Chronicle I : Gabin, the Foundation

From the summit of Aurelmont dominated almost the entire territory. Under the green and purple streaks of the northern sky, the houses of the Fauns huddled together in the valley, and several paths disappeared between the ridges before reaching the gates. For a few days, I have not been able to consider this mountain as a simple place to drop off our belongings.

"So this is where you want to set up our base camp?" demanded Excella next to me. "At the top of the mountain?"

Her presence by my side was nothing usual since the beginning of our relationship, but I knew her tone well enough to know that she was not yet convinced.

"Yes. But not only for us. For them too. »

I showed him the valley and the roads that left it. Aurelmont was one of the best served territories that we had crossed. If a problem occurred elsewhere, many people could go there. To me, the idea had become obvious; For the group, this meant several months of hard work.

"I want to build a real refuge. Someone chose to be large enough to accommodate several people if needed. Not three bedrooms and a pantry. A place where you can actually send people when their territory becomes too dangerous. »

"And how do you plan to tell them about this shelter? Even if Carpaccio agrees that we are building here, the people of the other territories are not going to fend for themselves," Excella demanded after letting me finish. I knew her well enough to know that she was already looking for the slightest problem.

"We're on another trip around the world."

"Finally... of the Bloc. Since it's a cube," I corrected, facing his expression.

"Stop acting like an idiot, Gabin. Do you really want to make us recross all the territories we have already crossed? »

"Not all of them, and not at random. We plan a route, use the gates and move forward simultaneously. »

"Your beloved is absolutely right," Amandine, one of the members of our group, interjected as she joined us. "It's going to take forever."

"Don't tell me that you are also opposed to me?"

"No matter what Excella says, I will always agree with her."

"Why is no one normal in this group... I blurted out. My own group had already sabotaged the meeting before it even started.

"Because normal people would have abandoned you a long time ago," Excella replied. "And let me remind you that between your delusions of grandeur and the other person who sticks to me because my lady is madly in love with me, I already can't think for two minutes."

"Hey, I'm just here," Amandine protested. "Wasn't it you who said you were in favor of polygamy?"

"I was drunk! And Gabin, on his own, is already more than enough. »

"Hey, I'm here too."

Neither was deemed useful to respond. After three years, I had learned to recognize the struggles that were not worth fighting.

We found Holoryne a little higher up, near the edge, with an open book on her lap. Seeing her read or write had become so common that I probably would have noticed it more without a book. Amandine, on the other hand, had obviously not forgotten anything.

"I told you so. From this angle, it is magnificent. »

"There's the fury and the drugged," Holoryne blurted out without leaving her page. "My evening is probably ruined."

"The day was already terrible, don't worry."

"Contrary to what you think, Mrs. Bookworm, your remark did not offend me," Excella retorted. "Not at all. And stop taking us for fools. »

"Gabin has gone completely crazy. Despite this, it remains attractive. He wants us to talk about all the territories again. Could you reason with him? Amanda asked as she settled against Holoryne, as if the previous insult had only been an invitation to make herself comfortable.

"When are we leaving, chief?"

This word still made something of my own. I still wondered at what point they decided that I had become the person to ask this kind of question.

"When everyone knows about it and Carpaccio has given his approval for the construction."

"Why do we also ask her opinion?" whispered Amandine.

"Because he is the lord of Aurelmont."

"I don't love him anymore."

"We have already taken Lumbréa, Noctis, Casanière Island, two other territories and now Aurelmont," Excella continued, not forgetting the price my idea could cost us. "If we spend months handing out invitations throughout the neighborhood, other groups will get ahead of us." She was right, which made her objection all the more difficult to ignore.

"There's nothing stopping us from making progress," Holoryne replied. "We can conquer territories along the way. With Rudolf and the Bronze Knight, we have enough resources to avoid most groups that might slow us down. »

"That's not even the reason why Gabin wants to leave," Excella continued.

"I know."

Holoryne already knew the answer. At least I didn't have to convince everyone from scratch.

"I don't want the inhabitants to pay for our mistakes just because the system pushes us to conquer territories. You finish a quest, you win something. You conquer a place, you rise in rank. For them, it may just mean one more war, or the arrival of a new group. If we can continue to make progress while limiting that, I don't see why we should choose between one or the other. »

Since we arrived, everything seemed designed to reward us when we took something: clans, titles, resources, territories. The inhabitants remained on the spot after our passage. I couldn't prevent the war, but if a village had to flee, I wanted there to be a place to take refuge.

"As long as I can discover new things, I'm in," Holoryne said. "And in any case, we have to get Celestoria back. My library is still there. »

"The one you have built."

"I still have eighty-two works left that I haven't studied properly."

"Your goddess already protects your books. They can wait. »

"So you can go and wear them."

"Ask your submissive."

"I hear everything," Amandine warned.

"That was the goal."

"Everyone is calm. This is not the time..."

"No, don't get involved."

I didn't insist. My authority had shining enough for tonight. Excella announced that she was going to have a drink and Amandine accompanied her. When their voices receded at the end of the road, I stood facing the valley while Holoryne returned to her reading.

A few years ago, if I had been asked to decide for so many people, I would have waited for someone else to volunteer. Holoryne, Rodolphe, Excella... anyone else who seemed more confident. At the beginning, I had chosen a direction only because I had to. Then the others started asking my opinion before making any decision. Finally, the title of chef had been imposed. I was still not sure if it was right for me.

"Is everything okay in Exella?" asked Holoryne. "The situation has been tense for a few days."

"It's okay."

She continues to write. My lie doesn't last long.

"Very well... Okay. In three years, I still can't stand his anger. But it doesn't change anything between us. We've been following each other long enough to know that we're continuing, even when she annoys me. »

"Which seems particularly advantageous for your liabilities."

"Lower your voice."

"Excella is already at the tavern. And I don't know the exact rules of the Bronze Knight. I only note that it plays an important role in it. »

"Good. I wish it stayed that way. »

"No one gets angry as quickly as she does anyway."

"You all matter," I continued, without bothering to defend Excella on this point. "This is precisely why I want us to leave traces. If those who come after us bring us something other than rumours, they may be able to go further than us. »

"Assuming they have the same will."

"Our goal remains the same. We're keeping our places on the leaderboards, protecting as many people as possible, and limiting the damage of war. When we return, we will rebuild this place. Then, if we really manage to calm the situation, we develop this world until we find a way to escape from it. »

Put like that, I almost looked like I knew exactly where I was going. The truth was less impressive: I had a direction, a few ideas and a lot of people waiting for the sequel. For a long time, I had believed that a chef knew what to do before anyone else. What the Block taught me above all was to decide with partial answers, and then to assume the consequences.

"Do you like this world?" asked Holoryne.

The lights of Aurelmont stretched out at our feet. I hated hierarchies, group wars, and rules that allowed a handful of outsiders to decide what kind of people allowed here forever. The people, the places, everything we had discovered since our arrival... It was a different story.

"Without its absurd rules? Yes. »

"So our priority remains Oryn. As long as he is second in the rankings and aspires to become the next founder, he will continue to defend a system where each generation funds the previous ones. »

That was precisely what I wanted to avoid. Leaving would not be enough if those who followed had to start exactly the same war again. We went back down shortly after. Behind us, still no wall or roof, only a clear enough idea to keep me awake some nights. A few years earlier, I would have waited for someone more concerned with me to say if it was worth it. This time, I wanted to try it before anyone would even allow me to believe it.

The inn of Aurelmont smelled of warm beer and smoked wood. After several months, the fauns had stopped treating us as visitors. The innkeeper even knows Holoryne well enough that she no longer reacts when she ordered several dishes at once.

"Gabin, over here! And so does she! Excella shouted at us.

"Is everyone here?"

"No... alas," Amandine replied. "Oscar and Rodolphe have disappeared."

"Oscar must be working out a strategy to drink for free," Holoryne surmises.

"Or explain to the tavern keeper that he is misusing his barrels," Amandine added.

Even when he was absent, Oscar managed to slip into the conversation. Malven, another member of my group, demanded that Rudolf be able to do well, and Holoryne took on a deeper voice.

"Drinking weakens. The most worthy do not stoop to it. »

"Approved," Malven says. "It's exactly him."

"If I were as strong as him," whispered Givernale, another member of my group, "I could save the people I love."

"You'd be so attractive if you were strong," Amandine replied.

"It's not really what I wanted to hear, but Amandine is still Amandine... »

"And then, those bastards of Dove fought like cowards," Excella continued. "Frost prison, they don't deserve it. Since we're leaving anyway, we're going to take it back. »

"Really?" demanded Givernale. "Do you really plan to go back? I hope the Bhalukans will not be angry with me for leaving. »

"You're lucky that an entire people appreciate you so much," Malven replied. "I'm sure they're waiting for you to come back."

Malven often had this way of reassuring others before anyone could even ask him how he was breastfeeding. Holoryne also knows this little game.

"If you start your existential crisis again, I'll take care of you personally."

"Oh no. I provide you with some. I don't want to go through that again. »

"What did she do to you? Anyone chose in connection with...? Amandine demanded.

"Please feel free to join us if you are intrigued."

"Absolutely not!" protested Malven.

"It's boring... The more the merrier, and the more we fight. »

So here was the group I had just joined for months of crossing the neighborhood: exhausting, unpredictable, and rarely all agreed. Yet, I would not have traded any of its members.

"Since the two missing people will certainly agree, give us the plan," Excella finally said, bringing the conversation back to our departure.

"So..."

"Faster. I am losing patience. Otherwise, nothing will happen tonight. »

"We're starting from the south," I continued, fully aware of the scope of his threat. "Amphithéon opens in ten days, which will allow us to get back into the rhythm. Then we will follow the west, crossing the most populated territories and the most accessible gates. We will warn the inhabitants, we will move forward as soon as possible and we will avoid unnecessary detours. »

I continued the story of the main stages until our planned return to Aurelmont, via the west of Astravel. I had prepared the itinerary long enough so that I didn't have to search for my words. For once, no one interrupted me. It was almost worrying.

"Strangely, you have never been so convincing in your speech," Excella observed.

"Thank you."

"Normally, you stutter every two seconds."

"Ah."

"You're going to have to spread your legs," Amandine added.

I decided that certain sentences didn't need to be understood. A few seconds later, a mug tipped over and Malven and Givernale had to intervene.

"Help! Holoryne, call your... »

"Rodolphe is not here. Manage. »

"By the way, no one can really match him," I continued, looking at Rodolphe's empty chair. "He could almost have stayed here on his own. Aurelmont would have been safe for months, wouldn't it? »

"Certainly," Holoryne replied. "But if we run into Oryn and his gang, we won't stand a chance without him. And some conquests require the group to be complete. »

"Oh yes... We have been here for several months. I had forgotten some rules," I admitted when they finally came back to me.

"Magnificent," commented Excella.

"Our leader," Holoryne added.

I spared them my defense. That's precisely why I still needed a reputation.

A few hours later, Excella and I were back in the room we had shared for several months. It will no longer really be a passage piece. Clothes were on a chair, our belongings were piled up against a wall, and the little table had changed its place so much that I didn't know where it had been before.

"I have the impression that you hold this decision against me."

"I just don't want anything to happen to you, Gabin. Every day, every time we crossed new territories, I was anxious. Here, I had finally stopped wondering when things were going to go wrong. Leaving again after several months of safety... It upsets me. And it annoys me because it stresses me out. »

"We can put it off for a few days," I offered, with exactly the reflex she hated.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Decide to carry everyone, then give up as soon as someone admits to you that they are afraid. I don't want to stop you from going. I just want to have the right to find it terrifying. »

"Very good," I conceded. I wanted to reassure her and I had mostly answered off the mark.

"And it annoys me too, because your history is useful. Mine is much less so. We've always been told: combat passives are some of the best for surviving. »

"Mine doesn't work without you."

"You tell me this every time, but you always refuse to explain why. Gabin, before I lose patience... »

"I can't tell you."

"Why?"

She was right to insist, and I hated not being able to give her an answer that satisfied her.

"Because if I explain to you exactly what is going on, I'm not sure that I handled the situation in the same way during the disputes. I need you to react as usual. »

I don't like this part of secrecy between us. I wanted to tell him everything, but saying more risked changing something that I already didn't fully master.

"Sorry. I'm crazy about you and I really want to explain it to you," I continued. "But if it changes the way we fight, I put the whole group in trouble. I don't want Rodolphe to be the only one who bears the responsibility of protecting us. And above all, I don't want to take the risk of losing you. »

"You know perfectly well that without your past, I would beat you to the plate."

"Yes," I replied. I much preferred it when she courted me like that.

"I'd make you look ridiculous."

"Excella..."

"I'm not the type to let it happen for long," she continued, bursting out laughing, the tension between us finally subsided.

"After three years together, I think I've proven enough that it's mine. But don't tell anyone. »

"About what?"

"That you beat me."

"Seriously?" asked Excella, looking at me as if she was still waiting for me to clarify that I was joking.

"I'm trying to build a reputation."

"Gabin... »

"I want to be taken seriously."

Said like that, it sounded silly. And if I arrived in a territory where they promised to protect its inhabitants, I wanted them to have a reason to believe me. I also wanted my group to follow me for who I really am, not just because Rodolphe was walking behind me or because a rank had my name on it. And then, frankly, I didn't want the whole Bloc to learn that Excella could tear me to pieces without even thinking about it.

"The Journal is already talking about you. Golden brown. The Bronze Knight. It's much better than anything you could invent," Excella reminded me.

"They didn't even ask my opinion."

"What did you want?" she asked, shrugging slightly, as if the problem seemed totally secondary to her.

"Gabin the Brave."

Excella did not respond. Her gaze remains fixed on me long enough for me to understand that she was probably waiting for a better suggestion.

"Or Knight Brown."

This time, she looked away slightly. His silence was probably the most eloquent criticism of the evening.

"Very good. GoldenBrown is the best," I conceded.

"Yes, stop there, please."

I dropped my head back before continuing:

"Givenale to the Snow Archangel, Holoryne the Apothecary of a Thousand Remedies..." And Rodolphe? Seriously, do we talk about it or not? »

"No."

"Why?" I asked, turning my head towards her.

"Because you're going to compare yourself to him again and throw a tantrum."

"I don't have seizures. This is Malven's role. »

"Of course," Excella replied, with a look that said the exact opposite.

She then reminded me that four members of the group were among the twelve candidates for the title of Sovereign of Renewal, and that only four people would get it before the end of the event.

"It would be great if one of us got it," I whispered.

"Hers, on the other hand, was perfectly adapted. It was very funny," I added, immediately thinking of Malven when he learned that he was not one of the candidates.

"You're horrible," Excella whispered, grabbing her head and smiling in spite of herself.

"A little."

The conversation gradually regained the ease we had after three years of relationship. Even our differences often ended like this: not really resolved, but understood enough for us to continue.

"Are we back on the road already?" asked Excella.

"Yes. If you are not ready, we can postpone for a few more days. Your well-being matters too. »

"No. That's not it. We are going to leave. »

"Now come and take your reward for this speech. It will help me think about something else," Excella continued, in a tone I knew all too well.

"What reward again?" I asked, because I had really forgotten.

"So you will never change."

I smiled in spite of myself; she was probably not wrong. Beyond the window, the lights of Aurelmont rose to the foot of the mountain. Up there, there was always only rock and an idea far too big for me.

A few years ago, I would have waited for someone else to decide. I still didn't know if I had become a good leader, but I wasn't waiting for someone else to make the decision for me. For a long time, I had thought I just wanted to be surrounded by people who were much stronger than me. I was wrong.

I had never dreamed of following the strongest. I wanted to become the one they would choose to follow. And that evening, at the foot of a still deserted mountain, everyone was waiting to know what I was going to decide.