{-Rennyn-}

Vaeri was able to get them a ride that took them as far as Kositeia’s borders, then they were fortunate enough to convince merchants to bring them along in their caravan. It wasn’t too long after that they were entering Astiri’s capital, Vesuna. He considered it just in time, too—the flurry heralded the beginning of winter.

“You know,” Lyrei said casually, undoubtedly just to start a conversation, “snow’s got kinda interesting symbolism. It can either be seen as representing emptiness or death, or it could be representing peacefulness. It’s interesting when you think about it. People who’ve lived in cities their whole lives don’t usually think snow’s all that bad. But I guess it must be a pain for merchants, huh, Rennyn?”

“Most merchants don’t travel too far during the winter,” he mumbled. He inexplicably found himself on guard here—like he knew that, soon enough, he’d see one of Dhymos’s minions, or something else that would hinder them. “Almost always proves to be too much trouble than it’s worth.”

Then she prompted the others, “Hey, do you think this means anything for us?”

“I hope not,” Noa responded with a nervous laugh. “Sounds like it has just as much of a chance as being something good as it does bad…”

“Besides, if we’re going to be traveling, snow’s not the thing we want to be traveling in,” Seldir remarked. “It’s still a little early for heavy snow—hopefully this is a one-off thing. I don’t think we’ve got the supplies necessary to make those trips on our own.”

“So, we’ll probably need winter clothes?” Kaylin prompted. He nodded, and she continued, “We should still have plenty of money from Lord Aymer left. If we can find some thicker fabric, and I get all of your measurements, I can probably make something cheaper than buying coats directly.”

“You know how to sew?” Lyrei asked. “I mean, I saw you patch up Rennyn’s shirt that one time, but I figured anyone could do that. But you think you could make coats like that?”

Kaylin’s response was quieter. “I was supposed to take on my mother’s trade. Of course I know how to do the one thing I was ever meant to do.”

“What kind of fabric do you think you’ll need?” Rennyn questioned. “Would it be anything we could find here?”

“Well, it’s the capital—we’re bound to find something if we look hard enough. But… we’ve been traveling for a while. Let’s go to an inn, get something to eat, and book two rooms for tonight first. Maybe we can ask for some directions, too. Then you can all tell me which colors and styles you’ll like the best. I can’t promise they’ll be perfect, but they’ll be functional, and that’s all they need to be.”

…

They’d all gotten something to eat at the inn. Before they left, though, Rennyn had a question he hoped would be cleared up.

“We never talked about it—how Queen Vaeri knew so much about Dhymos, when no one else in any other life could,” he said. “And you’ve got a good idea of why, don’t you, Kaylin?”

She nodded. “Lyrei’s already told us about what she remembers—about how all of us met in the original life. Talking with Queen Vaeri, I acknowledged that this… isn’t just another life created by Dhymos. If it was, it would be like the other fourteen—no one would really know anything from before you started your quest as the hero. Instead, we all remember our pasts… pasts that are nearly identical to what they were originally.”

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“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Lyrei didn’t seem to know whether to be cautiously or excitedly approaching the topic. “Are you trying to say that this world is the same as the original one?”

Kaylin nodded.

“You said that all of your other lives were when you were thirteen, though,” Seldir pointed out. “Were you fifteen originally? And if you weren’t, why did it take two years longer for this to happen now..? Damn, this is confusing…”

She glanced at Rennyn. “I don’t know, exactly,” she admitted, “but I have a guess. I think, originally, we were thirteen. That would make the most sense, since that’s the age we always were when we remembered other previous lives. It wasn’t that this ‘waited’ two years in order to start—I think it all still started when we were thirteen. I just don’t think it became apparent until two years later.”

“You mentioned something like that when I first saw you again,” Rennyn mumbled. “I’m guessing that’s what you meant?”

“Mhm. Honestly, I’m surprised you never saw it…”

“Well, excuse me for thinking I didn’t have to worry about any of this anymore.”

“If it makes you feel any better, this is definitely going to be the last time. We’re either going to defeat Dhymos here—in the world we all came from—or he’s going to complete whatever he’s planning. All of this is leading up to the ultimate battle—one that I don’t even think the gods can predict the outcome of.”

A bit nervous, Noa asked, “So, uh… you seem to know a lot about all of this, Kaylin. Stuff about your other lives and what Dhymos did in them, I mean. Did you ever say why..?”

Rennyn tensed at the question, even if it wasn’t directed towards him. That wasn’t the kind of information that any of them needed to know. “It’s not really important, is it?” he tried. “Not going to change the current situation. Besides, stuff like that only makes things worse.”

Kaylin, unfortunately, shook her head. “No, I think there’s some credit to explaining a little bit now.”

“But—“

“Things only get worse when you don’t listen to me.” Then she went on to talk to the others as she continued, “I was always present for the other lives, in one way or another. I’ve gathered some information about Dhymos’s abilities and his goals through those moments. The complete extent of it, though… that’s a story for a different time. It’s rather long.”

Lyrei pouted. “Aw, you’re not going to say anything now? I was looking forward to hearing more about your past lives…”

“I can tell you all later, I just don’t think that’s the important thing right now. I’ll tell you when I think it’s time.”

Rennyn found himself relieved to hear him say that. Despite what she’d told him about what had happened in that life, he couldn’t help but wonder if it would’ve made a difference; if something similar would happen again if she was the one to tell the secrets…

Though Lyrei quickly ruined whatever hope he had of their conversation changing topic into something more casual. “Oh, yeah! There was one more thing I wanted to ask. Why do you both keep talking about whatever happened in that one life? The thing that happened that Kaylin had warned Rennyn about.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rennyn said quickly. “It’s just another piece of one of our other lives—it barely has anything to do with what we’re doing now. You don’t need to know.”

“I kind of feel like, if it’s that important to you, you should probably tell us…” Noa mumbled.

Seldir nodded. “I was getting curious about it, too. And keeping secrets with each other isn’t going to make anything easier later, either. All it does is dance around the inevitable.”

Rennyn stood up. “Well, then, I guess we’re going to be dancing for a little while later. Come on, we’ve got better things to do. No one’s going to look and buy those fabrics for us, and Kaylin’s not going to get them all done in an afternoon. Let’s get going.”