Pursuit of the Sun 1.2

In a fleeting dream, the events of the day flash before Hargon's eyes. Here he is, barely aware of the futility of his efforts, fighting off the encroaching drowsiness, thanking the virtues that have sheltered him, and continuing on his hopeless journey. Along the way, he encounters a trio of paupers; of two quarreling men, one receives a knife in the throat, and the woman flees. The city guard greets him with a frown, pointing him in the direction of the arena. After participating in a pointless brawl, his reward is a spear thrust from a northerner, but even so, his absurd wielding of a two-handed weapon earns the approval of the constable and an invitation to the regent's court. After aimlessly wandering through the market, he improves his armor, crosses paths with a strange female scholar, and inexplicably acquires a black book. After washing up in the bathhouse and downing a mug of ale, the berserker reaches the lord's residence for the grand spring festival. After offering a prayer to the Void, he soon finds himself caught up in the monstrous feast that has erupted. Wine flows like a river, pork melts in the mouth, and the music plunges everyone into a dark, energetic trance. New acquaintances, in addition to the constable, the knight-champion, and the scholar, include the seneschal, the northern jarl, and the regent himself. The wandering knight is offered a journey to the edge of the world, a journey that is almost certain death. An offer that he accepts without a shadow of a doubt. Decision and choice are nothing more than an illusion of paths, all leading to the void. And so, Hargon, a landless knight from Legran, ends his first day. Having eaten his fill, drunk his fill, danced his fill, with bruises and scrapes from the recent brawl on his body, and ancient, eternal scars on his soul. Taking advantage of the lord's mercy, he spends the night in the castle...