content warning // blood, violent interrogation, and some minor medieval misogyny

  William's bde stains his own throne with his own putrid spoiled blood,His first and only daughter, her tears and hate all his own.

  These are the words William finds scorched into his eyes as he wakes.

  ___

  "No, just, listen for a moment, okay?" Lusa said, holding the book tightly to her chest, "I'm not being converted by it! You don't have to burn it."

  "Hm," I said, "I wonder."

  "What?" Lusa looked simultaneously upset and confused as she spoke.

  "You would be cheering, screaming for me to burn it had you been converted. I believe you," I said, and she moved just a bit closer to the woman, "But why are you so protective of it? What about that slop interests you?"

  "Isn't it obvious?" She shirked back a little bit, "I mean, haven't you wondered why they, to quote Rika herself, 'seek salvation by the fme'? Why they conquer?"

  "No. Not once," she shook her head. Then, "Maybe once. Keep the book. We can talk more after eating."

  It wasn't long before they were back on that ever so uncomfortable bench, the fire lit in front of them, a pan holding mixed vegetables sizzling atop it.

  I's eyes really shone when she cooked. Lusa took note of this. Took note of the way she would sprinkle a little salt across the mushrooms with her middle finger and thumb, the way she'd get a little bit closer to the pan when she stirred it, how she was ever so careful with how much sauce she used.

  It smelled divine, and Lusa's stomach was grumbling before long. She was desperate for some, just like anyone else would be.

  And before too long, it was served to her on a pte. I looked at her with very expectant eyes as Lusa pierced a mushroom with her fork, her eyes practically burned into the poor woman as she brought it into her mouth.

  But oh, the taste really was divine. A perfect blend of spices and sauces, tangy and savory and just a little spicy.

  I had the biggest, stupidest smile on her face as she watched the woman eat. "Well?" she asked, like she didn't already know the answer.

  Lusa was tempted to tell her it sucked just to spite her, but, in a moment of weakness, she found herself unable to. "It's delicious," she took another bite, started talking again without fully swallowing her food, "Better than the tower."

  "Really? Better than the tower?" I said, then leaned back, "I mean, yeah, of course it is."

  Lusa giggled at this, in between bites, tried to talk again but I immediately interrupted her: "Don't talk with your mouth full, girl. Just enjoy it, just eat."

  So she ate. They ate, sipped tea (which Lusa made a point to sweeten) between bites, and, when Lusa's mouth wasn't full, they talked.

  "Mmm. A raif? And you came back here?"

  "It's not like it could beat me."

  "That is not why I asked."

  "It won't follow me, either. It can't."

  "It can't?" she sounded a bit sad, "Is it dead?"

  "No. Just restrained."

  So Lusa smiled again and went back to eating.

  And they shared stories, theories on religion, thoughts on the gods. I was a little less obstinate than Lusa expected, and Lusa was a little more pious than I expected.

  And before long, they were lying on the floor, covered in their respective bnkets, fast asleep.

  ___

  Abigail's bde pressed down against his throat. Hard enough to break skin, but not hard enough to kill. "What cell is he in?"

  "I don't know, I'm not assigned to the jail this month, I promise," She felt the bde move with the motions of his throat as he spoke, felt him shake against her.

  She pressed down a little harder. "Careful. It's already going to scar. Any more and your husband will never see you again." Abigail felt him gulp. Felt him try to move his head back, so she pushed the bde forward, just a little, to follow. "Don't."

  And he didn't. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I really don't know where they're keeping him," she felt his sweat against her hand, "But, I do know that he's on the deeper floors. Close to the bottom."

  "That's all?"

  "The guards. They change shifts every four bells, on the upper floors. I don't know about the deeper floors. I hear rumors about them sometimes, but, I've never been there." he was breathing and speaking very quickly, "That's all. I promise."

  "Isn't there one other thing you're supposed to say, hmm?"

  "I won't tell a soul about this. I know what happens if I do," he said, and she waited a some seconds, like she was mulling it over, then pulled the knife back. "Oh, thank you, thank you."

  ___

  I stepped forward with her left foot, pressed it down against the ground, and swung her sword. She had been at it since she woke up, and had worked up a bit of a sweat. She could feel a bead of it dripping down her face as she swung again.

  She still wasn't good enough with the sword. Cael would beat her in four more motions. They would block the next few motions, and then parry the st one. They'd ugh a little, stop the bde just before her neck, and tell her "You died again, I."

  She could beat them with her fists, with daggers, with whips. With all sorts of weapons. But she never figured out how to beat them with a sword. It was always the fourth move. No matter what she did, Cael had a response.

  She tried again. A stab this time, a little off-center, an attempted feint. But Cael knew it was a feint; knew what her move after their response would be. So they blocked the feint, quickly parried the next move, and I died again.

  She was always missing something. That's what Cael told her, anyway. She never found out what.

  And she certainly had not this time, either. She holstered her sword, wiped the sweat off her brow, and walked back into the church.

  Lusa was seated on the bench, engrossed in a book. No doubt one from the church. I felt a pang of guilt at having to interrupt her, but it was time to move on. Time to head to Sos and find out why there were Liedos in Luric.

  ___

  William's first visit was to the temple of Eroth, the god he and his people served. He walked down its elegant, bckened halls, walked through the many paths and doors and dividers to the only shrine through which he could speak to his god.

  It was a cold and lonely shrine. It was decorated, sure, inscribed with a variety of glyphs and images William could not understand. But there was no beauty in it, no sense of wonderment. The script served a practical purpose and little else. Even the statuette of Eroth itself provided little in the way of awe. It was just a depiction of the form it most commonly took. A lizard, of sorts, with a mix of all manner of heads, interwoven so that it was impossible to tell where any given head truly came from.

  William kneeled. He kneeled in the way that devoted worshippers of Eroth always kneel; his forehead touched the ground, he spyed his arms out, so as to attempt to imitate his deity's form.

  And soon his consciousness was elsewhere, in the great cave that Eroth finds its home. In front of him was merely one head of many. It spoke to him but did not move its mouth: "You have come due to prophecy, but it is not mine." Its tongue darted out, tasted the stale air. "It is Aran's."

  William, too, spoke without moving his mouth, said, "I nonetheless beseech thine aid, mighty one. I wish to have no daughters, only sons." He did not dare raise his head as he spoke.

  William knew, as he waited for its response, that it made him wait on purpose. It basked in his submission. It warmed it, as the sun warms those of its kind.

  "I cannot help you. Fertility is not my domain. Seek Brigeth, but don't acquiesce to her little games."

  And then he had returned to the shrine. Alone, without a god in sight.

  ___

  The road to Carthana was rough on William's back. All the spending on the finest raffes and carriages had not been enough to make the untamed road tolerable. He had been shaking, for a while, due to the biting chill of winter. And only winter's chill.

  The streets were empty when he arrived. It was convenient, really; there was no one to shoo out the way. No one to watch for assassination attempts. No need for extra security. It let him reach Machair easily and peacefully.

  The church did not provide him with special reception, either, though his soldiers were asked to wait outside. There were some worshippers seated inside, among the two rows of benches. The benches faced the center path down which he walked. Meaning, the worshippers face him as he walked towards the altar. But they didn't seem to pay him any mind. Soon he was kneeling (unlike with Eroth, his head remained up, his hands between his legs) in front of Brigeth's shrine. He didn't spend much time studying the shrine, only noting that it was made from birch wood, and the decorations seemed quaint and inviting.

  "Goddess, please hear out this heathen's plea. I seek you in my time of my need," he said, and soon he was elsewhere.

  It was a great grassy pin. All sorts of flowers and animals existed in front of him. Insects buzzed, moved from flower to flower. The sky was a beautiful blue, and though there was much light, there wasn't a sun in sight.

  "Tell me," a voice drifted through the grass, "What is it you seek?" The world moved as she spoke, every little pnt drifting and swaying.

  "Goddess. I request but one thing. I need my kingdom healthy, need it to span the test of time. For that I will soon sire a heir. I wish for only sons, for daughters cannot lead."

  The grass gently swayed back and forth as if the world ughed at him. "Daughters cannot lead?" she ughed at him, "Then why is it I you seek?"

  "I would not question your ability to rule. Nor any other daughter, in any other nd," his face was scrunched up, he made his body small, as small as he could, insignificant before the vast grass, "But it has long been tradition, set forth even before we worshipped Eroth, that only sons be kings in Cond. The people would revolt if a daughter sat upon the throne."

  The wind stopped blowing, for a time, then a powerful breeze knocked him off his feet. "I will curse you with only sons. But I need something in return. Treat them kindly, ensure they grow up to be gentle and fair. And extend that too all of the people of your kingdom and all of the people of other kingdoms. While you are king, Cond will not conquer."

  He nodded, "Yes, Goddess, I shall heed thine command," and soon, he was back in her temple, trembling on his knees.