"I can't imagine how high the tower must have been when it still stood! Are you sure, Zaveid?"

"Yeah, absolutely sure. Lothringen was big." Zaveid strolled up the remnants of a giant staircase next to Sorey, sharing tidbits about what was now known as Lohgrin. "I mean, you can see how they fit an entire village into its base. That thing went at least two hundred metres upward. Not sure how they built it, though; I think it was with seraphic artes, but I never asked." He scowled at the empty air for some reason and Sorey left him be.

About three weeks passed since they parted with van Aifread and his people; he had yet to come to terms with the fact they let a group of bandits go, but Zaveid made very clear whom he would help in a fight. Add into that the several powerful hellions Aifread commanded and Sorey felt less awkward about the matter; he could take care of it somehow in the future, once Heldalf was defeated. Oddly enough, the amount of Malevolence around Zaphgott Moor had dwindled over those weeks they traveled. Even the ancient ruins they explored held surprisingly little darkness; hellions they found aplenty, but this only added to the overall peculiarity.

Now as they entered a singular, giant chamber at the area the staircase broke off, Sorey could not help but marvel at the almost pristine sight; a stone monolith stood opposite to the entrance, bearing writing that called him like a moth to flame. His beaming smile remained even when he failed to recognise the script; it may very well be Ancient Avarost, the most difficult tongue still known to man. Just the find itself was incredible. Sorey's fugue did not last long however; Dezel broke the moment as he sometimes did: "There is a compartment in the back. Too small for any of us to enter."

Zaveid confirmed it a moment later, then teasingly nudged Edna. "Well, maybe the little one here fits in there. Wanna give it a try and get the treasure?" The seraph girl stared up at him blankly until he let off with a chuckle. "Alright, alright. I'll get it."

"How would you-" Rose's question was interrupted by a sudden breeze; Zaveid's winds entered the hidden compartment and quickly carried out a gemstone. "-right, forgot about that. How did I forget about that?" No one answered Rose, the lot of them more absorbed by the pink crystal Zaveid held into the light. "Oh, is it actual treasure? I've never seen that kind of colour before, how do you think it got there?"

"It's an Iris Gem," Sorey told her giddily, almost tearing the device out of Zaveid's hand. "They're used to record history!" Going by the sigh she heaved, he was not getting through to her; Sorey tried again. "Rose! I mean actual scenes of history, not text or paintings! They are incredible! Just watch!" Before anyone could object, he channeled his mana into the gem until it shone brightly. He instantly knew when to stop, seeing as another scene overlayed on his vision.

The room vanished and he found himself under the open air, standing atop a giant temple right in front of an altar. And before him sat a dragon, his silvery scales gleaming in the sun. Gasps rang out, making it clear his friends were there even though he could not see them. The only human present was a woman about his age, clad in a flowing pink dress; an untamed wave of pale blonde hair cascaded down her back.

"Come ooooon!" she whined at Maotelus and threw out her arms. "Why not?!"

"Because it is dangerous," the dragon returned in a surprisingly light voice.

"That's subjective and you know it! I can handle it!"

They kept... bickering like this, and was that not an odd way to think of a Great Lord. Sorey hardly had any time to marvel at the majestic figure because he tried to listen in at the same time; he quickly shushed Rose when she tried to talk over the memory.

"How about you tell me the truth?" the dragon ultimately asked. "We both know the history books you compiled are more than enough to pass knowledge to future generations." Sorey felt like he detected a sense of annoyance in how he said this; it may be a common argument those two had. Hearing them talk about books however, the slow realisation who he was watching made his eyes grow wider still.

"Alright, fine! I'm tired of taking notes and losing them over time. Happy now? Come on, you've got nothing to do without a Lord of Calamity active, anyway! Lemme just copy some stuff out of the Earthen Historia, that's better for my practical tests, too!" Sorey tried to move while she spoke and felt himself pass distance, but the scene remained in place to his eyes. Just as he came to stand again, he heard the most defeated sigh ever uttered. A silver-scaled paw reached out to the woman, then cut the air right next to her with but one claw. It left behind a rift that oscillated between orange and red.

"At your own risk," he muttered. "Please be careful, Magilou."

"Oh, don't worry your scaly little head over me. I'll be fine!" The scene then moved, positioning Sorey right next to the grinning lady as she inspected the rift. Her whispered addition was clearly not meant for the dragon: "But I'm definitely keeping this scene, just so I can see the face you made again and again."

On the last word, they were in Lohgrin again. Sorey swayed back and forth for a moment as his senses made sense of the change; he glanced between his friends, saw Edna's and Mikleo's thoughtful expressions. Rose grinned before breaking into chuckles, as did Zaveid.

"Ah, she never changes," the wind seraph got out after a moment. Upon seeing the bewildered looks from Mikleo and Sorey, he shrugged. "Met the lady a few times. Magilou Mayvin, bet you heard of her." Sorey just nodded dumbly, now having confirmation. He wandered away from his friends then, slumping against the monolith. Mikleo's gaze followed him trying to make sense of the world.

"Poor Sorey," he heard his brother mutter. "He has looked up to the Grand Historian Mayvin since he was little."

"And he just saw his idol pester a Great Lord into this," Edna added with dry amusement.

Rose shrugged, mostly nonplussed by the news. "Well, nerds gotta nerd. I like her though. She's a great nerd!"

"Say, Zaveid? How long ago did Mayvin live?" Mikleo's question managed to draw Sorey out of his minor crisis for a moment; he stared at the wind seraph, who shrugged under everyone's attention.

"'Bout a thousand years ago, give or take a few," he explained nonchalantly. "She's been around when the Age of the Gods ended. One hell of a woman, her. Could run circles around the lot of us if she wanted to." He then fell silent, clearly refusing to say more; Sorey picked up on it, but so did Rose.

"Hey, any reason you're always saying these cryptic things when we ask you about the past? I'm kinda curious about her now, you know?" She was clearly not happy when Zaveid just shrugged at her; much to everyone's surprise, Mikleo took his side.

"We did just find out that one of greatest names of an age was nothing like we thought she was. Chances are the past was different than most people remember, so maybe he doesn't want to break our beliefs any more than that?" There was a momentary silence as everyone considered Mikleo's suggestion.

"...that's a lot of thought you attribute to him there, Mibu."

"Hey now, cut it out. He's right! I'm doing you guys a favour here!"

Sorey could not help but wonder. He studied Zaveid for a moment, having found a gap in his reasoning. "But we already know that Mayvin wasn't like we imagined. You could tell us a bit more about her anyway, right?" The other man barked out a laugh and motioned for him to ask, so Sorey did: "If she lived during the Age of the Gods, does that mean she knew Artorius? Eleanor, maybe?" He somehow doubted Claudin, but Zaveid likely knew more regardless.

"Huh, good question. She and Eleanor were traveling companions, of a sort. Constantly bickering, those two. Mayvin liked to rile people up." Zaveid frowned thoughtfully while Sorey drank in every word; it was not much, but he could never learn any of this from books. "She knew Artorius too, but they weren't on good terms. Bit of a situation back then." For some reason, Mikleo's face lost all expression and turned into the blank mask he always adopted when trying to hide something. No one else noticed, but Sorey's gaze turned to his brother at once and made them aware. Zaveid shook his head before the shepherd could even ask. "Don't bother, I think I know what he figured out and it falls under his Oath."

"And what is it, Zaveid? You're not under Oath after all." Rose merely received a conceited grin and no response, to which she pouted. "Spoilsport..."

Mikleo had dropped his odd expression in favour of wonder by this point. "That aside," he began slowly, "it's a little weird how greatness often comes bunched up like that. Artorius, Eleanor, and Mayvin all existed in the same time." He had a point, although Zaveid huffed almost immediately.

"It ain't that weird, kid. Outrageous times require outrageous people. They became so important 'cause they were strong enough to survive back then, so they had a future after throwing their lot in fighting for it."

That made sense to Sorey as well, although he wondered just what made that age so dangerous. Rose apparently had similar thoughts, going by her question: "Was it that much more dangerous than today is?"

"Yes and no," Edna chimed in as Zaveid opened his mouth. She was facing the monolith, absently stroking the small plush toy on her umbrella. "The challenges today are different, so you can't compare it that easily. What I can say for sure is that our little kittybeard doesn't compare to the giants of back then... don't ask. Curiousity killed the cat."

"What she means to say is she was busy being a hermit back then, so all she knows is what Eizen wrote her." The quip earned Zaveid a glare, who laughed it off. "But yeah, looking at it, things just aren't the same anymore. I think that one old bastard called that humanity would regress when the Lord of Calamity blew up the only site to mine flamestone, and he was right. Technology regressed, one empire split into two at war with each other, and for some reason there has been no true champion ever since."

They all pondered this for a moment; Sorey was not entirely sure if it was meant as an insult, though he could see Zaveid's point. Dezel broke the contemplative silence, the first time he injected himself in the conversation: "What exactly do you mean? We have plenty powerful people in this age."

"Ain't the same, buddy. Just, uh, look here." Zaveid pointed at Sorey, who straightened up under the attention. "World's in a pinch, Lord of Calamity is entrenched and working toward victory. This is our shepherd; some boy from out in the boonies who hasn't seen another human for most of his life, who's barely proficient with his sword, no offense Sorey-" "None taken" "-and his resonance is nothing to write home about either. Heck, I think Rose's is greater than his." His assessment hurt, but it completely fit in with the qualms Sorey fought with every now and then. "Now let's look back, last time there was a threat that severe? Artorius was shepherd then, and Eleanor succeeded him right after. Now think of all the shepherds in-between, you remember even one of 'em? What were their names?"

No one responded for a while; Zaveid leaned back against the wall with a shrug, his point made. Mikleo tried to defend his brother anyway: "You don't have to be so negative about it. Sorey is constantly improving and works hard to-"

"That's beside the point. Like it or not, the fact Sorey is shepherd means he's probably the best this age has to offer." Once he was done interrupting Mikleo, he turned to the subject of their discussion: "And just so we're clear, I'm not saying you suck. You're doing fine, 'specially with your circumstances. But you wouldn't compare yourself to a guy like Artorius, would you?"

"...no, not really." He knew he was not that great. With everything they just learned however, he wondered about something else: "Do you have any idea what could have made people regress like that?"

Unfortunately, Zaveid merely shrugged again. "Beats me. I just know how it is." He frowned in thought before stepping forward to clap a hand on Sorey's shoulder. "I guess the point of it is that you're not on par with the old giants, probably never will. So don't try to pull the same kind of weight, do what you can." His grin took the sting out of that patronising comment. "Honestly, I've seen some shepherds over the years. Usually come in two types, the saviour and the preserver. First type is the kind I'd say has the drive and power to save the world if need be, second type is better suited to keeping everything going and improving what's there. I'd say you're more of a preserver than a saviour."

He never thought of it like that; in Sorey's mind, being the shepherd meant to save the world. To protect it... but preservation was never a part of the big picture, even though it should have been. However- "Which is bad if the world does need saving. Who saves the saviour?" Edna gave them a moment to digest her interjection, turning around with a smug little grin. "Safe bet you're going to be in trouble if you can't save yourself from it. So save us all exactly that trouble and don't try to do more than you can."

Blunt as usual. Sorey could not help but sigh. "I know you don't mean anything bad, but this is still depressing. If we knew what led to people regressing, then we might be able to do something about it." At least he could distract himself with knowledge for a while. "You said something about, uh, was it firestone? What was that?"

Zaveid had no answer this time; curiously enough, Edna piped up when he remained silent: "Wait a moment." She then closed her eyes and fell still, expression shifting minutely as the seconds passed. Everyone watched her, but no one knew what she was doing. Then, suddenly, Edna spoke: "Flamestone was harvested at the foot of Mt. Killaraus, far up north. The volcano held its only known deposit. Mixing it with sulfur yielded gunpowder to operate naval cannons, think a more powerful ballista. Mixing it with oil yielded fuel to power engines with, which could bring up far more power than human muscle."

She fell quiet and opened her eyes, beholding her surprised companions. Sorey made sure to memorise everything he just heard, leaving it to Rose to ask questions: "What did you just do? No way all of this was just at the back of your mind, memory doesn't work like that."

"For some it does," Edna retorted smugly while rolling her umbrella. "But if you must know, that was my blessing at work. I can call back fond memories in others, and always remember my own in perfect clarity. That was from one of my brother's letters."

"Ohhh!"

From this point onward, the conversation turned to lighter subjects; Rose kept badgering Edna about her blessing's specifics, Sorey listened in idly, and the lot of them left the room to seek people in need of help. Over the following week however, he realised that there was little for him to do this far out; Malevolence was on the decline, Heldalf made no apparent moves, and they found nothing noteworthy on the journey back to Pendrago either. Due to already having done everything along the way, they reached the capital within three weeks, just as Spring turned to Summer.

Moreover, they made it in time to join the expedition if he so wanted. The evening of their arrival in Pendrago, all of them were seated at the inn they chose to stay at to discuss the matter.

"I mean, I know there's less Malevolence all around," Rose argued with a frown, "but shouldn't we focus on Heldalf anyway? Who knows what he's up to."

"You've got a point, but we might find something useful on that island. I'm not much of a ruin diver like Sorey is, but I can tell ya there's often useful stuff in the older ones. Might give us an edge."

"Perhaps literally if we find a sword." Edna grinned at Zaveid, who rolled his eyes. Sorey quietly had to agree with the wind seraph's point, though he hardly liked the exploration for its promise of loot. Then however, Edna surprised him: "Anyway, we worked hard for a while now. A vacation won't end the world." She grew defensive upon seeing the owlish looks from everyone directed at her.

"Heh, sounds like having some sweethearts makes you lighten up a tad." Ducking under Zaveid's headpat, Edna scowled at him. Everyone could tell there was more heat in her cheeks than anywhere else. Mikleo came to her rescue, having grown fond of their little gremlin as far as Sorey could tell.

"She has a point. Margaret, Alisha, and Symonne are holding down the fort just fine, so we should take the breather while we can." That more or less settled it for Sorey, who felt a majority decision ought to be enough; Dezel withheld any comment, stating he was fine with either choice when asked.

While they prepared and met the scholars again the following day, Rose ran off to meet with her Sparrow Feathers in town. She reappeared oddly sullen, muttering about jerks not telling her what odd customer they were dealing with; her mood reverted to normal by the time they left the city, escorting those same scholars to port Anselm. Sorey had not been there before, but he immediately adored the small coastal township. It was more of a fishing port than a trade hub, what with Glenwood being a supercontinent, but the people appeared happy as could be.

It took a few minutes to reassure the captain there was not another phony shepherd on board, though it was thankfully as easy as having Mikleo create various shapes out of water from the harbour. They were welcomed with great joy afterward and the ship set out.

. .

. .

"And of course she isn't in reach anymore." Eguile's head was buried in his arms, the tired man resting on a sturdy table. "Left port just yesterday. We should have just told her instead of being coy." The men and women around him winced, well aware he chose not to risk being overheard relaying this intel. They all knew Eguile had hoped their investigation would turn up nothing.

Before him sat the compiled data on Velvet Crowe, a woman who by all accounts did not exist until two years before. No one ever met her before then, no one knew who she was, and by her appearance as well as her actions she clearly was an individual people would remember. She worked for the Bloodwing Butterflies, a shadow guild that grew from nothing to infamy rivaling the Scattered Bones only after her arrival from nowhere. There were few other suspicious matters about her, but this just made more apparent she tried to keep a low profile. Perhaps she destroyed evidence of her own existence. Unfortunately, Eguile could not even begin to guess what, or from what she might be hiding.

Sighing, he straightened up and wished this had come in earlier. This should not be his choice to make, at least not without asking Rose's opinion. Yet she was off on a journey for at least a month, likely more; his gut told him time was of the essence. It also insisted that Velvet Crowe was seriously bad news. The job was necessary.

Unaware of the orders given in these moments however, the woman in question was busy teaching her therion how to cook.

Alisha had taken well to the most important lesson, not to experiment with the recipe until she knew her way around a kitchen better. She eagerly absorbed every bit of knowledge Velvet imparted, finding joy in the simple repetition of preparing food for a meal. Just like her teacher, she delighted in others liking her cooking; it gave her some confidence and helped push the traitorous voice of her mind back down. Alisha was useful, she could get things done just fine. She was more than just a tool or a scapegoat now.

Seated near the two women that could take the world and win, Laphicet and Symonne were cuddling as they waited for a batch of cookies to finish baking. They were just as content, if a little morose for missing Edna in their moment of relaxation.

Eizen had run off to explore Lastonbell in the meantime, finding it greatly different from the original Stonebury. Margaret played his guide, receiving greetings and respect wherever she went; few bothered her for long however. As alienating as seeing her chatter at thin air may appear, all knew her attention focussed on the seraph accompanying her.

And half a continent away, a warrior of great renown pointed her spear at the nonplussed Nica.