Day 9 of the Garland Moon
Shit.
Santaniel threw himself out of bed and onto the floor, scampering to the wash basin he kept in his room. He overslept.
Throwing some cold water on his face, he shook his hair out and swapped into a simple tunic and matching pants, sliding his arms through his jacket, which had a noticeably large gash in it from a couple weeks ago. He needed to learn how to sew otherwise it wouldn't be fixed anytime soon.
As he ran through the house, he tripped and busted his lip on the floor. He grunted and picked himself back up, using the blood to trickling from his lip on the portal and then hop through.
Repeating the steps to fling himself onto the floor of the academy... and he was already in the classroom with Claude's laughter echoing in his ears. Leonie was barely containing her own laughter but snickering filled his ears.
He groaned and picked himself up, waving at Byleth before slumping into a chair. He flicked the blood from his lip, the small pool glistening red and green on the ground.
He glanced down at the desk embarrassed while Byleth continued the lesson, he noted whatever he said that he considered important and stayed silent the entire lesson. When would he have a day without conflict? Not today. That was for certain.
After class ended, he was pulled to the side by Byleth, "Why were you late to class today?" He asked in that deadpan voice, unnerving at best.
Santaniel sighed and stretched, "Listen. It's nothing important. Just didn't get a very good rest last night and I woke up late. Nothing more, nothing less."
Byleth seemed to pry at him with just his thoughts and he steeled his face, keeping as calm as he could, "You aren't going to let me go until I answer, are you?"
Byleth nodded and Santaniel groaned, "Fine. I have a bad case of nightmares, I didn't exactly have the best childhood and it scarred me in more ways than one." He noticeably reached towards his right arm and rubbed it, remembering the splitting of his skin and the injecting of that thick green blood he hated that coursed through his body.
It turned part of his blood cells green, and gave him access to that spell his mother used so often.
Byleth cocked his head and Santaniel wanted to scream in frustration, 'Could I just go back to bed? Is that an option?' He thought, obviously not because Byleth just kept pressing with his subtle movements that may as well be a pleading puppy dog for anyone else.
Santaniel pulled back his hair and showed him the snow white roots, the color matching Lysithea and whatever lit up his mind seemed to show recognition. Santaniel sighed and confirmed what Byleth was thinking, "Yes. Same thing as Lys. Maybe a bit worse... but this isn't a competition anyone wants to win. I'm going to go grab something for breakfast from the dining hall, you can join if you want."
He started walking and Byleth accompanied him, the guy was attractive but a little too inexpressive for him. If he fixed that he might have been somewhat like Hilda who gushed any time she went near him, well, scratch that. He couldn't gush over anyone otherwise they'd be gushing tears at his funeral in the next couple years.
He frowned visibly at the thought but quickly covered it with a smile like Hepheastus so often did, he envied Arti's mask wearing right now.
They climbed the stairs in a comfortable silence... that is until Edelgard showed up and started talking to the professor. He didn't mind, just annoyed him, that out of all places, why the stairs to make conversation? "And thats why I thought it'd be a good idea to-"
"Hey Edelgard? You can join us for breakfast so you can continue talking to the Professor and sit down to eat at the same time." Santaniel smiled innocently and she nodded, "Very well."
They continued into the dinning hall and Byleth went to grab their food, Santaniel chose the seating and the Princess sat down next to him, "So, how's royalty going?"
He asked amused, watching some kind of rare emotion flicker over her guarded face, she answered quietly. "It's going fine thank you." He nodded and closed his eyes, humming to himself while tapping his metallic fingers against the wood.
It seemed to visibly distress the woman, the hell was her problem with him? He poked her in the side, snapping her out of whatever was clouding her mind.
He smiled at her with a gentle warmth that she tried to return but it was obviously fake. He poked her again, drawing a glare, but he lifted his hair and winked at her, realization... and terror dawning in her soul but not reflected on her face, other than eyes widening a bit. She really didn't like him, huh?
She swallowed and smiled politely, his eyes turning his simple friendly gaze to a calcuolatory glare, prying at her emotions. He couldn't hide it like Arti did. She was saved by the bell, or Byleth, coming back with a couple hearty plates of food.
It consisted of roast pheasant and a thin berry sauce. Santaniel looked like he licked his chops when he dug in, "Eat before it gets cold you two, I won't coddle you along but I'll happily eat what's on your plate if you don't."
He concluded the thought by nudging Edelgard's right arm, "Of course Santaniel." She tried to respond happily but it was heavily strained, if Santaniel knew her, he was apparently getting under her skin very well.
He tore into his meal, he swore she was staring at him, his eyes shut for a moment, dirt getting kicked up by a passing group.
She turned her gaze towards the window, making small talk with the Professor in between bites. When she looked over, Santaniel picked a bone out of his teeth that he had accidentally snapped in half after taking a bite out of the wing.
She shuddered, maybe thinking back to a battle or something similar? In the labs, it was usual for them to break a bone or two to get into your body better. It was easier to inject the blood that way. Her hair looked so familiar... Had she been at those same labs?
Santaniel finished off his pheasant and looked outside, tracking the sun and thinking of what time it was. 'Hm, 9:00?' He thought.
He stood and picked up his pack, the axe dropping from the loop hole and he growled, snapping it up in a fell swoop, tossing it in the air. "Hey, I'm headed to the training grounds. I need to stretch my legs and get acclimated to silver weapon's weight." He was met by silent nods, these people were more artificial acting than the blood coursing through his veins. Well, he thought it was artificial.
He ruffled Edlegard's hair and waltzed off to the training grounds, fiddling with his Short Axe. His mind wandering to the conversation that same day, embarrassment clouding his mind.
He brushed past the doors, straight to the weapon racks that glinted heavenly in the sun. He picked out a silver axe that was leant to him by Byleth. It was lighter than his old axe, but it didn't seem like it would crush armor like his hammer... decisions, decisions... Only one of them wrong.
He heard someone approach from behind and he waved behind his head, not really caring. When he turned he was surprised to see Jeralt, carrying a tube of his blood... Damn you Anna.
"Need something big fella?" He asked, leaning on his axe, playing ignorant and it didn't seem to fly with guy. He grimaced, asking the main question he knew he wanted to answer, "Actually, how about this for a question, why do you have my blood?"
Jeralt did the same thing as his son, cock his head and raise an eyebrow, "So it is your blood." Santaniel rolled his eyes, "Mate, I sold it to Anna and I'm her distant relative. I know she can't keep her 'hot commodities' to herself if there's some gold involved. So, spill it, why do you care?"
The older man rubbed his beard and laughed, "I wanna know how these little specks of green got into your blood."
Santaniel visibly froze, gritting his teeth as his mind raced back to it, mental whiplash hitting him hard. He gulped and smiled, "Well if you know what it is, then you would have some too wouldn't you?" Santaniel started to walk away before turning on heel and pointing to the weapon rack, a silver lance glinting fairly obviously.
"I came to train, wanna know more? Get it out of me." Jeralt laughed heartily, picking the lance up lazily and taking a combat stance. Santaniel got lower than him, axe matching the length of his arms with light glinting in his eyes and shining off the silver metal.
Santaniel studied quickly as Jeralt approached him '...Feet are even... he's balanced... bingo.' Santaniel ducked under the wide swipe with the lance, rolling under his legs and bringing the hilt of the axe with him, sweeping his legs. "LIGHTNING." He casted a toned down version of the spell and shocked him plenty with the electricity conducted through his metal arm.
Santaniel helped him up and heard his joints pop, damn, the guy didn't even stretch and he was that nimble. "Nice move kid, I'll make sure to remember that."
Santaniel grinned and walked to the other side of the grounds, beckoning him forward again. They clashed once, twice, thrice with their weapons, sparks from the friction flying off in all directions. Santaniel danced backwards, avoiding jabs from the lance that were quickening, he was trying to corner him.
Big mistake, cornered beasts fight back harder. He caught the next jab with his steel arm, sending waves of magic through the lance and causing it to heat up significantly, causing the thing to start melting in his hands. The battle stopped when Santaniel had the blade of his axe to Jeralt's neck.
"How long have you been fighting kid?" Jeralt asked before taking a sip from his water skin and flask, Santaniel considered this for a moment. "Eh, depends on what you mean. If it's on a battlefield, I've been fighting on the battlefield for seven going on eight years."
Santaniel drank about half of his water skin in a gulp. He stood and casted a Luna to clean the ground of the shattered weapons from the results of their duels. Santaniel had won his fair share but when Jeralt got limbered up, he had only won about two of the next ten.
He wasn't exactly embarrassed because he won about eight of the first ten. So they actually went even, 'wait till Leonie hears...' he thought. When the thought crossed his mind, he decided to ask the man she was obsessed with.
"So. What's with Leonie? She only ever really talks about you." Santaniel tried to pry a bit, get something to go off of. The man sighed and looked up as he recalled the events as if they happened a century ago, "Well. About ten to eleven years back I was on a job in the Alliance to stop a group of poachers that had been stealing hunts from a village. The same one that Leonie grew up in."
Santaniel nodded along, tapping his foot, "So you met her when she was very young and she idolizes you, even now." Jeralt responded, "Exactly. We ended up running them off and securing a kill on a couple of giant wolves that had also been terrorizing them, gave the village a month's worth of food. Afterwards, Leonie begged me to teach her how to wield a lance, set traps, shoot a bow in a fight, how to ride a horse. Do exactly what I did pretty much."
Santaniel mulled it over in his mind, 'So he's like a stand in for a parent...' he thought. "Did she ever lose a parent?" He asked, poking a bit deeper into the past.
Jeralt closed his eyes and seemingly shook the memory loose from his head, "Mm, yes, I believe she lost her mother due to illness." Santaniel nodded his head, opening his mouth to speak, "Huh, sounds like we have at least something in common..." he murmured quietly. Jeralt patted him on the back and spoke again, "Everyone has gone through something tough to make them the way they are today. Me, you, Leonie, hell, even my son."
Santaniel cocked his head to the side, Jeralt sighing, "Maybe another day kid." He moseyed out of the training grounds, leaving Santaniel beneath the high noon sun. He huffed a small breath, 'I need to be less rough on people. I have no idea what they've gone through, but they don't know what I have too...' he thought.
———————
Day 10 of the Wyvern Moon"Ghost stories?" Santaniel asked, Claude nodding his head. "Yep, just some spooky tales to lighten up the mood while us five are stuck on night patrols." He swept his hand toward the other three, Lysithea, Lorenz, and Ignatz.
Santaniel signed and scratched his head, "Alright. Lemme see if I can scrounge up something... Here we go." He cleared his throat and sat down on the bench next to Lysithea, his elbows on his knees.
"Back when I was little Arti told me this story from Brigid that are supposedly based on real events. They say that a decade ago a monster that looked human would hide in your shadows, peering at you with the same likeness of your own eyes. Luminous and glowing, lurking in the night when it was at its strongest."
Santaniel summoned his scry and told Xavien to hide in the bushes, ready to jump out when he finished his story. "The most recent account happened in Fódlan, a man in Remire was said to be found dead, his body torn and dismembered, all the limbs torn from their sockets and his head pulled from his neck. They had all seen him that same morning."
His eyes turned slightly luminous, green and purple light shining out over the group, "So now when they say someone is feeling the noises of the woods approaching..." He got closest to Lysithea and Ignatz, ghastly and chilly air now surrounding their group, and the sound crumpling of leaves in the air as speed picked up.
"And the air has already turned chilly... they'll be a reason to be scared." Xavien jumped from the bushes and screamed, cloaked in black and he put his hands on both Ignatz' and Lysithea's shoulders, sending them screaming through the night while Lorenz was still in shock, Claude cackling and crying from the laughing. "Think you got them too well Xav."
"Sorry."
———————
Year 1179, Day 11 of the Wyvern Moon
Santaniel got thrown into a wall with a sickening crack, ribs breaking under the speed and force at to which he hit it.
He heaved a deep breath and felt the air rushing from his lungs as he did so, they were punctured. He attempted to push himself off the ground and back into the fight but felt sharp, cold steel bite into his arm and he screamed. His vision was fading as he lay there, bleeding out, the last thing he felt was a comforting warmth on his back, blood pooling beneath him...
—————
Day 11 of the Garland Moon
The scene played out vividly in his dream, old scars reawakening into blistering fires, he woke up and threw himself out of the bed like he was avoiding an attack, slamming into the wall.
Once his nerves calmed he laid his head down on the floor and breathed, 'Another sleepless night for this bastard' he thought. He took his blanket and sat outside in the sand, wrapped in warmth and staring up at the snow white moon. It stared back, reflecting its light onto the sapphire ocean that rolled with the rhythm of its own beat.
——————
Day 20 of the Garland Moon
"Lysithea?" Santaniel called, knocking on her door. The mage had been completely silent towards him the entire week and he knew why, but she never gave him the chance to apologize.
"I know you're upset with me... can I talk to you?" He heard a silent huff from the other side of the door and it cracked open, "Lys. I'm sorry for scaring you so badly. I didn't know you had such a bad fear of ghosts, had I know I wouldn't have had Xavien do that. It was an improvisation on my part and Claude didn't have anything to do with it, so at least take it easy on him."
"...I'll accept your apology on two conditions..."
"Well? What are they?" She opened the door a bit wider and revealed her holding Orderlian, one of the cats here at the monastery and she relayed her demands, "You must promise not to scare me like that again, and two, you have to give me your dessert at the mess hall for the next two days. Deal?"
Santaniel cracked a smile and leaned against the door frame, "Deal. Wanna go study now?"
——————
Day 21 of the Garland Moon
"Well. Not how my day was planned but it's how my day shall go." Said Santaniel as he wandered around the decorated Monastery.
They had set the place up for a festival today and it had something to do with giving a flower crown to whoever you liked the most.
It wasn't time yet, the sun only starting to set, but it was a nice day all considered. He wandered the grounds, dropping by the fishing pond to say hi to the people hanging out, mainly just Ashe, Ingrid, and Yuri who were sitting on the dock.
He waved at them and joined them, just chatting about what was going on in their houses, Yuri having just recently joined the Golden Deer with Constance and the rest of the Ashen Wolves.
As they chatted, the sun got lower and eventually they all went off to make their own preparations for the festival. The sun was just setting on the horizon when he leaned back and met the gaze of a silver haired mage.
"Do you require assistance with something or just admiring the view?" He asked, careful to avoid flirting, nasty habit he'd have to break. Lysithea just stayed silent and sat next to him, her hands in her lap, he hummed a small hymn he'd over heard in the cathedral.
He was far from religious but Arti made him learn Heal at least, maybe he'd delve into such a thing in the future. He turned his head to Lysithea and poked her, smiling warmly at her to try and make her relax, 'Why was she so tense?'
He thought. He pulled himself up off the dock and asked, "Hey Lys, wanna take a walk around the monastery?" His question was met with a silent nod and she stood, hiding something behind her back.
When they started walking, Lysithea held it on the opposite side of her body, but it was fairly obvious it was a flower crown, he smiled, "So Lys, think anyone is gonna give you a flower crown today?"
As they walked, she thought it over, "Honestly, I'm quite surprised you knew about the festival today, much more the tradition." She stated matter of factly. He silently laughed at the the notion before walking towards the green house, seeing it bustle with activity, "C'mon, let's see what this is all about."
He jogged ahead, and yep, as expected. Anna was doling out flower crowns to people for an up charge. He waved at the red head, pushing his way through the crowd and asked her, "Give me three flower crowns and I'll give an extra vile of blood tomorrow."
She smiled greedily and happily exchanged it for the promise, he snagged the three crowns, made of white lilies, teal forget-me-nots, and white roses. As he pushed back through, he heard an uproar, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE OUT OF FLOWER CROWNS?!"
'Ah shit,' he thought, he broke off in a sprint, picking up Lys over his shoulder and yelling, "No time to explain!" And he ducked off to the market place, panting heavily, people running off ahead to find him, "Sorry, bought the last three..."
He held up the circlets of flowers, pulling the lilies off first and placing it on her head. She blushed, "You know I'm the youngest student here right?" He tilted his head to the side, "Mm, no, but I'm only a year older I believe, probably less." Her eyes widened in shock for a moment before asking, "Then how do you have so much fighting experience?"
He scratched his chin, "Same way Lorenz does, hell, most of the nobles have it. I have my duties on the island and I started really young. About nine years old. There haven't been raids there recently, they get tougher every year, but I do too." He frowned a bit, "Though maybe not for much longer..." he muttered.
He felt something light on his hair, pressing down slightly into it, he looked up a bit and saw the petals of violets hanging around his head, he laughed a little.
"Thanks Shortstack, now I have color contrast." He bumped her on the shoulder playfully and spotted Byleth and Edelgard, he tugged Lysithea along and said, "Hey look, the royalty of the academy. Happy early birthday Edelgard," he placed the ringlet of white roses on her hair, "And just because I felt like it," he placed the forget-me-nots on Byleth's head.
"Thank you Santaniel." Said Byleth, monotone but a small smile graced his lips, 'He's getting the hang of it.' He thought. Edelgard was blushing but said, "Thank you..." and they resumed their conversation, so he and Lysithea took another walk around the monastery.
As they walked they spied Yuri giving a crown to Constance and Ashe and Ingrid exchanging their's, a rare toothy smile spread across his face. They stayed leaning against a wall together, just admiring the lovey atmosphere. All sorts of platonic and romantic relationships blooming under the Garland Moon.
The small girl leaned up against him and his smile toned down but started to warm up a bit, like fire was burning in his throat and begging out of his mouth. He mused the thought, until a small jet of fire came out when he breathed, he covered his mouth but it went unnoticed, 'Ok. Can't keep doing that. Finding a way to tone it down back home later.' he thought.
As the festivities picked up, he and Lysithea joined the rest of the Golden Deer plus his family, with a couple of new comers to their little group.
Mercedes, Petra, Felix, and Caspar all apparently transferred this month, 'Oh, so that's what they were talking about in the market place...' his train of thought concluded when he saw Xavien approaching.
Xavien spoke, "Hey Sant, me and Arti will be helping you guys out with your mission this month and if it goes well, we have permission to join you on missions there on out." Santaniel cheered, wrapping an arm around him, "Thats amazing man! No one's stopping us now!"
————
Day 31 of the Harpstring Moon
A sickening crack rang out as he brought his hammer down on a heavily armored man, blood flying everywhere. He shuddered and stared at the body before moving on, his adjacent for this mission, Ashe, right behind him as they moved through the trees.
Xavien was only a couple feet away but was obscured by fog, they moved harmoniously through the trees with little to no effort, having fought in a similar environment so many times before.
He crashed through a large group of enemies and cut down two through their abdomen, blood pooling at his feet and splattering his face, arrows and daggers found their marks in the last three, further splattering Santaniel.
He grumbled as he wiped it out of his eyes and messed with his hair again, it's white more prominent than usual against the red hot blood.
He and Xavien stood and waited for a slightly frightened Ashe to make his way out of the bushes and into the clearing. He scried Arti and asked him, "Hey, status in the main sector of fighting?" He remained silent for a few minutes and his voice rang out in his head which he parroted to Xavien and Ashe, "We just took out a mage with a strange bird mask, same as the island, and the fog is starting to dissipate, be ready to engage Lonato and his main guard."
He cut the connection and they took a slower jog to the position they'd ambush, waiting for him to show himself. He laid a hand on Ashe's shoulder and gave him a determined look, "Steel your resolve. I won't have you die because you hesitated, alright?"
He nodded hesitantly... 'Please if there is a goddess out there... let this poor child survive' he thought. He heard shouting from Catherine towards a man about how she would strike him down if he dare defy Rhea or something along those lines, she bored him honestly.
He readied his hammer, listening as people marched towards the main forces and they struck hard and fast, Santaniel crushing a man's leg before Fire consumed him.
He summoned Luna and sucked two more in while Xavien slit three people's throats. Ashe's arrows found homes in a couple of soldier's necks but he froze up when a man on horseback confronted him. They started talking to each other, "Lonato please! You don't have to fight us!" Ashe pleaded, and pleaded, but the man knocked Ashe down and readied his lance to pierce the boys heart.
He wouldn't let him die.
Santaniel rushed through and slammed the hammer into his horse's front leg. In a quick moment, Lonato tried to bring it back around to charge him, which resulted in him getting kicked. It shattered bones and his ribs in retaliation of the first attack.
It uttered a heart wrenching cry before Santaniel put it out of its misery. 'Don't think about it now... Mourn the death of an innocent creature later.' He rushed forward and tackled Lonato, driving him into the ground. He fell off, receiving a blow to the head when he punched him with his gauntlet, Santaniel letting go of his hammer when he fell.
It left him dazed and a cut above his left eye made it trickle blood into his field of vision. He scampered away before receiving the broken end of Lanoto's lance through his left shoulder, pinning him to the ground.
Santaniel grumbled curses as he pulled the lance out and discarded it, pushing himself up using his metal arm. He whipped around to avoid a punch from Lanoto, narrowly missing his face. Santaniel grumbled, his arm going limp and his eyes glowing iridescent, "I may not be the strongest, but I always plan ahead..."
He pulled out his dagger Xavien gave him, the luminous glow shining off of the blade and jabbed it into Lanoto's throat, then through, "Here's a gift you senile shit..."
Xavien approached him and decided now would be a good time for a joke, "Can work on your lines but hey, you got it done." Santaniel just gave him a thumbs up and passed out, falling forward and onto Xavien. The assassin sighed and slung him over his shoulders.
--
Xavien stared down Ashe with a venomous glare, "You're lucky he didn't die, otherwise, his blood would be on your hands." Ashe's face dropped another tier below grief and into terror.
He nodded silently and helped Xavien carry Santaniel to the rest of the group, Arti immediately tending to his shoulder and head after they laid him in the medical tent.
Arti proceeded to scold the two men about letting Santaniel get injured like that, overprotective of him as always. Lysithea shooed Arti off while Marianne calmed him down, getting him to do breathing exercises that Arti taught her only a few days ago.
Lysithea brushed Santaniel's hair aside and healed the dent in his skull and the scratch that would take to a scar, Byleth used Recover on his shoulder. Raphael chatted to Xavien, trying to distract him while Ashe was comforted by Claude and Ingrid.
Leonie talking Catherine's and Lorenz's ears off about how Jeralt wouldn't have gotten hurt, Ignatz was being calmed by Hilda due to him taking his first life.
———
"Ashe, it's alright, you were facing your father in battle. You loved him a lot-"
"It's not alright! I almost got a friend killed..."
"Claude, he'll need time to grieve over this. Just let him have your shoulder to lean on."
———
"I... I took their life..."
"Iggy, it's alright. It was them or you. You made the right choice."
———
"How did Santaniel learn to wield a hammer like that?"
"From practicing against a dagger user and two mages since he was six, kid learned fast."
———
"In... and out... in... and out..."
"Thank you Marianne..."
———
"Jeralt wouldn't have to had run! He would have-"
"Leonie. We get it. Jeralt is great and you're still upset that you lost to him in a duel. Let him rest."
"I-I am not hurt-"
———
"Think he'll be alright Professor?"
Byleth nodded silently, pointing at Santaniel's eyes already beginning to flicker open, "He's already coming to."
Santaniel woke up and stared up at Lysithea, "Hey." He said matter of factly, sitting himself up, sighing. "Sorry I worried you- ow..." he laid back down and coughed a bit of blood, thicker and greener than usual, "Sorry, horse kicked me and I think something is wrong." He lifted his chest plate and tunic to reveal a couple broken ribs which made Lysithea gasp, Byleth grimacing a bit.
"Call Arti over and he'll help me out plenty... I got injured worse than this before obviously." He wiggled the fingers of his metallic arm and the joke was a far off shot to the target because he just received a death glare from Lys. aByleth frowned a bit, maybe it would have been a scolding if it were anyone else. 'Eh, worth a shot.' He thought.
Lysithea placed her hand on his ribs and one on his own hand, giving it a squeeze while the ribs mended themselves and came back together, the tissue of his lung repairing. Byleth had finished mending his shoulder, leaving his side to talk to Ashe.
Arti came back over and helped Lysithea finish healing his ribs, he squeezed Lysithea's hand back and gave her a reassuring smile, he wouldn't be seen as frail in front of his friends. Lysithea stayed by his side while Arti talked to them both about times he had stupid injuries like falling out of trees, getting attacked by a fox, which he then later skinned and cut himself while doing, and some after battle victory celebrations.
He smiled while Arti retold the stories he remembered, the same ones causing Lysithea to call him careless but nonetheless laughed at.
————
Day 3 of the Blue Sea MoonSantaniel rested up for a few days, his wounds still healing, frequent visits from Claude to see how he was doing kept him entertained throughout the days and Lysithea shared notes with him.
He promised Leonie and Felix a spar when he was all healed up, including a one on one with Petra. Byleth shared a couple lunches with him and Edelgard wished him his best, saying something about how he should keep himself safe or something, he made the obviously empty oath to keep himself safe, much to her pleasure.
Xavien and Hepheastus visited when they had free time, with Arti being his main caretaker while his shoulder still got back into the swing of things.
It was night time in the monastery when Santaniel closed his eyes, the whisper of dreams beckoning them to him while his Crest of Macuil burned like a second sun next to his chest, much to the bewilderment of prying eyes of those who slither in the dark.
Four hundred and Forty Four weeks left.