Raven flew high enough for Aia to see the land near the Kingdom of Knaves. At first, she thought a battle was ongoing. But as they reached a spot where Raven could land, men from the Kingdom of Knaves lay still on the ground. Dead.
When they landed, Raven changed into his human form.
Aia knew people would suspect where they came from if they maintained the same appearance. So, the goddess uses simple magic for her and Raven. Raven wears a commoner's clothes, while Aia wears a working dress. Though the goddess of truth could create clothes out of thin air, it was not as glamorous as what other deities could produce. And she could only make her sword disappear, for it was her weapon.
They also settle for wearing simpler clothes so they would not attract thieves. Or anyone from the Kingdom of Knaves if some were still alive.
Most of the time, Hroc and Raven will lead their god or goddess to where death occurs. It was inevitable that Klaus, as the god of death, visited people who died to take their souls. Meanwhile, Aia, as the goddess of truth, must uncover what made a human die. And if it was a timely death and not caused by other deities. Back then, Aia and Klaus worked together for death to occur naturally and evenly. Now, there was no balance. Someone was even defying death himself.
Aia was unsure if she was up for the task presented. It has been a long time since she entrusted Klaus to do his job. Alone. But Aia realized Klaus would not let her borrow Hroc in the first place if he did not know it could lead her to this moment.
Klaus wanted to know why the war began. He did not lie to her. But he also did not tell her the entire truth.
Aia smiled.
“Why did I forget that he only takes the good and leaves out those he cannot handle to me?”
Aia realized Klaus did not want to take her pet to the underworld. Yet. So he lured her into saving Raven. It was to make her see what the other humans were doing lately.
Although Aia had heard of the wars through the news in their small village, she never reacted until that day.
The men lying on the ground have deep wounds, while some are beheaded. But something was missing aside from some limbs. There were no soldiers dressed differently than those who were no longer living. There is no trace of whoever their enemy was. Aia is estimating that at least a thousand men lay on the ground.
Is it an invisible army or a deity in disguise? Aia asked herself.
Aia and Raven tried to stay away from the dead bodies. But they needed to cross the river where most of the bodies lay.
Everything was quiet aside from the sound of running water. Aia suspects something is about to happen. The machine or monster that killed the men might still lurk somewhere. Yet Aia could not sense that something was watching them.
“Hey… help…”
Aia and Raven both froze.
They both heard a man groan behind them.
And they both stood there while not knowing what to do.
“Help…”
Aia and Raven looked at each other while having the same thought. Someone has seen them.
She was about to move her hand to signal Raven that they should keep moving when the man spoke again.
“I'll pay you. Just…” the man said while struggling. “Let me get up.”
Aia looked at Raven again. But he only shrugged at her. If the human calling out to them is a dangerous man, it would not be a problem. It is an impossible task for mere mortals to harm their kind.
They abide by the old rule no injury means no reason to kill or fight back. That was frustrating for those gods or goddesses who wished to kill some humans. However, there is an exception. If humans offend a god or a goddess, deities will gain the right to punish them despite the rule. And wipe out the people who dare insult them.
So Aia and Raven walk towards the struggling voice. Only his head and a part of his shoulder were visible when they found the human who spoke. He was wearing steel armor, except his helmet was missing.
They stop a few steps from him. He struggled to remove himself from the pile of dead bodies that covered him. It was odd to see eight men on top of each other. As if they all attacked the knight, yet he remained alive.
But then, what else can she expect from war? Men, women, old or young, could end up dead at any time. It reminded her of what had happened to her village. Finding a safe place in that world will be more difficult.
“Help me,” he said again while lifting his head to look at the pile he was trying to push. And then his head lay on the hard ground again. He knew he could not lift the dead bodies by himself.
Aia wanted to know what had transpired in that land before they came. She signaled Raven to help the man. She wanted all the answers to her questions.
Raven lifted the dead men, one by one, while Aia stared at the remaining knight on the battlefield. His eyes were closed as if his energy was draining.
Raven took it as an opportunity to toss the dead bodies aside. Like her, Raven is curious about how the knight survived.
Blood was on his pinkish skin, but it was not his own. There are bloodstains on his armor, too. But no open wound was visible. And his red hair, though tainted with mud and blood, seemed to glow at the touch of the sunlight. He seemed familiar. But Aia could not recall where she had seen him before.
“Your name?” she asked.
The man still lay on the ground. But he opens his eyes as if waking from a dream.
Then, he looks at her.
Most humans will be afraid when they look Aia straight in the eyes. But this knight looked at her as if he could not believe she was there.
“What on earth does a woman like you doing here?”
“A woman like me?”
“Yes, my lady, a woman like you,” he said as he tried to stand up. “Do you realize where you are?”
“The Kingdom of Knaves,” she said. But then she remembered she needed to sound unsure to appear more human.
But she was never good at lying. Even while she appears as an old lady, it is a struggle for Aia to stop herself from telling the truth. So she covered her eyes and let everyone think she was blind. Aia prevented herself from searching for the truth, so she isolated herself from anyone. And she tried her best not to answer direct questions.
“Yes, my lady. You are indeed in the land of thieves, murderers, cheaters, manipulators, and impostors. Not to mention—”
“Which one are you then?” she asked as she stared at his green eyes that seemed blue at first.
“Well, I am all, my lady,” he responded truthfully. He was smiling and bowing slightly at her.
He stood straight afterward. It was inevitable to notice that the knight was not as tall as Raven. And the knight could not help but find it odd that she only had one man with her.
“So, who is your companion? And if I may, I would like to know your name, my lady.”
He is charming her to avoid giving her his name. In his eyes, he sees her as a young maiden lost in the woods with her driver. He is guessing their carriage is stuck somewhere that they walk a mile or two to get help.
This knight, though not dangerous at the moment, could also be a murderer. But most people who end up at the Kingdom of Knaves only kill to survive. So, that is no longer shocking for her.
“My lady?” he asked while wondering why she kept staring at him and not responding to his questions.
“I asked first, my lord. Was it too much to ask for your name?”
“Oh… I did not hear what you said earlier. My name is William James Miller. And you, my lady?”
He is lying.
“Aia. And this is Raven.”
He seemed confused that she only gave him their first name. They do not have a second name or a family name. So, if he asked for an explanation, she would be bound to tell him all he wanted to know.
She will not let that happen.
“Okay then, Lady Aia. What brings you to our land?”
Aia was relieved that he did not inquire about their origin.
“I wanted to know what had happened here.”
“As you can see, we were traveling to conquer another land. But while resting near this river, some of our men ran amok and caused this madness.”
“A group of traitors attacks everyone?”
“No, we are attacked by some of my men, my lady. I trained with them, so I was familiar with how they fight, yet their attack came randomly. It was like they were having a nightmare. And then, another one follows, and another, and another.”
“Did this happen before?”
“Not that I know of.”
“So it only happened here on this river,” she said while looking around.
Then Aia knelt to touch the clear water that kept on flowing.
The knight and her pet followed and observed her.
It was faint. But Aia felt the added liquid that flowed in the river. It was similar to poison. But the effect is to make someone kill everyone on their path before killing themselves.
It was doing a great job at wiping the humans.
“Many drank from this river,” she commented.
“Yes. We were all dying from thirst and hunger.”
“Yet you live,” she said
Aia stared at his damaged armor. She still sensed he had no injury. However, when Aia tried to touch him to confirm her theory, he moved away from her.
“Now this… is an old armor. It is an antique, my lady. So the damages are already here even before I wear it.”
Was that the truth?
Aia tried to stare into his eyes. But he looked up and noticed the fading light.
It was a familiar gesture.
Even the deities who knew Aia would look at her feet or in the opposite direction. It is to avoid spilling their secrets and truth. It became a gesture of a liar to not look into the eyes of anyone.
“We should both go to the Kingdom of Knaves. I must tell this to our king. And besides, this forest is not a safe place. Especially at night.”
“Soon, no place will be safe. They already attacked the village I was from,” Aia said instead.
“How can they attack so fast?”
“You have not heard of their machines?” asked Aia.
“I heard of it. But I have not seen it yet.”
“Yet you and your comrades chose to attack using your old tools and weaponry.”
“It is all we have. Besides, we would rather die than become slaves.”
He had spoken the truth. Then, as if remembering he was talking to a lady, he smiled and offered his hand to her. “We must leave this place at once, my lady. It is no longer safe for you and your servant.”
Aia does not trust the knight. But she believed he was sincere in his concern about a possible danger.
“As you wish,” she said before taking his hand and holding on to Raven.
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