The battle had died down, and with it came exhaustion. Dusk was close, but the members of the cohort wouldn't allow themselves to relax, not even during the brief stop they'd take at sunset.
Kaius sat alone on the roof of his wagon, scouting the surroundings again. An improvised bandage wrapped his calf, and another around his back. They were soaked in crimson. Kaius stared at his leg for a moment and gritted his teeth. He then pressed a hand over his emerald eyes. That wound stood as a testament to his failure. Failure to perform and protect, not just himself, but the people around him. Had he been fighting a greater enemy, those mistakes would have led to the convoy's demise.
His vision was no longer obscured, yet the disappointment he had tried hiding from still lingered. The Dzin's eyes were an immeasurable boon. But they were still limited by the user's field of view. How could his eyes foresee something they couldn't even see? Still, the sting of betrayal lingered when they failed to warn him.
'Have I become too reliant on World's Pulse?'
Not long after, dusk had come. Even with their inhuman vitality, the Sigil Knights needed time to rest; more than that, the engineers would have to inspect the wagons to make sure nothing would go wrong in the passing days. With not much to do, those without duties to attend to huddled around a fire.
Icarus was in the middle of telling his version of the battle.
"Stupid Luvisk came charging right at me. One failed bite later, its head was mine. And then another came and another. I'm telling you, they never learn. But in short. I came out unscathed!"
His eyes gleamed with smug pride. Those who knew about the Fischeran's blessing were not very impressed. Those who didn't, though — most of his audience — were fascinated.
Valerie chimed in.
"Damn, cheater! Just tell them how many breaths you took this time!"
"Well, how do I put this. If you must know..."
Ariel interrupted him mid-sentence.
"Tell them the truth, Icarus."
Under their suffocating gazes, he felt as if the world was against him and sighed.
"Five. I took five."
Some of the non-combatants had confused looks on their faces. Each Sigil Knight wore a different expression. Valerie was outraged, Ariel was disappointed, and Kaius was laughing at what was about to come.
"FIVE?! Are you serious right now?"
He cleared his throat.
"Ahem, yes."
"You'd better be sorry the Luvisk never finished you."
Icarus felt a shift in the air — directed toward himself. Valerie lunged at the blue Sigil Knight.
The two began a deft dance of strikes and dodges, Valerie striking and Icarus dodging.
His cries faded into the distance as the seconds passed.
One man from the group spoke up — he was a tanned, bearded figure, with short hair and a distant look in his eyes.
"I've got an intriguing story for us. Have any of you heard of The Prince of Cures?"
Nobody answered, prompting the man to continue.
"I didn't think so — not many in these parts know of him. They say a man who calls himself The Prince can remedy any injury. Be it a broken arm, a missing leg, an incurable disease — even a shattered mind. He once travelled the world, freeing many from lifelong burdens. He even built a city: Mederi, east of the woods, completely separate from Solan...
Now his city is run by the church's Prophets, and he hasn't been seen. Not since the first of his tales was told — they could be decades, hundreds of years or even thousands. I've been told of his tale since I was a child. But the Prince's identity remains unknown.
Weirdly enough, I don't think he's dead. If he can cure the unseen and purify the worst of wounds, isn't immortality just a step further? Nevertheless, the maimed and diseased pilgrims still seek him out after all these years.
Even in his absence, Solan's forces have never tried to take his city — or even communicate with them."
Kaius stretched his legs and lay back.
"And we know how stingy Solan is about his land."
"Exactly. It doesn't make sense... Not unless one of the Pantheon is backing him."
Ariel's voice chimed.
"No, Mederi is allowed to exist because it'd take more resources than it's worth. The city was built in a mountainous area — invading would prove difficult. More so, its army of Church Knights is a force to be reckoned with. Lastly, Mederi's Prophets... they are elusive figures..."
Kaius's eyebrow raised at those last few words.
"Elusive?"
"Yes... I don't know much, but every mention of them in echelons — that I hear from — seems... off."
They shook off the solemn mood, settling back into a hearty atmosphere. Icarus and Valerie had returned by then. His blue skin looked untouched, but his clothes were covered in dirt. The red-haired knight did not seem any more pleased with him.
Next, it was Ariel's turn to tell a tale.
"Deep in the mountains of tundra, there lies a sword, one forged by Amerach, the God of Blacksmithing and blades and designed for Solan. The white flame blessed Amerach's gift, and Solan entrusted it to one of Gaia. Their name, forgotten, and their traces unfound. Only the sword remains. Sealed away within a stone heart. Of those who have tried to pull it, all have been consumed by the ghostly embers."
Valerie spoke next.
"Wow, aren't you ominous?"
She gestured to the group.
"Don't expect a performance.
When I was a child, I once heard of a group that claimed to be defects of Sigil Knight descent. I don't remember much more, but it still rattles me..."
Ariel tensed, Kaius's eyes widened, and Icarus shifted.
The blue knight spoke up.
"Sigil Knight defects? Valerie, you know that is... taboo?"
Kaius responded.
"Maybe it was another myth for the children?"
Ariel instantly spoke up, a little rushed in her speech.
"Definitely. Yes, that."
"Well, if you all think so... we can leave it at that."
Kaius's gaze lingered on Ariel for a moment before he cleared his throat and tried to salvage the mood with his story.
"In the dunes of the sea of dust, a small ruined temple emerged. Littered in cracks and holes, the floor hadn't even been spared by the passage of time. A figure sat on the sand underneath the temple's roof. Nobody recognized him, and nobody could hold a conversation with him. Just as soon as they had come, they had gone. Leaving behind nothing. With him went the temple."
The rest of the cohort could finally lean back in comfort; however, it was getting late. Someone would need to take the first sleep guard duty. The four of them nodded at each other, and Valerie took out a coin.
"Heads or tails?"
Icarus and Valerie chose heads.
Ariel and Kaius chose tails.
Only two could choose each side.
The coin flipped in the air, filling everybody with anticipation.
Heads.
The coin spun in the air once again.
This time, Ariel was heads, and Kaius was tails.
"You know what they say, Ariel, Tails never fails."
Heads.
Kaius ate his words, stayed vigilant, and walked away.