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“Well, then,” said Octavia with a distant look in her eyes. “That certainly... puts things into perspective, at least. I’m looking forward to meeting this young man and his reaper again.”

The conversation didn’t last much longer after that. With night coming on, Octavia went to go rest. Wen did not go with her, but he did venture off to go talk to someone else. Even Axiolis ended up leaving Zeff alone with his thoughts again.

Long after they were gone, Zeff’s mind still lingered on that last subject. He didn’t know how to feel about it. While he didn’t think that Ax was one to make such comparisons thoughtlessly, it still felt... like a strange decision on the reaper’s part.

He was tempted to call Ax back over and try to hash things out, but he had no idea what he would say. This unease in the pit of his stomach had no words to accompany it.

Was he afraid of something here? Did he think that Axiolis had some sort of... intentions at play, now? Hyping Hector up like that in front of Octavia? As if the boy even needed it, at this point.

Bah. But still. Rhein Ricardo was... an entirely different level of importance.

Some tales regarded him as an incarnation of Lhutwë himself. Others said, instead, that he had encountered Lhutwë and received the God of All Water’s everlasting protection--for him and all his future kin.

They said that Rhein Ricardo was the very reason why the divine materialization ability of water even existed in the first place. And why it continued to propagate into the future through the bloodlines of the Rainlords.

And of course, there were the tales of how Rhein distinguished himself among the ancient Arman people during their countless clashes with the Lyzakks, eventually establishing an entirely new warrior class known as Rainlords, who went on, long after his death, to seize power over the local government when the old regimes proved too incompetent and corrupt.

The Mohssian Empire had not been terribly pleased about that, but it was still quite young at the time, and the heroic legacy of Rhein, still fresh in everyone’s mind. So the Rainlords were able to negotiate a privileged status for themselves within the empire as a vassal group with unparalleled autonomy, so long as they recognized the emperor as their rightful ruler and fought in his name when he called for their banners.

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A year ago, Axiolis would’ve been right about Zeff not being very receptive to that idea. But now?

Now he was much more tempted to agree with the reaper’s perspective.

He decided to keep that thought to himself, though. It hardly mattered, either way.

The conversation continued on, with Octavia soon bringing over her own reaper, Wen, in order to get his opinion on things, as well.

Not much was learned, however. Wen was non-committal, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Axiolis; and he didn’t offer any information about asteros that hadn’t already been discussed.

Until, that was, Zeff asked a particular question.

“Ax said that he knew of other asteros whose growth was at least comparable to Hector and Garovel’s. So tell me something. Were any of those people Rainlords?”

Ax and Wen were both quiet for a time, and they exchanged looks.

‘...There have been a few,’ said Wen. ‘But the one that comes immediately to mind... Axiolis? I have a feeling you are thinking the same?’

‘The first Water Dragon,’ said Ax. ‘Rhein Ricardo.’

Zeff took pause. That was a name he was intimately familiar with, of course. Among the long history of his kin, Rhein was arguably the single most important figure. The Redwater Twins were more famous internationally, especially in the modern day, but among the Rainlords themselves, it was hard to say if that was the case.

Certainly, though, no one else was more revered. Various reapers, such as Wen here, had known the Twins personally and therefore also had some... less than flattering things to say about them. The Twins, while beloved as heroes in their own right, were nonetheless still regarded as very flawed human men.

But Rhein Ricardo...

The stories about him were truly legendary.

Some said that was only because the tales were so old. There were just too few reapers left who had existed during Rhein’s time, they said. It was easier, therefore, for the man to maintain an almost deified status as the father of all true Rainlords of Sair.

They said that.

But Wen and Ax here had both been around during his time, Zeff knew.

Which was why Zeff couldn’t stop himself from feeling a certain type of urgency all of a sudden. “Careful,” he said, intensity in his tone. “That’s a heavy thing you’re implying, right now.”

‘We’re not implying anything,’ said Ax. ‘You asked a question, and we’re answering it. That’s all.’

Zeff stared at Ax intently.

The reaper, for his part, merely stared right back.

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Zeff had to admit, Ax was making a lot of sense. Enough, perhaps, that he was even starting to view Hector and Garovel in a new light. And perhaps the Rainlords as a whole, as well. Just a bit.

Hmm.

‘Have you not felt it yourself, Zeff? In their presence? A kind of... gravitational pull, of sorts? I know I have.’

Zeff made no response. He had some idea of what the reaper was talking about, but he wasn’t sure.

Octavia spoke up in his stead. “What do you mean by that? Gravitational pull?”

‘I’m not entirely certain, myself. Despite everything I’ve said, and despite my trepidation about asteros in general, I am also of the belief that there is yet more to them.’

“To Hector and Garovel or to all asteros?”

‘All of them. I gave you my opinion of what seems the most rational explanation for their existence. But I harbor other views, as well. Views which I’m sure you will be much less receptive to, being the godless heathens that you are.’

“Okay, Ax,” said Octavia, taking a defensive and doubtful tone. “I had almost forgotten about this side of you. But I suppose if you’re willing to share your crackpot religious views on the matter, then I am willing to listen.”

‘How kind of you.’

Zeff knew that the two of them were mostly exaggerating. Ax didn’t really think they were heathens, nor did Octavia think that Ax was a crackpot. This was just their way of poking fun at one another and lightening the mood.

...Probably.

“Are you about to tell us that you think Lhutwë is somehow responsible for the existence of asteros?” asked Zeff.

‘No, I don’t think so,’ said Ax. ‘But many who have studied asteros over the eons have come to think that, perhaps, their suffering is... in some way the will of the gods. Various gods. In various Ardoran cultures, for instance, they have their own term for asteros. They call them “kridanaki,” which means “playthings of the gods.”’

“And that’s what you believe, too?” said Octavia.

‘...A bit, yes. I’ll admit that I am uncertain, at least. But I simply find it too difficult to believe that all of the misfortune that I have seen so many asteros endure over the ages can be chalked up entirely to... their own doing. The idea that some invisible force may be involved seems... possible to me. Likely, even.’