Role

Chapter 5

Fat rain droplets fall from the sky, each one hitting their targets
perfectly, soaking everything in sight. Erelia stands alone above a small
stone marker in the Weald west of Galadon. The stone appears worn, though it
stands out as new compared to the ancient forest around it. Small words have
been grazed into the stone, reading "Mr. Giant".

Erelia and the giant she had met on the eastern road had long lived
adventures with each other. From the moment she heard his heralding voice
chant that simple song, she was mesmerized by his personality. From him, she
learned the small nuances of childish, giant-like humor. Observing small
things, sometimes more devious than others, and laughing at them in
appreciation-With no complexity required. He took her to the Theran Orphanage
in Balator, and kicked dirt in one of the orphan's eyes, and then began
yelling about how he was here to adopt them, and they'd have to find him
quickly or he'd leave! Of course the giant left before they wiped the dirt
from their teary eyes. Following the loud chuckling of the two miscreants,
Erelia would find the fact that the giant found things so simple funny, even
MORE hilarious! Humor, she noticed, could be found in anything.

Erelia learned from the Giant aspects of politics as well. The giant
had been working for the Empire, before becoming an Anathema long ago. She
heard his tales of the Fortress, Spire, Village, Refuge, Nexus, and the
Chasm. Erelia had always known about traveling, she'd done it all her life,
she also knew the many different aspects of cultures-but this whole Cabal
thing was new to her. Determined, she made note in her mind to find out what
each group found humorous. A few months into their traveling, the duo reached
the Weald. They both sat near the edge of Galadon, leaving the heavy forests
to their west dark, favoring the lesser foliage. Silently, the two had lain
back on the plant strewn ground, looking up at the night sky. Neither spoke,
neither moved, both enjoying the shared solitude while staring at the divine
stars. The silence was mutual, and Erelia thought it was hilarious-What a
social contract it was, that held them right now. Normally social contracts
involved interacting, but this one signed them both into silence, and that
was just funny. The silence was short-lived, however, as a blade cut through
both the unspoken, and the giant at the same time. Above the now-dead giant,
stood an Imperial Centurion in his finest. Without a word, maybe to respect
the silence that he so quickly cut, he left. Erelia was stunned, and just lay
there beside the dead giant for many hours. Eventually, she stood up, looked
at the messy corpse, and started digging.

After making the make-shift grave, inscribing the tomb-pebble, she
pushed the over-sized corpse into it. Sitting down, she began to laugh. It
started as a small giggle, between short breaths, and slowly grew. Her giggle
became a chuckle, which soon began to roar and echo amongst the trees. Not a
tear was shed, not a hair was split-She laughed, stood up, began whistling a
little tune, and skipped off on her way back to Galadon.
What a nice rainy day to skip.