The deckplate of the Yggdrasil was warm, no longer scalding hot, the blazing Aveh sun having newly set. The gentle warmth of the metal was somewhat welcoming to Gabriel Taisen as he relaxed against a bulkhead, looking across the desert at the fading reds, oranges, and purples of the sunset.

"Reminds me of the sunsets back 'home'." he whispered to himself, his words falling short in the thick, warm air. "Home", of course, was always said in a sarcastic tone, for he had seldom had a true home. The closest thing he'd ever had to one was the Tower of Babel, where his parents had lived as ad-hoc groundskeepers and security guards. The oceans there were often fierce, and many a storm had buffeted their ramshackle house built within the ruins of the largest ever manmade structure...

However, the ocean calmed itself from time to time to produce spectactular sunsets and sunrises. It was the beauty of these spectacles that first lead him to a belief in God... which, ironically, was due to be distorted later by the Ethos and their schools. (He seldom remembered seeing a good sunrise there.)

The ocean of sand that lay beneath the deck of this ship seemed far more familiar now, though no less dangerous. Sand sharks, Solarians, bandits, and other hazards were everywhere, and he realized now that he was a lucky man to have gotten aboard the Yggdrasil. Right now, he could be stuck in Nisan reading some stuffy old books, only learning about his faith but never practicing it. Now, he was practicing it in a big way, by attending the Holy Mother of Nisan herself.

His life had taken him to see the Oceans of Aquavy, and now the Oceans of Aveh. "What more will I see with these people?" he asked himself, looking up into the darkening sky. Pinpicks of light were quickly forming, making the whole scene even more surreally beautiful. He could still faintly hear the sounds of Bledavik in the distance, the Yggdrasil being parked not very far out of its borders at all... but he could just as easily tune these out, staring in wonder and awe at the sea of stars that quickly formed above his head.

He closed his eyes and clutched the necklace that lay on his chest: the two Angels of Nisan, locked in an embrace, flying with one wing each to support them. "God, thank you for seeing me here." he whispered to the desert air, hoping that his far and distant deity would hear him, "Thank you for so much... but I know things are only going to get worse. See me once again through the oceans of time and space... and be with the Holy Mother, and the crew of the Yggdrasil as well."

He opened his eyes and looked up, focusing on the brightest of the stars, "I know not what lies ahead... but let me be brave... and, if it is your wish, to stand tall and shake the heavens..."