After walking, Jennifer found a place for them to stay at. She led the four of them into an inn just down a side road from the main road. It was a small 2 story place with a dining room not much bigger than their own at home with 3 small tables. Enough for 2 or maybe 3 people to sit at.

  There was a counter separating the dining area from a kitchen and part of it was sectioned off to act as a reception.

  Sitting at the counter was a young kid, a girl no older than 6 or 7 and was drawing on some scrap pieces of parchment. Doodling all sorts of odd things.

  Sitting behind the reception part of the counter was a tired looking man undoubtedly the girl’s father. He had a book over his face and was asleep until a bell began ringing above the door.

  “Ooh, ooh, are you travelers?” the kid immediately piped up, sitting and spinning around in the stool she sat on.

  Jennifer couldn’t help but give a small smile at the sight of a cute kid, reminding her of a younger Akai.

  “Yes, we were wanting to get two rooms if they’re available.”

  “Two Legonian silver coins.” the father said as he pulled the book from his face. “We don’t take foreign currency.”

  Jennifer produced a small coin purse and pulled out two silver coins. Akai knew money was going to be more common in the city than at home. Back home, they mostly just did favors for one another unless it was someone traveling through the area.

  After taking the coins, the guy reached under the counter and produced two keys with little tags hanging from them. One and two, which made sense when the group headed upstairs to put down their things. There were only 4 rooms upstairs. Labeled “one, two, three, and owners” This place was quite small for sure.

  “Well, I at least knew we could afford this place. The bigger inns on the main road aren’t this cheap.” she muttered, unlocking the doors and then handing Akai and Kidd the key labeled two.

  “You two share a room, me and Lacy will share the other.”

  Akai nodded and walked in with kidd, setting down their backpacks. Seeing the rooms very basically furnished. Two straw mattress beds, one dresser, and a coat rack.

  After setting their things inside and deciding which bed they would take in the evening, they walked out and locked the doors.

  Akai smiled and decided to wait downstairs with Kidd until his mother and Lacy were ready. Which only took them a few minutes.

  Downstairs Jennifer and Lacy would find Akai and Kidd innocently playing with the owner’s daughter. When Jennifer reached the bottom step she said “Alright, lets go. We’ll be back this evening.”

  Akai and Kidd waved by as the girl was upset to not have people to play with anymore and headed out. This time Lacy was leading them and said “I just want to check something..” as she seemed to be in a fairly serious mood. Akai and Kidd walked with them, Kidd was leery of pick pockets but Akai was a bit too naive about city life to focus on that, he was busy looking around and still amazed at just how many people were out and walking around.

  About 20 minutes of walking later, Lacy led them to a residential district with solid but rather small houses, the neighborhood suggesting this area was for the poor but not completely destitute like slums. She was counting the houses before they found one that had visibly been rebuilt recently. Some of the stone foundation still had char marks from fire and all of the wood was new and mostly unweathered unlike the rest. Less than 10 years if Akai had to make a guess, while the others are much older.

  Lacy stood in front of the house and seemed to stare a bit wistfully. Jennifer approached and asked “You okay?” when she saw the misty look in Lacy’s eyes.

  Before Lacy could answer, they heard the door creak as a woman answered the door. She was around Jennifer’s age but the first thing Akai and Kidd noticed about her was how short she was. Akai and Kidd both were taller.

  A dwarven woman opened the door and stood, still wearing an apron and tied up hair.

  “Can I help you lot?” she asked. And a darker look covered Lacy.

  She hesitantly but politely asked “What happened to the people who used to live here?”

  The dwarf squinted at Lacy and leaned on the open doorway. Saying “Why, who’s asking?”

  Jennifer gently patted Lacy on the back to try and comfort the teenager as she responded. “My parents used to live here. With an older brother and sister. It was… around 9 years since I was here.”

  “Oh,” The dwarf said, catching on to what Lacy was saying. “Sorry to tell you this, girl, but nobody knows. House burnt down 6 years ago, nobody seen ‘em since. City guard was all over the place before they started rebuilding. Could check with their office.”

  Lacy looked down, not liking the ideas that were going through her head. Did they run away? Did they die in the fire? …Did that slaver come back for them? These thoughts made Lacy clench her fists and shake a little before taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm. Quietly she said “Thank you for the answers.” before giving a polite bow and turning. Starting to walk back.

  “If she’s who I think she is.. Poor girl isn’t going to like the truth.” the dwarven woman muttered under her breath before reaching up to the handle and shutting the door to the house.

  Lacy headed back to the main road and was shaking a little now as her worries and thoughts mounted.

  “Lacy?” Jennifer asked and lacy replied

  “I want to head to the city guard main office.” she answered.

  “Do you know where it is?” Jennifer asked.

  “I think so, I know it should be in the inner city.”

  “Alright, we’ll follow you.” Jennifer said as she looked back to make sure Akai and Kidd were still with them. Akai nodded confidently and Kidd said “You can count on us.”

  The group headed down the main road heading towards the center of the city. It was now a little past noon.

  Minutes later as they were walking, they were passing a fairly large church, and they were stopped by one of the priests walking out. They were wearing an interesting set of robes.

  “Excuse me, excuse me.” the priest said, looking over the group. Their eyes lingering on Akai and Kidd.

  “Pardon the intrusion, but, well.. I have a question.”

  Jennifer looked back at Akai and Kidd and raised an eyebrow. They both seemed confused before the priest continued.

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  “You, don’t happen to have a newly blessed among you, do you?”

  Akai scratched the back of his head and Kidd answered “Yeah, me and Akai here had awakened about a year ago.”

  The priest’s eyes widened a bit followed with a genuine smile.

  “Come, come, please. We at the church could feel the wisps of divinity from you. At least offer a prayer while you’re here.”

  Akai and Kidd looked up at Jennifer who took a moment to think. She asked Lacy “you aren’t pressed for time, are you?”

  Lacy stood there and softly shook her head. Saying “I just want to get there before sundown.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, I don’t plan on taking more than a few minutes of your time.” The priest said, turning to walk back to the large church building.

  Inside, there were a number of priests cleaning some small shrines set up in the honor of gods and they stopped to look at them as Akai and Kidd entered. Some of the devout seemed able to feel that they were awakened, some of the others reacted to the devout turning their heads to look and didn’t seem to be able to sense it.

  As they entered, Kidd felt an odd calling.. He stepped in and slowly walked to a shrine that had a small painting of a valiant knight in ornate armor, darkened steel with a gold trim. Wielding sword and shield. A legion of soldiers standing behind them. The painting was obviously a copy, but it was still made in respect of the god. But the feeling of detail being lost was there.

  The plaque showed this was a shrine to Ankhou, the god of war. Akai followed Kidd, curious why he walked off so quickly. The priests watched as Kidd held a hand to the shrine set up and blue lightning crackled around his hand involuntarily.

  “I can feel a connection..” Kidd whispered.

  Afterwards, he pulled himself together and stepped back. Seeing the priests around the temple softly clap at his display. Then their gazes turned to Akai expectantly.

  He turned and looked, seeing only 6 shrines in the temple. He looked and saw one for Svendar. Akai approached it but felt nothing. He stared at the small painting of a man in red robes with a northern style to them holding a grand red-shafted spear. But felt nothing in return.

  “I don’t feel anything..” Akai said and one of the priests asked “Are you sure Svendar is the god who blessed you?”

  Thinking about it, Akai shook his head. “My father’s friend thought it would be Svendar, but I don’t feel anything..”

  “Please, let me see the nature of your power.” the priest said, gently grabbing Akai’s extended hand and holding it. “I will help you. Let me see it, and tell me the words you were blessed with.”

  Akai nodded and closed his eyes. He called upon the heat within his chest to a degree it did not hurt. Soon, orange wisps of flame surrounded him with streaks of bright yellow intermixed. The priests watched in reverence and listened closely when Akai said “A righteous fury burns within your heart. I’ll help it ignite.”

  Akai then let go of the heat and his flames simmered down, sparing the priest further discomfort from the fire. They stood around and thought for a moment, before one said “only two things come to mind, but only one makes sense.” the priest holding Akai’s hand muttered.

  “Either this is a blessing of a minor deity and not one of the true gods, or you had been given a direct blessing from the Immortal Hero himself.”

  The priests gasped at the suggestion.

  “Brother Owen, go get the relic we have.”

  “Are you sure? It’s the only one we have outside of the capital.”

  “Yes, if this boy has the blessing of the Immortal Hero, we must know.”

  One of the priests walked off to the back room not open to the public. Akai was curious and asked “Who’s the Immortal Hero?”

  “What!?” the priests off to the side exclaimed.

  The head priest standing before Akai asked “Do you really not know?” in a gentle voice.

  Akai shook his head. He said “We don’t have any kind of church back home.”

  “Then I will give you a short lesson in the gods.”

  The priest gestured to the six shrines set up. “There are many beings we call deities, they have similar power to the divine but aren’t true gods. The difference is that the true gods are ordained by the world itself. They control their domains to ease the burden that the world bears to host us. There are 7 gods. We only have 6 shrines because a proper shrine requires a relic of the god to have a connection to them.”

  “First, there’s Miogh, the god of strength and labor. His domain is straight forward, power over the mighty and the hard working. The relic we have is one of many, it is a nail that Miogh himself had forged. The painting is a depiction of what many who commune with him see. A strong burly man with short hair and dark tanned skin.”

  “Second, there is Svendar. He is the god of wrath and retribution. He upholds oaths and is the patron to righteous berserker warriors. We have record of only one instance where he directly delivered divine punishment upon mortals, which is a story for another time. The relic we have is one of many spearheads he had left behind. As you see by the painting, he is a blonde man with vermillion eyes. Wearing northern red robes and wields a magnificent spear.”

  “Third, we have Niohlenth, the god of death and ruler of the dead. He guides the souls of the fallen to the afterlife and other than the wicked or the cursed, keeps them resting in peace. He has an endless chain used to bind those who try to defy the rules of death. One link is the relic we have, and as you see by the painting he is a truly kind being.”

  “Fourth, we have Nao, goddess of love, beauty, and purity. She has domain over just that, the beauty of the world of things that exist within it. The love you feel is what she bestows and patron of all who are pure, in body or in soul. As you see by the painting, she has lovely white purple hair and is truly gorgeous and innocent.”

  “Fifth, we have Andarta, goddess of knowledge and of magic. She created the first sorcery and those who study to learn are given the blessing to wield her power. She created the way to manipulate energy to impose your own will upon the world in a limited fashion. The relic we have is a spell tome Andarta herself had written. And as you see by the painting, she is a beautiful elf with violet hair. Devout to studying and is truly incredible.”

  “Finally, we have Ankhou, the god of war. An invincible warrior in perfect armor, commanding legions. He is the patron of generals and strategists, and the relic we have is part of one of his swords. As you see in the painting, he really is an intimidating figure in that armor.”

  “And finally, the leader of the gods and the first among them. The Immortal Hero.”

  Saying that, the priest from the back came forth carrying a simple item. A truly, truly ancient crown. Withered to a point it can be barely recognized and it sat upon a silk pillow.

  “He brought an end to the 1st age when the elder gods had gone mad and tyrannical. Beseched by the world itself to correct this mistake, he ascended from being a mere mortal like you or me and had slain them. This was thousands upon thousands of years ago. No record exists of just how much time had passed since then, but he eventually rose to divinity himself and brought together the rest of the true gods. Bringing forth the 2nd age, settling the chaos in between and allowing the first kingdoms of our time to come about. His name and appearance had long been lost to time, and he seldom ever responds to attempts to commune with him. When he speaks, it is always short and simple. Even when he gives blessings, something he hasn’t done for nearly a century.. Undoubtedly the strongest and most benevolent of the gods, he is also the most retreated from our world.”

  As the crown was brought near, Akai felt the heat inside of his heart flare with a warm longing. He stared at it and couldn’t help but feel an intense connection between it and himself. Akai didn’t need to reach forwards, the crown suddenly became enveloped in a purple divine aura and Akai’s golden flame encircled him without Akai’s need to control it. The two energies flared for a moment, feeling like both are two pieces of the same whole, separated for far too long.

  After 30 seconds, the energies slowly died down. Soon, the ancient remnants of the crown returned to appearing mundane. Akai’s flame took longer to return dormant, but it soon did on its own.

  All of the priests were looking at Akai and the crown in awe.

  It was obvious to any who saw that Akai shares a strong connection with the Immortal Hero.

  “You are the first in centuries, boy.. Please, what is your name?” the main priest asked, kneeling down to Akai’s eye level. Kidd in the background is visibly a bit jealous that Akai stole the show.

  “My name is Akai Ryneveld.”

  “It is truly an honor to meet you, Akai Ryneveld. The church of the divine will always welcome you.”