The Dance of Chaos [IC-Fantasy-OPEN]

[Dragos Bee]

Lady Admiral/Warmage Alessia, Kartaran Main Island

News of the Galdrsson and the Last Admiral's amenability to an alliance reached the Lady Admiral, and she in turn sent out letters she preferred to write herself - Scribes were too impersonal. To the Galdrsson, she sent word that she was coming with an escort of her finest fighters and Shaman-Mages, along with additional gifts of fine Achysian metalwork acquired through trade in better times, while as to her former commanding officer, she sent a letter along with five ships to escort it, saying that she and the Bearpact were prepared to send provisions and other supplies to his fleet along the route to the Kartaran Main Island, where safe harbor was being prepared for him in the southern parts of the Bearpact's territory.

She also questioned her envoys about the strength of the Last Admiral's fleet, in order to assess whether its strength combined with the Bearpact's ships was enough to intercept and destroy the Calarian invasion fleet which she needed to sink in order to ensure the Kartarans' lasting liberation. Because she was... inexperienced in matters of land warfare (and that was all she'd admit on that matter), the Lady Admiral knew that she'd have to hand over command of the Kartaran resistance to the Calarians to those who were better in fighting on the ground if the Calarian reinforcements landed a significant force. And that would mean a reduction of her say in the destiny of the Kartaran people.

Chieftess Alessia Hightide shouldn't mind, she really shouldn't. But she did, what person wouldn't, in hindsight? She had so many ideas to slowly introduce to the Kartaran people, including a shared, but unified leadership among the clans. It may be just pride, but she viewed herself as farsighted, one who can strengthen the people of the Main Isle and grant them a taste of how strong they can be as a unified nation. Either way, speaking of the land offensive, the forces she had belatedly sent to capture the inland fortresses of the Calarians needed reinforcements - She knew enough to try and form a defensive line for her territories for the land war...

[Intermountain States]

City of Wodzimyśl
Wyzkia
Asche

Another fragment of Asche's old memory appeared in her dream. Ever since she woke up in a small village weeks back, she had no clue of her memory yet she knew that she was a foreigner in this world. She receives a bit of her memory or at least clues of her old life through dreams. They don't appear every time she sleeps, she only got three fragments, not enough for her to pin a significant portion of her life. Whenever she gets something of her old life, she records what she saw in her notebook.

Her first memory fragment was a crowded room. There were young men and women all around her sitting on chairs and facing the front where an elderly woman was standing. The second fragment had her at a crowded beach. The most recent fragment was her at a bright and loud tavern of some sort where there's a sandwich with some kind of a meat patty and a box of fried golden sticks sitting on a tray in front of her. Writing those things down, she has no idea what conclusion to draw. Judging by how crowded the tavern was, it seems like the sandwich with meat could be afforded by a lot of people in her old world. Her stomach grumbled at the memory fragment of the food. Whatever it is, perhaps more fragments would arrive but for now, she's hungry. Time to get breakfast.

Asche finished her breakfast of cheese and butter sandwich when she entered the office of Rogalski and Associates. Stefen was at his desk, working on a stack of papers.

"Good morning, Asche," he said, not looking up from his papers.

"Got any new jobs for me, boss?" Asche asked. Stefen nodded.

"In fact I do," he said, handing her a scroll. Asche unraveled the scroll to see a drawing of a black haired bearded man with a scar on his right cheeks.

"Guess he's my next target, what is his crime?" She asked.

"His name is simply Kaesar," her boss said. "He is an infamous highwayman and a slaver. He's been harassing merchants and travelers with his gangs of raiders. He's also been capturing folks in the land and selling them as slaves. A lord at the border between Anselm and Wyzkia had suffered from these abductions and he wants Kaesar arrested or his head on a pike. Because central authority is pretty weak to effectively enforce anti-slavery laws and because Kaesar also operates in Anselm, controversies would arise if a lord sends his posse to cross national borders. Any attempt to apprehend him within this country had failed.

"At this point, private bounties are declared on Kaesar's head. This is where we come in. Since we're not affiliated with any lords or the Duchy, it would be easier for you to bring Kaesar to justice even if it means entering Anselm. Based on my sources, he operates at border areas and do some businesses with local brigand gangs. The border town of Pakrzyski is a good start as he's been sighted around the area before with other slavers."

"Now be careful, Asche," Stefen said. "You've done some excellent job for this firm but Kaesar is dangerous. You've hunted down petty highwaymen, slavers, and crooks but he is a different class. He is a large man and he had done businesses with brigands, smugglers, mercenary companies, many people of dubious morality. Most of the time, he wouldn't be alone. There was also a report of him crushing the head of a peasant that tried to stab him with a halberd with just nothing but his bare hands. I know your abilities with summoning swords out of thin air and using them as projectiles but take caution. As always, it would be best for you to keep your distance."

"I'll be mindful," Asche said before leaving the office. "For now, I'm going to have to purchase a horse."

[Tracian Empire]

Grand Duchy of Wyzkia
Opalinski Castle

As he saw Alina tensing up as a response to his question, Rafal had immediately thought that he had made a mistake. Letting his own curiosity, combined with the pain of the state his mother was in, to get the better of him and of the restraint and care that he was supposed to show towards her.. shameful, truly shameful. He wanted to instantly intervene, to tell her that she didn't have to tell him anything if she didn't feel like it - but seeing that expression of pure fear on her face for a moment..it took him aback. And by the time he opened his mouth to say something, she had already returned to her previous calm appearance and started talking herself. So he closed his mouth without saying a word, and just listened...even if he had already started to hate himself for even asking. Seeing her blinking back tears, trying her best not to cry...he was all too used to the pain his mother's state was causing him, and he was usually more than able to hide it, to keep it closed down deep within his heart. It was probably the same for her, and for her mother's disappearance, so to know that he had forced her to bring those memories to the surface, and to relive the pain again..it hurt. Mistake after mistake. Whenever he was around her, whenever he was talking to her, he was feeling as if she was a doll made out of porcelain. As if the smallest thing he could do or say could push her over the edge and break her. He knew that it wasn't true, not fully at the very least. She was strong, in a way, far stronger than him, or than any knight who had to face his enemy wearing armor and with a blade in his hands. She suffered, she suffered tremendously and might never recover from her trauma.. but she survived. And not only did she survive, but she never fell prey to Luxuria, she was never turned into just another mindless cultist. He had never told her that, but that by itself was a proof of strength that had to be admired. It was so difficult for mortals to resist Sins, and even for him..whenever he thought about those who did all of this to hear, from her father, to the cultist who had fooled her, and all the cultists who had hurt her..it angered him. And no matter how much he tried to recite the code of his order into his hand, the danger that wrath was for knights, he could still feel the fire burning in his veins.

And if he were to ever find himself with a blade in his hand and with even a defenseless cultist in his front.. he wasn't sure he could do the honorable thing, and sheathe his blade. They deserved to have their blood shed, honor or not.

"It's alright.. not to be fine.", the boy told her in a soft voice. "Few people would be fine.. after everything you've been through..but you survived. And things are going to be better.. so it's fine.. not to be fine." He smiled sadly. "I'm sorry that.. your mother died. I'm sure that she would have protected you, and I'm sorry.. that she had to suffer too. And that you had to suffer. None of you deserved it. But, I'm sure that your mother is still watching over you. A kind soul like her, even if she had to face such a tragic fate.. I'm sure that she's in one of the Eight Heavens now, maybe alongside Aurora, watching you. And while I'm not sure how much I've been able to help you, who knows? Me finding you on that field.. there was such a small chance that something like that could happen. Maybe someone was looking at us from above.. and as for your father.. I'm sure the lowest of the Eight Hells is waiting for him. A man hurting his wife, and treating his daughter like this... it's abominable. Absolutely abominable. And to think that someone like him is part of the Nubieltać"His voice grew cold and bitter, but he quickly noticed it, and tried to smile again. "But it's alright. He's never going to do anything to you ever again. Or to anyone else. I've been.. I've been thinking. The next time I have to go the Kębra, the council of the nobles, I will.. I will challenge him to a duel. I can't really have him face the justice he deserves without also revealing your past, and you don't need to go through that, you don't need to think about that ever again. But I can challenge him to a duel, and while I can't and I won't kill him, I can.. I can humiliate him in front of all the realm's nobles. He deserves that. Oh, he deserves it so much. " Rafal took a deep breath. "But if you don't want me to.. I won't. And if there is anything I can do, to make you feel better, even just a little.. tell me." And he smiled again.

[Dragos Bee]

Daniel and Leon Perrin-Palaiologos, Anselm

Leon looked at Pynus and grinned. This was better than his original idea, which was to suggest a game where each party offered up one of its female members each as a 'Princess in the Tower' who would be tied up in an improvised tower for the group to rescue. That idea was directed against Adele, who would have been safely trussed up if Mirielle had accepted, and also allow the group to continue adventuring. However, what Pynus proposed was a much, much better idea, especially as he himself had gotten the hint that Adele was pondering introducing Daniel to some sort of euphemistically-named torture instrument.

Now here was hoping that Mirielle liked riddles, and was willing to accept that someone cheated to make Daniel lose (all the while not knowing that the objective of the cheating was to make Daniel win).

Kyle Perrin-Palaiologos, Arghyo with NPCs in Duivene

Eglamour, happy that the spy ring had remained undiscovered, stepped forward to make his request, saying simply, "My family has suffered losses due to the rot in the Faith that you mentioned, and so have many of the house servants who had joined the fight that night. Thus I petition only two things: That one, we be allowed to continue our service to you as though nothing has happened, and two, that the Faith's agents be kept at arms' length from the citadel lest they serve themselves more than the Gods."

As long as the Steward remained unpunished, the fight to free Duivene of corruption wasn't over, although things were certainly easier for the spy ring inside its central citadel. While Kyle Perrin-Palaiologos will have to continue to pay them, Eglamour believed that the young man will be happy to do so as long as he showed results - And a potential opening into Duivene's court counted as such...

[Fereni]

Pynus of the Wind
The Merckburger Fen, Anselm
Time to Lie and Bluff Our Way Out

Mireille's eyes widened. "You're saying I cheated?" she cried, balling her hands into fists. "I'm not a cheater! You're mean! He lost fair and square, so he gets to be my personal knight!" She stomped her foot angrily, and her voice pitched higher, the crystals on her wings starting to glow with an inner fire. "You're mean, you're mean, you're mean! I hate you!"

Grand Duchy of Wyzkia
Opalinski Castle

"I don't want her to be watching over me!" The words burst out of her mouth before she could stop them. "I don't want her to have seen--all the things I did, I don't want her to know about them! I want--" Her hands were shaking. "I want her here," she whispered. "I need her. I don't know what to do, I..." She spread a hand over her stomach, bowing her head to try and hide the tears still beading in her eyes. "I'm scared." Her voice trembled and faltered. "I don't know... I don't know how to be a mother, I don't want to be a mother, but if I have to, then--I need help. I need her... but I can't... I have to do this all alone, and I'm scared... I'm really, really scared."

Get it together. That familiar voice echoed in her head again. You need to keep your composure. At the very least, don't be such a burden. "I'm sorry," she said again. "You don't... I already know, you've been worrying about me, but you don't have to. You shouldn't. You're already doing so much for me, I... I know you can't really be happy with this. You're giving up so much, just for me... I don't really understand why. If you marry me, you'll be unhappy, won't you? You won't ever be able to find someone you really love, but you're still... you're doing more than enough, you're doing more than I could ever ask for, more than I deserve, so you shouldn't waste any more energy on me. And you don't need to fight him. You shouldn't, you shouldn't risk that, not for my sake. It's fine... he didn't do anything that horrible to me. And my mother, I know she wouldn't want you to risk getting hurt for her, either. I would like to see him humiliated," she added, almost as an afterthought, and her own voice briefly grew cold, an undercurrent of hate running beneath her words. "Since all he ever thinks about is his reputation, his image... it should be torn away from him forever." The cold melted away just as quickly as it had come, and she shook her head. "But you shouldn't worry about it. Not for me."

His last words, though... maybe it was all right for her to make her request, since he'd offered. Maybe it wouldn't be burdening him, since he'd told her to tell him.

"There is... there is one thing," she said softly, too scared to meet his eyes. "Would it be all right if I... if I spent time in the gardens, sometimes? I wouldn't be there for too long," she added hastily. "I know, once we're married I'll have duties to perform, and I won't ignore them, I swear. I'll do everything that I need to, I just... if I could spend some time there every now and then... that would make me happy. Is it okay if I do that?"

[Dragos Bee]

Pynus of the Wind
The Merckburger Fen, Anselm
Time to Lie and Bluff Our Way Out

Mireille's eyes widened. "You're saying I cheated?" she cried, balling her hands into fists. "I'm not a cheater! You're mean! He lost fair and square, so he gets to be my personal knight!" She stomped her foot angrily, and her voice pitched higher, the crystals on her wings starting to glow with an inner fire. "You're mean, you're mean, you're mean! I hate you!"

Daniel and Leon Perrin-Palaiologos, Anselm

Yep, just like Cousin Roter back when he was nine... Leon thought as he stepped forward and said to Mirielle, "Wait! The Sword Lady isn't saying you cheated, the sword lady is saying she cheated so that my brother would lose. I asked her to do it so that you can be happy with a new Knight and let us through, but then she changed her mind because she thought that your Servant would do something bad to him once you look away as she doesn't seem like us much, which she doesn't."

The boy then followed up with, "But if you're willing to forgive the Sword Lady for changing her mind, I'll tell you the story of Brave Remegil and the Castle of the White Rose. Would you like that? It's a great story... It even has a Princess!"

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Illania de Velira

After seeing that all the related parties are done speaking, the young woman from Achysia walks away from the men guarding her, each of her steps are deliberate as if she was measuring something out and clearly her face is one of a woman trying to remember something. After she reaches a certain distance from the throne she, lacking a dress to properly curtsy since she is wearing a simple robe provided to her, lifts her hands by her side and moves down as if she was wearing one to a certain depth. After doing so she speaks.

"I do not have much of a request, nor should I really give one because I am your prisoner, but my request of you is this: Get some rest, Alexis of Duivene, because in the state you are in you will not be able to defeat my brother and it would do both you and him a disservice if you cannot fight him at your best." She holds her hands as if she was lifting a dress again, takes five paces backwards while facing the princess, and turns around to return to her guards.

Most of the normal guards and servants and such would not realize it but someone experienced would see that, while her behavior and movements are slightly off to indicate how rusty she is, what she was doing was in line with Duivenian court protocol for ladies of the high nobility when it comes to approaching the throne when it is sat in. A few who know that shoots her quizzical glances which she steadfastly ignores.

Melodie

I grind my teeth in order to hold my tongue, that witch dares to approach the Princess? To speak to her? She is fortunate to still draw breath.

[Dragos Bee]

Adrien Stillwater/Aldunax, Anselm

The Army of the Free Soil didn't have the numbers, arms, and money to spark a major slave revolt, but they did have the capability to embarrass the Unsterbs and other Noble Families of Anselm. Due to their small numbers, they were able to move like the will-of-the-wisp, attacking plantations and mines owned by the worst slaver families and only those, being circumspect enough to grow their army only to a few thousand able-bodied folk, sending most of the slaves they freed to the Arghyo border. Adrien/Aldunax was careful not to press his luck, and also to make sure that holdings from known 'Ehr' faction members were avoided - The man was personally cynical of said faction, but saw the wisdom of not alienating all of Anselm.

Nevertheless, several estates and palaces and even a watchtower or two have burned, with 'copycat rebellions' and 'imitation liberators' popping up in the south of Anselm and some places in its center. But without his aid and the Army of the Free Soil's, it was quite clear that those embers will be stomped as soon as they flared. For a brief moment, Adrien/Aldunax paused as he and his forces reached an abandoned palace belonging to one of the Unsterbs' political allies, and thought, Is forcing a political crisis in Anselm really the best course of action? The mercantile and mercenary interests aren't dumb - They are most definitely going to catch on to the fact that the rebels are avoiding their opponents.

As he looked over the unfortified, hastily-evacuated manor, Adrien/Aldunax thought that whatever happened, he was going to make sure that the 'Ehr' faction was sufficiently flattered to press for negotiations with the Army of the Free Soil and legal manumission for the illegally-freed slaves within their ranks. And as his men approached him, asking for orders, Adrien/Aldunax said two words as he pointed at the mansion, a statement of intent to take advantage of the crisis, "Burn it."

Kyle Perrin-Palailogos, Arghyo

Word spread around that Kyle Perrin-Palaiologos of the Perrin-Palaiologos Trading Company was planning an expedition to the Kingdom of Zelkoris, hoping to take advantage of the Drowning of Pekastro and the Calarian preoccupation with putting down Kartaran resistance to get a small fleet of trading cogs around the forces sent to guarantee Calaria's 'cut' of any trade deal with the faraway kingdom. This expedition was risky, even for him, but also potentially immensely profitable. Not just that, but word spread around that Kyle was planning to get more than the usual number of investors, and that said investors were allowed to pay a smaller amount of cash than was usual for such deals, in exchange for sharing the risk among themselves.

Why would they agree to this? Because the profits of a successful expedition to Zelkoris were immense, and Kyle's new approach made the risk smaller the more people invested, as a series of broadsheets with pictures helpfully explained.

In order to guarantee transparency, every investment would be recorded on paper by a member of Kyle's company staff, which now included Achysian refugees who had come from the now-defunct bureaucracy of the dead Empire. Each investor would recieve a certificate indicating that they had invested and how much they had paid, as well as how much they were obliged to be compensated if the expedition failed. A copy of all certificates would be kept in Kyle's HQ as well (or one of his warehouses) as well as recorded before Arghyo's own judges. Nevertheless, the cost of this expedition were such that if it failed, Kyle would still be ruined trying to compensate his investors.

So he carefully plotted out the route, as well as recruited Kartaran refugees who were less severed from the Main Island's clans than his family were. These recruits would be a mix of envoys and navigators whose purpose were to gain the trust of the Anti-Calarian folk in the Southern Isle as well as sail through currents and dangerous weather. And to the Captain assigned to lead the expedition as a whole, he gave him a token, a token from 200 years ago which was said to be connected to an old clan which still existed on the Main Island.

The token was an amulet belonging to the Palaiolgos Family's first ancestor, a seller of salted herring named Raziel. Raziel of Clan Ice Bear...

[Tracian Empire]

Grand Duchy of Wyzkia
Opalinski Castle
And another mistake. Rafal's heart sank as he heard those words burst out of her mouth, as he realized the implications of what he had said. He was just trying to make her feel better, by repeating the same thing that he had learned back when he was little and training to be a future priest, and the thing that still helped him whenever he thought of his dead father and brother. That maybe, if they were in one of the Eight Heavens, they might still look down on him. But even if they did, they certainly wouldn't have been proud of him. How could he have not realized the implications of saying that her mother might have been watching her? How couldn't have thought of all the suffering she had been through, and suggest that maybe she had seen it without the slightest thought about how horrible that idea was? Sometimes he couldn't help but think that maybe he was just making things worse instead of helping, and seeing her shaking, a hand over her stomach, close to crying, telling him that she was scared... well, it wasn't too difficult for him to believe it. He had no idea how to help her, or what to tell her. If he could do anything to make her feel better, to stop her from being scared, he would have.. but things weren't as simple as that. And no matter of how much he was going to tell her that he would be there for her, that he won't just leave her alone..there was nothing he could do to truly help her.

And yet he had to try.

Gently, the red haired boy took her hands into his, and slowly, so as to not scare her any further. "It's alright.", he tried to say, smiling reassuringly. "It's alright to be scared. I can't just tell you not to be scared and hope that it will work. And as much as I would want, I can't just take all of our fear and pain away. But you won't be alone, and you won't have to do this on your own." He looked at her with his red-blueish eyes. "I will be here for you, as much as I can. You won't be alone in this. It might not be my child, but as much as you will be its mother, I will be its father, and I will share as much of the burden as I can. And we both won't be alone. Anastazja will help you as much as she can, with everything she knows, and my mother.. my mother will help you too, I'm sure of it. And Elzbieta will too, as much as she can. And we can hire the best healers money can buy to help you. No matter what happens, you will not be alone." His expression had slowly but surely grown more and more serious as he spoke, but then he smiled again. "Alina..it's alright. I.. I can't say I know for sure why I'm doing it, but I am happy to be doing it. To be helping you. I'm not wasting energy on you, absolutely not. I've been constantly worrying for you since the day I found you on that field, and worrying for myself, that I wasn't doing enough to help you, and yet I'm happy to be worrying about you."

Rafal sighed. "At the beginning, I was just trying to fulfill my oaths. Ever since I was little, I dreamed about being a Paladin, even back when I was too sickly for my father to ever take me seriously. I wanted to be a Paladin, to protect the weak like the heroes of old, as Paladins always did, to shield the frail, behind their plate and mail. Like Remigil did. That is why I promised you that I would escort you to the nearest town, back when we first met. I had just been told that I would remain a squire for the foreseeable future, and that I wouldn't get a gryphon, and I wanted to do something that felt like I was fulfilling my oaths. But then, after all that's happened, after everything we went through.. I won't be unhappy if I'm marrying you. I know that you won't stop worrying about it even if I were to tell this, much like I won't stop worrying about you either, but I won't be unhappy, because seeing you happy will be happy. And as for finding someone I really love, in the future.. I'm not worrying about that anymore either." The red haired boy hesitated for a few moments. "And as for your father..I would be doing it for you, and for your mother. But.. it's more than that."Rafal's eyes grew cold. "My father.. he always taught me how a nobleman was supposed to be behave. The honor that we must uphold, the traditions that we must respect. How can we claim that we are honorable as nobles, if someone like your father is part of the nobility? How can we act like nobles, if our very name is tarnished by someone like him? I'm sure of it - if.. if my father would have still been alive, he would have challenged him to a duel without a second thought. My... my brother also. And I will do like they would have. For you, for your mother, and for Wyzkia."

But then, Rafal smiled again, warmth returning to his eyes. "Of course you can. You can spend as much time as you want there. Especially if you like it there, and if it will make you happy. And my mother will also be happy, to see someone enjoying the garden like that." But then he hesitated again. "And.. you don't have to worry about your duties as a wife. I don't want you to worry about that. I... I don't want you to be unhappy about having to marry me either. So if you don't want to.. if you don't want to we can try to do something else. I can maybe lie that this is my child and take the blame, or we can look for a way for you to leave the marriage afterwards with your honor intact. It wasn't your fault.. that you ended up like this. I don't want you to feel like I'm making it so that the only way for you out of this hell is into a life long prison..."

---

Somewhere else
Earlier
A blind boy and a girl with eyes of glass


Blood and screams, pain and fear. Chaos. Within but a few minutes, a girl with eyes of glass had butchered all the knights who had been standing around them, their blood flowing freely on the ground together with the blood of the boy she loved and whom they had hurt. They all atoned for their mistakes with their life, and the carnage, which initially left the civilians around shocked and unable to respond, soon turned into full panic, as anyone who had been around to see what had happened left, screaming and shouting, running and trying to get as far away from that place as possible. For from their perspective, a demon had entered their peaceful town, bringing with her death, and pain, and suffering. And the screams started to spread, the entire town turned into panic, as people fled, bells were ringing, and the guards on the outskirts were trying to organized themselves. But none of this mattered for the two of them, as Meta held him in her arms, and sung to him, singing magic of healing and hope as the blind boy was trying to do his best not to fall asleep, not give up on life completely. It would have been so easy.. this wasn't like the previous time he had died, slowly but surely choking with his own blood because of his own magic keeping him alive and prolonging his suffering. He didn't have the time to grow bitter and angry over the unfairness of it all, to hold the cold hand of the girl he loved in his own hand as he was dying, and as he was hearing them all laughing and mocking him. This was easy. He was feeling his strength leaving him, and in the dizziness and weakness of losing so much blood without any magic keeping him away, thoughts of regret were murky. It would have been so easy, if only he would fall asleep... all the pain, all the suffering, all the responsibility, all would be over.

But then she started singing to him, and he remembered her.. and the desire to live on came back to him, even if no amount of healing magic could replace the heart he once he had in his chest.

He wasn't looking much better than she was, for sure. He had been laying in an ever growing pool of his own blood for a few minutes as she massacred the men who had attacked them, and his white attire had all been stained in red, turned almost into crimson. He seemed to be even paler than he usually was, which was quite an achievement, and even his hair had been blemished in blood. And a few drops of the blood of those that Meta had killed had even fallen on the silver necklace. And as she held him close and talked to him, he slowly opened his eyes, and hesitatingly raised his hand and fumbled with it until he was able to touch her face. He gently placed his cold hand on her cheek, and tried to smile. "Thank you.. Meta..", he told her in a weak voice. "Thank you for saving me." But then he closed his eyes again. "But please.. I don't..I don't ever want to see you wounded again.. not.. not for me. I still remember it, all too clearly.. when I was wounded, and you tried to defend me, and you were wounded too.. and you lost your eyes, and we both died in the end. And right at that moment, when I was wounded, and I felt that you were founded too.. the pain of knowing that you were hurt was so much greater than the pain of my own wounds." Another tear rolled down his cheek. "I know that I can't ask you to not protect me, because I'm never going to stop protecting you either, but please... please promise me that you won't risk your life for me if it means your death. Please....promise me."

[Intermountain States]

Pakrzyski
Wyzkia
Asche

Renting a horse certainly shortened the time traveling from Wodzimyśl to Pakrzyski. Unfortunately, renting out a horse is pretty expensive and something she'll have to do sparingly, in the case of long distance travels. According to Rogalski, Pakrzyski is a town near the border with some dispersed farms outside of Pakrzyski. Central authorities rarely patrol there despite being near the border, making the area an attractive spot for brigands and Anselmian slavers to do business in.

No traces of Kaesar or any struggle while she was searching the town. The town was already tense with her seeing armed men in front of every houses in the town. The leader of this town, Sheriff Hanusz Wozniacki, gave her whatever information he could but most of the information were things Asche already knew about, except for the worry of the Goral family out of Pakrzyski and near the border.

"The Gorals live outside of Pakrzyski and would usually come to the town to trade in some goods," Sheriff Wozniacki said. "But ever since raids from slavers and brigands became more of an issue, we heard no news of the Goral family."

"Were there any efforts to check up on them to see if they're safe?" Asche asked. The Sheriff nodded.

"I sent three men to the Goral house yesterday," Wozniacki said. "They haven't returned and we feared the worst."

"Point me towards the Gorals place of residence," Asche said. "I'll see if I could recover the Gorals and the men you sent out."

"At the very least, take some men with you," Wozniacki said. "Konstantyn had worked at the Gorals farm before and Jakub is my best shot. They can help you in your search." Asche nodded in thanks.

"I'll leave this horse in your care then," she said. "Just keep her safe until I return." With that, Asche and the two townsmen set off for the Gorals residence.

---

Unfortunately, they found what happened to the men sent to relieve the Gorals, their dead bodies spread out near the house. They found two other bodies of armed men, the archers did not recognize them. It seems that a group of raiders went for the Gorals house and the men sent to check on the Gorals died fighting them. The blood on the wounds were still fresh, indicating that the fighting happened last night. All the windows in the Gorals house were boarded up and the front door was busted open. It looks like the Gorals tried their best to keep their house safe and the raiders busted through the front door.

Konstantyn joined Asche in searching the house for any survivors while Jakub took guard. The interior of the house was a mess, showing that a struggle took place. Asche grimaced when she saw the body of an old man, a pitchfork next to him and a puddle of blood below him. Konstantyn recognized the man to be Serwacy, the patriarch of the Gorals. Asche noticed Konstantyn draping a tablecloth over Serwacy. The rooms were empty of any bodies but were also a mess. According to what the Sheriff said, the Gorals were one father, one mother, and three daughters. All they've found in the house was just the father, there is some hope of the other members survival. Asche and Konstanyn went outside to meet up with Jakub.

"We found what looks to be a trail of pressed crops. This may lead us to the survivors and the people who took them," Jakub said.

"Then it would be necessary to follow the trail," Konstantyn responded. "The blood on Serwacy and the dead men outside are fresh, the raiders would be ahead of us but we should be able to catch up with them."

---

They followed the trail of pressed plants and crops until they were out of the field. After time spent searching, they noticed smoke coming from the air behind a large rock. Hiding, Asche materialized a scope and observed. She saw eleven people altogether, two armed men walking around with crossbows, three men sitting around a campfire roasting a skinned rabbit, and two men guarding four females tied together. Asche gave Konstantyn her scope to confirm their identities.

"Yup, they're the Goral matriarch and the daughters," Konstantyn said. "They look pretty beat up badly."

"Alright, this is the plan," Asche said. "I'll go distract the armed men and the ones at the campfire, see if you guys could sneak in and take out the guards near the Gorals and rescue the ladies."

"We could do that, you sure you could handle five armed men by yourself?" Jakub asked. Asche nodded.

"I've faced worse odds," Asche answered. "However, I am going to need at least one alive for interrogation." The men positioned themselves to get closer to the captives while Asche walked towards the guards. She could see Jakub and Konstantyn sneaking up and slitting the guards throats. Now it's her turn. She summoned two swords and launched them at the guards. The swords cut threw the guards and the men crumpled to the ground. Hearing the noise, the three other raiders at the campfire grabbed their weapons to confront Asche, not realizing that Jakub and Konstantyn were already freeing the Gorals. Asche summoned two spears.

"Try me," she taunted. Two of the raiders took the bait and lunged at her with their swords. Unfortunately for them, she already launched her spears and they hit their marks. Only raider remained and when he noticed Jakub and Konstantyn backing up Asche and the Gorals ladies already freed, the raider recognized his predicament and dropped his sword and kneeled down.

"Smart move," Asche said. "Now you will tell me everything you know about Kaesar and his whereabouts."

[Nea Videssos]

Sitri, Demon Prince of Lust
A Congregation of Sins Resumed

Sitri had been most directly in the line of fire for the explosion earlier. It can be said that other than Ax'goxaak himself, who had lost his body entirely, and 'Evangeline', the masochistic Archbishop of Lust was probably the most badly injured. After that, it would be Meta, who along with Sitri, had the price of shielding Pride burnt into her flesh. Sitri, for his part, was dragged along like a ragdoll as Meta knocked Pride further away from the epicentre of the demonic inferno. The demon's mortal body, possessing what limited physical faculties it did, was left a twitching, burned wreck amid the ash. While for some the burning of their body would soon enough change searing pain into icy numbness as the nerves were melted, for Sitri this was only a temporary condition. With his regenerative ability in full swing, the steaming, charred flesh and bone was seemingly in a struggle to visibly reknit and restore itself. This also meant that the burnt, fully and partially melted nerve endings were in the process of being repaired. Thus, the entire process left Sitri's entire body in constant, debilitating pain. All the more so with the demon's enhanced senses. Naturally, he was in no condition to talk or move in the state that he was in. That said, Sitri could still sense his surroundings and was somewhat aware of what was going on around him.

When Sitri's eyes had healed, he was able to see the state of his own body, though his ability to move was still restricted by the damage done to his body. He though it somewhat amusing that the only thing left untouched was the 'present' Pride had given him earlier, in the form of the chained silver collar upon his neck. Other than that, everything he had worn had been vaporised. Not that it seem to bother him. Sitri had probably spent more time wearing little to no clothing than he had otherwise. For that matter, what he had worn earlier hadn't left much to the imagination anyway. If he was bothered enough, he could use illusion magic to pretend he was wearing something, or shapeshifting to create something resembling clothing.

The prone form of the demon prince jerked suddenly as Pride poured a silver liquid upon Sitri's body. A new, different pain filled his body as the mysterious fluid began making its effects felt. The intoxicating potency of the potion could be felt as it seeped into his body. Soon enough, he was at the very least able to move again, though not without some awkwardness. As far as he was concerned, it did the job anyway. "A …reward?" Sitri murmured, slowly sitting up as he did so. His voice was quiet and somewhat unsteady, due to the fact that his throat had only just recovered. Staring off into the distance, he seemed somewhat absentminded. It warranted some consideration... this 'reward' that the other Archbishop would carry out as long as he was able.

While the demon prince couldn't be considered that stupid, his warped mind twisted what intelligence he possessed towards his own hedonistic desires. After all, his soul had been directly exposed first to Scelus as he was transformed into what could be considered a demon prince most similar to an incubus in nature, and then to Luxuria. If one were to make a comparison, it was a bit like how Auryon's worldview constantly brought hunger into whatever equation she considered, with her desire for food affected by both her Wendigo nature and her subsequent servitude to Gula.

Pondering for a moment, Sitri smiled faintly as he answered Pride, the innocent tone of his voice belying the nature of the words spoken. "Naturally, I won't ask for too daring a reward. Perhaps I could be granted a gift of continuous pleasure and pain? A mark of humiliation and degradation? Something along those lines, in whatever form you wish to choose..."

The Archbishop of Lust absorbed the rest of the information, including Pride's decree regarding the troublemaking demon who'd made the current mess. "Punishing and breaking him, hmm? Although that sort of thing isn't my forte, I'll naturally assist with Az’goxaak in whatever way I can."

[Tracian Empire]

Somewhere
A glade where the Sins had met

The ashen glade was silent and deserted, with the exception of the two figures talking in low voices in it, one laying on the ground, seemingly wounded, and one guarding it. The explosion had burned and flattened many more trees along what had initially been just a glade, turning it into an even larger clearing, black ash of demonic fire mixed with the fine gray ash of magic that had once covered it. Blood had also deeply seeped into the ash, creating crimson marks on the ground, mixed with the magical shape of the seven pointed star that had initially been drawn there. But the air itself was filled with magic, the remains of demonic wrath, the last feelings of sinful authority, spells of healing and of hate. Few peoples would have been as noticeable for those who had to gift to follow and understand magic, and especially for those who followed and hunted Sin.

So not too long after the other Archbishops had departed, a scream was heard somewhere in the forest, where some of the few remaining lower ranked cultists were still standing guard. A scream, and a sound like thunder, and three or four black robed figures were thrown in the air, blue arcs of electricity swirling around them. By the time they fell on the ash, they were already dead, the smell of burnt flesh and of ozone filling the air. And then, someone walked into the clearing, appearing from the darkness between in the trees, walking into the light from the moons above.


It was a tall, young man, handsome by all the standards of humans, with deep, emerald colored eyes. He was wearing a silver knight's armor, with a long crimson cape, and a double-headed dragon made from rubies was encrusted in the plate of his armor right over his chest. A simple golden diadem was resting on his somewhat messy blonde hair. He seemed to be armed with a sword that was hidden in its sheathe, and blue electricity was swirling and crackling around his right arm, as if the boy was playing around it. He simply seemed to.. exude a feeling of.. calmness around himself, and he was smiling softly He looked like the kind of knight from the stories of old that anyone would follow to death and beyond, the kind of knight who could bring a smile to anyone's face. And yet, despite his composed attitude, there seemed to be something.. just slightly wrong about his gentle smile. If you looked more carefully at him, it almost seemed as if.. he was mocking anything and anyone around him.

"What have we got here?", he asked in a vaguely calm voice, as if he was doing his best to contain his excitement. "Cultists of Sin? You are like mold, no matter of how much you are cleansed, you always appear in the darkest corners of the world."The man sighed deeply. The face of the cultist who was lying down, wounded, was hidden from his sight, so he looked directly at the man who was up, standing. "Surrender, and come with me. Let me save you from yourselves."

[Remnants of Exilvania]

Anselm
Merckburger Fen
Village

Both Adele and Adelheid knew what Pynus was going for the moment the words left her mouth. It did bring a smile to Adelheid's face as she quickly congratulated Pynus:

"Excellent Pynus! Those Loroi eyes never miss anything, do they?"

Adele on the other hand looked like she had swallowed something awful, some colour finally coming into her face, traces of red as rage built within her. She was already opening her mouth to defend herself against those baseless accusations when suddenly Mireille started crying, stomping her foot and the crystals on her wings starting to glow. She was going unstable and that luckily at just the right targets. Both Adele and Adelheid took a step back, the latter involuntarily while the former kept her composition and said:

"I can promise the young lady did not cheat. She does however know to pick her battlefields and tends to play games she is quite good at."

Then Leon stepped forward and...and accused Pynus of cheating...

Adelheid facepalmed. While she could reason that the young lad had done it in order to calm down the enraged girl, implying that they had attempted to influence the game in their favour was just as likely to send her entirely over the edge. Adele also seemed surprised, blinking for a few times before asking:

"You did what...?"

After throwing another sideglance at Mireille, the experienced maid decided not to risk anything and, with a backflip, landed on a hay cart before jumping higher, back onto the roof of one of the houses, standing there for a moment to see how things developed and to duck into cover on the other side of the roof should Mireille get...rowdy.

Adelheid meanwhile hissed at Daniel and Leon:

"Get back you two unless you want to get singed!"

Yet she was hesitant to be openly hostile towards what was essentially a child. A highly dangerous child but a child nonetheless. Besides, getting into a fight this early into her expedition was bound to spell bad luck for them. Instead she quietly asked:

"Does anyone know what we are dealing with here? I can't say to have ever seen wings like that. Marina, be ready just in case we find ourselves engulfed in flames."

[Fereni]

Grand Duchy of Wyzkia
Opalinski Castle

Alina visibly relaxed as Rafal said that she could spend time in the gardens, relief clear in her eyes. "Thank you," she said earnestly. "Thank you. I just... It sounds silly, I know, but... when I'm around flowers, I don't... I don't feel so lonely. I feel better... it hurts a little bit less. And I... I appreciate you offering that, but I don't want you to take the blame for what I did. You didn't do anything wrong, so it wouldn't be fair for people to think that you did. It was my fault, so if one of us has to take the blame for it, then it should be me. I know you don't think that, or at least you say you don't... you're always so kind to me. If anyone will end up by Aurora's side, it will certainly be you..." I won't have anything like that, I know. My soul's already been claimed... so when I die... She shuddered before she could stop herself, terrified just thinking about it. Calm down. He's already worried enough. "I won't be unhappy to marry you. I told you already, didn't I? You're the sort of person I always hoped I would be able to marry, before... before all of this. Someone who's strong and kind, and who would be gentle, who wouldn't hurt me or our children... someone I could trust, who I wouldn't be afraid of, someone who would make me feel safe... So I won't be unhappy. Something like this is more than I deserve, I know, but I want it... Even though it's not fair for me to ask, it's not fair to ask you to give up so much, to take care of me, to take care of someone else's child like it's your own... but I want to. I wish it didn't have to be like this, I wish that things could be better, that I could be better... I know I won't make a very good wife. He always said that, even before... but I'll try. I'll try as hard as I can. It won't be a prison, not for me... I've been trapped my whole life. I've never been able to make my own choices, not even once... but I want this. I'm choosing this... if it's really okay for someone like me to have something so wonderful, to be able to marry you even after everything I've done... then I really, really want to. I just don't want you to feel like you can't make any other choice... it hurts to feel like that, I know. I don't want to do that to you. Not ever."

She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. "If my mother... if she really can see me, if it were possible for her to still care about me after seeing all of that... and I know you'll say it is, but you don't know the full truth. You don't know all of the things I did. No one would want me after seeing me like that. It was so disgusting... if you'd been there, if you'd seen it, you wouldn't even be able to look at me. You'll say that's not true, but you don't know. And I can't tell you... I can't talk about it. Just thinking about it... it makes me wish I'd killed myself the way he told me I should have. It makes me wish I'd never even been born. I don't want to die, not now, because I know what will happen to me if I do and it scares me so, so much... but if I'd died before they ever touched me, then... I think that would have been better. But if... if somehow, despite everything, she could still care about me... I think she would be glad I met you. She would be happy... and I'm... I'm happy too. I'm so happy... that you're willing to be with me, to stay with me, even though I don't deserve it..." Her voice faltered, and she found herself clinging to Rafal tightly. "I just... I'm so glad that I met you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't found me, if you weren't here with me... I'm scared, I'm still scared, but I'm not as scared as I would be without you. You always make me feel safe. I know you'll protect me... and the people here seem so kind, it's hard to believe it's real. I've never been in a place like this. I've never felt this safe in my entire life... Isn't that silly?" She laughed tearfully. "I finally feel safe, and it's after all of this... after everything... but when you're here, I just... I know you won't hurt me. I know you won't let me get hurt... because you're always so, so kind. Thank you for being so kind to me..."

Somewhere else
Earlier
A blind boy and a girl with eyes of glass

Meta smiled down at him, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "You say the strangest things sometimes," she said softly. "Do you think I would give up on my own dream so easily? If I died... we couldn't be together anymore." But I know that your life is still more important. You have someone else waiting for you to save her, too. I know I'm an outsider to your family, in the end. And I still... I couldn't bear to see you die. So if it came down to it, I would trade my life for yours in a heartbeat. I wouldn't give up my dream so easily, but... I would, for you. But you don't need to know that, do you? You don't need to have such worries. "But that means that you can't die, either... You have to stay alive just as much as I do." She leaned down and kissed him gently, heedless of the blood on her face. "We always have to be together, after all."

She looked up again, ignoring the drops of red staining her vision, and looked around at the other people still present. "They all look so afraid," she said sadly. "They shouldn't have to worry... Shall I give them pleasant dreams?"

Somewhere
A glade where the Sins had met

Once the other Archbishops had left, Alexei knelt down at Meta's side, stripping off his outer robe and folding it carefully. "Lift your head a little bit for me, please," he requested, and tucked the folded cloth under her head as soon as she did so. She couldn't be moved onto her back, not after it had been burned so badly--even with what healing had been done, it was still too risky, and he had no doubt that it would also be extremely painful. At the very least, he didn't want her to have to lie facedown in the dirt and ash.

"Avaritia." Her voice was still raspy and unsteady, but she turned her head to look at him. Those eyes...

"It's all right to call me--" He cut himself off, and took a deep breath. "You can just call me Alexei."

She sighed, and closed her eyes. "Alexei, then. You should stop trying to interfere."

Her blunt words certainly stung, and he had to take a moment to choose his response. "I don't want you to keep getting hurt for his sake."

"Why not? What does it matter to you?" Her tone sharpened. "You've always been like this. Ever since we met, you've... You gave me these eyes without asking me for anything in return. You never do that, yet you did it for me, though I don't even know you. Why do you care so much?"

Alexei sighed. I don't think you could understand, even if I tried to tell you. "It's a complicated situation." He folded his hands, looking away from her. "You just... you remind me of someone very dear to me. I don't want to see you hurt."

"Whoever it is I remind you of, I'm not her." Her voice was so cold. No... No, you certainly are not. "I appreciate your concern, but who I love is none of your business."

"I--" His response was cut off by screams. Shit. "Someone is coming."

"That smell," Meta whispered, her face paling. "I know that magic. That's--" She started struggling to get up, even though she was clearly in pain, and Alexei had to gently push her back down.

"Stay there," he said softly. "I will protect you." The appearance of the newcomer... his eyes narrowed in recognition. "Don't try to win me over with your flowery words, Prince of Xerena," he replied, his voice low and controlled. "I know well who you are, and what you are, so spare me the false heroism." While he spoke, he slowly, carefully reached for his own blade. "You have no intention of saving anyone, and I have no intention of surrendering to you. In fact... I've hoped for this opportunity for a very long time." In a much quicker movement, he unsheathed his sword, ignoring the freezing cold of the blade. "At last, I have the chance to exact justice... the chance to make you pay."

[Faal Lot Himdah]

Pynus of the Wind
The Merckburger Fen, Anselm
Really? Going to Do a Dirty Like That?

---

"Yes, as she was saying, I was not saying you cheated, I was just saying that-" Pynus started to say but was cut off by Leon, who promptly accused Pynus of cheating. Well, accused isn't the word, as it implies that they could still be innocent. No, Leon did not accuse Pynus of cheating, he outright admitted that she was cheating.

The hell? Pynus thought as she glared at Leon. A glare of a mixture of anger and confusion. After a moment, Pynus sighed and turned her attention back to Mireille. Now, how was she going to manage to get out of this situation, ideally without stabbing the child. Denying Leon's claim could work, but she'd have to be careful in the how. Pynus' hands were quite clearly tied in this situation.

The retreat of Adele further confirmed that Pynus was very much in trouble.

For once in her life, Pynus saw no way to talk herself out of her current situation. Unless...

"Alright, fine." Pynus said and put her hands up, "I cheated. Yep, I cheated. But not for the reasons Leon there said. I underestimated you. I was trying to make things more interesting, but it seems it wasn't necessary. I saw a child going against an almost man, and thought that it wasn't fair to you. So, I handicapped Daniel..."

Pynus paused for a moment before continuing, "Now, there is no need to get violent over this. You seem like a mature young lady, so perhaps we can settle this so no one gets hurt. My riddle offer still stands, but if you want me to just leave, I will just leave."

Of course, this was a lie, and Pynus truly had no intention on leaving. If anything, she would only go far enough to break line of sight, and then watch from the shadows until Mireille and her maid were gone.

If things looked like they were going to go south, Pynus was ready to create a vortex of wind around herself to act as a shield.

[Ceystile]

Karine Lacan and Az’goxaak
Death, Vengeance and New Life
Not far from Wyzkian-Anselm Border

---

Nykolas Baltozys, The Archbishop of Patientia
An Unremarkable Day
The village of Bystravo, Zelkoris

---

“Ready or not, here I come!” Nykolas said as he removed his hands from over his eyes, “Now, where did you children go…”

Nykolas Baltozys arrived a few days ago, with the intent to stay for about a week. Why a week? Well, it wasn’t because he was tracking down enemies of the Cult of Patientia, or that he was on any business in relation to his position as the Archbishop of Patientia. No, it was purely personal. The village of Bystravo was within the province his family was incharge of, and the woods surrounding this village were his favourite place to go hunting.

In fact, his hunting trips to Bystravo were so common, that a number of the villagers recognized him with ease. This was really a feat because of how unremarkable Nykolas was, with and without his magic. Of course, this also meant that the children of the village knew him, and knew that he would always be happy to play some games with them. Hence why he was spending time today playing hide and seek with the children of the village.

“Are you behind… This tree!” Nykolas said as he looked behind a tree, “It appears not. Well, I thought I would have found one there… don’t you agree, Martas?”

“I thought I had you that time.” A child said as they stepped out from a bush beside the tree.

Nykolas simply laughed and rubbed Martas’ hair, “Almost Martas. Almost. Now, run alone back to the well at the centre of the village. I need to find the rest of you trouble makers.”

And so, Nykolas went on. He could have found them all pretty easily, but he decided to take his time. You know, make the children feel better about their hiding spots, make the game more fun for them. After an hour or so, he found them all, and said goodbye as he went into the woods for some hunting.

He returned in the evening with a few rabbits, taking them to the village tavern to offer them to the tavern owner. That, and get a drink and meal before his day was over. So, there he sat, in this small village tavern, with a good drink, hot meal, and great company.

"So let every man toss off a full bumper
And let every man drink off a full glass
We'll drink and be merry and drown melancholy
Singing, here's a good health to each true-hearted lass

We'll rant and we'll roar like true Kartari sailors
We'll rant and we'll roar along the salt seas
Until we strike soundings in the channel of Old Aciysia
From Duivene to Anselm is thirty-five leagues"

A figure in the corner of the tavern with somewhat androgynous looking features and a bob of unusual bright-blue hair was strumming a lute and singing, the small crowd already gathered around them growing somewhat larger like moths drawn to candlelight. "Guys, give me a bit of space, yeah? I promise there's enough Gryffin to go around, I need playing room." A feminine voice, an Arghyo accent lilted amongst the gaggle of assorted people, along with a chuckle.

Gabriela and Filippo, Anselm
Gabriela made her way back to Filippo's hideout and as soon as Clover and his servant were out of sight, she knocked on the young man's door and waited around with her orderlies. Hopefully they hadn't left yet. "Filippo, I'm back! And I've brought the orderlies...I have something interesting to tell you, maybe some information that you may know about?"

[Tracian Empire]

Somewhere else entirely
A meeting of Sin

As Pride heard Sitri's response, he turned around, and seemed to look straight at him - but as usually, it was deceiving. His eyes, now golden, were just as hollow as they had always been, and his unfocused eyes were most certainly not looking at the demon prince directly, but at the Archbishop's aura that the white haired boy could feel and imagine. "A mark of continuous pleasure and pain..", the boy replied, seemingly deep in thought. "So shall be it. The mages of the Silver Throne spent an eternity devising ways of fighting the forces of the Eight Hells, even if in the end, the Calamity and their collapse lost them from the sight of mortals, ironically at the moment they needed most. But some of those books were found again, and with a little tweaking, one of these spells might be a reward close enough to what you desire." One of the cultists came, and stopping right next to them bowed deeply and gave Pride a very small bottle containing what looked to be ink. Whispering something, too low for any of them to hear, the boy cracked the bottle, and yet the ink remained suspended in mid-air, as if it was still held inside of an invisible glass. Continuing to whisper a spell in what seemed to be Throne Thyrian, he pulled the left sleeve of his cassock back, and seemed to grab some invisible thing. A moment later, an ethereal blade gently cut into his skin, and drops of blood fell from it, floating in the air, and mixing with the black ink.

The Archbishop grabbed the sphere of mixed blood and ink and the resulting liquid seemed to spread around his hand, covering it. Hesitating, as he didn't know exactly where it was, Pride touched Sitri's chest and then started to draw something on it. A magical crest, with multiple interlocking circles, and with writing in in the flowing letters of the Silver Throne. As the last letter was drawn in black and crimson, the boy's whispered chanting ended, and the crest started to glow in a golden light, granting its reward to the demon prince - pleasure and pain at the same time.

"Those who help me shall always be rewarded.", the Archbishop declared. A moment of silence followed, as he took a few steps and stopped next to Meta again. "You should rest here. Please. None of us can heal you any further with our corrupted magic. Stay here, rest, and I shall come back for you, I promise." After whispering those words to her, he turned around, and looked in direction in which he knew that Alexei watch. "I do not need you for what comes next. Stay here and guard her, Archbishop of Avaritia.", he told him sharply. "As for the rest of you, " his tone mellowing considerably, "Please follow me. There is one more reason for why I called forth this meeting, and that reason is waiting for us and refusing to come in this glade."

Pride left, walking calmly, and the others followed him, soon leaving the glade deserted, except for the two Archbishops and a few cultists.

---

Later
Another glade

Around half an hour later, a quiet walk through the dark forest, the Archbishops reached a different glade, a natural one this time. And unlike the ashen glade from earlier, this one wasn't empty. In the middle of it, there was a statue of white sone, a shrine of sorts. It seemed to show a human or divine figure, wearing robes, its hands extended forward brought together with the palms up in a gesture that indicate that the statue either once held something in its palms, offering it to something above, or that it was meant to receive something. Sadly, the statue itself was old and degraded, with cracks and moss growing over parts of it, and the very face of the statue eroded beyond recognition.

And next to it, there was a figure. It looked like a little human boy. He was wearing black, ragged clothes, and his hands and feet were wrapped around in black pieces of cloth. A horned white deer's skull was placed over his head, covering most of his face, and in the empty eye sockets of the skull, his eyes could be seen.. black from the sclera to the pupil, empty and hollow, in an almost hypnotizing way. The boy seemed to be smirking, although most of it was hidden by the skull itself, and he seemed to be playing with a silver coin, flipping it and throwing it in the air, only stopping as the group of Archbishops entered the glade.

"So here you are, servant of Superbia. And it seems that you have brought some friends with you..", the child's voice was heard, something being just slightly off about it, in the way he pronounced the words. "I've been waiting." And by the time they stopped in front of him, something would have been very obvious. Not only to Sitri, a demon and a fallen angel, who had spent a lot of time among the divine, but even for the other Archbishops, who had all met their respective Sins - the feeling of divine authority and presence, it was there, surrounding the boy, permeating the very air around him. It was different, and even compared to the corrupted influence of the Sins, it seemed.. wrong somehow.

"He has made me an offer, one that is meant for the Cult as a whole and one that I could not accept or reject by myself. Hear it also, and tell me what you think of it, truly. This shall be a decision of the Cult, not of one Archbishop.", Pride remarked, answering to the boy's words with a simple nod of the head. "Ah, but it's very simple.", the boy answered, giggling. "I shall give each of you a gift so that you might better fight your enemies. No strings attached. What say you, servants of the Cardinal Sins?"

---

Later
A glade where the Sins had met

"So you know who I am..", the emerald eyed boy replied, a smirk slowly appearing on his face. "That is to be expected. There are few, even among your corrupted ranks, who have not heard of the Seven Heroes, and who do not cower in fear at the knowledge of fighting us, and of me especially. But do not consider this to be pride, cultist. I truly do miss the days when I used to be able to fight and to protect people without being recognized by my enemies, and without having most enemies flee before me without even a fight." For a brief moment there, his smirk turned into a sad smile, but it disappeared as soon as it happened, like a flash, returning to the vaguely mocking smirk that seemed to characterize his expression so well. "What is interesting here however is that you are not running away. That is admirable, or foolish, perhaps. Both maybe. Your words are even more so." With one swift move, the prince unsheathed his blade, with a blade of gold, and a richly decorated handle, with a sapphire for the pommel. The arcs of electricity that had been swirling around his arm moved forward, as if absorbed by the sword, twirling around its blade now. "What crime could I possibly be guilty of as to deserve judgement at your sinful hands? What could I possibly be made to pay of by a mere puppet of cursed and wicked deities? If it is the murder of your beloved Witch-Emperor, then I can proudly say, that I feel no remorse for saving the world from his evil." Ekaitz continued to move forward one step at a time, towards them, holding his sword rather casually, with a single hand. "But if you want the chance to make me pay, you will have it. Just like I will grant you mercy one more time before your inevitable demise. It truly is a shame, but knowing that you are not going to run away, and that you are actually going to fight me.. that thought is truly exciting." Only then did the prince seem to notice or to remember the existence of the figure laying on the ashen ground beneath Alexei, its face and most of its features still hidden by the distance and the positioning of the Archbishop right in front of it. "As is the idea that a cultist would be protecting someone like this. Had it been an innocent ensnared by your profane magic, you would have run away long ago, so it has to be someone else... " The smirk on his face widened into a full smile. "Let us test your courage then, cultist."

Ekaitz made a motion with his sword as if he wanted to throw it, but instead of the blade itself being thrown, a bolt of pure, blue lighting was thrown from the tip of blade. The crackling sound of electricity and the powerful smell of ozone filled the air again, and yet, the lighting did not hit Alexei, for right before it would hit him, it arched around him, and headed for the laying figure...

[Dragos Bee]

Gabriela and Filippo, Anselm
Gabriela made her way back to Filippo's hideout and as soon as Clover and his servant were out of sight, she knocked on the young man's door and waited around with her orderlies. Hopefully they hadn't left yet. "Filippo, I'm back! And I've brought the orderlies...I have something interesting to tell you, maybe some information that you may know about?"

Kyle's NPC, Filippo de Heyderkrug

Filippo looked at Gabriela and said, "Good that you've brought the orderlies, several of my folk are grievously injured, many of them with broken bones, stab wounds, or just traumatized by what they've gone through. As for some information which I might already know, I'm always ready to hear it again - I'm interested to hear what you have to think about it."

Gabriela could see that the sixteen-year-old was more haggard, fatigued than when she had last seen him - Filippo showed every sign of having done an unhealthy all-nighter coupled with days of inadequate sleep beforehand. Nevertheless, he put on a brave face as he continued, "Anyway, I'll have a couple of kids escort your orderlies to the medical wing. Thank you for the help, Lady Doctor, and once we've discussed what info you have to give, I can alert you to a new threat stalking the slums of Heyderkrug..."

[Nea Videssos]

Sitri, Demon Prince of Lust
Meeting a Forgotten God

When the magical crest of blood and ink was inscribed upon Sitri's chest and activated, the demon shuddered. The spell sent an odd mix of sensations, of both bliss and agony, arcing through his body. As a faint blush arose upon his face, the Archbishop of Lust bowed in gratitude. Standing up from the sitting position he had formerly been in, Sitri seemed like someone who'd just received a new toy, a contended expression belying the stimulation his body was now enduring.

The demon blinked, looking down at himself and seemingly suddenly coming to a realisation. It was now that it dawned upon him that he was still in a state of undress. Shrugging, Sitri raised his right hand. A skein of purple-red sorcery flickered and swirled forth from his hand, flowing over his body and transforming into an indistinct fog that cloaked his form. The magical fog flashed, seemingly veering in and out of existence for a moment, before settling upon the surface of his body, and transforming into the revealing clothing he wore when he had first arrived at the glade. To be more exact, it was an illusory replica, despite seeming remarkably realistic. It seemed to flutter under the breeze, and from a simple appraisal, nothing gave it away as the magical deception it was. Of course, a difference was that now he wore a silver collar upon his neck. The magical crest drawn by Pride, meanwhile, was hidden behind the illusion. Satisfied that the more prudish of the other individuals present would not complain, he subsequently followed Pride along with his fellow Archbishops.

---

Almost as soon as he stepped into this new glade, Sitri felt something familiar. The first thing he saw was the crumbling old statue. He frowned, trying to remember something that was previously long forgotten. It was one of those memories that he knew was still there, lingering tantalisingly out of reach. The demon felt he'd seen a similar effigy a long time ago, but he'd forgotten what it was meant to represent. Mildly frustrated, he turned his attention to the childlike figure beside the statue.

Sitri froze as he felt the energy emanating from the skull-masked entity. Without bothering to ponder the situation further, he knew the person Pride had brought them to was a god. He was intimately familiar with the aura deities evoked, that sense of power and prestige, an energy that evoked a desire for deference and submission. It was only beings such as those that evoked in lesser creatures a natural urge to worship, and it was for good reason. It was an even stronger urge in angels, created directly by the gods to carry out their will. While Sitri had been transformed by Scelus, his core nature as an angel could not truly forget his programming. To be more specific, while it had been altered during his transformation into a demon prince, the God of Evil had naturally made use of it in turn, twisted in his own fashion. While naturally that desire to obey would be far stronger if it was the god who had transformed him, it was still noticeable in the presence of any divinity, even as strange and eerie as the one standing in the glade.

There were few existences above demon princes, and gods naturally stood among that category. It went without saying that Sitri had a healthy fear and respect for gods, especially those not aligned with the eight Gods Above. Sitri's own aura of masochistic lasciviousness immediately began dimming as he came to the realisation that he was in the presence of a god. It was a natural habit of his to exude that aura practically wherever he went, and it could be said that it required a conscious effort to go against his usual inclination. Even then, there was still a subconscious element that continued emanating from him regardless of what he did. After all, the Archbishop of Lust could only suppress his true nature to a certain extent.

Sitri's usual nonchalant manner replaced with a more respectful tone, he spoke up in response to the god's query. "If a Divinity such as yourself offers a boon... while naturally I can't speak for the others, I would be grateful..."

[Europa Undivided]

Marcel Pyke (Emrys Dracorsen), Son of Karasdormu the Dragon
Anselm
Abandoned Mansion
Sleeping with a wyvern...

Zzz…

Zzzzzz…

It has been a few good days since Marcel had entered the kingdom of Anselm. For the whole week, he had been… Well, doing whatever a wandering trader with magical abilities did: trade his wares for sums of gold and silver, and then occasionally offering to heal people who were down with illnesses using healing magic. There was this one girl in the last village he went to; her parents said she had been a sickly one ever since birth, and the apothecaries say that it's a miracle that she's still up and running after several bouts of sickness. She was having seizures at the time; sometimes at a rate of a hundred a day.

Looking upon her, the only thing Marcel felt was pity. Why, he asked himself, was she cursed with such a debilitating sickness that plagued her whole life? Wasn't it enough that she came from a poor family of peasants; people who could barely scrape out a living through the land of their lords everyday?

They had thanked him profusely, when the healing magic had, apparently, healed her completely. In the three days he stayed in the village, mostly out of courtesy of the people that had offered him shelter for the week, she didn't get any more seizures. Given the potency of Ancient Magic drawn from draconic parentage, it might just be a permanent fix for her. Too bad they can never know why he's such a talented sorcerer, or else the ignorant masses of men would conspire to have him burned at the stake…

Slurp.

"What, what, what?" Marcel grumbled, annoyed that his sleep was being disturbed by his wyvern's affectionate licking. It was, after all, a very pretty place to stay in. He found the mansion unguarded, abandoned completely by its inhabitants. They even left food in the pantry, which Marcel had taken the liberty of acquiring for himself. After all, if not even the servants and Butler still remained, the manor's people might as well be dead.

The wyvern purred, nudging its nose against Marcel. "Ah, what is it?" He finally put the blanket off, revealing the rather mundane outfit he had been wearing. One wouldn't think that he was a potent magician, as he wore the kind of clothing anyone would expect for a peddler or middle class craftsman to wear; a tunic, trousers, collared shirt, and a coat, if the day or night is cold, which is often the case.

The wyvern purred yet again, and whimpered. "You crybaby." Marcel shook his head, petting the creature that was technically a very distant relative of his. "There's got to be at least another day or two until-"

That when he started to smell the smoke, and the scent of burning wood. Having been in Anselm for a short time, he had yet to hear of the slave rebellion; the village he came to had no knowledge of it, yet.

"Crazy people, burning such a beautiful house down…"

Cursing at the disturbance in the middle of the night, Marcel felt at the doorknob just to feel the heat from the flames that were starting to engulf the place. Marcel immediately mounted the wyvern, and with a slight nudge at its side, flew out of the window, landing on the ground in front of the now burning building… only to find himself surrounded by what looked like an army… and someone who was obviously their leader.

"Um." Surrounded like this, he might be able to use earth magic to destabilize the mundane human soldiers, but he already sensed that this person was quite powerful magically, if not because of his garb and posture. There was something eerily familiar with him…

""I was just sleeping in there for the night, I-I had nothing to do with the previous owners. I swear." Marcel held up his hand, even as his wyvern snarled at the people. Even if he flew off now, the Wyvern could get shot with arrows and javelins… and worse, with magic…

"... Who are you people anyway?"

[Tracian Empire]

Grand Duchy of Wyzkia
Opalinski Castle

"It doesn't sound silly,", Rafal answered, smiling even brighter than before. It wasn't simply because he wanted to seem calmer, or more confident. He really wanted to see her happy, or at the very least, to no longer see her sad and afraid - so the relief in her eyes brought warmth to his heart. "i used to love the garden when I was little, it always made me feel better no matter of how harsh training was. You can spend as much time there as you want." He then sighed, but continued to smile regardless. "You're thinking too highly of me. I've killed too many people to ever end up at Aurora's side. But thank you. If you don't want me to take the blame for it, then I won't, and we'll weather the storm together. But you shouldn't have to take the blame either. It wasn't your fault. The Cult of Sins is built on lies and manipulation, and even the most virtuous heroes of old have fallen prey to it. In some ways, you are greater than many heroes, Alina. I know you won't believe me, but, while you were fooled and captured by them, you did not fell prey to their influence. You did not fall into sin. Few people could have been as strong as you."

And yet, he saw her shudder, and felt her shuddering, as he was still holding her hands, so gently and slowly, he hugged her. "I'm glad. That you won't be unhappy. That you won't be afraid because of it. That you won't think it is a prison, and that you trust me. It's alright if you feel that it isn't fair, or if you feel like you don't deserve it, all it matters is that you want to. That you are choosing this. I won't care if you won't be a good wife, or what other people say, or about any other hardships that we will face. I want you to be happy, and if you will be happy than I will also be happy, and that's all that matters. I am also choosing this, I am doing this of my own free will, or I would have never proposed it to you. If we're both choosing this together, if we're trying our futures together like this, then we will both face them together. Hardships, learning how to be a good wife and a good husband.. we'll work on that. Together." The red haired boy said nothing for a few moments afterwards, carefully choosing his words. Her pain was different than his, and he could never hope to understand even the slightest part of it..but he knew some things that her own pain prevented her from seeing. "I'm sure that she would still care. The full truth doesn't matter. What I don't know, what I haven't seen, it doesn't matter. It was not your fault, and it was never your choice. That you were fooled by them, captured by them, and made to endure all those things. During the War, I've seen men led astray, by magic and madness, staining their blades with the blood of their friends and brothers and sisters. Their crimes were much bigger than yours, and yet in the end they were also innocent, because they never had a choice. You never had one either. I know that you'll say you did, but the lies and deceit stole the true choice from you. And I understand.. why you'd feel like that. That you wish that you would have died, that you would have killed yourself. Or that you wish you've never been born. But you've survived through it. And you've survived through it without becoming a mindless cultist of Luxuria like so many others have. Alina, you're one of the strongest people I know. Even half of the Champions of Light have fallen into sin and treason, becoming the Seven Traitors. And they were chosen by the Gods themselves to be champions of virtue. But you survived without falling into Sin, and no matter what you think about yourself, you are strong."

He tried to smile again, still holding her close. "I'm happy that you think your mother would have been glad. And I'm happy that you're also glad, and that I've been able to help you. It's what I wanted from the beginning. for you to be less scared, for you to feel safe ", he told her, as she clung to him tightly. "it's not silly. You are meant to feel safe here. This is my home, so from now on it will also be your home. And the people here are my family, so from now on, they will also be your family."

Slowly once again, he took a step back and left some space between them, as he took out something from his pocket, as he got down on one knee in front of her. "I know that we've already done this before, but someone like you deserves this moment to be done properly.", Rafal told her, carefully looking at her with his red-blueish eyes as he showed her what he was holding in his hand - a ring. "Alina.. will you be my wife?"

[Dragos Bee]

Marcel Pyke (Emrys Dracorsen), Son of Karasdormu the Dragon
Anselm
Abandoned Mansion
Sleeping with a wyvern...

Aldunax/Adrien Stillwater

"You haven't heard of us already?" Adrien/Aldunax said, "We're the Army of the Free Soil - We're trying to free slaves and the estate you were squatting in belonged to a prominent slaver." A pause, "Now go get down from your Wyvern so we can talk things over like reasonable people - You know full well a fight will only result in you dying and my army suffering."

Adrien/Aldunax wasn't blind, this person smelt like his brother - Did he survive the attack on Alextresenax's brood so long ago too? - And he was not going to harm a member of his family unless he was provoked beyond reason. So he further spoke, trying to reach out, "We have a camp in the nearby woods - If you need food, water, and a place to sleep to replace the palace we burnt, we're happy to offer them." A most tactful pause before he made his pitch, "And as you seem like an adventurer or mercenary, we have plenty of adventure and loot to offer."

I am going to need a Half-Dragon by my side in the tribulations to come, Adrien/Aldunax said, That and I need to know if Karas is actually alive...

[Elysian Kentarchy]

"Evangeline"

Much like her counterpart the Sadist Archbishop of Lust tenses up as soon as she enters into the glade, while she is on a lower tier compared to what either Sitri or this thing is she is very painfully aware of what is before her and for the first time in a long time she feels worry but at the same time the inborn deference that comes from what she is. And, because of what is coded into her, the proud woman inclines her head in deference to him. "A boon from a Divinity would indeed be a great boon however I must ask... what is it you offer to us?"

[Intermountain States]

Pakrzyski
Wyzkia
Asche

With the Gorals secured. the group returned to the Gorals residence. It was still light up so the Gorals women were to collect their things to take shelter at Pakrzyski. They mourned for a half an hour at the buried mound of the family patriarch and the men sent to check up on them before packing up clothes, tools, and blankets. Jakub, Asche, and Konstantyn served as the bodyguard.

The group made it back to the town before the sunsets, much to the relief of Sheriff Wozniacki, although he looked grim when he only saw the female members of the Gorals with the group. The Gorals were given shelter at the Wozniacki residence. The Sheriff invited Asche to spend the night at the town inn with free boarding and she accepted. While Asche was eating her dinner of bread, roast pork, cheese, and mead at the inn; the Sheriff approached her.

"I can't say it enough but thank you for your work," Wozniacki said. "You're in a middle of hunting down a bounty and such a side quest could make your search harder."

"It was nothing, I'm just doing my job as a bounty hunter," Asche responded. "Bringing the folks to safety is part of the job of upholding law and order. Plus, the raiders involved were connected to the mercenary company that does business with Kaesar. I was given information on their location and they're only a few distance away from this town into Anselm territory. I'll be leaving for that camp tomorrow at dawn."

"Wouldn't that dangerous to go their by yourself?" The sheriff asked. "You are free to take some of the militia with you if you need any assistance." Asche shook her head at the offer.

"You've given me enough reward for my work here," she replied. "You've given me a hot meal and a free boarding, I'd rather the militiamen stay and guard this town. It's going to be a while before central authorities would finally get their act together and bring some actual order to the frontier area."

"Well I wish you luck for your job," Wozniacki said. "The gods were most kind when you visited this town. Rest up and we'll pray for your success."

"Thank you sheriff, I appreciate that," the bounty hunter responded.

[Fereni]

Pynus of the Wind
The Merckburger Fen, Anselm
Really? Going to Do a Dirty Like That?

Mireille looked at her thoughtfully. "Riddle. Riddle... Okay!" she finally declared, smiling. "I want a riddle. I don't like that you cheated, but I guess you were trying to be nice, so it's okay. I forgive you!" Her grin widened. "Did you use magic? I like magic." She rocked back and forth on her feet, humming for a moment. "Okay! Since I won, I get lots of stuff, right? I get a riddle, and I get a story, and I get a personal knight! Oh, but I want to see a magic trick too! Something really, really cool. Okay? This is fun. I like playing with you," she decided. "You're good toys."

Somewhere else entirely
A meeting of Sin

"Nn..." Meta tried to push herself off the ground again as she heard Kiryl approaching her, but pain lanced through her body at the movement, and she was forced to give up. It was so hard to breathe through the pain, deep, ragged inhalations and exhalations that sounded more like quiet cries than anything else. It hurt. It hurt so damn much. But it was worth it, it was worth it because he was safe, he wasn't hurt. She could live with the pain, because she'd kept him safe, and he was the most important person in the world.

He asked her to rest. He pleaded with her to rest. And though he kept his voice low, only for her to hear, she knew that the Archbishop of Superbia making such a plea, particularly to his subordinate, was something that few would ever see. How could she say no to that? She couldn't have even if she'd wanted to, but she didn't want to at all. The concern in his voice... rather than the searing heat of the flames that had burned her, it sparked a soft, warm glow in her chest. He was worried about her. He was promising to come back for her... she knew he would, he didn't need to say it, but she loved hearing the determination in his voice nonetheless. "I love you," she whispered, hoping her voice had cleared enough for him to understand. "I love you. It... doesn't hurt so much, so don't worry..." That was a lie. It hurt more than she knew how to express. Still, there was no need for him to concern himself too much. She'd done it to save him, so she didn't regret a thing. She could never regret something like that, no matter what.

Later
A glade where the Sins had met

Alexei didn't hesitate a moment before driving his own blade forward, not towards Ekaitz but towards the arcing lightning. He doubted he could block the lightning himself, not quickly enough, but steel was an excellent conductor.

Unfortunately, the same could be said of human flesh.

For a moment, it felt as though time had stopped entirely. The world went completely silent around him, and for a moment, he could feel the heat of the lightning as it rushed through him, the intense force of it stunning him. He wasn't sure how he was still standing, wasn't even entirely sure if he was still alive. Everything was happening so slowly, and yet--somehow it felt like barely any time had passed at all.

The world returned all at once, and with it came stinging pain, a hundred thousand needles digging into his skin. But he was alive. He was alive, and she was unharmed, and--that damned man was still in front of him.

"I... am no mere cultist," he hissed. "I'm sure you can tell... since a normal man would probably have been killed, or at the very least incapacitated. I, however, am not a normal man." Despite the pain, he dipped into a bow, a smirk of his own crossing his face. "I am... the Archbishop of Avaritia. And as for your crimes... I don't give a damn about that emperor. You could kill him or a thousand of him, and it would make no difference to me... yet the blood on your hands still cries out. Do you really not hear it?" His eyes were manic as he spoke. "If you want to call me sinful, then go ahead. But you had better say the same about yourself next, Prince of Xerena, because you have committed just as many sins, and the only difference is that I didn't wrap myself up in the flag of the Faith and try to convince people that I was a hero." His grip on the hilt of his sword tightened, and without waiting any longer, he attacked, blue flames wreathing the blade as he swung it towards Ekaitz's neck. "We both know exactly what you've done. And I thought I told you to stop pretending!"

Grand Duchy of Wyzkia
Opalinski Castle

All of the things he was saying... that she was greater than heroes, one of the strongest people he knew... that couldn't be right, could it? Just because she was saved before she fully gave in to those monsters... just because she held out as long as she could against them... did that really make her so strong? He couldn't be telling the truth. It wasn't possible for her to be like that... but he wasn't a liar. She knew that, and the utter sincerity in his voice... he really meant it. When he said that she was innocent, that it didn't matter what she'd done, and that he didn't care if she wouldn't be a good wife, or about any of it--that he would be happy--that they'd face everything together, that she wouldn't have to be alone--that he just wanted her to feel safe and not be afraid... it really didn't feel real at all. This was her home? The people she'd met, who'd been so kind to her, they were her family? It felt like an impossible dream. She'd never really thought she could have anywhere that felt like home, somewhere that she would be safe, surrounded by kind and caring people, but this... it wasn't a dream. It was real. How could it possibly be real?

What he did next, though... that was what took it from a dream to a fairy tale.

She'd never really thought something like that would happen; after all, even though she'd hoped for more, her expectations had been nothing more than an arranged, loveless marriage. There would be no need for things like proposals, not to her, anyway. Her father would agree to the match, and she would be married, and that would be that. Proposals were for love stories, and nothing more. And after Luxuria... even the tiniest fragment of hope had been shattered. No one would ever want her at all, much less enough to do something like this. It was simply impossible. Even her upcoming marriage to Rafal wouldn't have anything like that--it was kinder than what she'd once expected, since he did care about her, but in the end it was still just a marriage of convenience more than anything else. They wouldn't be marrying for love, but for a purpose, even if that purpose was to hide her shame rather than for the sake of their families.

Yet there he was, on one knee, holding out a ring and asking her to be his wife, and for a moment she could forget all of the circumstances that had brought them here, could truly believe that she was in one of the stories that she'd always loved. When tears filled her eyes, they weren't tears of sorrow, but of bewildered happiness. A proposal was completely unnecessary, since they'd already agreed to the marriage, and the relevant parties had given their approval as well. That was all that was really needed--a gesture like this was completely extraneous. He didn't have to do it, but he did, just for her... just to make her happy. Because he thought she deserved it.

It took her a moment to find her words, but she finally nodded, tears still streaming down her face. "Of course," she whispered. "Rafal, you didn't have to... you didn't have to ask. Of course I will... I would be happy to be your wife. For as long as you'll have me..."