With their presence in the Scavenger's Dominion - not a little land by any means - Agram and Fetya felt unthreatened and very welcomed, similar to when they first arrived in the Kingdom of Golemia. The only difference was a feeling of being much lighter, faster and more aware of their surroundings, as though their senses had been numbed all these years they spent there without knowing.

After Lord Krats welcomed them and gave the king's regards, two Day Watchers wearing dark unaffiliated capes appeared, both with Aristocrat helmets on their heads. They had been ordered by their lord to take Agram and Fetya to a nearby mansion that lay just on the outskirts of the extensive city they were in. According to Fetya's knowledge - based on stories of expeditions that were usually told to the Desert Tribe by their leader, King Torab - Scavenger's Dominion had always been a large cave nestled between mountains*.* As she walked next to Agram, following their two appointed escorts, she saw an open ceiling to the cave, casting a beautiful image of the night sky and a crescent moon so clean, as though it had been painted by an artist's hand. As she looked up, she said, "Agram, when did the Eye Kingdom expand all the way here? And in such a short period, they populated this place. What of those nasty, unruly scavenger creatures that used to reside here? And what about that ceiling!? This was supposed to be a cave; I just don't..."

Agram interrupted, "Fetya, silence! Look who's waiting for us at the mansion..."

Fetya brought her eye down again to see straight ahead, to see a figure she remembered lurking in the background of their vision with the king and his Round Table. When she realized who it was, in a state of shock, she said, "The Prince Light!"

His name was Light*.* The king's oldest child stood at 8 feet tall and was known for being the fastest, most formidable of the Eye Kin, only surpassed by the king himself. Light always walked with a single sword floating behind him and a belt of daggers carried on his waist, both royal traits bestowed upon those with the potential to ascend. He always walked with little to no sound, as though in a hunt, so silently that many truly believed he was floating and stepping on air. He was known for not being as articulate as his wise father and for a severe lack of patience, especially when it came to a fight. He enjoyed dueling so much that he partook in the glorious Pits almost daily, never yet to be defeated, and was always in constant search for more formidable opponents. "To what do we owe this honour, Prince Light?" Agram spoke, standing straight, ever the soldier.

"I don't mean to intrude, but I keep hearing about them Golems, and this fire just burns inside me. I couldn't wait another day before speaking with both of you. What are they like? How many are there?" Light's eye opened wider. "What of their king? Is he strong? How tall does he stand? Does he carry a weapon?" Now walking closer, holding Agram by both shoulders. "Does he have thunder clouds surrounding him as father states?! Does he..."

Light was then interrupted by what sounded like a familiar voice to Fetya. "Master Light, a future ascender and son of the kling of all dominions himself, came to welcome our dear kin folk, what an honour." King Torab of Desert and King Glacier of Ice appeared, followed by Lord Frigidus of Ice and Lord Jaaf of Desert.

"My kings," Light slightly bowed his head, lifted it up with an innocent smile, and asked, "shall we duel?"

Lord Frigidus grabbed his long sword, Lord Jaaf placed a hand on his battle axe. King Glacier lifted his hand up, as though stopping the lords from moving and said, "Your jests are always out of the ordinary, Master Light. Please give our regards to your wise father, the King of the Land. We shall excuse ourselves into the mansion with our dear Agram and Fetya, to have words with our kin folk in privet."

Both kings walked away. Their lords gestured towards Agram and Fetya, guiding them towards the mansion to enter, all while the Prince of Light stared at them from a distance, muttering "I just wanted to know some shit... not pick a fight... ugh." He walked away with the appointed escorts to Agram and Fetya, who were no longer needed at this point.

With a tall 8 foot 3 inch frame, King Glacier was known for having the coldest heart and most sinister nature of all the kings of the realm that follow the King of Black and White. And also for being a ruthless and aggressive berserker during a fight - his Dual Frost Scorpion blades being known to leave damage the equivalent of frostbite on his enemies. He ruled over the Sub-kingdom of Ice, the closest state to the Beyond, known to be the protectors of Ascension. He remained standing while King Torab, at a slightly shorter stature of 8 feet, the ruler of the Sub-kingdom of Desert to the south of the kingdom of the Eye, dry land with abrupt temperature changes, sat down and gestured to Lord Frigidus and Lord Jaaf, "Run along now lieges, we wouldn't want a rogue entrant to come to hear us talk about grown-up stuff. Please do guard the entrance." Known for his light-hearted, but politically wise speech, King Torab addressed all of his juniors as 'lieges', to make them feel their importance despite him being their overlord. Lord Frigidus looked toward King Glacier, who nodded, and both lords exited the mansion to protect it from potential intrusion.

Agram and Fetya were still in shock, having seen way too many royals in such a short time, and they had just arrived at Scavenger's Dominion with no rest. It all seemed overwhelming. "Come now, lieges, have a seat. No need to be formal. Let us have a word," said King Torab to Agram and Fetya, who reluctantly moved towards the organized Davenport seating in the middle of the foyer. As they sat down, they saw King Glacier seated next to them.

Fetya let out a small shriek, "Eek!" and said, "He was just standing by the window!!"

Agram calmed her down and said, "King Glacier is a master of short distance teleportation, Fetya. You'll get used to it eventually. I apologize, my king, for Fetya is not familiar with your ways." Agram turned to King Torab, "King Torab, might I ask you as to why you refer to your underlings as lieges? I feel honoured and confused as a mere Night Watcher of the Ice tribe to be called liege by the King of the Sub-kingdom of Desert!"

King Torab laughed out loud, "Hah hah hah... That is precisely the point, my liege, for what better way to demand respect than to give it? Hah hah hah."

There was a sudden change in atmosphere as King Glacier interrupted, "That dreaded small talk never ceases to get on my nerves, Torab. Can we cut to the chase? I believe the old children are tired."

'Old children' referred to their double age due to their time in Golemia, yet they were still considered children in the standard of kings. "True, dear Glacier. Well, lieges, we are here to speak to you and not fish for any information. Our beloved King of Black and White has shared with us what he saw, and the fact that he communicated with both of you in your dreams truly is an honour." King Torab took out what seemed like a tiny scroll, lit it using a spark he made with a snap of his long fingers, and proceeded to draw breath from it, releasing the smoke with a long sigh. The smoke gave a pleasant grassy aroma. Agram could not help but smile. "Let us speak to you of origins."

Agram and Fetya's eyes open wide, their jaws dropping. Fetya stood up abruptly and asked, like an excited child who had forgotten how tired she was, "King Torab! Origins!? The tale that is reserved for royals only!? The rumors said that the Prophet who burned was the only non-royal who knew of it! Those origins!?"

King Glacier said with an eerie voice, "Silence... did you forget the pillar of patience while you were out in those golem lands?"

Fetya sat back down with a shiver of fear running down her back from the cold-hearted King of Ice. "I apologize, King of Ice."

"Not the full tale, lieges, just the part that speaks of those darned golems, for the rest may cause your demise." He took another breath from the burning scroll, let out a cloud of smoke with a louder sigh, and continued, "Eons ago, a particular deity had troubles with the other Eye Gods, particularly around the creation of beings without her consent. And due to that trouble, that deity who held power to create beings of her own, decided to wage war. The problem was, how can you slay a god? Deities cannot die, she thought to herself; what could she possibly do to relieve her anger? And as she roamed across realms, she walked through the Land of Sprout, a realm far from where we are and identical in structure to where we roam. The difference was that the Land of Sprout was lush and green all across. It was ruled by Eye Kin, such as us. Those Eye Kin were particularly favored by the Eye Gods, hence gifted that greenery and life..."

The door suddenly swung open, interrupting King Torab, and both Lord Frigidus and Lord Jaaf fell into the foyer. It seemed as though they'd been eavesdropping. The storytelling of kings is always something Eye Kin wanted the privilege of hearing. "Out, or I shall have your heads," said King Glacier calmly, while an aura so dark appeared around him.

"We apologize, King Glacier!" They exited swiftly.

"Anyhoooo," said King Torab, in a jesting manner after a quick laugh, followed by a cough and another breath of that pleasant smelling scroll. "The deity had witnessed their king, and learned that the Eye Kin in that realm were truly wise and honourable beings, hungry for duels similar to Glacier here." He chuckled. "Jealousy was sparked, and she decided the proper route towards soothing her anger towards the other gods, was to create a being that, instead of being timeless like the Eye Kin, they had to feed on time to remain thriving. She headed towards the largest mountain in the Land of Sprout, lifted her staff with one hand towards the sky, and split it open, drawing in light from her original realm into her other hand, moulding it into a great being, filling it with wisdom, kindness and an oblivious state to how destructive it will become. Only to throw that ball of light with all her might into the mountain she stood near, causing the birth of the Golem King." King Torab mimicked the throw and took a final breath from the pleasant scroll. Breathing out the pleasant smoke and finally eating the remaining bud from the scroll, he continued, "That Golem King, with all his might, grew lonely. So the deity gave him the power to bring more life - a part of her scheme to increase the number of time-consuming golems so much so that the time of all living beings, timeless or not, would perish in due course. And that is exactly what happened in the Land of Sprout. It perished."

Agram and Fetya looked terrified, while King Glacier maintained a blank expression as he listened. Agram asked, "King Torab, does that mean... our time can... end? Like the great bicorn kin and other beings?"

King Torab smiled and said, "Of course not, lieges. But the reason the Eye Kin there perished was a lack of preparedness. The Golem King had spread his golem folk across that entire realm. The Eye King of that realm saw nothing of it, and by the time the Eye Kin took notice of the potential danger, they were swarmed by the sheer number of mindless golem folk, for the deity with her cunning only gave the Golem King wisdom. His children, though, were task-driven beings that did not think matters through. They proceeded to destroy the Eye Kin, their main source of nourishment, ultimately overpowering their royals with sheer numbers. And only by overwhelming them were they able to make them perish, for the only way the Eye Kin can die is by force, especially royals."

Fetya jumped up. "What about the Watchers and Watched!? Did they do nothing?"

King Torab, with a more serious look, replied, "They had no Watched. But the Watchers, who were significantly weaker than royals, had futile attempts to take back the land. The Water Golems had a specific ability called 'water imprisonment' and with it, they managed to imprison all the remaining Watchers of the Land of Sprout to feed on their time forcefully. But the Watchers, ever the proud and honourable beings, could not allow it. They took their own lives, completing the destruction of the Land of Sprout." King Torab stood up, and walked towards Agram and Fetya. "That is their origin - a jealous god, a destroyed realm and an uncontrollable hunger for time. And that is why they are too dangerous to stay." He tapped Fetya on her shoulder, walked past her and Agram towards a standing King Glacier, and together they headed towards the door.

Just as they were about to leave, King Glacier, as though noticing something, stopped and looked at a specific wall in the foyer, and turned around to the couple. "Agram, your tribe thanks you. For indirectly, you may have saved us all. Get some rest, for there's much to do. And, as our great king says, Brace."

Agram and Fetya, both tired from their long travels and overwhelmed by the origins of the golems, looked at each other and could not help but gently embrace. "What will become of this? Will it be war?" Fetya asked, worriedly.

Agram pulled his head back and looked at her with a smile. "I never knew the mighty axe-wielding Fetya of Desert to be worried about a little war. Come now, let us slumber, for the days ahead will be eventful."

As Agram and Fetya headed towards their dormitory within the mansion, a small oval-shaped light shone on the wall across the foyer. And shut, as if an eye closing and disappearing.