I'm very sorry for the delay in this update. Over the summer I found myself saddled with several health issues (just a reminder I'm not as young as I used to be, lol). I'm feeling much better now though, so I should hopefully be right on track with this fanfic. Again, I do apologize for the delay.

As a reminder, there is a new poll up.

Part Three

Hero and James stayed behind with the skyship to survey every repair that was needed for the ship. Daunte and the rest of the group was escorted towards Lukiae Ende Towayo to the west.

The reveal that Silvano had come home quickly raised the spirits of the angry elves, but the mood dropped again when Hero nonchalantly suggested they use the fallen trees to repair the skyship. Despite his initial anger, Kirkis agreed to allow them to use the trees, much to the consternation of the other elves. But nobody voiced any complaints.

Daunte was surprised by how quickly Kirkis's whole demeanor changed. As Silvano introduced them he shook everyone's hands and he laughed when he saw Sharon and her dragons. Daunte saw the strong physical resemblance between father and son, but he was also surprised by how accommodating Kirkis presented himself. Not that Daunte knew much about elves anyway, but even before the Plague the elves in Nagarea never really showed themselves to humans. Elves seemed to have a strong distrust of humans.

Yet Kirkis did not distrust them. Daunte saw easily where Silvano inherited his open-mindedness.

Daunte's eyes widened when he saw Lukiae Ende Towayo. There were several small houses that formed a circle around a large tree. He quickly noticed that every elf that passed the tree briefly stopped to bow to the tree before continuing on their way.

"That tree is Lukiae Ende Towayo," Silvano told him, looking at Daunte over his shoulder. "It doesn't seem like it now, but the tree will eventually grow large enough to allow us to live inside it."

"Live inside the tree?!" Arin said with amazement, his eyes going wide. "Like a treehouse village? That's incredible!"

"Will all these elves be able to live in the tree at once?" Gunther asked, gesturing to the houses surrounding the tree.

"Thousands of years ago the tree was enchanted by the Six Wise Men of the Forest," Kirkis said. He paused and turned to face the group. "Lukiae Ende Towayo grew so large that it was capable of maintaining a community of eight hundred elves."

"Eight hundred elves?!" the group exclaimed. Daunte's jaw dropped as he looked at the tree in question. While it was a large tree, it did not look big enough to even hold two houses! But it grew so big that it held eight hundred elves without collapsing under the weight?!

"But what happened to the tree?" Arin asked softly. "It doesn't look so big now."

Caesar sucked in a sharp breath, and Sharon shifted with discomfort. Silvano looked to his father, but Kirkis thankfully didn't look offended by the question. But his expression did darken. "Twenty-seven years ago, during the Gate Rune Wars, Lukiae Ende Towayo was destroyed by a weapon called the Burning Mirror. It burned the sacred tree nearly to ash, and it almost caused the extinction of my people."

Daunte was horrified by the story. The horror must have shown on his face because Kirkis raised a hand slightly. "It was a horrific tragedy, but I do not collectively blame humans for it. The person who committed the atrocity cannot even be blamed for it because his mind was under the control of a savage Rune. The government who sanctioned the atrocity is gone, and the government that exists now has helped us considerably to rebuild. Looking and dwelling on the past won't make a difference. We can only look forward."

Daunte was amazed by the fact that Kirkis held no ill-will about the near-extinction of his people. His efforts seemed solely focused on the future and rebuilding. And even without the huge tree to have for a home, the village seemed to be thriving regardless. Kirkis was obviously doing an outstanding job as Chief.

As a leader he can forgive and forget. Since I too am a leader, does this mean I too must forgive and forget everything that's happened to me?

They entered the village proper, and a violet-haired elf raced out of one of the houses. "Silvano! Kirkis!"

"Mom!" Silvano shouted, and raced forward to hug her. As she squeezed her arms around Silvano's shoulders, sunlight reflected brightly off a beautiful ring on her finger.

"This my wife Sylvina," Kirkis introduced them. Sylvina continued to cling to her son whilst sobbing, and didn't even acknowledge them. "She has been invaluable in the restoration of our community. You may also know—"

"Oh Silvano, you are here!"

Daunte's eyes widened as he saw Kaylani Falenas emerge from the same house, carrying her infant son with her. A soldier in Queen's Knight uniform trailed after her. Silvano let his mother go to rush to his wife's side. Wait, they did say Kaylani took a trip here to introduce her son to his grandparents. I'm glad they're doing well.

"I've missed you both so much!" Silvano crushed Kaylani in a tight hug before carefully taking his baby into his arms. "Taurion, are you being on your best behavior?"

Taurion? Oh, that must be the baby's name. This is the first time I've heard their child's name.

"I understand all of you have business in the capital," Kirkis said, turning to address Daunte. "But you all have traveled such a great distance. We invite you to rest here for the night."

"Thank you, we appreciate that," Caesar said. "But we'll just stop for a short while before being on our way. It would be in our best interest to cross the Great Forest before nightfall." He looked to Daunte. "It's quite a walk from here to Gregminster, so we might as well relax for a bit."

"Wait, we're going to walk?!" Sharon said incredulously. She turned to Viki. "Viki, weren't you here during the Gate Rune Wars?!"

"Y-Yes, I believe I was," Viki responded.

"You were," Caesar said dryly.

"Then teleport us to Gregminster! You've been there before! And both Caesar and I have been there before! We should reach the capital in seconds!"

Daunte's brow raised at hearing this, and he felt a measure of relief. So we don't have to walk so much. Good.

To his shock however, Viki shook her head. "I-I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Really?" Caesar said with genuine shock. "Why not?"

Viki pointed to Daunte. "Lord Daunte has never been here before. Because he's never been here, I can't teleport us freely until he visits the cities we're heading to."

"…What?" Sharon said flatly, just as Daunte's relief deflated.

"So we still have to walk, then," Gunther mused, shaking his head.

"What?!" Sharon repeated the word with a loud shout, startling several elves nearby. Taurion burst into tears at her scream. "That doesn't make any sense! What does it matter if Lord Daunte has never been to Gregminster?! There are three people in this party who have! That should be enough for the Blinking Rune to teleport us!"

"It won't work," Viki protested. "Lord Daunte must have visited these places first, and he had to have done it within the last few years. He has to have been the one who was physically present at the locations we seek. If he has never been there before, then my Rune will not work!"

"WHY WON'T IT WORK?!" Sharon hollered. She was wringing her fists in fury.

"Now I get it," Caesar said, his voice a little calmer. Everyone turned to look at him and he shrugged. "When I studied the Gate Rune Wars and the Falenan Civil War, I didn't understand why Tir McDohl or Freyjadour Falenas couldn't simply teleport all over their respective countries upon recruiting you, Viki, or obtaining the Blinking Mirror. Both of these young men had positions in society that allowed for them to explore the entire country. Theoretically the whole country then should've been opened to them to teleport to because of the man places they'd previously visited. However, these places weren't open to them immediately. They both had to "revisit" them as a fresh location, in order for your Blinking Rune to recognize and catalog the locations." He hummed, and rubbed at his chin. "Interesting."

"How so?" Daunte asked.

"The power of the Blinking Rune doesn't seem to evolve around where you go or where you have been, Viki. It seems to only reflect what the Tenkai Star has been or where they go." He looked at Daunte. "Could Viki's Blinking Rune then be interconnected directly to all of the Tenkai Stars?"

Daunte blinked, not knowing how to respond. He barely knew how to handle the Rune of Restoration on his hand. Dissecting another person's Rune was beyond his means of doing so.

But Viki DID teleport directly to my location from…wherever it was she was before. Maybe Caesar has a point…

"I-I really don't know," Viki admitted.

"Whatever it is, it means we're stuck walking," Sharon huffed.

"Later," Kirkis reminded them kindly. "Feel free to explore Lukiae Ende Towayo. Come and meet with me at my house when you are done." Then he left with Sylvina, Silvano, Kaylani, and the still crying Taurion.

Daunte held onto Arin's hand as they explored the small town. Many of the elves still treated them with hostility but others were more understanding.

And many of them were…curious characters by themselves.

"You're heading to Gregminster?" Stallion asked. He laughed loudly. "I'll race you there!" before Daunte could even blink he was gone, leaving a dust trail behind him.

"Don't mind these pompous, pointy-eared elves," Rubi huffed. "The elves have always acted like they're better than other races, when they're not."

"This is my first time coming to Lukiae Ende Towayo," Nei told them kindly. She had two human companions—an older man and a girl little—with her who were playing tag. "I'm glad to see the tree thriving, and I hope to someday see it in its full glory."

"I left here many years ago," Roland mused, his expression dour. "Lukiae Ende Towayo was still in its full glory then. While I'm happy to see it thriving so quickly…it is disheartening to see my home gone."

There was an item shop in town, and thankfully a blacksmith who sharpened everyone's weapons up a level. After they had explored Lukiae Ende Towayo sufficiently enough, they headed into Kirkis's home.

"Come, everyone please sit down and have lunch," Sylvina invited them. Silvano was already sitting at the table feeding Taurion, and Kaylani and Kirkis were laughing about something together. The food on the table seemed to consist of a salad and several brazed squirrels.

"I must say I was very surprised by your arrival," Kirkis said as they dug in to the meal. "Did all of you come from the Southern Continent in that wooden bird?"

"Yes," Caesar said, swallowing a mouthful of food. "We arrived here in less than two days."

"Really?!" Kaylani exclaimed, her eyes wide. "That's incredible! Can we ride home with you then?! You can drop us off at Falena!"

"Sure," Daunte said. "We'd be glad to have you."

"Thank you, Lord Daunte," Silvano said, smiling broadly.

A thought came to Daunte. "Silvano, why don't you stay here while we go to Gregminster? You can spend some time with your family while we're away from the war."

"Really, my Lord? Thank you so much!" the offer put Silvano in an even better mood than before, and he continued showering his son with attention.

"You're a very kind young man," Sylvina said, smiling.

Daunte shrugged. "You give me too much credit."

"You remind me strongly of Master Tir."

Daunte blinked at this, but Kirkis leaned forward before he could speak. "You're right, he is an awful lot like Master Tir! Albeit more talkative." The couple laughed, and even Caesar joined in on their laughter.

"Where do we go after this?" Gunther asked.

"We'll head towards the Kobold Village," Caesar explained. "From there we'll transverse the Great Forest. Our lot is lucky, though. Before the Gate Rune Wars, the Great Forest was enchanted so that only elves, Kobolds, and dwarves could travel through it. Any human who tried to enter would simply be looped back to the entrance of the forest."

"Really?" Daunte asked. "And it's not like that now?"

"The destruction of Lukiae Ende Towayo removed the enchantment from the Forest," Kirkis said. "So now anyone can transverse the Forest. The Great Forest is beautifully but it used to be quite dangerous, but with the influx of tourists who go into the Forest the monster attacks are at a minimum. Your group should have no problem traveling through it."

Daunte nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Lord Kirkis."

"You saved my daughter-in-law and grandson, and are taking care of my son. Showing you kindness is the least I can do."

Daunte was surprised that Kirkis was aware of these things and looked at Kaylani. The princess gave him a knowing smile before turning to Sylvina to speak to her.

"I'm really excited about this, Big Brother," Arin whispered to him.

"Me too," Daunte whispered back, and dug into his meal.

The group finished their lunch and headed off towards the Kobold village to the northwest. The elves turned out to say goodbye to them, even as many of them were still angry. Daunte looked to the east and saw Hero and James working without pause on the repairs to the skyship. They made sure the grandfather and grandson team weren't in any danger before leaving.

Although…

"We're fine!" Hero snapped with irritation. "Now please be on your way! You're distracting us from our work!"

"We'll get this fixed up in no time!" James called down to them from the top of the ship. "Give us three weeks and the skyship will be 100%! We promise!"

Daunte remember Caesar mentioning earlier that they may have time to go "further north". At the moment though he left it alone and focused on getting to Gregminster.

The non-Toran members of the group were taken aback by the Kobold Village. The houses were all giant-sized doghouses, and several of the anthropomorphic dog-people were running around. Daunte was surprised though to find the Kobolds friendly to them, and each of them looked like different species of dogs. The village mayor, Kuromimi, recognized Caesar and tried to invite them to his house for lunch. Caesar declined because they'd already eaten, and Daunte couldn't be gladder. He'd glanced inside the houses and didn't see any furniture, only dog bowls on the ground. And the food inside the bowls looked like dog food.

The Great Forest beyond the Village looked colorful and majestic. The beauty of the forest, however, was somewhat dimmed by the sheer number of people walking around. Daunte's group walked along the forest path and saw large groups of people examining the trees, having picnics, and a handful of tour groups with a guide shouting through a megaphone.

"Yeah, the elves aren't too happy about this," Caesar told them. "The Kobolds are indifferent though. President Lepant ensures though that both villages get a large percentage of proceeds from these tours."

"But on the upside, we haven't run into any monsters," Sharon pointed out.

Despite not having the setback of running into monsters, the Great Forest was still a massive, and time-consuming forest to navigate. By the time they reached an area with two log bridges, the sun had set and dusk had fallen.

"Go up the stairs towards the upper bridge," Caesar told them. "The other bridge will take us to a dead end." The group complied.

Daunte was apprehensive about the log bridge though, and tested its strength with one foot. It didn't shift or groan underneath his weight. He let out the breath he was holding and proceeded to cross the bridge. Halfway across the bridge however, Arin tripped and grabbed for his hand. The motion startled Daunte, and he fell forward onto his knees. He slammed his right hand down to catch himself—and shouted as the Rune of Restoration suddenly activated.

"What? What?"

Daunte looked up and paused. Directly ahead of him on the other side of the bridge…stood Viki.

"Uh oh, looks like I blew it," the girl said with mild nonchalance. She suddenly rushed onto the bridge. "Say, where are we?"

"The Empire," came the reply to Daunte's right. He looked up and saw a teenaged boy standing beside him. Curiously, the boy looked familiar…

"The Empire?" Viki asked the boy. "Which one?"

"The Scarlet Moon Empire," the boy replied.

Wait, Daunte thought. This guy…now I recognize him! He's one of the figurines I bought for Arin! He's the Tenkai Star of the Gate Rune Wars!

"My goodness," Viki said with dismay, raising her free hand to her head. "Almost the other side."

"Other side?" another voice spoke up. Daunte looked behind him and saw Silvano standing there. No…No, it couldn't have been Silvano. The Gate Rune Wars was over twenty years ago. Then…Then this young elf was Kirkis?

"My name's Viki," Viki said, not answering Kirkis's question. "I'm a poor soul with nowhere to go. Won't you protect me?"

This…Kind of reminds me how I first met Viki.

"Of course," Tir McDohl replied.

"Oh, thank you!" Viki exclaimed, bowing.

A hand caught Daunte's shoulder. "Lord Daunte?"

Daunte blinked rapidly and looked around. Viki was no longer standing in front of him, but behind him. And Tir McDohl was standing above him any longer. Caesar had his hand on his shoulder and had a look of concern in his eyes. "Are you all right?"

Daunte nodded and stood up. He looked to Viki. "I…I saw you. During the Gate Rune Wars. I saw when you were recruited."

"Oh, really?" Caesar asked.

"Really?" Viki breathed, clutching her staff to her chest. "That…That was when I started! And everything just went haywire!"

"You…look the same now as you did then," Daunte pointed out.

Viki shrugged at hearing this. "That's good." Daunte was a little taken aback by her nonchalance.

"Let's keep moving," Caesar said. "A human village isn't too far away. We can rest there for the night before we head off to Gregminster. It will take us about three days to reach the capital."

"And I still can't believe we can't just teleport there!" Sharon grumbled. She glared at Viki. "It would certainly be more convenient!"

Less than five minutes of walking later led them directly into the Great Forest Village. It seemed enough like a humble abode, but there were many people walking about. Most likely more tourists and backpackers preparing to go into the Great Forest. Because of how small the village was, and because of how many people were there, Daunte didn't expect there to be any vacancies at the inn.

So he was very surprised to find that the inn had beds to spare for the party. Though it made him wonder if people simply weren't staying long, or if it was because they were foreign dignitaries visiting. Either way, he wasn't going to complain.

"I can't believe this!" Arin gushed as they got ready for bed. "What an exciting adventure! Daunte, can we come back here after the war is over?"

"If Hero can fix the skyship, I don't see why we can't come back here whenever we want," Gunther mused aloud.

"I just can't…" Arin shook his head. "Is this real, Daunte? Are we really here? I keep expecting this to be just a wonderful dream, only to wake up back at the Dark Chasm!"

Daunte flinched, and his stomach squirmed. Though the Dark Chasm was finished once and for all, it was hard to forget the horrors both of them experienced. Especially Arin, who almost died because of that hellhole. Daunte forced a smile and sat down beside Arin in bed. "It's real, Arin. And that horrible place is gone."

"Maybe we can make Arin the dignitary for the Toran Republic once the war is over?" Caesar offered playfully.

"Really? You would do that?!" Arin's eyes went wide with excitement.

"Can you guys keep it down?!" Sharon snapped over her shoulder. Suna, Azul, and Zǐsè were curled around her in bed. "We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow and I want some sleep!"

Daunte nodded to this and looked at the others. "Let's leave as early as possible tomorrow to cover as much ground as we can. With any luck we'll reach Gregminster as quickly as possible."

As everyone settled down, however, Daunte looked to Arin. His little brother looked healthy and overjoyed, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy about bringing the child so far away from their home. It also reminded him of how close Sheikh Faakhir got to seizing their Headquarters. It seemed like Arin was constantly in danger, not helped by the fact that Daunte was leading the Liberation Army now.

Nash offered me a place to stay in Harmonia. And Surya offered me a place to stay in Falena. I want to keep Arin by my side, but…maybe it would be better if I sent him away? For his own safety?

Daunte shook his head, not wanting to think about it any further.

It was several hours later, deep into the night, when Daunte and his group was startled awake by loud shouting outside. He slowly sat up with confusion when several louds roars startled him. He reached for Arin, as the poor boy started screaming.

"W-What's going on?!" Gunther sputtered, reaching for his sword.

"I think Sharon can answer that question," Caesar said, looking highly amused. The group looked to Sharon, but the young Dragon Knight had a grim expression on her face. "Well…let's go out and meet them, then."

"Who's 'them'?" Daunte asked.

The group got changed and headed outside. Daunte's eyes widened when he saw several dragons within the village proper! He pushed Arin behind him, but also quickly noticed that nobody else seemed alarmed by the dragons. Then he saw the people wearing familiar-looking armor and he allowed himself to relax. Ah. The Dragon Knights.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Sharon snapped with irritation as she emerged from the inn. "Is my mom—"

"SHARON!" a woman's voice thundered out. The Dragon Knights moved aside as a youthful blonde-haired woman surged forward, her beautiful face twisted in fury. "Young lady, you are in so much trouble!"

"Hello," Gunther said breathlessly.

"Oh give it a rest, Mom!" Sharon shouted back at her. "I'm eighteen years old! I'm an adult, and I can do whatever I want! You're not the boss of me!"

Sharon's mother reached out and pulled on her cheek. "I'm the commander of the Dragon Knight, and I'm your mother! You better believe I'm the boss of you!"

"OW! Ow, ow, ow, ow! Stop it, Mom!"

"Long time no see, Lady Milia," Caesar said, stepping forward.

"Oh, Lord Caesar!" Milia get go of Sharon and turned to the strategist. "I'd heard you had gone to the Southern Continent! How are you?"

"I'm fine," Caesar said. "And yes, I did go to the Southern Continent. We ran into Sharon there, and—"

"YOU WENT TO THE SOUTHERN CONTINENT?!" Milia shouted, wringing her fists in fury.

"I'm standing right in front of you, you don't have to yell!" Sharon barked back. "I was trying to find out if there were Dragon Knights in Nagarea, but—"

"You left without permission, and you took your dragon out of the cave before it was ready! You broke our rules, Sharon, and you will face the consequences!"

"Excuse me for trying to do something on my own for once without someone chaperoning me! You treat me like I'm still a child!"

"I'll treat you like an adult when you act like an adult!"

Daunte felt very awkward witnessing this mother-and-daughter fight. He looked at the other Dragon Knights but they didn't look fazed. He supposed that this wasn't a rare occurrence.

Based on Lady Milia's temperament, I have a strong feeling that we'll be leaving Toran without Sharon.

"Lady Milia." A dark-haired man in his thirties stepped forward. A white dragon lurked behind him. "Are those baby dragons with Sharon?"

"Oh hey Futch," Caesar said, waving. "Long time no see!"

"You mean Azul and Zǐsè?" Sharon asked. She hoisted up both baby dragons. "I found them in the wild, and have been raising them with Suna!"

Milia's eyes went wide when she saw the dragon babies, and the anger immediately bled out of her. Other Dragon Knights surged forward to see the babies.

"Incredible!"

"But how can Sharon train the babies so far away from the Dragon Rune?"

"We must take them home as quickly as possible!"

"Allow me to introduce you," Caesar said. He motioned Daunte to step forward. "This is Lord Daunte, of Nagarea. We are here to see President Lepant."

"Oh, so this is the dignitary we heard rumors about?" Milia asked, surveying Daunte.

"He's also been taking care of Sharon," Caesar quickly added.

"Hey!" Sharon snapped.

"Thank you so much for watching out for my daughter," Milia said, bowing. "I'm Milia, commander of Toran's Dragon Knights. To show my appreciation for bringing my daughter home, my Dragon Calvary will escort you all to the capital tomorrow morning."

"Really?!" Arin gushed, clasping his hands in front of himself.

"Well, that'll save us three days of walking!" Gunther laughed.

"Wait, I'm not coming home yet," Sharon said. "I pledged myself to Lord Daunte's cause, and—"

"You didn't get my permission to leave," Milia told her sternly. "You're coming home to face your consequences!"

They got into another arugment again, and Daunte felt a strong headache forming. Sharon has been very helpful for me, but I don't think I'll be able to overrule Lady Milia on this.

"Excuse me."

"Huh?" Daunte shifted as Futch approached him. The older man was smiling. "You feel familiar to me somehow. Have we met?"

"Daunte's the Tenkai Star," Caesar said. "You've met three of them, Futch, so that's probably why he seems familiar to you."

"I see. So your conflict is guided by the 108 Stars of Destiny too." Futch shook Daunte's hand. "It's nice to meet you. And I'll tell you—from personal experience—that you're going to win."

"Really?" Daunte asked.

"Really."

"You really know that?" Arin asked. "Are you psychic?"

"No," Futch said, shrugging. "I've fought in three wars guided by the 108 Stars of Destiny, and the Stars won those three wars. That tells me you're going to win this war. Or at least you're supposed to."

Futch's words reminded Daunte of Leknaat's words about his war. She'd also spoken with certainty of his victory. So…his victory really was assured? Because he was fated to win?

I just hope all of these people telling me that I'm absolutely going to win doesn't jinx me in any way.

"Well now we have an escort," Caesar said, ignoring the ever-increasing volume of Milia and Sharon's arguing. "Let's get some sleep. By this time tomorrow we'll be in Gregminster."

"And everything will be all right," Arin said. "Because it's supposed to be all right!"

Daunte smiled and nodded. I won't rely on fate telling me I'm going to win. I'll make sure that I absolutely do win.