As they stepped across the border into Jiel, the sky suddenly changed again. Now, instead of the warm hues of sunset, Ponima’s grand illusion portrayed the a gradient of true twilight, an orange flame in the distant west behind them that paled into blue, then blurred into purple, finally disappearing into a deep, starry navy in the far east ahead of them, clouds gleaming with pastel yellows in the final, twinkling rays of sunlight that reached up from below the horizon.

Karka-Tō, the frontier town of Jiel, was their first stop. The ground beneath their feet had solidified, and stubby blades of grass found purchase in the earth beyond the inhospitable sand. The town itself was a simple, sleepy place, reminding Livia, Krey, and Emilie of Acrevil. The other side of Berodyl, Livia thought.

As they entered its streets, however, they spotted someone who was staring at them. She stood watching as if she’d been expecting them, and she wore a robe identical to Emilie’s. She - rather, he - flagged them down with a wave, and called to Emilie specifically. “Over here, my elder!”

Emilie, who had been last to notice this watcher, was quick to wave back when she saw him, and her eyes filled with a light. Though she had been last to see him, she was first to go over to him. “My younger, it is a joy to see you alive. I must warn you of a terrible happening—”

“I know,” he said softly. “I have been… kept up to date. It is not a safe time for our sisters.”

“May I ask how?” Emilie said with some urgency. “I haven’t received a whisper or vision from the gods since this all began; things have been too chaotic, and the gods themselves…”

That’s when the hierophant noticed the company Emilie was travelling with, and fell to his knees and raising a rosary in his clasped hands. His was different from Emilie’s, with cinnabar beads and a pendent shaped like a cherry blossom, made of rose quartz. “Gods! It is you… in the flesh!”

“Yes, child,” Phyrn crooned. “Please, rise; you may be candid and at ease.”

“Beg pardon,” he stammered as he stood, “I… may need time on that.” He cleared his throat. “Forgive me, I haven’t given you my name. Daniel Enegawa, of Lover’s Priory and the Sisterhood of Communion.”

Despite his calsan first name, he looked jielic, and had a jielic family name. His eyes were heterochromatic - his left eye blue and his right eye green - and his hair was short, black, and a tad spiky. He stood a few inches taller than Emilie, but was a year younger.

Why do I recognise him? Krey couldn’t place it, but something about him was familiar.

“Please,” Emilie enquired again, “can you tell us about the whisper that told you to meet us here? Was it from Mirim?”

Daniel shook his head. “No, I have not felt Mirim’s presence in a long while; she has been absent longer than any other during this troubling time.”

“Well, it wasn’t me,” Phyrn added.

“Nor me,” said Brightbrand.

Everyone, in joint realisation, all looked at Ponima.

Ponima beamed and started waggling her hands. “Surprise!”

“I can’t believe it,” Phyrn groaned. “You finally spoke to a hierophant for the first time, and it’s to put them in danger?”

“Nuh huh!” Ponima objected churlishly. “To help us! Daniel here isn’t as soft as he looks! He’s going to be our guide here in Jiel.”

“I do not doubt your intentions,” Brightbrand said, “but… we do not need a guide. Not that I don’t welcome Daniel, I too worry about the potential danger you’ve put him in by calling him away from his post at the priory.”

“Look,” Ponima continued to protest, “another spellcaster can’t hurt, and besides, it’s more fun this way! The more the merrier, right?”

“I agree,” Pippy peeped. “If we’re gonna fight a god, an executioner at that, then we can’t have enough helpers, surely.”

“What’s done is done,” Emilie proclaimed over them. She turned to their new friend and took his hands into hers, just as soft and sleek. “Sister Daniel, I formally welcome you to our party.”

He nodded. “Thank you, Sister…”

“Emilie. Sherasinou. Of Ardour Temple.”

As they were entering a populated area, Phyrn, Brightbrand, and Ponima once again receded behind mortal perceptions, not wanting to cause a scene. After that, Daniel lead them to an establishment deeper in the town where he and his new acquaintances could enjoy some hot food and cool beverages, and perhaps get to know each other a little better before heading out. The utensils - and indeed some of the food itself - was odd to Pippy and Livia, but the others all had some experience with jielic cuisine, and were quick to assure the two outlanders of its quality. Sure enough, after the first mouthful, the two of them were putting bowl after bowl away as if they’d never eaten before in their lives… or, at least, they clumsily tried with the unfamiliar sticks held in their fingers, getting a significant amount of it around their mouths rather than in them. The food was so good, in fact, that they didn’t care that their friends were extracting so much amusement from their fumbling buffoonery.

Daniel had noticed it the first time he’d seen Emilie, but had waited until now, a more amicable, moment, to mention it, and this felt like the first good time. “That sword…” he started. “The katana you carry, my elder. It looks like the kind of one the shrineblades carry. How did you come to possess it? Shrineblades do not willingly part with their weapons.”

Emilie swallowed the mouthful of food she was chewing, and covered her mouth with her hand as she cleared her throat. “It belonged to a shrineblade who Ponima had made her chosen while stricken with madness. She was pitted against us, and nearly killed us, but Livia here was able to best her. We decided to keep her sword, to return it to the shrine she’d abandoned.”

“Also,” Krey added, “we were also aware of a bounty out on this particular runaway’s head. We figured the sword itself would be proof enough of her defeat.”

“Do you happen to recall the name of this runaway shrineblade?” Daniel asked.

“Lu Sen,” Livia recalled.

Daniel’s gaze lowered, his mouth twisting into a frown. “I see.” His smile returned quickly. “Well, I suppose if she died in battle, then she died proper. She was that kind of person… the kind that, out of life, only wants a great death.”

“I’m afraid I’m a little lost,” Bel interjected. “I wasn’t there for this fight. Someone mind cluing me in?”

Daniel regarded Bel with a slight squint, but his smile didn’t waver. He returned his attention to Emilie. “May I inspect the blade?”

Emilie passed it over the table, and Daniel only had to draw it partially to confirm his suspicions. “So… it is Trick of The Light…”

“Come on!” Pippy pressed. “Tell us what’s going on!”

Daniel sheathed the blade and passed it back to Emilie with a sigh. “Enegawa Lu-Sen - Lu Sen Enegawa, to you - was my sibling.”

There it is, Krey thought silently. That’s why I recognise him; the resemblance is uncanny… they must’ve been near-identical twins.

“Oh, my younger…” Emilie said with a quiver in her voice. “I’m so sorry. This belongs to you, then, does it not?”

Daniel raised a hand and shook his head. “Your party defeated her in battle, therefor her katana is yours. Presenting it to the Decakon shrine in Tabra-Tō will be enough to claim the bounty you mentioned as well— they won’t want the weapon back. If it has been taken from its original master, then that is enough, because there’s only one way to take a shrineblade’s weapon.” He leaned back. “Besides, I cannot think of a better owner for it now than the hierophant who has been closest to the gods. I am certainly no swordfighter…”

Whether she’d realised it before or not, Emilie knew that was exactly what she had become. The weight of that honour, now forefront in her mind, made her shiver. “Nor am I… or… well, I wasn’t, but…”

“For an untrained novice,” Livia said, “you’ve definitely done okay with it. You should let Krey and I tutor you. We’re not shrineblades, but we’re both sword wielders in our own rights. Right, Krey?”

Krey smirked and nodded. “Right, though I can’t say I’m much of a teacher.”

“We must be able to do this between us,” Pippy hummed. “I can teach, but I don’t like swords, really; more of a whacky-smacky kind of gal myself rather than hacky-slashy.”

“Or,” Bel offered, “you could abandon material weapons entirely, and let pure magic be your arms.”

“Frankly,” Emilie replied to all of them, “I’m not sure I want to be a better fighter at all. Although… I must admit… before now, Trick of The Light has felt good in my hands— felt right. Maybe, once our objective is complete, I will seek the guidance of the shrineblades themselves, claim not a bounty of money, but one of knowledge and practice.”

“I concur, my elder,” Daniel nodded. “Money cannot fulfil a person as self-improvement can.”

“I never thought I’d be saying this to a hierophant of all people,” Bel half-murmured, “but I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment.”

Meanwhile, the three gods had convened once again outside of normal perceptions. Or, rather, Brightbrand and Phyrn had cornered Ponima.

“Why?” Phyrn interrogated. “Why, actually, did you finally choose to contact a hierophant now? I know you’re up to something, Ponima.”

“What makes you say that?!” Ponima blurted.

“Because you’re always up to something,” Brightbrand droned. “It is your way.”

Ponima huffed and pouted. “Alright, fine! Spoil the surprise why don’t you…”

“Just tell us,” Phyrn went on. “This is not the time for tricks, games, or jokes. If you have a plan, you need to share it with us.”

“I’m getting there!” Ponima hissed. “Be quiet and let me think!” after thumping her foot and tapping her chin with a fingertip for some time, eyes closed and emitting hums and haws of contemplation, she finally began explaining herself. “Okay… the truth is, I was worried about him. I know it looks like I put him in danger, but trust me, I didn’t; Fyren isn’t here in Jiel. Not yet, anyway. He believes we think he is, and will meet us up ahead when he wants to, but I felt I had to get Daniel out of the priory. There was too high a chance that Fyren would pay him a whimsical visit and… do what, I don’t want to even think about. If he’s here with us, he has a better chance of surviving the coming battle, and y’know what?” She turned to Phyrn. “I finally fucking get it, okay? And shut up right now, before you even start, because I don’t want to hear any I-told-you-so’s or finally’s! Daniel is… well, when he sleeps, I feel… drawn to his dreams. I feel words slip past my lips in whispers I didn’t think to do. At first, I thought it was my own madness playing with me, as it does sometimes… but no. It wasn’t. It was a connection— a real bond. I understand now why you made the system the way you did, why Berodyl’s structure of faith is the way it is. This is still new to me… so don’t ruin it for me, okay?! Just don’t say anything!”

Phyrn smiled warmly. “Okay… we won’t. But, we probably should discuss Fyren. Where is he, then, if not here in Jiel?”

“I wish I knew exactly,” Ponima shrugged, “but trust me, if he was in Jiel, I’d most likely know.”

“You’re sure?” Brightbrand asked.

“No,” Ponima half-chuckled, “at least not entirely. But I’m as sure as I can be. We’ve all gotten pretty good at playing cat-and-mouse lately, haven’t we?”

“That’s certainly true,” Phyrn nodded. “Alright, we’ll head to Lover’s Priory as a party now, and make our stand there. Together, it might just be enough to make Fyren think twice about fighting us, and maybe even enough to defeat him if he still dares to try.”