As it turned out, Keeper was very willing to tell us the oath of the Wardens of the Wild.

"On the bonds of old, the Wardens of the Wild stand now, and forever, in defense of the people of Aeternia, and all her myriad children," Keeper started, shifting to focus on Vergel.

"By binding the ancient enemies who followed us across the stars, we turn them from their path of destruction. This in turn, grants us their potential. Potential that I shall use as a shield for the weak and unpathed."

Vergel was mouthing the words along with Keeper, as if whispering something half-remembered.

"While the shield may be set down, so too will I set down my strength, for this strength is not earned through my suffering, but through the shared will of those I protect. A shield without someone to protect is no shield."

Partway through Vergel had started nodding, saying the words in sync with Keeper.

When Keeper stopped speaking, Vergel continued on his own, not seeming to notice.

"Should I betray this oath, I pledge my soul to be consigned to oblivion, free from the cycle of rebirth, my knowledge given over to the immortal Guardians of Aeternia."

As he said the final word, he let out a gasp, stumbling forward a step, eyes scanning the room.

"You prove your worth, so soon, young Warden," Keeper said, tongue clacking against its teeth. "The oath burns in your mind once more, the ravages of time swept aside. You must now decide, will you give it, or will you lay down the shield and return to being a lesser bonded?"

"I'll swear," Vergel said, standing straight. "I'm not… never been much of a protector. Not as most would see it, anyway. But I'll do it. I'll become a Warden of the Wilds."

"There are other paths," Keeper said, head swaying as it drew its tongue across the inside of its glistening teeth. "Other routes, to make the power your own in truth."

"Always have been," Vergel said, nodding, eyes moving to Tillan's body. "Never been a fan. Much as I thought him a fool, never would've taken Old Tillan for one either."

"So it shall be," Keeper said, holding its hand out. "You know the words. Speak."

Once more we listened to Vergel recite the oath, this time with conviction.

I couldn't help but note that there weren't any rules in there forbidding sending deadly snakes after visiting Magus Protecti. Other than the general implication that it might be bad for the little people.

A pretty minor thing, but considering how he'd acted that morning, it seemed relevant.

"So… that means he's against keeping slaves, right?" I asked as soon as he'd finished swearing the oaths.

"What do you believe us, if not slaves, young omnivore?" Keeper asked, taking a step back towards its wall, movements still fluid.

Before I could respond, Vergel asked a question of his own. "Why do you call him an omnivore, guardian?"

I laughed, despite Keeper's implication of its own status. More than once, I'd asked Keeper why it called me a young omnivore. It hadn't ever answered me.

Apparently a Warden asking was different because Keeper paused, swinging its head back towards Vergel even as it pressed its body into place against the wall. "Because the young omnivore will consume anything that stands in his way in his quest to protect the world from the hell that descends upon it."

With those words and a single resounding crack, the light in Keeper's eyes flickered out.

"Really hate it when he does that," I said, stalking past the still awed Vergel. "Nexxa, what do you figure happened to that several tonne bear when its master got its soul sucked out of it?"

"Probably died or…"

"Yeah. Or," I said, moving up the stairs as fast as my spells could carry me.

Nexxa still beat me.

Thankfully, all we found was a snoring animal the size of a small house laying inside the hanger of the airship.

"Honestly, I expected worse," I said.

Which, of course, was when the giant serpent struck.

"What the hell?" I demanded as the mouth snapped down around me. A small hop had been enough to avoid all its teeth but it had me entirely trapped.

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Before I could act, a crack resounded from its jaws, Bevel standing in the gap, wind swirling visibly around her as she worked her jaw.

"Thanks, kiddo," I said, dropping down next to her and rolling out to the side. Tender's trials, good for more than just buffing my attributes.

"I… the oath reset my bond," Vergel said, gasping as he ran up, stumbling. "It's weak but we're reconnecting. I just need… time."

"Guess that means I shouldn't just blast it?" Nexxa asked, from beside him, sparks filling the air. "How tough you think it is?"

"You know, would've been nice if Keeper had mentioned that little fact," I grumbled, all three of us dancing backwards, a Lightning Bolt starting to build at my fingertips before I decided to cancel it, pulling on my mental acceleration so I had more time to think instead. "Time, huh? How close do you need to be?"

"Pretty close," Vergel said, stumbling after us. Clearly reseting his oath had done more than disrupt his bond. "This is close enough, though it feels like the closer I am, the faster it'll restore."

"Right, so keep you safe while you regain control over the giant snake. Should be entertaining if nothing else," I said grabbing him by the collar and pulling him to the side just in time to keep him from getting pulverized by a lash of its tail. "Vexith, get everyone out of here!"

The Vox Knight was picking himself up from near the edge of the peak where he'd apparently caught himself after the snake's sudden attempt to eat me.

He nodded, and started yelling the Tethered down the nearby steps, ensuring they went together.

Standing on the ramp leading into the airship was Vexna, who I assumed had been caught on the other side of the snake's attack.

"Get it out of here," I yelled in her direction, indicating the whole of Aeternia's Shield.

She gave the fist based salute they loved so much then broke into a run towards the command area. Mentally reminding myself to enchant some sort of basic intercom equivalent, the full of my attention returned to the thrashing snake.

Repeating blasts of air and little bursts of lightning were keeping it from focusing, Bevel and Nexxa darting about, barely keeping ahead of it despite their natural speed. Seemed it was still pretty fast.

Which meant it was, probably, still pretty tough.

Vergel kept getting close, only to stumble every couple seconds, putting himself in further danger.

"The serpent man's making this harder than it should be," Bevel said as she sent a blast of air at Vergel, knocking him back before the serpent could simply squash him.

"Taking more effort to keep him alive than to fight the damn snake," Nexxa yelled in frustrated agreement.

"He needs to be close to it," I grumbled, though I wasn't too impressed with him either.

In the distance, the airship lifted away, getting the valuable asset clear but also reducing our available dance floor. At the rate we were going, the over-sized snake was going to go tumbling off the side of the mountain and…

Huh.

"Bevel, over the edge with them," I said, gesturing towards the north side. "Both of them. Together."

"Got it, Papa," Bevel cried, spinning around them, drawing them closer together as she built up a small tornado.

"What, no, do you know how high we…" the rest of Vergel's words were lost to the tornado that swept across the limited space of the peak, throwing them both upward, tearing the serpent free. Then Bevel followed that up with another gust sending them spinning off towards the mostly empty north side of the mountain.

We'd deal with them in a second, first…

"Vexith, anyone injured?" I asked the Vox Knight who'd come back to guard the entrance to the mountain.

"Couple broken ribs, concussion or two, nothing that can't wait an hour or two," Vexith replied, looking around the empty peak. "Snake's already dealt with?"

"I wish. Nexxa can you take care of healing?" I asked, gesturing towards Vexith.

"Easy as falling. You good without me?"

"We'll be fine," I said, nodding to the edge as I accepted Bevel's outstretched hand. "Come on, kiddo. Let's make sure they don't go splat on anything important."

"They won't go splat. They're too tough," Bevel said even as she pulled me upwards and we soared over the edge.

"They'll splat anything they land on," I countered, using the improved Eagle Eyes to find their hurtling forms then nudging Bevel towards them.

"They're heading for rock. Rock doesn't splat," Bevel noted even as she aimed us towards the flailing serpent and its master.

"Fair enough," I chuckled as we closed with the spinning pair. "Get him as close as you can without hurting either."

Bevel nodded, and a second later, Vergel was plastered to the serpent's face, right between its eyes.

"That's certainly close," I said, ignoring the increasing creativity of Vergel's cursing.

"Safe too. Can't eat him if he's stuck to its face," Bevel said, nodding, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Smart," I agreed, ruffling her hair. Not that it did much, considering our current state. I looked over the snake, then down to the ground below. One thing at a time. "Okay, it's not much, but its got some ridges of bone, I think, and slight flares along the sides, can you use those to steer it?"

"Think so," Bevel said, squinting her eyes while glaring at the serpent. Slowly, the snake straightened out. Once it was no longer flipping chaotically, it started trying to slither forward.

Which meant it actually started catching the wind, slowing their fall noticeably. "Good work. Now, was there anything on this side of the mountain we wanted obliterated?"

Bevel scrunched up her brow, as if trying to remember. I saved her from worrying about it.

"The answer is yes. There, see that pile of stone and smaller rocks?" I asked, gesturing towards a gravel pit that had been marked for possible use.

"The rocks?" Bevel asked. "Won't that hurt?"

"They're tier 4. Even if they're disoriented, that reinforcement can't simply disappear… probably," I said. I'd certainly studied enough about mana-bodies and all the ascension methods to feel reasonably certain of it.

When the bond ended, the physical toughness was the one thing Vaserra had said her people didn't lose.

It was still a risk, but we were right there, in case Vergel needed healing. Wasn't remotely worried about the snake by that point.

"Okay Papa," Bevel said then nudged the serpent and its master towards the gravel pit.

And then… it was just a matter of waiting. Bevel slowed our own descent.

Just before impact, a thought struck me. "You know, I never asked, but could you have caught it?"

Bevel scrunched her forehead for a second, before nodding. "Yeah. Pretty easily, I think."

"Guess I'll keep that in mind for-"

My words were drowned out as the serpent and Vergel impacted the gravel pit, sending stone flying everywhere. They also, helpfully, broke most of the stone into smaller, more useful material.

The serpent laid there, seemingly stunned. Vergel didn't seem much better, still plastered between its eyes. But they were both alive, and I was certain Restore Form would handle whatever damage had occurred.

Hopefully they'd completed re-bonding too.

"Papa," Bevel said, her voice having an odd lilt to it, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Rocks can go splat."

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