The Journey through the night was rather uneventful. Under the gentle guidance of stars and moon, Lyra saw pretty much as good as she did during the day. The cool evening air also felt great against her skin, the air lush with smells and scents. The border area as it was called, was essentially just a no-mans-land between Luna Fortress on the Revean side, and Fandir Fortress on the Ytrand side, spanning about 20 kilometers in length. Neither kingdom had any real control over this area, nor did they try to stake any claims to it either.
In the past, it had been the scene of many battles, and as Lyra walked over the fields and rolling hills, she occasionally came across the odd discarded helmet or rusted sword. By the time the horizon began to come alive, aglow with light blue, then purple and finally orange colors, Fandir Fortress came into view. It was bigger than Luna, at least twice the size, and sat atop a small hill. Thick stone walls, a small moat but devoid of water, a generous gate with a small bridge.
Lyra steered her feet towards the Gate, eating one of the apples she had brought along with her. She made no attempts to hide herself, and soon enough she saw movements on the wall, and heard a few voices calling out to someone down below the walls. She had her Area: Translate spell active already, as she did almost all days. By the time she reached the small wooden bridge leading up to the gates, a guard stationed there called out to her, his language distinctly different from the Revean language she had gotten so used to hearing:
"Halt, who approaches! State your business!"
-"I am Lyra, a C-rank Adventurer. I am here on a mission." Lyra said, raising her arms, and holding out her guild tags. She approached, tags extended, and the guardsman looked at them, and then Lyra, raising an eyebrow.
"An elf? And... a woman, at that? My days..." he said, stroking his beard. The armor he wore looked very similar to the one worn by the soldiers at Luna, suggesting the level of technology was likely around the same. Which made sense, had the difference been big, one faction would have defeated the other by now. Then, the guardsman continued:
"Lyra, though... that is unfortunate. But, seeing you are an elf, that shouldn't apply to you..."
Lyra looked inquisitively at the guardsman, tilting her head with confusion. Then she spoke, asking him:
-"Is there something wrong with my name, sir?"
The guardsman looked at Lyra, then sent her a gentle and kind smile. He said: "No, not necessarily. It is just that no one here names their children Lyra anymore. It is a bad omen, you see, amongst the humans of the Kingdom Alliance. But you, miss, are an elf. Do not worry."
This caught Lyra's attention, naturally. Why could a name possibly be a bad omen? And her name, too, at that. It was suspicious. She responded:
-"Bad omen? May I ask why?"
The guardsman shrugged his shoulder, stepping aside to let Lyra pass on through and into the Fortress, as he said: "I do not know the exact details. Something about a prophecy the Pope of the Holy Kingdom of Demuria received some time after the Hero Summoning almost ten years ago. Both the name Lyra and number 20 has since been said to bring bad luck."
"Oh, if you want to know more, I am sure you could ask the village priest, once the church opens in a few hours." he then added, as Lyra walked past him. Lyra nodded her thanks, and waved over her shoulder. As she entered the sleepy Fortress Town, her mind was full of questions. A prophecy, her name, and the number 20. It was far too much to be a coincidence. Had her declining the summon, accidentally turned her into an enemy of the Holy Kingdom? Well, she'd hopefully have some answers when she went to the church later. For now, she had a job to do. The city was still waking up, as the sun had just began to rise over the horizon. Peasants left their homes, about to start their days.
Just like in the Revean Empire, the citizens here wore simple clothing, but did not seem underfed or unhealthy. Most smiled at her when they saw her, while even more just stared. A female elf would be rare anywhere she went, she assumed. She however only smiled and waved. It was nice to know that people remained people, even if she was in another country. The guardsman she had met had also been both helpful and friendly. Hopefully, if the leadership of this nation were the same, she'd have a real shot at avoiding this war altogether.
Lyra sat down on a wooden bench near the main road, and grabbed the loaf of bread from her bag, eating the bread as it was, as she planned out the rest of her day. She'd first go to the church, then she'd look for some official office of some kind, and ask how one might travel to the capital of the Ytrand Kingdom, as she needed to get an audience with the King. No need to over-complicate things, after all.
She ate away happily, smiling at passerby's, and even waved at a pair of children who had stopped and stared at her, wide eyed. There was something refreshing about how honest and expressive children were. They did not keep things bottled up, but just saw the world raw and unfiltered. Her mind wandered briefly, and she thought that perhaps sometime in the future, she would have children too. That thought had never once crossed her mind back on Earth, where she was set to die before reaching adulthood anyways. Besides, she could never have survived a pregnancy with how weak she was. But ever since she left her forest, and received the marriage offer from the Emperor, the thought had been nagging at the back of her mind. If she married one of the Princes, then... naturally, she'd have to become a mother eventually.
She found herself blushing as other, more graphic images flashed before her inner mind, and she hid her face behind a hand briefly. No no. She had a job to do, no time to get distracted! So she ate the last of her bread, then asked for directions to the nearby church. No less than five minutes later, she stood outside the church, inspecting the building. It was made from stone, and looked quite similar to churches on earth, except there was no cross to be seen anywhere. Instead, the icon appeared to be a circle. Oh well.
She opened the door, and tentatively stepped inside. The ceiling was high, hundreds of candles lit the interior, with massive multi-colored mosaic glass panes covering the walls. Pews lined the floor, with a single path leading up to an altar. And there, over the altar, was a statue of gold, in the shape of a woman. The Goddess, Lyra assumed. But was it the same one who brought her here, or another?
A man clad in brown robes approached her, smiling gently. "Welcome, child, to the house of the Goddess. May I be of service?" he said, hands clasped together within his robes before him.
-"Yes, actually. I would like to hear more about the Goddess, and this prophecy that was received some years ago." Lyra answered, making a small mental note that he did not seem to care if she was an elf or not. However, moments later, she had to rescind that same note, as the Priest said:
"Oh, absolutely. I have never once met an elf who was interested in our faith. The few I have met would not accept the mercy and love which the true Goddess provides, and instead chose to worship false idols of nature. Thus I am more than happy to teach you!"
Aha. So elves are heathens worshipping false idols, in his mind. As is anyone not following his faith, she assumed. But no matter, he seemed friendly and harmless enough. He led her further inside, until the were stood beside the altar, under the watchful gaze of the golden statue depicting his Goddess.
"Goddess Tuvina is the Goddess of Creation, the absolute being who made all that we know. She governs all things in existence, her presence is everywhere, all at once. She is a most loving and kind God to those that follow her and adhere to her teachings, however the faithless who deny her blessing she scorns, and thus denies them the pleasure of an afterlife." the Priest continued.
-"I see. And the Prophecy?" Lyra asked.
"It was... about a week after the Hero Summoning took place, almost ten years ago now. The Pope and a few of the Cardinals received the words of the Goddess herself. And she said onto them, in all her might and grace: "Beware the 20th summoned being, she who denied the calling of a hero, for she has the power to shape the face of the continent."" The Priest said, animated as he retold the prophecy, his arms lifted upwards.
-"There was a summoned being who denied the summoning, is that possible?" Lyra said, trying to push a bit for more information.
"Verily so, child! According to the other heroes, there was one amongst them, named Lyra, who stayed behind when the rest of them were summoned to become heroes. When she never appeared, they first believed she had just refused to be summoned all-together and chosen to pass on into the afterlife, but after the Prophecy was given, it became clear she had indeed been brought to this world, and yet she had denied the calling of a hero! Such heresy!" the Priest said, before gazing down at Lyra gently.
-"So, she is the reason people think 20 brings bad luck, and that the name Lyra is a bad omen?" Lyra asked.
"Correct, child. She is a human, a fallen hero, who chose the forces of Darkness over the warm grace of the Goddess, and we spurn her existence."
-"She.. uhm... chose the forces of Darkness?" Lyra said, confused. This was news to her, after all. She did not know she had done that.
"Oh absolutely. If she denied the grace of the Goddess and refused the call of a hero, there is no other explanation." The Priest said with total conviction.
-"... right..." Lyra said in response, her skepticism rather obvious. Then she asked for some time alone to try praying, and the Priest was happy to oblige and left Lyra to sit alone in a pew close to the altar. There, Lyra tried to process this information. She had no intention to actually pray, but hoped this Goddess would forgive her, even though she was supposedly some bad omen.
Then again, the Prophecy had not said anything to the effect that she was evil or some force of Darkness. Just that the people should be vary of her, because she had the power to shape the face of the continent, apparently. If this prophecy really came from a Goddess, and it came a few days into their transmigration, then that would be around the time Lyra began to use "Create: Mana" to permanently increase her mana-pool. Which may then perhaps have prompted any spectating Goddess into realizing what vast potential Lyra's unique skill had, and thus, she'd let her followers know to be careful with Lyra. But couldn't she then have worded the prophecy a bit better? Why must they always be so vague and unclear, to the point they are almost always misunderstood?
With a sigh, Lyra rose from the pew. She bid the Priest farewell, excused herself, and took her leave. Prophecy or not, she had work to do. Lyra spent the following half hour just looking around Fandir village, which was the settlement inside the fortress. Most of the men here worked as soldiers and guards, but to support a fortress of this size, infrastructure was required. People to man the granaries and warehouses, smiths and metalworkers, stonemasons, market tenders, and so forth. As such, quite the lively community had been built up around the Fortress, and it now housed a few thousand civilians.
Eventually, Lyra came across what looked like the entrance to the keep itself. Surely she'd find an official in there. So she approached, and waved at the guard manning the entrance to the keep.
"The keep is currently closed for all non-combatants, miss, what do you need?" the guardsman said as he came over, on-guard but still polite and friendly. Lyra showed her adventurer tag, as well as a letter bearing the royal crest of the Revean Royal Family.
-"I am here on official guild business. I have been hired to deliver this letter to the Ytrand King. How would I go to the capital from here?" she asked.
The guardsman gave her an odd look. Then he told her to wait, and vanished from his position for a second to signal another guardsman to come on over. They spoke in private a bit back, before the guardsman eventually returned a moment later, while the other guard headed on inside the keep. The guardsman explained simply: "Would you please wait a moment?" and naturally Lyra obliged. She waited for ten minutes in total silence, before the other guardsman eventually returned. He said:
"Miss, would you come with me? The commander of the Fortress would like to meet with you."
-"Sure?" Lyra said casually, and bid the other guardsman farewell. She then followed the guard past the gates, into the small courtyard which made up the Keep section of the Fandir Fortress. Most Fortress cities like this had an outer wall, with a village section inside. Then they also had a Keep, which was the second layer of defense. Luna had been the same. Eventually though, Lyra ended up before the main hall in the keep. The doors opened, and she was led inside into a rather crowded room. Men in armor stood bent over tables, studying maps and moving wooden pieces around. At the end of the hall was a larger chair, and on it sat a man wearing a crown on his head. And beside him stood four people she knew very well, though they looked older now. It was four of her former classmates, people from the same world as her. Summoned heroes...