Kael knocked once before pushing the door open slightly. "He's here," he said. "Faelyn. And… a whole lot of people."
Athena raised a brow. "Already?"
"Yeah," Kael nodded. "They saw him pulling the wagon and figured the notice was real."
Of course. Nothing spreads faster than the scent of opportunity.
She told Kael, "Let Faelyn in. And do exactly what I told you earlier, alright?"
Kael gave a short nod and left.
Elandor, who had been quietly going through some papers, looked up. "Your brother?"
Athena nodded.
"The resemblance is… uncanny," he commented, almost smiling.
Before she could respond, Faelyn stepped into the room, still all grins, with the dust of the road clinging to him.
"Your Highness," he greeted. "I've returned with the tools. And a bit of a crowd, as you heard."
Athena stood. "Let's talk business then."
She followed him outside. Sure enough, a crowd had started to gather near the hall. Curious faces peered around, murmuring about farms and tools. But what caught Athena's eye was the wagon Faelyn had brought.
It had wheels.
Primitive, yes—but functional. It was the first thing she'd seen here that remotely resembled progress.
She inspected the tools quickly. There were hoes, shovels, diggers, pickaxes, even wooden buckets. The quality wasn't spectacular, but it was usable.
"Forty copper for the whole set, including the wagon," Faelyn offered.
Athena didn't even haggle. "Done."
Then she asked, "Do you have any weapons?"
Faelyn rubbed the back of his neck. "Very few, Your Highness. Just some old daggers. Five of them."
She nodded. "How much?"
"A silver coin each," he said carefully. "They're… sort of my treasures."
She didn't blink. "Fine. I'll take them."
Faelyn beamed like he'd just struck gold—which, in a way, he had. She handed over the payment for both the tools and the weapons.
"I'll always be open for business, Your Highness," he said with a small bow, clearly pleased.
Athena turned to Rain. "Go with him. Collect the daggers. After that, take the rest of the day to yourself."
Rain gave a nod and slipped away with Faelyn.
As the crowd buzzed louder, Athena stepped back inside and motioned for Elandor to follow her.
Once they were out of earshot, she asked"Is it possible to purchase food?" she asked, then quickly added, "And livestock?"
Elandor nodded slowly. "Food, I understand. But livestock?" He blinked at her, confused. "Just give it a while, Your Highness. The forest will be swarming with them soon enough."
She raised a brow. "Swarming?"
He leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a whisper, "I thought… you wanted to release them into the wild."
Athena stared at him. "What? No. They're for meat."
Elandor's eyes widened, his face first freezing in realization—then twisting into horror. "No way…" he whispered, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer. "Forgive me, Your Highness, but don't let anyone hear you say that again. That's an abomination."
Athena's expression shifted to one of disbelief. "What do you mean? We need proper nutrition."
"I agree," he said quickly, "but we have rice. Wheat. Vegetables. We eat fish, crabs, sea urchins… but land animals?" He shook his head gravely. "No meat, Your Highness. Not from the land. It's against the Rules of the Water God."
Athena scoffed. "Absurd."
Elandor winced.
She pulled away, brushing invisible dust from her sleeve. Fine. If it's absurdity they want, then I've got plenty of it. She glanced back at him. "Don't worry. Have you forgotten what I told you already? Besides—this isn't the Sea God's island anymore, is it?" Her gaze sharpened. "It's not his core buried beneath it."
Elandor hesitated, then slowly nodded as her words sank in. She was right. In a way, they were a lonesome island now. They didn't belong to the mainland, nor the gods who once ruled them. The sea god no longer watched this place.
"We don't even have a god anymore," he murmured.
Athena nudged his shoulder, snapping him from his thoughts. "Oh come on, snap out of it. We do have a god now. My father—Zeus. He'll take care of us. Don't worry."
All this talk of gods made her feel tired.
"I just need you to find someone who can get those things for me. Animals. Food. Clothes. And woven sandals—but stronger ones. We'll need them in bulk."
Elandor blinked. "Bulk?"
She paused. Right. "I mean… in large quantities."
Understanding dawned on his face.
"Luckily," he said, "we still have the Walters family. They're sailors. Part of the first wave of settlers. For some reason, they never left. They have a ship—not a big one—but they trade between islands. If anyone can get what you need, it's them."
"Perfect," Athena said.
Inside,the small farming team made their way outside,someone began pulling the wagon while Kael lifted the crate. They all moved with Athena leading the way.
Elandor watched her walk away with the group. Then, without another word, he turned and reentered the hall. The once-empty space now seemed to carry echoes of change.
He stepped out the other side and made for the port.
********
The walk to the farmland took nearly an hour on foot. For most of the journey, the group was quiet—awestruck. It was the first time in years that many of them had stepped beyond the gates. The world outside felt open and strange, the wind freer, the sunlight somehow softer. They looked around constantly, like children discovering the sky for the first time.
When they finally arrived, they were stunned by the vastness of the land. The fields stretched endlessly, the green of the valley rolling on in soft waves. Athena pointed to the left side—the section she had in mind for their first attempt. Beyond that, the valley continued on, gently sloping toward the distant forest.
"That side," she said, gesturing towards the right side,"Just leave it empty for now."
The farmers nodded in quiet understanding. She turned to them, her voice steady and confident. "I know this is new to most of you, but not unfamiliar. We're starting from scratch—but not without knowledge."
To her relief, most of them had farmed before, even if it had been years. Muscle memory could be a powerful thing.
She scanned the group before selecting a young girl from among them. "Lysa," she said, "You'll be in charge."
The girl blinked, startled. "Me?"
Athena smiled. "Yes. I've seen the way you observe things—you pay attention."
Lysa straightened. She was only seventeen and had never worked a field herself, but she had grown up surrounded by it. Her parents were farmers once, before the soil began to fail. She had spent her childhood listening to their stories, clinging to every little tale of life before things went wrong.
And now—now she was about to live it.
Athena crouched beside the crate they had brought and began pulling out packets of seeds. One by one, she handed them to Lysa, giving clear instructions on where and how to plant them. The girl's eyes widened in awe. The packages looked unlike anything she had ever seen. Bright, colorful, and sturdy.
"These here," Athena said, holding out a white-papered packet, "are cotton seeds. They're important—pay attention to their spacing. And don't overwater them."
Lysa nodded sharply, holding the packet as if it were a relic.
As the farmers settled into their tasks, Athena and Kael took hold of the now-empty wagon and guided it through the grass toward the Orchard. The trees came into view one by one, their branches heavy with pale red apples that shimmered faintly in the sunlight.
The Orchard wasn't massive—perhaps a hundred trees in all. Kael reached for one in wonder,just how exactly did they grow so fast. Athena and Kael worked on filling the wagon with apples.
Once it was full, they began the trek back to the village, the wagon creaking slightly under the weight. But as they arrived, Athena was struck with a dilemma—where exactly was she going to store all of it?
The villagers had already gathered, curiosity pulling them toward the overflowing wagon. One of them suggested they still had baskets at home, and soon, others began to speak up, offering to fetch theirs too.
Athena quickly told them to bring not just baskets, but bowls—anything that could hold apples. The people rushed back to their homes, returning after a few minutes with armfuls of containers. She began distributing the apples, filling baskets and bowls one after another. Even then, there were still so many left that she had no choice but to place the rest on the bare floor.
She tasked the villagers with washing the apples while she turned back to Kael. Together, they returned to the orchard for another round. This time, Athena took the opportunity to walk him through the route more slowly, pointing out landmarks and turns.
Kael nodded, committing the surroundings to memory.
On the second trip back, Athena let Kael handle the wagon alone while she stayed behind in the village to oversee things. It had already been over four hours since they started work on the field, and the sun was beginning to dip, casting long shadows across the ground.
*****
Not far from the beach, nestled in a cluster of weather-worn houses, a whirlwind of activity was underway.
"Come on, hurry up! We need to move fast!" Walter bellowed as he hoisted a barrel onto his shoulder and stomped toward the dock. The sun had dipped halfway into the horizon.
Inside the main house, chaos reigned. Children darted between rooms, cousins shouting over one another as they scrambled to find clothes, shoes, and whatever food they could stuff into sacks. Walter's family was large—sailors, all of them. Generations of tide-hardened men and women who had always traveled together. His parents had gifted him eight siblings, and all still lived with their own families and families' family under the same shared roof.
"We just ate!" someone groaned from inside. "Must we leave this night?"
"Yes, we do!" Walter barked back. "We need to catch the tide—if we miss it, we lose a whole day!"
His younger brother Groff stormed into the room, half-dressed and holding a shirt. "You didn't say anything about leaving tonight! This was sprung on us!"
"I found out this afternoon!" Walter replied, setting the barrel down with a thud. "Sir Elandor gave me a task. We don't get to say no when the Queen gives an order."
Groff huffed, muttering under his breath, "Still could've let us nap first…"
"Aella!" Walter called out. His eldest daughter looked up from helping one of the smaller children tie a bundle together. "Take care of your siblings and the younger cousins, alright? You're in charge until I return."
She nodded seriously. "Yes, Father. We'll be fine."
Walter gave her a tight smile, then turned to the rest of the household, now gathered around with half-packed bags and grumbling faces. "Listen, we don't have the room to take everyone. Only the adults for now. Kids stay behind."
"But why?" someone asked—his sister-in-law, arms folded over her chest.
Walter let out a breath, wiping sweat from his brow. "Because I don't have a big ship. We need space for what we're bringing back."
"And what are we bringing back?" asked another brother, already carrying a sack on his shoulder.
Walter hesitated, remembering the instructions he'd been given. "Clothes. Food… lots of food. And animals. Loads and loads of animals."
"Animals?" someone echoed. "Why? Hasn't the island healed already? The forest's full of them again."
"I don't know," Walter admitted, "I just accepted the task and the money. I didn't ask questions."
Groff raised a brow. "And we're not supposed to tell anyone, right?"
Walter nodded. "Exactly. We're not allowed to tell anyone that the island is healed. That came straight from the Queen."
A stunned silence fell for a second before his mother's voice rang out from the back. "Well, if the Queen says it, then that's that. Don't waste time arguing."
With the decision made, the family moved like clockwork. Wooden crates were passed hand to hand, bags tossed onto the small ship docked just outside. The children stood on the edge of the compound watching as their parents, uncles, aunts and even cousins bustled about.
"This should last us the trip," Walter muttered as he stashed away the last box of foodstuff in the ship's hold. The nearest island was just over a day's journey away by sail—if the wind was kind.
Aella stood by the water, watching her father with worried eyes.
"You'll come back soon, right?" she asked softly.
Walter crouched to meet her gaze, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "I'll be back before you even miss me."
Then he boarded joining the rest,"Let's row this thing",he bellowed and slowly the ship moved. The children watched till the ship disappeared from view.