The air hung heavy with the scent of sweat and blood, the sounds of dieing soldiers calling for their families being all that was heard over the din steel clashing in the distance. The battle was all but over, and yet as she stood there and took in the scene with her crystalline blue hues she felt nothing but sorrow, nothing but emptiness beget by an empty victory. "This is not what I wanted...it should never have come to this." she said barely above a whisper. "They were your people Martel, your subjects that were willing to fight and die for your cause, you knew that was was inevitable when you made the decree that we should allow humans into Tethe'alla...too many people were against it for this to not be the outcome." came the voice of her brother to her right. She dropped to her knees, her staff clattering to the ground from her grasp as she began to weep and mourn for the lost souls that had been so carelessly thrown away. "Let us dwell not on the past or current times Lady Martel, instead let us look to the future that you fought so valiantly for." came the strong voice of Kratos from her left. Mithos looked to him, his eyes hard but thankful for the comforting words to his sister as Kratos merely looked over the precipice to the rising sun that crested over the horizon. "There...is a way to undo this carnage, to bring back those that fought for you Milady" came a sagely voice from behind. At that moment Martel stood and with the others turned to see her trusted advisor Yuan standing there with his hands together upon his gnarled walking cane. "What do you mean?" she asked as she stepped forward. "Legends speak of a tree that far surpasses the Kharlan tree in terms of power, but the means to awaken it are perilous indeed." he said as he stepped past them to look off over the horizon. "Yes..the Yggdrasill, the true world tree through which Ratatosk plays his devious and misleading games, the tree that gave birth to angel, human, and monster alike from the leaves of its branches." he explained, "Legend has it that a being of pure heart and mind must visit four elemental seals across our blighted land, undoing the cursed magics there to release the mana into their own bodies." he said softly but sighed as he neared the end of his explanation. "What? What else is there? What must that person do with the mana?" Martel frantically questioned Yuan, "They must convey the mana into the tree to re-awaken it...but at the cost of their very life." he said as he turned to face the group. "No...absolutely not, not after all we've done and fought for." Kratos and Mithos said nearly in unison. "Ah yes...I figured you would say that, you see there is one other way around this." he began "If the being of pure heart and mind were an angel...it would only serve to bolster their already enormous mana...and therefore the angel would survive." Yuan finished as he looked to the group, "I'll do it!" Martel proclaimed without any hesitation. "I'll break the cursed seals, restore the mana to Yggdrasill, and bring my people back to life!" she vowed with an intensity much like their mothers. "Fine...then Kratos and I will accompany you, and Yuon...so will you. This is your information, so surely you must know the location of the four seals." Mithos said as he looked over to the sage, "Aye...that I do, but I must warn you, this journey will be unlike anything you've ever seen before.
"Yuan..." came the voice of Steven who finally came out of his deep train of thought, the young man wasn't to sure about this. "Are you sure this is the ONLY way? I mean you'd be sacrificing the women you care for!" Steven argued. Yuan looked to Steven with his grey eyes full of wisdom. "It is the only way that will not result in the destruction of the entire world, though she can choose not to take the journey and can choose to leave the world as it is now." he said, his tone never shifting but always seeming to be detached. "Lives lost are never lost in vain if they are given in sacrifice for a conviction one holds dear, Lady Martel can simply try to rebuild young one." he said as she stood there with a soft grin on his face. "No! I must do this, they gave their lives for me! I cannot let them die for me...I'm but a simple person, they had families, mothers, children, people to return to. Why should I be so lucky as to still have my brother, yet they should have to have everything stolen from them because of a reckless idea?" Martel questioned as she looked at Steven, nearly on the verge of tears once more.
Steven simply sighed, to think he met Mithos and Martel back when they were exiled from their villiage and now he was going to have to stand by and watch as the woman he come to know as a sister, sacrifice himself, he would go along with this for now but...something didn't feel right. "Very well...as you wish Lady Martel.." Steven stated. Martel smiled gratefully to Steven as she walked over and hugged him tight. "Please...come with us? You've become family to my brother and I...and...and I wouldn't want you to worry." she said as she looked up to him. Steven sighed before nodding. "I promised you and Mithos I would protect you till the end did I not? you have my word Martel I will stick with you until the end." Steven stated. 'even though its going to be like losing a sister.' Steven stated to himself
She hugged him tighter before stepping back and brushing her hair out of her face. "And I know you...so I'll say this. No you aren't going to talk me out of this, but...I will not fight you either. If you find something you think will be a better alternative, that will bring our people back, I'll try that first. Steven smiled and nodded. "You've come a long way Martel, I didn't think I'd be able to so I won't try BUT, I will bring it up if I find another way." He said before turning to Yuan. "Alright let's do this. Where do we head first?" Steven questioned. "First...we must head to the seal of fire in the southernmost reaches of Sylvarant. That is where the curse is weakest as it's been there the longest." he explained as he wove a spell through the aether in the air, a map of Sylvarant forming in the air in front of them with four glowing symbols of light. The red one being far to the south in the middle of a desert. "It is here that we will encounter the first trial, and here that your resolve will first be tested. I suggest that you rest for now, prepare for the journey, and get your affairs in order." he said as he looked to Martel, the unspoken meaning behind his words ringing clear in her heart as Mithos closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He'd nearly lost his sister in this war, and now it seemed he was doomed to escort her to her grave.
"Let us meet first thing in the morning Steven, you and I must speak before we leave tomorrow." Kratos said as Steven nodded the group heading their separate ways as tomorrow, they begin escorting Martel to her grave..a somber way to end everything they had done to say the least.