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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Maxton1811 on 2026-04-18 03:00:55+00:00.
Chapter 7
Harrison Varga, Captain of FIND
By the time I was descending the bell tower steps alongside the rest of my crew, I already had the general shape of our first report back to SUN forming in my head. Every second of body camera footage we gathered here would surely be pulled apart frame-by-frame by intelligence organizations all across Earth. People were going to want to know everything about the Rosha, and lazy politicians were going to want a summary they could read in ten minutes or less.
“Your father mentioned this kingdom is called Sevont,” Isla began, typing out her words to Taviri as he led us out of the bell tower. “How many kingdoms are there on this planet?”
“Three,” Taviri replied as soon as the translator finished speaking. “There’s our kingdom here, and then there’s Ilarun to the north of us and Veshar east of them.”
I nodded along to the explanation as Ian spoke aloud a question to Isla for her to type in. “What are the relationships between kingdoms? Are you on good terms with them? Is anyone at war?”
“We’re mostly on good terms,” affirmed Taviri, leading us between two larger buildings and out onto another road. “War isn’t common among us. When it does happen, it usually means a lot of things had to go wrong first. The last one was I think… Fifty winters ago? I know it was before my father was born. It was a desperate time and we’re not exactly proud of it.”
“What was the war over?” Isla inquired further, her gaze flickering throughout the busy Rosha streets.
“Fishing rights,” the Rosha replied, his tone suddenly turning solemn. “Fish farms were suffering from a disease, so everyone had to turn to wild catches. There wasn’t enough to go around, so the three kingdoms fought over who would get control over what rivers. There were actually five kingdoms before that, but the smallest two merged with Sevont and Veshar during that war.”
Fifty years without a war. The figure stuck in my head like a splinter. For a seemingly medieval civilization, that kind of figure was more than just surprising: it seemed downright fantastical. Sifting through my knowledge of history for any comparable stretch of peace on Earth, my recollection came up blank. Humanity wasn’t incapable of peace, of course; we were exceptionally talented at making excuses for the alternative. Borders, flags, faith, old grudges, new ambitions—these weren’t just anomalies for us, they were the cornerstones of conflict that had stood since we as a species first started sharpening rocks.
Ian seemed similarly surprised by this, gesturing with his hand for Isla to fork over the translator before typing in a question of his own. “What about wars over land or religion? Are your people familiar with those concepts?”
Cocking his head in confusion, Taviri glanced back quizzically at us before landing his gaze upon Velo as though his friend might have a better understanding of the question. “Wars over land happened sometimes in the far past. Usually, though, kingdoms grow through merging families rather than conquest. Really, the only reason we have three kingdoms at all is because it makes it easier on the royals. What’s really not snatching bait with me is that second one. What exactly do you mean by ‘war over religion’?”
Gently prying the translator back from Ian, Isla typed out an explanation. “On our world,” she began, “different groups sometimes believe different things about gods and existence. Those beliefs can get tied to law, identity, and who has the right to rule. In our past, when people came to believe that their way was the right way for everyone, then sometimes disagreements could escalate into violence or even outright war.”
“Sounds like an awful lot of trouble to go through over gods,” Velo piped up from behind us with a series of chirps that filtered into English through our translator. “Sure, ours fight sometimes, but they’re all still part of the community: they’d never ask us to kill each other over them!”
Sensing a small hint of judgement from the Rosha, I decided it was in our best interest for me to provide some further clarification. “We agree with you on that,” I told them, “that’s why our international government, SUN, has a policy against religious persecution.” Shifting gears, I glanced back at Velo and gestured for him to come walk alongside me. “We’d love to learn more about your people’s beliefs. Assuming you don’t mind sharing them, that is.”
Religious beliefs were an important pillar to understanding any civilization, so it’d have been neglectful of me not to seek out more information on the Rosha faith. If nothing else, it would be helpful for future diplomacy to know what not to say.
I could see the observatory from the street Taviri was leading us down. Hearing my request, however, he took a sharp turn to the left and led us elsewhere. “Let me show you something,” he told us. Following Taviri, we eventually arrived at what looked to be some form of temple. On its outside wall, several Rosha figures were depicted surrounding what looked to be some kind of bipedal alligator creature.
“Are these your gods?” Isla asked, pointing to the figures on the wall. Each of the six smaller figures bore a different motif, all playing a role in what seemed to be some form of battle against the largest being.
Taviri’s tail flicked affirmatively at the question. “The big ones,” he began, pointing at a figure standing by the water’s edge, their tail conjuring forth a wave. “This is the River Lord: god of the waters and fish.”
High above the River Lord on the mural’s other side, Taviri pointed to a Rosha depicted standing on a cloud, calling down a bolt of lightning upon the central being. “That’s the Cloud Herder, goddess of winds and weather.” Beneath her, another of the Rosha gods sat upon a rock, working away at a stone tablet. “There's the Lore Carver, goddess of knowledge and writing.”
Perched in the trees casting shade onto the Lore Carver, a Rosha held out their hand as the roots of the tree they stood in ensnared the feet of their foe. “The Leaf Warden,” Taviri explained as he gestured to them. “God of plants and fruit.”
Standing beside what looked to be a forge of some description, a Rosha with flaming hands tossed a sword to the god bearing a shield, who stood nearest to their enemy. “She’s the Ember Smith; goddess of craftsmanship. And that one with the shield is the Wall Keeper; god of defense and tender of the afterlife, Nevah.”
“Who’s that in the center?” Isla asked, pointing to the alligator creature. “Is that a River Devil?”
“Sort of,” Taviri affirmed. “That’s the Beast Tyrant; god of predation. He was supposed to be the king of land creatures, but he betrayed the community by creating River Devils and other creatures that prey upon Rosha. My father once told me that he is the voice in the ear of those who seek to dominate others.”
“Which of the gods is in charge?” I asked, my eyes flitting between the depictions in search of a Zeus or Odin equivalent before eventually landing upon the one holding the shield. “Is it the Wall Keeper?”
Taviri’s whiskers twitched negatively. “None of them are ‘in charge’ over the others. They all have their specialties. We go to the River Lord for fish and the Leaf Warden for crops.”
“Interesting,” Isla affirmed, adjusting her posture presumably so her body camera could get a good full view of the mural. “According to this religion, did one of your gods create Althiir? And where did the Rosha come from?”
“Creation is too large a category for anyone to hold dominion over,” Taviri began, stepping aside as a Rosha passerby sheepishly approached the mural to set a piece of alien fruit in a basket beneath it. “The gods helped shape things, but they didn’t create existence as we know it. As for the Rosha, we were actually created by the Beast Tyrant before he turned against the community. We were given divine sparks by the other gods; the Beast Tyrant got jealous and wanted them for himself, so he made animals to prey on the Rosha and steal them.”
Having obtained enough Rosha theology to fill the box for a SUN summary, I took the translator back from Isla and started typing. “I mean no disrespect to your gods, but perhaps it is best if we move on and speak to the astronomer.”
“Of course,” Taviri agreed, placing his paw upon a small imprint in the mural’s stone face before turning around and guiding us westward. “I’m sure Telik will be very excited to speak with you. He spends so much time rambling about the stars that it’s a blessing from the Lore Carver he managed to teach me anything at all!”
“This guy taught you?” I asked, staring up at the observatory that rested at the top of a hill like a lantern wrought from stone, its domed roof separated into overlapping copper slats that at night would probably be opened for a view of the stars. Protruding from its cylindrical, silo-like wall was what looked to be a house slightly larger than the others we’d seen.
“He sort of teaches everyone,” Velo explained, hastening his pace to walk alongside Taviri, seemingly more comfortable now with turning his back to us. “Not that I ever r...
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