"So you're saying Grima was created as the result of some unholy… experiment?"
"Not Grima, Lucy. But me. The name Grima was only began referring to me during the years leading up to the great schism. The Grima you know also did not exist until that time."
"Then… did Forneus succeed? At the perfect lifeform experiment?"
"As you can see, I am far from perfect. But in some ways, yes. Although I only found out much later. I am immune to total degeneration, meaning I cannot die from the great curse. However, madness can still overtake me, if only temporarily, when I am under great emotional stress. The symptoms are just not as severe.
"In addition, I was born into a human form and can naturally wield both forms with little consequence. In the past, all dragons, no matter what race would usually only master their human form after coming of age and are only able to access a tenth of their normal power when doing so. The dragons of old were not unwilling to live in human form, rather it was actually normal and more convenient. The reluctance in becoming manaketes was because a manakete is functionally a human with a dragon form, with their ties to the land severed, rather than a dragon with a human form - thus permanently sealing away most of their dragon heritage.
"At the time, neither Forneus nor I knew this, and so he only saw a failed product. A hideous monstrosity that could not be his child or replace his dead wife."
"But how could that be!? I always thought Grima, no, your dragon form was really awesome! Terrifying, suffocating, but cool… even though I felt guilty about seeing the enemy that way."
"Thank you, Lucina. But that's only because you can instinctively recognize me in that form."
"So do you mean that "Grima" is a result of degeneration?"
"Precisely."
"Then why did it last so long? What happened the first time? With the schism, I mean."
"Slow down there. All your questions will be answered in due time. There is still much more to the story. But see? I did say you would want to hear me out, right?"
"Ah- I apologize for interrupting you, mother. Please continue."
"No need to be so stiff around me-"
"Sorry, one of my old tutors was really, well,"
"That's fine. I don't mind you jumping in. But I do need to stop after this next part. The Shepherds have been ordered to Ferox and we must depart tomorrow, and we also need to discuss your plans, so we must not stay up too late."
"Very well."
"Now back to the story, ahem:
"My early years were spent entirely inside the underground laboratory. The cost of fusing the blood of earth and sky was that I was born with a number of 'imperfections'. A weak heart and lungs, hypersensitivity, severe nearsightedness, and a strong aversion to sunlight, to name a few. I am unsure how many of these illnesses were due to my bloodline, and of course, the sunlight thing was discovered much later. If Forneus felt motivated, he would conduct various experiments on my body, often with…dissatisfactory results. He never gave me a name, as if refusing to acknowledge my sentience, and always called me "the creature" or "thing" or just "you".
"On other days Forneus left me alone, and his slaves would heal and clean me for the next round of experiments. I learned what I could through watching them, and somehow didn't kill myself in the process. I don't remember much from those years, maybe I was just too young, or maybe it was a sign of my memory problems to come.
"I don't know how long I spent in there, but I eventually learned to understand his words and was able to fix some of my health problems. But every time I tried to practice speaking to him or channel mana, he would freak out. At times he would rant and rave about how I did not measure up to his expectations, to my mother, and at times he would just get drunk and ignore my presence.
"At some point this back-and-forth exchange ended. Perhaps Forneus decided I was a lost cause, or perhaps he had run out of experiments to run on me. Either way, I was 'freed' so to speak. I was not allowed outside the lab, aboveground, but I could now roam the living quarters, with a few sympathetic slaves taking care of me. I do not remember their names, if they had any at all.
"From this point on I spent my time in the library, and entertaining Forneus' wishes whenever he decided to step away from the Death Mask project. I always tried to put on a smile, and I think he may have even started to soften up over the years. But one day, the tremors began.
"News came that Thabes itself was under siege. The earth dragon kingdom had lost it capital and was on the verge of capitulation. Confident in their victory, sky dragon high command had now set their sights on punishing the Thaban league. An army personally led by general Duma, hailed as the god of destruction, laid siege to Thabes. Some say Duma had gone against Naga's orders, but we may never know the truth. Every assault by Duma upheaved the land, shaking the foundations of the city. Underground in the lab, each tremor threatened total collapse.
"Back then, I was terrified. I often could not sleep and would have panic attacks whenever a tremor struck. Forneus was not pleased at all. Between supporting the war efforts, his own research, and my crying, it makes sense in hindsight why he was so fed up with me. All I know is that during one particularly bad tremor, my mana must have surged and I transformed; and when I came to again, he was dead on the floor in front of me, both of us crushed under rubble. I have no recollection whether he had come to scold me or to protect me, or whether I had been responsible for his death. I think I only survived because of my transformation.
"By the time I dug my way out, the city had fallen. My first experience above ground was a sea of flames and rubble as far as the eye can see. Duma and his army had likely already moved on. I was now alone in field of broken stone and burnt corpses."
"Did you love him, mother?"
"Forneus?"
"Yeah."
"I don't think so. I cared about him, as the only family I had known, but I did not understand love."
"So did Grima ever come to understand love, then?"
"You want to ask if my actions as Grima were out of hatred."
"Indeed."
"Short version, no. By that time, I had known friendship, and observed love manifesting in others… although the first time I truly understood that feeling was after meeting your father. In all my madness as Grima, I never stopped loving you Lucy. If I truly wanted to kill you all then you and your friends would never have lived past age 10."
"I see. I'm glad then."
"…"
"I still have many other questions, but what will you do now? What happened to the original Grima in this time?"
"My reason for coming back is to ensure your and Morgan's safety. There is nothing left for me in that future past timeline. However, my time travel method is different from yours. Instead of whatever Naga did, I negotiated a deal with Anna, going through the Outrealm gate, stopping in Midgard, and working for her on my way here. The result is that only my mind and memories are sent back, free of my madness, and I have fully merged with my past self. My future past body remains there, as payment of sorts. For the current me, I am simultaneously your mother from the future and the young tactician who only joined the Shepherds yesterday."
"Wait, what is this Midgard and I thought Anna was just –"
"Just a merchant?"
"Yes. That."
"A band of merchant sisters who somehow all look identical, and present in every conflict in history?"
"I thought that was just a myth! Morgan used to get all excited every time we came across Anna and would shower her with probing questions. I always dismissed it as just another Justice Cabal thing."
"Not that it's much of a secret, but Anna is one of the gods of the nine realms. She claims to be a goddess of commerce and trade, apostle of Njörðr - the ruler of Nóatún. Midgard lies at the center of the nine realms. It is nexus point which connects all known worlds and their various timelines. The outrealm gate in our world is a physical portal to Midgard."
"So the merchant Anna is actually a goddess of merchants with a bunch of copies of herself walking around?"
"Avatars, not copies, but yes. Each one can act independently for the sake of expanding her business empire. Compared to some other gods, she is fortunately quite harmless."
"I see. If… if I can believe your words, then Grima's revival has already been averted? What about the risen from last night? Will those that followed us through the portal be the last of them?"
"Lucy, your quest is not in vain. I am sure of it. The future has been undoubtedly changed, but we must still see it through. At least part of me hopes it is, so that I could try to make up for how much I have failed you as a mother. Alas, there is still a war to be won. Gangrel must be stopped, and Plegia must be reformed. Maybe we can save Emmeryn too…
"But more importantly, do you have a place to stay tonight?"
Trivia corner
"Youu have a good eye!"
Njörðr is the Vanir god of the sea, but not the physical ocean. Rather his domain encompasses all that the sea represents – one of which is travel, trade, and commerce. While Anna's relation to Njörðr is not exactly well hidden, most people are too distracted by her limited time sales to bother looking deeper. Besides, Anna's presence has been a huge boon for the Askran economy, so no one is really going to complain.
Each individual Anna usually operates as an independent human, but any Anna can channel her divine aspect – supposedly through the Anna Network.
AN
Outrealm gate = paid DLC
Anna is obviously going to charge you for using it.
For those of you who have played Shadows of Valentia, and read the lore about Forneus and Grima, yes, a lot this story stems from that. Of course, not every piece of information from the games is taken literally, and interpolation fills out the rest.