Orian stepped out from behind Locke and stopped the mortal from the City-State of Delys from approaching him. "How can you speak to Lord Augustine like that when you're a Forest Ranger? And how can you defend giants who want to destroy the world?"
After five years of confrontation, Orian had come to understand what the giants on Ringed Mountain wanted.
They wanted a war that would engulf the entire Present World of the Three-Cave World. Then they would use that war to ignite the fire of destruction and reduce the mortal population.
The standoff between the City-State of Delys and the alliance of other city-states was exactly such a situation. But the War Giant was dead now, and the War Principle had withdrawn from sight. The "fire of destruction" proclaimed by Ringed Mountain no longer had anything to ignite it.
The blacksmith hurriedly knelt before Orian. "Lord Orian, I am utterly loyal to the Forest Rangers. That is precisely why I must speak honestly about how I feel."
"On my first day as a Forest Ranger, I was told not to ignore the truth of what I experienced through my own feelings."
"The Wind Giant's true name is Elinor."
The blacksmith pleaded with Locke and Orian.
"Elinor and I are... friends. She once told me she knew something was wrong with Ringed Mountain. She tried to find the God King, but no matter what she did, she couldn't find him."
Orian spat in contempt.
"The gods always have their reasons. Enough, Taeus. I've had enough of your nonsense. After all these years and all the absurd things you've seen the gods do, I thought you'd finally stopped idolizing them. I never imagined you'd stand here and beg my mentor to spare them."
"If my teacher had lost just now,