Reial arched a questioning brow at the preacher in the distance. He had thought that superstition had long since died out during Exania’s time. After all, it was she who had returned them to the bright path of logic and reason. The same one Rei and the ancients had traversed. Faith and the supernatural served as nothing more than a distraction to prevent progress.

Still, their zealous speech did garner his interest. It would make for a fine children’s tale, that much was for sure. Perhaps the hero would turn out to be a new Empyrean.

“Keep your ears open,” Charette advised.

“I would if he wasn’t shouting in them.”

“We can always move if you want.”

Reial waved dismissively. “No, here’s good. I just wish he would shut up.”

“Perhaps he wants to sound more convincing?”

“About a children’s nightmare? He might as well rave about Nether Dwellers crawling out of your closet.”

Charette snorted. “No one would believe that.”

“Case and point.”

Reial dug his hands into his pockets and leaned back in his chair. The pommel of his sword dug uncomfortably into his wrist, but he didn’t much care for that. There were more important matters to attend to, or rather, wait for.

People bustled in and out of the plaza, chatting about the most recent sports, novels, and news. There was an odd snippet of the Red Stars Dawn here and there mixed with the Almagestian Church’s dispute over a relic, but that wasn’t new. Despite being an offshoot of the Almagestian family, the Red Stars Dawn clung to whatever they owned.

Music hummed from the Solvaylian Projection hanging in the air, some Recundian tune that sounded more like wind chimes banging against drums than anything else. It was relaxing, yet at the same time energetic. Like a horse galloping across a field.

Reial shifted his gaze to the western end of the plaza, which gave way to the main street of the city. It wasn’t particularly big in Aunesfernish standards, but it was certainly more well-kept. Not as beautiful, but noticeably cleaner. I wish they decorated a bit more.

His eyes flickered from one person to the next, his Veil Sight burning their appearance into his mind. The town was primarily inhabited by Recundian’s, with the odd Uvandran here and there. Their dark skin helped differentiate them in a crowd, making his job easier.

“Has Kaval said anything?” He asked.

“No. He’s been quiet for a while now.”

Reial nodded. The vantage point from the city’s spire was uncontested, although sadly he and Charette weren’t allowed inside unless they were involved in official business. How them chasing after a man who stole their drog didn’t count as official business, he still didn’t know. It was frustrating, but there wasn’t much he could say to convince them otherwise.

“Do you think now would be a bad time to get something to eat?” She inquired of him.

Reial sighed. “Charette.”

“What? I didn’t get to eat this morning!”

“Because you slept in.”

“I wouldn’t have if you’d bothered to wake me up.”

“I did try waking you up. Twice.”

“Oh. Well, then, you should’ve shaken me really fast with your Veil Striding.”

Reial shot her a flat state. “You want me to use the same powers that Vaes and Hyvas used to defend the world from abominations and blood-thirsty warlords, just so you could wake up?”

Charette smiled. “Yeah.”

“Mechora’s brilliance, I think I just felt Solvaylius shudder.”

“What? It’s not like applying your powers to anything other than fighting is bad.”

“It isn’t, it’s just that…” Reial groaned. “I don’t even think Veil Striding would wake you up.”

Charette sat silently for a brief moment before casting a quick glance at an EBM machine. “So, is that a yes, or a no?”

Reial heaved a heavy sigh and reclined into his chair. “Be quick about it.”

She gave his hand a light squeeze, then jumped out of her seat and headed to the western end of the plaza. The silence that followed only added to Reial’s annoyance. He already knew she had a bad habit of shirking her duties, classes and chores were evidence enough. However, now wasn’t the time for her to fall back on bad habits. They needed to focus, and even if she was hungry, she should’ve waited. Yet here he was, too weak to say no. He didn’t want to upset her. Not any more than he already has. If eating made her even the slightest bit happy, then was it wrong of him to want to keep her seated?

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Linithesis’s presence brimmed with light before collapsing in on itself. “How entertaining.”

“Not you too.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to nag you about it. Rather, I’m here to compliment you.”

Reial perked up. “On what?”

“Your sister. She’s as lively as dusk.”

“Comparing her to a time of day is kinda strange.”

Linithesis chortled. “Isn’t her Asrafonian name just that? ‘Great northern dusk’? A fitting description, I would say.”

“Haven’t you ever heard of personal space before?”

“I have, but there’s no shame in a name. Only great meaning. Wouldn’t you agree, ‘Great northern dawn’?”

Reial blushed.

“Besides,” Linithesis continued. “I believe you handled that situation well. Just be more careful in the future. You need to know when it is and isn’t a good time to fall back on past habits.”

“Noted.”

Charette returned a short while later with a bowl of yellowish-red chicken bits and various cut vegetables. Curry. A bit plain, but the mild Thírian kick made it bearable.

She sat down and began to eat, her eyes flickering to the roadside for any hints of a disturbance. Reial wanted nothing more than to climb onto the roof of the plaza to get a good vantage point, but apparently, Striding was prohibited in most major cities and towns in Recunda. A fact he would’ve gone unaware of if Kaval hadn’t casually brought it up the other day.

It wasn’t that he had a bad habit of scaling up structures, there just wasn’t any point in doing so unless he was in the mood for it. Unless he was near a Remnant, such as the World’s Throne.

For him, the applications of Veil Striding were quite limited. He’d rather create light or fire in the palm of his hands, gusts of wind, gems, duplicates of himself, or create explosions. Explosions sounded like fun. He wasn’t certain whether you could compare a devastating, mountain-shattering kick to a field explosion, but perhaps that’s because he wanted to try something new.

Then a thought slowly crept into his mind. A dreadful, terrifying, nostalgic one. Like staring down a Nether Dweller. They were more than halfway through the state, and yet…there was something he was forgetting. He couldn’t recall what exactly, but he knew it didn’t concern the Courser. A place? There was nothing that came to mind, save Endona and its Remnant. They were creeping closer to the governor’s city, but there was nothing of importance there. Perhaps a person? He didn’t know anyone from Recunda, at least, not personally.

Linithesis’s being squirmed as the distressing thought gnawed at him. A second later, it was gone. His being brimmed with its usual light, the thought erased from both his and Reial’s memory. Or perhaps, it never existed to begin with. Had his mind been playing tricks on him?

The preacher’s words grew louder with every minute, adding to Reial’s restlessness. They already spent the majority of their time sitting, why waste it by listening to that dried husk go on about monsters? It was infuriating. He was a Strider! He should’ve been with Kaval and the other acting dragoons, watching and waiting to capture the Courser. Instead, he and Charette had been told to stay put like good little children while they did all the work.

Charette tapped her spoon against the edge of the empty bowl as she finished. “Rail, what do you suppose the world would be like without us?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, if I weren’t born. Do you think life would be easier for others?”

“It probably wouldn’t be as fun without you.” He admitted. “I’m not good at getting things going or dedicating myself to one course of action. I just do what I need to do.”

Charette thumbed at her silk leggings as she listened intently.

“When I see you doing new things, I get the sudden urge to try them too, you know? If you weren’t around, I doubt I’d enjoy my time. It’s always me and my thoughts.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I guess it sort of makes me boring then, huh? Doing whatever my little sister does because I don’t know how to have fun by myself.”

“You aren’t boring.” She defended. “You’re cool and reserved. Sure, you might look serious but whenever we do something dumb, you always know how to laugh and joke around. Like when we were little.”

Gateways of rusty red specks shimmered in her scarlet eyes as he leveled his gaze with hers. The immense well of light that bespoke of her entire being. Of her struggles, thoughts, hopes, memories, dreams, nightmares, despair, and grief. Reial masked his terror with a small, comforting smile.

“You’ve really grown since then, haven’t you, Charette.”

Her expression melted into one of defeat as she looked away. “But how much of that has been for the better?”

Reial was at a loss for words. Perhaps if he was a proper Strider, then maybe they wouldn’t be like this, maybe they could be happy. But that was never meant to be.

“I don’t know.” He admitted.

She sighed. “Of course, you don’t know. You never know but you keep acting like you always do. Almost as if you’re trying to prove something.”

“I’m not!”

“Are you sure?”

Reial hesitated.

“I thought so.”

“Charette, I’m not trying to prove anything.”

“Then why are you doing all of this?”

“Because I’m doing it for you!” He fumed.

Her eyes fell to the floor “Are you doing it because you want to, or because you owe it to me?”

Reial was struck into silence. Everything he had ever done was for her sake, wasn’t it? Even when he hated every passing moment, he only wanted the best for her. But was that because she deserved it, or because it was the only way to atone for his failures all those years ago?

Then a flash of motion caught his eyes. Ruby sparks exploded from the gaps in traffic, hastily maneuvering around cabs in a mad dash. Reial twisted around in his chair as he continued to track them. Their movements were erratic, jumping from the road to the sides of buildings.

He conjured his Veil Sight, making out the forms of two young women and a man chasing down a youth his age. The adolescent clutched a cloth close to his chest as he occasionally glanced back, presumably gauging the distance between him and his pursuers. Their frenzied eyes like those of wild animals.

Reial’s heart began to race as one of the women managed to catch the collar of his shirt, only for the youth to rip out of her grip. They didn’t appear armed, but the bulging shape hidden beneath their shirts was a clear enough indicator of their intentions.

Reial looked to Charette, then to the spires. Would their response be delayed because of their watch? What if they didn’t notice him? Was that why they were chasing him through the streets? Because they knew they wouldn’t be caught?

No one around him seemed to notice the youth’s plight. Could they see him at all, or did they just not care? All life was valuable, that’s what the Empyreans teachings had taught them. Hyvas, who defended any and every person, not because of their association, but because they were humans. He did it because he knew it was right, so shouldn’t he do the same?

He tapped on his armrest. Empyreans, why wasn’t anyone helping? Perhaps if he would give it a moment, a city officer would notice.

Reial craned his neck as he finally lost sight of them behind a wall of brick buildings. He knew he could help, so why wasn’t he moving? The youth’s life was probably in danger. No, he could get into trouble for disobeying the law. His only hope was for someone to report them.

Then the chair shattered as he bolted forward. Ruby sparks showering the highway as he sped after them.