Chapter 5

Staff in hand, Raine walked, watching the backs of her new companions. They were too trusting, letting a new addition keep to the rear when they knew so little about her. That suited her just fine. Jade led the group with Ion just behind him.

Guy walked with Luke between him and Tear, and Raine restrained glaring at Guy's back. She caught him glancing back at her with an expression of innocent confusion, but she didn't acknowledge it. She turned her nose away to admire a tree instead, but she couldn't help wondering, was he faking?

At Luke's shoulder, Mieu floated with the golden ring around his waist. He fascinated her. Several times she thought about asking Mieu about the ring and his ability to talk, but she was afraid that it was common knowledge. A cheagle is sacred to the Order of Lorelei, and while she got away with not knowing what it was, she suspected that not knowing more about it would show too much ignorance.

Tear stopped walking so she could take up stride next to her. "I'm happy you can join us," she said. She smiled a rather warm smile; she didn't seem to know about Raine's heritage, but then again, Guy had seemed friendly at first, too.

"Thank you. I appreciate your letting me come with you."

"What kind of fighting can you do?" Tear asked. "I just want to be sure if I have another civilian to protect." Luke heard this and spun around, angry.

"What do you mean 'another civilian'? I said I'd fight, didn't I?! Jeez, you guys don't lay off about that." He stomped ahead at a faster pace. Guy called after him.

Raine wanted to smack Luke, but where Guy was his servant, she wasn't sure what she'd be able to get away with. It sounded like Luke had a position of power and it might be a bit dangerous to punish him. Especially since no one else wanted to retaliate.

Tear ignored him. "So, do you have some skills in defense or fighting?"

"Yes. I can heal and use some magic."

"You can do what Jade does?" Mieu asked.

Jade's a spell caster? Raine shifted to look at him, but he turned away, pushing up his glasses with one finger. Did that mean Jade had an exsphere? It was possible, since he was a colonel. Even so... using spells meant that he had to have some elven blood. Not enough for anyone in Malkuth to care, though. Hypocrites, she thought bitterly. But then again, most humans were like that. It was one of their follies, she supposed.

"Well, I don't know specifically what Jade does, but I can hold my own," Raine said. "There shouldn't be any trouble."

"Certainly, she's not as afraid to kill as Luke is. That's quite a relief." Jade said, and Luke immediately up-started, "I can fight! Just because I faltered at the Tartarus doesn't mean I'm still afraid."

"Oh, sorry. My mistake. I hadn't realized your resolve was so strong." Jade continued walking. Raine smiled, amused. Even if he was snarky, he had a way of putting Luke in his place. Though judging from the child's satisfied expression, she wasn't sure he really understood the sarcasm.

How everyone knew each other puzzled her. Guy and Luke's relationship was clear, but everyone else... Luke didn't have the same familiarity with the others that he carried with Guy, and everyone else seemed like recent acquaintances. Well, she decided, the beginning of a journey with new people was the best time to ask questions about relationships. She turned to Tear.

"How did you come to be traveling with everyone?"

Immediately, Tear blushed and lowered her chin, strange for a soldier. "I'm the one who removed Luke from his manor in Kimlasca. I'm responsible for bringing him home."

"An accident..." Raine said, remembering what Guy said back at St. Binah. "How do you accidentally remove someone from his home?"

"We are seventh fonists." Tear answered her. "We caused a hyperresonance." Luke held his hands behind his head.

Raine hesitated. Was she expected to understand? Tear didn't elaborate, so Raine just nodded. "I see." Judging from just the name, she could assume a massive amount of energy, but she hadn't heard about energy relocating people like that. How exactly did hyperresonances work?

"Thankfully, we ran into the colonel and the Fon Master. They agreed to help us if we help them."

Now that Raine was talking though, she noticed Guy slowing to walk with them. He still maintained his distance, but he definitely listened in.

Raine said, "If you're returning him to Kimlasca, that means Chesedonia is not your last stop."

Jade finally looked at her, slightly surprised. "Our last stop is Luke's home in Baticul. We need his status to speak with the king."

"His status...?" Just how high up was this kid? High enough that no one punished him and he was obviously spoiled, but... "Is he the king's son?"

Guy laughed. "No, but you're close enough. He's the king's nephew. His mother married Duke Fabre."

Raine suddenly became glad she didn't smack Luke for being so rude to her. The last thing she needed was to show up at the duke's doorstep and have Luke complain about getting beat up. She'd probably be beheaded immediately, full-blood elf or not. No wonder everyone else was docile towards him.

"Where are you from?" Raine asked Tear.

At that, Tear looked surprised, holding her free hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself properly. I am Tear Grants of the Oracle Knights Intelligence Division." Meaning what? Raine didn't respond. But Oracle Knights... What organization were they with? Was that Kimlasca, too? Tear noticed her confusion. "You don't have to worry. I'm not working with the God-Generals. I'm working under the Grand Maestro. My mission is separate from what they're doing."

Wait, Tear was from the Order of Lorelei? So why were the God-Generals after them if they had one of their own in the group? Ah, that's how Tear interpreted her confusion. Raine said, "Multiple factions of the Order are in conflict, I take it?" Ahead of them, Ion stopped and turned around.

"I suppose we should tell you if you'll be traveling with us," Ion said. "But it's because of the factions that we're trying to keep this mission secret."

"Fon Master, do you think that's a good idea?" Tear asked, though she threw Raine an apologetic look. Raine agreed with her. Why tell her anything when they don't know anything about her?

Jade shrugged. "With what Elder McGovern told me, I doubt she's a spy for the God-generals." She tensed. What all did he say to Jade? Either way, she surveyed the others and didn't like their puzzled expressions. "She's more likely to help us if she knows what we're up to."

"You're right," Raine said. "I am concerned about a Malkuth colonel taking me back to Kimlasca when the two countries are hostile. I'm sorry, but I won't be expected to trust you just because a Malkuth Field Marshall recommended you to take me home."

"Our mission is of peace," Jade said. "Make of that what you will."

"Besides," Guy said, gesturing at Raine. "We don't know much about you, either. Someone from Radessia who passed through Sheridan?"

"I think we should restrain suspicion for now." Ion said. "Elder McGovern trusted her enough to send her with us." He turned to Raine. "We carry a peace treaty from Malkuth for Kimlasca. Since I am the Fon Master, I am the mediator for the request."

"And the Grand Maestro didn't like that," Raine said.

"Grand Maestro Mohs wants nothing but peace," Tear responded. The looks on Jade's and Ion's faces echoed the thoughts Raine had. If the Grand Maestro wanted peace, why would they have to hide a peace treaty from him? He must have another motive. At least the factions were clear enough.

"What's the conflict about between the two factions?" Raine asked.

"Let's just say Mohs believes in a more traditional method of running things." Ion said solemnly. He didn't elaborate, in fact he turned away. The end of that discussion...

Raine turned to Tear. "And you are part of the Grand Maestro faction."

"I'm neutral. I support Ion's wishes as well."

Raine smiled but it was more of indulgence, before asking more. "What about the God-Generals? Are they part of the Grand Maestro faction?"

"Van—" Tear cut herself off and turned her face away. "The Commandant oversees the God-Generals, so I think he likely agrees with Mohs." With the undertones, Raine knew Tear was actually close to the commandant. How close were they?

Luke upstarted. "No way! Master Van isn't trying to start a war, either. He was just looking for Ion because he went missing." Up until now, Luke seemed impartial to the peace treaty, almost bored. His defensiveness for Van struck Raine as odd. Before she could ask about that—

"It's possible Van lost control of the God-Generals," Jade said, drawing an angry look from Tear, "but we don't know for sure. We do know that the God-Generals are after us. It's best if we maintain caution."

After them because of the peace treaty? Why? Raine wondered. No, it wasn't just that. They had something to do with the Sephiroth. Ion was taken to the spirit seals, which had nothing to do with a peace treaty as far as she could tell. They must be working on multiple objectives. They started walking again, and Raine followed, confused. How did all of this fit with the plot to kill Sylvarant's Chosen? The king of Kimlasca certainly had a lot to worry about!

And not only that, Luke lived trapped in his manor, but he cared a lot about Van, who was part of the Order of Lorelei. What was the connection between them? There was just so much Sheena never mentioned that Raine wondered why she didn't bother asking more about Tethe'alla after she'd heard about it! Then again, nothing in Sylvarant had the note of familiarity with what she knew before her parents left her. Once she suspected another world existed, she wondered if that was where she and Genis were really from. Especially because Sheena's clothes had looked familiar. Perhaps she thought she remembered Tethe'alla well enough not to have questions.

But then Tear turned to her again, her face bearing more confusion than embarrassment now. "You have a lot of questions about the factions. Your tutors had little to teach as well?" It was a simple question, but it felt heavy on Raine's ears. She'd given herself away again. But unlike Glenn or Elder McGovern, Tear didn't seem too upset by it, nor anyone else for that matter.

Was it because of Luke's ignorance? Were they used to answering basic questions? "Books can teach a lot of things," she said, "but you can only withdraw knowledge from the ones you have access to." She could tell from Tear's smile that she understood. Raine was her own tutor.

"I suppose Sheridan has no shortage of books," Tear said.

"I wasn't in Sheridan long enough to read any."

Even in Ion's eyes, Raine noticed an understanding. "If not through books and tutors, the only other way to learn is experience."

She nodded. "I did learn a lot through observation. Paying attention."

"It's interesting that you didn't have any formal education," Jade said. "I'm curious about why that is."

Too close. Raine inhaled. They're too close to the truth. "I'm afraid my answer is the same. Traveling doesn't encourage much traditional instruction." Especially when humans chased her from one campsite to the next. Most of her education had come from mom and dad and what few books they could carry.

Jade's eyebrow went up and Tear returned an indulgent smile, but Raine wasn't too worried about that. Being an itinerant explained a lot of weird things about her, so long as she didn't let on about her origins. As far as she could tell, they still didn't know she was from Sylvarant. Guy, however, still eavesdropped from six feet away, and the interested look in his eyes had returned. She ignored him. Luke, however, went back to leading the party, Mieu at his shoulder and Ion trailing behind them.

Actually, a lot of things started making sense even if she didn't fully understand everything. Ion, part of the Order of Lorelei, was on a private mission with Jade to stop a war on Malkuth's behalf, though they couldn't talk about it because of the hostility between Malkuth and Kimlasca (though she still found the Order a bit paradoxical and antagonistic. At least the factions clarified some of that). For some reason, the Grand Maestro disagreed with stopping the war and possibly the God-Generals, too. Tear and Luke were just being used and Guy came along to protect the Duke's son.

At the very least, Raine felt she could trust them for now. Their intentions were just as peaceful as hers.