Encounter
The cool breeze that one could feel while riding the Wind-Wader truly was the best part about the Syentharian Sand Dunes, though "best" was being somewhat generous of the land. It was more like it was the only good thing about the land, that and Jiya, and this was only in the mind of Saria, who'd had a jaded opinion of the sand dunes anyway. Though Jiya herself—who was a native of the land—wouldn't have said that Saria was doing a disservice of the land by bad-mouthing it at all. In fact,even she herself had bad-mouthed it a couple of times.
"We're coming up on the market, do you know what you're gonna make?"
"Not yet, but it honestly depends on if they have what I'm looking for or not."
It had been a common fact, one that had been present in Saria's world as well, which was simply the fact that seasons, location, and the overall equity of the location that one was talking aboutaffected what produce one would get. Saria was used to this type of thing, having lived in the slums of New Mexico which itself was a poor place to live. In that regard alone, New Mexico itself hadn't been all that different from the Syentharian Sand Dunes—needless to say she didn't have to deal with giant monsters that burrowed beneath her living space in New Mexico either.But not knowing what you were going to eat—or if you were going to eat at all was something Saria could say she was well acquainted with.
"Well, i wouldn't expect much. We barely get enough as is and with the Witherfowl picking up we've probably only got scraps at best."
The appearance of the market itself had only helped to affirm the statement that Jiya had just given. The sticks that had been freshly scavenged worked to hold up the sheet that had created a makeshift merchant stand, three scarcely filled baskets sat on a small table in front of the tarp. Behind said stand was an old woman who was wrapped in all manner of scarves, the only thing really showing, being the wrinkles on the back of her hand. Several other men and women stood behind those makeshift stands as well, though Saria made her way over to the old woman who'd greeted them with a smile. The woman who started to wave her hands at the approaching girls was named, Liara, a woman who'd taken a liking to Saria.
Though in her words, it was only because their names "soundedkinda the same."
"Well by the looks of you, you have some money this time! Come to spend it all on me, have you?"
"Do you have to look so evil about it?"
The woman tilted her head and allowed her teeth to be seen through the scarves on her face. While it would've been a rudething to admit, Saria often thought the teeth Liara was born with looked like those of a shark back in her world. On the topic of sharks, Saria was sure such a thing existed in this world too, though it was more likely to be some kind of abomination rather than the sharks she knew and didn't love. Though if there was such a thing, she certainly hoped that she would never come face to face with it.
"We're here to buy some ingredients, Saria's cooking tonight and i want it to be something good, though i doubt it will be."
"Oh! cuz your cooking's just sooo great!"
"Oh, Siara's cooking tonight? Well, this I have to see."
"Okay—why is everyone acting like it's such a big deal?"
Siara had cooked all the time back in her old world, so it wasn't like she didn't have experience doing such a thing. Though she hadn't cooked upon arriving in the Syentharian Sand Dunes, she didn't imagine cooking the ingredients of this world would be that much different from hers. That wasn't to say she hadn't eaten some questionable things, but most of what she'd eaten since she arrived hadn't screamed "fantasy world."
"Anyways, you're lucky you came so early," Liara's face tightened a bit, and her eyebrows furrowed as she continued on. "A lot of our shipments have been cut off, not a lot of produce has been making it this way."
"Is it because of the Witherfowl?" asked Saria. It wasn't that odd of a question, storms, embargo's, trade routes being cut off, were all viable reasons for produce to be cut off from certain areas. Not to mention the fact that the Syentharian Sand Dunes were practically in the middle of nowhere. It made complete sense that such things were apart of daily life here.
"No. Apparently there's been some troubling movement withinthe Church of the Everglade, caused our shipments to take a detour as opposed to them going through Tirnallé. Won't be getting new ingredients for awhile. Though i suppose that's how it is considering."
"The Church of the Everglade? Aren't they just a couple ofupcoming small-time bandits? How could something like thatget in the way?"
Letting that name roll off her tongue Saria struggled to realize it's importance. Of course, she herself had heard the name before, but struggled to realize what significance it actually held.This fact was mad even more apparent when Jiya and Liara said nothing to the lack of seriousness in her tone. They simply made a face that alluded to the disapproval of the tone that she had given them at the moment. Of course, this was simply the difference between one who'd grown up in this world and one who had not. Saria understood this wasn't a difference that could be bridged regardless of the years she'd had to get acclimated to the world, it was simply a fundamental difference implemented in one's childhood, when the psyche was the most malleable.
"Small-time bandits? Tunka—that's what you call The Church of the Everglade?" Laria brought her palms to her face and threw out that term of endearment, which was actually an insult within the sand dunes. As a side-effect of being called that a surplus of times by Fia, Saria had obviously done her research regarding the word she'd recurrently been hit with. "Idiot," that is what the word had more or less translated to when comparing it to the words people normally used. It wasn't as if the word "idiot" didn't exist in this world, it was just that the people of the Syentharian Sand Dunes had their own way of speaking. A language that had been lost to time, leaving behind the bits and pieces of itself in terms like "Tunka."
"Saria, The Church of the Everglade is no joke. I've heard someconcerning things about them, apparently, they're a group that follows the will of Tiranal, the great catalyst of the world."
"They follow Tiranal?"
It wasn't an entirely unexpected outcome, there had always been those who chose to follow something they believe in, that was just the basis of how religion worked. Needless to say, anyone choosing to follow Tiranal herself was someone Saria was willing to bet had a good number of screws loose within their head. Of course, it could also be a case of those who chose to follow her misinterpreting her will, as it wouldn't be the first time anyone's done such a thing. Even in her world, there were plenty of people who interpreted the wills of those they followed to work in their favor, though considering Tiranal herself fostered chaos Saria assumed they weren't far off.
"According to what i've been hearing about, it was after the event that created what's known as "The six great wills." The six catastrophic disasters that wreaked havoc on the world. With those six wills, Tiranal achieved what we know as the "great catalyst" which changed the world in ways unimaginable. One way being the formation of "The five great monarchs of power."
That was something Saria herself had a basic knowledge of the existence of the five monarchs of power and the things called "Six wills," that is. The monarchs were a ring of five kingdoms that had all come to some sort of pact, which Saria learned had been due to Tiranal herself due to Tiranal's creation of the Six Wills. It was a point that which Saria had come to know fast, garnering the information within her first couple of months in this world, though it wasn't as if she knew it all.
"Yeah. I know them. Tirnallé, Caelvaris, Valeraia, Illvarion, Ithink? And Elythia. You're saying this "Church of the Everglade" formed after them?"
Laria finally spoke again, her voice grave. "Not directly after, no. The Church of the Everglade themselves is a newer group, they've only popped up and started causing havoc as of late. But even though they're relatively new, they've already been a cause of concern for many of the five kingdoms, especially Tirnallé,seeing as they took Tiranal's name."
Mmm. That was all Saria could bring herself to think as she listened to what was being said. It made sense that Tirnalléwould be targeted for its name, especially by those who regarded Tiranal herself with an ethereal outlook. Of course,Saria had tried to find out why the kingdom had taken on the name of someone they'd helped take down in the first place. It was common knowledge that "The Five Monarchs of Power" had formed in the first place, with the goal of dealing with Tiranal and her creations themselves. And while Tiranal herself had managed to be expunged by the combined might of the five kingdoms, "The Six Great Wills" had resisted their efforts. Managing to live without being expunged by the forces that extinguished their masters, with the wills themselves taking on different forms to garner power throughout the ages.
While the girls would've liked to have many conversations about this, Fia rarely let them have time for anything else, and when they did speak on these things, it was mostly assumed it was a pointless conversation, as most of these things wereknowledge people in this world had already known. And while Saria did find these conversations important, she'd given up on trying to have these conversations around Fia. Since Fia herselfdidn't facilitate these kinds of talks either, so Saria was simply content with the information she'd gotten to know, even if it was lacking as she didn't think she needed to learn everything therewas to know in her new world.
"The church themselves are said to be beings with immense power and unknown abilities, with almost all of them having a [Favor of the Damned]. If you run into them, it's almost aguaranteed death sentence, with almost no one who'sencountered them making it out alive." Liara's tone indicatedthat she was speaking from somewhere, whether it was legend or experience, Saria couldn't tell. Though the fear that was in her voice was something that didn't go unnoticed, as Liara never feared the Syentharian Sand Dunes no matter what she encountered within them. It wasn't common for something to shake her. "My guess is the people of Tirnallé, just didn't want to deal with them. And honestly…. i don't blame them."
Leaving that last sentence in the air Liara did what she did best and flipped on a dime as her eyebrows relaxed and her smile returned. "Well? You get it now? The Church of the Evergladesis a big deal! So, if i ever hear you call them small-time bandits again, no more shopping from here understand?"
"I don't see how that helps but yeah, i get it. They sound terrifying now that i know more, i'd never wanna meet people like that, i'd probably be too scared to act." Liara shook her head and gave a "well as long as you get it!" It was in that moment that Saria had fully realized the benefits of the job of Mana degradation, namely in the ability to sense Mana. As her skills had become so intertwined with the fabric of Mana that it almost became second nature for her body to sense it. That being saidthe realization of this gratitude toward Mana degradation had taken a back seat as quickly as it had grabbed the steering wheelof Saria's mind. As Jiya had been a step earlier in sensing it, the presence that was now standing directly behind the two women.
"Excuse me?"
Saria willed herself to turn around and saw a woman standing there. Her first reaction to the woman she'd seen was not one that had taken in the physical appearance of the woman. Sure,her eyes had taken in the actual presence of the person that was standing there, but at present that was not what struck her the most about the woman. She did not recognize the lean athletic build that showed the experience of battle that sculpted the woman's body. Her toned arms that were being brushed upon by silky streaks of white hair that contained streaks of deep crimson running through it.
It 'd been put into a bun for optimal performance in the heat of combat. Though she left just a few streaks that worked to frame the woman's face which was quite striking. Framed in that face were a pair of jade green eyes, that contained specks of gold inside of them. Her skin had been sun-kissed and harbored faint scars that spoke of battles one could only conjure in their dreams. Still Saria did not recognize any of this, and the details which her eyes took in did not allow themselves to transmitwhat they took in to the brain yet. So that dark leather corset, reinforced with steel plates across the woman's shoulder and chest did not matter to her.
Neither did the floral patterns that depicted thorned roses, nor the high-collared crimson cape that flowed elegantly behind her muscular back. The Woman wore slim fit dark grey pants which only added to her militaristic air as they had daggers stuffed into several of their pockets. The most striking feature of her lower half being the design that depicted a wolf sitting proudly on the woman's leather belt. The fingerless gloves and combat boots may as well have been expected to finish the outfit, so those wouldn't be taken in even if Saria had wanted to digest them. Though in her right mind, the crimson sash tied diagonally across her torso would have made quite the impression as this symbolized the rank of a person who'd reached the rank of "captain."
Still, none of that had reached her brain, her mind only allowing her to think one thing: I only sensed her Mana, i didn't even hear her footsteps…. how long has she been there?! It wasn't as if the girl doubted her Mana detection, but it was a known fact that there was always going to be a delay for when one sensed the Mana in another person's body due to them having to be within the said user's vicinity, and said vicinity was different for allusers. But just how long had that delay been? Ten seconds? Twenty? or maybe even lower, five? Six? The number of time ofwhich the woman had been standing behind her was of no significance. What had been the most pressing was the fact that at any one of those times—whether five seconds or ten—Saria could've been killed by the woman perhaps twice in that very moment.
"Sorry to interrupt, but were you just discussing the Church of the Everglade?"
Her voice took over the conversation immediately and one could tell that she was used to speaking with an authoritative tone often. As it came out so casually, that one would have guessed she'd taken command of several battles in her lifetime. It was here when Saria had finally taken in the physical characteristics of the woman that now stood in front of her. But what she was drawn to the most were those jade green eyes, that had two parts to them. The first being the desperation and drive to survive—the willingness to do any and everything to preserve your life—and your life alone.
The type of survival instinct that pushed you to take in your surroundings one step at a time when you entered an unfamiliarenvironment. The instinct that pushed you to assume the worst in people and the worst in yourself, it was something Saria had interacted with even before reaching the borders of this world. It was a type of instinct that was born in those who had nothing—and expected to obtain nothing over the course of their natural lives. This was the one with which Saria was familiar with and the one you could say those who lived in the Syentharian Sand Dunes could relate to. The second half of what was in those eyes though, was not something that could be easily obtained—and Saria wasn't sure she'd wanted to obtain it at all.
Those jade eyes didn't move rapidly at all, slowly taking in the surroundings that the body they inhabited stepped into. Of course, that part was fine, but it was the part of those eyes that scanned Saria that unnerved her as the woman's eyes were thinking of every possible manner of murder right then and there. Saria had enough experience with life to know this wasn'tbeing done on purpose, it was more like a built-in feature—something that one couldn't turn off. Those eyes had to scan and confirm to the brain that murder was possible. Wherever one had gone.
"Yes, ma'm we were, is there a problem?" Jiya was the first to break the silence that no one knew they'd been suffocated in. Her eyes shining brightly as her [Tactician's Spark] analyzed the flow of Mana from the woman. Saria, having calmed down a bit, was now able to recognize the flow of Mana that oozed from the woman herself was actually quite small. Perhaps suggesting she didn't use Mana all that much. Saria's eyes gravitated to the giant sword on the woman's back and the two dagger that sat patiently at her side, waiting to be used.
"Forgive me. I have been negligent," deeming that to be the case the woman resigned herself to a quick bow and swiftly fixed the error in her manners. "I am Seralyn Vayrin, leader of the Thorned Pact from Valeraia," as she said that a horde of people—maybe twenty or thirty of them—walked up behind her. "My people and i were passing through when i couldn't help but overhear your conversation."
The Thorned Pact? Valeraia? Saria couldn't say she'd heard of them before but was quick to doubt the knowledge that she was wracking in her brain. Had she known enough about the world to assume they were lying? Of course, it was highly plausible a group of mercenaries named "The Throned Pact" from Valeraiadid exist and Saria simply didn't know of them. Though their appearance didn't scream Valeraian, as Saria heard it was a kingdom of technological wonders. After all she had resigned herself to not go too far in her pursuit of knowledge as she never planned to leave the sand dunes.
So, it was highly plausible she was only entertaining this way of thinking due to being on edge. Though trying to deny the battle-hardened presence of the woman before her was something she just couldn't do. Trying to do that would've been an insult—not only to the woman but to herself as well.
"What do you know of the Church of the Everglade?" the woman finally lifted her head, letting her jade green eyes fall over the three women once again.
"Why do you ask? Do you have experience with them?" Jiya asked the question with no sort of fear at all, seemingly unbothered by the woman's intimidating presence. The woman herself wasn't lost on this but paid it no mind as she seemed to be within a recollection of events in her mind.
"You could say that yes, i've encountered The Church of the Everglade one time in my life. A time you could say was the most harrowing battle i've ever fought. They fought like animals, their deluded sense of what they call loyalty only fueling their depravity." Seralyn turned to Saria with a look that didn't quite express anger, but didn't completely ignore that feeling as well. "You would do right to not underestimate them," her gaze turns icy. "They are monsters beyond human comprehension."
Saria felt herself step back a bit at Seralyn's words, or more so the tone in which she'd said it with. She was used to hearing people speak with a lack of life in their tone, but this was severely different from that. It was said with a tone of finality, as if the fact that those who follow The Church of the Everglade were truly beyond the comprehension of human beings. Saria wasn't sure if she believed this, as even the craziest humans back in her world always had a place from which their problems stemmed. There was always a reason that drove human beings to the place called insanity wasn't there?
But if there were ever a time for Saria to have doubts about this way of thinking the time would certainly be now. In a fantasy world in which the laws of morality could be flipped on their heads, it was certainly a point Saria knew of but couldn'tcompletely comprehend. Though the gaze that seemed to speak to every part of her body was perhaps beginning to teach her of that.
"I—uh…."
"Forgive me, that was very rude," Seralyn once again corrected herself and let her gaze fall to the basket that Saria was carrying. "Allow me please to carry your things to make up for my lack of tact, I must insist I buy your groceries as well."
"O-Oh no! I must insist that—"
"Awww yeah! That's totally awesome!"
"Wait Jiya! We can't agree to that!"
"Why not?! She offered to do it for us! Wouldn't it be rude to turn it down?!
"You're technically right but…."
While it certainly could have been seen as being rude, by denying help that was extended to you, that only applied to certain situations. Least of all in the world that Saria was from, in that world people turned down the help of others all the time.But this wasn't her world, and that was a truth that Saria accepted would haunt her for the rest of her natural life. So naturally she adjusted her beliefs (the best she could) to fit in with the world that she was now inhabiting. Naturally though Jiya was going to be more adept or more manipulative, when it came to using this way of life for her own personal gain.
"Don't you agree, Lady Seralyn?" Jiya pulled the conversation out of Saria's hands giving the power to Seralyn once again who nodded her head at Jiya's words.
"Yes, I insist that I pay for your groceries. I'll have my men carry them as recompense as well." As she said that, a man with green hair lightly grabbed the basket out of Saria's hands before she was able to say anything. He had a scar on the right side of his face that went through his right eye, drawing extra attention to the moon-yellow color that made up his eyes. They had an intensity to them that made it impossible to refute he was a mercenary, and the sash on his body alluded to the possibility this man was her second-in-command. He paid for the groceries and loaded them into the basket.
"That's really not necessary!"
"Oh, come on Saria, lighten up! Ya gotta learn to accept the help you get from others."
"Or maybe you should learn not to take advantage of it." Saria turned her head towards Liara, her head stopping when her eyes rested on the makeshift shop in front of her. "Well, we'll see you later miss Liara, please stay safe, okay?" Without giving her a chance to say anything back Saria waved goodbye to Laria heading for the Wind-Wader as she caught up to Jiya. Liara's eyes rested on their backs as if trying to figure something out. A second later though she gave up on this and simply whispered to herself: You two stay safe as well.
***
"Man, this stuff is heavy! Remind me why we can't make them carry it the rest of the way again?"
"Because that would be rude! And given how much they'vealready done i feel bad enough getting their help in the first place!"
"Man Saria, you're way too nice! But shouldn't you be the one carrying the basket?"
"Are you kidding me?! I'm already doing the cooking!"
The use of the Wind-Wader had been rendered obsolete as Seralyn insisted that the Thorned Pact themselves walked them the rest of the way home. While Saria wanted to deny this help, she couldn't refute the benefits that came with taking them up on the offer. The Wind-Wader was fast, but it would've been hard to hang onto the baskets while riding one. And the added protection of the men and women that surrounded them was a reason that Saria couldn't refute as well. Though it wasn't like the two women had no means of defending themselves in the first place.
It was simply the level at which they were able to defend themselves was severely lacking. While Mana Degradation allowed her to interact with the intricacies of handling Mana, applying that to the principal of offensive Mana handling was something entirely different. Of course it had been something that Saria had tried to learn, as Fia had all her workers learn at least the basics of offensive Mana due to the harsh conditions one faced in the sand dunes. But unlike her proficiency in Mana Degradation, Saria found heavy difficulty in applying the principles of offensive Mana. This had perhaps been due to her lack of affinity with "Offensive Mana" in the first place.
Back in New Mexico Saria had done what she needed to do to survive, whether that meant stealing, or sometimes lying. There was nothing that she wasn't willing to do to survive except for hurting another person. While that isn't inherently a terrible thing, it was explained to Saria that in order for one to perform "Offensive Mana" the nature of which they operated from was extremely important. It was this fact that had stunted the growth expected of Saria in Mana handling as she didn't have the propensity to harm others easily—at least not innately. And while Saria had seen Jiya use offensive Mana before, it was onlya small burst, capable of blinding someone for a couple of seconds at best.
Of course, even being able to blind someone for a couple of seconds, was a skill that had its merits within the Syentharian Sand Dunes. Regardless of that, it went without saying that one without the temperament for harm could still become proficient in the use of "Offensive Mana" it would just be harder for them.Needless to say, the alternative of thirty men and women with swords outweighed the two women's unrefined skillset in Offensive Mana as well. Serlayn herself had already had an intimidation factor that put both of the girls to shame, combining that with the men and women surrounding her was simply unfair for those who even thought of attacking the group.
"But really, thanks for helping us. It was really nice of you to carry our things."
"My actions require no thank you, under similar circumstances I would have done the same."
Seralyn didn't smile as she said that but there was a tone that made it sound believable fixed in there. That wasn't to say that Saria had no reason to believe the intentions behind these actions weren't well-mannered, in fact, it wasn't often one was hit with such kindness in the Syentharian Sand Dunes. Neither was this type of kindness applicable to Saria's old world as well, of course there were exceptions to this rule—like any, but most people only added on, to the unfavorable statistic. Though Seralyn herself had acted with poise one could only guess what it was she got out of this, there was also the fact that her group—The Thorned Pact—hadn't acted like the typical mercenaries Saria herself had become acquainted with. In the first place, Saria's view of mercenaries was a bit misconceived due to the many medias in which they were depicted in her old world.
In certain mediums mercenaries were ruthless gangs who only cared about their own, weapons-for-hire, and overall detestable human beings in the first place. On the other side of that, some mercenaries were depicted as well—human, humans who abided by certain ethics and principals, and cared about those they were contracted to. Saria had wanted to believe that Seralyn and her group were the type to abide by those rules, and while they had shown themselves to be, it wasn't unnatural to be paranoid.
"Well, we can make it to the Kafa from here. Thank you for walking with us this far, i don't know if there's any way we can repay you."
"Simply make sure the ingredients are put to good use; a good meal is its own reward." Seralyn gave a smile with those words as she placed her hand across her chest. The one with green hair—Kael—who'd they learned was the vice-captain hand't said much during their walk back home. He'd opted rather to keep watch of the sand dunes while they walked, making sure nothing had intruded upon their blind spots. Regarding Kael, he didn't seem like he was a bad man, in fact he'd carried the groceries most of the way while Seralyn herself engaged the girls in what you'd call small talk. Saria hadn't particularly disliked the men and women of the Thorned Pact but had noticed a fundamental difference between those who'd been saddled with the title of captain, and those who found themselves within a lower rank.
"I'll keep that in mind!" Saria flashed a smile.
The difference was their eyes. More specifically the depth of the feelings that swirled around in them. It was that depth that made it easy for one to discern the rank that a member of the Thorned Pact found themselves at. Pure subservience and utter devotionto their cause, those were the eyes Saria found herself surrounded by, and the eyes which devoured every move those ranked above them made. It was as if they were waiting for something, but instead of making a move with their calculated patience, they simply held onto it and spectated. Holding the same level of ambition as one who'd set their sights on a goal and resolved themselves to achieve it by any means they stumbled upon.
But instead of achieving that goal—instead of using that ambition for themselves, they used it as a tool for the ambitions of those who were not themselves. And in those eyes Saria could see they'd never thought of using it for themselves at all. But in the eyes of Seralyn and Kael, she saw complete and utter knowledge and the will to use it. The knowledge that they themselves and their comrades would give everything to achieve their desired results. There was no manner of murder to big or small for those eyes—no morality in them that would shoo away these thoughts either.
Nor did they want them gone.
"Ready to go Jiya?"
"Yep!"
"I can't wait to see what you're gonna make. I hope it'll be good!"
"Keep up that talk and you're not gonna get any."
The Thorned Pact fell turned into silhouettes as the girls walked towards their Kafa. Saria didn't look back but she could feel the eyes of the group still on them even as they'd reached the point where all one would've been able to see were shadows. Still those eyes could be felt on their backs as the chilling breeze that was getting colder by the moment traversed up their skin. But Saria truly didn't know if this chill was due to the cold of the Syentharian Sand Dunes, or the chilling gaze of Seralyn still settling in on the women's back.