From beyond the rolling green hills and distant mountains of the Eternal Empire, the sun hesitantly crept into view.
It created a line of pastel light, bringing much needed visibility to our sorrowful town. Having dealt with the darkness for so long, my eyes felt plenty accustomed to the lack of brightness.
"Hey! Wait up!"
The white Wulf effortlessly caught up as I walked over the bellowing stone bridge's slightly angular incline.
Desperate to shake her off and look for the people Sister Naji alluded to, I tried to brush off the chip with oddly tall ears.
For all her doll-like features, it was more out of place than her beauty and outfit that seemed purpose built to destroy her femininity.
Everyone has their quirks I guess
"Please leave me alone, I need to work"
"No you don't"
"Uhh?"
"Rice!"
Stars in her eyes, the Wulf ran over to a nearby merchant at a frightening speed. He had almost finished setting up his table on the edge of the bridge, only to be enthusiastically harassed.
She tried to enquire about grain length and other terms the middle aged sporting a bushy mustache could not respond to.
Although, for some reason, he found her excited attitude endearing.
"What the hell…"
"Don't worry about them, child"
"Shffsh! Don't do that!"
For someone so tall, Enda sure had a way of sneaking up on people. Rumor has it she's rather talented with illusion magic, so part of me wondered if she masked her footsteps while concealing her Aura.
"If I teach you how to sense those born of shadow and ash, would you still jump at my presence?"
"I-no. No! It's because you're tall, and way too quiet!"
She tilted her head in response to nearly forcing my soul to leave my body.
"Why are you following me? Unless you have work, could you leave me alone?"
"Careful child. The Dragon's claw may clutch the Serpent's pearls and seal your fate far too early"
"What does that even mean?"
With wobbling legs, the Wulf-girl struggled to balance a curious amount of different crops back to us, almost collapsing at the weight. Somehow within the span of twenty seconds she managed to buy a cumbersome amount of freshly cut crops.
"Enda's juuuargh- a smarty pants mixing sayings some kid wouldn't get. Blah! Also that fate thing was nonsense, not while I'm here"
She managed to hear that?
"Wouldn't want to upset the gods now, would you Arisu?"
Probably a foreigner with that name, so maybe a different breed of Wulf?
The Witch chose to strike back with a reality check as her friend fell to the ground in front of us, somehow keeping her hoard of herbs, spices and other culinary consumables stacked high.
How on father earth she managed to buy so much in so little time is beyond my comprehension.
"Didn't you say that like, ninety percent or something were 'dealt with'?"
"Some still remain, meddling with whatever they wish, knowing our past, present and future…"
Enda took off her oversized hat and gazed into the clouds above. Her single visible eye twitched rapidly, looking for any sort of movement at a speed only possible.
"Hey kid, got a place to cook?"
"I'm sixteen"
"Yeah-yeah-yeah. What about community kitchens or something? I'll give you something to eat as payment"
Sack by worn out sack, the tall sorceress knelt down, grabbing each woven bag and pressed it into her cloak. To my bemusement, they passed through like some sort of invisible portal.
"The Guild Hall maybe? It's just across the bridge and to the left"
"And so it curls"
Enda abruptly entered the conversation with a deadpan warning I would find only partially accurate later.
"I may be tired but I can still cook!"
"'Don't worry, this Tufu will be the tastiest thing you ever ate'"
"That wasn't my fault! This stupid wo- Urgh…"
"Twenty-seven and we're barely halfway through Harvest"
They followed me while bickering as I led them over the bridge and down a muddy street to the left. Only a single road in this town wasn't covered in mud, and of course, it wasn't built for us anyway.
Having your decrepit house on the highway was a sign of prestige, not that it mattered much, it'd still smell like excrement of fish as long as it was built within these crumbling walls.
Or that's what I would say if over half of the town's defensive walls hadn't already fallen apart. That's what you get when subsidizing real materials with magic, even with a catalyst in a staff or wand, it'd still only last a tenth of the real deal.
"Wow, lotta fur- ah, Beast-kin around here"
"Twenty-eight"
"C'mon, give me a pass with that one"
"Young man, if you can tell Arisu how this town came to be I'll let you keep those marks"
Twenty-eight marks might not seem like much to anyone outside of this town, but here it would be enough to rent a room for a week while getting a portion for dinner, and most days all I ate was lunch.
"Uh, sure… Tyrant's Rest was built where the Tyrant of Powder blew himself up. Apparently he was a 'lost soul' that wanted to create 'black powder' and 'guns'. He gathered a whole bunch of craftsmen together, and somebody cast Pulse, that blew them all up on the boat transporting everything"
A 'lost soul' was somebody that was not born in this world, but reincarnated in it. Most of them turned out to be unhinged individuals hellbent on fulfilling their own desires that often led to their destruction.
More than a few committed atrocities so horrible their name had been wiped from the world and replaced by something more fitting. A stark reminder that the world had a will of its own.
"Huh, What's a 'Pulse'?"
"It's an adept scouting spell used in gathering information. Depending on the-"
"Thanks muuum. I was asking the kid"
"How do you know what 'guns' are but not Pulse?"
"He's right. Twent-ni-"
"Shut it! Merrah's Relic turns playing cards into things like guns. She's my friend, so of course I know what they are"
Relics that can transform into other things often lacked power but made up with versatility and their wielders. Only a few exemptions existed, but each of them were still incredibly powerful.
"Merrah?"
"Cowboy-girl bounty hunter dark el-"
"-At least wait until we arrive before you give up. Merrah is the highest rated Hunters Guild member, her nickname is 'Thundercrack'. To call her your 'friend' after you burned those outfits into my eyes is a bold move Ari"
"Look, there are two ways to fasttrack technology, so give it a few mon- SEASONS, seasons, and it'll be fine. Besides, you got a few patents or whatever right?"
"...Never studied the law, did you?"
"Tis' on my winter to-do list thank you very much"
It was hard to imagine anyone acting so openly in front of strangers unless they had taken a bad potion or smoked strange leaves.
"Uhhhh, we're here…"
Unlike the rest of the town, this building was relatively new, give or take fifty years, so it wasn't made of repurposed boats. Instead, it was a far more traditional building, made almost entirely of wood.
Exposed black wooden beams on a whitewashed wall created an interesting contrast for the two story building. Its pointy thatch roof also made it the tallest building in town.
"Knowledge is a different kind of wealth that many have benefited greatly for chasing"
"Yeah? I'm sure you've got a version for 'Curiosity killed the'-"
"Cockatirce"
"This entire world can bit my ass"
"W-what?"
Enda kneeled down beside as Arisu struggled to open the large Guild Hall door and walked inside. She pulled a flat grey stone out from the inside of her cloak to activate a series of complex runes scattered across its surface.
Once each symbol glowled bright blue, she responded to my question while ushering me inside.
"I'm sure you've guessed by now, Arisu is not from our world"
"But she's like, older than me right? So how does she not know stuff?"
She spoke with absolute sincerity. This matter was important to her, but to what extent, I did not know.
"Reincarnation can happen by accident, or sometimes an Anomaly might open, normally we only get junk like books or contraptions that don't work"
"So she fell through one of those? Couldn't someone summon her too?"
The inside of the Guild Hall smelled like stuffy old socks, with about as much light as a broom closet peeking through the small square windows that were dotted around the building with just as much cohesion as Enda's outfit.
To our immediate left, a commission board of various requests was hung on the wall. Old dusty paper held up by rusty nails for but one job, that of a simple mercenary band recruitment form.
Stairs led up to a second level containing a few separate rooms next to the board, with a reception at ground level to the right.
From there, an open kitchen separated by an island attached to supportive beams connected to the second floor that, retrospect, was more of an open attic connected to a mess hall, filled with long benches and tables.
"This is not information I hand out lightly. Come, sit"
"Shouldn't we at least say 'hi' to the receptionist?"
"My presence here may have already put their lives in danger. If I was to say anything… it would be an apology."
Strangely enough, neither Lucetta or Andreo popped their heads over the counter, even though Andreo was a chef, he often helped with the paperwork.
I had no idea what Guillaume and Lionel got up to, but they always spent their time held up in their office upstairs, occasionally coming down for a hot drink and food.
If anyone was in danger here, I'd prefer if they got a warning. Enda didn't seem absolutely sure, so maybe it was just because she owned a Relic or two…
At least if someone was to attack from the Empire or Boree, it'd probably be considered an act of war. Forces both up and down the river would step in if that happened.
The free port of Concordia likes to keep their trade route free, so they'd show up too. It would only take a few days to gather a ragtag group of talented individuals and a week to sail upriver, completely destroying any land grab by either side.
They had money, and from that, the incentive to assign power.
As I sat down on one of the many benches of the open all, I wondered who would, or could, even begin to challenge Enda. Her title of the 'Phoenix Witch' was not for show. Rumos say she was around before the 'Age of the Gods'.
"If she was summoned or came through an Anomaly, she'd still be human. No, there is one other way to bring someone over from mother earth, it's something only a god can achieve, however, even they consider it taboo"
"Don't some gods hate us anyway? Why would it be taboo?"
"Because in a way, they're giving birth to their own kind. From what I've seen, Arisu isn't one of them. Her soul is human, yet her body is Kitsune, which has been… problematic"
Kitsune?!
As I peaked over my shoulder and the cupboards separating the kitchen, my first thought was to check my eyes, for Arisu was not alone. Enda stood beside her, taking ingredients out and back into her cloak.
And yet, in front of me, on the other side of the bench, Enda was there.
I reached out my hand and waved it through the air, expecting it to pass through an illusion, only to hit flesh, barely warm, but all too alive.
"I am the Magus of Illusion, I would not allow for my deception to be seen through so easily"
"But-ah, how? If you're real, then she must be the fake"
"Oh no, she is real. The product of a scared, broken girl, mythical monster blood and a golden chalice. I merely share her memories up to my creation. Our equipment is real, just not fireproof, or as powerful"
The fake, or I guess, copy of Enda gave me a warm smile.
Her intent may have been weak, but I could still feel it when looking at her. There was no hint of any deception when she spoke, the opposite of the true Enda.
She looks the same, talks the same, but doesn't try to deceive? Why?
"Why are you telling me so much?"
"...When calamity fell ninety years ago, an avoidable sacrifice had to be made so we could stop the Destroyer from reaching Yggdrasil and reducing the world to ash. I won't let that happen again"
"..."
The copy stared at the glowing runestone as she spoke. She felt distant, full of regret, a look I had seen before. Sometimes, when a kid was adopted, the Sisters shared the news with the same dead eyes.
"If we paid attention to the signs, stopped waging war, we-. All I can do now is make sure when the time comes, there are those that can stop it. Did you run away from home?"
"I- there's just… too many of us. I had to leave…"
"We all tell ourselves lies so we may face the dawn with our heads held high. Enda cannot promise you a good life, but we can promise one which you have the strength to face the future, come calamity or catastrophe"
"But, why me? I- I'm not strong, not fast, not-"
"It doesn't matter. When Arisu entered this world you could have called her the weakest woman alive, barely surviving the trip itself, yet despite that, she worked hard every day to get to where she is"
"Yo, scoot over"
Speak of a devil and they shall appear, if those fairytales are to be believed anyway. Arisu bumped me over gently using her butt. If I saw a lineup of girls she would be the last one I'd pick to be a tomboy by appearance alone.
"Here, your winnings before I fall asleep"
She spoke with such enthusiasm that I felt out of place, going as far as rolling her tongue when talking and giving me a few marks.
One small metallic brown square with a silver long rectangle, each with a small lesser dragon scale inside.
Some genius thought it was a great idea to melt and press metal together without tempering it so coins served a value greater than the value it was perceived as.
Nevertheless, it stuck, and the coins just so happened to be 'marked' with Dragon scales.
"And this is a dish from where I was born, I think… never really looked into it but hey! It's called 'Omurice'"
"She only overcooked it slightly, so it should be edible"
Surprisingly, Enda carried all four dishes, two on each arm, and handed them out accordingly while Arisu passed out four wooden cups simply stacked on top of each other before struggling to pour water out of a clay pitcher.
It was surprisingly heavy, or maybe both of us were weak, either way I helped the Kitsune splash water into each of the sorry excuses for a tankard.
"Shouldn't you be stronger?"
"Shouldn't you be taller?"
"Acting like siblings already it seems"
For such a small event, it brought joy to the old Witch, despite her deadpan tone that conveyed only annoyance. If Arisu had a stake in this race, I could probably guess her reason.
"At least I have an excuse! Kitsune are pathetic miserable little cunning things that get sold to the highest bidder. We're known for having brains over brawn, but you? I meeeean"
"Isn't that illegal?"
"Having laws against something does not stop it, only punishes those that get caught doing it. Slavery was abolished ninety years ago in both Nala and Boree, but the Empire still practices it, meaning the trade is still alive despite our efforts. Near the top of the wanted list is any Kitsune"
"Get used to that by the way, having lessons drilled into you. I'm weak because this stupid body hasn't even changed in a year and two tails later. At least the fox form is helpful"
"I don't know much about Kitsune, but isn't it supposed to take a long time to get extra tails?"
"That would be the human in her. I've yet to figure out if its a head start with her past or something else"
"Having two tails sucks, I have to wear this stupid thing to hide them, but they're only hidden, so someone could hit it anyway"
On the wooden plate in front of me was an ironically fish-shaped yellow pocket made of egg, holding delicious rice with seasoning baked into the meal itself. The aroma alone left my mouth watering, all topped off with a sprinkle of green herbs on top.
"Alright, time to eat!"
Out of her sleeve, Arisu pulled out a pair of chopsticks and put her hands together, thanking something for the meal. Probably a custom from her world.
"Here, you know how to use these, yes?"
How much stuff does she have in that cape?
Basic silverware, a fork and knife, although I only ever really used the former to eat whatever we could get a hold of.
Astonishingly, Arisu managed to gobbled down her food and drink within a second. Her movements looked almost like a complete blur. The moment she finished, she burped quietly and fell asleep crossing her arms, proud of the meal she had made.
"Um… how did she-"
"What she lacks in strength, she makes up for it in speed. Did you manage to catch what she did with her cup?"
"It was fuzzy, but I think she spun her hand around it?"
"Interesting. Eat, it has herbs that will increase your mana generation"
For the next five minutes we made small talk while filling our stomachs. Enda asked me a few questions about my education and what I knew about combat.
It wasn't much but far better than nothing. Having used almost every spare weapon in the Guardsmen's armory, and practiced weapon drills with them when I was bored, she believed that I could skip beginner and adept training.
She was far more impressed by my control of beginner spells, and how I learned to alter each aspect, such as size, through practice.
When I mentioned Calegriss as the only spell I knew that wasn't the lowest tier, the Phoenix Witch told me I should never use it in combat, that its purpose was for smelting ore and nothing else.
It was a message fabricated with concern, her intent told me as much.
"Why lie about that?"
"Listen to me. Never fight with that spell, especially if you've mastered it"
"I haven't mastered it, I still have to use rune-writing to control it too…"
She let out a heavy sigh of relief upon hearing my progress of the one piece of magic Rider taught me, or at least her scroll did. That was another piece of my past I left under the loose floorboard that kept track of each Harvest I had seen.
At that second a strange exasperated man burst through the front door and rushed to the main desk. He was dressed in a black and red tailcoat, adorned with dark armor metal gauntlets, pauldrons and shin guards.
Roughly around forty years old, the gruff human with slick short black hair and brown eyes wiped the sweat off his brow. On his back, a flamberge claymore in a leather sheath gave off a feeling of dread similar to Enda's bastard sword.
After quickly scanning the hall and glancing in our direction while scratching his chin that had yet to be shaved after several days. He asked a question out loud that drew Enda's full attention.
"Are you offering a bounty on a phoenix?"