I don’t really understand Grey’s concern with knowing about each other's past, especially since I don’t have one… or at least don’t remember that I have one. I don’t know what I should answer when he asks, should I use Dan’s past? I know he was a baker and his father was from a long line of lumberjacks, but other than that I’m not really sure what to say, neither do I want to ‘use’ Dan for it… should I just make something up? I don’t want to be ingenuine… I already told Ruby about my unworldly origin, maybe I should trust him too

“...so my younger brother is kind of a favorite, but my parents are telling him he can do whatever he wants but with me… " He's been talking about his family and such for a long time, adding jokes and funny bits as he does with anything. “Fren, you look like you’re lost in thought. I’m sorry I was talking about myself so much, do you have any siblings?”

Siblings I don-My heart skips a beat. A sister, Dan had a sister… Dali’s daughter… I only saw her once with her mother. The bright haired little girl, holding her mother’s hand. Her wide eyes in her small face looking at me. “I did…” He did, before he died. I made it sound like his sister is the one who died.

“Oh-Umm… I’m sorry. Well I’m sure they are with Mythos now.” I didn’t mean it like that, but… how can I explain this to him? “Oh, don’t you believe in Mythos?” I guess he read my expression wrong, but to be honest I don’t know anything about Mythos or any of the other gods. Dan mentioned Soli when I asked him but he gave the impression that no one really cared too much.

“Umm… not really, I was never really religious. But who can I expect to teach me better than a priest, right?” I make a fake laugh.

“Right, most people in villages worship the sun or the moon or whatever, but Mythos is special." he transitioned into a preacher mode, I didn't think he'd have one. I guess he is a priest after all."I might sound like my father, but devotion to Mythos is true while devotion to other gods is always out of desire. Do you really not know anything about it?” He looks completely puzzled after asking the question .

He did mention stuff about Mythos and the church in his story, and I just nodded without really listening. I can say I hoped it would be clearer later on, he probably thought it was obvious everyone knows it… I hope it isn’t or I might look like a fool. “I’m sorry, Grey, my village worshiped the sun, I didn’t know there were other gods.”

“Well you at least heard about Mythos, right?”

“I think it was mentioned once or twice.”

“Once or twice?! That’s ridiculous. You at least know about his death, right?”

“Death? Is your god dead?”

“I can’t believe you’ve never learned this. I had no idea there were villages in Uesteroza that didn’t even know about Mythos. I’ll start from the beginning.” This is probably going to be a long tale since he pauses before he starts to settle into his seat.

“Before anything happened, there were many gods, and the Dragon god Mythos was the greatest.” He points to the red compass symbol on his white robes, it looks like a compass with wings of a dragon. Is that supposed to be Mythos? “Back then every god had enemies and allies and such… to be fair I don’t really know this part very well either but what matters is that Mythos died. Don't worry, that's good. His body became the land, the world we live in is his giant dragon corpse, and his soul, given that he is a god, could not be destroyed. But it was still connected to his body and in time created the trees and fish and birds and all the other things, finally it created us, the humans. Dwarves were also there, but it’s mostly accepted they were not the final product, we are the children of Mythos, and it’s our world. The monsters are different though, they are servants of the other evil gods.”

“The other gods are evil?” Did Dali and Dan worship an evil God?

“Not all of them, Yggdrasil, the tree man, and Shahina, the Dove goddess, were friends of Mythos before his death. It’s said it was Yggdrasil himself who gave humans this knowledge.”

“Since Mythos himself is dead.”

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“Yes, we are Mythos, you and I.” Not both of us though, I’ll correct him later. I any case it's interesting. Living on a body of a dead God and being a part of his soul… I can see the appeal, being a part of the greatest God, and the other gods are… I’ll ask him, the god Yggdrasil is probably important.

"So you also worship Yggdrasil?”

“No, umm… it’s more like he’s a friend, but Mythos is the true god, he is the world and all that’s around. The other gods are in the stars, sometimes coming down to Mythos to play tricks. Worst of all is the Adversary.”

“The adversary?”

“The sworn enemy of Mythos. If Mythos is everything around us, the dragon god of existence. Nanoglich is the god of what doesn’t exist, and he takes offense to the very existence of, well, everything.”

“And he’s evil?”

“He’s the worst. Monsters and spirits are at least somewhat like animals on Mythos, corrupted by the other gods. But the adversary unleashes complete nonsense in an effort to destroy the world.”

“Goblins are by that logic animal with aberrations, right?”

“Aberrations? What’s that? You know a lot of words for a village bumpkin, I was meaning to ask you about that.” Oh, I guess I did notice a bit that many people have smaller vocabularies, I didn’t pay much mind to it.

“I guess. Aberrations are like, when they got influenced by something to become something else, normally monstrous.”

“Then yes, Goblins are just like animals with aberrations, given to them by evil gods. The adversary has monsters that are completely different and not at all belong here, like a cage with eyes made of skin.”

“And if you found someone from beyond Mythos then…”

“Then he’s an adversity minion and is an enemy of everyone, you must kill it!”

You must kill it… but… I am from beyond… I am an outsider. Am I…? Is this why Barn told me not to tell anyone? If someone finds out they’ll try to end me. Will Grey try to kill me too if he found out?

“You look worried, there is nothing to be afraid of, that’s why the paladins are here. Sortieva is the leader of the inner circle and protector of mankind, destroyer of evil. He once killed a dragon, there’s no one stronger than him in the entire world and even beyond it.”

All I can think of is Sortieva destroying me. Is that why Allous was so strict? Did she think I’m an outsider instead of a spirit? I am, but she would have killed me if she came down to the right conclusion. Not only do I need to help rid of a terrible monster beneath Duhndale, I also need to top toe past a man who single handedly defeated a dragon. If they see me as a monster I doubt they'll show any mercy

“I said there’s nothing to worry about, Fren. Just follow the main church and the teachings of Mythos.” He pats me on my knee to calm me down. But I can’t calm down, I even thought of telling him I’m an outsider to Mythos.

“Say, Grey, how big is the church?”

“How big?” He wonders a bit, looks like he’s calculating. The village I came from isn’t following it, and Ruby doesn’t either as far as I can tell. Maybe it’s not as bad as I think. “I think everyone. Well, not the small villages in Uesteroza, but in Ayamar it’s pretty much everyone. The Closed country too I think. Oh, the elves think they are descendants of the other gods, and some church factions agree, but the central church counts them as mankind.”

Everywhere? Aside from small villages who can’t really help me, everyone is a part of the church and would kill me if they knew my secret. WAIT! Mandoza, where we’re headed right now, that’s probably also a place full of church fanatics who’ll want to murder me.

“Oh, when I think about it I heard about Mizran, I don’t know where it is, but they don’t have any gods I think, other than money. Oh, and the gnomes, they are like dwarves, but they defy the church too. That’s probably why they disappeared, no one likes them. That’s as much as I know about that. Anyway, the teachings of Mythos are ones of Unison and compa…”

He continues to explain about his murder filled religion. I hope Ruby won’t share my secret with anyone. I hope no one will ever be able to tell… I can’t stop thinking about this. Barn should have explained to me more thoroughly why I shouldn't share this with anyone. And what if Allous only called us here to capture me? She probably would have killed me there, but what if she wanted to confirm that I’m an outsider? Maybe it would be better to go to Mizran, or maybe the gnomes or elves? But I don’t know about their culture, perhaps there is no one wh-

“Fren! Are you listening? You’re making that face again. Staring at an imaginary lettuce stuck between invisible teeth on the ceiling.”

He’s right, I’m being suspicious, or at least rude. I should listen, maybe I’ll find out some more useful things. “Oh, I’m sorry, you were talking about the teachings of Mythos?”

“Yeah, the teachings of Mythos is to pack your things. Look out the window, we’re already in Mandoza.”