W~Via looked at Ir. “I think you know of a substance called xerthus.”


    Ir went white! But both Ryonne~‘s turned gray and gasped.


    The red-curled Zheien looked at them. Frowned, but with his bright blue eyes very wide! “You know of it? How?”


    The one who just died, whom Eanne~ held very tightly, wept. “My bae took of it to save my life! I ne thought one could feel such pain and live!”


    “Pirad cautioned me that ne of you must eat it! Is only for a Collective, to strengthen an army, with one drop!”


    “My bae W~Via took a vial, and practiced healing on me! O, he suffered, but I also had pain!” Both of them, and Eanne~, dripped green sweat powder that rose in a cloud!


    Pas gasped and ported his ennead in to sing for them! W~Via cried. But he waved up a vial of glowy blue stuff and handed it to Ir. “Go, quickly, and find the Councillors!”


    Ir took it but spread his arms out. “They are all here—”


    “Pirad told me, a Cube has a Host and a Councillor. These are Hosts, ne Councillors, whose faces change for they are a composite being of their members with intelligence.”


    Ray came over. “I don’t have a Councillor. I’m directly connected.” She blinked deep blue eyes.


    He frowned at her. “Ne think to take xerthus! It would kill you. Eriganh has the Red Cube, but you have the Blue. Think of your Councillor—”


    “There isn’t one! But I gave it to King Wtensau and they went to Aryll. Does Bess have a Cube? She went with them!”


    Ir frowned. “Aryll is in the 9th Galaxy, and I think they would not want to see Bisillips on their world! We are old rivals. Wtensau blamed us for their fall, though I think it was Satauuver’s lies, but King Nonosuan and Satauuver had an alliance and traded slaver methods. Nonosuan helped Satauuver take <mark>Wtensau’s</mark> throne, and he will never forget that, or the deaths of a third of his people! Why did you give such a powerful Cube to them? Do you know he will fight Rentappenen, when he taught him how to conquer the Thirteen?”


    Ray yanked at her dark blond hair. “Wtensau prayed for forgiveness. I changed the Aryllans back to the peaceful people they were! He knows how to use it, and yes, I believe him! I don’t care what you people did after they changed. Your people formed the Alliance with them, so you must have gotten along back then, didn’t you?” The rage in her face surprised me! All the Zheien rumbled.


    The hair-yanking gesture was a Biehshah one for ‘You’re stupid!’


    Pas sang healing but Ray and Ir glared at each other. Finally, Ir sighed. “We are a stupid and foolish people. Aryllans are very like Zheien, so maybe Wtensau can forgive us for teaching him how to enslave the <mark>Ty’nirrhans</mark>. It saved their world. Unlike us, Wtensau always treated slaves with kindness, despite how savage he became. He never killed for pleasure like Satauuver did.


    “I cannot imagine the suffering of his people. They became savage predators, and spread the plague to all the Aryllans in the Thirteen. Like the Zheien, they made colonies before <mark>Llsam’s</mark> experiment, hundreds of thousands of them. Their colonies were larger than Zheien colonies. Hundreds of thousands of worlds like MarKu but double the population. Because of us, they lost a third of them. We enslaved Aryllans in large numbers because we sent Elshar slavers.” Ir shuddered, and his brown eyes poured tears.


    Ten waved up drinks for both of us. “I am happy I did not live through that! Where is Llsam now?”


    “In stasis. Pirad found him. Our Pirad, here on Ye~, found him and took him to Alb Seer. I think that is how he died of rogues. Deesamor rogues, here in Alb! But, without them, you would not be able to hold your Cube, Kia.”


    I hugged my husband. In his other hand, he held that tube of stuff far away from me. “I thought it was from slaves sent here.”


    “They had them. But one of the ships was Aryllan. Pirad was always clever with Aryllan tech. Before we were enemies, he hid a weapon on an Aryllan ship but did not tell Satauuver about it. At the time, he disagreed with Nonosuan and thought Satauuver was dangerous. But, that weapon had <mark>Llsam’s</mark> body in it, where Llsam had himself ported so he could escape from stasis. I am not comfortable with him being here!”


    “What can he do, in stasis? Surely Pirad will not release him!”


    Ir stared at Ten. “In Rainbow, Llsam escaped through an Earthan named Morgan. She was on the ship and begged Ry’nao to release him. Ry’nao told her that is impossible. But she said Llsam was not evil. He, and Selafae, and her parents, Toning and Semana, they were forced to create the plague by <mark>Ker’rant’hru</mark>, Prince Of <mark>Tch’Zbbatr</mark>. He knew if he could corrupt anyone Aryllan, he could trade higher level slaver herbs for Opseh Wenh Cet. But, whatever research he did is corrupted by Rentappenen. <mark>Ker’rant’hru</mark> was Opseh Wenh <mark>Cet’s</mark> pet. He created Deesamor rogues.”


    Greg quivered and Deb put him in a chair. Sang healing for him. Ir’s color went back to the rich bronze he should have. <mark>Ty’nirrhan</mark> healing works on us? I felt stronger, too.


    W~Via took Ir’s hand. “Pirad wants you to begin with Aryll. You must convince Wtensau that he must reconcile with Biehshah.”


    Ir shook his head. “You think I have skill for it? I do not hold a Cube. My father had a Lens to communicate with the Padrisa, but <mark>Dromie’s</mark> people took it to fight Rentappenen with it. My wife holds the Emerald Cube Of Newness. It is a weak Cube, but has hidden power. Yamotenanten hid a Green Lens within it. I do not know how to access it. Father’s lens was a white lens, but <mark>Dromie’s</mark> people took it.”


    W~Via sighed, and it rumbled on us. “I have ne knowledge of these things. All I know is what Pirad told me. You must find Councillors and let them use the xerthus in your hand. But, he expected that you had a Cube. You do ne?”


    I grabbed the tube of glowy stuff. “Then, I have to go—”


    Ir jerked it away! “Cesarae, you can’t! I barely know how to control it, to keep it from destroying all of Alb! I can’t teach you. Your body may be Biehshah, but I use knowledge I had on the 2nd Level! You are of this level!”


    “There’s a member of my Collective—they are all from the 2nd Level, Ir. Because of them, I can do this. Let’s go to Aryll. You can talk to King <mark>Wten</mark>, and I’ll give his Councillor the vial.”


    “You must only give one drop, for his entire Collective! Then you must find all of them. Pirad does not know where any of them are. If you could find Wslarc, you had help.” W~<mark>Via’s</mark> twin-fingered hand pulled at mine.


    J~oie stood. “I can try to bring Wslarc. He is my Councillor.” His orange eyes opened very wide, and he trembled.


    The room filled with red-violet light and a Zheien stood there, but his face constantly changed. Like <mark>Ty’nirrhans</mark> used to be, Ir told me. “I am Wslarc. Good. Pirad gave you the xerthus. Dromie will meet you and take the Green Lens, after you finish. Give me the first drop.” He held out a hand that changed constantly. Twin fingers became four, became a claw, became three-fingered and gnarled like <mark>Dromie’s</mark>.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    I took the vial from Ir and a drop that glowed floated from the vial to his hand. It clenched.


    Red-violet light exploded in rainbows like a firework!


    When the glare vanished, I stood on gray sand. Gasped. “Ir, <mark>where’d</mark> you go?”


    People saw the glowing vial in my hand and ran! Families of gray people with children left a gray ocean with flowers shimmering on the water and ran up the shoreline.


    But flowers bloomed in the sand. A tree near us looked like a magnolia. I thought how pretty it was in all this drab gray. Even the deep green waxy leaves shimmered, reflecting the light of xerthus.


    A man in blue, jeweled robes walked towards me. His black, beady eyes glared at me. Sweat dripped off his arms as he came. “What evil is this, Biehshah? You brought xerthus to destroy us all, and worlds in our galaxy?”


    “I need to speak to your Councillor. Pirad sent me.”


    He frowned, but kept walking closer. A lady with him pulled at him to try to get him to stop! “Pirad has no love for my people! You cannot do this! Father Of All will have his vengeance on you and all of your slave-holder fathers!”


    I swallowed. “I think Father Of All loves all of us! He doesn’t want an evil man like Rentappenen to destroy us all. I am fighting him, and many of us hold Cube and are fighting him. You are new to our battle, and I hold the Emerald Cube Of Newness. Please, believe me! I don’t want to destroy anyone, and I hope Father Of All will forgive me for killing the Wenh <mark>Cets</mark>!” I wailed. The thought of more killing made me sick!


    But, as I wailed, blooms on that magnolia tree formed nuts as big as my head, and they dropped. With each one, the ground shook!


    Wtensau stopped. “Why do you want my Councillor? Do you know what it is you hold in your hand? Xerthus destroyed the Padrisa!”


    I felt his anguish. The Aryll stayed when their older species, the Padrisa, rose. They formed an alliance in the Virgo Supercluster, and for a time, the Aryllans had a Lens, and a means to contact them. He was in contact when their deaths nearly killed him! <mark>Dromie’s</mark> people did that. I saw it. I wailed louder!


    That startled Wtensau. “You have grief for my people?”


    “I have compassion for any civilization that dies! If my husband were here, he could tell you, we only want peace! I just want to give you a drop of this for your Councillor, so your Collective can be strong to fight Rentappenen!” The xerthus glowed brighter.


    He took my hand. “Then, I will show you our Councillor. Apologies, that I saw you as an enemy, you who come in peace, you who brings help for my worlds!”


    I felt his mindlink with all worlds of Aryll. How can one man do this? But, when Ray gave him the Blue Cube, they gave him his mindlink back, that Satauuver stripped from him.


    Ir had to take the Diplomatic Link from friends who got too injured to withstand it. Just holding them while he cut the contact hurt him. The feeling was like dying of thirst in a desert and knowing you could never taste water again.


    As an Earthan, I saw that analogy as horrible, but Biehshah, and Bisillips, need a lot more moisture than any Earthan. They use this analogy because it’s the worst torture that any Bisillip inflicted on another, the worst, long, painful, drawn out death possible. A Bisillip can last 8 days without drinking, but the pain of it drives them insane. In the 8th day, even if they have drinks and healing, they can’t come back from it.


    That Ir compared losing the Diplomatic Link to that, told me how horrible a loss it was. And King Wtensau had a loss hundreds of thousands times worse.


    I felt it. I felt that loss because I heard it in his mind, in his telepathy. Like I heard everything else. The Emerald Cube Of Newness collects new experiences from everyone, whether I want to hear them or not. That’s why I can’t stop listening to everyone! It’s my Cube. It’s the way it functions.


    Wtensau didn’t want me to hear it, but I heard the collected memories of all of his people. Their shame over how they acted while <mark>Rentappenen’s</mark> curse took their free will and forced them to act savage.


    But, Ir heard it, and so did all the Biehshah! Healers all over Biehshah had to sing healing for them.


    I sang and built up my orchestration. My world’s dying! But we ported to another world. Deep underground was a dead tree. That’s his Councillor?


    Novas! I let the drop float to it.


    The tree was massive, much larger than any tree on Earth, even a Sequoya! It was much bigger around than it was tall, and its roots covered the entire surface of a world about the size of Earth. My mind couldn’t fathom it.


    Wtensau sang beautiful harmony with me. So did his son, Prince Perretau, and his new wife, an Earthan. Bess was from Papua New Guinea, and her family had been trying to get US citizenship for years. They ran a plant import business. All their legal troubles back in PNG came to me, and solutions. The new Alliance and Unified treaties ended the exploitation on their people back home by other countries’ energy corporations. As we sang, plant species that went extinct came back in PNG. Animals that went extinct. People rose from graves!


    Bess and her family saw all of it, and they sang, too. Ancestors they hadn’t seen got cloned so they could live on Aryll, too.


    Aryllans dead for years came back! Wtensau gasped as they joined them, singing!


    We sang and that dead tree came back alive. It glowed with love and positive energy. This was an incredible experience, and the newness of it all powered my Cube!


    Aryll and Abyll, the world that hosted their Councillor Aryll, shone with rainbows! The gray color of everything became bright colors with beautiful flowers everywhere. The sky turned a brilliant azure blue, and the ocean had a blue-green color with flowers floating on it.


    Bess started this healing, but with xerthus, I finished it.


    All the Aryllans had bright blue eyes, like many of us. Instead of gray skin, they had deep blue skin and long, blue hair in that brilliant ocean color and other vibrant colors.


    Wtensau now had bluish-silver curls to his shoulders. “Daughter, I make my peace with Biehshah now! The treaty we signed on Earth between Aryll, <mark>Tch’Zbbatr</mark> and Esteerr brings peace to our lands, but I will welcome King Suan Of Biehshah and sign a treaty with him! You made our worlds bloom again, all one million worlds live again! Now we have the resources to care for all the Wausen who once powered our lands. They are now fragile like Earthans, like my new daughter Bess. We will teach them to live peacefully as equals. Sela, you are right!”


    Queen Selafae giggled and hugged me. “I am happy to call you my friend! You saved our worlds and our people!”


    I hugged her back. “I’m happy we can make peace with all of you!”


    We appeared on Aryll again, on that beach and people sat around King Wtensau, every bright blue eye on him. Their hair was every brilliant shade of color anyone on Earth thought to put on theirs, and some an Earthan wouldn’t be able to see. Bisillipia has a six-star system with different colors, so they see wavelengths Earthans can’t.


    Aryll also has a six-star system. Now that the thick cloud cover wasn’t there, rainbow clouds wafted across the sky. It had a red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple sun, all high in a blue sky. Plants and trees of every description grew all around where once, the landscape was rock and gray sand.


    The sound of the ocean tinkled like bells.


    King Wtensau smiled. “I see that you enjoy the beauty of our world. Thank you for your Gift. Will you stay long enough to enjoy some of our delights? We now have ingredients for Biehshah foods.” A lady bowed to us and brought a tray.


    All of us drank some delightful drinks in all colors. “I am sorry, but I have to leave now. Peace be to you and all of your peoples on all your worlds.”


    Bess came up and hugged me. She had white flowers braided in her brown hair. Her brown eyes filled with tears. “I gave these people magnolia seeds to try to save the Aryll trees, but you did it, ya did! I saw ya on <mark>Adia’s</mark> Ship.”


    I pulled a light green cube out of air and gave it to her. “Now you can use your Gift. Oh, your Councillor is there!” That magnolia tree I first saw when I came, but it’s mixed with Aryll, dropped more nuts in succession. Each grew into another magnolia. Close, but not what they need. I held up the vial and one drop floated to the roots of the tree. It turned into an Aryll. This one’s the daughter of the Aryll tree that covers Abyll. Roots grow houses there and people live in them.


    This one grew roots. Bess sang and they grew faster. “Oh, it doesn’t take as much work now! Thanks, Kia!” She spoke with a British accent. A big, brown-skinned lady younger than me.


    I smiled. “You’re welcome! Now my work is finished here. See you on <mark>Adia’s</mark> Ship!” I said it without thinking.


    Bess looked puzzled. “<mark>Adia’s</mark> Ship?”