As soon as she had come home, she had sought out her father—only, he hadn't been anywhere she had thought to look. Over the course of a few days Aiesha came to understand that he was a busy man now that he had taken on the role of priest again; it was either that or her father was purposefully avoiding her. Choosing to let him be, and also not to dwell on the possibility that their relationship was fractured so deeply that it could not be repaired, the nebet found other things to occupy her time.

When she stepped outside of the obelisk for the first time since her trip to Tianlong, Aiesha finally took notice of the persistent change in the air. The sun had—for lack of a better word, returned—a few days ago. It took until this foray outside of the palace boundary for the girl to properly take note.

The way the golden hills properly glowed, shifting like molten gold beneath the sussur of the wind, had Aiesha smiling and staring. She didn't notice the stranger who had a similar mindset: neither did she see the lizard, not until the shift of shadow caught in the corner of her eye, and as she turned she saw it vanish beneath a layer of gold dust.

Oh, hello, she greeted of the stranger—this equally golden, but pale, figure.