Ariana's thoughts kept returning to the vision that she had seen. It felt more like reality then the state she was in... those names... Gerard and Candesca... She had heard of a Gerard who took part in the war, but Candesca on the other hand, she could not recall... odd... Such a unique name would have stuck in her head. Before she could make any progress on determining either of the characters identities, she heard a loud crack. She opened her eyes and sat up with a start.

"Augh!"

She clutched her nose in pain, immediately regretting it, the tender flesh burned at the contact. Removing her hand she saw that there wasn't any blood, she sighed in relief as she looked back at the group who had been circling her, the familiar face of Edo, still expressionless, and Cooper, who was laughing hysterically. Thade was at her side, just latching his staff to his back.

"Well that takes care of that, does your leg hurt at all?" Thade asked warmly.

Ariana could barely see her surroundings, her glasses had been destroyed when the building collapsed on her. looking over to Edo, he handed her her spare pair. "I can't say it does, No." Thade nodded and returned his heal staff to his side "Excellent, We'll be heading back now." Getting a hand up from Cooper she followed the group back to the castle.

Cooper wasted no time in supplying a report on the attack. They were lucky to mobilize at the same point of time that they did, The Marauders had been planning an ambush on the Material carts returning to town, But Edo had noticed their positioning quickly. According to the report however, The entire group had partaken, and the few survivors had been apprehended, The cleanup took two hours, and Ariana had been unconscious for three... of course, leave it to Cooper to make her look better, according to the report the rubble had smashed her nose as opposed to Donavan. Though She wasn't sure if he had known it himself. The Few surviving marauders were to be given trial. Both Edo and Thade would have to be in presence for that, and Cooper was going to go tail another group of thieves during his spare time, Which Left Ariana Alone for the rest of the day. With A grin, she turned on her heel and walked away from the castle.

Ariana pushed open the door to the Library swiftly, nodding to the female librarian as she walked through the aisles, running her hands over each individual books spine, the rough texture of the leather oddly stimulating to her. Searching around quickly for anything that looked interesting, knowing that at this time of day nobody would be wasting their time here, which meant more space for her. Grabbing a novel off of a high shelf she walked over to the back of the Library, much to her surprise there were several belongings sprawled over the table she always sat at. The most eye catching one was a book with only one side of the paper written on, turning the cover she saw that it was A tome, oddly it was colored blue, and the ink was still wet. She turned around and checked the aisles of the library, the only person there was the Librarian. Deciding to simply take the next book in her favorite series, she rented it out and opened the door, the streets were their normal hustle and bustle. Choosing her next stop, she walked back into town with a smile.

At Edo's insistence, Thade was to accompany him to the Armory, "to give him a refresher" he said, the much younger Sage was starting to really get sick of playing the assistant manager to him was really getting old. toning Edo out as he once again rambled on about how important it is to make sure everything's in order and blah blah blah. Thade began absentmindedly spinning the globe on his staff, he stopped it as he felt a small crack as his fingers ran across the smooth surface, slipping away during Edo's nonstop speech he went through the staves replacing his simple heal staff for a mend, then deciding to replenish his Arcfire before rejoining Edo, who still hadn't noticed his short disappearance.

"Would you like to hear that again Thade?"

"No! I-I mean no thanks."

Edo gave him an exasperated sigh before he walked down their line of weapons racks, testing a silver axes weight in his palm before setting it back in place, doubling back to straighten it. danged perfectionist. Thade turned and started counting out the tomes, based on color and size he could tell which one each of them were. it seemed they still had plenty for both drills and battles.

"Thade..."

Edo turned to Thade with a tad of sadness painted across his face before looking back at the glass case at the back of the row, oh. this again, Thade joined Edo's side as he glared at the unusual weapon inside of the glass case, It was a lance, but it looked more like an Axe with a sword sticking out of the top, but instead of looking like three weapons strapped together, it was so natural, it looked like it simply belonged.

"The Gradivus, lance of the Goddess"

Thade was familiar with the story, at the bleakest point of the war, when the defense was at their lowest point, grieving the dead was a normal thing to do during periods of safety, as few as they were, Edo would know more about that, he was one of the few Defenders still alive after the war. At one point in approximately year four of the war, the small group personally led by the king had decided to spend a night or two of rest inside of a ruined church a few miles behind the border between Crohatha and Escalea, yet the border meant nothing, Crohathan and Escalean forces were spread so thin that there were no lines anymore. just whatever forces were there at the given moment. So many Lives had been lost, too many to count, the areas closer to the border were utterly destroyed, even the Escalean Estates, where the lords and Ladies lived years prior, had fallen to their forces pushes. Edo had taken watch that night, she had been the first to see her, she literally glowed in the moonlight, demanding she show herself, she simply approached one of the statues inside of the church, an accurate likeness in nearly everyway, except that the statues arm had been destroyed.

"This has gone unchecked for far too long."

according to Edo, her voice rang with an Authority that even made the king tremble, she picked her Lance of her back and pointed it towards him.

"If you will have me, I shall do my part in ending this travesty, before it is too late.

It was by no means a difficult decision, the goddess had joined the Fray, and she led them all the way to The Crohathans final stand, The Aerie Fortress, where she faced Defeat at the hands of an unknown adversary, despite the loss, the war was ended, it was a story that would be told for ages to come. and It was a story that Ariana enjoyed very much.

"Edo, I've heard only Rumors... but Even you can't properly wield it... correct?"

Edo shook his head "I cannot, it is a weapon that no person in Aronia can wield properly, It is quite frustrating for a Knight such as myself."

Thade glanced at the great knight, the frustration on his face more than Evident, taking the opportunity to get out of Stocking.

"Well, it looks like you'd want to be left alone, I guess I'll just go."

Thade shut the door quickly before Edo could protest, launching himself up the stairs quickly, but one thought turned in his head that he couldn't toss aside in his carefree nature, If nobody could use the damned thing, then why bother keeping it. Bah, doesn't matter. He clambered up the last flight of stairs and opened the door ready to enjoy his newly cleared out schedule.

Ariana had just come back from her little Spree... and by little, she meant a grand total of five hours. She went out for a meal, got a new potted plant and gotten her hair trimmed and cleaned... she felt great! She had set the blue flowers next to her other Red Annual, when she turned, she felt her hair get pulled to the side by the momentum... she smiled a little, she hadn't been in such a great mood in such a long time. She turned and left her room, sliding down the railing to the great hall, stopping a random Maid carrying a tray in her tracks.

"Oh! hello Milady, don't you just seem full of energy?" The maid turned to face her with a smile, her green hair matching her expression nicely.

"Hey Tawny!" she slipped off the railing few feet in front of her. sliding to a stop she beamed at her. "is that todays catch?"

Ariana loved teasing Tawnya, she was a hunter who had taken up work in the castle. she had been the one serving the meals to both her and her Dad for the past year, and on special occasions, Tawnya would go out and catch their meals, from fish to venison, and Arianas Favorite, a few herbs for a wild salad. A nature freak in every way, Tree hugging Huntress, a crack shot with a bow as well. Ariana had invited her to help with incidents like with the Brigands from before, but she was extremely hesitant to shoot at humans.

"Your nose looks so much better Milady, I assume you've rested it well?"

"Yeah, It's back to the way it was. Thanks for the Salve by the way. Ah! Don't try to hide it, I know it was you, Cooper told me."

Tawny Froze, mouth open and finger raised, about to object before she was cut-off. She lowered her finger and sighed softly.

"Cooper... of course... anyways, I was just Taking The King his dinner."

Ariana rocked on her heels for a second. "you know what, Let me, I wanna pay him a visit."

"A-are you sure? Milady It's my duty too-"

Ariana cut her off by knocking the tray out of her arms with her Elbow, catching it in her arms. "Consider this a day off, go take a load off, visit your cousin, I'm sure he's dying to see you again."

Tawnya sighed and crossed her arms. "Fine, I'll spend the day with Cooper, but you SO owe me."

Ariana smiled at her as she left and took the tray up the stairs, judging by the weight, it was a meal for two, That sneaky little cousin of a thief. She had planned it from the start. not that she cared, she was going to spend time with Zael, no, Dad. and it was long overdue. She marched up the stairs with a new found confidence, nodding to the other workers as she walked past, she stopped in front of her fathers door. she felt all of that confidence disappear. it had been so long since she had been face to face... much less a heart to heart.

"No... I'm just over thinking it."

She pushed the door open slowly, then pressing her back against it to push it the rest of the way.

"Good evening Father, It's nice to see you once aga- ag... DAD!"

Ariana froze in place for a few seconds, the tray still in her arms, dangling from the rafters above her in front of the bed was a length of Rope tied in a noose, her fathers body still swaying, sputtering could be heard from it. Her heart began to Race, she acted before she could think, she tipped the tray on it's side, sending its contents sprawling, she ran up to her dad and pushed up with the Tray, lifting his body just enough to loosen the rope.

"Help! anybody please! Help us!"

Ariana couldn't keep the hold, she could barely keep her arms up, her fathers weight was too much, she felt her shoulders start to droop, "no! Help!" she started to cry. "Anyone please!" she pushed up as hard as she could, she saw a single flash of green through her tear filled eyes and the weight collapsed on her, she sat up with a start and grabbed her father, he wasn't moving, but he was breathing... barely...

"Oh Dad... Why?!" She wrapped her arms around the his shoulders and sobbed.

"Cooper, Get Edo!"

Looking Over her shoulder she saw Tawnya, Cooper, and Thade crowding the doorway, nodding quickly, Cooper turned and ran out of the room, Thade taking Ariana's side as he drew his heal staff, hovering it over her Father while Tawnya grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into a sympathetic hug.

"It's going to be alright... Calm down..."

But Ariana knew the truth, It was far from alright... and from here on out... it never would be. she just wept into her friends shoulder, eagerly awaiting it all to end, no matter how pointless that may be.