Freeday, 22nd of Marcia, 470th Year of the 5th Era

The rest of the day after the King's announcement was spent by Josias cleaning himself and resting from the journey he took while he did spend the late afternoon on a walk with Serena to appease her and clear up any misunderstandings she may have had in regards to Johannes' mischievous comments. Josias truly loved the girl but sometimes he thought she could be quite draining emotionally speaking. Before that, Josias had also made a quick trip to the village’s only jeweler and goldsmith to sell the aquamarine gemstone he found and to request a gold ring and necklace to be made while using pieces of the gemstone. The jeweler - who was a maternal uncle of Josias - smiled at the request as he immediately could tell what the purpose of the request was and so he promised the jewelry will be finished in at most a month. It was quite the stretch of time, but Josias was satisfied that he'd get custom pieces instead of just having the aquamarine cut into some existing ring bands or necklace chains.

With all his immediate concerns out of the way, Josias made his way to a small stream behind some rocks a distance away from the village branching from the Arus river. With the red sun already almost completely setting to the far west of the horizon. Usually the young maidens of the village would use this area for bathing but mostly in the early mornings. They were usually chaperoned by some of the older female elders or some guards but as always that wouldn't quite stop any enterprising young lad from trying their luck and abilities to try and peep. Not that Josias had ever willingly engaged in such uncouth activities. If not Serena then perhaps his mother would have his head for engaging in any such foolishness.

As Josias took off his headband and was about to unwrap his lower cloth, he noticed that some distance away from the stream near some boulders stood a large tree that had an ulos wrapped around it. In front of the tree, Josias saw several people sitting down cross-legged while performing the ‘somba’ gesture towards the tree while incense was being burnt in a brass vessel in front of them, its smoke being visible even in the muted weather. Seeing this scene, Josias instinctively grabbed a hold of the saber hilt on his waist as he quietly approached the people to investigate the situation further. As he closed the distance between himself and the people, Josias got a better look at the situation as he could here chanting being done and prayers being offered to the ‘Debata Mulajadi Nabolon’, the native Supreme God of the Halak pantheon. Josias wasn't too surprised by this as he knew many of the Halak were still adherents to what in his eyes was the Old Pagan Ways and he had encountered many of them on his journeys or visits to other villages. However, it surprised him that there were still such rituals being conducted in the Gorian realms despite it having been christianized for over two decades. Though he remembered Ephorus Ludwig telling him that there are still many within the realm who have yet to embrace the Word of God, Josias always thought his future father-in-law was just being excessively paranoid. But now that he thought about it, if there were people in his own clan who would still cling to the old ways, he could give a good guess or two to who they are.

When Josias finally had a clear enough look on the ritual that was being performed, he couldn't help but frown at what he saw as he shook his head disapprovingly. The group itself was about more than a dozen people in total, a dozen adults with several of the rest being small children. Josias noticed that the old man ritual master wearing a black ulos and a white turban leading the prayers was an elder of the Rapmasari clan, one of Hesekiel’s granduncles and a prominent farmer, however that wasn't the biggest disappointment to him. What made him slightly frown was the sight of a middle aged man holding a one-year-old child who was sitting cross-legged near the old shaman as well as the lady that sat next to him and the two young children next to them, a pair of a boy and a younger girl. They were his uncle's family, the family of King Parhal’s younger son.

As Josias had walked to approach the crowd, they were already in the process of dispersing as some people had started getting up to return to their village. As they saw Josias standing there, they were startled at first before giving the young Lord a slight nod of acknowledgement. The ritual master himself was a little surprised when he saw the young warrior there.

“Young Lord Josias, I did not expect to see you here.” The Elder smiled though still with a slightly startled expression as he clasped his palms together and brought them to his chest towards Josias as a greeting. “I apologise if it comes off as rude, but I was just about to go back home…”

“It's not a problem, elder. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything.” Josias slightly bowed to the Elder as he returned the gesture in kind, his frown completely vanishing as he assumed a cordial expression on his face when speaking towards the elder though when he saw that his uncle had noticed his presence there, his expression had wavered slightly “I would hate to be a bother…”

“Oh not at all, young Lord, hahaha! We were all just about ready to head back anyways. Well, I best be on my way… ahem.” The old man cleared his throat before awkwardly walking away to take his leave.

“Of course, elder. Please be careful on your way back…” Josias said once more before he focused his attention towards his aunt and uncle and their family. Regardless, he still smiled as he bowed in a slight somba at them. “Bapauda, Inanguda (Uncle, aunt)…”

Seeing Josias greet them, his uncle - Tuan Partogi Bonar Sigumogo - immediately got up to greet his nephew back as he pulled the young man in for an embrace with a warm laugh. Lord Partogi was two years younger than his father and was the second of King Parhal's three children. After embracing his uncle, Josias had also given his aunt a salim gesture where he shook her hand before bowing and drawing the back of her hand to his forehead. He also gave his younger cousins affectionate pats on their heads

“Abang, I had heard that you had come back and I'm very glad you're safe! I also heard from your father that you've experienced an advancement! I believe congratulations are in order.” Partogi said as he held his nephew's arm, a proud smile visible on his face. “I'm sorry we weren't able to greet you directly at the courtyard earlier. Your aunt and I had just returned from a trip to her home village in Saorma. My father-in-law said he wanted to meet his newest grandchildren…”

“Oh there's nothing to apologise for, bapauda. Dear Christ, you all must be exhausted from the trip…! Especially my beloved younger siblings…! Are you all alright? Tigor? Tiur?”

“We okay, Abang!” The younger girl Tiur - who looked to be only either four or five - answered sweetly while the boy - Tigor - simply nodded his head shyly as he hid behind his mother's embrace.

“Oh I'm very glad to hear that!If anything were to happen to you, your older brother here would just fall and die… eckkk” Josias smiled as he did a dramatic gesture holding his hand to his chest before sticking his tongue out playing dead which caused the children to laugh. Partogi and his wife also laughed as they saw the heartwarming scene of their nephew joking around with their children.

“Children, don't be rude… what did mother teach you? Greet your Abang before talking. Go on now, both of you…” Aunt Lamria said as she urged her children to give Josias the Salim greeting as well. Tiur and Tigor immediately grasped Josia's hand one by one before bringing it to their foreheads as what Josiah did to greet Lamria.

“Owhhh you two are just the cutest and the smartest! Truly the Sigumogo Clan's future is bright as we have been blessed by so many talents!” Josias said again as he pinched his little cousins’ cheeks in adorable excitement. Finally his attention was turned towards his littlest cousin who was being held in Lamria’s arms and looking at him with curious eyes. “And is this little Togar? Ohh look at his cute little face…!!”

As Josias’ fingers were busy pinching the toddler's face, the little Togar aggressively swiped away at the hand that he perceived was assaulting him and gave the man that was pinching him a defiant stare. Josias merely laughed at what he perceived to be quite the amusing spectacle. “We have ourselves a fighter here, nanguda. I think little Togar wants to be a warrior like his Abang.”

“We can only hope that that's the case, nak (son).” Partogi said

“But it seems to me that the Lord Christ is good indeed cause I see that little Togar is as strong as ever! I don't even see a trace of the sickness of fever that's been assaulting him lately!” Josias continued, purposefully ignoring his aunt's visible discomfort at the mention of Christ healing his cousin.

“Oh well, the healers at Saorma were very skilled… We were lucky to have brought Togar with us and luckier still that his Ompung (grandparent) even wanted to see him in the first place…”

“Ah, I see… it's a shame our own healers couldn't do much of anything about it.” Josias shook his head as his eyes still looked at his toddler cousin who had quickly lost interest in him.

“Ah well, I wouldn't blame any of them for that. After all, their attention are all centered upon caring for father right now.”

“Yes, indeed. It pains me everytime I see Ompung get weaker by the day. It's heartbreaking…”

“I know the feeling. I still remember when I was small, I bore witness to my Lord father during the pinnacle of his power. He could send ten men flying with the strength of just one arm.” Partogi’s voice carried a hint of melancholy and nostalgia as he kept his arm around his nephew “But, there's no point in losing hope… maybe if all else fails we can bring father to the healers of the other villages. It wouldn't hurt to try.”

“No, it wouldn't.” Josias nodded his head in slight agreement but he couldn't help but feel something was quite off with the statement “But regardless of that, now that Togar is healthy and strong as can be, we can start arranging for his baptism soon which was held off on account of his health.”

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As soon as Josias said that, Partogi gave a difficult expression for a split second while Lamria merely frowned at the proposition as she looked away from Josias. Partogi let go of Josias as he scratched the back of his head while saying, “That'd be a bit difficult because…”

“Togar will not have a baptism.” Lamria said curtly so as to finish what Partogi looked like he was about to say. Josias widened his eyes as he could no longer hide his feelings with a frown now all the more visible on his face. As he looked at his uncle for an explanation, Partogi only breathed a heavy sigh as he started to massage the bridge of his nose.

“Nanguda, I think I misheard you for a second-...” Josias said once more with slight scoff, not understanding what he was hearing before he was caught off immediately.

“You didn't mishear, nak. Togar will not be baptized.” Lamria reiterated

“...Why?” Josias asked as his head was actually starting to ache before he stared directly into his aunt's eyes to which she turned her head aside to avoid his gaze thus causing Josias to turn his gaze towards his uncle instead. The situation was taking a turn towards becoming more tense as even the children could start to feel the tension as they stood still and quieted down. “What reason do you have for doing such a reckless thing? His immortal soul is at stake!”

Partogi could see his nephew was questioning him seriously and took a while to pause first before deciding what to answer him with. It was a few seconds before Partogi sighed once more and gave Josias a smile as he placed his hands on his nephew's shoulders. “My son, do you trust me when I say that no matter what happens you are still family to us and that we love you?”

“Bapauda, you are just as a father to me as mine own, and I love both you and Inanguda Lamria like my own birth parents, but what does that have to do with answering my question?”

“...There are some among us, son, who have grown to respect the Faith that the missionaries had taught and brought to us all those years ago. Neither do we truly hold any ill will towards any of our brothers and kinsmen who have chosen to embrace said faith. But there are those among us as well who have come to realise that abandoning the old ways and forsaking the traditions that had been passed down to us for generations tracing back to the days before even the first Halak King is a road that would lead our people into oblivion. It is not right and it brings shame upon our ancestors… please understand that this was a very difficult conclusion for myself to have come to but…”

Josias paused once more as he looked away a bit from his uncle's eyes trying to best formulate the words in his mind so as what best to say but the raging storms within him proved a little difficult to calm “...I understand if you all still have some attachments to the old ways, I won't fault any of our people for that… but to abandon the faith that you have held since you were but a child and forsake your own baptism..! I can't…”

“Dearest Josi…” Lamria now started to speak as her eyes were beginning to moist “Can you not see it from my perspective? I was but sixteen years old when my father had arranged for my marriage to your uncle. I had always been taught to be a faithful wife in honor of who would ever be my husband and it was because of that when Amang Raja Parhal insteucted his immediate family to be baptized, I had no choice but to follow along! But don't you think I had felt the same way? To abandon all that I have known since birth to then follow the strange teachings of a foreigner to a foreign God?! I had tried to bear it for these past two decades but, it wouldn't be fair to anyone if I had continued in such a farce.”

“Maybe I could understand it for her, but what of you, bapauda? When all the other kingdoms of the Halak chose to bare their fangs towards Goria and bore down their full might upon us with their priests, shamans, and blood magic, did not my grandfather under the banner of the Holy Cross emerge victorious and crushed the other Kings into submission against all odds? Did a miracle not occur during that battle where many claimed to have seen the Hosts of Heaven appear in the sky pointing their swords towards the heathens?! SO WHY ABANDON OUR SAVIOR?!!”

Josias immediately stepped back when he realised he had lost his temper before he looked away to the ground in shame for shouting at an elder. Despite everything, Partogi was still equal to his father and such a thing was unacceptable in the eyes of the culture. Besides that, the sight of his young cousins quivering in fear and shock at his raised voice which had a hint of aura in it caused him to shake his head in regret. But despite his uncle having every right to chastise him or even challenge him to a duel, being a four-star warrior himself, Partogi remained equally silent as he too kept his head bowed before finally he looked to his nephew and answered, “As it is written, I am one with my wife…”

“With all due respect, uncle. Then you are no better than Ahab, lead astray to the worship of devils by Jezebel.” Josias finally said as he was still trying to calm the torrents within his own heart “...does Timi and Maria know about all this?”

Just as the names of their two eldest children were mentioned, Partogi and Lamria once more gave difficult expressions.

“Those two are already adults, older than you in fact… I am not one to force them to think in one way or another. Because of that they-...” As Partogi was speaking, he was cut off by the appearance of a young man wearing a simple white cassock-like garment with a small silver crucifix hanging from his shoulders and behind him was a young Halak woman with long black wavy hair who was wearing a dress that was reminiscent of a young novice.

“Because of that, we have decided not to forsake our beliefs for the asinine fairy tales and barbarism of the Old Ways.” The young man said to which Partogi could only look downcast as he saw the presence of his two eldest children, Timotheus and Maria, standing stoically in their foreign garb, much displeased by what they saw of their parents “Maria and I were wondering where our parents and siblings were at when we got home from teaching the other small children at the church. Then we saw some of the elders walking back from this place, I just knew some profane and blasphemous things were being performed… I had my suspicions when you two took our younger siblings away to see the Priest-King of Saorma, but to actually see it with my own eyes and to hear what I've heard you say to Brother Josias was absolutely repulsing!”

Josias instinctively took a few step backs as he noticed that he was about to witness a very personal familial dispute between parents and their children. Though by cultural and societal standards, Josias would be considered senior to Timotheus, his cousin was still three years his senior and was the youngest of the native Halak to be ordained as a priest, being just barely over Twenty one years of age. A genius of a mage, his talents might even surpass that of Josias as he was already a mage of the fourth circle of magic, with only the lack of a proper education and mentor stopping him from growing to greater heights.

“And to think that not only are you selfishly determined to throw away your own salvation but to then endanger the salvation of these innocents? Mine own flesh and blood?!” Timotheus raised his tone towards his father causing his mother to protest.

“Timotheus, watch your tone with your Father!” Lamria scolded her eldest son but he merely looked at her with a side-eye and a scowl that would make any mother weep.

“Brother Josias is correct. I will not be commanded by Jezebel as you have been lead to, father…” Timotheus continued with a poisonous tone contained within his words towards his mother.

At his son's insolent and venomous inference towards his wife, Partogi could take it no more as he shouted and immediately took steps to unsheath the golok short blade that was on his waist to strike his own son with its hilt, “SHE IS YOUR MOTHER, YOU BASTARD!!”. But just as the strike was about to land, Timotheus did a small gesture with his hand before he waved it and in front of him a reddish semi-transparent aura appeared, blocking the strike, deflecting his hand and in the next second, Timotheus struck out his palm causing a heavy gust of wind to appear which threw his father back several feet. Partogi was only prevented from hitting the ground indignantly by Josias who immediately rushed over to catch his uncle.

“Brother, this is too much!!” Josias shouted as he helped his uncle stand back up

When this happened, a slight shake in resolve appeared on Timotheus’ face but he steeled himself regardless. At the sight of the fight, the young barely five year old Tiur couldn't contain herself any more as she rushed to her brother with tears in her eyes, pounding him with all the might her little curled fists could muster “Bad Abang!! You mean!! You monster! You hurt papa!! You bad! I HATE YOUU!!”. Off to the side in frustration, Lamria had fallen to her knees weeping at the ground with Tigor and Togar while Maria had approached her mother to embrace her despite their disagreements. As he felt his own eyes started to moist at the sight of his precious younger sister hitting him in anger, Timotheus clenched his shaking fists before he got down to get a hold of Tiur and looked her in her reddened eyes with tears still flowing from them.

“You know your Abang loves you, Tiur…” Timotheus said as he looked at her

“NO!! YOU BAD! You hurt papa!!” The girl continued to scream inconsolably

“No! I was trying to stop papa from hurting you!”

“Papa won't hurt me!!”

“Do you see that tree over there?!” Timotheus finally said as he pointed over to the great tree wrapped by the ulos the people were praying to earlier

“That's a spirit tree! Mama said God is there! The tree can listen!”

As soon as he heard the heresy coming out of his sister's mouth, it took every fiber in Timotheus' being to not scream again in anguish. He merely said with a grave tone, “That is an evil tree! Full of Demonic spirits!! Did you know?! Back in the time of our Grandfather's when he was very young, in times of distress or before a war, the warriors of the village would take the prettiest little girl like you, cut her throat and hang her on that tree upside down so that before battle, the warriors would drink the blood that dripped from her neck for strength! Did papa not tell you that?! I'm trying to save you!”

“NO YOU LIEEE!!! Papa and Mama good, you're bad!” Timotheus couldn't handle the struggling little girl anymore as he finally let her go running back to their father. Though it still left a bitter taste in his mouth as he saw the tree in question. He stood still for a moment before he let out a scream in frustration.

“ARGHHHH!!!” from Timotheus’ two hands large wild flames appeared before he motioned his arms towards the pagan tree, emblazing it with flames, determined to burn it to the ground “Damned, Godforsaken tree!”

Finally after the tree was burning to cinders, Timotheus gave one final glare to his father before turning his back to head back towards the village. Seeing her older brother leave, Maria could only give a sigh before she followed after him. Josias could only stand still in silence while holding his uncle's shoulders as Partogi stood there crestfallen, hugging his crying daughter. The sky grew silent as the sun had long disappeared, with the only sounds being the weeping of his wife and daughter as well as the cries of children along with the burning of the tree which also served as a source of light in the dark sky. Soon enough, Partogi finally approached his weeping wife before helping her stand up so that they too could return to the village. The already dark sky looked like it was darkening even further as dark clouds covered even the moon and stars. It seems it would be raining soon.

As if on cue, Josias could feel drops of rainwater start to crash against his face. It appeared that some villagers had caught notice of the burning tree from afar and were about to approach to investigate but Partogi was determined to cover and play down the recent incident as he gave a quick pat to Josias’ shoulder to signal his leaving. Soon after, Josias found himself standing alone within the pouring rain before finally giving a heavy sigh.

‘All I fucking wanted to do was take a bath.’ Josias thought to himself as he finally headed off to the stream too. The feast tomorrow was going to be unpleasant to sit through to say the least.