Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 3)

"Ah, intriguing!" Tomhas tilted his head to the side. "I don't think I've read that one. Books about magic are always fun, though. And I expect that you'll see Gaius's library at one point or another. Before the war we'd visit each other quite often."

Ky grinned and nodded. It’d be so nice to get to know the Ashes in peaceful circumstances. Maybe he might be a bit warmer. Maybe. “Do you have a favorite book — in either library?”

"I couldn't possibly choose! A lot of them have nostalgic values, others just have a lot of meaning to me personally, and even more are just enjoyable. It really depends on what mood I'm in." Tomhas thought for a moment. "There's a book of stories in the Serpent Keep library that contains a lot of fascinating tales of gods interacting men. I've always enjoyed things like that."

Ky nodded, looking at him thoughtfully. “That makes sense… when I was a small child my Uncle Zander brought me a book called Beasts of Old which were mostly mythological creatures — but they were so fascinating to read about. Some of them had accounts of which god created which beast… and sometimes, which god made a beast go extinct.” She gave a small smile. “It was my favorite book when I was little.”

Of course, it was one of only three books that she had — outside the Holy Book and some old ledgers from Papa’s days as a merchant's son. But those weren’t interesting.

"Which beasts were your favorite?" Tomhas had always been interested in the ancient beasts as well, and even more so by the idea that they might exist. There was one account from Lord Perseus Ash about encountering the winged lizards across the sea--creatures that had only been dreamed of before then. He had brought one home with him to the North, at the end of the narrative, but the cold proved too much for it and it died.

“There was one called a Scelinon — a mix between a scorpion and a wild cat. It was the size of a large horse and had a hard scorpion body with a stinger and powerful claws but its head was a feline with huge fangs.” Ky shuddered at that one, too. “I’m glad that one’s fake.”

(Irony — in cannon, it is in fact not fake and none of them are amused by that fact xD)

(That sounds like one badass creature!)

"Sounds like the mountain cats," Tomhas mused. "Except they're just pony-sized, and they've got maces on the ends of their tails instead. Brutal creatures, still, but that sounds like an absolute nightmare to battle."

(Thanks!)

“‘Just’ pony size,” she snorted, grinning. Then her expression dropped into concern all at once. “Wait, are those real?”

"Oh, certainly! Lord Tarr has one stuffed in his office, as I recall. They come down from the mountains on occasion in the Far North, but I haven't seen one in years. It's the spiders, bears, and wolves I've got to worry about."

Ky looked at him with wide eyes. The thought of beasts like these were almost scarier than Aleth himself. Almost. She imagined the beasts would be quick, which Aleth never was. But they were still horrifying to imagine. “… what else is real?”

"Hm. Well, sometimes that's a matter of opinion. The gods could be real, I suppose. There are enough stories about them interfering with the lives of humans, but I've never been particularly religious. The Iron-Men are considered myth but I believe they may exist. Winged lizards are real as well--one of my and Gaius's ancestors brought one back from across the sea. It's buried somewhere here."

“Wow,” Ky said, awestruck. She’d been religious when she was young — Papa read the Holy Book to anyone who wanted to hear, since most people couldn’t read, and she’d taken up the task of reading to people who couldn’t make it to their house, since Papa also couldn’t make it out of his own. These days, she just couldn’t quite bring herself to believe that there was a god. At least, if there were, they weren’t good ones. A good god would never leave her with Aleth. She smiled a bit at the thought. Maybe that made Loquitur here god — since he’d rescued her from the brute. “I bet there are even more creatures we know nothing about. At least across the sea.”

"I certainly believe it. If there are lizards that fly, I've got no doubt there are things neither of us could possibly comprehend. And think of the things in the sea! With how deep it is I bet it has all manner of alien creatures down there. Sea monsters, perhaps?"

“Fantastic beasts.” Ky shook her head, still smiling. “Well… as long as they stay over there, I suppose we’ll all be okay… but not over here. I simply… forbid it.”

"And they shall obey you as long as they live," Tomhas said with a flourish. "No foreign creature shall come here so long as Kylia Ruiarc wishes against it! I shall make it my duty to defend our land against those miscreants!"