Zheiro and the Moonlight Sculptor

The next morning Zheiro woke up to an unusually quiet Thrycius.

Granted, it's not like Thrycius was talking all the time, but even for his companion this was different than usual.

"Is there something wrong?" Zheiro asked.

Thrycius, despite having his usual smile on his face, looked unusually more serious than before.

"I've decided," he said. "I'm going to personally teach you how to fight against other humans."

Zheiro blinked in surprise. "What brought this on?" He asked. "This isn't like you at all."

"Well, you were going to have to learn eventually either way," Thrycius admitted. "It's just that I decided to do it sooner than I expected."

"Hold on," Zheiro said, "Why do I even have to learn how to fight other people in the first place? To begin with, I don't ever plan on doing so since I'm going to be a sculptor for the rest of my life. I mean, I can understand fighting monsters since they would get in our way regardless during our journey, so isn't what I've been doing already enough? And even if we did get attacked by other people, according to our agreement you did promise to keep me alive, so couldn't you fight them off yourself?"

"Well, to answer your questions, let me start with this." Thrycius started, "What do you think will happen when you become the only person currently in existence to learn moonlight sculpting?"

Zheiro blinked again. He never actually thought about what he would do after he learned and mastered moonlight sculpting; from the beginning, he had only been interested in being able to show an artful masterpiece to the one he made a promise to many years ago. To suddenly be asked about what would happen afterwards, he could only draw blanks.

Under the pressure of having to give an immediate answer to something he hadn't thought clearly about before, Zheiro ended up having none to give.

"...I'm not sure, actually," he finally said, "What do you think would happen?"

"Well, obviously you would become quite famous, whether you wanted to or not," Thrycius answered. "Your name would spread far and wide, and then some of those who would want to see your art for themselves may try to do anything to see it, perhaps even claim it for themselves."

"Are you implying that there are people out there that would be willing to do unspeakable things just to see my artwork?"

"Oh, you're starting to catch on quickly now," Thrycius praised. "Indeed, there are certainly people out there that are like that, including those in power."

"I can hardly bring myself to believe that," Zheiro said in disbelief. "Can people that bad really exist?"

"There can," Thrycius confirmed. "Do you remember those screams last night?"

For the third time Zheiro found himself blinking in surprise. He had completely forgotten about those screams with strange way Thrycius had been acting in the morning. Furthermore, it wasn't like Thrycius to randomly bring up a different topic when he was explaining something to him. Therefore…

"Are you implying that the scream of those beasts actually have something to do with this conversation?" Zheiro asked.

"You are certainly correct. After the screams stopped, I investigated a little, and found this," Thrycius said, pulling a piece of parchment out from his bag and handing it to him.

Zheiro glanced down at it as he grasped the parchment, staring at it for a full 5 seconds before looking up at the expectant eyes of his companion.

"Thrycius, I can't read, especially not in the dark." Zheiro eventually admitted. "There's not enough sunlight here. What does it say?"

Thrycius exhaled, a defeated smile on his face. "I should have known. That parchment you hold there in your hand is basically an order for assassination, with you as the target."

Zheiro looked at him blankly. "You're kidding, right? That's absolutely ridiculous. How do you expect me to believe that?"

"With the parchment you hold within your hands right now." Thrycius said.

"But I just told you that I can't read this here, so there was no point." Zheiro countered. "And even if I could read, how would I prove that this parchment wasn't something that you wrote yourself so that you could trick me?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? There's no way I can replicate that seal at the bottom of that order. It's a one-of-a-kind seal, for a high-ranking member of some nobility out there." Thrycius said. "Go take a closer look."

Zheiro looked back down at the parchment, and indeed there was a small, intricate seal there at the bottom. Even if he had never seen it before, he could tell only a member of nobility could have done something like this.

"Okay," Zheiro still wasn't absolutely convinced, but he didn't have any other convincing arguments to make, especially when he couldn't read. "Let's assume for now that yes, this really is an order for my assassination. Why would I already be targeted now, of all times?" Zheiro asked. "It doesn't make any sense. I'm not all that well known, as far as I know."

"How should I know? I'm not the one who sent those assassins. Perhaps they heard about your skill when you sculpted that bouquet of flowers for me. Regardless, being able to defend yourself has become more imperative than before. Thus, I'm personally going to teach you how to fight against other humans."

"I do understand the need to defend myself against other humans now," Zheiro admitted, "But you're going to have to explain to me why you're suddenly going to teach me yourself. Isn't all the fighting you've made me do for the past half year or so not good enough?"

"To learn how to fight against monsters, it's better to learn by actually fighting monsters." Thrycius began. "Earlier, you needed to learn how to face monsters that could be faster than you, stronger than you, but they are also more far more predictable. Humans, on the other hand, are the exact opposite. Their strength and speed will not be that much different from yours, but the level of skill, wit, and unpredictability they can posses is unparalleled by any other enemy you will face. In the first place, all those schools of combat are intended for use specifically against other humans."

"Well, I suppose you know best," Zheiro complied. "So? When do we start?"

"Tonight," Thrycius replied. "First, we should get out of here as soon as possible. Since I found that contract nearby, whoever originally held that must also be nearby. So pack up your things, because today we're clearing this forest and moving on to the next area!"

----

Things passed by in an insane blur. When they finally got out of the forest, Zheiro collapsed out of exhaustion.

He had spent the time half running and half being dragged by his companion through the forest; the fastest they had ever travelled during their journey.

It had only been a few hours ago when they had waken up, after all. And not to mention that they had only entered the forest yesterday! A record that was even faster than their time through the Cave of Flames.

"Oh, there it is, our 5th gem," Thrycius said, picking it up. "Which actually might be perfect timing."

Zheiro could only look up at him questioningly from where he panted, out of breath, only the ground.

"Are you asking why this might be perfect timing?" Thrycius asked, grinning like usual. "If you remember, I did say that I would show you how summoning worked; we now have enough gems to summon something, and this isn't a bad place to do so. Not only that, you need to learn how to fight against humans, so why not practice against whatever it is we're going to end up summoning?"

Zheiro thought about it. Summoners were known for using their summons to fight monsters, demons, and even gods. Whatever it was that would appear would probably be quite skilled at combat, so definitely someone very powerful. Meanwhile, he who had never even seen combat until a little over half a year ago, and only had experience fighting monsters and none against humans, was being asked to fight against something like that?

Zheiro didn't even have to think twice.

"It's impossible for me, not at the level I'm at now," He finally breathed out.

"Ha ha ha. Good answer." His companion laughed. "As a treat I'll summon something anyway. I was originally going to show you this in the first place, so sit there and relax for a bit while I set things up."

"I don't have to fight whatever you're summoning, right?" Zheiro asked, wanting to confirm.

"Nah," Thrycius said with a wave of his hand, "I haven't even taught you how to fight against humans yet, after all. Just sit there and enjoy the show."

Zheiro could do nothing besides nod.

----

By the time Zheiro had finally recovered, Thrycius had already finished drawing an intricate magic circle on the ground.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to be wasting time doing this, when there are supposedly assassins after us?" Zheiro finally asked, sitting up.

"It'll probably be fine. I doubt they would have expected anyone to travel this far over the course of a few hours." Thrycius said nonchalantly as he put in some finishing touches.

"And if they did catch up anyway?"

"I kind of doubt that." Thrycius said confidently. "I did more than just run, after all. And if we really have to, we could have whatever we summon stall them."

"I see."

Zheiro decided not to ask any more questions. If Thrycius wasn't willing to say anymore, then there was nothing he could do. Thrycius was far more skilled than he was with wordplay, and even more so in swordplay. Besides, Thrycius didn't seem like the type to lie, even if his words could be misleading, so Zheiro had decided to trust him.

"Now," Thrycius began, dusting off his hands as he examined his work, "Shall we begin?"

----

The ceremony began with Thrycius taking ahold of the 5 gems they had gathered during their journey. Holding them out towards the intricately drawn magic circle on the ground, Thrycius began to chant.



As Thrycius chanted, the magic circle on the ground began to glow. Zheiro watched in amazement as a beautiful bronze gate began to form above the magic circle, glinting in the sunlight. Thrycius then reached out as the gate solidified, pulling it open— and Zheiro found himself getting blinded by a bright, red light. Just before he shut his eyes for a moment due to its brightness, he noticed figure stepping out right onto the center of the magic circle.

When Zheiro opened his eyes again and regained his vision, the gate was nowhere in sight. But in the middle of the magic circle stood what appeared to be a gorgeous woman, with an unearthly beauty unlike any other Zheiro had seen. Blond hair, red horns, and a silver crown trimmed with gold rested upon her head, her body scantily clad in mostly black. But most striking was her red eyes, which stood out further by grey replacing the normally white sclera of her eyes.

To Zheiro, she was a being who could not accurately be described as just 'beautiful', but as something more. An unnatural beauty that could never be matched by any human in existence—fitting for something that, while appearing human-like, was clearly not human.

The woman slowly looked around, taking in her surroundings, her gaze passing past Zheiro before settling onto Thrycius.

"Wow," she said seductively, with a voice that only made Zheiro draw a little nearer. "You were able to summon me! So that means…"

"Shut up; no one here really cares, Zellha." Thrycius interrupted, with a slight grin on his face.

Everyone present froze, staring blankly at the bard who had completely ruined the mood.

The woman recovered first, her face clearly showing her displeasure.

"I shall forgive you this once for your transgressions, as you were able to recognize me upon sight. However! I will not condone such treatment towards a goddess like myself, summoner!"

A goddess? Zheiro stared, jaw agape. Thrycius had managed to summon a goddess, of all things? He frantically looked at Thrycius, trying to signal him to act more respectfully, but either Thrycius didn't notice or didn't care.

"Or else what?" Thrycius retorted. "Oh right, there's not much you can do if I refuse to treat you as you wish, seeing as we are bound by the summoning pact, are we not?

"You—!" The goddess spat out, only to be interrupted again.

"Oh, relax already," Thrycius continued. "You should rejoice, being the one summoned by me. I have no intention of using you, after all."

"What…?" Now the goddess was confused. "For what reason did you summon me, then?"

"No reason at all," Thrycius laughed. "I was simply demonstrating to my friend here how summoning worked. As it was only the process I was interested in, I had no need of the result. Thus, I had no need of whatever it was I would end up summoning, which happened to be you. In other words, you're useless to me."

"You would make light of our pact so easily?" The goddess hissed.

"That's how it is, Zellha. Feel free to leave and start your chaos elsewhere,' Thrycius continued. "I'll end the pact once you are out of range. On that, I swear on my honor as a bard. After that, you're free to go and do whatever you wish, as long as you don't get in my way"

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. The tension in the air was so high that Zheiro was afraid it would erupt at any moment, yet it seemed to last for an eternity.

Eventually the goddess gave in first.

"Very well,' she sighed in defeat, "I shall do as you say for now. But I warn you, Thrycius: You are overstepping your bounds like this."

"Ha ha ha!" Thrycius laughed. "I know full well that I am, Zellha, even if it is not by much. I have no need of your concern, though. Tell you what, after all this is over I'll even help you with a few things."

"Hmph! As if I'll ever need your help!"

Zheiro watched as the goddess arrogantly stalked off in the direction of the forest. It was only after she had disappeared from sight, hidden behind the trees, that Zheiro exhaled in relief, letting go of the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. Zheiro didn't know what made the goddess back down, but at the very least it seemed that she probably wouldn't try to retaliate or take vengeance anytime soon.

"Are you sure this is all right?" Zheiro finally asked, still staring into the forest where the goddess had disappeared. "I mean… couldn't you have like, reversed summoned her or something? Or at least treat her respectfully? I mean, she is a goddess."

"Not really, actually," Thrycius replied, who was already cleaning up the area, erasing the magic circle he had taken the time to draw so carefully earlier. "Rather than a goddess, what you saw was simply a copy of the real thing."

Zheiro blinked. "A copy?" he repeated, wanting to make sure he heard right.

"That's right. It's just a copy of the original goddess Zellha. Not even a perfect copy, either, but a copy entirely based on how the legends that exist today portray her."

"How the legends portray her…?" Zheiro trailed off. "Why would that be the case?"

"It's a pretty long story, so I'll tell you as we travel along," Thrycius replied, pulling Zheiro up. "Now, shall we? Our first destination is pretty close, but first we need to get through the Magutagal Wetlands."

----

"To begin with, I'm pretty sure you know that when someone or something achieves great deeds in life, they become the stories of legends," Thrycius started off as they trecked through the wetlands. "The things is, when they die, their fame is recorded into what is called Archive of Legends."

"I see," Zheiro replied. Zheiro was expecting Thrycius to launch into yet another epic story, but now it seemed like he was simply explaining a story. Likely, it was because they were in a hurry. But was that really a good reason for Thrycius, who really seemed to love stories, give up on that?

"True to its name, the Archive of Legends is simply made up of recorded legends. Whether or not the ones within their legends actually existed doesn't matter; rather, it is the amount of fame they get which determines how detailed their legend is recorded within. So in truth, what summoners actually do is use the power stored in the gems to tap into the Archive of Legends, randomly duplicating a legend and giving it form, 'summoning' a copy of what we think the original person should be."

"Then…" Zheiro interrupted, realizing something important. "Are you saying that the goddess that we saw was actually just a fake, whose personality is exactly as how the legends portray her? Wouldn't that make it incredibly boring for you, who already knows countless legends?"

"Exactly!" Thrycius agreed. "It as you say: they have no personality of their own because they are exactly as they are portrayed in the legend. Being quite experienced as a storyteller, I already know all their legends in detail, meaning there's nothing new to learn about them. I would rather get to know them as a person, to get their perspective on what really happened, but that's impossible due to how the summoning system is set up. Also, you should probably be careful not to call her that to her face. They may be fakes, but they can still think and feel like any other person; not to mention their abilities will be as strong or as weak as the legends portray them, and I can assure you they normally would be quite powerful if they were strong enough to become a legend."

"I'll keep that in mind, but… Is that why you found being a summoner boring?" Zheiro asked.

"Well, it's one of the main reasons, yes." Thrycius simply said. "Do you have any other questions?"

"Yeah, I do, actually: What kind of ritual allows you to summon beings as powerful as gods? Granted, they may not be the real thing, but their powers could potentially be even higher than they originally were."

"Well, to be fair, the blueprint is already there—that is, the Archive of Legends. All summoners really need to do is tap into it, make a copy, and then summon it into existence, and they can't even do so without 5 gems as a source of power and the magic circle to stabilize and direct the flow of that power. This is why summoners covet gems so much—without them, they wouldn't be able to summon anything useful. Although, in actuality, most summoners don't even know how to draw the circle and rely on ones already made by those in the Akras Summoner's Hall back in Randall for their convenience."

"Wait, they don't? Why not?"

"This is actually one of the issues many veterans in their own line of work have with summoners. Many summoners, while having a lot of power, don't have the full knowledge and experience that others normally need to gain to reach mastery in their own art. Summoners like that often dismiss the importance of understanding how a process works, only caring that it does work in the first place; so why would they care how to make a magic circle if they could just use one someone else prepared for them and save some time?"

"But…" Zheiro started, frowning as he heard what kind of people most summoners were just by listening to his companion. He himself had spent all his life trying to master sculpting, spending a lot of effort to learn a number of different carving techniques and why they worked, what each of them were used for—and here there were people who could just use what was given to them?

It was rather unfair, Zheiro felt. Besides, it was hard to improve on something if you didn't fully understand how it worked. But then again, as someone who wanted to create the greatest sculpture the world had ever seen he had no choice but to improve what already existed.

But was the summoning system so perfect already that there was no need for it to improve?

"Well, to be fair there are other things they do need to learn, but it's also true that most summoners today rely heavily on others. Whether or not that is a bad thing is up to debate. Also, I'll also be honest here—a good number of the things I did earlier, including the chant, were also entirely unnecessary." Thrycius admitted with a laugh.

"Then why did you do all those unnecessary things?" Zheiro asked.

"Because it would make for a good show, don't you think? It's not like it would have wasted all that much more time."

Zheiro silently nodded; he couldn't argue with that.

"So, now that you've caught your breath, let's continue our journey. Through the Magutagal Wetlands we go!"

And suddenly Zheiro found himself being dragged away by his companion once again before he could even voice his complaints.

----

It was only later that Zheiro realized something was off during the time when Thrycius had summoned a copy of a goddess.

Just when did Zellha learn Thrycius' name? His companion's name never came up once while Zellha was around, at least not until she spoke it herself.

He would have to get his answers later, when he wasn't being dragged around.

----

Sarui took a step back, observing the painting she had finished before her.

"Mm," Sarui nodded happily, one hand arrogantly resting on her hip. "Now this is a beautiful masterpiece. And it was completed in half the time it usually takes me, too!"

Sarui continued to appreciate her finished work, as if completely unaware of flames flickering and roaring around her, the corpses of goblins littering the area, and the exhausted summoners nearby who could only gape at the crazy woman who stood as if entirely unaffected by the heat.

"A pity that I couldn't paint on the usual canvas, seeing as it would burn," Sarui continued, still smiling as she observed the absolutely giant mural she had painted on the cavern wall, "But this is fine, too. If anything, all those ignorant in the ways of art can learn to appreciate it with this."

"But really, this place is just perfect for painting," Sarui continued, putting her paintbrushes away. "The paint dries really quickly here, so I don't have to wait to put another layer on. Honestly, it would be nice if I could stay here for a little while longer, but I have a sculptor to catch."

And thus Sarui, leaving behind the largest mural anyone had ever seen, went running off through the Caves of Flames, running past all the summoners exploring the area who could only watch in amazement while trying not to melt in the heat.

Despite her hurry, she would end up finally leaving the Caves of Flames a month later due to being unable to resist all the opportunities to paint.

Her actions here would later turn Mistral's Cave of Flames into one of the world's greatest art attractions, but that is a tale for another time.