"Very. I've been trying to see if the barrier could be at least changed to allow exceptions, if not reset to its original state entirely. It gets lonely, being one of the few spirits around."

"Barrier?"

"The spirit realm and human realm used to cross over more, blurring into each other in places. A thousand years ago, there was something that could be summed as a 'war', although hardly any of us were involved, and this was termed an unsatisfactory arrangement by the humans' leader at the time. He was strong, and separated the two realms, and created something that's usually called a 'barrier.' Ravine or chasm also work."

She shakes her head. "Mortal arrogance. In my world, the elemental spirits have each their plane, but it is not a prison to any, save for the most destructive of them."

"We didn't have the prisons, unless humans trapped someone individually. It's possible he couldn't make a more finely-tuned barrier. Just means we need to do better."

"What do you mean, 'do better'?"

"I like this world, and some of its people. A full breaking might not be beneficial - there was a reason for splitting the worlds, even if it wasn't a good one. You said yours are prisons for the more violent spirits - I would like something like that. There are spirits that like the taste of humans, and eat them indiscriminately, never mind that we don't need sustenance. There are cruel spirits, who drive people mad. There are spirits that steal souls. They can stay where they are, at least until the humans are more used to those of us with manners."

"You seem to have given this quite some thought. Have you a plan for achieving your ends?"

"I don't think it's doable by a kami, at least not easily. It's possible it's achievable from this end. The most likely scenario for a modification would be a human on the other side; the barrier should weaken in the face of someone going against their own stream like that. I have a monastery, on my mountain, and the leader of it knows my wishes and plans, but she is unwilling to risk stepping into the spirit world right now. A human descendant of the original man who put it in place might be able to do something. A seal master might be able to figure something out, though the humans keep dying before they can get any good. My plan is mostly to wait, and watch, and see about allies, without compromising my mountain or my human followers."

"I have intentions myself of learning the sealing art. I am told this does take some time. I have also recently become acquainted with the Three Tails, and he has taken up residence not far from here. Have you spoken with him?"

"Not in a long time, if at all, I don't think. My mountain isn't sea-side, and I haven't had business with those nine in a while. I don't like going far from my mountain, but if he is near I can seek him out, too."

"He may be willing to help. Though at the moment he is being hunted by a group of humans who wish to reseal him, so his actions are constrained."

"Hm. He's one of that man's; I'm not sure how much he would help. But there's no harm in the asking."

"'That man'? The Ootsutsuki was the one who created the barrier?"

"Yes. He was the de facto ruler of the humans at the time, and one of the most powerful of even partial human descent I've seen or heard of; he and his brother were the most powerful of that era by a large margin."

"I suppose that should not be surprising. So few mortals are exceptional, their greatest deeds tend to concentrate into a very few."

"He was also not fully human - I'm not sure if his mother was mortal or not, but she wasn't native by any measure."

"Offworlders are rarely good news. I, of course, am the exception that proves the rule."

She seems highly amused. "What an odd phrase," she says. "Still, you have been rather helpful, yes."

"This is not the first time I have been stranded on a world not of my birth."

"That sounds like an interesting story."

"Some fifty years ago, my homeworld, Azeroth, was invaded by a race of aliens called orcs, who hailed from a planet called Draenor. They were beaten back through their portal by the humans, in what they call the First War. Ten years later, the orcs reopened the portal and again invaded. However, this was in fact a smokescreen to cover their acquisition of certain powerful artifacts, which their leader intended to use to shepherd them to a new, unclaimed world. Neltharion, the Aspect of the black dragonflight, made a deal in secret with the orcs. He promised the flight's aid to the orcs in obtaining the artifacts and in exchange, the orcs would allow a large portion of us through their portal uncontested. I was one of those chosen to make our foothold on Draenor. The leader of the orcs proved incapable of mastering the power he sought, and rather than move his people, the uncontrolled magic began ripping the world asunder. Some of our group, including Neltharion, made it back through the portal before it was closed. I did not. Those were... an interesting few years. Draenor eventually stabilized, but much of it was lost to the Void. Perhaps a third of it remains, and less is habitable."

"Somehow the mortals have a talent at picking fools for their leaders. Though I suppose kami aren't always much better - two of our supposed greatest once plunged the world into darkness for months over an argument about who was the main creator of something."

"There were, I suspect, external forces at work. The Burning Legion, an army of demons bent on universal destruction, has long sought the demise of Azeroth. The orcs' original invasion was orchestrated by the Legion's influence. The second was either because the Legion wanted the power of the artifacts for themselves or as punishment for the orcs' failure."

"That seems strange to me, but I suppose I haven't been to other worlds. Our would-be world destroyers often don't get along with each other, or aren't intelligent enough to orchestrate anything."