[Athelstan: My muse will admit something they feel conflicted about to yours]
To say Renais– and by extension, all of Magvel– was incredible would be an understatement. Everywhere Larcei looked, there was a smiling face to behold and something new to see. The fields had been lush, the animals well-fed, and it almost seemed a paragon of perfection, a place that every kingdom should strive to be. She had to hand it to whoever ruled the place; they could possibly give Shannan a run for his money.
The reason she was here was because the ship she’d hopped on from southern New Thracia was bound for it before sailing back to the Miletos District, her actual destination. Larcei’s stay was only temporary, but she fully intended to enjoy herself in the meantime; she had a few days, according to the captain.
Renais itself was a bit further inland, but Larcei decided it’d be worth the trip, and she’d been right.
The first thing she noticed when they met was that he towered over her. She’d been shopping about like anyone else when he arrived. However, it was a blur as to how it got to this point, like she was hardly paying attention to their conversation. Strange how much of a kinship Larcei felt toward him; a stoic man with an even more stoic manner, hiding unbridled emotion beneath a stiff but polite demeanor, compared to her: a hothead of nothing but emotion.
The apparently-famous General Seth of Renais… How fitting, Larcei thought.
They were standing side by side beneath the shade tree, observing two children playing on the nearby hill. She’d bought a package of baked bread rolls with her gold and was going through them one at a time. Finishing her first, she started on her second. A large bite, followed by slow and thoughtful chewing.
The first child, a small boy, had tripped trying to tackle the other boy to the ground. She smiled, remembering a similar incident with her and Ulster. It was back in Tirnanog; he’d never been able to catch her in their races, but they still raced anyway.
She wondered how he was doing back home; it was hard to say goodbye when she went to search for their mother. He didn’t try to stop her, but she knew what he thought of her decision.
Breaking her train of thought, Larcei spoke. “General Seth, do you–” she swallowed the bite before continuing– “do you ever think you’re chasing after the ghosts of the past?”
