When working on a story for this long, things don't always turn out as planned, so no matter the end product, I'm really happy that I was able to finish it while keeping true to the original outline. I've grown a lot as a writer since beginning this story, so I'm extremely grateful to everyone who's stuck with me since then. Thank you for all your support!


Dwarven Vow 7:
Bidh ceartas is gaol an-còmhnaidh a 'seasamh.
Goodness and love will always win.

60-

"Spirit Martel, I ask you to annul thy pact with Adora on the grounds that your inability to fulfil your end of the agreement renders the pact invalid. I do not ask that you establish a new pact with me, but simply that you return the Great Tree to its original state."

While the pause was only a few moments, it felt like an eternity, and that made the punctuated reply that broke it even more distressing.

"NO."

"N-no?" Zelos repeated. "What do you mean, no?! Give us a little more than that, dammit-!"

"Zelos," Sheena scolded, holding out an arm to stop him as she addressed the spirit again. "I'm afraid we don't understand. Are you telling us our information is wrong? Or that we're correct, but you refuse to annul the pact?"

The spirit shook her head. "I CANNOT ANNUL THE PACT BECAUSE THE PACT IS, INDEED, VALID. THE VALIDITY OF A PACT IS NOT TO BE EVALUATED ON A PREDICTED OUTCOME, AS THE FUTURE CANNOT BE ACCURATELY JUDGED. THE EFFORT PUT FORTH BY MARTEL IN ORDER TO FULFIL HER AGREEMENT WITH THE SUMMONER IS CURRENTLY ADEQUATE, AND THAT IS ENOUGH TO CONSIDER THE PACT VALID."

"W-wait, so… it's true?" Lloyd gasped. "It's true and you're just going to let them die? You're just going to call the pact valid until you can't support them anymore and then, once they're dead, say you couldn't have predicted the outcome?! What kind of bullshit-?!"

"Lloyd." Sheena put out her other arm to stop Lloyd as well. "We mean no disrespect, Martel. All we want is to save our friends. If that's what you want too, why not allow us to help? We all have the same goal, after all."

The spirit closed her eyes.

"I AM… MERELY A PROXY… BY WHICH MARTEL SPEAKS TO YOU… I CANNOT MAKE DECISIONS FOR MARTEL HERSELF."

"Then we want to talk to Martel!" Zelos demanded. "If she can't come out to meet us, let us in to meet her."

"AT THE MOMENT, SHE HAS NOT THE CAPACITY TO ALLOW SO MANY HUMANS INTO HER PRESENCE. ONLY ONE OF YOU MAY APPROACH."

It took a moment for the statement to sink in, and the group looked to one another in unexpected surprise.

"Wait, so one of us can go talk to her?" Lloyd gasped, and pushed Sheena toward the Tree again. "Go on, then, Sheena! What are you waiting for?"

Sheena went stiff, digging her heels into the dirt. "M-me? Why me? It's not like we're making a pact. I barely know anything about Yuan and Adora. Colette or Zelos should go, since they're the ones who took care of her."

Zelos held his hands up. "Not me. If it was me, I'd be tempted to take Adora and leave Yuan behind, and I don't think anyone wants that. 'Sides, you and Martel have a lot in common, right hunny?" He put an arm around Colette. "If anybody can convince her to give Adora and Yuan back, it's you."

Colette pulled away, shaking her head. "No, actually, I don't think that's true. If you or I went, we'd only be arguing for our own sake, for the sake of our feelings for Adora. Martel is doing this for Adora and Yuan's wellbeing, right? Then we need someone who'll argue for their sake." She turned to smile in Lloyd's direction. "Yuan was injured because he removed his Cruxis Crystal. He did that because he genuinely wanted to be a father to Adora, to build a family together. As Kratos' son, you know exactly how valuable that decision is. Martel already knows what a wonderful person you are, Lloyd. If she sees that future possible for Adora, then how could she deny her own daughter that?"

"...Colette, I…" Lloyd felt his face flush as he searched for an answer. "I don't know if I'd go as far as to say I'm a 'wonderful person,' but… if it's to save Yuan and Adora, I'll definitely do my best. You can count on that."

The spirit turned around and gestured to the Tree. "If you have made a decision, then step forward."

"S-step forward?" Lloyd stammered, hesitating. "Do I just… reach out and touch the Tree, or is there some special magic word I'm supposed to-?"

Before he could finish, the spirit grabbed his arm and jerked him towards her. He stumbled at first, his vision going fuzzy, but when he gathered his bearings he found that both the spirit and his surroundings had vanished.

What remained around Lloyd was a vast, blank expanse, completely white as if it were a place of nothing but light. It didn't feel bright, however, and Lloyd felt more like he couldn't see, given there wasn't much to look at. Even the surface he was standing on didn't seem to be solid, more of an invisible energy that was keeping him suspended just as a solid surface might. The only true color he could see was out of the corner of his eye, and he swiveled around to find a pair of familiar figures seated a short distance away. Or, rather, a trio- counting the infant that was held tightly in the man's arms. Lloyd approached cautiously at first, his footsteps completely silent as he arrived in front of the seated woman and stood over her, waiting for her to notice his presence.

Martel sat on the floor- if it could be called that- hunched over Yuan's unconscious body. His torso, clothing stained deep red, was propped up on her lap, and she cradled his head in her arms. Adora, resting against Yuan's chest, seemed just as peaceful as her father, as if she were in the middle of a good night's sleep and would wake up any minute to scream for attention.

After a few awkward moments spent gawking, Lloyd cleared his throat to get Martel's attention.

"Um… Miss, uh, Spirit Martel? It's me, Lloyd. You remember me, right?"

Martel answered, but her attention stayed on Yuan.

"Lloyd. I remember."

"W-well, I'm, uh, worried about you. I promised to protect the Great Tree, remember? And this whole situation, with the unstable mana zone… it's worried a lot of people, and is endangering people's lives. We don't want anyone else to get hurt, and we don't want you or the Tree getting hurt. So… um… we were wondering… if you could annul your pact with Adora and return the Tree to normal?"

There was a pause, and Martel stayed focused on Yuan.

"If I do that, Yuan will die."

"He won't. We've got a doctor standing by, ready to help." Lloyd took a step closer, bending down so that he was on eye level with her. "I don't know if you're familiar with Doctor Song Lu, but he's really good. I almost died a few months back, and he took really great care of me. He'll patch Yuan right back up, I promise."

"Perhaps." Martel shifted her arm so that she could place a hand against Yuan's cheek. "But if I release Yuan and Adora back into the world, what's to say this won't happen again? Can you promise they will be safe? Here, I know for certain that they are."

Lloyd frowned, settling down next to Martel. This might take longer than he'd thought.

"Well… I mean, I guess I can't promise they won't get hurt again. But if they stay here, they won't have a future either. They'll just be stuck like this until they run out of energy and die. They'll never get to feel joy, never get to learn new things and make new friends… Adora won't get to grow up. Isn't it worth the risk to give her that chance?"

"The chance to grow up in a world that wants her dead is not a chance I wish to give her. Her desperate pleas for salvation came from a depth that could not be ignored, despite her young age. Sending her back into that world would only cause her harm."

"But…" Lloyd began, and clenched his fist. "Look. There's this term Genis and Raine taught me the other day- dynamic equilibrium. I don't get all the science-y details, but it basically means that, even though things are always changing there's a balance to it. There's bad stuff in life, yeah, but there's good stuff too. It's like dark and light, hot and cold. Without bad stuff, there couldn't be good stuff. So if you shelter someone from ever being unhappy, you're sheltering them from being happy too. And if you really love Yuan and Adora that much, you want them to be happy… right?"

Martel was silent, genuinely appearing to think it over.

"Heat and light are both forms of energy. What humans perceive as 'cold' is merely the absence of heat energy, and 'darkness' the absence of light energy. Is the absence of pain, therefore, not its own opposite?"

Lloyd took a step back. "...uh…" When planning to beg for Yuan and Adora's life, he hadn't expected to get roped into a philosophical and scientific discussion. He hadn't prepared an argument past this point, and was floundering. What was he supposed to do if he couldn't free them? That wasn't an option. "...b-but! There's so many people in the world that Yuan and Adora care about! Doctor Lu and Kratos and Colette and Zelos and Noishe and…" He waved his arms desperately. "If they stay here, they won't be able to be with the people who make them happy! And if darkness is just the absence of light, shouldn't that make sadness the absence of happiness rather than the other way around?!"

Martel closed her eyes. "You are changing your argument. Do happiness and sadness exist in dynamic equilibrium, or is one merely the absence of another? Do they transfer from one being to another, as energy does, and if so, what forms do they take and what factors control how they move? Or, if the net change equals zero, as characterizes a system in equilibrium, does that ensure that all individual parts of the system experience the same fluctuations?"

Lloyd's hands began waving faster as he struggled to even comprehend what she was asking, much less answer her. "I-I don't know! I don't know! We just want them back! Shouldn't that count for something?"

Dreading her reply, Lloyd steeled himself to make sure he didn't back down. But of all the responses he expected, he didn't expect a third voice to chime in. The voice was that of a girl, echoing around the space as if it were coming from all directions at once and overlapping with itself. Lloyd flinched at the sound of it, but relaxed as he processed the words.

"He's right. It isn't as complicated as that. Even if the world is cruel, isn't it enough to live and grow with the people you love?"

Lloyd looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice and coming up empty. Before he could even ask whose voice it was, another chimed in, this one sounding like it belonged to a young man.

"The world sacrificed me, sent me away to suffer and die. Yet, if I had the chance to go back and keep living, I'd do it without a second thought. If they have the chance, why not allow them that?"

The words seemed to unleash more, and Lloyd soon found himself so surrounded by voices that he could barely make out what each was saying.

"-want to see my friends again-" "-if I could just taste good food one more time-" "-would be nice to grow up and get married-" "-so much more to learn about the world-" "-wish I could've told her how I felt-" "-to make more memories with my mom-" "-could be able to sing again-" "-not fair to keep them here-"

Lloyd put a hand over his mouth, looking around in awe even though there wasn't anything to see. "Are those…" he gasped, "...the spirits of all the former Chosens?"

The spirit Martel appeared just as surprised. "Why?" she asked, her voice forlorn. "The world sacrificed us, sent us to our deaths, forced us to endure a living hell as child soldiers in a war over mana. It didn't care about us, about our lives and our individual desires. So why do we miss it so much…? Why does the thought of never going back suddenly make us so sad…?"

One more voice spoke up before Lloyd could, surprising Lloyd with its calm demeanor.

"When Adora was sick, I wanted so badly for her to get well and have a future with Yuan and me in a world at peace. Now she's been healed and Tethe'alla and Sylvarant are no longer at war with one another. Even if I can't be with them, how could I deny her and Yuan the future they always deserved?"

"...Martel…" Lloyd whispered, and then repeated it louder. "Martel! Please! We all just want Adora and Yuan back safe and sound!"

Martel- the spirit Martel- lowered her head, letting out a long sigh, before suddenly disappearing from view. Lloyd panicked, lunging to catch Yuan lest he fall and hit his head on the, uh… floor? Thinking about it rationally, there probably wasn't a need to worry, but Lloyd felt better knowing the two were in safe hands. A voice spoke up again, though he couldn't tell if it was the spirit Martel this time or still just plain old Martel.

"Lloyd. Please tell Doctor Lu that I entrust Yuan's heart to him."

"Huh? His heart?" Lloyd repeated, glancing down at the bloodstains on Yuan's clothing. "I, um, actually think Doctor Lu said Yuan was stabbed in the liver, not the heart… but, uh… he's the doctor, not me, so he'll know whether Yuan's heart needs to be stitched up too… I'll just pass the message along and let him decide, okay?"

There was a pause, and the very space around Lloyd seemed to vibrate with laughter.

"A logical answer. You really are Kratos' son."

Lloyd was about to ask what she meant, but he was suddenly blinded by a flash of light- sunlight- from overhead and the damp feel of sandy mud against his legs. Within less than a second, the ear-splitting cries of an infant joined the cacophony of approaching voices that were calling Lloyd's name. Yuan stirred slightly with a pained "...shhh… it's alright… Song is getting help…"

"Yeah," Lloyd agreed, reaching for Adora's tiny hand with the tip of his forefinger. "He's right. You're gonna be fine."

She didn't stop crying, but Adora wrapped her hand around his finger as if acknowledging that she understood.


Genis and Colette were waiting patiently for Lloyd under the shade of the Great Tree. The air was cold, but patches of sunlight drifted through the leaves overhead and warmed the blanket that Genis had sat down beneath them. Colette was dozing, resting her head in Genis' lap, but she perked up when she heard his voice.

"Colette, wake up."

She popped her head up first, then pulled her whole body back to a seated position. "Is Lloyd here?" Her question was asked so enthusiastically, it made Genis laugh- and Lloyd too, now that he was in earshot of the pair.

"What, you miss me that much already?" Lloyd laughed, approaching the blanket and tossing his bag aside so that he could sit down next to her. Colette tackled him in a hug, and he squeezed back. "It's only been three days, you know."

"But that's ages!" she protested with a giggle of her own, and then pulled away to smile up at him. "How are things at the old site?"

"I think they're ready to call the excavation quits," Lloyd answered. "We've salvaged everything we could. Once Grandpa declares the site closed, Mizuho won't have any more ties to Tethe'alla. It's so weird to think about."

"But that will feel good, won't it?" Colette pressed. "To know that everyone is fully settled in their new home. It's been a lot of hard work, and it must be nice to see it paying off."

Lloyd blushed. "Yeah, that's true. I thought 'cause the foundations were already there, it'd be easy to build up houses again. But there were a lot of places where the Dwarven construction got in the way and made things more difficult than it would've been if things hadn't been there. Besides that, it was a lot of work getting the, uh…" He looked away, scrunching up his nose at the memory. "...fertilizer out of the way."

Genis laughed. "You should've told me when you were shoveling the guano. I wouldn't have helped, but I would have loved to watch you."

"Hey-!"

"Oh, speaking of work-!" Colette broke in before the two could start shoving one another. "Genis, is there any news about Raine's potential job…?"

The question made Genis perk up. "Yeah, that's right! She just heard yesterday- starting next week, Raine is going to be the new director of the Palmacosta University's Department of Archeology!"

Colette gasped, and Lloyd let out an exclamation of delight. "Genis, that's awesome! Tell her I said congrats!"

"Me too!" Colette agreed. "I'm so excited for her. That means she'll get to oversee a lot more dig sites, right?"

"Well, it's more that she's going to have more administrative duties on top of her existing research, but…" Genis waved a hand dismissively, but he was beaming with pride as well. "It's not only a really great opportunity for her, it's also a recognition of all the work she's done. Plus, it puts her completely in the archeology department, so there shouldn't be any work-relationship issues between her and Professor Low."

"Professor Low is working in the magitechnology department, right?" Colette asked, and Genis nodded.

"She's moved to Palmacosta full time too. I know it was partially for Raine's sake, but she said she's so much happier there than she is in Meltokio. In Meltokio, she has a reputation among the nobles, but in Palmacosta, she can be a scholar rather than an heiress." Genis paused before continuing. "Oh yeah! Professor Low's parents came to visit for the upcoming festival, and I got to meet them yesterday! They're really sweet, but her mom wouldn't stop hugging me… it was kinda embarrassing, but nice at the same time."

"That's so sweet," Colette chimed. "It sounds like your family is growing."

"Seriously. Though Bianca keeps telling people I'm her brother, and I hope people don't jump to conclusions because of it... just 'cause you guys are both married now doesn't mean I'm anywhere near ready for that sort of thing..." He sighed, and the break in the conversation seemed to trigger Lloyd's memory.

"Oh! Oh!" Lloyd jumped up and ran over to where he'd left his bag, digging through it. "Colette, the pictures I told you about finally got developed!"

Colette gasped in delight, and Genis leaned over in curiosity. "Pictures?"

"Mom found out that one of the soldiers in the militia owns a camera, so the two of us took some pictures with Bo. Look at these!" Lloyd returned to the blanket, handing the photo prints over to them. "Now I can carry these around with me anywhere I go and tell people 'this is my little brother!' Isn't that awesome?"

"How cute!" Colette cooed. "Bo always looks so happy when he's with you."

Genis smirked. "I hadn't realized before now, but the two of you really look alike. Is this what you looked like as a baby? Kind of embarrassing to have a real-life baby picture around for everyone to look at-"

"Hey! We don't look that much alike! And I'd never be embarrassed to have my brother around- I love him!"

"You can love your sibling and still be embarrassed by them. I can't count all the times Raine has embarrassed me around my friends. Just wait 'til he grows up a little."

Lloyd crossed his arms and turned away. "I'll wait, but it's not going to change anything! Bo and I are gonna be the best of friends!"

Colette giggled. "I'm sure you will, Lloyd."

"Say, has Zelos finished writing that inscription for the memorial yet? Dad is ready to start working on it once Zelos gets the final draft to him."

"Inscription?" Genis repeated. "You mean, for the memorial at the old ranch?"

"That's right." Colette nodded, handing Lloyd's photos back to him. "The landscaping is mostly complete, but Zelos wants the inscription on the memorial to be just right. He's still working on it right now, but he promised he'll get it to Dirk soon."

Genis handed over the pictures he'd been looking at as well, and leaned back. "Sounds like Zelos. Always waiting until the last minute with things."

"That's not true! Zelos has been working super hard with this project! He handled all the landscaping work, from designing the layout and picking the plants, laying the bricks for the path…" Colette clasped her hands against her chest. "While I'm looking forward to the grand opening, I'll be sad once it's all done. It's been nice seeing Zelos so passionate about something."

"He has been excited about it," Lloyd commented. "It was weird, visiting and seeing Zelos covered in dirt from gardening all day. But he looked so happy at the same time. I think living in Iselia has been good for him."

"It's been good for all of us. He gets to do work he enjoys, Seles' health has improved a lot, and Pete gets to run around the village and play with the local dogs all he likes." Colette giggled. "Thinking back to how worried I was about Zelos a year ago… he really seems happier, and I'm happier too. I miss the kids back in Meltokio, but teaching in Iselia is a lot of fun too. Having all different ages together in one classroom- now I know why Raine loved it so much."

The three of them went quiet, listening to the sound of the wind through the branches. Lloyd leaned back, his hand brushing against the grass beneath them.

"...it's really been a year since we found Adora here, hasn't it?" he asked.

Colette closed her eyes and Genis sat up straighter. "Only a year, huh?" Genis murmured. "So much has happened, since then."

"But, thinking back to that day, we were only concerned about saving Adora and getting her back to her family," Colette pointed out. "And we've done that. It took a lot longer than I thought, but I think she and Yuan and Song are all happy too."

Lloyd smiled, looking back over at his stack of photos. He could see the corner of one still in his bag, the one where they'd managed to call Dirk, round up Noishe and his fox friends, and even drag Kratos in for a full family picture. It was next to another, smaller photo, and he reached for it. "...I brought something for Martel, but I'm not sure how to give it to her. If I just leave it by the tree, do you think she'll get it?"

"Something for Martel?" Genis shifted closer to get a look. "What is it?"

"Song gave this to Kratos, and he didn't want it, so he gave it to me. As cute as it is, I think it's the kind of thing Martel should have."

Lloyd held up the photo, different in shape and texture from the ones of his own family. It showed Yuan, Song, and Adora together, the latter two sporting wide smiles while Yuan looked as heartwarmingly not-miserable as Lloyd had ever seen him. Colette crowded in to look as well, so Lloyd set the photo against the grass at the base of the Tree's roots. Colette let out a gasp as she admired it, leaning against Lloyd's shoulder.

"They look like a proper family. Seeing this, I don't just think they're happy, I know it."

The photo had fallen over slightly, so Genis propped it up again, making sure it was steady against the tree roots.

"If you leave it here like this, I'm sure Martel will find it."

"You think?" Lloyd smiled and flushed slightly. "I just want to make sure she knows she made the right decision."

"I'm sure she knows." Colette placed her hand over Lloyd's. "She trusts you. You're working hard to make the world a better place for Adora to grow up."

"We all are," Lloyd replied. "It'll take a lot of work, but we'll keep doing it, no matter what."

Colette laughed and nodded along. "It's the first Dwarven Vow, isn't it?"

"It sure is."