A Little Trip

NATHAN

I didn't know it was hard to find my own body. The general consensus was that I died on the battlefield but I knew damn well my body was fully intact. It was with someone and I was going to find it.

"Master, the door is open."

"Oh, thank you Samuel. Go see what you can find."

Samuel spread his wings and disappeared into the darkness. Since he had a destination, it was time for me to head into mine. I had to thank Prince Ferdinand, really. He made it all so easy to get to Valois. That god was really stubborn.

Opening my door, I only heard the sound of a thread snapping before I was doused in water. I could smell my own flesh frying as the holy water evaporated from my body. The perpetrators were standing just ahead, probably waiting for something to happen. Too bad.

"Bishop Matthew, I know I go several days without bathing just to complete my projects but this is a horrible way to remind me, don't you think? Which human do you think can survive being doused in boiling hot water?"

"That was holy water, Lord Silver. If it felt hot to you, perhaps you have been possessed."

"If I was really possessed, wouldn't it have worked? Wouldn't I have been delivered from whatever evil spirit living in me? If not, then you have just poured boiling water on me."

"You speak fancy words but the evil in you is great..."

"Greater than your holy water? Oh, the people would love this. Not only is your holy water ineffective, you assault people with boiling water because you don't like them. Imagine if such a rumour spread. Whatever shall you do, Bishop Matthew?"

"Hmph!" he harrumphed and walked away. Moody Bishops and their tantrums wasn't what I wanted to be greeted with in the morning. I would very much prefer a kiss on the cheek from a very lovely but reluctant princess. Speaking of princesses, there was a particular body I possessed to escape from the battlefield. They sealed her body and me with it as a sacrifice after the war. After escaping the tomb, I left her body to rot.

I needed to make a trip down there. But, why go alone when you have friends?

"My lady, let's go on a trip!"

Lady Freya lowered the book she was reading and both of them gave me a puzzled look.

"What trip?"

"We're going to visit...a tomb!"

"And why is going to visit a tomb important?"

"We are going to learn a valuable lesson about history. And where better to do that than a tomb?"

"..."

"Oh come on, don't look at me like that. I promise it will be fun."

"Lord Silver, I don't think it's a good..."

"How far is it?"

Hearing that from Winifred was all I needed to know that she was coming. Since the Prince wasn't around, they were my responsibility, even the defiant Bishop. He came along, saying it was to protect her. It was a trip he was sure to regret but I made sure he wasn't wearing official clothes. He didn't know this yet but priests weren't welcome where we were going.

"Are we going to the orphanage?! This is the way to the orphanage, Winifred!"

"I'm glad you're happy about that, Darryl."

The difference between the two was stark. One was visibly excited, bouncing on the couch of the carriage while the other couldn't care less. She was still being read to by Lady Freya while the Bishop was reading his own book. Out of official clothes, he was beginning to look like the child he was.

"So, you wouldn't care even if we stopped by the orphanage?"

She looked at me, her eyebrows raised.

"You must've forgotten quickly that I was and still am, a blind orphan. What makes you think that I am important to any other person but Darryl?"

"Hmm, you are wrong."

"Think what you like."

I chuckled. She thought she was only important to Darryl, even now. But she was important to everyone else inside the carriage. Everyone liked the sun but not everyone had heard the sun talk. She was the sun who spat fire without reprieve.

We stopped by the orphanage, solely because of Darryl. He was happy to see the other children because Bishop Matthew sweet talked the sisters into letting us in.

Catching them by surprise really showed the deplorable conditions of the children there. There were several disabled children there, all abandoned by the sisters. The able bodied children were out, working in the field. It looked like most of the children weren't even born disabled but accidents happen...often.

"No wonder you said you didn't want to come. Even in my time, children weren't treated this horrible. We considered children gifts from the gods and it was a crime worthy of death to hurt children."

"But the war changed everything, didn't it?"

"I wouldn't know. I wasn't around to see the aftermaths of the war for too long. I was sacrificed for the peace of the empire. The body I possessed was buried far from the empire so it wouldn't bring bad luck. Ironic, isn't it?"

"Nothing makes sense about this place. I wouldn't be surprised."

This was one of the many reasons I liked her. She knew exactly what to say and didn't feel alienated from my plights. People like her are rare in any era.

"By the way, Darryl said the scar on his face was inflicted by one of the sisters here. He said it doesn't bother him but I don't think it's fair. I mean, we wouldn't want to leave without leaving a mark?"

I understand what she meant. And her wish...was my command.

FERDINAND

The castle was as beautiful inside as it was outside. It looked like it was built from top to bottom with precious combination stones with mesmerising patterns. I had never seen anything like it and knew I would likely never see it anywhere else. Lord Silver was right when he said the god of water was flamboyant.

My guards were led away and were soon out of sight before I realized it. I followed him until we reached a room. It was a small, plain office with a single table and two chairs. He offered me one seat while he sat on the other. He snapped his fingers and a steaming pot of tea and two cups appeared on the table.

I waited for him to fill his cup and drink before filling both our cups and waiting for him to take a sip before I drank out of my tea.

"Whoever instructed you on our customs must be a great elder," he suddenly commented, almost catching me off guard. Normally, it wouldn't be hard for me to not spill a drop of tea since I had been doing it my entire life but I was under a lot of pressure, dining with a god. His presence was much different from a human's and even though he was suppressing it, I could still feel it.

"He is not an elder, your majesty. He's a historian."

"This is the sort of thing an outsider couldn't possibly know. I can count the number of humans I have dined with on two hands, including you. All of them are much older than you and all of them perished in the war."

"I didn't..."

"I'm sure you didn't know. You were only instructed by them. Let me ask you a few questions. Was it a woman?"

"No, it wasn't a woman. It was a man much younger than me. He is...very mysterious, I would admit. He knows a lot of things others couldn't possibly know."

"There is...someone I know that fits that bill. But I hope he isn't the one who instructed you."

"Is he dangerous?"

"Far more than you can expect. He wasn't called the god slayer for no reason. Even his patron god was terrified of him."

"Patron god? He was a saint?"

"Yes. His name was Sir Nathan Krikos, the Saint of Chaos."

I saw the change in his eyes. It was clear this person had an impact on him. But then, a major question I had was answered. The god of water was involved in the war. History denied his involvement and acknowledged his withdrawal from the war.

Who was I to believe?

NATHAN

After our brief stop in the orphanage, we continued our journey to the tomb, taking two more teleportation portals. Eventually, we got to the place I was trapped in for several centuries.

The aura of the place was darker than I left, so the grudge must've increased. I had been using it to fuel my body for thousands of years so it was never an issue until I left.

"What grievous energy! How could you bring the lady here?!"

"She said she would come. You were the one who had no obligation to come. And what grievous energy do you speak of?"

I sucked it all up and the air cleared. It was almost enough to substitute for the immense amount of magic I had lost in the last year. Sometimes, we had to be thankful for the dead.

"Where's the tomb? I don't see it," Lady Freya said, looking around. Darryl looked terrified, clinging to an unbothered Winifred. Even here, she still hadn't lost her cool.

"The entrance is a little different. Follow me."