Adventures in the TARDIS

The adventurers had never been in a single TARDIS timeline, world, or adventure more than this particular journey so far. It will be an additional three weeks before that which they seek will find them instead.

With all that time in a single adventure, it takes its toll on them in various ways eventually even if they travel in a paradise reality. For example, Derpy gradually started to miss Vision and part of her wishes the white young blind filly had the chance to enjoy this wonderful reality too apart from its occasional danger. She left Vision with those she trusts, though, and it helps to know that Vision likely won't realize how much time has passed for this crew. It's Derpy herself that has to endure this emotional burden. She also dearly misses the Doctor as well.

Of every pony that is traveling with the group this time, Margret Wessle is the most uncomfortable with this journey because they are avoiding the technology she grew up to depend upon her whole life. Without something technical there to help ensure that meeting, it puts this whole mission in doubt. There are also personal issues and concerns such as security, comfort, nutrition, or entertainment.

On the other hand, traveling with aliens and time travelers privately makes her squee in excitement. Unlike many she personally knows, she's also willing to try new skills and experiences just to ensure this privilege continues. It takes her some time to adjust outside her comfort zone but, once she does, there is some recognition of what value this experience can have for her. The company she keeps and the beauty of the places she travels through helps to not only console her, but to find new excitement and drive in life.

The other members of Doctor Kelly's team would expect for her to be equally uncomfortable without her technology, but the Maji is vastly more mature in her attitude and approach to life. She possesses innate scientific curiosity anyway so she only views a new challenge as a new opportunity for growth. There is also the recognition that sometimes she may be unable to rely upon her technology in the future so this is good practice.

To that end, she starts to learn traditional unicorn magic with the guidance of Feather Wind and Crystal Sage. Her initial efforts pay off about as much as ponies would expect for a unicorn who is first practicing a spell like basic telekinesis. However, her progress after the first day takes off way faster than her teammates would expect but there are several reasons for that.

First of all, she is a Maji and that means being a race who always grew up in an environment heavily saturated with magic. Because of that, they are in a league of their own above any standard unicorn in Equestria. What would be considered impotent to a Maji is merely standard for Equestria, and what is a genius to a Maji might seem like a demi-god to Equestria. Doctor Kelly actually falls in the latter category for her race but she makes no obvious effort to rub that in. She just naturally channels magic very well so of course the progress on basic magic lessons would seem accelerated even if she's using an approach she's not accustomed to.

Secondly, she isn't a foal. Not only does this mean her body is far more accustomed to channeling such magic, but her mind is equally capable. In fact, she's actually the oldest party member traveling among them unless they count Crystal Sage. She's been doing things like this for centuries so she still has an experience advantage trying something old in a new way.

Thirdly, most of the party isn't seeing the fact that Doctor Kelly is getting extra time to practice this in the Mind Palace of the Red Crystal. From there, time is subjective so she can spend as much time on it as she wants and nary a second has to pass outside the crystal if she chooses. Aside from that, that is the mental location she usually has to go to in order to get any private instruction with Crystal Sage.

Lastly, she has very good instructors. Both of her tutors are fully trained wizards. That is a standard above the vast majority of unicorn practitioners. In the case of Crystal Sage, he's actually more equivalent to an arch-mage who once was, himself, trained by the greatest arch mage of his ancient era.

As a result of all of this, there are enormous leaps of progress with each day she is practicing to a startling degree. It isn't long before she can wield telekinesis so well that she can do it strongly, swiftly, cleverly, and above all, very precisely. Over time she starts to relearn other spells she has access to as well, only this time she does it on her own rather than strictly relying upon her magi gems.

Feather Wind is practicing the same thing only in reverse. He's trying to learn new spells through traditional magi casting after having the Red Crystal download the resonance frequency of Doctor Kelly's other maji spells. It takes some time to figure out how to translate those spells into traditional unicorn casting. In the meantime he devotes some practice into maji casting except he uses the Red Crystal as the focus for all of those spells after it gained an imprint of the others.

Crystal Sage ends up a great mentor for Feather Wind in this practice too. In fact he's a better one for that than even Doctor Kelly because crystal science was already his cutie mark talent. Unlike their resident magi, though, he has very advanced practice with traditional unicorn magic on top of that so he knew best how to blend those two sciences. Now that Feather is getting more and more attuned to this Crystal, he can more fully utilize it for all that its worth.

Aside from all of that, Feather is the most content in this environment. The energy of this place has very high vibrations and he senses that keenly, but unlike Doctor Kelly, he more fully absorbs this emotionally. What he sees, feels, and experiences inspires him to write many passionate poems. There is also a lot of useful energy to absorb into the Crystal so he also has the satisfaction of progress to cheer him up.

Across these past several weeks since their arrival in this time, Daring Do and Stern Wing have both been sharing a more and more similar wavelength. So much so that they both unconsciously even started to develop the same menstrual cycle. The main difference between the two stems from Daring's experience and leadership role. As such, Stern has developed a trust and reliance on Daring, but they keep on seeing eye to eye with each other in so many ways, including really subtle ways. That bond develops so deep that the two of them begin to communicate to each other without the need for words. All it takes is just a “look” to each other since they think and feel so alike anyway.

Because of all of that, they are the first in this party to become aware that the Earthbound have already found them two weeks into their travels together, but for some reason chose to withhold revealing themselves so far.

Once again, both Daring and Stern think alike when it comes to their theory why the Earthbound are holding back for now. They agree that the Earthbound are observing something they are unfamiliar with so they wish to observe this party a little longer to determine how safe it is to eventually approach the party. When they do, that extra time observing the party will also inform the Earthbound exactly how they should approach the party, including this tribe's attitude with that meeting.

Their mutual instinct ends up dead on, too, when it comes to the mares’ conclusion that what the Earthbound is observing during that time about this party is not only unexpectedly impressive, but even downright sacred. As the party continues to travel through the land and respect it, that alone the Earthbound would likely be considered a big plus. However they would also notice that Feather Wind has an unusually intense connection to nature and one element of it in particular. Ponies like him might actually be religious icons to the Earthbound in Daring and Stern's instinct and estimation.

Noticing this doesn't change Daring or Stern's strategy in the least. They make no active effort to seek out and reveal that which doesn't feel ready to be revealed. Instead, they let the Earthbound approach the party on their own terms. Until then, they just continue to travel while synergizing well with the land. As long as they continue to do that, they'll win the Earthbound's favorable impression.

Their strategy and effort eventually pay off and pay off well. The first of the Earthbound to reveal themselves is a moderately sized red earth pony stallion wearing lots of tribal tattoos. If he has a cutie mark, it is disguised by his tribal tattoos. His mane and tail is black. It is pretty long too and tied up in several tribalistic-looking braids.

This earth pony doesn't approach the party so much as he stands in one spot and waits for the party to approach him in order to reveal he means the party no harm. From there, he makes no effort to hide himself. That role falls upon others of his tribe instead.

From the look in his eyes, though, it seems his tribe made a very firm conclusion about this party already. When they see him, he simply nods his head in one direction as an indication for them all to follow him. There is a strong look of respect and even some reverence in his eyes when they do make eye contact. Despite that, he acts very calmly. His every movement has grace and purpose to it. His stance conveys confidence and conviction too. Overall, his body language seems to say, “Welcome to our land. Please follow me.”

Daring Do and Stern Wing, who both are the first to spot this stallion since they are in the lead, have matching grins when they glance at each other, for each of them feel the elation of victory.

Margret had been a member of one team that had attempted to negotiate with the Earthbound before and she remembers the cold reception they got back then. As usual, Those Above flew to the Earthbound camp and used their instruments to detect and zero-in on the life signs of the Earthbound. Those Above knew that Those Below are nomadic and, as such, they do not build permanent structures.

However, when Those Above arrived before, only one member of Those Below was visible. The rest were somehow very well hidden and that included their structures or any other evidence that they were ever there. It was as if that one member they encountered was traveling solo. He only had one mission with her team too, and that was to tolerate this intrusion by listening to the reason for the visit and otherwise keep doing what the Earthbound have done before, and that was to turn away the unwelcome visitors.

But this time, however, is dramatically different. At first Margret thought it wouldn't be. Meeting one member of the tribe was par for the course as last time. Instead of turning them all away, though, he leads them all to the rest of his tribe. She has never seen them up close before. The closest thing she ever had to this encounter was holographic projections made by earlier recordings of this tribe.

As for the rest of the TARDIS crew, this is obviously their first encounter with this tribe as well. Despite that, Margret noticed how the rest of her party here innately seems to understand the Earthbound better. Certain members of it in particular.

Every member of this team hasn't been part of the TARDIS journey for long. Of them, Derpy has been the longest, but even she hasn't seen too many other foreign worlds. When she did, she had encountered fantastical, sometimes scary, and wholly different alien life forms. Ponies did seem to be the most common among them, though. That was a fact that didn't escape the Doctor's notice either. He once called them “The human replacements.”

But for Feather Wind and Stern Wing, Water World was the first foreign world they visited. It had ponies too but, compared to this tribe, there are some important differences. Unlike Water World, this tribe does have a few members of pegasi among them. They have yet to encounter any unicorns native to this tribe but it is said that a few do travel among the Earthbound. This tribe noticeably has a wider variety of fur colors to their hide compared to any in Water World. That is true for Those Above as well, but this tribe seems to have a higher variety of mane colors, including multiple colors and distinctive mane shapes.

Eventually, though, Feather Wind notices an amazing discovery, and that is the fact that this is the first time, ever since he joined the journey of the TARDIS, that he has encountered another pony tribe who actually do have their cutie marks. That fact was hidden for quite some time to him due to the fact that those cutie marks are disguised by tribal tattoos painted around it. Over time he starts to notice a pattern to that as well. It tends to be the older and more experienced members of this tribe that have the most tribal tattoos. That is especially true with the very senior members of this tribe.

Going in reverse, the younger the tribe member is, the fewer tattoos they have. The youngest foals, who don't even have their cutie marks at all yet, are also the same ponies who are devoid of any tribal tattoos.

Feather eventually realizes that this tribe openly wears each individual's history directly on their hide. For every important inner personal discovery they make or important accomplishment that they do, they gain a new tribal tattoo that somehow symbolically represents that discovery or accomplishment. It's as if they gradually expand their initial cutie mark and build around it. They are wearing living history in pictograph form.

Either that, or those tribal tattoos are natural extensions of their initial cutie marks that grow, like a plant, on their own. If that is the case then this tribe has even greater reliance and usage of cutie marks than any native Equestrian in the future.

This discovery is initially made by Feather when he noticed young but not fully foal members of this tribe. A teenager, approximately, who only has a cutie mark and not much is built around it yet. When Feather notices that and he has time to more fully process what this means, he passes a secret wind message to the rest of his team to alert them about this fact. When he does inform them, the majority of his party finds this information very interesting and noteworthy. The lone exception is Margret who is barely familiar with the concept of cutie marks, although she did ask some across these several weeks as they traveled.

This team isn't the only ones interested in this fact. This tribe is likewise fascinated by the fact that their new and unfamiliar visitors also have cutie marks with the exception of Margret and Doctor Kelly. They are not shy about their feelings either. Some of them, especially the young, approach to gaze closely at the visitors cutie marks and a few even touch it without permission because they are not accustomed to asking. They are raised by the mentality that all things are shared among the tribe equally.

The TARDIS crew, plus Margret, also hear the tribe gossip about what those cutie marks might represent. As the debate continues, their guesses both quickly and gradually get more accurate which suggests a great deal of practice interpreting symbology.

When Doctor Kelly notices this, she quietly reminds the party that the intense energy of harmony has enhanced life in this area of the world in every possible way, including maximum lifespan. Some of these ponies might be centuries old. That's probably not even regarded as unusual either since that same energy of harmony also makes them all very difficult to kill even by unnatural means.

This is also true for Those Above and, indeed, every single plant and animal in this area of the world and time. Probably even microscopic lifeforms live significantly longer unless they are harmful.

The reason Doctor Kelly points this out is because there might be some important psychological aspects at play here. Almost every individual in this tribe is probably old and wise enough to catch on to the fact that the majority of this party is far younger compared to them. As such, there is a possibility that the party might be regarded in a similar light as a foal with the lone exception of Margret and herself.

In reply, Daring Do gives a silent, neutral nod of appreciation to Doctor Kelly for sharing this information. She privately vows to keep that in mind while otherwise saying nothing further on the subject.

There are a lot of pony tribesmen living in very close quarters to each other here and they don't seem bothered by that fact even a tiny bit. In fact, that seems to be a source of delight and comfort to them. Because of that, they seem to have no sense of boundary in the physical sense. They are galloping around and climbing all over each other. They are even doing so to the visitors but to the least degree which is probably the only sign of caution from them aside from a few tribesmen who regard the party warily from a bit of a distance. They seem especially wary of Margret and Doctor Kelly.

The vast majority of the tribe is regarding the visitors with fascinated delight instead. There are a few who even try to offer cooked foods as if strongly curious how the visitors will react.

The visitors are led to the largest tent within the tribe. Once inside, they notice a spacious but also crowded interior except the exact center of the tent. There they see only three ponies and all of them are very elderly. The one on the visitor's right is a green mare and notably the first unicorn they encountered in this tribe. The one on their left is a white coated stallion earth pony. The one in the center is a faded violet color earth pony mare with a fancy headdress of coiled vines and feathers that marks this one as the most likely chieftain of this tribe. All three of them have white manes, although there are some hints it used to be another color.

One other trait that is very significant about the mare in the center is she has milky white eyes, signifying that she is blind, and she has an ever flowing mane. That last trait is rare among native Equestrians to a legendary degree. In fact, the only example of a pony known for that in Feather and Stern's time is Princess Celestia herself. In Derpy and Daring's time, the only other mare to have that trait is Princess Luna. This is the first time any of them is encountering another with that feature outside of an alicorn.

Those in the party with a more learned background, such as Feather, Daring and Doctor Kelly, all know there are a few other ponies in history with such a trait but they are very rarely born with it. There is much debate about why this ever occurs but a pattern that seems to keep repeating about them is they each share a significant destiny that shapes the world in some profound way, at least eventually.

So, not only are they encountering the first group of ponies with cutie marks, and perhaps an unusual extension of them, but also a single mare with an ever flowing mane. Those Above lack both of these traits.

These observations are really helping some of this party gain greater focus and understanding of what is going on around here and why the Earthbound is regarding Those Above so distant lately.

“Welcome to The Tribe,” greets the center mare. “I am Chieftain Ma'Heira and I've been expecting you.”

Daring Do is taken aback for a moment but then she looks across the other members of her party and gestures downward with a single wing, thus non-verbally indicating that they all need to sit down here respectfully. They do so, including her. Only then did Daring look back, nod in respect to the Chieftain, and say, “Your welcome is most appreciated. Please allow me to introduce ourselves.”

Chieftain Ma'Heira nods in confirmation.

“My name is Daring Do,” Daring introduces. “To my left here is Stern Wing.” Stern Wing nods. “To her side is Feather Wind.” Feather nods. “To my right is Derpy, Doctor Kelly Saddler, and finally Margret Wessle.”

“We are familiar with her,” Ma'Heira says in a carefully measured tone. “We also know why you are here.” Ma'Heira leans forward a bit and says to Daring emphatically, “And I know why you are really here.”

Daring's only visible reaction to that is her eyes widening slightly, but she carefully keeps her own reaction carefully measured as well.

Ma'Heira nods to Daring as she says, “In your heart, you know what our reply will be to your official request.”

“You refuse to work with Those Above,” Daring figures. She feels so certain of that that she doesn't even phrase that statement as a question. “I'm beginning to see why.”

“Do you now?” croaks the old white stallion. “Do you really see why?” He narrows his eyes at Daring. “I recognize your effort, but your eyes remain a bit clouded still. Permit me to enlighten you.”

He waits for Daring to nod in confirmation. When she does, he continues.

“Those Above would have us recruited into a military force to combat the threats of the Chaos Beasts, and indeed . . . they are an occasional threat to us,” the old stallion informs. “But did you also know that they invented the Chaos Beasts in the first place?”

Most of the TARDIS crew, plus Margret, gasp in astonishment upon this declaration. The only exception to that is Daring Do herself who instead narrows her eyes and gains a deeply thoughtful look.

“That can't be true!” Derpy argues. “They are the ones who want to fight the Chaos Beasts the most.”

“Or at least Commander Viraxis does,” Feather corrects. “The majority of Those Above are actually indifferent to this affair. Some of them might not even be aware of these beasts at all.”

“There is more to this situation than that,” Ma'Heira says as she directs her face briefly to the stallion to her side for a moment before turning to regard the party before her again. “The true origin of the Chaos Beasts does not come from this world at all.”

“But that's Trouble, right?” Stern Wing asks in confusion. “That little she-demon doesn't come from this world, right? Yet she is now an honorary member of Those Above too?” she asks with a curious tilt of her head.

“It is true that one does come from another dimension,” Ma'Heira informs. “But she still is more native than the one I speak of.”

“So somepony among Those Above isn't native to this world?” Feather Wind double checks.

“Nor even this time,” Ma'Heira adds poignantly to Feather in particular.

“Oh my Celestia!” Feather Wind gasps. “I know who it is now!”

“Well . . . don't leave the rest of us in the dark,” Derpy encourages.

“It's Commander Viraxis!” Feather announces in astonishment. “He's an alien from another world and time. Moreover, he's not even really a pony despite appearances.” He gazes forward at Ma'Heira in shock. “Commander Viraxis is a Time Lord, isn't he?”

The TARDIS crew, plus Margret but minus Feather Wind, all gasp in astonishment again.

“Are you serious?!” Stern Wing asks in shocked disbelief.

“Actually, I think I agree,” Doctor Kelly announces. “It's all starting to make sense now. I knew there was a strong link to Those Above and my own race. We had way too much in common with our technology and our outlook in life. Too many coincidences added up but now I finally see the connection. This is my race, but before the Doctor saved them from the Time Lords. In other words, Those Above are influenced by my ancestors somewhere in their history who were still embroiled in the Time War.”

“And Commander Viraxis is a warrior of that War,” Feather adds. “But I think he was telling the truth about his frustration over his lack of resources. That might indicate he comes from a time near the end of the Time War when the resources of his ponies are vastly depleted. He might even be the only resource they could spare aside from maybe a small hoofful of your ancestors,” he says with a nod to Doctor Kelly. “Because of this, he can't sweep conquer any of the ponies of this time period and force them to join his terrible war. Instead, he has to convince them to join him on their own accord. To help him do that, he creates these Chaos Beasts to scare ponies into joining his army. He also gave Trouble the blame for their creation. He deliberately designed them chaotically to make it seem like the tiny little draconequus was responsible. And Trouble, for her part, is innocent of this particular crime but doesn't mind accepting the blame.”

“All for the sake of entertainment and to spread chaos,” Doctor Kelly agrees with an accepting nod to Feather.

“If you're right, then his plan isn't working as well as he hoped,” Daring Do figures. “Those Above have ended up too aloof to care much about those threats and they probably deal with it too easily whenever they do encounter one. His fear tactics aren't working with them much so he's turned his attention to the Earthbound instead.”

“Not his first choice, obviously,” Feather adds. “Those Above have a lot of resources to work with that a desperate Time Lord would find enticing, but they are barely cooperating with him. Because of that, that forced him to reexamine his options more carefully.”

“Are you sure that Trouble is innocent?” Stern Wing asks her party very skeptically. “At least when it comes to the creation of the Chaos Beasts? Remember, she did augment them once.”

“We've been over this, Stern,” Feather groans. “That same individual also warned us about the approach of a chaos beast and its most critical abilities.” He shakes his head. “She doesn't care who blames her for this crime or not. Trouble is a reality bender so nothing really threatens her enough to worry her. Instead of that, her actions are guided by her personal motivations and her nature as a chaos spirit.”

“Prolong the game by any means necessary,” says Doctor Kelly.

“I don't think there really is an official deal between her and Commander Viraxis,” Feather figures. “He just got lucky that she willingly accepted the blame, but in the end, it still didn't do him much good.” He gestures to the tent around them. “Hence why he sent us to this village here. He knew these ponies kept spurning him and every individual he sent from Those Above. We are a resource he didn't expect but he's desperate enough to try to exploit.”

“That might also explain why he's so familiar with the Doctor,” Derpy realizes as she rubs her bottom chin with a hoof. “And also why those two individuals probably don't see eye to eye.” She lowers her hoof. “The Doctor often told me that he doesn't like war soldiers or basically anything designed for war and killing, so Commander Viraxis is the very embodiment of everything the Doctor despises.”

“And yet there is a little respect in the eyes, or eye that we can see, in Commander Viraxis when he speaks of the Doctor,” Feather puts in. “They may differ in their tactics and approach to life, but the Doctor is a fellow Time Lord which is also a species gradually growing closer to extinction in Viraxis's time period.”

“And eventually to a point where the Doctor seems to be the only one left,” Doctor Kelly adds.

“We will have no willing part in this War,” Chieftain Ma'Heira assures the group. “That is not our world. That is not the story we choose to be a part of. We will deal with and react to whatever comes our way in this case, such as the occasional Chaos Beast, but no further.”

“What about Trouble?” Stern Wing asks the chieftain curiously. “Has she bothered you as well?”

“Trouble is a part of the tides of fate in this world,” Ma'Heira informs Stern Wing calmly. “Her role is the Trickster. She is the Element of Chaos in this Game of Life designed for the express purpose of creating challenges for others to grow from. She knows and accepts that role, and in that way she is a natural part of life.” She waves a hoof. “Anything beyond that is a personal opinion to each pony. An antagonist need not be a bitter enemy. Such things are up to each individual to decide. Trouble will reflect whatever one projects to her.”

“I think I understand,” Daring says in a tone of realization. “I once encountered another individual like her and I did it of my own accord. In my time, a great disease was spreading and nothing there seemed to have any effect on it. I needed to find the cure fast or many pony lives could be lost. To get it, I took the risk of seeking out a dangerous individual known to ponykind as a Sphinx. She was also a cruel reality bender too, but at least she kept to the rules she set. I had to perform a series of challenges and answer some riddles before she gave me the answers I sought.”

“Which is what eventually led you to this time period, I take it?” Stern Wing checks with Daring.

“We need obstacles to grow,” Ma'Heira assures. “My tribe knows and embraces that. You're here because you know that too deep down.”

When she said that, for a moment she seemed to carefully regard Margret as much as an old blind mare can.

“And Those Above seem to thrive more on security, entertainment, and comfort,” says Derpy. “I think I'm beginning to understand one of the sources of division here.”

“Everypony has their place in the grand role of Life,” Ma'Heira says. “Knowing ourselves is the grand pursuit. There are many ways to do it. We have found our own.”

“But you were once taught it too, weren't you?” Daring asks with a sudden pressing interest. “Commander Viraxis says that Those Below once revered Those Above but something changed. I'm guessing your tribe developed cutie marks around the same time.”

Daring pauses when she notices confusion among every tribesman here except the chieftain.

“We call it something else,” Ma'Heira informs then nods at Daring. “Please continue.”

“Um . . . okay.” Daring rubs the back of her neck uncomfortably. “I don't know how else to ask this, so I'll just ask it.” She lowers her hoof back down and peers at the chieftain sharply. “Did you receive guidance by a Quetzalcoatl named Mezsizethelar?”

It was just as telling to Daring to notice her own party's confusion at that statement as the recognition among the tribesmen. All except one, though, gasped in surprise when Daring uttered that name. There is immediate gossip among them how Daring might have encountered that name.

“As you can see, yes,” Ma'Heira answers Daring. “We are quite familiar with that name. It is one we highly respect, for he is The Great Sage. A Divine Serpent who Teaches Knowledge to those who seek it with Eyes Unclouded.”

“That is what I seek!” Daring presses harder. “That is why I am here. My eyes may be clouded, but that is exactly what I wish to change. I seek Knowledge because it is sacred to me.” Daring spreads her fore hooves. “How may I prove myself worthy of your guidance to him?”

“That is among our most sacred knowledge,” the old stallion informs. “We do not share that one lightly, especially to non-tribe members. For those who are, we see it as a sacred Rite of Passage.”

“Some come to Him seeking Knowledge about the Marks of Destiny,” the old green unicorn speaks up for the first time. “Or come to Him seeking more Knowledge about the Marks already unlocked.”

“What is Written in the Stars gets Written on the Flesh,” the old stallion announces. “As Above, so Below. We are the Sacred Pioneers of Destiny.”

“As for worthiness, in the end, only you can really determine that,” Ma'Heira says then nods at Daring in respect. “You've taken many steps in that journey already, Young One. With Map in one wing and a compass in the other, you venture Daringly to lands uncharted. You live the fruits of your labor, and for that . . . you have earned our respect.”

The old white stallion gives a certain “look” to his chieftain for a moment before nodding to her then looking at Daring and says, “Destiny Marks your flank well too, Young One. For any of you who decide for yourselves that you are worthy, you may join our Tribe in a Celebration of Union. You already passed our tests in Our eyes.” He nods to the visitors. “The rest is up to you.”

“If we do that, then we may also partake of this Tribes Sacred Knowledge?” Daring checks.

“Indeed,” Ma'Heira confirms.

“Then I accept,” Daring declares boldly with no further hesitation.