Iztris had found a report saying that there were ships from Relan dropping off weapons—swords, gunpowder, things that could cause damage—with little to no explanation. They knew it could very well just be a mistake in directions, but Relan was close enough that you could see it across the sea; they doubted that it would actually be possible to repeatedly send things to the wrong place.

Alyson and Jacob did most of the talking, since Iztris knew the townspeople were unlikely to appreciate holding conversation with anyone who wasn’t from Cheryn. For a peaceful little kingdom, they did hold on to certain beliefs fairly firmly.

They mostly stayed near the royal siblings so they could interject if they heard anything of particular interest. The townspeople didn’t immediately seem to know much more than they did, however. The group discussed it a bit when Alyson and Jacob opted to eat dinner.

“Is there something specific about the report that made you think it might be important?” Alyson asked Iztris.

“Nothing in particular, I suppose,” Iztris replied. They weren’t fond of any random passerby overhearing, so they spoke quietly. “Elsyn resided in the Relan area ever since they took the position of humanity’s watcher; as far as I’m aware, they are still there.”

“So anything weird in Relan is suspect?” Jacob said.

“Essentially,” Iztris responded with a nod.

“We could just go over to Relan ourselves,” Alyson pointed out. She gestured to the sea on the left side of her. “It’s not even a full day’s trip from here, and if it’s just wrong directions I can help.”

“I would rather ask around here a bit more first,” Iztris said. “After another day or two, we can go to Relan and see if they know any more than the people here.”

The other two both nodded and mainly focused on eating. Iztris, like they always have done when there’s nothing else to do, simply watched as people around them walked and ships in the sea came and went. Some ignored them while others gave a confused or unwelcome glance, although the same people would smile and wave to the Cheryn heirs. Elsyn had a reason to believe as they did—mortals were, and always would be, something of a spiteful creature. Mortals always tended to dislike what they do not know in favor of what they do (whether that knowledge be true or false itself).

When the princess and prince were done eating, one went on to look for a place to stay for the night and the other took to asking around for more information. Iztris, being of little help, watched them for a little while until both were done.

“We’re all set to sleep at an inn,” Jacob noted. Curiously, he added, “Would you mind if I asked a question before we head there, Iztris?”

“Will it be prodding into my personal matters like most ‘questions’ you decide to ask?” Iztris asked.

Jacob’s response wasn’t exactly convincing. “No? I just wanted to know if you have any idea as to whythe other servant god wants to kill everyone. Did they have a really bad childhood or something? Everyone in their family murdered? Lived in one of the war-torn eras where people only lived to be twenty-something?”

“Elsyn and I were raised in the same few decades,” Iztris replied after a short pause to determine their answer. “Relan was still a separate country, before it joined with Cheryn; Letrela was made up of enough small communities that none really posed any kind of threat to stability. Neither of us experienced extreme suffering in our mortal lives—Elsyn was actually quite fortunate in their position. The ascension we received after death came with the knowledge of humanity’s flaws; Elsyn grew less tolerant of it over time. The gods and I have not seen war as Elsyn had; watching countless mortals live only to die, especially in fruitless conflicts, seemed to be a greater loss than the battle itself. My role is to tend to the gods; Elsyn was assigned to protect and promote peace among mortals. Killing all mortals is their way of doing that.”

Alyson frowned. “Protection through murder?”

“Elsyn never claimed to be a strategic thinker,” Iztris said simply. “Although they do have fair points. Mortals have many flaws and free will—they use that free will to exercise their flaws, and they naturally tend to do wrong to others. They are wrong, however, in that killing every one of them will solve the problem—mortals have tried and failed to completely annihilate each other. Even gods cannot manage to kill every remnant of humanity, so Elsyn should not expect to be the one to finally kill them all. I do agree that mortals are flawed creatures, and some must die for the good of others—even you two can agree, I’m sure—but I do not believe that killing every single mortal is a sound plan; at the very least, flawed creatures should not be pursuing the extinction of other flawed creatures.”

“I’d say that would be impossible,” Alyson noted, “Considering that you’ve said that the gods are flawed as well.”

Iztris shook their head before saying, “There is a single god who is perfect—the only god who has not seen humanity in the way the others do. That god is the only one who can completely annihilate the human race, no matter how much others may try. In that respect, then, I suppose Elsyn’s pursuit will be fruitless in the end—they would have committed the very thing they hate the most, yet it will gain nothing.”

“They’ll still try, though,” Jacob said. He put on an oddly confident smile. “We’ll just have to make sure as few lives are lost as possible.”

Iztris frowned and blinked. “Another flaw of humanity: unfounded optimism.”

Alyson chuckled. “Hey, you’re attempting humor again! Good try, but talking good sense into pretty much anyone in our family is impossible.”

“It is still very likely you could both die,” Iztris pointed out.

“Doesn’t mean we have to be cynical as soon as possible!” Jacob replied. “Sure, the servant god wants to kill all of humanity, but we can’t prevent lives from being lost if we’re moping about possibly dying ourselves.”

Iztris knew that further protest would be useless, thus only sighed in response. “Go ahead and get some rest,” they told the other two. “I will remain outside if you need me.”

“We can always get you a room, too?” Alyson suggested kindly. “You might not need to sleep, but it would be better than sitting outside.”

“Save your money for yourselves,” Iztris replied. “I don’t mind the weather.”

The other two, although the older seemed reluctant to leave it there, nodded and left. Iztris, then, went on to do more consideration of the events. All mortals were flawed and naturally inclined to do wrong, but those who fight against that urge were noble indeed. Being one of those people themselves, Iztris didn’t understand how Elsyn could believe in the deaths of those who are as innocent as their nature would allow them to be.