The Basics

"So you're saying we're in Hethorian territory?"

Simon was sat opposite Sonia at a table in a far corner of the tavern, allowing the shadows to offer them some coverage. The proprietor of the eatery had come out from where he had been hiding shortly after the battle concluded, and had immediately removed the bodies alongside his workers, cleaning the blood stains and removing damaged furniture where they could.

"That's correct, yes. We're currently in Sordilar, the last city on the continent in service to Lady Hethoria. It's a small city with a modest economy and little to speak of otherwise. It currently serves as a bastion for what few forces we have left, whom I have been leading up to this moment."

Simon looked over Sonia once again. She had taken the opportunity to wash her face and hair after the battle, leaving her stoic demeanour far less at odds with her appearance than before. While she had once been terrifying, she now instead looked elegant and refined, though certainly distant and icy. Her blonde her was braided into a knot behind her head, with two partings that fell to her shoulders, delicately framing her face and contrasting strongly against her uniquely orange eyes.

"So if that's the case, what were those guys doing here? You said they were followers of Varok or something? I'm guessing us two groups don't really get along well." Simon was exceptionally eager to finally get a chance to learn more about the world and situation he found himself in, and he'd be damned if he didn't probe Sonia for every piece of information she had to offer.

"They seem to have been priests of Varok that had come expecting to find the city defenceless, likely thinking they could claim the glory of finishing us off before anyone else, hoping to earn favour from their God. From what I had gathered, their leader was a Bishop; while not weak, they are numerous and none possess too threatening a power."

Simon stared at his medallion as he fiddled with it, lying back against his chair and tilting it back, holding himself in place with his ankles against the table. A carving of the sun torn in half was engraved in the center. So it was just really bad luck huh, how typical for me. Well I guess there's no use overthinking it then, guess I'd best try to dive straight in.

"Alright, so this Knight thing, does that make me the highest rank in the Church outside of the Goddess herself? Also, what about you? You seemed to take that Bishop guy out without much trouble at all, so you're not a Knight despite that?"

Simon noticed that Sonia hesitated a moment, seemingly uncomfortable with something he had said. Her hand moved to her neck, where she wore a very similar medallion to Simon's.

"I serve as an Archbishop of Hethoria, the only one remaining, that serving as the second highest church position outside of Knight - those who serve the Goddess directly. Your rank is denoted by the unbreakable seal on your medallion. No force outside of a God's very own could remove it from you." Her hands reached behind her neck, tugged slightly alongside a light metallic click, and placed her removed necklace on the table. "The medallion I have is weaker and while the craftsmanship is the same as yours, the lack of an unbreakable seal means it's incapable of channelling as much magic as a Knight's."

"Alright, I guess that ma- wait, hold on, magic? We've got magic because of these things!?"

Sonia frowned almost imperceivably. "Well yes, I have been made aware that you have only recently received your rank as Knight, but surely you should know at least this? Are there no Casting Medallions where you come from? Is that why you did not use it in the earlier skirmish?"

Simon thought back to his meeting with the Goddess. It had been incredibly brief, she had asked him whether he wanted to be revived, given him the necklace when he said yes, and then promised to tell him more later, before then shunting him to a field in the middle of nowhere. He had prayed to her earlier but that wasn't out of any form of trust, rather is was because she'd managed to quite literally save him from his own death.

"No, nothing quite like it where I'm from I'm afraid, some things you wouldn't believe but not this. And when it came to meeting the Goddess, she really didn't have much to say to me, just smiled a bunch, offered me a deal, and sent me on my way. While I'm definitely grateful I really can't call her very helpful."

Before Sonia could reply, Simon tilted his chair forwards again and sprang up. "Alright, if we're talking magic then I'm all in. Always loved playing wizards in games back home so it fits like a glove." He paused. "Actually, what type of magic are we talking? Classic elemental, illusion, enchantment, whatever?"

Sonia frowned deeper this time, doubt beginning to surface after seeing Simon's unarguably weak qualifications. "Hethoria is the Goddess of Space and Knowledge, so naturally we have magic that involves warping the space around us, learning about our surroundings, and easy access to gathered knowledge. My apologies for being improper but shouldn't you know this at the very least?"

"Sorry, I'm afraid not; there's really some entertaining irony in the Knight of a Goddess of Knowledge knowing so little, almost feels like some form of inside joke. Anyway, why don't we go outside and find somewhere to test this fancy thing?" Simon flipped his necklace up and caught it in front of his face, smiling broadly, seemingly unfazed by the experience only an hour earlier.

Sonia seemed flustered now, completely bewildered by the entirely aloof attitude of the man who she had entered the conversation anticipating as a saviour. She rose briskly from her chair, scraping it against the floor as she moved. "While the idea isn't without merit my Lord, perhaps we should find you a change of clothing? No offence meant, but it would be improper for a member of the faith to walk around with clothes so heavily stained by filth."

Filth? Simon looked down at himself for the first time since the earlier brawl. His clothing, a generic shirt, jacket, and jean combo was stained a deep crimson. Huh, so that's what was so sticky earlier he thought. 

With the evidence of the death surrounding him removed, Simon had begun to calm down, pushing the thought of three men's deaths to the back of his mind, almost trying to pretend it never even happened at all. Instead he had attempted to immerse himself in the new reality he found himself in, trying to use it as a distraction from facing what he had just seen. Confronted by the reality once again, he grew visibly pallid and found himself strangely dizzy, his breath coming heavy and fast.

 "My Lord?" Sonia's composure immediately recovered as she swiftly moved to Simon's side, gently guiding him back to his seat. "It seems that you are yet to fully recover from the battle. Please wait here as I get you new clothing to change into. There is no need to rush into anything, magic practice can be very gruelling so it will be best that you are fully recovered before we begin. I will not be long." Her objective certain, Sonia moved to work immediately, asking the barkeep to provide Simon with more water, before briskly leaving the tavern and sparing no time to look back.

Simon leaned back in his chair for support once more, trying to calm down as much as he possibly could. His heart was still racing and he found himself somewhat dizzy, but the discomfort he felt had started to dim considerably. When the barkeeper came with water Simon didn't hesitate to chug it down as fast as his body would allow before immediately requesting more. The cool liquid running down his throat served to alleviate the jittery heat that seemed to be eating him from inside.

Eventually, after what seemed to him like hours but had certainly just been a handful of minutes, Simon found himself beginning to relax once again, and thinking back to the discussion they'd just had. He surprised even himself with how eagerly and readily he'd accepted all this talk of magic and Gods, but having quite literally found his way back from the afterlife did certainly help him ease more comfortably into the reality. 

He sipped at what was now his third mug of water, apprehension finally starting to sink in now that the shock had begun to pass. He had died. He'd felt the life leave him as he bled out on the concrete floor. He'd known what it was like to die, and yet here he was, somehow able to move and breathe and drink as if nothing at all had changed. There was something innately wrong about that he felt. Of course, he was grateful and undoubtedly content to be alive, but that didn't change the discomfort of his situation. People don't just die and come back he mused. He'd broken the natural order and would have to live past it for as long as he could.

Frustrated with his own moping, Simon briskly shook his head and downed what remained of the mug, shaking off the gloomy and frustratingly existential thoughts and allowing himself to return back to his earlier excitement. Magic. Full blown magic, and it'd be all his to do what he wanted with - well, as far as that didn't go against the Goddesses will at least. He had no idea why he'd been given such an absurdly high position but he certainly wouldn't waste the opportunity.

Sonia had mentioned Hethoria's domains being space and knowledge. The magical applications of even one of those domains seemed deeply versatile to him, but combining the two felt like it would provide nigh limitless potential. Reigning himself back for a moment, he did realise that he could very well be letting his imagination run rampant over the reality, there was no telling what limitations magic could hold, nor to what degree he'd be able to use it.

His reverie was broken by Sonia's return. She strode into the tavern forcefully, a small bundle of colourful cloth swaddled beneath her right arm. She initially moved as briskly and purposefully as she had when leaving the tavern, but upon noticing Simon's now relaxed demeanour, she relaxed her gait and approached the table lesiurely.

"A collection of clothing for you Sir Knight, I went to the liberty of gathering several styles and sizes so as to ensure your comfort. The owner will lend you a private room to dress yourself and will handle the disposal of your soiled garments." She was speaking in her previously composed tone again, dropping the clothes on the table for Simon to peruse.

"Thank you, but you really didn't need to go that far. Oh, could you please call me Simon by the way? I don't really thing I'm comfortable with you just calling me Sir Knight, doesn't really feel like I earned it, you know?" Simon smiled gingerly.

"Understood my Lord, henceforth I shall refer to you as Sir Simon"

"Well, that's not really what I meant, but I guess it'll have to do for now." Simon sighed in defeat, standing and grabbing the clothing from the table top. "So where's this private room then? The sooner I get out of these clothes the better." An energetic vigour had returned to his voice, a stark contrast to his dark mood only moments earlier. 

"It's behind that door Sir. The proprietor is aware of your position and will gladly take you to a room at your request." She pointed directly at a door behind the bar. "Will you need help putting anything on?"

"Woah, no, no need for that. I know I haven't given the best impression to start, but I can definitely handle something simple like changing my clothes myself. I'll be back before you know it."

After all, how hard could changing some clothes be?