Chapter 10 - Origin of the sword

"What do you mean, we need to talk?" Tiberius inquired. He had not liked Rovshen's expression since he had returned from the post office.

"Let's go," he said, without answering.

Since the location for their breakfast was close by, they traveled down the main road without a carriage. Of course, riding a carriage—especially a winged horse carriage—was a little problematic in the city. These horses would become violent very quickly, and since the general public isn’t familiar with them well, they might treat them the same way they treat Tiberius.

It took them fifteen minutes to reach a cafe. It was encircled by a short, mainly ornamental fence and had a few tables outside. Each table had menus and two seats. A massive tree stood in the center of the space, casting shadows over every table. Its lower branches were adorned with ribbons, giving it a beautiful appearance. The majority of them came from the cafe's patrons who were lovers. It was once thought that tying a red or pink ribbon after your first date was a lucky charm.

Ignoring the beautiful weather outside, Rovshen went into the café and sat down. Even though it was somewhat impossible with a tall man and King's coachman, he no longer wanted to draw attention.

Following him, Tiberius took a seat beside him. He took the menu from the table in front of him. There were numerous breakfast options available, including various types of cheese, honey, eggs, freshly baked bread, and more. He wasn't a big breakfast fan and would only eat to avoid going hungry in the morning, but he wouldn't mind trying some of them.

Of course, the prices were slightly higher than what he was told. Charles had told him that a loaf of bread is half a Velm, but here, the cheapest one was 90 Kip.

“What is Kip? Another currency?” muttered Tiberius to himself.

A girl in a dress and apron approached them, holding a pen and paper. "Welcome to our café; what can I get for you?" she said with a smile.

“I will have a big portion of egg, with a side of some vegetables. And apple juice to drink,” said Rovshen without checking the menu.

“Of course, for you, sir?”

“Well…” He checked the menu again but could not decide what to eat. “...Let me get the same,” he ordered.

“Of course,” she said, and without even taking notes, she went back to the kitchen to bring their orders.

“Erm, what is a kip?” Tiberius asked as soon as she left, “Is it like coins or stuff?”

“Yes, 100 kip is one Velm.”

“Oh,” Tiberius was relieved. According to the stories he had read, some locations—mostly magical ones like this one—may have more than one currency.

Then he started to look around curiously, checking everything out. There was nothing noteworthy for him, given how similar the place was to any other cafe on Earth. The only difference was there were no technological devices, at least not a lot.

“Why didn’t we sit outside?” He inquired, "The weather is good, and the ribbons on the tree look…" He couldn't find the right word to describe it.

“Weird?” Rovshen helped him. “I know, it is a tradition for couples to do that for luck. Just a superstition.”

He seemed irritated by this tradition. People on Earth also had some absurd beliefs that you could never comprehend, so this was understandable. Breaking a mirror was bad luck rather than a waste of money, black cats were viewed as unlucky rather than cute, and so on.

"Is that the reason you don't wish to sit outside? Because it is weird?”

"Yes and no," he replied. "You are attracting too much attention. The only reason that girl did not panic was that she did not see you standing up.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about? I can't get shorter or return to Earth right now. I'll have to live here for a while like this." Tiberius grew irritated slightly. He had been the center of attention from the moment he entered this world. Some feared him because he is different, some wanted to use him (like the king because he moved the sword), and one even attempted to kill him. And now he was being reprimanded for being different by Rovshen, the only person with whom he felt comfortable having a conversation.

“Could you please calm down?” Rovshen said, “Yes, the reason we sat inside is because you are different. But the topic is different. It is about your safety.”

“My what? Did he not take the prince away?” Tiberius exclaimed, raising his voice.

“Oh, it is not about the prince. King is likely to keep him behind bars for a week or two at least. The problem is others.”

“Others?”

"Yes," Rovshen replied but paused. The girl had brought their orders, so he waited for her to set the plates and drinks on the table.

"It's about others," he said, lowering his tone as the girl left. "Unless there is a war declaration, letters from other kingdoms are delivered directly to the post office in this city. I, or another coachman, collect letters sent to the castle.”

“What does it have to do with me?” Tiberius asked.

After taking a bite from his food and a sip from his drink, he continued.

“And, you might be in danger. Other kingdoms have sent letters asking about you. The majority of them are willing to spend enormous sums of money to ‘welcome’ you.”

“What? Why me?” He panicked but then remembered, “Is it because of the sword?” he asked, whispering.

“Obviously,” he said, taking another bite.

“What is wrong with that sword?” He said annoyedly, “Why is everyone obsessed with it?”

“It is a long story,” Rovshen said, taking a sip from his drink.

“Look, I don’t know you, but I am still stuck here with people trying to buy me like a slave, which I am not really fond of. And all of this is for a stupid sword—”

“Wow, calm down. We don’t say stuff like that here. Bad-mouthing gods or their work is not welcomed here.”

“What does God have to do with a sword?”

“Okay, listen. I don’t know the exact story, since no one has lived that long. But from what we have been taught…” He took a deep breath before explaining why Tiberius was in trouble.

“You already know about the six nations, of which you are in one. And you have also been to Solmir, God’s land. Aside from this, there is a side of the world that no rational person would venture into. The place is known as Devil's Land, Tanshy.”

Rovshen stopped for a second and took a sip from his drink, allowing Tiberius to ask a question if he had one. Of course he had—a lot of them. Before God’s land, and now the Devil’s land? What is next, the actual devil himself?

“More than a century ago, the boundaries between nations and Tanshy were merely fictitious. Battles between kingdoms would inevitably cause borders to shift, but Tanshy's boundaries with other countries were changing due to an unstoppable monster, also known as Gyoz.”

“Sorry,” Tiberius interrupted him suddenly, “A few minutes ago, you told me that I might be in danger, but now, you are talking about Devil’s land, a monster, and stuff that I don’t honestly care about. Unless it has something to do with me—”

“You wanted to learn about the sword, right?” Rovshen cut his sentence off with a monotonous and scary voice, which Tiberius slowly nodded to. “Then listen to what I am talking about.”

Knowing that this might be one of those dull tales he must hear because he has no other choice, Tiberius sighed. His boss on Earth, and now Rovshen.

“Gyoz is a large, hairy monster with seven eyes spread throughout his body. It is believed that he can absorb anything in his surroundings, and only a few have survived after just seeing him. You can’t fight him; you can’t challenge him. It will absorb everything you have, leaving your soulless body in a corner of the world, even before you consider attacking him.”

"Not a bad story, actually," Tiberius thought to himself while continuing to listen to Rovshen.

“Gyoz would mostly wander in Tanshy, rarely caring about us. However, other animals and monsters would continue to cross borders and attack cities. Commoners would inevitably perish despite nations' best efforts to protect their citizens. Although mages would protect the nation, the wealthy would, predictably, hire the best for themselves, avoiding danger.”

“Wild animals ceased attacking one day, and only those engaged in war crossed borders. Seven figures appeared in sight. Unharmed, untouched, just slowly walking away from Tanshy toward people. Naturally, some people used magic to attack them out of fear, but their attacks did not cause any damage to them. Instead of attacking people directly, they would halt attacks and approach them.”

“They were in white clothing; at least that is what has been told. They asked people to call their kings because they were here to put an end to this war and monster attack. And people did. After calling the kings and having lengthy conversations with them, the truth was finally revealed. They were gods who came here to aid us, put an end to evil, and let us live better lives.”

“And people believed that?” Tiberius frowned, not understanding why people would come to the conclusion that they are gods. “Maybe they were just different.”

“Of course not. A lot denied them, saying that they are just different, as you mentioned. But only then…” He took a deep breath. “...They asked for a dead body of a soldier, one that had died but not been buried. They did bring one, not understanding why it was asked. The one God, who we call Allfather now, held his hand on his chest for a few seconds, and the dead soldier started coughing.”

“He revived someone?”

“Yes, in front of everyone—kings, queens, soldiers, and commoners. They were astounded by what they saw. The soldier was a corpse less than a minute ago, but he was alive now. Of course, not in great condition. He was still hurt, injured. But alive, something no doctor or mage could do. After this event, they believed them, believing that they came to save everyone.”

Tiberius was listening, with his eyes wide open. Of course, this God story sounded too childish at first, but if they really revived the dead, then it could actually be true. He was aware of it from Earth. He did not personally witness it, of course, but he was aware that Jesus had done so and was regarded as both the prophet and God in Christianity.

“In that day, Kings declared the seventh land, the one that is in the middle of the other six, Solmir. This place was to belong to gods and the gods only. No one could take a step unless the gods themselves agreed. Since the gods did not ask for this land, they never stepped on it; they left it as it is, a place of peace. It is not known where they live or what they do.“

“A few years after this event, the peace was becoming a problem. Dahas can’t stand with what they have, so some tried to declare war. But the gods stopped them again, giving them a choice. If they wished to fight and waste their resources and lives on a meaningless war, they could. Or they could agree to their condition.”

Rovshen finished his food and took the last sip from the juice.

“The sword. Every year, a festival will be held, and chosen people can try their chance, pulling the sword. The one who pulls it will get everything this world has to offer: wealth, fame, and power. And some believe you can even share its power.”

“Sharing?” Tiberius frowned.

"Yes, and that is why they will do anything to get you.”