Mariwa: An Ivian Tale

She ran, free and aimless. If she had one wish, was that she could feel the tickle of the grass blades on her bare skin.

The world was so wide!

It was daunting, seeing the horizon for the first time, having an idea how big just an island could be. Just a drop in the pond of the Starlit World, and she couldn't even grasp its totality. Her conversations with Marquise echoed in her mind, of a southern tower so grand it almost touched the sky, of a great body of water wider and deeper than Ivias that separated them from the continent, of a northern crater so wide entire societies lived and died within its bounds, and of a city so lavish all its houses were built of silver. Where was any of this? shouldn't it all be within the reach of her legs?

All her eyes grasped were rolling hills, covered in grass both golden and verdant, islets of shrubs and trees overburdened with flowering buds, where glinting eyes peeked from, curious of all that racket she was making. Something like a wasp with barbed legs and an elongated head decided to brave the frolicking girl, the frantic beating of wings heralding the stilted motions of its arrival.

"Can I eat it?" Holly said, not slobbering at all.

"Considering the places it probably has been, I wouldn't," Agare said.

"I-I try not think too hard about that kind of stuff."

"As expected."

The distraction was unfortunately all the time it took for the creature to sate its interest, quickly flying out of reach. Before, Holly would be dismayed at the loss, now she knew one good jump was all it took to bridge the distance. She shook her head; not like she felt hungry anyway.

They had settled down for the night on a nearby clearing, bordering a ghost village of some ten odd houses. Those dozen or so hours she had been told to wait inside that Oke thing from sunset to sunrise were perhaps the most boring of her life, beating even years down in her room by her lonesome. So much to grab, to see, to taste, one miserable wall away!

She made up for it. The moment she was set free, with Agare always nearby of course, she had become a living landslide, not the least amount of shame over the chaos she left behind. She overturned every rock, poked every creature who tried to hide, climbed trees to peer into their cavities and nests, dug holes after derelict burrows. Cassia's words hadn't left her, not at all, in fact they propelled her to an embittered level of mischief never previously achieved in the history of humanity.

How could she resist all this novelty? Her Will certainly hadn't.

Outside the manor's walls, the intangible land of her Will grew larger, more bewildering. Everything here was stuffed, even the air had a palpable density to it, the solid lines that once separated every object much blurrier yet she still couldn't just shove herself through things. There were nuances she had never caught before, the difference between trees and rocks and soil, between herself and other creatures, though unfortunately she still had no words to grasp them as they were.

She looked at Agare. A certain temptation rose, tough not one she would give ears to; the Marquise had explicitly forbidden her.

"Holly, this is enough," Agare said, staring back at her. "Let's go."

"Are you really not enjoying any of this?!" Holly said with a twist of her robes. "Everything's so beautiful here! I could stay here for the rest of my life!"

"Here?" Agare said, a hint of befuddlement in his tone, "It's the same as anywhere else, you just don't know that yet."

"And are there better places? With as many tasty critters hiding everywhere?!"

"You will see with your own eyes, so why ask? This is nothing, it's just..." Agare paused, as if seeing their surroundings for the first time, "... A vestige."

"Vestige?"

"You will understand soon. It's hardly unique."

"Y-you talk like such a geezer, Agare, you-" Then Holly remembered, Agare had never told her his age. Marquise had implied a ludicrous age once, could Agare be around that, or older still?! Something about the idea terrified her, so she buried the notion deep in her mind.

She looked back one last time. She hadn't torn this field half as much as she wanted. There would be other opportunities, she supposed.

First glance, second glance, third glance, no matter how many times Holly looked, this Oke thing still mystified her.

For all intents and purposes, it was a wagon, except not. No draft animals, not a hint of wood outside a few tightly bound boxes of supplies, its innards segmented so practically it was astounding. From inside it reminded her of an anatomical model, its walls and ceiling gently throbbing across its countless serpentine capillaries, their bulges barely perceptible against the oddly coarse material of its interior were it not for the faint blue luminescence that slowly pulsated from beneath the soft carpeted floor and the velvet seats the others fought over sleeping every night, all the way to the strangely shaped ridges above.

Sadly, that wonder only lasted until it had to move. Built for security, as Agare explained, there were few passages of air, so as the machine roared to life its interior grew asphyxiating from sheer heat, the air stale and pungent, tinged with something she could neither define nor ignore.

She had lasted one hour the first day. By the second, she nearly tore her way out by force. She had been offered a small pebble wrapped in a written sheet, which was supposed to make her feel cooler, but she had refused, what she wanted was out.

And so now she, Agare, and Furfu, reluctantly, rode above on its tarped ceiling, held by nothing but a flimsy rail and their own balance.

She loved it.

"So, Almalilly?" Holly suddenly said, close to the strange little square that carried sounds from inside to outside the Oke, and vice-versa.

"Hmmm?"

"Could you please tell me the plans again?"

"Oh, you forgot already?"

"N-no, that's not it, I- okay, to be honest, I think a lot of it just went right over my head? S-sorry."

"It's Lilly's fault," Blades said.

"N-no it's not! Or, wait, maybe it is? I assumed everyone was on the same page, knowledge wise?"

"Hehe, g-guess not? I-I mean, I got most of it! Just a few details that I didn't."

"Well, better not leave our dear guest hanging! Blades, could you be a sweet and grab that map for me? And hand it to them while you're at it."

"Nope." Blades said, before the Oke's cabin went silent.

Holly heard so many different sounds from inside usually, it was hard to keep track of who was where or doing what. She had tried to investigate the machine from outside with her Will before, and the sensation was like shoving your hands through a bramble to pick something on the other side, so painful it made her body physically spasms. Something like a deceptively soft yet fierce cloud of barbs surrounded it, siphoning all outside matter that was not matter with prejudice. Thankfully, it was content with leaving her be, so long as she didn't actively target it.

She spent some time enjoying the crisp breeze and the rocking of the Oke's crushing wheels over uneven terrain, before the trapdoor connecting cabin to top opened, revealing a pallid hand holding a small scroll. Furfu, closest by, took it gingerly from Blades' hand, which then disappeared down with a thumbs up. She held it with such care, it was like she was afraid it would rip to shreds with a hint of a touch.

"Whoever got it, could you please open it in front of Holly?"

"S-sure thing, b-boss." Furfu murmured, giving a Agare a small glance that was never returned.

Almalilly's map was a lot different than Marquise's, and in all fairness even Holly got a little anxious opening it up here. Supposedly, it was cheap and easy to replace, as far as maps go, the material yellowed with aged and badly worn on the edges. Unlike the Marquise's big, lavishly detailed and beautifully illustrated one, this was a much simpler affair, showing just the island of Ivias itself from above, an impossible job Almalilly had simplified by saying that a lot of different "Arts" went into making it.

"Now, you can find the Hollows, right?"

"Sure!" Right there, crushed between the mountains, a slug-shaped relief cutting from one Region to the other. A black dot, penned the very day they met, market the start of their journey. "H-here!"

Five other such spots existed, together forming a twice curved line heading North, all the way to the city of Skawla, which part of her still felt delusional for acknowledging.

"The first step is a nice, slooooow trip through Galehold, " Almalilly said. "You'll get a good look at the Yinian lifestyle, though we are going to mostly keep out of the way and sight. You remember, right?"

"We have to stay on the down low! Couldn't forget if I wanted to!"

"Sure thing, happy to hear."

"None of that, now." Blades said.

"None of what?"

"T-the second step!" Almalilly said, "We have to cross into Bellfort! Not usually a simple task, but we've come prepared, so don't worry too much about it. Our aim is Fortress Aaltor, Rosen knows some people there that can smooth our way out."

Holly tapped at the black spot, in the middle of a relatively narrow passage between the sea and the foot of the mountains. Ignoring the strange ensuing longing, her mind wandered elsewhere, "M-Marquise never told me much about this Bellford. If I hadn't seen her map, I wouldn't even know where it was..."

"I bet she didn't. Never been one of her favorite topics, as far as I gathered. Well, not like there is much to tell, it's a small kingdom that sits in between both of Ivias' biggest boys, and is going to be the step where we'll be dipping into murky waters, Holly."

"Still not funny."

"Because it wasn't meant to be! What I meant by that, is that while we're trying to stay covert all the time, past that point if we're ever found, we are likely to instantly meet hostility. They don't like us very much around those parts."

"W-why's that?"

"B-because of us." Furfu said, not pointing so much as repeatedly poking into her veil of shadows. Holly understood.

"Shame. I really like Bellfort." Blades said.

"You've never been there."

"I hear they kept most of our good swords."

"Ignore her, Holly. So, takes us to step three, which is crossing the Floodlands of the Sacred Forest all the way to Treil, or Threehills as most people call it, which should be straightforward with some care on our part. Step four..."

"Awin."

The Saintdom of Awin still felt a little nebulous for Holly. Marquise spoke often of it during their discussions on Ivian history, but in a way that felt contradictory, a myth and a monster, a place the Remnants were keenly interested in while avoiding with every fiver of their being, the reasons summarized in one word.

"T-Tale."

"Yup." Almalilly sighed, a garbled noise not too dissimilar to an angry swarm of wasps in a box, "Now, my original plans were to head northwest up the Eastern Ivian Cordon, so we could take a ferry across Bell Lake into Awin proper, then hug the Mountainous Region until we reached the borders of Skawla, but Marquise specifically wanted us to head to Treil, cross into Awin through Gwanegume, then take Heron Road to Skawla. Heron Road! Can you believe it?!"

"Y-yeah!" Holly said, "T-though, wh-"

"The Lady knows best."

Holly's back straightened, her hairs began to spread. Not far, Furfu, who until now had quietly hugged her legs while scanning around the Oke, was now staring straight at the trapdoor, her hands squeezed into fists.

"The Lady knows best." Furfu repeated, "She knows things we don't. If something she says doesn't make sense, it will when it comes true. If something she does looks incomprehensible, you will understand when she wins. It's the Lady's power. She knows best. Don't question it."

"O-of course!" Almalilly said, "I wasn't questioning her or anything, j-just, you know, hoping anybody had any ideas why Heron Road in specific! That's all."

"The Lady-"

"Knows best." Agare's laid his hand on Furfu's shoulder, "Calm down."

"T-they-"

"Did nothing you think they did. You know how I would react otherwise. Calm down."

Furfu stared at him for a couple seconds, before her hands relaxed and she returned to scanning the horizon, "M-my apologies, but the L-lady knows best."

"She does. Almalilly, if it helps matters, I agreed with your previous assessment, however the Marquise does have a good reason to send us to Heron Road."

"S-sure!"

"Well, everyone!" Rosen suddenly piped up, "I thi-"

"For masters and whores, Rosen, don't you fucking dare make this more awkward!" And that would be Aleh.

Nervous, seeking some relief, Holly watched as they passed under the shade of an overgrown orchard, trees of a couple distinct types heavy with fruit, leaning just the right way she could reach out and break a branch, one thick with fat black berries bloating right out of the wood catching her eyes. The loud crack sent Furfu into the air and made Holly see her life flash before her eyes, though in the end nothing worse than a mild glare came her way.

For the briefest instant, through the gaps in between the tree trunks and the ever creeping undergrowth in between them, she saw an old house, probably once belonging to the orchard's owner. Large yet flat, its roof and corner had fallen into rubble, giving her the view of a distended room, what light entered through contrasting the dirty, infiltration stained walls against the sole object still standing, a statuette of a person, its details unclear but silhouette distinct, the figure holding something above its head, something like-

And the moment was gone. Though certainly not as fast as she expected, the Oke was no slouch, quickly leaving the abandoned property behind.

"Wha' 'as 'uhat?" Holly said, chewing through both branch and fruit, now that she knew she could. She could already tell it wouldn't agree with her stomach very much, thought the nostalgic taste was enough compensation for any future discomfort.

"Finish eating before you speak," Agare said.

"S-sorry, n-nevermind."

"... As I was about to say," Rosen said,"I remember hearing that there were a few subtler routes one can take if they want to keep a low profile while crossing Awin, if you're willing to deal with some rather underground personages. Nothing I can't handle, Holly, so don't worry your pretty little voice over it! If we get hit with a worst case scenario, it might be an option worth pursuing."

"I like the sound of that, actually," Almalilly said. "Agare?"

"We will keep to the route Marquise specified, but I have no objections in case of an emergency."

"Good enough for me! So, all that's left then is the last step, Skawla."

The impossible country. The impossible city. Holly's nightmare.

"We have a couple options here, none which are very good. Walking right in, even in comparison to everything else, would be a huge risk, and sneaking everyone in is beyond my skills. We could try smuggling ourselves in, but..."

"The Azure Tale directly controls all sea faring in Skawla, even pirates wouldn't cross them for less than we can give. My sources also tend to laugh when I bring up smuggling somebody in without the info floating downstream, if you catch my drift." Rosen said, "Going right through the gate while pretending we aren't doing anything wrong could be the best worst option."

"Honestly, I think we're going to have to improvise. Unless somebody has a plan? Agare?"

"I do have a few ideas." Agare answered, "Though how feasibly you can follow them is a discussion for another time."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, dear."

"Blame your own birth."

Another garbled sigh. "Already do."

Holly cleaned her throat, "T-those Azure guys scare me a little, T-they fought the Marquise, and actually won! D-do we know how we're going to deal with them?"

"S-she didn't lose." Furfu said, "S-she-"

"She failed to account I existed yet, right my lovely Furfu?"

Aleh's voice shocked all of them into silence. Furfu recovered the quickest, leaning forward towards the square plate with a clenched fist, before Agare restrained her.

"A-Aleh?"

"Holly, Holly, Holly!" Aleh said, voice getting closer to the cabin with every call. "You underestimate me. I'm not here to fill space or embellish the party with my good looks. As a matter of fact, haven't you wondered what exactly allows us to talk to you up there, while we are safe inside?"

"I-it's-" She stopped herself on the nick of time. "Asha?"

"... Obviously," he deadpanned. "It was I! I'm the one who recommended this Oke, who installed this transmission medium, who paid for its physical repairs, who poured over every minute enchantment mesh to bring it past even its long lost glory! You haven't seen a tenth of what it can do when pushed into a corner, and my friend, you will be impressed!

"I did not name myself a witch out of some need for self aggrandizing, my title was earned through hard work and cunning, acknowledge by academic peers, long aged professors, even my e-equals from the Sect!"

"None of that now," Blades said. "Make it short."

"O-of course." Aleh cleaned his throat. "I am the secret weapon the Marquise lent you to fulfill our dreams. Want to transverse the Floodlands safely? Want to cross Heron Road without raising eyebrows? Want to head right into Skawla without alerting our enemies? That is exactly why I'm here."

"Ah. I see," Holly said.

"And some enthusiasm would make my work all the easier."

"I'm happy to have you here. I really am," Holly said.

She wasn't lying, she did feel reassured. Magician, witch, whatever he was, when those types came from their reclusive lairs, it was to show the destructive, uncontrollable power of magic, often decimating themselves in the process. Dangerous, unpredictable, but better have it on your side than the other. Such she had learned from Elder Seneschal's stories.

After, she let the topic die down on its own, the conversation quickly returning to small talk with periods of silence as she enjoying her first journey beyond the Hollows. What they had said already alleviated her anxieties some, and what they didn't they probably wouldn't even if she insisted.

Beyond that, she just had to follow Furfu's wisdom.

The Lady knew best. When she pointed a finger, all Holly had to do was follow.