《A Dance of Light and Shadow》 Prologue
  1. Denial
¡­ ¡°Come on Rowan!¡± ¡°Slow down!¡±, I say as I am being dragged along by an overenthusiastic girl through heaps of snow. Well, not just any girl I guess. It¡¯s Hope, my childhood friend. ¡°We¡¯re going to miss it!¡± ¡°Yeah, Yeah¡­¡± Apparently, we¡¯re going to attend some kind of big announcement by the High Priest. My mind is so foggy this morning that I forgot what the announcement is even about¡­ ¡°Hey uh, Hope? Why are we going to this event anyway?¡± ¡°Are you kidding?! Today is the day of the Prophecy!¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Now I remembered. I¡¯ve never been very keen on our religion, or any religion really, but even I know at least this much. In the Holy Book it¡¯s mentioned that three thousand years after the book was written, Luxor, our God, would choose a worthy mortal, or the Chosen One as some like to call him, upon which he would bestow his blessing. It¡¯s stated that he¡¯ll embark upon a righteous journey throughout the world and beyond. Not that I know what that means, and nor do I care. I come from a family of blacksmiths. My dad is a blacksmith, my grandpa was a blacksmith, my great-grandpa was a blacksmith and so on. Naturally, I want to be a blacksmith too. I turned 18 this year, so now I¡¯ll be able to compete in the Grand Blacksmithing competition! My father says I am still not ready but... ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± My train of thought is interrupted by Hope. We had reached the church, which was surrounded by a very large group of people. So many in fact, that it was probably the entire town. Except for my old man, that is. Although my mother is from this town, my father came here at her request. Only caring about his work as a blacksmith, he never took an interest in the town¡¯s religion. Hope cuts a path through the heap of villagers who grunted as they were pushed aside. She finally stopped at a spot where we could easily see the entrance to the church. We didn¡¯t have to wait long before a few individuals in white and gold robes came out. One of them stepped out. His clothing was definitely newer and better crafted. ¡°Welcome brothers! We have gathered here today in order to witness a divine event, a miracle bestowed upon us by our God Luxor!¡± He pauses for a second before continuing. ¡°As you may know, we are the last known town that worships Luxor, the God of Light. We are the last bastion of our faith, but our walls are slowly crumbling. We won¡¯t last much longer under the pressure of more powerful and renowned cults and religions. However, this is the fated day that will change everything! It is foreseen in the Holy Book that 3000 years after it was written, our faith would be tested as our light will be dim. That day is today brothers! Our straying from the light was prophesied! But it is also on this day that Luxor will choose his champion, our champion, the Lightbringer! He shall spread the word of our God Luxor and bring him back to the former glory that he deserves!¡± People in the crowd were nodding and would¡¯ve been ready to burst into cheering if they weren¡¯t aware that they were at a holy convention. I shook my head in disbelief at this whole charade. I never believed in Luxor but this just proved to me how desperate our town was for any kind of attention. Hope must¡¯ve noticed my disapproval as she gave me a nudge in the ribs which forced me to stand straight again. ¡°Let us pray, my brethren. Let us pray and let the Lord choose his champion!¡± Before I could even think of disobeying, Hope gave me a mean look. The message was loud and clear. I half-heartedly started saying the common prayer in my mind, the one we usually use when we pray and before we go to sleep. I am not sure how exactly I know this prayer. I never went to church and we never pray in the house. Perhaps it¡¯s from my youth when my mother was still¡­ I toss the thought aside and continue praying without really thinking too much about it. In this state devoid of thoughts, I focus on my feelings. Physical, not moral feelings. I feel warm in a weird way that reminded me of standing in front of the fireplace as a child listening to my mother¡¯s stories. Such a weird feeling. Wait¡­ warm? That¡¯s not right. We¡¯re in the middle of winter. And this warmth ¡­ I couldn¡¯t quite explain it in words. It felt familiar, yet unnatural. I also felt something else. An eerie feeling, as though¡­ I was being watched. Suddenly I realized I had finished my prayer so I opened my eyes. Something immediately seemed off. Everyone seemed to be looking my way. ¡®Is something behind me?¡¯, I think to myself. I look behind me but¡­ those behind me are also looking my way! I look to Hope and she¡¯s glaring at me. I peek at the High Priest and he¡¯s got a satisfied smile on his face. Even though I still have that warm wholesome feeling, his cold eyes send a chill down my spine. My introverted self wants to tell me I am just imagining it all. But my gut ¡­ my gut tells me something is definitely wrong. ¡°Rowan, you¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Hearing a voice catches me off guard, especially since it¡¯s Hope¡¯s. But it¡¯s not gentle, like usual, instead I feel worry in her tone. ¡°You ¡­ you¡¯re glowing.¡± ¡°Wh-What?¡± I look at my hands, which are indeed glowing, just like the rest of my body. This should come as a complete shock, but deep within me, I knew something was going to happen the moment I felt weird. I should know by now that my gut is never wrong. ¡°What is this? What is happening?¡± ¡°My child, the High Priest chimes in, don¡¯t you see? You are the chosen one!¡± ¡°This can¡¯t be happening, I say in shock, it must be a mistake!¡± The High Priest frowns. ¡°My child, you should be happy. Luxor has chosen you out of all that have gathered here. You should be proud.¡± ¡°I-... I don¡¯t want it. I don¡¯t want blessings. I don¡¯t even believe in Gods.¡± As soon as I said it out loud I knew I messed up, but it¡¯s not like I could take it back now. I watched the High Priest¡¯s expression change from an even deeper frown to a calm, understanding look. ¡°Ah, I see. The Holy Book did mention that the Chosen One might be in denial at first. But that is of no big significance. That just means you¡¯ll need a little ¡­ push toward the path of righteousness.¡± ¡°What are you¡­ ¡° He turns his attention from me to the crowd. ¡°Go back to your homes. He who is worthy has been chosen. His journey will begin soon. You will all be granted a mission by tonight in order to help him start this journey.¡± ¡°I am not going on any jour-...¡± ¡°Do not worry for now. Go home. You¡¯ll see the light soon enough¡± The crowd scattered and the High Priest re-entered the church. I looked at my arms, but my body was no longer glowing. ¡°Rowan, let¡¯s go¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, all right.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. We were both going in the same direction for now so we were just walking in silence. It was that kind of awkward silence that you don¡¯t really know how to break without making it even more awkward. ¡°So uh, interesting event, right Hope?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Rowan you were Chosen! Don¡¯t you understand how important this is?¡± ¡°I-¡± ¡°I should be happy for you, I know, but I just don¡¯t know how to react to this. You¡¯re gonna go on some kind of journey now and¡­¡± I suddenly turn to Hope and take her hands into mine as I look her directly in the eyes. ¡°Hope, listen, I am not going to go anywhere. My destiny is to be a blacksmith, not some kind of ¡­ god chosen hero.¡± She looked away for a second but then she looked right back at me. ¡°But you have to! Our religion ¡­ it¡¯s going to die if we don¡¯t do anything about it!¡± ¡°Hope, this is stupid! I don¡¯t care about our religion. Why was I even chosen in the first place? I don¡¯t pray, I don¡¯t go to church, I just don¡¯t ¡­ UGH. I just don¡¯t know what to say right now. Can we talk about this tomorrow?¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± ¡°Sorry ¡­ It¡¯s just that my thoughts are all over the place right now.¡± ¡°Yeah, I understand.¡± We take our goodbyes and part ways. I contemplate what happened at church on my way home but I can¡¯t really come to peace with the fact that I¡¯ve been chosen for who knows what. I open the door to the house and quietly enter. My dad should be in the forge right now but you can never know, maybe he went to sleep early. I am too tired to go check, so I head right to my dorm. I take off my day clothes and put on my sleeping ones. I jump in bed searching for some good sleep, but my head is trembling with questions. What really happened today? Why was I chosen, out of all people? What did the priest mean by a ¡°little push¡±? Well, at least one thing is certain. I am not going to embark on some crazy quest in the name of Luxor. With this final thought in mind, I fall asleep.
  1. Realization
I wake up to the sound of screams. Screams and ¡­ smoke! I come to my senses and quickly get out of bed. I open my bedroom door and walk into the flaming hall. I make my way through the growing flames and smash through the half-burnt front door to the forge since that¡¯s probably where my dad would be. But what I walked in on was pure horror. The red of flames was accompanied by the red of blood. Two corpses were on the floor, both dressed in priest clothes. And by the wall, behind a third priest, there was my dad ¡­ with a knife through his chest! I was completely in awe. But that awe turned into an annoyance. The annoyance turned into anger, and the anger turned into fury. I pick up one of the bigger blacksmithing hammers and smash in the head of the priest attacking my father. I feel another priest coming from behind so I quickly turn around and duck just at the right moment, only to smash his knees into bloody pieces a second later. He was screaming in pain, so I ended his suffering with a quick blow to the head. Even though it was my first time actually killing someone, I strangely felt no remorse. I turned towards my father and checked his pulse but to my terror, he was already dead. I didn¡¯t know how to react. I wanted to scream but my body did not want to. Why couldn¡¯t I cry? ¡®Am I just in shock?¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®What is happening to me?¡¯ ¡°Rowan!¡± My internal conflict (more like internal vs external conflict) is interrupted by a voice from outside the forge. ¡°Hope!¡± I cry out. She was being restrained by the High Priest holding a small sacrificial dagger to her neck. ¡°Let her go!¡± The High Priest showed no signs of acknowledging what I just said. He just kept looking at me with a wicked grin and bloodshot eyes. ¡°Last act, second verse: And so the worthy shall be chosen, but he will deny my existence.¡± ¡°I said, let her GO!¡± Two priests came out of nowhere and jumped at me with daggers. I dodged the first one, but the second grazed my arm. I quickly turned around to crack the first priest¡¯s ribs with a fast hammer blow. His wails of pain didn¡¯t deter me. ¡°...To start his journey, he must know evil. Those who will enact this evil, will in truth be following my word, their deeds concluding in the ultimate good...¡± The second priest charged me again, but this time I grabbed and broke his wrist, followed by a blow to the head. I then turned my attention to the babbling High Priest. His grin grew wider. ¡°To gain the will to smite evil, he must lose that which he loves.¡± ¡°Stop talking and let her-¡± And then he slit her throat. It didn¡¯t click with me for a second. I thought it was a joke. A dream, a nightmare, a well-crafted illusion to make me falter. But then I saw her body fall to the floor, limp and lifeless. Once again my brain refused to believe what was happening. But my instinct was telling me otherwise. ¡°What have you done?!¡± I charge the High Priest but he doesn¡¯t fight back. I tackle him to the floor and raise my hammer with a wave of anger I¡¯d never felt before. ¡°...and when they die, he shall strike down their killers with righteous fury, for the spark will have igni-¡± CRACK
  1. Desperation
Hope was dead. Just like my father. The realization of my situation hit me. I was surrounded by warm corpses. My emotions came back to me and I fell down on my knees, a river of tears finally escaping my eyes. What had I done? How could I have felt no remorse? Just the thought horrified me. Was it the adrenaline? Or was it something else? In my state of shock, I completely forgot about my father. I threw a hopeless look towards the forge but the flames had already devoured him. The death of Hope and my father dawned upon me once more. I wanted to fall back onto the blood-stained mud and drown in my endless sorrow, but I had the duty of burying Hope. I am sure that¡¯s what she would¡¯ve wanted. I get up and realize that the shovels were in the forge. That meant I had to ask someone from the village to lend me one. I¡¯d probably pass off as a little suspicious considering our house was burning and I was half drenched in blood and snow. And then I saw a flame coming from the village. And then another. And to my horror, they kept multiplying. And with the fire came the screams. Piercing wails of fear and pain. ¡®Those bastards!¡¯, I thought to myself as I clenched my teeth. I ran towards the main path only to find that there were no priests in sight. Were they all inside the houses? I was taken aback as flames rose from the house next to me, followed by screams from inside the house. And then I realized that all of the screams around me seemed off. It took me a few seconds of concentration but then it hit me. All of the screams were children¡¯s screams. And yet nobody was coming in or out of the houses. I entered the flaming building that just caught on fire next to me and looked inside. A sobbing little girl was standing behind a wall of flames as a tall man was lighting matches. ¡°What are you doing?!¡±, I ask. He turns to me with a surprised look on his face that quickly turns into a grateful smile. ¡°What must be done¡± ¡°Burning the village? Your own daughter?¡± Surprisingly, he looked saddened. ¡°You must start your journey.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with burning the village?¡± ¡°You must spread my name Lightbringer. This is a necessary step to your growth. Don¡¯t fight it. Please.¡± It almost seemed like a genuine request. However, I quickly realized that it wasn¡¯t the man speaking to me anymore. Or, well, he was, but it was not truly him. He spoke in another voice, as though possessed. ¡°I am using the last of my power to do this.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± He smiled sadly. ¡°Luxor.¡± Two things happened at that moment. Firstly, the man lit another match and set himself on fire. Secondly, the little girl screamed as the flames took over her. Everything happened so fast that I didn¡¯t realize it until it was too late. I was so focused on the possessed man that I forgot about the little girl. I failed to save yet another person. I spent the rest of the night running around, hopelessly trying to save the children as they seemed to be the only ones who weren¡¯t affected by Luxor¡¯s frenzy. The other men and women weren¡¯t possessed, but they were convinced that what they are doing is for the greater good, even if it means sacrificing the entire village, even the children. At some point, I gave up. I just caved in to the exhaustion and the mental toll that the events had taken on me. I simply fell down, sobbing and in denial as my entire life burned around me. Before I knew it, the rhythmic sounds of the fire and the dancing lights dragged me into a deep, dreamless sleep in the cold snow.
  1. A New Dawn
I woke up with a blank mind. Where was I? What happened? Why was I outside? And then I remembered last night. Was it not just a dream? I looked around me and all I could see was ash and charcoal. So it was not. I got up and looked around. There were no signs of life anywhere. I went back to the forge to look for Hope¡¯s body, but when I got there, it was burnt to a crisp, and next to it all of the other bodies of the priests were burnt as well. One of the villagers must have come here to ¡°Purify¡± what remained. I went inside the forge and looked around. It was like my childhood was erased. I¡¯d spent most of my life here. I¡¯ve been forging ever since I was old enough to remember. And then there was my father, laying limp to the wall, charred to a deep black and red. It was a gruesome sight and it pained me greatly to see him like this. I can¡¯t say he was the best father, however. He always overworked me and was always busy in the forge. He never made the effort to spend some ¡°Quality time¡± with me and even when we were together he was cold and harsh. To be honest I never truly wanted to be a blacksmith, it''s more like I was forced into it. Even so, forging was now an important part of me that I treasured deeply. I looked back outside and noticed my blacksmithing hammer on the ground. That¡¯s right, I used it as a weapon and forgot it outside of the forge so it didn¡¯t burn. I quickly picked it up and was relieved to have it back in my hand. It just felt natural. I returned to Hope and kneeled next to her. ¡°I am sorry Hope¡­ In the end, I couldn¡¯t save you¡­¡± The truth is that Hope was dead. But for some reason, it didn¡¯t affect me that much. I guess I¡¯d seen so much death last night that even a friend¡¯s death didn¡¯t affect me to the extent I¡¯d like it to. I got back up on my feet and looked in the distance. The sun was just coming up. It was a new dawn. The happy little rays of light danced around me as though Luxor was mocking me with a presumably happy new start. He expected me to start a crusade in his name and return him to glory. But that was not the case. Not even in his wildest dreams. I wasn¡¯t going to let things go his way. Not after last night. And the only crusade that I was going to start ¡­ was against him. Chapter 1: Moving forward There was no time to waste. I began scavenging through what remained of the houses. Although most of what I could have taken with me burned in the fire, there were still a few objects left unburnt. Luckily I found a few daggers that were in decent shape, but sadly most of the clothing was lost in the flames. I somehow managed to find a coat that, although sustained some damage, was still usable. Other than that, everything I had to wear was the clothes on me. Luckily the fire revealed a secret stash in one of the houses. Inside were some gold coins, a battered backpack, and the owner¡¯s will. He was going to leave everything to his children in the unfortunate event of dying. Ironically, he was the one who killed them instead. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to imagine how one would enact such an atrocious act as murdering your own children, but I guess faith comes first. ¡°-Love God before all, even your family-¡±, huh. I guess my village truly did live by that saying. After making sure I had found enough gold, even though you can never truly have enough, and storing everything else I found in the backpack from the stash, I decided to make my way to the closest nearby village. My father often sent me there to sell our products, so I was familiar with the path. It wasn¡¯t far either, perhaps a few hours by foot. Taking my first few steps outside the village made me take one last look at it. It made me chuckle because I realized that there was no village to look back to. It was a sad chuckle, the kind that makes you question your life and all the events that brought you to this point. But there was nothing I would obtain from staying here anymore. Maybe except frostbite. Traveling to the neighboring village was uneventful, yet slow. It recently snowed and the road was not cleared yet. The hot flames of last night seemed as though a distant memory now that I was surrounded by the harsh winter cold. Even so, I kept going forward at a steady pace. By noon I had passed the village¡¯s gates and entered an old Inn called ¡°The Traveler¡¯s Hearth¡±. I used to come here with my father all the time when we had business in this village. Thankfully the innkeeper hadn¡¯t noticed my entrance so I chose a chair where I could sit with my back to him. A waitress soon came to take my order and I ordered some of the Inn¡¯s seasonal specialty - Rabbit Stew. As I waited eagerly for my well-deserved meal, I managed to overhear two men mentioning my village. ¡°... I hear it¡¯s been burned to the ground,¡± the first man said. News traveled faster than I did I guess. ¡°Rumor says the Black Pirates did it... I don¡¯t find that hard to believe considering their reputation.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard a different theory which I somehow find more plausible. That village was notorious for being inhabited by the last worshippers of some unimportant God. Apparently it was prophesized in their holy book that their Champion would be chosen yesterday or something. Most people think that he went mad and torched the town.¡± ¡°I find that far fetched,¡± scoffs the first man.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Is it? Champions of Gods can be crazy powerful, even if its a lesser God.¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps time will tell.¡± After that, they changed the subject and I lost interest, especially since the waitress arrived with my stew. Or so I thought, but a pretty, young lady made herself comfortable in the seat in front of me instead. ¡°Hello there.¡± ¡°Umm, hello?¡± I answer visibly confused. ¡°You seem down. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why that concerns you,¡± I said warily. ¡°Oh but it does!¡± she exclaimed with a hurt expression. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Because I could always cheer you up, you know?¡± she winked. I finally caught her drift and was quick to dismiss it. ¡°Thank you for your concern, but that won¡¯t be necessary.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ pity. Perhaps you¡¯d want to play a little game with me instead?¡± ¡°A game?¡± I asked skeptically. ¡°Yes! It¡¯s the least you can do after turning down my generous offer!¡± ¡°Generous?... Fine, I guess we can play your game.¡± I sighed. "Nothing better to do anyway." ¡°Wonderful! Alright, here¡¯s how it¡¯s going to play out.¡± She takes out a gold coin and holds it between her fingers for me to see. ¡°I am going to be putting this coin in one of my hands. You¡¯ll have to guess in which one it is. If you win, you get the coin. If I win ¡­ you buy me a drink. Sound fair?¡± ¡°When did this turn into a bet?¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Is it ever any fun if it¡¯s not a bet?¡± she winks again. I find myself sighing again. ¡°Alright fine.¡± ¡°Great! Let¡¯s start then¡± She proceeds to simply close her right hand around the coin and stretch her arms towards me, all right in front of me. ¡°Uhhhh¡­¡± ¡°Is something wrong?¡± she smiles. I stay silent and mentally shake my head. This must be some kind of mind game. She wants to make me think that there¡¯s no way she would just show me which hand she put the coin in and make me choose the other one out of sheer disbelief. But there¡¯s no way she could have moved the coin, I had my eyes on it the entire hand. ¡°It¡¯s in your right hand.¡± She feigns a disappointed look and opens her fists revealing an empty right palm and perfectly round coin in the other. ¡°How did you¡­¡± ¡°Sorry bud, you guessed wrong. Guess you owe me a drink now, ey?¡± she interrupted. ¡°I suppose I do.¡± I barely managed to get the last word out as the tavern¡¯s doors flung open to allow four identically dressed men strut right in. ¡°Acolytes of Luto.¡± Confused for a second, I realized it was the girl I just lost the bet against that just spoke. Despite her earlier cheerful and slightly condescending tone, she had a dead serious look on her face now. ¡°Hear me, earthlings! Luto demands your faith!¡± the priest roared at the top of his lungs. ¡°I told you not to return to my tavern with your divine bullshit. Get out, NOW!¡± the innkeeper growled. The priest didn¡¯t seem to take notice, or at least he did not care. ¡°Luto, God of earth and crops, is willing to bless you and your harvests in exchange for a measly few gold coins in his name! His shrine awaits your offerings! If you do not know where to find it, do not refrain fro-¡± he stopped abruptly, looking straight at me, wide-eyed. ¡°You¡­ you are Luxor¡¯s¡­ kill him!¡± Well, fuck. This is definitely not what I had anticipated when I walked into this tavern. Chapter 2: A Stranger to this World The main speaker¡¯s entourage, although a little confused, was quick to obey his order. Unfortunately for them, there were three tables and a dozen chairs worth of obstacles between us, some occupied by drunks and travelers. If it was a straight-up battle I probably would¡¯ve had a hard time dealing with five enemies at once. I may have dealt with multiple Luxor Cultists at the same time back at home, but I have a feeling they were holding back knowing that they should not kill me. Not to mention that they were probably barely initiated for combat. The first cultist manages to make his way through the chaos, knife out and ready for cold-blooded murder. In that case, I don¡¯t have to hold anything back either. I take out my blacksmith hammer and use the extra range that it has to my advantage, crushing his lunged arm with a wholehearted Crack. A second cultist immediately reaches me and I barely dodge his dagger. Fighting with a hammer is different from a dagger, you have to go for joints and wide swings in order to deal damage. Otherwise, you have to go for an instant kill to the head. With his back now to me, I have a clear shot at the head and I take it without hesitation. The cultist promptly falls to the ground as I quickly turn back to see another two cultists lunging at me, both at once. I feel that familiar warmth around me again and I know I must be shrouded in the light. Not that I know what it means or what it does. Even so, I hope it somehow helps me in battle, because the odds are definitely not in my favor. I pick up my chair and throw it in their direction. They stagger for a second, which allows me to jump the cultist on the left with a clumsy leap to the head that does its job either way. I try to turn to the second cultist but he recovered from the shock of the chair much faster than I anticipated, his dagger way too close for comfort. I realize there¡¯s no time to dodge or swing at him before he jabs me. I get ready to take the hit and ready my hammer for a counter atta- FWOOSH A shiny object passes my head with great speed, hitting the cultist right in the neck and stopping him in his tracks. I take the opportunity and deal a final blow to the head that turns into one last splash of gore. With no immediate danger in sight, I turn back and see the girl from before flashing a few throwing daggers before my eyes. ¡°Why did you help me?¡± I asked. ¡°You owe me drink,¡± she shrugged innocently. ¡°Fair enough.¡± I take a look around and realize that most of the people had run out of the inn. I hear a groan nearby and notice the cultist whose arm I had smashed dragging himself on the ground. As soon as he sees me coming towards him he pulls out a knife and slashes his own throat. I sigh, his action reminding him of senseless loyalty and devotion. Once again I was surrounded by bodies. And in an inn of all places. There were plenty of witnesses and I doubt that self-defense would be a valid excuse if I was put on trial later on. ¡°Hey kid,¡± a voice calls. It was the innkeeper. ¡°Sorry for the mess,¡± I apologize. He grins. ¡°No problem Rowan. As a matter of fact, I might as well have done it myself. They¡¯ve been spreading their fucking religious crap around my inn for weeks now,¡± he laughs. However, his face turns grim all of a sudden and his smile fades. ¡°I heard the news kid. That your village burned to the ground and all. You have my condolences. You and your family used to be regulars.¡± I smile sadly, but then I realize he said me and my family, not me and my dad. ¡°Me and my family?¡± I ask. ¡°Ah nevermind that. Perhaps its a story for another time. Have you had your meal yet?¡± ¡°No, actually. But I did order the season¡¯s specialty. Although in the meantime things ¡­ came up,¡± I gesture to the cultists. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll need to clean that up¡­ Don¡¯t worry, the meal is on the house. And I¡¯ll tell you what, I¡¯ll also give you a room for the night. For old times sake, eh?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°That would be most appreciated. And umm, a drink for the lady if you may.¡± ¡°Oh? I see you are a man of his word,¡± she says. ¡°You did save me, so if nothing else, I owe you double.¡± ¡°Two drinks it is then!¡± she announces. The innkeeper laughs but nods. ¡°Wait, I never¡­¡± ¡°You did say you owe me double, did you not?¡± she interrupts me. ¡°I- I guess¡­¡± ¡°There we go! I have to admit, I like you more and more by the minute.¡± ¡°Thanks, I guess?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a compliment, a compliment I say!¡± ¡°Alright, alright! Pipe down will you? We¡¯ve caused enough of a ruckus already.¡± ¡°What do you mean we? It was you they were after.¡± ¡°Yes, and you helped me, which makes you my accomplice!¡± ¡°I just wanted my drink! I can¡¯t be held accountable for that!¡± ¡°Of course you can be held accountable for that!¡± ¡°Yeah well I don¡¯t want to be held accountable for it, so I won¡¯t be.¡± ¡°You¡¯re impossible, you know that?¡± ¡°Aww, thank you!¡± she exclaims. I sigh for what feels like the millionth time today. ¡°Nevermind that. You mentioned they were acolytes of Luto. Who are they exactly?¡± She drops the sassy act and finally puts on a more serious face. ¡°They are followers of Luto, the God of Earth. He is one of the most important Gods in Eneria. He has recently been trying to spread his influence even further, as you could see first hand yourself.¡± ¡°But why did you seem so distraught when you first saw them?¡± I ask. ¡°Because they¡¯re the worst kind of people. They only care about material gain and only work in their God¡¯s and their own interest. They don¡¯t care about ordinary followers if they are not directly his acolytes spreading words of honey and deceit in search of even more followers. They would do anything to further their plans.¡± She looks away for a second. ¡°You are from that village right? The one that just burned.¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± I frown. ¡°Observation. Speculation. I saw you listening to those men talk about it. I saw how your expression changed depending on what they were saying, as though you had more information about the matter, figuring out how much others know. I saw you try to be inconspicuous, just another traveler, but the way you act, the way you react, these subtle things give away a lot of info about a person.¡± ¡°Why did you approach me then?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say I am looking for¡­ adventure. Simply put, you caught my eye.¡± ¡°You seem to know a lot more about Eneria than I do. Why do you think the acolytes of Luto attacked me?¡± She looked away again for a brief moment before talking again. I am starting to see a pattern. As though she¡¯s pondering how much she should divulge. Or perhaps she¡¯s just looking to see if the waitress is on her way with the drinks. ¡°A God is as strong as his followers. The more he has, the more powerful he is. Of course, the quality of the followers matters too, but numbers usually outweigh quality. Also, every major God has a champion, a mortal that inherits the powers of his God through his faith. The more followers the God has, the more power he can give to his Champion. By your glowing aura during combat, I am guessing you are the champion of the God worshipped by the village that burned. I am also guessing that you are his last follower. Remember how I said that a God is as powerful as his followers? Well, that also works against them. If a God has no followers in the mortal realm, he¡¯ll fade into nothingness, essentially dying. So if you die, your God dies too. However, if the last follower of a God is killed by the follower of another God, the patron God of the killer absorbs the other God, gaining immense power.¡± I am shocked by the amount of information that was just dropped onto me, but I am even more shocked by the amount of information that she was able to deduce just from watching me behave. ¡°How do you know so much?¡± She shrugs. ¡°What can I say, it¡¯s kind of my specialty.¡± ¡°Speaking of specialties,¡± my appetite speaks for me. The waitress arrives with the girl''s drinks and my stew. My stomach churns in protest to my neglect over the day but I can finally eat now. While hungrily gulping down the bowl of steaming food, I realize that while she knows everything about me, she, on the other hand, is a complete stranger to me. I don¡¯t know who she is, I don¡¯t know where she came from, I don¡¯t know what she wants to do next, I know nothing. Not even¡­ ¡°Hey, we¡¯ve been talking for a while but I never got your name,¡± I say. ¡°Oh.¡± Even she seems surprised at that fact for a second. ¡°Ella. My name¡¯s Ella. Pleased to meet you, Rowan,¡± she offers me a hand with a smile. Perhaps as a late greeting, or perhaps in a sign of new friendship. ¡°Pleased to meet you too Ella,¡± I smile back. I realize that it¡¯s my first smile in a long time.