Reviews:

Overgame00: Thank you! I plan to. Sorry this chapter took so long. And thank you for the suggestions. I'll consider Rotom. He would have to find it when he goes back in time to investigate the temporal rift since they only appear in the temporal anomaly things, but it's a good idea. As for the fire pokemon, Magby is okay. I'm also considering cyndaquil and maybe vulpix.

Just an Anime Fan: He does know how to fight with a sword. He just prefers the different forms of magic. I suppose I could have portrayed that better in the last chapter, though.

Guest: Thank you!

Alric had done as he said and made a camp several miles west of the settlement. For a shelter he made a simple cabin out of crystal. It had four walls, a floor, a roof, and a heavy slab of crystal that wasn't attached to anything for a door. He pulled a chair and a nice wooden table out of his bottomless box, both of which he stole from the Duke's archives. He then created some fragments of crystal and cast an enchantment on them to make them glow before taking out a tall candelabra and putting the glowing crystals in the candle holders.

With the cabin now lit, he turned to look at Phasma, who had since recovered from her earlier distress. She was currently sitting on the table waiting for him.

He walked over to the table and sat down in the chair. Looking at her he said, "Alright, little one. It's time for you to decide. What form of magic would you like to learn from me? Sorcery, miracles, pyromancy, or hexes?"

"I don't know… Can you explain them to me?" She asked.

Alric smiled at her. "Of course."

He summoned his pyromancy flame to his hand. "By far the least complex and easiest to learn is pyromancy. Producing a flame and holding it in one's hand, or perhaps paws or mouth in your case, then channeling it. My first teacher was a pyromancer named Laurentius and he told me that a pyromancer must be in tune with nature herself. I agree with his assessment. Unlike miracles that rely on faith in the gods, sorceries that bend arcane cosmic forces to one's will, or hexes which channel the Abyss, the power of fire for pyromancy comes from the world around you. The plants, the animals, the rivers and seas, the sky above, the air we breathe, and even the very earth we walk on. Fire is the very essence of life itself, and it can be used to achieve a great many truly wondrous or truly terrible things. One can use it to burn their enemies, of course, but pyromancy can do so much more than that. It can heal, it can cast poison or acid, it can turn flesh into metal, it can draw out one's truest power at the cost of burning their life force, it can even charm the minds of other creatures. Does this sound to your interest?"

"If fire is the essence of life, how can we use it when we're both dead?" Phasma asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "We exist, do we not? We are within the world of the living and so long as we are here we have a facsimile of life. Even if it is a false life. So we can use it. The only question is whether you want to learn to use it or not."

She shook her head. "No… That doesn't feel right to me…"

Alric closed his hand and snuffed the flame. "I understand. You choose not to cling to life. Many undead do, so the fact you don't is respectable. Well the next option is miracles. Miracles are the use of prayers and faith channeled through talismans to manipulate divine energies from specific deities to achieve what would otherwise be impossible. They are more… uh… esoteric in nature. They can be used to heal yourself or others, to teleport yourself vast distances in an instant, to generate spears of lightning, to call down karmic retribution upon those who would harm you, to silence all magic within an area, to summon the spectral blades of the Gravelord himself, and more depending on the source of veneration.:

"The only requirement for this is faith, or a source of power to draw from as was the case for the gods. The gods drew upon the power of the First Fire itself. Not fire in the same sense of nature and life as with Pyromancy, but the First Fire as in the ancient flames deep beneath the ground from which they found the Lord Souls. Even Nito, the First of the Dead, the God of Death drew from this same source so it is not anathema to death. That, however, is a very complex topic for later. If I fail and go hollow you will inherit the Lord Souls from me. You will become a Goddess. So you should learn to use miracles, in my opinion, but I shall not force you should you be against the idea."

"A goddess…?" She asked, awed by this.

"Indeed… Well, actually, allow me to correct myself. I will only bestow the Lord Souls upon you if I deem you worthy. If I judge your character lacking, I will scatter them such that you will not be able to find them all. So be good, Phasma. Others would find them in time and become new gods in their own right. So prove to me you're worthy of wielding the power of the Lord Souls and you may very well become a Goddess."

Phasma was silent as she processed this. "But I'd have to lose you…"

"Unfortunately, yes." Alric nodded solemnly.

"Then I don't want to be a goddess…"

Alric smiled at that and rubbed the top of her head affectionately. "That's a very good first step on becoming one. Desiring companionship over power speaks well of your character… So, what is your decision? Have you any interest in learning miracles?"

She was silent for a bit longer before finally nodding. "I… I don't want to lose you… But if I do… I want to be the best goddess I can be."

"It will be a little boring. You will have to put in a lot of work memorizing a bunch of dusty old books. Can you do that?" Alric asked her.

"Yes… What's a book?" Phasma asked curiously.

"Ah. If you don't even know what a book is, you must not know how to read. I suppose I'll just have to teach you how then. In the meantime, I can read the books to you when I have time." He reached into his bottomless box and retrieved a large book of prayers. It had a tattered black leather cover and seemed to radiate the chill of the grave. "This is a book. Given your rejection of pyromancy due to its connections to life, this is a book of the Servants of the Gravelord. It is full of rites and prayers to the God of Death. I assume you would have a greater affinity towards Nito than the other gods because of his connection to death." He set the book on the table.

Phasma stepped over to it and sniffed it curiously. "It smells… almost familiar…"

"It smells of the very essence of death itself, child. Of course it smells familiar to the dead." Alric told her, a hand resting on the book.

He then shook his head. "Moving on, I'm willing to teach you more than one subject, of course. So you have two more options. Sorcery and hexes. Sorcery is the manipulation of arcane cosmic forces by leveraging the power of one's soul. It is arguably the most versatile magic of all considering all it can be used to accomplish. However, it is by far the most intellectually challenging. I believe you could do it, but to truly master it would require the most work of any form of magic."

He leaned back in his chair a bit. "You can master miracles with some petty memorization and lessons in theology. Then later, after you become a goddess you would already be a master of miracles through your prior experience using the miracles that already exist. You can master pyromancy with simple practice and meditation. You could master hexes through a combination of theology, practice, and mental and spiritual discipline. Sorcery, however, requires constant research and experimentation as well as in depth knowledge of mathematics. You could, of course, stagnate and limit yourself to certain knowledge and spells and thus never reach your full potential as a sorcerer. Indeed, many sorcerers do just that. However, those who do such ultimately amount to nothing and are forgotten by history as the petty dabblers they are. Those sorcerers who go on to become legends in their own right devote themselves wholly to the pursuit of knowledge. So tell me, Phasma, are you interested in learning the deepest most closely guarded secrets of the universe?"

"That sounds like a lot… I'm not sure I can do it." She responded, clearly daunted by the prospect.

Alric would never say or show it but he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He truly loved sorcery. He enjoyed the pursuit of knowledge in all its forms and sorcery was the ultimate embodiment of that passion he held for learning. Unfortunately it seemed that Phasma didn't quite share in his desire to know everything there was to know. He made himself put on a warm smile. "That's perfectly fine. I was simply presenting the option."

"Lastly, hexes. It can also be called dark or abyssal magic. It calls forth the power of humanity or the abyss. And no, I'm not talking about humanity as in humans, though it is related in a sense." He reached into his bottomless box and withdrew the inky black Dark Soul. "This is the Dark Soul. When the other Lords found their souls within the flames of the First Fire, this was found by the Furtive Pygmy. The progenitor of mankind. It is the Dark Soul… Well, not the true Dark Soul. You see, the Dark Soul is unique among the Lord Souls in that it can be split infinitely. So the Furtive Pygmy took shards of the Dark Soul and distributed it among all of his children, humanity, keeping only the core to himself. These fragments are called 'Humanity' after us, his children. This is the core of the Dark Souls which he had kept for himself, though I have gone to painstaking effort to restore it to the former power it held when it was found within the flames of creation."

He shook his head. "I'm getting off topic, forgive me. My point is that humanity as in the shards of the dark soul, and humanity as in humans are not the same thing. So you needn't think you are incapable of using hexes because you aren't human. There is much more to it, such as the Abyss. A realm of pure darkness connected to the Dark Soul. However, what is important is what hexes can do. Earlier when I said sorcery was arguably the most versatile magic, hexes are the reason it's arguable. This is because hexes can be used in the form of any of the other three magics. It can be used as pyromancy, sorcery, or miracles."

He conjured his pyromancy flame once more. However this time the flames seemed to be made of pure darkness.

Phasma examined the pitch black flames curiously.

"Or it can be used as its own completely separate form of magic. As is the case with the Art of Lifedrain." He banished his pyromancy flame and summoned the Dark Hand. "So you can learn it as an extension of learning miracles or I can teach it to you as its own separate subject or I can do both."

"Um… If I can learn it while learning miracles, I think I'd prefer to do that." She said, uncertainly.

"As you wish." He reached into his bottomless box and pulled out another book. This was a book written by the Pygmy Lords of the Ringed City in veneration of the Furtive Pygmy. It contained rights and prayers dedicated to him and the Abyss. "Then these are the two books we shall start with. Holy texts devoted to Nito and the Furtive Pygmy, respectively. Of course, you can't read yet so they shall have to wait. For now, let's start with teaching you the alphabet before moving onto vocabulary and reading." He pulled out a stick of charcoal and a piece of parchment before writing down the alphabet.

He worked on teaching Phasma the alphabet for a couple hours. Unfortunately she didn't have hands so he couldn't teach her to write but teaching her to read was sufficient as far as he was concerned.

Unfortunately she couldn't memorize the alphabet in a single day. So after those few hours he decided to let her take a break. He pulled back the slab of crystal acting like a makeshift door and let her go play outside. Unfortunately he didn't have any children's toys to give her or he would do so. He decided he was going to have to make a few toys for her to entertain herself with at some point. Presumably once he had earned some money with which to purchase the materials to do so. He could have made something out of crystal, of course, but since she didn't have hands she would have to carry it around in her teeth and he assumed that wouldn't be pleasant.

While she was taking her break, Alric started experimenting with his crystal sorceries in an effort to change the color and look of the crystal to resemble pearls.

They continued on like this for about ten days. At that point Phasma had fully memorized the alphabet and Alric planned to start her on vocabulary. He had also read several pages of Nito's holy text to her and had her start trying to memorize it.

On the tenth day, he finally succeeded in altering the look and color of the crystals his sorcery could produce. As such he put everything back in his box, tore down the little shack they had stayed in, and they made their way back to the settlement.

As the settlement came into view, Alric lowered his hood.

Approaching the settlement, he saw sticks stabbed into the snow or rocks piled in places just before the bridge leading into the settlement.

As he crossed the bridge he saw people looking at him and Phasma. Upon seeing him, one of the people ran off towards a particular tent.

Alric looked and saw the house he made had the front door installed. Smoke was billowing from the chimney. That suggested someone was already living inside. That was a good sign. It suggested they weren't completely opposed to him building houses for them which suggested the agreement he made with Irida was still in effect.

He approached the ring of crystal he had made to keep people from burning themselves on the spot where he had incinerated the Dusknoir. He saw several pearls and what he assumed were religious symbols plastered all over the waist high crystal wall. Inside the ground was what looked like a sheet of scorched glass or obsidian.

He frowned and raised a hand to his chin in thought as he stared at the objects on the wall.

A few moments later he heard footsteps approaching him. Looking he saw it was Irida.

He raised a hand in greetings. "Good day, Lady Irida. Before we get to business, may I ask why this wall is covered in these things?"

"They're talismans with prayers to Mighty Palkia to ward off evil. Many people here believe the Dusknoir cursed the scorched ground as it died. Fortunately, no one seems to blame you for cursing the ground with your fire." She explained.

Alric nodded. "I see. Then should I assume you don't want me to tear down the wall?"

"It would be best if you didn't. I don't believe the ground is cursed myself, but it makes everyone feel better." She said.

Alric reached into his bottomless box and retrieved the Cleansing Greatshield. Artorias' Greatshield which he had used to protect Sif within the Abyss. He had since restored its blessing and had the Giant Blacksmith of Anor Londo repair the decay the Abyss had wrought upon it. It was now as powerful an artifact as the day it was first crafted for the Abyss Walker.

Irida's eyes widened as she watched him withdraw such a large shield from such a small box.

"This is the Greatshield once wielded by a powerful hero of my homeland, Artorias the Abyss Walker. It also has the power to ward off evil. I witnessed this power first hand as Artorias used it to protect his wolf Sif, sacrificing himself in the process. It is a very powerful holy symbol in its own right. So would it be alright if I placed it into the wall? For symbolic purposes as well as a means of atonement for bringing the creature here to begin with? It pains me to part with it, but I feel it's only fair." Alric requested.

"Uh… Sure… H-how did you fit that in that tiny box?" She asked.

"Oh, this is a bottomless box. There is an enchantment upon it that makes the space inside vastly bigger than it is on the outside, thus allowing me to store near infinite amounts of anything I put in it. It is what allows me to bring all of my belongings with me wherever I go." Alric said as he placed Artorias' shield against the crystalline wall. He then drew his catalyst and cast a spell to make the crystal of the wall grow over the shield partially, permanently embedding the shield within the wall, with the face pointed outwards. It was probably less effective that way, but it looked better.

"Now, to business." Alric said, lowering his catalyst but still holding it at his side. "Since they don't blame me for this supposed curse, am I to assume your people are fine with me building their homes for them?"

"Well, they certainly don't trust you after that. So you aren't going to be accepted into the clan, if that was of any interest to you. However, after cleaning out all the leftover shards like you suggested, we did test the example house you made by having one of our people stay in it overnight. They said they didn't have any trouble with it. Then a family's child got sick from the cold, so they're currently staying there until their new house is built. They haven't had any trouble with it so far either. So, since there hasn't been any sign that it's cursed like people think this spot is, everyone is fine with you making our houses. As for our end of the agreement, I can show you a place that we would be okay with you making your home outside of our settlement." Irida told me.

Alric nodded. "Very well. Ah, before I get started though, would you like me to see to curing this child's illness?"

Irida shook her head. "His fever's already broken and he's regaining his energy. He should be up and running around again soon on his own."

"I'm glad to hear it was nothing serious then. Moving on, I assume those sticks and piles of stones just outside the settlement are the spots where people want me to build their homes for them?"

"That's maybe a quarter of the marked spots. The rest are on this side of the bridge. The only reason any are on that side is because after measuring the first house you made, we figured out there wouldn't be enough of Mighty Palkia's space for all of them to be on this side of the bridge." She told him.

Alric nodded again. "Very well then. I suppose I should get to work if I'm to finish the houses before nightfall. Please excuse us." He said before walking off towards a marker sticking out of the ground on that side of the bridge. Phasma was laying wrapped around the back of his neck and stayed there the entire time he worked.

He worked for several hours building the houses one after the other. When he was done with a given house he would make a slab of crystal laying on the ground in front of it to be turned into a front door in the coming weeks. As he was working he would be approached by different members of the clan who would make requests for minor deviations from the design of the first house he had built. A slightly expanded kitchen area, an extra bedroom or two, the storage room to be a workshop instead or have room for a small forge, or an extra room near the fireplace on the ground floor for older family members who would have trouble climbing up stairs, to name a few.

As he completed the houses, families would head in with brooms to sweep out all the shards of crystal left over.

Eventually he got to the final house and was approached by Irida once more.

"Hello, Lady Irida. So do you have any particular requests for your home?" He asked.

"I'm fine with a similar layout to the first one you made. Though it might be nice if you could make a room I could turn into an altar dedicated to Mighty Palkia." Irida requested.

"Very well." Alric stated before turning and proceeding to start the process of making her home. He made the altar room on the first floor and made it roughly the size of a bedroom but stopped there, not knowing what Irida would want inside the room. So to finish it he brought her in and asked her to direct him in what she wanted specifically. It didn't take long. After that he finished making her house as normal.

When he was done, he went to Irida and said, "Well that's my end of the agreement. The houses should be sturdy enough to last for a few centuries."

"Thank you. The houses will improve the quality of life around here quite a bit! That said, the sun is starting to set, so I'll bring you to the spot we decided on giving you in the morning. You and Phasma are both more than welcome to stay the night in the village until tomorrow. Especially if you help me sweep this place!" Irida said with a big smile on her face.

Alric chuckled. "Doing chores… Oh, how long it's been…" He looked to his shoulder and gently scratched under Phasma's chin. "What do you think? I know you don't like other humans. So would you mind if we stayed the night here, or would you be more comfortable camping elsewhere for one final night? The choice is yours, little one."

Phasma pouted a bit as Alric took his hand away before glaring at Irida who just smiled at her. "Mmmm… It's just for the night?"

"Indeed. It's just for one night. Then we'll be able to keep to ourselves for a time. We may get some visitors from time to time, and I may have to travel a bit to trade or heal others. However, we should be able to keep to ourselves for the most part."

"Okay… If it's just for the night…" Phasma stated reluctantly.

Alric smiled at her and scratched behind her ear a bit. She leaned her head into his hand, enjoying it. Looking back at Irida Alric said, "She's okay with it. So, do you have a broom I might borrow?"

Irida nodded. "Mhm! Just wait here, I'll be right back!" She then ran off and came back just a bit later with a pair of brooms in hand. "Since we knew we were going to need to sweep up all of the leftover crystal shards, the village worked together and made a bunch of brooms. We may have gone a bit overboard and made a few too many…" She explained as she handed him one.

"Ah, that explains it. I was wondering where all of them came from considering you all previously lived in tents and thus likely had little use for them." Alric said, taking the new broom from her. He then took the broom and started sweeping, gathering the leftover crystal shards into a big pile. Working together, he and Irida made relatively short work of cleaning the house. When they were finished they swept the crystal shards into a couple of buckets. Apparently the villagers were saving the shards to make jewelry and decorations. Waste not want not, he supposed.

"May I keep this broom, lady Irida? When my new home is finished, I imagine I'll have to do quite a bit of sweeping myself." He requested when they were done.

"Of course! Like I said, we accidentally made a few too many. So no one is going to miss it if you take it." She told him.

"Thank you. Well, good night. I suppose we'll speak to you in the morning." Alric said as he stuffed his new broom into his bottomless box.

"Wait, I thought you were going to stay in the village for the night. Where are you going?" She asked, confused.

"We are. I simply don't wish to intrude. So we'll be staying in a temporary shelter out of the way of everyone else. I'll tear it down in the morning and clean up the mess."

"Oh. Good night then." She said waving at him and Phasma.

Alric and Phasma headed off to the edge of the village where he made a simple triangular structure out of three walls and a floor. After picking up the shards, he set Phasma down on the ground and sat down inside with his back leaning against a wall. He then pulled out Nito's holy texts and conjured a small flame in his hand so he could read it. Phasma sat in his lap and he read to her throughout the night, stopping to have her try to read some of it herself every so often. She couldn't read properly at all but she could vaguely sound out the individual letters to try to decipher the words, which was progress.

Eventually the sun began to rise and Alric smelled the scent of fresh bread baking. It seemed some of the villagers had decided to take the opportunity to make use of their brand new kitchens. He was glad his work was helping these people.

At that point he closed the book and put it away. He didn't want them to overhear him reading a book full of funeral rites and prayers to the God of Death. He felt that might give off the wrong impression.

So he just sat there petting Phasma while the two of them waited for Irida.

A couple hours passed until Irida came running up to them with her, three pokemon following after her. Glaceon and two others Alric didn't recognize.

"Good morning, Alric." She greeted him

Alric nodded, setting Phasma on the ground and standing up. "Good morning to you as well, Lady Irida. Glaceon, how are you? Have you recovered well? You're not experiencing any lingering pain or anything of the sort are you?"

"I'm okay. That mushroom really helped! Thank you so much, mister. Irida says I would have died if it weren't for you." Glaceon said gratefully.

Alric smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear you're well. It would have pained me greatly to learn you lost your life or were left crippled because of my failing. You were only hurt because I didn't think to ensure Phasma and I weren't being followed. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

The Glaceon looked at him confused. "But, you already did? You gave Irida the mushroom that healed me."

"No. That mushroom is the least of what I owe you. Saving you after the fact is not recompense for allowing you to come to harm in the first place. It is the bare minimum that should be expected of me."

"Um… Alric… I'm not sure what Glaceon is saying, but her getting hurt is my fault… I shouldn't have sent her to fight the Alpha Dusknoir by herself in the first place." Irida interjected.

"No. In that moment, you merely did what you thought was best. You are not to blame for any of this. I am. I will not hear anything to the contrary. The fault rests entirely upon me. Thus I owe Glaceon here something for my failing. So, please, what can I do to make it up to you?"

"Uh… I don't know…" Glaceon said uncertainly.

"You don't know… I see… Hm… How about this then? I owe you a debt. If ever you are in need of something and I can provide it for you, all you need to do is ask. You may collect on this debt at any time and I will do everything within my power to fulfill any request you may have. Within reason, of course." Alric told Glaceon.

She thought about this for a moment before nodding. "Okay. That sounds alright to me."

"Then it's settled." Alric said with a smile.

"Well… Are you and Phasma ready to go?" Irida asked.

Alric nodded. "Of course. Just let me get rid of this structure and we can go."

"Sure. So how do you plan on getting rid of it? More magic?" She asked.

"No, no. Nothing of the sort. You and your pokemon should back up a bit. You too, Phasma." Alric said as he reached into his bottomless box and pulled out Grant, Paladin Leeroy's oversized mace.

Irida stumbled back, shocked by this.

Alric then swung Grant with both hands and smashed the temporary structure to bits. It broke with a sound like shattering glass, albeit quite a bit louder. He smashed it a couple more times just to break the fragments into smaller pieces. Was it a bit blasphemous of him to use a holy weapon like this as a tool to smash things? Perhaps. Did he care? Not particularly.

When he was done, he put Grant back in the box and turned to Irida. "I know your people want to make jewelry and decorations from these crystals. So should I leave this here to be harvested, or should I take the rubble and dispose of it myself?"

"Uh… Hm… Leave it. We can sell the excess to the Galaxy Expedition Team and overseas traders on the coast whenever they come by."

Alric bowed his head. "As you wish. Then, shall we be off?"

Irida nodded and motioned for him to follow her.

Phasma walked alongside Alric and almost seemed to be hiding behind him, he noticed. As they continued to walk, the orange dog-rabbit creature tried to walk over to Phasma, but she just rushed to the other side of Alric. Then Glaceon tried to approach and sniff Phasma curiously. Not having anywhere to hide this time, Phasma just shrunk back and growled timidly.

She continued to shy away from Irida's pokemon as they walked. Though after a while, she began to loosen up a bit and eventually even started to run and play with the three of them.

Alric smiled as he watched the four pokemon frolic and play in the snow. He had been worried Phasma hated more than just humans, but all living in general. He was glad to be proven wrong.

"Don't tire yourselves out too much, we still have a long way to walk." Irida called out to the pokemon.

"No, no. Let them play. Phasma is still but a child, so she needs it. Plus I have no other apprentices, and I'm too busy to entertain her myself. This is a rare opportunity for her to have fun and enjoy herself as children should. If the four of them get tired, I can carry them the rest of the way if need be." Alric stated.

Irida didn't object as they all continued to trudge through the ice and snow.

"So, you say you're sick and it's killing you. I hope it's not too insensitive of me, but would you mind telling me about this disease? Just so I know what to look out for if one of my people gets something similar?" Irida asked.

"No. I'm not sick in the way you're thinking. If I was, it would be a trifle to cure myself. No, I'm suffering from the effects of a powerful curse. One even I can not dispel so easily. It was placed upon me by an ancient enemy of my people. Thus why I need to return from whence I came in order to cure it. The only way to undo the curse is to unravel it at its source. Which I was in the midst of doing before I unwittingly stumbled into the trap left upon its source by my enemy. You needn't worry. There is no way for any from your village to contract anything similar unless an immensely powerful being cursed you in the same way, which is unlikely if it hasn't happened already. That's all I would like to say on the matter. I would rather not discuss the symptoms with one whom I've only just met. No offense to you, of course. It's just… The nature of my curse is… It's quite personal." Alric told her.

He didn't want to tell her that he was an undead. Humans tended to react poorly to that sort of thing and he didn't want to destroy an army of terrified villagers seeking to destroy or imprison him because of his curse. It was a simple matter of trust. He knew nothing about her and thus couldn't afford to risk trusting her with such sensitive information about himself.

Fortunately she didn't seem to mind. "I understand. Would you mind telling me about where you're from, then?"

"You wish to hear of my homeland?"

"Yeah! We have a long way to walk so we might as well talk about something on the way, and I'll admit I'm sort of curious. So?"

"Hm… Well, to be honest I've been away from my homeland for so long I can't remember much about it. I'm old, Lady Irida. Very old. Far older than I look. It's been so long. I can't even remember the names or faces of my parents or my siblings… I spent most of my life traveling, searching for a cure to the curse. I can tell you all about so many different places. Lordran, Anorlondo, New Londo, the Ringed City, Thorolund, Astora, Carim, Lost Izalith, even ancient Oolacile. But my home… Vinheim…" He sighed and shook his head, the memories of his time in Vinheim far beyond his grasp.

"All I can give you is what is commonly known about it. It is the Dragon School, a college of sorcerers. The name was derived from Seath the Scaleless, a great albino dragon and the father of sorcery. It is utterly mired in politics and corruption. There are stories of students at the college having their throats slit in their sleep because they were advancing too quickly in their studies and outshone their peers, or had connections, knowledge, or skill that those in power viewed as a threat. A sad reality. However, if one can somehow avoid or otherwise navigate the politics they can become powerful and successful sorcerers. Advisors in the courts of kings, renowned scholars, or powerful warriors fighting at the heads of armies."

"No offense, but it doesn't sound like a very nice place." Irida commented.

"Oh no, you're absolutely right. It isn't. Yet when I think of it… I can't help but feel the sting of nostalgia. A longing for a time I've long since forgotten… When I try I can almost recall some vague details of my past in Vinheim but they slip away as soon as I try to grasp them… It hurts, but what is there to do? Shall I tell you of some of the places I've traveled instead? Some were quite beautiful. In fact, I even took a few sketches of some of the best views I saw during my travels." Alric said, reaching into his bottomless box and retrieving one of his later sketchbooks. One in which his art was actually passable.

The two of them spent the rest of the walk discussing some of the places Alric had visited during his travels. From Lordran to the Ringed City. Eventually when Phasma and the others did eventually tire themselves out from playing, Alric had to put the sketchbook away and carry all four of the exhausted pokemon.

After a while they eventually came to a stop. "Well, here it is. This spot is near a path we usually use to get to the rest of Hisui. It's far enough from the village that no one will feel uncomfortable with you building your home here, but close enough we can get to you in a reasonable amount of time if there's an emergency and someone needs help."

Alric set all of the pokemon down and looked around. "This will do just fine, thank you. Are there any real limits on the size of the building I'm allowed to create? For example, am I only allowed to build a house like the ones I made for your people or am I allowed to make something a bit bigger?"

"How much bigger?"

"I was planning on having a decently sized library for the books I will be writing during my research, and a medical room for emergencies. Plus, since it's near a main traveling route, perhaps a guest house to serve as a rest stop for weary travelers? So I was considering making something fairly large. Though I can make something more limited in scope if that's unacceptable." Alric explained.

"Hm… That sounds fine. I'm sure the Galaxy Expedition Team would appreciate having another rest stop. Plus you're the one who's going to be building it. Just don't obstruct the path and it should be fine."

"Right. I think I see where the main path is. That groove in the ground over there, correct? It looks as though it's been tread quite frequently, even covered in snow as it is."

"That's the one! So, is this spot okay with you?"

Alric nodded. "Indeed. It will take some time for me to build, but it should be done soon enough. That said, we've been walking for some time so how about I craft another temporary structure so you and these three can rest before heading back? I have chairs, a table, and a tea set in my box. Oh! Speaking of which, you really must try some green blossom tea! Green blossom is an herb with magical properties that restores one's stamina. Typically I like to eat it raw as I rarely have time to do anything more with it, but it can be turned into a nice tea with the same restorative effects."

Irida smiled at him. "That sounds interesting. Sure, we can stick around a bit longer for some tea."

Alric drew his catalyst and began crafting a simple shack where they could rest out of the ice and snow, with a fireplace and chimney where he could heat the tea.

Sorry everyone. I know this chapter has a lot of exposition. But it's sort of necessary. This chapter is mainly setting things up for future chapters.