"The need for connection and community is primary, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food."

  Dean Ornish, American Educator

  The Tribes of the Fairies from across the world had gathered on the eastern edge of the Lake of Memories, each having staked claim to a small patch of land along the shoreline or beneath the fast-rising hills that surrounded the lake. The lake itself stretched far into the distance, well beyond Milly’s sight, its gentle waves sparkling in the evening light. Each of the tribes had erected colorful tents across their ancestral sites and flew bright banners hung from tall trees, each utterly unique in shape and image. Milly could sense the rich history of rivalry and allegiances in those banners, coming alive on the evening breeze as the sounds of celebration began to fill the air.

  The Lost Foal’s ancestral site was hidden away in a dense wood behind a small, reed-filled inlet that offered the fairies easy access to the water and plenty of shade. Flutterwing boasted that the inlet had the best fishing of any ancestral site, and Milly was inclined to believe it given the quantity of fish they had already caught. The smell of roasted trout and walleye was permeating the camp.

  They shared the inlet with the Herd of the Gentle Goat and the Kinship of the Eastern Waves, ancient allies who had greeted the Lost Foals like family. Laughter and tears filled the camps, and upon seeing the Lost Foal’s meager possessions, the Goats and Waves had returned with pots and pans, tents and blankets, and enough food to feed the Lost Foals for weeks.

  There had been no food offered to Milly, Rain, and Calista. The moment they had crossed the threshold of the gathering, all eyes had been upon them. Whispers had already spread amongst the fairies of the outsiders that Elder Twotongue had brought, in direct violation of the ancient laws. At the insistence of Elder Twotongue, the Elders Council allowed the three outsiders to remain in the Lost Foal’s camp until they came to a decision on the matter.

  “Do you think they will be lenient with Twotongue?” Calista asked as they set up their tent own beneath two poplars in the far corner of the Lost Foal camp.

  “I don’t know,” Rain answered uneasily. “Twotongue said he would be banished for bringing outsiders to the Gathering. But perhaps they will be lenient when they hear his reasons for doing so. After all, in our three days with the tribe, we had to fight off two wolf raider packs and had to avoid another six.”

  Calista tied down the final rope with a sharp, impatient tug. “If they banish him, I’m going to have angry words with this council. Twotongue was right to bring us along. The Lost Foals would never have made it without us. Right, Milly? Milly?”

  Milly was sitting on a stone bench, surrounded by her player screens. She had used her earth magic to create the bench, a feat that had been simple and second nature to her. All she had required was a picture in her mind and a gentle wave of her hand, and the stones had sprung from the ground. The stones had twisted into the shape in her mind, complete with complex ivy carvings and, at the insistence of an overly excited fairy child, ‘Property of Flutterwing’ engraved across its surface.

  She was intensely studying the attribute and talent points she had been given upon reaching level twenty. The Scarred Witch class and Oracle’s Avatar had raised her magic attribute to sixty-five, double what it had been before. The difference was striking.

  Before the battle with the wolves, Milly had needed to focus on the magic within her to draw it out. It was a stranger within her, reluctantly controlled. But now? Now, she could feel the magic within her, soaked in her every breath. It was like a second heartbeat. The magic flowed in her veins into every inch of her being. She did not need to seek it out. It was part of her now, no more a stranger than her own limbs.

  Her magic was not the only change she had experienced. Her strength, agility, and toughness had all doubled. She knew she was beyond what any human had achieved back in their world. She felt like she could run for a day without stopping or climb up the side of a cliff at astonishing speeds. There had been a fallen tree across their chosen campsite, and she had simply lifted it above her head and hurled it into the brush with little effort. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.

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  Was this the power of the God Contest? The power they could achieve through survival?

  “Milly!” Calista shouted again, breaking Milly’s concentration.

  “Huh? Oh, sorry Cally. What did you say?” Milly stammered, peering over her screens towards Calista.

  Calista sighed. “Never mind. Have you made any decisions yet?”

  “I think so,” Milly began with hesitation. “The five Tier One elemental magics are earth, wood, metal, fire, and water. I’ve got fire and earth, as well as telekinesis from the psychic magic category and Healer’s Touch. Rain had fire and metal magics.”

  Calista nodded her agreement. Rain had been drawing iron and copper from every stone she could find along their journey to the gathering.

  “The second tier magics unlocked by The Scarred Witch expanded the number of magics available, each with its own specialization. Air, animal, plant, summoning, life, death, light, angelic, chaotic, divination, and conjuring are the most interesting ones. And on top of that, each of the basic magics now have advanced augmentations that make them more powerful.”

  “So, which did you pick?” asked Calista with a laugh.

  “Water and Air,” Milly announced, cutting to the chase. “Even if it is only a basic magic, water is too useful to forgo. It is an integral magic for both healing and battle. And the versatility of both air and water makes them key weaving magics. Air and fire can be woven into lightning, and air and water are the basis for controlling weather.”

  “You don’t want to augment one of your existing magics?” Calista inquired.

  Milly glanced down at her scarred arm. “They are strong enough. Besides, the wolves were resistant to fire. We need to anticipate there will be more resistant monsters as the God Contest progresses. I would rather have flexibility over power.”

  Calista nodded her agreement but added a note of caution. “We need to be careful. The monsters are one thing. But the Contest is changing us, Milly. You get hurt, and the next thing we know you wake up with an instinctive knowledge of magic and can lift tree trunks above your head. Yesterday, I watched Rain transform a squirrel skin and shard of iron into a hat that also serves as a nightlight. Hell, I can feel this pendant around my neck beaming knowledge into my head whenever I am around the fairies and the wolves. I’m not sure we can trust what is happening to us. There is someone controlling this God Contest, and I don’t think they have our best interests in mind.”

  Milly thought of Luna, and the message Luna had secretly left her. She needed to find a backdoor soon. Tonight.

  “It’s not like we have a choice, Cally,” Milly answered with conviction. “If we do not get stronger, we will die. It’s that simple. Eventually, that dragon we saw will come knocking, and if not, it will be another monstrosity in this world. I’ll not sit by and let that happen. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you both safe.”

  Calista walked over and gave her a gentle kiss. “You’re cute when you are protective. Just remember that it was me who carried you while you were unconscious. So don’t get all cocky with your new powers.”

  “Cocky? I don’t… I don’t mean to sound cocky. I’m…I’m just not use to being good at anything,” Milly said meekly, staring at the ground beneath her feet.

  Calista placed a comforting hand on Milly’s knee. “You are good at lots of things, Milly.”

  Milly gave a disbelieving shrug, then projected her talent screen to change the subject. “One last choice to make. I received a general talent point for when I reached level twenty. But I don’t know what…”

  “Regeneration,” Calista said simply, and Milly’s talent screen moved on its own to a web of talents called ‘Self-Love.’

  Milly raised a curious eyebrow as she read the label and gave Calista a playful smile. “How exactly did you find this?” Milly whispered suggestively.

  “Milly!” Calista blushed. “I didn’t know you had a flirty side.”

  “I’ve… never had anyone to flirt with,” Milly replied, feeling her own blush warming her face.

  “I love it,” Calista said, then leaned in and whispered in her ear. “But be careful. I might be more than you can handle.” Calista nibbled on Milly’s earlobe for the briefest of moments, then sat back up and continued as if nothing had happened. Milly felt her blush move rapidly down her neck.

  “Regeneration enhances your body’s ability to recover. It’s not as fast as your healing magic, but it is always active.”

  “Wha…” Milly stammered, focused on the tingling on her left ear left by Calista’s nibble. Her mind was no longer registering Calista’s words.

  “I don’t think you would have been unconscious for three days if you had this talent,” Calista continued, enjoying Milly’s adorable awkwardness.

  Milly’s hand touched her earlobe gently.

  “I need you to be safe, Milly,” Calista finished. “I searched the talent screen for hours, and this is the best option I could find.”

  “I… Cally, I…” Milly stammered, feeling like her brain had disconnected from her mouth.

  Calista leaned in again, her lips tantalizingly close to Milly’s other earlobe. “Do this for me, won’t you, Milly. I’ll make it worth your while,” she whispered suggestively.

  A second later, Milly had the Regeneration talent. And no regrets.

  The Non-Canonical Aftermath