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Chapter 3
Secrets
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“Afraid of tomorrow. Existential crisis. Lose the faith. Dead relatives. All this in a month, a month that seems to have turned into years of suffering, Begonia has gone through its golden age, and now its era of destruction. The continent that ascended the Gods now falls apart without their help. Who are they anyway? A bunch of freeloaders? Manipulators? Who knows, we don't get the glory in exchange for the faith we offer, we're rubbish! To them we are rotten pieces of meat forgotten for weeks, stuffed with decaying larvae, maybe that defines who we are... ”
- Repentances of a Priest
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109 3E
Road towards Sarasi'ha
(7 days after Luna left the camp)
After leaving the forest of Byo'ku, Luna would have a brief but traumatizing adventure.
Luna was on her seventh day of walking, she hadn't gone through many problems, only a few wild boars tried to attack her, but with her dagger and the training done with the hunters, she easily managed to cut the animals' necks. However, her 8th day would not be calm and peaceful. As she walked at dusk, a little way off the trail to Sarasi'ha, a pack of wolves found her, she was surrounded by a stream just behind, and in front of her was the pack of 5 wolves, on her right there was nothing but few trees and his left was free, despite the mud, but it would be risky to run. Luna would have to put her training to the test to try to make it out alive, so Luna pulled out her dagger, bewitched her.
( רוח, מהירות, כוח)
And the roots of the trees gave him power to conjure his magical shield. It was time, the wolves howled, the fight began!
Luna threw her dagger at the last wolf on the right, passing through his skull, and then on the left, she managed to repel the jump of the 3 wolves and then dodged back, drew her dagger with her spell, psi-kappa (telekinesis), there was no time to think, the three wolves on the right dispersed.
— "Shit" Luna said, sighing heavily. — How am I going to deal with them now? I can't track their presence. Only if I...
Luna then whispers some words
"sikonbe nan volonte mwen, mare janm kreyati sa a".
As a result, the roots of the trees near the left, trapped the legs of the wolf who had leapt into the air towards her back, and in that moment in slow motion, Luna moved her right leg backwards, turning her body and slicing the dagger into the the animal's neck, splashing blood over its hand and arm. There were three to go, and in that brief second of carelessness one of them bites her left leg, a beautiful deep cut, but even with the unbearable pain, she repels the wolf, resumes her guard position, and with her right leg she kicks the chin hard of the creature from the bottom up and sticks the dagger right in the center of its head. Now there were two, but in front of him was a gray wolf that hadn't attacked from the start, it howled directly to where the other pack member was about to attack, and in that second moment of carelessness, after all, Luna had her dagger stuck in the Skull of the second beast, the gray wolf runs and bites the neck of his packmate, imposing himself and killing him on the spot. From that moment on, Luna, cleaned herself up and applied a healing spell to her leg, she couldn't walk straight, but it would be better than standing still in the middle of the trail. As soon as she saw this different wolf, she thanked him for the feat with a beautiful piece of deer meat, the wolf that looked friendly, joined the young woman, and would accompany him to the end of his journey.
109 3E (three months later)
The Serra do Ogre
After the attack of the wolves, the walk was not very difficult. The Royal Guard was patrolling the road, a surprise Lusiian invasion was reported and the Royal Guard was looking for them. But it was traumatizing for Luna to see several villages sacked, destroyed and reeking of decay... Memories came from Horagodi and Luna had not gotten over it, and possibly never would.
— “We're close to Sarasi'ha, Zeus (the Wolf)” — Luna said, her chin quivering with cold — we'd better look for shelter, the blizzard is getting worse.
Walking through the snow of the Serra, which has a minimum altitude of 1629 and a maximum of 3473m, she sees something similar to a house and decides to get close to try to find shelter, however, it was not a common house, it was an extinct species. The Giants! But there seemed to be only one.
The giants are at least 8 meters tall, are not hostile by nature, only if they are bothered, however, the land dispute between the giants and the "dwarfs" led them to lose almost all their species and their territory, currently there are few to meet.
— I'll come closer ... I think it's worth trying to negotiate — Luna thought — We have some food supply here.
Luna, accompanied by Zeus, slowly approaches the giant, who was chopping wood outside.
— Cough cough — Giant sir? are you listening to me? — Luna screams.
— Yes, human — sighs the tired giant.
— Can't you help us? it's kind of cold out here, and we're not fans of the freezing weather, besides, we can negotiate!
— I don't deal, but... — a glow jumps from Luna's necklace, and the giant can see -
— But... do you accept the proposal to negotiate?
— Yes I do.
— Well, so we have here, venison, wild boar and... some fruit — By the time Luna opens it, the smell that comes from the meat is not very good — Heh, what counts is the attempt — Luna says embarrassed to the look at Zeus hiding his muzzle in the snow.
— Humans — says the giant, amused by the situation — I'm interested in your necklace, it's familiar.
— Why? What about him?
— Are you the Witch's daughter? The Begonia Light Witch?
— Yes, I am, how did you manage to recognize this necklace?
— I'll explain, just prove if you really have the same blood as her.
Luna, without thinking twice, bewitches the dagger using the energy of the environment, the tip of her dagger completely crystallizes, becoming an ice crystal with a sparkling clear glow, and at the speed of the icy winds of that Sierra, it shoots well into the halfway across the giant's face, it stops before it hits, and the giant sighs calmly.
— So it's you, she used the same trick years ago .. Come inside, I'll offer you shelter — Says the giant as he puts away the ax and brings the firewood into the house.
Exiled giants' home or camp is usually in mountains, they are composed of a wooden house under a cave, a huge fire pit and their digging area, in the camp, often has between 2 and 5 giants together.
Luna enters the house and sees how it is organized, be it the kitchen and the bed, as well as the desk that the giant himself used to read, which was unusual to see in a giant, she sits next to the fireplace.
The giant sits beside Luna, he brought a blanket and some snacks he says that under the trapdoor there is a natural sauna that she could use.
— So, sir giant, why do you live here? Wouldn't it be dangerous with so many troops passing by?
— No.. It's not dangerous, your mother, the sorceress, helped protect me from these humans when I was in danger.
— Yes, you mentioned my mother, and that the necklace was familiar to you, have you seen each other?
— Yes... a long time ago, when I came to exile myself in this region, the Royal Guard did not allow it, attacks came all the time, even if I tried to talk.
— And my mother fixed it? I bet! How did she solve it?
— You know, I had a son, he died before we finished building this house together, he was killed by the attacks of the Royal Guard... - says the giant, expressing sadness in his eyes and voice, as if he had lost the meaning of life . - However, your mother appeared, and proposed a contract to me, human things, I think it's better to say negotiation, that's it.
— Negotiated? Why?
— She wanted me to help her access a temple of my ancestors to complete her research, and in return I could receive written permission from the King to live in this province.
— I see, apparently she did it, so... I'm glad you live in peace here today - Luna says and soon after passes a comfortable and good energy to the sad giant.
— I saw that you read books, you really are a giant different from others, from what they say in the stories.
— What led to the extinction of my species was the lack of knowledge, your mother told me that, and then she taught me to read and write, that's why I still read today.
A silence takes over the place, the sound of snow falling outside, the warm climate of the fireplace bring back memories of the past, whether of Lucímedes or the deceased son of the Giant.
— Can I ask you something? Do you know why she goes to this temple?
— Yes, she told me the king was plotting something through the curtains, and a magical artifact that my kind stole from the dwarves could help the organization of the sorcerers she was a member of."
— But was she against the king?" How did she get written permission for you to live here?
— She cast a spell, created the permission as if it had actually been issued by the king.
— I understand, I should imagine already
— But I didn't question it too much, I just wanted peace, and never suffer again at that time, that's what I craved — expresses the giant with a melancholy tone.
Luna stands up and hugs him while he is sitting assaas
— Your son must be very proud of you, some peasants from the village I met right before I arrived here told me that you help them against invasions and in hard work for nothing, you are amazing.
A tear runs from the lonely giant, he had never heard words like that since the coming of Lucimedes. At that moment, the giant for the first time after his son's death and exile, smiled and felt a surreal happiness consume his body.
Afterwards, Luna changed her clothes, ate like she had a roundworm in her stomach, showered and rested all night during the blizzard. Soon after, the two talked more about Lucímedes' death and Luna's fate. The giant said that at the time he found Luna's mother, she was being chased by Kingsguard spies, and that she couldn't stay long. Two days later, in the morning, the two were in the backyard, Luna was leaving when the giant handed her the gift that Lucímedes left for the last time. It was a letter.
"My daughter, my little daughter, I imagine that when you open this letter, you will know that I had to abandon you in this world full of cruelty and disgust. Please go to Gawa, head to the fencing academy, something important awaits you there, with assurance.
I still love you, and I always will.
- Your dear mother, Lucimedes"
After reading that, Luna began to cry, in the middle of the snow, the girl who was alone and had not gotten over the loss of her parents, bursts into tears as she reads the letter with her mother's sweet voice.
The giant then, feeling the girl's emotion, says
— It's hard, I know, I lost a child, but think of your feelings as barriers to be overcome, your mother told me that when she left, and you, Luna, you're very mature for your age, and that's great.
Unfortunately, at that moment, something dark was about to happen, several arrows fall on the backyard of the giant's house, a catapult appears and several Lysiian soldiers surround the giant.
— Luna, run, cross the canyon, go on your journey!
— No, no! I can't leave you here — shouts Luna, who was also surrounded by the Lisiians —
— Well, it's not the witch's daughter, you're cute, what are you doing in a giant's house? And who is this mangy wolf? — Lysiian General says as he caresses Luna's face.
The giant then kicks all the guards around him, and throws a handful of snow towards Luna, she seizes, jumps, and uses magic to repel herself, and through the guards above, Zeus escapes between the legs of the soldiers, then she and Zeus run towards the exit to the canyon, looking back, Luna sees the catapult shooting a fireball towards the giant casas house, and after that, she hears the cry of the lone giant, which echoed across the mountain. Finally, in a berserker rage, the giant has devastated as many soldiers as possible, after being poisoned in the back of the head by an archer, and having his legs bruised with several deep cuts, he falls, and is paralyzed. The giant has been captured.
Luna then runs with Zeus to the canyon, and finds a way to cross it and get close to the road leading to Sarasi'ha. Also, Zeus was weird, he was nervous, a dark aura was coming from across the border.
110 3E
Divine Temple
(One week after Lucien touched the big tree)
After that night, Lucien became unconscious from having a surge of emotions after touching the memory tree.
The tree present in the Divine Temple is composed of the desires, dreams and ambitions of all the soldiers who converted there. However, Rumors say that whoever touches it will have a mental flare-up and a flashback of emotions and memories, certainly causing death.
— Lucien? are you... — Leaf try to see if Lucien was actually waking up — Lucien! Come on, wak-
While Lucien was unconscious, he experienced closely the memories of some former soldiers.
Ancient Divine Temple
2E ?
— This place... is the Divine Temple? H-how? I don't remember anything... — It was Lucien, in a hallway, in front of the tutors' planning room.
Lucien looks through the door, a meeting is taking place, several people in armor gathered at a rectangular table, filled with papers and a map on the wall. Lucien looking at everyone at the table, realizes that on the left side of the table, at the end, there was a different group of people, they were... Black Knights?
Lucien realizes they're negotiating, and tries to listen, but he can't. In this memory diagram, Lucien stands as a guard soldier, ensuring the meeting goes smoothly, and beside him there is another guard, apparently another guard, and in due course Lucien decides to ask about.
— Hey!
— Speak up, Skjal, what was it this time?
— My name is Skjal. Uh, do you know the reason for the meeting with the Black Knights? Shouldn't we go against them?
— What happened to you? The knights have always helped us, this meeting is to trade Begonian women and children for their sacred sacrifice, uh, in exchange for protection and better weaponry. — Says the watchman with a certain insecurity — You know, Skjal.
In this context, Lucien's memories collide with Skjal's, and then he disconnects from the diagram and returns to the present.
— You woke up! Finally, it worried me, it's been a week. - Leaf says with an expression of genuine joy, even with the face of someone who hasn't slept in a week for fear of losing his best friend. - How are you?
— Eh, uh, I'm fine .. We need to tal- Lucien is interrupted by the temple master - Lucien, when you get better, I need you to report to my room, urgent.
Lucien and Leaf are left with a look of fear and insecurity, especially Lucien, who saw things that no one would ever have imagined. After a few days of recovery with some care from Leaf, Lucien was able to move smoothly, and finally able to present himself before the master in order to reduce this worry that plagued his mind.
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