Tynesday, 28th of Maia, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

"Alright, now I'm gonna start letting you go, okay?" Josias said as he slowly removed his hands from Julia who was currently floating with her back to the water and her gaze towards her brother. Josias could see from her face that she was nervous but he smiled to reassure her. "Don't worry, ito, I'm still here, so nothing's gonna happen to you…"

Julia could only nod as she closed her eyes and breathed in the air inside her lungs. Josias had told her breathing in would help her float easier. They'd been at it practicing swimming for nearly an hour now.

As he had promised to his younger siblings, Josias had woken up early that day to take them for swimming lessons. Josias woke up with a minor headache due to last night's fun little running session from the elders. Regardless of how tired he was though, a promise was a promise.

The children were already enthusiastic however as they had raided his tent to wake him up before he could even gather himself. He thought he was being suffocated by a sleep-demon as he woke up with a heavy feeling on his chest. It turned out to just be the little monkey Julia who squatted unto him. Her and all the other little ones were enthusiastically chanting 'Swim, swim, swim, swim…' the entire morning.

Their father had already asked around a couple of the locals for good areas of shallow and clean water for the children to swim in. The locals had pointed them towards a secluded and quiet inlet cove with relatively calm and clear waters. It was closed off mostly by some cliffs and was shaded from the sun by the trees. Parulian had pulled some strings with the people there to clear off the cove for the entire morning for use by the Gorian nobles and their allies.

What started off as an offhand promise between Josias and his younger siblings became an outing for the entire family and court of the three kingdoms. Even the clan elders joined in the fun. The cove had several small gazebos and shacks where the elders, ladies, and younger children would be able to rest and enjoy the view.

As the colder climate of the area made the morning waters of Mataniluat slightly cold, Timotheus, Sadrach, Ompung Ester, and a few other mages had casted fire spells and flames to heat the waters. It was a nice relaxing warm temperature and should hold up until noon.

Josias was clad in some shorter pants to better help him swim. The rest of the men were dressed like he was in regards to their beach activities. The thick ulos cloths and other shirts made it heavier to swim and the cold water being absorbed by such clothes would just make their bodies freeze later on.

The women on the other hand wore simple clothes that wrapped around their bodies from their chests to their waists. Some of the young women – like Safira, Lasta, and others – wore two pieces of cloth instead. One wrapped around their chests and another wrapped around their waists, the cloth exposing their midriffs.

But, Josias wasn't one to mind the clothes of others – especially that of women. Though he along with the rest of his peers were brought up with christian values of modesty, one had to understand that the Halak culture didn't have the same standards of prudishness that the westerners had.

When Halak women used thick clothes and covered much of their body, it was more due to the realities of the colder climates especially within the Northwestern areas of the Halaklands. In many other warmer areas and coasts of the Halaklands, it wasn't uncommon to see women both young and old going about as topless as the men. However, with Goria being a part of the colder realms of the Halak, such scenes were still very rare to see for Josias. Maybe in some of their harbors far to the edge of the Arus river mouth, but never in Goria proper. Not especially with the advent of more christian values.

It was because of that though that Josias was trying his damnedest not to look too long at any of the young women in the cove. His family and friends from Goria were one thing. He grew up with them and most were his family and cousins. Obviously he didn't even consider them to be 'women' in that sense. But some of the ladies from Rumaparau and Hutangali were quite bold in their choice of outfit. Perhaps having been born in the harsh cold of the Northern winds, even the relatively cool area of Mataniluat felt like hell to them.

Josias had firmly placed his focus on teaching his younger siblings to swim. Of course with the help of his most beautiful betrothed, Serena. She was currently teaching the little Janus to float and get used to the waters as well. Timotheus wasn't far off as his focus was on little Tiur and Tigor.

Josias was quite impressed as he saw his cousins build. Despite the fact that he was mainly a mage and his vocation as a priest made him more of a scholar, his build was great. Muscles toned, pectorals defined, as well as shaped abdominal muscles. Just when and where did his reverend brother even find the time to train.

"Look abang!! I.. I'm floating!!" Julia said as Josias had completely let go of her. Their current location within the cove was still relatively close to the shore and Josias was still standing upon the ground. The water was just slightly above his waist. This also meant that technically speaking, Julia shouldn't be able to drown there. Were she to stand on her tippy toes, she would probably still be able to breathe. "You see! I'm floating!!"

Regardless, Josias clapped for his younger sister's achievement but he still kept vigilant of her current excited emotions. "Good job, Julia! But remember to keep calm, ito. If you're too excited, you'd lose your balance and won't be able to float anymore."

Julia nodded as she calmed down. Josias had looked up to see how Serena was doing with Janus. "How're you guys holding up there?"

"Oh, I'm still getting him used to the water…" Serena answered as she was holding Janus close to her. Josias could see his baby brother had a scowl-like expression and slightly reddened eyes.

"Janus, are you okay? It looks like you were crying…" Josias called out to his brother who was clinging to Serena. The little toddler only looked at him with a frown before he wiped his face.

"You want to try floating again?" Serena asked the young boy who only nodded with a determined look. Josias smiled seeing little Janus trying his best. Julia was getting more and more used to floating as well. She had dropped back down once or twice but she kicked herself up to float everytime.

Josias soon started looking around at the entire cove, soaking in the fun and playful atmosphere of the whole area where dozens of people were enjoying themselves. Not far from where he was, he saw Johannes swimming around with Maria while Johannes' younger siblings were having a race off. The Sinatua clan were always the more energetic bunch.

"First one to reach bang Josi gets to tell the others what to do for the rest of the day!" The little Hanna – who was only a year older than Julia – said to her brothers Martin and Michael before she immediately swam towards Josias.

"Oy that's not fair!" One of her brothers said before they immediately followed her. Josias had to admit that the little girl was physically impressive. Though she stole a head start, the fact that she could maintain that lead for as long as she was doing was nothing short of amazing. She really did have a talent as a warrior.

"Michael, I swear if your little sister actually beats you in a swimming race, I'll never let you live it down!!" Jakobus laughed as he teased his best friend.

"Shut up!" Michael curtly said before he focused his entire being into swimming against his six year old sister. And true enough, Michael had made it first towards Josias with his other younger siblings arriving shortly after.

"Hah!! I beat you two! Now you all have to do what I say!" Michael said triumphantly to which Martin could only scowl. Hanna only laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"You're proud of beating a little girl in a swimming competition? Abang, you're a loser!" Hanna said as she stuck her tongue out before looking towards Julia "Isn't that right? Bang Michael is a loser."

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"Oy, you little twerp!"

"Pffftt, Hahahahah!!!" Jakobus could only laugh at Michael. Josias also couldn't help but snicker at the devious little monkey for taunting her older brother like that. Regardless, he couldn't have the kids fight over silly things on his watch.

"Alright, little siblings, let's all calm down now." Josias said a little sternly as he did his best to hide his adoration of the little children "And Hanna, you shouldn't call your brother a loser. Don't teach Julia bad things."

"Hah! You got told off by bang Josi!" Michael said.

"And you, Michael… As an older brother you should also learn to be a bit more patient with your younger siblings…" As Josias was saying that, he immediately grabbed a hold of the spry Hanna before ruffling up her wavy hair, pulling her close which made her laugh out loud. "No matter how much of an annoying little monkey they are!"

"Ahhhh!! I have to run awayyy!!" Hanna screamed playfully as she laughed.

They all continued to play around for quite some time with Serena, Timotheus, and the rest joining in on the fun with the other kids.

On the other side of the beach, their other companions were also having fun taking swimming around and teaching their younger family members to swim as well.

However, there was indeed something interesting going on which piqued Josias' interest. He saw that many of the Gorian ladies were being flirted with by the young men of either the Rumaparau or the Hutangali. Reverend Steinnman's daughter Priscilla was playing around in the beaches with Prince Panghirimon of Hutangali. The two Malaok seemed to be hitting it off quite well with each other as well. Not far from there, his cousin Ruth was flirting with Arga Sipirnitondi.

Though it seems, the flirting worked both ways. Josias also saw many of his Gorian peers striking up conversations with the young women of Hutangali and Rumaparau. It would seem that Arta's older brothers and some other Gorian clansmen were engaged in conversation with a group of pretty young girls dressed in some western-style clothing. They must be women of Rumaparau.

As Josias was smiling while seeing all the merriment, he couldn't help but feel like someone was breathing down his neck. And it wasn't just a feeling as when he turned his head to look, Serena was already there with an undeniably annoyed expression, her eyes squinting at him.

"You're looking at the pretty girls again, aren't you, Josi?" Serena said curtly as she was holding Janus who looked back and forth between her and his brother.

"I will confess, I am looking at an absolutely gorgeous woman in front of me, as we speak…" Josias put on his best smile as he held onto Serena's shoulders. And he wasn't even lying. Her wet auburn hair, her clothes that were wet and still wrapped around her. Josias had almost outright cursed the fact that they didn't have their wedding yet before they had departed for the festival.

Serena didn't look too impressed with his flirting, eyeing him up and down inquisitively before finally she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm watching you, Josi…" Serena said as she handed him Janus and tugged at his arm to follow her. "My back's starting to ache and I need you to work your magic hands and massage me."

Hearing this, Josias couldn't help but have a huge smile plastered across his face. Now this he was looking forward to. Josias quickly put some aura into his voice as he called out to Johannes and Maria, "Oy you two! Can you guys please play over here instead and help watch over the kids? I have uh… things to do!!"

The two only looked at each other and shrugged as they did what Josias had asked. Josias kissed his little brother's cheek in excitement as he followed to where Serena was leading them. Eventually, they arrived at the gazebo where his mother Hotma and some of the other ladies were at along with the other younger children.

"Back so soon?" His mother asked as she raised her arms to take a hold of little Janus who was already shaking from being out of the waters.

"Yes, namboru…" Serena said "Little Janus still needs to get a little more used to the water but he's been doing great so far!"

"Ah! Mama's very proud to hear that, Jan! Alright, let's get you dry and get you something to eat…" Hotma planted a kiss on the little boy's forehead "But where's Julia?"

"She's still playing with Ito Maria and Johannes…" Josias answered.

"Ah, I see… And you two are done having fun?"

"My back aches a little and so we're taking a break for now. I asked Josias to massage me for a bit though… If that's okay with you, namboru…" Serena asked sheepishly to which Hotma only laughed before pointing to the gazebo.

"Lay down on one of the carpets. I'll sit right here though to make sure my eldest boy doesn't get any ideas…" Hotma gave Josias a piercing gaze to which he coughed to clear his throat.

"Ma, I promise you, I'm not going to do anything untowards my beloved fiance…" Josias said to which his mother rolled her eyes and scoffed.

Serena did as was instructed and laid down on one of the straw carpets before she unwrapped a little of her cloth to reveal her back. From her nape all the way down to her sacrum area just short of her coccyx bone. Josias gulped, but due to the fact that his mother had her eyes on him, he had to play it cool.

Josias breathed out and focused himself. Serena had never been this forward with him, but perhaps she was serious about trying to keep all his attention to her. Or she was indeed just genuinely looking for a good back rub. Not to toot his own horn, but Josias was indeed well known among his peers for having great skills in massaging. All thanks to his beloved mother who had bestowed upon him the art of massaging.

Josias never particularly liked massaging his mother or father, but he appreciated that the skill he had could now be used to deepen his relationship with his beloved.

Regardless of those thoughts, Josias focused himself towards Serena. She had her face resting on her arms as she looked like she was enjoying his treatment of her. Josias smiled knowing that if she was satisfied, he was happy too.

After a few minutes, Josias had managed to calm himself completely and started looking around again to the beach where everyone was still having fun. Most of the clan elders including his own grandfather and the other kings as well as the other officials of the allied kingdoms were on a large straw carpet in front of a gazebo. As usual, they were enjoying themselves with a game of cards. Judging by the piles of coins around them, the bets were on. Old people and their hobbies. Though, Josias could only be grateful that most of the elders weren't senile yet.

The most entertaining thing to see on the beach though, had to be at its center where two poles and a large net was fixed between the poles. The net was placed in the middle of a rectangular arena demarcated by logs of wood and rocks at the corner.

But the most interesting thing wasn't the net or the small 'arena' but the game that was being played there and the ones playing it. On one side was Josias' father and his five star lieutenants plus his uncle Mora. On the other side was King Tagam as well as the other Hutangali nobles who were his peers.

The men were playing with a ball made of rattan and covered with leather. The goal of the game was to keep the ball in the air and to have it land on the opposing team's square. In this endeavour, the men could use any part of their body but the most common were of course the hands and the feet. The first team to reach a certain amount of points would then be considered a winner.

To make the match more fair however, they agreed to not use aura and to have it a pure test of physical prowess. Josias absolutely enjoyed seeing the veteran warrior's sheer expertise in handling the ball. Their control over the accuracy of their strikes and kicks, the near saves, it was all so captivating. Obviously Josias was rooting for the Gorian team on this one.

If it weren't for the fact that there was only one court and net to play on, Josias and his companions would've already been playing their own match. Regardless, seeing his father play was entertaining enough for him.

Obviously the match ended after about half an hour in his father's team's victory, but the score difference was much narrower than Josias had expected. Unfortunately there was no one there to bet with so that took a little bit of the fun out of it.

Regardless, Josias continued to enjoy massaging his lovely fiancee while watching the game of 'Sepak'. All of that of course until he saw from the entrance to the cove, another group entering.

A few dozen people could be seen entering and at the front of the group was a man who looked to be around his grandfather's age. Next to the man, an even older lady. What was the most interesting thing about this group however, was that following in their entourage, Josias could see a few foreigners who wore the robes of missionaries, though their garb was quite different from the ones used by the Gorian missionaries.

Some of the foreigners even had the peculiar hairstyle of having the top part of the scalp shaved while the rest of the hair was left to grow. If Josias could remember correctly, it was called the 'tonsure'... And if that were the case then that means they were catholic missionaries. And there were only two realms within the Halaklands who sponsored the catholic Church.

As Josias noticed that, so too did the other people who were enjoying themselves at the beach also notice. In a short few moments, the atmosphere of fun and enjoyment had lessened incredibly as people became wary of the new arrivals.

Josias couldn't help but groan inwardly. He had hoped he could've just spent the day enjoying himself and being stupid, but… Perhaps the Lord had other plans for him.

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