Episode 3 Part 3 Sneak Peek #5

You exhale a breath and step away, the heat scalding your cheeks. You’re not sure how much longer you can stay in the vicinity. But the longer you look at the statues, the more they leave you with an odd impression. There’s a precision to the way their faces have been ruined. Almost as if it was done intentionally and out of malice.

Aeran moves stiffly at your side, adjusting the kerchief over his mouth. His brow is red and shines with sweat. “$firstname,” he says hoarsely. “Let’s go—”

“Do you see it, Aeran? There’s something strange about these statues—”

“They’re Guild founders. Of course there’s something strange about them—”

“That’s not what I—what do you mean, these are the Guild’s founders?”

He hesitates, tugging uncomfortably at the kerchief. “Every Guild academy has a tribute to their founders,” he explains quickly. “Kostadin, an Arathian nobleman. Aklaia, his advisor, and Vyserion, his bodyguard. The first archsages. According to history, they were devotees of Metisara and formed the Guild during a time of war for likeminded individuals keen to test the extent of their capabilities.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“You haven’t spent enough time in Arathia.” His tone is blunt. “The Imperial family claims to be descended from Kostadin. His deeds go beyond historical records—it’s practically mythology at this point.”

“…why do I get the feeling you would be arrested for saying as much if the wrong people overheard you in the street?”

He snorts. “Good thing there’s not much a street here, then. Look, the Guild may have expanded to other nations across Rhesainia, but there’s no untangling it from the Empire. Doesn’t matter how this spat between Solarath and Lethalis turns out. As far as I’m concerned, the Guild and the Empire are one and the same.”

He takes off without further comment, keen to get out of the excruciating heat and leave the statues behind. Giving them one last look, you wipe your brow and follow him. Your throat is painfully dry, your tongue sitting thick and heavy in your mouth. You could drink a whole river’s worth of water.

“Didn’t realize you knew so much about Guild history,” you say after a moment.

Aeran catches your eye, the lower half of his face still obscured by his kerchief. “It’s not like I’m interested,” he replies bluntly. “Can’t control what I’ve picked up over the years.”