Their new alliance was no longer as tentative, but that didn’t mean they fully trusted each other yet. There was quite a lot about each other they didn’t know and it would take time to fill in those gaps.
There was a small town they stopped at—no graveyard, just for supplies. It was located in the plains and had many cleared fields for farming. They did not have much, but they made enough to pay the taxes of whatever lord owned the land here.
Hazel, Tam, Orion and Bas were a bit surprised when they rode in.
A young, local lady was placing a garland of flowers around her door. She seemed to be a bit behind in decorating, as most of the other houses were already festooned in wreaths and vines. This was something traditional and premeditated, but nothing seemed especially important about the day.
“What’s the celebration for?” Bas asked. He didn’t seem sure of what to make of the decorations, smoking chimneys, and cheerful noise.
“Uh, first full moon of Spring? Marks the end of Winter? Family temple visits and food. It’s the fourth year, so everyone’s back home? All that. What rock have you been living under?”
Bas winced at the barrage of questions. “It’s a bit hard to keep track of dates while on the road.”
“And why aren’t you all back home?” The local girl’s attention fell on the others now as well. Her ears were a bit oddly shaped—likely the result of some elvish ancestor.
Bas shrugged. “My family doesn’t celebrate.”
“No one to celebrate it with.” Hazel didn’t seem uncomfortable with saying it. To him, it was a fact that he had many years to get used to.
Orion ignored the question.
Tam glanced at her companions and then said, “My family is in Alita.”
The local girl put her hands on her hips. She seemed somewhat mollified, but she was a stubborn young woman. “Well, since you’re here, you might as well join our town’s celebration. It’s too important to miss. The temple is after the second right.”
Bas waited for a moment and then said, “Right. Thanks.” His expression was still a bit awkward.
“Migilith!” Came the call from inside the house and the girl sighed, then went inside.
The four continued to ride into the town. There were no restaurants open, and they barely managed to make it into the town’s sole general store before it closed. The first thing to be purchased was wool for Tam to knit more things—she had greatly missed her hobby when her arm was broken.
The four travelers and their animal companions walked through the streets after, leading their horses.
The streets were rather empty, aside from families going to and from the temple.
“I wasn’t joking, by the way.” Bas kept his gaze ahead as he clarified, “We attend a feast for such holidays, but we don’t actually celebrate them like how everyone else does.”
“Are you close with any of your siblings?” Orion paused. “I’m not sure why I asked. Sorry.”
“I can’t really remember all of the ones that died, but I got along with some of them.” Bas’ eyebrows furrowed together. His expression was uncertain. “About seven of my siblings are in my faction. I think I’m close with two or three of them?”
Tam’s mouth hung open for a moment before her expression smoothed out. She seemed a bit excited, for some reason. “Who?”
“Mieir, Nali, and Adatam,” Bas listed off. “Mieir is small. Cute. One of the youngest. He wasn’t involved with politics before because he was still a baby. Nali is strong. She has an elemental contract and years of swordsmanship training. If not for how much she despised Tel Legen, she would have been a favorite. She has a habit of doing her best to draw attention and then laugh at his face. Adatam is a scholar. He likes collecting stories and translating languages. If I were to pick an advisor from my siblings, it would be him.”
Orion waited for a family to pass by them before she spoke, “I had two older siblings. I’m not sure if I was close with either of them.” She regretted that lack of connection. It was only now that she was older and less angry about people leaving and fighting that she wished she properly reached out to them. Because now, it was too late.
Bas and Orion looked at the other two, waiting for their thoughts.
“Orphan,” Tam and Hazel said in unison.
“However,” Tam tacked on, “Our friends in Alita are like family to me.” She smiled.
Bas also smiled. “I get that.”
Eventually, they all walked to the temple together. The temple itself was made of brick and straw, with a sloped roof. There was a small alcove in the wall for each deity to sit and for offerings to be placed.
Hazel and Tam offered some fruit, while the other two waited at the entrance. Sirius had to be kept back so she wouldn’t try to eat any of the meat that had been offered already.
Once their offering was done, Bas led them to the temple of the Lonely God across the street. This temple was of similar make. The only real difference in architecture was that there was only one deity worshiped here.
“Why the separation?” Orion questioned. She hadn’t paid much attention to the religions in this world. It had been an assumption of hers that everyone was polytheistic.
“The Lonely God is called that because it’s the one religion that openly rejects worship of any other deities. It’s common for people to scorn this god as ‘being lonely’, and that led to the nickname.”
Orion was doing her best not to laugh loudly. She found the idea of everyone being pissed off at this one religion because they thought they were right quite funny.
Bas placed a few gold coins in the offering bowl. He clasped his hands together.
“A native of Malamut praying to the god of the Hrea Empire. The same empire that we fought against a generation ago. Why choose their deity-” Hazel cut himself off sharply. He noticed a second believer that entered to pray at the temple and shook his head.
Bas stood up and walked over to his friends. He had definitely heard the comment and shrugged. “Religions aren’t restricted to certain countries.”
“They can be associated, however,” Hazel countered.
“What are the other things that piss people off?” Orion whispered to Bas as the four left the temple.
“Records that date back further than any other religion, for one. As for other stuff, there’s things like all magic being from God, magic being morally neutral, an afterlife that will reward people for their faith, and other worlds existing.”
Orion stopped walking. She stared at Bas’ back. The concept of other worlds existed here? She wondered if either the Lonely God was a transmigrator or He had caused all of this.
Bas drummed his free hand against his side. “Alright. Speaking of our visits to temples, Hazel, we aren’t going to have any trouble between us now that you know this about me?”
“No.” Hazel’s expression flickered between several emotions rapidly, before settling on a begrudging acceptance. “I was surprised, but . . . at least you believe in something other than yourself.”
“It’s hard not to.”
A/N
9/29 Chapter Upload Spree
