It was another day, in the beautiful capital of Gonteno, Granal. Normally, Lyrei would never go to the poorer sides of the large kingdom, just by the outskirts of the capital. But she was on a mission this time, alongside sister Faraine.
"Come on, Lyrei. You'll be fine," Faraine smiled.
Lyrei hated how much the small villages reminded her of her old life. Everyone being so familiar with each other, the small houses, the proximity to real nature. She hated it. She found it a bit disgust. Or was she envious? She herself could not tell.
Wait a minute.
Wasn't it… Julian, that took all of this away from me?
Right, right. I would've been living perfectly fine in the rural country with all my friends. If Julian didn't take that perfect life away from me.
So… y-yes. I was justified. Perfectly justified in everything I did! There's no reason for his spirit to be haunting me so fervently!
She convinced herself quickly. Lost in thought, Faraine snapped her fingers.
"Lyrei, are you there?"
"Huh? Oh, yes! The smell of the outdoors really brings me back to my youth?"
They continued walking.
"Really? Where were you before you became a sister, Lyrei?"
"I lived in the countryside of Venichian. I was an orphan, but people didn't treat me any differently. Haah… as I recollect about it right now, it's starting to make me slightly regret living the life of a sister."
"Don't regret it. There's a lot of good things about this line of faith, Lyrei. Keep you head up, alright? Your big sister will keep everything alright," Faraine assured Lyrei. Lyrei nodded, a small smile forming on her face.
Maybe this wasn't too bad after all.
After speaking to the village chief for a little bit, the two sisters entered the gates of the village. It was a moderately sized village, each house being made out of wooden planks and stone. Grass grew abundantly, the farms grew plants bearing vibrant fruits that made Lyrei salivate a little bit. Upon entering the village, they introduced themselves to the citizens and began conversing with children there, along with the adults and teenagers. While most of the adults flocked toward Faraine, eyeing her dangerously, Lyrei was left alone.
Those fools… staring at a sister with those eyes of lust… I see not even a speck of chastity within them… how ironic. God will punish them as seen fit, haha…
"You look a bit young to be a sister," a voice suddenly spoke to her. Lyrei was caught off guard, and she quickly turned around.
The voice belonged to a girl around the same age as her. She wore simple clothes that appeared to be woven very mediocrely, but not ugly looking. Her hair was short and black, and her skin was on the tanner side. Hazel eyes underneath long eyelashes stared at Lyrei.
"Oh? W-well, maybe it's just my elven youth that radiates brightly! I can assure you that I'm older than you think."
"I see…
"What are you guys coming here for?"
"To spread the word of Ogthosicism, of course," Lyrei swiftly responded.
"Hm… Okay. What does that god of yours tell you to do?"
"To be giving. The Divine Scripture tells us that so, among many things."
At this point, the two of them were sitting on wooden stairs, watching a nearby pond.
"Really?
"A few weeks ago, government officials had passed through this village. You see that pond over there? It was completely dried out. Our main source of water was gone for a prolonged amount of time. So, naturally, disease came, when we had to use our little water to drink, instead of clean ourselves. My mother was taken swiftly. After my mother died, I thought, 'Is god out there? Maybe I should pray for them to come and save us.' So I prayed. The more I prayed, the more government officials came by, doing nothing. Eventually, my sister went along with my mother.
"At that point, I was aware of the higher powers that had a hand in the life that we live. But I was truly convinced that the great individual did not have any good intentions. What do you think, Sister?"
"…"
For a few seconds, nothing could be heard, besides the chatter of the villagers. Lyrei turned her head to see Faraine playing with children with a genuine smile on her face. At that moment, she thought one thing.
Faraine, you're a good person.
Her lips separated to speak, before a deep inhale.
"Those government officials were sent by Ogthos. But they likely couldn't understand Ogtho's words. Simply thinking 'Perhaps we should come here, my gut instinct tells me to do so.'
"Humanity is evil. Giving water to you had no net positive. That is all. We can only hope for a time where Ogthos will show them self, and enforce hard power."
"… Thank you for your words."
The young lady stood up, walking off. Lyrei stopped to think.
Ogthos is good. Mankind is evil.
Is it Ogthos's job to force men and women to be good?
She stared at the sky, that was starting to darken. It was in a deep dark blue color, at this point. Lyrei called out toward Faraine, cupping her hands.
"Sister! I'm gonna take a quick bathroom break! I'll be right back."
Faraine smile, nodding as to indicate that she heard her and would note that in her head if she ever wondered where Lyrei was.