Moiety had been so firmly calcified into a selfish princess, that it took the heat from the gates of hell and the pressure of the deepest trench in the ocean to soften her soul enough to be released from its binding mold. In so doing, she had, with the help of her friend, the Leviathan, defeated the ancient Nidhogg Wyrm, the titan tapeworm responsible for draining the roots of the World Tree of gratitude. However, we must not forget that the only reason that Moiety is still alive and having this adventure is that the Viking volunteered to take her place, absorbing the wrath of the chameleon's curse. In chapter thirteen, we go back in time to follow the Viking's Vision. "We don't feel fully known, understood, or valued by others or even ourselves—that's why we labor to prove ourselves, to get people to notice us, to make a name for ourselves, or try to be someone else. Imagine how in Heaven, all this gets replaced with an unbelievable clarity of who God created you to be—fully yourself, fully unique, for a unique relationship with your Creator."― John Burke, Imagine HeavenAkedah began to die as he absorbed the chameleon's curse from Moiety's body. The glowworms surrounded him. "We cannot stop the curse from killing you, but we can slow it down so that you will not immediately die." Akedah felt the venom spreading through his limbs with an unmitigated crushing pain. The glowworms were overflowing with their organic juices. They carried the Viking into a spreading Live Oak tree and began working quickly to encapsulate him in silk, a process that would curb the rise of death's steady tide. The last thing the Viking saw was entitled princess Moiety, disembarking in his boat. Akedah closed his eyes and slept. His spirit awoke and walked through his dreams.

He was in a crowded city, surrounded by masculine women and feminine men. The landscape was defined by hard angles and stone. People walked into and out of each other's personal space without greeting. There were few children and even fewer aged, only a sea of family-less persons moving without eye contact like cold fish in dark water. Every person had a number attached to them.  

Akedah wandered through these streets until he saw a woman standing outside what appeared to be a tavern. She was clearly upset, and clearly in contrast with the rest of the stoic environment. She did not have a number and was therefore not allowed inside. She had two small children, a girl, and a boy. 

Akedah went inside the tavern to see what was wrong. Inside the dim lounge, there was a bath occupying the majority of the room. It was lit from the inside with a bluish light. It was surrounded by tables where patrons were drinking. It would not have been so strange if it had not been full of wiggling scarabs. Some of the patrons were stuffing the scarabs in their pockets and bags. Some of them were up to their elbows playing with the bugs. Others were sitting neck deep in the bug bath. 

Despite his disdain for these curious habits of the natives, the Viking, was intrigued. While Akedah watched, a beautiful woman brought him a drink. He drank. The mother outside continued to pound on the glass window. She seemed to be calling out to a big man who was happily up to his beard in the bug bath. The man was numbly ignoring her.

Midway through his drink, Akedah realized that he was not feeling half as repulsed by the scarabs as he had been. In fact, they were quite mesmerizing. Some of them appeared to be made of gold. Now he understood why the patrons were putting them in their pockets. The smiling woman reappeared with another drink. He had not even finished the first drink. Something about the woman banging on the glass out front made him distrust the women inside.

He finished the first drink, while he watched the scarabs glistening valuably in the blue light. They were so smooth. He wanted to take some with him. Akedah... Support this podcast