"So..." We were back on the road, he didn't say much when I got up in the morning, just good morning and we had to get moving, I didn't question it obviously because he spared my life why push the issue.
"How does it work being a marked one?"
"Yes thank you." I always like when I don't actually have to ask the question, because I'm terrible at asking questions.
"When you are found to have committed a crime you are placed out in a cell near the road, a marked one comes by and judges the person, if they are found to be worthy they can avoid their death sentence and they themself can be a marked one, if not they are executed and the marked one moves on."
"So there have always been marked ones?"
"Ever since the split."
"The split?"
He shook his head, "I forgot you easterners know so little of countries outside of your own, and even then I get the impression you know little of those places as well." I would have fought that, but he was exactly true, to be honest I knew little of anything despite being pretty old, its a personal failing. "Once the three countries were one, the gods fearing that this country would go to war with other continents and wipe out their people decided the only way to prevent this would be to break them into three, so they did."
"Wait how does seperating your country into 3 prevent it from going to war elsewhere?"
"When the country was united it was done at great burden to the leader who did it, so the gods just broke up the unification and created 3 nations that are constantly at war, not openly all the time, but the threat is enough to keep them focussed on themselves, and no they don't team up to wipe out one of the others because trust is not something any of the countries leaders have for the other."
"Sounds like your gods are more involved than ours."
"They are, and its one reason we avoid much with the outside world, we fear our gods wrath for dealing with people like yourselves and expanding against their wishes."
"So both keepers and jailors."
"In a way yes. Back to the point of the Marked Ones, the gods decided that to keep the peace, and to enforce their edicts they needed avatars, and who better to carry out their wishes than condemned men, we have no property, our only possessions are what we started with when we were Marked, when I get to the next village I'll have to turn in these horses and the cart, we have no country so we are allowed to move freely amongst the three, but we are also prevented from directly enaging in any side, doing so would break the oath of the marked and would lead to our deaths."
"Killing a marked one is a bad thing I take it?"
"Very much so, as the avatar of justice for the gods we are protected, though not invulnerable, it doesn't prevent idiots from trying as you saw, and not all Marked One's are as adept at combat as I am, but most people do their best to avoid us as again we are the ones who carry out the law."
"Just how many gods do you guys have?"
"Hundreds."
"Yeesh and I thought it sucked with just the Fire God to worry about." The Marked one laughed.
"Oh your fire God is amongst our set as well, I think all the Gods are connected somehow, though she has less power here." One of these days I'll have to ask Valrym about all these gods, if the people of the west have hundreds and the ones in my country have died and I killed one in the other west, just how many damned gods are there and who keeps making them?
"Which brings me back to you sparing me."
"Ahh yes there was that wasn't there."
"You aren't going to make me a marked one are you?" He laughed.
"Oh no, I need you exactly the way you are." And then he was quiet for a bit, because implied threats are the best threats. Still learning about new cultures is fun! Even when they have murderous avatars of justice who are ultimate arbiters of right and wrong and impoverished wanderers no better than beggars! See totally fun!
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