[Edanian Journey] Aal

Chapter 2: Redstar Scouts

Near the temple, I found some of the brothers still fighting. They were being driven back by Aal's soldiers, so I stepped in front of the exhausted Hashashin and raised my weapon.

Their leader, <b>Wariyana</b>, thanked me. He said that without my help, none of them might have survived. They were the <b>Redstar Scouts</b> who had set out from the Sanctuary to seek the truth from Aal himself.

Kuntur, Wariyana's second-in-command, said the Sanctuary had fallen into chaos. The Scouts had not come merely to beg for salvation, but to understand the meaning of the path they had followed all this time. The bodies scattered along the way belonged to brothers who had set out with them. Fewer than half of their original number remained.

Antay said Aal's soldiers seemed to feel neither pain nor fear, and their fighting style was disturbingly familiar. They appeared to be imitating the techniques of the Hashashin.

I told them that I, too, had come seeking an answer from Aal. Rather than leave everything to me and withdraw, Wariyana asked to remain at my side and witness the truth together. I agreed to continue the pilgrimage with them. Seven remained: Wariyana, their leader; Kuntur, his second-in-command; the brothers Urku and Antay; and Amaru, Zaidan, and Bassam.

Together, we entered the temple.