Chapter I-Through the Pass

Rose Hillmound barely took note of the jarring motion caused by the wagon running over a pebble. All she could think about was how it was her fault. It was her fault that Baris was dead. She shouldn't have allowed him to come with her section. She should've told him to catch a ride with a caravan and that she would see him back in Tarm City. But she didn't. And now he was gone forever. Never again would he hold her in his loving arms, nor would she feel his warmth. All because of her.

Rose was a human from the nation of Labrynna. When she was six, she ran away from her parents' mansion and grew up in the land of Holodrum under the care of Jill Hillmound, who at the time was going through a divorce. As she grew up into a headstrong young woman, she fell in love with Jill's son, Baris, and married him shortly after graduating from the Tarm Military Academy as a brigadier general, an extraordinary feat made even more so by the fact that no woman had ever dared enter the academy before.

The woman was also marked as extraordinary by her looks. She was no prettier than any other woman in Tarm City, but Rose was tall for a human or Hylian woman, reaching five feet ten inches. She didn't look a day past twenty, a fact that mostly women envied Rose for. Many thought that she must surely have at least a few grey hairs and that she was dying them, but Rose's long, black hair (nearly always kept in a braid) was completely natural.

A sob escaped her lips, catching the attention of Doyle Tarm. The bearded man urged his horse to move up some, and he placed his hand on her shoulder. "It'll be fine, Rose," he said gently.

She shook her head. "No," she muttered. "It's my fault."

Doyle frowned, knowing perfectly well what she was talking about. "Knock it off, Rose," he said sternly. "It's not your fault. You didn't know that Stalfoses would attack you."

"I shouldn't have allowed him to travel with my section."

"That law is only in effect in times of war."

"There was a dispute and you dispatched my section to resolve it."

"It was a riot, not a war. You know that in times of peace, the army acts as law enforcers. You were enforcing the law in a time of peace. You could've allowed him to travel with you, and you know it. Now stop blaming yourself for Baris's death. He sacrificed himself so you could live. Don't let his sacrifice be in vain and waste away because of guilt. Please, Rose, move on in life. You know as well as I do that that is what he would want."

Rose let out a sniffle and a sigh. "You're right," she replied with a slight croak in her voice. "I do need to move on. But I don't think I'm fit to be general now. Please, Doyle, find someone else; I quit."

The king sighed. Doyle didn't want her to resign, but she was a hard woman to convince; the only thing he ever could talk her into was accepting the promotion to General of the Tarm Army. "I'm not going to argue with you. I promise I'll find someone to replace you. But I do have one more job I would like to ask of you before you officially resign. I know that rumors are going to spread, Rose. I need you to go to Hyrule and visit the King. Tell him of our situation and ask him to send aid."

"When should I leave?"

"Shortly after we get to Horon Village. We'll get you another horse there, and you can be on your way as soon as you're ready." The woman's horse had bolted from fright back in the Lost Woods; luckily everything she carried—her sword, her bow, a quiver of arrows, and the clothes on her back—was not on the saddle when the mare ran off. Neither Rose nor Doyle was worried for the horse; she was better off than any human Rose wasn't guiding through the labyrinthine forest. And all of the people she had been leading had the sense to stay close to her.

Rose nodded and looked forward again. Only a day and a half until they came upon Horon Village. Once a farming community, it was named after the farmer who first cultivated the land there, Gregory Horon. Centuries later, most of the farmland was gone, but the village outskirts were still dotted with barns, and agriculture and livestock were still an important part of Horon Village's economy.

The group of refugees was expected. Several people were waiting at the western gate to greet them. Family and friends quickly met up with each other and retreated to their homes, but others crowded around Doyle. "What happened, Your Majesty?" "What's going to happen?" "Is this the end of Tarm?"

Doyle finally made himself heard over the remaining crowd. "I will talk about this tomorrow," he said in a loud, clear voice. "I am tired from my trip, and I wish to rest. However, do go to bed tonight knowing that this is not the end of Tarm just because Tarm City was forced to clear out. We will persevere."

The crowd cheered, and Doyle had a young boy lead him and Rose to the town's only inn, The Deku's Head. As the two of them waited for lunch to be made for them, the woman went over everything she would need for her journey to Hyrule. After lunch, the King of Tarm persuaded his friend to go to her room and take a nap; he would take care of gathering materials for her, or rather, small boys eager to help their king would.

Rose woke early the next day. She got dressed, discarding the shirt and trousers from the past few days for new ones that were a bit lose (the tailor had done a rush job and had never made shirts or trousers for a woman as tall as Rose before), and went down to the common room on her way to the front door. Except a familiar face stopped her; Doyle was sitting next to the fireplace with his back to the stairway, sipping what looked like a cup of coffee. "I didn't know you were able to rise up at the break of dawn," she said with a yawn.

Doyle looked over his shoulder. "I'm not usually, but I couldn't get to sleep tonight," he replied. "There was just a lot going through my mind."

Rose sat down in the chair beside him. "I know what you mean. I had to go down to the living room so I wouldn't drive Baris insane quite a few times a month." She let out a small chuckle.

The man next to her sighed. "Rose, I don't want you to do anything reckless, got it?"

She glanced over at him. "What makes you think I will?"

"Gut feeling."

"And you should always listen to gut feeling," Rose said dryly. "Look, don't you worry about me, okay? You have enough on your plate without me. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

Doyle nodded. "Well, you weren't planning on leaving without saying good bye, were you?"

"I left a note on my bed."

The king laughed and shook his head. "You were at least going to have some breakfast, right?"

"Of course," Rose lied. "And speak of the devil." The aroma of eggs and bacon came wafting towards them. "Innkeeper never misses a thing, does he?"

"I think it's safe to assume that he doesn't."

A short fifteen minutes later (he wanted her to eat more, but she was in a hurry), Rose was in the stables leading the horse Doyle had hired out. He was waiting at the entrance. "Look, I know you didn't go to your house before we left Tarm City, so here," he said, handing over a long, black case. On one of the corners was Rose's name stamped in silver. "I had someone go get it."

Rose gasped, taking the case with loving care. "Doyle, you said to only take things we would need," she replied breathlessly.

The man shrugged. "He wouldn't have wanted you to leave behind your flute. He was always bragging about how much better you were at playing it than he was, and he was able to get more practice at it than you."

She smiled. After placing the flute in her bag (especially made for her last night by Doc Garrickson), she slung said bag onto her shoulders and pulled Doyle into a hug. "Thank you," she whispered, feeling a tear trickling down her cheek.

He held Rose at arm's length. "Anything for a friend."

Rose giggled. "You know, most kings aren't friends with their ex-generals."

"Since when has Tarm been an ordinary kingdom? Now get going. It's a long way to Hyrule. Three days through Holodrum, a couple days until you get to Hyrule, and then a few days through Hyrule itself to get to North Castle." Rose nodded and mounted her stallion. "Hey, once you get there, stay a few weeks. You deserve a vacation."

"Yeah, I guess I do. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to relax, but I'll try. Take care of yourself."

"You too."

"Padhart!" The horse began to move forward. As she was about to leave North Horon Gate, a woman came running up, shouting, "Lady Rose, Lady Rose, please, hold up!" Rose pulled on the reins in response, saying, "Coluc." She was going to have to tell people to stop calling her "Lady Rose" soon.

The woman caught up, bending over and gasping for breath. Once she had composed herself, she said, "Thank you. I heard you were going to Hyrule."

"News travel fast here, doesn't it?" Rose replied, but there was a hint of a grin.

"Faster than a Deku's mouth," the woman replied with a large smile. "Anyway, my name is Emma Hinsthre, the village's botanist. If it's not too much trouble, could you stop by Saria Town in Hyrule? It's one of the first towns you'll come across. I have a friend who's also a botanist there, and he wants to cultivate some of the trees found in the southern lands." She held up a bag that seemed to be filled with more than it should hold.

Rose took the bag from her back and opened it, leaning down so she could put it within reach of the other woman. "Drop it in. What's your friend's name?"

"Ichiro Rantil. He's famous in Saria; just ask a gate guard where to find his greenhouse."

"Greenhouse?" A baffled look formed on Rose's face as she placed the bag's strap back onto her shoulder.

Emma nodded. "It's something we both worked on. It's a building made of glass. We discovered that it helps plants grow. So far, we own the only two in existence, but there's a couple more being built. One in Rauru Town, Hyrule and another in Lynna City, Labrynna. I heard that Carl Mentov in Nabooru Town is asking the mayor for funding to build a greenhouse of his own."

"Right then. Padh-"

"Wait! Just one more thing. In the bag, you'll find five satchels for yourself. Each one is marked by a symbol that represents each of the seeds. I think you might be able to find some uses for them."

"Perhaps if I know what they did before hand."

"Ember seeds are the red, flame-shaped ones that are warm to the touch," Emma said enthusiastically; she didn't get a chance to teach too often, especially to someone as famous as General Rose Hillmound. "If you crush them, they create a few sparks that can create a fire. If you eat a Pegasus seed, the seed's sugar will give you legs a jolt of energy that can help you run faster than you normally can. Some say the have reached speeds to rival that of the legendary steed himself. When crushed, gale seeds will give you temporary control over wind."

"How temporary?"

"Until the oil evaporates from your skin, which can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour depending on how mature the seed is before it was harvested; the ones you have should last for at least half an hour. Now then, scent seeds aren't really as extraordinary as the other seeds. All they do is create a scent when they're crushed, which I guess is handy if you want to attract some animals. Some of the boys in the village just use them for ammunition for their slingshots. I'm not quite sure what mystery seeds do. Every time I crush one, it does something different. But I have been told by this one ranger that they always have the same reactions on the owl statues that dot Holodrum's landscape. When they were crushed and the oils rubbed on the statue, they would talk, always telling the ranger something useful about the region he was in. If you notice a similar reaction on your travels, please, do write me about it."

"Okay, I will. Now then, how much do you want for these seeds?"

"Oh no, don't worry about paying me. Please, consider it as payment for delivering the other satchels to Ichiro. I can always harvest more seeds if I need them."

Rose bowed her head. "Thank you."

"You're most welcome. Take care, Lady Rose."

"And you too. Padhart!" With a flick of the reins, Rose was on her way again.

One day to travel the North Horon Plains. It was rather boring for the most part; the plains were indeed plain, with only a few trees dotting the landscape to add the slightest bit of variety. At least her ride took her by Eyeglass Lake where she could cool off from the hot summer sun for a bit before continuing her journey; traveling through Natzu Prairie almost made her go back to the lake shaped almost like eyewear. The day's end found her in Natzu Town, settling into an inn situated on the Natzu River, the region's and town's namesake. She awoke at dawn again, managing to catch a ferry to the other side of the river into the Natzu Highlands. The river's width took half the day to cross. Rose devoted the other half to crossing the hilly highlands, arriving at the tiny inn at the base of Goron Mountain. The inn had been there for as long as the ex-general could remember, and for as long as she could remember the same old Goron ran it. All of the next day was spent traversing the pass between Goron Mountain and Cucco Mountain. Of all the places along the Tarm Mountain Range, the Goron-Cucco Pass was the second place that was safe for a horse to travel, the first place being Tarm Mountain itself.

And then Rose left familiar territory. Luckily, the old Goron from earlier that day had found a map and allowed her to have it for a small fee. After camping for the night in relative unease, she set her course slightly to the northwest in an attempt to reach Saria Town first. And after two days of traveling through plains, forests, and hills, she was pleased to find out that she had made a nearly accurate guess. She was only about half an hour off course, and that was easily remedied.

Just as Emma said, the gate guards did know Ichiro and his greenhouse and were able to direct Rose to the strange, glass building. As soon as she got there, she made her promised delivery. "Before I go, what's the quickest way to get to North Castle?" the Tarm citizen asked.

"Right now, the best way is to grow wings and fly over Crenel Mountain," the botanist answered in his deep voice. "There was a landslide that blocked off the Rauru Pass and they haven't been able to clear that out yet. It's dangerous and tricky work. One wrong move and more boulders could tumble down, crushing the workers. It's proving to be quite a challenge for the Gorons, and they're the best whenever it comes to rocks. Crenel Mountain itself is rather dangerous and only the most experienced rangers, nomads, and what have you dare scale its heights. But the worst thing is the gohma that crawled into the Ruto Cave Pass. Not even the Hylian Knights have been able to kill it, so they stand guard at both ends, forbidding any to pass through unless they wish to die a painful death. And let me tell you, that isn't many people at all."

"I can imagine," Rose nodded grimly. "But I'm not going to let some spider get in my way. I'm going to kill it."

"Are you mad?!" Ichiro shouted, shocked that the woman before him would think such a thing. In retrospect, it shouldn't have surprised him that much; after all, Rose did have a sword attached to her hip, and a bow and quiver full of arrows were on her back. An uncommon sight in Hyrule, but female rangers was heard of, and some of them showed more skill with sword and bow than the best Hylian Knight. "I already told you even the Hylian Knights couldn't kill it. And how do you expect to see in there? The torches would've been extinguished by now."

"Then I'll get someone to hold a torch for me. Where can I find someone as mad as I am?"

Ichiro sighed. "I guess right here," he said. "I have a daughter up in Ruto Town. But how are we going to get past the guards?"

"Are they privates, or do they at least have some rank?"

"Privates, so they'll follow orders from anyone of a higher rank, even if they are from a different country, as long as the order does not lead to treason of their home country; some international law made ages ago to teach privates from all countries some respect for other nations' armies. But a lot of good that will do us."

"Don't you worry about that. Just lead the way there."

"You're going to have to leave the horse here."

"Right. They're afraid of being underground. How long will it take to walk to the cave?"

"About a good day's walk. We'll rest at my house tonight. I'll let you go ahead with a note for my wife, and I'll catch up when I get some supplies"

Ichiro quickly jotted down a note as he said he would, and then directed the woman to his nearby house. Upon seeing the note, Mrs. Rantil graciously accepted Rose into her house, nearly dragging the Tarm woman to the dining room. After making sure the human's chair was comfortable, the Hylian began cooking. "Please tell me you eat meat," Mrs. Rantil asked; Rose nodded. "Good. I got a little bit more meat than I meant to get, and Ichiro is a vegetarian. Oh, plants may be good for you, but meat does put meat on the bones."

"And you have a daughter up in Ruto Town?"

Mrs. Rantil nodded. "She went up shortly before that spider took over the tunnel. Sheila is trying to get into the Hylian Knights, and she was going to train up at her uncle's house. My half-brother used to be a brigadier general in the army."

"They let females into the army here?"

"If they're Sheikah; it's something about being the ancient protectors of the Royal Family. That's why I'm hoping my little girl gets in; she'll be the first female Hylian to ever enter the Hylian Knights. So you're not from Hyrule then?"

Rose shook her head. "I was born in Labrynna, but I grew up in Holodrum for the most part. You must be pretty nervous; I know Jill was when I entered the Tarm Military Academy."

Mrs. Rantil showed a weak smile. "Yes, I'm quite nervous. And you were on first name terms with your mother?"

Once again, the human woman shook her head. "I ran away from my real family when I was six. Jill was the woman who took care of me. I came to regard her as a mother, especially once she became my mother-in-law."

At that moment, Ichiro came home, instantly becoming a member of the conversation, which didn't die down until they went to bed and the Tarm woman had told them why she was going to North Castle. Before Rose had entered her room, the Hylian male whispered into her ear, "Sorry about my wife; she's a chatterbox when we have guests over."

"Don't worry about it," the human whispered back. "For quite a long time, I had to deal with official dinners, so it was nice to talk as a civilian for once."

"Are you sure those guards will accept your ring as proof? If you're quitting the generalship, surely they would've heard about it by now."

"I'm sure. Until I've talked to your king, I'm still General of the Tarm Army."

Ichiro nodded his head. "Good night, then."

"Night."

Mrs. Rantil saw them off in the morning, sharing a long hug with her husband first. "Please be careful," she whispered. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Don't worry," Ichiro whispered back. "I'm just holding the torch. Rose is the one who's going to fight it."

"But what if…"

"Shhh. Don't think about it. Have some faith. You don't get to be general of an army without having great skill in the art of the sword, isn't that right, Rose?"

Rose nodded her head. "I never fought a giant spider before, but I took a class back at Tarm Military Academy called Theoretical Battles. The instructor's favorite discussions concerned legendary battles; especially ones where the Hero of Time was involved. We spent a few classes going over fighting gohmas in great detail, and the test devoted solely to fighting gohmas was a major part of our grade; it was common knowledge that Sergeant Harianil had a fear of spiders."

"And that was how long ago?" the other woman asked nervously.

"Eleven years ago. But he had a habit of stopping former students between classes to drill them on proper gohma fighting techniques, so anyone in his class memorized the gohma lessons. Trust me, three years at Tarm Military Academy gives you a fighting background you can't find anywhere else."

Mrs. Rantil still looked worried, but she nodded. "Come back soon," she said with a kiss; for her husband, of course.

"Of course," Ichiro replied in a tone that said not to worry, never mind that his stomach was doing flips.


The guard polished his sword. For what must have been the hundredth time that day; he had lost count. It was dull work, guarding a cave entrance no one in their right mind would dare enter. But what was he to do about it? Privates weren't allowed to question orders. That was the difference between them and soldiers. Of course, soldiers rarely ever questioned orders, a result from a year or two as privates, the lowest of the low in any country's military structure. And of course, only privates would get such a mundane job. As if military academy wasn't enough. "You get first watch tonight, right?" he said as he looked his sword over to see if he missed a spot; given how many times he polished it today, he probably wouldn't be able to tell if he did miss a spot.

"Hell no," the second guard grunted. "I had first watch last night. It's your turn."

"I'll play you rock, grass, and sword for it."

"Hell no," the second guard replied again, sounding even more disgruntled. "You cheat."

"I do not! You take that back!"

"I won't. Now shut up. Someone's coming."

The first guard turned around and saw that someone was indeed coming. Two people, as a matter of fact. A man and a woman. A tall woman, at that. A tall, human woman. A rare sight; usually, the only tall woman a man would see would be those of the dying Sheikah race. Noticing that his companion wasn't doing anything (Bloody idiot, he thought), he stepped forward and said in what he hoped was an authoritative voice, "Halt. You cannot go through this cave. Turn back and go whence you came now."

"I think not," the woman said coolly. "I will be going through that cave, gohma or no gohma."

"And who do you think you are to defy our orders?"

The woman held up her right hand palm inwards, and the last ray of the sun before it disappeared behind the mountains caught a circle of silver that adorned the ring finger. On the ring was an ornate owl. "I know I am Lady Rose Hillmound, General of the Tarm Army. And I do believe that if I tell you to let me pass through this cave, then you are to obey my order."

The two men gaped at the ring, now only clearly illuminated by the light of the campfire. Even though they had never seen it before, they knew it had to be real. A military officer's ring could never be copied under penalty of law. And back in the academy, they had been forced to memorize what each country's rings looked like, and the ring for the General of the Tarm Army was indeed a silver ring with an ornately decorated owl on it. Again, the first guard was the first to react. "Yes, ma'am," he said, snapping into a rigid stance and saluting the black-haired woman. "You just relax, and my partner and I will keep watch."

"At ease," Rose commanded; the guard complied after a moment's hesitation. "Mind if we use your fire?"

"You don't even have to ask, ma'am," was the immediate response.

Ichiro and Rose sat down cross-legged at the fire; the man pulled out a cooking stick, handing it to the human. "Here," he said. "Something to warm your pork on."

The woman grinned. "Your wife thinks of everything, doesn't she?"

Rantil smirked as well. "Yes, pretty much." The Hylian reached into his bag and grabbed an apple. "So, how do you go about fighting a gohma?"

"There are two ways to kill a gohma," Rose explained as she speared the salted pork and held it over the flickering flames, peering into the fire. "A stab through all of their hearts or through their brain. The hearts are protected by an extremely hard shell; it would take the strength of a Goron to pierce through, and even then the sword would have to be Goron make to survive such a stabbing motion multiple times. I have a sword of Goron make, but I have no where near the strength necessary to get past the exoskeleton. So I have to resort to getting to its brain."

"But if the shell…"

Rose waved her hand in a dismissive way. "The eyes are a weak point; they're the softest part on the outside of the body. A gohma's brain is located a few inches behind their largest eye. A sword or arrow could easily reach the brain and deal enough damage to kill it." She looked over at the two Hylian guards. "You two had best take note of that. I don't want to have to come up here again to do Hyrule's work for her." Both of them sprung up and saluted the woman, having just dared to sit themselves to eat their dinner. "At ease," the Tarm human said lazily.

"So which way are you going to kill it?"

"Arrows would be the safest method; however, given that I won't have the best archery conditions, I very well may have to rely on the sword."

Ichiro raised his half-eaten apple. "Here's hoping you only need arrows." Rose nodded, and the two ate in silence.

The human was awake as dawn sent the sun's rays scattering across the landscape. After gently nudging Ichiro awake, the two entered the gaping hole in the mountainside; the Tarm woman was a bit surprised that one of the two guards was awake to see them off. Ichiro grabbed a torch from the cave wall and used one of the woman's ember seeds to light it. Rose was a bit surprised that it had actually worked; her Hylian companion, on the other hand, had shown pure joy and had to be reminded of why they were in the cave.

They walked through the cave in silence for what felt like, and were, hours. Even if they had anything to say, Rose wasn't sure if she would've been able to utter it; there was an ominous air about in the cave, one that seemed to be pressing them in from all sides. The Tarm woman wondered if the cave had always been like that or if it was just because a giant spider had moved in. Ichiro interrupted her thoughts by crying out, "Sheila!"

A young woman with short, light brown hair bunched into a ponytail, around twenty years old, stumbled towards them, looking extremely tired. Blood was trickling out of two holes in her right shoulder, darkening her purple tunic. Rose immediately took her bag, bow, and arrows off of her back upon seeing the wound. Meanwhile, Ichiro had rushed forward and caught the girl, dropping the torch in the process. "Oh, Sheila, why did you have to do something as foolish as this?" he moaned. "We should've brought along antidotes. Even if we stop the bleeding, the poison will kill her."

Rose had taken off her over shirt, leaving only a sleeveless undershirt that bared her chest and nothing more, and had ripped it into pieces to use as bandages. She only felt a slight pang of guilt for ruining the Horonian tailor's work; she had an extra over shirt in her bag. "Relax," she said in a gentle voice, speaking as much to Sheila as to Ichiro. "You were right to guess that she's poisoned, but it won't kill her. It just puts a person to sleep, causing muscles to relax so when the gohma catches up to its prey the meat won't be tough." She did feel a large pang of guilt for referring to the young woman as a piece of meat.

"So that means…."

"Yeah. The gohma is close by." Just as soon as Rose finished with the bandage, she slung her bow and quiver back onto her back, drawing her longbow and setting an arrow. The tension grew as they waited for a few moments. And then the arachnid appeared, only seen by the reflection of the flicking flame in its eyes, letting out a screech; it sounded almost like joy at having two more succulent pieces of meat to devour. But its screech soon turned to pain, for the archer had just let her arrow fly. The shot easily penetrated the large eye. Quite understandably, the gohma began to run forward, but only to meet five more arrows entering the soft eyeball, each reaching the brain. The spider fell down before Rose's feet, dead.

"Is it…dead?" Ichiro whispered.

Rose nodded her head as she grabbed her bag and the torch. "Come on," she said, injecting joy into her voice, while she retrieved her arrows from the deceased spider; they should still be good. "We must nearly be at the end of the tunnel. We can get Sheila some proper medical attention and let her sleep off the poison. It looks like she already got a head start." Indeed, the young Hylian was letting out a soft snore, her eyes completely closed now. "So this is your daughter then?"

"Yes, this is my baby girl." Ichiro let out a grunt as he lifted her only child into his arms. "Are you sure she's going to be all right?"

"She might want to exercise her right arm more often, but she'll be perfectly fine. I promise."


Author's Notes: The first chapter of The Land of Legend. TLoL will be a chronicles of sort, detailing stories of several people in Hyrule and the neighboring countries of Holodrum and Labrynna; I don't have an end to it in sight, and so far I have hundreds of chapters planned. To help get the setting in mind, I took the map from Zelda II and combined it with the map from Ocarina of Time, with Holodrum south of Hyrule, Labrynna directly west of Holodrum, and Calatia directly west of Hyrule. However, OoT is the only game I'm using as a background/historicalbasis for TLoL. This leaves me with a lot of creative freedom. Throughout the fanfic, though, I will be referencing plenty of games. I'll also be using a language I began to construct back in 12th grade for Ancient Hylian.

Now then, for a short pronunciation guide. Padhart is pay-ART; padhart is Ancient Hylian for "forward." Coluc is coh-look; coluc is the imperative form of colu (coh-loo), which is Ancient Hylian for "to stop." Harianil is ha-RE-ah-neel. Hinsthre is HYNS-threy. Rantil is ran-TILL.

And for more trivia, Emma Hinsthre is named after Emma from Wild Arms/Wild Arms Alter Code F.

I just know I'm going to hear something about how the chapter ended abruptly like that. I seem to have a bad habit of doing that.