When I wake up the next morning, I quickly raise my left arm towards the ceiling, allowing me to see the bracelet on my wrist. It wasn't a dream. I let my arm fall back down and close my eyes, smiling as I remember our night together.

I look besides me and see Xarem, who's still sleeping. He's facing away from me, so I wrap my arms around his chest and hug him from behind. He eventually reacts by wrapping his own arms around mine, locking me like this, but I don't mind.

I fall back in a half-asleep state, simply enjoying Xarem's proximity.

After a while, he moves around, indicating that he's fully awake now. I let go, and he turns towards me, clearly just as happy as I am that none of what just happened was a dream. He brings a hand to my cheek and gently caresses it.

"Good morning. I can't believe I actually managed to get with you... Truly the best and most beautiful life partner I could have asked for."

"Hey, I'm nothing special..."

"That's not true. You're a Rai'ire, and that makes you special no matter what, but even if you weren't, you'd still be everything I could ask for. You're pretty, smart, talented, good with children... And above all else, you're you."

"Aw, shush, you're going to find a way to make me blush despite my skin always being white."

"Now that's something I'd like to see!"

We exchange a few more pleasantries and kisses before getting up and having breakfast. Since I didn't bring any clothes aside from my nice dress, I borrow some of Xarem's, but they're way too large. I make sure to properly wash my face and fix my hair before changing back into my normal clothes to head back home.

"I still have a lot of preparations to do before leaving the village, but we'll still see each other, right?"

"I'll make sure we do."

With that, we share a last kiss before I climb down the ladder and leave his house.

When I get back home, my mom asks:

"Did you end up spending the night at Xarem's place?"

"Ah, yes, it was late when we came back from the forest, so he invited me over."

"I see. Well, I hope you had a good time, and..."

She stops for a moment upon noticing the bracelet around my left wrist. Her surprised expression quickly morphs to a satisfied smile, and she says:

"Well then, looks like a lot happened last night. Can I expect grandchildren soon?"

I see my dad's head pop through the door to the living room.

"Did I hear someone say 'grandchildren'?"

"Look at what's on your daughter's wrist."

He enters the main room, so I lift my arm up to show him the bracelet. He also starts smiling.

"I guess Xarem didn't want to let you leave without sharing his feelings for you."

I see his eyes fill with water as he continues:

"Children grow up so fast. To think that our little Pailu became such a fine adult and found a life partner already. Of course, can't think about moving out yet with you leaving the village soon, but now you know what to focus on once you come back."

"I do! It's hard to predict when that will be, but I look forwards to it."

"I'm glad to hear it. Oh, I have something for you."

My dad opens one of the drawers in which we keep our tools, and takes out a black woodcarving knife. He brings it to me and says:

"It's done. That blade should last you for a very long time."

I grab it, beaming. I check that it's comfortable, then tap the edge with a finger to get an idea of its sharpness. It's perfect!

"Thanks! Did you try it?"

"It's your knife, so I thought you should be the first one to use it. There's also a sheathe to protect the blade when you carry it."

He hands it to me, so I make sure it fits properly before heading to our storage room. I grab a small block of wood and start carving it. I'm not trying to make anything in particular, I simply let the knife guide me as I remove material. It's so sharp, I feel fully in control of my movement. With this, I'll be able to make very detailed sculptures.

I grab another, larger block of wood, then head to the balcony, where I begin work on my next project.

The next few days end up being a bit of a blur. I spend as much time with Xarem as I can, but I need to finish preparing my food. I also find myself having to try my wyrmscale armor for adjustments, and I use some time to train with the sword I got from our human prisoner, now with a new hilt, to get used to its balance. With everything moving so fast, I'm surprised when the eve of my departure arrives.

I'm in the Elder's office, and a map is laid out on his table. He points to the mountain range to the north of our village and says:

"By crossing these, you will reach the human territories. However, the path through is treacherous, and many wild beasts, some of which are extremely powerful, have their nests all across the mountains. It would likely take you so long to walk through them normally that you wouldn't have any time to investigate these rumors of a new Hero. As such..."

He grabs another map, then overlays it over the first.

"... I recommend that you use the old abandoned dwarven tunnels."

"What? I can do that?"

"Yes. Long ago, the dwarves sought the expand further into the mountains, eventually encroaching on the giants' territory. A vicious war erupted, at the end of which the dwarves collapsed a large number of their newer tunnels as they retreated. From what remains of them, there is no way to reach any of their underground cities, but they still provide convenient shortcuts through the mountains. They don't reach all the way to the other side, so you will need to do part of the journey on the surface, but it should win you a lot of time nonetheless."

"And those lines drawn all over the mountains on this smaller map, they represent these tunnels?"

"They do. Here, take it, you will almost certainly need it if you want to find their entrances."

I grab the map, roll it, and store it in my bag. This should make the journey easier.

"Thank you, Elder, I'll make good use of it."

"I certainly hope you will. With this, you should be ready to head out tomorrow. Was everything else taken care of?"

"Yes, I have everything I'll need on my journey. However, I wanted to know what's to become of the human prisoner."

"Ah, yes... One of our healer prepared an extremely powerful sleeping drug, which will be administered to him. A hunt party is heading for the mountains tomorrow, to a different region from the one you will cross, so they will bring him with them and simply abandon him there. Since he's not familiar with the region, he won't be able to find his way back here. It's simply not feasible to bring him all the way back to human-controlled territories, so he will need to find his own way back."

"Well, he did seem like he had some experience adventuring, so he might be able to manage."

"Why did you insist on keeping him alive? Executing him would have been much simpler, and it's not like he was all that friendly to begin with."

"From the way he was dressed, and considering the equipment he carried, it's possible he was someone at least somewhat important. I might be worrying for nothing, but I would rather not risk the possible aftermath that could rise from him dying here and being eaten by wild beasts."

Of course, the truth is that, as former human and former Hero, I feel uncomfortable with causing the death of a human. I did swear an oath to protect humanity, after all, and despite all the changes I went through, I still feel some attachment to it.

"I see... You're a very prudent one, Ai'erina. Do not let that part of you get in the way of things you must do, however. You might come to regret it."

"Yes, of course, Elder. Thank you for everything. I will now head back home."

"Very good. Sleep well tonight, you will need that energy for the journey."

The next morning, I collect everything I prepared and stuff it in my bag. I put my wyrmscale armor on, then cover it with the large travel clothes my mom made for me. I fasten my sword to my belt, put on some reinforced boots made for long journeys, and wrap a waterproof cape around my shoulders. I have extra insulating layers in my bag for when I reach the mountains, plenty of emergency food for when I can't hunt, containers I can fill back up when I find sources of fresh water, a few maps of this region, the mountains, and the regions past them, and various useful items to have with me.

When I enter the main room, my mom beckons to me.

"I prepared a little something for you, come sit here on this chair."

On the table are a few small bowls filled with the body paint we often use before going hunting. Nobody really knows where that tradition comes from, but it came to be treated like a good luck charm.

As I sit, I ask:

"What is this for? I'm not going on a hunt."

"You probably never heard about it, but we have a custom when someone leaves on a long journey. I'm going to create a pattern, one that represents travel, but I won't complete it. It'll only cover your right cheek. That way, when you come back, I can paint the rest of it. Of course, the paint will fade away long before you return, but we do it anyway."

"So by accepting it, I promise to come back and allow you to complete it."

"That's right. Of course, promises sometimes get broken, but... It gives you one more reason to come back."

I smile and nod before responding:

"I'll make sure to let you finish the pattern, then."

I leave the house, my parents following me. We walk through the village, heading towards its northern edge. There, various people are waiting to see me off. The Elder, our combat teacher, a few of my classmates, plenty of people I've interacted with over the years even if only in minor ways, and of course, Xarem and his parents.

This is the last time I get to see him before going away for multiple months. I'll miss him, so I run towards him and give him a vigorous hug, doing my best to sear how it feels into my memory. We stay in this embrace for a while before I finally find the strength to let go. He looks at me with a smile that doesn't hide his own pain as he says:

"I'm going to miss you. A lot. So come back as soon as you can, okay? And if I ever start feeling like it's taking too long, I'll go find you myself."

"I'm counting on you to come and get me out of trouble if I need help then."

That gets him to laugh. I turn towards my parents, and my mom speaks first:

"Already old enough to go out and see the world with your own eyes. I feel like it was just yesterday that I first held you in my arms... You grew up so fast, and we're proud of you. There's no telling what awaits you out there, but I have the utmost confidence you will find a way through."

My dad continues:

"With everything we taught you here and made for you, I think you'll be able to manage just fine. That's not to say the journey will be easy though, so be careful, okay? You can't help shape our future by participating in the congress if you fall off a cliff or get killed by humans who realized you're a monster, so make sure to keep your priorities straight."

"I will. Thanks mom, thanks dad."

After that, the others give me small words of encouragements, so I properly take the time to say goodbye to each of them. I finish my round by going back to Xarem and telling him:

"Last one for the road."

I then drop a kiss on his lips, which he responds to by kissing me back multiple times. We smile at each other, and I take a few steps north, detaching myself from the crowd. There, I turn around and say:

"Thank you, everyone, for believing in me. I promise to become someone our village can be proud of. I didn't prepare any speech or serious parting words, because I didn't want to make this harder on us, but..."

I pull out a necklace with two carved pieces of wood at the end from under my shirt, showing it to everyone gathered here. One of them is a series of three characters in the Rai'in alphabet, each of them representing the name of a member of my family: my mother, my father, and Falie. The other is a series of symbols that represents the name of our tribe. I used my new carving knife to make them.

"... I made sure to be able to carry you all with me. With Xarem's bracelet and this necklace, I'll always feel connected to this village, my home, no matter how far I travel. I'll see you all upon my return."

The others smile and nod in approval, then wave goodbye to me. I turn around, putting my village behind me, and start walking towards the mountains, a place as unpredictable as my own future. This time, I'm no Hero, and I have no war to win. This journey is mine to shape as I wish.