“You aren’t bleeding anymore at least,” Mika said and undid the bandages with care. He ran his fingers along the healing wounds on Faust’s back, tracing over the faint scars Faust tried hard to forget. “Do they still hurt?” Mika asked and pressed in a few places.
Faust flinched, exhaling with a wince. “Lower parts still do.”
Mika applied more salve and inspected Faust’s side next. “Your side will take longer, but your back should be healed by the time we reach Shar.”
Faust sighed in relief. “You know a lot about this.”
“I’ve had my hand in a few scuffles, my lord. As a commander, I was also tasked with knowing basic treatments in case the royals needed it.”
“That’s handy,” Aris said.
“It has come in handy more times than I would like.” Mika rebandaged Faust with careful precision. “All done. I will take the first shift.”
Faust pulled his clothes into order and rested on his uninjured side, removing his glasses.
Aris stood by Mika. “I want to survey the area.”
“Why?” Mika asked, already searching for danger.
Aris hesitated to answer. “The wind is restless, so I’d like to see what’s wrong.”
As if in response to Aris’s words, the wind howled through the trees, dislodging a bit of snow in a soft plume of white. Faust raised his eyebrows and shared a look with Mika, who didn’t appear too convinced.
Mika stared off into the darkness. “I want you back in an hour, Aris.”
“I will return shortly, my king,” Aris said, leaning to kiss Faust’s cheek.
Faust smiled at the quiet gesture, admiring the way Aris’s neck flushed. “I will be waiting. I do not wish to sleep without you.”
Aris nodded and scampered off into the darkness.
The loss of Aris’s presence made Faust uneasy. He rubbed at his chest, eyeing the darkness between the trees as if Aris would reappear.
“You should still lay down,” Mika said into the quiet. “You can go through your brother’s journals while you wait.”
Faust shot Mika a side-glance. “You are letting me stay awake?”
Mika chuckled. “It is safer for you if he sleeps next to you. It is a tactic King Konrad used on the road often with his personal knight, Lukas.”
Faust knew that, but he thought it was only on family outings. How curious. “Thank you.” Mika waved him off, and Faust crawled over to Mika’s pack and pulled out his brother’s journals before getting into a comfortable position to stretch out his aching muscles. Riding on a horse while wounded was by far one of the worst kinds of tortures.
Faust tilted the journal toward the campfire light to see.
The first journal documented the Deity of Azure, who Faust now knew as Linos. He scanned over the pages for any new information and smiled. Only Linos could make Volant. That meant the Volant in existence today were remnants of Linos’s reign. If they found Linos now, they could ask for each kingdom to be given equal numbers of Volant.
He flipped a few more pages, pleased to see the Kingdom of Roltan was indeed Linos’s home. Linos appointed the Luera family to rule with him, and that rule had been passed down since to the current king, King Roland. It was odd that the High King didn’t rule the Kingdom of Roltan as well, but Faust supposed the High King would have been too busy overseeing every kingdom with Linos. “Did the High King do all the fighting?” he whispered aloud.
The next entry stated that Linos was said to be a playful deity and rarely fought with anyone. Faust thought that was a feat in itself. Linos was the sovereign deity.
Faust read the entry again, flabbergasted. So much fell into place with that single line. Emoris and Lathil wanted to find Linos first so they could kill him. Anger surged through Faust. He wouldn’t let them lay on a hand on Linos.
The tree roots creaked, and Faust reeled his magic back in quickly, but Mika ducked his head in anyway.
“All right?” Mika asked.
“Yes,” Faust said. “I found out why they wanted to find Linos.” He tapped at the entry with his forefinger. “Linos is the sovereign deity.”
Mika whistled. “Well, we better find him first then.”
“Agreed,” Faust said, turning another page to start another entry. How Konrad kept all this a secret for so long was beyond him. He’d been so unaware of the weight Konrad carried, and now he had to take up that crown—a crown he never wanted.
A few more entries contained minimal information until he came to a single line at the bottom of one page that bothered him.
Vasil was responsible for Linos’s death.
Faust couldn’t bring himself to believe that. This statement was wrong. He couldn’t explain it, but deep down, he knew it to be false.
Konrad’s notes became a bit more frantic in the next few entries, and Faust could see why. They were about the Deity of Carnage, Commandant Vasil. Information on Vasil must have been scarce and risky to obtain based on the quick nature of Konrad’s notes. They lacked a composed page of details, as if Konrad hadn’t gone over them a second time. Konrad only found a little more information than Faust had. Vasil’s Blessed was considered a king and was a powerful three-stone user, born of Windilum. Faust read the line again. If the Blessed was so powerful, where was he now?
After that, there were only notes on Sortiris. Faust narrowed his gaze. Konrad met Sortiris from the looks of it, this information was far too specific.
Sortiris was called the Clairvoyant because he could see dreams and walk through them. He could also speak with the wandering souls of Alimphis. It was no wonder Sortiris was called the Deity of Verity. Sortiris could ascertain the truth on anything by asking the source. The deity ruled Avolon, which was now a part of the Kingdom of Alios, and Sortiris disappeared after Linos died.
Faust closed the journal, reaching for the next one. An old parchment paper map fell out of it onto the pelts. He carefully unfolded it and spread it out above the pelts. The large body of water Rene spoke of was indeed around the Kingdom of Roltan. Although, when he looked closer, it appeared as if Roltan were floating above it, which had to be impossible. Land didn’t float.
Faust ran his fingers over the faded ink curiously. Whoever made this map intentionally made a shadow under the Kingdom of Roltan. Nothing else was treated in the same manner. He glanced to the far side of the map and raised an eyebrow. There appeared to be an unfinished section. It hinted that there was more beyond the seas to the east.
Faust folded the map back up and set it aside, grabbing the next journal. He flipped open to the first page. This one was a list of the five deities and their colors.
Emoris: emerald green, earth
Lathil: green, earth
Sortiris: white, water
Deity of Azure: unknown
Deity of Carnage: unknown
“Why is there no gold?” Faust whispered. He paused and blinked. Gold. Nothing he’d seen ever mentioned it, so why did he think that was a color? Faust shook his head, but now that he thought about it, his and Konrad’s colors weren’t listed either. Faust pursed his lips. Konrad probably knew more than this. His brother had a habit of not writing everything down and preferred to keep it in his head. Konrad didn’t list himself among the deities either, even though his brother had wings, too.