"The Burian chapter are an elite group of clerics and paladins with many merits already under their collective belts. In many places, the students in the Burian would be hailed as elites. In the Burian though, they become one of many." Tobias spoke with sincerity and intensity.
"I was told to follow the necklace to wherever it led us - to the west. Not even I was expecting it to take us to the very edge of the common world though. When we reported our losses to HQ, they told us they would arrange two people to join us along the way." Finally, he put the necklace away looking directly at Sarah and Feylin.
"What we were unaware of till today, was that the two new members would be acolytes." He sighed, his large shoulders drooping under the weight placed upon them. "This is where I must apologize. I do not know why it is you, and I will not lie to you that it will be easy. But I can promise you I will keep you safe, I make an oath on the order itself." He stared intensely at both of them, but his gaze had become softer.
Feylin was about to reassure the man, but Sarah spoke first. Her voice rang out with an odd security, like a waterfall that gave no leniency. "It is no problem Tobias. Please do not burden yourself with us. It isn't necessary. We are all members of the order and we all know what responsibilities that comes with. I do not fear death, only losing my purpose under our gods."
Feylin sat in minor shock, but he smiled and nodded his head in agreeance. Everyone looked upon Sarah in a better light – everyone except Jakobson, who could see through the young girl.
"So." Feylin said, "What is at the end of the road?"
Sally and Rae shared a look among themselves. Tobias too, hesitated.
"We are unsure," He said. "We were given the necklace and told that we must retrieve whatever it is that the necklace points to. We assume it is some treasure locked away somewhere. Perhaps even in a dungeon. Since we began following it, it continues to point us further and further to the southwest. Finally, it stopped pointing us south, and now we must go west. From here we leave the last vestiges of the common world. Everything between us and the edge of the world is barren wilderness covered in stone."
Feylin and Sarah looked at each other. According the records, the western edge of the world at their latitude drops off at a cliff with the Endless Ocean at the bottom. In other places there are beaches or forests or deserts, but here it merely became desolation. There were no tribes of any kind further west than they.
"Presumably you know about the western edge in this area?" Tobias asked. Both nodded their heads. "Well than you may be surprised to hear that there is an epoch tribe on an island in that general direction." A small sardonic smile played on his lips.
Jakobson's eyes went wide from surprise. Despite inhabiting this last bastion for decades, he had never heard of that before. Epoch tribes were stories of legends, ancient remnants of the world long passed.
"I was surprised as well. I only heard about it from the Grand-Priest when I reported on our location." Tobias chuckled, but the topic was everything except funny. "Epoch Tribes are ancient civilizations from before any written records. They are our predecessors of this land, and very few remain that we know of. The one in this region is particularly… hostile."
Feylin and Sarah both attempted to make sense of the scale Tobias was speaking of. However, wrapping their minds around it was impossible. This was their first of hearing of such a people.
"On an inlet to the north - near the very edge - their civilization lives secluded in a city built onto an island just offshore." Tobias closed his eyes, evaluating plans and contingencies as he spoke.
"We must be careful to not disturb them or run into them. I don't know why they are so violent or why they lay claim to this area, but their magic is not like ours in the common world. It is more ancient, and deadly. They come from an epoch of never-ending war, according to records anyways."
"How come the common world just lets them be?" Rae asked, since hearing mention of the epoch tribes, she too became extremely interested. She had lived a long time and constantly found increasingly dangerous things to amuse herself with.
Tobias thought for a moment about how to answer. "Frankly, it just isn't worth fighting them. They all mostly keep to themselves, and if they still exist today, they are home to immensely powerful wild gods which takes too much energy to fight. It would be a senseless battle." He thought for a moment. "You know the northernmost great lake on the eastern edge of the continent? The only reason that lake exists is because of a battle between a single epoch tribe and the old dragon country of the north."
Rae's eyes widened in shock as she imagined what that must have looked like. The northern lake was the smallest of the three lakes of the east. However, each one was immense in size and nothing to scoff at. You could fit an entire country inside each.
"However, that was thousands of years ago, since then all has been quiet, as long as they aren't disturbed." The paladin scoffed. "Anyways, whatever reason they exist here it has nothing to do with us. We just need to avoid them while we obtain whatever it is the necklace is attached to."
Everyone retreated into their own thoughts, deciding how to feel about this new information. Eventually, Sarah spoke up in a tentative whisper. "What if whatever it is that you are meant to obtain... is within their territory?"
"Then we give up and head home." Tobias said with finality. He had no interest in tangling with an epoch tribe. The world was full of enough dangers as is, there was no need making more enemies. Sarah nodded, appreciative of the paladin's firm and unbothered response. It was clear he had thought of this before.
"So, what do you need from us?" Feylin couldn't help but ponder aloud. The more he heard about the mission the more obscure everything became.
"We are going to make our way to the west up to the edge of the world. En route we will fight our way through the desolate wilds, avoiding anyone we see from the epoch tribes. Honestly, I highly doubt we will run into any - although they reside in the nearby area they live mostly within their city.
Once we have obtained whatever the item is," he bounced the pendant in his hand, "we will return to this temple to regroup. From here we will go back to the capital to deliver the item." Tobias looked at Sarah and Feylin specifically.
"It will take a year to get to the edge and back. Close to a year and a half to return from here to the Grand-Temple. During this year Rae, Sally, and I will do what we can to train you in the way of the order of life, including weapon training. Should you decide to return to the grand-temple with us, I can guarantee your acceptance into the Burian, as long as you do everything to learn what we are willing to teach you." Tobias watched them closely, evaluating their expressions.
Feylin and Sarah were both feeling intense emotions. The words they heard evoked a lot of imagery within their thoughts. They considered what it would be like to go to the capital to study in the highest echelons of the order. How traveling for so long would feel, and the parts of the world they would see in the process.
Finally, they both consented.
"Perhaps," Sarah consented, "it's time I moved on." She thought about what her life would truly be like if she stayed here at this temple. After traveling to the edge and back with these people, she wasn't sure if her quiet life would be enough.
Aggressive. The words Raelith had said rung in her mind.
Feylin, Sarah, Rae and Sally all left the room. They returned as a group to the acolytes resting quarters to advise them on what they should pack for such a long trip. Their newly formed party would be leaving that night.
Eventually Sally and Rae left the acolytes to their own devices, heading to their rooms they were given so they could rest in a proper bed before leaving. They suggested Sarah and Feylin attempt to get some rest as well. They would be travelling through the night until they hit the edge of the desolate land.
"Sarah?"
"Yeah Feylin?"
"How are you feeling about all this?"
Sarah looked at Feylin, his eyes betraying his conflicted feelings.
"I don't know Feylin. I really don't know."
Sarah left to her room after that. She wanted the space to think.
When she arrived at her room, it felt extremely comfortable. She found herself already missing the peace and quiet despite not having left yet. She walked over to a shrine she manufactured in the corner beside her bed.
Five hours passed, and she knelt in front of it, praying to the gods for guidance and protection.