“One of the more greatly debated subjects in academia, merely on the basis of whether or not the idea is even worth being discussed at all, is the concept of the existence of a kingdom known as Belfahndres. While some argue that the evidence found in various ancient tomes, and whatnot, is far too reoccurring to just simply dismiss with the wave of a hand; the opposition will always silence them with declarations that to even engender the notion of Belfahndres is to declare absurdity to all of reality. Once one steps outside of the circles of academia, the concept of Belfahndres becomes all but unknown; this is of little surprise since, after all, it is precisely the last thing any sane person would want to hear – on either side of the conflict, even – after what has unfortunately been drug out over these last one hundred plus years.

That said, the fact that believing in Belfahndres positively absurdifies the entire current state of existence is the most important reason why its very real place in history must become acknowledged by all.”

- Tallus the Scholar

Chapter 20: “Story of Belfahndres”

Wearily, Jysalef Soresh – the vagrant swordsman – pinched firmly with one hand the bridge of his nose as he slowly arose from the couch where he had, only a short few moments earlier, been wolfing food down at a most impressive rate. Once he had finally managed to stand fully erect, he gave a most tired look in the direction of the scholar whom was responsible for Miran Via asking him to go to Kyosem City in the first place. “In all honesty, I must state that - to myself - it seems that you have completely lost the faculties of which God chose to apparently give you far less in reserve than you clearly required; and I say such things, right now, without even referencing at all your pathetic lack of loyalty to this great land which fought to protect you. If you were a man whom was worthy of receiving messages focusing upon so key a matter, then surely I would not have been asked to journey to this town in the first place! Instead, you’d be scouring the country side of Corsinthia for some discharged soldier with far more battle prowess than I - especially considering this all apparently entails a truly most potent demon – rather than deciding that the most productive thing you could accomplish is to have an audience with someone like myself simply because I happened to clean up a few towns I got close to when I was hungry and hoping for food!”

With a most disgusted grunt of outrage, during the declaration of which he allowed the hand that previously gripped the bridge of his nose to fall limply down to his side, Jysalef quickly made another statement before Tallus had a chance to recommence his own diatribe, “However – fear not - for on the completely off chance that you’re somehow only half mistaken; I now have no choice but to traipse off to Dulsnik - right this very instant - because you decided to tell me about all of this, since you were obviously too taken in the head to figure out whomever it was that God actually meant for you to find! If everything upon Theria is going to be burned down to the ground at the hands of a demon within the next few days, all because you are so utterly incompetent that not even God himself understood the depths of it all, then I feel I should at least go into the fires of hell saying that I tried something.”

During this entire tirade upon the matter of competence and obligations from the embittered ex-Corsinthian soldier, Tallus Osmaard could do little more than fidget most uncomfortably whilst he bit firmly down on his tongue in an effort to ensure he did not ruin where this conversation was heading by entering into a second altercation with Mister Soresh. Once Jysalef had finally stopped hurling insults at the scholar - albeit derogatory statements coupled with an agreement to do as asked - Tallus cleared his throat as he made a nervous suggestion to the greatly aggravated man, “Actually – Mister Soresh – despite the fact that time is indeed currently of the essence, I believe you would actually be best served if you wanted until late this night ere attempting to take your leave from Kyosem.”

“Why,” began Jysalef in a thoroughly displeased tone, “has that roving lot been trying to find us ever since three days ago, even after all I did for their undeserving hides by dispatching the dragon that would have most assuredly eaten them had it been given half a chance?!”

“No,” responded Tallus Osmaard with a roll of his eyes, “although there is presently a mob searching for you, it has nothing at all to do with that incident. Currently our fairly incompetent City Hall would love for nothing more than to have you roped in so that they might hold festivities in your honor for slaying the dragon, I assume they bet that such merrymaking would help keep the populace’s minds off of other problems Kyosem is having right now. As much as I would rather not ask you to waste a whole day sitting here in wait for night to fall, it is a far more preferable outcome to the alternative of having you become incapacitated for a whole week as some guest of honor to a city-wide celebration.”

Jysalef – after first crossing his arms – flatly declared, “For once, we are actually in full agreement on something.”

As the vagrant swordsman began to move to leave the room, presumably to find something to occupy himself with until nightfall at last came by, Tallus hurriedly called out one final request to the departing man, “Oh, yes, could you also be troubled to take Reoisce’Aihr along with on your trip to the grand library at Dulsnik? She told me that she is presently on a pilgrimage from Skrande to visit the capitals of every country upon the face of Theria; I don’t exactly claim to understand the meaning of this current exodus or hers, but I am certain she has proper reasons for all of this.”

Stopping abruptly in his tracks, Jysalef growled audibly as he called back over his shoulder to the scholar that simply could not stop going out of his way to make this more and more frustrating for him, “I don’t care if that heathen priestess just so happened to save my life with the help of that bitch they worship, or not, it will be a most irrefutably cold day in hell when the time comes that I play escort service for a member of the Skrandonese Clergy!”

“Tell me, Jysalef Soresh, have you ever heard the story of Belfahndres?” the Scholar put forth curiously as his only response to the swordsman’s reasons for refusing to help out the foreign priestess that could have just as easily not saved the man’s life three days ago.

“No!” declared Jysalef in a manner which suggested that he might possibly be contemplating accosting the scholar a second time if he didn’t simply let him leave the conversation in a very timely manner.

“Ah, yes, I had thought as much,” began Tallus’s rushed response, as he was all too aware of the fact that Jysalef’s heavy breathing did not currently portend good things for his own health if he did not be quick about this. “Fact is, the reason I abhorred the war between the kingdom of Skrande and our own is something that you should also be aware of; you see, there are numerous historical texts – far too many to ignore – that provide evidence that Corsinthia and Skrande used to be one unified territory known as Belfahndres. According to these texts, Belfahndres – where originally everyone was unified in a belief following one singular deity – was split up into two lands when a dissention in the land’s religious order tore the entire country in twain with great bloodshed. The leaders at the head of this most unfortunate turn of events were the priestess Hellenia Corsinthe, and the priest Torfschem Skrandus, whom came to the greatest of blows upon the most ridiculous matter of all: what the gender of god most obviously was, as reflected upon the shape of nature in Theria. After the split happened, the two factions sought to be as wholly unlike the other as was possible, which – ultimately – has lead us to our two cultures being as wholly different as they are today. Anyways, the end point of all this is that essentially we’re all worshipping the same deity, which means that the entire justification for the war was a ludicrous disagreement two zealots decided to have eons ago!”

Jysalef, in an attempt to stave back his fury for a few moments longer, buried his head within his two hands as he put out a final ultimatum to the man upon whom he would very soon be using those hands to struggle depending on what was next spoken. “In the name of all that God hath gloriously seen fit the put forth on the surface of Theria, I will take the damned woman along under the condition that you agree to never again open your mouth when in my presence for the remainder of the time I am stuck here this day!”

Tallus Osmaard, immediately identifying the exasperated declaration of Jysalef Soresh as the best offer he could ever hope to receive, sighed heavily as he acquiesced to the man’s demands, “Agreed.”

With that, the embittered ex-soldier of Corsinthia wasted no time in moving out of the same room as the scholar.