Scene 1: The Rowdy Tavern – Emberfall Vilge

  The tavern thrums with noise. Laughter, slurred shouting, the dull cng of mugs colliding. It smells like spilt ale, fire-roasted meat, and unwashed bodies. The perfect haven for locals to blow off steam.

  Then—creak.

  The door swings open.

  In steps Yuya—tall, lean, and wrapped in a dusty cloak from the road. His eyes sweep across the crowded room. No recognition. No familiarity. Just the quiet wariness of someone entering foreign territory for the first time.

  He walks to the bar, boots echoing over the wood.

  Yuya: “First time in Emberfall. What’s strong?”

  The barkeep sizes him up—stranger, but not a threat. He pours him a drink, wordless.

  Yuya sips, leans against the bar, and watches.

  A few tables away, a conversation gets heated. Farmers arguing with a group of mercenaries. It’s about nd, or money—or both. Someone sms a mug down. Another rises too fast.

  The tension snaps.

  A full-blown brawl erupts. Fists fly. Bottles crash. Chairs break against backs. Someone nds hard on Yuya’s table—he lifts his drink zily, unimpressed.

  Yuya (muttering): “Figures.”

  Then a fsh of steel—A man falls. Blood pools.

  Silence crashes down over the tavern like a dropped curtain. Everyone stares. No one speaks.

  And then—

  Cnk. Cnk. Cnk.

  The tavern doors creak open again.

  A woman steps through—elegant, poised, wrapped in silver and blue armor. Her raven hair is pinned back with a delicate ornament that glows faintly—almost celestial.

  Commander Ruri.

  Her eyes scan the room with razor precision.

  Ruri: “Who killed this man?”

  No answer.

  Ruri (coldly): “Very well. Everyone here is under arrest for conspiracy to murder.”

  The guards rush in behind her, shackling wrists, dragging out the guilty and the innocent alike.

  Yuya just sighs, finishing his drink as a shadow falls over him.

  Guard: “You. Up.”

  Yuya (dryly): “Hell of a welcome to town.”

  And that’s how they met.

  Scene 2: The Caravan to Amestrias – Two Days of Chains and Silence Morning creeps over Emberfall, thin and cold. The tavern’s wreckage is still smeared across the street, dried blood glinting in the cracks of the cobblestone. The caravan is already loaded. Dozens of prisoners—some bruised, some still cursing—are shackled in iron chains and tossed into the backs of transport wagons. Yuya sits near the back, legs stretched out, wrists bound. He’s not fidgeting. He’s observing. At the head of the convoy, Ruri stands like a bde—silent, sharp, unbending. The divine hairpin in her hair hums faintly in the early light, like it remembers battles she hasn’t fought yet. Ruri (to her second-in-command):“If they won’t talk, they’ll be judged in Amestrias. Let the Light decide.” And just like that, the march begins. ? Small Moments on the Road:?A desperate man tries to bribe a guard with a pouch of stolen silver. He ends up face-down in the dirt, boots pounding into his ribs.?During a rest stop, another prisoner bolts. He makes it ten steps before Ruri flicks her bde once—he drops mid-run, unconscious.?Rumors spread among the prisoners.“She doesn’t sleep.”“She hears your thoughts before you speak them.”“That hairpin? Blessed by the gods.” Yuya listens. Eyes closed, head resting against the wooden wall of the cart. He doesn’t talk. But he notices. ? The Campfire – Nightfall, Day Two The wagons halt in a forest clearing lit by a pale moon. Guards set up a perimeter. Prisoners are chained in a circle, hands bound behind their backs. A single campfire crackles in the center. Ruri walks the outer edge. Silent. Watching. Yuya opens his eyes as she passes. Yuya:“You really think one of us’ll break?” She stops. Looks at him—not fully turning, just enough. Ruri:“One will.” Yuya (raising an eyebrow):“And if the one who broke the bottle’s already dead?” There’s the slightest flicker in her stance. It’s barely a pause—but Yuya catches it. Yuya (quietly smirking):“That pin in your hair glows when you’re annoyed.” Her gaze sharpens. Ruri:“Careful. You’re not in a tavern anymore.” She walks on, boots crunching in the leaves. Yuya watches her until she disappears into the trees, and then closes his eyes again. Yuya (to himself):“…Yeah, I figured.”