Identity Crisis

[Philomel]

(closed to Ruby)

"Two weeks ago now, Delath began to speak, and since then he has not stopped.

Else, it feels as such. Never have I heard such a deep, thunderous tone that was still kind and unthreatening. Many times have I faced foes with such powerful tones, able of moving mountains, however Delath is not like this. That is to say, his physical prowess does not lack the ability to have a mighty blow at a rocky hill, but rather he does not have the desire, nor the true need. It would only be in times of battle and self-preservation that he would submit to baser instincts and do away with his gentle nature.

Now he lounges by me, his great tail wrapped around his mighty frame, a massive chest heaving up and down. His ears flicker as flies buzz around his face - long, tapered things that almost match mine. Forelegs stretched before him his head is still high above mine, despite the lying position, and he follows what I write with curious eyes. Every so often I have glanced back at him, trying to gauge if yet he can read writing, not just speak, but he has let nothing on. With the fact he suddenly decided to start speaking, yet knew many words before it, however, I would not put it past him to have taught himself reading also. In private.

Here we sit, nevertheless, side by side at the edge of a large lake. I write these words on parchment with a determination that I should write some of my life down at least - my thoughts and wonderings that my daughter Celandine may find useful one day. In these I plan to scribe my rise to power, the true testimony of the Gilded Lily, and why I did what I did. I will continue to write as the sun streams through the narrow slits of trees between us and bounces off the surface of the water. As I come to terms with what I am, and what my life is leading to.

For I am a faun, and I am a matriarch. I am also a dragon rider, no matter that my dragon does not fly. I am a mother, I am a being who's soul is likely bound to an earth-spirit (my beloved Veridian who has gone wandering off already). I have suffered loss, I have known gain, and I have friends and enemies. This is the start of my confession, the truth about me and what I am, what I am likely to become.

This is the life of Philomel van der Aart, devoted servant of the goddess Drys.

This is my admission to a severe identity crisis."

[Ruby]

Soul searching, and open water often went hand in hand. Ruby strolled around the lake, oblivious to all and sundry save for the dancing waves and her own inner turmoil. Wistful, which had become more and more her preferred state of mind, she reflected on the week’s events and the changes she had undergone. All of Her, every bit, had been stripped away and she no longer recognised the woman that remained. The landscape mirrored her confusion as winter turned to spring, leaving behind memories of bleak abandon in favour of a promise of green leaves and new beginnings.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said after a long silence.

The pale skinned woman at her side nodded sombrely. She had accompanied her sister for over a league, waiting patiently for the brooding to turn into reflection. Time and time again they had found themselves in this exact precedent, taking it in turns to call upon the other in times of darkness and doubt.

“About what?” Lilith raised an eyebrow, but kept her eyes locked onto the snaking peninsula that extended out towards the lake’s heart.

“Leopold.”

Decisive and to the point, the assassin couldn’t help but turn her doubt into a proud smile.

“That’s something.”

“But is it?” Ruby sighed. She stepped around fallen logs and lithely mounted lichen smothered rocks as though the wilds were a ballroom floor of polished marble.

“Certainty in times like these gives us focus. Something to work on. Someone to hate.” Though she chose her words carefully, Lilith bit her tongue when she realised her mistake.

Ruby turned sharply, eyes sparkling but with anger, not her usual inner fire. Though her hair was now grey and her feathery brow a mere mortal’s mantle, Lilith could see the flames and felt the anger and the heat all the same. She stopped and folded her arms across her bosom.

“I’m sorry.”

“I do not hate Leopold.” Ruby sounded so sincere Lilith winced. “Far from it.”

“Then, perhaps elaborate?” Lilith shrugged. “He’s obviously playing on your mind. Why?”

The spell singer relented and slouched. She turned away and continued onwards, skirting the rockpools and delicately balancing over a moss shrouded log that separated the shore from the spidery arm of land that served as their destination. At the very end of the tract a solitary tree stood defiant of winter, it’s leaves still gold and amber, life clinging on as though Autumn was still in its zenith. Time and time again the sisters had taken tea beneath its branches, reminiscing about days of yore and reconnecting over the one thing that proved unbreakable about them – family.

“He gave up so much for me. In his hour of need, I risked everything for what?”

Lilith reflected on the incident at the Ice Henge and wondered. Had Ruby any control of events? Had the Phoenix within her simply burnt too bright, and possessed her sister? She had burnt so fiercely the remnant of the old God, of a former life had snuffed itself out and left Ruby forever changed. Neither of them could remember a time throughout their many lives when Ruby’s namesake, the Crimson Matriarch preceded her in reputation.

“I want to say something trite, like love or commitment to a common cause.” Lilith set her boots down on the salty beach that edged the peninsula and waited for Ruby to catch up. When they were both on firmer ground they walked arm in arm up the shore towards the tree. “But, I think it runs deeper than that. You were never really sure about how Phoenix came to be a part of you.”

“Nobody wants to know about their husband’s ex…” Ruby frowned. It had played on her mind and turned dream into nightmare the last few nights. What promise had they made centuries ago that formed such an empowered bond? Who was she, without Phoenix, and did Leopold love her or the fact she reminded him of his first love? Her stomach churned.

“So, ask him.” Lilith wasn’t sure it was quite so simple as that, but she had failed with rhetoric and turned to blunt, obvious action.

“He’s gone off gallivanting with Duffy.” Another reason she doubted herself. In Duffy’s absence the troupe had turned to her unwavering leadership. Now he was back amongst them, she lost the purpose she had found amidst the grief of his ‘death’.

“So, we have time to plan.” Lilith pointed ahead to the tree as it turned from a skeletal silhouette into a real and tangible memory. She stopped and held Ruby back.

“What is it?” Ruby turned to her sister then to where the assassin’s eyes were locked. Every muscle in their bodies tightened as doubt turned into nerves and realisation forged it into anxiety.

“Is that a dragon?” Lilith realised it was but had to check she wasn’t hallucinating.

“Is that dragon talking?” Ruby unsheathed her sword.

Beneath the tree, a large, rocky dragon lounged in the bitter sunlight and a small, somehow familiar figure hunched over a small object. Something about the horns and the ridiculously well thought out attire made Ruby jealous, then relaxed, and then suddenly excited.

“No…it can’t be.” She hurried ahead, sheathing her blade and adjusting her halter to try and vainly match the woman’s beauty. “Philomel?” she cried. “Philomel, is that you?”

Lilith held back, confused to all hells and hands on her tanto. It took her a few awkward moments to remember why that name meant something, and felt a sudden kinship with the faun ahead. She rolled her eyes and broke into a sprint to catch up, the edges of her kimono catching the sunlight and the thought of a quiet, sombre afternoon fading into lethargy.

[Philomel]

It was certainly not who she was expecting to see. Here, around a quiet Concordia lake, where the sunlight whispered on the waters like a long-lost love story. Sitting and writing a diary for the first time Philomel had assuming she and Delath (and Veridian, when he appeared) would be alone for most of the day. Because the forest was there private place, their home and their peace. When they were within the shelter of the trees here rarely was it that they came across even deer or boar. Definitely not another humanoid or being.

Defintely not one they knew.

She stood up, alarmed, and Delath's words fell to nothing. Currently he had been telling a romance tale that he had remembered Philomel's now-dead mother, Lacey, relate from a long time ago. He was at the point where the two young heroes were getting married, and swearing themselves to everlasting bonds, despite come what may.

"And said he, 'Love you much,' and said she, 'Love you too.' Rings put on then, lips met, priest said many things and-"

"Drys above ..." Philomel murmurmed, "Lil ... Lilith?"

And she found herself dropping parchment and pen, the quill floating softly down to be cradled into the grass. Eyes widening she glanced at the running geisha hurrying towards her, strangely shifting her clothes, to a red-haired human behind her. Without warning the faun found her arms raising, and her own hooved legs take her slightly staggering forwards. Over to the woman whom she had last seen striving around the Salvarian snows, both of them lost and confused after Shinsou had just disappeared. And Philomel had found her own way to the Seventh Sanctum and -

Throwing her arms around the woman whom she dared called a 'friend' Philomel ignored the unamused huffs coming from behind her. Delath was getting to his feet, grumbling low as he was confused and lost at all of this, though he did show that he recognised Lilith to some extent. Though the geisha and dragon had never met, Delath had been beneath them the entire time of the journey from Whitevale to Salvar, and had seen much of the connection through Philomel's mind. Rarely had it ever been until very recent times that Delath properly took part in any of Philomel's adventures. Now he could speak it seemed that he was going to be as much a part of her daily life as Veridian was.

Releasing Lilith finally, aware that her mighty swords were digging into the Akashiman's side, the faun took a step back, and honestly smiled. Looking from one to the other she paused before making a slight bow to the other woman and formally introducing herself.

"Lilith it is ... a wonder to meet you. Your friend ..." she placed a hand on her breast, half on the blouse that barely covered anything. Excuse - it was summer and she did not need armour right now. "I am Philomel van der Aart, an honest pleasure to meet you. And," she paused, and gestured behind her to the very suspicious, nearly growling dragon, "This is Delath. He is honoured to meet you too."

"Don't know them," the rumbling, disconcerting growl came.

[Ruby]

“Oh, but you will my grumpy friend. You’re a magnificent beast.”

“Beast?” The dragon’s nostrils flared threateningly.

“Oh, forgive me,” Lilith smirked. “It’s just a saying.”

Though they appeared externally calm and happy, Ruby and Lilith shared a spark of uncertainty and a twinge of fear. Though Delath talked and was a companion to an old friend, there was something primal about standing next to a dragon made of the earth itself.

“We’ve met once before,” Ruby confided. Her hair was only red in the glare of the dying sun, cast ablaze by the encroach of time. “In another life.” Ruby considered wherever now was the time to recount that unfortunate incident in a brothel in Salvar, but decided against it.

“I speak fondly of you to my sister as well, you’ve developed quite the reputation.” Lilith bowed, and gestured at the foot of the tree next to where Philomel had been found writing. “Since fortunes brought us together, would you object if we took tea here?”

Philomel glanced over her shoulder at the mossy hassock and frowned. When she turned back to the siblings she put her questions aside for one more pressing.

“Ermm, tea?” She gestured to the air as though she expected cups to rain down. “With what?”

Lilith took that as a yes and walked around the faun. Delath snorted again, but watched the assassin with simmering discontent. Between every long exhale, if you listened closely, he muttered about how un beast-like he was and how much he hated strangers. She bowed at the foot of the tree and drew a series of symbols in the air. Philomel would recognise them as kanji, but not their meaning.

“You didn’t think we were going to carry it all here, did you? We've a well-rehearsed system for times like these.” Lilith chuckled. “We’re ladies.” She sighed. “Sometimes.”

Ruby took Philomel by the arm and walked her to the newly formed table, snapping into existence from behind a veil of Akashiman lore. As if by magic, several cups and a teapot did appear mid-air and float down to settle on the black lacquer table top. Ruby gestured at the north end of the table, traditionally reserved for honoured guests and rummaged in her pouches for the tea leaves.

“What were you writing, out here in the heart of darkness?” Her neck bristled with goose bumps, genuinely intriguing by something for the first time in days. She jabbed a finger at the notebook as she dropped the pouch on the table. The evening air soured a little, but the presence of a dragon and the whorl of excitement brought about by reunions did away with the cold and filled the peninsula with a blissful autumn exuberance.

[Philomel]

Philomel paused and looked back over to where she had dropped her parchment and pen. Blinking, she took a moment to consider going back over to pick them up - they were very personal after all, but then she saw Delath bending over to sniff them. His mighty head moved from her to them, grass green eyes blinking with raw intelligence. Steam blew from his nose and he huffed for a moment before angling his tail and gently sweeping the belongings close together. Right by the lakeside then he settled, angling his mighty and long body towards the ladies and laying himself right on the papers.

Protecting, he hummed privately to her.

Taking in a breath Philomel forced a congenial smile onto her face, glancing from one of the glorious, gorgeous females to the next. Both older than her, both considerably as powerful as she. Though she knew little of Ruby she could tell that the brown-haired, red-eyed darling had considerable power. From the way she held herself to the way she had literally made many things from nothing, the faun's instincts were ringing with the sound of an ally here that she was eager to make. She also bore a violin and an impressive long sword, which spoke of a warrior.

Apparently though they had met in another life. That meeting seemed to have been congenial for Ruby was treating her with kindness and respect. This other life intrigued Philomel, but she let it be but a murmur on the wind. Many good things were, if they were of less importance and were not detrimental to her current safety and survival. The existence of other alternate worlds was not an uncommon thing in myths.

"Oh just frivolities," she replied, waving a hand, "Nothing of consequence." Certainly she did not wish to spill her deepest secrets to these women, despite the trust she had in Lilith. She, Philomel knew she liked. Ruby, being new, was going to have to be studied, although her choice of tea was certainly within Philomel's likings.

Gently she blew on, then sipped it, keeping both geisha and the brown-head in eyesight.

"I came here really to learn more about Delath. He is ... was a dragon."

A growl came from over her shoulder.

"Sorry. Is still a dragon, though some might term him a type of wyrm. I am here with he and ..."

She paused. "You did not happen to have seen a fox running around in the forest anywhere?" A sad look and shakes of the head by both females made Philomel sigh. "Well, Veridian is apparently out there somewhere. He won't tell me where. You remember him of course Lilith."

"Of course," the Akashiman inclined her head.

"He went off about two hours ago and every time I try to contact him mentally he just says, 'Still busy,' and that is it."

[Ruby]

Ruby smiled. She recognised how that felt. Your better half daring to take time out for himself. She couldn’t remember when she first let go, found herself as a person without Leopold, but she had. It had been difficult, hours spent idly staring at the stars and roaming the empty hallways of their home. She sighed.

“Is that really so bad?” Honesty laced her words with sincerity.

Lilith turned to her sister with an eyebrow raised.

“I mean, really. Perhaps he’s just got things to do that he doesn’t want to bore you with?” She folded her hands across her lap, waiting for the tea set as it continued to move of its own accord to serve up a second cup.

“I…” Philomel made to say something, but started to doubt her words. “I don’t know.”

“Your independence was always something I admired.” Ruby pointed to Lilith. “She told me much of your time together in the brothels, and I struggle to think of a stronger woman in all the world than you.” The faun had broken the rules of nature to carve her name in the surface of history. Ruby had only ever managed to do the same by burning everything to the ground.

“I’m not sure I was quite that nice,” Lilith chuckled.

“But who am I?” Beneath a crown of thorns, the faun did not match the image Ruby had in her mind. Doubt. Turmoil. Conflict. Not the sort that came with war and a wicked temper, but the kind that snuck up on you like a disease. Resplendent as she was, the spell singer could see shadows dancing behind her eyes.

“That’s a tough question.” Lilith leant forwards and lifted the teapot lid to check the leaves had sufficient time to infuse. Satisfied with the aroma of lavender and jasmine, she poured three fresh cups and they floated to their owner’s hands. The ladies took them in silence, broken only by Delath’s insufferable self-pity and the gentle dance of the evening breeze.

“I don’t think I can answer that.”

Ruby cupped the cup to her mouth and too a delicate sip. It was a softer blend than the first, like a many coursed meal of friendship, it softened the blow after a sweetened chai and came before the spicy whorls of Fallien fire tea.

“Funny.” She took another sip.

Philomel priced her ears and stared at the matriarch intensely.

“Sorry, I mean it’s funny that we found one another.” She set the cup onto her lap. “We’ve been wondering much the same thing.” Who was Ruby Winchester without the fire that gave her a namesake? Who was Lilith Kazumi reborn as a Scara Braen belle? They didn’t fit in anywhere anymore, yet they still had so much to do. So much passion left to be spent.

“I guess you could say we’re having a bit of an identity crisis,” Lilith admitted. She turned to the dragon and traced the pattern of his scales set against the dying of the light. She took a deep, sharp breath of evening air and let the thoughts shared between them broil over.

[Philomel]

The idea of an identity crisis did not fair the Matriach of the Gilded Lily well. At the comment she found herself frowning slightly, and looking over at Delath also.

Truly, he was beautiful, she found, as the dusk light make him sparkle. For some, he might seem dull, but for her he was a diamond ready to be set into jewellry. Yes, he was gaudy, and his colours were not brilliant sapphires and raging rubies, but rather of the earth and full of murky depths. They sung instead of ground and strength, of boldness and greatness, letting the myriad of forest hues appear as one on his coat. His thick skin that should have been scales, but was more like the tough shell of a turtle, made his body a steady series of small ridges that perfectly rose and fell with the form of his body. Thick legs spoke of a power hidden that many knew not, and his heavy jaw hid within it a secret of jaws so strong that they could crush a diamond. Truly, with his long lithe tail spiralling around his body and his proud stance he was a prince amongst beasts, amongst dragons and she would never let anyone take the word away from him.

For even a dragon without wings and fire was still mighty.

"I think I might be a dragon rider," Philomel murmured, looking back to the other ladies.

Lillith looked intrigued as Ruby set down her cup of tea.

"I would agree with that statement," said the burnette, nodding slowly, "You have a dragon and you do ride him."

Philomel felt a warm smile come to her face as she thought about it. A dragon rider, her. It felt good to have others admit it, even if the thought had been in her head for some time. Even though he was not as some might imagine a beast of his legend, he still had the heart of one. And that was what mattered. That Lillith and Ruby saw it too made the faun hope that there was some form of future for her after all. That she was not just condemned to a life of being in command, that she had something other now than being the Matriarch of Althanas' primary feminist guild.

At least that was how she liked ot look at it.

Rolling back her shoulders she straightened and poured them all more tea with renewed vigour and purpose. She produced a small nod before raising the cup to her lips again and taking a long draught. This time, she found, the tea was stronger, more bitter. That may have been down to the fact it had brewed longer, or that it was indeed an entirely different type. Either way, she was delighted by the prospect that she had a promising start here, to whatever problem she actually had.

Ah, yes, the problem with her identity.

Suddenly a thought struck her. She gasped, the cup almost slipping from her hands, but her excelled speed grabbed it again and set it down before she could break anything.

"I know!" she declared, "We must go on an adventure! We must hunt something!"

[Ruby]

“Well it’s funny you should mention that,” Ruby said with a wicked grin.

“Ruby!” Lilith barked.

The sisters looked sternly at one another, speaking reams between the silence. The peninsula soured, and the breeze died in pathetic fallacy. The dulcet tones of the babbling dragon carried on oblivious.

“What?” The spell singer shrugged and looked to Philomel. “We’re three ladies bereft of goals and souls and as it just so happens…”

“Philomel does not want to hear this.”

The faun pricked her ears.

“Oh, no, but I do!”

“Which is why I like you immensely dear.” Ruby stood and rummaged in her pockets for something. By her side, the assassin rolled her eyes and drew on the ether to do away with the tea which continued to pour and brew despite the lull in consumption.

“What do you have in mind?” The thought of Veridian afoot faded for just long enough for a spark of hope and meaning to ignite in the faun’s heart.

“I’ve recently been informed of a little ruckus in Scara Brae. Heard of the Innari?” She raised an eyebrow and produced a small roll of parchment formerly sealed with olive green wax. She held it arm’s length and Philomel took it with a nod.

“Goblins, basically,” Lilith chimed in. She knew Ruby too well to try and fight upstream through flood water. “And don’t say I didn’t warn you this was a bad idea when it all goes tits up.”

As Philomel read, one by one the tea cups and tea pot vanished in whorls of black sparks and a rush of blood to their heads. The table remained empty for a few wistful moments until Lilith plucked at invisible strings and conjured a black pot container and three sake cups from nothing. A little red ribbon tied a piece of silk over the taller vessel, indicating that it was a fresh bottle from the finest Akashiman press.

“Valeena thinks a war is coming?” The faun looked up from the scroll with a confused expression.

“Yes and no.” Ruby sat down with a huff. “She’s sent an envoy to the lands of the Innari to try and broker peace. To allow them to return to the city now that the Edict of Sorcerer Molyneux is repealed.” She shrugged. “Long story. But, well, the Innari are somewhat tribal and even if the envoy is successful, the more feral tribes aren’t going to see intruders walk into their forest.”

Philomel blinked with realisation.

“I told you!” Lilith baulked.

“You want to kill goblins? Talking, dancing goblins?”

“Oh, dear, don’t be absurd, no!” Ruby glanced out across the lake. “Starr Redmaw, chief shaman of his people wants us…me, well, us now anyway to find, and kill, the beast called Skarrgo.”

Delath snorted and all three of their hair dos flurried.

“Skarrgo…?” Philomel dropped the scroll onto the table and eyed the saki gingery.

“Well, he’s sort of like an earth elemental driven to the point of madness by having thousands of bonkers goblins worship him.”

“Oh.”

Thoughts of Veridian returned, and the cycle of bittersweet sorrow and enthusiastic love for life came full circle.

[Philomel]

No sooner had she begun to think of him than the creature himself ran from the darkness of the forest surrounding them. Like a well-made arrow from a curvaceous bow he rushed from the deep shadows, golden eyes gleaming. Steadily he ran, a joy in his step and a great beat in his heart. His mouth was open, and a pink tongue lolled out of it as he raced over to the women drinking tea in the lighter part of the wood.

But he did not head for Philomel. Instead, his direction, as he came closer, became clear. A gasp came up into Lillith's mouth as she saw the small form hurry, tense for a moment - then launch right at her lap. He let out an excited yap, and became as a dog might, burying his nose into her side and begging for attention.

Hello again, he snuffled.

Philomel let out a merry laugh. "He is pleased to see you," she said happily. "Very much so."

Lillith smiled to her, "And it is good to see him too. You both."

The faun let out a relaxed sigh, her eyes going back to her beloved fox. For a while, all she did was look at him before she nodded and looked back to the piece of paper that they had all left on the table. It sat like a void of destiny, desiring for them to hear its beckoning call and fight this creature. This creature of legend who sounded more thayne than another other beast Philomel had ever heard of. But Lillith and Ruby would know more about that.

Eventually Philomel stood, and nodded. "I think we have a direction, then, ladies," she announced. "If we go north, I have a ship. Unless one of you has an ability to create a portal somewhere else ... that is far?"

She looked to Lillith as she leant down and scooped her arms underneath Veridian. The fox huffed but let her pick him up and hug him tight to her chest. Settling into her arms he looked at the two ladies with large eyes, as Philomel thought.

"Lillith, I seem to remember we took a portal to Salvar?"

There was a small pause as the sisters looked to one another. Philomel, however, went on without waiting to hear their answer. A thought crossed her mind and she was suddenly going with it.

"Actually ... earth elemental? I have recently been confirmed as a priestess of my goddess - not that I was not before, but now it is official. Perhaps ... perhaps we may use her aid."

She bit her lip as her body, for the first time, began to enliven with excitement.

"Oh my. I actually ... feel happy."

[Ruby]

Ruby stood and adjusted herself, returning the hem of her dress and the pleated cuffs of her doublet to their rightful, elegant positions. As she stood the sae reminded her all too eagerly that she had partaken in perhaps a little too much late afternoon mirth. She giggled.

“My dear, you didn’t think I was going to make you walk all that way?”

Lilith rolled her eyes but smiled warmly as she plucked at the delicate strings of magic that anchored the table and sake set. It began to dissipate when she too made to stand, whisked away on a gentle, lavender scented breeze. Phantasmal cherry blossoms tumbled in it’s wake, and then just like that the peninsula was a barren, civilisation-less rock once more.

“Not all the way at least,” the assassin corrected. “I can take us as far as Scara Brae herself, then from there we travel up the coast by boat. I’ve arranged for passage with the Knights of Brae flagship, the Liliana, but if your own ships moored there we can take that. There’s no need to bring your other ladies onboard this, it’s not for the faint of heart.” For Lilith to say that of all people gave Philomel all she needed to know about how much risk was involved in their hair brained scheme.

“Are you coming with us, deary?” Ruby shouted at Delath, who grumbled along to his own sad, glum tune for a few moments before his glistening eyes turned their attention to the diminutive grey-haired woman who seemingly had just appeared before him. He grumbled louder.

“So obnoxious…”

“I beg your pa-”

Ruby stopped mid-sentence at the sight of Philomel raising her hand gently. It was a universal and ladylike gesture for ‘don’t waste your time’. She rested her hands on her hips.

“Charming.”

“You get used to him,” the faun quipped. “Okay…happy Philomel is ready Philomel.” She nestled Veridian’s neck as he curled around her feet, venerable eyes glancing between assassin and matriarch as though he didn’t quite trust them, not yet. “How do we do this…thing.” She made namby pamby hand gestures, not quite sure how to describe the strange sensation Lilith’s portal instilled.

“It’s like a door and a hangover all at once.” Lilith clashed the bangles on her wrists together and a spherical portal appeared around her. Just like that she was gone, and the mercurial orb beckoned the remnants to enter. Ruby did so without flinching, usually tipsy enough for the effects of the Aria to wash over her like a bacon sandwich treating a headache. Philomel, Veridian, and Delath remained, and ahead, a journey of discovery.