Alexis was laid to rest in the middle of the night inside Barradin's Vault, east of Black Citadel. A number of Ascalonian ghosts present attended the memorial service to pay their respects. They are now peaceful and no longer attack living beings on sight. Everyone was there, including a Norn hunter who was passing by known as Eir Stegalkin and her wolf companion Garm. The service lasted until the early hours of morning. The ghosts vowed to guard Alexis' body at all times.
After sunrise, the group was having a meal together. Violet is slowly eating with her head down slightly in deep thought.
"This is getting out of control," Kira said. "Alexis should not have been out there alone, especially not when she was still injured and... I had just finished talking to her almost right at the moment of the attack."
"She knew the risks and was willing to take them. That is the Norn way," Eir said.
"None of us should be out anywhere alone!" Kira snapped back, standing up. "That's the problem with you Norns. Too stubborn to accept help from others when you need it the most!"
That stirred Eir's temper as she quickly stood up as well.
Violet threw down the food in her hand down on the plate in anger. "Enough!" she yelled, not looking up. "Both of you, sit. Now!"
Kira and Eir looked over in Violet's direction, then back to each other. They paused before following her order.
"Ever since this war began, we have been holding back because of our heroic nature, not wanting to become as bloodthirsty as UHoT," Violet said, turning her head to look at the others. The nearby bonfire shined on only half her face. Her eyes are burning with both inner rage and focused determination. "It's time to change all that."
Everyone shared glances at each other in concern.
"What are you suggesting we do?" Caithe asked.
Violet slowly stood up, not taking her eyes off the others. "In case you haven't noticed, we, UHoT and a handful of others are perhaps all that remains of the global population. It's time to stop being heroic and do whatever is necessary to end this bloodlust for good! It's us or them!"
"Tyria is a huge place. They could be anywhere," Rytlock noted.
"What I want to know is" Engie said, "how did they even know where we were so fast?"
"After finding them, we will interrogate one until we have our answers," Violet continued. "But first, starting today, we go on the offensive. From city to city, outpost to outpost, until we find them."
"But as Rytlock mentioned, they could be anywhere," said the ncromancer Charsi Videll.
A female voice then spoke out a short distance away from the eating table. "They were in Divinity's Reach, but not now."
Everyone quickly stood up and turned to face the direction the voice came from, drawing out weapons. Garm was growling, waiting for Eir's command to strike. The stranger was in a doorway with sunlight shining from behind and off to one side, making her look like a silhouette. Standing behind her were two female-like automotons with lances. She appeared to be Sylvari and surprisingly tall, which is unusual for that race. A rifle was strapped around her right shoulder and the motionless body of a smaller female being carried on her left shoulder.
"I broke in the place in search of supplies and discovered a group there calling themselves 'UHoT'. Secretly listened in on what they were saying and heard them bragging about what happened here. They sure were proud of it too. By the way, which one of you is Violet?"
Violet cautiously got closer, with greatsword in hand. "I am."
The stranger grabbed the body being carried and threw it over close to Violet's feet. She was also stronger than the Sylvari usually are, being able to toss a person's body aside with relative ease.
Kira kneeled down to turn the body over and everyone got a good look at the face. They were surprised. "Nymhe."
"Oh, and just to let you know, Selene was not the one who killed that Norn friend of yours," said the stranger. She then pointed to Nymhe's dead body. "She did." That also took the Vidells by surprise.
"How do you know this?" asked Rytlock.
"Like I told you, they were bragging about it."
Violet stood up, signalling everyone to put away their weapons. They did so. Eir calmed Garm.
"Who are you?" Violet wondered.
The Sylvari stepped forward until her appearance could be seen. She has pale lime skin and red hair in a most unique hairstyle never seen before. The automotons entered the room but remained at the doorway. They were even taller than she was.
"The name's Scarlet Briar, commander of the Molten-Toxic Alliance. Well, what's left of it.
UHoT spend most of the day hiding in the Queensdale swamp to regroup. Scarlet and her small army of Watchknights had taken them by surprise in an ambush inside Divinity Reach's palace room the night before. They managed to destroy all but two Watchknights but at some point in the battle, Nymhe was killed by Scarlet, most likely with her rifle. UHoT managed to retreat due to not wanting to risk another death so soon.
Those with healing skills have done all they could to restore the team and are tired. Diina was sent back to the palace a short time ago to determine if Scarlet and company was still there. Azelia was resting against a tree as Logan kneeled down next to her and placed his hand on her face, in a caressing manner.
"Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" Logan asked.
Azelia quickly slapped his hand away with anger in her eyes. "Never... touch me... again."
Logan stood up, chuckling to himself with a smirk. "Oh come on, Az. I know you would like me to do more than just touch you."
As Azelia reached for her scepter, Selene stepped in between the two and stared down into Logan's eyes. After a few moments, the smile went away as he backed off, heading over to another section of the area. Selene turned and knelt down to Azelia.
"Please let me kill him," Azelia whispered.
Selene gave a smirk of her own. "Soon, be patient." She got up and checked on others.
"Hey everyone, Diina's back," Savage Bat said out loud. Those who were sitting stood up as they all faced Diina's direction as the Asura approached the group.
"They left," Diina reported. "No sign of them anywhere in the Reach. Whether or not they took any belongings we left behind is unknown."
"Very well," said Selene. "All right everyone, pack up and get ready to leave in the morning. We will devise a plan on finding and capturing that Sylvari at a later time."
During the night, Azelia got her wish and quietly murdered Logan, deceiving him into thinking she wanted to be intimate. She kissed him with a toxic poison on her lips that she herself is immune to, but is fatal to humans.