On the first day of the year, Mannus Nye found himself out of place.

Before him lay a man, boarish in appearance, face-down in a muddy puddle. At first glance, Mannus had assumed this pathetic sight to be yet another charm of the city of Atara, the ironically dubbed 'crown jewel' of the Xia empire. Despite the unpleasant appearance of the man on the floor, Mannus couldn't just leave a defenceless idiot alone in such a state - in one sweeping movement, he crouched down and lifted the stranger to his feet, fully expecting the presumed drunkard to stumble back down onto the floor.

A few uncertain moments passed before the stranger seemed to regain his composure slightly, finally making eye contact with Mannus. His gaze was fixed and intense; Atara was not a city known for its well-meaning strangers.

"Steady there, I don't want any trouble," Mannus spoke softly, a hint of unease punctuating his words. "Are you okay? What's your name?"

"Eg-"

"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere." The man's sentence was cut short by yet another unfamiliar voice, causing Mannus to pivot on his heels and face the approaching figure. With each step they took, the shadows that obscured their features from him shrunk away, until Mannus was face-to-face with yet another mysterious stranger. As their eyes met, and his vision adjusted, Mannus' brow raised immediately, one foot quickly stepping back as he distanced himself.

"Y-you're... what's the Maidknight doing in a place like this?"

"Tch, 'Maidknight'. What a stupid name. Just call me Joen." The man spoke with a certainty that only one of higher status could carry in a place like Atara; he entirely lacked the desperation of the common folk who were better acquainted with the city's many plights and misdeeds. As Mannus looked more closely, his surprise was reaffirmed by the fabled Soteria Pendant hanging from Joen's neck. "Yeah, yeah, the pendant is nice, right? Stop staring already."

His tone was abrasive. He pushed his way past Mannus and strode dutifully to the unfortunate stranger's side, patting him on the back with equal parts pity and familiarity. As he did so, the stranger seemed to perk up. The previous dullness of his eyes dissipated as he looked at Joen.

"Not good..."

"Not good is right. You look like shit, Egos."

All this earned was a morose groan, followed by a gurgle, followed by another groan, followed by Egos evacuating the contents of his stomach all over the floor, leaving the puddle, which he had just been using as a pillow, an even murkier yellowish mess.

"Alright, let's get you back to the hall. Ayshe is not going to be happy with you, though. You'd better hope she's in a good mood."

Egos didn't reply, instead sinking his head and mumbling something incoherent as Joen hauled him away. This left Mannus alone in the sullen backstreets of Atara. As he turned to exit back to the main street, something shiny caught his eye from within the liquid concoction that Egos had contributed to just moments prior. Despite his disgust, Mannus allowed his curiosity to get the best of him and dug his hand into the cocktail of regurgitated food and water. His efforts were rewarded moments later as he lifted a weighty, solid sphere from the puddle's depths. Even in the dark alleyway, its surface shimmered. Mannus squinted his eyes just so he could focus on the object - despite the sheen of its surface, after a brief inspection of pokes and squeezes, Mannus decided that it wasn't worth mulling over and instead just pocketed the sphere.