Azimuth: The Elden Throne

Almost a purely Narration Chapter, it had to be done.

Enjoy.

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/A few minutes later…/

Time passed as Dale and Erile discussed a few things under the light of a simple but strong candle.

/Chatter.../

Dale wasn't pressed for time, so he listened to her talk without really any goal, but from time to time he would butt in to try and stir their conversation into the right track.

Everything started with Erile's Grandmother, a woman that was by no means religious, which was quite odd given all of her connections to the Church.

However, despite this incongruency, from Erile's own words, her Grandmother always seemed to look up to something.

When she was younger, she used to think this thing she looked up to was God, but she was so sure now... No, she was absolutely sure that wasn't it.

She only learned what that was supposed to be after she passed away, and as such, she started seeking answers.

The reason for that was because of her love and care for her Grandmother, something that surpassed almost that of her parents.

There was no exact reason for that, her family was by no means a bad one, it's just that her Grandmother had always been there by her side.

An old retired woman has a lot of time to spare as compared to the Lord of a large household that oversees tens of thousands of people and other businesses...

Same goes for her mother.

So she couldn't help but be obsessed with the words and actions she left behind with her passing, especially in light of the grand stories she used to share with her when she was but a little girl.

It was a story as old as any other, the story of a curious little girl that knew nothing of the dangers that awaited her on the road.

She only had a desire and the will to follow through with it.

To seek the truth, whatever that meant, she went everywhere, starting with her closest option.

Her own father…

Only to be turned down.

She knew that her father knew something, he was the direct descendant of the line and sole child after all.

But he would never tell her what that was, no matter how many times she tried.

Perhaps if her grandfather had been alive he would've told her what that was, but he died many years ago, so many in fact she couldn't even remember what he looked like.

His passing had greatly changed her Grandmother, but that wasn't something she could say as she barely even remembered those times.

She could only go by her own father's words.

Her best try at having him talk was one day when she changed the labels on his wine, causing him to get slightly drunk.

But that day, her mother was nearby so she prevented her husband from speaking too much.

She did not criticize her, instead, she stimulated her pursuit of the truth…

But not like this, her father had a reason to be silent, and one of those reasons was her own safety.

If she wanted to pursue something they left behind long ago, she had to prove she could do so.

So Erile started doing just that, gathering people as she tried to live independently.

What she didn't know was that her mother's words were only meant to make her give up in the long run, but Erile ended up only even more motivated.

... It wasn't easy, but she managed to go by.

By piecing things together, she eventually found herself in the heart of everything…

The Holy Land of the Ju-Arkesian Religion, Kervensal.

In an Ancient language forgotten by seemingly all, it meant 'the land where the Moon and Sun switched places'…

Or something along those lines, no one could prove that anyway.

She stood there for a long time, asking questions, trying to get a meeting with the Priests and just anyone that might hold a clue to the mystery she sought.

But many decades prior, Kervensal shut its doors in the face of some unknown event, and rarely would the Priests leave its confines to attend important meetings such as summonings from the King and other major In-land events.

Her chances of meeting one, specifically one that could help her were slim, yet she had to try it, she had gone too far.

So in a last-ditch attempt, she decided to go with a frontal approach, she thought that if she caused a slight commotion, even if they saw her badly after, then someone would at least reply to her…

Though, unexpectedly, Fate decided to change course.

As an Event she could barely describe occurred, she suddenly knew everything.

No, the truth was much simpler than she thought, because most of it had already been told to her.

Her Grandma's stories weren't stories after all… They were recollections of hers and others' pasts.

Once that truth and a few more keywords were shared with her, she knew what to do.

And that was how she made her way here to meet with him… But it would be wrong to say she did it fully willingly. <subtxt> . </subtxt>

In a sense, she saw herself bound to the duty and weight of the truth she had just uncovered, the very reason her parents always kept silent…

She was scared and fearful of being so far from her home, staying in a cold room under a single candle speaking with a man she barely even knew.

What would be of her if things went South? She didn't even know if she would make it here in the first place.

She lied to her loving Family just to be here, but for what?

To try and make for the regrets of her Grandmother? Would she even wish that of her?

She couldn't tell that, she couldn't complain…

She knew it was too late for such doubt.

But she could not help it, the thoughts were crushing her own mind.

Dale could tell from her own words that she was in great conflict, not knowing how to proceed.

This was a great problem, his first hurdle as someone that would guide the Saint forward.

To give her the confidence to pave a path of her own.

Because right now, she was suffering from a problem many kids in Modern Earth do.

The shocking Confusion and Depression of suddenly realizing you're now a working adult and that no one cares or will remember you.

The conditions and factors of both words were different, but the root cause was the same.

Dale could not fix this right now, there was no way to do so, or at the very least he did not possess the lingual Skills to do so…

But he could occupy her mind with something else… As in the end, wasn't that what everyone just did?

So after a few more comforting words taken from the very depths of his mind, Dale continued with his Questions as he tried to change the subject of their conversation.

Now that he had an idea of why she was here and of the world outside, there was one thing left for him to confirm.

"... There's something that's been on my mind." Dale said as he looked at Erile

"Yes? Ask away please."

"If you don't mind… Your hair."

"Where did it come from?"

From her story, I'm almost 100% sure where it came from...

But I need an excuse to bring the subject forward, and it'll also be a way for me to confirm things.

Would this be a coincidence?... Likely not.

God is always above, and this time, it's not a Metaphor.

How much of an influence can those beings above have on the world?

Was this event somewhat predetermined? How much did I truly influence?

Only Ju-Arkesios herself can answer.

"My… Hair?... Oh, you mean its hair color?"

"Correct."

Dale's question wasn't weird, because, in Azimuth, Red Hair was extremely unusual.

It was like blond hair in Europe during the Middle ages.

There were only a few families said to possess red hair, and the most notable one among them was…

The Royal Family.

And amidst those people, there was a certain daughter that married a certain warrior, having two children whose fate he is very interested in.

He wanted to know if she had any connection with the Commander!

This 'truth' that was weighing on her mind was likely the fact she was a member of the Royal Family and the fact she was a descendant of the Fallen Southern Corps.

Two things that came with their own taboos and repercussions, that was why she kept mostly silent about it.

But if that proved to be a miss, he had another easy solution…

The Family name of the Commander… It was written in some of his personal letters, and it wasn't the same as Erile's.

She was Erile Lapiz, she did not share the same name as the Commander or even his wife.

What he imagined had happened was that she likely married into a Family...

But then again, she had a brother too, what if she was a descendant of him?

Over 90 years of age, that was her grandmother's age if she were to be alive, that is enough for 4 generations to pass.

From the photos he had of the Commander's Family and his knowledge of Testros' past, he could easily assume the Commander's daughter was about 10 or so years younger than Testros.

It would be a miracle to live that long without training, but there are other ways to have longevity...

Dale didn't want to be direct with his words as he was unsure how much of a sensible subject this was to her, but worst came to worse he would just go straight to the matter at hand if it meant solving this riddle.

His problems just kept increasing, and today he was thinking of reducing their number by one.

Though… Would that really work?

Something he's learned after spending close to a month in Resko is that most answers only leave him with more questions…

Would that be the case once more?

"That's easy to answer, I was forced to remember the appearances of all my ancestors up to my Great-Great-Grandparents."

"It's easy to spot when the red color appeared in my Family line, as it isn't the original color of the first few originating generations."

"Then…"

Erile opened her mouth to reply:

…

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Notes

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