Page 129 of To Trap a Soul

It was nice that it wasn’t aimed at Weldir for once.

“And you would have found one, if not for his choice today. If not for your tie to him. You’vebothmade an enemy today,” Jabez bit out, before walking through Lindiwe’s transparent form like a rude and impertinent child. He lifted a hand to wave at them dismissively without turning around. “Her pain is entirely yours and the Elves’ fault. I’ll wear you all down by a war of attrition.”

The only fault will be yours, halfling.It would be his decision.

Weldir tsked as Jabez walked into the tree line of the Veil.

“I should have struck him,” Lindiwe muttered, slamming the bottom of her fist into the other awaiting palm. “What a conniving bastard! I can’t believe he could turn on someone so quickly. None of this has ever been my fault.”

Weldir offered no words of sentiment or comfort, as he had no idea how to do so elegantly. He’d likely just make a mess of it, upsetting her even worse, as per usual.

He was just glad she hadn’t turned on him in her rage, and he hoped she wouldn’t.

At least he’d gained a barrier between Lindiwe and Jabez, although at the cost of her safety.Then again, this was sure to come eventually.If Jabez sought the lowering of Weldir’s ward, he would have eventually turned on her even if they’d never spoken.

I have put my offspring in danger as well.The fact that Nathair and Orson were friendly with each other made him want to create more for this continent.They will need a largernumber if it’s discovered they belong to me.Jabez and his army would no doubt target them at some point otherwise.

What an annoyance,he solemnly thought as he watched her through his viewing disc, noting the way a gust of wind swept through her clothing.I wanted nothing to do with this.

February 7th, 1738

One of the first things Lindi liked to do when placed in a new part of the world was to see what life was like for other humans.

Everywhere she went, people and societies were incredibly varied, and the continent of Zafrikaan was no different. However, unlike most of the places she’d been to, the ways humankind lived here were completely contrasting.

One part of the continent held tribal people who lived in small wooden huts and predominantly hunted and gathered to survive. In another part, not very far away, was an entire society of those who had houses made from clay with straw-thatched roofs. In another, they lived among the trees, their homes so different from those who lived in the drier plains of the desert in the north.

But there was always a constant that Lindi was used to: destruction.

Just like the rest of the world, people were struggling to survive against the chaos of Demons.

This continent was apparently one of the largest in the world,and the Anzúli were spread thin in order to protect as many people as possible. Those who had ventured into the forest did not return to any of the temples, but Lindi had seen that out of the handful that had gone there, only three had survived the journey. They used all their means, with the aid of the humans, to push back the nightmarish beings of fang and claw.

But there seemed to be a solution the entire world had constructed without ever speaking to each other: walls.

The grand and beautiful people to the east, between the northern desert and the southern rainforest, had erected such barricades to protect themselves. They’d held back the Demons with spears and arrows, and built something impactful.

Wooden walls stood tall with jutting spears that had been wisely nestled between logs and pressed clay that sealed them in. It was almost like an echidna in the shape of a snake had been jammed into the bottom, ensuring that any Demon that did attack struggled to even reach the top of the wall. The ingenuity of it was something to be admired.

This was the first continent she’d been to, other than Austrális, that had such a large desert.

Upon realising that the trees were filled with monsters, and that the sun brought peace and protection, those who hadn’t erected walls fled to the north and into the desert. There, as a large community, they kept the monsters at bay, working together to ensure everyone’s safety.

The way they allowed everyone into the fold showed Lindi that humankind, when in dire peril, was a unit of people. She’d seen that same open-heartedness all over the world.

She’d also seen much cruelty, but she often tried to ignore that. Or sometimes she didn’t, and she intervened to offer up quiet justice where she could.

Many of the animals had felt a similar instinct and fled to the grassy desert plains, finding relief in the tall, shading treeswhen they could. Upon seeing quite a few familiar animals, Lindi realised this was a location from which Weldir had stolen some creatures and placed them in Austrális. She had yet to learn where he’d taken the wolves and bears from, but she was sure one day she’d be sent there.

There were still many places and lands she hadn’t visited, but she thought fondly of thecityshe’d recently been to.

Houses there were strong, tall, and sturdy. The bottoms of them were a clay brown with swirling designs, and then white to the roofing. The roofs themselves were all made of a similar thatching and often needed replacing.

The city, a part of the Shanti Empire, was grand, vibrant, and full of life despite the occasional Demon that sniffed outside their walls. They’d managed to expand an already erected wall outside of its original foundations to include basic farms, as well as giving homes to many refugees who sought sanctuary.

The darkness of her clothing had looked out of place compared to the bright and colourful loose clothing the other humans wore, but she’d done well to remain hidden. She’d perfected the craft of stealth over her many years.

From a distance, she’d seen a woman with swarthy-brown skin who wore a yellow wrap around her short, tightly coily black hair. Her dress had been a bright blue, and similar to the colour of the flowers she’d seen blooming between farming sections. Many beads made up bracelets and even a heavy necklace, each one clacking as she stepped with a grain winnower on her hip filled with an array of food. Her male companion had dressed similarly in beads but also wore chunks of gold. He’d worn a patterned yellow shirt with long, wide sleeves over a matching knee-length waist wrap.

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