Imdiately the purge edict was uttered, Hagen’s spasms stopped entirely, and his body slumped, lifeless, to the ground.
Both Osmund and Madoc reared back subconsciously, taken aback by how... simple it had been. The shock of losing their comrade was there, of course, but they had expected sothing more cataclysmic to happen. This was a Greater Fragnt after all. One that was still very much bound to a person too.
It wasn’t until Finn snorted from the side and spoke that they understood what had actually happened.
"Casmir... He extinguished the fragnt himself before it perished," Finn said. His eyes remained fixed on the corpse, watching the faint, dissipating trails of soul essence that were retreating into the void rather than being truly purged.
Madoc and Osmund frowned imdiately. This was the first they were hearing of an original fragnt bearer possessing the authority to extinguish a fragnt from a holder remotely.
Did that an the sa could happen to them at any ti? They both exchanged grim glances before looking forward resolutely.
"So what are your plans now, Pioneer." Osmund asked, while Madoc moved to carry Hagen’s body. A proper burial was in order. To them, he deserved that much.
"Don’t call Pioneer..." Finn corrected. "I’m no pioneer or man of prophecy. Anything Madoc saw was put in his head by Casmir, the original fragnt bearer for you both," he gestured between Osmund and Madoc.
"I have a score to settle with him personally..." Finn’s tone was cold. "...but that will co in due ti. For now, I need to get off this island."
Finn strode forward, heading in the direction of Osmund’s side of the island.
"Osmund," he called without looking back. "What exactly do your people know... or think about ?"
Osmund hurried to Finn’s side, though his eyes lingered on Hagen’s body being carried away by Madoc. He clearly wished to be there for the burial. But Finn was moving on to the next thing, and Osmund wasn’t willing to make Finn disgruntled at all.
Not that he thought Finn wouldn’t understand, but for so reason, he felt it more appropriate to attend to Finn first, rather than Hagen. In his mind, Finn’s distrust of him was still there, at least to an extent.
One had to rember that while Finn had been trapped back in ti for years, gaining an age and wisdom that didn’t show on his youthful face, a full month was yet to pass in this real world. To the inhabitants of the island, Finn was still the mysterious stranger who had appeared out of the waves only a few weeks ago.
And, for Osmund, the mory of how distrustful Finn initially was was still fresh in his mind. Hence, the reason for his attempts to create a smooth relationship.
Though whether this was a concern to Finn, or whether he even rembered at all, remained to be seen.
Thankfully for Osmund, though, in regards to Hagen’s matter, Madoc seed content to handle it alone, a wordless ssage passing between both of them.
Osmund nodded and caught up to Finn, walking alongside him to the Anaelle settlent on his side of the island.
"Well... it’s a mix," he finally responded to Finn’s earlier question. "They all saw you wash up unconscious at the shores when you arrived. They know you sohow crossed the Stagnant seas..."
"So of them think you’re... the Pioneer, like Madoc had prophesied would co to save us..." he paused. "But others, making up the larger majority than the forr, bear similar thoughts to what Hagen had thought..."
"Hmm?" Finn humd, motioning for Osmund to continue, clearly interested. "Well, what exactly do they think of ? I couldn’t particularly glean anything from Hagen’s manic words other than a general desire to see dead."
Osmund cleared his throat lightly, then spoke:
"Well... they think you to be so sort of fallen angel. One that has been cast away. A bringer of doom and evil tidings. Here to cause chaos to a land at peace..."
Finn’s face lit up in humor, and he turned his head to look at Osmund as they walked. "That was a surprisingly detailed description, Osmund. Are you sure you share none of those opinions?" There was a playful glint in his green eyes, but the underlying power in his gaze made the question feel like an interrogation.
Osmund visibly paled, and he seed to beco smaller as he quickly bowed his head deferentially.
"Not at all, Finn. I am simply trying to be as truthful and fully open as possible. I would never—"
"Ahh, it’s a joke. It’s a joke," Finn waved his hand, the smile on his face already gone, replaced by one of exasperation. "Ugh. I kind of miss the old, easy Osmund. You’re so stiff around now." He let out a long sigh, looking out toward the horizon where the wave of the Stagnant Sea t the sky.
Osmund looked up at Finn covertly, and the lol in his eyes seed to say: Stiff? Why wouldn’t I be stiff?! If you could feel the terrifying presence emanating from you, even you would be stiff!
But that expression disappeared as quickly as it ca, as Osmund simply laughed as naturally as he could.
"Well, I have to accord you the level of respect you deserve, naturally," he wanted to continue with so more flattering words, but Finn’s disinterested expression made him clear his throat and continue his earlier talk.
"About my people. You have to understand that the reason why they think what they think of you isn’t unjustified," he said. "They have waited years upon years... generation upon generation... hoping and believing in the pioneer that was coming to save them..."
Finn frowned.
"Generations? Wasn’t it Madoc who made the prophecy? How co it’s generations now?"
"Oh, you’ve got it wrong, Finn," Osmund shook his head. "Madoc was not the first to speak of this prophecy to my people. All he did was make it popular again, speaking of the visions he saw..."
"Rather," Osmund continued. "It was the original Space Transcendent that did it first."
Finn turned his head fully this ti, slowing his strides as Osmund spoke. The ntion of Casmir’s direct involvent in the Anaelle’s folklore changed the entire shape of the puzzle.
"Right when our ancestors were first brought here, he let them know of this great pioneer, speaking of him as though he... feared him," Osmund cast a glance at Finn, who was staring straight at him with a thoughtful expression.
"You are sure this is true?" Finn asked after a few seconds.
Osmund nodded carefully.
"Hmm..." Finn held his chin in thought.
What ga are you playing, Casmir...?
It was puzzling to say the least. Why plant that seed in their hearts from an age so far back? And why specifically them?
Ti aspect? Finn thought. It was a fact that Madoc could now manipulate ti to an extent. An offshoot of his space magic, as space and ti were inherently intertwined.
But that was only a recent developnt...
Or was it?
Finn tapped his chin softly. If there was one Transcendent Finn would call extrely talented, aside from Thalia back then, it would be Casmir.
The man was a prodigy in space magic. Finn wasn’t surprised he must have figured ti magic out way back, and only now used that card through so of his fragnts.
Hmm... It seems I’m playing chess with soone who’s seen the whole ga ahead already...
The thought should have been daunting. But Finn didn’t seem especially worried. In fact, he was less concerned with the fact that Casmir could control ti, and more focused on exactly why he had made this specific move. There was a logic to it that eluded him, a reason why Casmir wanted the Anaelle to both wait for him and fear him at the sa ti.
I guess I’ll just have to find out as ti goes on, Finn thought, before resuming his normal pace again.
He switched the subject from talks of Casmir, back to the Anaelle and there reaction to him again:
"How do you reckon I should treat your people?" he asked Osmund. "Should I be this Pioneer... this Savior you’ve all been waiting for? Or should I just be on my way, cross the Stagnant Sea, and leave you all to your own devices...?"
Osmund breathed out calmly. He could hear the implied question Finn was asking him:
"Why should I go through the stress to save all of you? I have no particular ties with any of you. If I decide to leave you all to stay here forever, it wouldn’t change a thing with ."
It was now up to Osmund to show Finn the value the Anaelle could provide to him.
For the first ti, Osmund cracked a light smile:
"Well... For starters, our average soul density is extrely high compared to the average human..." he said. "In fact, much, much higher. While Ossuarist-level soul density occurs only once in ten thousand human births, the sa for us is once in a hundred births."
That elicited a slight raise of Finn’s brows. Those were good numbers. Very good numbers. In fact, that was better than the human odds of birthing an Arcanist, not to talk of Ossuarists, which were long ways off.
But that only interested Finn slightly.
So the Anaelle could birth a lot of Ossuarists, big whoop. What was he to do with that? Ossuarists took ti to develop. Ti that he did have at the mont. He needed imdiate results, not a long-term nurturing program.
Finn’s pace slowed, as if he was considering whether to even visit the Anaelle settlent at all, or just head for the Stagnant sea directly now.
But Osmund hadn’t finished.
"And for another," he continued. "...we can produce faith."
This ti, Finn’s attention was fully and totally grabbed.
He smiled lightly and his eyes glowed a familiar green as he stared at Osmund.
"You should have started with that."
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