"Ready to head out?"
"Yup!"
With an answer from Isaac and Elyse, Kit grabbed the reins attached to Daelan and got him to start moving. They had loaded rucksacks and supplies into a carriage, and taken their seats.
Isaac looked down to his left, where he saw a bundle of blankets rising and lowering rhythmically. Despite the jolt the carriage had received when Daelan had started his trot, the bundle had not been disturbed enough to notice.
Poor Emryn. Yesterday, she got so excited when Kit told her she would be coming to the festival that she couldn't sleep at all.
He brushed aside a piece of the fabric to see her messy caramel hair covering the top of her head. Moving some hair to reveal her face, her eyelids were closed and relaxed.
At least she'll get some rest now. According to Kit, this trip will take a few hours, so she's sure to regain some energy by then.
Feeling eyes on him from the front, he looked up to see Elyse, looking at him as he was watching over her daughter. Her smile, just like the one he had seen two weeks ago, seemed warm and genuine. It had already been two weeks since the one-month celebration, and Isaac had spent several nights keeping Elyse company since then. They hadn't talked all that much, but just him being there for her seemed to have helped her. For one, she always thanked him, even though he never felt like he did anything in particular. Also, although she didn't smile as much as she used to, It was much rarer to see her in a particularly negative mood, at least when Emryn was around.
"I see you're wearing it."
It took Isaac a moment to realize what Elyse was referring to but then looked down at the pendant she had given him, the one with the holy symbol to Othrys.
"Oh, yes. I've never been much into accessories, but I like it."
"You weren't wearing it a lot, so I was afraid you weren't satisfied."
"Oh, no it's not that at all. I didn't want to risk it getting dirty while working in the field, which is why I haven't worn it that much."
A deep exhale escaped Elyse at his answer.
"That's a relief. I was worried that, maybe you would have preferred a different symbol than what I gave you, but the one to Othrys is the only one I'm skilled at."
"Well, I don't have a particular preference. Besides what you've told me, I feel like I know nothing of the gods."
"Yes, I remember you saying something similar before. Would you like me to tell you some more about Othrys?"
"As long as I don't have to accept him as my lord and savior, sure!"
Elyse froze, and looked at Isaac, confused. She tilted her head before asking:
"Lord and savior?"
Crap, why did I blurt out something so stupid?
"Uhm, never mind. It was just a dumb joke. Please, give me the basics."
Elyse nodded and began:
"Othrys, the divine being who created the human race, is a divine that values hospitality, respect, and openness between humans. They are known by the other races as The Great Lantern, as they are usually depicted as a shining light. Likewise, you can see by their holy symbol it almost resembles a lantern of sorts."
Really? I thought it looked more like a freaky-looking eye or something.
"Also, to my knowledge, Othrys doesn't have a divine champion under them, so in all honesty they are one of the more mysterious gods I'm familiar with."
"I see. Thank you, Elyse."
She shook her head as if thanks were unnecessary.
"If you wish to know more details, there are several temples to Othrys all over the continent, but the best place is in the Holy Kingdom of Otressia."
That name does ring a bell.
"That's where you went on a pilgrimage to, correct?"
Elyse nodded and then looked at the back of her husband, who was steering Daelan along the winding road. He must've felt her eyes on him, because he turned his head to look at his wife, sheepishly.
"Hey, don't blame me, you're the one who fell in love with the Lumitra I sold you."
Then he turned back. Elyse rolled her eyes and continued, still smiling:
"Anyway, as the name suggests, Otressia is a country that dedicates itself to the worship of Othrys, so anything there is to be found about them can be found there."
"I see. Are there any other deities I should know of?"
"Well, as a human, Othrys is the most relevant. Other than that, there are a few off the top of my head I can think of. There are Hypnos, the god of dreams. He's also known as The Eternal Dreamer. There's also his sister Nocturna, also known as the goddess of nightmares."
"Dreams and nightmares, huh? There are gods of those?"
"Of course! Each aspect of our lives has a divine being attached to it. Well, almost."
"And all these gods have divine symbols too, I'm guessing?"
"Yes, though I only recognize a few. Othrys has one of the more abstract ones, but there are divines with clearer depictions."
"What about mine?"
The flaming heart-looking symbol. I wonder whose god that is of...
Elyse looked down, apparently in shame.
"I'm sorry, Isaac, but I don't recognize your symbol."
"Could it be Spectre's?"
At his suggestion, she looked back up, a bit startled.
"Spectre? The Ruler of Death?"
After a while, Elyse smiled once more. However, it was not her who answered him.
"I doubt it. They say that Spectre's champion is as old as recorded history, and you haven't even reached adulthood, kid!"
"Hey!"
Isaac looked up at Kit, the obnoxious smile was plastered on his face as usual. Then his attention was seized again, as he heard a noise he hadn't expected. It was Elyse. She was giggling. Although Isaac had asked her seriously, she must've thought he was joking.
"Well, I can guarantee you that it's not the symbol of death," she said, still giggling. Then, she cleared her throat and answered him more seriously. "Spectre's symbol is... How do I explain it... It's a little uncomfortable to look at. Whether by design or not, looking upon a symbol of death can fill a person with unease, or maybe even fear. I've even heard that simply being in the presence of Spectre's champion is enough to make small children cry, or for animals to flee in terror."
Isaac paused a little and looked down at the cart floor. Quietly, he said:
"That sounds... kinda lonely."
Living for so long, and then having everyone who looks upon you instinctively fear you...
Neither of the parents answered him. They seemed to contemplate his reaction as if they hadn't thought of that before. The sound of Daelan trotting along the dirt road along with the wooden wheels of the cart filled the aura with noise. After a while, Isaac looked back up.
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"So if not Spectre, who else could it be? It kinda looks like a heart, right? Could that be a clue?"
Elyse pondered Isaac's comment, then answered him:
"Well, the only deity I can think of that could have a symbol resembling a heart is Ardentia..."
"Oh? Who's that?"
"Ardentia is the deity of love, marriage, and... um... intimate relationships. They are the ones you pray to when you fall in love or get married. As such, there are sites dedicated to them almost everywhere. That means their symbol is very common and easily recognizable."
Oh, I see. So if this was the symbol of Ardentia, Elyse would have recognized it.
"Also, it's well known that Ardentia doesn't have a champion, since love, marriage and that sort of thing is something everyone has an equal right to," Kit added.
"If you want to know who your symbol resembles, you should ask someone more learned than the two of us. Kit is just a farmer, and I haven't studied faith in many years."
Isaac nodded to both of them. Then, after a few seconds, Kit turned his head again.
"In fact, there's a priest in the village we're going to. Maybe you can ask him."
"Good idea, dear. Isaac and I can go see him while you go buy Emryn that thing we spoke of."
Kit nodded at his wife. They smiled at each other.
"Sound good, Isaac?"
Isaac looked at the both of them and nodded back.
----------------------------------------
Four hours passed. Daelan's trot still filled Isaac's eardrums with sound, and the sun was beaming down, warming his skin. The talking had quieted down, and Isaac had mostly watched the landscape gone by. The terrain was relatively uninteresting, with a hilly grassland stretching on, and few trees visible. It was by no means a spectacular sight, yet Isaac found himself enjoying the view a lot more than he probably should have.
Suddenly, his attention was seized by a noise coming from behind him. Turning, he saw Elyse reaching into a rucksack by her side. She pulled out a few small pieces of cloth and handed one of them to her husband. Then, she looked at Isaac, smiling before passing him one too. Isaac thanked her and took it. He unwrapped the cloth to find his lunch, which Elyse had prepared the day before. Not hesitating, he took a bite, savoring the taste that coated his taste buds.
Mmm, this is good.
Meanwhile, Elyse was fishing up a glass container filled with water, followed by a few wooden cups. She poured water into one and sat it next to Isaac, still smiling. Then to Kit, and finally to herself.
After a few bites, Isaac noticed movements in his peripheral. Looking down at where it came from, he saw that the cloths that lay by his side had started rustling. Soon enough, a small hand poked out. Isaac pulled some cloth away to see a bundle of caramel hair, with some groggy eyes hiding underneath. A cute groan, followed by a voice spoke.
"Good morning..."
The small hand that had poked out of the cloth before moved to one eye to rub it, at the same time as another appeared to rub the other. Isaac smiled down at the bundle, and Elyse answered the voice.
"Good morning, sweetheart. We have some lunch prepared if you want it."
The bundle of hair moved once more, apparently in a nod, and reached one arm to Elyse, who gave it the lunch she was holding. The lunch soon disappeared under the bundle of caramel, and the cute voice could be heard once more.
"Mmm..."
After a little while, the hair parted to reveal Emryn's face. Her eyes were still groggy, but they had attained a small glimmer of joy, most likely from the food. She looked up at Isaac, smiling. Then, she rotated her head to the back of her father, before asking the inevitable question:
"Are we there yet?"
Kit looked back at his daughter before answering, his smile even more obnoxious than usual.
"Why don't you see for yourself?"
A pause which only lasted for a few seconds, before Emryn energetically jumped out of her blankets to look ahead. Isaac could hear an audible gasp shortly after and decided to follow the girl's example by standing up to scan the horizon himself.
There it was. The town of Imrys, where he would be celebrating the farmer's festival with Kit, Elyse, and Emryn. It was smaller than he had expected. The town started on flat terrain, climbing up two slopes so gentle they could barely be called hills. On one top was a watchtower-looking building, and on the other seemed to be a big mansion, likely the abode of the burgomaster. Placed around the edge of the town was a short stone wall, only a meter tall, with incremental arches and gateways. Overall, it couldn't be described as a defensive barrier, which spoke to how peaceful life was in this part of Rikaria.
The buildings themselves were varied in size, but almost all of them were smaller than Kit's house. That made sense, considering his house too used to be the home of a governing town figure. Still, some houses were clustered so tightly together you could not see where one ended and another began. Isaac guessed that despite the small footprint, the number of people living here was comparatively large. As they closed in on the entrance, though, the town began feeling bigger and bigger.
"I see they're already well underway in setting up the decorations. Hopefully, we're still early enough to get a room."
True enough, as Elyse had pointed out, there were colorful ornaments placed around in various areas. You could see sculptures made from hay, and intricate bouquets. Lines of small banners had been fastened between buildings, running chaotically around overhead. Larger banners hung from windows, and in Isaac's mind, it all felt very grounded and familiar. He hadn't been to a Renaissance fair before, but the decorations his mind envisioned matched what he saw adorning the town. However, that opinion only lasted so long.
Once they had finally entered the town, Isaac could see the decorations up close. He noticed some odd details about them. For example, some of the larger banners had thread sewn into them that seemed to emanate light. The bouquets too, most flowers were completely unfamiliar to him. Some larger plants that had been placed down seemed alive, breathing and even interacting with the happenings going on around them. One plant seemed to be... staring intently at one of the hay sculptures, which appeared to represent some bovine creature. It had no eyes, of course, but the three big flowers that sprouted from it were pointing directly at the hay figure, no matter how much the wind swayed them.
Looking behind the bizarre staredown between plant and statue, Isaac saw a beautiful, big tree. Ropes were hanging from its branches, streaming down in pairs before touching wooden beams that connected them. A swing. One group of three children was helping a fourth climb onto one of the seats, and another kid sat alone, slowly swinging while looking at the ground in thought. Isaac looked at Emryn, who gazed enviously at them. Her eyes were pinned as Daelan trotted past, and the swings soon disappeared behind the corner of a house. The moment she lost sight of the tree, she turned her head, scanning for another fascinating view for her to observe. She found it instantly. Her mouth gaped, so Isaac turned to see what she had spotted.
What... is that?
Filling his vision was a large structure, maybe ten meters in height. It had layers upon layers of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, gradually tapering up to a point, where a metallic disc shimmered like bronze in the sunlight. The disc itself seemed to be engraved with some intricate symbolism, but Isaac couldn't see it from the distance he was at. Surrounding this altar of harvest were unlit braziers, and the area surrounding was cleared off and empty. Sufficed to say, this was what would be the central plaza for the harvest festival.
"You like it?"
Isaac and Emryn both took their gazes off the altar to look at Kit, who had just asked them the question. They both nodded.
"That's the main contribution of the burgomaster," Elyse explained. "Every year, he imports a ton of food to decorate the main plaza. All of it is donated to the poor when the festival is over."
"Too bad most of it will spoil by then," Kit grumbled.
At this, his wife giggled.
"Now now. Don't be jealous just because he won't buy some of your Lumitra, dear."
He's got a point, though. Kit's plants don't degrade, so it would be just as fine laying on the altar for a week.
"But mama, our plants would look pretty next to all of those, won't they?"
"Yes, Emryn, they would."
Isaac joined in on the conversation, as curious as Emryn.
"Then what's the issue? They look appealing, and they would be a safe source of nourishment to the poor."
"Well, looks are all the Itra plants have got going for 'em," Kit answered while scratching the back of his head.
"They are also associated with necessity," Elyse continued. "Putting Lumitra next to other vegetables would give off the impression that the burgomaster is cheaping out on the celebrations. All the foods on the altar are of high quality and on the more expensive side, after all."
True enough, when Isaac looked, he didn't recognize a single fruit or vegetable from the structure, at least not ones that he had eaten in this world. There were definitely something that looked like apples, oranges and grapes laying there, though.
"They look tasty. I want to try them," Emryn admitted, sheepishly.
"I'll be sure to buy you one, Emryn. There are bound to be some merchants selling the foods that are on display on the altar."
"R-really? Thank you, papa!"
Right, there's bound to be stalls being set up for the festival, else Kit wouldn't have asked me to bring some of my money with me. In fact, that over there might be it.
Isaac looked past the altar of delicacies, where he saw that large sheets of cloth were being hoisted up onto wooden beams, just a short distance away. It seemed to be the beginnings of a festival market.
"So... there'll be a market to buy things from. What else is there to do during the festival?"
"Well, lots of things, depending on what catches your interest," Elyse answered Isaac. "The market is the busiest place overall, but there are attractions for children and contests for adults. Also, as it is the farmer's festival, the emphasis is on food. That means it is customary to spend a little more money than usual, and eat lots of delicious food. I imagine the inns will have an extended menu during the festival as well, and it's one of the few times a year the lower class can dine like royalty."
"Just remember, the festival lasts until Fire's day, so don't worry about rushing through everything. There's plenty of time to enjoy all the town has to offer."
Kit looked at Emryn when he said that last part. I'm guessing she's been worrying about not having time to experience it all. She seems relieved, at least.
"Now, our inn isn't far off, so let's get there before they run out of rooms!"
With that, Kit signaled for Daelan to continue his trot once more.