The Gathering

[Koli]

The monsters seemed to be retreating now; they were no match for Koli. Originally his brotherhood had been established for two reasons:1 to keep order over the town it resided in, and 2 to provide protection for the town. Monsters always ravaged the countryside and attempted to pillage the town at night as in this scenario. The first techniques that were taught to any monk were monster fighting techniques.

Naturally with almost 30 years of experience in killing monsters Koli destroyed every enemy in sight. Now they seemed to be retreating. He found himself in the town square with for or five militia men helping him fight monsters as the monsters turned tail and fled. Koli rang the bell to signal all villagers who were still alive to gather after the attack. When a good portion of the town had arrived shaken up but unharmed, Drake arrived. Koli hoped that Drake would understand his lack of words, and so he did.

"Villagers of Rabinrast," Drake said in a loud voice for all in the town square to hear, "We must now find all of the wounded and the lost so that we may assist them in their recovery."

None of the villagers suggested otherwise so Koli and Drake began to help transport people to the town square. Some were in great pain and others were deceased. When counted there were four casualties and thirteen wounded. Koli used his Eyes of Hero on each of the wounded to ease their pain as Drake and the medical technicians of the village bandaged up the patients. When all was said and done a man from the medical staff turned to Koli and Drake.

"Thank you two for all you have done," the man said. "I should have never doubted victor."

[matthewkuch]

Gavner landed on the deck after letting go of the mast and readied himself to obliterate all enemies. The moon was sinking lower over the body of water and the night was growing old. Gavner had not killed or fed tonight, and he was hungry for battle. He leapt for a nearby pirate and tackled him to the ground. Pinning his shoulders to the ground and kneeling on the human Gavner's teeth were mere inches away from the man's throat when he heard an additional cannon shot. Gavner noticed; however, that this shot had come from below.

"Vir!"

Jumping to his feet Gavner left the lucky foe and ran for the lower deck. As he made it to the porthole Gavner looked in to find chaos. Passengers were scrambling around to get belongings and some were even stealing cargo. People were shouting and crying out for help, and that was when Gavner sighted the hole in the ship. There was a new cavity blown in the boat which was slightly larger than the size of a cannonball. Several people were on the floor with large chunks of wood in them.

A wave of relief washed over Gavner. That cannon blast had not been near Vir; there was still time to save him. "Vir Fortis," Gavner shouted through the commotion. "Your Majesty, where are you?"

Gavner ran through the crowd of people to Vir's hammock, but his heart sank when he reached its spot. There was no hammock there any more, and Vir was nowhere to be seen. Gavner ran to a stack of barrels and leapt up on them. Looking over the crowd he could not find the vampire prince anywhere. Gavner assumed the worst, that he must have been among those injured in the blast.

"Everybody out from below deck!" Gavner shouted to the crowd. He did not want anybody else to be injured from cannonfire. Instead of rushing to the porthole that led between decks, all of the passengers began to run for their possessions. "You fools," Gavner shouted while trying to push passengers towards the door. "If you do not leave now you will be dead!"

With his sensitive hearing Gavner now detected orders being given from the other ship.

"When I give the order fire at will!"

Gavner ran to the passage between decks. "You Idiots, get the heck out of here!"

"Three, two, one..."

Gavner leapt up on to the top deck just as the final order was given.

"Fire!"

Gavner looked down to give one last order of evacuation but it was too late. The words had not so much as left his mouth when the inside of the wall exploded. The cannons of the Black Sails Armada ship had all fired and destroyed the right side of the ship. Giant splinters and shards of wood flew in all directions, and worse; into the passengers. Chunks of wood and shards of metal scathed every passenger below deck.

Gavner felt greater disappointment than he had ever felt in his entire life. Disappointment in himself that he could not have gotten any others out. He should have grabbed people and carried them out. Esentially, Gavner's own wishes to save Vir had gotten in the way of the passengers. What kind of a leader was he?

A pirate was sprinting for Gavner from his right side, but the vampire was too distraught to notice at the time. The enemy punched Gavner forcefully in the side of the head that the child of the night was thrown back and landed face to the moon. Gavner planned on evading the pirate by rolling out of range of his attack but before a dark figure came up behind the foe. As the assailant raised his weapon to deliver a blow, the figure from behind grabbed his head and broke his neck. He then picked the pirate up and threw him over the edge of the ship.

"Nobody messes with my generals!"

[black shadow]

Black Shadow took a few breaths. The pain in his back shot through his spine, almost pulsing to a beat. He had to get up, this wasn't the citadel. If he died, there was no coming back. He placed his left hand on the deck and forced his way up, stumbling from the pain. THe sounds of the underdeck cannons rang in his ear, and he knew that this battle would soon be over. Black Shadow looked for Gavner and spotted him, another vampire standing over him, helping him up.

"Let's get out of here." The captain on the pirate ship shouted. His men began to climb over the boards and back onto their own ship.

Oh no you don't Black Shadow though as he grabbed his sword, the pain in his back now gone, and jumped from one ship to the other. Three of the pirates saw him and attacked at once. Black Shadow took a step to the side, causing one pirate to kill the other that the first did not see. He then attacked low at the third pirate, swiping his feet from underneath him and stabbing his chest when he slammed into the ground. Black Shadow turned to the first, sword in mid swing. Black Shadow slashed up blocking the pirates attack, then kicked him in the chest. He stumbled back and fell off the edge.

"That's enough!" The captain said. "We settle this in a one on one. Pick your best fighter, whoever wins gets to be free, loser..." The captain began to smile. "Dies."

Captain Jack Callaghan stepped onto the ship and into the ring or merchants and pirates. "It will be me than." he said.

Captain Howland Pyle's smile grew even larger. "It will be a pleasure killing you, Captain."

[dracoboy8]

[So you know how most people have a guardian angel?] Gabriel said to Drake. [Koli does not have one.]

[Well what does that mean?] Drake replied telepathically.

[It means he never sins.]

[Wait, I thought that was impossible.]

Drake noticed that Koli was giving him a strange look. Drake snapped out of his trance-like state and looked at his friend attentively. Koli raised his eyebrows and continued to stare.

"Oh, it's nothing," Drake mumbled. "I'm fine."

[Very difficult but not impossible,] Gabriel replied. [Koli has sinned before in his life, but he has not sinned in over twenty years. You are traveling with somebody who has an extreme amount of self-discipline and willpower.]

"Come Drake, come Koli. Let's go back to my house where we can get a good night's sleep," Said Victor. "The battle is over and you deserve it."

Drake took one last look around the dark town square and took in the scene. People were gathered around the injured and the fallen trying to comfort each other. Some would return home tonight without a son or a daughter, or with a wounded child or parent. Such things weighed heavily on Drake's heart and he wished he could help more. As he left he noted once more the frost on the brazen bell that had alerted so many people of the attack that night...

[My advice Drake, make allies with this man. You could learn so much from him.]

A valuable ally Koli would be; and befriend him Drake would.

[Koli]

Koli lay on his mattress of corn husks as he stared at the ceiling thinking; again. Normally he had trouble sleeping, but tonight he was simply not tired. Memories plagued him, not substantial enough to be dreams but not to insignificant as to vanish after a few seconds of. Although most passed after 5 minutes at the most, there was one memory that he could not shake. The memory of a monk in the brotherhood who became a priest. Among all of the priests in the brotherhood, he was by far one of the best in his prime. After he made it to the top he was among the holiest of all priests; nothing could get in the way of him and the truth. Then the clash with the demon changed everything.

Demons rarely showed themselves to people but when they did it was a serious issue...

---

"Koli what is wrong, my dear child?" Koli heard his mentor ask from across the room.

Koli was six years old and was in a learning session with Abbas Amo, the best teacher in the brotherhood. Somehow he always knew when something was wrong. Amo was the one who took care of him ever since he was small, teaching him how to live and take care of his needs. After Koli learned how to carry out the basic tasks of life Amo began to teach him the ways of the brotherhood; reading and writing were essential.

"I can see that you are troubled... What has been on your mind?"

[matthewkuch]

"You have to be more vigilant than that child, or you'll never live to command an army!" Vir said with a smile.

"What do you mean child sir, I'm thirty-eight years old!" Gavner relplied. He had been blooded when he was eighteen and vampires aged at one tenth the rate of humans. He was thirty-eight but he had the appearance of a twenty year old.

"You may be thirty-eight, but I am eight hundred and fourty three years old. Compared to me you are a mere infant." Vir said with a smile. Extending his hand, the vampire prince helped Gavner up.

"Your Majesty, I thought you were sick. How did you manage to join the fight?" Gavner asked.

"I am sick my boy. I was simply needed up here," Vir said. "I have little strength, but what little strength I have I will use."

"Would you like the potion you gave me?" Gavner said producing the vial of anti-seasickness medicine.

"No, I found some in my supplies. That is what temporarily rejuvenated me." The prince said. "Go and join the fight, my boy; I will follow."

Turning around Gavner noticed that the fighting had ceased. The remaining sailors were gathered around a duel; Gavner could not make out who was fighting but he assumed that the fight was important. Suddenly he noticed that nobody was on the merchant ship and it was slowly sinking; the pirate ship had been pulling away. There was now about fifteen feet of clearance between ships. Running to the edge of the ship Gavner leapt, clearing the distance between the two masses. Landing on the pirate ship, Gavner still could not make out the two attackers so he rushed to the mast. Climbing the large wooden beam hand over hand, Gavner reached the crow's nest and found Black Shadow spectating the fight intently.


"That's not..." Gavner began, realizing that the two captains were fighting. Black Shadow nodded his head somberly and Gavner realized that Jack Callaghan was most likely in the last fight of his life. Gavner had an immense amount of faith in his captain, but the pirate captain was clearly the superior.

And yet, as the duel raged on Jack seemed to be prevailing over his stronger adversary. It was almost as if the elderly captain had been given an extra boost of life as he forced his opponent onto the defense. Upper slashes followed by jabs and side assaults had almost taken the enemy by surprise several times. The pirate captain, Howland Pyle, had almost been run through several times by his opponent. He could not keep up with the newfound energy and intensity that his foe had gained.

By this time Gavner still did not see Vir. Looking to his right he saw that the merchant ship was now over 100 feet away and half of it was underwater. Straining his eyes in the sunset, Gavner's heart sank as he spotted the vampire prince on the elevated end of the ship watching the battle. Gavner could not understand why Vir had stayed; the prince would not be able to rejoin him. The general then realized that Vir had never intended to join them. Vir Fortis, the vampire legend of Clan Durus, planned on passing from the world at sea on a sinking merchant ship.

Shifting uneasily, the pirate crew began to cheer on their captain as they noticed him lagging. Some shouted words of encouragement as others simply yelled phrases like "Ey Cap'n!" and "Yaar!" The captain seemed to be getting angry. Desperate to get out of defensive mode he began to kick at Callaghan's stomach but the merchant ship's captain had predicted this already. He dodged every single assault and counterattacked, grazing Pyle's shoulder.

"Ahh, That's enough!" The pirate captain shouted.

Letting his rage consume him, Pyle blocked an oncoming sword blow and slashed at Callaghan's sword hand. The merchant dropped his sword and grabbed his wound, doubling over as a natural reflex. Pyle was not done, however. Being beyond the point of partaking in a fair fight, the pirate captain kicked the merchant captain in between his legs; sending him to the deck. Jack knew that he had lost the fight, that the seconds of his life were now limited, yet he made a struggle to rise. Pyle lifted his sword and dealt the final blow; the blow that would end Jack Callaghan's life.

But events do not always yield the expected results...

---

As Pyle brought down his sword, Vir Fortis landed beneath the strike. Being an ancient vampire with prince blood, Vir's abilities and attributes had developed far beyond those of Gavner's. Vir probably had over ten times the strength and speed Gavner had, his nails were as strong as diamonds, and his endurance was superior to that of any living thing. Gavner was afraid to see what Vir could have done if he was not ill. Catching the sword on the back of his nails, the vampire prince deflected the blow and glared at the pirate captain.

"Under my rule you would be put to death for your deceit," The vampire said nobly. "I Vir Fortis, War Prince of Clan Durus, hereby charge you with dishonorable conduct in a significant duel and sentence you to death where you stand."

Never before had Gavner seen a vampire prince give a death sentence on the field. Simply the way that Vir was standing intimidated all who looked upon him; his eyes blazed green with rage as his face held calm and cool. Wind blew through his long grey hair, slicking it back and giving him a grave appearance. Friend or foe would unanimously be in consensus that this being of nobility was supreme in authority to all.

"Burn in hell from whence you came, spawn of Satan. Tell your father that he cannot have me just yet." Pyle said.

The arrogant captain raised his blade to smite the vampire prince as he did Callaghan, but this was Howland's last assault. With the prince possessing over fifteen times the speed of a human, the sword transferred from Pyle's hand to Vir's in a blur. Pushing the captain in the chest he stumbled backwards into Vir who had already moved behind the pirate to intercept him. Like a cat toying with a mouse, the vampire prince pushed Pyle from behind stumbling him forward again. This time appearing several feet in front of the captain, Vir Fortis ended the fight. Utilizing nearly all of his supernatural strength and speed available to him in his weakened state, Vir kicked the enemy in the chest with all his might.

There was no sight of movement whatsoever. One moment the captain was at the mercy of the vampire prince's foot, and the next he had appeared slammed against the mast of the ship. He had not flown through the air, nor could anybody detect him as a blur. He simply was one place one second, and another the next. Extending his arm, Vir whipped the sword at Pyle in the same manner he had kicked him and it appeared in his breast. The sound of a thousand cannons rang out deafening everyone on deck; a sonic boom. Everyone stood back in awe at what they had just experienced. Vir turned to the crew of the pirate ship and roared in rage.

Some crew members dove overboard as others crumbled onto the ground in utter terror. Crew members from the merchant ship began to frantically tie up those who had remained, and Vir Fortis collapsed on the deck.

"Your Majesty!" Gavner shouted as he jumped from the crow's nest and descended the mast in a flash. Reaching Vir in under twenty seconds Gavner held the prince in his arms, looking into the face of his fallen kin. "Sir, you did it!"

"No, we did it my boy." Vir said weakly. "It seems I have exceeded the amount of energy I had to give."

"No no no no no no no," Gavner said frantically, "we can fix it. You are going to be okay, tell me you are going to be okay!"

"We all have a certain amount of time in this world, Gavner." Vir said, "I expected to pass on the voyage to Dhethain. An unknown meaningless passing, but you gave me one last battle to be known by; thank you for that."

"Vir..." Gavner said softly, tears forming in his eyes. "You can not leave."

"But I must, my dear child." The dying vampire said, his breaths growing shallow. "A vampire who holds on to things of the past will never be strong for the future. Celebrate the past in remembrance, but never mourn the past for it cannot be changed. Learn from the past and push forward and you, my boy, will become one of the greatest vampires of all time."

So Vir said with a twinkle in his eye, and passed from the world of Althanas nobly; a fitting death for a prince.

[black shadow]

"It will be three-hundred gold to dock your ship here over night, two-thousand for a week, six for a month." The Dock Master said to Black Shadow. He nodded and led the man below deck with Gavner. When they got below deck, The man's jaw dropped in awe. The entire room was filled with gold, hundreds of thousands of gold piled everywhere.

'We will be here for about a week. If we run late, we will pay you after we return." Gavner said, placing a pouch of two-thousand gold into the hands of the dock master. The three walked above deck, keeping the man from focusing on the gold. "Now I know exactly how much gold is in here, and if there is any gone when we get back..." Gavner said, pointing at the dead ship captain, hanging by a sword against the mast. The sword was a long sword about four feet long, stabbed through the captain and into the mast. there had become a game on the ship to see who could remove the sword from the mast. So far no one had achieved the goal.

"y-y-yes sir." The dock master said, moving quickly to escape the ship.

Gavner and Black Shadow looked at each other and laughed. (Black Shadow silently of coarse)

"I see you killed Captain Howland Pyle, what a feat." A man said, walking down the docks towards them. "What brings you here?"

Gavner and Black Shadow looked at each other and Shadow nodded. "We are on a quest to find and destroy a tower we have been informed about." Gavner said.

"Ah, the Great Tower of Tempestatibus. Follow me." The man said, turning away from the two and walking into town. Black Shadow hesitated, but decided to follow the man.

[dracoboy8]

Drake lay on the mat of corn husks, silently gaping at Koli. Before Drake had been in The Order of the Angels, he wandered around aimlessly for eighteen years. The half-angel preferred not to think of this time; he referred to it as the dark ages when he was living in sin. Drake was ashamed of this part of his life; several times along the journey he would try to lead a sinless life with no avail. The angel could not even lead a sinless life but Koli, a full blooded human, had not sinned in over twenty years. Humans were always looked at as an inferior race among the angels and supernatural beings, but maybe there could be exceptions...

---

"Drake, Koli," Victor said to the two adventurers as he slid each of them a bowl of oats over the table, "the town counsel requests your presence. Is that okay? I can always tell them that you refuse."

"No," Drake said after a brief glance with Koli, "we will see them. When is the meeting?"

"In the next hour," Victor said. "Please take your time."

[Koli]

Elurieus's heart was racing as he looked out at the sun. He raced down the dirt path from the cellhouse, the building that held most of the monks' dormitories, to the stronghold. The stronghold was an enormous church with five square-shaped towers rising out of the roof, four medium sized in each corner and one large one in the center. Made for lookouts, each tower could hold up to four archers and mostly hid the inhabitants from view of anybody on the ground. The center tower, however, was a special structure. It held great secrets, and only the High Priest of the brotherhood could enter- along with any others that he granted access to.

Dominion over all the surrounding land in terms of height, the towers upheld roofs that were a lackluster black. Bland grey stone held the roofs atop the towers which sprouted upwards from the same black roofing of the enormous stronghold. The main building itself was made of grey stone with many balconies and plain glass windows. Old wooden doors littered the stronghold, some in random walls leading absolutely nowhere, others leading to balconies and stairs. Large and wooden, the main door faced North which symbolized how a monk should always keep his morals straightforward. Surrounding the stronghold were gardens as well as walls. Flowers and herbs grew in beds around the stronghold as large luscious fruit clung to trees and vines that grew in the yard. Beautiful green, trim grass grew in the yard with all of the other plants. The monks cared for all of the vegetation as if it were their essence of life.

Surrounding the yard, about a quarter mile away from the stronghold stood a grand wall to mark the stronghold's position. The wall was over fifteen feet high with two different gate entrances on each side. Monks were posted at each gate in intervals for all hours of the day and night so that visitors and guests were always attended to. The wall was not meant to keep anybody out or in, but simply to mark the presence of the stronghold. To the East, between the stronghold and the wall, was a small coniferous forest that stretched on for miles. Training grounds for the monks littered the yard and the forest. Monks were trained to the highest attainable skill in martial arts, and were adept with every type of weapon in the world. They were also highly practiced in wilderness survival and medical care, as well as psychology and even blacksmithing. Monks who were in the brotherhood for their whole lives were able to master all of these things to better serve the community and the world by assisting all who needed help and protection.

Elurieus stopped and looked to his right as the conifer forest was bathed in the beautiful shades of pink and orange of the late evening. The colors from the sun tickled the thin tips of the tenable, tame grass and gave the grey gloomy stronghold walls a tinge of beauty as they cast themselves upon the walls.

"Do not be late for the dusk ranking ceremony," father Growin's voice echoed in Elurieus's head, "this time if you are late you will not rank up."

"Yes father," the monk replied. He had been just about to leave the training grounds thirty minutes before nightfall. "I won't let you down."

The priest pulled out a dagger and grabbed the young monk's hand before he rapped the boy's hand with the side of the blade. "Will not, Elurieus, you say 'I will not.' You are a monk, and you will not use contractions. It is not our way."

"Yes sir."

Elurieus rushed through the wooden doors and down a deserted hallway, trying to make it to the ceremony room as fast as possible. He turned the corner and began to hurry down the hall. The doors to the sanctuary were open and the voices of children were coming from the holy of holies, playing and having fun. During this hour it was not uncommon for the youth of the brotherhood to gather in the church sanctuary and share fellowship.

Far off at the end of the hallway through an open door, Elurieus could see a quarter of the sun over the horizon- he could make it to the ceremony on time! The monk started for the ceremony room, which was at the end of the hallway on the right, but he was stopped short. On a bench outside of the sanctuary was a child, no older than five years old, alone with his head buried in his hands. The child silently wept, out of sight from the world as its inhabitants carried on. The sight squeezed Elurieus's heart, making him feel like crying as well.

The monk walked over to the bench and knelt down in front of the child as he wept.

"Hey buddy," Elurieus said, "what is wrong?"

The child looked up, his chubby face glistened with tears. He sniffled and remained silent.

"It is okay, I am here to help."

He looked down at the ground. "The other kids said that I can't play with them because I am too little.." The boy looked up at the monk with his big white irises. "I want to be bigger."

Elurieus thought for a second. "Well when you are bigger, you do not have as much fun."

"But I am the littlest one here. Nobody wants to play with me."

"Well I will tell you what," Elurieus said taking off a silver ring from his right hand, "I want you to have this. Whenever you get lonely, hold this in your hand and it will allow you to relive any memories that you want any time that you want to." Elurieus placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. This was worth being late to the ceremony for.

This is why I am here, Thought Elurieus as he dropped the ring into the little palm of the boy.

---

"Koli are you ready?" The priest heard Drake call to him from the other room. "We have to get going to the town hall meeting or we will be late."

Koli opened his eyes and looked down at the silver ring in his palm. Slipping it onto his right ring finger he stood up as the memory became a thin whisp that soon faded away.

[matthewkuch]

Gavner sat atop the starboard railing dangling his feet over the side of the boat. Darkness lay thickly over the boat and the surrounding body of water as the vampire waited, alone in the middle of nowhere. Not a single star shined in the sky, nor was there any moonlight to spy the waters by. There was a lack of wind, resulting in total stillness. Some thirty feet below, the water met with the side of the boat. Complete silence hung about the air as the boat floated stationary in the middle of the ocean.

“Alright lads, we’ve had a long day,” Captain John Callaghan said earlier as the sun sank low, “Tie up the sails and get some sleep. The Dheathain nights have no wind, and as a captain I think it would be unfit to make my sailors row the night after the battle that happened today.”

Gavner stared out into the distance, not being able to tell where the sea met with the sky. He wasn’t paying attention to that, a trance-like state enveloped his mind, but he wasn’t thinking of anything either. A vast nothingness occupied his thoughts as his mind was incapable of thinking at that time. Somebody placed his hand on Gavner’s shoulder, and the vampire didn’t bother to look and see who it was; likewise, the creature of the night knew he would turn to find the familiar stare of his best friend. Black Shadow gave Gavner’s shoulder a comforting squeeze, and then the creature of the night heard his friend climb onto the railing and sit next to him.

The two stared out into the darkness for a time, neither able to say a word to one another. Nothingness began to develop into thoughts, and all of a sudden Gavner could not stop thinking about the fallen vampire. He closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly, cringing at the despair that now plagued his chest.

“I did not really know him that well,” Gavner muttered, beginning to search for the horizon once more. “He was not of my clan but he still saved me. I suppose that we protect our own because we have nobody else.”

Gavner once again felt the hand of his friend on his shoulder.

“I suppose that even heroes fall, eventually.”

---

For the next three days the crew worked overtime to make it to Dheathain and, with the expertise of Captain Callaghan of course, arrived on the coast by the morn of the fourth. The skipper seemed to lead with a renewed vigor, and knew everything about the possible courses to the mainland. He knew when there were sharp rocks or obstacles that might impede the voyage, as well as when they might sail through questionable waters with the danger of pirates. Callaghan also seemed every bit qualified to command a war vessel as well, as he prepared and gave instructions to the crew on how to operate the cannons below the deck in the case of an attack.

“I’ve witnessed my fair share of battles and it seems that I’ve stretched my luck as it is. I will be taking no more chances. If any other vessel is sighted, assume it is hostile and prepare the guns.”

Early in the morning, about an hour before sunrise, the crew docked in Dheathain. Black Shadow and Gavner began to take measures for the ship’s care while they were gone and the vampire was speaking with Callaghan when a man came and inquired about their journey.

"Ah, the Great Tower of Tempestatibus,” The man said after Gavner described their quest, “Follow me.”

Black Shadow began to follow the man and Gavner bade the captain farewell. “Thank you for everything, captain.”

“Do not worry Gavner,” The captain said, “I will have her in top shape when you return. Oh, and another thing-” he said turning to the crew and giving a signal, “We can’t let you leave without giving your prince a proper sendoff!”

When Gavner looked towards the exit of the ship, the entire crew had lined up forming a tunnel down the unloading ramp. The captain stood in front of the ramp that led into the port and drew his sword, pointing it into the air. Drawing their swords, the rest of the crew angled theirs together forming a point over the tunnel.

“Vir Fortis!” The captain shouted.

“VIR FORTIS!” the rest of the crew repeated.

“Best of luck to you on your journey.”