Seven days.

That was how long Finn had been sequestered in a manor on the northwestern hillside within the town, watching time crawl by at a snail's pace as he waited for Lucine's message to arrive.

The estate belonged to a merchant named Castor — a man of considerable wealth who'd presented himself as just another prosperous trader when Lucine had first approached him a week ago. But the moment she'd revealed herself as Luna's incarnate, his demeanor had changed entirely.

Finn still remembered the scene clearly. After finalizing his agreement with the Goddess Luna, Lucine had led them into the town, straight to a certain "Castor's Trading House." Lucine had strode in confidently as if she knew the man already, but it wasn't until he chose to meet with them after a short wait at the lobby that Finn realized she didn't know the man at all.

​The merchant had been wary the moment he saw them, as any sensible person would be considering their appearance and the barely restarianed auras rolling off them. He had only agreed to the meeting because of the "big business deal" Lucine had posed, but as a well-established merchant, he chose to be cordial despite his suspicions.

It wasn't until Lucine spoke of the Goddess Luna directing her to him that the man's demeanor flipped entirely. He had immediately dropped to his knees before she'd even finished her sentence.

"The Goddess's grace," he'd murmured, pressing his forehead to the floor. "I am ever ready to serve Her will."

It had struck Finn as strange at the time, but it turned out Castor operated openly as a believer of the Shadow God, like everyone else in this town which was firmly within the Shadow God's sphere of influence. But in secret, apparently, he'd been a devout follower of Luna for years.

A revelation had come to him. A call from the Goddess that same evening, he had said. That a chance to prove his devotion would come his way soon, a test of some sort.

Now seeing that revelation come to fruition not even up to an hour after he'd received it, all doubts left his mind and he'd sprung into action without asking a single question. Not who the guests were. Not why they needed shelter. Not how long they'd be staying.

He simply acted on the words of Luna's incarnate vessel, Lucine, with unquestioning obedience to what he saw as a divine mandate.

Lucine had given him instructions to provide housing, ensure privacy, and tell no one outside his most trusted servants about the existence of the three visitors — Finn, Thalia and Ailin. Then she departed with a promise that she'd return when everything was ready.

That had been seven days ago.

Seven days of living in this… frankly comfortable manor. The estate was vast, with creeks winding through carefully maintained gardens. Farmlands stretched toward tree lines in the distance. Multiple manors dotted the property, each designated for different branches of Castor's extended family.

In a way, the whole place reminded Finn of Xanth's wealth back in his own world and time. It wasn't quite on that scale — in fact, not at all. This wasn't enough to match the obscene affluence of the truly wealthy back in Xanth. But it was enough to trigger that same feeling of being surrounded by power derived from coins rather than magic.

Castor himself had been the perfect host, providing everything they could need without being intrusive. The manor he'd assigned them was self-sufficient enough that they never needed to venture into town.

Food arrived three times daily, and at their behest if they needed any in-between. Servants attended to cleaning and maintenance but never lingered. Books were provided when Finn requested them…

It should have been comfortable. Peaceful, even.

But instead, Finn was slowly going mad from inactivity.

He'd spent the week doing what little he could to feel productive. Reading those books to improve his understanding of the local language, which grew more comprehensive with hours of study. Running through combat exercises alone in the manor's private courtyard, testing his body's limits without accessing his Error magic in case someone was watching. Meditation. Planning. Calculating contingencies for scenarios he couldn't predict.

Anything to avoid the gnawing awareness that his one-year protection period under the Moon Mother was already counting down. Every idle day was a day wasted.

Thalia had occupied herself similarly, throwing herself into language study with the same discipline she applied to combat training. In seven days, she'd progressed to where she could understand the most commonly used phrases and grasp the general meaning even when people used more sophisticated vocabulary. Far from fluent, but functional enough to navigate basic conversations.

When she wasn't studying, she practiced her Order magic in the manor's basement — a space Castor had quietly made available after Lucine's initial instructions. Or she meditated, sitting in perfect stillness for hours. Or she tended to Ailin with a careful attentiveness that suggested she still saw her as a companion beneath whatever the transformation had made her into.

Ailin herself, or rather, the Mnemosyne, remained almost completely silent. Finn didn't think she'd spoken even once during their entire stay. She moved through the manor like a ghost whenever anything required her to move. Her black-abyss eyes remained ever watchful and her ancient presence was still prominent. It made even the servants uncomfortable when they had to enter her room.

The days went by like this as they waited for the vital message from Lucine which didn't seem forthcoming.

Finn was lost in thoughts, staring out the window overlooking the estate in his room, when the sound of hurried footsteps approached down the hallway.

A knock came exactly as expected. "Sir? A message has arrived."

Finn opened the door to find a young man, one of the few servants assigned to attend to their needs solely. He stood rigidly, trying very hard not to seem nervous as he recited the words he'd been told to deliver exactly:

"Everything is prepared. You and your companions may now meet with the Holy Son. A carriage is waiting."

Finally.

Finn nodded. "We'll be ready shortly."

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