The path through the winding caves, especially the way through Pegasus past the secret wall and the refuge, went far quicker now that October knew where it was going. Still, making the flight from Pegasus to Orion and back twice in the same day was tiring, and it felt its muscles beginning to complain. It would not make any audible complaint, though; in fact, it was extremely happy to be able to show the Three Kings this. In the face of the prospect of seeing the Sky and the Sun with a friend, all struggles to get there seemed minute in comparison.

It only needed to look back at the starry wings following it to regain a cheery spirit. "Look!" it sang. "The second palace—we are almost there!" It'd said the words 'almost there' about five million times already, but they for real for real were almost there now! It went sailing through a window (do-or? what's that?) and straight for the portal at the back of the hall, which it barged through without hesitation this time around.

As soon as it went through, it wheeled around and alighted on the cathedral floor facing the portal, waiting for its friend.

The Three Kings found it no easier: they had lain quiet for so long that sustained flight through the narrow caves reminded them of what it was to tire.

But exhilaration and hope drove them on, so that when at last they reached the cathedral, they were thrumming with excitement.

They had to land, to stride with claw-clicks across the cathedral floor, and ahead--ah! October had flown through the portal, and they recognized its magic, though they hadn't seen this place before. Never, not in all their searching, had they found a way out. They had fought to fit through cracks far too narrow, that had reached nowhere in the end. They had sought out all the newly opened caves, poring over every gap in the ceiling, every thinly pillared edge, and found no exit. And each time they failed, their hope had dwindled, until they lay silent looking up at Orion's false stars... for centuries.

Now? They shot through the portal, taking wing as they hit it. Feathers smashed along the pews as they rose up on the other side, as they flew past October, their eyes bright with hope. The chough was briefly forgotten as they left, as they spiralled skyward.

A trio of voices, united as one, let out a long and wailing, haunting cry: a joy overflowing their heart, too powerful to keep silent.

For a moment they vanished, flying so fast that they were but a streak of violet, and then--nothing.

The sky. The stars. Freedom.

It was nearly thirty seconds later that they returned, flapping quickly downward, eyes seeking--ahh! There.

They found October, and alighted before it, perhaps the last time they would ever land. They were breathless, eyes sparkling with delight. "This is--freedom. Thank you. Let us reward you," they almost pleaded. And Alnilam--voice soft--"We never asked your name. May we, now, so we may remember it for all time? We will cherish it, until the stars go out."

@October

October had not expected the speed with which the Three Kings came flying through, and it stumbled back in a daze as starry blue feathers crashed past and shot upward. It quickly came to its senses and followed, though it could not match their speed or height at all and was quickly left behind. Still, it could hear the joy in the Kings' cry as it echoed down, and the chough would join in with its own cacophony of trills and happy chirps.

When they reappeared, October swooped down beside them to land together. It saw the way their eyes sparkled in the sun, the way their plumage glowed luminous deep blue limned in the light that was brighter than anything that had ever touched the caves. Its golden eyes blinked and it hopped closer, leaning its head into the Three Kings' feathers if they would allow it.

"I am October," it told them. And it realized, now that names were brought up, it had never really learned theirs either. "—What are your names? Three of them? I only knew the Three Kings before." Then, softly, it asked: "... Are you leaving the caves forever, then?" It was good that they now had the opportunity, since they had been trapped there for so long. October could take one look at them and know, even if it had not before, that they belonged in the sky. Still, it was... a little sad, to think it'd never see them again if so. Unless it could follow—! But surely it would take the chough many cycles, if it were ever able to at all, to be able to keep up with the much bigger bird.

"October," they repeated, reverentially.

And for a moment they gazed at the bird, as if committing its appearance to memory. This small, unassuming creature--the only one to come to them, to offer them their freedom after so long trapped here. At long last their wistful yearning could end; their dream become reality!

"We are Alnilam, Mintaka, Alnitak." Their head bowed, and left the ghost of three where only one dipped low.

"We will leave, yes. The stars call for us." Alnilam gazed at October for a long moment. "You truly deserve those wings you carry. Allow me to imbue them further."

A golden swirl of magic threaded for October, reaching for the topaz in its throat: granting a new power to the magic that Alnilam had already given.

They paused, about to take flight again, but looked at October one last time. "This is to be farewell. Is there anything more you would ask of us?"

---

October will learn the following spell:

Medium Intensity Transformation. Gain ethereal golden feathered wings that shimmer with the gleam of wisdom. Alnilam of the Three Kings of Orion has enhanced and morphed this spell, and it now grants limited flight. Your loyalty shines with ethereal gold-plated armor, a testament to your faith; the stronger you are, the more armor you will have to show for it.

October will also enter its chrysalis the next time it rests. Upon awakening after two weeks' time, it will find that it has changed appearance, mutating to dark purple with an indigo glow, like a nebula filled with tiny glowing stars. It would look like The Three Kings, but with eyes a soft, glowing gold with wispy tendrils drifting from them, embracing Alnilam's blessing.

Lastly, October will occasionally have strange dreams, in which it is soaring through alien skies or the stars themselves. These dreams will be filled with joy and a faint sense of gratitude, and whatever happens, October will always know in these dreams that the Three Kings still fly, and still think of the tiny chough's gift every day.

@October

"Alnilam, Mintaka, Alnitak," October repeated, just like the Three Kings had repeated its own name. It was hard to wrap its mind around the idea of them leaving forever and ever, but it stared hard at their shimmering indigo plumage, wanting to remember them for just as long as they had promised to remember it. It wished it was powerful enough, capable of flying high enough, to follow them...!

Its nictitating membranes flicked over its eyes as magic threaded for its gemstone. Experimentally, it stretched out its wings and allowed magic to flow over them, overlaying its black feathers with ethereal gold ones and manifesting golden armor over its body. Huh- that part hadn't happened before! It looked backed toward the Kings reverentially. "Thank you." It could remember them by this magic forever, when they left.

Farewell forever, now? October hopped forward toward the larger bird. "Wait," it pleaded. "Will you tell me one last story...?" Just like the first time it'd seen them, when they'd gifted it with the first version of that golden wing-magic. "How was it that you ended up coming here so long ago?"

The Kings blinked, like stars going out, then flickering back to life. They did not look over their shoulder, look to the sky with yearning; that would have been rude. Instead they settled, a little, to speak. October deserved that much from them.

"Yes... though it is not much of a story," they answered, and there was apology in their shared tone.

"We flew here, through the stars. Through the space between. That was long how we existed: exploring, bringing color and light." The Kings paused, the sheeting nebula of their feather brightening in memory. "We were one, then. Whole. We were tricked."

They looked earnestly at October. "We had felt the pull of magic here. This moon, this place beneath. It felt... strangely bright, below, and we heard a call. A soft humming, as if of energy buzzing. We thought... someone might be in need of aid. And so we flew below. In through a crack, a gap in the stone. And it was collapsed behind us. Trickery," they added, this last a hiss in Alnitak's savage tones.

"We do not know how or why, or if it was... orchestrated. But we blamed ourselves, and we had none but ourselves for company, and..." They hesitated. "We became three." There was a weight in those words, as though far more was left unspoken. The thousands of years, the gap where they'd argued with themselves, broken, no--changed. They had been tricked, and they were angry, a victim who would not play that role again. They were someone who had seen grief and captivity of a sort, and were determined to help others. And they were a quiet observer, who had no one else to blame.

"We were told to find a... stone, an orb, to open the other caves. A rumor, a whisper. We were told that it would lead to our freedom. That was a lie. But this was after... millennia," they finished, and that was a guess. They had slept for so very long. "We do not know if someone trapped us on purpose." The Three Kings suddenly, almost violently, shook their head. "We were. But we don't know who! ...It does not matter, any longer. We are free, thanks to you."

They half-spread their wings, pausing. They were ready to fly.

All they awaited was October's last farewell: a permission, almost, for them to go.

@October