First you must head unto the Breach

Travel north until you solve the simple code

Discard all whom you would deign liege

And follow the emerald brick road

- Stanza spread cross Santoria directing Chosen to Veliki, later paired with advice to not take a brick from the emerald brick road.

I went west first, and once the heart pounding terror from having a demonic thing capable of slaying accomplished heroes with almost dismissive strength had faded, things were much more boring than I thought it would be. I did pass the still mostly destroyed properties of my eternal nemeses the Shepards, but under the thin light of Rugic there wasn’t much to see.

There was enough moonlight for me to traverse the path leading eastward into Veliki, though I was travelling west, but that was only because the green brick was luminescent under my feet. The reason I went that way was simple, I didn’t want people tracking my footprints. If I left any obvious prints then that was an obvious trail directly to me. But if I left the possibility of me leaving prints out of town, then time might be wasted when Avien was picking the direction to travel after me.

All of that was pointless subterfuge. Missus Fucking Shepard would scry on me, I wouldn’t be able to resist or know that it happened, Avien would follow me with unerring accuracy, he would eventually find me, and that would be that. He’d ask me to go back with him, and I wouldn’t be able to say anything but yes.

But until then I would make the most of this opportunity. Only, all that got me so far was a long walk on a faintly glowing green road as the sun warmed my back. No one passed me, and I got sweaty under the sun when the clouds deigned to part as I kept walking along into what eventually became the sunset.

Some travel food had been packed in with the stuff I had taken with me, and I ate the heavier stuff of that first when I paused for meals. While I did feel stronger having recovered from literal death, I wasn’t actually any stronger. It was only after departing from Veliki that I had come to terms with that.

Thus my walk continued from night to day and back into the night, and I was really fucking tired long before that. But I couldn’t let myself rest. My pursuer was undoubtedly going to be faster than me and have more endurance, so resting wasn’t something I could afford to do so soon. All I had was a head start, and I wasn’t about to squander that, so I continued along the emerald brick road. Fortunately the moon was back this night, and I wasn’t fumbling blindly like I had been before.

Eventually something broke the monotony of walking, which had led me along the path as it wound and wove through a set of hills more steep than anything I had encountered before. That something was a small orange light against an otherwise black terrain, a short ways off from the familiar road I was travelling. It was above me and I was travelling down, so to get there I would have to descend and then go back up.

I was tired and weary, and I needed rest. The possibility of Avien being the one that made that fire crossed my mind, and while I did try to dismiss it, the thought stayed in my mind. While I had the option of making my own campfire, it wasn’t something I’d done on account of how much time I would’ve had to dedicate to it. There were things pulling and pushing me both towards and away from that small light, and the pulls were the ones that won out.

Going there took me just off of the road, but not so far that I wouldn’t be able to find my way back. Especially now that Santoria’s primary moon was back in the sky, sharing the darkness above with its waxing sister moon. It felt good to get off the road, I’d definitely done something bad to my feet over the past day and the subtle give of the grass was a refreshing sensation through my shoes.

But I didn’t focus on that.

Sitting by the fire, now that I was closer, I could see a man tending to it. On the far side of him was a wooden wall of a building I could only barely make out. The fire tender looked to be of typical Kreg’uunian origin, with tan skin, brown hair that was somewhat tamed, and though he was obviously much younger than my dad, he didn’t have any of the distinctive roguishness I’d come to associate with that kind of appearance.

He looked up in my direction as soon as I was close enough to see him that detailed. I hadn’t stepped on any twigs, we weren’t in a forest, but I had brushed aside the grass without much concern for concealing myself, now that I thought about it.

I paused as we stared at each other. With him somehow looking right at me when I was still in the darkness.

“Is someone there?” He called out.

I didn’t recognise the voice. After considering how likely it was for this person to have a connection to Mary, I ended up stepping forward. “Yeah, I’m here.”

This was probably my first interaction with a ‘normal person’.

He looked me up and down. “You look tired.”

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Apparently normal people were proficient at stating the obvious. It both irritated and impressed me. The folk of Veliki were terrible at doing that. “Been walking. Are you using that?” I pointed at the fire.

He glanced between the fire and me. “Yes, actually.”

“I meant for cooking.”

“Ah.” He seemed to relax at that. “If you have something to cook, then by all means.”

With some fumbling in the small amount of decent light provided by the fire, I was able to find a piece of firewood to sit on and set up some skewers for the meat left over from my second visit to Torment’s that I put on over the fire. Normally I wouldn’t cook meat twice, but this meat was far from normal. It would probably still be good to eat. Burning it was practically impossible.

Something about the crackling fire woke me up. It must have been the warmth, though that didn’t match my memories of warming up by household fires, or even spending time around Maiathah. Those experiences made me sleepy. Something about this hearth was different.

I kept my eye on the man across from where I sat. Everything I saw about him pointed towards the man being like my parents and me, making him ‘normal’ by the accounts of the retired adventurers I’d spoken with. Yet the fact that someone like him was so close to Veliki made alarm bells ring in my head. There was no way he just lived here.

“I can see questions in your eyes.” He said after a short while.

I shrugged. “Hm.” I was mostly here to cook my food. Walking all day and night had made me hungry.

“Go ahead and ask, or we could turn it into something of a game.”

“Oh?” I prompted.

“A question for a question.” The man said. “We can start simple, and any questions that we don’t want to answer can be ignored. You have this suspicious look in your eye, and I uh, I like to talk. With people, not to myself. I don’t get much of that around here.”

“Then what are you doing around here?” I immediately questioned, taking my eyes off of my skewers.

“Very light border patrol.” The man answered. “We’re on the border between Veliki and the rest of the world. There’s a lot of power on one side of the border, and my job is to warn people from the other away from meddling with that which may destroy them.”

I frowned. “I didn’t think people were that temperamental.”

The man chuckled. “You would be surprised. A large number of fools looking to collect long standing bounties come here to try and uh, acquire their quarries. I stay here and tell them they’re being foolish when I can.”

“Doesn’t that put you in their way?”

“Well, I thought I would be asking a question first, but that’s easy enough to answer.” The man presented a plate I hadn’t noticed in the darkness. “I offer them pancakes.”

I frowned. “Pancakes?”

“Let’s draw the line there.” The man said. “My turn, what is your name?”

I didn’t like that he got in the way of answering my questions, but I answered since it wasn’t much off of my back. “Amber Jewel. What are pancakes?”

The man looked up and around at the night sky as he pondered. “That isn’t a name I’m familiar with. Ah, and perhaps instead of just explaining...” He tossed something from the plate over the fire, and it hit me in the face before flopping halfway down towards my lap. It was a thin, circular piece of dough that gave off a faintly sweet scent. I figured that out as I pulled it away from my nose.

“Lots of sugar in this.” I commented as I peered at the food, inspecting it. Being so close to the pancake was making my teeth ache slightly.

“Sugar is a key ingredient.” The man agreed. “It’s a lovely sweet that allows me to have people pause here so I can use my sweet words to warn them away from things they aren’t ready for.”

“Gonna do that to me?” I demanded, my mind having just caught up to the fact that he threw a pancake at my face.

“That’s two questions you have on me.” The man said, and my eyes twitched. “And no, I only do it to people that come from the other direction, and only the ones that I catch.” He shrugged. “A man has duties and needs. Even I sleep.”

“You talk like you’re super important.” I commented as I decided to start trying the pancakes. I was right, they were very sweet.

The man smiled across the fire. “I’m the centre of my world. Whatever do you mean?”

I smiled victoriously back with some pancake still in my mouth. “It’s just that you’re talking like all the Chosen in Veliki do. Why aren’t you-” I cut myself off. That had almost been a question. “I’m just having a hard time seeing why you aren’t living it up with the rest of the retired Chosen Ones.”

“Ah.” The man gestured with a finger. “That would be a misconception on your part.” He pointed back the way I came. “They’re retired.” He pointed back at himself. “I’m a guardian of boundaries.”

Comprehension flashed through my mind. “Still working, I got it. Time for my question, what’s your name?”

“Scajoce.” The man said, pronouncing it ska-yo-sei. “That hands it back to me…” He frowned. “Don’t I have two questions now?”

“Until just then you did.” I told him as I checked my meat. It wasn’t at the hot part of the fire, so it hadn’t been cooking properly. Scajoce voiced his question just as I finished adjusting my skewers.

“Smug little… How old are you? You don’t look like you’ve come of age, even if we use Marisian laws.”

I looked at him before answering, trying to place his age. He looked at least five years older than Avien did, but Avien was the person I knew who was the closest to this person’s age. Now that I thought about it, he seemed the same age as Brynn did, only Brynn was not actually the age he appeared. The retired chosen had stopped aging in his prime, which was great for him, but useless for me here.

“Fifteen.” I said shortly. “I had my ten and fifth almost a week ago.”

Scajoce hummed. “Hardly the youngest to ever be Chosen, but you’ll have a difficult time in Kreg’uune. Still two years until you come of age, and then…” He leaned forward. “The conscriptions.”

I decided that was worth a question. “What do you mean about conscriptions?”

Scajoce blinked in surprise. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of them, but I won’t ask any questions about that.” He grinned. “Not exactly in the spirit of the game. Well, as you may or may not know, Kreg’uune is a country that it built on a philosophy of conquest. To support this, there is a nationwide tradition… well, a law, really, that states all men and woman coming of age get conscripted into the army.”

The thought turned over in my head as I surveyed my cooking. It made sense no matter which way I thought about it. All the Chosen coming from Kreg’uune, as well as my own father, had some degree of military experience. Hells, it was my dad’s career. For some people, such as him, it coloured their entire personality. On the other hand, people such as Vycar had dealings with war wizards.

Even my mother had some experience. It didn’t come up much, but she always understood the technical terms I didn’t when dad was talking shop with Garner.

“When a girl or boy turns seventeen, they are taken from their homes on the first day of the next season.” Scajoce continued. “They tour Kreg’uune for an entire year, go through basic training, assisting the guards, and visiting the active theatre of war if there is one.” Scajoce laughed. “And there’s always a theatre of war on Kreg’uune’s borders. It’s a great honour.”

“I’ve heard a lot about Kreg’uune from people in Veliki.” I said.

“All very coloured opinions, I’m sure. But you didn’t let me finish.” Scajoce took a breath and dramatically let it out. “After spending a year in the army of Kreg’uune, two important events happen for every citizen. The first is a ceremony where they officially come of age. The second is an important decision, whether or not the new man or woman wants to pursue a career in the army, but not the conscript force they were just a part of. No. Instead, they are offered a place in the royal army of Silver’s Reach.”

“I’ve heard the name.” I recalled. “This isn’t for the game, does the name Garner Shepard mean anything to you?”

“Backing out so you don’t have to give an equivalent answer?” The man asked with an arched eyebrow.

“No. I said it because he’s my neighbor.” I rubbed my eyes, realising how much they hurt. My awakeness was receding now. “Was my neighbor.”

“Oh yeah… that guy.” Scajoce leaned back on his piece of firewood. He clicked his tongue. “He was supposed to bring the herald of change, or something. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“He was a general.” I said, bringing things back on topic.

“He would’ve been a part of Silver’s Reach then. It would’ve been his entire life up to a point.”

“Do you think he was part of the Vitorian Envoy as well?”

Scajoce gave me a grin that told me he wasn’t about to answer. “Let’s get back to my side of the game. Answer me this. Are you Chosen?”

“Everyone is.” I answered easily. Scajoce gave me a blank look and I sighed. “Right now, I’m Chosen by you, Scajoce. I came here and asked to use your fire, but you asked me to take part in your game. You Chose me as an... “ I had to search for the wording I was so tired. “Opponent to battle wits with. While I Chose you as my host.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

I smiled victoriously. “You better ask me to be more specific, then.”

Scajoce grumbled. “Smug brat.”

I thought on my next question. Finding out if Garner had a connection to the Vitorian Envoy was probably a good idea, but it was an arrow in the dark. It would be better to ask other questions. Besides, this guy wasn’t omniscient or anything.

“What would your advice to someone on the run be?” I asked.

“This have anything to do with how you’re leaving Veliki?” Scajoce asked back.

I shrugged. “If that’s your question, I have more. But I’d like it if you stuck to your own rules and answered first, thanks.”

“Hm. Well, the nearest town is Breach. Due South, less than a day's travel on foot. It was built out of a massive fort that fell when Kreg’uune was still expanding. Since then, disrepair claimed it, and then the peasants. From there, you could travel the road to any of the major cities on Kreg’uune. Once you reach the main roads, you’ll have an easy travel, but my answer is more dependant on what you want. I have four big options for you as far as cities go, each with an attached duchy.”

Scajoce started counting them off on his fingers. “Sequester, the hidden city. Traveling there is quite hard, but it’s definitely the place to sequester things away.” He moved on to the second finger. “Ca’vaan, though I hear bad things about that place every year.” Scajoce leaned closer and whispered over the fire. “Many unscrupulous types come from there. Those are the people I tend to hide from.”

I chuckled exactly once. “Tell me about the other two.”

“Third is Saltless Sanctuary. Contrary to popular belief, it is a very salty place. It was built when the Krak’n divide was still freshwater, but now it’s saltwater. Also: mage guild startups.” He moved on to the final finger. “And then the jewel of the nation. The impenetrable fort city of Juvel.”

“Heard things about that.” I said.

“Do tell.” Scajoce said after a moment’s deliberation.

I grinned at how into the game we were getting. “It looks great, but really it’s the worst place of all. The Vitorian Envoy is why.”

Scajoce waved a hand dismissively. “All the people that say that are Chosen. They have a skewed perspective. My advice is to go there and assume a new identity, provided you're not running from the Vitorian Envoy.”

“It’s also very far away. I can’t go there since I’d never make it in time.”

“Not quite so.” Scajoce said, “If you made it to any port towns, you could probably ferry your way straight there. Only you’ll need to pay the toll for that, and it’d be more of a meandering path to Juvel. But it’d make for a faster travel than going anywhere on foot.”

I thought on that, and another thought crossed my mind unwanted. That Mary was scrying on me was a given, and I had no way of telling when she was peering over my shoulder. The chances of her watching me now were low. It was the middle of the night as far as I could tell, there were rules of magic making it so that one creature could not be divined reliably multiple times in succession, and she’d need to use a different magic to pass that information on to her first and only son if she wanted him to easily succeed in bringing me back.

Even still… “That sounds like a place I’d like to go. See if it lives up to the stories.”

It was a lie, and the man arched an eyebrow. Somehow picking up on that despite the fact that I was an impeccable liar. “First, another question. I know you’re on the run, so answer me this. What else are you trying to accomplish?”

“So many things.” I answered easily.

“Nuh uh. Specific answers in the spirit of the game. Just tell me about something in the top two.”

“If you said that because you think being on the run is at the top, you’re wrong.” I told Scajoce. “I-” couldn’t think up a convincing half truth that this man would buy. Everything I thought up was something I’d have a difficult time selling to myself.

After half a minute of silence I sighed. “There’s a Chosen boy in Veliki. Avien is his name.”

“I trust that Avien has something to do with the answer you are giving me.”

“He does.” I snapped. “He’s- I’ll tell it from the start. Long ago there were two guys. One was called Jaskair, and the other was called Garner.”

“The general that was your neighbor.” Scajoce recalled.

I nodded. “He got Chosen, obviously, he ended up in Veliki. Thing is, shortly after the god of war sent an angel to appoint Garner as the master tactician of Silver’s Reach, he slapped Jaskair on the shoulder and said something along the lines of ‘You’re like family to me’, and the Heavens were listening. They liked the idea enough to send lightning bolts across a clear sky or something and declared that they would one day be actual family.”

“I think I’m getting this.” Scajoce said, leaning forward on clasped hands and holding an impassive expression.

“Avien is Garner’s son, and I’m the other guy’s daughter. They aren’t actual family yet, but they will be as soon as I have a child with Avien.” I finished. “That desire you asked about? The number one desire of mine is to spit in the face of that decree, and live my own fucking life.”

“A tale worthy of a ballad.” Scajoce commented.

“Just in case you weren’t listening, the tale is about crushing love.” I spat with venom. “A ballad is the last thing I want written about my life.”

Scajoce sighed out a laugh. “All has ways of making things so, unfortunately. It has a sense of… I guess it’s dramatic irony. Which is ironic, since All isn’t actually one cohesive being. Oh, and your salamander is burning.”

I looked at the skewers and saw that the red meat was indeed browning much more than I’d have liked. It was quickly pulled off of the fire and left to cool. Scajoce stood and stretched, letting out a massive breath of relief. He got a suspicious look from me. No normal person would be able to just identify what was and what wasn’t salamander meat. Even I hadn’t figured it out, and I had been the one handling the meat since last week.

“Well, this was a pleasure, Amber Jewel.” Scajoce bowed a little. “I suppose I should say that the world you’re about to step into is rife with turmoil. Kreg’uune became too large for its own good more than a decade before and it’s northern part split off to become North Kreg’uune. Its own country, with its own rules. Now history is set to repeat, but with a much more important tract of land.”

I sighed and gestured for him to get on with it, having just figured out what was going on.

“Tensions in the city of Ca’vaan have reached a new height, and talks of civil war have begun to circulate. The crown princess is missing, vanished from her task to bring stability to the country, and the Vitorian Envoy is about to whisk her away on a quest to quell the coming upheaval of her country. Meanwhile the Empire of Noarchac looks on with private hatred, yet is incapable of doing anything and about to explode.

“To the south, the Warring Sands of Eiar have recently been introduced to a new wanderer. Whether or not this wanderer will bring the Sands to prosperity remains to be seen. The mists of Du Sverenladen are roiling more than usual for this time of year, and the five Kingdoms Under are having trouble with an increasing number of fully excavated mines. The civilisations under the waves of the Volten are likely the only ones not bearing arms, but the signs can only mean one thing.” Scajoce raised a single finger. “War.”

“And with war comes destruction.” I agreed with a roll of the eyes. Best to not contest the flow of this lecture. That way it would be over sooner.

“And with destruction, comes chaos.” Scajoce nodded. “That the cauldron of Veliki has finally spilled promises even greater upheaval. After all, it was the presence of your homeland that allowed North Kreg’uune to declare independence. That and the elves, living in their trees as they have been for thousands of years. But I already said that. Perhaps they too will depart from their lands. The fog of war is set to rise, and when it settles the world will never be the same.”

“That doesn’t mean much to me.” I deadpanned. “The world out there,” I gestured the way I would be travelling with a broad sweep, “it isn’t one I know. Everything I learn is going to be new to me anyway.”

“It’s merely a courtesy.” Scajoce tapped his nose. “But with that, I think it’s time for bed.”

“One last question.” I said before he could even take a step. Scajoce paused and smiled as he waited. “Who are you, really? I want more than a name.”

“I’ve already told you, I’m a guardian of boundaries and the centre of my world.” Scajoce answered straight. I could tell it wasn’t a lie, but it was intended to mislead. Fortunately, my teachings with the sage of conjuration gave me knowledge to the contrary.

“Cool.” I said. “Thanks for the exposition.”

Scajoce smiled with satisfaction. “You are very welcome, Amber Jewel. But now, I think you should rest. Eat first, but then rest.” He paused for a brief thought. “I’ll ensure you rest undisturbed for tonight. Wouldn’t want your little adventure ending too soon now, would we?”

“Yes.” I said automatically. My fatigue, while nothing compared to when I had first awoken after death, was now forcing my eyelids to drop. It was still possible for me to keep going, and I now put that energy towards dinner, but something in me caught a piece of information in its net. “Are you a god?”

I dimly recalled a smile. After which my memory ended and I awoke alone in a small shed. A smile formed at my lips unbidden as I rose and began to gather my things. I couldn’t be sure until I had more signs, but getting exposition from All was something that happened to heroes and villains setting out on grand quests. It also happened to pilgrims arriving at new lands, and Kreg’uune was most certainly new for me, not to mention that Scajoce struck me as more of an adventurer than a god, so I couldn’t be sure.

But it did put a spring in my step as I set out southward towards Breach.

\V/