"I hope they are alright," Sorey told his brother morosely. He could not help but worry and wonder just how it came to this; their group had splintered just like that. Mikleo frowned in response, however. A little less compassionate.

"I hope Edna is alright," he countered and Sorey hung his head. "She might have died if you hadn't stopped Dezel. I don't begrudge that she made a run for it." He was right, though Sorey still worried; he got along well enough with Rose despite her apparently being an assassin. Whoever this 'Brad' was, he must have meant a lot to her. Ever since her and Dezel left them, the two brothers were walking on their own; they probably fell days behind them by now, what with Mikleo having no means to let them walk with the winds.

The silence between them grew to a depressing length while Sorey mused, fully aware that he would cast himself into a hole if he kept stewing like this. Not only was Desolation in flux, the whole world may very well belong to a Lord of Calamity now. Zaveid's words kept echoing through his head, of being lesser than Artorius and not made to save the world; but then, who else was there?

"Seraph ahead!" Mikleo urgently broke into his contemplation. "And a hellion, too!"

"How far?" Sorey immediately focussed on the road ahead, but his brother pointed sideways to a small hill. His attention shifted accordingly and moments later, two familiar figures crested its tip. His heart skipped a beat as the morose thoughts were drowned out by joy for a moment. "Look, it's Edna! And Alisha!" It took him several seconds to remember the last time they met, but even then Sorey felt tentatively hopeful. He waved and Alisha returned the motion after but a moment of hesitation.

After that, he eagerly jogged over to meet them halfway. As they closed in, both could see the hellion's pensive expression; Mikleo quickly switched sides with Sorey, who accepted the temporary solution. While his brother greeted Edna, he turned to Alisha first... and only managed a lame "Hey".

"Ah, hello, Sorey." At least she was not better off, fidgeting lightly. Then however, the princess firmed up and motioned for Edna. "She reached us mostly unharmed, thanks to you I hear."

"Yeah," he murmured, finding Mikleo lead Edna aside in his peripheral vision. It was high time Sorey sorted this out and they both knew it, but getting started was just so hard. "Listen, Alisha, I... I'm sorry." A surprised blink was all the reaction his apology garnered and Sorey sighed. "For last time. I shouldn't have tried to force the matter, and I'm sorry."

Waiting for a response was nearly agonising, though Alisha at least appeared sympathetic; her expression softened considerably. "I understand," she ultimately told him, "and I forgive you, just like I hope you can forgive the words I spoke that day. I was far out of line." Hearing this lifted one of the many weights from his shoulders, letting Sorey breathe a little easier. He could not help but smile.

"It's okay. I already forgot what exactly you said. So, friends?"

"Yes, please." She fidgeted again even though her lips had also curled up, but then stepped forward to hug the surprised Sorey. "I'm glad," she murmured on his shoulder, and he hummed in agreement giving her a strong squeeze. Curiously, Alisha was soft, far more so than one would expect a hellion to be. Just like any other woman he ever embraced, which was mostly the seraphim back at home. Hardly different from Rose either, though thinking of the errant assassin reminded him of Velvet.

When they separated, Sorey's expression had hardened; Alisha picked up on it instantly. "Maotelus is dead," he began and her eyes widened. "We all felt it two weeks ago, his domain up and vanished. It- uh, yeah?" Alisha had raised a hand to interrupt him, slowly shaking her head.

"He is not dead, Sorey."

"...sorry, what?"

"He is not dead," Alisha repeated. "I was there, you see? He stood at the brink of total corruption for a while due to Heldalf's machinations. Velvet and Laphicet worked the last few years to save him, and they managed. But they had to tear off the corrupted parts, so to speak, so only a normal seraph remains."

Sorey gaped at the sheepish hellion, unable to form a coherent sentence. He slowly moved his hand without reason, wondering if perhaps Alisha was lying. But why would she? What was he to do next? If those two did save Maotelus. "B-But she's, Velvet is..." he tried to argue before trailing off. That argument would not work on Alisha, even he knew it.

"It's true," another voice chimed in then; turning slowly, he found Edna standing right next to them. Mikleo flanked her uncertainly, but the girl paid him no mind and rather held Sorey's gaze. "He was there when I arrived. The Empyrean Maotelus is no more, what remains is the seraph Laphicet he once was. Hail be Innominat up high," she then snarked, drawing a soft giggle from Alisha.

"Wait, wasn't Laphicet Innominat?"

"They have the same name, Mibu. Bit of a chore to talk about one of them by name, I know."

"And you're sure?" Sorey cut off the banter intently. He kneeled before Edna, daring her to look away. "Are you sure it is the same person?" But she did not, nodding without hesitation. Alisha did much the same while Sorey's thoughts raced; everything he brought himself to believe the past weeks, all the conclusions he drew. Perhaps they had been wrong after all? And if Zaveid was to be believed, he would die pitifully when attempting to fight Velvet Crowe. So perhaps it was time to test his and Edna's word. "I want to meet him."

Both women were surprised by the demand, but caught onto the need to confirm the matter for himself well enough. Alisha nodded, her smile growing a fraction. "Of course, although it may take a few days to arrange such a meeting. We needed to travel a while to reach you two, and Phi is busy at the moment. I believe?" She considered the sun's position with a slight tilt of her head. "They may be done by now, actually."

"They're definitely done by the time we reach," Edna quipped, receiving a nod.

Sorey raised his hand then, feeling a little silly. "Er, care to share?" Both turned back to him then, though Alisha's grimace did not bode well.

"The seraph Laphicet, or Phi, is now bonded with Margaret, who claimed the title of Shepherd," she began calmly. "With her is also the seraph Eizen, and as you recall, Symonne. None of them were at all happy when Edna appeared wounded. Symonne was furious. Eizen was murderous. I am sorry, Sorey. They moved to exterminate Rose and Dezel."

He did not like the buildup or the resolution; in the end however, Sorey exhaled slowly as he forced his mind to calm. Solely for Alisha's sake and their barely fixed friendship, he would not erupt. Sorey hated killing for any reason, but even if he hated it, he could see the logic behind it this time. Rose and Dezel were both out for blood, to the point they threw away him and Mikleo as well as the squire's pact without a second thought. Eizen was mad that his little sister got hurt. Symonne was mad that her beloved got hurt. He understood, even if he vehemently disagreed; moreover, there was little he could do about it. "I don't like this," Sorey ultimately answered, "there should not be any need to kill anyone."

"I concur," Alisha agreed gently, "but even if my heart bleeds, sometimes it must be done. If it is any consolation, I am hopeful that the Scattered Bones will be the only real casualty of this altercation. The Age of Chaos is over, Sorey. And in whatever new age now follows, there will be less bloodshed, less anger, less pain. This I can promise you." She spoke with such conviction that Sorey believed her anyway, despite his misgivings and doubts; he hung his head nonetheless because his heart did ache over the thought of Rose's death, but there was nothing he could do. His former squire was days ahead by now.

Heaving a sigh, he dropped to the ground. "To think Maotelus is gone. What about Innominat? He was the fifth before Maotelus, right? Wait, you know Velvet was Lord of Calamity, right?" Sorey stared up at Alisha, who nodded hesitantly.

"I was aware," she confirmed. "I heard little concrete details of the distant past, but neither Velvet nor Laphi attempted to hide their natures from me for long. They are good people regardless, Sorey. They made missteps, they were cruel, yes, but they still work to be better than that whenever they can." That they would not shy away from committing atrocities if needs must went unsaid; Sorey got it either way. Then however, Edna tapped the back of his head.

"The world aside, you shouldn't say Maotelus anymore, at least not around him. That's his true name."

Sorey's eyes widened slightly at the news, but he quickly nodded. "Got it, thanks for the warning." The ghost of a smile flashed over Edna's face in response. Mikleo agreed as well, though Alisha hummed thoughtfully.

"I was meaning to inquire but kept forgetting: people around me do bring up the matter of true names from time to time, and how secretive one is about them. How important are they exactly?"

"Wait, no one told you?" His question drew a headshake while Alisha settled in front of him, tail swaying behind her. "Could have sworn I mentioned it," he muttered before shrugging. "Ah well, true names are kind of a big deal for seraphim. Being allowed to use one is, uh, an expression of love. Yeah, as I said, pretty big," Sorey rambled upon seeing Alisha's surprise. "There's a bit of an exception for humans who act as vessels, we need to know someone's true name to carry them. So I know Edna's true name, but I wouldn't ever use it."

"You better not," the seraph girl groused without any heat.

"Don't worry, I won't. But thinking about it, does Symonne know?" By the way her eyes widened at the question and the luminous blush that followed moments later, Sorey figured the answer already and averted his gaze. "Sorry. I figured she and Laphicet didn't, but you seemed pretty close." To distract from his mortified friend, he then finished his explanation to an attentive Alisha: "But yeah, exchanging true names or allowing another to use yours means more than just trust or friendship. Mikleo is my brother and I'm allowed to use his true name, for one."

Once he fell silent, Alisha inclined her head. "I see, thank you for elucidating on the matter. Though, from the way you describe it, would the exchange of true names or at least permission to use another's true name be comparable to human marriage vows?"

Now it was for Sorey to tilt his head; he knew he read about the subject before, but could not remember it off the top of his head. Going by their puzzled expressions, neither could Mikleo and Edna. He shrugged. "We, er, might need an explanation for that one before I can say for sure." And with the alienated stare Alisha now favoured him with, this was supposed to be common knowledge. Sorey felt himself wilt under her gaze.

"...it sometimes surprises me just how little of humans you know," Alisha admitted, though her kind smile returned as she spoke. "But I would not mind explaining."

Sorey smiled back and relaxed, more so than he did in quite a while. He had his first human, or rather non-seraphic friend back. Sorey knew the road to regain Alisha's trust properly was long, but at least she was willing to give him the chance. For now they continued their conversation, finding that while those two things were not exactly the same, marriage vows did lie on a similar level as the exchange of true names. After that they went into human family units and other matters Sorey was somewhat aware of but never really considered, while comparing to seraphim. It was illuminating and curious, to the point he forgot about the impending meeting with a former Great Lord.

They only stopped at sunset to set up camp and Alisha cooked for them. It was a tranquil scene, made better by the fact she obviously knew what she was doing. The next day they headed out in companionable silence, Alisha in the lead; she soon left the road to follow other markers in the wilds. She moved faster than Sorey and frequently had to slow down conciously so he could follow. It was humbling to see himself outclassed so easily, even if just in speed.

Two days later the four of them reached an odd sort of golden arte circle hidden beneath a giant tree's roots. Margaret was already waiting for them, flanked by three seraphim; Symonne he already knew, Eizen was distinguishable from how many features he shared with his sister, and the last one he had seen on Titania. The seraph Laphicet watched him just as curiously, a pendant hanging from his neck; the bright white overcoat Sorey saw him in before was gone, replaced with a black suit of sorts.

"Hello, Sorey," Margaret greeted him, cordial as before. "It has been a while."

"Yeah, I guess it has." He could not help but feel awkward under Eizen's intense glare, but managed not to fidget. "I heard you're doing well for yourself."

At that, the blonde brightened. "I am indeed," she agreed, "as from now on, there will be two shepherds safeguarding Glenwood. That is, assuming you will not fight the Empyreans?" He shrugged in response, drawing a huff. "Fair enough. We shall see in time. For now, I would like you to meet my new companions. Alisha and Symonne you already know of course. Then we have Edna's brother, Eizen, and Laphicet the other, or Phi whenever Laphi is around."

They exchanged a few greetings, though Eizen kept glaring at him throughout, or at least until Symonne elbowed him. "He's her vessel, calm down. If you don't, I'm going to have to distract you." The glower he sent her then merely elicited an arched eyebrow. "And don't look at me like I wouldn't make out with her right in front of you."

Neither Alisha nor Margaret gave much of a response, though Sorey and his partners were all taken aback. Edna flushed while the men averted their gazes in embarassment. "Right," Edna quipped softly, "now I remember why I didn't miss you on my vacation."

"She says," Mikleo stage-whispered to Sorey, "conveniently forgetting how she spent every other day staring longingly out to sea." He dodged the umbrella poking for his side while Symonne cooed in delight and glomped her girlfriend. Eizen's scowl deepened, but ultimately receded at the sight of a happy Edna.

Sorey carefully nudged Alisha. "Are they always like this?" he inquired while motioning for the hellion's companions. She shrugged nonchalantly. "Huh." Then however, he remembered what he originally followed his friend for, and consequently what Margaret set out to accomplish; Sorey sought the other human's gaze, her smile vanishing upon seeing his forcefully blank expression. He needed to know. "You went after Rose?"

The atmosphere shifted in an instant, though no one interjected. Margaret met his gaze evenly. "Yes," she responded. "We waylaid her three days ago, and killed her." Sorey twitched, but held his tongue; Margaret noticed anyway. "I am aware you are no friend of violent death and please believe me, neither am I. Unfortunately, no one believed for even a moment that Rose would cease her attempts on Symonne's life, and neither would Dezel. She might even be successful one day, and so I rather put her down before she does the same to my friend. She fought valiantly, if that is any consolation."

It was not, though Sorey could follow her logic. He heaved a sigh regardless. "Now we'll never know, maybe she might have changed her mind." Sorey left it at that, clearly aware of the fact everyone disagreed with him. "Anyway, I was meaning to talk to Ma- er, Laphicet. If that's okay?"

The seraph boy perked up in response and nodded. "Sure. But how about we go back first?" He motioned for the arte circle, drawing Sorey's attention back to it. Within a minute, they stood in Lastonbell and he forgot several matters that were on his mind before; even his dour mood was gone as he continued asking questions about the lost arte he just witnessed. Phi deferred to Laphi however, seeing that Innominat brought it back into use.

At the sidelines, Mikleo was cradling his face in his hands. Alisha cracked Sorey's stubborness, and then they bagged him with ancient knowledge and lost artes. "You didn't even know, did you?" he asked of Phi and Symonne who remained nearby. Both shook their heads, though with matching grins. Mikleo allowed himself a sigh. "He will need a few days to come back to his senses, there are just too many wondrous things here to distract him." And even after that, his brother's opinion of the gods would continue to be more favourable. "At least he probably won't try to slam his head against the wall."

"You sound like you agree with us over him," Symonne coaxed curiously, to which Mikleo slowly shook his head.

"Not exactly, but you brought results where we didn't, so I'm reserving judgement. Or trying to, at least. Gramps did good work hammering that into me."

"He does that," Phi agreed with a huff.

"Actually, where did Margaret and Eizen go?"

"Left to take care of some business," Edna answered Mikleo from nearby; she closed the distance and claimed Symonne's hand, offering a careless shrug at her prime lord. "Didn't say what. Do you know?" Both of Margaret's partners exchanged glances before keeping their quiet; Edna rolled her eyes.

. .

. .

Something was off, she could tell the moment they stepped through the portal. No ambush awaited them, but neither did anything else. The small chapel she knew the two lamia sisters maintained was deserted. Margaret frowned, trying to determine just what felt out of place; the hellions may very well be in another part of the base, after all. "Do you notice anything odd?" she asked her partner, who studied the room about as intently.

"Yes, but I can not put my finger on what it is," Eizen admitted after several seconds. His brows creased, head turning this way and that. "Then again, we only saw this place once, so we wouldn't notice even if they shifted a few things around."

He had a point, but this same point also brought the solution to Margaret. She strode over to a wooden bench and ran her finger over it, then examined the digit. "That's it," she told Eizen softly, "it's not that anything is out of place, per se. But there is a thin coating of dust everywhere." The earth seraph was by her side moments later to examine her find before squinting at the room as a whole.

"Aye," he agreed. "And more than that, I can't sense any hellions nearby. They left."

The pieces slowly began to form a picture which Margaret disliked severely. She stood and darted from the room, searching the underground structure for any signs of inhabitation; however, she found none. Van Aifread was gone, as were his bandits. All of them, not even the usual skeleton crew remained.

Half an hour after her frantic search began, Margaret returned to the chapel with a dark frown. "They left," she muttered, "but why? Even if they decided they don't want to stay here anymore, they would have sent a message to the Bloodwings first, or something like that. No blood or signs of struggle, so it was not that anyone else found them. So if they were neither forced out nor informed anyone, this must mean they left on their own but did not want us to know."

"There might have been no time to wait for a messenger, but that is unlikely," Eizen agreed with her reasoning. He paced around the room while pondering. "Knowing Aifread, he wouldn't have done that without... well, no. He very well might have done it for no reason, but it's more likely he had one. Such as a shepherd deciding there will be no more banditry." The two met each other's gazes, having arrived at the same conclusion; Eizen voiced it for the both of them: "They were warned."

"They were, most likely." Margaret quickly smoothed out her expression, though the momentary scowl did not escape his attention. "No matter," she continued, "I was meaning to give him a choice between turning down banditry and putting himself and his people to a more noble goal in the new age. If we hear news of bandit raids again, we will have our answer. And I will have to hunt him down in the future. What about you?"

Eizen himself heaved a heavy sigh, followed by shrugging. "Aifread made his choice, and I made mine. I'm not going to hesitate, and neither will he. Whatever happens, both of us will accept the outcome."

"Thank you," Margaret returned with genuine joy; she had never known for certain whether Eizen would stand with her in such a conflict, though they had grown closer over the past months. Then however, her smile turned more impish. "Unfortunately, there is only one valid outcome to this situation. The real question is how long it will take until we corner them."

"Heh. Aye."