Walking and Talking

"Oh my god, you are amazing." Zoe let's out, she has quite some pep to her step as she walks with you through her city. "I..., I can't believe I'm actually talking with you...hanging out with you!" she smiles.

Normally you wouldn't worry about just a random female civilian but this person, this Zoe, intrigued you.

"When I saw you at Nillix I just dreamed I would finally be able to meet you...to get to know you! You have no idea how exciting this is for me."

"Zoe..." you pause, continuing to walk towards the outskirts of Murnic "How, how old are you?"

"Oh!" she skips in her step "I turn eighteen in a week!" she smiles "Can't wait to become an adult! To be able to do what I want, go where I want, explore the world! I'm so excited."

You could tell from her attitude and her persona that she was a little on the younger side, sure, she wasn't much younger than you, only by a handful of years, but the way she showed herself, she seemed so innocent. "So wait, you went to Nillix to watch the tournament?" you ask her.

"Of course!" she beams her smile at you

"But your mom..."

"She didn't know!" she bears her teeth, happy to tell you "I told her I was staying with friends for a few nights. You have no idea how much I love seeing tournaments! How much I love seeing warriors fight. It helps me when I train!"

"You train?" you ask.

"Well, Shhhh!" she holds her index finger to her lips "Don't tell my mom as she thinks I"m just a little angel, but when I'm out..." she air quotes "with my friends" she laughs "I'm usually behind the Tavern, training or fighting against other warriors." Zoe throws her arm up in the air "I've been training for such a long time!" she turns her face to greet yours, smiling bright.

You chuckle briefly.

"One time, I came home with a slash across my collarbone. I told my mom I tripped on myself and fell into the side of a wooden crate." she nods at you, staying with your strides "I don't know if she believed me...but she never questioned it!"

The two of you reach the outskirts of Murnic, standing in front of the wooden gate which leads outside of the city, a large tower right next to you, a ladder which goes high into the air and looks off into the distance.

"Darien." Zoe begins "I want to be a Sunrider!" she lets out.

"Uhh.." you're a little caught off guard "Is that so?"

"All these female warriors, they are so powerful! They can do so much! I, Me, Zoe, can do that much!" her arm raises in the air, pointing into the night sky "I want to fight. I want to help the city I love!"

"Zoe..." you mumble out "You're young, you have a mother and brother...you need to stay here."

"No! Look at the Syndicate." she exclaims "Look how important the Sunriders are. How strong they are. It's amazing!" her lips curl up, her teeth smiling "I want to fight and I want the city I"m fighting for to actually give a damn!"

All you can do is exhale hard.

"Rathkin doesn't care for females. They just want us to either fold clothes, wash dishes, prepare food or get pregnant and give birth to strong males!" she says.

"That's..." you pause, knowing she's basically speaking the truth, Rathkin doesn't really have any strong female warriors.

"You know it's true! Even if I wanted to fight for Rathkin, they wouldn't allow me." she rolls her eyes, her hands going high into the air "Women are only good for cooking dinner and getting knocked up by stupid Rathkin men!"

You can't help but let out a few good chuckles. "Have you heard of Lady Karisi?" you ask, knowing she helped train you early on when you were going to fight in the Qualifications of Nillix and into the Tournament of Nillix itself.

"Well sure, Karisi is amazing. But..." she looks down at the ground.

"But...?" you question.

"After..." Zoe pauses, not wanting to say the next sentence.

"After?" you press on.

"After the escape..." Zoe gulps "Karisi got punished."

Your eyes go wide "Wait, what?!" your body went anxious, worried about Lady Karisi.

"The King, uhh...He took away her house, took away her treasures. She's been stuck in the castle since..."

The one person in Rathkin who helped you out. The one person in Rathkin who trusted you. She was the one female powerhouse that took a chance with you, she trained you up, she gave you a house, she helped you move on with your life. And now, she's in trouble because of something you asked her to do. "Karisi is..." you delay "God dammit!"

"Darien..." Zoe pouts.

She was the one person in Rathkin who actually seemed to care about you. After coming back, when you were trying to save Claire, you took advantage of that and Karisi helped you. Now, she is in trouble, whether she's in prison or even worse...you felt bad. "Karisi..." you mumble out.

"She's okay though." Zoe retorts.

"Huh?!" your eyes go wide, looking into the Murnic civilian. "How do you...how do you know?!?" you question.

"She lost everything, but she's such a huge voice in Rathkin, they couldn't just make her disappear." Zoe begins "She randomly makes speeches through out Rathkin and its outer villages, saying how things will get better, or to join the army of Rathkin, or to forge as many weapons as you can." she brushes a strand of her black hair behind her ear "But she's most likely being held prisoner in the castle." Zoe nods.

If there was one person in Rathkin that you hoped was okay, it was Lady Karisi. You let out a giant sigh of relief as you heard what Zoe said.

"Either way..." Zoe begins "Bring me to the Syndicate...I want to be a Sunrider!" she informs.

"Zoe..." you wait "I have a war I'm fighting. Afterwards, if we...err, when we succeed, I will decide. But until then, just stay here, your mom and brother need your support."

Zoe just let's out a deep sigh, her eyes rolling at you "Whatever...so stupid."

Her immaturity is rising, she's not even an adult yet, does she really know what she wants? Although if she really does watch fights as well as practice as much as she says...maybe, just maybe she would be make a good Sunrider. Either way, she knew some insider information and it was beneficial to the war that was coming...