Last chapter: We met a girl with a hammer blade called Maria. She's kind of uptight about everything but otherwise a decent mentor.

"...Sometimes I think I need to work on being diplomatic." Rhod shivered. "On the other hand, screw you, Maria."

"I'm telling you, I don't mind if you go and sleep in the camp in the city!"

They were huddled around a failed campfire in the woods. Rhod's clothing seemed to be painfully inadequate in the face of a cold night, but he was at least able to avoid hypothermia.

"I'll tell you what, whoever romanticises sleeping outside is a buttered ass-biscuit of the highest order. This sucks so bad."

"I like sleeping outside!" Protested Nim.

Rhod just glared. "..."

"You're just grumpy because you're cold."

"And you're not cold? You're practically naked."

"I'm fine. It's a little bit cold, but nothing too bad."

Rhod just shook his head. "Well, I guess I'd better try to sleep..."

Later, the nightmares returned. Whether the situation had made them worse or better was a mystery, but the fact was that Rhod was tossing and turning in his sleep. Eventually he kicked the trunk of a tree and he woke up.

He glanced around. Nim seemed to have curled herself impossibly tight before dozing off, conveniently covering most of her body. The campfire was still there, unlit. He felt cold and awful, and tried to recall what he could of the nightmare. It was blurred. Liam. His parents.

"Freaking brain. Just let me get on with killing that thing." He cursed at the stars. "What am I meant to do with these dreams? Because all they do is piss me off."

The next morning at the training grounds, Rhod grinned at Maria in self-satisfied smugness. "Bet you didn't expect to see me back here."

"You look awful." Said Maria. "You... you didn't actually sleep outside the city, did you?!"

"Sure did." Said Rhod. He felt like death on legs. Chilly, damp, and tired.

Maria just shook her head. "I... I pray for you."

The teacher for the day clapped once for attention. "Today we'll be covering the first part of blade combat. Unlike normal weaponry, blade weapons expend ether to create a cutting edge or projectile. This means they never dull or run out of ammunition, so long as there is ambient ether in the surrounding atmosphere." He took out a lance. "Now, to explain Blade specials. I'll need a willing volunteer."

"Allow me." Maria got up, taking her hammer off her back. She stood in front of the instructor, ready for battle.

The teacher nodded once, and then dropped into a fighting stance, holding his lance low. "As you deal damage with blade weapons, then you will charge ether inside your body." He stabbed at Maria, but couldn't get through her barrier. "Using arts releases this ether- Pilum throw!" He hurled his lance to one side, and it took a groove out of the floor. "And transfers it to your blade. Once they accumulate enough charged ether, they can unleash powerful Blade specials- just throw them their weapon, and they'll do the rest!" The teacher tossed his lance into air, and his blade caught it, before throwing the megalance in a boomerang arc. "Get into pairs, and try fighting each other- BUT. Don't use arts or specials against each other, just fire them out of harm's way."

Sanzang got Maria's attention for a moment, and she looked over to Rhod.

Rhod already knew what was about to happen. "Nim, I think I know who we're fighting. Let's settle this score, and hopefully that'll be that."

"Rhod. Will you spar with me?" Called Maria.

"Let's. I have always wondered if there's anything to that whole 'fight until you're not enemies' thing." Rhod pulled on his gloves. "Ready?"

Maria flourished her hammer like it was weightless, and slammed it into the floor. "Prepare to face holy might."

"Let's have this be the end of being hostile, eh?" Rhod put his fists up. "Here we go!"

He ran forwards as Maria hefted her hammer, and punched at her as fast as he could, completely failing to realise this left him open to get hammered. it came crashing down and despite his barrier, he was nearly flattened. He stumbled back and tried to make a left hook but to his surprise she just blocked, and even while wearing a weapon hitting something he couldn't even damage hurt a bit.

He skirted in close, trying to take advantage of his easy-to-manoeuvre weapons, and threw a quick one-two for Maria's side. This time he managed to get a few good hits in, her barrier weakening, but then her hammer connected with his side, taking a big chunk off his own barrier's strength. Faster than Rhod would have thought possible, she brought the hammer up and down, ignoring the desperate punches that connected with her chest.

Rhod tried to get back, avoiding further attacks. "...I think I'm ready to use arts."

"Hit me with them." Said Maria.

"You sure?"

Maria raised her hammer.

"Throughput Straight!" This time, Rhod actually felt like he knew what he was doing with the attack. His hand soared forwards, ether glowing around it.

"Locked Gates!" The hammer suddenly expanded to make a giant shield, and completely protected Maria from the attack. Rhod was far too late to pull out of the strike, and slugged the near-indestructible defence at full force. To the mercy of his hand, his weapon broke instead of his bones, splitting in half.

"H-Hey! Alright then..." Rhod tried to run around the side of the shield, and attempted to kick where there wasn't a crystalline shield. His foot didn't take kindly to getting kicked against the now equally solid barrier covering Maria. "Ow ow ow!"

Maria got out of her defensive stance, and swung her hammer straight into Rhod's chest. "You're no match for a trained driver."

"Well never!" Said Rhod, hunched over. "It's not like you've got thirty years experience on me!"

"Thirty? If you think I'll rise to that bait, then- Hmph! Hit me with your other arts. I'm curious as to what else you've got."

Rhod racked his mind. "I don't know my other arts!"

"You- you really are a rookie." Maria said. "Do the first thing you can think of, and we'll see what happens."

"Pain-Gain!" Rhod was suddenly running. He put his one not-split weapon close to the floor, and then brought it up in an uppercut straight for the gut. And when it connected, he felt the pain in his foot disappear.

"Oof." Maria suddenly slumped a bit. "A health stealing art?"

"Seems so." Rhod looked at his fists. "...Hey, Nim, you can fix the weapon I broke, right? I'm sure blades can do that."

"Stop! Both of you stop at once!" The teacher came running over. "I said not to use arts on one another!"

"Ah, y-yes, you did." Maria nodded. "I simply wanted to speed things up."

"She invited me to use them."

"I'm well aware. There's something between you two, it seems."

"It's nothing really." Said Rhod. "We just..."

"He slept outside the city because I told him something I didn't mean, in anger." Said Maria. "But he..." She looked at Rhod expectantly.

"..." Rhod steeled himself for a moment. "I apparently didn't respect the praetor properly."

"So you thought you'd fight it out?"

"...Yes." Said Rhod.

"Very well. Just don't go overboard." Said the instructor, to Rhod's surprise. "Blades, be sure to warn us if your driver's barrier is depleted."

"You heard him. Let's find your other arts." Maria got ready for round two. "And maybe even your blade specials. You won't take me down while I have Locked Gates."

"New weapon, here!" Nim threw over a fixed glove.

Rhod jumped up, and brought a fist down, and then threw a few more punches. This time he felt like he had some idea of what to do. Another art. He spun himself around, stretching his arms out in a T, moving forwards like a human spinning top. "Clothesline spin!" He felt his hands beat against the barrier a few times, before the art ran out, and he stopped turning.

"Not bad... continue!" Shouted Maria.

"Okay then!" Shouted Rhod. "Here!" He stepped forwards quickly, dropped down to one knee and punched twice without much force, and then suddenly sprang off the floor, into the air and jabbed down as fast and hard as he could, at great speed yet with good aim. "Concentrated Blow!"

Maria actually stepped back at the force. "There. All four of your arts. That wasn't so hard to find out, was it? Now, let's see how you handle damage! Sanzang, attack!" She tossed her hammer into the air, and her blade caught it.

"Hammer beat!" Rhod could only frantically try to guard against the sudden attacks, and his ether barrier visibly cracked.

"I give!" Called Rhod.

"You can't do that in a real fight! Strike back!" Shouted Maria.

"...Nim! Go!" Rhod threw his weapons up. He turned, and hit his palm with a fist, trying to hype up for the attack.

Nim caught the gloves on her hands, and just held them hear herself for a moment as they glowed. "Nature is a fierce healer!" She held up the weapons and there was a pulse of ether.

Rhod suddenly stood straight, feeling like he'd had a good night's sleep, while Maria's barrier actually broke. "Heh, feeling good!" Rhod spun. "Looks like you've got the right idea for using blades."

Maria put away her hammer. "You still have a lot more to learn. You're lucky to have awakened a unique blade."

"Thanks." Rhod slipped off his gloves.

"A good use of abilities." Said the instructor. "Are you two cleared of any grudges now?"

"Yeah. I'll be honest, I could definitely use a friend." Said Rhod.

"Forgetting me?" Asked Nim.

Maria placed a hand on her chin. "Very well. Consider yourself forgiven in full."

The day passed. Rhod looked at his clothing, as he sat on a bench in the city. It was getting dirty kind of fast... "If only we had a water blade. I bet you can use water mastery to clean things."

"I could pick the dirt off?"

"Hmm. Maybe if I get desperate." Said Rhod. "What should we do? It's too early to go and catch some fish."

"Sunny wants to go and check the shops." Offered Nim.

"Alright. But we're not begging anyone. We don't need to."

The shops were immaculate and ornate as always. Rhod felt dearly out of place, in his dirty clothes. The small plaza smelled wonderful, with at least one cafe making some kind of delicious-looking drink. Rhod looked over one of the balconies, and saw the refugee camp below. Even if this city did have people who were homeless, they were treated well. It painted a good picture of this culture.

"Hey there, chum. You seem bothered."

Rhod saw someone standing next to him. "Hm? Not really. Who're you?"

"I am..." The person scratched their chin. "I'm not feeling very 'Zekenator' today. Just got out of surgery. My blade is just resting. It took a toll on them, too."

"Oh." Rhod suddenly felt awkward. He didn't know what to say to that. This person seemed pretty friendly, but they were a bit shaky on their feet, like they'd gone through a horrible ordeal. They were missing an eye, in fact!

"Ah, it's nothing you need to worry about. Just an old wound. Hey, you're a driver too, right?" Zeke said.

"Yeah. I'm Rhod. I never actually got your name."

"Well chum, you could address me as the bringer of chaos himself... Zeke. Or Ozychlyrus. Or The Zekenator, once I'm back at my full power tomorrow." The man reached behind himself. "And this is my sword, the Purple-" He grabbed air. "Oh, bother. Left it with Pandy."

"Heh." Rhod felt uplifted at the silliness. "So, what brings you to Indol? Driver registration? I didn't see you at the class."

"No, no. Just some normal heroic works!" Laughed Zeke. "And Cafe Lutino. Say, you're a driver! Where's your blade?"

Rhod looked around. Nim was... not nearby. That instantly seemed like a bad sign. He was about to panic when he saw her talking to another blade. Sanzang.

That meant Maria was here.

"Uh, gotta go. Before there's a street fight." Rhod jumped up, and ran over. "Nim, don't-"

Nim turned. "Aw, thanks a bunch Sanzang!" She held a tiny bit of paper out to Rhod. "Look!"

Rhod took the scrap of paper. 'I don't actually want you to sleep rough again, so if you want to stay in the refugee camp without leaving your blade alone, she can stay at my house.'

"...Nice of her." Said Rhod. "Is it okay to split up, though?"

"Well, I can't process ether as fast without my driver around, but I'll be fine if I get attacked!"

"I was only talking about getting lost... Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Of course! Oh, don't forget to give me your weapons! Don't want to spook anyone."

Rhod turned the corner into the refugee camp. He wasn't really sure what to expect from somewhere that might have been a gathering or people who had zero money, no homes and were stuck outside their home country, but when he saw it, it was... just a few tents. Probably provided by Indol, given the colouring and quality.

Some people milled about.

Some braziers burned. This place wasn't as spotless as the rest of the city, but in a way that made him feel more welcome. It was awkward, wearing his clothes around this city where everyone was in white robes.

He finally got a full eight hours of sleep, in front of one of those braziers.

When Rhod walked over to the training grounds the next day, he felt refreshed and ready. "Nim? You here? Nim?"

"Hey there!" Nim pushed her way through the crowd. "Maria was so nice! She let me play on her flute!"

Sanzang and Maria were both close behind. "I trust you had a better night?" Said Maria.

"...Yeah."

The teacher called for attention, and began the daily lesson. This time, battle skills. Maria clearly knew it already, but was paying attention regardless.

"Nim, what are your skills?"

"I have Restorative Fusion and Wild Familiars! And..." Nim trailed off. "There's a third one. But I can't remember it."

"Many blades have a lot of their true abilities lying dormant for years." Said Maria.

"However, if you know it exists, you'll unlock it soon." Added Sanzang.

"What do they do, though?"

"I can heal you if anyone starts a fusion combo! And I know how to kill beasts... Please don't misuse that one..."

"Seems kind of ironic, that you'd be better at fighting animals." Said Rhod. "Anyway- what's a fusion combo?"

"Allow me." Said Sanzang. "You're aware of the four status effects?"

"Break, Topple, Launch, Smash." Maria filled in. "Inflicted by arts. Most people can only do one or two, but you need to follow them in a chain."

"And how blade specials temporarily leave an ether affliction, that can be built into a blade combo?"

"Not really, but continue."

"A fusion combo is when you're doing both at the same time. So inflict Break, and then hit with a Blade special to heal." Finished Nim.

"I... see."

The class spent some time sparring, as the sun rose into the afternoon sky. It was a good day.

Someone familiar walked out of the gates of Indol. Rhod saw them. "Zeke! Hey there!"

"Oh, afternoon, chaps." Zeke wandered over. "Just on some business from the praetor, in the forest."

"Ooh! The forest? Can I come? Can I?"

Rhod chuckled at Nim. "We've been training all day, and the teacher has nothing to add. If you'd allow us, we'll join you." He noticed the handle of a large sword on Zeke's back. "Oh, I see you got your weapon back."

"Ahahaha! yes, this is my sword!" Zeke grabbed the weapon and held it up high. "The Violet Thunder Cloudbuster! Granted by the most mighty of blades, Pandoria!" He gestured to a small blade with bright clothing next to him.

"Sup!"

"With the incredible powers of my eye of shining justice, and the wondrous Turters, I'll set things right!" Zeke put his sword down, placing his hands on his hips.

"Ah, I see you're back to normal, lord Zeke." Maria walked over. "It practically made the news that our... 'Zekenator' wasn't feeling his best." The title seemed foreign on her lips. "The praetor made a direct request to you?"

"He wants the temple in the forest checked out." Said Zeke. "Want to come too? We could make it a nice class field trip!"

"If the praetor wills the temple be investigated, then it shall be done." Said Maria. "And I would be more than happy to assist however I can, in even the smallest matter, lord Zeke."

"You keep calling him lord. Is he important?" Rhod suddenly was struck by the thought he might have gone and randomly bumped into another important person, and was about to start another argument.

"Nah." Said Zeke. "I'm only Zeke von Genbu, The Zekenator, bringer of chaos, and bearer of the eye of shining justice, ruler of the turtle." He suddenly took a tiny, but live, turtle of his jacket, to Rhod's confusion.

Nim gasped. "It's adorable!"

Maria coughed for attention. "You do also happen to be the crown prince of Tantal, milord."

"Well, yeah." Said Zeke.

Rhod looked at him incredulously. "Your majesty."

"Ah, shush. Pretend I'm not, it's more fun that way. Come on, best not to keep old Amalthus waiting. Let's get cracking!" He jogged off into the forest. "Come on, you two!"

They shortly arrived at a small stone structure. Temple just wasn't the right word for it. It was a large cube covered in a pattern of glowing blue lines, with a sealed stone door.

"What is this place?" Said Rhod.

"We've never been here before, have we?!" Nim rushed up to the temple. "Hmm, smells like... history. This building's been abandoned for a few years."

"Looks like some rogue tried to break in." Said Zeke, inspecting the door. "But didn't plan very well."

"This is a sacred abode." Said Maria. "Constructed several hundred years ago to hold four core crystals that have exceptionally high required potential. Whoever attempted to steal from here has committed a dire act of sacrilege."

"What are those marks on the door?" Rhod looked. There were small fragments taken from the door, but the damage was minimal. "...And why's the building glowing blue?"

"I don't like it." Said Nim. "It's choking out ether. I don't like it one little bit!"

"Lemme explain." Said Pandoria. "I know this tech. Titans can have low or high ether in their blood. Low ether blood sucks ether out of the atmosphere to fuel the titan. So if you circulate low ether blood through a building, it sucks away any nearby ether, so Blade weapons can't work on it, or in it. Neato, right?"

"But they store cores in there! Will they be okay?!" Nim looked like she was about to panic.

"Yes. Would they really do that if there was a risk to the blades?" Asked Rhod.

"Who knows?" Said Akhos. "Not you, I'd bet."

Rhod turned to see the man in blue. "Oh hi, Akhos. Enjoy your exploring?"

"It's been... passable." Said Akhos. "What's all the commotion here?"

"Someone has tried to break into this temple, in violation of the holy decree that the blades sealed here must not be given to any but those who can safely use them!" Snapped Maria. She regained her composure. "I don't suppose you know anything about this?"

Akhos walked over, inspecting the door. "I'd say... whatever made these marks was a ranged weapon. Notice there are no grooves? All direct impacts. And it's likely you're only looking for a single person, judging by that."

"Good eye." Said Zeke. "Sharp as a blade."

"Ah, what can I say. I'm a natural. Who might you be?" Akhos fixed his glasses.

"You can call me... Zeke von Genbu." Grinned Zeke. "But Zekenator will do."

"Ah, crown prince Ozychlyrus." Nodded Akhos. "I've read a book about you."

"There's a book about my prince?!" Said Pandoria.

"Indeed. So, what will we do about this temple? We can't just let it be robbed. But our options are open."

Maria glared at the scratches. "Now that they know blade weapons won't work, then they'll come back with some normal methods to try and open this. We need to assign the temple a guard and track down the culprit, as soon as possible."

"I'd be happy enough to keep watch." Volunteered Akhos.

"I'll... stick with Zeke. He's a pretty cool guy." Said Rhod.

"Not so fast, chap. If we split up, then there's six of us. We just have to spread out and make sure that we question any ether cannon users about where they were last night."

"I won't allow my homeland to be vandalised." said Maria sternly. "Righteous retribution will be mine, in no uncertain terms!"

They searched around. Rhod couldn't find a single other driver.

Zeke knew two of them, but both had a completely perfect alibi.

Maria was frustrated to the point of making a prayer to the architect. No luck.

Sanzang couldn't think of a good solution, and hardly spoke anyway.

Pandoria tried... something. Nobody was really sure what she did, but they were sure she tried.

Nim was the one to find a clue to follow. And it was in the most Nim-like way she could possibly have done so.

"Um, would you mind, having a chat?" She said, to a phonex on the side of the road. It was startled for a moment, but didn't move. "I was just wondering if you saw any blades come through here last night?"

The tiny creature made some funny meowing sounds.

"Oh, okay. I'll be right back." She hurried off. Rhod watched her go.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to catch a fish, I can bribe the phonexes with it." Explained Nim.

"..." Rhod watched her quickly snatch one straight out of the stream. "You know, something tells me that that's pretty much what you are. A phonex as a blade. Anyway, they can talk?"

"They talk to me!" Nim turned to the one she'd struck up a conversation with. "Here, I got you a fish, little one." She tossed it to the creature.

"...Will this really work?" Whispered Rhod, wary of scaring it off.

The Phonex made a few sounds to Nim.

"Oh, I see! Hmm... You saw someone try to break into the temple... You don't know what colour he was?"

"What did his clothing look like, then?" Suggested Rhod.

"...She says he had some... um... glasses on? And they had big shoulders."

The Phonex ran off.

"Aw." Said Nim.

"This is good. Let's grab Zeke and Maria and head back to Akhos."

"Glasses and big shoulders, eh?" Considered Zeke, as they plodded back through the forest.

"Sounds weird." Said Pandoria.

"Perhaps Akhos will be able to draw some more conclusions." Said Maria.

Zeke suddenly stopped the group. "Something's wrong with the ether flow here..."

"You feel that too?" Asked Nim.

"Hm? What are you talking about? How can you sense the ether flow?" Said Rhod. He looked around. The temple was in sight, obscured by the trees.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but something wasn't right, he did agree. The dull stones just didn't seem-

Rhod went running for it the second he put two and two together. "Akhos! Akhos! Are you alright?!" He could hear everyone else running behind him, as he burst out into the clearing. "Akhos?"

The door of the building had been blown open, presumably by some kind of explosive. The ether lines on it were dull.

Everyone else came into the clearing.

"No!" Shouted Maria. "Who did this?! How?!"

"Watch out!"

Rhod watched as Zeke moved far faster than he'd have expected someone with a strong build like that could have, drawing his sword and smacking a blast of energy out of the air, just before it would have hit him straight between the eyes.

"What the..." Rhod put his weapons on.

"I must admit, you people had good intentions, but horrible critical thinking." Called Akhos. He didn't sound at all bothered by the situation, from atop the sacked temple.

"Akhos? You were the thief?!" Called Rhod. "You... Dastard of a plonker!"

"You really ruled me out?" Akhos gave an all-too-smug smile. "Someone you'd met once before. For a mere minute. I never asked for a comic-relief antagonist in my story, but I'm open to all kinds."

Maria got her hammer out. "Do not attempt to flee. I'll not allow you to escape."

"I'm afraid that... isn't your decision." Akhos said.

Zeke looked to the side. "Something's coming! In the sky!"

Rhod watched as a huge steel-grey ship flew overhead, rapidly approaching. "Architect above, that thing is moving fast! What kind of titan-"

The giant ship halted over Akhos, dropping down a rope. "I'll see you later, I should hope! Everyone loves a recurrent antagonist! In the meantime... Monoceros, fire salvo cannon three. Incendiary."

A giant gun on the ship cranked around, as Akhos grabbed onto the rope and began to rappel up.

"Get back here!" Zeke jumped, up onto the temple, trying to slice through the rope, but he couldn't quite bring Akhos down before there was an earthshaking blast.

"What in the world... is that thing?!" Shouted Rhod.

"I don't like it! Whatever it is, it isn't natual!"

"For once I'm inclined to agree with you... what did that shot do?" The Monoceros was moving off, Akhos almost on board.

"Fire! Everyone, we have to evacuate!" Called Sanzang. "You'll be burned to a crisp if you stay here!"

"Damn!" Zeke looked at the ship as it flew off. "Cheating git! Come back, you thief!"

"Prince, we have to go!"

"Alright!"

They ran. The flames from the weapon were spreading, and while live wood was hard to burn, if you got it hot enough then anything could. The smoke was the worst. It was almost impossible to see ahead.

"This is the way out!" Instructed Sanzang, the only one unaffected.

"There's something in the way..." Rhod could see it through the smoke. It was a giant insect monster of some kind, a huge beetle that made Rhod want to retch ever so badly.

"Let's bust through!" Called Zeke.

"Time for your first real fight, Rhod. You just keep us healed, we'll do the rest!" Maria got her hammer out.

"Aw, it's only this way because of the fire..." Said Nim, quietly. "But we have to fight!"

Maria ran in first. "As a warrior of faith, I march!" She hollered, swinging her hammer straight for her enemy. It tried to attack back with a barbed leg. The fires were closing in slowly.

Zeke was the one who moved in. "Dynamic Spark Sword!" He started swinging, and Rhod could see a thing blue stream of particles connecting him and Pandoria, as Zeke hacked away with incredible strength, lightning blasting everywhere.

"Have a few of these!" Rhod tried to move in, and pounded his fists against the armoured carapace of his enemy. He couldn't seem to make much of a dent.

"Blind spot!" Said Nim.

Rhod could have sworn there was something guiding him, as Maria pulled around to the right, exposing the back of his enemy. Go for the centre of the plates. They'll snap under direct impact. He drew back a fist, and punched. It still wasn't doing much... Maybe with an art... "Throughput Straight!" His fist actually rattled the enemy. They were far larger than him, but the effect was unquestionable.

"Enemy under Break!" Announced Sanzang.

"Righteous Assault!" Maria suddenly pivoted on her heel, and brought her hammer forwards at mach pace, the top of the head slamming into the face of the bug. Rhod had to jump back as it was outright bowled over.

"Enemy toppled!"

"Pandy!" Zeke threw back his weapon.

There was a tremendous buzz, the sound alone leaving Rhod's ears ringing in pain. Maria flinched too, but a solid barrier protected Zeke as Pandoria hit with a blast of thunder. "Lightning Force!"

Rhod suddenly felt his injured ears return to normal. So that was a fusion combo...

Zeke took back his sword. "And now... Stratospheric Thundeeer!" He swept upwards. Rhod should have been surprised at the several hundred pound bug lifting off the floor in a tornado spin, but he was fast getting used to this crazy fighting style.

"Yeah, that's what we're talking about!" Rhod encouraged, as he let another art fly. "Concentrated Blow!" He jumped, he punched. The bug was taking a beating, alright.

"Sanzang, now!" Maria gave her weapon to her blade, folding her hands in prayer.

"Second stage combo, coming up!" Sanzang followed up. "Flame bolt, Launch!"

It was a messy end, but a quick one.

"We all made it out alive..." Rhod was feeling a bit crispy. Zeke's jacket was a little singed. Indoline clothes apparently didn't burn.

"But the forest... it'll need years to recover from that kind of damage! Who was flying that abomination! We've got to stop them! They're a menace!" Exclaimed Nim, surveying the destruction. "Oh, I hope everyone made it out alive..."

"We'd better go explain ourselves to Amalthus..." Said Zeke. "Dreadfully sorry to have dragged you into this, chaps.."

"Don't be." Said Maria. "Save apologies for when you need them. Come. I will not allow this... this..." She wasn't just angry. Rhod could see her blue skin was practically radiating hot fury. She was insulted like she'd lost a child. "Nobody harms Indol while it is under the protection of its monks. Those that do... will be punished as they deserve."

Author's notes: Despite his true nature, it makes sense Amalthus would be a popular leader on Alrest. His city as a whole is peaceful and well-kept, and they have no shortage of resources.

By the way, notice Zeke knows who Akhos is when you fight him at the end of chapter six? Despite not being in the party at any point where Akhos is involved previously? Let me explain that.

Um, by the way... I know this is kind of frowned upon to ask for, but could I get some reviews? I like answering them. They don't need to be the longest things ever. A single sentence would mean a lot.

Now, on with the plot!