Author's Note: This one's a bit longer than the others! Mainly because I wanted to get to the Marlind part and then I had some new characters to introduce to give the story a bit more life... You know, the usual kind of thing. I've re-introduced an old character from the previous version as well, and things are going a bit more smoothly than they have been. I just don't rehash the game's skits or anything because I don't see the point of that.

Also! Potential OOC warning for one character as well as some things that might not read right. I've been writing this over the course of... quite some time since the second chapter was posted, and I've been trying to keep things in a pathway. I'll hopefully have Chapter 4 out quicker than this chapter, as it still deals with Marlind, but I don't know yet. All I know is that I wrote this.

But I don't own Zestiria. If I did, Rani would be a character in it.

"I wonder if they found the note."

The grass was trampled under my feet as I walked through the plains, obviously not following the road. There had been a few Hellions around, which I avoided fighting as I had no idea on how to fight and I didn't want to kill them. And I still had to get to the Spiritcrest, right? That was what the boy had said. Continuing forward on this adventure was difficult. I wasn't used to walking all the time and constantly had to sit down after a while to take a breather and stop my legs from aching before I continued forward. It was a process, and I had been a homebody until now so I was very... unused to so much activity. I didn't even have an exact time! But that wasn't the problem.

I'd meet travellers on the road, point them in the direction of Ladylake if they were headed there and then hear in an inn out of the way that the travellers never made it there. Bandits were attacking them, and it left a sour taste in my mouth. I wondered exactly what type of bandits were attacking them. Perhaps they were desperate for food or gald. And I wondered why I wasn't being attacked too. Saying my goodbyes to the innkeeper I had come across, I left the inn that I'd been staying in last night and headed back on the road. Having to work in exchange for room and board for a night had been a bit of a task but... At least they were nice.

That had been... two days. So if I was looking back at Ladylake, I wouldn't see it anymore. Marlind wasn't too far from here, but it would be in the throes of a plague caused by malevolence. I'd rushed on ahead without any form of idea of where to go except for the Spiritcrest. From what I could recall, Eizen was on that mountain... but as a dragon. There was something else, too. Something I knew I was forgetting. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I just knew something important was slipping my mind. Regardless, the bridge was still up. That meant that it was too early for it to collapse. But the rain was endless. I was soaked upon my arrival to the area, and shielded my eyes against it as I looked towards the sky. Different, I supposed, but I couldn't do much of anything.

Spiritcrest, Spiritcrest. What awaited me at you? Nothing but death at the moment. Nothing but death- but I couldn't divert from my path just yet. There was a little pathway before I was able to reach the bridge, so I turned up that path and headed up the sloping hill. As I did so, I noticed something falling from the sky. As if thrown, and it turned out not to be something but someone. Their body hit the ground and they came to a stop at my feet. Long, white hair with green ends covered their back, and they wore black pants with turquoise designs. The oddest part yet was the belts on their wrists and the solitary glove on their left hand. With a frown, I shook the person who had fallen.

Stupid me. A fall from that height meant they were dead, right?

"What am I doing...?" I murmured to myself. "They're dead. That fall was from a very high height and..." I sighed, deciding to push the body over to get a better look. A male, and a young one. And then it hit me, and I smacked my forehead with a groan. This was before Sorey scaled the Spiritcrest and met Zaveid for the first time, so obviously something had happened prior to their meeting! It just so happened that this was what happened instead. Something important. He was the something important I was forgetting about! Zaveid the Hellion Hunter!

"Gods above and below, what the hell..." I sat back, staring at the sky for a few moments. I didn't have much in the ways of items but... I hadn't used any of them since starting my adventure. I had to shuffle through various items in my bag before grabbing a blue bottle with a label on it. I couldn't exactly decipher what it said, and quietly wished I had an interpreter for Glenwood Script with me. But I uncorked it and heaved a heavy sigh before moving back over to the unconscious Zaveid and pressing the bottle to his lips. The clear liquid slowly left the bottle, and in moments his eyes fluttered open. I removed the now empty-bottle, re-corked it and put it in my bag while muttering to myself about how idiotic this seemed as I noticed him sitting up slowly.

"Try not to take a giant fall like that again, I don't have a lot of these and I'm not around enough to play babysitter." I said, standing up and dusting myself off. I didn't know how many Dezel had given me but... I probably didn't have much in the way of Life Bottles, if that's what I used. Those seemed really expensive and rare.

"You're not here for the dragon are ya, kid?" Zaveid's voice broke through my voice and I glanced at him. He'd stood up during the time I was examining the contents of my bag while deep in thought, and towered over me in height. With a short, non-committal shrug, I waved a hand.

"Does it look like I can fight a dragon? I was just told to come here, and then I met you when you landed on the ground like you did. Thought you were dead until I realized nope, very much alive." I closed my bag and turned to him. "Well, no. It's more like a little kid told me to come here because a couple of people lived here. Eizen and Edna. Heard of them?"

His body tensed. I noticed his gaze wasn't even on me now, instead away as if I'd said something unintentional. But this was what I was sent here for. Something at the Spiritcrest, and I would have to find out exactly what the kid had wanted me to do. But... if anything, the hellion that was usually here was guarding the place and I couldn't have Zaveid kill it too soon. That would set everything awry.

The path of Tales of Zestiria was never very straight-forward, but this was something that had Sorey first meeting Zaveid. The fight with the hellion blocking the way.

It was an uncomfortable silence, regardless. For a few minutes, there was nothing. The wind seemed a little colder, even. Then-

"They're up on the mountaintop. Why?" His tone was sharp and bitter.

"Again, little kid sent me up here. 'Bout this tall, wearing a robe.. And had a strange device in his hands. He said that Eizen was an old friend of his-" Like that, I was cut off with Siegfried in my face.

"Not another word." Very out of character for him, but perhaps I'd hit a sore spot for him. That was alright, he didn't have to answer me. "Listen, kid. I don't know who you are, or where you're from but don't bother with either of those people. And don't talk about them around me. Got it?"

"...Y-yes sir." I found myself saying, shrinking away. Old habits died hard, and I was trying to make myself smaller. Tears prickled at the edges of my eyes, and I heard footsteps as the ringing in my ears grew louder and louder. A constant noise. A constant reminder. I was never free from the past, I was never free from what chained me.

I looked up, and he was gone.

"Deliver medicine across to Marlind?" I asked, with a slight frown. The rain hadn't washed away the bridge yet, but the guy had just thrust the package at me and told me to deliver it to Marlind. The epidemic town, where a plague ran free... that was caused by malevolence.

"Of course! Are you stupid and hardheaded?! Get going!" He shoved me away from him, and I stepped back, finding myself breathing heavier than usual. Rude. Rude and... cruel. I took in a deep breath and turned to the bridge. This wasn't going to be too hard. Get it to Marlind and then come back before the bridge went out of service. That was easy enough for me to do. Delivery sidequest and all, and then no reward. It was fine, really. It was alright. It was...

"Wh-what-"

Halfway across the bridge, I heard footsteps behind me. A knight, lance beared. The bridge underneath my feet started to crack. He'd seen something I hadn't, and had charged in to protect me. But, it was too late for that. As soon as he reached me, the bridge broke and the two of us got thrown into the river. The current was fast, and I couldn't keep my head above the water long enough to take a breath of air. I was drowning, I was actually drowning.

They say death by drowning is the worst, and I had to agree with that. I choked, and filled my lungs with more water. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe. Everything was going so, so wrong. The light dimmed around me, and I heard a splash and a hand reach out to grab me before the entire world went dark. And, for a while, I dreamed.

I dreamed of home. Of my life before this. Dreamed of sleeping, dreamed of cooking... Dreamed of going outside and taking walks when I couldn't bear seeing the same four walls any more. But, as I headed to the kitchen for something to eat, I jolted awake with a gasp for air before turning over and coughing. My lungs were clear but burning for air, and I was gasping for a good few minutes before my breathing straightened itself out and I found myself in a bed. A warm, comfortable bed. The oil lamp was still burning, which meant that it still had enough to keep the flame up. In the bed next to mine was the knight, though his dark hair was splayed all over the pillow. I could tell from the tunic and helmet in the chair next to the bed, and the lance. He'd been the one coming to my rescue... I swallowed hard and was about to get out of bed when the door opened and a few people filed in. Immediately, I was on guard and went for the daggers Rose had given me- only to realize they weren't there. They were with my bag along with my bracelet and jacket on the chair near my bed.

"You're the only one awake." One of them said with a smug grin. "Guess you'll be givin' us a payment for rescuin' ya. C'mere, girl." He started forward, but I went for my daggers and grabbed them as I tumbled out of the bed. The blanket had, mercifully, not been tangled up with my legs. Rose hadn't taught me how to use them, so I was running blind here. I didn't ask for them to save me-!

"Didn't I tell ya not to bother our guests?" A rough female voice asked. "Move it or I'll kick yer asses!"

"We only answer to the boss, not his side girl!" One of the men said.

"Oh? An' I guess the boss will be happy t'hear that you were tryin' to assault our guests fer rescuin' them. Don't forget it was the boss who saved 'em. We may be bandits, but we ain't gonna assault an' harrass the people we save. The boss will be pissed. Now get the fuck outta here." A female with her blonde hair in a pixie cut walked in. She was wearing a cloth around her breasts, and a pair of pants but not much else. Her body was scarred, but muscular, and she didn't seem too fussed about shooing the rest of the bandits out. With a sigh, she shut the door but I still remained on guard. When she saw this, she raised her hand up as if in surrender. "Ain't gonna hurt ya. Put those away an' I'll tell ya where both ya and the knight boy there ended up."

"...Mm..." The boy in the bed groaned and woke up. "Wh—what happened...?" He sat up, and both the bandit and the boy looked at each other. She sighed, and gestured for me to put the daggers away. I reluctantly did so, frowning as we both were ushered out of the room and to another, much grander room. It was a nice house, I'd give them that, but it felt... out of place. Like we were being sent towards our doom. At the table was a man, about mid-thirties, sitting in the chair with a goblet in his hand. A silver one, not gold like I'd expected.

If I recalled correct, malevolence showed itself as little purplish-black specks, but there was none here that I could see. Or I was blind towards it, either or. He glanced at us, grey eyes narrowing just a bit before he sat straight in the chair and set his goblet down.

"So, the princess and her knight awaken. I thought that Princess Alisha carried a spear. It seems that I was wrong." He said. He'd... mistaken me for Alisha? How? I tugged at my hair slightly, seeing the black colour as it always was. That was when he burst out laughing and I froze before looking at him. Laughing now? Why? His red hair, long and messy, moved back as he laughed heartily. As if this was the funniest thing in the world. "I'm kiddin', lady. I know Alisha's a platinum blonde and can defend herself. I ain't as stupid as I look. So, can I have the names of the kids that I saved?"

Wait... He was the one who saved us? Bandits... actually stuck their necks out for people in danger? I had to rethink about what I'd heard about them, then. With a slight nod, I obliged.

"Rani."

"..." The boy seemed a bit awkward. "Why should I tell a bandit?"

"Because he saved yer worthless hide, you Hyland freak!" The girl with the pixie cut exclaimed. The man shook his head and the girl nearly avoided getting hit with his dagger that he'd thrown at her out of nowhere.

"Enough, Ryda. We are not like the Evergreen Bandits. You would do well to remember that." His voice carried authority, and Ryda backed away while muttering under her breath. This was a weird dynamic, and perhaps normal for them... but back home, he would've gotten arrested for attempted murder. Not here, though. Not here. "Now, knight, please tell me your name. I want to know who I've saved."

"Fine." He muttered. "It's Aevar Wraith."

The man seemed a bit thoughtful at that. "Wraith, huh? Know a Maribelle Wraith?" He asked, curiosity in his voice.

"...That's my mother." Aevar said with a frown. "How do you-"

"Maribelle's my sister. Haven't heard from her in years, an' now her son's a Hyland Knight. Guess she really did flee from him.." The man looked thoughtful for a moment longer. "Name's Arvald Chester. Leader of the Hyland Bandits, and yer uncle. You an' Rani were lucky I was out huntin' when I was, else you two might've never seen the light of day again. Speakin' of-" Arvald got up out of his chair and gestured to the window. The sun was, slowly but surely, rising. It cast a light on the man, who I could see wore the pelt of an animal, perhaps a bear, around his waist with trousers and a white long-sleeved shirt. There was a belt around the pelt with multiple sheaths for multiple daggers. But he was strong, extremely strong, as shown with how the tension around his sleeves were near to bursting with how big his muscles were. He was a bear of a man, and had a matching red beard to his hair. How had I not noticed this before, and only noticed his eyes?

Aevar stood quiet, his head turned away. As if he didn't believe this. I couldn't blame him. His uncle was a bandit, but he had morals... though his lackeys didn't seem to have any of those morals he did. With a shaky breath, the knight spoke.

"Why did you save us?"

"Because you two would've drowned. Ain't like us to just leave travellers for dead." Arvald shrugged and sat back down, putting his feet on the table after picking up his goblet. "We tend to only strike merchants that've been price gougin' as they think the higher prices will give them more money to line their pockets with. Only a few merchants, like the Sparrowfeathers, are exempt. Some travellers think the same, so we have to teach 'em a lesson. But that's it. We ain't murderers or anythin' of the sort."

"Good-willed bandits. I've literally met good-willed bandits." I said without thinking. Voicing my thoughts aloud, as it were. Arvald laughed at that.

"So, where're you two headed?" He asked, taking a long swig from the goblet.

"I need to get back to Ladylake and report." Aevar responded.

"...I'm going to Marlind to drop off some medicine."

Arvald sat upright at that, goblet hitting the table. "Why the hell are ya goin' to a plague town, kid? Even if it's medicine, if you catch it-"

"I have a strong immune system, I'll be alright." I said in response, looking away.

"Hmph. Well, ya ain't goin' alone. Ryda, yer in charge 'til I come back. Aevar, are ya just gonna let her go alone? Ain't very knightly of ya."

"I wasn't going to-" Aevar was cut off as Arvald laughed and stood up, walking over to us.

"Get yer things together, you two. We're goin' to Marlind."

During the course of the two days that it took to get to Marlind from the bandit hideout, Arvald had taken me under his wing and taught me how to use the daggers I had. I could see the hellions, and apparently so could Arvald and Aevar. We wore them down and then fled as to not bloody our hands. People with resonance enough to see Seraphim and Hellions were far and few inbetween, and so running across two in one go was extremely rare. But there were things that could happen like that, and I counted my lucky stars that I didn't have to go about this alone. Aevar and Arvald took shifts, saying that I should sleep at night and keep up my strength for the morrow. They were used to this kind of thing and me, being a newbie traveller, wasn't. But that was fine with me. At least I'd be able to help while we were walking to Marlind.

When we came across the town, it was bad. There was purplish-black particles everywhere and there was a haze hanging over the city that seemed suffocating. But I had to deliver the medicine, I just had to do that job. The sanctuary wasn't too far, but I noticed something near the tree as the three of us headed in that direction. Four figures with one sitting down at the base of the Great Tree. Instead of continuing on towards the sanctuary, I diverted and headed for them. As they came into view, I noticed that Sorey was there... And Mikleo. Alisha and Lailah, too, but I hadn't actually met them properly. So that would mean that Edna had left-

Which meant, by the fact of Sorey being here before me, I'd missed them meeting Atakk in the museum and their encounter with the woman who was trying to sell books to get gald for something nice in her life for once. I'd missed a good chunk of the Marlind excursion, and that was something.

"Lady Alisha!" Aevar exclaimed, running ahead to her. He'd been outfitted with travelling clothes instead of his usual knight outfit, but he wore the gauntlets and the greaves for fighting instead of the spear he was carrying around. So she didn't recognize him at first before her face broke out in a smile as she heard his voice.

"Sir Aevar! -And who are they?" Alisha asked, gesturing at me and Arvald.

"Hey! It's you again!" Sorey got back up on his feet and walked over. "Haven't seen you since Ladylake! Didn't think we'd meet up here..." He rubbed the back of his head. Sorey was really a kind person to have remembered me from then, even though he'd been through so much already.

"Yeah. Looks like our paths keep crossing regardless of circumstances." I looked over the others. Aevar and Alisha were in conversation while Arvald examined Mikleo, who was a bit put out by the action. Lailah stood there, hands clasped in front of her, with a small smile on her face as if this was perfectly normal. Then again, it probably was. "That reminds me, I've forgotten to introduce myself after this time. I'm-"

"Rani, right? The girl who helped us get into the Sanctuary said your name." Sorey responded.

"Yep. That's me." I gave a small smile to him. "So, uh, not to cut this short but-"

"Please, cut it short." A deadpan female voice said. "I don't think I can take this sappiness much longer."

Everyone looked at the girl who had come up with her parasol closed and pointed towards the ground. With her was Atakk, the normin from the museum. Edna, the Earth Seraph who was now Lailah's sublord. So they'd met Zaveid... Her outfit wasn't the same I was used to in the game, however. Instead of the usual dress, she wore a short black jacket, what I assumed was a white tunic with an orange undershirt and black shorts. Her glove and boots remained the same, but her hair wasn't in its usual ponytail. Then again, her outfit was more practical than Lailah's in many regards. She was an up-close fighter unlike the Fire Seraph...

And it was probably a choice for travelling, too. After all, the Seraphim would probably want to walk along with Sorey as well..

"Welcome back, Edna- Oh, and Atakk too!" Sorey seemed pleased to see the normin. As I expected, the conversation about Atakk helping with the arrow shot against the Drake to bring it down happened as Arvald tapped my shoulder.

"I'll take the medicine to the sanctuary." He said, holding his hand out. "You an' Aevar help 'em out while I'm gone, alright?"

"Alright." I agreed, handing over the medicine that was still in its bag. Once the conversation was done, they headed to Neif's house which was the best place for this attack to start. Standing with Alisha, Lailah and Edna, we watched as Sorey armatized with Mikleo and readied an arrow. Atakk, at Lailah's command, helped amplify the power and the arrow flew from the bow to the Drake, hitting it and causing to fall into the clearing nearby. I pulled out my daggers, and Aevar readied himself for a fight. We charged in, ready for combat as no one would see us fighting what was essentially air to others. Our participation in the battle wasn't contested, either. It was like they'd accepted we were helping regardless of our ability to purify malevolence.

"Sorey!" Mikleo called out from the Armatization. The drake swiped at him, and he dodged around. I attacked from a flank, stabbing it with my daggers before pulling back. Lailah cast a fire spell, it exploding all around the drake. Edna, too, cast a spell that sent it staggering down as she did so. It swiped its tail at Aevar and I, and we dodged and rolled out of the way. Alisha wasn't lucky enough, however, and got hit in the side. It sent her flying and rolling to a stop. Lailah ran over to her to heal her wounds, leaving us to continue the fight.

Sorey dodged another attack, the armatization coming undone so they could fight together without it. Though a choice I had made myself once upon a time while playing the game, it wasn't one I would encourage as it boosted their power. As soon as I took my eyes off of the drake, my fate was sealed and its tail hit me, sending me flying. I hit the ground, feeling the pain as I smacked into the dirt, and groaned as I opened my bag and grabbed a gel to pop into my mouth. I was fine, this wasn't going to take me down. The pain was irrelevant to the task.

But damn it, it hurt like hell.

I charged back in, stabbing and weaving as Sorey sliced and Mikleo cast spells. Edna reluctantly teamed up with Aevar and the two of them combined magic and his punches to cause a bit more damage. The drake was about to attack again when three daggers came flying at it as well as an explosion and Alisha returning to the fray. Arvald had joined us in the battle, his delivery done. I didn't know how much time had passed, but his presence was welcome. After that, it was easy to overpower the drake and confuse it, giving Sorey enough time to purify the malevolence and shift its form back to its original one.

The drake shrank, the flames of purification burning away the malevolence it had. In its place was a seraph with striking blonde hair and very intricate robes. The Guardian Seraph of this place, whose name was Rohan.

End Notes: So, as you could tell, I added bandits! I thought it would make a lot of sense to have some bandits, but every bit of bandits has their own "code", so to speak, and their own targets. They gave themselves the dumbest names but it's because I can't think of any names! Ah well.

Eizen would be a sore spot for Zaveid, and that's the reason for his reaction being like that. Also people can be cruel during epidemics (as we all probably know by now), so that's why the guy was cruel. As for Arvald coming along, it was a last-minute decision. We'll be seeing more of his tiny section of bandits, though, since they might be pivotal to the plot later on!

Anywho, until next time.