68. New Faces in a Town in the Middle of Nowhere

0, 0, 0 PA. The rise of the Eternal Library.

The first Advent; the Advent of Civilization.

An Advent faded from the minds of the world. What sparked the beginning was lost to the test of time, known only by the select few. Even fewer remembered that fateful day.

What began exactly? What happened on that day?

Someone turned the page.

The gentle turn was accompanied by the sound of stretching fabric. A girl dressed in a pale dress rocked her legs back and forth as she sat at the end of a walnut table. This table stretched on infinitely along a grand hallway, where many piles of books rose to a ceiling that could not be seen, alongside shelves filled with countless books.

Her black hair politely avoided touching the pages as she moved with enthusiasm, reacting to each written word in the books sprawled before her. A golden light seemed to cascade the entire Library, which was like a world within a world.

This place was her little world, and these books were her windows to the worlds beyond, and into the hearts of people she wished to understand.

She was careful to not touch the words. To not stain the glowing pages as she followed the tale that wrote itself onto multiple books. She hurriedly pushed herself away from the table suddenly in surprise before quickly rummaging through the countless shelves in search for another book.

Time functioned differently here. Where minutes only elapsed in the world beyond; days or perhaps years may have passed within this endless place. And yet the girl’s appearance did not change, nor did her love for exploring these many tales, both heartbreaking and warm.

The fair-skinned girl climbed and descended walnut ladders that rose kilometers into the air and skittered up and down staircases that only led to differing floors of this labyrinth. In the end, she found what she was looking for and clutched the giant book between her arms, smiling cozily to herself before she returned to this strange sanctuary that was a little different from the rest of the Library.

The fragrance of herbs blessed the air here. A kettle of freshly brewed tea and two porcelain cups sat on her table. Someone had arrived during her absence to deliver these.

She plunked the book down, scouring through its pages with silver eyes until she found words being magically written. The contents caused her lips to move and yet not a single sound was made. In this grand library there was but one rule she always abided by.

Silence.

It was not heavily enforced, but it was something she was keenly bent on. She stopped speaking and waited just one moment as she gazed upwards to the infinite golden sky before suddenly smiling.

Then, her eyes eventually fell back down onto a certain red novella. A line-drawn picture of a metal candle was drawn onto its cover. She spoke once more before pouring tea into two cups. The cup was cozily placed before an empty set, patiently waiting to meet the lips of her next visitor.

* * *

“The Archivist misses Jury already.”

Well tell her she’s not getting Jury. She’s already mine.

Frost was defensive all of a sudden but ended up smiling soon after.

And tell her thanks for teaching Jury new things. Our trip had little opportunity for her to grow. I’m hoping she can further grow inside of Brandar.

“A hopeful prospect.”

Hm… You know, that makes me wonder what the Arbiter is like.

“A judge most likely. The namesake encapsulates this no? One who holds the ultimate authority over matters.”

I was thinking the same thing since they’re the Archetype of Judgement. But what I meant was personality wise. Or rather… mortality? Ethics? I’m hoping we can at least see eye to eye with this whole charade.

“The Arbiter is blind if my knowledge serves me correctly. How can you see eye to eye?”

Nav… please.

Brandar was far flatter than Frost anticipated. The vast green plains ran further than the eye could see in each cardinal direction. She could only vaguely make out the towering walls of the Nex Megalopolis.

They wouldn’t make it there before nightfall on foot. Thankfully, there was a town just ahead. Roughly 50 of them marched along the soft soil path with the little Frost that somehow didn’t fade away. The girl marched right by Frost’s side, kicking her feet up like an actual child.

Although this ‘child’ possessed the exact stats she had, save for only a tenth of her HP. It was a monster in disguise.

Innocent
LittleFrost
AFFINITY: Judgement
LEVEL : 89     ORIGIN : Trauma     HP : 28,500     ATT : 4,500     MAG ATT : 3,000
AGI : 70     RESIST : 120     MP : 2,500     ATT DEF : 1,500     MAG DEFF : 1,300

They saw people stare in their direction along the trail, gripping their chests and wearing mournful expressions. It was not because of them, but rather because of what they witnessed happen to the city of Divas Pass far behind.

Their incident was not an isolated one where they were the only ones who carried this knowledge. The world was too vast with many eyes and hearts. News of the razing of Divas Pass and the subsequent destruction of the Plagued Heart would make its rounds to various inns and Guilds sooner or later.

The crowd only grew thicker the closer they approached the vast walls to what appeared to be the only town in Brandar. Its size was comparable to Little Tais, but its defenses were certainly interesting. A ring of red crystals was embedded into the lower section of the wall.

“Those produce fire, right?” She spoke to no one in particular, eventually finding themselves partially blocked by a small crowd. “Try to stay close everyone!” Frost called out to the back, receiving a nod from Furio and a wave from Anna.

With so many Demi-humans behind her, most of which were younger children, Frost became wary of one getting lost in the crowd. Granted, she had perfect omnidirectional vision but even so but she wasn’t taking any chances.

And now that she noticed it, she appeared like a mother duck followed by her ducklings.

They quickly became the center of attention as expected. They did, after all, come from the direction of Divas Pass. Not to mention they seemed to recognize Cara and her team.

“Let this meagre manager take over.” Cer said as Cara, Usa and Fran promptly moved to the front, receiving a warm reception from the crowd. “Better for them to talk than us. You’re not in Grandis anymore. We don’t need to bite when we speak.”

“Unfortunately.” Ber added.

“Cara. City of Spades disaster rescue unit! We’ve returned from Grandis with the final collection. I’m sure you’ve all heard the news. Divas Pass is no more, and the borders are off limits. These are survivors and rescued slaves. We have these Adventurers to thank for defeating the Hungry infestation.”

Interesting that they don’t call themselves Scarlet Logic or Dawn Team out loud to normal people unless it’s unavoidable.

“Survivors!? Adventurers as well!? S-Someone! Let them know they’ve come back!” A woman with four arms exclaimed, right as a few others swiftly ran to the gates.

“Oi! Yer idiot, can’t ya see they’re already accompanied by ‘em!? Make way! MAKE WAY!” The husky, thick accent of a somewhat short yet muscular man shouted. “The City of Spades got to ‘em! And ain’t it that bunny girl again!? What’s this, your third sister or somthin’!? Ya rabbits look near identical to one another!” He sounded confused to see her. Extremely confused actually.

Most likely because they didn’t see her return but saw her depart multiple times.

“That’s a big fuck up~” Cer whispered, not into Frost’s ear but her little self. “Should’ve at least cut one ear off or changed her hairstyle somehow. Sloppy. As. Always.”

“Right?” Ber nodded in agreement.

“Shh.” Res hissed.

“So many of them as well… How horrible. Look what those bastards had those children wear. Nothing but feathers. Thank the celestial heavens we got out of there years ago.” A woman whose arms were wings softly spoke.

Ok, that one’s on me. Thankfully the feathers can barely pass as clothes. But man… not even a few hours after walking into Brandar and I already feel like I’ve stumbled into a completely different world. Even Jury’s surprised.

Indeed. Jury was riled with awe seeing so many different kinds of races present. It wasn’t the common human, Demi-human or Insectid they had only seen throughout Grandis. There were so many different races in fact that it was difficult to spot a single human.

Harpies, Orcs, Dwarves, Elves, Dragonkin, Beastkin; which were anthropomorphic, bipedal animals and finally; the Aquatids.

Like the Beastkin, they had similarities to humans save that their sea-creature characteristics were much more pronounced, such having tentacles for legs, or stinging anemones for arms. There was one man who had a tail hoist a glowing orb just in front of face, much like an angler fish.

It was normal sight for the others. But for Frost, some of the slaves and even Jury to an extent – they had just walked into an entirely different realm.

“That is not even all of them. Elysia is home to plenty of races, but Brandar is where they congregate.”

You know, if I didn’t know any better I would’ve thought some of these people were Corrupted. Looks are deceiving, huh.

“Wow...” Jury ended up muttering. “I’m not the weird one anymore.”

“Jury. You were never weird to begin with.” Frost immediately corrected.

Although, it was important to note that there were no Demons present.

From what Frost understood, Demons were the closest things to the Corrupted without actually being Corrupted; hence why they were at war with the Kingdoms in the southern Emvita region who believed they were the source of the Corruption.

But with the knowledge of the Impuritas, she had to take that with an entire fistful of salt. Nothing was closer to the Corrupted than those things.

“It goes to show how different regions are. Imagine Spiriten, the land of the magical creatures and Elves. You’d for sure think you were living inside of a fairytale. Or a fever dream.”

A fever dream for sure. You speak as if I’m not already in one.

Frost needed to reorganize her thoughts. In the meantime, Cara motioned for them to follow as the crowd briskly parted, still shocked by the razing of Divas Pass.

“To think that city was just there days ago…”

“I hope you find a place here in Brandar~”

“Hello~! Are you all new here? It’s ok! Only friendly faces here in this town!”

A number of soothing voices called out to the women behind, trying to ease their hearts as they ventured into this unfamiliar place. Her feathers also rustled to a lot of their kind proclamations, shedding light on the nature of this place.

It’s not drab at all compared to Grandis.

Frost also felt a lot of eyes fall onto Jury and herself in equal amounts of reverence and awe.

They were glaringly out of place. Not in a bad way per say. Like roses in a field of small flowers. Their attires spoke of immense power, and it did not help that Jury’s coat was in constant animation, declaring the sins of these people along its feathers in a language they could not decipher.

“We have a place where we keep people we collected over night. Manned by us. Expect warm meals, a change of clothes and a bed to sleep on. It’s the least we can offer before they’re sent for acquisition. Which is unlikely now that you have a Golden Ticket.” Cara explained, sensing Frost’s eyes stab into her back. “We’ll leave tomorrow for the Nex Megalopolis by caravan. We’ll arrive there on the same day by train.”

She spoke with utmost respect and with only the truth. Cara, despite being from an Atelier Frost had come to loathe, seemed to have her heart in the right place.

“You think I can quit my job and also join the Golden –?”

“You’ll be terminated for good.” Fran sternly reminded, causing the upbeat bunny girl to let loose of a long sigh.

“Yeah, yeah. But a young girl can dream, right!?”

“Captain, must I remind you of the people we’re escorting right now?” Cara managed to tame her emotions and speak as professionally as humanly possible.

They eventually reached the gates of the town. Three blocks of solid steel could be seen hanging from above, as well as multiple murder holes and even more of the red crystals. The town was heavily fortified, having yet another layer of wall internally, finished with a moat of black oil.

All these fire-based defenses made perfect sense with the sheer number of Hungry that emerged during the night. As for the town itself – it was teeming with life. They were immediately greeted by the sound of bustling commerce and communion.

Pale, bricked stone roads went on and met in the center at a grand intersection where the largest building in the town sat, most likely being the Guild. Many people crowded near the gate around them due to the sighting of the catastrophe at Divas Pass, and they were instantly greeted by all manners of faces.

She had her second taste of civilization since arriving in this world and she couldn’t be more pleased. The homes and structures here were highly reminiscent those built during renaissance era back on Earth, albeit they were no more than two stories tall.

The Guild building here was more baroque than the gothic one back in Gradis; lavished well with statues and pillars. It was built wide like a manor, possessing two main wings. And unlike the Guild in Little Tais, this one did not serve as the main communal hub of the town.

“It’s beautiful…” Frost ended up whispering, instantly falling in love with the scenery. She felt like was seeing color for the first time. “It’s so much more vibrant. Colorful. And this is just a town in the middle of nowhere, huh?”

“Not in the middle of nowhere. It’s collection point that eventually became home to a few thousand people. Nearly everyone living here was at one point rescued by people like us, but the older ones remember being rescued by Justica Arms. Some even remember Beholder Galia herself. This was built by her in the first place.” Cara explained, greeting people along the way with waves.

Frost even caught a few waving towards her. Both men and women. She waved back, smiling like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“People are friendly here. It’s nice.”

At first, she wondered if it had to do with her looking like an Apostle but Jury then pulled her a little closer than usual.

“Hmm.” She hummed once, holding tightly onto Frost’s hand.

“Yeah, give them that statement. Make them feel my pain.” Cer hissed spitefully at them as Frost’s hand lowered slightly, only now realizing why they were waving at her in the first place.

As strange as it was to admit this out loud, they were attracted to her. The coat, her eyes – the way she presented herself; it all begged for people to revere at her mere sight.

It was endearing to her, and it made her quite happy that they weren’t afraid to show their emotions. Or at least she was just glad they weren’t afraid.

“Demi-humans like to wear their hearts on their sleeves. A little too much.” Res sighed, glaring at an oblivious Cer.

“Yeah, unlike us proud wolves.” Cer puffed her chest out, taking the little Frost into her arms again. The small Frost pouted as a teardrop symbol appeared on her head.

“Exactly.” Ber nodded, suddenly taking interest in the symbols the little Frost conjured. “Sweating? Is that what it means? Or excited!”

“Heh, good catch.” Cer nodded, while the little Frost frantically shook her head, pinching her nose as well.

“Very proud, huh?” Frost ended up uttering.

“I’m so sorry about them.” Res apologized, making her fondly smile.

It brought her way back to the first day she met them.