A/N: I'm back and back at the normal length! I hope you are all doing well. I gotta admit, I've been pretty nervous about writing this one, so I hope you like it.

Oh, and just so you know, there's a fairly lengthy authors note at the bottom that I'd like you all to read if you're interested.

As always, your reviews and comments are what keep me going. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and please keep them coming. I'm really excited to see what you think of this chapter.


Hearthfire

Chapter 40

Bell

Bell bolted across the cavern and dropped, sliding underneath the charging Ligerfang. As he slid across the dungeon floor, the captain of the Hestia Familia brought his blade up and carved a trench into the flesh of the monster. Using the momentum from his slide, he sprang back to his feet after clearing the monster's body. Turning quickly, he was able to catch sight of the Ligerfang bursting into dust.

He couldn't waste any time acknowledging the victory though. With barely a moment of hesitation, he was on the move again. Charging, he leapt into the air and kicked off the head of a Minotaur that was facing down Ouka. Knowing that his friend could handle the monster, Bell instead aimed for a second Ligerfang that was dangerously close to Haurhime and Cassandra. Coming down from the arc of his jump, Bell buried his dagger into its skull causing the beast to collapse. Once again, it died it a puff of monster dust.

"AAgh!" A pained scream rang out. Turning, Bell saw that the utterance came from Welf. A Hellhound had snuck up behind him and sunk its teeth into his shoulder. Before he could react though, one of Chigusa's arrows sprouted from the eye of the beast, killing it. Half a second later, Welf's shoulder was glowing gold as Cassandra used the Healing Hands spell on him.

"Thanks, Chigusa! Cassandra!" The redhead shouted, picking up his dropped greatsword.

The Hestia Familia were on the 16th floor of the Dungeon and doing well. It was Bell's first time really fighting on that floor, so it was quite a new experience for him. After the pass parade, they'd kind of bypassed the floor by falling into a shaft and then on the way back up from 18 he hadn't been able to do much fighting because he was part of such a large group. So far, their expedition was going swimmingly. There had been no issues at all until they reached 14 and started dealing with larger packs of monsters but even those they handled with ease.

The young captain was happy to say that their backup, Master Torrhen and Ms. Aisha, hadn't been forced to step in even once the entire time! They were nearing the stairs to 17 and then it would be a straight run for the safe zone on the 18th floor. First though, they had to deal with this triple pack they'd wandered into.

Most monster packs usually only consisted of one type of monster. A Minotaur pack, an Almiraj pack, a Hellhound pack, etc. It was very rare for a group of monsters to contain multiple different types of creatures. Normally, that only occurred when two or three packs of monsters ran into each other and were encountered by adventurers before separating or killing each other. Fighting between monsters was a little rare but did happen on occasion.

Every once in a while, four or more packs would converge on a single place. These were referred to as hordes and encountering one normally meant a party should run as far and as fast as they could. The party of Apollo adventurers who'd pass paraded Bell and his friends had been running from a small horde when they left Bell's party to die. Luckily there were now more of them, and they were considerably stronger than they'd been during that incident.

With a rushing leap, the white-haired young man landed beside Mikoto and together they set about decimating a small cluster of Hellhounds on the edge of the battle. Besides the sneak attack on Welf, things were going well. Very few injuries and none of them major, combined with plenty of potions meant that they'd all but sailed through the middle floors. Indeed, despite the sheer number of enemies, they soon made quick work of the combined pack and were resting at the top of the stairs down to 17.

"What's the plan going forward, boss-man?" Daphne asked from where she sat against the dungeon wall. The whole party was spread out at the top of the stairs. Bell himself was sitting on one of the steps, staring down into the darkness.

"17 is pretty small." Bell replied, his voice carrying to the others. "We shouldn't encounter more than a few packs between here and the boss room, so we'll make a run for it. Get to 18 as fast as we can."

"Are we certain that the boss won't spawn?" Haruhime asked nervously from her seat next to Mikoto. It was her first time participating in real combat this deep in the dungeon, so Bell understood her trepidation.

"No chance." Lili told her. She was perched on top of a small boulder nearby. "All our reports say that a team of adventurers from Rivira augmented by Ganesha members killed Goliath three days ago. There's no way it could spawn so quickly. We just need to get to the boss room and we're home free."

"Um." Cassandra piped up. "What are we going to do once we get there?"

"I'd like to explore the town." Welf said. "I brought some of my stuff from the shop down here and I'm hoping to sell it while we're there. If I use Rivira's pricing strategy I should make a pretty penny." Master Torrhen was nodding along with Welf's statement.

"You mean you're going to fleece them for three times what the, already expensive, gear is actually worth?" Ouka deadpanned. Bell didn't completely agree with Welf's plan, but it was how things operated down there. In this case, it was better to just let it go.

"Yeah." Welf admitted bluntly. "That's the general idea."

"Well," Chigusa hesitated, "it is the accepted custom in Rivira to jack up the prices. If you're going to be selling stuff there, you might as well do as they do."

"We're only staying there one night." Mikoto said. "You're not going to sell much in that time."

"Actually, I was hoping to make a deal with an innkeeper." Welf told the group. "I'll trade them a piece or two in exchange for rooms for us all. Then I'll wander the stalls and try to sell my stock to the merchants. That way we don't have to camp, and I get plenty of time to sell stuff."

"The inn prices down there are ridiculous." Ms. Aisha chimed in. "This might work once or twice, but you'd best get used to camping on 18 if you don't want to go broke later down the line."

"She's got a point." Bell said, standing. "But it doesn't matter though if we just sit here. You all ready to move?"

There was an affirmative chorus as the group surged to their feet, ready to take on the next floor. At a run, they charged down the stairs and out onto the 17th floor. They encountered resistance right at the bottom. A pack of Hellhounds shot a cluster of fireballs at them right as Bell reached the last step.

Throwing himself to the floor, Bell ducked under the fireballs. Behind him, he could hear the sound of ward spells shattering accompanied by curses as the others threw themselves to the floor. Flipping himself back onto his feet, Bell charged the pack and threw one of his knives. He had three weapons now. The Hestia Knife, of course, was his primary weapon but Welf had made him two more. Once was made from the horn of the Minotaur he'd killed when leveling up and was called Ushiwakamaru. Enchanted with shock damage, it was designed to be easy to use both as a melee weapon and as a thrown weapon. The other was an unnamed wakizashi. A short sword enchanted with a fire effect.

Ushiwakamaru soared through the air and embedded itself in the skull of a Hellhound, which promptly burst into dust. Bell rushed forward, scooping up the blade before jumping and driving the Hestia knife into the brains of another monster.

To his left, arrows sprouted from the maw of a third hellhound while a fourth was vaporized by a lighting bolt courtesy of Haruhime. Mikoto passed him by on the right, her blade flashing and severing the heads of two at once. Then Welf and Ouka charged past, drawing the attention of the remaining pack.

The group finished them off in short order and continued running down the halls of the 17th floor. Bell and Lili spent weeks memorizing the maps and layout of the middle floors with help from Eina, Daphne, and Ms. Aisha. They technically knew the route by heart, but this was their first time really trying to follow it in person.

With Ouka and Welf leading the formation from the front, it was on Bell and Lili to call out direction changes when necessary. This was usually left to Lili since the team was used to following her orders in a combat scenario. During an engagement, it was her job to observe the battle as a whole and direct the others in the best way possible. She was very much a skilled 'command from the rear' kind of leader. Bell was more of a 'lead from the front' kind of commander so their roles complimented each other well.

"Right!" Lili called out. At her word, Welf and Ouka veered right at the next fork in the path with the Familia charging along behind them. They kept going like this for quite some time. They'd run down the passageway and occasionally Lili's voice would ring out from the center of the formation. "Left. Right! Not this one!"

Of course, this did not mean that they were just running through easily. They were forced to stop and deal with monster packs more than once. Two more packs of Hellhounds and a group of Ligerfangs forced the company to slow down considerably to deal with them. Each time a pack of monsters was defeated, they'd simply pick up the drops and stones and then keep moving. Bell grinned brightly when the door to the boss room came into view.

"We made it!" He said, joyfully bounding towards it. Without waiting for the others, he pushed his way in. There was some rubble on the floor and the Wall of Grief was only just beginning to reform after Goliath last spawned.

"Got a few not so pleasant memories coming up in here." Welf muttered.

"We made it out though." Lili said, elbowing him.

"True enough." The redhead nodded. "It's gonna be weird seeing 18 though. Last time we were there it was a warzone."

"We haven't been down there since before the battle." Daphne added, gesturing to Cassandra. "It'll be interesting to see how Rivira has changed since it was rebuilt."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Bell asked, enthusiastically bounding towards the stairs. All but jogging down them, the white-haired captain of the Hestia Familia took a deep breath and grinned when he beheld the shining crystal ceiling of the 18th floor.

Ais

Ais felt oddly nostalgic as the carriage trundled into Melen. The port city was bustling with activity, since it served as Orario's primary portal to the sea. Sitting on the banks of Lolong Lake which itself was connected to the ocean by a small river, it was the perfect place for shipping goods to and from Orario by water. Nearly every good that came to Orario went through Melen as countless ships from all over the world passed through the harbor each day.

Ais knew the details about the city but the reason for the nostalgia was unknown to her. She'd never been to Melen before, but the smell of the lake was… very familiar. She just couldn't place it. In fact, she was the only one of her companions who hadn't visited the city before.

"Wooah!" Tiona shouted. "I haven't been here in years!"

"Not since we first came to Orario." Tione reminded her.

She knew that the twins came from Telskyura, the nation of Amazons. If she remembered her geography right, the peninsular nation lay to the far southeast of Orario. Even by sea it would take a month or two to travel between the two nations. It was ruled by the nation-type Kali Familia and the only men allowed inside were slaves used for labor and breeding. Not the kind of place Ais ever wanted to visit.

The cart kept on moving, trundling through the streets. Nearer to the docks they started seeing market stalls filled to the brim with fish of every variety brought up from the lake and goods from all over the world being hawked my merchants trying to get them moving as fast as possible. To one side of the road was a series of stone buildings that served as permanent shops while the other side was covered in a sea of carpets and silken tents where foreign merchants could set up during the day before retreating to their ships at night. The road was jam-packed with foreigners, merchants, fisherman, and adventurers browsing the different shops and stalls.

"Hey, Lefiya!" Tiona asked. "You were here just a couple years ago, right? Got any recommendations for a good restaurant?"

Ais tuned out the conversation, trying to chase that nostalgic feeling from earlier. She didn't have many memories from before Riveria found her. Mostly of fighting monsters and a few of her parents before the Dragon took them. All she could tell was that she'd probably been to this lake before. Long ago, when she was a small child.

"It's strange being back here." Riveria said from up front. "I've only come back a few times since I moved to Orario, but this is the first real city I ever saw after leaving my village." The blonde knew that Riveria came from an elven village in the Alf's Royal Forest and was a member of their royalty. She'd left because she'd been sick of her father's attitude towards the outside world and eventually encountered Finn and Loki. Joining up with them and later Gareth, the four of them founded the Loki Familia.

"Come on!" Loki shouted, leaping from the side when the cart rolled to a stop. "Enough reminiscing! The lake is calling for us!" Ais and the others all clambered out and followed along behind her. Loki charged through the crowd towards a group of men working to unload a cargo ship. Raising her hand up she cheered in welcome. Hearing her voice, a man turned to face them. No… not a man. A god.

"Well, I'll be!" The god said. "Loki! How long has it been?" He was shirtless and powerfully built with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and a warm smile. Roughly the same height as Bete, Ais could admit he was fairly attractive but… not her type. She preferred paler hair.

"Njord!" Loki crowed, bounding up to him. "It's been a while. More than a decade at least. I did mean to visit more, I swear, but time does get away from us."

"Hm. True enough." Njord nodded. "As gods, time doesn't pass the same way for us. I don't believe that you meant to visit though. You're not a very good liar." He smirked at the redheaded goddess, before the two of them burst into laughter.

Njord was a Norse god, same as Loki, but he was a god of the sea. As such, his Familia was the one that was based in and controlled Melen. They were responsible for nearly all the marine products that made their way into Orario and were tasked with defending the port from monsters.

"Riveria!" Njord shouted in joy when he spotted the elf. "It's been forever, but I've heard a few things about your adventures. It seems you've become famous since the last time I saw you."

"Flattery is unbecoming, Njord." Riviera said warmly, "but it is good to see you."

"Njord!" Loki cut in. "We're here on a bit of a treasure hunt and I've got a few questions for you!"

"Lady Riveria?" Lefiya asked while the gods were distracted. "Have you met Lord Njord before?"

"Oh yes. He did a great deal for the Loki Familia before we moved to Orario and is a good friend." Riveria explained while Loki pestered the other god with questions about the recent happenings around the lake and the city.

"Thanks, Njord!" Loki said once the two were done. "I'll let you know how it goes once we're all done!" Turning to the others, she pointed to the south. "Let's go people. The beach is calling!"

Ryuu

Ryuu exhaled a nervous sigh. Stepping off the cart, she looked around at the city she'd just entered. Solingen. The Sword Smithing City lay to the east of Orario and was renowned for producing some of the best weapons in the world. In fact, only the best members of the Hephaestus Familia and Master Torrhen could compete with the smiths of Solingen.

Thanks to information given to her by Hermes, the blonde elf knew that this was the place where she would find Astraea. Her goddess. Just the thought of that brough up conflicting emotions. Astraea was a goddess of justice and when the Familia lived, they'd all dedicated their lives to the pursuit of that justice.

Alongside the Ganesha Familia, the Astraea Familia had been tasked with upholding the law within Orario and they'd performed their duties with pride. Until the day of the Juggernaut. Until the day the Rudra Familia got every single one of her friends killed. She'd returned to the surface broken, weeping and above all, angry. She didn't want justice. No, Ryuu wanted revenge. So, she begged Lady Astraea to leave.

The young elf could not bear to look at the face of her goddess then. Did not want the disappointment in her eyes or for the divine being to see what she was about to do. She could still hear Astraea's last words in her mind. The goddess of justice had told her to abandon the very justice she'd dedicated her life to. At the time Ryuu hadn't cared, but once it was over? Then the guilt over abandoning the ideals her goddess and Familia espoused began to eat away at her.

At the time, Ryuu was so sure that even if she found Astraea she would be rejected for having betrayed their ideals. For having chosen revenge. Now though? She wasn't so sure. Thanks to Master Torrhen, young Bell, and the new friends she'd made in Orario Ryuu at last felt ready to move on. To start again and begin something new. Torrhen especially had opened her eyes and helped her see that even though she'd strayed from the path, it was possible to find it again. In order to do that, however, she would need to find Astraea.

Ryuu needed closure. She needed to know if Astraea truly hated her for abandoning justice or if she could be forgiven and allowed to move on. This meant facing the one person she'd been most terrified to see for so many years.

According to the information given to her by Hermes, Goddess Astraea had relocated to a deep forest stretching to the east of Solingen's industrial area. He couldn't tell her much about what the goddess had been up to since leaving Orario, but the god of messengers was certain that she was there. So, with nervous steps, Ryuu made her way through the city towards the industrial district and then out into the forest.

The blonde elven woman had a feeling she knew why Lady Astraea chose Solingen. It was where she'd lived before moving to Orario. Where the goddess had met the people who would become her first Familia members. Ryuu herself hadn't joined until the Familia was already in the Dungeon City, but five of their members had joined while the Familia was based in Solingen.

Along the way, she contemplated what she would say to the goddess. If, of course, she was even granted an audience. Would she fall to her knees and beg forgiveness? Start crying? Turn and run? The elf honestly didn't know. She was so caught up in her nerves and worry that she didn't even notice she was coming up to a house until she nearly bonked her nose into the gate.

Looking up, she saw a beautiful but modest two-story wooden building. It wasn't lavish, but it was homely. Despite being made of wood rather than stone; it reminded Ryuu of the Stardust Garden. What was once the home of the Astraea Familia in Orario. She let out a little, almost nostalgic sigh as she beheld the building. Ryuu felt a slight tear in her eye when she spotted the symbol of the Astraea Familia emblazoned above the front door.

Stepping in through the gate, she nervously raised her hand and knocked. It wasn't especially loud but to her it might as well have been a thunderclap. She waited, shifting nervously for what felt like hours before the door opened. Ryuu was about to open her mouth and speak but the words died in her throat when she caught sight of the person who'd opened the door.

It was a young human woman. She was in her late teens and dressed in a white uniform. On her left shoulder was a small cloak that bore the emblem of the Astraea Familia. That was all well and good. Ryuu had partially expected that Goddess Astraea would start recruiting again, but it was the woman's face that made her pause. It was like looking at a ghost. Alise Lovell's ghost to be precise.

The woman in front of her was nearly identical to Alise. Ryuu's old captain. Her vibrant red hair was a similar length and shade, coming down to her lower back but where Alise had kept hers in a ponytail, this woman let it flow freely. Bangs covered one eye while the other narrowed at her in mild suspicion. The eyes were the only major distinction between this woman and Alise. The deceased captain of the Astraea Familia had green eyes while this woman's were a chocolate brown.

"I have to admit." The redheaded woman's voice was surprisingly deep but not angry. "I never really expected to see you standing outside this door."

Ryuu was even further caught off guard. "I… you… know me?" she asked, hesitantly.

The other woman nodded. "I do. You're Ryuu Lion, right?" She could only nod, flummoxed.

The redhead gave her a soft smile. "I'm Erza. Erza Lovell."

Ryuu's eyes widened. Of course. She knew that name in passing but hadn't heard it or even thought about it for years. "You're Alise's sister…" she whispered, stunned. The captain hadn't talked about her family much. Only that her parents were smiths, she was the oldest sibling, and that everyone else in her family still lived in Solingen. She'd go back and visit for a week every couple of months but spent most of her time in Oriario.

Erza nodded at her before fidgeting. "What are you doing here?" she asked, unsure. Ryuu gulped.

"I'd like an audience with Lady Astraea, if it is permitted." The elf said, nervously. Erza nodded as if expecting that. Before she could speak though, a voice called to them from behind the redhead.

"Erza? Who's there?" Erza turned, allowing Ryuu to see the speaker. It was another human woman with brown hair and dressed in the same uniform as Erza, though with the addition of a simple golden pin on the shoulder. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Ryuu. "Oh." she muttered.

"Captain Cecil," Erza started, "this is…"

"I know who she is." The new Captain of the Astraea Familia said, quietly cutting her off. "I wasn't sure you'd ever show up though." she told Ryuu before turning back to Erza. "Let her in. I'll let Lady Astraea know we have a visitor."

Erza stepped aside and Ryuu hesitantly followed her into the building while the captain walked away. The redhead led her into a sitting room just off the foyer. Glancing at her guide, Ryuu tried to recall what she could about the girl. If she remembered right, then Erza was five years younger than Alise which would mean she was roughly 18. The same age Alise had been when she died. Although… there was one thing she wanted to ask. The two stood there, both unsure of what to say until Ryuu opened her mouth to ask her question. She couldn't though because they were interrupted.

"Sister? Who knocked?" a slightly lyrical voice asked. After a moment, another clone of Alise walked into the room.

If meeting Erza had been a shock, this was a sucker punch to the gut. The younger girl, maybe 16, was identical to Ryuu's old friend in every way. Even her eyes were the same shade of emerald-green that Alise's had been. Her red hair was even done up in a ponytail just like Alise's. The only change was a golden tiara-like headband on her forehead that was holding back her bangs. With her memory jogged, Ryuu knew this to be her old captain's youngest sister. Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha." Erza smiled at her sister before nervously glancing at Ryuu. "This is Ryuu Lion. She's here to see Goddess Astraea."
"Really?!" Pyrrha asked, excitedly moving towards Ryuu. "The goddess kept saying you'd show up one day, but nobody really believed it."

"I…" Ryuu stammered, before her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I did not feel worthy of seeing her." she finally admitted. "After all I have done, I..."

"Did you get them?" Erza cut her off with a hard tone. Her visible eye was glaring at Ryuu. Pyrrha's eyes went hard too, staring at the elf questioningly. Erza spoke again. "Did you bring justice to the people who killed our sister? The Familia?"

"No." Ryuu admitted softly. Both their faces turned furious, but Ryuu paid them no mind. Her mouth curled into a snarl as she ground out, "I brought them revenge." Even now, the very thought of the Rudra Familia made her angry.

The furious expressions of both redheads softened to understanding. "Revenge?" Erza asked.

"Yes." Ryuu slumped. "I slaughtered them all. I cannot feel guilty about what I did but… the fact that I betrayed the ideals Alise and Astraea taught me…"

"Good." Pyrrha cut her off. That was happening a lot, but she couldn't complain much. Ryuu looked up, shock coursing through her at the flat tone. Erza was nodding along with her sister.

"You may have abandoned justice," Erza said, "but there are times when justice is simply not possible to achieve. In those times, we must settle for revenge." Ryuu's eyes widened. She was not expecting a sentence like that to come out of any sibling of Alise's.

"We learned a lot from Alise's death. I… we, are grateful that you avenged our sister." Pyrrha added. "Justice comes in many forms and sometimes… revenge is the only form justice can take. For our parts," she nodded to Erza, "we thank you for ensuring that those who killed the Astraea Familia were punished."

"Though, we cannot speak for Lady Astraea herself." Erza added.

Ryuu couldn't believe it. Alise was the one who first introduced her to the concept of justice followed by the Astraea Familia. It was their core guiding principle. To hear her sisters be so accepting Ryuu abandoning that justice if it meant punishing the people who took their sister from them? She didn't know what to feel, nor did she have time to process before Cecil, the new captain, entered the room.

"Goddess Astraea wants to see you." She told Ryuu softly. Glancing at the sisters, Ryuu left the room and followed the brunette up the stairs and towards a door. Stopping just outside of it, the new Captain of the Astraea Familia gave her a nod and opened the door. Hesitantly, Ryuu stepped inside.

On the other side of the door was an office. A desk sat on the back wall while tables, couches and chairs filled another portion of the room. Bookshelves and pieces of art lined the walls and emblazoned on the back wall above the desk was a massive depiction of the Astraea Familia symbol.

A large window was placed in the wall on the right, letting the bright sunlight fill the room. Standing in front of the window, her back to the room was a woman. Astraea. Her walnut hair cascaded down her back and over her pale white garments accented with gold. Ryuu took two hesitant steps into the room, barely noticing the sound of the door closing behind her. She stared at Astraea's back and holding in a chocked sob, dropped to her knees and faced the floor.

"Goddess." She choked out, staring at the carpet. "I abandoned justice in favor of revenge. The members of the Rudra Familia are dead by my hand. I… for so long, I have been unable to forgive myself for abandoning the ideals the Familia taught me. To accept that I survived. That I must live and move on. I'm ready to try but… I do not know if I can forgive myself without knowing your thoughts. Without your punishment or forgiveness. I willingly accept any penalty or justice you feel I deserve for embracing revenge. I kneel before you, goddess and await your judgement." She could hear Astraea slowly turn and walk towards her. The sounds of her footfalls were light and slow.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, a pale hand rested itself on her cheek. Ryuu felt a slight pull and allowed her head to tilt upwards. For the very first time since the death of her Familia, Ryuu Lion looked into the indigo eyes of Goddess Astraea. Tears were flowing from them and down her cheeks.

"My child." She whispered. To Ryuu's immense shock, the goddess threw her arms around Ryuu's neck and pulled her to her feet in a powerful hug. She froze. Confused and unsure of what to do, she stood there awkwardly. "I have never blamed you." She whispered again. "You do not need my forgiveness."

Ryuu pulled away, staring into the eyes of her goddess. "I don't understand," the whisper escaped her. "I thought you'd punish me, or at least turn me away."

"Never." Astraea shook her head and stroked Ryuu's hair. "You are part of my Familia. My child. I would never abandon you."

"But…" Ryuu was so confused right now. "You told me to abandon justice. I thought… I thought that you'd forsaken me when I chose revenge…"

"No." Astraea said, soothingly. "I told you that because I knew you'd die otherwise. If you clung to justice while still seeking revenge, it would have killed you. Whether by your own hand or another's, your life would end. By abandoning justice and allowing yourself to chase your revenge, you survived. You came back to me. I could not bear to see my only living child die like that, so I let you do what you had to do."

"My lady, I…" Ryuu was cut off by Astraea pulling her into a hug again. This time, the blonde wrapped her arms around the goddess and allowed herself to weep.


A/N: Whew! That was very nerve-wracking to write. Do you think I did well with Ryuu and Astraea? Please tell me your thoughts, speculations, and ideas in the comments!

Here's that author's note I mentioned.

"Alright. I'm going to be honest here. I'm not finished with Sword Oratoria and I have never been able to find anything more than a simple synopsis on things to do with Astraea beyond what I've read/watched and 90% of that has to do with before her Familia was wiped out. As far as I can tell, she's only appeared in like 3 things. That makes dealing with Ryuu… interesting to say the least. I've tried to do my due diligence and make sure I'm as accurate as possible but it's hard when there is so little information. Even the wiki is all but useless.

With that in mind, I'd like to warn you all that I may get things wrong. Either with Astraea or with Sword Oratoria. For instance, I have a plan for Astraea in mind that, for all I know, is contradicted by the source material. I have no idea. Also, I'm getting into the territory of Sword Oratoria that I have not read. Nor do I have the time to read it before I try to write unless you're alright with me going on hiatus for a few months. (Not happening.) I will do my best to be as accurate as I can with the details, but it's very possible that I will get something wrong.

If I do and it's major, please tell me. If it's a big thing, like including somebody that's supposed to be dead or accidentally writing myself into a hole, then I will fix it. If it's simply inaccurate to exact canon but still works in my story, then I doubt I'll worry about it. Now that I'm nice and established in the story, stepping further and further away from canon is good for me and the story itself.

I try to be as accurate as possible with information that came from before the story starts because I have no reason for it to be changed. Nothing happened to make it different. The difficulty lies in where I need that information and either can't find it, or it doesn't exist. When that happens, I'm just going to have to make it up and hope I don't contradict canon or myself. Hopefully, that won't happen, but I thought you deserved a warning."

One more thing! I want to thank Neo Juubi no Ryu for a suggestion. Back in chapter 36, they suggested including Pyrrha Nikos as the sister or cousin of Alise Lovell. Unknown to them or any of you, I was already planning to give her a sister except I was going to use Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail. That suggestion though, made me wonder about using both of them. It sounded very interesting and very fun to write, so I did it. Speaking of which. What did you think of me including them?

As for the storylines I'm juggling. Right now we have the Hestia Familia Expedition/Recrutiment. The Miach Familia Hospital. Ryuu and Astraea. And finally, we have the Loki Familia in Melen. I'm juggling all these simultaneously at the moment, so I really hope it comes across well.

Answers to Questions

On FFN

Walkmanapprenticewordsmith: I hope you liked getting a bit more of the expedition here! It's hard to make it seem very high stakes since getting there is downright easy for them but we'll get to see a bit of them in Rivira before they head back up to the surface and do some recruiting!

Ninjafang1331: Thank you!

Haziq Safari: We'll just have to wait and see about the Kali Familia. As for Dian, I'm still working on the exact details for what I want him to do.

Fake-Rob: Thank you!

Frostwolf3227: Lots of speculation! I love it!

Rogue1bois: You make a very good point. A doctor, especially one who can use magic, is utterly terrifying to fight. Just think of Stein from Soul Eater.

Guest: I'm glad you saw that. I'm trying to help make her a bit more of a healthy human being.

VirusZyX: I hope you liked it!

Monkey D. Conan: Thank you! You're right too. Papa Torrhen and Mama Riveria work so well together!

LionLordEscanor: Thank you!

Cristalm: I'm glad you liked the stuff with Lefiya! I hope you enjoy what I've got planned out for Miach and everybody else. As for the stuff about below the 15th floor, I was specifically talking about fighting. The others have only just passed through during the evac from 18. They didn't really do much fighting and were in a massive group with a bunch of op people.

Maxperseus130: I'm sorry it took so long, and I know you've probably moved on but I do have an answer! When I did my Torrhen playthrough I did the Dark Brotherhood, then the Thieves Guild, then the Companions. I started the Main Story during the Companions questline and joined the College of Winterhold when directed to by the Main Story. I did Season Unending and caused a truce and then did the Civil War. After the Civil War, I did the Dragonborn DLC and then finished with Dawnguard on the side of the Dawnguard. You can do the side quests and other stuff in any order you like. Also, I didn't kill Paarthurnax and downloaded the mod that let me do the Blades while letting him live.

Guest: A few omakes might be fun, but honestly I'd probably just make them proper chapter segments.

On Ao3

MagnustheRed: True, baggage could make a good pairing but it would be hard to write. I'll consider it!

CjHoax: I'm sorry, but I won't be introducing Serana except maybe as a summoned ghost like I did with Kodlak. I think I already established that she got cured and died a natural death.

GenericMarySue: That's the idea! I hate it when plot is introduced and then forgotten so I try to keep track of everything.

Jonte: He will be paired with Riveria. I'm already trying to drop little hints here and there.

Noxlux013: Fair enough! I'd hate to give anybody spoilers.

RoAKingofShadows: I'm glad you like it! I will consider giving the Cabbage Merchant a cameo. He's always fun.

Iskander Manoraekon: I may introduce some other gods in passing but not as major characters.