Gaea is the name of the planet in which our role play takes place. On this planet there are a multitude of fictitious races and creatures, but the main dominant races are the Humans, the Giants, and the Fairies. In Gaea, there are multiple religions whether they be legally established churches or temples or hidden cults. The major religion, mostly practiced by humankind is the belief in the White God. This zealous belief created the Church of the White, a church and a self-righteous order that attempts to maintain peace and order throughout the lands. Warriors of The White, or otherwise known as Holy Knights roam the lands, visiting every village, town, and city, spreading the White God’s influence so as to bring more to the light. The Holy Knights insert themselves in the geopolitics between warring states, hoping to find peaceful resolution, and if not, enforce the White God’s judgment. These powerful warriors, wielding legendary weapons blessed by the White God are the self-proclaimed judges of Gaea. They believe their decisions are backed by the White God and often times they are, whether the White God commands that they reduce a kingdom deemed wicked in his eyes to ruin or to take no sides at all.

The Holy Knights’ jurisdiction reaches all lands but one. They were able to achieve peace with the Giants after years of war. Many Giants have been converted to the White God, and although rarely seen among humans, they are free to roam their lands without discrimination. They fairies, however, remain elusive to the church. Many Holy Knights sail the sea, searching the oceans for the hidden Fairy Island. Cloaked with magic, the island frequently appears for a moment before it vanishes into the blue. The island is such a potent reservoir for magical energy that it is said the fairies don't ever age. They could live for eternity on their island and will never by natural means. It is why most fairies are xenophobic and refuse to ever leave. Why leave and risk death when you can live forever?

The fairies are very protective of their home. Every now and then, a shipwreck victim or visitor manages to wash or come ashore the island. The magical alarms are triggered and alert every fairy on the island of the intrusion. If the victim thought he or she was saved, they were mistaken. Imprisoned and left to rot in their dungeons or face swift execution, the fae judge how they judge and need no White God or Holy Knight to do it for them. Lo’ anyone who come ashore Fairy Island for if they are not fae, they will pay (as the rhyme goes).

Our story begins with the current situation in the human kingdom of Caroline.






The Church of the White has deemed the Caroline Kingdom a sanctuary and have taken up residence in the castle. There were rumors of the kingdom housing rebels. It began as a story about the people being upset with the kingdom for cowardly summoning aid from the church rather than use its own armies. The rumor has thus fabricated into a claim that worshippers of the Black God have appeared among the people and that the worshippers threaten to rebel against the Church. The people angry for having not seen their king and queen since the Church’s occupation show resistance to the Church only bringing false-truth to the false-claim.

The Great Holy Knight Hector Mineaus has turned the castle into a secure base for the Holy Knights. News posters are covered in slanderous claims of Hector deeming himself king by his own mandate and having conquered Caroline in the name of the Church and White God, but Hector denies these claims. Those discovered speaking such lies have been publically executed for all to witness and fear. While the king and queen are safely in his possession, the princess is not.

Hector has ordered squads of Holy Knights to search the land for the fleeing princess and bring her back alive and unharmed. The princess runs and hides, searching for the seven warriors who once opposed the White God, believing that they are strong enough to set her parents and kingdom free from Hector and the church.

Evelyn was panting laboriously as she ran through dark sticky mud that swallowed her feet in a thick and slimy sludge. The mud clung to her skin, weighing down her feet and making her escape ever strenuous. Her legs burned and her heart and lungs felt on fire. This had been the most exercise she had ever gotten in her life and she was wishing that had not been the case. Her mother and the maids would have not liked her to have bulging thighs or calves. To them, such legs were unattractive and her potential suitors would consider it manly. No; thin and delicate like a flower was beautiful. She had to fit in all of her gowns and corsets. The flower was wilting fast. She had long had to ditch her gown and trudge through the bog in but muddy pantaloons and a once-white slip. She was covered in mud. It was all over her face and in her hair from the countless of times she slipped and fell.

Princess!

She gasped and glanced back over her shoulder, her gray eyes wide with terror and pink lips parted in her struggle to breathe. The Holy Knights were close. Her knees near buckled weakly beneath her and she thrust out her arms to steady herself. She pressed on, gray eyes darting frantically in panic as she searched for a way out. She needed an escape. It came sooner than she expected. Her next step caused the mud to soar up to her shoulders. Evelyn uttered a short startled scream in fright. She could barely touch the bottom if there was one.

A white mare stopped behind her. Soldiers in silver armor quickly started to dismount, but they did not dare step close to her. The princess looked neck-deep in quicksand and they didn’t wish to jeopardize themselves trying to go after her or frighten her into a panic for fear she would sink. That would not have been good news to take back to Hector.

The red-haired lieutenant held out his hand to her as he instructed, “Princess, we’re not trying to hurt you. We want to take you back to the castle. Please, let me help you. If you don’t let me help you, then you’ll drown.”

Evelyn was frozen. Her heart was hammering against her chest. The water and foul-smelling gunk had soaked into her clothing. The Holy Knight had looked so nice and kind, and in that moment, she almost wanted to abandon her quest and forget about having ever wanted to find the Seven. Her journey was going to kill her. Look at you! her negative conscience exclaimed. You weak little thing. You’re going to die! The princess’s face scrunched up as tears began spilling down her cheeks.

“Princess please!” the lieutenant begged.

He then saw it. Defiantly, the princess shook her head as she bit her lips to keep from whimpering. The kindness in the lieutenant’s eyes went out like the flame of a candle. The green eyes that settled on her then were no longer friendly. They became cold and uncaring. His soldiers carried a long branch over to him and the lieutenant held his hand up in stop.

“No,” he said plainly. “We will leave her where she is…”

Evelyn’s eyes widened in shock at his words. He was going to leave her? The lieutenant walked back over to his horse and climbed back up into his seat. He sat there, gazing down at her and told her, “When the mud rises to your ears, we will see if you still refuse to be saved.”

The soldiers dropped the branch and watched the princess as the bog sluggishly crawled up her neck. She could feel herself sinking—painfully slow. Quicksand; what a cruel way to die. Quicksand took its time and gave her time to think about how trapped she was. The worst part was she didn’t know if she could force herself to entertain the lieutenant’s offer. She wasn’t going back. She…would she rather die? Here in the bog? Her thoughts frightened her as she began crying. She cried until the mud rose to her lips and she closed her mouth and clenched her eyes tight in her desperation to not swallow any of the putrid water.

The soldiers became uncomfortable. She was going to die! They looked to their superior. “Sir!”

“Just wait!” the lieutenant ordered irritably. “She will give in!”

---

GM Direction: This is Sloth's debut. You can either control all five soldiers or ask me to. The lieutenant is the only Holy Knight with an arc. You can make the weapon's power whatever you wish or if you have decided for the GM to play him, then you will see what his arc ability is eventually.

Sloth

Eliphas sighed as he sat in his giant gauntlet, slowly floating towards a net of thrashing fish. Everyday was the same thing, in and out. Wake up, sleep, wake up again, eat, check traps, kill food, free the rest, reset the traps, wait for the vines on his roof. Is this really my life? He asked himself. He supposed it was, since he didn't dare leave this swamp, for fear of recognition. Not that he even knew if anyone would recognize him, he just didn't want to take the chance. He had just finished pulling said net out of the water using his free gauntlet when he realized he hadn't heard anything for a while now, which was peculiar as he had become accustomed to the sounds of the swamp. Eliphas stopped what he was doing. He could just barely hear the sound of voices over the fish' desperate attempts to return to the water. At first, he decided to ignore them, returning to the task at hand. As long as they didn't bother him, he didn't care. Then he heard a woman's scream. After a moment the voices continued. Eliphas tried to reason that someone had just pushed someone into the water or got frightened by a snake. It didn't work, and the next thing Eliphas knew he had dropped the net back into the water and was drifting towards the sound. I'm just gonna look. He told himself. I'm just gonna look and see that everything's alright. And when it is, I'll feel like an idiot and go back to living alone. In a swamp.

Eliphas slowed just before reaching the voices, trying his best to remain hidden. He could see several soldiers, all clad in silver. One of them looked like he might even be a lieutenant. How Eliphas could recognize this was beyond this, so he chose not to question it. Lastly, he spied a young woman on her knees. No, not on her knees, she was sinking! She must have fallen into a pit of quicksand! Lucky for her she's got those soldiers with her. He thought to himself as one of them picked up a branch and began to help the young woman to safety. The lieutenant said something, however, and the soldier dropped the branch. Wait... Eliphas thought. They're not... they're not going just let her die, are they? He watched as the sand swallowed the girl up to her neck. Isn't someone going to do something!?

The young woman's mouth was now under the mud, and yet the lieutenant forbid his men to help her. Just before her nose was enveloped, leaving her suffocating, a massive gauntlet smashed through the trees. It reached down into the quicksand and, with a sickening squelch, pulled her out. "What's the matter with you guys?" Eliphas asked the soldiers, his voice just barely registering anger. "You see a lovely young lady drowning and you just watch? What are you, a bunch of deviants?" The soldiers all gawked at the sight of this purple haired stranger floating in a giant gauntlet. All but the lieutenant. "Eliphas Voltaire; the Deadly Sin of Sloth." The lieutenant breathed, his eyes glinting with intent.

"Do I know you?" Eliphas asked, cocking his head to one side lazily. It was an honest question, in his case. "No, but I know you." The Lieutenant replied. "Listen well, Sloth! I am Lieutenant Lucien, and I am going to give you a choice. Hand over the princess, and we will leave you be. I will not breathe a word of our meeting to anyone, and you can go on living in your... charming little home. We only want to return her to her own." He said with a genuinely friendly smile. The smile disappeared, however, as he continued. "If you refuse, you will be arrested for kidnapping her royal majesty, the princess, from protective custody. Choose wisely." Lucien finished, giving one final smirk.

Eliphas was quiet for a moment. He lowered the Princess, placing her on a dry patch of ground behind him. "See, if I were you, I'd say I was gonna do that, but then arrest me anyway." Eliphas explained slowly. "So, I'm going to have to say... no." Lieutenant's expression went stony once more. "Very well. Men, secure the princess, then arrest this filth." As the soldiers began approaching Princess Evelyn, the gauntlet that had lifted her out of the quicksand slammed down in front of her, landing on two of them. It then picked those two and, throwing them at the other three. All five men ended up going under the water.

"Enough of this!" Lieutenant Lucien spat. He drew his weapon, a long sword whose hilt was encrusted with emeralds. The lieutenant leaped from his dry spot on the ground, swinging his sword over head as he sailed towards Eliphas. Eliphas didn't move at all, just sat there as the gauntlet he was on tilted upwards. Suddenly it shot into the air, leaving Eliphas to tumble backwards into the mud. Lieutenant Lucien saw it coming and just barely evaded it, twisting his body mid air, like a cat. The motion turned his sword into a deadly propeller. Just as the blade was about to come down on Eliphas' mud covered head, the left gauntlet came soaring past, punching the Lieutenant hard enough to send him flying into a tree. Eliphas stood up and began wiping the mud off. As he did, he saw the five soldiers climbing out of the water. The right gauntlet swooped back down, knocking them all back in.

While Eliphas had been preoccupied with the soldiers, the lieutenant had held his blade in front of him, his eyes closed. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and, before Eliphas could register what had happened, the Lieutenant was directly in front of him, his armored knee pad slamming into Eliphas' stomach. Eliphas fell to the ground as his gauntlets descended on the lieutenant. The left one had tried to grab him while the right attempted to crush him. Lieutenant Lucien jumped straight up, pulling his legs up just far enough to avoid being caught. Landing on top of the left gauntlet, he hopped backwards off of it, causing the right one to slam harmlessly into it's partner. The gauntlets continued to pursue Lieutenant Lucien, never quite fast enough to catch him. After allowing himself to be chased a good ten feet away, the lieutenant turned around, sprinting past the gauntlets as they tried swiped and punched at him. He dashed towards Eliphas, who hadn't moved from his spot on the ground.

Eliphas looked up. Seeing Lieutenant Lucien coming towards him, he knew he had allowed himself to be baited. He brought his gauntlets back to him as fast as he could, but the lieutenant was faster. Stopping just in front of him, Lieutenant Lucien lunged forward, asedf plunging through Eliphas' lungs and coming out his back. Eliphas stared down at the blade sticking through him as if he didn't understand what it was doing there. The Lieutenant pulled his blade back out, letting Eliphas fall to the ground. "Come along now, your highness." he said, turning to Princess Evelyn. "This has gone on long enough. Come back with us and we-" He was cut off as the gauntlets finally caught up, each hitting him at the same time. The lieutenant went flying into a shallow pond. Eyes blazing, Lieutenant Lucien stood up, only to have his left foot dragged out from under him. He had been knocked into one of Eliphas' traps, and the lieutenant was dragged screaming off into the swamp.

One of the gauntlets gently picked Eliphas up and laid him in the other's open palm. He was hurt bad, but so long as he didn't move, he'd be alright. The gauntlets both floated over to where Eliphas had left Princess Evelyn. "We'd better leave..." Eliphas said through a groan. "... that's not gonna keep him busy long... probably cut himself free already..." The empty left gauntlet hovered near the princess' feet, beckoning her with it's index finger.

Her savior came out of nowhere. Just when she felt the mud rising to her head, she felt something lift beneath her, scooping her from the muck and water. Eve gasped and spat away the mud that coated her lips. If she had been a lady, it was near lost beneath all the mud and weed. She was fortunate that her eyes hadn’t been covered for she would have nothing to clean them with. Her eyes opened, gazing at the open palm beneath her hands. She hadn’t realized that a hand was what it actually was until her head snapped up. She saw the large fingers that protectively formed a barrier around her and her skin prickled. Was she in the hand of a giant?

Eve turned around, still on her knees, and saw that there was a second gauntlet with a lone man standing within it. The gauntlets weren’t attached to a giant as she had suspected. They weren’t attached to anything. She watched in awe as the man irritably addressed the soldiers. When the lieutenant identified the man to be a Sin, she felt her heart skip. She had found one. She desperately reached into her slip, removing what was once a poster but what turned out to be a soggy piece of paper that fell apart in her hands. Dropping the useless scraps, she sighed sullenly. She had no way to identify if the lieutenant’s claim was true, but from their further exchange she could only assume so. She gasped in startle when the gauntlet moved beneath her, dropping her off onto a small island of dry overgrown swamp grass.

The girl rose to her feet, her hands clutching each other as she nervously continued to listen to the two’s exchange. She smiled in relief when Eliphas chose not to turn her over to the Holy Knight, and then tensed when the lieutenant ordered his men to capture her any way. She fearfully faced the charging men and jumped in fright when one of the colossal gauntlets slammed down on top of two of the soldiers before sending them flying into the other three. As the soldiers fell into the bog, Eve’s attention was drawn to the Holy Knight as he drew his sword.

“Be careful! That’s no normal weapon, it’s an arc!” she warned Eliphas. She didn’t know if he would know what an arc was, but he seemed to possess some powerful magic. Or maybe…she recalled her father telling her how each of the Sins each possessed a powerful arc of their own. The princess felt only awe, watching the Sin combat the Holy Knight. He actually stood a chance. Normal men couldn’t take on an entire squad of White servants.

“Look out!” Eve exclaimed. She couldn’t have warned him soon enough for the lieutenant had moved in a blink to bury his knee into Eliphas’s stomach. The gauntlets made a scramble to try and nab him, but he was too fast. Eve continued to clutch her hands, praying silently for Eliphas to succeed. Her hands went to her mouth, her eyes going wide when she saw Lucien’s blade plunge through Eliphas’s chest and out the back. When the Sin fell to the ground, Eve lowered her hands and shook her head in disbelief. No; I just found one. This can’t happen. The legend said they were unstoppable!

Eve backed away from the Holy Knight when he demanded she go with him. He glanced again at the bog. Blinking the tears from her eyes, she defiantly growled at the lieutenant, “I would rather drown!”

When the lieutenant was suddenly rammed by the gauntlets, her eyes widened, watching him fly into the shallows. A trap snagged his foot and dragged the angry man off into the swamp. The gauntlets were gentle with Eliphas. When they approached her, she gazed upon the wounded man feeling only sadness. It was a strange feeling. She hadn’t even known him and yet she felt as though something dear to her had been harmed. She gazed over at the left gauntlet that beckoned her with the curl of its finger. The gesture made her skin crawl a little. That would take some getting used to. She walked over and stepped into the hand, lowering to her knees for fear she might fall. She crawled over to one of the fingers and held it as she gazed over at Eliphas.

“You’re one of the Sins. There are seven of you and I have been searching for all of you,” she informed. She then wiped some tears and mud from her cheeks. “So you can’t die because I need your help.”

Sloth

Once the Princess was safely within the gauntlet's grip, both gauntlets rose slowly into the air, careful not to shift Eliphas too much as they did. Looking over at the princess, Eliphas couldn't help but let out a small chuckle that immediately became groans of pain. "I'm not going to die..." He said, his breathing already less labored. "I'll be fine... as long as I do what I do best; ...absolutely nothing." He decided to try propping himself up on his elbow, but he hadn't healed enough for that yet, so he laid back down. He knew that if he stayed like this, pretty soon his eyes would close, and then sleep wouldn't be far behind. If that happened, his gauntlets would disappear, leaving both he and the princess to plummet to the ground. To keep himself awake, he decided to make conversation.

"So, where were you going if you... don't mind my asking? And what... on earth do you need the seven deadly... sins for?" Eliphas asked. One thing's for sure. He thought. If she's searching for sins, she's lucky she found me first. Who knows what would've happened if she ran into Maximillian. Or Grimjet! Eliphas shuttered slightly at the thought. He couldn't remember everything them, but he remembered enough to keep the princess, and any other woman for that matter, far away from them. He considered telling her so, but decided to wait for her response. After all, the more he spoke, the longer it would take to heal.

The gauntlets drifted forwards, though, in which direction, Eliphas didn't know. He couldn't return to the swamp, that much was certain. Now that the White Church knew he was there, the entire place would be crawling with Holy Knights. Good. He thought. The more of them there are their, the less there'll be in the rest of the land. But where could he go? The only other place safe from the reach of the White Church was Fairy Island, and Eliphas was neither brave enough nor foolish enough to go there.

Eliphas turned his head, getting a good look at the princess for the first time. Her hair had been tied back in a pony tail, though the cord she had used now lay hanging useless from said hair. She was still covered in mud, but Eliphas could see that she was only wearing underclothes. Eliphas quickly turned his head back towards the sky, wincing with pain as he did so. Well, good thing is, I know where we're going first. "If you don't mind, your highness, letting me know if you... see a clean river or pond. I'd look myself but I'm a little... preoccupied."

Eve watched Eliphas, wishing that there was something that she could do. He laughed, but she could see his pain and even hear it in his voice. She clutched the gauntlet’s finger nervously as she thought, was he really all right? Eve rested her head against the gauntlet as Eliphas began asking her questions. The first one should have been easy, but he could see her brows, masked in the grayish-brown mud twist upward in uncertainty. She thought about her answer, and then decided to be honest.

“I wasn’t going anywhere specific. I was running, and I have been running this entire time. I need the Seven Deadly Sins to help me reclaim my family’s kingdom from the Church of the White,” she explained. He could see her eyes glimmering as they started to tear over. She sniffed and wiped her tears away as she continued on a whimper, “They have my parents. They are trying to pretend that they are keeping them safe, but the stories are a lie. They’re chasing me to lock me up too. Great Knight Mineaus just wants me to marry him, and I refuse. If nothing is done, then who knows how long my parents will remain captured.”

Shaking her head, the stress was overwhelming, Eve apologized, “I am so sorry. I am such a crybaby. I have never been outside the castle before until now and I am terrified and want to go home - but I can't. I was afraid that I would not survive my quest until I ran into you. I am so grateful.”

She wiped her eyes and smiled with hope. “This must be fate. You could have been anywhere and yet I found you. You showed so much strength Mr. Sloth—uhm!” If her cheeks weren’t caked in mud, he would have seen her blush in embarrassment for having called him by his sin. “I’m sorry. I heard the Holy Knight address you, but I cannot remember your name and the poster I had was ruined. You and the other sins are wanted criminals for your past sins, but even so…I don’t know how to explain it. It just feels right. If you had truly been an awful person, you wouldn’t have saved me from them. You even saw them for what they are. Bad men.”

At Eliphas’s request, Eve nodded. “Oh yes, Sir Knight.” She addressed him with an honorary title. It seemed suitable for her savior. She gazed ahead, staring through a path that cut through the boughs as though the water was flowing through a wooden archway. Ahead of the dark canopy, she saw a bright light and informed, “There’s a clearing ahead. The sun is shining brightly there.”

The swamp water became wider and led to a river. The trees were soon left behind, revealing a small village.

Riding out in front of the small squad of soldiers, Arminel slouched slightly in his saddle, tuning out the constant background noise of hooves thumping dully on moist earth and fresh grass. Behind, the five soldiers had struck up conversation amongst them in order to stave away the mind-numbing boredom of travelling aimlessly across the land. Their voices were hushed but animated, chuckles unrestrained. Every now and again the Holy Knight would glance over his shoulder to make sure they were still focused on their set tasks, but other than that, he was content to leave them be. The soldiers his superior had allowed him to command over for the task of tracking down one Evelyn Caroline, missing princess of the Caroline Kingdom were fresh-faced youths, the oldest being twenty. They lacked the hardened attitude of veterans, and the aloofness of Holy Knights their age.

The five had been wary of Arminel when they had first been introduced, keeping up a stilted silence for the entire day and addressing him with formalities they were clearly forced to learn and remember. It was on the third day the youngest of them - a mere sixteen year old - could stand the silence no more, striking up a whispered conversation with another. The older woman shushed him in turn, tone terse as if anticipating a harsh reprimand from Arminel anytime soon. When the Holy Knight showed no sign of having heard them, the tension eased slightly and whispers started up once more. Arminel simply smiled to himself and allowed them to talk. The Knight they were previously under seemed to be a rather strict person, from Arminel's observations. The five were able to multi-task quite well, remaining focused and attentive even two weeks into eventless riding and camping. For normal soldiers of the Church, they were well-disciplined.

That thought sent amusement coursing through Arminel as he recalled the time he was sixteen. Granted, he had been training for this since he was a child, but it didn't mean he had been as efficient and skilled as he was now. A handful of dumb mistakes had been made, from not watching where he placed his feet to unknowingly sleeping on an anthill. His best friend Rion had always been the more careful of the two. The one who mercilessly prodded him to work when Arminel wanted to snooze in a corner. The one who caught minute-details Arminel overlooked. The one he could always trust to have his back.

Well, not anymore. He's not here now, is he?

Any mirth he felt instantly vanished, replaced by hurt, slight anger and deep confusion. Ten years they served together, fought together. They were all but blood brothers. And what did Rion do? Leave without saying a word. Without bothering to look for Arminel and inform him. A part of him understood and sympathised with Rion. The younger Knight had just lost the very person he gave his heart to. Had failed in fulfilling his vow of protecting her and their unborn child. Holy Knight or not, they were all mortals in the end, only human. Arminel didn't fault Rion for being mad from grief, after all, he himself had no room to talk regarding one's mental health. But he was furious at Rion for seeking to do everything alone. Why didn't he ask for help? Ever since Mana died, Rion was rarely around, refusing to talk to Arminel and share more than a curt sentence whenever they conversed. He hated that feeling of not being able to help, of being reduced to no more than a bystander. At times like this, he had no idea if the anger he felt was more directed towards himself or his best friend.

A few days after Rion was suspended did Arminel's raging emotions finally calmed. Seeing he was relatively back to normal, the Great Holy Knight had sent him off with the task of searching for the princess. He had accepted it immediately, grateful to have something to do. In addition, this also essentially gave him free reign to roam the lands beyond. White God willing, there will be a chance of stumbling upon his friend.

That was two weeks ago, and Arminel had plotted a path diverging from normal routes search parties typically took. Instead of heading through towns to probe for information and distribute wanted posters, he decided to head into the wilderness. After all, there were already more than enough soldiers within each city keeping an eye out for the princess. There was no need for his presence there. However, the wilderness...wide lands, lots of places to hide, fewer chances of bumping into ordinary citizens. Arminel didn't know if a sheltered princess like Evelyn would have the courage to trek through harsher environments, but if towns and cities didn't yield any results, where else could she be?

"Er...Sir?" A hesitant voice called out, followed by a light whinny as the mount's rider pulled it to a halt.

A light wrinkle between his brows forming even as he nudged his horse to wheel around, Arminel eyed the soldier who spoke. "What is it, Pangel?"

The soldier's gaze darted from him to the valley they were venturing into, then back again, sweat breaking out on his forehead. The stream they had halted a few meters away from gurgled merrily for a second or two before Pangel gathered up enough guts to speak again. "A-are we really going to be heading into...into the Valley of Wassen, Sir?"

Blinking at the slight quiver in the boy's tone, Arminel cocked his head to the side in puzzlement before comprehension dawned on his face. Right, wasn't there some stories about a witch or a demon living in these parts? He sighed, the corner of his lips pulling up in good humour. "Mere rumours wouldn't harm you, lad. The White God protects His servants." Maneuvering his mount so it drew level with the other, he clapped a hand twice against the soldier's back, sweeping a glance over the other four, two of whom were wearing the same superstitious look. "Stories to keep people away, like the Beast of Mt. Shirac. Its existence has been proven false. Now come, let's not linger and waste daylight. If a witch or demon truly lives here, then we'd best get out of the Valley before dusk, eh?"

Not waiting for further comments, he turned and cantered away, crossing the small bridge and towards the small wooden hut sitting forlornly to the right. No visible smoke rose from the chimney, no sounds could be heard from within. It appeared abandoned, but Arminel would bet his entire month's pay it wasn't, judging from the lack of weeds and vines surrounding the hut. Dismounting, he approached the residence cautiously, making sure his steps were as light as possible in order not to startle the inhabitants - if there were any. The windows were closed and curtains were drawn but a tap of his fingers against the door caused it to swing open slightly with a faint creak.

A glance over his shoulder and a gesture of his fingers signalled for the other five to surround the hut and block any possible escape routes. Alone, he pushed the door in a little more until it was wide enough for him to slip through. Ansgar in his hand, he held it loosely, blade pointed diagonally at the ground, but ready to strike if anything came at him. The interior was two rooms separated by sticks bounded together in a makeshift wall. The hall-slash-kitchen wasn't fully furnished, with a few fruits and vegetables in woven baskets sitting in a corner, a heap of straw in another, a low table sitting in the middle with two stools on either side. As he drew closer to the next room, faint shufflings and munching sounds could be heard. Tensing, he aligned his body to the flimsy wall and peered around the corner. The scene he was met with made his eyes widen. What in the world are these doing here?

What happened next could only be attributed to his bad luck.

One of the two infant Junchas - still pinkish but with tufts of fur littering its body - turned its head. There was no doubt it caught sight of Arminel. Man and beast froze, then the baby beast started crying out, a series of loud half-squeal half-snort erupting from its comparatively small body. It took only a second before the second Juncha joined in.

By that time, Arminel had already hightailed it out of the house, yelling for his men to ride for the other end of the valley even as he leapt on his horse and forced it into a full speed gallop. The two beasts were calling for its parents, and Arminel's squad of six weren't ready to face two fully grown Junchas. One would manageable, especially if he manages to wound it with his Arc, but not two. Here's to hoping one parent's dead.

The dreaded answering call echoed through the valley, and the stomps of a heavy beast running full-tilt drew closer and closer. Junchas were relatively big, but they weren't large enough to cause minute vibrations in the earth with each step, so the Knight could only rely on his hearing to pinpoint their location. Unfortunately, he didn't take into account the road in the left side of the valley, half hidden by trees and rock.

Oh shit, was his only thought as two mature Junchas pounced out of the side-road, missing an ashen-faced soldier to his left by an inch. Claws dug into soft earth as the Junchas landed, leaving deep furrows behind as momentum continued pushing it forward. They skidded to a halt, before bunching their muscles and leaping forth again. From what Arminel managed to glimpse, the one on the left was steel grey, the other a sandy brown. Even if he had no eyes on the back of his head, he could clearly hear the growls and thuds slowly gaining on the squad. All but one of his men was ahead, but Arminel wasn't too worried about Reid. The soldier was level with him, meaning he was still out of the beasts' reach.

Then Arminel's horse stumbled.

He hit the ground in a forward roll, coming up to a crouch, spear slashing out just in time to deter the brown male Juncha ready to pounce on him.

"Sir Blavier!"

Reid's yell attracted the attention of the grey one, but no matter how worried Arminel was for his men - they were normal soldiers without Arcs, how would he not fear for their lives - he cannot afford to be distracted, not even for a second. Eyes locked onto the Juncha circling warily around, he thrust his spear in a forward jab with a mid-strength razor wind. The beast agilely dodged both, but its new position allowed him to get another upwards slash in. This time, he managed to score a hit in the beast's right flank, a cut running diagonally from a little behind its foreleg to its back. Blood oozed from the wound, but it mustn't have been a deep or crippling one. Instead, the Juncha roared in rage and charged towards Arminel, head lowered in preparation to skewer the Knight through with its tusks.

As they approached the river, something strange started to happen. The Gauntlet flickered in and out of existence beneath her. The sight made Eve gasp as she released the gauntlet’s finger and backed away to stare down at her bare muddy feet and the murky water of the river appearing beneath her. It was like standing on glass. How she managed to stay afloat in those flickering moments was beyond her. Her head snapped over to Eliphas.

“Mister…” she spaced on his name. She hadn’t heard it enough. “Sloth” was what immediately came to her mind and she felt horrible for remembering such a title. “Sloth!” she called out in concern. The man didn’t respond. His eyes were closed and his hand still holding his wound. Her face paled. Was he dead? His gauntlets were still transporting them—she thought too soon.

The Gauntlets vanished beneath them, dumping them into the brown water. Eve fell beneath the surface, arms flaying as she thought she would sink like a weight. She resurfaced, wildly splashing about in her panic. The princess had no idea how to swim. Swimming wasn’t a necessity. What would she have ever needed to swim for? Now she was realizing more flaws in her upbringing. More valuable life lessons lost in order to dress and walk like the perfumed angelic lady her parents wanted her to be.

Eve spat water from her mouth. Her brown locks obscured her eyes, adding more stress in her desperation. She saw Eliphas sink into the river.

“Slo-!” she tried to call only getting a mouthful of disgusting water. How cruel fate was? To tease her into having her believe that she had found one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and then took him away from her. Fate left her back where it had found her. Instead of drowning in quicksand, she was drowning in a river. Was she supposed to drown? Was she supposed to quit her quest? She went under.

Eve became tired and could no longer fight the river that engulfed her. She sank and as she gazed up at the rippling surface, for a moment, she accepted it. Her arms were outstretched, locks of hair twisting about her head like ribbons; and as she drifted away from the sunlit surface, she sank into the murky darkness. Everything became darker and darker. It became an unusual quiet and the water became unusually black as she sank. Did the river have no bottom?

Air was being forced into her lungs. Eve’s grey eyes flew open to find her lips against the lips of Lucien. She brought her hand up to grasp his face, pushing it away. The holy knight pulled away as Eve coughed up river water. Her eyes were wide in panic and the holy knight didn’t give her much time to figure out what was going on before he gripped her arms and forced her to her feet.

“Get up!” he angrily ordered.

Eve stumbled to her feet, her legs weak with confusion. The mud had partially washed free from her body. Her hair was still in her face, feeling like a wet rag as her wide eyes frantically took in her surroundings. She was still at the river. Didn’t she drown? The holy knight must have pulled her out, but what about Eliphas?

Eve suddenly began to resist, trying to jerk her hands from the holy knight’s grip and dig her feet into the dirt in resistance. “No!” she screamed. She couldn’t go back. She had come so far. Eliphas! Where was Eliphas? Did he drown? “We have to save him! Let me go!”

Lucien scowled, baring his teeth in his effort to control the hysterical woman. “I’m taking you back! Do not resist or else!”

“SLOTH!” Eve cried. “Stop! We can’t leave! We have-!”

Lucien’s fist struck Eve in the gut. The princess folded over with a rasp. Her eyes were wide in disbelief that a holy knight or any man would strike her. The pain had been so terrible that her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp. The holy knight spread his feet to steady her before he effortlessly draped her over his shoulder. He stared back at the river where the Sin had supposedly perished and smirked. Not only had he captured the princess, but he could gloat that he had killed one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The Valley of Wassen, a few words popped into mind immediately to describe it. Beautiful, peaceful, quiet. It was all the things that Rion didn't need right now. He had thought that this leave of absence was going to be a good thing. It would give him time to clear his head and get some answers to the questions that had been haunting him for a while now. But all he had discovered were more questions without answer. Not to mention the worst part, all this solitude was worsening his depression.

Recently Rion had hardly slept and barely remembered to eat. During the day, he could focus his mind on whatever task was ahead. Get to the next town, go here to check out this rumor, go there to answer that question. But at night, when he stared up at the endless expanse of the night sky, his thoughts became so much darker. How easy would it be for him to be with Mana again, in wherever the dead lived? But no, he couldn't die yet, not until he uncovered the truth behind what had really happened. He wouldn't allow himself to meet her again until all of his doubts about the organization he had dedicated his life to had disappeared. One way or another.

Rion was currently on foot, having left his horse in the town of Aldercrest, the closest civilization to the Valley of Wassen. Where he was going, the horse couldn't follow. Supposedly there had once been a town inside the valley as well. A town that was openly against all that the Holy Knights stood for. One day, the town had simply ceased to exist. When people from Aldercrest had gone to investigate, they had found a dark, deadened, circle of land where the town and it's farmland had once stood. Even now nothing grew there, and all animals avoided that place, they were afraid of it. If this was really true, Rion should be able to feel the remnants of a Holy Knight's magic there.

On foot, he was still two days out. But the closer they got, the more scared his horse would have gotten, according to the people of Aldercrest. It was better to leave him in the village where he would safe, rather than risk losing him. Horses were expensive to replace, and Rion liked this one.

Suddenly a familiar, frightening, sound filled the space around him. One that caused Rion to immediately stop in his tracks. "Junchas?" The sound was very clear, somebody, or a group of somebodies, had pissed off a parent Juncha or two. Rion didn't even have to think, he just took off in a run in the direction the sound had come from.

It didn't take him long to come across the group who had pissed off the Junchas. Several of them were fleeing towards him on horseback being chased by a gray female, judging from the lack of horns. But there was one who had apparently fallen and was trying to fend off the other Juncha on his own, the male. Even from this distance away, Rion recognized the person on the ground. How could he not? It was his best friend, Arminel. Rion's blood ran cold at the thought of his best friend being skewered and all thought left his mind.

Rion threw himself forward, activating Wind Walk to close the distance with blinding speed. He unhooked his Arc from his belt, grasping it by the handle. He stopped his Wind Walk and skidded to a halt in the grass, a short distance away from his best friend, at an angle to the Juncha. With practiced ease, Rion swung the whip once around his head to gather force, and flicked it in the direction of the Juncha. Not aiming to wound, but something far more stupid than that. The blade end of the chain wrapped once, twice, three times around the horn of the male Juncha. Bracing himself, Rion grabbed the chain itself with his free hand, dug his feet in, and yanked.

The force of the pull turned the Juncha's head towards Rion and the ground. The deadly creature lost it's footing with the sudden change and stumbled, but didn't end up on the ground like Rion had hoped. "Now, Arminel!" Rion shouted, hoping his friend wouldn't be too surprised by his appearance. They could talk when they were safe. Right now, they had two Junchas to take down.

---

The small town of Corona, a place that most wouldn't believe existed if it wasn't labeled on a map. White stone houses with dark and mismatched brown roofs lined the roads and dirt paths that trailed in and out of the town. It was a safe enough place that children could spent hours on end playing outside and adults to drink all night at the pub without worrying about getting back home. Everyone somehow knew each other and the town became more like a small unit of familial neighbors than anything else. It was just the place for Mikazuki, just the place for someone who couldn't take care of himself for various reasons. Despite this fact, Mika found himself in yet another delivery request, but this one was much different from the normal ones he would get.

"Are you sure, you can handle taking these to Chise for me, kid?" A heavy, raspy voice spoke to the small fairy as the owner of the voice leaned on the side of the open door to his house, his muscular body causing said door to creak dangerously. In front of Mika stood Jonathan, a regular at the pub and a carpenter that usually went around and helped repair old buildings and small problems. It was clear from his body posture and raspy voice that he probably wasn't feeling well, so that would explain why Mika was tasked to hand over what fell like a basket filled with something to the pub. The blindfolded boy nodded slowly, what was visible of his expression narrowing.
"Y-Yeah, shouldn't really be a problem. I'll let Prim know you're okay while I'm at it." As the fairy finished his confirmation, a large hand sloppily ruffled his hair before he backed up. "Ew, don't touch me! You sick...weirdo..." He frowned, only receiving a quiet laugh in return before he was off.

Mika couldn't help but be surprised every single time he made his way over to the Corona pub. He had gone through these paths and trails so many times that he could do it with his eyes closed! Not that that would really make a difference... And while Mika was curious as to what exactly he was holding, he chose not to feel around on what was inside and just wait to hear what it was from the pub owner, Chise.

Getting the occasional greeting from adults and children alike, Mika's little delivery stretched out a lot longer than he anticipated. He had just arrived to said pub, when his jaw slackened slightly, followed by a confused noise escaping his lips. What was this feeling? Multiple Auras...three in fact. One was familiar but fading away fast, another was too strong for his liking, and the last... he couldn't put his finger on it. But what really made it weird was that he wasn't even looking in the direction of said Auras, he was sure of it. Instead he was able to sense their presence, which was already causing alarms to scream in his brain. Too frazzled to take his time, Mika swiftly placed the basket in front of the front entrance and knocked three times before making his way in the direction of the interesting Auras.

From what Mika could tell, these Aura's weren't too far from Corona, but it did require a bit of flying to get a better look on the land, which he only did once he was far enough away from his beloved town to fly unnoticed. Wouldn't want them treating him different because of what he was... From were Mika was hovering, only the occasional tree reach his vision. Those three Auras, however, were getting closer. Maybe they were in that nearby swamp? Or perhaps the river where Coronians (was that what they were even called? Was there even enough people living there to be called that??) would go to collect water for purifying tests? It was his only bet, and the ones that made the most sense. Lowering himself back to the ground, Mika began his sprint towards the river, the chains on his ankles and wrist rubbing together with every step he took.

"Stop! We can't leave! We have-!" Mika froze when a woman's voice reverberated in his ears. Was that them? Judging by the sounds and the silhouettes the Aura made, Mika was correct, and most likely too late. Was he... taking her against her will? That's the only thing that made sense with what little context he had. And where was the third person he sensed?

Not seeing the third person, nor sensing him, Mika shook his head to focus back on what was important; saving that girl! But how was he suppose to do that? Should he go get help? No, he could do that to anyone living in Corona... but he if he went out there himself, he would probably hurt the both of them. Without even realizing it, Mika's breathing picked up as he placed a bandaged hand to his chest.

Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Calm...down...

Can't.

Mika gritted his teeth as he stood from his hiding place, a simple bush near the edge of the river, and sighed before making his presence known to the holy knight by shaking his wrist, the chains producing a chilling sound.
"What do you think you're doing, human? That's no way to treat a lady, unless you seriously want to get beat up." The boy droned, the chains on his body loosening ever so slightly.

In the back of his mind, Arminel knew he wouldn't be able to dodge this forward charge. But hell if he was going to let some pissed-off beast gorge him just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Gritting his teeth he pushed himself up to a crouch, spear ready to thrust forward at maximum strength. In order to prevent the Juncha from dodging this strike, he waited until the last possible moment. If I go down, you're going down with me. A full force stab to the face would be a fatal wound. Let's just hope Arminel's armour would keep him from being completely skewered through.

Imagine his suprise when a figure suddenly appeared in a flash in his peripheral vision, and the huge beast bearing down on him abruptly jerked to a halt, head pulled around and forced low. The male Juncha roared in anger and frustration, paws smacking against the ground and claws digging furrows in the soil as it struggled to lift its head. Its body, once fully facing him, was now pulled aside so that its left flank was completely exposed. Mouth slightly agape at the sudden change in the situation, Arminel raised his eyes, blinking once at the sight of chains wrapped around the beast's horns. Wait a minute. He knew those chains. Aren't they...

His eyes followed the chains down to the extremely familiar figure on the other end of the weapon. He's really here. I'm not dreaming. Arminel's mouth clicks shut. Heheh...he still has impeccable timing. His best friend's yell closely followed by another furious growl kicked Arminel's mind and body back into action. Everything else can wait. Currently, he had a Juncha to slay before it breaks free.

Being a strong, healthy, mature beast of its species, the Juncha wasn't easily restrained. In a scant few seconds, it had already regained its footing by sinking the claws of its forelegs deep into the soil, hindlegs braced apart and off to the side. Junchas frames weren't meant to be this flexible, but the beast evidently favoured being free over enduring pain. The hard muscles of its four limbs bunched, ready to twist its body and fling Rion away with a swing of its head. But Arminel didn't give it a chance to retaliate.

Gripping Ansgar, he swiped it in a low horizontal wind-aided slash, neatly cutting through the tendons of its left fore and hindlegs. It howled in agony and collapsed awkwardly to one side, body too heavy to be supported solely by the limbs on the right. He delivered another upwards slash to its vulnerable left flank, leaving behind a deep red gash. Partially crippled, wounded and still restrained, the Juncha didn't present as dangerous a target as it was previously. Approaching the writhing body of the beast, Arminel came to a halt directly before its thick, muscled neck and lifted his spear once more, the tip of the blade positioned above the small intersection between head and shoulder. A low, deep growl rumbled in its throat, cut short when he brutally drove Ansgar deep, slicing through flesh and ligament easily.

The male Juncha gave one last twitch before falling motionless. Withdrawing his spear, Arminel took a couple of steps back, not relaxing his stance until he confirmed the beast no longer drew breath. Satisfied that it was well and truly dead, he turned to regard Allerion. His friend looked...worn out. Perhaps even that word was an understatement. Bags under his eyes and thinner than Arminel remembered. It's been less than a month and already the younger man became so haggard. It hurt to see him thus.

"Rion, you..." Arminel hesitated, then closed his mouth slowly. What could he say? Why are you here? What have you been up to all these time? It didn't seem appropriate at the moment, and Rion would most probably not welcome the direct interrogation. Arminel didn't want to force his friend into leaving again. Heaving a sigh, he finally continued with a faint smile. "You look like shit. But thanks for the save."

Narrowing his eyes, he deliberately dragged his gaze up and down Rion's body before glancing over his shoulder. He could still hear the roars of the female Juncha around the bend up ahead, but it seemed his men were still faring rather well. Nonetheless, he didn't want to drag his friend impulsively into another fight when the other looked like he hadn't been sleeping for days. A human's yell rang through the air, and Arminel didn't ponder further. Reaching out, he grabbed his friend by the arm and started moving as quickly as he could towards the noises. "You are going to come with me. We're going to get rid of the other beast, then you will come with us as we get out of this damn valley and find somewhere to rest. And you'll bloody well stay this time around, or White God help me..."

He'll make sure the other get some food and rest when they make camp before Arminel starts questioning.

The holy knight stopped when he heard a young voice called out to him. Lieutenant Lucien turned a blue eye over his shoulder to see a small boy, standing there. Challenging him. He smirked and resumed walking away from him as he patronized the kid, “You should run along and mind your business boy. I will not waste my time with a child.”

A few of the holy knight’s subordinates trudged from the forest, dripping in sludge. He used to have five men. Now, he only had two. Lucien stopped as his two soldiers came before him.

“Where are the others?” he asked.

“Lost in the swamp, Sir,” one of the soldiers returned.

The lieutenant frowned at the news. Normally, the church didn’t abandon their men. They sent out search parties to try to recover any evidence of them, but he had the princess and it was urgent that he return her to Caroline.

“We’re heading back,” Lucien told them.

The soldiers looked surprised. “Sir, without the others?”

“The princess’s safety takes priority. We will search for them as we backtrack, but if we are unable to find them, then they are lost.”

The lieutenant marched passed the two soldiers. They gazed at the limp princess over his shoulder, silently wondering how she ended up in such a state. Then their eyes shifted over to the lone boy. They hadn’t known why he was there—perhaps he was just being nosy, but they quickly lost interest in him.

---

Mika could only roll his eyes at how the man was treating him like a child. And while he hated to admit it, he was kinda small, but that was just because he was a fairy. Even some of the much older fairies look as if they came straight out of the womb only moments ago. So Mika let the attitude he received go and instead focused on what him and his two men were talking about. Apparently they lost some people in the swamp. Why were they going through the swamp in the first place? Were they trying to get to Corona and if so, then for what reason? And what happened to that fading Aura? It's completely gone at this point...

And... princess? Did he hear that right? If that girl really was a princess, then that gave Mika even bigger reason to take on these guys and save her. She must have had a reason to want to get away from these people... that meant that what he was doing was right. Not to mention, Mika was a little pissed at being referred to as a child. And although he couldn't see, Mika could almost vividly tell what total douches these guys looked like, but all Mika really cared about was helping the girl that was being taken against her will was far more important.

As the two shoulders looked over at him for a brief second before looking away, Mika took this chance to help the girl out as he slowly brought a hand up, the now golden colored chains slowly rising off said hand. He allowed the chains to hover for a brief moment before flicking his wrist, the chain now flying towards his first two victims. The chain moved around like a whip, slapping into the lackeys before Mika lifted himself above the ground and allowed the chains at his feet to loosen as well; one chain reached out for the lieutenant's stomach, while the other went for the girl. If everything went according to plan, then he would be able to separate the girl from the other and possibly fly out of there... but that was only if they were still under the impression that he was just some kid.

It was a beautiful day on the island. Devan decided to travel a little without her cart- sort of a vacation, though she still had a small tailors' kit with her, just in case. The sun was shining; a few stray clouds seemed to know exactly when to shuffle past for a quick, cool shadow. The breeze from the ocean was light and kept the day from being oppressive.
So why did the hair on the base of Devan's neck just stand up?

The fairy woman reached back to run her fingers through her white locks in hope of shaking the sensation and a cloud clearing from the sun seemed to help. Her pony shook his mane; little bells woven into the hair chimed and banished the last of the uneasy feeling. Devan patted his shoulder and turned down the road toward the coast.

Reĝa was the largest city on the island, though by human standards it was barely a village. The population there essentially tripled when it hosted a market. According to rumour, it was also where another of her fellow Sins had ended up. Unfortunately, he was not fairy, so he had been executed. Still, something told Devan that she should go.

Children's laughter drew her attention as she approached. On the beach the children were decorating a scarecrow with flower chains and shells. It took a moment for Devan to realize it wasn't a scarecrow or effigy, but what was left of a human. A few fragments of memory confirmed that this must be the remains of a Sin.

“Shoo! Go on, now! You don't where that's been!” The children scattered, giggling, and Devan called after them, “Be sure to wash when you get home!”

The Serpent Sin sighed. If only she could remember more than glimpses of a face. She avoided looking at the remains as she folded a small cup from a leaf; the fairies didn't decay like humans when they died and the desiccated husk of her old compatriot was a bit unsettling.

Still, she had come this far and felt she should make a small offering for the dead, memories or not.

The little cup finished she pulled a wineskin from the saddle bags. The leaf held barely a sip. Carefully pushing off with her toes, Devan levitated as her race was wont to do so she could reach and carefully tipped the small offering into what was left of the human's mouth.

Devan landed, set the little cup at the base of the pole, and and started her way back up to the road.

The drop of wine rolled down jagged teeth, dissolving into the bone. The jaws snapped together as the limbless skeleton wiggled to and fro. Its neck was held by a noose. Sprouting freakishly from its torso were two arms and legs. Its sharp digits raked at the rope about its throat, severing it to drop its body into the sand. Lying on its back in the dirt, the skeleton exhaled on a rasp, “The pain…”

The skeleton then sat forward as golden sand dumped from its bones. A whimper quivered from it before its socket-less head turned toward the white-haired fairy who was flying away. However, it did not see a fairy. What it saw was food. The skeleton rose and started to creep after her. Its hands rose with curled greedy fingers, its jaws parting hungrily.

“Food…” it quietly hissed. If it had any salivary glands, then it would have been drooling. Blinded by an insatiable need. Once it felt it had managed to creep close enough to Devan, the skeleton attacked, reaching for her shoulders and jaws prepared to clamp down on her flesh.

The thing-- the remains-- whatever it was-- was not exactly sneaky with falling and rattling and somehow talking and trying to walk through sand.

Normally, she probably wouldn't have had much chance hand-to-hand with the human Sin. He had size, strength, and reach against the tiny fairy woman… when he was whole. The skeleton, however, she figured she could handle.

As it bent to bite her shoulder, Devan quickly reached back and grabbed the skull, careful to avoid the mouth, and dropped to the ground instead of fairy-floating for extra momentum and leverage to throw the thing. At least in theory, the move should have levered the skeleton over her shoulder and slammed it on its back in front of her. In reality, it just pulled the head from the desiccated corpse which just kind of crumpled behind her. The head was still chomping its jaws angrily though.

With a little shriek of disgust Devan tossed it into sand a few feet away and nudged the body with a toe. Hopefully it would stay there.
She looked back and forth between the pieces, partly making sure they weren't coming after her again, part trying to figure out what she got herself into.

”Okay, you groaned something about food,” she said to the head, keeping a little distance. ”I'm not sure why I'm doing this, but I'll get you food... IF you behave. No biting or eating... anything that's alive. Just stay still unless you want to be executed again. It's only a few minutes to the market and back.”

Devan whistled for her pony and rubbed her forehead. She had a feeling this was going to come back to-- bite-- her, so to speak.