And who were the others who'd walked through the veil with her?
Eirian dwelled on them as they pushed on through the afternoon. She'd answered a few more minor questions about her magic, mostly from Wen Chunhua, who seemed to be taking notes and who she'd already decided to keep an eye on because something didn't sit right.
They still had six hours of riding after lunch until they reached their first camp. Eirian's scouts had moved ahead at speed to check it out and make sure they were walking into another Beng Shai-orchestrated ambush, and a few others had headed off to the nearest villages to see about Snake and any other intelligence that might be useful.
So Eirian had nothing to do but think until something happened. She still couldn't recognize anyone else who'd crossed the veil with her, even though they felt so familiar she could almost recall the memories of growing up together that didn't actually exist.
She'd been racking her brain trying to think of specific stories about the world of the dead or the underworld or whatever name it had in the different religions across the rock, but they were all so specific to their place that they didn't help her much.
Even Death had a hundred different names and appearances and purposes depending on which one you read.
It didn't strike Eirian as she thought about it that, if her estimation of the time, the years they exited the veil were correct, that they must have been the first humans on the rock.
Which meant that all those supreme gods, like Ceres, to whom their creation was so often attributed, were nothing but false idols, because Death created humanity.
Death created life.
Which she supposed made sense, since all living things returned to death in the end.
Except the elves in the Forrest Veil along the Spine of the World and the Isles of Trees far off to the southwest, who simply lived and aged until they became trees themselves.
Or the dwarves in the Burning Mountains that ran along the southeastern edge of the Still Water, who turned to stone when they were a few hundred years old.
Both species kept to themselves for the most part, though they traded with human kingdoms.
The Fae in the Forrest of Rhiannon and the winged-elves of the Red Desert practiced a much harsher isolation, preferring not to interact with the world outside their own at all, and Eirian had no idea what happened to them when they died.
And if they didn't die, had Death created them? Or had it been someone else, and that's why they didn't get to die like humans? Or humans didn't get to die like them? Was there some cosmic war going on in the stars and the worlds in between that Eirian and her ilk had no idea they were pawns in?
And where had the dragons gone? Because there were dragons in her dreams, and it was supremely disappointing to believe that such magnificent creatures had died out completely.
That they had existed, but Eirian had already lost any chance of meeting one face to face.
Risk of fiery death aside, it would just be so incredible to see something like that up close.
"Lady Ye?"
Vitali's voice startled her out of her thoughts, the young woman nudging her horse alongside Fleet Goddess.
"Yes?"
Vitali nodded to a small hill in the distance.
A tiny figure, black against the sky, was perched at the top, watching them slowly march closer.
The figure didn't move as they did, and it only took a few minutes for Eirian's eyes to make out the horse and rider.
"One of Beng Shai's spies?" Wen Chunhua suspected.
"Too obvious." Tanning argued.
"And too close," Wayland added. "The tribes are fully capable of watching us without ever showing themselves. They grew up in these hills and fields. Whoever they are, they're not a tribesman."
"Or at least not one allied with Beng Shai." Vitali agreed.
"There are no tribes allied with us," Eirian pointed out, thoughtfully. Something about the figure was familiar, but from this distance she couldn't put her finger on why.
"There might be some of the smaller tribes that would rather side with us than the Bandri." Wayland sounded thoughtful, but tribal politics were complicated and their alliances ever changing. They'd never be able to fully trust any tribe that offered to side with them against another, but it could be something they could still use to their advantage. If only for a short time.
Eirian's eyes narrowed. What was it that was so familiar?
She dug her heels into Fleet Goddess's side and urged her into a run, ignoring the cries of surprise as she raced along the road and then through the wheat and up the small hill.
Yuze's eyes crinkled into amusement when she pulled the mare to a stop next to him. "You shouldn't run off like that." He nodded to the panicking soldiers rushing to catch up with her. "You scared them. They don't know you can take care of yourself."
Eirian snorted, "They'll figure it out soon. It's their job to defend the Camelia, not guard me."
Yuze sighed. "I'm pretty sure at least a few of them are here specifically for your protection."
A statement of fact, Li had sent a small team of his own guards to service as her protectors, but one she comfortably ignored since she'd argued against it and only been overruled because it was law on the estate and all members of the Ye family had to have them whenever they left the castle proper.
Yuze looked good despite how much ground he'd had to cover in such a short amount of time. Tired, obviously, there were circles under his eyes, and he was paler than normal, but he was also smiling and relaxed in the saddle.
She changed the subject, "Find out anything useful?"
Yuze looked out over the road as the Crimson Army approached. Eirian's guards had stopped at the bottom of the hill along with her commanders, close enough that they recognized Yuze and saw no threat. "Alot actually. We're going to have to adjust our campaign plan."
~ tbc