The Tree of Knowledge was abuzz with the sounds of work. Miners were directed in their efforts of digging out new areas to live and use, while the mined stones were sifted through for those that could still be made into furniture or art for sale. Supplies were tallied once more, as those that were too old were either used or thrown away, though the last was very rare. Cooks prepared their ingredients and utensils for use, as the fires were stoked and pots filled with food. A child cried somewhere as it had scraped their knee, before being consoled by their father, only to run away to play once more. And amid this hustle and bustle of activity that a village's worth of people created, a single man stood in his room, frowning at his clothes he had laid on his bed.
The room was located just on the edge of the cliff, letting in natural light and allowing a beautiful view into the distance, where the hills and valleys were snaking this way and that. And on the horizon, the spires and towers of Mirn were jutting proudly into the sky, just being able to be seen. The room's color was a swirl of red, yellow, and orange, creating a soothing view, especially at night. The smooth walls, floor, and ceiling added to that, as various furniture had been mined into the rock directly, such as the bed and a desk in the corner, which now held a variety of clothes. However, the wardrobe was both open and currently empty, plundered in a vain attempt to find a passable outfit.
I have something fancy for negotiations, something for fights and something for everyday use, but nothing for a festival. That was the thought that started the man's problem. He had been invited to a celebration, to which he had agreed, only to realize that he had nothing to wear to it. Something he had been wrestling with for a full day at this point. His entire wardrobe had been laid out, mixed, and subsequently discarded before he had enough.
"Why is this so hard? It's just a festival, something casual should do." Yet, there was something in his mind that balked at that idea, urging him to be
impressive. There was one more moment of indecisiveness before he sighed.
I'll just ask Nexa or Axel. Maybe even Maxcim will have some input, though I doubt that he has the time for fashion advice. With such a decision finally found, he went over to the exit, striding through the small room, and opened his door. Just to find Nexa ready to knock on his door.
Surprised, both stared at each other before she coughed, "Eh, hi Mart. I wanted to inform you that the ravens have been delivered and have taken well to Rabenheim. Maxcim was pleased about that." "Well, that is good news! Now we'll have to spend less time sending messengers back and forth, though Rabenheim won? I thought that Ravens-Roost was the leading name for our aerie?" "Well, as soon as people found out that it was the same name, they switched their votes for Rabenheim. Though, I wanted to ask: are you okay? After the negotiations with the 4S and the CO's, you have been almost always in your room. Did something happen?"
There was a pang of guilt from seeing the concerned face of his friend, though the anger and unwillingness to talk
now overshadowed his will to talk about
it.
In a few days, she deserves to hear it, but not now. As such, he chose to change the topic to something less infuriating. "Well, just after the negotiations had been concluded, I decided to visit a park and met a girl named Selene. She invited me to a festival in two days, and I have been trying to find a good outfit to wear, but I can't. Do you have some time to help me?"
"Sure, I can help-" she stopped as her mind caught up with the implications of what he just said. "Pardon? Could you repeat that just now?" "I was invited to a festival and needed some advice on what to wear?" Nexa stared at him for a long second, too shocked to do or say anything. "Nexa?" Martyris asked, concerned that she just stopped mid-motion and was simply gawking at him. "Are
you okay?" "Yes! Yes. I am alright, thank you, just thought of something. Don't pay attention to that; just show me what you already have picked out! Maybe we can get you presentable in time." "Ah, thank you. I'll owe you for that."
With that, he led her into his room and started to discuss what he should wear, and what would be appropriate. It took only an hour for both of them to settle on one outfit. A long, slightly red duster, mixed with a black shirt, brown pants, and shoes, with sand-googles on his head paired with an ocher-colored scarf. A practical choice, yet he had to admit, it did look good on him, especially with his spear at his side. Unfortunately, he had to leave that behind on advice of Nexa since, "you will need both hands for a festival," so he chose a simplistic ax instead.
With that settled, he left for Mirn, wondering how Seli's week has been.
***
Seli had a few problems. Well, one if you counted the following ones as sequential, three if you did it as separate. When she had returned, the first thing she did was go to the guard-station to pester her friend, Zenia, about the bet. Of course, having no proof of actually having a da-, someone that accompanies her to the festival, Zenia saw no reason to give in, not that Seli expected her to do so. Unfortunately, the second thing she did was tell her how she was going to win the bet, especially how she met Martyris. That was a mistake, as Michael, the second guard on shift, listened to her conversation. That was five days ago.
During that time, the story about her meeting Martyris morphed from: "accidentally jumped on him, then invited him to the Lantern Festival as an apology" to "seduced a man with improper methods, to go to the festival with her." This was a problem in two ways. The first was that her reputation changed from "Sapient Decoration" to "Master Seductress." Of course, most people in and around the manor only talked because there was nothing else to do while working, so it would eventually stop being relevant. Most put no malice into the spreading of the rumor.
The second problem was that Lady Silvia Maranica breathed drama and had been bored. As Slatnan has its inheritance ruled by primogeniture, she had inherited all rights and obligations of her father. Most of those were the mandatory attendance to parties, balls, and galas. This may sound great, but one can only spend so much time backstabbing, plotting, and betraying before it got rote. As such, she got herself a hobby, namely matchmaking, focused on the especially risky matches. One of her prouder achievements was getting seven nobles into a relationship with one woman without one of them finding out. The fallout of that was still being talked about in some circles.
Unfortunately, the last few months were dangerously low on prospective wanna-be lovers. It seemed that most people were happy with their respective spouses or being single. This meant that when she heard a rumor concerning her favorite Mutated, she
simply had to intervene. Where would the world go if someone found out that her Deer had a date and she had not helped? Inconceivable! And so, she, Seli, and about seven other nobles were in the parlor, picking and choosing fabrics and clothing for her to wear. A tailor stood next to the girl taking measurements while she inwardly died a bit more from embarrassment.
"Mmmmh, no. No, that won't work, the color is all wrong, and your assets won't get the attention they deserve", she said before glancing at Seli's almost non-existent chest. "Or rather, it highlights your lack thereof," she continued with a disappointed sigh, hand on her cheek. "Hah, why does this have to be on such short notice? My dear Deer, you couldn't have told me that you were grabbing yourself a man before you did so? I mean, four days? That's just not enough time to create a good outfit!" At her exclamation, the other nobles present agreed.
"I beg for forgiveness, my lady," Seli answered and made to bow before the tailor started grumbling about her messing up his measurements. "Oh, don't start with that! You simply couldn't have known that we would have the time to help! But if you would just say who it is, you ensnared. But no! We are simply grasping at straws here, not knowing what mutations the lucky lad has! Is he furred? Scales? If yes, what color and pattern? If no, does he have the same legs as you, does he have claws or a tail? Well? Tell me, we only have four more days to decide on one outfit!" Silvia exclaimed in exasperation, throwing her hands up to another chorus of agreement from her guests.
"He's human," Seli muttered inaudibly, red creeping onto her face as her ears drooped slightly. It was spoken too faint for an average human to hear. Maranica was not an ordinary human. She was a noble, adept in the art of listening to muttered insults and secrets across a lively room. Selenes words were as clear as crystal to her.
"He's HUMAN?" she exclaimed in shock as Selenes face became redder than a tomato. There was an audible gasp from the audience as one Lady fainted from the surprise. "That. That is just... so, incredibly outrageous!" Lady Maranica exclaimed, grabbing Seli by her shoulders as said woman shrunk slightly into herself, ears pressed onto her head. "Do you even realize what that means? How many people will talk? The drama this will spark? It is scandalous!" she exclaimed, now shaking a scared Selene. "Ma'am, I di-" "
Silence!", Silvia roared, startling Seli and pinning her on the spot with a glare. Then she snipped to get the tailor's attention. "Bring out your good stuff."
"Ma'am?" he exclaimed, confused by the sudden swing in her mood that had been just shy of brimstone. "The good stuff! Do you think I can simply let her leave with those rags you tried to make her? The rumors this will cause. It will be talked about for months to come! It will be
glorious!" Silvia exclaimed, her face morphing into a massive grin as she imagined all the
drama this would cause. "Oh, Deer. You simply know how to make sure I never get a dull moment."
Selene, on her part, was only glad that she was allowed to go at all, and it seemed like her Lady was okay with her going on the da- the rendevous with a friend. Yes, that's all it was.
She continued to be optimistic for about an hour, then Lady Maranica and the other nobles began talking underwear, and she prayed for death.
***
I am nervous.
There is nothing else that could describe what I am feeling right now as I wait for Martyris. The worst part of that was that there shouldn't have been anything to be nervous about! I didn't invite Martyris to the festival for any malicious hidden reasons, nor did I trick him in any way. Yet here I am, sitting on the bench, in the shade of an ancient oak, overlooking a city being painted in the colors of a setting sun, fretting over what I wished was a date. I felt like I was in the orphanage again, hoping that one of the boys would ask me for a dance at one of the parties, though this time, I was merely waiting for one to show up after a promise, instead of dreaming about the possibility. It was a heady feeling. Though it would likely stay the same, a dream, no human would go on a date with me, not if they had options like him.
Having nothing better to do, I started slowly walking around the hilltop, trying to spy any trace of his arrival. Seeing none, I continued waiting and dreaming.
Hearing steps from behind me, I was startled out of my daydreams. I turned and saw him cresting the hill, looking up, and stopping mid-stride as he looked at me with wide eyes. I wonder what he was seeing. Or if he even liked what he saw. His next word, spoken in awe, stopped that avenue of thought in its beginning. "Beautiful." It sent my heart into a small flutter, and I barely managed to stop myself from pulling on my horn. A bad habit I didn't want him to see.
I did a small curtsy and answered back. "Thank you. You don't look half-bad either. Going for the rugged adventurer look, I presume?" I winced internally at that. Why did I just say that? "Only through a matter of elimination, my dear. My fashion-designer was unavailable for the week, too occupied with birds you see," he answered back with a smile and a fake air of arrogance. I chuckled at his joke; "Well, you are forgiven in this case. Can't have the birds go unattended now, can we?" His smile grew wider as he bowed theatrically; "I thank you for your leniency, my Lady. If the Lady is ready, may I have the honor of escorting her to the local festivities?", he continued his spiel and offered me his hand while bowed. "Of course. Lead on, good sir.", I replied in the same manner of speech and descended the hill towards the path proper with him. We managed to stay in the role for a few seconds before we both laughed about our joke, and continued walking towards the festival.
Then came the awkward silence. Playing a joke up for the introduction had been easy, but there was a noticeable lack of conversation topics that were safe to broach. There were too many unknowns about what he would like to talk about, and what he would avoid like a plague. As the silence stretched on into a second minute, I started looking around for something to inspire me. Then I spied something blue on his left shoulder, hidden by the way we had interacted. It was a simple blue flag with a white triangle in the middle.
How does she react? The Common People: 2, The Mutated: 0
It was the symbol of the Pilgrims. "You are a Pilgrim?" I immediately asked, glad that there was something he'd most likely wanted to talk about. "Yes. That, uh, that's not a problem, is it?" he answered, sounding unsure.
Like I would reject him over that. "Why would it? Nothing I have heard about the Pilgrims has been bad. Though, I have heard some strange rumors about them." "Strange? In a bad way or a good one?" "Eh, you can see them either way. The two that stand out are that your leader is only a figurehead and created you by accident. Though the last one sounds ridiculous, how would you even go about doing that?" I asked, looking at Martyris, who seemed to hesitate slightly before sighing.
"Both are true. The one chosen as a leader by the Pilgrims has no power over what we do, they can only act as a tiebreaker and as a spokesperson of the collective will of all members. I do not wield any hard power beyond that, entirely because of the second rumor." "Oh, so like a village elder more o-
say what!" I exclaimed in shock.
Did he just say that he was their leader? "Are you telling me that you are a
pope?" He looked at me, embarrassed, and replied, "No, I am more like an adjudicator. No hard power, remember. Cant order a Pilgrim to do something, and I would be booted out fast if I started doing that." There was a moment of silence as my thoughts raced around what he just admitted to being. The leader and creator of an entire religion. That-, that was. I didn't know how I felt about that. But he did say that he didn't create them on purpose. I noticed that my left hand was almost on my head, near my horn and immediately stopped that motion. Looking him straight in his eyes, I gathered my courage to confront him on the second rumor. "You said that both rumors are true. Explain why and how."
Martyris nodded immediately at that, though his words were spoken with a tint of helplessness."Well, I have no idea. At first, I simply kept doing what I was doing—helping people and giving them food and water: blankets, that sort of thing. Then I saved a stranger, and now my best friend and things kind of went on from there. That's kind of the reason why I specified that any leader of the Pilgrims could
only act as a tiebreaker and spokesperson, never a decider. The fact that I could get people to follow me without conscious effort frightened me." Now he looked scared and horrified, though it was easy to see why. I wouldn't want to live my life, only to discover that people were treating me like a goddess. Then he turned back to me, looking vulnerable and fragile. "I- understand if you don't want to go to the festival anymore. I should have told you that at the beginning, not let you discover it like I was trying to cover it up. I am sorry." At that, there was only one question in my mind.
Did I trust him?
Does she trust him? --Wariness against Religion, -Been there, +Hospice, +Soup-kitchen, +Helped Mutated, +Continued effort to help, +No recruitment rush, ++Recognized Religion, ++++Helped save lives = YES
Yes, I did. If he had wanted to do me harm, he would have already done so. No one I know would have simply let a Mutated go away after they jumped on them, much less apologize as he did. I looked at him, standing in front of me, anxiously fiddling with a small pendant around his neck. I had spent enough time around nobles to realize that he was sincere. Nothing about him pointed to deceit. He simply wore his heart on his sleeve, and he was worried that I would reject him.
...
I am not drunk enough for that line of thought.
"Okay, enough about that!" I exclaimed, startling him out of his fretting. "This whole discussion has been stupid. We are here to have fun and relax, and by god, are we going to have some fun! Now, come along, there is booze to get drunk off, and games to be won by me," I declared, as I took his hand in mine and started dragging our sorry asses over to the nearest stall that would sell us cheap booze. It took some work until one would sell to me. Still, we finally found one and started drinking up a slight buzz, while awkwardly talking about some lighter topics, completely ignoring the earlier conversation. And so, adequately supplied with alcohol, we started walking into the gathering crowds, towards those stalls offering games and competitions. I looked at him with a smile on my lips, the alcohol already creating a relaxing warmth in me and said, "Bet you won't beat me once." He simply smiled. "Oh, you're on."
***
"Stop laughing! It's not funny!"
The bastard simply kept laughing. Honestly, if I had known that all of the games were rigged in his favor, I wouldn't have challenged him. "This is serious! You can't just win every single competition and expect me to believe that the games weren't rigged!" He kept laughing, though it started to die off. "Ooh, please don't pout. Pouting is way too cute on you! It's unfair!"
Cute? Did he just- no. That bastard is trying to deflect from his cheating! "Don't you start complimenting me now! You are in way too much trouble for that! Making me look like I can't even win a simple child's-game in front of those vendors! How will you make up for that?" At that, he began to grin. With a dramatic sweeping motion, which almost hit someone else, he pointed at an archery range set up by the militia.
"With that! I haven't touched a war-bow in my whole life! Which means that the playing field is leveled! And as a bonus, how about we play with a special rule?" Not even so much as looking at his smile, I began walking towards the range. "And what "special rule" would that be? Do I get two points if I win? Hardly seems like a good rule, if I lose anyway!" "No. We are playing all-or-nothing, winner takes all, only the next round counts. You up for another loss at my hands?"
This arrogance! Well, it seems like I have to teach him a lesson when I shoot a perfect score and he can't even get the bow up! "Yes, now let me show you the taste of defeat!" Martyris started laughing at my taunt again and hurried his steps up to walk next to me, having that cheeky grin on his face that I could not get mad at.
The first game I lost to him had been fun, as had been all the others. After the less than stellar start to the night, we had ignored that conversation entirely and simply focused on enjoying the night. There was so much to see and do, with vendors hawking their wares to the milling crowd, musicians filling the air with playful, happy tunes as dancers, acrobats, and performers of all kinds put on shows for the spectating masses. Many wore costumes, another point in favor of festivals; no one could be sure that they talked to a Mutated, making everyone much friendlier. Even those that realized that I was not human stayed silent for the most part, not wanting to ruin their night. And we were not even halfway through what was being offered, nor did the main event start! That would be much later, though, giving me enough time to win or gain some concessions for losing.
When we arrived at the bowyer-stand, an older woman about a head taller than me started to approach us. "Ah, welcome, welcome. Here to try out your luck and skills with the bow? Only one queen for five shots, and the chance to win some prizes, as long as you get 8 points. Maybe you will even win our main one?" she started her spiel, smiling and pointing at a metallic crossbow at the wall. "One queen? That is pretty steep for five shots!" "Yeah, but the chance to win something to gift to your man is worth it, is it not?" she shot back, glancing at Martyris and giving him a meaningful wiggle with her eyebrows, which made him blush slightly. "Well, take five shots each," he replied hurriedly, handing her the money. "Oh, slow down, young man. Don't try to finish early; patience has made a great many archers hit their score," she continued, slapping him on his back while laughing at his flustered stammering.
Shaking my head in mirth, I walked over to a free lane. About 30 meters away were several balls of hay that had five rings marked on them with black paint, with a black dot in the middle. Behind them was a wall, the reason why there was an archery-competition in the city in the first place. When Martyris was in place, we both prepared our bows and waited for the signal to start. "Shoot!"
And with that, it was on. Drawing back my bow with an arrow, I leveled it at the target and let loose with a twang. The arrow soared across the ground, only to embed itself into the dirt a few steps away. Martyris arrow, on the other hand, hit the fourth ring. 0 to 2.
Hoping that the next shot would go better, I let loose again. Again, both our arrows hit at roughly the same time, striking the second ring and only scoring the fifth—4 to 3. I had an advantage.
Another volley was let loose by us. He scored the third ring, while I only hit the fifth as he did. 5 to 6. Dammit!
The fourth volley flew towards our target, and we both struck true. I hit the fourth, and he the fifth again—7 to 7. The next round makes the winner.
Concentrating, I slowly inhaled, before exhaling and letting go of the string and arrow when I had no breath. It soared across the range and with a "thwack" embedded itself into the wall. Martyris's arrow on the other field had struck into the dot, giving him ten points. 7 to 17. I lost another game.
"Alas! It seems as if the gods of luck do not favor me this day! Curse their craven nature to abandon their faithful in their most holy trials!" I said dramatically while giving him my best despairing look, after giving the bow back. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. They most likely favored their greater devotee, is all. But cheer up! Your points may not be enough, but I can share the bounty they provided me. A preference?" he ribbed me right back, indicating the spread of prizes. It ranged from simple pieces of cutlery, over trinkets, and ended in beautiful jewelry. "Surprise me," I replied, not trusting my voice with more words as my heart tried to escape my ribcage. He nodded at that and hummed to himself while looking at the prices he could choose with his points. "That one," he said with ironclad finality, pointing at a simple pendant.
After being handed the pendant, he turned to me with the clasp undone. "It may not be much, but take it as thanks for the night so far. It also fits you rather well. May I?" Immediately turning around, he laid the pendant on my chests, as a soft "click" echoed behind me. Putting the figure on the necklace in my hand, admired the craftsmanship that had gone into its creation. A pure wooden angel, whose feathers, replaced with tiny pieces of warm amber, reflected the light in myriad ways, as the head was crowned by a small ring of quartz as a halo. It was beautiful.
"So, ah. Should we continue?" came his voice from behind me, startling me out of my silent reverence. "Yes. We should, the night is still young after all, is it not?", I happily replied, beaming at Martyris. "Fantastic! Where do you want to go next then? Visit some shops or watch a performance?" At this, a thought came into my mind. "So, I can choose whatever I want?" "Yes, I may have won, but it seems only fair that you get to choose your salve." Oh, well, then. Don't mind me taking advantage of that. "Then let us dance! Nothing is more fun, dancing!" "As the lady wishes," he replied. And back into the crowds, we went, searching where we could spend the next few hours of the night.
***
It was well after midnight, as we collapsed thoroughly exhausted and sweaty after spending hours of dancing, with each other, along with the crowd and with some strangers. Both of us looked up into the night sky as the crowds milled around the edge of the bench underneath the monument we were resting under.
The clock-towers around town struck once, signaling that the first hour of the new day had begun. With that, silence descended upon the crowds as people looked skywards, waiting for the main event to start. And one by one, lights lit up. Ten, twenty, hundreds of them were lit and started floating into the sky, and as paper lanterns illuminated the streets below, an awed murmur started rising as people took in the sight.
"Seli?" "Yes?" "I wanted to thank you. For the night, I mean. It is probably the best I ever had," Martyris said, looking at me happily, before returning his gaze towards the lights floating above us.
I would lie if I said that this night was not fun, that it would not stay in memories for long after we went our separate ways, but there was the issue. He would eventually go away, back to matters that were more pressing than entertaining a Mutated, even if it was fun for him. That was the story of my life; I could have happiness, but never more than a glimpse or two.
With a small sigh, I looked back down again at the crowd and saw that many couples were kissing.
It was the perfect time to do so, I suppose. Averting my eyes to give them some more privacy, I glanced at Martyris once more. He looked back at me, into my eyes, and I realized that we were so
close together with a start. All I had to do was lean in...
***
What do you do?
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