Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Unending

Awake the next morning, Marne finds himself and Yuler to be alone in the room as she continues to sleep. Peering through the window, the blinding light of the sun causes him to squint his eyes and look away once more. As his eyes fall over Yuler, he brushes her cheek with a finger and smiles. Then, quietly gets to his feet and moves about the room, searching for his tricorn and boots. Once they are in hand, he leaves the room as well and begins his search for the others. In almost no time at all, the search ends. Within the throne room, he finds them to be enjoying a morning feast and rum. Lee takes to tell the Craws stories of long ago, and Hael allows her eyes to wander over anything and everything that they can. Marne smiles once more and moves about the table, settling himself into a chair at Hael's side and pulling up a second seat for when Yuler comes to join them.

"Rest well, have ye?" Lee asks in a drunken state before chugging from a mug.

"I did. Did you?"

"Indeed. Celebrating my sobriety."

Marne looks to the mug with uncertainty, then back at Lee.

"It ain't begun just yet. That's why I'm celebrating." Lee chuckles heartily and nearly falls out of his chair as he leans back.

"He intends to give it up. That's what he means." Hael smiles at Marne, then lifts a fork and plucks a strip of poultry from a plate that has been sat before her. "Brings back memories, does it not?"

"It does." Marne looks around the room at all the cheery faces. Each one is deep in conversation or a platter of goods and none appears dismayed by the world around them. "How has your sight been treating you? Good, I assume?"

"Good. Very good." Hael assures. "In fact, you're not at all what I expected.

"Oh?"

"It's your eyes. The hair being as long as it is does not surprise, but your eyes; I did not expect them to be so dark."

"Well, I hope that does not disappoint."

"No, of course not." Hael smiles once again and looks to the doors, where she spots Yuler approaching with a well-rested look on her face. Waving to one another, Hael notices Marne shifting the open seat about, ensuring that it is far enough out for Yuler to simply take a seat.

"Good morning, Hael, Lee, Marne." Taking the seat, Yuler immediately fills a mug with whichever beverage is closest. Taking a sip, she is surprised to find that juice filled the pitcher. "Has a bit of tang to it."

"Well, it is orange juice after all." Hael giggles and takes a sip from her own mug, which also contains the juice. "Bit softer on the stomach than rum in the morning."

"I suppose that is true." Yuler sips from her mug once more and rests it against the table with a soft clatter. She then turns in her chair and looks to the thrones, where she sees Farrow reading from the tome.

"Don't stare for too long. He's a cranky one in the mornings." Lee warns, now indulging in a drumstick. "Tried speakin' with him first thing, but not a peep came from that man. Seems he's searching rather intently within those pages."

"Any idea what he might be searching for?"

"Agh, somethin' about theocracy. Under that name he mentioned.... What was it?"

"Fandom?"

"Fandom! That'd be the one." Lee stands from the table and shuffles in place for a moment, trying to regain his balance. "I'm off to the li'le boys' room. Be back shortly."

"That... raises another question; Does... did The Bethel follow Numen?"

Hael looks to Yuler with her head at a slight tilt before speaking.

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"Well, isn't it a bit odd that they would follow Numen and oppress the faiths of others, while also harboring the tome in Farrow's hands, which clearly trails off into another faith? Why would they maintain such a book if it does not align with their own faith?"

"Perhaps they saw purpose in keeping it around?"

"Perhaps... but what purpose would persuade them to not immediately destroy such a thing?"

"I could not say personally. If it were up to me, I think I'd destroy it without a second thought."

"Really?"

"Really." Hael sips from her mug and twirls a fork around in a bowl of creamy noodles before speaking once more. "It opposes the beliefs I came up with. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't solely believe in Numen, but I do believe it would earn me some... cosmic points if I did."

"Mayhaps." Yuler softly huffs, feeling strange about the idea. She then shakes it off and begins collecting food for a plate of her own.

"Did you sleep well?" Comes the voice of Marne through a breadroll.

"I did." Yuler smiles at him as she collects a few rolls of her own.

"Likewise."

"I found it." Comes a distant voice from behind them. "I found it!" As the voice speaks once more, the group looks back to Farrow, who now stands with a puffed-out chest and holds the tome high into the air at an open set of pages. "It can be done. It can be done!"

"What is he on about?" Marne asks, noticing the excitement that fills the remainder of the room. Cheers and claps can be heard coming from all around them as the Craws look to their leader.

"I'm not sure." Hael looks about them as well, finding it odd that they seem to be the only ones who haven't been enlightened.

Farrow passes The Tome of Fandor off to a Craw and places a marker in the pages. Once he has done so, he takes the stand by moving closer to the edge of the thrones' platform. He then whips the front of his overcoat and smiles proudly at those who fill the table.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Our work is nearing completion! With The Bethel now at our mercy and Maciofim nearly entirely in the palm of our hands, we've but one final task to complete. The Great Undoing!" As he speaks this, Farrow juts a fist into the air and the crowd cheers once more.

"The Great Undoing?" Yuler questions.

"I've heard the others speak of this." Hael begins, getting momentarily lost in thought. "This is where they destroy The Bethel's literature. Where they destroy the tome."

"In just a couple short passes of our sun, we will begin the finalization of our work here. We will begin The Great Undoing, and with it, the undoing of faith and theocracy itself!" The crowd cheers once more and many members of it begin jutting fists into the air just as their leader had done.

"The end of faith? I didn't think anyone could be so serious about such a thing."

These words breeze over Hael's head as Yuler speaks them, as she becomes lost in the word of Farrow.

"With this tome, The Tome of Fandor, we can bring an absolute end to beliefs. To the idea that there is anything above us. We can conclude... the age old question. What is there beyond ourselves? The only answer that will stand is... nothing. We are our own gods!"Cheers and woots become louder at this notion. "No longer will capitals such as Maciofim oppress us! No longer will we kneel to those who've not even bothered to show their faces! Never again will we suffer the consequences of having a ruler! A ruler, dictated by nothing other than blood!"

With this, Yuler and Hael stand from the table and begin moving towards the doors. Marne, noticing their activity, takes it upon himself to join them. Once they are all lost in the crowd, which continues to grow as word spreads of Farrow's discovery, they slip out of the room and into the halls. As they reach the halls, they bump into Lee who has begun his return to them.

"Hey, what's going o-"

"Come with us." Hael snaps. "We must all speak... alone."

Making their way back to their room, the group sits in a circle between the beds and thinks to themselves for a short while. Then, Marne breaks the silence.

"What is that man thinking? Destroying beliefs themselves? How can anyone think that to be a solution to... anything?"

"Well... he's not entirely wrong." Lee exclaims before being smacked by Hael.

"Opinions aside, we cannot allow this to happen."

"I agree." States Yuler, who offers nothing more than a small nod as she says so.

"W-what?" Interrupts Lee. "We were supposed to go home. Live our lives once more! Now you've all done turned tail on the idea and for what? Faith?"

The group does not speak on this. Partially out of guilt, and partially out of anger.

"How can we get the tome out from under Farrow? We need to destroy it before he can utilize it in such a way."

"Wait," Yuler begins, not wanting to interrupt Hael, "is destroying it really the best option here? Remind yourself, followers of Numen have been keeping this thing around. There must be a reason for that."

"Of course there is, but I doubt we have the resources to study the situation in a time like this. We could be wasting the only time we have right now and not even know it until it's too late."

"I believe I can get the tome." Marne says, looking to the floor.

"How?" Wonders Yuler.

"I'm his son. All I need to do is create a distraction, then one of you can get hold of the tome. Take it away while he's busy with me. Once we've done so, we can flee the city and destroy the book."

"Yes, or hide it." Yuler offers, feeling a bit more agitated with every passing moment. "Please consider the risk here."

"We are, Yuler." Hael assures. "For all we know, the book is carrying a curse. Perhaps Farrow will find it again by simply tracking us down. We cannot risk his relocation of this tome. To be truthful, we cannot risk anyone getting their hands on it. With eternity to come, one day, someone will stumble upon the book. When they do, there will always be the chance of them doing whatever it is Farrow intends to do. Now, I don't know about you, but I would personally prefer to keep my faith intact."

"Hael," Yuler begins, "I am certain that nothing in that book can kill a god. Even if the idea of faith is lost, that does not mean it cannot be found again."

"I'm not willing to take that chance."

"Neither am I." States Marne, who shuffles his fingers about where he sits. "I trust Numen would want it destroyed. Otherwise, it will be used to destroy the idea of Numen."

Yuler scoffs and twirls about where she stands. Then, she folds her arms and sighs heavily.

"Fine. We destroy the tome then."

"Don't let it boil your blood too much, girl." Lee suggests, shaking his own head. "It would seem we're nothing but a cluster of differing thoughts and ideas here. Can only ever seem to get two of our minds to head in the same direction at any given time. It'll never end, will it?"

Hael rests a palm against Lee's arm and gives him a soft smile, which he hopelessly returns to her.

"No, it won't." She then looks to Marne. "Do you truly believe you can distract him long enough to get the tome into our possession?"

"I do."

"Good. Then run us through your plan from start to finish. Leave no detail untold."

"We're listening." Yuler states, disheartened. "Keep it clean, keep it simple."