Fate's Emergence

•] XXXII [•

"A Year's Passing"

     The sins gathered on the pavilion to celebrate a year's worth of training and thriving . The Settlement had been expanded , now there were buildings in the clearing to assist their daily life .

     The pavilion was usually converted to a space to practice the sins of religious ideologies . The garden had seen two to three harvests since the planting , causing the sins to find themselves in each other's company more often for dinner .

     Over time they could now call each other friends rather than just strangers achieving a similar goal . "Ceres , we're about to start , come on !" Nau'Jour said as he lowered the tree line to allow the stars a bigger stage to perform .

     Falling stars adorned the sky and they each began to make their wishes . 'To see my family .' Many of them thought .

    'To become the greatest and highest version of myself , someone my mom and aunts can be proud of .' Iniko wiped his tear-stricken eyes watching to see if the others had noticed .

     'To become a prosperous Queen .' Cypris and Marisol had seemed to come to the same conclusions about their goals . The dragons emerged from the tree line and like a symphony let out belts , roars , and clicks .

     "Now , everyone ! Let's eat !" Barqael announced he was the first to lift his wooden plate . "Wait ! A toast is in order don't you think ?" Ceres interrupted , with a sigh he lowered his plate once more . They all raised their wooden cups to toast .

     "I think I'll take this one ," Alizae chimed in , "we've been on the Island of Middle Earth for a year now ! I've seen you guys grow to not only better people but extraordinary sins . People , I can call comrades ! So , this is to further friendship , pushing progress , and endless endeavors together ."

    They clinked cups and began to pass around vegan dishes . Barqael skipped side portions and immediately grabbed the rabbit he'd cooked himself . "Please share ," Cypris said , extending her palm . He cut the legs and left the rest for the others .

     As they all began to settle with their full plates , Marisol was the first to speak . "What is something you guys learned whilst being here ?" She probed , sitting back and drinking a deep wine .

     "That a birthday here is probably like twenty out there ." Nau'Jour laughed , they could all agree that Middle Earth was quickly nearing winter . With them all being transported in different months to eras it was difficult to tell for the lot of them .

     "Yeah , it was like May when we left , right ?" Cypris asked her sibling , and she peered up from her plate nodding . Alizae nodded and pointed her finger in agreement . "How odd , it was roughly November in Paris ?" Barqael announced .

     "Something I learned is that we aren't alone ," Iniko said slyly , he looked down and continued picking at the contents of his plate . This caused Nau'Jour to nearly choke on his drink . While Cypris pat his back the others looked in bewilderment .

     "I've been very quiet about this because I couldn't tell what it meant . I didn't know if it was my family making contact or maybe I was just hallucinating , either way , I was terrified ." Nau'Jour gulped his drink heavily , avoiding any eye contact between them .