THE/HAT/TRICKS

The calming silence, combined with the natural sounds of the village's waterwheels and windmills provided a glimpse of hopeful respite for the two newcomers who entered. The upbeat charisma of the Stravian citizens was bountiful and thriving, as their friendly communication towards one another was perceived as rare among the living conditions around the world. Cheerful laughs and carefree attitudes were among the rarest, as Lyn and Alfaic imagined the village to be as hopeless because of the infected creatures. It was a breath of fresh air to know that a community as strong as Stravia still existed among the monstrous discourse where fear was the most prominent trait in humanity.

Children frolicked and dashed across the open fields with one another, supervised by their parents who attended to numerous physical activities to keep them active. The village shopkeepers and employees transported their goods across a rocky patch, supporting numerous customers with their daily needs. The village was half sunny meadow and half industrial. There was an equal amount of relaxation as there was for work, which made their community more stable than ever.

Lyn and Alfaic walked through the stone path, searching for the biggest windmill for Cethe. Several of Stravia's civilians caught the two strolling through, astonished by their unknown presence. It seemed their diverging appearance from the average civilian highlighted them as distinct.

"Such a beautiful place," Alfaic complimented while attached to Lyn's back. "I wish I could float around you, but I'd rather not attract unnecessary attention. Better to uphold the village's peaceful connection than to disturb it."

"Beautiful..." Lyn spoke to herself. "Blade. What would you consider beautiful?"

"Well, I think this village takes the cake," Alfaic replied. "Not to mention all the flowers and trees around it. Sure beats the fire station and the disc. It's not every day in SIGMA you can experience something like this."

"Do you think... humanity is beautiful?" Lyn asked.

"Hmm? Good question..." Alfaic said, pausing to think. "Well, it's not like it's always beautiful. Sure, there are both good and bad people out there, but when it's good, it can always be beautiful. Seeing people helping each other out, appreciating their presence... it's always a beautiful sight to behold. But... humanity hasn't exactly been on our good side just yet. I hope that changes very soon."

"Beautiful..." Lyn whispered to herself, redirecting her attention to the civilians of Stravia. Her mind remained emotionless, but she considered labeling her current view of the village as beautiful. Although she did not hold an opinion as to what beauty meant for her, Alfaic's description was enough for her to start.

"There are so many windmills here. Looking for Cethe is going to be a pain without directions." Alfaic said.

"Blade," Lyn called, remaining on the topic of beauty. "Can people be beautiful?"

"You mean humanity? I already-"

"People," Lyn interrupted, solidifying her answer. "People, such as I, or Cethe. Can they?"

"Uh... well, yeah..." Alfaic replied sternly. "You can be beautiful... although everyone has their definition of beauty. Either they can appear beautiful or they can be beautiful on the inside. When I say inside, I mean-"

"Do you think I am beautiful?" Lyn asked.

"H-Huh...?" Alfaic stuttered. "Hey, you can't just be asking me that kind of stuff right out of the blue! And what kind of question is that? I think you need to stop asking questions and focus on finding Cethe. She's our best bet getting to that tower."

"Lyn! Over here!" Cethe's voice greeted her guest from far away. She waved her hand as a signal near the blacksmith's store to attract their attention. Damian, her brother, was beside her crossing his arms in a sour mood.

Lyn moved to the blacksmith's store, observing the numerous weapons and armor on sale from behind the counter. Most of them were exquisitely designed long swords and daggers made from the finest steel. A rare steel Zweihander was the main course among the many advertised weapons for sale. She traced her eyes to a burly middle-aged man hammering away on an anvil, no doubt crafting another blade.

"Sorry, my father needed me right after I finished those errands at the windmill," Cethe apologized with a respectful bow. "But here I am!" She tugged on her father's cloth shirt, pointing at Lyn with an open palm. "Father, look! This is Lyn, our replacement warrior for Mr. Belum!"

"Lyn, hmm?" Cethe's father set down his tools on a pedestal beside him, wiping his hands from the muck and dust on it. He examined Lyn from head to toe, replicating Cethe's actions at the vista earlier. "Well, you certainly don't look like a warrior. Are you fast on your feet? Swift as the wind? Strong as a noble steed?"

"Trust me father, Lyn is all of those things!" Cethe elaborated, bringing Damian into the picture. "She caught up to Damian in a matter of seconds! And you know how fast he can be, right, father?"

"Damian is my little boy," Cethe's father replied. "Although he can be fast, catching up to him is certainly easier than being a warrior. I must ask, Lyn... where do you get your warrior skills? Is it your agility? Strength? Swordsmanship?"

"All of them!" Cethe continued.

Lyn unsheathed Alfaic and placed it on the table beside Cethe's father. "Beauty." She replied.

Alfaic nudged itself in response to Lyn's unrelatable answer. Cethe held her breath, hoping her father would not see Alfaic's magical capabilities and sentience. Instead of fully confusing Cethe's father, he took an immediate liking to Alfaic's design, attracted by the golden and white feathery exterior of its royal design.

"Beauty... very interesting," Cethe's father stated, admiring Alfaic from a distance. "What an impressive blade you have there. But surely beauty cannot be the only thing that makes you powerful. To wield such a beautiful blade.... requires more than just that, right?"

"Lyn's just downplaying herself!" Cethe interrupted. "She is, isn't she? She's just preparing herself for the show tomorrow night! And when the time comes, I'll be joining Stravia's barracks as one of their full-fledged warriors."

"Oh heavens, not this again," Cethe's father groaned, rolling his eyes while dunking the blade he was crafting into a vat of cold water. The water bubbled violently as her father disproved his daughter's dreams. "Cethe, I encourage you to live a life of peace instead of joining the legion with those barbarians..."

"You mean the barbarians that you supply weapons to," Cethe corrected, standing beside Lyn hoping for moral support. "And soon you'll be supplying a blade to me so I can help defend our village."

"Oh no," Cethe's father's voice rose slightly as he placed his tools down on his cluttered workbench. He dragged his rejection-filled eyes into Cethe's, sporting a fatherly reaction to her impudent nature. "I don't think so."

"But father!?" Cethe cocked her head to the side, wondering what her father truly meant by his shift in demeanor. "I need to help Lyn. She needs to know how the festival is going to play out, and she's the only replacement that I know that is perfect for it!"

"You can help her," Cethe's father corrected. "But you will not take part in it besides your role as a supporter."

"Wha-" Cethe's voice cut out from shock, jaw locked in mere disappointment. She bounced back to retaliate against her father's wishes. "What the fuck's the point if I can't even attend the damn thing I'm helping her with?!" She aggressively pressed on.

"Young lady, watch your language and your tone-" Her father replied, unaware of the bottled rage in his daughter's chest.

"No, screw you!" Cethe cried, snatching one of her father's incomplete blades on the pedestal next to him. A leather cloth tether remained on the blade's hilt, and Cethe took advantage of it by tying it around her shoulder to keep it safe. "What kind of father doesn't let their daughter protect people!?" She yelled before sprinting off in tears.

"Cethe, stop!" Her father cried. Unaware of his surroundings, his hips collided with a loose blade on the edge of his pedestal, teetering it off the edge to the point of shattering its frail form. He caught the blade by the handle, but let his daughter go in the process of being distracted.

Lyn turned her head to Cethe's last known location, witnessing her vanish before her eyes. She turned back to her father with a blank stare.

"Sorry you had to see that," Cethe's father apologized, placing the blade back on the pedestal. He scratched the back of his neck in awkwardness. "My daughter does not understand the dangers outside of the village, but I'm sure you do. Why don't you remind her of-"

Lyn rotated her head back to Cethe's last known location, completely ignoring the social implications that her robotic actions created for Cethe's father. She began her footsteps to track Cethe slowly until she sped up her movement to leave the area. Cethe's father sighed and returned to work, unsure of what he could have done to ameliorate the situation.

"Can't believe that just happened," Alfaic's voice came through after staying silent for the entire occasion. "A mindless father with high expectations for a daughter who is blind to the troubles of the world. Couldn't have asked for a worse duo. Tragic, almost... wait, where are you going?"

"I am leaving," Lyn concluded. "Meddling in the affairs of family issues is a waste of time. The tower is our next destination."

"Hang on, hang on!" Alfaic cried, detaching itself from Lyn's back to meet her gaze up close. "Cethe is relying on you to help her, and you're going to just abandon her? She could have vital information to helping us access that tower!"

"I do not need it," Lyn said. "I am strong enough to face the lord. If it is your owner, I will not kill. Therefore, you have nothing to worry for." She ignored Alfaic and continued moving toward the entrance of the village.

"You're making a big mistake," Alfaic stated. "You're still thinking of him, aren't you?"

Lyn clenched her fist and returned back to her blade, holding in a fit of undeniable rage. "We have already discussed this matter," She hissed. "You cannot use Lordran-"

"But you're scared," Alfaic interrupted. "I can see it in you. You're scared to open your heart up to Cethe because you believe that she'll betray you, just like him. But you can change this if you just open up to her little by little, and you can start finding out about what it means to have a friend."

"Friend?" Lyn was taken aback by the word.

"Yes," Alfaic continued. "Cethe needs someone right now. She's just had an argument with her father. Things like that don't happen all the time, and if they do, it's a call for help. Learn a little bit about what it means to be human by being a friend for once," Alfaic reattached itself onto Lyn's back. "Because... that's exactly what you did for me. Being there. It really... matters to people."

Lyn closed her eyes and attempted to reject Lordran's thoughts. She reopened them and found her staring at the ground in disillusionment. She turned her head toward the exit to the village, closing her mouth shut, as she had finally decided her next course of action.