"Alright then," replied Krad with a wicked smile, "Aymon with the Blessing of the Cornered Wolf.”

Silence. 

The only thing that could be heard was the rustling of leaves from the nearby forest and the braying of cows from the farm down the path. 

The hybrid-cat, who was clearly dismayed, said, "Come now, you can’t know his blessing. Only the individual knows, and they're bound by The Saint from sharing. They couldn't if they wanted to. It's physically impossible."

Unperturbed, Krad said, "It's very possible, Fuso, blessed with the Song of the Mourning Mother."

Silence.

"Does anyone else care to doubt me?" Krad gave them all a knowing look. 

"How?" asked Aymon who despite his composure was clearly shaken by the reveal.

"It's Krad's blessing of course, goodness you all aren't that sharp. Your name, history, blessing – there is nothing about your background and attributes that you can hide from Krad," answered Evol, who had been watching the whole scene unfold with unfettered amusement. “Lenore wisely blessed Krad with this because she knew people would be unable to see beyond the demon, so she made it so that at least Krad could.”

Arielle, unable to help herself, said “Looks like this Lenore had y’all figured out, even centuries ago.” Her pointed remark won her icy glares, but she smiled in return. This group of people was willing to kill her without hesitation, she owed them no respect.

At this point, Tysla decided to ask, "So, Krad, you're not evil? Aren't going to try and kill everyone and anything in sight."

"You're all still here aren't you?" huffed Krad, "But no, I swear by The Saint that I have no malintent."

Anyone who broke their word after swearing to The Saint, the one being that all other saints worked in the name of, were liable to karmic retribution equitable to the weight of the swear.

The tension in the air evaporated upon evoking The Saint’s name, but Arielle’s anger did not. Now that her life was no longer at risk, the reality of what happened finally sank in. “You were going to kill me? No questions ask? What kind of heroes are you?!” These were the people of folktales and legends, the kind of thing the old man at the tavern would tell her and all the kids about. A true party, one that contained each of the key species, travelled across the empire to save and protect people.

The beings she idolized were nothing more than blade-hungry individuals. The giant, who up until now had been quiet said, “It was going to be for the better good. Demons are dangerous.”

“Sure, but today we learned that’s not the case. Have there been others? Ones that couldn’t get a word out in their defense, who might’ve been innocent but decided to be guilty by heroes playing judge and jury?”

Shaking, Arielle touched a hand to her head which was now pounding aggressively. She couldn’t think straight. She was angry, confused, curious, and every emotion in between. It only made her angrier that no one answered her. Her vision was starting to blur though, so she couldn’t study their faces to look for the shame she hoped they would feel.

“Lenore designed it so whoever broke her seal would be bestowed a blessing of her own creation. Arielle is now suffering the after effects of this,” explain Evol, “something I’m sure you all remember clearly from your own ceremonies.”

Aymon spoke softly, as though he was still working through ramifications of the past few moments, “We should take her home. Ainir, can you carry her home?”

“I can walk,” snapped Arielle, “I don’t want any of you to touch me.” She looked at the giant, Ainir, and said, “You can carry my friends home though. They live near me. Well, everyone lives near me given the size of our village.”

Starting to walk towards the village, Arielle held her shoulders high, trying to exude some sort of confidence despite still having no idea what was going on. Evol and Krad came with her and she whispered, “Don’t think that either of you are off the hook. I have so many questions.”

“We tried to tell you things, but you walked out on us,” reminded Krad.

Arielle glared at the little demon, “Can you blame me? You both need to work on your introductions. I don’t want a sword to my face every time someone sees you. The blessed may not be able to kill me, but your everyday vigilante will have no restriction.”

She watched as Evol and Krad gave each other a look before Evol acquiesced and said, “That’s fair. We’ll consider our options.”

“So how long is this bonding thing anyway. I must say, you’re going to have boring lives with me. You'll get to watch me farm away day in and day out, harvest season is approaching after all.”

Another knowing look between the two creatures. “Alright, Spirit and Shade,” recalling the terms Aymon used, “Quit this telepathic shit or whatever. Spit it out.”

Krad answered, “Well, we’re bonded indefinitely. As was Saint Lenore intended.”