Our Swords Are Empty

"I know I've seen a lot of you around the castle, so maybe you already know, but-"

In a military carriage, five others and I begin our introductions.

"My name is Hildna. I'm not a soldier, but you're all stuck defending me. I'm very sorry."

The group laughs. Feana already told them about my powers, and everyone here agreed to the operation, so it's a bit pointless for me to introduce myself.

"The only one who doesn't know me here is Hildna, so..." the largest in the... room?... begins. "Miv. Name's Miv. My sword's always empty."
I look at the hulking mass of a man in confusion. "What does that mean?" Is that an okay thing to ask?
"What? The sword thing?" a bespeckled boy cuts in. "It means he fights before he thinks."
I turn my attention to him, and he introduces himself. "Fren. I'm the eldest here."
Seriously? He looks like the youngest! I suppose we're a bit similar, both babyfaces.

"That's not what it means!"
"In your case, Miv, that's all it means..."

A short-haired lady with a big backpack by her side brushes off the duo's bickering and pushes on with the introductions.
"Hi! I'm Jus." Short and sweet. "Uh, so, an empty sword means that you're ready for battle. It's an army thing."
From her backpack, she pulls out a paper, then another, then another. This continues for a while, so someone else decides to do their introduction.

"I've seen you in action. I'm Agin, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh, you were there when... uh... Flionel died."
"Yup. Gart and I. That's Gart, over there."

Agin, with a recognisably freckled face, he introduces his buddy with a point. Gart waves back, but doesn't say anything, probably because...

"There it is! Look!" Jus leans forward and unrolls a map before me. It's a map of Larila, but the point of focus she wants me to look at is the tall, thin continent owned by the Mul Empire.
"What? Kaa?" I name the only city on that continent, but Jus shakes her head.
"The story comes from here. Right?" She turns to the rest of the group for confirmation. "It's a story from Mul, right?"
Gart is the first to respond. "Yeah. The story is usually called 'The Heartless Swordsman'."
"It was reeeaaally popular, in Mul and Xarka, I think." Jus continues.
"Rhias as well", Miv adds. "Sorry, Fahngvad." The name 'Fahngvad' sounds like an insult the way he says it.
Now that they say it, I might've heard about a "Heartless Swordsman" somewhere...

"Actually, I think I've heard of it."
"How much do you remember?"
"Not much. How did it go again?"
"Well, there was this guy..."
"'This guy'!? He was super famous!"
"He was famed across Mul for his swordsmanship, but fame made him arrogant."
"It takes a fool to chase small desires, thus a god of fools, Ir is!"
"Thanks for the performance. Yeah, he ended up insulting Mul's most popular religion."
"I've heard that Irnak had lost a lot of its followers by that point."
"Well, that person from the other world was ruining everything at that point."
"The one from Earth? So this 'Heartless Swordsman' is a pretty modern figure?"
"Yup! We thought all the gods had left us, so it was a real surprise to people at the time!"

So there's genuinely a god in this world? Not like... a mythological figure, but a god-like being has made its presence known within recent history?
Maybe my perspective on this is warped by Earth knowledge. I don't know what qualifies as a god in this world, honestly.

"So Ir, the God of Small Desires, erased the swordsman's pride, and so too was every other emotion taken away with it."
"Ah, we call him the 'Heartless Swordsman', but some people call him the 'Empty Swordsman'."
"Exactly. Ir emptied him of every possible feeling, but those feelings were just a distraction to the swordsman."
"With no heart to distract him, the swordsman devoted every day to honing his blade! He wouldn't hesitate, wouldn't feel guilt, wouldn't get distracted, and was undefeated 'til his death of old age!"

Occasionally during this explanation, Jus recalls a line from a scripted version of the story and proudly narrates it. She must've seen it performed live. I wonder if the armies watch a lot of performances in this world? I think that's a thing they do on Earth.

Miv closes out the conversation by clarifying something. "When we say our swords are empty, it means we have nothing left to distract us." As he says that, he looks directly at Fren.
Fren shrugs. "Okay, I get it. I was just making a joke."

"Wait, so what happens in the end? The guy just gets really good with using a sword?"
"Yup. It's like... even if you lose something important, greatness can still be reached! Or something like that, haha."
"And what about the god? Are they still around?"
"You could try insulting them and find out."
"No thanks..."

◇ ◇ ◇

During this trip through snowy countryside, I've learned to appreciate the miraculous gift I lovingly call The Backpack of Jus.
She's put snacks in it. She's put cards in it. She even brought some of those books where you make decisions while you're reading and it takes you to different pages depending on what you do.
Thinking rationally about the contents of her backpack, it is mostly the kind of stuff a little kid would bring on a camping trip, but I certainly appreciate it. Plus, she has a map for everywhere you could possibly want, even Earth!

The map that really matters, for our purposes, is of Yve's south-eastern settlements. None of those settlements really exist anymore, but the shape of the land won't change so suddenly.
So, after about a day and some sleep of non-stop travel, we step out into the snow, following the guidance of our map-obsessed team member. Before that, though, I do have one curiosity I need satisfied...
How is this thing driving? There's no one outside it, there's no animal pulling it along. Was it being controlled remotely?

"Boo!"
"Whoa! Oh, it's just you Agin."
"What are you doing? Interested in the carriage?"
"I was just wondering how it drove us here."
"Oh. Gart and I were controlling it. You didn't notice?"
"Huh? You were?"
"Yeah, Gart drove at the start, then I took over when he went to bed."
"Okay but... how?"
"There's Miaavha in the back that control the wheels, then the fairies push it."
"Huh? What does-"
"Oh, I heard. Your fairy is that cube thing, right? Must be weird having to carry it around."

I swear, the moment I start feeling like I understand this world, I get hit by the most matter-of-fact nonsense I've ever heard! What's a Miaavha!? Some kind of... wheel axis controlling mechanism? I didn't hear any machinery... though Jus is very loud, regardless of whether she's awake or asleep, so it's possible that I couldn't hear anything other than her.

◇ ◇ ◇

We confirm a suitable location, then move elsewhere. We find a second, then a third. It's always good to have backup locations, and we don't know exactly where the Lann army will be positioned.
Then we head back to meet up with Yve's army.

"Perfect. Thank you all for your work today."

At the Queen's words, everyone salutes. It's an odd salute—doing a thumbs up shape with your left hand, point it over your right shoulder. It's not very comfortable... Huh, actually, the longer you leave it, the more you get used to it. Sure, I don't hate this salute. It could've been a lot worse.

"We'll do our best to lead Lann towards one of these locations. Until then, you all may rest."

The meeting over, we return to our carriage and the army's march continues. Sadly, even though we were told we could get some rest, we really don't have the time for such a luxury. We need to be slightly ahead of the main army, so that we have time to decide on a position and get over to it before the fighting can truly begin.

The five members and I put on some equipment heavier and more armoured than our previous uniforms.
We place the carriage somewhere safe and easy to remember, saddled up against one of the mountain faces.
We make a note of our current location on a map, then jog on ahead through the snow. Yup, running in snow still sucks.

There, on the horizon, an army faces into view. Flags I've seen before, a force on a great scale, and in the centre of the mass, just barely, I can make out the figure of a man I almost saw die.

The King of Lann is almost here.