Edna wondered just how this happened.

Being moody after another visit from Zaveid the previous day, her heart made a leap when she felt another seraph's mana at the edge of her perception. Then it turned out to not be Laphicet as she expected, but Lailah. She had not seen Lailah in centuries. And the other seraph brought a shepherd. Whom Edna then had to save from Eizen, but that was beside the point.

She remained uncertain just what exactly convinced her to leave the Spiritcrest and help Sorey, but his earnestness was probably a major factor. He cared in a genuine way that reminded her much of Laphicet, she could admit that much to herself. It took a single conversation and an impromptu grave marker for a random hellion to notice.

Edna spent most of the journey to Marlind getting comfy within Sorey, as well as getting used to how crowded it was in him. Most of the rest of her time went into practicing with the silver flame of purification, helping out with a few hellions they came by. She never saw that many in such a short time before; although, admittedly, the silver flame was cheating: douse the hellion once and the fight is won. No need to so much as beat it up, which she was not entirely sure she liked or disliked; venting frustrations was easier when she could hit something she knew would keep coming at her.

Either way, had she not had semi-recent company in form of a sweet seraph boy over the past year, she probably would feel a lot more on edge from the constant chatter around her. Sorey talked a lot and about many different things, once again with a similar earnestness to himself. He appeared interested in everything that Lailah or Edna could tell him, though the latter wisely kept quiet about how much she actually knew. As much as Zaveid rubbed her the wrong way, she listened when he told tales of his travels.

Now however, they were standing in front of a roaring river where a bridge once was. Destroyed by a corrupted seraph that Sorey managed to quell before he turned into a true dragon. Dragons were another reason Edna made the leap and went with him; he promised he would look for a way to return Eizen, caring for a random stranger in such a way that simply baffled her. Yet he was genuine, even though Edna wondered by herself; she clamped down on any doubts of it being possible, though. At least she had to try.

Now they were discussing how to play this. And by 'they', Edna meant the other three. She was standing a few steps from the cliffside, gazing out onto the current. She never saw such a swollen river before, wondered how deep it was and how fast. Like most earth seraphim she could not swim, so she made sure to stay distant from the drop. Dozens of people were settled in a small camp a few dozen metres distant; most of them were workers who brought material to build a new bridge, but nothing was built yet. The river flew too strong at this time of year, as Summer faded and Autumn settled in. Dark clouds promised more rain even now, but what made her sigh quietly was the fact they were still arguing.

"I mean, I get it," Sorey said in that moment, probably waving his arms in some way as she noticed he often did, "but it still feels wrong to just leave these people here without helping them. Why does the shepherd need complete neutrality, anyway? I can't help anyone if I stay out of everything, right?"

"Not quite," Lailah returned primly, as she did this whole exchange. She certainly had more patience than Edna. "The shepherd's main duty is to cleanse hellions and keep the people free of Malevolence, not to tend to their other, more worldly concerns."

Edna continued to ignore the bickering trio in favour of studying the stream; her senses told her that the riverbed lay at least a dozen metres deep. She would love to swim in it, but that would drown her; maybe Laphicet knew how to swim and could teach her? Or Velvet?

Her wondering when she might next meet either of the two siblings was interrupted, much like the argument behind her, when heavy steps darted up their little hill. She could feel them quite clearly, belonging to boots of iron and accompanied by the clatter of armour. Turning to the newcomer, Edna beheld a woman about halfway between herself and Lailah in height, clad in light, brightly coloured armour. Sand-coloured hair clung to her sweaty forehead and her breathing came quick when she stopped before them, a spear or lance clasped onto her back. "Sorey! You made it!"

The other three turned to meet the newcomer, so Edna made a full turn as well to study her more closely. Knightly she was, standing straight and with a gentle smile as she greeted everyone.

"Yeah, we did." Sorey scratched the back of his head as he glanced at the camp behind them. "I already saw that things aren't as good as they could be. Why are you so out of breath?"

"Oh, well, I was patrolling the surrounding area for hellions to cleanse." The woman breathed more deeply by now and wiped her brow with her gauntlet. "The workers are still in a good mood, but I fear for what might happen if the construction is stalled too long. We may have to cross elsewhere ahead of the caravan." She then hesitated for a moment, eyes going from Sorey over Mikleo and Lailah to Edna, then back. "But enough of me, how was Rayfalke?" Before anyone could even answer, she followed up with a rather more curious question: "Did you see the dragon?"

"Yeah, just like you said." Sorey nodded somewhat solemnly while Edna's chest tightened for a moment. Her eyes narrowed as she beheld the woman again, but the only one who might have noticed was Mikleo. He did not say anything about her annoyance with people treating her brother like a landmark, but by the grimace he sent her way he understood. Then however, Edna was distracted by her shepherd. "He really was as terrifying as you said, one roar and the mountain shook."

"And guess who figured his best course of action was to face him?" Mikleo chimed in with a roll of his eyes, which made Sorey wilt and Lailah chuckle. Edna had to huff as well while the young water seraph continued: "If Edna hadn't been there, we might have become lunch."

She only realised what he did a moment later, when all eyes went to her. Smooth, surprisingly so for what she saw of him so far. Sorey took the hint and put on a smile. "Oh, right. Alisha, meet Edna, she's an earth seraph who agreed to bond with me and help purify hellions. Edna, meet Alisha, she's my squire."

Alisha did not give her a chance to quip, she immediately bowed at the waist. "It is an honour to make your acquaintance, seraph Edna."

She had to take a moment to just stare, trying not to blush when she heard Lailah chuckling at the side. Alisha remained as she was for several seconds before straightening again, which left Edna with time to deliberate on what to say. Her first question, she figured, might as well remain on the previous subject. "Likewise. Do people talk about dragons a lot, or are you just a nerd?"

More chuckling while the squire blinked at her owlishly. Edna rolled her umbrella on her shoulder, waiting with one eyebrow raised. When it became clear she expected an answer, the other woman started hesitantly: "Well, it is not either of those. Last Winter, I met a traveler who climbed the Spriticrest. There were always rumours of dragons up there, but she told me rather vividly how powerful the creature truly was."

Last Winter? Edna's eyes narrowed as she thought, there was only one woman who passed by where she could see in the previous year.

"Huh, she must have strong resonance to have seen him." Sorey's gaze wandered between the two women. "Did you talk to her, Edna?"

"That depends." She turned her attention back to Alisha and raised her hand as high as she could. "This tall, long, black hair? Chest a little bigger than Lailah's?"

There were a few striking details about Velvet, but her height and hair were the most notable of them. Edna just added the boobs because she could, and because it forced Alisha to look that way to measure with her eyes; she fidgeted once she realised what Edna just made her do, but did not say anything about it. "Yes, that sounds about right. I forgot her name, I am afraid. She did not speak of meeting any seraphim up there, though."

"She probably kept it under wraps because you were not able to perceive us at the time, or because you were in public," Lailah told her gently, not having commented on the previous matter. "Some much rather have peace from people interested in their resonance, or their doubt of it."

"I see. She was rather quite friendly, though." Alisha frowned, gaze directed downward for a moment, but then she shook her head and looked back up. "Be that as it may, what were you discussing before my arrival?"

Now it was her time to shine. Edna raised her hand with a mirthless grin, then pointed it at Sorey and the other two seraphim. "Those three clowns can't agree whether to build or not build a bridge. Which is a bridge they obviously couldn't cross before we got to it, as there is no bridge."

Sorey and Mikleo both went cross-eyed as they tried to parse the sentence, Lailah chuckled, and Alisha went right back to frowning. Instead of joining her snark however, she addressed Sorey curiously: "Why is it that you should not assist?"

"Well, uh, I kinda want to, but Lailah also has a point that I shouldn't get involved in those things too much, or everyone might start expecting me to take that kind of work off their shoulders. Or get scared of me if they see me do superhuman things, but I think that's more of a secondary thing."

Alisha listened to him calmly and offered a single nod. "Hm, I believe I can follow that reasoning and it does make sense from the point of maintaining the shepherd's neutrality." She paused, perhaps for effect, and all of Edna's hopes for a near resolution were destroyed with her next words: "However, I can not in good conscience agree with it. Even as your squire, I am still a knight of Hyland. Rebuilding this bridge will take at least a year and the work can not even begin until the water level lowers in Winter."

And instead of three clowns arguing, there were now four. Edna stepped back again, sighed, and turned around to gaze at the river once more. This was annoying, those four were annoying, the humans praying a little bit down the river were annoying.

Through her mood however, Edna noticed something curious; those human workers were not praying for a seraph to return the bridge. They prayed for the water level to go down soon, so that they could start building. Their pleas called to any seraph who might listen, so Lailah and Mikleo could both hear it as well if they actually took a moment to listen. A glance behind her told Edna that neither would do so anytime soon.

But indeed, they did not expect someone to come and do their work for them. All they wished for was an issue they could do nothing about be solved. She figured she might as well throw them a bone, if just so they could finally get going. Not to mention that some of the workers had begun to notice Sorey and Alisha arguing on this hill and were watching them, so it was high time.

Her mana flowed almost gently, from her body into the ground. The earth began to rumble and everyone noticed; Lailah and Mikleo both turned their attention to Edna immediately while the other two were looking around.

"You, Alisha."

The young woman turned to Edna as well upon being spoken to. "You can tell that bunch that I heard their prayers." The earth shifted under her will while Edna continued to direct mana into it, forming bedrock and pushing it out of the riverbed. She threw a flat stare to Sorey, who watched curiously. "You have an earth seraph right here who is done with you all wasting our time."

A row of evenly spaced pillars rose from the lake, casting back large waves of water as they took their places. The earth continued to shake and she could hear exclamations from the common folk. What would Laphicet think if he saw her do this right now? Would he rib her for being too soft? Probably, he and maybe Velvet might be able to tell she did want to help, even if she would never say it that way.

As the tremors died down and Edna let go of her mana, she felt like sinking to the ground, but forced herself to stay steady; she was not going to act weak here. She still had to take deep breaths after such an exertion, only barely able to stop her legs from shaking. Only after she made sure she was steady did the seraph girl turn around, a confident, smug grin on her face as she beheld her companions; Alisha was looking past her at the solid pillars with wide-eyed awe, as did Mikleo. Sorey's eyes were on Edna herself and he wore a big smile that made her wonder again, if perhaps he figured her out already. Was she that bad an actress?

Lailah, ultimately, appeared thoughtful. She did not share her thoughts with them, though.

The moment passed and Alisha perked up, then strode over to the workers who still looked upon the lake in awe. "A kind lady seraph has answered your pleas!" she shouted over the river's gurgling and the excited murmuring. "Shall this suffice as a foundation to build a new bridge?"

The overseer snapped to attention immediately and the rest followed right after. "Of course, your highness! We will begin immediately!"

'Your highness'? Edna's eyes were on Alisha again, but then she left that be for a moment. Everyone was in high spirits, so she allowed herself a bigger smile and turned back to look at her work. It was quite orderly, all pillars being in a straight line; a quick burst of mana into the ground gave her a better idea for its composition. She made doubly sure each of them was completely stable, which they were.

"I can not thank you enough," Alisha addressed her from the side. Edna blinked and wondered when she got there, but shrugged it off while the other woman bowed her head again. "It means a great deal to me. Thank you."

She could just play it off, but not in a way that did not imply she felt good from being helpful. Which she did, surprisingly; her first true voyage from home and she learned she liked to help others, while knowing she did not want people to know that. So instead, Edna decided to change the subject: "You're royalty?"

Her question made Alisha perk up in surprise. "Well, yes. Though nowhere close to succeeding His Majesty the king, I am a princess of Hyland." The others nodded along, so Edna took it at face value. She also decided to keep an eye on Alisha, maybe learn more about how to act like a proper lady.

"Alright." Edna vaguely considered poking fun at her, but nothing good came to mind quickly. Not to mention that she was tired. "Anyway, I'm going to take a nap." She quickly dispersed into mana and settled into Sorey, her voice echoing through his and Alisha's minds: "Wake me when we reach Marlind."

While Edna napped however, Sorey could not help but feel a little sheepish over how people were cheering for him and Alisha. He figured it was an impressive sight to see two people hop over dozens of metres between those stone pillars above a roaring river, but being cheered at just for doing what he usually did remained odd. At least Alisha seemed to have fun; she whooped happily with every other jump, enjoying the full power of a seraph's bond coursing through her.

However, this was most of the excitement they got for a few days. The road to Marlind remained mostly free of hellions. Edna did not actually nap the entire time, so she and Alisha could get acquainted; that girl really had a quick wit and a sharp tongue, mercilessly abusing Alisha's reverence of the seraphim to pull pranks on her. Or perhaps Alisha just played along, he could not say for sure. Either way, what Sorey noticed as the days passed was the Malevolence continuously getting more dense. They burned away the bigger clouds they could reach, but the land had grown dark under blackness, flakes of it floating in the air.

When they reached the city, the black flakes created a fog that made seeing Marlind's other side difficult. It was midday, but the Malevolence made it appear like dusk. The people were subdued, but word of Alisha's arrival still spread quickly and improved their mood somewhat. The gentle shepherd was quite welcome as well; the medicine they carried definitely did its part in lifting their spirits, even if it came too late for far too many. Sorey tried not to look too hard at the rows of bodies covered by straw mats.

"I am not sure how much I can be of assistance," the mayor apologised when Sorey and Alisha managed to get a hold of him. "We still do not know where the plague originates or what transmits it." He could not know the answer to both was 'Malevolence', but Sorey kept quiet about that. The older man looked like he ran himself ragged already, but he still wore a smile for them. Or maybe because of them. "Of unusual occurences, what comes to mind is the museum at the edge of town. It seems to be haunted, or so I was told."

Sorey took note of Edna and Lailah perking up, turning their heads while the mayor spoke, but he could not look at what they were seeing without being rude. Alisha was giving him a thoughtful look now. "This sounds like something we want to investigate, does it not?"

He gave a nod, but was prevented from answering out loud when a voice spoke up behind them: "Um, excuse me?"

Shepherd and Squire both turned around, to find a woman about their age. She stood a little taller than Alisha and was clad in white with silvery accents, though her shirt and pants had turned grey from dust and were a little dirty. Blonde hair close to gold in colour fell down to her shoulders openly, framing a heart-shaped face. Sorey blinked at the sight.

. .

. .

Laphicet floated around the Spiritcrest, more worried than he was in a while. He normally should have seen Edna by now, having run around the highest mountaintops for a good hour. Yet she was not there, nowhere to be seen. At first he just figured she left her usual haunt and took a walk or something, but his mind began to paint more grim pictures after a while. It only got worse when he saw Eizen resting on a large plateau, rolled into a ball and snoozing. What if he ate Edna?

His chest became painfully tight at just the thought and he tried to chase it away, but it remained persistently stuck to the back of his head like a parasite, refusing to be dislodged. Laphicet's course repeatedly brought him back to the resting dragon, the third time close enough for Eizen to notice; he opened slitted eyes and stared up at the intruder, then began to growl. Only to freeze in place when Laphicet growled back in seven voices, a note of power in them that made the beast hesitate and slink away the moment the greater dragon's attention turned elsewhere.

He tried to calm himself and returned to Edna's vessel, the shrine she built mainly for the memory of all the travelers her brother ate over the centuries. There were only some traces of mana left, meaning she had not been around for a while. Mana did not linger long in one place.

Looking closer at the shrine however, he noticed something odd as he rounded it fully: the ground was uneven where it should be smooth. Blinking, Laphicet threw himself into the air to get an overview. What he saw made the worry melt, made relief course through his entire being. He sighed and turned away after reading the message left for him; Edna left her mountain, telling Laphicet not to wait for her return. Saying that they would definitely meet on the way; he hoped they would. Desolation was a big place, but then again, as much as he refused to believe in fate, these things had a habit of working out.