“The fiery menace tried to burn the world once more. But Her Holiness, the Ice Goddess Desaray, would not allow such a thing. She rushed head on and fought with the Demon Queen of Cinder and pushed her back, sending her fleeing. But how could Her Holiness all such a thing….”

“Wow! This Ice Goddess is amazing!” A young dwarf boy cried out. 

There was a huge crowd in front of dwarves gathered in the center of a shopping district. An’ne stood in front of the huge group and continued to spin her tails of Desaray’s greatness. Oinktera knew she was not supposed to do this, but he did not stop her. He felt the more Desaray’s greatness was spread, the better. Cinder, on the other hand, was having some misgivings about what was being said. But she felt if she said something, people would look at her strangely. She was already having issues standing up on stage like this and being the focus of attention.

“Excuse me, do you have a permit?” A gruff voice came from behind. An’ne and the others turned to see a dwarven guard standing there staring at them.

“Permit?” An’ne asked in confusion.

“I see…. An Envoy. While we do have some idea of this Holy Kingdom, I am not sure if I can get you an audience with our king. I will need you to follow me. We can see if one of the higher-ups is willing to speak with you. But I can’t make any promises. I myself am low in status as well. Right. You can call me Drig.” The dwarf guard Drig motioned for the group to follow.

Cinder thought they were about to get arrested and had been holding her breath this entire time. When she saw that they would be okay, she let out a long, drawn-out breath of air. Oinktera shook his head. He knew Desaray wanted to give her a worldly view, which was why he sent her along on this trip, but he was still worried about her.

The dwarven city was, as one would expect, built on the side of a mountain. The mountain did not use to be here but was actually teleported to this place. “This place is amazing.” Oinktera couldn’t help but voice out his thoughts.

“Thanks. We dwarves specialize in magitech. We have come a long way since we first dug out of the mountain many tens of thousands of years ago.” Drig replied.

“You said dug your way out?” Cinder couldn’t help but speak up. She was quite curious about what he had just said.

“There is a dwarven legend that our first ancestors were actually humanoid rock golems. My ancestors were born part of the mountain and gained sentience. Then, they dug their way out of the mountain. It is because of this that we dwarves are dawn to the mountains and like to build our homes into them. It is always why we have such an affinity to the earth elements.” Drig replied.

“Now that is an interesting legend.” An’ne had never heard of such a legend before.

An’ne blushed slightly as she said: “ I am not sure. I never got to go to the academy. I was mainly locked up in the castle and given lessons on how to be a proper wife….” An’ne hated how she was always locked in a cage. She was the happiest person now because she was able to find her true calling. She found someone worth following and worshipping. She had learned more on her own than she had ever learned while taking classes in the palace.

“Were you a princess lass?” Drig was curious now since An’ne spoke up.

“I was at one point. But I came to this world and almost lost my life multiple times. That was when I met Her Holiness, who saved me. It was because of her that I found my true calling. I also learned so much more about the world and how the common folk lived. I worked in the fields and got dirty. I played with the children in the streets. Her Holiness showed me a life outside the castle was a real life, a place where I could be myself. That is why I decided to dedicate my life to the Church of the Ice Goddess. To a goddess who is benevolent to all, no matter who they are.” An’ne’s eyes sparkled when she talked about Desaray. There was no craziness, just pure admiration for the person she worshiped. She was like those star chasers who chased after idols.

“I… I see….” Of course, to others, she looked like a fanatic.