Sahshir, Narcissa, and Raj stepped off the vessel onto the pier. Around them, Sahshir saw the ships pulling to a halt, laden with many boxes and barrels. Others were being loaded by cranes onto ships. The dock itself was filled with all manner of people hastily unloading supplies. There were Babarassians and Harlenorians, and Drens in particular. Most common of all were the olive-skinned Dinisians. All were watched over by blue-plumed guards bearing pikes and armor. Their helms were of fine metal that gleamed in the sun, and many had long mustaches. A dignified-looking official could be seen speaking with one of the merchants.

Worryingly enough, there were bars on the street corners. Though they seemed to at least be less seedy than those in Saladus. They were kept clean, and no men were in the gutters. Nor could Sahshir see any sign of beggars on street corners or anything.

What kind of barbarians drank alcohol? Baltoth had forbidden it for a reason. Yet it seemed his teachings were being slowly forgotten even in his domain. Rammas' rebellion left a legacy indeed.

"This place seems nice enough," said Narcissa, shouldering her axe. She looked at the Dinisians warily, no doubt remembering the legion torching her city. "Still, where is everyone?"

"We're hardly the most magnificent of fleets," noted Raj warily.

But someone did meet them at the end of the pier. She was a girl a little younger than Sahshir, with long, light pink hair, and was thin. She wore a red outfit, a combination of shirt and skirt, and a knife at her side. On either side of her were men in blue samurai armor. Both must have been immensely expensive, and the katanas at their side were excellent.

Sahshir felt somewhat conscientious about his own simple black armor. Hardly superior to his Silent Guard, save for the gold.

"Greetings to you, King Sahshir," said the girl, bowing. "I am Serna, seneschal of King Nagos of Chaminus. I am here on his behalf to welcome you here."

"Where is the King himself?" asked Sahshir, feeling he should be offended.

"He was; he has an unexpected development to take care of," said Serna, which made Sahshir believe she did not know. "If you wait, I am certain he will arrive soon.

"If you follow me, I will gladly escort you and your entourage to the palace while the matter is settled."

"In truth, I'd prefer to explore this island myself," said Sahshir. "I need no guards."

"That seems perfectly reasonable," said Serna. She glanced at the vessels, ragged from battle. "Um, is this the vanguard of the fleet?"

"We had a battle on the way here and routed a Sorn force," said Sahshir flatly.

Serna sighed. "Then, war is certain."

"War is here," said Sahshir. "Are you not somewhat young to act as a seneschal?"

Serna paused. "King Nagos would have no one else. He has... odd preferences. Perhaps we should discuss the repair of your ships. Admiral Yin is the head of our navy, and I believe he desired to discuss plans." She motioned to one of the blue-clad samurai, who stepped forward. Now that Sahshir looked at it, he saw that the armor had no demon symbols on the mask. Instead, it bore the face of a familiar woman. He'd seen the likeness many times.

"Very well, then," said Sahshir.

He glanced at Raj. "Raj, I leave the discussions to you. Provide me with a full report once the matter is concluded. And see to it that your men behave themselves. If a single citizen of this island is injured, if a single place is damaged. I'll take the heads of those responsible."

"Yes, yes, understood," said Raj.

"Are we going or what?" asked Narcissa.

"Yes, of course," said Sahshir. "Tell me, Serna, is there a shrine to Safara on this island? I believe I should pay my respects." If only to spite Garacel.

Serna shifted. "Um, are you certain you don't want to go to the palace first? Safara is a patient deity and will gladly wait for you to rest."

"I detest luxury," said Sahshir. "And I would prefer to pray immediately."

"Well," Serna shifted, "the shrine of Safara is near the knees of the mountain if you wish to make an offering. I shall lead you there if you wish."

"I wish it," said Sahshir.

He nodded to Yin, who returned the motion and moved to speak with Raj. Privately Sahshir suspected that Chaminus would be a far better seaman than his countrymen. It would be best to cooperate.

Serna led Sahshir and Narcissa through the streets. As they walked, Sahshir glanced at Serna. "Tell me, when did a Serpent Shrine come to this island?"

"It was when King Nagos' predecessor ruled," said Serna. "Safaranism started among slaves in Macshore and other islands, you see. It was believed it would be a good way to prevent slave revolts. But it was only a short time before it spread to some lower classes.

"King Trasos chose to erect the shrine here. It was the great building of his reign."

She pointed, and Sahshir saw a great serpent statue on a ridge surrounded by trees. And yet it was not a statue but a building. A great cobra with a fire within its mouth. He turned to the streets and noticed the people did not seem keen to bow. They wore less than those in his homeland but far more than those from Zigilus and seemed unmindful.

"What do you mean by 'great building?'" asked Narcissa.

"Every King of Chaminus has to perform some construction project," said Serna. "Nagos has been lagging on doing so, however. He's, well, we're working on a different project."

"What project?" asked Sahshir.

"I'm not allowed to speak of it," said Serna. "But, well, I expect you'll find out soon if the war does happen."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Some sort of weapon?

Soon, Sahshir and Narcissa were led to the shrine. As he did, he marveled at the craftsmanship of the building. Every structure in this land was made with many strange designs. Most buildings were old and well-built but simple. But the serpent shrine was magnificent up close. He had to crane his neck to see the top as he neared the entry, making him dizzy.

Entering the domain, he found the statues of Safara.

There were, as was tradition, three of them painted. All three were of the same stunningly beautiful woman with hair painted red and tan painted skin. She had the lower body of a serpent. One had long red hair tied above her head in a vast ponytail and wore a red and gold brassiere. The next had her hair falling around her shoulders and bore two scimitars. Last, the third statue had her hair down, two long horns, and six arms, each holding a blade. She was bare breasts, and her mouth was wide open, a forked tongue stuck out.

"Why are there three?" asked Narcissa. "Or are they sisters?"

"Each one represents a different aspect of Safara and her domain of love and passion," said Sahshir. "The first is Safara the Dutiful. That is passion within the bounds of the restrictions of society. The second is Safara, the Unleashed. Passion unleashed within appropriate circumstances. Last of all is Safara the Consumer.

"Only the most obsessive pray to her."

"Why?" asked Narcissa.

"Safara is," Serna paused, "well, she has some strange beliefs. Safarans believe that the ultimate form of existence is to be in a state of love. Safara loves everything and everything with an obsessiveness that defies belief.

"One prays to Safara the Dutiful to endure hardship. One prays to Safara the Unleashed to gain something you desire greatly. But praying to Safara the Consumer, for anything is... unwise.

"If you do it, what you desire may be granted. But if it is, Safara will consume you after your death. Your soul will be remade in her image. You will effectively become her."

Narcissa frowned. "Right."

"Will you be praying here?" asked Serna. "Or shall I speak to the priestess-"

"I do not make use of such services," said Sahshir. "They are immoral, and I have an incurable skin disease."

"What services?" asked Narcissa.

"Safaran religion believes in unconditional love," said Serna. "Thus, they see nothing wrong with prostitution. For a donation, the priestesses offer themselves."

"Oh, right," said Narcissa. "Could you show me to these priestesses?"

"Um," Serna shifted, "are you certain that-"

"Everyone among my kind is attracted to both genders," said Narcissa. "Zigildrazia bred out the other orientations generations ago."

"Ah," said Serna, "I'll take you to see them. Just pay attention to the badges they wear. Priestesses of Safara tend to look like her after a few years."

So Serna led Narcissa out, and Sahshir felt privately sick. However, this was not the time to check Zigildrazian depravity.

Sahshir was left alone and no longer had anything to distract him from the pain. Moving forward, he reflected that Garacel had once held this domain. Lover eternal, he had been called. It was strange that love and war had been so associated in the days of Garacel. Though Safara had a different method.

Sahshir considered his options. Safara the Consumer was out of the question. Falling apart though he may have been, he would prefer to remain himself. To, in some life, be judged worthy of being one of Baltoth's Immortals and taking his place at the table of Baelgost. Safara the Dutiful was an option, but this was a war. Yes, it was Safara the Unleashed he must pray to. Kneeling before Safara the Unleashed, he set his sword before his knees. "Safara, favored daughter of Baltoth, I have not prayed to you before.

"My strength is waning. My flesh is being consumed. Grant me the strength to gain victory here, and I shall devote every kill I make to your name. Every warrior I slay in this war shall be done for your sake."

For a moment, there was only silence. Sahshir waited there in silent meditation, communing with the spirit beyond.

Then the pain in Sahshir's body began to lift. No glow radiated from the statue, but the light fell on it strangely. Rising up, Sahshir sheathed his sword and turned to walk out.

Outside, he tensed and halted. Looking up, he saw a boy clad in white lounging on top of the doorframe. He had short, blonde hair and blue eyes and shifted to look down at him. "Oh, hey. You look new here, and I know almost everyone on this island. Who are you?"

How could he know everyone?

"I am King Abdul Sahshir of Eastern Kalthak," said Sahshir, annoyed at the lack of respect.

"Wow, a King, huh." said the boy. "That sounds like something really interesting. Have you fought in many battles? Ruled over any court cases?"

"A few," said Sahshir.

"You're not really one for conversation, are you?" asked the boy.

"Not really," admitted Sahshir.

"So what's with the mask, anyway?" asked the boy. "You trying to look mysterious or something?"

"My body is disfigured," said Sahshir flatly. He wondered if his blade was in range.

"Oh, well, this is awkward." said the boy. "So what are you doing out here in Chaminus? Your ships took a real beating, didn't they?"

"We had a battle with Sornian ships," said Sahshir.

"Wow, that sounds interesting." said the boy. "I've heard the Sornians go around kidnapping people and selling them into slavery."

"Everyone does that," noted Sahshir.

"Yeah, but the Sornians have these huge slave markets." said the boy. "They are where most of the slaves that people seize in battle end up. Then they sell them to plantations to be worked to death. They're unpleasant."

This boy was either a good liar or had seen things off this island. That implied he'd had a career of some kind. "Who are you, exactly?"

The boy dropped down. "I'm Nagos, the King of Chaminus. Well, more of a Prince. I sort of run things around here."

"If that's the case, what are you doing here?" asked Sahshir. "You ought to have met with us.""Asking questions," said Nagos. "I like to know things about everyone who comes into my island. And I wanted to see how you'd speak to someone unimportant."

"Aren't you concerned about the danger?" asked Sahshir.

"Eh, not really," admitted Nagos. "Most people like me."

"And where do you stand on the war?" asked Sahshir.

"Oh, you mean the thing going on between Sorn and Dinis?" asked Nagos. "Don't care about it, to be honest."

"How can you not care?" asked Sahshir. "Chaminus is a protectorate of Dinis. So if Dinis is weakened, it affects you."

"Now see, you're talking like those words your saying have any meaning," said Nagos. "Dinis and Sorn are words used to describe many different people. Neither of them does anything. Instead, individual people within Sorn and Dinis do things.

"Nations are words we use to describe the sum of our choices.

"I care what the Emperor decides to do. I care what Sorn merchants decide to do. I don't care what their nations do because they don't do anything."

"If that's the case, why did you describe the men of Sorn as unpleasant," asked Sahshir.

"Well, names exist for a reason," said Nagos. "When I said 'Sorn' I was saying 'Sorn raiders.' The people who choose to hurt innocent people to make a profit. And all the people who give them an incentive.

"Although I wouldn't judge any of them until I met them, come to think of it."

"What plans do you have, anyway?" asked Sahshir, finding Nagos bewildering.

"Plans?" asked Nagos.

"Yes, to deal with Sorn," said Sahshir, amazed he had to clarify.

"Eh, I'm not big on planning," said Nagos. "I'm sure things will work out for the best as long as we all do our best."

"What world do you live in?" asked Sahshir.

"An island, of course. Though I guess people can connect between islands on boats," said Nagos. "What was the metaphor about?"

"There wasn't one," said Sahshir flatly.

"Hey, do you want to have a meal?" asked Nagos. "I have this excellent cook."

Sahshir blinked. "I would have to retrieve my entourage."

"Fine, we can bring them too," said Nagos.

And then Serna came back. She halted as she saw Nagos and rushed up to him. "Nagos, what are you doing? Can't you just wander off when a fleet enters the harbor? What if they'd attacked?"

"Oh, Serna, there you are," said Nagos. "I think we both know Yin would do the commanding. I'm just talking to him anyway."

"That's the King of Kalthak, Nagos!" said Serna. "You have... I..."

"I will accept your invitation," said Sahshir, realizing Nagos hadn't known who he was.

"Great," said Nagos, "let's wait for your other friend, and then we can go."

Nagos had certainly been different from what Sahshir expected. He was curious whether this was a good or a bad thing.