“Soooo, Froya! This’ your first time traveling outside? Pretty nice ain’t it?”
“So far it’s been nice, I suppose. I’ve never left the village except for a handful of times foraging, but never this distant.”
It’s been upwards of around 3 days since I’ve left the village. Our initial departure was delayed since I wanted to give everyone a proper burial, and thanks to Ency and Vylona, I was able to finish a few hours earlier than what I expected. Up until now, we’ve been traveling via a carriage that Ency had made with his strange, yet fascinating powers, while Vylona has been mainly hunting and providing us all with food. I myself haven't been doing much, and I feel like extra baggage at this point. There would be points where I would offer to help, yet they instantly switch up and finish the offers in my stead. It was getting frustrating. At the moment, Vylona is still out hunting, and Ency has just finished setting up the camp for the night.
“Hey, I can help out with gathering some firewood-”
“Already have that. Just relax, me and Vy will have everything finished as soon as possible!”
Again, always denying my favors in an instant. I can be useful y’know, but no point helping it.
“We’re close by the way.”
“To what?”
“Baricht, It’s only a day away, just to let you know in case you were wondering.”
“I thought you said it would take five days total to get to the city.”
He lit the fire in a blaze, singing my hair a bit in the process too. A slight cheer came from himself as he piled stick after stick, then log after log. The night was slowly falling. It was oddly worrying that I haven’t done anything for the two of them. After all, I owe them a great deal.
“Well… I might’ve made a few miscalculations here and there but oh well, we get there a day earlier do we not?”
A soft rustling came from the bushes behind. It was Vylona, with this… absolutely enormous animal that she’s trudging behind her!
“I’m back you two! You didn’t do anything funny here, right Ency?”
“Obviously not? What’d you think I did?”
“Whatever. Anyways, I got ourselves a Wrill, and a massive one at that!
The ground shook as she laid it down on the floor. How heavy was that thing?! I’ve never seen this creature before either…
“Well, I’ll get myself started then! Vy, chop this thing up for me.”
“The hell? Why don’t you do it yourself? I already exhausted myself tryna find this thing!”
“YEAH RIGHT! You probably found the Wrill in less than a minute! No way your soul accumulation is failing you.”
“...”
Although they’re amazing as a team, they for one sure do bicker… Half of the time they like to argue. A LOT. I think… This is a good time for me to step in. I have some experience on how the anatomy of these animals work.
“I… can butcher it for you guys!”
Unexpectedly, they fell silent and just stared at me… Like I’m some kid waving around a knife…
“ Y’know, I think I should cut it up, don’t want to get your hands all dirty, Froya-” Ency says as he gets off the stump he was sitting on.
“LOOK! I want to pull my weight here. I don’t understand why you guys don’t want me to do anything at all… I owe you guys all… so very much… Please, let me handle this myself.”
Ency passed me a knife as I began to work. This, Wrill that they called it, even laying down on its side was about the same height as I was. Luckily, it was already decapitated and bled out, so I didn't have to worry too much about getting myself messy thanks to Vylona. Lining my knife, I began to skin the hide off. It was a bit difficult dragging the knife across since its skin was so thick and fatty.
“Hey, Froya. Look.”
Vylona held my wrist, with a knife in hand. She guided it across like there was almost nothing at all, yet her grasp was so… gentle…
“You want to make sure that your wrist and hand stay firm, and allow yourself to be guided by the meat. This way, you won’t have to strain yourself as much.”
Without her guidance, I tried the technique for myself, failing a few times. However I eventually got the hang of it and, wow! She was right! It felt so smooth this time!
“See? You can call me an expert on these sorts of things, unlike that guy over there… All he does is minces everything he comes across, not respecting nature whatsoever-”
“AND RUMORS SAY YOU DEMOLISH VILLAGES FOR FUN, HUH?”
“...”
“Ignore him, he’s clearly drinking again…”
I gave out a slight chuckle as I continued with skinning the Wrill. The organs and washing wasn’t all that hard, I took the organs out, while Ency made some water and completely drenched the thing.
“There, all done!”
“Um… I asked for a few buckets… Now everywhere we walk is all mud…”
“Don’t worry about that Froya! I can just dry it later! One second though, lemme just get something real quick…”
A small sort of portal came out of Ency’s pocket… It looked almost like it was warping the space around it…
“What’s that you have in your hand?” I ask while approaching cautiously.
“Oh, this? It’s just a place where I can store things, I’m just grabbing my cooking gear so we can sleep with a good taste in our mouths!”
Reaching his hand, he shuffled his arms around for a few moments before tugging hard, as if he found what he was looking for. Initially I was only expecting a few pots and pans, but instead this… HUGE kitchen just came bursting out of nowhere! The night followed with Ency’s cooking and overall, just having a good time. Albeit I wasn’t really in the festive mood at the time, but I suppose after a few days since I left, I suppose I could enjoy the fun atmosphere for the time being. The food was incredible as always! It seems like Ency always takes his cooking up a notch, I hardly even recognize some of these flavors!
“Vy, this wrill thing you caught, I expected it to be wayyy worse than I thought it would’ve.”
“Mfgh? Why’s that?” She asks with her mouth stuffed.
“Well since it’s a pretty muscular animal, I thought it would be too lean, but honestly the way it tastes makes up for it. It’s a good thing I decided to braise it!”
“I was about to say, if you were to seriously complain again, the things I would’ve done to you…”
“Heh, you think you can beat me in a fight?” Ency taunts with a smug look on his face. Here we go again…
“Hmph! I’ll have you know I wasn’t going all out the last time we spared!”
“And I. Wasn’t. Either. Now let’s just get ready to sleep, all of this arguing is making me tired…”
Ency took his things and went to his personal tent. Me and Vylona still weren’t feeling as tired as he was. Sitting near the warmth, I clicked open the locket to reminisce over the photo stored inside. It almost felt like yesterday when I was sitting around the bonfire with all of the villagers. I doubt that anything can compare to that atmosphere… That oh so welcoming atmosphere… We both remained silent for a short while before Vylona eventually stood up and lightly tapped on my shoulder.
“You can’t hold on to those memories forever, Froya… I… wouldn’t recommend it…”
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That didn’t sit right with me… What did she mean by that?! I turned to her with a frustrated look on her face.
“Why… Why should I?!”
“See? You’re already starting to tear up again.”
I brought the tips of my fingers towards my face. She was right… I didn’t even realize myself…
“I… I am…”
Vylona stood and tied her hair up, seemingly getting ready to sleep as well, and her expression felt more genuine than before. I’ve always felt this sort of barrier between me and the two of them. It feels as if they’re trying to hide something from me, but this time… This time felt like she was about to say what she really believed in.
“I’ve lost a few of my… students in the past. Middle of a great war as well. I don’t normally open up to others like this, but I want to share some of my experiences with you.” She said as from the bag next to her, she sunk her hand in and took a small notebook and tossed it to me.
“Go ahead! Read what's inside!”
It wasn’t a notebook, but a picture book. There were many unfamiliar faces, which were all so joyful and… happy. As I kept swiping the pages from right to left, the last three pages seemed to be extremely new, as if they were taken recently.
“Are these-”
“Yeah, they’re all the students that I’ve had over the past few years. The last pages are mine that are still alive. I treasure them very much, despite how harsh I may be to them…”
Looking over the three, one appeared to be a small child that I would assume was as young as twelve, a lady who appeared to be of the same age as Vylona, and an old man, almost like Kyman…
“Pretty diverse group there, right? I’ll lend my knowledge so long as they show enthusiasm!” She exclaims with a huge grin spreading from cheek to cheek. That was probably the best smile she gave me. But, I had a question that was lingering through my head at that time.
“Vylona?”
“What’s up?”
“Do… you fear that you might lose them again? Just like what happened to your older students?” I ask while clenching the picture book to my chest. She snickers at my question surprisingly.
“What kind of question is that? Of course I do. However, those deaths were my fault, and I felt guilty about those deaths for… a really long time.”
After what she said, she takes back her seat and locks eye contact with me with a very serious, yet saddened expression on her face.
“But this time, this time I won’t make that same mistake.”
“What… Do you mean by that? What do you mean that it was your fault?”
She glances to the floor, her eyes following the embers that spark from the now dimly lit flame.
“I’ll tell you some other time… I only had the guts to tell one other person about what I’ve done.
“May I ask who?”
“...”
“Ency. And yet here we are, still great friends. He’s the only one I can truly trust and the only one I can rely on at times like that…”
Ency, huh? Despite all that banter… Vylona told me that she was going to hit the sack for the night and told me to “toughen my soul”. As I watched the fire slowly die out, I turned my head up and admired the stars and moons up above, thinking to myself about my future. It… was quite frightening to think about at first when I left, but what Vylona said really stuck to me. Even though my home is lost.
I’ll always be fighting for you, Kyman.
----------------------------------------
It was warm when I woke up to the rattling coming from outside, Ency prepared some breakfast for us as Vylona began to pack up our things. The air was still a bit smokey from the smothered out fire from last night and it hasn’t fully freshened up. I suppose it was still lit throughout most of the night.
“Ready to leave? You still seem awfully tired.” Ency asks with his spatula in hand.
“Yeah, I was just up a bit late is all… Talking to Vylona about moving forward.”
“I see, well, why don’t we set off to Baricht now? Everything should be in order once I finish cleaning up.”
Exhausted, I walked to the carriage and laid to rest inside, but for some reason, I couldn’t really sleep and decided to help Ency finish cleaning his kitchenware.
“Hey, Ency? Could I help with the dishes if you have some spares-”
“Who is this Ency you speak of, Froya?”
Ellmit? Why am I back?! And everything is… perfectly fine?
“Froya? FROYA?” Kyman shouts angrily.
“OH! Sorry, Kyman…”
“How many times do I have to tell you, GET BACK TO WORK!”
Wha?! I don’t… remember Kyman being this… vocal… I still want to belong here. I’ll be sure to finish my work now. I left the carriage to tend to the gardens that I’ve always done, yet I have this lingering feeling that I want to leave. I know this isn’t real. What I experienced days ago was, yet there’s this impulse telling me to stay, no matter how hard I try. I’m stuck here, as minutes seemingly turn to hours, and hours seemingly turn to days, my routine has remained unchanged.
My limbs became heavier and heavier . I was getting more exhausted as the days went by. The stares of the villagers were locking on me, as if their glances were chains, tying me down to my jobs. Kyman wasn't the same. No one was the same. I’m stuck here… with no way out. Yet, for some reason, I had two wings, not three. Was this the acceptance that I so desperately desired? No, it wasn’t anything as I desired.
On the seventh day, they felt stronger than before. I felt like I could take flight, despite these limbs of mine becoming as heavy as I could’ve allowed them to be. As I spread my wings out, I flew far from Ellmit. That wasn’t the Ellmit that I knew and love. There was this strange light from the sky above and instantly decided to fly towards it. The screams of the villagers could be heard, even from this height but I remained unfazed. But, as the lights were in my grasp, my third wing appeared out of nowhere, right where it always was, and lost my opportunity. I kept falling and falling over and over, seemingly not hitting the ground.
The air was now cold and dark… Where was I now?! I regained my lost sense of balance and flew around for a short while before coming across eight statues, each seemingly sporting a different expression, yet they all look… just like me…
“It seems like you haven’t grown at all in the slightest, Froya… Admirable…”
“Quiet, you needn’t not envy their obliviousness, for there is hope in her journey…”
They were talking and conversing amongst each other… Seemingly talking about me. I couldn’t help but watch. There was nowhere to fly away as I saw each one of them, judge me, ridicule me… I felt some sort of connection with them, yet it felt so distant… One of the statues however, that distance wasn’t nearly as far as with the rest…
“Fuck is you lookin at, huh?”
“O-oh, sorry… I didn’t mean to-”
The statue sighs and approaches me further. It reaches out and a small warmth could be felt from it. Scratch that, it wasn’t warm, it felt almost fiery, it was a burning sensation that it emanated.
“Y’know, you’re too… relaxed… I should say. That pisses me off so fucking much…”
“I-I’m sorry..?”
“Look, I know you better than all of the others here… Those pent up emotions… You should tap into those more.
“Emotions..? What do you mean by that..?”
The statue looked me dead into the eyes and with an angered face, it said to me:
“Wake up.”
I gasped for air as I felt the familiar bumping of the carriage moving along. Ency was manning the carriage while Vylona was watching me from the other side.
“You’re finally awake, huh? Y’know, you’re quite the heavy sleeper at times, even when we were attacked… several times…”
“SEVERAL TIMES?! And you didn’t bother waking me up?!”
Ency adds, “Well, no of course! After all, it’s probably better that you were asleep, heh.”
I glanced towards the horizon as we approached a vast body of water, the sight almost had the exact appearance of crystals in a cave. The water, sparkling from the reflection of the sun, and the many buildings that came with it. I almost keep forgetting that I’m in a different world, a different world than those sacred fields.
“Is that Baricht?!”
“Yep! Told you that we were close!”
“Just focus on the carriage, Ency. It’s almost as if you keep forgetting what happened when you lost focus.”
“Like. I. Said. Many times over. We’ll be FINE. Do I have to keep reminding you that the carriage broke down because of just a few loose bolts?
“FEW LOOSE BOLTS? THE ENTIRE THING COLLAPSED! WE HAD TO REBUILD THE THING FROM SCRATCH!”
I’m surprised that Vylona holds that much respect for Ency, despite all these fights… either way, I couldn’t get that strange dream out of my head for some reason… The whole thing was so… strange… yet what really is occupying my mind is that one statue. I’ve always had this burning sensation lying deep within after those Pacifists destroyed Ellmit, and after realizing it wasn’t due to some sickness, it kinda stuck around with me. I was hoping to find an answer to it, and what shocked me the most, is that sensation felt extremely strong, almost as if the dream was one with reality… I wouldn’t stop thinking about it until we reached the Baricht gates. Vylona left the carriage and spoke to one of the guards up front.
“Miss Vylona! What brings you here to Baricht today?”
“I’m just here with Ency and a girl we picked up after an encounter with the Pacifists… Usual stuff, Alvan.”
“Jeez, again? When will those guys come to their senses… We’ve also been getting numerous reports of sightings regarding pillages of countryside hamlets… Oh well, can I see everyone’s A.I.Ms?”
Ency, already prepared, places his palms on top of hers as Vylona hands the guard what appears to be two cards.
“So, are you here to rest for the time being, or do you have some other plans ready, maybe some special dates with Ency??”
“Shut it. I-It’s not like that.”
“Oh come on! An old man’s intuition knows no bounds when it comes to love! Especially when I’ve had more than 5 wives!”
“That all divorced you? Sure…”
“Harsh as ever with your words… Well, your A.I.Ms are still valid, you are free to enter.”
The guard takes a hold on the lever beside him, as the gears and mechanisms shift, the wood creaks open with the loud clanking sound of the chains lowering.
“Welcome to Baricht, Froya! This is the first time you’ve been to one of the five cities before?”
The view was even more mesmerizing from when I spotted it from a distance. The amount of people I’ve never seen, the smell of salt and steam coming from the houses and ocean below. I never would’ve thought that a place like this exists here!
“Y-Yes! Of course it has been!”