Amira dropped her weapon to approach the body of the unworthy fairy, which was slowly disintegrating in a shower of Trace that filled and illuminated the hypogeum, leaving only the bones, the metal pieces and, in the place where there should have been a heart, a small bag tied with a rope. When she opened it, she discovered, under a large amount of dust, a golden spheroid object, which seemed familiar to her, although, at the same time, too strange and unnatural. What she had in her hands, sweaty and hurt by the splintered wood, the weight, the combat and the channeling, was, nothing more and nothing less, than the Golden Apple of the heroic Krek. She could not believe it, she felt the magical fruit, a mysterious work of culinary alchemy from Pergamon, under her own fingertips; a strange sensation, as if the gold that covered it was just another layer of the fruit, although, resistant and fragile at the same time, enough to take a bite."Congratulations, you got the famous golden apple, "a male voice took her by surprise."Who are you? "defensively, protecting the apple."Let's just say your contractor, "said a fair-skinned boy, hair as messy and dark as his jacket and pants, replete with gold details and piercings. "To be honest, you exceeded my expectations, I didn't expect you to achieve it so quickly. Wow, you even brought a souvenir! " looking at the staff."Wait a minute, you're the one with the letters, aren't you? You've been investigating me, " somewhat angrily."Sorry about that, but I couldn't call just anyone. Nice to meet you, my name is Shine, " shaking her hand."May I know exactly why? "accepting it, with caution."Try yourself. Anathema was your home, after your parents died, you were raised in an orphanage and you tried to regain the shine you once had, but there was no way. So, you went after the golden apple"."It's what the community heroes would have wanted. Will you stand in my way? " defiantly."Not at all. I'm not interested in the relic, but in the person who found it. Amira, my mission is to stop a dangerous bounty hunter who operates from the shadows, stealing treasures from communes and villages like these to carry out his twisted plans, but I can't do it alone. I need help"."I don't know. I wanted to save Anathema, not an entire guild"."If no one stops him, there won't be any commune left to save. What do you say? Will you help me?" The sun was shining brightly outside. Meters ahead, from the sanctuary, the banks or borders of the riverbed expanded and created a kind of tunnel, while the water flowed towards the dried-up Reservoir, connecting at some point with Pergamon and her precious swamp house. Amira was tired after such a busy journey, she just wanted to leave her new "centerpiece" in the living room, take a shower and go to sleep. Sadly, she couldn't sleep a wink, not even drinking a midnight tea sweetened with too much honey, carefully observing the apple under the light of her work table, while the sound of the television kept her company (that was a night of retransmissions of old movies, races in the dunes, wildlife, cheap items and battles between drones and gladiators). She had achieved her goal, obtaining something that no one else had in Rupestre, or rather, in the entire continent, however she was not sure about what she should do with it. Keeping it for herself was a tempting option, it might even serve a purpose in the future, but she was clear that, in truth, it did not belong only to her, but to an entire guild, the one that Krek and others even continued to defend in the shadows. Who was this simple sorceress, to decide on what to do with this treasure? Why did she seek it out in the first place? Whom should she ask for advice on what to do with the apple once she had it? What should she do with it? Bury it, return it to where it belonged, keep it, or restore her precious Anathema? Which of all the options was the correct one? Then, in the runes of the weapon, she found an answer to this storm of doubts. The next morning, she returned to the dwarf Rük, who lay sitting in a corner, after another of his countless days with that printer."Witch, nice to see you again. What have you got there?""A fairy tale, " showing the amazing fruit."By every hair on my dwarf's beard. Ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha! That's incredible! Krek's last apple! How... Did you even find it? It's not a joke, is it?""Grab it," she threw it at a more than prudent distance."Girl, this is not how you treat relics like these"."Don't tell me... I had been dealing with them for years"."Indescribable to the touch and attractive to the eye. It is a priceless piece. As if it had been recently removed from the branch where it hung during the height of spring"."Some time ago, I read that this type of fruit could only be replicated three times and on one occasion, because the original recipe was destroyed so that it could never be used again. It is said that whoever eats it will become practically immortal for a short period of time, long enough to decide which commune will live and which will fall, in the hands of the right subject. It is not a simple fruit, it is a weapon, " observing it against the light one last time."What do you plan to do with her?""This, " she cut it with a simple kitchen knife. That simple act dried the fruit instantly, stripping it of its trace and leaving only three measly seeds."What did you do!? Why? Wasn't this what you were looking for? " with his tired eyes on the verge of tears, in disbelief."A priceless treasure for some, but a new opportunity for many others. There is something I didn't tell you, and that may be just a rumor, a tiny rumor that, if true, could change the course of history. Apples can only produce three golden seeds, but it was never known what happened to the other six; perhaps Krek destroyed them to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. However, all three need to be planted together to give life to a supposed special tree, with unique properties, which would bring prosperity to an entire commune. Your commune, Rük"."Young Amira...""I was planning to restore the splendor of Anathema, which was once my home, but that was long ago and I found a better place for them"."Thank you," he said, shaking her hand firmly. "I believe in your words. I am sure that this land, almost withered and dry, for which no one gave more than three miserable seeds, will become a beautiful commune. From this moment on, the new home of the communal heroine Amira," as he buried the seeds in the large central flowerbed and watered them with a bucket."Heroine? No, of course not. I prefer the title "sorceress", I just did what any redeemer or person would do for our communal guild "she smiled, modestly"."It needs a name. What will it be called?" In the middle of an abandoned and inhospitable territory, once ruled by Basillium Labrys Hotbrodd (famous ruler with religious powers), plagued by giant ants, coal cobras and large komodo dragons, yellowed ruins and a shortage of people like that young woman, a new commune was born in Rupestre. As the young sorceress walked along the road, a crimson sunset illuminated the silver plate that Rük once hid inside a chest, waiting for the day when it would be used again. However, the dwarf made a small reform at the end of it, adhering on the unrecognizable piece of metal and in more striking letters, the name of a commune, which lasted for a difficult number of generations to enumerate:"The whole is emptyTime is silentCulture is gentleKnowledge is humbleMan is lonelyThe pragmatic is genuineOpposites are equalIdeals are incoherentReality is Mística".