The urgency in the air was infectious. My heart pounded as we followed Queen Victoria at her fastest pace. My thoughts were scattering - for now, I told myself - and my hands shaking. At the last moment, I remembered something important. Nobody but me knew what I had planned! "A-amadeus? Start with the thing about Akanthus. She'll think you're crazy. Then we do the fireballs. Then we play it by ear. Warlic, don't talk. Nobody ask anything out loud. You're already implicitly asking, so saying so would just be rude."

"Fireballs?" Queen Victoria asked.

"Nobody and nothing will be hurt." Except for the thing I wore my knives in. Carp. I'd been so careful to leave the satchel behind, too! I fumbled with it as we walked and gave it to Amadeus. He took it without question. That freed up my mind for overthinking. How on earth were we going to keep up the neutral, fact-providing stance I had envisioned? I had never done this before. I had never made a plan for an important event of this magnitude. I had never been battle-tested before. My gums itched fiercely; even constant teeth clacking couldn't soothe them. I was on the verge of panic, or worse, meltdown. The thought of melting down in front of Jaania scared me as badly as flying over the trees had.

"Just up ahead," Queen Victoria said, quickening her pace. I immediately dropped back to hide behind Warlic. Facing the scary person with weapons was too much for me.

Queen Victoria demanded to talk to Jaania. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I cannot allow you to enter while Lady Jaania is occupied," Akanthus replied. His voice was like a snake's scales, locked together by innumerable little links into an impenetrable barrier. My idea that I could surprise him into making a rash move was so naive. He'd been fighting and surviving in this world for years. By now, he must know so much more than I did about how to get along. This was the true all-time low in my confidence. I had never felt so utterly stupid and small before. I wanted to burst out crying.

Queen Victoria really was amazing. "We know you're planning something, Akanthus. You can't lie your way out of this!"

Amadeus growled. "I lived. You, on the other hand…"

"Hold on, Amadeus," Warlic said, raising an arm to block his way. "It wouldn't work, remember?" To Akanthus, he said, "Let us speak to Jaania, General."

"No," Akanthus replied. "Feel free to try and coerce me, mage. I will not stand down."

From behind the door, there was a woman's voice. "It's fine, Akanthus. I'm done."

This was it. The moment of my utter doom.

.

Jaania was just as intimidating as Akanthus! Her overall body language was just like his suit of armor. I hid as far behind Warlic as I could, trying not to descend into a complete panic attack. "Calm," he whispered. I was trying!

"Your Majesty," Jaania said. "And Spymaster Amadeus. Report." She didn't sound remotely surprised to see him after his disappearance, and the way she slipped right back into ordering him around as a subordinate made me feel lower than an insect. She was leagues above me. What right did I have to be in her presence?

"We know what Akanthus is and what his motives are," Amadeus said. "He cannot be trusted. He is not supposed to be in this world. He is from another universe where magic does not exist, and he wants to force our world to become more like his for his own personal comfort."

"What?!" Queen Victoria exclaimed.

"...Seriously?" I managed to take a look at her face. Jaania looked bored. Never a good sign in an enemy. "That's the most mentally unhinged thing I've ever heard."

Now it was my turn. As planned. All as planned. I suppressed my fear of death and stepped out from behind Warlic, into plain view. "I-it's not, actually." I looked at him. He looked at me. He raised a hand and summoned several enormous fireballs. I closed my eyes.

I opened them when the air disturbance stopped. Everybody was looking at me now. Jaania, Akanthus, the Queen, her royal bodyguard. All of the most important people in the world. I couldn't think. "Does that remind you of anything, Jaania?" Amadeus asked.

I looked at Jaania. She was shaken. In the way she held herself, I saw a gaping crack in her armor. Weakness. I turned away. We were not there to attack her. I forced myself to speak slowly, trading smoothness of voice for coherency. "It's hard to be a person without magic in a world full of it. I have to constantly hide everything about myself that could attract attention. I can't use portals, so I have to travel the long way and make excuses for why I do so. I can't use potions or be healed by healing magic, so even a common bandit could expose me. I can't see illusions, so I can't speak freely about anyone until I've heard others talk about them. If I was ever wounded or spoke too soon, I would become the target of suspicion, capture or even experimentation. This is a life of fear and paranoia." I looked in Akanthus' direction. "And that's all because of magic. If there was no magic, you could take off your armor and walk freely. If there was no magic, you wouldn't be a freak, and you wouldn't have to fear suspicion and hatred everywhere you went." I turned in Jaania's direction. "That's why he's loyal to you. So far, your goals have aligned. But if you ever find a way to protect people from spells that doesn't involve ridding the world of magic… They might not align anymore." I couldn't think of anything more to say, so I hid behind Warlic again.

Amadeus took over. "That's already happened, hasn't it? He's gone behind your back before. He aided and abetted a splinter organization within the Rose that attacked innocent civilians and tarnished your organization's reputation. He has led numerous missions that you did not clear. One of those missions was to an ancient structure, where he recovered a powerful artifact of Doom. He had it converted into an explosive and installed onboard your airship. If this device was dropped into the Fissure, it could shatter Lore and end life as we know it."

"...And what good would that do?" Jaania had recovered. "You claim his motive is to end magic. How does blowing up Lore accomplish that?"

"Blowing up the Mana Core would certainly put an end to magic," Amadeus said. "The possibility that it could also blow up the rest of the planet is of relatively little importance."

"And I'm supposed to take your word about this? Akanthus has blundered, but he has never betrayed me. If such a device exists, it would make an ideal weapon against the Tytans currently attacking all of Greenguard. I see no reason to accuse my general of betrayal." She sighed. "You, on the other hand, have clearly been listening far too much to Warlic. He's twisted your perception of Akanthus."

Amadeus clenched his fists. "Akanthus coerced me into modifying the Doom vessel, then tried to kill me when I refused! My perception of that is as clear as the walls around me."

Jaania was undisturbed. "You and Akanthus have never gotten along. I can believe you had a disagreement. But if he really attacked with intent to kill, wouldn't you be dead by now?" Amadeus was unable to answer that. "I've always trusted your good sense, Amadeus. But everything you have said so far is difficult to believe. I require hard proof, proof it seems you are unable to give. If there is nothing else, we will take our leave."

"What harder proof do you want?" Amadeus asked, gesturing in my direction.

Jaania didn't even glance at me. "She may be the sort to try to rid the world of magic for personal comfort, but Akanthus and I have loftier aims. That proves nothing."

"Lady Jaania, please," Queen Victoria said, trying to be civil. "I know you're going after the Fissure. If the device is dropped in, even Warlic doesn't know what will happen!"

"Even if this device exists, such an eventuality will never come to pass," Jaania replied. My brain latched onto those words and promptly stored them away for safekeeping.

Nobody else noticed how important they were, apparently. "Lady Jaania!" Queen Victoria snapped in her most royal voice. "If you will not heed our warnings, as Queen of Swordhaven, I'm afraid I cannot let you leave. For the good of Lore, the Rose is no longer yours to command."

Even this did not bother Jaania. "I have all that I need. Your support is no longer required. Come, Akanthus. Let us depart."

We'd played all our cards. Getting Jaania to doubt Akanthus: failed. Cutting off support: failed. The device was already in place, so blowing up the airship: not possible. My gut shriveled. We were doomed. We were all doomed. She was doomed.

I shouldn't have been surprised when somebody broke with my carefully diplomatic plan. The Queen's bodyguard summoned a sword from nowhere and attacked Akanthus. Akanthus didn't even move. He blocked it with his forearm.

"Ah, Your Majesty," Jaania said. "In case you're wondering, my contract has been fulfilled. Brittany is cured."

Before anyone could figure out what she was talking about, Akanthus raised his other arm and punched the bodyguard in the face. The bodyguard flew backwards, losing his helmet in the process. My jaw fell open. King Alteon?! I'd expected him to be dead!

"Dad?!" Queen Victoria exclaimed.

"He was there all along, happy to watch you struggle to find your feet," Jaania said. She knew that how? "All in all, My Queen, you're a better ruler than he could have ever hoped to be."

Amadeus finally lost it and summoned a Doomish-looking sword. Nothing like his talking undead sword from before, but it had ominous red runes on it. Alteon growled, "You will not threaten this realm, Akanthus!" and attacked as well, with his Destiny-looking sword. Watching Akanthus grip both blades in his giant armored hands, not even shifting his feet, made me want to faint.

"I'm aware of what Akanthus is," Jaania said. "And I know how much he suffers for it. Our goals align perfectly. I will see his suffering to an end. All suffering shall end."

I started to cry. I couldn't help it. Tears flooded my eyes and dripped down my cheeks. I didn't care anymore if she saw. "Yours as well," she said. I didn't know if she was addressing me or someone else. I wasn't brave enough to even try to find out. The metallic sounds stopped and I heard panting. "Come, Akanthus. The airship awaits."

"Jaania! Are you really so naive?" Warlic asked. "You stand no chance against him!"

"I see more clearly than ever," Jaania replied. "I'm sorry that, even after all this time, you still don't. Goodbye, Warlic."

They left. Warlic mumbled sad things about the past and about himself, about how both should be different. King Alteon remembered about Brittany and ran off. Queen Victoria sounded shocked, no longer like the amazing queen that could accomplish anything. And I sat on the floor and cried. And cried. And cried.

.

I was still crying after everyone else had recovered enough composure to function. It was by far the worst meltdown I had ever had. I felt like I was being electrocuted and could barely breathe. The inability to breathe threatened to make me panic, which worsened the meltdown, which made it harder to breathe. I cried out in pain.

"Ama. Get to your feet. Please, Ama." Warlic lifted me up. "My apologies, Your Majesty."

"None needed," Queen Victoria replied. "She's only a child." I tried not to make any more sounds as Warlic led me back the way we came.

Once he told me we were back in the strategy room, I crawled behind the great table. I was rapidly running out of fear and sadness. I estimated I had only a few more minutes left. Then, with the ability to feel those emotions temporarily paralyzed, I would probably go straight into an elated state that resembled mania. I hoped.

Queen Victoria paced back and forth. "What do we do now? What can we do? I threatened to cut off support for the Rose, and I still can, but it's too late. We clearly can't stop them, and they know it." She came to a stop. "I shouldn't have listened to her. I thought we could work together. Even with the Hero's warnings, I wanted to believe that Jaania was reasonable."

"We all did," Warlic said sadly.

"But she played us for fools! And now what? If even you can't stop Akanthus…"

"Plan 'Pick him up and shake him' looks like a sound tactical decision now," Amadeus muttered. "Too bad it was never possible."

"Warlic, where did you find that girl?"

"She found us. She was seeking protection from the Rose, so she maneuvered her way into the company of the most powerful mage she could find: Cysero. He then brought her to me as a guinea pig."

"Have you found any potential weaknesses?"

"We didn't actually get around to doing any testing, but it seems that Ama is vulnerable to everything a normal person would be vulnerable to, minus spells. Lack of magic does not give her any special vulnerabilities."

"There is nothing we can do to stop them, then."

"You may not be able to stop them, but you can still slow them down," Amadeus said.

"What do you mean?"

"Send your knights to seize the tower and the airship from the Rose. By force."

"They wouldn't stand a chance."

"They'll buy some time."

"By inciting a civil war! I cannot and will not do that to my people!"

"You're unwilling to make necessary sacrifices," Amadeus growled. "Just like -"

"Amadeus. Enough," Warlic interrupted. "Even if chaos were to erupt in Swordhaven, I doubt Jaania would look back."

"What about magic?" Queen Victoria asked. "You're a powerful mage, Warlic. Can't you find a way to disable the airship?"

"Jaania's sure to be on guard for that. The only spells that stand a chance of getting through are likely to destroy all of Swordhaven as well. I'm sorry."

"Then…"

They all sounded so hopeless! I came out from behind the table, so full of energy that my hands shook. "There has to be something we can do. It's never too late."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree," Amadeus said. "Are you all just going to give up?"

Before anyone could answer, King Alteon came running in. "Father," Queen Victoria muttered. "...How is Brittany?"

"She's awake, even speaking," King Alteon said. "It seems Jaania wasn't lying about curing her. She's in the care of the royal physicians now." He hesitated, then said, "My dear Victoria, I cannot apologize enough for deceiving you -"

"Stop," she snapped. "You watched me struggle. You watched me question myself and suffer, not knowing - You even had the Vind cover for you! I trusted that you were occupied by some greater mission. You're my father. I believed in you. But I never stopped wondering, or worrying. And all this time, you were right here. You didn't even try to help."

"I meant to reveal myself sooner, but… But I was afraid that if I told you the truth, I… I had intended to return and cast out the Rose for their crimes. But by that point, such an act would have only sown chaos and confusion. So I settled for protecting you. If you had needed me, I would have revealed myself. I swear it. You have become such a capable ruler, Victoria. I'm so proud of you."

"Proud because I became what you always wanted me to be? You have not changed, Father."

"Time is a-wasting," Amadeus reminded us all. "I'm getting out of here."

Warlic turned. "Amadeus -"

"None of you are willing to take action," Amadeus shot back. "As if Akanthus' plans weren't bad enough, we don't even know what Jaania's intent with the Fissure is! I'm not going to -"

"But what about that thing she said -"

Before I could finish my sentence, the door flew open. "Hello! We're back!" an unfamiliar voice exclaimed. A man wearing armor, an elfin lady with coal black skin, someone wearing Rose robes and two people with magical astronaut outfits? ran into the room. They came to a halt. The armored guy looked at Warlic and Amadeus and said, "Um. Okay, we definitely missed something."

.

There was a beat of silence.

"Warlic, please explain everything so I can talk," I blurted out. Too late, I realized he was probably going to do that anyway. Great. Now I looked pushy.

"Gladly," Warlic replied. We didn't have time for a long explanation, so one very short explanation later…

"Hold on, what," the armored guy exclaimed. "Immune to magic?!"

"How is that even possible?"

"How can a world function without magic?"

"Who spoke just now?"

We all looked at Magus Hansa. "I assume it was the girl who's immune to magic? I use magic to see," she reminded us.

"Yes, yes, that was me," I said, picking up my satchel and putting it on. "My knives. Where are my knives?"

"I picked them up," Warlic said, handing them to me. I put them back on. There. Now I was visible.

"Okay, so, she's immune to magic," the armored guy said, sounding skeptical. "What does that do for us?"

"She couldn't surprise Akanthus into making a rash move or convince Jaania not to trust him, so it does absolutely nothing for us," Amadeus said. "We need to stop them the old-fashioned way."

"Confronting Akanthus directly is out of the question," said the armored guy. "I doubt he'll be as merciful if we challenge him again. What about using magic to stop the airship?"

"I don't know if I can do that," Warlic said. "I don't want to push too hard. Too far. …Lose control in the city."

"You know, when we were defending Swordhaven from the Proclamation rift, Jaania was afraid to use magic as well," the armored guy said. "But she did. She saved the city, and all of us, with her shield. And I trust you, Warlic. Certainly more than I trust Jaania! I believe you know your limits. And we're not asking you to push them, either. If you feel yourself slipping, we're here for you."

I felt sick. Those words turned my stomach. I identified with Warlic and his fear that he was doing the wrong thing and it was going to lead to disaster. But nobody had ever said such supportive words to me. I fixed my gaze on the floor, unable to look at anyone.

"You're right," Warlic replied. "Thank you. I still have my doubts, but it can't hurt to try!" I winced at the hope in his voice. It made me feel so many different things all at once, most of them less than positive.

"Finally," Amadeus muttered.

"Queen Victoria, I shall require use of a balcony facing the Ivory Tower, if possible."

"Certainly!"

"Don't bother. They're already gone." Eirn stumbled through the open door, somehow carrying an unconscious Circe over his shoulder without dragging her on the floor.

"Eirn!" Queen Victoria said happily. "Circe?!"

Circe was laid down on the floor. Kara bent over her and began to use healing magic. Eirn explained that Akanthus had discovered them in the airship's hold. He attacked, and they were forced to blast their way out, leaving Yix behind. Queen Victoria was guilt-stricken. "No. No. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have ordered you to -"

Eirn raised a hand. "It's alright. We lived, didn't we? And staying aboard was Yix's idea. While it puts him at considerable risk, it also gives us valuable data. According to my calculations, the ship is already beyond the reach of conventional magic."

"Then we have no time to lose," the Hero said. "They have a head start, so we need to leave as soon as possible. Kara, can you use wind magic to transport us to Outpost Yeden?"

I took a few steps backward, trying to think. But once again, their words prevented me from doing so. If only I had paper! But I'd left behind my papers in Warlic's tower. I shook my head, squeezed my eyes shut, pressed the heel of my palm against my forehead. Nothing worked.

"About this Akanthus… I wonder…"

"Ostromir, I do not know if-"

"You suspect it too, then?"

"I do. But think of the consequences! It is not our place to disclose such information to foreign entities!"

"Vseslava, all of Lore is in danger. We can pay for our sins later."

"What are you wondering?" Warlic asked. "Anything you can tell us about Akanthus would be greatly appreciated, Magester."

I gave up. I had the bad feeling we were forgetting something, but I was never going to remember what it was with everyone talking like this. I listened as Ostromir launched into a tale of long-ago Magisterium experimentation. When he mentioned that their connection to the Mana Core naturally diminished as a result of using magic the way they did, I got a bad feeling. I froze as I listened to the rest of his tale. "I think we've found where he ended up!"

"Akanthus does come from Lore after all? He was created here, in this universe?"

"Yes, but it's still fascinating that you found someone else with his exact same abilities! I wonder what differences there are between them? There must be some, since she comes from a long line of ancestors who all lived without magic…"

"Ostromir," Vseslava snapped. "Focus."

"In just a minute!" he replied, walking up to me. "...May I study you later? When there is time?"

"Sure."

"Thank you!" He sounded so happy! I grinned.

"Now that Ostromir has it all out of his system," Vseslava snarled. He hurried back to her side. "The Magisterium is not one to ignore a potential threat. There has been research into how to contain beings such as Sobieslav. The capital is…no more. Therefore, as the largest surviving Magisterium outpost, Outpost Yeden is the most likely to have the information we need. At the very least, it is near the Fissure."

"We could mount a last stand there," the Hero said with grim determination.

I gasped. "The Fissure! That's it!"

Several people turned to me. "What are you talking about?" Warlic asked.

"What Jaania said! During the thing, just now, with Akanthus, she said that -" I paused to take a deep breath and get my thoughts under control. "Queen Victoria said, 'If the device is dropped in, even Warlic doesn't know what will happen.' And Jaania said, 'Even if the device exists, such an eventuality will never come to pass.' But how can she know that? She must expect some kind of fight. Even if Akanthus is totally innocent, the ship might get damaged and fall in. How can she know the Doom bomb isn't going to fall into the Fissure, unless she's not planning to take the airship directly over it?"

"But then why would she need an airship?" Warlic asked.

"Maybe she has to have a direct line of sight? I don't know. I just think it's weird that she was so sure of that."

"Hmm…" Warlic turned to face everyone else. "I may be able to teleport you all there, but I would need a map of the area to know where I was sending you. While we are consulting a map, we should look for a potential landing area for the airship. Perhaps she intends to land it somewhere and proceed to the Fissure on foot. I have no idea why she commissioned an airship in the first place if that's her plan, but it's the only explanation I can see so far."

"We have maps," Queen Victoria said with a smile. "Thank you, Warlic. And thank you, Ama, for noticing that. Our probability of success will be greatly increased." She turned to Kara. "How is Circe?"

"Her wounds are severe, but she seems to have avoided most of the attack."

"That's good to hear. I don't want to burden you any further, but… May I ask you to remain? I will need the Vind's help to defend against the last remaining Proclamation rift."

"Certainly."

"Thank you. Grand Magus Hansa, I have a similar request of you. With Jaania's departure, I need to take control of the Rose she's left behind. If I'm to do that peacefully, I need your help."

"You shall have it. I am no longer beholden to Jaania's twisted dreams."

"I'm glad to hear it."

I blinked. What twisted dreams? Jaania wasn't out of her mind. She believed that ridding the world of magic would make it a better place, and that belief was mistaken, but believing something that was wrong didn't make her crazy. She also believed that nobody except Akanthus could be trusted, and, well, her logic there was sound. She believed that Akanthus could be trusted, and that probably reflected a need to cling to someone who seemed to offer unconditional support, a need unwittingly strengthened by everyone else's withdrawal of support. That too, though illogical, was a perfectly normal emotional response. The way everyone talked about her as if she was unreasonable or out of her mind rubbed me the wrong way. Her actions made perfect sense. Did nobody else see that?

It was decided that the Hero, Ostromir, Vseslava, Amadeus and Alteon would be teleported to Outpost Yeden. Warlic would stay behind, as well as me, obviously. Eirn and Kara took Circe away to the royal physicians. Warlic and Vseslava looked over the map and identified possible landing places. The Hero promised to make peace with Outpost Yeden as fast as possible so they could send their dragon out to scout those places. Warlic then moved the giant table over to the side of the room and drew a huge set of circles filled with runes. My first thought was to wonder how the runes worked.

Once the circle was drawn and the party was invited to step into it, Ostromir proved to have the same idea. He immediately bent down to babble about the runes to Vseslava. He pointed at them as he did so, coming dangerously close to touching them. "Ostromir, you're scaring me," I cut in. "Don't touch those things!"

"They're just so fascinating!" But he did restrain himself. The teleportation went off without a hitch.

Queen Victoria, Grand Magus Hansa, Kara, Warlic and I remained behind. "The three of us, as leaders, must discuss how to best coordinate our people," Queen Victoria said. "Warlic and Ama, you are officially royal guests. I will see to it that my knights know to give you anything you should request. You may remain here and deliberate further, or leave, according to your choice."

I bowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The three of them left. That made it just me and Warlic, alone in a room together. My heart pounded. Now what?

.

A/N: Oh god, where do I even start.

My initial motivation for writing this fic was to keep the confrontation with Jaania and Akanthus from going as poorly as it did. I felt bad for all my favorite characters, walking away from each other and ending that scene in shock and despair. I wanted it to go better. So the confrontation scene in the original version was amputated. It went exactly as it did in this version until the point where Jaania says that she sees no reason to accuse Akanthus of betrayal. Immediately after saying that, she turned to leave. Queen Victoria never spoke. Alteon was not revealed. Jaania did not demonstrate loss of trust in Amadeus, did not mention that she already knew what Akanthus was, did not refute my assertion that their ultimate goals could disagree, none of that. She denied their claims but gave no counterargument. She seemed like she was just brushing off all their claims out of denial, like she didn't have a position of her own. Of all the canon characters, Jaania is the one I did the greatest disservice to. She is great. She is smart and capable, a world-changer and a hero, and I admire the heck out of her and want to be like her. But when I wrote the first version of this fic, I wanted everything to be easier for the characters so they wouldn't suffer as much. That meant that I had to ruin her, make her little more than a weak-willed child. It was horrible of me to do that. Thinking about it now, I would have decided to delete the first version even if there was no rewrite simply because I couldn't stand to put such a debased version of her on display for people to read. The way I treated her in the first version is shameful and cruel. I'm so sorry, Jaania.

The original version of chapter 6 was very optimistic. The characters were happier. They thought that my plan to install doubt in her mind had worked. Then, when the Greenguard Alliance returned, my character took center stage AGAIN. I summarized events instead of Warlic, I bantered with Magus Hansa, and I realized all by myself that Jaania probably knew all about Akanthus and thus we hadn't really convinced her of anything, thus ruining the mood, because nobody else had considered that we might not have been perfectly successful. I made every character a complete idiot, including my own. My character was just slightly less of one. I'm sorry, everyone.

THEN I had a meltdown while Ostromir told everyone about Akanthus, thus requiring Ostromir to comfort me, which allowed my character to suggest ideas for further action (in a room full of people who have 'suggesting further action' as their actual job description!), which resulted in Alteon revealing himself just because "As long as we're all sharing information..." Then there was barebones, truly minimalist dialogue to get everyone on board with teleporting to Outpost Yeden. The scene where the Hero comforts Warlic and Warlic accepts it? Which is super important to Warlic's character arc? It didn't happen. In a previous chapter, I had my character speculate on ways to teach Warlic how to accept help and other things that would help him fix his tragic life. Then in this chapter, I removed a scene where a canon character, one of his established friends that had known and helped him for years, taught him the same thing. Wow. For all my supposed concern for Warlic, I was really cruel to him. It's true that the Hero's dialogue in that scene makes me uncomfortable because of my own hangups, but I shouldn't have deprived Warlic of badly needed support just because of that. I'm so sorry, Warlic.

It was only while playing through quests again for the rewrite that I noticed what Jaania had said. Noticing overlooked details: the one thing my character actually does have going for them, the one thing they actually can do that nobody else can do, which doesn't require me to make every other character dumb as a rock in order for mine to stand out - it didn't happen. Everything my character achieved in the original version of this chapter was an achievement stolen from someone else. By forcing my character into center stage, I prevented myself from actually earning a place in the story with my own talents and skills. No wonder my character in the original version considered telling people that I knew them as fictional. My character in that version was already alienated from the world. My character in this version of the story would never consider alienating myself because I actually have a place in the plot, a place that I earned. I was cruel to myself. Sorry, me.

Oh, and because I didn't bother replaying quests in order to write any of it, I forgot that Kara stayed behind, so I listed her as joining everyone in the teleportation circle. That was just laziness. I didn't even have to leave the computer to properly research this fic. There's no excuse for failing to replay a single quest. Nobody looked good in the original version of this chapter. Not the canon characters, not my character, not me as the author - nobody.