-Aien Wisp-
We left town that afternoon.
There wasn't any ceremony to it—no spectacular goodbyes or waving crowds, just the sound of our footsteps and the creak of old leather straps that came with them. Riven rejoined us first, map in hand and grumbling about how every merchant in the region "wouldn't know the right direction if it stabbed them in the leg." Mera arrived a little after that, silent as usual, but her quiver was full again and she moved lighter on her feet. At least she found what she was looking for.
Sera was walking behind me, her expression unreadable as ever. She seemed calm, maybe she was. But the way her eyes flicked too often to look down alleyways and on top of rooftops, and the way her expression darkened at any sign of a seemingly harmless person once or twice, more than gave it away.
The path north was curving into the forest again. It was a smaller road, once used by hunters or rare caravans that were traveling between outposts. It was pretty obvious that no one had used it for a while before us. No guards. No markers. Just trees of varying shapes and sizes.
As we rounded one of those many bends, I caught Sera glancing nervously around us, over her shoulder and through all the trees.
"Okay, what's wrong?" Mera asked, seemingly catching on.
"W-What?" Sera spluttered, whipping her head around. She shot a sharp glance at the rest of us before inhaling sharply, seemingly surprised to have been caught out.
"Seriously?" Riven muttered, "You've been scanning the area like theres hundreds of beasts on our metaphorical tails."
Sera laughed nervously, sending me a pleading glance. "Well I kind of... Yeah I guess I have been."
Mera tilted her head, "So what's wrong? If you want a break we can stop. The next village is only a few hours away, I'm sure we can get there by nightfall either way."
Sera didn't answer right away, her eyes flicking once more to the trees before landing on Mera. "It's nothing, seriously. I can keep going."
Mera just sighed. "Sure. We'll stop at the next town then."
Riven threw his arms in the air, "Well Sera, if that 'nothing' turns into something that's going to bite my leg off, you're never hearing the end of it."
Sera looked away and muttered, "I'll make sure it gets your arm instead."
I didn't laugh, but I couldn't help but let a small smile seep through. Even a faint hint of what I thought to be a smile appeared on Mera's lips.
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The longer we walked, the more the forest seemed to close in on us. The narrow path was only getting narrower and sunlight was barely able to find it's way through the densely packed branches. The birds weren't singing and the sky was as grey as ever whenever one of us got a peek through the branches.
I'd been tuning out Mera and Riven's conversation, instead choosing to listen to Sera's idea of a 'lesson'.
"The world is split into 20 continents. Well at least those remaining after..." Her voice trailed off as Mera shot her a glare. "So anyway, the central continents, theres 8 of them by the way, are where a lot of the big cities are and where the majority of the humans live. The outer continents are actually in the middle, theres 6 of them, they're essentially wilderness. That said, you'll find some adventuring cities and poorer villages scattered around. About 2 of those 6 are dedicated to Dwarves and Elves."
Mera sighed at the mention of her home, opting to continue Sera's lecture rather than comment on it. "Then there's the outskirts," Mera began, "It starts about where we found you in the Gale. It's completely untouched by humans and has some of the most dangerous Sins there. A lot of the 13 Great Sinners reside in them. There's 6 continents again, by the way."
I tilted my head at this, an abundance of questions racing through my mind but only two stood out against the rest.
'What are the Great sinners?' and 'What in the world happened to the other continents?'
"Wait. What continents? And what are Great Sinners?"
Sera fidgeted nervously, suddenly very interested in her bag. Mera wasn't much better.
Much to my surprise, it was Riven who answered first, "The earliest record of the number of continents said there were close to 120. Around 5 were destroyed by 12 of the Great Sinners in a war for power. 2 were destroyed in another war, this time between ancient warring factions. The other 93 were destroyed by a singular person."
I tilted my head, confused on why Riven stopped, "Are you just going to leave that out there? Please elaborate."
It was Mera who answered, after a brief grimace and a long period of silence. "That one man—actually, no one knows if they're a man or woman—was the first Wisp to ever live. Also the Great Sinner of Darkness... The earliest records refer to them as 'The Fallen'."
My heart sank, and I felt slightly dizzy.
'Wisp. The first Wisp to ever live.'
My face must've showed my distress, because Sera put a consoling hand on my back.
"Aien." Mera's calm voice snapped me out of my thoughts, "Not all Wisps are bad. You certainly don't have to be."
Looking up at her, my eyes left their chosen spot on the ground to meet hers.
"Really?" I asked, my voice low. "Please, name one Wisp that's historically a good person."
I heard Sera stifle a giggle, "Aien, that's easy. The Dawnbound Church—the biggest religion on the planet by far—literally worship the Wisp of Light, Lady Maya, as a goddess."
At this point I felt a little more dizzy.
'A goddess? Does that mean I'm some sort of god?'
"Really?" I asked, trying not to let my high hopes show as I looked around at Riven and Mera.
Thankfully, I was met with confirming nods.
Riven simply shrugged though, "Some say she's a goddess, others say she's just powerful. Doesn't really make a difference, though."
Mera nodded once. "The Dawnbound Church was founded in her name. Their belief is that Lady Maya brought the last sunrise after the old skies burned. They called it the Dawn of Remembrance."
Sera's voice was quieter now, a little softer. "Most people believe she was what saved the remaining 20 continents. Without her, the world might not even exist."
I let that settle for a moment, trying to organise the pieces of information a little too quickly for my own good.
So there was a Wisp—one that people worshipped and respected. Revered, even.
And then the was The Fallen. The first Wisp and the destroyer of 93 continents.
And here I was, somewhere in between the views of these 2 fundamentally opposed sides.
"I'm... not a god." I muttered, mostly to myself.
"No," Mera agreed, her tone as flat as ever. "You're not."
There was no cruelty in her voice, no malice. Just fact. That was oddly comforting.
Sera elbowed her lightly. "Not yet, anyway."
Riven let out a short, dry laugh. "Well, lets keep you alive for more than a week, yeah? When you do become a god, remember this."
I let out a dejected sigh, "Good plan."
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As we continued to walk, the trees of the forest canopy thickened. The path remained as constricted as ever and the sun dipped low enough to cast a faint, red shadow across the sky. The trail was barely a trail anymore; just packed dirt, stray stones and the occasional break in the underbush.
If there was a village ahead, it did a very good job at hiding itself.
What's worse, only light, gentle winds found their way through the thick forest. Any usefulness they could have had to me aside from comfort, fell away with each tree stood in their way.
"Camp soon," Riven said. "Sun's nearly down."
Mera shook her head, "A village is close."
Sera just shrugged, when Riven tried to protest. "Just trust the Elf."
Riven glared at her. "Half-Elf."
This earned a light slap from Mera.
As we continued, the only way I could describe the cold was oppressive, but when the sun finally dipped below the horizon fully, the glow of firelight seeped through the overgrown forest surrounding us.
"Took us long enough." Sera mumbled, her teeth practically chattering.
The village itself was warm and welcoming, tucked in a neat grove in the forest and well lit with an abundance of small, fires. I think Sera called them 'Lanterns'.
Mera led us to the Inn and booked the usual 2 rooms.
"Looks like we're bunk-buddies again." Sera said, her voice slightly brighter than I expected.
"We're what whats?"
Much to my dismay, Sera just sighed and shook her head. "Never mind."