The path was a natural one for Ophilia to follow as she made her way back to the Shrine of the Flamebearer. The name stuck out in her mind easily, and she knew that it was the place that she was going to be able to find Aelfric. More importantly, it was going to be the place where she could get some answers.
The door to the shrine opened up without a moment of hesitation as soon as it sensed the Ember was nearby, and Ophilia stepped inside bravely. She steeled herself and walked inside, white flames starting to light up and spread throughout the area to light her way. She continued to line the path that led up to the pedestal at the far edge of the area, reaching out one hand when she grew near the carving of the crystal. She looked down at the Ember one last time before touching it, and her vision went white as the environment around her shifted.
Ophilia figured that she had retreated into some space within her mind when she next opened her eyes and saw the same battlefield that she had witnessed when she and the others in her party fought against Aelfric before they arrived in Stillsnow. She glanced around the area carefully, knowing that the goddess was somewhere nearby but unsure of where she was hiding. "Aelfric?" Ophilia eventually asked, her voice echoing throughout the cold chamber. Her breath fogged up in front of her mouth even though she knew that she was no longer in the world of the physical.
Aelfric was assembled through the power of the air itself, light fog condensing itself into a mist before solidifying into the familiar figure of the goddess. Everything about her was just as graceful as it had been the last time that Ophilia saw her, and she glanced down at the cleric before her. When standing before Aelfric, Ophilia couldn't help but feel remarkably small. "Is there something thou requires?" Aelfric questioned, her voice so delicate and perfect that it didn't even seem right on Ophilia's ears.
The cleric nodded as she glanced down to the Ember where it rested in the Lanthorn. After a moment, she steeled her resolve and looked up to make eye contact with the goddess, something in her starting to shudder. She knew that Aelfric wasn't going to do anything to hurt her, but she still figured that it would be better safe than sorry when she was anxious about the situation enough as it was. "I... I want to know as much as you're willing to tell me," Ophilia replied. "Do... Do you always speak to the Flamebearers? Am I... Am I something special?" Ophilia couldn't tell which answer would be worse; either way, she was admitting that she was hearing the voice of a goddess in her head and had been ever since she first picked up the Lanthorn with the Ember inside back in Flamesgrace.
Aelfric didn't flinch in the face of Ophilia's questions, her gaze seemingly shifting away from the cleric before her even though her eyes were completely obscured from view. "Thou art... A special case," Aelfric finally said after a pause that seemed to last a century. "Dark times surrounden us all. There is a disturbing power seeking to breaken free, and thou... Thou is the one who bears the Sacred Flame in a time of great need."
"What's going on?" Ophilia questioned, something dry mounting at the back of her throat. She didn't know what Aelfric was talking about when it came to something dark starting to break free of its confines, but she was sure that there was more to this story than met the eye. Her heart began to pound in her chest, and Ophilia couldn't even bring it to stop despite the fact that it was almost completely stopping her from being able to hear what Aelfric was saying.
"There is something dark on the horizon. It rests in wait for the time to strike, and thou art acting to keep it at bay," Aelfric said, taking a small step toward Ophilia. "The Ember is the primary defense against the powers of darkness."
"I know," Ophilia replied with a nod to herself. It was something that everyone knew; when Aelfric had first brought the Sacred Flame into existence, it had been because she was trying to stop something dark and terrifying. A dark god was sealed away, and the light of the Sacred Flame was the best way to keep the beast at bay. Ophilia didn't know what the creature was specifically, but she could tell that it was nothing good. The situation at hand, the one that Aelfric seemed to be so nervous about, couldn't have been any better, and that only made Ophilia feel worse about the whole situation.
"Thou and your companions... I can sensen great powere between you all," Aelfric said next, clearly choosing her words carefully as she continued. "If any amongst us may find the strength to fell this dark beast... I have faith that it willen be you. Thou art a fine leader, Ophilia; thou simply must take up the duty that has been placed before thou."
Ophilia shook her head, something in the back of her mind starting to shake with anxiety. "This... This is a mistake," she murmured under her breath. How could it not be? Ophilia wasn't even the one meant to take the journey of the Flamebringer. She was meant to stay in Flamesgrace and look after the people there, but since Lianna had been unable to carry out the journey, it fell to Ophilia.
"I knew what I was doing when I selected thou, Ophilia," Aelfric assured her, reaching out and placing one hand on Ophilia's cheek. The touch was delicate and gentle like the way a mother would comfort a child. "I knowen that I made the right decision."
"Selected me?" Ophilia echoed, her mind starting to race. "Did... Did you know that something was going to happen with this dark beast that you mentioned earlier? Was I... Was I always supposed to be the Flamebearer?"
"In a village of people who were murdered by the horrors of war, thou survived. I helped thou to finden the light and endure," Aelfric told her. "Thou was always meant to goen on the journey of the Flamebringer. Thou art my successor, Ophilia... That is the choice that I have made."
Ophilia's heart only began to pound louder, and she resisted the urge to hide in a corner somewhere and wait for all of this to make sense. Unfortunately, she knew that it wasn't going to be that easy, so she instead looked up to Aelfric. "What about Lianna? She was the one who was supposed to do this. I stepped up as a replacement, but this wasn't a job that I was meant to take on," she said, though she was more trying to convince herself than anything else. She could tell what Aelfric was going to say already, and Ophilia hated it before the words could even be spoken.
"There aren those who wish to interfere with the tides of fate... Those who acten against what I did alongside my comrades so many years ago," Aelfric said next. "There aren those who were chosen to combat this shadow as well... Thou art the one I selected, Ophilia. Lianna has her own role to play in the events due to transpire."
"Then... You knew that I was going to end up as the Flamebringer?" Ophilia questioned, her voice faint and soft. "You... You knew that my father was going to get sick?" Her heart grew tense at those words, and Ophilia felt like the ground was being stolen out from beneath her feet with no chance for her to find stability once more.
"I was unaware of your father's ailment," Aelfric corrected. "I knewe that some twist of fate would leaden to thou taking up the mantle of the Flamebringer. Dark forces aren at play, Ophilia. Thou was chosen to lead the children of the gods in the journey to returnen light to Orsterra."
"The children of the gods?" Ophilia inquired. She still knew that she was going to need time to process all of this, but that phrase in particular struck her strangely.
"Thou companions," Aelfric responded simply. "The gods selected you all to carryen out a most solemn mission. Thou received my blessing of power because of such a status. My godly comrades will providen much the same gift when thou encountereth them."
Ophilia nodded to herself. "So... We're here to carry on some unknown destiny and to defeat a foe of darkness that is threatening all of Orsterra?" she questioned. Aelfric nodded. "Is... Is there anything else that I should know before I return to them?"
Aelfric took another step closer to Ophilia, and before the cleric knew it, she felt something foreign slide between her fingers. She glanced down to see the staff that Aelfric had been using during the battle pressed inside of her hand. Aelfric had given it to her, but Ophilia couldn't bring herself to believe it, instead doing nothing but staring down at the weapon in her hand. "Taken this," Aelfric said softly. "The powers of the darkness are strong. If thou wishes to defeat it, then thou must possess the same strength that once defeated it. My weapon is the Illumination Staff. Utilize the strength of its element and push forward until thou grasps victory."
"I can't take this," Ophilia told Aelfric quickly. "This is a sacred weapon that you used in a war long ago, and I..." She trailed off, not sure as to how she was meant to finish such a sentence. Aelfric had told her that she was a chosen one under the influence of the gods, one of the children slated for a destiny involved with saving Orsterra from the power of darkness. That qualification alone should make her worthy of wielding such a weapon, but Ophilia's low self-esteem was starting to rear its head and bite at her insides all over again. Her stomach churned with unspoken concern and guilt. She wasn't sure what she had to feel guilty for, but Ophilia was sure that her very existence, a source of concern for so long, was no doubt the culprit once again.
"Considere it a gift," Aelfric instructed of her, closing Ophilia's fingers around the hilt of the staff. As soon as Aelfric did such a thing, Ophilia felt strength flood through her body, like every nerve was standing to attention, ready to fight back in the face of whatever was slated to come next. She let out a small gasp, and Ophilia could have sworn that her hair began to blow in some invisible breeze.
Ophilia didn't have the chance to speak again before Aelfric offered her a gentle smile. "Until we meet again, Ophilia."
A moment later, the entire shrine was overwhelmed with light that threatened to swallow everything. Ophilia pressed her eyes closed, and when she came back to grips with the world around her, she was back in the shrine proper, one hand poised forward and resting on the crystal carving that she had touched before being transported to the world of her mind. Ophilia pulled her hand back slowly, still trying to process if what she had experienced truly was real.
Her doubts were ultimately laid to rest when she glanced down. Her left hand had been holding tightly to the Lanthorn since she reached out for the crystal carving, but all of a sudden, the handle of the lantern was not the only thing between her fingers. The Illumination Staff was there as well in all of its resplendent glory. It took Ophilia a moment to catch up with all that had taken place, and she took int eh beauty of the staff in full. It was a silver color, a white gemstone attached to the top. It appeared to be a diamond of some kind, catching the light in a way that reflected illumination in every direction. Everything about the staff was so perfect that Ophilia didn't think she had the words to describe the situation, so she instead opted to stare at the ornate carvings of the staff for a long moment as she did her best to catch up with all that she had just experienced. It felt like her mind and body were out of pace with one another, both racing all too quickly but all too slowly at the same time. Ophilia herself was left suspended in the middle, shock still painted on her face and forcing her breaths into something ragged.
Ophilia let out a heavy sigh as she continued to examine the staff, doing her best to recap all that she had heard from Aelfric. No, most Flamebringers did not hear the voice of Aelfric when they claimed the Ember. There was something dark working in the shadows of Orsterra, and the hidden forces were trying to bring a horrible catastrophe upon the land. Aelfric knew that Ophilia was going to wind up as the Flamebringer and even selected her to take up this position at the apex of fate. Ophilia assumed that her meeting the other travelers was hardly a matter of luck the way that she had originally expected; if she hadn't run into them on accident, then she would have been led to them by the voice of Aelfric that pushed her to search for Therion and H'aanit. They were set to keep Orsterra from slipping into apocalypse, but they were only able to accomplish such a thing as long as they were together.
Perhaps the most shocking revelation from the conversation came in the form of what Aelfric had told Ophilia regarding her past. Ophilia had been the sole survivor of the attack on the village of Creek, something she had been aware of for years. She was lucky enough to remain hidden from the soldiers that passed through her hometown in their bloody path of conquest, and from there, she was found by Josef and brought to Flamesgrace. All of this was common knowledge, but significantly less simple information came in the form of what Aelfric had told her. The goddess herself had ensured that Ophilia would survive the onslaught and endure in the face of such horrors. Aelfric had selected her as the Flamebringer long before the attack of Creek, and she had offered a small dose of divine intervention to ensure that Ophilia escaped with her life long enough to become the proxy of destiny the way that Aelfric had planned.
Ophilia let out a shaky breath, surprised by the way that her entire body seemed to rattle with the motion. This wasn't an ordinary Kindling; she was part of something much larger than herself, and she wasn't going to be able to escape it. This new knowledge was something grand, and yet, Ophilia found herself at a loss for words. She was meant to be part of a group that defeated an unknown darkness. The gods had planned for her to cross paths with the other seven members of her party, and they were intended to work together until they saw the end of this long, bloody path. It had never been a matter of chance, and somehow, that was one of the most terrifying parts. The entire conversation had struck Ophilia to the core, but something about that information left her with a shiver on her spine, and it had nothing to do with the cold air of the Frostlands around her.
Ophilia was hesitant when she began to walk in the direction of the entrance of the shrine. She knew that Aelfric had told her more than enough given how clueless she had been before, but Ophilia's mind was still racing with all of the new revelations streaking through her head. She hadn't thought it possible to be so surprised from so many facts simultaneously, but it seemed as if Aelfric was full of surprises. So was Ophilia, it seemed; she now held the title of being a chosen warrior at Aelfric's actions. Then again, she supposed that she had always possessed this title; she was only just being made aware of it in present moments.
The shrine opened for her easily, and Ophilia let out a sigh as she looked out into the Frostland plains ahead of her. She turned around one more time to see the heart of the shrine, the white flames flickering around it. She glanced down to stare at the staff in her hand from there, seeing the way it gleamed silver around the white gemstone at the top. She could tell that this was going to be her new weapon from that point forward. There was simply too much in terms of raw strength provided by the Illumination Staff, and she knew that her staff from Flamesgrace would never be able to compete. It was ironic, in a way; she was finally accepting her job as a chosen of the gods by taking up the staff. It hadn't been much of a choice in the first place though, she supposed. She had heard the truth and simply accepted it, knowing that she didn't have any other options.
Ophilia stepped out into the snow from there, the shrine's doors falling shut behind her. The white flames flickered before dissipating entirely, but the memory and echo of Ophilia's presence remained even long after she was gone. She continued to make her way through the snow back to Stillsnow, Aelfric's words ringing in her mind eternally. She didn't think she was ever going to be able to forget everything that she had just been told.
Then again, she doubted that she would be able to forget any of her journey by the time it was finished it truly was set to be as grand as Aelfric implied. She would simply have to see what that meant for better or worse.
Ophilia didn't have the chance to speak with anyone after she returned to the town. Most of the other travelers had eaten around Stillsnow in between shopping trips to gather their last-minute supplies for the hike to Noblecourt the following day. Ophilia sighed as she arrived back in her room. She wasn't in much of a mood to eat given all that she had just learned, but she pushed down a few pieces of fruit regardless. She would only make herself miserable if she didn't eat and wound up waking up in the middle of the night because of her hunger, so she decided to resolve the issue preemptively instead.
Tressa was already sound asleep when Ophilia arrived, though there was something left behind on Ophilia's bed that seemed to have been set there by the merchant. Ophilia frowned as she reached down to pick up a small piece of paper. She would recognize Tressa's familiar scrawl anywhere, and she read the note from the younger girl to herself in the silence:
'I'm not sure where you went off to, but we're ready to go out to Noblecourt. I know that you can take care of yourself though. I hope that you were able to find something nice while you were wandering around. Sorry I was too tired to wait for you. I'll catch you up on everything you missed in the morning. Sleep well, Phili!
Signed,
Tressa'
Ophilia smiled to herself at Tressa's words, and she found her mind repeating the sentences over in Tressa's particular voice and cadence. She let out a small sigh as she set the note off to the side, wondering just how much she could have possibly missed out on. She hoped that she hadn't worried any of the other members of the group too much with her outing; her conversation with Aelfric had lasted much longer than she could have expected. She was sure that she would be back in time to share an evening meal with her companions, but instead, she was coming back what seemed to be hours after they had gone to sleep. It seemed everyone truly had been left exhausted as a result of their battle against Rufus.
Ophilia laid her head down on the pillow, and as soon as she did, she felt the exhaustion slam into her full force too. She realized just why everyone had gone to sleep so early; all it took was the temptation of sleep for her to be lured away to the land of dreams. Ophilia barely managed to set the Lanthorn and the Illumination Staff down on the table beside her before her eyes slipped shut. She fumbled for her bag before correcting herself and placing the staff inside, not wanting the rest of the group to see it until she was ready to explain all that she had learned from Aelfric. They would no doubt be confused if they saw a mysterious staff at her bedside without any further context.
However, that was the last thing Ophilia was able to bring herself to do before she fully drifted off to sleep. When she did finally reach the land of dreams, she was met with images that reminded her of her conversation with Aelfric. She would never be able to forget all that she had learned from the goddess that day, not that Ophilia could have expected anything else.
After all, this was already shaping up to be the journey of a lifetime, and she was bound to recall each and every part by the time they had reached the end of their quest.
Primrose didn't realize how late it was until after she woke up the next morning, the sunlight streaming in through her window. It was still quite a few hours before midday, but given how Primrose had leaned toward being an early riser when she was allowed to dictate her own schedule, it was strange that it took her so long to awaken. Then again, she supposed that all of them had been left exhausted after the battle the day before. Rufus had drained much of their energy, so it was only natural that they needed to catch up before they were able to set out for Noblecourt.
Primrose consolidated her belongings as much as possible before she left to eat breakfast. Everyone else was already there, and they were doing what they could to eat quickly while still finding the space and skill to put away leftovers in case they were necessary for the next leg of their journey. Primrose found herself beside H'aanit, and the huntress was silent throughout the meal. Still, Primrose could feel something like camaraderie between them, and she felt herself smile gently behind her cup when she raised it to her lips for a drink.
The rest of the process of consolidating their items down for the trip ahead seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye. Before Primrose knew it, she was giving the Stillsnow inn room she and H'aanit had shared for the last few days one final glance. H'aanit had already swept the area free of all lingering hair from Linde and Hägen, and it looked as if they had never even stayed there at all. Primrose knew that was part of the point, but it still left her swallowing dryly as she turned and made her way toward the door of the room.
When Primrose arrived out in the wintry air once again, she found that the wind touched her face gently. It wasn't snowing for once, and Primrose couldn't help but feel that this was as good of weather as they were going to get when it came to starting their journey. She brushed some stray pieces of hair away from her face before she started to walk toward the town's boundary with the others hot on her trail.
Primrose hadn't made it far when she heard someone running up behind her. She stopped in her movements immediately, knowing who it was before she even felt the need to turn. Hearing Arianna's voice a moment later only confirmed it. "Lady Primrose... So it is as I thought," she said, her eyes falling shut. "You have sworn yourself to avenging Lord Geoffrey."
Primrose looked down, still not turning to face Arianna. "I have," she murmured quietly.
Arianna took a step toward her. "With the master dead, I am free now..." She paused for a long moment, seemingly fumbling for the words that would be best to speak from there. "You have my gratitude, my lady." Primrose didn't see it, but Arianna glanced past the brown-haired dancer briefly, her gaze falling on Therion. The thief didn't respond to her openly, instead simply turning away from her a bit more. Primrose hadn't even realized that Therion was listening to the conversation until he shifted his attention forward and took a bite of an apple he had snagged during their morning meal. Therion seemed to know that Arianna was also thanking him for his kind actions the day before, having figured out who was responsible, but Therion refused to yield any information on the matter. Alfyn refused to look at Arianna as well, instead focusing his attention primarily on the thief at his side.
Primrose wasn't sure how long she was silent, simply staring down at the snow in front of her feet and wondering what she was supposed to do from there. However, the quiet was inevitably shattered when Arianna spoke once again. "'Faith shall be your shield.'"
Primrose was still silent when Arianna took another step forward and put her hand on the dancer's shoulder gently, the gesture as comforting as it was cautious. "Lady Primrose, what do you have faith in?" Arianna questioned, her mind clearly being cast to the conversation in the carriage to the Obsidian Parlor from the day before.
For a long time, Primrose struggled to find the words that would answer the question. She didn't think that she even had a proper response to it, and when she did finally speak, it barely shocked her when she was uncertain as could be. "I wish I knew," she finally forced herself to say. Something in the back of Primrose's mind wondered if she would ever know. She had been pushing herself forward with this perfect ideal of killing her father's killers for as long as she could remember, but when that was taken away, she didn't know what she was doing. She had held tightly to that concept because she didn't have anything else to cling to. It had been her lifeline, and yet, it was not her salvation.
Primrose's fingers reached for her dagger, and she pulled the knife free of its sheath and braced it between her hands carefully. She pretended that her fingers weren't trembling as she examined it. "Dagger in hand, I have asked myself the question time and time again," she admitted softly. "What do I believe in? What path should I tread? Over and over, I asked myself..."
Arianna was quiet when Primrose let out a sigh. "But every time, this silent dagger is the only answer left in my hands," she murmured. "To avenge Father... That is all I have-my only reason to live. That is what I believe in-and I have faith that I will see it done." She tucked her dagger back in its sheath and took a few steps forward before she raised her head at long last. "Farewell, Arianna."
Primrose and the other members of the group continued pressing onward from there, leaving Arianna standing silently at the entrance of the town. Soon enough, Stillsnow was little more than a faded memory of something wretched, and even though change was on the horizon for both the town and its people, Primrose couldn't help but feel something akin to soft bitterness at the fact that something of that nature had existed at all. Even without knowing her name, Rufus had caused her so much pain, and he had died finally understanding a fraction of what she had been through.
But was that what she believed in? Primrose didn't know. Her only reason for pressing forward, her only reason for having hope, for so many years was to push on and avenge her father. She thought that would satisfy the emptiness deep inside of her, but in the end, it hadn't done anything to fill the gap that his death left behind. Primrose had been hoping for so long that she would find peace when the crows were gone, and yet, she still knew that she was nowhere close to it. She should have been at least somewhat nearer to the salvation that she had been searching for all those years, and yet, she was just as distant and afraid as she always had been.
Primrose's eyes moved up to the travelers in front of her. They were chattering with one another as they looked down at the map braced between Tressa's hands, marking the path to Noblecourt so that they would be able to accomplish the next step of their journey. She smiled to herself when she heard the jubilation in their voices, and something inside of her swelled with a sense of rising joy that she hadn't felt in what felt like an eternity.
Primrose didn't know what she was able to believe in, but she was confident that she could at least have faith that this was where she was happy. There was a lot that she had yet to understand, but for the time being, she was content. If nothing else, she was going to do what she could to defend those that she had come to care for.
It wasn't a lot, but for the moment, it was enough, and the sight of her friends made the hole inside of Primrose's chest finally start to heal.
And so ends Primrose's chapter two at long last! Man, that sure did take a long time! Since the other chapter twos aren't quite as heavy on the introspection as this one, hopefully they won't be as long, but if they do wind up being lengthy as all hell, so be it. I'm here to make a good final product, not to crank something out in a timely fashion.
This does mark the start of the first Noblecourt segment of the story. Primrose's chapter three will be waiting until later in the story since right now, she isn't prepared to face all of the baggage that would come with Noblecourt. Instead, this next part is only going to focus on Therion's chapter two. There will be an in-story explanation for a game mechanic coming up within the next few chapters as well, so I hope you're all looking forward to me throwing in another something special.
This chapter's primary standout scene came in the form of Ophilia's confrontation with Aelfric. I hope that answered a few questions that have been lingering for a while, though there are still a couple things that won't be wrapped up until later on. Also, Ophilia got a super powerful staff! That's something that you're going to see again in the future with the other travelers, though I'm not going into more detail than that. You'll just have to wait to figure out what it means.
Next time, we'll kick off the transition to Noblecourt at long last with the start of another shrine! Until then, I hope you all enjoyed. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital