The Saintdon of Awin. Birthplace of Sigwalism. Holy cradle of the Tyrian Tale.

A relatively young power as far as Ivian history was concerned. Born as an alliance of need following the Yine war of conquest, the First Ivian War, as the many scattered and belligerent Tyrian tribes found themselves exterminated to less than a third of their numbers by a threat much greater than one another. Divided as they were, it took nearly two centuries before they found the courage to cower behind their so called great hero and his nameless goddess, at which point the Second Ivian War hanged over their heads like an executioners blade.

Not without its own cost: for though all of them followed the myriad Gods of the Underbrush, the Yida, the gods themselves loathed one another, and thus joining would depend on any one warlord's will to forsake and surrender their own deity.

There were those who refused, those who challenged the budding nation's authority as the banner holder, those who saw the writing on the wall and took advantage of the chaos to pillage their opponents. There were those who were left to fend for themselves to their screaming death, those beaten into near decimation and forced into the fold, and those lashed all the way to their exile in the mountains where worse monsters laid in wait.

On paper, the great depopulation of the Sacred Forest Region should have made them an easier target for future conquest. In practice, the inflow of experienced warriors and willing Missionaries created one of the island's, no, the archipelago's biggest monsters, a cult with the power not only to survive some of its worst catastrophes but to thrive from them.

By no coincidence, it was one of the sharpest rocks in the Sect's shoes. Agare had never imagined the day he would willingly set foot inside its borders would come, not without some truly unpleasant and unforeseen cataclysm to be his likely demise. Otherwise, his once-peers were content with promising annihilation with no solid plans to speak off.

Until recently.

That is to say, Agare didn't know a great deal about the Saintdon outside of how to hypothetically kill their divine servants. So when absurd claims were made about it, he had no place to refute them.

"See, even the poor have houses of marble and jade!" The thin faced Goban so named Klyla gestured in wide circles with both arms, only stopping when the Oke bumped into some obstacle on the road. "Every wall lights like a torch! Some poor sod tries to break in? Flash! They go blind, then turned to pin cushions! Entire armies at once! It's why they call the capital Eln the 'City that Never Fell.' "

"R-really?" Holly said, taut with excitement. "T-that's sounds so scary! How do you even beat that?"

"You don't! Them soldiers wear steel as white as snow, so tough not even lightin' can pierce through, and they ain't even allowed to man the walls until they can fight at least eight of the Bears soldiers without taking wound. You try to run tits and pussy out there too, see how far you can make it!"

"What's snow?"

"... Are you fucking with me?"

Agare was quite sure most of those were lies.

Most. The use of defensive witchcraft from Awinian battlements was a well known deterrent against invading forces, Eln's in particular having been breached with such rarity he could count on a finger, but the particulars differed, as far as he had read.

"And you know what's best?" The Goban cackled. "Those ain't even their biggest deals, just rank and file!"

"What's-"

"Nobodies! Lil' fellas! Bum pokers!" she shook her head. "Goddess in the Dark. Where was I? Those ain't shit. The real deal, the reason they get to be the richest people around, with the prettiest town around, are them, the Four Len!"

"Four Len?" Holly asked. "I think I've heard of them before..."

Agare simmered at the conversation. There was something annoyingly helpless about hearing such grandiose fantasies on those who had been some of his worst enemies once and being unable to stop it. Had they not been avoiding all attention, he would be running besides this overpriced metal box so he wouldn't have to hear it. How he wished to tear those words out of her tongue.

Holly's hood turned his way, the living reason he had done nothing about it yet pulling the Goban sat over her lap closer to her chest. Dressed in her repaired robes, she had been eerily quiet the last day. He physically turned away as appeasement, but his sight remained focused on them.

Aleh's as well. Sensorial deprivation bindings loose over his head, the young witch hummed to himself. "Those, Holly, are the so called knight orders of Awin, each tasked with one objective they ought to realize at the cost of their own lives. Powerful, no doubt, and held aloft by as much hot air as tangible evidence of their skills, I assure you, they-"

"Kicked yer' sorry Bear ass all the way back to the Light more times than those inbred fingers of yer's can count lil' boy, so don't give 'em lip!" Klyla laughed.

Aleh stilled, his breath hitching. "What did you call me?"

The Goban gave a savage grin. "Don't blame me for 'em, pretty boy, blame yer' parents!"

"No, not that!" He snarled. "You called me a little boy!"

"... that's the one that bothered you?"

"Listen, you scum sucking mountain bitch, I have tolerated you presence so far, but do not think-"

"Aleh! Klyla!" Holly yelled. the Former still visibly simmered, but at least the latter paused, looking meek. "Don't be mean to each other! We're all comla- companions? Buddies? Pals?"

"Comrades." Agare said the proper word in Ivian.

"Ah! Thank you! We're all comrades here, so you can't be rude to each other!"

"Comrades, are we?" Klyla scoffed.

"Ha! Comrades, with this-"

"Aleh, enough," Agare made sure to speak in Yine, holding a hand before him "I understand, but cool your head, this doesn't help."

Aleh didn't look the least cooled, tense and baring teeth as he was, but he knew better than questioning his authority in front of a potential enemy.

"yeh', whatever the lil'guy said!" Klyla said, pumping a fist in the air. "And speaking of ye', ain't today a little hot for all that geddup? It ain't the Flowering anymore, but it's Ivias."

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Agare shrugged, watching Holly throw her fifteenth glance towards the Oke's cabin, where Almalilly and Rosen steered in silence. One had talked to her alone after their reunion, while the other...

He shook his head lightly. He couldn't afford distractions right now.

Centering himself, he thought back to the anomaly amidst the group.

Subtle testing had not found any traces of Divinity on her, nor the slightest capacity for witchcraft. She bore no enchanted items, carried no curses nor malignant parasites, in fact did not seem to be the least armed, though she had bemoaned the loss of a sword. She was smart enough to have caught on to the complexity of the situation, but didn't seem wise to its particular nature, or even who the people she was now forced to travel with were.

However, Agare was not convinced. There was just too much coincidence in the story of how both women had come to meet each other. How did she know there would be something of value in that room, when Holly had been brought in through the window? How did she know it would be empty when they took turns watching in irregular intervals? And how come it had all culminated on an attempt right as the lingering shreds of the Di Aila family had struck in revenge? Too much coincidence, so much so it nearly felt like Marquise's hand, but if so why was she hiding her loyalties?

His mind had then come to worse possibilities. Not the worst, neither of their two main enemies would rely on third parties to act, much less a Goban, but worse nonetheless. The Argent had many Goban-exclusive cults, but they were disorganized and currently had meager interest on this side of the Ivian Chain, so he found them unlikely. The Tyrian, as of the last century, did welcome Gobans, but would they use such an openly shilling, unprepared spy? Besides, considering her supposed origin, he felt safe assuming it unlikely too.

There was one last faction to consider. Unlikely as well, an enemy to her kind as old as their presence in Ivian soil. And yet, one truth stood higher than bad history: there were no good outcomes to underestimating the Haruspect.

Agare had to admit, she made him worried. There wouldn't be as much to puzzle out the problem if he could just simply deal with it, but another problem stood in his way.

Aleh release a long, suffered exhale, before speaking in Yine. "So, Holly, how long do plan to burden yourself with this insolent creature like she is your child?"

"Hey, don't cuss me out in another tongue!" Klyla barked. "If yer' gonna call me slurs, at least let me learn them!"

"Y-yeah, don't insult her in another language! Doesn't that count as speaking behind someone's back?" Holly said. As for the main question, she remained silent, but he could feel her gaze on him. She knew his plans, and he knew she knew. His attempt to keep this side of the mission away from her eyes had failed somewhere, and he could guess when.

"Yer' just mad I owned you!" Klyla said, pointing a teasing finger his way.

"As if," Aleh said, and Agare could hear the eye roll in his voice. "Feel free to worship your mythologized spell swords as much as your heart craves, your foolishness has nothing do to with me and mine, so long as you agree to stop spreading all this misinformation to my-"

"Goddess in the Dark, this kid drones on! Hols, ain't there anything better for us to do then keep listening to all this crap?"

"O-oi, shit tooth, I'm still talking! And don't you dare call me a kid when you are shorter than one!"

Klyla shot forwards on Holly's lap, shaking a fist. "Oooh yeh', big boy, aiming right for a Goban's height 'cause you're soooo smart you just gotta take a bite of the low hanging fruit! Did you get that sense of humor from the same idiot who gave that shitty sense of clothing?!"

"A-and what's wrong with my Atire?!" Aleh said.

"Alright, enough!" Holly intervened, pulling the struggling Klyla back. "I said we're all comrades here! We can't let misunderstandings bother us like this!"

"Ha! Misunderstandings! Say Hols, did that sound like a misunderstanding to ye'?"

"I-I don't know?" Holly said. "Aleh can be a bit confusing sometimes. I still don't get what Merurgy is at all, and he explained it to me twice..."

Aleh froze with his mouth agape. He broke into a dreadful baring of teeth, a mockery of the concept of a smile that made Agare ashamed to treat him like a professional. "Dearest Holly, are you informing us that a presentation created with the intent of teaching literal children was not clear and concise enough for your eyes and ears? Would you like me to make another attempt, pace myself slower this time?"

"Uuuuhm, no? T-thank you," Holly said.

"Meru-what?" Klyla frowned.

"I-it's some kind of Ashic Art thing."

"And what the fuck is this Ashic Art thing?"

"S-some kind of Merurgy thing?"

"No, Holly!" Aleh sighed, deflating against his seat. "I can't believe you payed no attention to the World's Making at all! You somehow managed to get it backwards!"

"Well, it's not my fault! You never finish it!"

"And whose fault was it, both times?!" Aleh's teeth creaked out loud. He took a deep breath. "You know what? Once more. One final time, and let us see if you don't understand anything by the time I'm done! What do you say?"

"S-sure?" Holly said, shifting in her seat.

"Hols, what you guys talking about?" Klyla said, looking up. "I don't speak Bear!"

"S-sorry Klyla, I don't think I would get it in Aw- Ivian. I'll try to explain it to you later, okay?"

"... Whatever. Just don't keep me guessing for too long, it's getting boring in here."

"All of you set then? Good!" Aleh cleaned his throat out loud, and Agare caught movement heading his way. "Merurgy, according to Merurgical Theory, is-"

"Merurgy, according to Merurgical Theory, is the basic matter that constitutes the Merurgical Plane, once believed to be the uppermost, metaphorically speaking, reach of the Ashic Plane, the plane of concepts and relations. It serves as both an intermediary between the highly volatile yet dependant Physical and Ashic planes, as well as fueling their interactions. They call it the Starlit Flesh, but doesn't it sound closer to blood or something? Oh well, who am I to question."

Almalilly stepped into the Passenger Hold, gingerly holding on to the walls for support. In the silence that announced her entrance, Holly's soft gasp drew all eyes her direction. As she looked away, a pang of regret struck Agare, who was quick to smother the useless feeling.

"Did I get it right?" Almalilly winked at Aleh.

"Since when did you know this much about the topic?" Aleh said, not sounding half as confrontational as the words that left his mouth. "It suffices, but lacks in rather important nuances."

"Well, but for a complete newbie who wants to relieve some passing curiosity, shouldn't that be just right? And all I did was gather what I learned from your previous tries and all those times I caught you practicing all alone and press them into something smaller."

"I-I did not practice by my lonesome!" The bindings failed to hide Aleh's flush. "I may have rehearsed the presentation a couple times, however-"

"I would ask what is the difference, but I'm going with: what's the matter if you did? Makes you a better teacher, young sir." She turned towards Holly and Klyla, then spoke in Ivian. "And as for Ashic Art, that's just a fancy way to say magic, alright? Don't let this guy's academic fussing make you think its this impossible thing to comprehend."

Both exclaimed in understanding, while Aleh's red went from embarassed pink to blood-boiling scarlet. Agare decided to break things off before they could start. "Almalilly, something to report?"

"Agare, night is about to fall. Rosen is asking if we should keep moving or stop to rest soon," she said.

That didn't feel like a very wise idea, not with the Citrine out there. "How long until the nearest towns?"

"Following the road, we might reach Luunol somewhere around dawn if we keep the pace. There is also Twotrees, which I think we can reach in two or three hours, but it's going to take a big detour to get there and a bigger one to get back on track. A couple closer villages too, if I recall correctly."

Agare mulled the information over. Even a town would not be safe if they came for them in full, but numbers would force them to think twice. A village? That would be useless for their needs. "Very well. In that case, find us somewhere we can hide offroad. Furfu and I will be going on guard soon."

Almalilly sighed with relief, then turned back. "Heard the good news, Rosen? We can sleep tonight!"

"Anybody gonna translate all that for me? Seems like good stuff," Klyla said.

"She said you can sleep tonight, "Holly said." It's good news!"

"I-it's news? What else were we supposed to do this late?!"

"N-nothing! Don't be scared, I'm here."

"I'm not scared, I'm pissed the fuck off!" the Goban said, jabbing a finger into the dense shades of Holly's hood. "Ye' think I came all this way to be dragged around like a doll and not even know what's going on? Stop forgetting me, if yer' going to all this trouble to keep me in one piece at least let me join! I'm goin' insane!"

"Uuuuhmm." Holly looked from Agare to Aleh, from Aleh to Agare. "I-I don't think I should talk too much about what's going on. B-besides, I'm not too good at Awinian yet..."

"It's Ivian! I-vi-an!"

"S-sorry! It was a slip up, I swear!"

"I've spoken the tongue since I was a lil' tike, and I'm not from Awin. Auntie Lakla came from the western shore, and she spoke the tongue, and she wasn't from Awin! Guess why? Cause everyone does! Cause it's Ivian! And if you keep insisting it ain't you're gonna find yourself getting docked in the jaw one of these days."

"I-I just forgot! I'm sorry, I am! Aaaaww, why all these mixed signals?! I don't know what is true or not anymore!" Holly said, looking at Agare for guidance, who just shrugged. That one was between Holly and Marquise, not him.

Klyla of Fena. An indistinct Goban with an indistinct name from an indistinct town in the mountains. An unwelcome addition to their party he would have to cull sooner or later, by good or by force. With every word off her tongue, she derailed Marquise's plan.

"Big gals insult with pride!"

"I-I'm not insulting you!"

If things stood this way, Holly would have to find it in herself to forgive him, because he would not allow another danger to get in their way.

Until them, he would keep watch.