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himself to me, I could not help them fight off their enemies. Yodin and I stood side by side and fought off those who had captured and imprisoned them. I recognized what he was then. I had heard of his kind, but you are extremely rare. One in a billion, and that one has to die for their genes to activate their immortality.”
    “How long ago was this?”
    “Nine hundred years. Arez joined him here three hundred years ago. They are both vital for the safety of Rekfa, but they are boisterous in the extreme.”
    “I thought that folk called on Yodin as a spirit.”
    “They do, and he takes his shadows and gives them strength and stamina for a night. He rarely comes into the towns and cities with the exception of the great night.”
    “Last night.”
    “Yes.”
    She nodded. “So, the average citizen doesn’t know he is real?”
    “They know, they just don’t believe it. There are a few that have begun a cult, but he ceases the worship before it gets too far, usually after a woman has been offered to him.”
    Aster pursed her lips. “I am sensing a theme.”
    “Good. I want you to know what you are getting into if you let him back into your bed.”
    They walked through the gardens, and her sandals made a slight hissing noise on the stones, Rekfa made no sound at all.
    “Why did you want us apart?”
    “If you come to your power fully, I want you to shape it, not Yodin. He shaped Arez in his own image, and while he is an excellent warrior, he could have been so much more.”
    Aster smiled and stepped toward a gathering of flowers, only two of which were blooming. She touched the open blooms and inhaled the fragrance. “These are lovely.”
    “They are.”
    “After you fought off the arena personnel, what happened?”
    “There were women as well as men, and the gladiators claimed them. I separated them and gave the women the choice. No slaves on my surface. Jurad was insistent.”
    “Very kind of you.”
    “It wasn’t just kind, it was sensible. There was less than one woman to every three men. They formed bonding groups, and their population began to grow. Ships arrived and traded for water and plants. Some of those who landed remained, and we began to grow.”
    Aster smiled and ran her hand along the shrubs as they walked.
    “We offered our world to those seeking solace and relaxation. We became a resort world. That lasted for four hundred years until a jump site was opened in our system. From there, we became a trade hub, and so we are today. Many more species have asked for and been granted permission to remain here, but the initial population and my true citizens are descended from those gladiators.”
    “So, now I have the background of Rekfa, what about Yodin? How did he come to be immortal?”
    “He said that he was struck down on the arena station. He died and was reborn as what he has become today.”
    “Arez arrived on a visiting ship?”
    “Yes, he had already died in a mining accident. He was in the process of his second maturation, as you are now.” Rekfa smiled. “Yours seems to be moving in a more positive direction.”
    She looked at him curiously, but he was staring at the way they had come. Flowers bloomed and the plants had grown a foot since she had passed them.
    “That was unexpected.” She grimaced.
    “Only by you; now come and I will show you to your home where you will reside until you have grasped your potential.”
    “Won’t Yodin simply scoop me up?”
    Rekfa smiled grimly. “He would not dare. This is my home and no one enters without my permission.”
    The house that he offered her was also temple-based, but the open air and the bright colours of the interior were a stark contrast to the dark stone and furs of Yodin’s home.
    “What do I do now?” she asked him as much as she was asking herself.
    “You have a com terminal and my access to the great archives; do what you wish and learn what you have become. If you want to leave here, call me and I will deliver you to