Are would end up retreating back to the veins and arteries of every single Vulpera, where it dwells, and its wish to impose a purpose of sacrifice and salvation were denied...

But this would not mean trouble would be over.

The Underground beckoned them back once more...

Akaman and Devarkah had to confront this foe, and stall Its ambitions.

The Vulpera, unable to act on their own, had to guide them, their power shared equally to be controlled, an idea that Akaman did not see so clearly until now.

...Coming from "Her". From the Original Goddess that the Blood acted as a supposed spokeperson.

But they already knew of the power of such berserking rage, and in turn they denied it.

So when Akaman was defeated, Are, They of Whims, Zeal and Vice, made Its appearance.

Because ultimately, Akaman would be defeated...

...but yet another foe was to show.

They fought the most powerful enemy so far, for Akaman had domain upon the Mind of all the vulpera bound to them, and could easily foresee their attacks and manifest Their own faculties as powerful spectres to empower them.

This battle was extraordinarily difficult, and they almost lost.

Almost.

And ultimately, they could overcome the fox god

Who then was swift to yield, as a god. But what They could not defend as a God, they would defend as a Vulpera.

The true form of Akaman came to appear, a vulpera of starry fur and sapphire presence.

Akaman, as The Mind of Akarah

A tremendous battle ensued, in which Akaman's domain of Wind, Light, Shadow and Water proved tremendously challenging for our heroes. bsky.app/profile/newv...

Because of this, Akaman decided that they would still fight against the Vulpera to engrave this decision, and so they did.

Afraid that the Vulpera would lose the Guarantee of Life that They represent as a whole, given that the Wailing Warriors actively usurped that.

The vulpera were presented with the choice of Siding with either, and ultimately... They sided with Devarkah.

- However, Akaman knew, and still insisted that those "rotten imbeciles" should not be meddling in the affairs of the living nor their own necessary powers to defend the Vulpera.
It was not hunger for power, it was ultimately Their own necessity speaking.

But Akaman...was afraid.

- The Alpaca Goddess Nisaisha did not know that Devarkah's absence was the reason that they as gods could tap on the memories of their ancestors so easily. This loss of power, however, made her remain ambivalent.

- Val'mayek knew this, and supported both the Duneblessed and the Wailing Warrior, posing as the ancestor of the vulpera he is, to see which one of the two factions would develop enough to fight. This is his prerogative as God of Challenge, a machination that the heroes did not appreciate...

A few revelations were in order:

- Devarkah, the Body of the Vulpera, is also effectively a corpse, and her true domain beyond all of them was Death. This explains why the Wailing warriors were seeking her out. When she returned, so did the powers of the Wailing Warriors and the Bone heighten.

But then...Devarkah vanished, unsatisfied with her answer, and now gone to seek the answers from the Wailing Warriors instead. Who seemed to know more than they gave out at first about her true nature, and purpose, if any.

Our heroes accompanied Nereshi to gather some answers from Sethraliss, and the fact the "victims" of the Wailing Warriors were actual murderers whose sins they did not answer for.

Sethraliss insistted on the importance of redemption and reckoning with none of the wanton murder....

During the attack of the Relentless Ghost wagons that the Wailing Warriors summoned, they managed to gain a momentary audience with Devarkah, and bestow upon her an urgent need that she talk to the Wailing Warriors, so she can really discover her "true call"