'Till We Meet Again (2/5)
Up and up the mountain Anna'ri goes – borne on the backs of 8 slaves.
Soon, they come across a red-roped barrier that is tied around the trees in a long line through the forest. This rope is here to bar off the deeper part of the woods - the territory of Lord Talran, the mountain god.
Lord Talran is a solitary being who unfailingly drives off or kills anyone who dares cross into his territory. Everyone is so scared of angering this beast that no one dares even come near the red rope.
So, when the 8 slaves walk up the mountain trail and find a man waiting at the border of their god's territory, they're not only confused but a little scared. Could this be Lord Talran? Is he going to slash them to bits for coming too close to his home? They're carrying his sacrifice, so he won't punish them, right?
No, upon getting closer, they find that the man is leaning against a rock, and he's dressed in strange, silver armor. Atop his head is a black helmet with a plume of black Crow feathers.
Perhaps even more strange are his physical features.
For one, the man is tall – taller than any of the natives of this land, anyway. His skin is also pale white, which is a hue that nobody on this continent has ever seen before.
White skin? Is this weird monster a ghost or something?
And what's with those long, pointed ears? It's very clear this thing isn't human, but they've never even heard of a "beast spirit" (their concept of a Rehkin) who looks like this.
What's going to happen? Should they continue walking? If they continue on their path, they'll walk right past this strange monster.
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Upon getting closer to the pointy-eared monster, the thing unexpectedly… stands up and does a shallow, but polite bow.
The bride inside the palanquin suddenly feels a strange stirring in her spirit, and she moves the curtain aside by a sliver – just enough to not be noticed by her servants.
It's against protocol for the bride to be seen by strangers before her wedding, after all.
So, Anna'ri covertly looks out, and her eyes meet with the pale monster.
It only takes the briefest glance before Anna'ri hears a strange sound deep in her mind – the sound of a light, chiming bell. This isn't a figment of her imagination either. She's really hearing it.
This, of course, is the sound of two souls pumping into each other in the Ethereal Arka Plane – the Realm of Souls.
Anna'ri, of course, doesn't know this. The only thing she knows is that she's experiencing some strange feelings – strange enough to frighten her.
Hurriedly, the bride lets the curtain fall again to hide herself from view, though she can still hear the pointy-eared creature speak when it opens its mouth.
"Turn back now," the pale creature commands. "Your mountain god will no longer be accepting any new brides."
One of the more brave servants hesitantly says, "But... sir?... We have an appointment to keep. We can't turn back now. If the mountain god doesn't have our heads, then the noble sirs and missus will!"
Overcome by curiosity, Anna'ri calls out softly from inside the veiled palanquin, "Who is it?" She pulled the white curtain aside to look at the stranger - this time, not hiding what she's doing.
The slaves on the side gawk at their lady's disgraceful behavior. The bride isn't supposed to be seen by anyone until she arrives at the groom's residence!
Even still, Anna'ri can't be bothered to care anymore about her customs when she's about to die.
With her face in clear view this time, Anna'ri takes another good look at the armored stranger.
The pointy-eared... soldier... looks pretty baffled when he sees her face, and he freezes in shock.
Suddenly, the creature does another bow - this time more deeply. "Fine," he concedes (at least on the surface), "You can go on ahead, but I'll be accompanying you all. These woods are dangerous."
The head slave protests, "No thank you, sir! We're quite all right. We-"
The pointy-eared man frowns and interrupts him, "That wasn't a request."
Without waiting for his permission, he sheaths his sword on his hip and tightens the straps of his backpack. Being ready to go, he falls in line beside the entourage.
"All right," the creature says, "get moving."
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As they walk deeper into the woods, the strange creature keeps pace with them without any trouble. The slaves are all nervous, and they try their best to ignore him.
All of these 8 slaves are 1st Gate mages, and they all put mana in their legs. As one, they start speeding up in an attempt to outpace the pointy-eared monster...
But no matter how fast they walk or run, space seems to bend beneath the white creature's feet, widening the distance each casual step of his would cover. Just by walking casually, he's keeping up with a troupe of mages who are, by now, running with all their might.
Seeing this pointy-eared thing cast a spatial spell just by using the force of his moving legs as a catalyst, the slaves instantly go pale with fright... This man is… powerful!
Realizing the futility of escape, they immediately shut up and don't try to chase him away anymore.
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After the group travels deeper into the woods, Anna'ri starts to notice things... changing... in the environment around her.
She may not have any magic, but she feels a thick, unfamiliar aura all around, and she can hear wistful wailing voices in the wind.
"Chal, do you hear that?" she asks the slave nearest her.
Chal answers, "Hear what?"
"The wailing. I hear some people crying."
The natives of these woods are extremely superstitious, so all the servants immediately cry out in fear at her words. "D-do you think the souls of the murdered wives still haunt these woods?"
"Shh!" one slave hisses to Chal, "Be more sensitive of the miss!"
The pointy-eared, armored man hears this exchange and replies calmly, "There are children's souls mixed in as well. This small, local demon god certainly is sick to use his own kids as a sacrifice. Still, the spiritual bonds between blood relatives are strong, so they must be convenient to use for spirit magic."
The pale creature then cocks a thumb over to the palanquin, "Also, your miss seems to be sensitive to Death Aura. It appears when a lot of people die in the same place, like a battlefield... or a place like this."
Everything the pale man is saying only makes all the servants sick to their stomachs, yet even upon hearing the revelation of child sacrifices, Anna'ri is strangely unmoved.
Death never seemed repulsive or unnatural to her, for some reason. Maybe that's why she's had such a large sense of disconnect with her family.
Seeing the slaves' uneasiness, the pointy-eared man sneers and says, "Just run back to your homes. I'll take your miss the rest of the way."
After the servants finally received permission to flee, they disappear back down the road they came from without hesitation.
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With the servants now having abandoned their lady, the pointy-eared man waves his hand, and Anna'ri's palanquin floats off the ground with an invisible force.
"You're a shaman?" Anna'ri asks curiously.
"Are you surprised?" the man replies. "Didn't you see me using magic to keep up with your servants?"
"... No I'm not surprised… You seem to know what you're talking about here…," her mumbling voice trails off as she gets lost in thought.
The bride shakes her head, "A-anyway, why are you here? Why did you say that the mountain god isn't accepting any brides anymore?"
The pale man doesn't have a chance to answer before the forest opens up into a small clearing. "Oho?" he exclaims, "We've arrived!"
Beyond the opening in the forest is a small, but fancy looking house decorated with expensive paints and powerful spells.
The palanquin is delicately set down, and Anna'ri waits inside nervously.
Normally, the groom is the one supposed part the curtains and carry the bride out. He's also supposed to present her a new pair of shoes, to symbolize the fact that she'll be starting a new journey – a new chapter of her life here.
Perhaps understandably, Anna'ri is hesitant to break protocol again with a dangerous Tiger god within the house, and a mysterious pale creature without.
So, she waits patiently in her palanquin – unmoving, yet surprisingly unafraid too.
She looks to the side and sees the pointy-eared man's silhouette grow smaller as he steps back from her palanquin and watches from the side.
Even though she can't see his shadow on her curtains anymore, she can tell that the pale man is nearby. It's just a feeling from deep within her soul.