Gale cleared his throat, warming up his voice to utter lines of epic proportions that he had not thought of just yet. Communications 101 had told him that people do not know what you're going to say, so there's no point in being nervous to anyone.
Just don't be suspicious.
"We're in these lands to give it a visit," he said, surprisingly fluently, but the way it sounded was completely weird when he spoke their language. "To gander around the view the wonderous valley."
"Why do you speak in that manner?" The black feathered man growled.
Learning a language automatically is one thing, but why do his words co out sounding like valium?! Gale cleared his throat once again and spoke. "I an, we are on a venture to sightsee." He nodded, agreeing with himself. "That is correct. To sightsee."
"Foreigners! Go back to where you ca from!" The knight's shout shook the glasses of the shops. "Strangers are not welco in these lands!"
"We are here to look for trouble. To look for issues that happen in these lands. We are not hostile," Gale said.
"Are you mad? You seek to look for trouble in these peaceful lands!" The black feathered knight shouted. "Begone, demons!"
Oh dear. This wasn't going well. He didn't have full control of his linguistic flexibility. And even if he did, he still probably wouldn't have convinced these people to let them 'look around'. If the twins were here, they'd be able to just push this guy to the ground and extort him for privilege while getting the information out of him. They were geniuses, except, Erin wouldn't have allowed them to co with him, he sighed.
"Your understanding is wrong," Gale said. "We look for no trouble. Only to visit the wondrous, beautiful city. Many great things were sung about these valleys below."
"The lies you utter through that demonic mouth will not be believed, demon!" The black-feathered knight drew his sword halfway from its scabbard. "Leave this land, or prepare for death."
The other knight followed suit; the blade, slightly worn with rust, still glead on unrusted parts.
"You draw your sword as if you also prepare for death. Do you wish to take a chance at which of us dies first?" Gale asked, almost cringing. That sounded exactly like sothing the dark hunter would say in real life.
Presence Between gathered the signatures all around. Most mundane. 9 Awakened signatures were tracking to where they were. He could probably knock out these 2 guards in less than a second and get out of here in the blink of an eye. Only problem was, Erin probably wanted him to get through to the guards.
But this was when Gale's eyes shifted. No longer was this persuasion, but more of survival. This man dared to give him death. Then he must also prepare to et such fate.
The black feathered man took a step back. Citizens around had looked on at what was happening. The vegetable sellers stopped mid transaction while the buyers also stared at the commotion. Even the children who played with a cat had been carried into their house by their mom. He looked back at Gale and chose his fate.
"You dare pose a threat!?" The black feathered knight fully drew his sword. "I, the captain of the Drovairt knights, Lruikov, will slay this foul—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Gale had already swiped through his legs, causing him to fall down. In one swoop motion, Erebus materialized and pointed towards the black feathered guard's neck.
"Hold your killing intent, knight. I pose no threat, unless you desire death," Gale said.
The knight stayed still. But through the knight guard's visor, Gale saw his eyes move towards the blade of Erebus hovering over his neck.
"The blade you hold..." Lruikov whispered.
Then Presence Between showed Gale what was happening around him. All the citizens that were in his presence kneeled before him as if they were revering him.
"What's happening?" Gale asked, looking to Erin.
"A surprising outco from a barbaric negotiation," Erin said. "They recognize the sword you hold."
"What?"
"Master Lucid commanded the forces during the conflict that engulfed this world. It appears the natives rember the blade that helped save them and their ancestors."
Gale looked down at the Erebus he held. It was like holding an antique sword and people could recognize it. Not exactly the sa, but close enough. It made him feel older by just holding the sword. And the feeling was kinda good.
Lruikov's trembling voice ca through his visor. "The black edge of Erebus written in the legends of past."
The other knight ca forward from behind him, saying, "Are you the Divine Dark's successor?"
Clenching his fists, Gale felt this was even more grand than his inside Dark Hunter persona. But it was the way these people spoke. Before he could speak, Erin spoke up.
"He is," she said. "The Divine Dark had pronounced him as Dark Hunter to carry on his legacy."
"The Dark Hunter..." Lruikov whispered.
"Citizens of Drovairt. Arise from your reverence," Gale said, pulling back Erebus from the captain's throat. "We seek issues of foreign origin that disturb your lands. That is all, nothing more, nothing less."
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The citizens rose. The ones that had belongings on the floor picked them up. And all of them then crowded towards Gale and Erin.
He saw each one of them trying to get a touch on his body. Once they had a tap, they let others take hold. Children of all ages ca to him to do the sa. One thing they all had in common was their hollowed cheekbones that told him most didn't have enough to eat on a daily basis, even the children.
Their survival is their own concern.
That's what Erin said, and it was true. Even if Gale tried to do sothing to better their lives, they wouldn't learn how to survive on their own.
Once the crowd parted, Gale saw the guard captain and the 10 other guards kneeling before him. "Dark Hunter, give us your commands."
"Take us to your leader," Gale said. "Now."
*
The reception room of the castle was nothing like Gale expected.
When Lruikov had led them through the gates and up the winding streets toward the castle at the center of the city, Gale had imagined gold-gilded walls, crystal chandeliers, and portraits of ancient kings lining the halls, ornantal swords, and fancy looking rocks as walls.
But when he got to the stone walls, they only tasted like the ordinary rocks that would be by the river. Walls were also not decorated with ancient, valiant, intimidating-looking kings. The architectural design also looked like it was more to keep the cold out rather than making it look decadent.
Now what did decadent an? Gale had no idea. It was sothing he saw in a fantasy book describing a castle.
Sitting at the table Lruikov had put them in, this dining situation looked like their reception room. The wooden windows were closed with thick logs that prevented heat from seeping out into the cold. The table itself was just plain. Not even a tablecloth was placed on top and he could see all the imperfections of hundreds of past dinners on it.
The food matched what he expected. Vegetable soup and bread. The soup was thin, more broth, less vegetables and what looked like the elongated broccoli he had seen the vendors carry. The bread was dense, hard, stale, and rock like that made it actually taste good. It had a hint of earthy notes and soil that Gale had grown to love.
In other words, the bread was good. The broth could be better.
Beside him, Erin hadn't even touched hers. She sat beside him, her bowl of soup already gone cold. She didn't even pretend to eat. As expected of the social-norm-denying floating bluey.
The door cracked open just enough for an eye to peek through. Presence Between already caught her form, but Gale turned his head to look through the crack anyways. A female child, maybe around seven or eight. White hair, pale skin, deep blue eyes, just like everyone else in this world. But her cheeks were sunken.
For a child that lived in a castle, this was odd. Shouldn't they have enough food to at least feed their royalty?
"Co in," Gale said.
The girl froze. Her breathing shallowed.
"It's ok," he said softly. "Co."
She hesitated for a mont longer, then slipped through the doorway. Her bare feet made no sound on the stone floor as she approached the table. Before Gale could say anything, she darted forward, snatched a piece of bread, and bolted for the door.
But a commotion just outside the door already told him of the result of the theft. She didn't make it very far.
Lruikov appeared in the doorway, his hand catching the girl by the collar as her feet dangled off the floor. The stolen bread was in his other hand.
"My deepest apologies, Dark Hunter." Lruikov bowed his head while keeping his grip on the girl. "The young lady apologizes for her rudeness." He extended the hand that held the bread. "This belongs to our honoured guest."
Gale took it, then stood up, walked around the table, and handed the bread back to the girl dangling in Lruikov's arms.
"Dark Hunter?"
Picking up the girl under her arms, Gale carried her to the other side of the table in front of where he sat. She stared up at him with wide eyes and cracked gaping lips.
"It is improper for the young lady to dine with the Dark Hunter," Lruikov said.
"This is no folly, Lruikov," Gale said, reaching for Erin's untouched bowl. Mom said, never waste food or else. He never found out the or else part though. Turning his eyes to Erin, he said, "Heat this up."
"Your actions are aningless," Erin said. "Feeding one child will not solve the issues of this land."
Even though she said that, she raised one finger and the soup started to simr. Within seconds, steam began to rise up from the soup, and then she lowered her finger.
Gale took the bowl and set it in front of the girl. "Eat."
The girl looked at the soup, the bread, then Gale. Without any more hesitation, she soaked the bread into the broth and took a bite. Then another. And another until she finished the bread.
Taking another bread from the basket, Gale gave her another. She took it imdiately and then ravaged it with as much energy as the last, as if she hadn't had a proper al in days. Because probably she hadn't.
The door creaked open again, and a man entered the reception room. Young, maybe mid twenties. Probably taller than him. Wait. No. Definitely taller than him. At least half a head. Probably more.
Curse you, Hathie genes.
He wore simple clothes, similar to the tunic and leather boots the n usually wore around the city. The only thing that discerned him from the common folk was the circlet of silver around his forehead.
The mont he saw Gale, he dropped to one knee.
"Forgive for intruding upon your al, Dark Hunter." His head bowed low. "I am Tyain, king of Drovairt and ruler of this valley. It is of highest honour to receive the successor of the Divine Dark within our humble walls."
Gale cringed internally before kneeling down to et the king on the floor, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Rise, ruler of this land. Co have bread with us."
Tyain's head lifted slightly. "I could not possibly dine with a god."
Standing up, Gale grabbed a piece of bread from the basket and held it over Tyain's bowing head. "We can eat and talk, right?"
"If that is your wish, this humble one shall accept," Tyain said, standing up and going to the table, sitting beside the girl who was still eating.
"You too, captain," Gale said, turning to Lruikov. "Sit. Eat."
Lruikov looked at his king, earning a nod from Tyain. Imdiately, the man moved to the side where Tyain sat but didn't dare to take any bread from the basket.
Gale had to once again give them bread, "your people cultivated this bread. Take them as yours and let us dine together."
"As you command, Dark Hunter," both of them said simultaneously.
Both of them then took bread from the basket, no longer hesitating, and ate in small pieces.
The girl in front of him had finished her soup. She was using her finger to scrape the last bits of broth from the bottom of the bowl. Gale took another piece of bread and handed it to her.
She took it without hesitation, taking a big bite of it imdiately.
"What's your na?" Gale asked.
The girl stopped eating. Her eyes t his, then she slowly turned her head to the left, glancing toward Tyain.
"This is Lira," Tyain said. "My younger sister."
"Where are your parents?" Gale asked. "Your mother and father?"
A mont of silence fell between them. Tyain set down his bread on the table before saying, "They are no longer with us..."
"What happened?"
"Our mother... she passed during childbirth." Tyain's eyes moved to Lira. "There were complications. The healers could not save her."
"And your father?" Gale asked.
"He went insane."
"Insane?"
"After mother's death, he was never the sa. He stopped eating, stopped sleeping. When we tried to communicate with him, he'd shout incoherently at everything that moved." Tyain's voice trembled. "One night, he..."
"He what?" Gale pressed.
"He killed himself."
Lira's small hand reached for another piece of bread. She didn't eat it. Her shoulders trembled as she just held on to it, squeezing it tight until crumbs fell onto the table.
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