To Rhial

46

Brenden

It seemed so early for fall, but the brisk morning air bit the tip of my nose. Or maybe it was just the speed of the wagon that was making my face so cold. Regardless, the road was like a wind tunnel blowing directly at us, so the ride wasn't as enjoyable as I was hoping it would be. Having a free day, I took the wagon up to Count Jeun Wey's towers to deliver the music tokens we promised Brina.

"So-" Miriel pulled her scarf down from face and pulled fuzz off her tongue. "Ahem, so how exactly does one create a sound token?" She held the palm-sized bronze bowl up to the sunlight and flipped it around, looking over every little marking etched into it. The wagon lurched when Vergil slowed his pace as a stray reflection shot in front of him.

I reached out to the token and guided it down into Miriel's lap. "Careful, I think the reflection is startling the corties."

"Oh, sorry. I hadn't noticed."

"S'all good. And to be honest, I'm not really sure how Desmond made them. He did some sigil work, we played our songs in front of them, and then he'd take 'em away to finish 'em. His sigils confuse the hell out of me, though mine are probably the same way to him."

"You've said that word a few times... hell. What does that mean?"

"Hell? Oh, um, do you know how I was telling you about religion and God and stuff?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, I told you about Heaven, the place people go when they die. There's also a place called Hell. Another afterlife, but instead of being nice, it's eternal torture and damnation. It's where sinners supposedly go."

"But wasn't there that one fellow who died so everyone would be forgiven?"

"Uh, yeah. Hell's for the people who do really bad things and don't repent to God."

"So if somebody worships another god, they are sent to hell?"

"I don't think all of them do. I think there's another place for non-believers who were good people or something."

Miriel peered into the bowl as she thought. "That sounds awfully harsh. By that understanding, every person who has ever lived in this world, who could not possibly know of your religion, are all still condemned and denied entry to the nice place?"

"I'm gonna be real, I have no idea. I wasn't really religious, I was too busy working to practice or go to Church. This is more of a topic for Tells or Desmond, honestly." I bit my cheek, disappointed I couldn't answer her question. "Speaking about religion and stuff, what do people believe here? Like, generally."

"Hmm," Miriel thought for a moment, then explained as dismissively as a scientist explaining flat earth theory, chuckling at the absurd details. "The common Triali belief system is a bit odd to me, but I'm sure you've already encountered pieces of it. I'm fairly sure the belief has been around as long as people have lived on this continent, and the jorlad followers have been quite brutal to ensure it is the primary system. These Trialis subscribe to the Divine Body. Essentially, there was a body which existed, somewhere out in the aether. The being, the Body, got so tired of being lonely, or something along those lines, that it tore itself apart, limb by limb, body part by body part. Each part gained a personality and lived happily. Then one day, each organ and limb slowly went insane from the maddeningly monotonous rhythm of the heart's beating, so they killed it, and that is the soil, the ground we walk on. A still, dead heart. I want to say it's still trying to beat and come back to life, or something of the sort, but it's been quite a while since I engaged in discussion of the topic. I know there is a part in there about the head and the body warring with each other and the head using the mouth to turn the organs of the body against itself through speaking. I can't remember it entirely." She waved the thought away dismissively.