Tale of Four

Isis stared at the plump woman for a while. Taking a few deep breaths, she clicked her tongue and shook her head, realising that no matter what either of them said, they would never be able to change the other. It wasn’t a matter of right or wrong, but an inherent cultural difference that couldn’t be bridged without erasing the other. Cecile noticed it as well and smiled, having found the conversation fun but wishing to move on.

”So what are you to Seth? He has always been a free spirit, jumping from one person to another. Although he was with me for a short time, he was rather entertaining.” Cecile happily said, taking a sip of tea. Putting the mug down, she clicked her fingers, and the collared lesser walked over, refilling it before stepping back.

”Travel companion. He is helping me travel and fill my journal.” Although she didn’t like what the woman believed, she did find Cecile pleasant enough and happily engaged in the conversation, ignoring the glaring problems about her.

”Journal. Show me.” Isis smiled, happy to share, and put her sachale on her lap. Opening it, she pulled out the journal and looked up to see Cecile staring into the bag with a look of horror, ready to pounce out of her chair and bolt.

”No, no, no.” Shaking her head, she slowly looked up into Isis’s blue eyes, ”Tell me that what was under the book isn’t what I think?” Isis frowned and looked down, seeing the statue of Lady Death. Taking it out, Cecile took a sharp breath and froze.

Isis smiled, seeing her fear, and leaned forward, ”I do not worship her, but simply am returning their possession on my travels.” Her words had the right effect, calming Cecile down, but even still, she wearily looked at the statue, unsure how to feel.

”You’re returning it. It’s not soemthing you can just get your hands on. Even the auction house doesn’t dare sell that off as a good.” Her voice was low, as if almost afraid of being overheard.

”I came into possession of it during a pirate raid I took part in. The captain didn’t wish to hold onto it, so I took it instead and plan to take it back to them. After all, from what I’ve heard about it, their faith is quite fascinating.” Cecile stared at her. Isis just smiled as the plump woman fell into her hand and sighed.

”No wonder Seth is tagging along. It’s something he would find exciting.” Chuckling to herself, she looked up at the journal and smiled, holding her hand out. Isis passed it over and let her flip through. On some pages, the woman intently read, and on others she quickly flipped past, finding the story either boring or too depressing for her liking.

”It’s almost like fate.” After ten minutes, she quietly said, handing the book back, ”A Chronicler without a link to Lady Death came into possession of her icon. You do know what the Latish is, right?”

”Tyrak said it translates to The One who Records or the One of Many.” Cecile dryly chuckled.

”In a way, it does. But the Latish is more than that. There can only be one Latish. They are the Emissary of Lady Death, the Herald of her arrival. Whilst it does mean Recorder, it’s all about context. Recorder, Herald, Emissary. As for the One of Many part, that is a way to describe it, not what it means. Of course, Tryak wouldn’t understand soemthing so simple.” Cecile said distastefully.

”You know a lot about Lady Death?”

”Because they are the worst people to encounter, especially the ones who call themselves the Lifeless. Basically, martyrs who believe this life is pointless and will preach until death, so they can secure a place in Lady Death’s new world.” Cecile took a sip of tea and groaned, ”It’s best to know about them so when you encounter one, you can survive the encounter.”

”Truly fascinating. So is that why he said I would be fine going there as a chronicler?”

”A Chronicler, historian, really anyone who dedicated their life to preserving history, stories, that kind of thing is fine. After all, just before dying in service of her, it is the holiest act one can do in their religion.” Isis went to speak, but as if reading her mind, Cecile spoke again, ”The Latish is meant to be many things, but the most important is a chronicler. It is why it is such a pious thing to do for them, as the Latish will be the one who provides Lady Death the final piece she needs to create her New World, as well as be the first of the prophecies that happen.”

Isis took a drink and played with the liquid in her mouth before talking, ”How can they worship a God so fervently when by their own admission it doesn’t exist yet?”

”Becuase the promise of her existence is so great. Death isn’t to be feared but welcomed as the start of a better beginning. Other faiths tend to have tenets or demand a certain way of living to be rewarded after death, yet she asks for none of these. All you must do is hold her in your heart and only her. Rather easy, especially when what she promises is so good. A better world that washes away all the issues you had in this one.” Isis heard the deep displeasure in Cecile’s voice and raised an eyebrow.

”Yet you dislike them for a rather good message, in my opinion.”

”Because their belief has created soemthing that wishes to purge the world of disbelief. When you have a faith built on your God’s coming rather than its existence, you cannot have room for acceptance of other Gods, as it means your deity’s arrival is not the most important event to transpire, unless said arrival is meant to come with the death of all other Gods, which her faith does not implicitly say.” Cecile shrugged, ”Therefore, they cannot be real, and their worshippers are heretics to the true faith.”

Isis snorted, ”So death is the only option, and not persuasion to change these people.”

”Death is the most sacred thing to them. To award someone death after they preached a false God is to cleanse them of the sin of being wrong and bring them closer to the one true God.” A laugh followed her words as she drank her tea to stop herself, ”So barbaric and stupid if you ask me. In reality, they can’t accept that they might be wrong and must kill all those who could prove it. Hence, the entirety of Oros calls them mindless fanatics.”

”To me, they are a case to be studied. Fanaticism can only be created by genuine belief. I really want to talk to one of these people. Luckily, I hold no Gods in my heart.”

”Just as bad. A heretic is terrible as they lie. A non-believer is bad becuase they reject the truth.” Cecile waved her hand, ”The only good to them is a believer, and everything else is not. Luckily, they will try to convert you before they murder you.” Cecile laughed, remembering soemthing, ”Don’t lie pretending you converted either. For those people, they are quite good at telling if someone fakes their faith.”

”Thank you.” The door opened as if perfectly timed, and Seth walked in, staring at the two.

”I have some designs for you, Isis. Cecile, I will let you guess what I am making you.”

”Take her.” Cecile stood up and yawned, ”I wish to bathe and nap anyway.” Walking off, the lesser followed behind her, leaving the two.