Hey, guys! Welcome back to Hear a Tale! First things first - review time!

Thanks so much to CitrusChickadee for reviewing! Yes, Tressa is baby XD And I agree! Hopefully we'll see more of such character interactions in the sequel, haha.

And with that, on with the tale!

Relevant Events: Every traveler's backstory

9. Drive

"To what end do I swing my blade?"

The question had haunted Olberic, day and night, for eight long years. When king and country had been taken from him, he had also lost his sense of purpose and drive. He was a knight without a liege, a warrior without a battlefield, and a man without a reason to move forward.

He had spent many nights lying awake, staring at the darkened ceiling of his little house in Cobbleston, wondering if he would ever find another truly fulfilling reason to lift his sword. Olberic never confided in any of the townsfolk about his doubts - he couldn't imagine that any of them would truly comprehend his plight, and anyway, he was trying to keep his true identity a secret. Berg the humble hedge knight would have no reason to agonize over his purpose in life. He should have been content to protect this small village and train its watchmen.

Sir Olberic, however, found himself always wanting for more.

Once he had acquired information regarding Erhardt's whereabouts and joined up with his current band of traveling companions, he had realized he had found the perfect opportunity to rediscover a purpose for himself. Throughout his journey, he might unravel the past in order to secure a proper future. With time and experience, he might be able to find a new reason to drive him forward.

And, as it turned out, his newfound friends would prove excellent teachers in that regard.

The cleric, Ophilia, was driven by faith, both in her religion and in her adoptive family. She had set forth on her journey to perform the Kindling ritual not for her own sake, but so that her sister would be able to stay by the side of their ailing father. She had not even had the permission of the church to do so, but had been willing to risk punishment if it meant that she could repay the goodwill that her family had always shown her. Ophilia was young but wise, and her kind heart had provided her with the conviction she had needed to undertake her quest.

The scholar, Cyrus, was driven by the pursuit of knowledge. Unlike the higher-ups of the academy at which he taught, he believed that knowledge was meant to be spread, not hoarded. Cyrus approached learning with the utmost enthusiasm, even when the subject of his research was as dark as the forbidden tome he was after. He hadn't even been upset when scandalous rumors spread about him forced him to take a leave from the academy, instead taking it as an opportunity to head out into the world and perform field research. For him, learning all that he could was his purpose in life, and he never wavered on that matter.

The merchant, Tressa, was driven by the winds of trade, determined to acquire treasures and sell them at fair prices to those who wanted them. The lass could sell a block of ice to a Stillsnow resident, but her sense of honor prevented her from ever taking advantage of her customers. She journeyed across Orsterra not merely for a profit, but also for adventure and experience. Tressa had barely reached adulthood, but she was already certain of her path in life, buying and selling goods with the confidence of a merchant well beyond her years.

The dancer, Primrose, was driven by revenge. It was a dark conviction, and one that was destined to not last forever, but it was a purpose all the same. She had devoted roughly a decade of her life to searching for information regarding her father's killers, enduring an unfathomable amount of abuse and humiliation at the hands of her former employer. Perhaps Primrose's fixation on vengeance was not healthy, but if nothing else, it kept her moving forward, perhaps towards a future where her heart might one day lighten at last.

The apothecary, Alfyn, was driven by an aspiration to heal the sick and wounded. He had admitted reluctance to leave his small village in the Riverlands due to his worry for the townsfolk, but had ultimately decided to travel across the continent in search of more people in need. Part of his determination was due to the actions of the apothecary who had healed him when he was a child, and he aspired to save people at little to no cost, just as his role model once had. Alfyn's memories of his own past suffering as well as his heart of gold motivated him to spend his life walking the path of a healer.

The thief, Therion, was driven by his desire for freedom. On the surface, his convictions seemed only to lie in the eventual removal of the Fool's Bangle clamped around his wrist, but the truth ran far deeper than that. He was shackled not only by a physical cuff, but by a past fraught with betrayal and broken trust. The young man had walked in shadow for most of his life, but, little by little, he seemed to be pulling ever further into the light. Therion's journey had not begun voluntarily, but the job he had undertaken and the tentative friendship he had formed with his traveling companions were doing him far more good than he had ever expected.

The hunter, H'aanit, was driven by the dark fate of the man she had called her master, yet valued more like a father. If the arrival of the man's direwolf companion alone in their village had worried her, then the sight of his actual petrified body had sent her into a state of terror. Rather than succumb to it, however, she had simply taken up her bow and set off after the creature that had turned her master to stone. She was determined to fight for his life, and would not rest until he had returned to flesh. H'aanit faced great danger whenever she and her loyal snow leopard confronted some colossal, horrific beast, but she would face it gladly if it meant her master's safe return.

And the warrior, Olberic…what was he driven by? He supposed that, for the time being, he was driven simply by the desire to find a better purpose to drive him. It was something of an ironic, even paradoxical notion, but it was the best that he could come up with for now.

Perhaps somewhere on the long, winding road, Olberic would find a new reason to swing his blade. Until then, he would resolve to assist his allies on their respective paths as they traveled. Maybe then, if they so wished, they would in turn aid him in his own journey towards purpose and redemption.

See you guys next week for Tale 10: Breathe Again!