It was hard to recognize what was more intoxicating, the wine that was raging like the ocean in his belly or the roar of the crowd as he pinned another challenger. The village had been small, quite full of work whilst here, for the first time in years he felt part of something large and whole and alive.
The smiles, the laughs, the ever bubbling threat of danger, the acceptance of peers, the gratitude, the conflict, the beauty and the vulgar awoke something in Braz. This peek into the power of the collective, the community, the public was a bright spec on the horizon of his soul and Braz could only think of bathing in the full light of this discovery. The warmth of this dawn lifted him.
Braz’s visit to Mytros as a child had been overwhelming and he had believed he disliked it and could not wait to return to the village, now he understood he had needed to grow to be able to surf the wave of humanity.
The journey to Estoria had been sombre. The weight of prophecy, heavier than the packs. The panorama of Thylea only offering mid respite. As the party rounded the corner a swaying, centaur loudly addressed the party. It was evident he was drunk and Pholon wanted to fight. The party was uninterested but he insisted and picked on his fellow centaur, despite attempts by the party to dissuade him. Pholon proved to be a strong combatant and Hippofilius’ wolf form was bloodied and bruised by the time the drunkard chose to yield.
Pholon spoke of his need to find a rider, of his time spent away from scorpion island and the cure that was upon him - there was the kindling of respect and empathy in Hippofillus’s eye and the party agreed to go to Estoria and maybe help him find a rider.
On entering through the city south gate that party was recognised and asked to speak to the king as a matter of urgency.
Pythor was raging in his dilapidated castle as the party were sent to see him. He spoke about his anger at the oath of peace and the Titans’ unquenchable thirst for sacrifice. He spoke of the vice squeezing him - an army to the north and the demand of his daughter's sacrifice. This unsolvable problem was given to the heroes of the heartlands with only days to solve, but king Pythor was willing to be generous with what he could, offering shelter and reward.
Another question posed was Calliope - Pythor recognised her, but from 500 years ago. Calliope remembers nothing of the meeting but she seemed to have left an impression on Pythor. He suggested that she speak to Aesop in the dragon shire.
Aesop was as shocked to see Calliope as she was to be recognised. The pair met in a moment of grief when speaking of Adonis’s death. This grief was further extended when it became apparent that one of the items of prophecy - the Horn of Balmytria, had been taken from the shrine in the last 2 days. Theo set to work investigating the scene.
As he went to bed Braz started to meditate, thinking about the request of the king, the army at the gate, Pholon’s future. As a student of divination Braz saw the future clearer than most and the clouds that obscured that which can not be known were familiar, however this was different. The collective individual futures interacting with each other in the city didn't create a mist obscuring a future but a fizzing web of infinite possible outcomes with so many futures it was impenetrable to see. Braz tried to clear his mind to see specifics but his mind kept being drawn to the beauty of the impenetrable entities.