Ylisse (continent)

"No, I don't suppose it could." Cedric smiled, and Lexi let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "I can wait a day. Is there anything you'd like me to do in the meantime?"
Lexi shook her head and smiled. "No, there's nothing that really comes to mind." She stood, and stretched, the gathered up the used containers, and took them back into the storehouse, then came back. Realizing that she was still holding her knife, she slid it back into its sheath. "Just make yourself helpful to others. If you see someone with a heavy load, give them a hand. Little things like that go a long way."

The church bells tolled, signalling the end of the sermon. Lexi started walking towards the church. "I need to help my father set up for a blessing. I'll see you in a bit!"

"I need to help my father set up for a blessing. I'll see you in a bit!"
Cedric smiled and waved goodbye to Lexi as she left. He wasn't entirely sure exactly who or what was going to be blessed, but he assumed that it was business as usual for the clergy. He got to his feet and strolled leisurely back to his room.

He was glad to see that nobody else had come to search his room like Lexi had done, at least nobody who had left a trace. He had feared that they might be suspicious of him, and to a certain extent they had a right to be. He was a Grimleal after all, but he held no malicious intent towards any of them. He returned to the bookshelf and scanned over its contents to see if there was anything worth reading, or anything more that warranted burning. His gaze settled upon a book entitled "Time Travellers: Heroes of the Great War". Intrigued by the title he removed it from the shelf, sat down and opened it up. It wasn't a long book, fewer than a hundred pages, so it didn't take Cedric an hour to read the whole thing. It claimed that Exalt Lucina's future self had returned during the Great War in order to aid her father in sealing away Grima. It also claimed that her friends had come along with her. Cedric scoffed at the concept and returned the book to its place on the shelf; time travel was clearly impossible, especially for a mortal like the Exalt. It was a silly book, but there would be no sense in burning it. He returned it to its place on the shelf and slouched back in his chair, wondering what to do while he waited.

Eventually he decided that he would go for a walk around the church's grounds. He wouldn't get another chance to look around, so he sat up and walked out of the room, this time leaving his bag behind.

"Lexi, could you head into the back room and grab the incense off of its shelf?" It was about thirty minutes after the morning sermon had closed, and Lexi was helping her father set up for a special blessing of the Shepherds and their group before they would head out tomorrow for Ferox.

Lexi set the ceremony book she was carrying on the pedestal, and turned to head to the back room. "You put it on the shelf with the older scrolls, right?"

Her father nodded, and started leafing through the pages in the ceremony book. "Yes, it should be on the top shelf."

Lexi headed into the back room. It was a dark room, lit from a dust-covered window in the back. Shelves were filled with various worship materials and even a few minor relics. She grabbed the small basket by the door, and went to the back of the room, and looked up on the top shelf, where her father had said the incense would be. She found a few jars of incense, stacked on top of a dust-covered book. She put the jars into the basket, and was going to leave it at that. But as she was leaving, she noticed that the book had an unusual blue color under the dust built up on it. Curious, she picked up the book, and wiped off the dust from the cover.

The book's cover was blue, and there was a white dragon emblazoned on its cover. Despite the copious amounts of dust that came off of the cover, the book was in perfect condition. Her curiosity growing, she opened the book.

The book's pages flashed bright white. Lexi dropped the basket with the incense, and her body followed quickly behind. The room looked like it was on fire, and her entire body was shooting with pain. What had she just unleashed upon the world?

Then, a calming presence entered her mind. The pain in her body slowly, surely disappeared. She picked herself up and looked around. The room was dark, the only light in the room filtering in from the window in the back. She looked at the book, and picked it up. Something in her mind clicked, and she brought the book out with the incense.

"Father?" Lexi called. Her father looked up from where he was kneeling in prayer.
"Ah, tha-" his voice caught when he saw the book tucked in Lexi's arm. "Where did you find that?" He said, shooting up and moving to her with surprising speed.
Lexi handed him the book. "It was tucked under the incense." She explained.
"Under the incense?" He asked.
Lexi nodded. "Yeah. It was covered in dust like it had been there for a really long time, but it's in really good condition."
He shook his head. "Lexi, this is one of the originally printed Books of Naga."

Lexi gasped. "A-a Book of Naga?" Not only was this an incredibly holy relic, Lexi realized, but it was also an extremely powerful Light Magic tome in the hands of one chosen to wield it.
Her father nodded. "See the dragon on the front cover? That's the image of the Divine Dragon herself. Legend has it that, when a chosen wielder finds the book for the first time, Naga herself arrives to bless the tome's new user." Lexi paled, something that her father noticed. "Lexi... what happened?"
Lexi explained the vision that she'd had, and the calming presence she'd felt. Her father remained silent as she spoke. She she finished, she waited for her father's reaction.
"Lexi," he said, "This is both a blessing and a curse. Naga is a kind goddess. For her to deliver a weapon such as this upon us in this time is truly a blessing, but the holy literature speaks that, every time Naga sends her blessing upon a mortal her hold over the Dark Dragon wavers slightly, and a new Tome of Grima seeps into the world. This is why Naga only blesses those she deems worthy of wielding that power for pure reasons."

Lexi nodded in understanding, and they paused in silence. Finally, Lexi continued. "Father? I've been thinking about choosing my vocation in the Church recently, and I think that I've come up with a path to follow."
Her father seemed glad to have the subject changed. "Oh? Well, what is your choice?"
"I thought about it for a while." Lexi said. "I respect your role as a community leader, but I don't think that I'm cut out for work in a church."
Her father nodded in understanding. "Well, I'm sure that Ylisse's army is always in need of a new cleric or trouba-"
"No, father." She interrupted. "I... I've chosen to become a Crusader."
Her father fell silent. Crusaders were a relatively new order in Naga's church. They were holy knights, trained in martial-arts and armed combat, but also in healing arts and hospitality.
"I see." Her father said. He sighed. "I had hoped that you would find a position off of the battlefield, where I could be sure that you were safe. I should say no, and put an end to this idea of yours right now."
"But..." Lexi began.
Her father sighed. "But you're old enough to make your own choices, and wise enough to make the right ones. And now, with Naga's blessing shining down on you, it would not be right to keep you here, where your talents are wasted." He closed his eyes. "Very well. After our Mission trip, we can head to the Crusader Headquarters in Ylisstol."

Lexi smiled. "Thank you, Father." She took the book back, and handed him the incense. "Now, we have a ceremony to prepare."

Cedric whistled to himself as he walked out of the church's grounds and out into the town. He had returned to his room in order to fetch his bag and cloak. While the church was nice, there was only so much of it to see. He also wanted to get a good look to at the town before he set off to Ferox, for he would likely visit more towns like this on the way.

It was a nice little town, but not very exciting. There were various townspeople going back and forth about their work, a few street merchants, dopey-looking guards, bearing lances with loose spearheads, who looked like they couldn't even guard a corpse. If Plegia made its move before Ylisse did, this town would be annexed almost instantly. With any luck, that would be when Cedric was on the other side of the continent.

As he walked down a narrow alleyway he stumbled on something and almost fell. He turned to see what it was, and saw a book lying on the ground, covered in dry, sandy dirt. Cedric picked up the book and wiped off the dirt with his sleeve; apart from the slight bending of a few pages thanks to Cedric, the book was in otherwise mint condition. It was a hardback with a beautiful, amethyst purple binding, but what was most surprising about the book was the Mark of Grima that was emblazoned onto its cover. It didn't take long for the pieces to fall into place it Cedric's mind; this was a copy of Grima's Truth! Why would such a valuable and dangerous tome be doing lying on the cobbles in some Ylissean village? He opened the book and leafed through it, and could feel the power to level mountains surging through him. This was more power than he could control, but it intrigued him. It couldn't hurt to give it a test run, could it?

Yes, it could. Cedric was slumped down on all fours with sweat pouring down his forehead in torrents. Every breath he took set his lungs on fire, but he needed air more than anything else. However, it hadn't been a complete failure. He had managed to cast Grima's Truth, and he had reduced a few square metres before him to rubble. Seconds ago there had been trees and grass there, now there was only dust. Had he not gone off into the countryside to try it, he'd be on the wrong end of a pitchfork, providing anyone had been brave or mad enough to approach him after he'd cast the spell. He looked at the settling dust before him, but he could tell that wasn't even half of what the tome could do. He was capable of committing countless spells to memory and casting them at full force, but drawing only a fraction of this tome's power had brought him to his knees. He slumped down for a while in order to regain enough oxygen to breathe.

Cedric trudged back to the church in early evening, only looking slightly better now than he had right after he'd cast the spell. He slunk in through an entrance around the back so that he didn't disturb any ceremonies that might be going on. He returned to his room, cast off his cloak and bag and slumped into the chair at the desk. He decided that he'd go straight to bed after supper, and since he didn't anyone going through his bag again, especially now that it contained a copy of Grima's Truth, he tore a piece of paper from his notebook, wrote "NO" on it and laid it on top of his satchel. He could also do with a wash before he went back out, so he removed his clothes and once again performed the cleaning hex. For good measure, he also wiped some salt and water over his torso and performed the hex on himself. He hurriedly dressed again lest anyone see his mark, and left the room to see if he could find Lexi; she'd know when there'd be an evening meal.

Lexi's sword rushed through the evening air, colliding with that of her foe. The torch-lit courtyard outside of the chapel proper was empty, save for Lexi and her adversary. Lexi drew back into a defensive stance, and awaited her opponent's next move. She didn't need to wait long before he rushed her again, sword raised and ready to strike. Lexi did her best to intercept or dodge the attacks, and her skill held out for a while. Eventually, though, her foe landed a solid hit on her shoulder, causing Lexi to grunt.

Her foe retracted his wooden training sword. "Sorry." He said. "Did I overdo it?"
In one smooth motion, Lexi knocked his sword out of his hand, and held him at the point of her own. "Only a bit." She replied. Then, she flipped the wooden blade over in her hand, and gave it back to its owner. "Thank you again for sparring with me, Brother Armand."
The monk nodded. "Any time, Sister Lexi." He replied. "Glad that my knowledge is going to help you on your own path in life." He turned and walked away, picking up his other sword as he left the courtyard.

Lexi went back to her small bag of belongings, and picked her study book back up. It was the worn, beaten tome that her father's family had passed down through at least four generations. Over the years, it had fallen apart on at least a dozen occasions, and had gone through as many re-bindings. Lexi was sure that it would fall apart again on this trip, but it had served her family well, and its pages were annotated thoroughly with over a hundred years of different opinions on different sections and conflicting interpretations of passages. Through the jumble, Lexi had formed her own opinions on religion.

She was brought out of her pondering by the soft rustle of feet on grass, and looked up to see Cedric.
"Are you alright Cedric?" She asked, getting up quickly. "You look like you just finished running a mile at full sprint."

"Are you alright Cedric? You look like you just finished running a mile at full sprint."
"I'll live." Cedric smiled back wearily, "I just overdid my training a bit."
Cedric didn't like lying to Lexi, but he couldn't just tell her that he'd found a copy of the tome most important to the Grimleal and then tried to use it. It would be bad enough if she found out that he was a Grimleal, but it would be even worse if she had any more reason to fear him.
"I don't suppose there's going to be an evening meal soon, is there?" He asked, "As you've probably guessed, I'm rather tired, but I'd like to have something to eat before I go to bed."

"I'll live." Cedric said, smiling back wearily, "I just overdid my training a bit."
Lexi's gut feeling was that he was trying to hide something, but she wasn't sure. She'd seen some of the monks practice their magic, and had seen how winded they got when they were done. Lexi had even needed to use a staff on more than one occasion when a new monk overdid it. He was probably just tired.

"I don't suppose there's going to be an evening meal soon, is there?" He asked. "As you've probably guessed, I'm rather tired, but I'd like to have something to eat before I go to bed."

Lexi nodded. "The missioners are having a special evening meal tonight before we set out tomorrow. Come on, I'll take you." Lexi started walking towards the church.

After a few minutes, their journey ended in a large hall filled with tables, each set with food for the table. About half of the seats were taken, with people spread out over all of the tables. Lexi spotted her father, and motioned for Cedric to follow her as she went to sit down with her her father.

Cedric could tell from Lexi's expression that she wasn't entirely convinced that he was telling the truth, but she didn't seem like she was going to challenge him on it. Fortunately, being out of breath was hardly a good clue that someone had been attempting to cast taboo magic.

"The missioners are having a special evening meal tonight before we set out tomorrow. Come on, I'll take you."
Cedric followed Lexi through the church to the dining hall, which was filled with missionaries. Cedric hadn't expected the party to be quite so large, and only hoped the size of the group wouldn't slow the journey down.

Cedric took a seat opposite Lexi and gave a smile of greeting to her father. Despite his hunger, he began his meal slowly and with small bites, for he was not someone who ate much or with gusto.
"So," Cedric began after swallowing a small bite of bread, "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

Lexi immediately began to eat, going through her food at a decent pace, but not inhaling it as a wild animal would. Her father, it seemed, was in thought, as he only picked through his food. Lexi noticed this, and was about to ask if something was wrong when Cedric asked about tomorrow.
"We'll be getting up a bit early tomorrow, so that we can get out of the town and onto the highroads quickly." He explained.
"Is that what has you worried, father?" Lexi asked. "Bandits?"
Her father nodded. "I'm grateful that we've got the Shepherds with us for protection, but it seems as though the bandits coming across the border are getting more and more ambitious every day." He shook his head. "I've no idea how bad it is on the roads heading north."
Lexi nodded, and looked to Cedric. "How bad were the bandits in your home town?" She asked. "You said that nothing much ever really happened, but did you ever have problems with bandits?"

All the talk of bandits hardly raised Cedric's spirits; if bandit activity was on the rise then it could be a sign that Plegia were ready to launch the first attack. He had no idea what he would do if he ended up caught up in the battle; he couldn't just leave Lexi and everyone she knew and loved to the mercy of the Plegians, but neither could he take up arms against his own people. He just hoped that they'd leave as quickly as Lexi's father intended.

"How bad were the bandits in your home town? You said that nothing much ever really happened, but did you ever have problems with bandits?"
"As I said, nothing really happened." Cedric lied, "There were a few bandits in the area, but nothing the local guards couldn't handle. That was much further south, though, I know just as little as your father about conditions further north. I can only hope that our journey goes unhindered."

"As I said, nothing really happened." Cedric said. "There were a few bandits in the area, but nothing the local guards couldn't handle. That was much further south, though. I know just as little as your father about conditions further north. I can only hope that our journey goes unhindered."
Lexi nodded, content with his explanation.
Her father looked Cedric over a bit. "Lexi says that you're coming with us on the mission, that you were heading up to Ferox anyways, and that you would tag along. I have no objections to this, but I am curious as to what you're going to Ferox for. It seems too much trouble to go so far north if all you're looking for is safety."

"Lexi says that you're coming with us on the mission, that you were heading up to Ferox anyways, and that you would tag along. I have no objections to this, but I am curious as to what you're going to Ferox for. It seems too much trouble to go so far north if all you're looking for is safety."
"Well, there's nowhere else to go other than Valm, is there?" Cedric replied, "In the event that Plegia are successful they will annex the whole of Ylisse, and no-one still here will be safe. I can assure you, there's nothing else up there that I'm after."
This time Cedric was speaking truthfully, he couldn't think of any other reason why he might go to Ferox. Its entire society was based around strength and violence and it was even colder the Ylisse. Despite the fact that he was being honest now he feared that Lexi's father was becoming suspicious of him. He reassured himself that as long as he didn't do or say anything to unusual he would be fine.

"Well, there's nowhere else to go other than Valm, is there?" Cedric replied, "In the event that Plegia are successful they will annex the whole of Ylisse, and no-one still here will be safe. I can assure you, there's nothing else up there that I'm after."

Lexi nodded. "Still, let's hope it doesn't come to that."

---

The dinner lasted for a while longer. Eventually, people started leaving for their rooms, knowing that tomorrow would be upon them far too soon. Lexi excused herself to see Cedric back to his room.

As they walked, Lexi's thoughts inevitably turned to what the trip would bring, and what would happen afterwards. The Book of Naga... The Crusaders... Plegia... It was all happening so quickly. She didn't know what would happen next, and it worried her.

She walked Cedric to his room, and then went back to the church. She slipped into the chapel proper, went to a pew, knelt, and started praying.

After a few minutes of prayer, Lexi heard the door open, and a series of footsteps sounded on the stone floor. Someone slid into the pew behind her. She turned around to get a look at the newcomer.

He had a peaceful look on his face, his eyes closed in prayer, his lips moving as he mouthed his prayer. His hair was jet-black, his body toned and muscled. A few scars marred his face, and his nose was squint. A few pouches were hanging from his belt,

Lexi thought that he looked familiar, then she realized she'd seen him at the dinner. "You're a Shepherd, aren't you?"
He looked over to her, and nodded. "Yeah. I'm one of the guys assigned to help escort your Mission trip up north as convenience allows." He smiled, and stuck out his hand. "Name's Allister."
Lexi took his hand in hers, and gave it a firm shake. "Lexi. I'm going on the mission tomorrow. I thought I recognized you from the dinner."
He nodded. "Thought I'd come here to pray before we left."
"Got a lot on your chest?" Lexi asked.
He nodded again. "I've been out traveling for a while, and haven't had much of a chance to go to a church and just pour my heart out."
Lexi nodded. "I know what you mean. Sometimes, things just get too hectic to take a second to cleanse the soul."
They went back to their prayers, then returned to their rooms. Tomorrow was a big day, and they'd need their sleep.