[Stomoxys]

Ælios sat in Korro's cabin and did not appear to be doing much. When we looked in, they said it was about time to empty Nillet's lungs. However, they wanted to air out the cabin first and opened a hatch, getting a good look at the harbour in the process. They then asked us to join them somewhere we would not be overheard and Nuur-Karif offered their cabin. Everyone filed in, making it a bit cramped, but we managed.

The surgeon wanted to know how we could know so much about Korro and Nillet. We did not really know anything, but if we pieced together what we had been told by others and witnessed, everything pointed to the Tivito's rituals involving a great deal of torture. The treatment of the old female at Gritt's crypt had been brutal. I said that in earlier cases we had seen, the spirits had been completely ripped from their bodies and been used as energy sources. Nuur-Karif mentioned that Korro had talked about their spirit had been coloured which reminded me of Korro's aura. It had looked as if something had been added to it, smearing all of it with a dirty colour.

Ælios thought this sounded like madness or desperation. Only someone who did not care at all about the suffering of others could do something like this. While I agree that Tivito's behaviour is deranged, Ælios must have somehow been sheltered from other apeoids. They seemed like they were completely unaware of the petty cruelty that is the their hallmark. Wolfram was the one that had to explain that Tivito appears to be crazed for power and does not care how much suffering they cause. Ælios insisted that apeoids from the west were less barbaric, but I have my doubts. They also mentioned the lands to the south, but did not appear to have much more information when I asked. Their advice was for us to leave Arland, but Wolfram said we had to fight the wild mages.

According to Ælios, Korro and Nillet had some kind of connection and wondered if they were siblings or a breeding couple. If Grogg's nose was correct, Nillet had been in The Cities of the Prince while Korro had another mate and offspring in Arland, so this seemed unlikely. Korro had acted very protective after Nillet was wounded, but that could just be fear of the consequences if Nillet died. Either way, Ælios thought they should not be separated.

In order to to extract Nillet's spirit from the needle, Ælios needed something else to contain it in. I told them about the clay tokens we recovered after the skirmish in Hosei. They were very interested and I ran to fetch the jars. Nuur-Karif were sent to fetch a folder from Ælios' chest and they returned right after me. Ælios produced several thick mats from the folder and placed them on one of the beds while urging the rest of us to keep our distance. Nuur-Karif took the opportunity to leave with Yana.

Ælios put on white gloves and covered the mats with a soft fabric before placing the jars very carefully on top. For several minutes, they just stood there looking intently on the jars. While they did not appear to use any spells, they seem to be able to detect magical energies and might have been studying the energies around the jars.

After staring at each jar for several minutes, they picked one up and studied it more closely for a while and then repeated with the other. Satisfied they had gleaned everything they could from the jars, they produced a set of tweezers and placed one of the tokens on a cloth and carefully cleaned it with a brush. They then put a finger on it and cast a spell.

When they were done, they turned to us and asked if we knew how valuable the tokens were. If we gave them the tokens, they would owe us slaves and gold if we ever visited them in the west. Wolfram was not interested in either, but wanted to know if they could be used to contain the spirits. Ælios thought the token could hold many things, but at the moment, it contained something else. Wolfram wondered if it could hold a demon, but that would be too much.

According to Ælios, no such tokens had been produced since the realm in the south disappeared. We have heard mention of the realm south of the swamp before and that it has become the land of the dead. It is unclear how long ago that was though. Sometime before the last cataclysm and possibly during some earlier cycle.

I wonder how long the Kabal temple at The Evening Fort has been sealed. There were piles of these tokens and I doubt that the Aldera's have kept it closed since the last cataclysm. Combined with Tivito's willingness to use the tokens, I believe they are still being produced in Arland, or at least were not that long ago.

If we gave Ælios the tokens, they would do everything in their power to get Nillet's spirit out of the needle and they would try to give the patients a natural death. Wolfram was reluctant, but I had no major objections. None of us would leave the ship anytime soon either way though.

I asked Ælios if they knew anything about the stars, but they claimed ignorance. However, they mentioned that the equivalent of Azura in the west was called Salla and still had male priests.

The talk of stars made Ælios think of something and asked me to get Nuur-Karif and Yana. They said they had an important question. Nuur-Karif and Yana were in the hold and I told them Ælios had something to say. They joined us and Ælios said they were going to ask us something personal. They would rather we did not answer at all than lie, giving Nuur-Karif a stern look. After we all agreed, they asked if anyone had read a prophecy over us.

I said that we had not gotten access to the prophecy, but that someone had said we were the ones to release everything, but did not mention Isa by name. None of the others remembered Isa's words it seemed, and Wolfram claimed we had heard the prophecy, mistaking the Azura priest's prediction for a prophecy concerning us. Ælios thought it was strange that nobody had read our stars and said it happened for everyone in the west. An individual star reading for everyone would be a logistical challenge, so I suspect that they really mean the nobility when they say everyone.

According to Ælios, Mir had talked about us and Nulius was keeping a close eye on us. If Mir, like Isa, believed that we were an important part of some old prophecy, that would make perfect sense. Ælios went on to say that in times of turmoil, special individuals often appeared from less civilized areas that had special abilities they did not understand themselves. That we had brought the tokens and did not seem to grasp their significance was a sign that we were such individuals. Other signs that we were special were that Grogg was a troll with a familiar, which was unheard of, and Nuur-Karif's apparently direct connection with their god.

The Homeland is by far the most civilized realm I have seen so far, but otherwise their theory sounds plausible. I have never heard of any People my size that can read the stars like I can. In hindsight, I wish I knew what Toltecatl read in the stars when they chose me as assistant.

Returning to the tokens, Wolfram was suspicious and thought they should be destroyed since they could capture spirits. Ælios said that it might be possible, but it would be dangerous and if anyone should do it, it should be them. Wolfram brought up demons again and Ælios said they had some things they wanted to say before Ninos returned. First, they wanted to know what we knew about them. We said they appeared to be former apeoids that had somehow been transformed into powerful entities. At least some of them seemed to represent aspects of apeoid hysteria. Ælios said that one of the seven was said to be an elf and was connected with the stars dancing in the west. That sounded like Albor.

I asked if the colouring on Korro's aura could have been caused by a demonic influence. Ælios said it was speculative, but agreed that it was possible. I imagine Tivito might have used a small fragment of a demon similar to what happened to Wolfram's bear. A small part of Jori seems to have attached itself thoroughly to the spirit bear. Their spirit appears to still be firmly attached though.