Sunday 4 October 2015

Herald 1 : Banish

A ) Persuade her to go back to her family.

Her weeping, pained stature lying on the floor was unexpectedly familiar.

K : (She looks just like- !!)

A sharp, jolting pain.

Katachi grabbed his head slightly, at the uncanny resemblance between the two of them. It was almost taunting, with how similar they appeared.

He couldn't grant the warrior her death. He had seen the visions of death in his own life too much to know and acknowledge how painful it was to leave this world for the Yvente.

K : "... Go home."

It would be horrifying for her parents to find out that she had died, and it would worry them that she wasn't around, with no means to confirm her safety.

Ro : "... What?"

K : "Go home. You have a family waiting for you, just as I am currently returning to mine. Go home, and take care of your parents and family."

The farmer's daughter must have felt a similar hardship. So, surely she would understand his mercy?

Ro : "... If it is as the victor wishes."

He almost couldn't believe his ears.

K : (... What kind of twisted sentence was that? 'If it is as the victor wishes'?!)

Katachi widened his eyes in horror at the mention of that phrase. He could imagine it so vividly, how the bandits, the 'victors' would have their way with her family, and it was almost as though it hinted at the foreboding tragedy about to befall the farmer's daughter.

It made him hesitate. It made him paranoid.

K : (... Have I... Truly made the right choice?)

Perhaps there was a third way out? Perhaps there was a way that could have resolved both sides peacefully, without bloodshed or disappointment?

He was about to speak up, when the warrior gave him a solid kick right on his stomach and core from where she lay.

K : (Ow!!!) "Kggnhh!?"

It was a solid, powerful and impactful kick - One that made him struggle with pain, and clench his sides to steel his nerves and relax the muscles forcibly.

Ro : (... Strange... Was he always this feeble? Or did he receive that attack deliberately, knowing that we will meet again?) "You'd do well to remember that kick and return the favor someday. I swear it by Ilpoh's will, I will face you once more, and by then..."

With a pat on his shoulder, she spoke with utmost gratitude.

Ro : "Pray that you get your chance to kick me back."

*Cozy's Notes : Rugnud culture - Go figure, of course it has to end up with domestic violence against Katachi. Damn, Rugnud, you scurry.*

Against a stranger one wished to face in battle once more, do something that incites vengeance or rage such that their paths may cross again. That was considered one of, if not the friendliest form of gratitude in Rugnud, despite its brash and uncultured culture.

Unfortunately for Katachi, the poor lad raised in Mielfeud, he was completely unaware of such superstition. He was simply shocked at how she planted her sole into his stomach with the whole weight of her body, without even a hint or warning.

By the time he recovered from the pain, the warrior was nowhere to be seen.

*** ***

She slowly trudged back home, in respect to the child's wishes.

Ro : (How could this be? To think that I would lose to someone with a Word of Power... Am I really that weak?)

Though, to be frank, it could have been worse with how he would have done something far nastier than simply ordering her to return home had he not been so passive and merciful.

Ro : (That mercy of his... It's befitting of a Segus follower, at the very least.)

But it worried her. It disturbed her. Was the boy simply strong, beyond belief? Or were her knights weak to have lost to her, and her existence in itself a king among weaklings?

Yet... It wasn't so. The elder and more experienced knights avoided conflict with her as much as possible so she had no feasible means of gauging their real strength, and she had only the chance to battle those with a maximum of 10 years' difference between them. But for someone even younger than her to beat her, that Ohdean beggar was either something else, or that magic he used was simply too powerful.

Her foot could have been stepping on a trap all the long, and from his compassion she was saved... Somehow.

It irked her. It made her frustrated.

Ro : (... There is an even higher horizon of strength I have to witness for myself.)

She understood what it felt like to be weak - Before she was nine, Roberia had always lost to her brother Michael in a spar, despite the injury on his calf muscle. The feeling of triumph of defeating her own brother was one thing, yes, but Michael himself had suffered many losses before which sparked her curiosity for greater strength.

Once more, that feeling had returned, and she sought that great power to ensure Rugnud's safety.

Ro : (I must press onward. This life of mine, graciously returned to me... I shall make the most of it.)

She promptly made her way towards the borter, and didn't bother to second a glance behind her.

*** ***

The familiar herbal aroma coming from the guest room told him everything he needed to know.

K : "Mother?"

He cried out, ever so softly, the gentle sound echoing through the hall briefly before the sounds of solid objects dropping and crashing into the ground was heard.

K : "! Mother!"

Katachi raced towards the guest room, to find Mother Rinnesfeld compiling the books on the floor into a neat stack.

Ri : "Ah, Katachi dear, you're back!"

K : "Let me help you, Mother."

They quietly tidied the place, enjoying the strange silence between them. Once, it had felt so lonely, but the hushed air now felt as though two people were earnestly and meticulously devoted to their work.

K : (There we go.) "Where should I put these?"

Ri : "On the desk, dear, I'll sort them out later."

Their teamwork was awe-inspiring at best, and positively outstanding even when it wasn't anything that big or significant. The two finished the work in less than a minute.

Ri : "So, Katachi dear, how was it like at the Sage Raufid Magus Academy?"

Mother Rinnesfeld stroked Katachi's head, and snuggled against him lovingly as a mother duck would its young.

K : "It was a nice experience. The students and the teachers are a little weird, but the place is nice."

Ri : "I see. What's that big book you've got there, dear?"

Mother Rinnesfeld's finger wagged casually at the thousand-paged book still strapped on Katachi - He had only the time to unsaddle his bag upon entry, after all.

K : "It- It has sigils inside."

To Katachi, that was no lie. The Curse Words themselves, after all, were sigils that could be placed freely and arbitrarily upon the Scholar's whims. They were made from 'Image', and so they could be considered symbols used in magic.

Ri : (Strange... He doesn't stutter unless he has something to hide. Perhaps they are of unsettling drawings of women, or something worse? Well, he is at that age, after all. My boy's all grown up now.) "I see. Mind if Mother takes a peek inside?"

K : (I can't have her see the Words of Power... Mother should never be dragged into this mess I've made.) "Mo- Mother. I think it's very unwise to look in there.

Their reasons conflicted each other briefly, for completely different reasons.

Ri : (Stuttering again? Is it really something that important that I absolutely cannot see? Or perhaps it's actually something related to me, like a diary about how he misses my cooking or something?) "Alright then. I won't pry any further."

The relief that washed over Katachi's face probed into Rinnesfeld further.

K : (Thank goodness. If Mother found out that I were collecting the Words of Power, she would definitely be worried that I would be pursued by the Hunters and other Scholars.)
Ri : (He's that relieved that I'm not looking in there? So it's either things about me, or it's about naughty things- ... Wait, why not both? Could it actually be both? Could its content be about doing naughty things with me?)

Mother Rinnesfeld's eyebrows raised slightly upon that thought.

Ri : (Perhaps he were dreaming of me not as a mother, but as a woman? But, that would be quite serious. We are followers of Segus, and we should be upfront and honest about our feelings, just as Segus expressed his empathy towards other slaves so boldly. His concealment of his partiality towards me would be sinning, and my child cannot possibly sin so blatantly before me.)

But, the prospect of the boy treating her as a woman excited her.

Ri : (... But, to think that my child would see me as a candidate for marriage... Oh, how blasphemous! How scandalous! And yet, Segus does not mention any forbidding relations between family, so perhaps it is... Destiny?)

Mother Rinnesfeld glanced at the child she raised so endearingly, who handed her a round, circular fruit.

Ri : (? This... Is an orange...) "My, Katachi, is that for me?"

K : "Yes, Mother. I... I found an orange tree in Rulid, and I tried some magic on it. The orange will neither rot nor disappear, at least for a while, so I wanted you to have it, Mother."

Ri : "Thank you, dear. Do you think we can get an orange tree growing in the orchard?"

K : (It takes a really long time to make oranges, according to the book...) "... Well, we can try..."

Ri : "Okay then, dear. Why don't you go and wash yourself up? There's still plenty of sun now to dry your clothes if you wash them quickly."

The conversation had finally reached a point Katachi did not want to progress down.

K : "... Mother..."

Ri : "? What is it, dear? Do you have to head back to the academy already? That was fast-"

K : "-Mother, I... I was expelled from the academy."

The silence in the room grew slightly, but Mother Rinnesfeld's compassion quickly encompassed the dreary atmosphere.

Ri : "... Was it to help somebody?"

K : (... It wasn't to begin with, but seeing how Rekter carelessly manipulated the chandelier, and almost killed the students, it's sort-of justified, I suppose.) "Yeah. I helped the students."

Ri : "Good. That is good - As long as you acted out of thought for others, I believe that it's acceptable. So, have you any plans from here on?"

K : "... I want to travel the world, Mother. I'll write down and mark every detail I see, and practice magic along the way. I- I promise to come back every once in a while, though!"

Ri : (He's serious. That hopeful tone... He's really serious.) "You're not going to stay here with me then, Katachi? I was hoping you'd settle down, and we'd start a family, and I was quite looking forward to you taking over this church."

Although the conversation appeared normal at first glance, the meaning of the word 'family' in each of their heads were worlds apart.

K : (Mother's going to find a husband to settle down, and I'd have a half-sister?... But, the Words of Power are too cruel. Growing up with a half-sister, spending our days in the church and spreading the words of Segus... Such a wonderful life it would have been, but what if one day someone comes for me, because of this ?... Would Mother, my stepfather and that half-sister not be upset?)

He set forth and resolved himself to finish what he had already started.

K : (... I'm sorry, Mother, but as long as I live, I have the obligation to collect them all and ensure that nobody gets hurt by this power ever again.) "... I'm not."

Ri : "... I understand. It must be nice to be young, having such an ambitious dream, and pursing it actively."

K : "... Thank you, Mother."

Ri : "At the very least, won't you stay for some of Mother's gruel? If nothing else, have some lunch before you leave, sweetie."

*** ***

With that, Katachi ate a much-loved bowl of homemade food, refilled the pouches of water from the well, prepared a few more sets of clothes, and sets off for Eliasbury immediately.

*Cozy's Notes : Just wait till you see Herald 2. Holy CRAP is it wicked - Roberia's slandering begins.*