Tale Two

1,242 AB, The edge of Altar, Elffy kingdom...

     After Raedel finished saying goodbye, He caught up with Walur and Vialo. They didn't say anything and neither did Raedel. He wasn't sure what to say, or if either of them would even respond so he kept his mouth shut.

     He had never been outside the village before, so he was looking at everything around him, which was just a bunch of trees and grass, and flowers, and birds. So nothing too spectacular.

     He hadn't realized when but when he looked to his right, Walur was standing silently next to him. He covered him mouth before he let out yelp, he figured Viola seemed annoyed enough, so he didn't want to make him more upset.

     Walur was looking at Raedel, more specifically he was looking at his eyes. Raedel didn't shy away from his gaze though, and suddenly the two were engaged in a staring contest. Neither was blinking or looking away, and were somehow still walking perfectly fine behind Vialo.

     Vialo was looking at the map he was given, trying to find the perfect route to take. He decided that they would have to travel through the human kingdom to get to Faeylin though.

     He started folding up the map when he realized that the two behind him were being awfully quiet. He turned to see what was wrong but instead saw them both walk straight into a tree. He almost, Almost, let out a laugh but retrained himself quickly.

     "What are you two doing?" He asked them, hands on his hip with narrowed eyes. Raedel rubbed his forehead, "A staring contest, I believe." He answered, looking over at Walur, who nodded.

     Vialo sighed, "I'm not going to ask." He rubbed his nose, feeling a headache coming on, "We must travel through the human kingdom to get to Faeylin. I have already charted a course for us to follow, If everything goes according to my plan then we should reach Faeylin in 5 days time."

     Walur nodded, still not speaking. Raedel also gave a nod, "I've never been to the human kingdom before. Have either of you?" He was curious but still remembered to stay polite.

     Vialo glared at him, like he was offended Raedel dared to ask him a question. He sighed, choosing to cross his arms instead, "I have only been there two times. It was not a pleasant trip. We are to not interact with any human we come across, In and out. That's it." He clarified, eyeing Raedel specifically.

     "Of course, I know that." Raedel said, "I know I am human, but I have been raised like an Elf. I follow Elven traditions, meaning I am not to talk or engage in a relationship with a human."

     Vialo looked at him skeptically, "We'll see about that." He walked away from them after that, the other two continuing to walk behind him. Though this time, it wasn't silent.

     Walur, who had been silent this entire time, spoke up and asked Raedel a question that had been on his mind for a while now.

     "Why are you living in Altar, when you're a human?"

     Raedel, and Vialo, looked surprised by his abrupt question. Vialo had only had a handful of conversations with the male himself, and even then it was always Vialo initiating them.

      Raedel glanced at Walur, who was once again staring at him. "Well, My mother lived somewhere in the Human kingdom, The Capital I think.  She was reaydy pregnant with me when she moved there, But she had always wanted to travel the world. She was only a few weeks pregnant with me when she decided to go out and travel, but by time it was her due date, she was alone. Scared. Everyone else had left her. She wandered through the forest on unsteady feet, trying to protect her belly whenever she'd fall."

     "Her feet were bleeding and raw by time she finally stopped walking. She was sweating like she was being boiled, and she could barely endure the labor pains. She didn't have time to find a doctor, so she gave birth to me right there as she leaned against a tree. She wrapped me in her shawl afterwards. She didn't make it though, She had lost too much blood and didn't get medical treatment in time."

     "After that, I almost died from hyperthermia but an elf that was protecting the border heard me crying and felt pity on me so they brought me in and showed me to the head of the village, Euther. He took me in and raised me."

     Raedel explained everything swiftly, his expression carefree like he was simply telling a story. To him, that's what it felt like. A story he had been told. Except, no one told him any of this. He just knew.

     "Do you know your father?" Walur asked, he didn't question the way Raedel told his story, despite how weird it was. Raedel tilted his head, his eyes catching a baby blue bird flying high in the sky.

     "...I guess you could say that. I know who he is, but I've never seen him nor heard of him. All I know is his name." Raedel told him, rubbing the red silk around his wrist a few times.

     Walur didn't ask anymore about his father, so instead he asked about his life in Altar. Raedel told him about how he was kept locked up basically until he was 10 years old, how he often tried to sneak out of the village but was unsuccessful.

     Walur paid rapid attention, and while Vialo didn't look like he was listening as he looked down at his map, he was listening in occasionally. By time it was dark out, they were miles away from Altar. They had set out camp at the side of the road, but no one slept.

     Walur didn't need sleep as he was a god, Vialo could go days or weeks without sleep, and Raedel was used to not sleeping so he could go a day or two without it. So that night, they all stayed up and talked quietly among the stars. Walur talked a bit about Heaven but didn't mention a single thing about himself. Vialo talked about his paperwork and how that's all he wanted to do. He even brought some along with him. And Raedel talked about the sunrise.

     They had gotten closer that night, not exactly friends but not exactly strangers. They knew little things about the others, whether it was about their pasts or little habits they had. They had agreed to call each other by name, so it would less awkward.

     By time it was dawn, they had been doing their own things. Vialo was doing paperwork, Walur was reading a book that Raedel had, and Raedel was watching the sky from a tree.

     As soon as he saw the sun start rising, he jumped from the tree branch he was perched on and ran to his bag, he grabbed the journal he brought along and climbed back up the tree. He took a seat and began writing everything he could down.

    'The sun was rising. The sky was turning all different shades of red, orange and yellows. The clouds becoming a light pink, purple and blue color. The sounds of the birds was quiet, they were louder in Altar. The breeze wasn't as strong here either, it was cold yet felt nice. Felt different. The sounds of the trees swaying and leaves falling was the same though. The sun met the border of the sky and shone a bright white, reflecting in my eyes as I stared at it. It looked the same as it did from ym village.'

     Once the sun had completely risen, he closed his journal and jumped back down from the tree again. He saw Walur and Vialo were already standing up, looking like they were ready to start walking again. Raedel had wanted to brush his hair and eat something but didn't want to slow them down, so he grabbed the piece of bread and walked while eating.

     Seeing as how they had gotten closer last night, Vialo didn't have as disdain towards Raedel as before and would willingly ask him questions. "What were you doing just now?" Raedel didn't need him to clarify what he meant, what else could he mean?

     "I was writing down what the sunset looked like. I wanted to compare it to the sunset I saw in my Village." He explained after he swallowed the bread he had been chewing.

     "Are they different?" Walur asked.

     Raedel shook his head, "No. Aside from the birds, the breeze and the silence. It's the exact same. The same orange sky, the same colorful clouds, the same swaying of the trees. It's comforting to think that the sun stays the same no matter where you are."

     Vialo sighed, "How poetic. We should be nearing a human city soon, Foiluer. It's a city known for their soil and vegetables." He had his map out again, he seemed to be more comfortable holding it.

     Raedel was excited, "I've read about it before. 300 hundred years ago, A god blessed the grounds to always be fertile and produce only the best vegetables. It's one of the wealthier places because their produce sells for a lot." While it wasn't the most exciting place's, it was certainly a good start to his adventure.

     The walk to Foiluer only took about 20 minutes. Foiluer was a small village so it only had a small wooden fence surrounding it, thankfully though they were quite used to travelers and didn't make much a fuss when the three walked in.

     "Ah, Vialo?"

     "Yes?" He asked, turning to Raedel.

     "Could I buy a few things? All I have to eat is bread, apples and carrots." Raedel asked. He was grateful for Lady Casse for even packing him a bag but he has grown a very big dislike towards Bread. That's all he sued to eat back when he was younger.

     Vialo sighed and nodded, "Fine. But do not take forever, or we are leaving without you." Raedel thanked him and promised to be quick. He walked around the village, wondering what he should buy. He saw some dragonic fruit being sold at a stall not far from him.

     Dragonic fruit was a dark purple fruit that was extremely sour, more so than a lemon. However, that's only if you eat the inside part. The skin of the fruit was sweet, but most people didn't know you could eat the skin. So it wasn't a very popular fruit but was a very common fruit.

     Raedel loved the fruit, despite what others think about it. He walked over to the stall, he saw that none had been sold. He was thankful, he could eat this fruit all day and not get sick of it.

     "Excuse me, Miss?" He got the stall owners attention. It was a young lady about 17 or 18 years old, she had fluffy brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a beauty mark below her left eye and one above her eyebrow.

     "Yes?" She blushed slightly once she looked up at Raedel. Her eyes were mostly focused on his eyes, and his hair. He didn't mind it much though, he was used to getting stares back in his village, "How much for all these fruits?" He pointed to the basket full of purple fruits.

     "..Uh..What?" She stammered, "All of them?"

     "Yes," Raedel nodded, a smile gracing his face, "All of them."

     The girl blushed more, "Um..Three Nion's." She answered.

     "Just three? I'm sure they're worth far more than that." Raedel frowned, that still made him look heavenly in the eyes of the girl.

     He dug through his money pouch and pulled out 10 coins. He held them out to the girl, "Here. These are worth at least 10 Nion's." He forced them into the girls hands when she wouldn't take them. He grabbed the basket of the fruit and dumped them all into his bag.

     "Have a good day, Miss." He gave a small bow before walking off. The girl was still in shock, she watched Raedel walk away with a flushed face.

     "An angel..."

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After buying a few more things, Raedel headed to the edge of the village and spotted Walur and Vialo standing there but there was some else there as well. It was an elderly man, who was hunched over and walking with the help of a wooden cane.

The

     He walked over to them, "Hey. What's going on?" He asked once he got closer to them. Walur and Vialo looked away from the old man speaking to them, "Finally. Let's go." Vialo said. He had turned around to leave but stopped when he felt the old man desprelty hold onto his shirt.

     "Please.. Kind sir, please help us..." He begged. His voice wavering with age.

     Raedel was clueless as to what was happening, but it was obvious the old man needed help. Though he made the mistake of choosing to ask Vialo. He decided to intervene, less Vialo's glare send the man into an early grave.

     "What do you need help with Sir?" He stood next to Walur, smiling softly at the old man. He could feel Vialo's glare turn to him now, he just ignored him though.

     "....Our crops...they're dying.." He slowly said, he still held onto Vialo's shirt just in case. Raedel's smile grew slightly bigger when he realized that Vialo wasn't pulling his shirt out of the man's grasp. He can be nice sometimes, he guessed.

     "Your crops? Where are they planted?" Radel asked.

     The old man hesitated a split second, "...On the blessed ground."

     Raedel immediately stopped smiling, taking his words more seriously than before. Even Walur and Vialo looked serious. "What do you mean they're dying? That ground was blessed by a god, so unless something happened to the god, the blessing shouldn't disapper." Vialo said.

     "Yes, and I haven't heard a god dying recently." Walur added.

    The old man started trembling, "We've angered the god...they've taken their blessing back and have cursed us."

     Vialo looked around them, they were so close to the exit. If they just walked a little further, they could continue on thier journey and still make it to the capital in 5 days. But if they stopped to help this village, their journey would get pushed back.

     He looked at Walur, who nodded his head. Then over at Raedel, who also nodded. He sighed heavily, "Gods. Fine, lets talk about this somewhere with a little more privacy."

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     They were inside the old man's house, he was the village head apparently. He lived with his wife and two daughters. He even invited them to stay for dinner, and while Vialo wanted to refuse, Raedel's stomach happened to growl right at that moment and their fate was sealed.

     "I'm sorry but all I had to eat was a piece of bread. Of course I'm going to be hungry, I'm not like you two." Raedel huffed, sitting at the dinner table next to Walur and Vialo, who was currently burning a hole into his head.

     "You seem to be perfectly fine without sleep." Vialo noted, his glare not letting up. Raedel suddenly felt like he should have gone to sleep that night, "I'm used to staying up at night, though the most I can tolerate is 2 days before I started getting loopy." He told them.

     Vialo huffed, finally taking his gaze off him. He looked over at the old man's wife, who was busy making rice porridge mixed with carrots. Vialo grimaced, he hated carrots. He went back to glaring at Raedel, the whole reason they were in this mess.

     Walur was currently wishing to switch seats so he wasn't directly in the middle of Vialo's glare. He sighed, "May I see your bag, Raedel?" He asked softly. Raedel picked up his bag and dropped it into Walur's hands.

     Walur jerked suddenly surprised by the extra weight of the bag. He had forgotten that Raedel had bought food, but he wasn't sure what could make a bag that heavy. He opened it up and saw a pile of Dragonic fruits.

     He looked over at Raedel, who was drooling at the smell of the porridge, Walur didn't know what was so good about porridge he himself hated it. "Raedel, why is your bag full of Dragonic fruit?"

     Vialo looked over Walur's shoulder and frowned at the same sight the silver haired man had seen, "Did living with elves all your life mess with your taste buds?" Raedel rolled his eyes at that comment, "No," He said, "Probably not." He added afterwords.

     He picked up one of the fruits, "I don't really care for the inside, The skin is the best part of it." He grabbed one of the knifes on the table and started skinning the fruit quickly and easily.

     He cut off two small pieces of the skin and handed them to Walur and Vialo. "Try it, It's really sweet." He encouraged them, eating a piece of the skin as well. They both looked skeptical but ate it anyway. If it was poison, it wouldn't affect them anyway, so they had nothing to loss by eating it.

     They caught off guard by how sweet the flavor was. It tasted like strawberries mixed with honey. It was sweet but not overly so. It was much different than they thought it would be.

     Raedel smiled seeing their reactions, and the fact that they didn't spit it out immediately. "See! It's good!"

*Smash*

     The sound of porcelain shattering broke them out of their sweet stupor. They looked up at the old man's wife, who had a horrified look on her face. She was pointing to the fruit in Raedel's hand and then screamed as loud as her lungs would let her.

     Her husband immediately raced out of the bathroom, as quickly as his feeble body would let him at least, and her daughters came from their room. "Martia, What's wrong?"

     "That... That fruit. They're eating the devil's fruit!!" She shouted. The old man and his daughters looked over at the three man and paled as well when they spotted the fruit.

     "You..You said you were going to help!! Why are you eating the devils fruit!!?" He exclaimed.

     Vialo held his forehead, "Is it too late to leave?"

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