Vhalar 66, Arc 718 ~ mid-trial
The relief of leaving the ship behind was much greater than Finn would have thought. Sixty-eight trials. The longest sixty-eight trials spent on the sea, with men and women of different walks of life, swaying on the waves, hoping that they wouldn’t turtle. The occasional stop at a port on the way here was welcome much like a vacation...and a chance to refresh.
The priest travelled like this before, with Telar, but never for this long. They always disembarked at the first stop the ship made. But this time, he was driven to go to Rharne and for that he had to endure all that time on a ship. But why do that for a city of thunder? Well, since the Faith got rid of him, he had this nagging feeling to come back to start...to the place where his journey as the priest began. Call him nostalgic, but after all, it was in these streets that he met his deceased mentor. A man who has given him much in their time together. Also, it was a good place to be from what he remembered.
But, Finn wondered, how much did changed since then? This time, he would enter the city on his own. He would also have to face the Lightning Knights, answers questions that were already knotting a nervous ball in the pit of his stomach.
Alas, right now, he was just following a beaten path with everyone else whose destination was the city on the mountain. They were making their way through the Dust quarter. It was still a sorry sight even after all these arcs but somehow worse. The air held a putrid smell of decay and disease and many a people who walked with him pulled a cloth over their nose and mouth, muttering under their breath.
“Sir, please sir,” he heard behind him out of blue. “Please, spare a nel for the poor.” He looked over his shoulder to find a little girl barely covered in clothes, soaked in water from the rain that has decided to stop for but a moment. She was not going to last long with little to cover her and cold seasons coming. The man she was talking to ignored her. If anything he pulled away even further as if she was some vile piece of garbage.
Finn stopped. It struck him like the cracking end of a whip. The blindness and ignorance of the general populace to the misfortune of the poor still hurt Finn beyond compare. Especially with children. He lived their life for many arcs, in this very quarter. Unnecessarily albeit willingly. There was no other way he knew how to live back then. This time was different. His greys were as intense as the storms that were bound to fall on the lands as he watched the skinflint stranger walk past and away from the little girl.
“Hey,” Finn said then softly, approaching the child. And the closer he got, the clearer he could see the hunger on her bones.
“Here, take it. Buy yourself a coat and something to eat.” He said as he dropped a gold nel into her hands. Probably more than anyone would have ever given her at once, but his heart just would not allow him to give her any less. Leaving her wide-eyed, Finn joined the procession again as few of the travellers looked at him with surprise and doubt on their faces.
“You better be careful.” One of them directed at Finn.
“Why’s that?”
“Didn’t you hear? A disease is raging in the Dust Quarter. She may have been infected for all you know.” The same man explained shaking his head and speaking no more.
Disease… Part of Finn did not find that surprising. The living standards here were so low that a calamity like that was waiting to happen. The other side of him felt sorry for the people. He wondered why was it that Ilaren or the council did not do anything about the situation of these people yet. Arcs back he would not have cared, nor understood why it would matter. Now, he was no longer wrapped in the comfort of ignorance. Now he questioned the status quo.
Once at the gate, things slowed down. Weapons were bound, people inspected, conversations were had. Finn remembered what he had to do so when he saw a free Lightning knight, he made his way towards him, heart thudding in his throat.
“How can I help you, sir?” The man noticed him approaching.
“I’d like to declare myself…” Finn started, his back was tensing. What was the opinion about his kind in this city? Has it changed over the arcs? Would he be thrown in jail, cast out? He was told that Rharnians were fine, cautious but accepting. But so was Ne’haer...once upon a time.
“Sir?”
“Oh yes, sorry,” Finn apologised, bringing his hands into loose fists rubbing his fingers together by his sides. “I’d like to declare myself as a graft mage.” And there it was. Words uttered quickly, hardly concealing the discomfort. There was an immediate response. A frown settled on the man’s brow. The knight’s body straightened up just a little more. Was it a good sign? Bad sign? Finn had to resist the urge to look around like a paranoid cat expecting an ambush in broad daylight. It sure was his first encounter with a reaction to that declaration, especially connected to his person. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect. But at least, he wasn’t being thrown in a cart and wheeled into prison.
“Alright, sir. If you step to the side with me.” And so he did. Away from the flow of people, the knight measured him head to toe. “Tell me what brings you to Rharne.”
Aside from being excommunicated and defrocked in Ne’haer, beaten for freeing a mage wrongly imprisoned and overall just wanting to get away from things…?
“Travels. I am a travelling priest serving Ymiden. I go from town to town, city to city, to see if I may be needed.” That was awarded only a slightly risen brow. After all, didn’t some of the Thunder priestesses dabble in magic too? Or so Finn heard. Maybe there wasn't as much prejudice as Finn was afraid of. Well, he certainly wasn't planning on going around and revealing this truth to everyone he met. Save himself the nerves.
“Do you intend to use your...skills here?”
“Not unless asked,” Finn admitted. Frankly, he still hasn’t explored them much despite the hunger inside his mind demanding the knowledge it sought. To his answer, the guard nodded, pleased.
“Alright. This is part of the process but I need to tell you what is expected of you as a mage in our city. Rules for you to follow unless you want to be kicked right out…” And there went a monologue on what Finn had to pay attention to. And that he did. After all, he really did not want to spend another trial on a boat heading for another city he didn’t know.
“...Understood?”
“Yes, indeed. Loud and clear. I promise I won’t cause any trouble.”
“Aye, aye. Any weapons then?” To that Finn fished out a dagger from inside the satchel and showed it to the guard. A disbelieving huff ruffled the air between them.
“You sure are full of surprises, priest. It’s good. It doesn’t need to be bound. You come with me then. I’ll get you your document of declaration.”
And just like that, Finn walked through the massive gates and into the city of Rharne he has not seen in arcs.
Off Topic
Loot: Document of Declaration - issued to every mage who enters the city of Rharne
Costs: 1gn to the poor ; 34gn travelling expenses from Ne'haer to Rharne
Costs: 1gn to the poor ; 34gn travelling expenses from Ne'haer to Rharne
