It had been the eighth day since he had arrived and stayed at this castle.

Once again, he was discussing something with Lady Aria in the private garden, which he found soothing and relaxing.

"You speak with such conviction," Lady Aria said, drawing out her words, "I do believe in them as well, and most do as well. But most know they haven't seen proof of them. That doesn't stop them from believing, yet you speak as if you had one..." Her tone was probing.

The topic was getting dangerously close to revealing his true purpose, or at least, giving others an idea.

Keagan smiled, his smile turning wry. "Well, I don't have actual proof," he admitted. "It's not like I've seen them in person, haha!" He laughed and added, "But all the ruins I've found tell of a civilization worshipping gods who walked among them. They also speak of a single continent in the past before it separated. And the fact that Eberia, Eyrial, and even Megara, as you told me, all use the same names for the days – at least it makes you think, right?"

"Even a common peasant could see that," Scholar Aden said from the side. "That doesn't prove gods exist, it only proves that at some point, the first men came from one place before they explored the world."

"That's true..." Keagan nodded in agreement. "But it doesn't contradict what I said," he responded.

Then, Keagan ventured deeper into the topic.

"Civilization was once concentrated in one place," Keagan began, "but at some point, all of them separated to different continents. Why?"

"Because they wanted to explore more of the world? Because they wanted to expand?" Lady Aria offered the obvious answers.

"Well, I guess that could be true..." Keagan simply said, with a small smile.

"What is this land's creation myth?" he asked.

"The gods created the world," Lady Aria said in a storytelling tone, "and seven beings first walked it, each giving an important aspect that contributes to why the world is as it is now."

"Mairen, representing the first day of the week, embodies the first light of day," Lady Aria continued.

"Macre: The second day, symbolizing the growth of all things.

Yirmen: The third day, who gave life to the ocean.

Ciannait: The fourth day, representing the cycle of life and death.

Máire: The fifth day, representing the stubbornness of life and rebellious will.

Suhall: The sixth day, representing the end of something and a new beginning.

Sini: The last day, representing miracles, of something more than what we see.

"Together, the world is as it is now because of them," Lady Aria concluded.

Lady Aria finished her story. Keagan nodded.

It was generally the same as his own land's creation myth. Of course, he knew some things that were probably closer to the truth, but he wasn't going to speak them.

"The sky temples advocate the gods but they lean more on prophecies and general order of things, they believe the seven beings are actually the gods themselves," Lady Aria added. "In the old language, the first beings were called—"

"Echo," Keagan finished for her, speaking in the language of old. "The world's voice."

This took Lady Aria and the scholar by surprise. "You know the old language?" she said, her eyes wide.

Keagan smiled wryly. "It was a sort of nobility thing back in my land," he said simply. "A requirement of sorts, otherwise you were looked down upon." Of course he wouldn't tell the truth.

Deep down, he grumbled inwardly. It was difficult to determine the age of the ruins, or whether his findings matched those discovered elsewhere. He questioned if this civilization even existed at the same time. Unfortunately, this world lacked the means to allow him to conduct deeper research. Therefore, learning about the history of the echoes, particularly a specific one, became a secondary priority to finding the final relic piece.

Lady Aria nodded thoughtfully, examining Keagan with new eyes.

"Speaking of the Sky Temple, have you read their book containing the old language?" Keagan asked.

"I haven't read them, and my knowledge of the old language is low" Lady Aria admitted. "Only their priests are allowed to read them. But yes, I am as curious as you are."

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"This book supposedly contains prophecies," Lady Aria continued, "though I haven't come across a true prediction from them. Then again, aside from their prophecy of doom, they haven't explicitly stated other prophecies. Have you heard of it? I heard you visited their tower..."

"Yes, I have," Keagan replied, his eyes narrowing. "Nobody tries to find out what this book contains?"

Lady Aria looked at him and simply said, "Those who can read and speak the old language are few to begin with."

Keagan nodded. Their discussion soon turned to a lighter topic.

----------------------------------------

An arrow whistled through the air and hit the center of the target.

Russ released a breath and looked towards where the arrow hit. He couldn't help but beam.

"You're getting good at that!" Russ was startled by the voice. He turned and saw Keagan.

Keagan leaned against a large wooden pillar and said to Russ, "Keep it up! Then try doing it on horseback."

Russ scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "Thank you, sir. I will," he replied.

Keagan paused for a moment, then asked, "How's life away from your parents?"

Surprised by the question, Russ answered sincerely, "It's new. I've lived all my life with them before now. Well, I do miss them a bit," he said, his voice turning somber. But immediately adding, "But I do enjoy life now, and I'm looking forward to where it will take me."

Keagan nodded. "It's normal to feel that way. You're just a kid."

Russ mumbled, "I'm 15..." Keagan chuckled. "Like I said, you're still a kid. Where are the siblings anyway?"

He asked, usually whenever Russ trains here, the two children aren't far away.

"In their room, doing their work of learning the letters," Russ answered.

Keagan shook his head. "How about you? Doing well in your lessons?"

Russ stiffened, and Keagan laughed. "It's alright," he said. "It's only been a little over a week anyway." A week wasn't enough to learn the letters, but it was enough to recognize some words.

Keagan looked up at the sky, the gloom hinting at rain. It was about an hour or two before the night came.

"We should prepare to leave," Keagan decided. While there was still plenty to learn, especially in the lord's library, he didn't like staying much longer in the castle. Moreover, with each passing day, he could feel the other lords disapproval of their presence growing. Even now, he could hear some servants gossiping and casting pointed looks in their direction. Besides, another week wouldn't allow him to completely learn the letters, so he figured he might as well leave now.

Russ nodded, his eyes shining with excitement at the coming journey. "Where do we go?" he asked.

"Let's get some things first for the journey," Keagan said. "Get the kids, we're doing some shopping."

----------------------------------------

"Is it true?" Lord Reede asked in disbelief, his gaze fixed on the old man seated at the head table. They were currently in the private meeting hall of Castle Reede.

The High Lord slid the letter containing the message across the table to Lord Reede, who immediately examined it.

"House Kiree is wiped out," Lord Reede uttered in disbelief, "no living relatives left alive. How could this be..." Beside him, his trusted advisor, seated to his right, spoke out.

"Is this another ploy to hasten the conflict between our borders and incite war?" the advisor asked.

Another man, older, by Lady Aria's side, said, "It could be. But we all know House Kiree and House Regan have been in conflict for half a century. There were bound to be serious repercussions."

"But to wipe out an entire House..." Mane, Lord Reede's advisor, continued, "they were sworn to your House too, Your Excellency, no matter how minor they were."

The High Lord had his eyes closed in contemplation.

Lord Reede, now collected after the initial shock, frowned darkly. "Setting aside whether there's a scheme," he said, "now that House Kiree is gone, who will defend the mines? The agreement was for these two Houses and only these two to be involved in the conflict. But now that one of the Houses is gone..."

"The agreement would still apply, unless a new one is declared," Lady Aria interjected.

They knew this, but with both the Head of House Jade, and the Head of House Yoxalle on the High Council, it would take time before the matter of the blood mines was brought to their table.

The advisor, Mane, appeared taken aback. "But without House Kiree, who will defend the Blood Mines?" he echoed his lord's question.

The Blood Mines weren't really an important resource location. They only gained fame because of the two opposing Houses from different regions. Nevertheless, without someone to oppose House Regan, they would control a considerable resource while being dangerously close to the southern region border.

They couldn't allow other houses to defend the area because doing so would violate the agreement and incite a greater response.

"The people"

The High Lord finally spoke, opening his eyes as he did so. All those seated at the table raised their eyebrows in confusion, unsure of his meaning.

"The agreement stipulates that only the two houses can be involved in the conflict," the High Lord explained. Lady Aria immediately grasped what he meant.

Her brow furrowed. "You mean mercenaries? Let them defend it?" she said. The blood mines had a well-earned reputation for frequently recruiting mercenaries for the ongoing conflict, and there had never been an issue with the practice.

"Indeed," The High Lord rumbled, his voice echoing through the chamber. "Let the news spread far and wide. The blood mines have no more owner. Any common born with the courage and strength may take the resources for their own gain."

The people at the table fell silent. Then, the advisor at Lady Arias's side spoke up. "I will see to it, Your Excellency," he said.

"And if the houses of the southwestern region object?" Lord Reede inquired, his eyes narrowing.

"Let them," the High Lord replied simply. Though no longer Head of House Jade, his influence remained undiminished, and none dared to object.

A servant entered the room quietly and whispered something in Lord Reede’s ear.

Lord Reede nodded as the servant left the meeting room. "It seems our foreign guest is preparing to depart," he said, setting aside the matter of the blood mines for the moment.

This undoubtedly caught Lady Aria's attention. "I see," she said. "I thought he would stay longer. He hasn't completely learned the letters yet."

"Eagerness, perhaps? Whatever it is, for such a gifted warrior to roam free..." Lord Reede said, his voice trailing off as he met the High Lord's gaze. Lord Reede knew the foreigner's strength and had even considered recruiting him. However, deep down, Lord Reede felt the foreigner wasn't someone who should be under someone. It was a ridiculous notion, especially for someone in his position only being below a high lord, but it was what he felt when he saw the foreigner.

The High Lord looked ahead, his gaze deepening as he fell into deep thought.