There were many nations on the continent of Ciluth, but Marco and Reina's home kingdom of Irelios was considered the strongest by far. Thay meant in terms military, of course, as Irelios was the only nation to have the powerful beings known as Heroes. But it also meant economically, and that had a lot to do with its varied and lush ecosystem.
The easternmost part of Irelois was fertile land as far as the eye could see, filled with farms and cattle that could feed everyone in the kingdom and then some.
The north was lined by a beautiful coastline that brought in fish and all sorts of trade from across the sea.
The south had the Soldier's Road, named so because it was often marched by Irelian and foreign forces alike in the wars of old. Now, however, it was the biggest and most reliable road for traveling to several other nations. The south also had mines that were the continent's biggest source of gold.
The west, finally, was dominated by cliffs and flatlands, but even these had their uses. The Gramt Empire to the west was a bitter enemy of Irelios, and once launched regular attacks with its scores of berserkers. Unfortunately, having to plainly march through flatlands and attack a city on layered ground meant that they could never get the drop on their foe. The Irelian army always saw them coming from miles away and dealt with them long before they could ever endanger the capital of Sunheight. So despite their lack of crop or cattle, the flatlands did eventually bring the gift of an uneasy peace with Gramt.
Yet even with so much going for it, the land of Irelios did have its problems. For instance, a heck of a dry season. The people living in the west, in Sunheight specifically, would go months without seeing a single drop of rain. Droughts were common. For peasants like Marco, summers were tough because the palace would often enact a water ban. That meant choosing between bathing and having enough water to drink. Of course, the royals still got to wash up daily and have a cool drink whenever they wanted.
It happened to be one of those dry summers when Marco and Reina climbed the Elder Tree in Gramt Forest. Which made the sudden downpour all the more surprising.
"How can a tree make it rain?" Reina asked as she sat down. Then, when Marco came really close to her, too close, she added, "What are you doing?"
"I have to check this wound right away! We still don't know if those spiders were poisonous," Marco said as he gently grabbed her arm.
For the moment they seemed to be safe. They sat in a rounded nook in the tree's trunk, one Marco deemed to be about the size of the large closets in the palace. Reina called it a "walk-in" and it stunned Marco that someone had a room dedicated to just their clothes. Especially one that was half the size of a peasant's hut. The nook opened up to the outside world, with rain pouring down its center and into the tunnel they came from. There was no way the spiders would climb up there to chase them, and there were no beasts hiding in the nook, so Marco could take the time to properly tend to Reina's injury.
"Thank the gods," Marco said after a close look. "It doesn't look like anything was injected. It's actually a pretty light scratch. It's not even bleeding that much anymore."
"Good, now tell me about how the tree made it rain," she repeated.
"Just hold on, I still have to cover this." He took the cloth Reina had used to cover her mouth from the smoke and began wrapping it around her arm. "It's just a theory I remember from a book I had to transcribe. Back when mages came to study this tree, they would find themselves in all sorts of dangerous situations."
"You told me this already," Reina interrupted. "And I can relate. Also, you're making it too tight!"
Marco shook his head. "It has to be tight to stop the bleeding. Anyway, yes we know the mages found danger in the tree. But they specifically encountered it when they tried take samples."
"Samples?"
"They would try to shave off some bark or drill into the tree to get sap. And that was always when strange things happened. Like they would take a path they specifically marked as safe only to find themselves in a giant snake's den. Or they would be on a branch, harvesting eggs from a bird's nest, only for a sudden gust of wind to come and knock them off."
"The tree fights back?"
Marco finished dressing her wound and sat next to her. "In a way. The mages came to the conclusion that Elder Tree's magic is life itself. The life of the animals within it, and its own life. Being a god's gift, its magic will take whatever form it needs to in order to preserve that life. Like calling down rain if someone were to set it on fire."
"But…" Reina pursed her lips. "If those mages were punished for trying to harm the tree...what will happen to us?"
"Maybe sending us into a spider's nest was the tree's way of punishing us for bringing in fire. Or maybe it was just a coincidence and our real punishment is still coming," Marco said.
"That's a comforting thought," Reina replied.
Marco chuckled in response. "For now, let's just sit here and breathe."
"Breathe?"
"Yes, breathing is great. Living is great, too."
Reina gave him a wary look before saying "You did come quite close to being burned alive. Even if it was a result of your own actions...that must have been trying."
"At the academy, they trained us for life-and-death situations. Right before we graduated, we used sharp weapons in training, we worked with real poisons in alchemy, we even ran a drill on escaping a burning building. So it wasn't that I was scared. It was more like...shame? Like you said, I always have some scheme. But I had nothing for that. I just sat there thinking that I was going to die and my life amounted to nothing," Marco said.
For some time, there was a heavy silence between them. The patter of rain against the tree was the only sign that time was still passing. Reina was the one to break it, choosing her next words carefully.
"You faced death at least once before, in Monument Tower against Galabast the Mad. Did that same fear make you run then?"
Marco let out a long sigh before saying "I didn't run. Well I did, but not out of fear."
"Even if that's true, the world sees you as Marco the Coward. Why bother trying to be a Hero when no one believes in you?" she asked.
"Have you ever felt like you're not supposed to be where you are?" When Reina nodded, Marco waved his hand and said, "But it's not just that you're unhappy. Everybody wants to be richer, or stronger, or safer. I mean more like...people always tell you what you're supposed to be. But you don't want to be that. So you pick a dream and go for it, just to show them you can be whatever you want to be. That you're better than they think you are."
"What if…" Reina fixed him with a serious state. "What if you get to become the person you think you are, and it turns out you aren't meant for that either?"
"I get it. I'm very aware that I'm not a great swordsman, and that I can't use magic, and I probably don't inspire much confidence. But I also know that I'm not Marco the Coward. And I'd rather try to be a better me than just stick with the version others put on me."
Reina just kept looking at him so he looked back at her. Then, he ventured a question.
"Can I tell you a story?"
She nodded, and so he told her the truth of what happened at Monument Tower. She laughed when he recalled how he tried to use a sword as big as him. She looked shocked, almost unbelieving, when he told her about the orphans and how he left the battle to save them. But as he described his desperate battle against the shadow creatures, she sported a look of understanding. Finally, he closed the tale with him watching the others get medals while he got the title of Marco the Coward.
"The only thing about your story I find implausible," Reina said, "is how the others in your group didn't speak up in your defense. I have met Leo Baldew, and he is nothing but the noblest of men. If you truly had good intentions in leaving the battle, surely Leo would've realized that and vouched for your claim."
"Leo was the first one to call me a coward," Marco said with more than a hint of bitterness. But when he saw the incredulity on Reina's face, he made it a point to sound more neutral. "I did have that same question, though, for years. I think Leo's like you. He looked at the way I handled problems, by evading or coming up with a weird plan, and judged me to be a conniving coward. Real Heroes fight things head-on, he'd probably say. So it was all too easy for him to believe I ran away out of fright. And once he decided that, others followed. He has that effect on people."
"No wonder you were so desperate to make me your Patron that you blackmailed me," Reina replied. "I really am your last chance."
Just as it came down so suddenly, the rain was now letting up. Marco was the first to rise and take a look at the scene now that the curtain of raindrops was being drawn back.
"Look, I really do apologize for...well, everything. But I'm going to make it right. I don't need you to believe me, but I do need you to work with me. The sun's about to set, and we don't want to spend the night here," he said as he looked up at the branches of the Elder Tree.
Reina gulped as she got up. The sky was still bright and clear, but the sun was definitely about halfway towards the horizon. "It's not as if I have a choice. Besides, I don't think we're in a condition to fight our way out." She touched her injured arm as she came to Marco's side. "I would not be opposed to going with one of your plans."
"I'm glad to hear you say that," he said as he pointed up.
Between the dwindling raindrops, Reina could see exactly what he was pointing to. It was the Elder Hawk! One of them, at least. And it looked to be sitting in the thick of some branches in a bed of twigs. They had found its nest!
"Because," Marco continued, "we're going to be climbing up there."