A Knight's Lilies

"An Adventure Begins

This glamorous morning started with a truly bizarre sight on our streets as curious crowds gathered to peer at the sudden appearance of an armored convoy. Templars of the Argent Curio alongside agents of the Astral Church were found side-by-side with a band of adventurers, all of whom seemed to be assisting a group of saints in some yet unspecified journey. Their objective however, remains unknown to us all, as Bishop Lanthus of the Astral Cathedral has declined to comment regarding this matter… "

- Arterian Affairs, Fifth Page, "Happenings In The City"

Aleta Gossliger, a noble duke's daughter, heiress to a family fortune alongside her brother and Eva's friend, looked like a fish out of water. Unlike Eva's almost overwhelming sense of confidence developed from her tenure of dealing with the saints, or Lucinia's abrupt introduction to the adventurer's life, this was a genuine still a noble child. It likely did her no favors to have found no space with the saints or inquisitors. And with the supply wagon already filled with supplies, she had been squished into Sophie's wagon.

Hanabi, Ary and Sophie all wore their gear for this leg of the journey, leaving only Lucinia half casually dressed in an admittedly still dignified looking tunic. But even that paled with the fancy but still thankfully practical smooth riding pants and uniform that Aleta wore. Sophie could tell the girl likely had slightly fancier accommodations in mind than the rugged wagon.

You bet she did, now she's stuck with the grungy group, Sophia snarked.

Oi, stop peeking into my head, Sophie shot back.

It's quite boring being stuck on driving duty.

No excuses.

Then keep practicing how to fortify your mind. You're better, but still rubbish. I can't help if your thoughts just leak out so loudly.

Sophie did not deign to entertain her counterpart with a reply, only hoping that her own grumbling made it through to reinforce her stance on the issue.

"Lady Gossliger, might I kindly inquire why you decided to… ride with such a conspicuous group?" Lucinia's stern yet soft voice gave something for her mind to focus upon and block out her own thoughts.

"No worries, Lady Lucinia. I'm not privy to confidential discussions of the church and there wasn't enough room in the other carriage." Aleta sheepishly answered.

"Understandable. These wagons aren't exactly what we would call 'comfortable' methods of travelling. One wouldn't willingly use these." Lucinia nodded like a comrade.

"I… uh… I wouldn't say that." Aleta tried to be diplomatic.

"It's fine. I doubt they would prefer a carriage too, if they could." Lucinia gestured at the rest of them.

Ary shot Sophie a playful look and giggled. Sophie frowned before her eyes widened and she chuckled alongside the redhead.

"What?" The Traxian demanded.

"Depends on the company. I still remember the first time we shared a carriage…" Sophie trailed off.

"The first… that! That was a different time!" Lucinia hissed.

"Hahah. I know, I know. Just teasing." Sophie laughed.

Ary kept giggling alongside her, shooting Lucinia a knowing look of her own that made the Traxian look away. Hanabi meanwhile, was much like Aleta and stared curiously at the duo.

"The Traxians and elves have never been the friendliest." Sophie explained.

"Ah." Hanabi clicked her tongue in understanding.

"Traxians?" Aleta mumbled thoughtfully.

"Let's just say the conversation was rather… sparse and hostile back then." Sophie beamed innocently.

"And that was a different time." Lucinia growled, "Now is now."

"True, and we're glad you're here now."

Lucinia just scoffed, half appreciative, half more frustrated at the circumstances that led to this arrangement in the first place. Despite that, the Traxian's scowl softened to even show hints of a smile. Something that made both Sophie and Ary giggle together some more.

"Umm…" Aleta mumbled.

"Something the matter?"

"Oh no, nothing of the sort. It's just, if you're Traxian, erm, Lady Lucinia, then are you…"

Although Sophie thought Lucinia would be more aggrieved by the casualness of the girl, she instead saw the Traxian's face morph into one of being pleased. Is she… flattered? Sophie's thoughts did not need long before the question found an answer.

"My, my. I didn't realize I'd be so easy to recognize. But I am the one and the same that you're thinking of, most likely." She tried to sound surprised but failed to hide her smugness.

"Oh uh, I meant nothing by it, my lady. I didn't mean to expose everything, I mean anything." Aleta fumbled her words.

"Is it because of the conference?"

"Partly. Lady Edelin spoke as much about the unfortunate events of that before. Your ummm, dismissal? Was also quite shocking to many of us."

"In the more noble circles, of course." Lucinia grunted, "Lady Gossliger, was it?"

"Yes?" Aleta snapped to attention.

"I realize it's not my place to pry, but did any of the discussions center around one Lady Olivia Amata?" Lucinia's tone grew more gentle.

Aleta frowned, the girl closing her eyes in an attempt to recall any tidbits of information. Only after a few seconds did a disappointing answer emerge from her lips as she shook her head.

"I apologize, I cannot recall anyone by that name."

"Thanks for trying, at least." The Traxian dejectedly sighed.

"I…" Aleta was at a loss for words and shifted uncomfortably.

"The Traxians booted her for the peace protest, she had to cut ties with some friends." Sophie tried to squeeze in an explanation before turning towards Lucinia, "I'm sure she's doing fine. Being honest here, she was always the more capable one between the two of you."

Lucinia rounded on her with a narrow glare, matching her gaze with a hard stare until she growled at her.

"That doesn't mean you have to say it out loud, true as it might have been. You…" Lucinia seemed on the verge of insulting her until she remembered that a relative stranger was with them. Taking that into account, the girl trembled but did not release her last words, instead settling with a haughty huff. "But thanks for trying to reassure me, as terrible an attempt as it was."

Now it was Sophie's turn to feel a little awkward. Regretting her choice to try and lighten the mood with a little teasing in comparison to how earnestly Lucinia seemed to deliver the compliment.

"Um, you are a valued member of the team. Whatever the case." Sophie blabbed.

Caught off guard by her blabbering, it was Lucinia's turn to look away, the girl waving off the acknowledgement before motioning towards their new compatriot.

"Enough about me. I'm sure Lady Gossliger would prefer more exciting topics of discussions."

With an awkward but appreciated chuckle, the group began chattering away. The clattering of horse hooves and wagon wheels adding a rhythmic melody to their conversation. From a brief story time as Sophie delivered compressed accounts of the group's adventures to Aleta. To Lucinia describing the haughtiness and pride of Traxian nobility in everyday life.

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But what then had them all settle down and listen intently, was Hanabi. Either bored enough or having finally decided that there was nothing to lose by sharing, she spoke of the world far beyond and the life that had once been lived. Unlike Eva, whose descriptions had been tinted with an almost somber but understanding nostalgia. Hanabi flaunted little emotion in her recounting, giving them far less to gauge what her true opinions were. Still, the places and tales that she told them were just as alien as Eva's, and just as fascinating to Sophie.

She had talked about massive buildings called department stores, much the same as the ones Eva had once described to Sophie. Essentially the whole of the Hollow Dawn Markets shoved into a structure that stretched upwards like the Grand Library. But instead of it being just one massive market, at certain places, there were often multiple. Shrines to commerce in which money and goods flowed.

Then she talked about subways and metros. Things that functioned like the clockwork war machines of the dwarves and which Eva had told Sophie of before. But like the dwarven machines, they were underground, spindling out from hubs much like the branching paths of a mine. Each capable of carrying hundreds if not thousands at any given point of time. And multiple that ran in synchronization in adherence to the whimsy of thinking machines called computers.

So bizarre a world that Hanabi spoke of that Sophie wished Eva could be here to hear it. To add to it her own comments, to help clarify things and concepts that Sophie felt she could not comprehend. Still, judging by how Ary and her had unintentionally gripped onto each others' sleeves, she was more than content just absorbing what fascinating information that she could.

Sophia got distracted once or twice, the wagon slowing or speeding up a little too much but not enough to cause trouble. The girl tried to listen in where she could and if she couldn't, Sophie could feel her counterpart's presence half lingering on the edges of her mind.

Only when they finally rocked to a half at their first rest stop did Hanabi's tale end. The girl's memories have ensnared the rest of them. Even Lucinia couldn't help herself but to listen intently when the outlander talked about things. For not even in glorious Traxia could some of the strange designs be brought to life, at least not without massive shifts in skills and technologies that were beyond them at this point.

At least, the group could feel a little better about their current world when Hanabi mentioned the equally strange but wonderful things that she did see here. From ancient magical structures like those of the Myndiri. Or the massive dome that was the Chamber of Stalwart Justice. Or the purported walled city of Old Kyne that had walls stretching dozens of stories tall. Things that just weren't practical or ironically enough, 'too expensive' in her world to be feasible.

Ary was the first of their number to let her fatigue be known. The redhead gave Sophie a firm nudge to indicate her need for movement. Thus Sophie became the first to hop off their wagon and onto the soil just outside of Brightfields. It was a familiar although distant stop. The bad memories she had of this place had already begun to fade from the nearly overwhelming nature of everything else that she had faced since then. It also helped that as she glanced around, the once quaint little town had been fortified with stone walls and defenses on the off chance that the war reached even here.

"Hup, careful." Lucinia grunted as she helped pass Ary's wheelchair over.

Aleta quickly scurried out of the way, the girl now thoroughly enchanted by the strange party that she got sat next to. Sophie noticed how the girl's gaze drifted towards Ary, her face failing to hide the question that crossed her mind. A question of just where the wheelchair bound girl fit in and what bizarre tales of her own that she might hold.

"Are you doing okay?" Sophie asked the noble.

Aleta almost let out a startled shriek before nodding profusely.

"Easy, easy, just making sure."

"It's, I'm fine. Just a little sore." Aleta made a motion of stretching.

"Heh, just make sure you use the backrest. It ain't comfy, but if you hunch forward for an hour or two, you'll feel it. Trust me."

"Of course." Aleta snappily agreed.

Amused by the noble's eagerness, Sophie just threw her one final polite smile before turning her attention towards the arrival of a soon-to-be noble.

"Sophie, oi. Is everything alright with you guys?" Eva cheerily called out.

"We're good here!" She shot back.

"Good, good. We'll take about an hour to recuperate here at Brightfield." Eva mimed eating as she approached, "Then it's a few hours of hard riding until we hit the border towns. But make sure you get one of the templars to go with you, Janos's orders." Eva then mockingly wagged her finger like a frustrated teacher.

"Haha, they afraid we'll run away?"

"Pfft, you? Hell, I'd say he's probably paranoid about one of you guys starting trouble by accident."

"Heh."

"And Aleta, everything good with you?" Eva winked at Sophie before turning towards the noble.

"Ah! Lady Rosengart! Yes! Did you know that Lady Hanabi possessed an astounding amount of tales about the outland." The girl spun around excitedly, showing off a vibrancy that Sophie had yet to have seen. "I-I recall that you are also an outlander, yes? Does that mean…"

Aleta started blabbering as Eva flicked Sophie a small wave of good fortune. Taking the sign of her dismissal, she moved to where the others were now gathering, finding the saints slowly approaching the group. Only when they recognised Sophie did they come a little closer with ease.

"Suzuki, right?" Sophie haplessly gestured towards the lead saintess.

With her breaking the tension, the girl beamed and quickly dipped her head in a bow. One that Sophie immediately followed so as to not disrespect a saintess.

"That's right! Hello again, Sophie?"

Sophie nodded.

"And Aryana then." She politely inclined her head towards Ary.

"Vaetaugh." Ary dipped her head as low as she could in her wheel chair.

To Sophie's surprise, none of the other saintesses or saints seemed to be surprised that Ary was in a wheelchair. Or at least, their reactions were far more muted than some of their fellow students. It only then occurred to her that perhaps such things were common in Eva's world. Theirs was a more advanced society after all.

Sophie only broke away from her musings when she found the saintess and Ary both staring at her expectantly. Behind them the other three saintesses and a saint stood waiting for their commander. Ah, they are waiting for introductions, I think.

"Well, Suzuki, it's an honor to stand by the saints once more." Sophie bowed.

This in turn, prompted the saintess to also bow, "Likewise. Though our previous meetings were brief, I am glad we can cooperate in full here."

"Speaking of which, should we all get to know each other a little now that we'll be working together?"

"Hai, a good idea, Sophie-san, err, Sophie. Sorry, habit."

"It's fine." Sophie chuckled, "Come on, let's introduce you guys to the team."

She stole a quick glance to her right, finding the redhead mostly awestruck by the presence of so many saints. She kept that giggle to herself and just moved to wheel Ary along with the saints in tow.

"Well, if Suzuki's introductions weren't clear, I'm Sophie, party leader of the Lily Knights. We…"

As the introductions got underway and the two parties began talking to each other, the air filled with little bits of chatter. Both sides were wary but now slightly more comfortable. Sigrid was the first one to sense something felt off. She wrinkled her nose and tried to sniff it out. Her lips curled in distaste, catching the scent of something seemingly pungent yet undetectable. Irked, she tried to frisk the area around her with her other senses.

She tuned her ears to the world, to feel the words that flowed within each water droplet or dewdrop. They could feel it too, a creeping sense of unease. But even they did not know the cause, only that it was coming from somewhere far, far away.

Sigrid wanted to raise the alarm, to warn the others or at least her friend the fae called Yana. Yet the faerie was still dwelling in Ary's breast pocket, the little almost imperceptible glow too far to call out too without breaking conversation norms. Frustrated, she let out a soft trill of dissatisfaction, only managing to catch the attention of one of the robed outsiders. Alarmed yet entirely too curious, Sigrid cooed reflexively, hoping to engage the girl in a conversation.

To her surprise, the girl seemed to almost instantly pick up that she couldn't share their tongue. The outsider quickly glanced around, as if she was checking to make sure no one else was watching. Once she was certain, the girl quickly shuffled a little closer to Sigrid and stared at her for a moment before tepidly bowing. Sigrid just mimicked her action and studied her for a bit in turn.

"I'm Miyuki Ito, nice to meet you." The girl introduced herself in a ghost-like whisper.

Sigrid could only click her tongue in an attempt to introduce herself just as quietly.

"Sigrid-san, right? The others told us your names." The girl continued.

Sigrid bobbed her head happily before frowning, almost forgetting why she had been so agitated in the first place. Miyuki however, was astoundingly quick on the uptake. The moment Sigrid snuck a glance towards the sky, hoping to perhaps catch a glimpse of whatever it was that irked her so. The girl's gaze followed just as intently before she caught Sigrid's eye and nodded in affirmation. Then she hurriedly looked away, devolving into a shy little shuffle.

Sigrid was amazed how quickly she had sensed the unease and cooed in an attempt to coax her for words. Miyuki chuckled a little nervously, pacing a little oddly as she tried to gather her words. Sigrid waited, a little worried, but mostly patiently. Occasionally sparing a glance towards Aryana and trying to see if Yana would notice.

"You feel it too?" The girl slide next to her and whispered.

Sigrid nodded, letting out a soft whine as she tried to search the horizon.

"I umm, I used to take care of shrines… back home." Miyuki clarified.

That piqued Sigrid's interest even more. She had a shrine too. Though she dreaded how unkempt it might be now that she had been away so long. But she supposed it didn't matter since she was having fun.

"Here. I can feel it, you know? The gods or spirits or whatever. And they're not happy." Miyuki continued before meeting Sigrid's gaze once more, "You feel it too, don't you?"

Sigrid's eyes widened in amazement. Someone else could feel the ill portents besides herself or the fae.

"It… it makes me feel… almost itchy?"

Sigrid whined in agreement.

"I… I know I'm just accompanying sensei to Carrador?" The girl mumbled the words, her pronunciation uncertain, "But you guys…" She looked somberly to the north.

Sigrid followed her gaze and it was like a puzzle unravelling itself within her mind. No wonder the uneasy sensation seemed present but not overwhelming. It wasn't from anywhere nearby. No, it was from high above. Perhaps even pass the mountains that she had climbed for Aryana's ritual. And now she could feel it. The almost discordant pulsating within the air, rupturing the natural harmonies of life.

Sigrid cooed in alarm as the two of them just looked towards the mountains. Something unnatural was happening, and it was as the girl had said. They were running right towards it.