Diens shook his head. "... I see. It is good that you have spoken here rather than later, and offended me now for a short time; some would take your words and bear you malice. Some nobles are quite keen on orchestrating ruin when they've been slighted. There are many brothels in the capital for a reason," Diens stated. "You have shown me how little I know of Dusan. Its climate I know. Its place on a map, I know. How some of its people look I know. But as for the rich ways of their society and its people, they haven't dawned upon my mind. I did not know that Dusan was 'open', as you described." His initial displeasure from Altair's words had faded quickly, and he returned to more amicable speech. A blip in an otherwise calm mood.<br/><br/>There was some leniency to be granted to Altair for his ignorance. The man was like a child being born into the world. An afraid and alone waif. It was difficult to be tossed harshly into a foreign land where the only familiar things were a part of your own body. For Altair it was more difficult, because his difference to the land spoken quite plainly on his face and body. Golden hair was a rarity in Weiss, and even then the hues tended to be more paler in contrast to Altair's more rich dark. Someone as tall as Altair was also normally not so slim, as a man needed strength to go about his duty. He, on the other hand, looked like he had never done a day of manual labor in his life. That would have to quickly change if the slave wished to survive in Weiss.<br/><br/>"Benefactor?"<i>Could it be that crew?  </i>"The pirates that took you had benefactors? How strange," Diens noted. "Pirates normally do not have those, since it's more likely that they will die than live long enough to return to whoever has given them patronage. But white hair, albino rabbit's eyes, unfeeling... you describe a man that I know. And, you are right to think that he is no common fellow; he is the King of Weiss. But it seems far more likely that he was a tall tale told to you to instill you with fear. Some might like to beat you, I won't deny that, no. Rich sadists are plentiful in the world. But eat you? There are no man eaters in Weiss. Man eaters belong far east, in lands like Klomis. Slavery does not exist in Weiss, not the selling of man. Although that does not mean you cannot go elsewhere to sell, does it? What is also possible is that he planned to have your freedom bought. Here in Weiss, we are no slave makers. Some nobles do ferry themselves across seas to free a slave, and ferry them back here so that they might serve in better ways."<br/><br/><i>Cygnus.</i>Diens knew the man well enough. At least enough that he could tell that he was the unscrupulous type. He had been present the day the King made the most baffling decision in his reign.<br/><br/><i>It had been a cold winter's morning. Frost coated every surface in pecks and peaks, leaving the world in an icy bloom. Cygnus had been caught in the capital, hair and beard trimmed to a fuzzy stubble. He was guilty of a heinous crime; the sacking of a Weiss village. Though he had not been the captain, he had still been the captain's first mate. Now he stood, the final member of the death line. The men being executed that day were the same crew that had been with Cygnus. One by one they were escorted up to the executioner's platform, where the King stood.  Some were silent and accepted death like it were sweet. Others screamed in vengeance, promising to haunt the spectators to death. Most sung and prayed aloud, for deliverance and mercy. It came in the form of death, as with a sharp blade the King decapitated them. It was the King's duty to end the lives of those he sentenced to death. When the heads were rent from the bodies, they were tossed to the side into a bloody ball of frost. At last it was Cygnus' time, and he was brought up to the platform, the lone man. He did not beg, but he whispered only one thing — "I have sons. Do they not need their father?" And upon those words the King balked, as if a spirit had flown through him. Cygnus became the lone survivor, and instead he was given a different punishment; flogging. Then, he had been given the duty of piracy by the King; the very thing that had almost ended him.<br/>
</i><br/>Diens decided to say nothing to Altair, for now; he would bring it up to Snow when they had a moment of privacy. It was an educated assumption, but it was still an assumption. It could prove rather unpleasant if the knowledge was handled carelessly. He did not care if Cygnus were to die, but there were others whose fates were closely tied.<br/><br/>Altair turned away, hiding what Diens thought to be bitterness at his rapers. "We all shepherd our own paths. Others shepherd our paths too. It just so happens that your path led you through suffering," Diens said. "There is nothing to be had at regretting. Your fate was beyond your hands and placed into the hands of others. The farmer cannot regret that his crops failed. Nature and the gods deemed that the crops were not to be grown. If your goddess has deemed that you should live, then you should. You are not done until you have breathed your last."<br/><br/>"Church? We have a single church in Weiss. For sailors of foreign lands. Though, I suppose what you mean by that, is our faith," Diens presumed. "Most if not all of the people of Weiss follow the faith of the Dragons. It is believed that in the beginning of the world, dragons roamed around the world much like us. But as magic dwindled, they found the need to spread their lineage through our weaker, human forms. If not, then they would surely go extinct."<br/><br/>"It is believed that the people of Weiss all descend from two; the dragon of Earth and the dragon of Ice. Those of the Earth dragon have onyx hair and eyes, while those of the Ice dragon have the features of an albino rabbit; scarlet eyes and pearl fur."