"Barely acceptable." Negary sat upright upon the throne, watching Nara's performance in her first battle, and gave his assessment.
No matter what, Nara's courage in battle had won over some hearts. With Les's help, this patchwork support force had finally gained a measure of cohesion.
"Let Nara rely on herself from here. I've already provided enough help." Negary narrowed his eyes and asked Granny Sie beside him, "Granny Sie, did you see those people?"
"Those fellows who came knocking with malicious intent!" Negary asked.
"Lord Negary, I have foreseen those fellows' purpose." Granny Sie let out a strange, rasping cackle. "They belong to a force called Hails, which means return. For years, they have hidden from the Divine Grace Church Inquisition's hunts and killings."
"And their belief is that people should shed the ashes outside their bodies and return to their original divinity." Granny Sie said, "A boundless white light cleaved open the Black Abyss of the divine realm, and a corner of the Black Abyss fell downward. The light shone upon the true form of the gods within the Black Abyss. Gods that were once unseen and unfathomable became visible beneath the radiance. The fire brought by that white brilliance scorched the gods, burning away their divine power. Ashes blurred their original appearance, and gods fell into men."
"So, if they wished to reverse that fall and ascend into gods, they needed to shed their ashes, extinguish the fire, disperse the light, and return the world to the Black Abyss. Only then could they return once more to the faceless, formless gods that were unseen, indescribable, unmeasurable, and Unreason!"
"That is... quite an interesting claim." Negary said with a smile.
"Indeed. The reason they sought you out, my lord, was likely because they hoped to obtain Lord Negary's power."