[ - Author's Note - ]

One more chapter closer to the end of the overlong Act Two. Whew. This one will be a bit of a cool down and more relaxed then the last one. The main focus will be on the aftermath of what Shamhaza had done, a slight detour in the plan and a bit of a talk between James and Kaguya.

Once more the ongoing strawpoll for Best Banner of Ansur will be at the bottom so if you haven't do go and vote. Please and thank you.

Okay then; let's get into it!

[ - Act II – Chapter XXXIX: Laid To Rest - ]

Ring... Ring... Ring... Ring...

She was having that dream once more. The ringing of the shakujo rang loud and clear in the air as she was led through the mists once more; thinner and thinner now. More could be seen now as the God she pledged her life to led her along the field of various red flowers; chysanthemums, carnations and gerberas all around. She could see more people in all; six in kabuki styled masks... her fellow Shield Princesses, identifiable by their normal outfits in spite of the masks they wore with Prim, Alica and Claudia standing to one side and Celestine, Lulu and Maia at the other in two lines.

Prim was wearing the mask of a gentle dove, Alicia that of a proud hawk, Claudia a mask of a commanding lioness, Maia a mask of a wild wolf and Lulu that of a playful fox. Celestine was the only one without an animal themed mask; a golden colored one with red lips and golden circle in the forehead as it spread rays out in several directions. The man in the dragon's mask could be seen ahead of her once more as she was led to him and with something new; five, tall pillars behind him. Each bore an odd emblem at the top; a circle with a line going straight down from it with a cross near the end, a rectangle with a cross on one side and four circles in a cross on the other side, another with a bird carrying a scroll, another with a dancing woman with a cupcake in hand and the last being a bomb within a fireball.

The sight of the pillars made God shiver for a moment drawing her eyes to him. The pillars represented something; something greater then he. That was... hard for her to comprehend. What they meant was unknown to her; a power yet dormant? Or gods beyond gods?

Despite their position each pillar casted a shadow onto the man in dragon mask; more and more visible but his body still hidden by the mists... What was this? What was God saying?

Once more she would awaken with questions in her mind.

[-]

When exactly the first Easterners entered Eostia is hard to pin down. As Wabika was a part of the Imperium once upon a time (Then released and reconquered when the Imperium came under new, more militaristic management) some of the Eastern population came from there before the Seven Kingdoms Alliance was even founded. Afterwards, however, there have been maybe four major migrations of peoples and maybe thrity to forty smaller ones. Some would settle into odd places in Eostia such as Classa but the bulk would find themselves in central Thorn; namely within Arrona, Coppic, Ferrosica and Blackcut. Together they would become known as the Four Eastern Houses

Of these four the House of Niryu is the longest serving as rulers; the name literally meaning 'two dragons'. Unlike other houses with the images of dragons upon their banner House Niryu does not boast dragonborne founders or lineage; rather the name comes from the Tale of the Ni Ryu; a tale of two dragon brothers who would fight one another with one slaying the other and finding sorrow in his loneliness until approached by a man who offered him comfort... his brother, reborn as a human. His brother too would shed his dragonic form and become a man; the two founding the House in the east before leaving to wander the world and leaving this house in the hands of humans brought to their banner.

Regardless the lords of Niryu immigrated when their small nation, Sorachi, was conquered and set to the torch bringing as much of their people with them as they could and found sanctuary inside of Eostia and the Magistracy of Thorn. It's estimated they arrived around the 40s AF and they would become a minor house in 509 AF in the aftermath of the first Nyaru War in recognition of their efforts as they were exceptionally quick to mobilize in Eastport's defense. They would arise to the rank of local lord in 602 AF when then ruling House of Griffineye had a generation of birthing nothing but girls. While Fiona Griffineye was named as heir she married Shinji Niryu and took his name. Indeed, of the Four Eastern Lords they are the most mixed with their more central and western counterparts.

In regards to the Barony of Blackcut itself it is well blessed with minerals and quarries (With the name of Blackcut coming from it's large deposits of Onyx) for natural wealth but lacks good, irrigated farmland. This may become a corrected issue, however, as a recent underground river had been discovered and while a new mine ended up flooded when this was found an aqueduct project has begun to take advantage of it. While a longtime Barony talks of rising to a County has come up more then once.

~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia

[-]

After consulting some maps we decided the easiest path to Ferrosica was through Blackcut; both alongside Arrona and Coppic were known as the Four Eastern States as all four local lords of those states were Eastern in origin. We rode along some rougher roads but still made good time as we kept going and found more then a few stretches of smoother roads. Interestingly the clothing of people in the towns we came across were a mix of European and Japanese styles; short robes that were styled like Japanese ones, tunics with Japanese styled designs on them. Also; at least one woman had what was a mix of a kimono and a little black dress that was oddly enticing.

About half way to Blackcut's capital Kaguya became more talkative and joined the conversations we had more and more. She seemed a tad distracted but given the events that happened it was quite understandable. I offered her some space but ensured that she knew I'd be there if she needed it and she would come to speak with me now and then; mostly on her childhood with Mizuchi... and how they once got chased up to the roof of a house by an army of three dozen kittens. No, I am not joking.

Yes, it was adorable.

Finally we came up to the capital of Onyxcraft City. It was another odd city; there was a short, thin mountain called Mount Pierce sticking upwards; five hundred feet high at most and looking somewhat like a narrow arrowhead. Onyxcraft was built in a ring around this mountain with two large walls about it. And then Castle Blackcut finally came into view. Unlike the other castles I've seen thus far this one was clearly Japanese in it's design; the whole thing was built up atop a foundation of stone slabs maybe eight feet tall with a forty foot, whitewashed wall about it. Unlike other walls the entire thing bore a roof along the length of them, black in color, and bore several long, rectangular windows to fire from. By each corner was a square tower that bore slanted, black roofs every story and visible ballista aiming out of port holes. Meanwhile the gate house was built into another tower and boasted a very long drawbridge; given the gate was eight feet over the ground it was needed to get people in and out of the castle... and would make sieges even harder. The center keep resembled the corner towers; merely wider, thicker and taller with cannons in the top.

I was impressed.

Arriving we could see the banner of House Niryu over the top of the gatehouse on a large, stone plaque. The banner was... different. Imagine a knight's shield with a curved top. Now imagine a ying-yang in the middle of it. Now pull the shield apart in half vertically with the white, upper half of the ying-yang staying with the left half and the bottom, black half with the right.

The left half of it bore a thick, blue border compared to the right side's red with the outlines going around the ying-yang halves. The left half was gray, the right bronze while the gaps left by the missing ying-yang half was colored the opposite color. Both ying-yang halves bore a dragon on them; blue with red eyes on the white and red with blue eyes on the black. In the upper corners was the image of a smiling sun with a crescent moon in it; yellow with a dark golden crescent with a white outline; the face having red eyes. It's opposite was gray with a darker gray crescent, blue eyes and a black outline. Finally at the bottom was two dragon wings; black with a red outline on the left and white with blue outlines on the right.

We would ride up the long, slanted drawbridge and into the castle proper. Inside was some very nice, pleasant gardens of mostly white, blue, red and yellow flowers and a few maids attending them... in the usual, skimpy Eostian style maid outfits. I'd later learn that Easterners loved maid outfits and according to Makoto as far east as her own homeland in Mizutaku had female servants wearing them. I was not aware of that until then.

(She'd later add that other western things they loved included jousting, tap dancing and, of all things, chess. Yes; they had shogi as their local game. They still loved chess. The one differences was that they didn't use the usual, standing pieces but flat rectangles with a slight point in one of the ends like shogi pieces with kanji for the pieces on one side and images of the normal pieces on the other. Additionally they had some shogi boards which had nine by nine boards had two lines colored a different tone so it could be used as an eight by eight chess board so both games could be played on it.)

When we parked and stepped in much of the same could be said of the inside as the outside in that it was very Oriental in set up and design. Unlike the usual castles the entrance hall had no second floor balcony and the floor was covered in... something. They were like tatami mats in it's size and layout but were made of wood as opposed to whatever tatami was made of. The borders of each 'mat' were lined with gold giving it a rich look, doubly so as the wood was dark in color. The walls were white stone but bore elaborate, Japanese styled paintings across them starting six feet up; mostly involving two dragons and two men by the looks of it. Finally doors in the back slid open and someone walked in and being flanked by two guards in samurai armor; one in white and blue the other in black and red.

The person in question was a woman; some five six in height. Her hair was knee long in length and colored blonde with long bangs framing her face and nice, purple eyes, the right bang being double the length of it's twin and reaching her hips white the left reached her chest. She wore Japanese styled robes (Kimono I want to say..?) that were purple with an orange obi belt around it with a black tie. A paler purple skirt was under it and she wore purple, leather boots. A pink, floral hair pin was set to the left side of her head. "Ahh. The good Lady Kaguya and company, yes? Including the now well known James Noxdecus of Mungale, yes? I, Baroness Kin Niryu, bid you welcome to my most humble abode." She said, folding her hands into her lap as she bowed; reaching a forty five degree angle.

(-)

Name: Kin Niryu
Title: Baroness of the Two Dragons
Class: Dancer
Level: 33
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 36
Status: Healthy, Relaxed, Calm

Romance Rating: 81
Corruption Rating: 11

Known Traits
[?]
[Ambidextrous] You can wield two weapons at a time with no penalty; and a bonus! +5 Dex and Agi when using two weapons.
[Blade Master - Upgraded] You are well versed in the use of all bladed weapons. You can use any sword, knife or dagger as a secondary weapon. Additionally you can use any one or two handed sword as a primary weapon.

[Quickdraw] You can draw your weapons as fast as lightning. +2 to draw speed. +3 to Dex & Agi

Second child of Kenchi and Momo Niryu she found herself named the heir when her elder brother joined the Eostian Army; finding more worth as a leader of armies then leader of a barony. Having a better grasp of economics has allowed Kin to bring new wealth to Blackcut; although her use of blades has proven her brother is not the only warrior in the family.

(-)

"I am grateful to the warm welcome, Baroness Niryu." Kaguya said, bowing to match Kin as she smiled back.

"And I as well am full glad to be welcomed to Blackcut, Baroness Niryu." I replied; bowing to our hostess in the same manner as both ladies had. "And I thank you for the hospitality." I added before rising fully.

"Well; far be it from me to not enjoy making a new friend." She said clasping her hands together. "After all; although our houses differ on policy we both seek a greater Eostia together, yes?" She said as I nodded. Noxdecus was a Liberalist House on the Council while Niryu was a Conservative one; the two sides would often butt heads and disagree with one another but had a level of respect for one another... although both also had a mutual dislike of the Traditionalists...

I was about to say something before I heard someone rushing over; not at a full run but rather a very, very brisk walk. When he arrived I saw a man in... an odd Japanese styled robe; there was a red short robe but over it was something else; one that moved from the belt and over the shoulders and over the back to the belt once more with padded, pointed shoulders and a matching, loose, skirt like bottom that was more then likely loose pants; all yellow with navy blue trim. Two Japanese styled swords were at his left hip; a katana and a shorter one I forgot the name of; navy blue handles with yellow diamond patterns on them with silver guards in navy blue sheathes. What did stand out was on the front of this and on either side of the collar was an emblem.

It was a large, tall, oval with a thick yellow ring outlined on both sides with navy blue and a red background. The bottom bore an open, white, blue trimmed paper fan. At the top, pointing down, was a katana; mostly blue with a white guard, white line along the blade, yellow diamonds along the handle and a yellow outline. What dominated the image however was a massive beetle; navy blue with yellow outlines; it's long pincers surrounded the katana at the top. I knew the emblem well enough; the Banner of House Kabutomushi.

In regards to the man himself he stood some six feet tall and looked middle aged; built powerful and strong. He had his black hair set into a top knot and a serious look to him. His face bore a trimmed and pointed beard and a mustache with long tails that hung past his chin to match the depth of his beard's point. "Lady Kaguya." He said, addressing her quickly. "I am told you have fought the man who... killed my daughter." He said... and you could see that while his brown eyes were steeled there was a sorrow in them.

"Indeed we have." Kaguya said as she looked to me. "James, this man is Daichi Kabutomushi; the Baron of Arrona."

(-)

Name: Daichi Kabutomushi
Title: The Beetle Baron
Class: Samurai
Level: 41
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 34
Status: Healthy, Mourning, Determined.

Known Traits
[Perfect Slice] If you have longer then five seconds to line up a melee attack it's accuracy is 100%

[Lightning Reflexes] You deflect missile attacks with great ease. +50% Dex when parrying or deflecting ranged attacks.

[?]
[Sword Master] You are a master of any sword set to your hand. +2 Damage to all one handed swords in your use, +4 Damage to all two handed swords in your use.

Baron of Arrona he was the third son and didn't expect to become his state's leader and as such took the time to study the arts of the sword, brush and word as more of a pass time then to prepare to lead a nation. However when his eldest brother died in the fighting with Garan and his other brother abdicated feeling unworthy he was pressed to the position and rose to meet the challenge; leading with a calm, wise hand.

(-)

"His daughter, Rei, was used to breed that... thing we fought." Kaguya added as I winced. Yeah... that was a brutal way to go...

"My condolences; Baron Daichi." I said, giving him the same bow I gave Kin. "No one deserves what happened to her. I wouldn't wish such a fate to my worst enemy."

"Indeed..." He said with a sigh. "Her burial will be... painful for myself and my surviving daughter. But please... I would ask of news of the one who harmed her; what has become of him, if anything?"

"The beast she was forced to breed was slain by Kaguya." I told him as I sighed. "And I fought Shamhaza myself and defeated him. I meant to bring him in alive for the sake of both trial and interrogation... but he chose to fall on his own blade instead. He is dead."

"Both of these monsters are dead?" He said as I nodded to him. "Truly? I..." He looked down for a moment before taking a deep breath and... dropped to both knees, moving to press his head to the floor! I wasn't fully aware of Eastern culture but I knew this was an extreme level of prostration to another!

"B-Baron Daichi, you don't need to go so far as-"

"Nay... No less will be able to express my gratitude for bringing that... man to justice." He said before finally lifting up; staying on his knees. "I understand that you wished to interrogate him but that he can no longer do harm to others as he had to my daughter... That my Rei can rest in peace... You do not understand the level of thanks I have for this." I smiled and moved to step closer and extended my hand.

"I accept that gratitude... But please. To your feet, good sir." I asked him softly. "I would rather a man speak to me face to face as an equal."

"Heh... My daughter would have liked you..." He said with a slight smile; taking my hand as I helped him up.

"Baroness Kin-"

"Just Kin; let us all dispense of the formalities." The blonde said as I nodded.

"Kin; perhaps we can settle down for some tea while Daichi tells us more of his daughter." I said with a slight smile. "I'd like it if he shared with us the sort of person she was."

"I... would enjoy that..." Daichi said with a slight grin. "No, I would be honored."

[-]

The location for our tea and talks was a backyard garden as we sat at a large, oval shaped stone table. Flowers were everywhere about us and a large koi pond was under us; a thick, wide, semi clear stone bridge over the center of the pond with a spell making it mostly transparent was under us; making it look like we stood on glass as the fish swam under us. The tea served was a green one and the snacks served was called taiyaki; fish shaped vanilla cakes that had a filling. I wasn't sure what the usual filling was meant to be but her chefs had made a very interesting one for these; ice cream.

Yes; they made a version of taiyaki into mini-Baked Alaskas. And it was good.

Diachi, while he was still clearly hurting, was more then willing to tell tales of his lost and late daughter; tales of her growing up and learning to cast magic for the first time... and setting half the gardens in the castle on fire because it took awhile for her to notice that the flames in her hands wasn't hurting her as her sister chased after her... Daichi said he wished she would pick up the sword like he had but was proud of what she was able to do with magic; doubly so when she used the Arcane Weapon spell to mimic his sword skills and learn a number of them from him.

He talked of small moments; playing shogi with both of his daughters, teaching them both to paint, speaking with Rei in particular after her first dates, hearing of her first fight with bandits and performing well... His tone was sadder when he spoke of how Rei wanted to become a wife and mother someday and how she was eager to seek out a husband and had opted to not sleep around like most girls in Eostia; sparing herself for the wedding night; not something you hear very often in the Alliance... Something that must have stung harder given what she did give birth to and how it happened...

"Please... I know you have your tasks over in Ferrosica... But if I may make a request..." Daichi said softly as he looked to Kaguya as he folded his hands together over the table. "Would you please come to Arrona and partake in her funeral? I had came here in person hearing you would be riding to Blackcut first; I needed to ask you in person for such a request."

"Daichi..." Kaguya said as she shut her eyes for a moment.

"When she was young she wanted to be the Shield Princess of Thorn and while it was a dream she eventually surrendered when she matured she still had much admiration for you and your position." Daichi explained to us as he kept looking to Kaguya. "I know the relationship you had with her was casual and not overly deep but her respect for you was great. To have you there would be a comfort to her spirit before it was sent on it's way to the heavens."

"...I apologize but my duties to James must come first." She replied softly. "If we are to divert to Arrona the choice is-"

"If Kaguya wishes to be there to honor her I do not mind the detour." I said lifting a hand, cutting her off as she looked to me with a slight look of surprise. "I've had nearly at least one required detour in each kingdom; one more won't hurt that much and we're not going that far out of the way. It is not much of a problem."

"Thank you..." Kaguya said softly giving an honest smile. "I honestly wished to honor her but duty does come first. This will allow me to do such for her. Indeed; given my duties I was not able to meet and befriend as many people within the houses as I wished; with Rei being among them. If Daichi wishes it I shall honor her and her spirit at the funeral."

"I am very grateful." Daichi said, bowing his head deep. "I thank you; I thank the both of you. You will be treated as most my honored guests in my home."

"I imagine then we will need to have our guests acquire kimonos for the funeral in question, then." Kin said as she sipped her tea softly only to have Makoto reply.

"Ahh, I have bought for James such a kimono on our journeys as a gift." My bodyguard let off as most of the room looked to her. Indeed she did. She even had it modified by someone in Ansur to add the Noxdecus emblem to it without me knowing until later. Sneaky girl.

"Well we may need some for others who wish to attend but that is a good start." Kin said as she clasped her hands together for a moment. "Let us give Rei the send off her spirit deserves."

[-]

Kaguya would ask to see the kimono Makoto gifted me and agreed that it was formal enough for the event and commented that she looked forwards to seeing me in it. Most of the day was then spent by Kin taking Cress and the ladies out to a local tailor for fittings and picking out what they would want. After returning Cress took his harp to the garden and practiced his songs... and gained a small flock of maids and others who moved to listen in. And yes he was singing as he played.

It was rather impressive, really.

As for myself I was busying myself in my quarters by making something. I had acquired a block of half inch thick wood built with two, small feet on the bottom to make it stand up in a stable manner; about a foot wide and equally tall. A pair of cheap, rice grain sized spell stones were set on the top of the board on either side in the center and held in place via glue. The stones projected images of a ten by ten grid on the standing board on each side and the table before it; the images on the table baring a watery look to it. The illusion spell was weak leaving the images a semi-transparent look but that was all that was really needed for it. Set to each side of the table was a set of wooden ships with a sloop taking up two grid squares, a pair of three square brigs, a four square frigate and a single five square long galleon. Yes; I was making a version of the game of Battleship with small spell stones that used touch controls. That said I would call it Battle Fleet as the classification of a Battleship wasn't invented yet and I didn't want to give anyone any big ideas.

I imagined I could produce copies of the game for less then three or four copper each; it depended on how much the tiny spell stones costed in bulk. A silver should get me a good handful of them so it should be feasible. If so I could sell them for six to seven copper making them affordable to commoners. I could even make a more elaborate and expensive version for those who could afford it.

Indeed; I had taken the chance to talk with Mayor Sweetrabbit back in Argon to see about a possible building to use as a workshop to make Battle Fleet boards and other games. I was already making the enchanting box's spell stone and I had asked the castle steward about a long box I could have if they had something they could part with and they had (I gave three silver in both compensation and thanks) and I built it so you could use it to make twenty pairs of stones at once. Once the stone was finished and attached I gave it a test; worked like a charm.

I started to get into contact with both the Count of Blarion, Tantan Kalkan, and my merchant friend in Elddale, Edmund Taxson, and showed them what I had made over the voxlux and how it worked. Both were very interested and when I gave my rough estimate for both how cheap they could be made for and that they could be sold to commoners as an affordable, luxury item and even have better ones made for higher end clients...

You could see gold coins in their eyes... because this world didn't have dollar signs yet.

As for other games I had in mind some usual, simpler ones. Connect Four, Sorry, Snakes and Ladders...

I considered a Monopoly style game but that would require both reading and better stones. Ditto with a game styled after Risk; even if I could make a good map for it. Still; simple and easy games were the best place to start. The profits could then be spun into both other money-making investments but, more importantly for me, equipment and other projects I could use to help fight the Black Storm. Honestly, that's why I was on the booster trip to start with; to identify possible Black Storm Agents, ensuring the voxlux would be at it's full potential for when the time came and to find anything useful I could use. And I've done all three, really.

I'm sure I've found two agents and a third was defeated (And killed, if by his own hand), the voxlux's basic network was nearly already up and when I last called home we had sold over one hundred boosters so far (More then I had hoped for so early! And orders from Thorn states were starting to be filled too!) meaning the network as a whole would be tough to bring down soon and I had gained a wealth of books, equipment, spells and got both a great weapon and armor on the way. This trip had paid off in spades, all in all.

A knock would sound on my door and as I looked over towards it with more then a bit of surprised and nearly jumped in my seat. If a lady was looking for sex it was usually after dinner. "Come in." A let off as the door opened and Chouko walked in, of all people. "Chouko; can I help you?"

"Greetings. I wanted to ask... Wait, what is that?" She asked, looking at my Battleship, errrr, Battle Fleet game.

"Oh, a little game I've been enchanting up. Can I help you?" I asked as I looked back to her as she moved to look closer at what I made.

"Oh... Just... I was going to ask if... Ummm... well... if you could teach me a little about rapiers..." She said as she moved to look to the game. "...How does this game work?"

"Oh. It's simple." I said reaching up and pinching the two stones; their position was on either side of the plank in the center and glued to place; pinching them would turn it on and off. As it came back on I showed her how the ships were placed and had her place the opposite side of the board. We would play a simple game of it much to her curiosity; the game replied on mostly intuitive touch controls and was coupled with a soft voice providing instruction.

"What an... interesting diversion." She said; still amazed at it before coughing to her hand. "But yes; rapiers. I was curious about how and why they were used."

"Ahh." I said, standing up before moving to where the Unicorn's Horn was set and lifted it; drawing the blade and holding it with palms up. "What did you want to know?"

"I was always curious about why the blade is so thin." She said, looking to it. "You cannot cut well with it; can you?"

"You can slice with it but it's not overly good at it; it's a thrusting weapon." I said simply. "Rapiers are usually considered something of a nobleman's weapon as it requires a fair level of skill to use well; it requires control and precision. It's weight is much closer to the handle then a normal blade-" As I spoke I held a finger out and set the Horn on it; the flat of the blade by the guard on it as it balanced. "-and as such it has the same damage potential in a thrust as a long-sword as they hold the same weight. The thin blade is made to puncture gambeson armor easily but also punch through the links of chain mail; riveted chain mail can resist a rapier better but butted chain mail can be defeated with ease."

I grabbed the weapon's handle and inverted it to show the stone at the pommel. "Additionally it's considered by some an excellent melee weapon for mages who wish to have a bladed weapon. Plated armor is easier to handle with magic and a spell stone in the weapon's pommel can be used as a magical focus and help with casting by acting like a wand. The weapon's weakness in hacking can be mitigated with a good elemental weapon spell-" I swapped the weapon to a standard grip and lifted my free hand up. "-and as a single handed blade it's can be used easily in tandem with magic. With most of the weight near the handle it's also less tiring to hold; the blade's weight acts as a lever so the further out the weight the more effort needed to hold it in a normal stance."

I smiled to her and as I sheathed the weapon I kept speaking. "Further more rapiers can be paired with parrying daggers, other knives and daggers or bucklers to provide additional melee protection and offense. You can also leave the hand free to punch, grapple or cast. The guard of the rapier can also be used to punch with greater force as well; I've done that a fair bit when someone gets into my guard too close to stab or slash at." By the end of it she was humming and cupping her chin softly. "The rapier is a very flexible weapon and doubly so for a magic user; but like any other it has it's faults and weaknesses."

"Hmmm... a much different way of fighting then the katana." She mused as I set the Unicorn's Horn down and retook my seat.

"Well based on what I know the ideal of the katana is to strike first and kill in one strike; it's a two handed blade and that gives it maximum cutting power." I said as I looked to her. "But most other blades, or at least ones made in Eostia, is about not getting hit and surviving the battle; it's why swords are often paired with shields."

"Hmmm... Tell me..." She let off as she tapped a stone on the game; resetting it after the last one was finished. "What do you think is better?" She asked as she started to place her ships. I sat down and sighed; doing the same.

"Well I would say 'better' is subjective." I began. "Sometimes you need a quick, decisive strike; so you can decapitate a foe before he can react. Sometimes you need to hold a point and last for a set time; no matter who you do or don't kill. Additionally someone with a cautious personality is better suited to a defensive mind set and a more reckless person is more suited to an aggressive one."

"Well what is better for you?" She asked as I hummed softly. Soon she was making the first shot in the new game.

"In fairness I like a more balanced and adaptive style but I would say if I had to make a choice I'd prefer more defensive." I said as I looked to her. "Whatever you seek be it money, glory or honor it won't come if your dead. Or at least you won't be able to enjoy it."

"You see no glory in dying in a grand sacrifice to which your name will be spoken of for ages?" She said as I made my shot.

"How well will those around you smile at your loss?" I replied as she took a shot on the board but gave no verbal answer; given that we would be going to a funeral those words hit heavier then I intended...

Soon we traded shots on the game... and played another game... and another...

Come dinner time she took the board with her (With permission, of course) and played others on it after eating and it quickly became a well enjoyed game. Even Daichi smiled a bit as he and Kin had a few rounds. Honestly the evening was spent with most of us playing Battle Fleet, everyone offering me feedback and lots of conversations about people we knew; alive and dead.

It was one of those nights you remember more for the atmosphere then any notable moments.

[-]

House Kabutomushi originally began as a clan of merchants that began to form a trading empire that reached from Thorn to the far east; bringing silks that were, at the time, foreign to Eostia along with other goods such as teas, eastern weapons and art. The wars of the eastern nations would sever this empire and see them exiled but then leader Kenzo Kabutomushi made strides to limits the damage; smuggling the silkworms, tradesmen and seeds to grow the tea plants to Arrona at great expense. The result was they provided goods the rest of the merchant houses did not. As for their rise to leaders of the barony it's the same one you've heard before; the pox created an opening in the state, not just in the ruling lords but nearly all of Arrona's nobility.

Kabutomushi's then leader Toshihro managed to rally the populace behind him and took informal control of the barony to manage the crisis. High King Rictor Rodimus opted to appoint him to the rank of baron in the hopes he would both rise to the position and abolish slavery to further weaken the Traditionalists; he was rewarded on both points.

As for the Barony of Arrona itself the northeast and southwest both boast mines for ores of copper, tin, iron and coal for some income but the bulk of the barony is mostly fertile lands and tea leaves is one of their most notable exports followed by silk and eastern styled weapons. More recently an uptick in new fortunes has happened as an underground stream was found in their northwest and diverted to make use of more land for farming.

Along with a long history of calm, rational leadership Arrona is slowly rising in wealth and ability.

~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia

[-]

Daichi and Kin would end up joining our convoy with their own carriages and escorts as we rode north by northwest towards Arrona and it's capital. The roads were initially rough but once we got a good deal into the state they smoothed out and became flat and easy to ride along. All in all we mostly made good time. I also ended up in a 'rapier vs katana' sparring session with Chouko... who sparred nude. Yeah... Still; three thousand and nine hundred XP from fourteen wins. That put me over twenty thousand current XP and less then seven thousand to another level up.

I ended up speaking with Chouko a bit more about why exactly she fights naked and she cited the religion of the Jinhadaka. It was... strange, to say the least. It was a female only sect that believed that it was their goal and duty to give birth to the strongest warriors and train them. Boys would be trained for the purposes of joining an army or other order of warriors. While magic is taught to those who can learn it the main focus is on weapons and physical combat and most spells that are learned are those that enhance weapons and physical abilities. The girls would also be trained as warriors but would become warriors of the Jinhadaka who would then take after their mothers. The reason for nudity in combat was a means to showcase their beauty and fitness unhindered as well as show their devotions to the heavens.

As for how they choose mates to bear their children that was also interesting. When you hear of an order like this you assume a man must defeat them and lay claim to their bodies in combat but the Jinhadaka rejected this idea outright and would either abort the child, kill themselves during pregnancy if it cannot be aborted or kill the child after birth. As Chouko said they and they alone are the choosers of who's seed bears them fruit. No; they challenge the man to combat for the right to claim his seed as their prize. They don't need to express this claim but they are not allowed to get pregnant with a man they haven't defeated.

In case you are curious they are allowed to marry and don't have to win each time they want to get laid; they just need to have defeated their husband at some point. That said if you marry someone in their order then you better hope you have only sons or be cozy of everyone knowing what your daughter looks like naked anytime a weapon is drawn.

Much like Blackcut's capital of Oynxcraft the capital of Arrona, Triticum Terram City, bore the usual European style walls with rounded towers with every second one being taller and boasting cannons atop them. Outside of the city was another Japanese style castle with towers in each corner, a wider tower minding a drawbridge, all built on a stone foundation some eight feet over ground level. The main differences was the walls were colored red; the roofs navy blue and all of the trim yellow. The emblem of House Kabutomushi was on the gate tower but positioned on both sides of the upper most floor, under the roof's overhang.

We would park outside of the keep and Daichi would invite us in. Much like Castle Blackcut the keep of Castle Arrona bore the odd wooden floors in tatami mat style; although with a silver border for the boards. There was alse different art pieces on the walls; mostly focused on samurai. A door in the back slid open as a young woman moved to run out from it. "Father!" She let off, rushing towards Daichi who opened his arms and as she wrapped her arms about his waist he would drape his arms about her shoulders. "It's good to have you home..."

"And it is good to be home, Hinata..." Daichi said as he would pat her shoulders twice before turning her to face us. This is my daughter; Hinata... Rei's sister." The Baron said as the woman looked to us. She had her hands folded in her lap as she stood some five four in height. She bore waist long, black hair with flat bangs with long, chest length bangs framing her pretty face. She wore a red kimono with splashes of pink flower print over the right chest, sleeves and by the legs. A yellow, obi belt with a red tie was around her waist with it's own floral print. It was hard to tell how large her bust was but perhaps D-Cup? Borderline DD at most. "I have told her the fate of her sister's killer over the voxlux..."

(-)

Name: Hinata Kabutomushi
Title: Flower of Arrona
Class: Samurai
Level: 19
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 39
Status: Healthy, Calm, Mourning

Romance Rating: 101
Corruption Rating: 11

Known Traits
[Deep Cut] You are an expert with any bladed weapon designed to cut. All weapons with a bladed edge you use gain +4 to Slashing Damage

[?]
[Arcane Draw] Despite a lack of magical training you know one spell, Arcane Weapon. +2 to Mnc and Mag

Daughter of Baron Daichi Kabutomushi she and her sister were raised with the understanding they would be defenders of their home at the very least. While her sister Rei bore more magical talent Hinata bore talent with the blade; much like her father. Despite this she spent years perfecting the Arcane Weapon spell alongside her sister.

(-)

"You are James Noxdecus, yes?" She said, looking to me and bowing deeply. "Thank you for stopping that monster. Please; I offer my body in thanks for your deed." Her father seemed to stiffen as she spoke; my guess was he wasn't happy his daughter was offering up sex as thanks but wasn't going to argue it.

(Kaguya would inform me about it later; it was a custom in some eastern houses to offer a night with their female members and/or said members to offer themselves up as thanks for large deeds or favors and while it wasn't a universal custom to the eastern nations Thorn had immigrants from several and it all blended together.)

"While I thank you for the offer I am not going to accept carnal favors as thanks." I said firmly as she rose up. "If you wish to sleep with me of your own accord that's one thing; but will not ask for nor accept a woman's body as a payment. I would think it's more valuable then that." She blushed at what I said but seemed to relax.

"I... thank you..." She said, lowering her head for a moment. "I just... I needed to be sure my gratitude is expressed is all."

"I am sure he understands." Daichi said as he set a hand on her shoulder. "But please. The funeral comes in the morning. For now you are my guest most honored. I have needs to see to preparations so I will have my daughter see to your entertainment."

[-]

Hinata would be a rather kind hostess although Chouko pressured me into breaking out both my chess board and the Battle Fleet game. As it turned out while Hinata enjoyed chess well enough she wasn't a strong player and gravitated to Battle Fleet quite quickly. Indeed we talked mostly about Rei over a few games before she changed the topic to

my various travels.

I opted to tell her a few stories; how I met Makoto (With said bodyguard pipping in), the fight with Halbert, the fighting in Arafe and the whole tale of the pirates. She would often pause me to ask for more details now and then; the tale of the pirates in particular was one she favored for awhile. After that she was quiet for a bit before finally asking me to tell her about my fight with Shamhaza. I was... understandably reluctant to start but she asked once more; saying she wanted to understand his fate. After a moment I relented.

"He chose to fall upon his own blade in the end?" She said, leaning back in her seat. We were in a sitting room of some sort as the back courtyard was being readied for the funeral. It was a nice, relaxed one with painted walls and vases with a few flowers in each. "I am... not sure if it would be better he be slain or made to suffer in a cell... but he will hurt no one else and do what he did to my sister. I will be satisfied with that."

"I know we just met but I'm willing to listen if you feel the need to get something off your chest." I told her... right before she sank my galleon.

Dammit.

"Thank you." She said as I sank... her sloop. Did I mention I was losing?

I was losing.

[-]

Once I got my game back I moved to refine it a little bit; adding soft sound effects that would add impact to the game while minding what I was working with. Really it had all it needed; impact animations, sinking animations and so on. The fact I was using semi-transparent illusions kept the mana needs very low which was the main reason I could even use such weak, and thus cheap, stones for this.

Regardless come the morning it was time for the funeral with only breakfast coming before it. I needed some help from Makoto to put the kimono on correctly; it was a little awkward and felt like a mix between wearing a dress and a bath robe... I, of course, kept this thought to myself because the way that sounded could offend someone. As for the kimono it was a deep blue with thin gold designs upon it of unicorns. Yes, really. It was why Makoto picked it out for me in particular; a unicorn was on the Noxdecus emblem and golden, unicorn outlines were on the kimono filled in with a silver color. The only way it could be more accurate was if the blue wasn't as deep and the horn was gold as well. That said the House Noxdecus emblem was set to the back of it.

I would be escorted to the back courtyard with a multitude of benches brought out for people to sit at. A fair number of guests were here; mostly eastern in origin but a large amount of western origin as well. We were sat down about third row back from the front on the right side. My sister ended up in a pink kimono with playful kittens as a design in red and blue, Riri in a deep blue one that matched mine but with pale blue floral designs on it, Makoto a red one with an orange sun design on the left side of the chest, Aeris a green one with swirling, darker green lines upon it, Ur'Akara a silver one with gold lions set to it and Cress a red one with what looked like a prancing, blue deer upon it.

According to Kaguya and Makoto eastern funerals didn't have a color code or much of a dress code beyond 'kimono' and 'some form of design' so long as it looked well kept and stylish. The reason was that it was a means to comfort the spirit of the deceased as they left the mortal plane that while they would be remembered and missed life would go on; matching outfits and colors could be seen as a way of saying those left behind would be too wounded to move on. To know the loved ones still living would continue doing so was supposed to be assurance.

I didn't know if this was done in any Asian nations or cultures in my own world but it was a very different and interesting take on it and as people settled in you could see all sorts of different styles, colors and designs of kimonos. It was like a kimono fashion week, really. I'd have taken more time to admire some of them but, well... funeral.

At the front was a podium for someone to speak at and behind that a pile of stacked wood with some herbal leaves slipped into the middle; set up for a funeral pyre; enchantments would keep the flames from setting anything else on fire and keep it contained. Shortly after everyone was seated I heard a rather odd ringing as a small procession started to walk from the castle's back gate and out to the courtyard. Looking back you could see Kaguya leading the march with an odd staff in her hand; bearing a vertical loop capping it, a straight piece going down the middle and three rings on either side of the loop. As she walked she would lift up the odd staff (I'd later learn it was called a shakujo staff) and slam it's butt down; that would make the rings lift upwards and the, well, ring as they came down and hit the shaft and each other. It was a very unique sound. She wore her normal outfit (Which were priestess robes. Because Eostia) and following her in a black kimono with red and orange flame designs was Daichi.

Behind him were four samurai, clad in full armor with a navy blue under-layer, red plating and yellow trim. Each man held one corner of a wide plank of wood with poles on two sides to give them something to hold. Upon it was a long, cloth wrapped bundle; said cloth being pure white. Under it was the remains of Rei Kabutomushi; I was told the sheet the deceased was under was always white as it was the color of death in eastern cultures... but also rebirth.

The cloth would also hide the condition of the body... doubly so given what her body must have looked like given what she went though.

As Kaguya approached the front she started to pull herself into a dance. It wasn't overly complicated, twirling mostly and spinning and swinging the staff about about to ring the cap of it. As Makoto explained to me it was both a means to 'draw the attention' of the deceased's spirit and let them know that their farewell was here. As the four samurai reached the front the burden they carried was set onto the pyre and the poles removed and taken aside as Daichi moved to the podium; Kaguya's dance ending with one hard slam into the ground of the staff's butt and making the shakujo ring louder then before before she stood tall and proud before the crowd.

"We are gathered here today, family, friends and guests, to lay to rest to my youngest daughter... My sweet, young Rei." Daichi began as he looked ahead as he kept composure; even so the hurt reached his voice as it wavered softly. "We come not to mourn and weep; although we all shall in our own way. We come to offer my daughter thanks for her short time upon this land; that she joined up in love and happiness until her end. We come to honor her life... her love... and her strength. She was a woman of great potential and strength. Talented in spell and blade; the latter she learned solely for the sake of myself she never made me anything less then proud."

He looked about for a long moment before taking in a breath, steeling his voice. "One good piece of news that has come is the man who murdered and tortured her has been brought to justice and the blade both. She will be able to rest at ease that he can never hurt another soul. Although we all know another like he will arise. In her honor we mist stay vigilant and ensure our families, friends and people are safe by being the sort of person she was; kind, strong and determined. We must not become like the man who killed her; callous, misguided and hateful. Rei would ask we rise above that. And I ask we all do that for her as she no longer can."

"Rei embraced the kindness and strength of Eostia." He continued. "A kindness and strength that, while at first reluctant, was offered and our ancestors who arrived here adopted the ways and customs of their new land as they shared their own with them. Such unity was never easy and there were always those who frowned and such. It is a work our ancestors have toiled at; work we now enjoy the fruits of from two sides reaching our to one another to share and appreciate the other's culture. From their work our work is lesser. And Rei... Rei was one who embraced it all. She openly spoke of enjoying the company of a good Blackcut Noble of the Eostian culture of House Peterson... A good man; and a union I would have welcomed. Rei wanted to not just marry and be a wife and a mother but she wanted to see all of Eostia, learn all she can... She loved this land; a land willing to accept strangers. And we all are lesser to lack such love from her. But we can send that love now to the heavens; so they may be greater for it. I thank you."

There was a brief, polite but not very loud applause as he nodded his head. Kaguya banged the shakujo to the ground once and it came alight in orange flame which was a surprise to some. Apparently Kaguya presented the option of using Holyblaze Weapon and the holy/fire magic of it for Rei's funeral pyre to the Baron of Arrona. Daichi approached me later and asked me for permission to do so; I didn't feel like he needed to do so but I appreciated the respect and gave my blessings to do so. Kaguya would set the pyre under Rei's body alight and her body with it. Some people bowed their heads, others watched on unblinking and others would speak or hug one another as the flames worked their magic; I could see Hinata herself start to sob openly.

When the flames died down the ashes were collected and I'm told there was an urn already made to hold them. Once done we were invited further back into the courtyard for the wake proper with drinks and food. Kaguya moved to join Daichi who just seemed to just... collapse on a bench as Hinata moved to hug his shoulders. I think given Kaguya knew them better then I it was better to leave her to it. If anything I was feeling a bit... awkward; I didn't know Rei at all beyond what I was told and I imagine most of my party was feeling much the same.

I mostly held a glass of juice and stood to the side as I watched on; seeing people speak and tell tales and give smiles that never fully reached their eyes. It was clear to me Rei reached several hearts here and all were lesser for her... which got me thinking something I didn't want to think...

Back in my old world... What was my funeral like? Who was there? How many cried? How many pushed the tears back and managed to smile through the pain? How many didn't care? How many would decided not to go or not care about who I was or were dismissive of my death?

There's nothing like attending a funeral to make you question your own mortality... and literally living a second life I had a lot of mortality to think about...

"You seem a bit out of place." I heard as Kiyono walked over to me, looking up with her own glass of juice (Nothing alcoholic present; nothing good comes from a drunk in a funeral) as she moved to stand beside me. She wore a black kimono with red designs of cranes upon it. "But being from the other side of Eostia does detach you from the people here, I imagine."

"It kind of does, yeah." I said as I sighed softly. "I do wish I did know her; she sounded like a lovable person."

"I knew her briefly. Not deeply; maybe a half day together." She said as I looked to her for a moment. "The Order was charged with escorting her and her father to the Council of Lords once. I didn't interact with her much; just other members of the order and her father mostly but she was very... cheerful."

"Indeed." I heard a new voice say as someone else walked over; a tall, six foot five man in a half red and half blue kimono; sun decorations on the red half on the left and moon ones on the right. He was built with wide shoulders and had a bit of a gut but in a power builder way. He had blonde hair tied up in a top knot and a short, well groomed beard. Blue eyes looked over me as he nodded once. "Lord Noxdecus, yes? I am Hayate Vespera; Commander of the Order of the Two Blades. I apologize for leaving your escort to my lieutenant, able as she is. It was meant to be my duty but the situation demanded my diversion." He said with a bow.

(-)

Name: Hayate Vespera
Title: Commander of the Two Blades
Class: Lancer
Level: 43
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 34
Status: Healthy, Relaxed, Mourning

Known Traits
[?]

[Spearpoint] Your spear thrusts have a better chance to punch through armor. -3 Piercing Resistance to all targets when thrusting a polearm at them
[Steelclad] You wear any metal armor like you were born in it. +15% bonus to all Resistances for Chain Mail, Scale Mail, Splint Mail and Plate Mail. Additionally you can wear any type of metal armor.
[The Best Defense] Half of the average of your armor's defense resistances is added to your weapon's damage bonus

Born to Arnold Vespera and his wife Ichiko Nikko-Vespera he wound up with his grandfather's name and trained in the polearm like his father. As minor nobility he was given a good education and employed it as the leader of the Order of the Two Blades and has elevated the Order's standing within Eostia.

(-)

"Rest assured; Kiyono has pulled off the duty well in your stead." I assured him as I bowed back. "And I do understand; given the situation and how serious it must have been. I must imagine trying to track Shamhaza was frustrating."

"More then I care to admit. You would have a couple miles of tracks and then he was dust in the wind..." Hayate huffed softly. "I should have guessed he'd make a play at Kaguya given what I know; but I'm surprised he tried so quickly. He must have thought he had a strong chance; or he saw an opportunity to claim her he didn't want to waste. Regardless; in thanks to your effort and others he is no more. The Shinkami is a book we can close and leave shut now; so long as there's no more surprises he left."

"Hmmm... Ideas do tend to be harder to kill; even the bad ones." I mused with a sigh as I sipped my drink.

"Peh, isn't that the truth?" He said with a soft huff.

"Agreed..." Kiyono said with a sigh; drawing her finger over the rim of her own glass. "It does seem old, failed ideas become embraced no matter how they once failed; and often with no idea on how to correct the failings, regardless of if a correction can be made or not."

"Hmmmfp." Hayate let off as he took a sip of his drink. "Well half of that battle is to counter them with good and better ideas... although the War of Ideals can be a free for all..."

"That's one way to put it." I said with a sigh. "The issue is sooner or later someone, somewhere will look at an old, dead idea and try to revive it; no matter how good or bad they were."

"Or like the Shinkami make all new bad ideas." Kiyono quipped as she huffed. "Religion..."

It occurred to me that Kaguya said that Shamhaza and the Shinkami broke off from the Seindai and started their insanity because of a 'truth of god' they were unready for and rejected. In my old world I would assume that meant someone in a cult found that their leader was swimming about in a bin of money Scrooge McDuck style with four hundred pounds of prostitute (Maybe spread out between more then one woman) and an equal amount of cocaine and realized that they were being fed bullshit.

In a world of magic, reincarnation, dragons and more chances were that this 'Odd-Faced God' did exist, was a god of some definition or another and spoke to Kaguya indirectly or directly. That being said it didn't mean something couldn't be off. Celestine was one of three incarnations of Larentia but aside from more magical strength then normal and some of the Goddess' knowledge she was just an elven women with the same needs and weaknesses. Whatever Larentia was like Celestine isn't perfect (And given previous talks with her the Goddess of Light wasn't perfect herself either) and the rest of the gods of the Age of Gods likely weren't either. Maybe the Shinkami just couldn't wrap their heads about the idea that their god might be a little bit fallible.

This whole funeral had been making me thinking more about things then usual...

[-]

Dinner was quite good; curries, soups and teriyaki lake trout (Miria demanded a copy of recipe after just smelling it. Apparently the original recipe called for salmon but that was a bit difficult to get to anywhere in Thorn) and Daichi had everyone served a glass of sake and poured one last one in the center of the table. 'One last send off' he called it with a sad smile. While his daughter's loss soured his mood (For very good reason) it was clear he wasn't going to allow himself to wallow in misery and grief.

After dinner I retreated to the top of the keep and looked out to the distance; gazing upon distant landscapes and short mountains as I tried to collect my thoughts. They had gone everywhere for awhile and a lot of them had gone back to my old world. Old family, friends, co-workers... hell I was even thinking about Chad Byrd; the old high school bully who grew up to be an asshole and made everyone around him miserable. One of my greatest regrets is that I never knocked the smug grin off his face.

On the other hand I got to see my uncle Donald knock his ass out with a well placed haymaker that saw him face plant onto the yard. Even better; someone (Chad) forgot to pick up their dog's shit that day and he went face first into it while out cold.

God I laughed so hard...

"Copper for your thoughts?" I heard, turning my head to see Kaguya walking over to me. I had been leaning on the crenelations (Or whatever the equivalent was) and as she moved to my side she laid her hands on it; not leaning upon it as she looked up to me.

"Hmmm... I suppose a funeral has me thinking more about concepts of mortality and loved ones then usual." I said as I turned, setting my back to the banister as I looked to her. "What about you? Any family?"

"I would wish for some; but no." She said, sighing as her shoulders sagged softly. "My parents died on the travel to Eostia. I was maybe two or so and my uncle took care of me from there but he would be slain by bandits in Nyaru. I had once hoped once to marry but... when I was young my magical talents had me earmarked for priesthood." She said as she shut her eyes. "Like Rei I would have loved to be a mother and wife but my duty to god takes precedent."

"You were forced into it?" I let off in a concerned tone, blinking as she shook her head.

"Do not misunderstand." She said as she looked up to me. "It was not that I... I had the right to refuse, of course and our chastity is more of a tradition and demanded by the order then demanded by God. It was... a sacrifice I made because... ... you need to understand something... Our order, our way of life was gutted when we fled. We wanted to continue and share our traditions and religion but the order had so few left to do so. We needed people able to rise to the occasion and lead the people, lead the faith and I... I... I valued our traditions more then becoming a bride... And thusly I rose to the occasion when called upon by my own choice..."

"Kaguya..." I let off, sadly as she turned to smile up at me.

"Do not feel sad for me. Yes I shall not be a blushing bride as I had once wanted; swept off my feet by a dashing prince from somewhere..." She began turning to me fully. "But I am happy and fulfilled. I have surrendered something but I have achieved much and more then my peers in return. I would adore to be a man's wife but I do not need to become one to be happy."

"Maybe..." I said as I set a hand on her shoulder for a moment as she looked over to me. "But it's always okay to want. And if nothing else you can ask god for permission."

"My... connection with him is not as such as I can use a voxlux to speak with him." She said with a soft giggle. "But he shall hear all I say so I am sure he knows. He does speak in my dreams... in a sense." She said as I blinked and gave a nod with the side of my head to ask her to explain. "He is unable or unwilling to speak with words; rather his messages are more by visions. Some will be easy to understand and others less so... and some... well... as I said, God has a sense of humor."

"You speak of him a lot and you say you're his avatar but you seem to be a bit... How do I put this?" I said as I tried to think of a way to put it. "Disconnected from him for an avatar? I'm sorry; I'm not sure how to put it..."

"I think you mean I seem less connected as I should be..." She said as I nodded once. "Do understand; God survived the Age of Gods but was wounded gravely; maybe more so then other survivors of the age. I do not like to admit this but god is... he is... ... he is weak." She said as she shut her eyes softly. "He is wise, boasts great and grand knowledge and has shared secrets of this world humans would normally not have access to... but his power is limited. Should the Odd-Faced God appear before you and challenge you to combat you would quash him with ease... and maybe even slay him..."

"So... when Shamhaza called him a 'so-called-god'..."

"He is not fully wrong." Kaguya replied sadly. "God is a god. God is wise. God is good. But god is, sadly, weak... I am not just his Avatar... I am his guardian, his caretaker." She looked her eyes opening to look at me fully once more. "I am... not sure why I am saying this much; it really shouldn't be said outside of the upper ranks of the Seindai. That said I do hope you understand. We who live in an imperfect world but improve it as we can and struggle verses those who wish to make it worse, how we can and against who we must... and maybe it will, someday, resemble something closer to perfection if only by a bit."

"Huh..." I let off as I crossed my arms for a long moment as I considered what to reply with. "We do live in an odd world. But not a bad one." I said as I gave her a smile. "You have a hell of a duty on your shoulders, huh?"

"I would think we both do." She said as she set a hand to her chest. "Although the difference is you adopted yours of your own accord."

We would speak for a while longer on more casual subjects and I would honestly enjoy it quite a bit.

After all, Kaguya was quite the woman.

[ - Author's Note - ]

Welp; another chapter done. This one is definitely more relaxed and, in some ways, more dour then usual. Naturally the funeral is not overly Japanese and more or less takes advantage of the fact that in another, fantasy world I can adjust the culture a bit. I think the largest issue is we are, effectively, holding a funeral for a character we didn't really meet. That's a part of why I had James be a bit more introspective then usual; he is still a stranger in a strange land, more or less.

More over I wanted to give James and Kaguya a chance to talk and offer a small, little hint at what's coming down the pipe. Just a hint; although I imagine more then a few of you are getting a picture before now. I'm not fully sure how many chapters the Thorn section will have left; likely two, possibly three, more then an Interlude that I have a bit of a plan for it. I won't spoil that of course.

Once more the Best Banners of Ansur Poll is still up and ongoing! You can find it at strawpoll(Dot Com)/polls/wAg3ADLmMy8 or you can find the link on Twitter eostian. Please do go and vote and tell me your favorite.

Speaking of; leave a comment saying what you liked, didn't like, leave some criticism, leave some praise and let me know what you thought. That said next chapter might be a bit slower coming out... I'm playing the Advance Wars: Re-Boot Camp... So, yeah...

Until next time!

~Eostian Scribe