?”

“To make sure you’re okay. And remind you that the reason you’re able to have this conversation at all is that he’s here, now, trying to make it better. Please don’t forget that you’re talking to a Hudson, maybe the only Hudson, that is listening and willing to act on what you’re telling him.”

She uncoiled enough to lean over and lay her head on my lap, and I began to stroke her hair. “Do you know what she has us soldiers doing?”

“No. I’ve noticed soldiers coming and going at the edges of the site, but I don’t know why.”

“Because of what happens if it doesn’t work. If this doesn’t do what Michael promises, there’s the chance it will make us vulnerable. Iravati has enemies, just like everywhere else does, and if we align the city incorrectly we don’t know who will suddenly have access to us.”

“You’re preparing to repel a surprise invasion force?”

“Essentially.” We sat in silence for a while before she spoke again. “I’m scared, Bene. The world has changed while we’ve been cut off. What if we’re not ready? What if this creates new problems we can’t handle? What if I have to stay here to fight a losing battle?”

“I don’t know. But I trust you’ll be up to the challenge, whatever it is. You’re very capable and your city is resourceful. You’ll get through. And if it’ll help, I’ll stay as long as I can.”

“I think it would, but I can’t ask you to do that. The Brood has to fall.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to do that without you, anyway.”

She rolled over to look up at me. “No, you probably can’t.” We both laughed as she got up and I stood.

“You ready to finish dinner?” She agreed, and he went back to the table.

That first evening was primarily focused on Michael explaining the plan, the Queen of Heaven making changes based on updated information about the state of the divide and the city, and assigning tasks. The real work of preparation began today, and quickly became something that neither Akshainie nor I were equipped to assist. Within two hours of the day’s work beginning, we found ourselves sitting on a hill off to the side and watching.

“Are you enjoying being home?” I asked, handing her one of the fruits I’d bought that morning.

“It’s nice. There are things you don’t realize you miss until you slow down and actually enjoy them again.”

“I have experienced that. Last time I was in Tettnang.”

“What’s that?”

“A town in Germany, where I grew up. I visited occasionally when I was studying, but last time I got to really just be there and take the place in, I was surprised how much I’d forgotten.”

“When was that?”

“Seventeen years ago. When my father died.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Bene.”

“It’s okay. I’ve had some time to process it.”

“How are you enjoying Iravati? This is your first time really getting to experience it without me guiding you everywhere.”

“It’s a very nice place. Worthy of all the devotion with which you protect it. Though one thing does occur to me.”

“And what’s that?” she asked, laying back in the grass and starting into her snack.

I laid next to her. “I was standing in my bedroom this morning, and looking around, and remembering the house your family lives in and your talk about how you have no cultural need for separate sleeping spaces. And it came to mind that Iravati has been much more accommodating of my lifestyle and expectations than the mortal world has been of yours.”

“Yes, well, the mortal world largely isn’t aware that I’m real in the same way they are.”

“No. But I’m aware, and I have been in a position to make it more comfortable for you. And I’m sorry for not doing so.”

“So no more camping on the sides of frozen mountains, then?”

I laughed. “Among other things, yes.”

She rolled over and laid her head on my chest as we watched the mages and scribes bustling about below. I absently began running my fingers through her hair as she finished the fruit. “We could stay here, you know,” she said. “Once our work is done, I mean.”

“I don’t think the Church would recognize Iravati as a parish.”

“No, she said softly, “I suppose not.” She sat up and dusted herself off. “Better not give anyone any impressions about us.”

“Michael seems to already have some.”

“Does he?”

“He was asking about the nature of our relationship.” I sat up as well.

“And what did you tell him?”

“We’re working together. He wanted more information about how we felt about that, but I reminded him that answers like that won’t help him finish his work here.”

“Well played,” she laughed, “I should’ve thought of that.”

“When?”

“When my friends asked about you.”

“What did you tell them?”

“Nothing that wasn’t true. Come on,” she said, rising and moving down the hill. “It looks like your charge is on the move.”

I looked and, sure enough, Michael was talking to some officials and moving to the other side of the work site. I followed.

With the Queen of Heaven’s reluctant acceptance of Michael’s help came some new living quarters. He was still under guard, of which I was a part, but we were led to an apartment a short journey from the market rather than the prison. Michael immediately made use of its bathtub, explaining as he emerged wearing a towel that he hadn’t had access to one since his arrival in Iravati.

“That would explain the smell,” I said as he sank into a chair opposite me.

“It is odd, being a water-aligned city. One would expect them to have facilities everywhere,” he replied.

“Maybe they just really don’t like you.”

“That is likely. I understand their bitterness about the whole affair, of course, but I am still grasping why they seem to hold me personally responsible.”

“Did your family gain any favor or wealth by their work here?”

“Of course.”

“And are you still benefiting from that favor and wealth?”

“Hm. I think I see where you’re going with this. But excuse me to get dressed. I”ll have to consider the matter further when I return to England.” He rose again and slipped into one of the two bedrooms. The other, I was informed when the guards let us in and took up their posts outside, was reserved for me; to ensure I was always close at hand should he try anything. The apartment was originally intended for guests to the city, I’m told, and appeared to have been designed by someone who knew guests would need separate spaces but didn’t quite know what those spaces were. The kitchen, or at least the area that appeared to be for cooking, was in my bedroom. The only restroom was in Michael’s bedroom, and the communal space with the chairs also housed what looked to be some sort of meditative or religious space. Ignoring the incense holders but lighting a candle that I hoped didn’t have alternate ceremonial importance, I utilized that area for a round of daily prayers while I waited for Michael to return. He emerged before I was done, but seemed to recognize that I was busy and sat silently until I was done. When I finished and turned toward him, he was flipping through a leather-bound book.

“Anything interesting?” I asked, taking up my seat again.

“Haven’t a clue,” he replied, closing the book and setting it aside, “I don’t know the language.”

“I could ask Akshainie if they have anything in English.”

“I do speak multiple languages, Benedict. Just not this one.” He leaned back and crossed his arms. “But speaking of Akshainie. What is the nature of your relationship with her?”

“We’re partnering on official business on behalf of our benefactors.”

“Is that the official answer, or the honest one?”

“What are you getting at?”

“Hopefully, something worth talking about that isn’t official business.”

“There is nothing between Akshainie and I to discuss.”

“And are you happy with that?”

“I accepted the terms of my office long before you were born, Michael.”

He raised his hands as if giving up the subject. “Very well, then. But one could hardly be faulted for noticing that acceptance is not the same as enjoyment.” We sat in silence for a minute before he leaned forward. “But if I could ask just one more thing.”

“I seem to have little ability to stop you.”

“I saw the way you looked at her in England. And how she looked at you. The way you two moved in sync, and worked through information together.”

“That isn’t a question.”

“Do you know how she feels about you, and does she know how you feel about her?”

“We know what we need to know.”

“You didn’t seem so dodgy last we spoke.”

“I am not a man of secrets. But I am a man of mission, and this matter is not helpful to our mission. I suspect this is a trait you’ll have to learn someday, future Lord Hudson.”

“Yes, of course. But I don’t intend to put my entire life on hold over it, and I don’t believe you should, either.”

“My life is not on hold. It is simply not guided by earthly desires.”

The door opened and a soldier entered. “The Queen of Heaven is ready for you to begin preparations,” she said.

“Thank God,” I said. Michael laughed as we both rose and followed the soldier.

The court of Iravati wanted absolutely everything. There were scribes working around the clock, between the process of translation and transcription. My notes were in German, and they wanted the end result to be their own local language as well as having a copy in the original German just in case; sadly, I was the only person present who would read German. So I would sit for hours each day, providing a shared Enochian translation of my notes, which they would then use to make their own translation. In the process, they would ask me for more information or clarification or personal experiences, and I would relate as much as I could. As my guide, Akshainie was required to be present for every word, and while the content seemed occasionally interesting to her, the activity itself was obviously wearing on her nerves.

When we were not doing that, however, all of her pent up energy needed to be spent. She gave me an exhaustive tour of Iravati, a lavish realm of gardens and flowing water and long, winding paths. I met almost every naga she knew, and her family had much to say and no desire to translate it for me. We would spend time each day sparring, as she taught me bits of her own fighting style and I taught her some of mine. Aside from the education, the discussion was always the same: she wanted to know absolutely everything I had experienced in my confrontations with the cult, especially the Barzai, and she was eager to tell me how the cult members she faced tried to stand against her. Then we would usually end up in a garden somewhere, laying in the cool grass and watching the sky, eating fruit unseen by mortal eyes for hundreds of generations, usually in silence. She asked, once, what it was like where I was from. By the end of trying to describe southern West Germany, she said she would like to see it someday, but in a manner that suggested the conversation was over. Some days later, she asked where I was really from; I told her I never lived there, at least not long enough to remember it, and we never spoke of my origins again.

I learned that time passed differently in Iravati, at the whim of the Great Naga, and that we had done months of work in the span of a couple weeks in the world of man. When I was finally called back before the Queen, the work of translating into Enochian was complete, and the scribes had made some significant progress in translating it from there. The Queen was given a brief, in Enochian, of all we had discussed.

"You provide a compelling case," she announced, as Akshainie and I stood in the center of her chamber. "Your descriptions of this Barzai are most concerning. And your role in creating him, no less so."

"It is a matter of some disturbance for me, as well," I replied.

"So it seems. Akshainie has testified to me already of your sincerity in this mission, and I see no alternative to such a threat but to offer the support of Iravati in your work."

"Thank you, your majesty. Might I ask what the nature of this support would be?"

"We will provide any information we gather on this Brood of Nachash, I have sent messengers to the waters of the world toward this end. More relevant to your own experiences, however, I have decided to task Akshainie with joining your quest." Akshainie tensed and straightened up. I glanced over and could see the surprise and a million questions forming behind her eyes, but she maintained her composure.

"If that is your wish, my queen," she answered.

"It is. Prepare for your journey, Akshainie. You are both to depart as soon as you are able." We both nodded and were escorted out of the room. Akshainie was silent, but visibly upset, as we made our way back to her chambers. I decided it was best not to press just yet. It was the work of an hour for her to gather her supplies and some food for the road, speak with her family, and take on a human appearance. As we made our way to the gate of the river, she finally turned her attention to me.

"Will I need to wear a human guise all the time?" she asked.

"Not all the time. But a lot of it," I answered.

"It is bothersome. These legs are impractical! How do you tolerate them?"

"I suppose I've never thought about it."

"It is going to be a great deal of effort to look human so often."

"You get used to it," I said, as the gate opened before us and the sunlight hit us.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I picked up my bag and walked forward.

"Come on, we have work to do."

"Benedict!" she yelled, grabbing her own bag. "You tell me what that means!"

"Are you coming?" She groaned and ran to me, tripping on a stone near the edge of the river. I caught her, and helped her back to her feet.

​"Very impractical," she muttered, as we set off.

As the first rays of daylight hit the water of the Ravi north of Lahore, Benedict waited on the south shore, watching the water. He carried his bag, filled with his notes and evidence, and was silently working out the most efficient way to hit the major points. The moment the light reached Benedict, the water before him began to churn. He took a deep breath and watched as the water began to swirl, then rise, until it formed an arched pathway that led down into a brightly-lit chamber. Two naga rushed to the doorway, pointing long spears at Benedict. One looked him over, then sneered.

"State your business, English," he said in a strong accent. Benedict raised his hands slowly.

"I have come by invitation, to discuss a shared enemy," Benedict replied. That guard spoke quickly to the other, in another language, and the other rushed back down the path. The two remaining men stood silent for a few minutes, before that guard returned and passed a message along. The first guard grumbled, then lowered his spear and waved for Benedict to step forward.

The river closed behind them and Benedict found himself in a large chamber that appeared to be constructed of clay bricks, painted with a limited but vibrant palate. He knew from the sense of the air that they were no longer in the physical realm, but very close to it. He was led down a long hall, with doorways dotting the walls. Various naga were bustling about, or peeking out of doorways, but all avoided him. The doors at the end of the hall were opened, and Benedict was led into a massive circular chamber. It had no visible ceiling, the walls just appeared to stretch up and support the night sky itself. It was full of stars, the Milky Way visible in extreme detail, stars completely invisible to the unaided human eye burning bright and shifting clouds of interstellar gas dispersing their light into the whole room.

Opposite the door was a throne, housing the Great Naga. There were two feminine humanoid forms emerging from a single serpentine body, which was itself at least twenty feet thick and circled the entire room multiple times. Benedict walked through a stone archway that lifted the coils up and allowed entrance to the room, and glanced up at the large scales as he passed. Every color seemed to shimmer from them, shifting as they caught the light in different ways, casting spots of color all around the room that moved in response to the restless body. An assortment of courtesans and servants were scattered through the chamber, some rushing on some task or another, others lounging and discussing some matter or another. Benedict was directed to the center of the room, where he stood silently and waited as the Great Naga continued whatever business they were doing when he arrived. Finally, another naga slid forward.

"Welcome to Iravati, Flameborn," he announced, in Enochian. "The Queen of Heaven will now hear you!" Benedict visibly flinched at the title, but straightened up and looked between the two large faces now fixed on him.

"I thank you for the welcome," he called out, using the same language and offering a shallow bow. "I am here on business concerning the Brood of Nachash, who have been active in your domain." The room fell silent and all eyes turned to him. One half of the Queen raised their hand to their chin, as if considering his words, while the other crossed their arms and glared at him.

"And what do you know of them?" they asked.

"I have been actively opposing them for nearly 30 years. I first encountered them on the other side of the world, in the United States, but have since been given reason to believe they do not originate there. Or, for that matter, here." The room erupted into shouts of surprise or arguments among bystanders, but neither Benedict nor the Great Naga averted their gaze to acknowledge it. After a minute of that, the contemplative half raised their hand and the room fell silent again.

"Call for Akshainie," they said to the page, who nodded and rushed out of the chamber. "And what is your name, again?"

"Father Benedict de Monte."

"'Father' is your title, I presume?" Benedict nodded. "Very well. Father, there has been speculation that this cult was an external force attempting to access Iravati, though we have not had solid evidence to support this idea until you arrived. Do you bring us anything of more consequence than a passing observation?"

"I do," he answered, offering his bag. "You will find here my collected notes on the Brood, details of my encounters with them, and the evidence I've collected of their ongoing activities." Another page came forward and accepted the bag, and just as he turned to carry it back Benedict said, "mind that I will need that back. With or without your input on the matter, I must resume hunting them when I leave this place." The Great Naga nodded, and Benedict turned to look when he heard another door open. Akshainie and the first page entered, and she slithered past the crowd to stand beside Benedict.

"You came at dawn. Truly a man of your word," she whispered, as they watched the second page take the bag to the side of the throne and begin talking to some scribes. The Great Naga was watching the page and scribes.

"I am a man of oath, Akshainie," he whispered back. "If I cannot keep my word about a simple meeting, how could I ever keep that oath?"

"What is this oath?"

"Complicated."

"These records will take some time to review," the Great Naga announced. "Father, if it is not too much trouble, we would like to offer you accommodations here in Iravati as we process them." Akshainie raised an eyebrow and glanced over to him.

"Father?" she asked, still as a whisper. He smirked but did not look away from the throne.

"If it pleases you, O Queen, I would offer my services in compiling the information during my stay."

​"It does. When you are not so occupied, I want you to spend time with Akshainie. She is our resident expert on this cult, perhaps you each may have some information and training that will benefit the other."

"As you wish, my queen," Akshainie replied with a bow.

"I will try not to impose," Benedict said.

"You are both dismissed. Akshainie, show him to some quarters. You will serve as his escort as long as he is within our realm." Both Akshainie and Benedict gave a bow, then headed for the door.