Oracle of the Three Towers

by Pentalithia

Growing up in Skuwat village, Eumelia had always had a vague feeling of something not quite right… but it wasn't until disaster struck that she realized she may be destined for greater things.

8. Temple of Elemia

"Hey, have you seen Lyner?"

The church knight that Misha was addressing turned to look at her.

"Ah, the apostle of Elemia, right?" he said. "I think he's out on deck. Just go up those stairs there."

The knight pointed to a nearby door.

"Thanks!" Misha said.

She opened the door and mounted the stairs, following the corridor until she reached another door, which he pushed open. But then she hesitated, for it led out onto an open deck, with nothing more than a flimsy balcony between her and the abyss. On top of that, while Lyner was indeed there, he wasn't alone – Cardinal Radolf was with him. Uncertain what she wanted to do, she just stood there, listening to their conversation.

"—you like flying?" Radolf asked.

"It's a real lifesaver," Lyner said. "By the way, what were you doing at the Floating Wharf?"

"As I mentioned before, we were on a mission," Radolf said. "I'm not supposed to tell this to outsiders… but I can trust you. We're searching for a hymn crystal."

"A hymn crystal!?" Lyner gasped.

"Oh, are you interested in them as well?" Radolf asked.

"Absolutely!" Lyner said. "Can you tell me anything about them?"

"Actually, I don't know much about them myself," Radolf said. "Bishop Falss is the real expert. He should be able to answer your questions. For now, you should just enjoy the ride."

"Thanks," Lyner said.

With that, Radolf turned and headed down the stairs to the lower part of the deck, heading inside.

"Bishop Falss, huh…" Lyner mused.

At that point, Misha came to a decision and gingerly stepped out onto the rickety catwalk.

"Lyner!" she called in a singsong voice.

Lyner turned to face her.

"Misha, what is it?" he asked.

"I want to feel the wind," Misha said, giggling.

She edged further out of the door, fixing her eyes firmly on Lyner so as not to look out at the drop beyond the balcony.

"…what are you doing?" Lyner asked.

"Lyner!" Misha said. "C-come closer…"

"Huh?"

Her attempt to shut out the abyss to the side wasn't working. It must have shown on her face, for realization dawned on Lyner's face.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Lyner said. "You're afraid of heights."

"How could you forget!?" Misha whined.

He took a few steps towards her.

"If it's getting too much for you, we could go inside," Lyner said.

"No!" Misha said. "I like it here. I want you to hold my hand."

"Fine," Lyner said, taking her hand with some reluctance.

"Lyner, has your memory improved yet?" Misha asked. "Do you remember me now?"

"No, I don't," Lyner said. "I'm sorry…"

"That's okay," Misha said. "I didn't think you would. It's been a long time. I used to live in Platina, but I moved away when you were only this big."

She held her free hand up to her chest to indicate the size.

"Really…?" Lyner said. "People don't usually move away from Platina."

"I know," Misha said. "I guess that makes me special, but not in a good way. I was born to fulfill a mission. That's why I had to leave Platina."

"A mission…?" Lyner said.

"Lyner… um… I…"

She trailed off as Aurica ascended the steps from the lower deck. Aurica blinked at the two of them.

"Ah… um…" she began.

"Oh… it's you," Lyner said.

"What?" Misha said, annoyed at the interruption. "Do you know her?"

Just then, the ship shook from an impact.

"What's that!?" Lyner gasped.

Another airship drew up almost directly above them, and Bourd leapt down onto the deck, landing just behind Aurica, who shrieked in surprise.

"Bourd!" Lyner gasped.

"Hey kid!" Bourd said. "Did you really think you could get away? I look at you with your happy reyvateil and it's like you're slapping me in the face!"

"W-what…?" Lyner said.

"Well, I'm taking Misha back!" Bourd shouted. "The rest of you can go straight to hell!"

"Not on my watch!" Lyner said, drawing his sword.

But then Bourd stepped up and grabbed Aurica, forcing her up to the balcony and threatening to push her over.

"Say goodbye!" he said.

"Aurica!" Lyner gasped.

"If you don't stand still, I'll drop this girl," Bourd said.

"N-no…!" Lyner said.

"Tsk, why must you be such a pain?" Bourd said. "Come on over, Misha! Or do you want me to drop this girl?"

"You coward!" Misha said.

"Are you gonna come peacefully?" Bourd asked.

"I'll never take orders from you!" Misha said.

"Then, you've just killed this girl!" Bourd said.

"N-no…!" Aurica squealed.

"Aurica!" Lyner said.

But just as Bourd was about to really throw Aurica off the edge, Radolf appeared from below, spear at the ready.

"What's going on!?"

---

A few minutes earlier…

Aurica let out a sigh. They'd been attacked by the tower guardians while looking around Falcon's Claw for any sign of the Linker Hymn Crystal, and once again she'd been completely useless. In fact, it had been Lyner, together with a new reyvateil or two, who had finally saved the day and defeated the guardian. It only served to reinforce the idea that she just wasn't needed.

"Aurica, if you keep sighing, then there won't be anything left of you," Fayma said.

"I know," Aurica muttered. "But I'm just… so frustrated…"

"Well… you should try to change yourself then," Fayma said.

"That… I don't know if I even can," Aurica said. "How am I supposed to…?"

"Well… I get the feeling that you want to go talk to Lyner, don't you?" Fayma pointed out. "You did know he was on board, right?"

"Ah… yes, I heard from one of the knights," Aurica said. "But he has two more reyvateils with him already… why would he want me, a class D reyvateil?"

"Two…?" Fayma said. "There's only one non-church reyvateil on board right now… if there was another, she didn't come with us."

"Huh?" Aurica said. "Oh, I see… but that doesn't really change what I said…"

At that moment, Radolf entered the room.

"By the way, Aurica… sorry if this comes out of nowhere," Radolf said. "But… do you have a sister, by any chance?"

Aurica blinked at him.

"Huh? Well, um… no… not anymore," she said.

"You mean you had one, but she died in the Skuwat disaster…?" Fayma said.

"Well… yes…"

"Could I ask what her name was?" Radolf asked.

"Um… does it really matter…?" Aurica asked.

"Let's say I've very, very curious," Radolf said.

"Um… what was it again…" Aurica muttered. "Um… oh yeah… Eumelia…"

"Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?" Fayma asked.

"Well… that's…" Radolf sighed. "Aurica, why don't you go talk with Lyner for a bit?"

"Huh? B-but… isn't he with that other reyvateil?" Aurica said.

"I'm not sure, but even if he is, what does that matter?" Radolf asked.

Fayma nodded as well. "You could try to make friends with her, too."

Aurica sighed.

"Fine… fine, I'll go," she muttered.

She left the room, and Fayma turned to Radolf.

"So… I gather you didn't want Aurica to hear something?"

Radolf hesitated for a moment. "More like… I wasn't sure whether or not I should tell her," he said. "You see… there was another reyvateil who helped us defeat the guardian."

"Aurica did say there were two," Fayma said. "What of it?"

"Well… the thing is… the other one introduced herself as Eumelia Nestmile," Radolf said.

"T-then… she's the sister you were just talking about!?" Fayma gasped.

"I can't imagine there'd be another completely unrelated person with the same name," Radolf said.

"Hmm… I'd like to think Aurica would take that as good news," Fayma said. "But with how she is… I honestly can't be sure. Let's wait a bit longer before telling her. Though with how things are going, we might not have to tell her."

"Alright," Radolf said. "I'll defer to your expertise on this matter, Fayma."

"I'm not sure I can be called an expert," Fayma said. "But I admit I probably know a little more than you do…"

Suddenly the entire ship shook. Radolf ran over to the communications panel on the wall and pressed a button.

"What's going on!?" he shouted. "Please report!"

The pilot's voice came back through. "We're under attack!"

"Is it another guardian?" Radolf asked.

"No!" the pilot replied. "It's an airship… it's Tenba's airship! They're firing at us! I think we've been boarded!"

"What on earth are they thinking, picking a fight with the church!?" Radolf gasped. "Sorry, I have to go, Fayma… we can continue this conversation later, if we need to."

Without further ado, he rushed out of the room. Remembering where he'd left Lyner, he headed for the port deck. There he found, to his shock, that Bourd Rade had indeed already boarded the ship and taken Aurica hostage, threatening to push her over the balcony. Lyner and Misha were there too.

"What's going on?" Radolf shouted. "Bourd… you…!"

"Oh, hello Radolf!" Bourd said condescendingly. "My fight's not with you today. I've got some business with the kid to deal with, so I thought I'd stop by."

"But you're threatening a reyvateil of the church!" Radolf said. "So, this matter is no longer just between you and Lyner!"

"What?" Bourd said. "She's a reyvateil!?" He chuckled. "I've got a great idea…"

Suddenly, he tightened his grip on Aurica and leapt up onto the edge of the airship's engine, surprisingly nimble despite his bulk. Aurica screamed as he moved, struggling in vain to get free.

"Hey kid!" he shouted. "Bring Misha over here!"

"What are you up to!?" Radolf gasped.

But Bourd leapt up even higher, heading for the top of the airship. Lyner turned to Misha.

"Misha, stay here," he said. "I'm going by myself."

"No, Lyner!" Misha said. "I'm coming with you!"

"No!" Lyner said. "You're afraid of heights! You'll never make it!"

With that, Lyner leapt up the side of the airship as well, following Bourd's path to the top of the airship. Radolf also followed them up.

"Oy, where's Misha?" Bourd asked.

"I'd never hand a reyvateil over to you!" Radolf declared.

"What are you, stupid?" Bourd retorted. "Or don't you understand your predicament? Hurry up and bring me Misha! Otherwise, I'll drop this reyvateil right now!"

"Waaait!" Misha shouted.

Somehow, she had managed to climb up after them. She managed to reach the top, where she collapsed on all fours, gasping for breath.

"Misha!?" Lyner gasped.

"What's wrong?" Bourd asked, chuckling a bit. "Afraid of heights or something?"

"S-shut up!" Misha said. "I'm coming, so just let her go!"

"Excellent!" Bourd said. "But you have to walk up to me alone!"

Just then, there was a screech from nearby. Lyner glanced up to see a bird circling them. The Tenba ship tried to fire at it, but it ducked underneath the ship where they were unable to aim.

"That's… a grand vulture…?" Radolf said. "But we're nowhere near the Falcon's Claw… what on earth is it doing so far out…?"

"That… could it be…?" Lyner gasped.

While they were staring at the bird, Misha managed to regain her feet and take a few steps forward, before falling over once more. Bourd suddenly burst out laughing.

"This… this should be interesting!" he said.

"Misha!" Lyner said, stepping towards her.

"Oy!" Bourd said. "No holding hands! She has to walk by herself!"

"Lyner, I'm sorry," Misha said. "I have to go…"

"Misha… you don't have to do this!" Lyner said.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay," Misha said. "I'm not… that scared of… heights… I'll… be back… wait for me…"

She slowly managed to walk towards Bourd and Aurica, falling over a couple more times, but each time getting back to her feet and continuing forward. Radolf watched, feeling completely helpless – with Aurica held hostage, there was nothing he could do.

"Good girl," Bourd said as Misha collapsed right by his feet. "That's exactly how all reyvateils should act. Well…" He turned to Aurica. "I don't need this one anymore."

With that, he gave Aurica a good kick, throwing her clear of the airship. She screamed as she fell to what she was sure was certain death.

"N-nooo!" Lyner gasped.

He leapt after her, aiming to catch her as she fell.

"L-lyner!?" Misha gasped.

"Alright, that's a wrap here," Bourd said with a nasty chuckle. "Okay guys, let's get outta here!"

Tossing Misha over his shoulder, eliciting a shriek of indignation from her, he grabbed a rope dangling from the Tenba ship and leapt off, rising up as the rope was drawn in by those on board the other ship. Then the ship moved away.

But no-one present really noticed Bourd's gloating exit, for they were completely focused on the events on the other side of the church's airship. Just as Lyner was about to reach Aurica's hand, the grand vulture that had been circling swooped down and seized her by the shoulders, causing her to scream again. The impact drew Aurica just out of Lyner's grasp. Fortunately, he just barely managed to catch on to a railing near the front of the ship, saving himself from plummeting any further. Then the vulture flapped its wings and gained height, depositing Aurica on the upper rear deck where Misha and Eumelia had faced the guardians. She gasped as the bird took off and swooped away towards the Falcon's Claw.

"I… I… was saved… by a bird…?" she muttered. "T-that… d-doesn't even make… any sense…"

Aurica barely noticed as Radolf lowered a line to pull Lyner back up, but it was only at most a minute or two before he hopped on to the deck and knelt beside her. Radolf was still with him too, of course.

"Aurica! Are you okay!?" Lyner asked.

Suddenly he gasped.

"O-oh no!" he exclaimed. "You're wounded!"

"Eh…?" Aurica said, blinking at him in confusion.

"Your shoulders!" Lyner said.

Aurica pressed a hand to one shoulder and blinked as it came away covered in blood – the bird had grabbed her carelessly, and its claws had punctured her skins in several locations.

"H-huh… apparently… I am…" she said. "Lyner… I'm sorry…"

"No!" Lyner said. "You have nothing to apologize for!"

"B-but…! I was the reason… that girl… was taken…! And… you almost… fell…"

"No, you aren't!" Lyner said. "If you weren't there, Bourd would've found another way! It's not your fault! But even if it were your fault, that doesn't matter! I would still try to save you!"

"You would… try to save me…?" Aurica said. "But why…? Why would you risk your life… for someone like me?"

"Just reflexes, I suppose," Lyner said. "I can't just stand by when someone is suffering! I would never give up on you, no matter what! So hang in there, Aurica!"

"I… I understand," Aurica muttered.

She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, and began to sing.

"Wee ki ra murfan near en crushue. Wee ki ra selena sarla sos yor."

Lyner blinked. "Ah… that's right… I almost forgot you had healing magic," he said. "I'm glad… you used it on yourself…"

She sang for a minute or so, by which time all her wounds were healed. The gashes had been fairly shallow, in any case – the bird clearly hadn't intended to kill her, and had only injured her by accident.

"Aurica… you're okay… I'm glad!" Lyner said.

"You really had me worried there for a little bit, Aurica," Radolf said. "I know this wasn't your fault, but still… please take care of yourself better. Fayma will be worried if you don't, you know."

"R-right," Aurica muttered. "I… I'm sorry… and, um… thank you… but what was with that bird?"

"That… I think the bird was summoned by a friend I made on the way here," Lyner said. "Apparently, she can control birds with her songs. She must've seen that you were in trouble and asked it to save you."

"But… I don't even know her," Aurica said. "That must be the other reyvateil who arrived with you, right? Why would she do something like that for someone she's never met?"

Radolf frowned a little, wondering if this was the time to tell her… but the decision not to was so recent that he thought he'd best hold it back for now. Besides, it was complete speculation that Eumelia had been the one controlling it – they had no evidence at all.

"Well… maybe she has a similar reason to me," Lyner said. "It doesn't matter if I've met them… if someone's in trouble right in front of my eyes, I'll definitely help them!"

"I have to apologize, Lyner," Radolf said. "I was so close to you, yet I didn't see what was happening until it was too late…"

"No, don't worry about it," Lyner said. "It all worked out in the end, somehow."

"I see," Radolf said. "Still… we have to thank whoever was controlling that bird. Without her, Aurica wouldn't be with us anymore…"

Aurica sighed.

"What's wrong, Aurica?" Radolf asked.

"Because of me, that girl had to give herself up," Aurica said.

"It's okay," Lyner said. "I'll bring her back. So, you have nothing to worry about."

"Ah… okay… if you say so," Aurica said.

---

Eumelia woke up early the next morning and found that Vivian had already gotten started on preparing breakfast. It wasn't ready yet, so she stepped outside to see if the others were around, and found Nicky tending to the garden.

"Nicky!" Eumelia exclaimed.

"Ah, I heard you were back," Nicky said, straightening up with a handful of weeds. "The guardians went berserk yesterday, so I was afraid you might've been attacked…"

"Well, I fought some of them, with some help," Eumelia said. "But I wasn't attacked while riding Falc or anything like that."

"That's a relief," Nicky said.

"So… where are Elen and Muriel?" Eumelia asked.

"I think Elen's out hunting," Nicky said. "Muriel… might still be in bed."

"Should I wake her up?" Eumelia asked.

"She was fighting the rogue guardians by herself yesterday, so she's probably exhausted," Nicky said. "I think it's better to let her sleep."

"Wait… why was she fighting by herself?" Eumelia asked.

"Whatever it was controlling those guardians got to Astrea as well," Nicky said. "If we'd helped her, Astrea would've just self-destructed. But she was only facing ball-types, and she had a horde of guarders on her side, so we weren't too worried."

Astrea was the name given to a high-level guardian that Muriel had tamed. She was one of the large ball types, specifically a satellite star, meaning she was always followed by smaller ball types.

"Um… is Astrea okay, then?" Eumelia asked.

"A bit beaten up, but she'll recover," Nicky said. "It was a close call though – I hear she was about to self-destruct when Muriel finally managed to regain control."

"Well, that's good to hear," Eumelia said. "It never even occurred to me that a mech user might have problems due to the berserk guardians… I hope Cali is okay…"

Caliopia, or Cali for short, was another reyvateil around Eumelia's age who lived on Falcon's Claw with her mother, Mnemosyne. Like Muriel, the two of them were mech users.

"I heard from her mother just this morning, actually," Nicky said. "Sounds like Caliopia lost her aircraft guardian."

"At least Nemmy and Cali are both okay," Eumelia said. "Cali can always tame a new mech… her life is more precious."

"You shouldn't say that to her face though," Nicky said.

"Oh, I don't plan to," Eumelia said.

At that moment, Vivian called from within.

"Come and eat, you two!"

So Eumelia and Nicky headed inside for breakfast.

"Is Elen not going to be back…?" Eumelia asked.

"She already ate something earlier," Vivian said. "And I've already set some aside for Muriel."

Eumelia nodded as she sat down at the table.

"So… have you considered what I requested yesterday?" Eumelia asked.

"You mean the ruined temple, right?" Vivian said.

"Huh, what's this about?" Nicky asked.

"Since things have been hectic recently, I didn't get a chance to tell everyone yet," Vivian said. "Eumelia wants to explore the ruins on the other side of Falcon's Claw. I do agree that it would be too dangerous to go alone – the far side of Falcon's Claw has a huge wyvern's nest somewhere on the underside. I don't think the four of us will be able to accompany you, however."

"Even just one or two of you would be really reassuring," Eumelia said.

"We did have plans coming up," Nicky mused. "But this sounds like it'd just be a day or half day excursion, so… I think I could go with you."

"Really?" Eumelia said. "Thank you so much!"

"I'd like to go too, but… I think someone should stay here for when Muriel wakes up," Vivian said. "And I don't expect Elen to be back before midday… maybe even later. But I'd be worried if it's just the two of you…"

"And I was also hoping for a diverse variety of green magic," Eumelia said. "Nicky, you only know Thunder Shot, right?"

"That's true," Nicky said. "That's the only green magic I know."

"Oh, what if I invited Cali along?" Eumelia suggested. "I think she knows Fire Shot and Gale Shot…"

"Ah, that wouldn't be so bad then," Vivian said. "If she's willing, of course."

"Then… is there anyone who knows Ice Shot…?" Eumelia wondered. "I know Elen and Muriel know it, but it seems they're not available…"

"I heard Janessa learned that recently," Vivian said.

"Then let's go ask them both, right after breakfast!" Eumelia said.

"It's settled," Nicky said, grinning. "And don't forget your tiara!"

"Of course not," Eumelia said.

So after breakfast, Eumelia made sure she had everything she needed, placing the tiara on her head. Then she summoned Falc and another grand vulture to carry her and Nicky over to the main island of Falcon's Claw. It was about a half hour trek to the small hut where Caliopia and Mnemosyne lived, and when they arrived they saw the latter hanging out laundry to dry. Several bit balls were helping her carry it.

"Mnemosyne, good morning!" Nicky called.

"Morning, Nemmy!" Eumelia called.

The young blonde woman turned her head to see who was calling.

"Oh, Eumelia, Nicky, good timing," she said. "Did you come to cheer Cali up?"

"Sort of," Eumelia said. "I wanted to venture into the ruins on the other side of the island, and I thought I'd invite Cali along."

"Ah, those ruins?" Mnemosyne said. "There's a wyvern nest somewhere near there, right? Will you really be okay with just the two of you?"

"That's why Nicky's coming along too," Eumelia said.

"That makes me feel a bit better," Mnemosyne said. "Well, she's inside, so go ahead and wake her up."

"Alright!" Eumelia said.

With that, she marched up to the door of the hut and slammed it open.

"Cali, are you awake?" she called.

The girl inside, a spitting image of her mother, squealed in shock and almost rolled out of the loft bed where she slept.

"E-eumy!?" she gasped. "D-don't scare me like that…!"

"Sorry!" Eumelia said. "But I wanted to go on a little adventure. You probably heard it all already, right?"

"Eh," Caliopia said. "I don't really wanna go anywhere right now… I just lost Bal, after all…"

"I heard about that too," Eumelia said. "But Cali, that's exactly why I wanted to invite you! It'll be better for you to get out of the house instead of brooding over her!"

"Ugh…! It's really hard to argue with that…!" Caliopia grumbled. "But if you're talking about the ruins at the far side… aren't they haunted? I'm not good with spirits…"

"You should be fine if you just sing," Eumelia said. "I mean, it would be pretty tough to defeat a spirit without song magic anyway… and Nicky'll be with us too."

"Fine! I'll go!" Caliopia said. "I'll just need a few minutes to get ready… as you can see, I'm not even dressed yet."

Eumelia waited while the other girl leapt down and pulled on some clothes. Then she grabbed a brush, attacking her hair and forcing it into a ponytail. Finally, she put on the special antenna headband used by mech users and grabbed the daggers she usually fought with. There were a total of eight, supporting her twin dagger melee combat style while having enough extra that they could be thrown at an enemy if needed.

"Alright, I'm ready," Caliopia said. "Lead the way, Eumy!"

They headed back outside, and the three of them climbed towards the peak of the island. Just before reaching the peak, however, they took a left and rounded a bluff, entering a clearing where there sat a hut even tinier than Caliopia's. There was a small cascade there, water flowing down the rock face to gather in a deep pool next to the house before trickling out around the back of the house and rushing further downhill.

There was a red-haired girl bathing in that pond, together with a juvenile wyrm. Eumelia paused, watching a bit as the girl splashed around, looking more like she was having fun rather than cleaning herself. Then Cali called her name.

"Nessa!"

The girl turned and noticed her audience. Her face lit up, and she waved.

"Cali! Eumy! This is such a pleasant surprise!" she exclaimed. "Please wait a bit, okay? I'm almost done here!"

She suddenly became serious about cleaning, grabbing a sponge that had floated away and using it to scrub both the wyrm and herself. Then she splashed out of the water and grabbed her clothes that had been left at the water's edge, pulling them on.

"So, what's going on?" Janessa asked.

"I was gonna invite you to explore the ruins just beyond the bridge," Eumelia said.

"Ah, those ruins," Janessa said. "But you know I'm not able to control wyverns or drakes yet, right? We'd have to fight them. If that's okay, then…"

"It's fine," Eumelia said. "By the way, Nessa, I heard you learned Ice Shot recently, is that true?"

"Oh, yes!" Janessa said. "I crafted it a few days ago… I don't see much use for it though. But you know how green magic often leads to a similar red magic, right? So I'm hoping I can craft a proper ice red magic next."

"Yeah, I've heard about that," Eumelia said. "I haven't even crafted a green magic though… so I'm way behind you both there."

Cali giggled. "Don't worry, Eumy, I'm sure you'll be able to craft something soon," she said. "It's not like you haven't been trying, right?"

"Well… that's true," Eumelia admitted.

"Alright, lemme just grab my weapon," Janessa said.

She ducked into the hut and grabbed the crossbow she usually fought with, along with a bag full of bolts.

"Alright, I'm ready!" Janessa said. "Let's go! Tommy, come on!"

The juvenile wyrm flapped its wings and sped forward into her arms, nuzzling her.

"Actually, let me summon Firkin first," Nicky said. "Since this seems like a good time for that. It'll be harder once we cross the bridge."

"Oh, of course," Janessa said.

So Nicky began to sing her beast calling song.

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here. Fou paks gagis wearequewie has, wi harr ffas, wi jambea has pat. Was yea ra rana presia neyxin infelious ubititoe amariare bister ess dorre. Was apea erra pat spiritum mea ttu presia ryushe omni lof."

The words were pretty similar to Eumelia's Bird Calling, though the melody was different. Of course, all summoners had their own unique song, but they always seemed to share the same basic template. Eumelia thought it must be an artifact of the way the song was crafted, passing it down from mentor to student. The Life Warmth blue magic also shared that property – Nicky's version of it was pretty similar to Aurica's version in the words, yet the melody was completely different.

It wasn't long before Firkin bounded up to join them, and Nicky drew the song to a close. He was a huge dog, belonging to a species commonly known as 'mad dog', his body covered in mostly tan fur but with a dark grey bushy mane about his neck, as well as similar splashes of grey at the tips of his ears and his bushy tail and around his lower jaw.

"Whoa there!" Nicky said as the dog enthusiastically licked her. "It's barely been a day since you saw me, you don't have to greet me that enthusiastically!"

Eumelia giggled. "It's at least clear that he really likes you, Nicky," she said. "Anyway, shall we move on?"

Nicky nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

The party, now consisting of four humans, a wyrm, and a dog, ascended the remainder of the way to the peak of the island, where there was a narrow rock bridge connecting the two halves. Eumelia and Caliopia ran across it without fear, soon arriving at the entrance to the ruins. Janessa crossed a little more cautiously, and Nicky brought up the rear with Firkin. They ventured into the ruins, looking around cautiously, but there didn't seem to be any spirits waiting to jump out at them. Soon they reached a dead end where the corridor had been blocked by rubble.

"Looks like we need some green magic here, who wants to go?" Eumelia said.

"Allow me," Janessa said.

She stepped forward and sang.

"Was paks wa chs colga hymmnos."

A rain of ice chunks battered the rubble as she sang, breaking it down into small enough pieces that they could easily clear it away. Beyond the rubble was a flight of stone stairs leading up to the next level, which they cautiously ascended.

"That rubble wasn't there the last time I came here," Nicky said. "It seems the place isn't entirely stable…"

A little further in, they reached a door on the left-hand side flanked by two elaborate golden candelabras. Though covered in dust, each of the five arms actually held a candle. Of course, none of the candles were lit though – spirits weren't known for their love of light.

"Well, it's… less spooky than I anticipated," Caliopia admitted. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all…"

"But the place really is completely wrecked," Eumelia said. "It's definitely not fit for human habitation."

"It would be far too gloomy of a place to live," Caliopia said, giggling a bit. "I'd much rather live out in the woods than in a gloomy place like this, wouldn't you, Eumy? Nessa?"

"Well, you could spruce things up a bit if you really had to, but it's not like it's any safer in here than out there, either," Eumelia said.

"If anything, it's probably safer out in the forests," Janessa said. "At least you can climb a tree if a beast chases you… or if it's a wyrm or a falcon hawk or something, you can easily dodge amongst the trees, because they're not good at turning suddenly."

The door opened into what looked like a small courtyard, to judge from the dense vegetation encroaching from the west and south sides. There was an ancient metal trunk resting in one corner, the lock completely rusted, and another door opened to the north.

"Ohh, is that a treasure chest!?" Caliopia gasped. "I've heard you can often find treasure chests in old ruins…"

"Looks more like a piece of junk to me, don't you think, Eumy?" Janessa said.

"Don't ask me," Eumelia retorted. "Well, it can't hurt to take a closer look… it's not like mimics exist in this world."

"What are you talking about…?" Caliopia asked.

"Never mind," Eumelia said.

"Eumy, sometimes you say things that just make no sense whatsoever," Janessa said with a sigh.

Eumelia knelt by the chest for a moment, examining it. It rested at an odd angle, and one corner at the bottom had been shoved in from an impact. Eumelia rather thought it looked like someone had dropped it while fleeing, and it had just lain there ever since.

"Well, what are you waiting for!?" Caliopia exclaimed. "Hurry up and open it! Nessa and I are waiting here!"

"Though Cali's the only one expecting anything," Janessa said.

"Right," Eumelia said.

She tried lifting the lid, but it wouldn't move, so she stood up and stepped back, then spun around and kicked it right on the lock. There was a grating snap as the rusted lock broke open, and then she knelt down again and forced the lid open. The hinges were badly rusted too, so it screeched in protest as she put all her strength into pushing it up.

Janessa stood back, uninterested, but Caliopia stepped forward to peer inside. However, it didn't look like there was actually anything useful in it. The only thing it contained was a pile of old, brittle paper.

"Aww," she said, pouting. "It's just a bunch of documents…"

"I'd be a bit interested in looking at these in more detail though," Eumelia said. "You never know what kinds of interesting things you could learn from old documents…"

She carefully leafed through them a bit, doing her best not to break them. At a glance, they looked like mostly financial documents – ledgers, receipts, invoices, and the like. But about halfway down she found the key thing she'd been looking for – a grathmeld recipe card.

"Oh, look what else I found?" Eumelia said.

"Ah, that's a grathmeld card, right?" Caliopia said excitedly. "Could it be something rare…?"

"Looks like a power sourcer," Eumelia said.

"I don't even know if that's rare…?" Caliopia said, looking a Nicky.

"Hmm?" Nicky said. "I'm not sure either, but… I'm pretty sure we already have it, so it can't be that rare."

"Do you want it, Cali?" Eumelia asked. "Or Nessa?"

"Nah, neither Mom nor I can grathmeld, so it'd just be a waste," Caliopia said. "You can keep it, Eumy."

"Yeah, I can't grathmeld either," Janessa said. "You keep it."

"Alright, thanks," Eumelia said.

She tucked the card away and straightened up, then did her best to force the chest shut again.

"Think we could lug this back later?" Eumelia asked. "I'm sure there's someone who'd pay a pretty penny even for stuff like this."

Nicky nodded. "Yeah, you're definitely right," she said. "I'll ask Muriel to bring it over with a few aircraft guardians when we get back."

"Then let's move onward!" Caliopia exclaimed.

Eumelia giggled. "For someone who originally didn't want to come, you're looking awfully excited, Cali," she said.

"What can I say?" Caliopia retorted. "There's not much more exciting than potential treasure! Besides, I bet you knew I'd change my tune from the start, Eumy."

"Well… I wasn't quite sure, but yeah, I had a feeling," Eumelia said. "Let's move on!"

"You two are so close," Janessa said. "It's always fun just to watch you…"

They headed through the north doorway, which opened out onto another narrow bridge, similar to the one that joined the left and right halves of Falcon's Claw. The only difference was that the terrain here was clearly man-made – this bridge was constructed out of carved stone blocks held together by mortar, rather than natural rock and earth.

Caliopia ran out into the middle of the bridge, next to a single pillar that appeared to link it to another chunk of land above them, and peered out at the Sea of Death below. Eumelia and Janessa followed her at a slower pace.

"It really is a little unnerving, seeing all that empty space below," Caliopia said. "But even so, I've always thought it to be pretty…"

"You're not wrong," Eumelia said, stepping up next to her and peering off in the opposite direction. "And I think I can just barely see the tower on this side…"

Caliopia turned and stepped up beside her, following her gaze.

"You know, Eumy, I think you're right!" she said. "It's kind of hard to tell, but…"

"Hey, you two, why don't you do your summoning right here?" Nicky suggested. "It's a nice open space, and both your summons can fly, so isn't it perfect?"

"Oh, yes!" Caliopia said. "I'll just summon a few element guarders… but should I focus on any element in particular?"

"Given that we could be facing wyverns, I'd say thunder guarders would be the most useful," Janessa said.

"Maybe flame guarders too," Eumelia suggested.

"Are you confusing wyverns with drakes?" Janessa asked. "The ones that breathe fire are drakes."

"But there could be drakes out here too, right?" Eumelia said. "So I thought it would be good to have defence against fire as well."

"Ah, well, I can't deny that," Janessa admitted.

"Then I'll try to find flame and thunder guarders," Caliopia said.

With that, she began to sing her summoning song.

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here. Fou paks gagis wearequewie has, wi harr ganna, wi flipel has pat. Was yea ra ryushe presia neyxin infelious ubititoe amariare thazaar ess dorre. Was apea erra pat spiritum mea ttu presia ryushe omni lof."

She hadn't been singing long before several spherical drones floated down from the land above. Each one bore a single eye on the centre of one side, and they sort of danced around Caliopia as she sang. Once the song drew to a close, they settled down in a circle around her, and then it was Eumelia's turn.

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here. Fou paks gagis wearequewie has, wi harr ffas, wi fwal has pat. Was yea ra famfa presia neyxin infelious ubititoe amariare fau ess ciellenne. Was apea erra pat spiritum mea ttu presia ryushe omni lof."

Before long, Falc appeared, swooping up from below, and a bit later a falcon hawk showed up as well. She'd hoped for a second grand vulture instead, but she didn't think it would actually be an issue. Besides, the smaller falcon hawk might actually have an easier time if they had to navigate narrow corridors.

"Alright, let's move on," Nicky said.

"Yes, let's go!" Eumelia agreed.

She hurried ahead, making for the other side of the bridge. Caliopia followed close behind her, the guarders following her one by one like a tail. Nicky and Janessa brought up the rear with Firkin and Tommy, the young wyrm. They passed between two massive statues that Eumelia suspected were intended to depict the Trio of Elemia.

"Say, Eumy, Nessa, who do you suppose these statues are supposed to be, anyway?" Caliopia asked.

"At a guess, I'd say maybe Frelia and Eoria," Eumelia said. "But that really is just a guess…"

"Hmm… but why not Tyria?" Caliopia asked.

"Well, it just seems like Tyria's more popular than the other two for some reason," Eumelia explained. "So I thought if one's left out, it would probably be her, and her statue would be in a more, well… prominent place?"

"Oh, that actually makes a lot of sense!" Caliopia gasps. "You're really smart, Eumy!"

They stepped into the dark interior of the temple, Falc and the falcon hawk stooping to fit inside. It wasn't as tight of a fit as Eumelia had expected though – the corridors actually had a pretty high ceiling. Glancing up, she thought it might even be possible for a roc to fit inside, though it might have trouble getting through the doors.

But just as she was thinking that, the party was finally ambushed by the rumoured spirits. Clad in silver armour and wielding spears, the spirits of the priest knights who must have once inhabited this place surrounded them before they could even blink, sliding out from the walls like it was nothing. And to make matters worse, a juvenile wyvern swooped up from below, cutting off their retreat.

"Oh goddess, they really came out!?" Caliopia gasped.

"I'll take care of the wyvern," Nicky said. "You guys do your best against those spirits! If you're having trouble, I'll help you once the wyvern's dealt with."

"Alright, so we just have to sing," Janessa said. "Tommy, get them!"

"Falc, hold them back!" Eumelia said.

With that, Falc, Tommy, and the falcon hawk charged at the spirits, drawing their attention away to the girls who then began to sing.

"Fou paks ga heighte jenge."

As they sang, Caliopia's summoned drones extended their shielding magic to all six of them, including both the girls and the winged fighters. The spirits kept healing each other, which made it impossible for Tommy and Falc to do any lasting damage. However, they were successful in their primary task of keeping the focus off the singers.

Unlike when Eumelia sang with Misha, trying to match her closely enough that the two songs merged into one, here they each sang separately – their own variation on the basic red magic, with different melodies and even different lyrics. As a result, each of them built up a separate ball of symphonic power as they sang.

Once they'd built up a good amount of power, all three of them unleashed their magic at once, each on a different target. The explosions were sufficient to completely disrupt whatever allowed the spirits to maintain a semblance of substance, and once the dust cleared, there was nothing left of them.

Caliopia was the first to dart forward to examine the remains – a handful of grathnode crystals and a thin, dark metallic choker bearing a red gemstone on one side.

"Look, look, isn't this one of those lover's charms?" Caliopia said. "The ones that are rumoured to be cursed?"

"I think you're right, Cali," Janessa said. "You gonna put it on to see if it's really cursed?"

"W-what do you take me for, Nessa!?" Caliopia gasped. "I'm not that stupid! I'll at least make sure it gets appraised first!"

Nicky stepped up at that moment.

"You already defeated them, huh?" she said. "I dealt with the wyvern too. Shall we move on?"

"Oh, yeah," Caliopia said. "So where do we go from here…?"

"Over there," Eumelia said, pointing.

At the end of the corridor, there was a stairway on the left-hand side. The party headed up the stairs, entering a vaulted room that looked like the temple sanctuary. A huge statue dominated the far side of the room, a few stairs rising up to the plinth it rested upon.

"So huge!?" Caliopia gasped. "So is that Tyria, then?"

"I think it's intended to be, yes," Eumelia said.

"Mom says Tyria used to really exist," Caliopia said. "Do you think it's true, Eumy?"

"Well, I guess it depends on what exactly you mean by that," Eumelia said. "But… I do believe that a person named Tyria certainly exists. I doubt she looks anything like that statue though."

"But it looks like a dead end," Caliopia said. "This is a little disappointing…"

"So are we done already?" Janessa asked. "Just one battle with spirits and that's it?"

"No, there's something I want to try," Eumelia said.

She climbed the steps to the base of the statue and took out the boltapolta she'd obtained from Spica, touching it to the crystal at the base and pressing a button to activate the discharge of symphonic power, taking care to control it so that it didn't backfire upon her. After a few seconds, the crystal began to glow, and then a warp gate suddenly activated on the floor at the base of the steps.

"W-whoa!?" Caliopia gasped. "Eumy, how did you do that!?"

"It looks like that crystal was a switch," Nicky said. "Eumelia applied a strong discharge of symphonic power to it, which caused it to activate the warp gate."

"But Eumy… how did you know…?" Janessa asked.

"I heard a rumour," Eumelia said with a shrug.

"Then… that means, we can go further inside, right?" Caliopia said.

"Of course," Eumelia said.

"I wonder where it leads," Janessa said. "Guess all we can do is step in and find out."

"Cali, Nessa, what are we waiting for?" Eumelia said. "Let's go!"

She activated the warp gate and found herself in a large, vaulted corridor. It seemed her worries about Falc were unfounded – the bird would fit here easily.

Caliopia appeared behind her, looking around with interest.

"Huh, so you were right!" she said. "There really was a secret door!"

After Caliopia, the various summons passed through – Falc, the falcon hawk, Caliopia's guarders, Tommy, and Firkin. Then Janessa appeared, and finally Nicky.

"It doesn't look all that impressive to me," Janessa noted. "Although, I guess the size is impressive…"

There was a door at the far end of the corridor, so they stepped up to it. Caliopia pressed the button on it without hesitation, causing it to slide smoothly open. The corridor on the other side was even larger, supported by huge stone columns. There was a panel here with the symbol of a red flame, and a stone block with an inscription. Janessa stepped forward to read it.

"It says the path splits," she said. "Red is fire, blue is ice, green is wind, and yellow is lightning. Not very helpful if you ask me…"

"Well, let's start by mapping the place out," Nicky suggested. "If there are any guardians or monsters here, we can deal with them while we explore."

It wasn't long before another group of spirits popped out to attack. There were four of them this time, and they looked a little different from the spirits earlier, with different armour and weapons.

"Wee ki ra murfan near en crushue. Wee ki ra selena sarla sos yor."

Nicky began singing Life Warmth, and the summoned beasts pounced upon the spirits – Firkin and Tommy ganged up on the one with purple armour and no weapon, while Falc and the falcon hawk each targeted one of the ones with yellow armour and spears. The fourth one, with purple armour and a strange staff, remained out of reach.

"That one in the back is probably gonna try to target one of us!" Eumelia said. "So keep an eye on him!"

"Got it!" Janessa said.

The girls began to sing their red magic, building up power as they monitored the status of their summons. Thanks to Nicky's ongoing healing, the summons were to able to avoid any significant injury. However, they weren't really able to inflict any damage either, and what little they did do was almost immediately healed by the other side.

It was less than a minute before the spirit at the back raised its staff and began to chant in the Hymmnos language – not a song, more of a spell.

"Rrha wol wa stel spiritum oz jenge mea."

As the chant came to an end, the spirit aimed its staff towards Janessa, emitting a blast of some sort of light. Pausing in her song, Janessa barely avoided the blast by cartwheeling to the side. Once she was back on her feet, she resumed the song, picking it up where she'd left off and continuing to build up the power.

After a minute or two, the three of them unleashed the symphonic power they'd built up. Unlike the earlier spirits however, it didn't completely destroy them. The ones with spears seemed to flicker a bit, as if starting to lose their substance, but before they could disintegrate, the staff-wielding one at the back healed them both.

"So close!" Caliopia said.

"This could go on for quite awhile like this," Janessa said. "If they couldn't heal themselves, we'd probably take out at least the spear guys in a second blast, but…"

Nicky stopped singing and sighed.

"Seems like you're having a bit of trouble," she said. "So let me switch songs – if it's that close of a battle, this should be enough to get them."

"What song did you have in mind?" Eumelia wondered.

But she didn't need to ask, for Nicky began to sing even as she was speaking.

"Fou paks ga flip jenge qym elna herra sapon willie rol valine."

"Ooh, good choice!" Eumelia said, recognizing it. "Let's try again with this song!"

"Alright!" Caliopia said. "We'll fire off another blast!"

The three of them began to sing again, monitoring the status of their summons as before. Without Nicky healing, the summons were getting hurt quite a bit more than before, but it looked like it was still at a level that they could handle. Once they were confident that the magic had been built up enough, the three of them let loose their magic.

This time the effect was much more dramatic, destroying both of the yellow-armoured spirits with spears and gravely injuring the other two. One of the spears clattered to the ground, intact, but the other had apparently been obliterated. Unfortunately, the one in the back still managed to heal the survivors though.

"We did a lot of damage!" Caliopia said. "Let's sing again! I bet another shot will do it!"

They began to sing again. With only one spirit forming the front line, it wasn't enough to hold back the four summons, and Tommy was able to get past to attack the spirit in the back directly. Even then, having to handle three opponents instead of two clearly taxed the front spirit quite a bit. The girls also allowed the magic to build up for a bit longer this time, before finally letting it loose. It completely destroyed the front-line spirit, leaving only the staff-wielding one in the back.

"Surround him!" Eumelia said. "We're almost there!"

"Wee paks ga nha sheak ar ciel viel fayra en quesa oz sephaje."

Behind them, Nicky stopped her song and launched into another one. Eumelia, Caliopia, and the summons darted forward to cut off any chance of the spirit escaping, and Janessa began to sing Life Warmth while also supporting them with her crossbow.

"Wee ki ra murfan near en crushue. Wee ki ra selena sarla sos yor."

They continued attacking for a minute or so while Nicky built up her magic, and then everyone backed off as she unleashed it. Rather than just formless symphonic power, hers was a ball of plasma, a fusion of flame and lightning. The spirit didn't stand a chance – it took the attack full-on, and when the dust cleared, nothing remained of it other than a few grathnode crystals.

"Damn, those were strong spirits," Nicky said. "It's a good thing I came along."

"Reverse Youth is pretty powerful, isn't it?" Eumelia said smugly.

"I don't know why you're smug about it, Eumy," Caliopia retorted. "It's not like it's your song."

Janessa chuckled. "But Cali, I can kind of understand why," she said.

They gathered up the dropped items – some grathnode crystals and the spear – and continued exploring. After a few minutes, they encountered another group of spirits, which they defeated using similar tactics as the first group. This time there were no spear-wielders – they faced three of the spirits that fought with fists and magic, as well as one of the staff-wielding ones. It was a bit harder than the previous battle, but they managed to win again thanks to Nicky's Reverse Youth debuff magic, which lowered the enemy's strength, agility, and resilience. This time, they got a small brass teapot, the healing spirit's staff, and a helmet for their trouble, plus a few more grathnode crystals.

They continued exploring for about half an hour, but didn't face any more spirits, though they briefly faced off against a lone wyvern that had somehow gotten inside. By that time, they had the entire complex mapped out, at least the readily-accessible bits. They also found a few old grathmeld recipe cards just laying around on the ground – they must have been dropped while people were leaving. With all the easy parts dealt with, the party returned to the entrance to discuss their next move.

"So, I guess we need to hit those special panels with magic," Janessa said. "Then… maybe the barriers will be disabled?"

"So if it's Fire Shot, that means it's my turn!" Caliopia said.

Without waiting for so much as a by-your-leave, she marched up to the flame panel in the entrance hall and sang at it.

"Was paks wa chs fayra hymmnos."

"Wait, it could be a trap!" Janessa exclaimed.

But it was too late to stop her. Caliopia's song produced a stream of small fireballs that slammed into the panel, and after a moment, the flame symbol on it lit up and the barrier blocking the door a little further along shut down. Caliopia stopped singing and headed through the door, the others following with a bit more caution. The room looked a bit like a sanctuary, with candelabrums set on either side of an altar. There was nothing of interest there though – apart from a couple more discarded grathmeld cards.

"At least there wasn't a trap," Nicky said. "You need to be more careful next time, Caliopia."

"Alright, fiiine," Caliopia said, pouting a little.

They exited the room and followed the corridor straight across from it, making their way around to the next panel.

"If it's ice, then I'm up," Janessa said. "Everyone ready?"

"Go ahead, Nessa," Eumelia said.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Caliopia said impatiently.

"Was paks wa chs colga hymmnos," Janessa sang

Her ice slammed into the panel for several seconds, and then the symbol lit up.

"That should open the barrier just around the corner, right?" Caliopia said. "Let's go!"

They followed her back around the corner to where the barrier had been. It was now disabled, granting access to the door behind it. They ventured cautiously through the door and found themselves in another corridor. Eumelia spotted a discarded grathnode crystal on the floor, and then the corridor wound into what looked like a library of sorts, with a row of bookshelves along both walls. Each shelf also had a candelabra right in front of it, presumably intended to provide light for reading, though of course none of them were currently lit. There were also steps here – each bookshelf was placed a little higher than the last as the steps climbed up towards the back of the chamber.

"So many books!?" Janessa gasped. "I wonder how much these would be worth…"

"It's really hard to say," Nicky said. "As long as they've been properly preserved, you could definitely get some money for them, but it's hard to say how much."

"It does look like they're pretty well-preserved though," Eumelia said. "I mean, without actually looking closely – it's at least cool and dry in here. But I can't rule out the possibility that bookworms ruined them all…"

"Well, even if there were bookworms, with so many books here, they couldn't possibly get into all of them," Nicky said. "Besides, bookworms usually go after the bindings more than the pages themselves, so they might be salvageable even then. Though you definitely wouldn't get as good a price for them in that case."

"I guess so," Eumelia said.

The second bookshelf on the right had a small stool standing in front of it, clearly meant as an aid for accessing the higher shelves. While the others ventured further in, Eumelia climbed up on the stool and examined the bookshelf there. It only took her a few seconds to spot a grathnode crystal laying on one of the shelves, in front of the row of books. She would have never seen it had she not stood on the stool.

Taking the crystal, she quietly tucked it away in her bag. Though it was a very rare crystal that could be used for enhancing, the effects were actually quite lacklustre in her opinion… or rather, she wasn't the type of person who would be interested in the types of trade-offs the crystal provided. But, being a rank S crystal, it would be perfect if she needed to obtain Lyra's search services later on.

"I found another grathnode!" Janessa called.

"And here's an old, battered resonance shield box!" Caliopia said. "Seems like the people abandoned this place in a hurry… there's just random things lying out on the floor."

Eumelia walked up to join Caliopia.

"Does the shield box still work, Cali?" she asked.

"Ah, um, let me see," Caliopia said.

She fiddled with the blocky device in her hand, but couldn't figure out how to activate the shield. Nicky and Janessa joined them.

"May I see it?" Nicky asked.

"Ah, sure," Caliopia said.

She passed it to Nicky, who flipped it over and located a switch. With a soft hum, the device powered up, projecting a weak barrier around her.

"I'd say it needs to be charged, but it's still functional," Nicky said.

She switched it off.

"So, there's another barrier at the top of the stairs," Janessa said. "Maybe one of the other panels will open that one?"

"Then let's go further in!" Caliopia said.

They made their way back to the first intersection and took a left. It wasn't long before they reached another intersection. Remembering that the left turn led to a dead end with an activation panel, they headed down that way.

"Oh, this one doesn't have a barrier!" Caliopia exclaimed. "I bet it opens that barrier in the library! Let's try it! Was paks wa chs fhyu hymmnos."

While she jumped forward and sang at it, Janessa spotted another grathmeld card that they'd missed the first time they came by here. By that time, the panel had lit up from the blast of wind striking it.

"Let's go back to the library!" Caliopia exclaimed.

They did as she said, making their way back and climbing the stairs to the top of the library. Sure enough, the barrier there was now deactivated, and they were able to pass through the door behind it. It was dark inside, but they could make out more bookshelves within. There was also a candelabrum there to provide light.

"I suppose this is probably like, the restricted area of the library," Janessa mused. "The books here are probably more valuable than the ones outside…"

"Nicky, would you mind lighting the candles for me?" Eumelia asked.

"Sure, but why?" Nicky asked.

"I just want to get a better look at the room," Eumelia said.

So Nicky took out some matches and lit the candles, casting light onto the entire room. It revealed a bag in the corner, which Caliopia immediately peered inside.

"Aww, it's just spare paper," she grumbled. "And here I thought it would be some kind of treasure…"

Eumelia giggled. "Well, you can't say it doesn't suit the location though," she said. "Maybe they also used to bind books in this room? Though there's no sign of that now, other than that leftover paper…"

"If it's not too brittle, we might as well grab the paper too," Nicky said.

She went over to check, while Eumelia took a good look around at the room. One of the bookshelves was jutting out from the wall, and was also strangely short, with only three shelves of books. There was also a stool in front of it, so Eumelia climbed up onto the stool, then clambered on top of the shelf itself. It creaked a little, but showed no signs of giving way beneath her weight.

"Eumelia, what are you doing!?" Nicky gasped.

"Ah, I thought I saw something sparkle up here," Eumelia said.

There was a second full-height bookshelf behind the oddly short one, which she examined closely. Sure enough, after a few seconds her eyes fell on another grathnode crystal just laying on one of the shelves. She grabbed it and showed it off.

"I thought so!" she said. "It's a grathnode!"

"Whoa Eumy, that's amazing!" Caliopia gasped. "I can't believe you managed to see it all the way up there…"

"Guess I was just lucky," Eumelia said with a shrug.

She pocketed the crystal and hopped back down.

"Should we move on to the last one now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Janessa said.

"Just let me put out the candles first," Nicky said.

Once the candles were all snuffed out, they headed back to the first intersection again, taking the left fork and then continuing on past the second intersection. Soon they came to the other flight of stairs, which was pretty much the same as the stairs in the library, only without any bookshelves. At the top of the stairs, they reached another intersection. Here, the right fork ended almost immediately in a dead end, with a barrier. So they headed left until they reached the lightning panel on the wall.

"I guess I get the last one," Nicky said. "Here goes… Was paks wa chs quesa hymmnos."

The stream of lightning flowing from Nicky into the wall rapidly caused the panel to light up, and then everyone headed back to the barrier. However, it turned out that this one didn't protect a door like the others – the only thing behind it was a very elaborate chest.

"Ooh, finally, a treasure chest!" Caliopia exclaimed. "Can I open it? Can I?"

"Be careful," Nicky said. "But yes, go ahead."

Caliopia knelt beside the chest and put pressure upon the lid. It seemed like it wasn't even locked, probably since the barrier served as a lock, but the hinges were a little rusty, so it screeched in protest as she forced it open.

But Caliopia's face fell as soon as she saw the contents. It was just a pile of old clothes. Perhaps at one time these clothes had been worth a lot, but now they were little better than rags.

"It's just ratty old clothes!" Caliopia huffed. "Who decided to put clothes in a treasure chest!?"

It wasn't quite what Eumelia had been expecting, either. From what she recalled in her visions, there was supposed to be a rare high-rank grathnode crystal in that chest.

"There could be more than just the clothes," she said. "Maybe there's something more valuable underneath them."

"Oh, I guess," Caliopia said.

She pulled all the clothes out a few at a time and piled them beside the chest, many of them falling apart as she grabbed them. As she reached the bottom, there was a clunk as something hard struck the wood. It was a deep blue grathnode crystal.

"Oh, there is something," Caliopia said. "Is this an installable crystal…?"

"Looks like it," Nicky said. "It could be quite rare as well, so let's take it back and have Vivian appraise it."

"Alright!" Caliopia said. "Then the only thing left is, the stuck door at the very end, right?"

She stowed the crystal in her pocket and got to her feet, leaving the pile of old clothes where they were. The party headed on past the lightning panel, where the corridor turned to the right and finally ended at a door. There was a stone block bearing an inscription near the door, which Janessa stepped up to read.

"One who desires the crystal, let your own powers be known to the door," she read. "What's this about a crystal…? Is it some super grathnode crystal or something?"

"Well, letting your powers known probably just means using a green magic," Eumelia said. "So who'll do it?"

"Me, me, pick me!" Caliopia exclaimed.

Janessa and Eumelia looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure, go ahead, Cali," Eumelia said.

"If you're that excited about it, I might as well let you do it, Cali," Janessa said.

So Caliopia stepped up to the door and sang.

"Was paks wa chs fhyu hymmnos."

After several seconds, the unrecognized symbol on the door lit up, and the door slid aside. They all piled through into the next room, but it turned out it wasn't really a room at all, as it was open to the air on three sides. It was more like a balcony, ultimately. Although, it was possible that it used to be a proper room, and the walls had just fallen off when the continent crumbled. There was an elaborate-looking dais at the far end, but no statue or anything prominent resting upon it.

"W-whoa, what is this place!?" Caliopia gasped. "It looks kinda cool, a bit…"

"Watch out!" Janessa said. "I can hear dragon monsters… probably wyverns, since we fought one earlier."

"Let's get ready to fight," Nicky said. "I'll sing Life Warmth. Front line'll be the summons, excluding the drones. Eumelia and Janessa, support them from behind as you can. This should be easier than the spirits, I'd think. At least you can use your physical attacks here."

"Hey, what about me!?" Caliopia protested.

"Well, you're basically on support too," Nicky said. "But since you're a melee fighter, you can hop in on the front line if needed as well. Oh, I guess that goes for Eumelia too. And of course, Caliopia, you need to have your drones extend their shielding to us."

"Of course!" Caliopia said.

At that moment, the dragon monsters they'd been hearing finally showed themselves, swooping up from somewhere beneath the flooring. There were five in total – one red with a yellow underbelly, one light blue with a dark blue underbelly, and three green with a yellow underbelly. Eumelia recognized the blue one as a wyvern, since they'd fought one earlier. She also knew that the red one was a unique species.

"Huh? It's mostly just wyrms," Janessa said. "This might be easier than I thought."

"No, wait!" Caliopia said. "One of them's red! What kind is that?"

"Red…?" Janessa said. "I've never actually seen a red one before, but… I think it must be an advanced type of drake. Which means, it'll probably breathe fire, and possibly poison mist as well. Hopefully it's not a drake lord… those can be quite nasty, or so I've heard."

The summons all charged forward to protect their masters, each targeting one of the opponents. Falc took on the wyvern, while Tommy, Firkin, and the falcon hawk each faced off against one of the wyrms. The red one hung back, letting the others handle the fighing, and opened the battle with a barrage of flame from its mouth. The summons weathered the attack surprisingly well.

As Janessa began to sing her red magic, Eumelia and Caliopia darted forward to assist the summons. Eumelia fought alongside the falcon hawk that she'd summoned, using her whip more as a distraction than a weapon, keeping it focused on her while the falcon hawk pressed the attack. Caliopia joined up with Tommy, harrying the enemy wyrm from the side and preventing it from focusing on the younger wyrm.

Then the red dragon at the back swooped up, hovering above the battle for a few seconds.

"Nessa, Nicky, watch out!" Eumelia called. "I think it might be targeting one of you!"

Sure enough, moments later it rapidly flapped its wings and suddenly dived, lowering its head and charging straight for Nicky. But Firkin was ready for this – he abandoned the wyrm he was facing and leapt straight into the dragon's charge with a snarl. The dragon slammed into him instead of Nicky, and while it was briefly stunned from the impact, Firkin raised his head and howled, then leapt at the dragon, sinking his fangs into its haunch.

But it soon recovered and shook him off, retreating back behind the relative safety of the battle line. But just as it pulled back, Janessa unleashed her song magic, knocking out all three wyrms in one hit and leaving the wyvern severely burned.

"Great, we're almost there!" Caliopia said gleefully. "Only two left, so we can split our forces, right?"

"I'll take care of the wyvern," Eumelia said. "You guys focus on the unknown species. Falc, come!"

Falc and the falcon hawk joined her, surrounding the injured wyvern, and Eumelia cracked its whip as she sang her red magic. She let it fly as soon as she could, slamming a ball of symphonic power into the wyvern's face. Then she followed that up with a crack of her whip, lashing right into its throat. Caught off guard by the successive attacks from the front, the wyvern was in no position to avoid the attacks from its sides. Falc and the falcon hawk thus tore it apart before it had a chance to attack again.

Eumelia turned to see what was happening with the unknown species. Caliopia and Firkin had it flanked from both sides, with Janessa firing her crossbow at it from the front while singing her red magic. Tommy was in the process of sneaking around behind it. Once he was in position, Janessa unleashed the symphonic power upon the unfortunate creature. Then Caliopia darted in to stab it in the throat, and Firkin and Tommy finished tearing it apart. Nicky, seeing the battle was over, drew her song to a close.

The girls and Nicky gathered back near the door, taking a few seconds to catch their breath.

"Well, that surprised me a bit," Janessa said. "I've never seen a drake quite like that… but we beat it, so I guess that's all that matters."

"Now what kind of treasure were those guys guarding!?" Caliopia wondered gleefully.

"I wouldn't say they were guarding it, exactly," Eumelia said. "They just happened to choose this place as their nest…"

"Whatever, let's just hurry up and check it out!" Caliopia said.

So they hurried across to the end of the room, or balcony, or whatever it was.

"Hey… what the heck is that…?" Caliopia wondered.

Resting upon the huge dais at the far end was a red crystal enclosed in some sort of blue cage.

"That's no grathnode crystal," Janessa said. "Hey… do you think it could be… a hymn crystal?"

"One of the legendary hymn crystals!?" Caliopia gasped. "No way… what would it be doing so close to home?"

"Don't forget that the Falcon's Claw is composed of remnants from the Right Wing of Horus," Eumelia said. "In other words… this place probably used to be part of El Elemia, a city even larger than Nemo."

"Larger than Nemo!?" Janessa gasped. "I've been there once or twice, and it's pretty huge… it's really hard to imagine an even larger city…"

Eumelia nodded. "I've heard it occupied almost the entire Right Wing," she said.

"Oh, well, I guess that sort of makes sense if you put it that way," Caliopia said. "But do you really think it could be a hymn crystal…?"

"I'm not sure myself," Nicky said. "Let's just take it back and see what Vivian thinks."

"You know, wasn't the Church of Elemia looking for a hymn crystal?" Janessa asked. "They've been sending airships to this area a lot lately… do you think this could be the one they're looking for?"

Nicky shrugged. "The only way to know that would be to ask the church," she said. "I really have no idea. I don't know anything about hymn crystals…"

"Well, the interior was a bit lacklustre, but this toootally makes up for it," Caliopia said. "Even if it's not a hymn crystal, it's really pretty! Alright! Let's go back!"

She grabbed the hymn crystal and turned to face the others.

"Yeah, there doesn't seem to be anything else here, other than a few scattered grathnode crystals that the wyverns and wyrms were hording," Nicky said, nodding. "Let's go back."

So after gathering up the grathnode crystals and a couple of other useful items laying around, they headed back inside and began to make their way back towards the entrance. They'd just gotten past the fire panel when Eumelia suddenly stopped, remembering something else from those visions.

"Hey Eumy, what's keeping you?" Caliopia asked, turning to look back.

"Oh, um… I was just thinking, something seems off about the layout," Eumelia said. "If you consider the place to be roughly square on the lower level… then it's odd that there's no room here."

She stepped up to the column just to the left of the entrance and examined the wall next to it closely.

"Ooh, could it be a secret door?" Caliopia asked excitedly.

"I don't know," Eumelia said. "I just thought I should check… just in case…"

Nicky stepped up to examine the wall with her.

"Actually, on close inspection, this wall doesn't quite match up with the rest," Nicky said. "As if it had been built later than the rest of the structure…"

"Think we could knock it down?" Eumelia asked.

"Well… I think it can't hurt to try," Nicky said. "I'll do it."

She stepped back and sang at it.

"Was paks wa chs quesa hymmnos."

It took longer than activating one of the wall panels, but eventually the wall buckled and cracked under the continuous stream of lightning, finally crumbling away entirely. Nicky bent forward to peer through the gap.

"Looks like there is another room here," she said. "Same basic structure as the room that the fire panel opened."

"Let's take a look!" Caliopia said.

Nicky stepped back to let her pass through, and Eumelia followed her. Janessa brought up the rear, Nicky choosing to wait outside. Like Nicky had said, it was pretty much the same as the room next to it, looking like a small sanctuary with an altar at the far end.

Caliopia almost immediately spotted the three brass instruments resting on the altar, hopping over to examine them. They were badly tarnished, but it wasn't hard to recognize them for what they were.

"Hey, hey, hey!" she exclaimed. "Aren't these replica horns!? They are, right?"

"They're badly tarnished, but I think so," Janessa said.

"Think they'll still work?" Caliopia wondered. "Let's take them with us, just in case!"

"There's another grathnode over here too," Janessa said, picking up a crystal from the corner. "Is that everything of interest in here…?"

Eumelia took a good look around, just in case, but there didn't seem to be anything else. So, they each grabbed a replica horn and headed back out.

"Look what we found!" Caliopia said.

"I could hear every word from out here," Nicky said with a grin. "They do look like replica horns. Give them a bit of polishing and I bet they'll work just fine. Alright, let's head back now, shall we?"

"This was a pretty exciting little adventure," Janessa mused. "Thanks for inviting me, Eumy. I never expected something as incredible as this to be hiding so close to home…"

"It was my pleasure!" Eumelia said.

They headed out, taking the warp gate back to the sanctuary with the huge statue, and continued working their way back to the entrance from there. At the great bridge, Janessa and Eumelia paused to feed their summons some meat as thanks, allowing them to fly off. Caliopia held on to her guardian drones, just in case, and of course there was nowhere for Firkin to go if dismissed, so the dog continued to follow them.

They continued on through the courtyard and down the stairs, and at this point Eumelia paused again.

"You know… I think I can see a door behind this rubble," she said. "Should we check it out?"

"I'm game if you are!" Caliopia exclaimed.

She bounded forward, peering over the rubble until she located a spot that did indeed look like there was a door behind it. Then she broke into song.

"Was paks wa chs fhyu hymmnos."

The blasting wind broke the rubble down into smaller pieces, allowing them to step over and pass through the door. The room beyond appeared to be a bedroom – in the corner was a bed covered in moulding sheets, and there was a desk with a few books scattered across it as well. Eumelia checked the books, but they were in terrible condition – the mould and damp had gotten to them, and it looked like they probably wouldn't be readable. She did find an intact grathmeld recipe card among them, though.

"Huh, so people actually slept here?" Caliopia said.

"Not for a very long time, clearly," Janessa said.

"Too bad there's nothing else here," Caliopia said with a sigh. "Oh well, let's go back now."

But on the way out, she spotted another door blocked off by rubble.

"Was paks wa chs fayra hymmnos."

"W-whoa, warn me before you start spewing flames!?" Janessa gasped, hopping back a step.

They ventured into this second room and found that it had apparently been a storage room – it was filled with crates. However, Caliopia was once more disappointed, for when she peered inside the crates, all she saw were stones.

"Argh, it's a storage room but it's just for basic materials," she groaned. "Red stones, white stones, blue stones, black stones… mostly black, it seems…"

"Let's take a few of them back," Nicky said. "These stones are a valuable grathmelding material, after all."

"Oh, sure," Caliopia said.

So the girls each gathered up ten black stones and five of one other colour, for a total of thirty black stones and a sampling of the other colours. Then they finally stepped out of the ruins into the sunlight. Here Caliopia dismissed her summoned drones, and they made their way back to the other side of Falcon's Claw, crossing the narrow land bridge before descending to the point closest to the island the Sailor Squad lived on. To Eumelia's surprise, she found Elen waiting for them there, with a pair of rocs.

"Welcome back!" Elen said. "Are you inviting your friends over for lunch?"

"Oh, yeah, I was thinking of it," Eumelia said. "Is that okay?"

"Vivian thought you'd be doing that, so she made sure to clean things up a bit," Elen said. "Come on, hop on!"

Nicky tossed Firkin a chunk of dried meat, then climbed onto one of the rocs with Elen while the three girls piled onto the other. Firkin stayed behind, barking and wagging his tail as the birds took off, ferrying them over to the small island that Eumelia called home.

Vivian came out to meet them with a smile as they slid off their ride.

"Welcome back, Eumelia," she said. "Good afternoon, Janessa and Caliopia."

The two girls bobbed their head in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Miss Vivian!" they said, at the same time but not really in unison.

"So… would you like me to have a look at your loot?" Vivian asked.

"Yes, please!" Caliopia said.

First they dumped all the grathnode crystals into a pile for Vivian to appraise them. Including the ones dropped by various dragon monsters and some of the spirits, there were quite a few of them. Eumelia counted them – thirty-two in total. Vivian began to examine them one at a time, sorting them out into piles based on rank and level. While she did that, the girls began sorting all the other items into piles.

There was one pile for items that could be used in battle, though there weren't very many items in it. It included the three replica horns and the resonance shield box, plus a few items that various spirits had dropped – a lover's charm, a paradox eye helmet, and the two weapons.

There was another pile dedicated solely to dragon parts that Nicky had collected – mostly wings and meat, but she had extracted the heart of the unusual drake species as well, for some reason.

Then there was a pile of grathmelding materials and recipe cards. This pile consisted of all the stones from the storage room, plus a couple of vacuum pipes that the wyrms must have been playing with, and the tiny brass teapot from one of the spirits, which was oddly warm to the touch. As for cards, there were seven of them in total, three of which were for weapons that none of them knew how to use – a gun, and two swords. Of course, the power sourcer recipe was there too, but so was the boltapolta recipe, which Eumelia hadn't expected. There was also a recipe for quicklezz, which was a rather dangerous drug, and also one for a ramcluster engine.

"Alright, I'm done," Vivian announced. "It looks like three of these are rank A, and two are rank S, so this really is quite a good haul. Most of the others are rank B, but as you can see, there's several rank C crystals as well."

She indicated the pile of rank C crystals, which contained a total of five purple crystals and one red crystal.

"I don't have the tools to accurately determine the effects," she said. "But the rank A purple crystals both seem to be something related to healing. The red rank A looks like it adds a special effect to the magic, though I can't tell exactly what effect. The blue rank S isn't a type I've seen before, but I suspect it would have an effect on how fast your magic builds up. And the purple rank S is… well, quite frankly, even though it's rank S, I'd call it a dud. It looks like it's actually harmful, though I can't tell exactly what it does."

"Then, can I have it?" Eumelia asked. "I'd just be using it as a trade good, but it could come in handy in the future."

Vivian shrugged. "Please promise not to insert it into an enhancement slot on your equipment," she said.

Eumelia nodded. "I promise."

"Then, if no-one else wants it…?"

Janessa and Caliopia both shook their heads.

"I don't need something dangerous like that!" Caliopia said.

"I'll let Eumelia have it, then," Vivian said.

"So, what about the rank B crystals?" Janessa asked. "What are they like?"

"They're almost all things I've seen before," Vivian said. "Elemental modifiers, attack or defense boost, and healing effects make up the bulk of the rank B and C crystals. The only unusual ones are these rank B ones here."

She indicated another group of six crystals, one purple and five red.

"The purple one is similar to a standard upgrade crystal, but seems to be more potent," Vivian said. "I think it's a level three crystal. The red ones all add special effects, but they're not a type I've seen before, so I'm not quite sure what they do."

"And the ones you do know…?" Janessa asked.

Vivian indicated three of the crystals in the rank C pile.

"These three are spoonful of life," she said. "The two beside them are curing amber, and the red one is tingling."

Then she pointed out the crystals in the pile of known rank B crystals.

"Here we have four icy follower, three rather strong, three dislike lightning, four dislike ice, a regular ice, and two stronger to ice," she said.

"Hmm, could I have one of each of the ice types?" Janessa asked.

"Uhh, Nessa, most of those are installable crystals though, right?" Caliopia said. "Are you gonna install them yourself…?"

"Who else would install them?" Janessa retorted. "Mother's no longer with me, so I'm the only one who can do it. Well… it would be my first time doing it myself, so I'm a little nervous…"

"I… I see, well, um… good luck…?" Caliopia said.

"Do you want any of the crystals for yourself, Caliopia?" Vivian asked.

"Oh, um, maybe the curing amber?" Caliopia said. "And um… I guess, one of the rather strong?"

"Do your daggers have a level three slot, Cali?" Eumelia asked.

"No, they only have level one and two slots," Caliopia said. "I already have hint of emotion and kinda defensive in the level one slots on the primary pair."

"That's too bad, I would've suggested you take this one if you did," Eumelia said, indicating the one that Vivian had compared to an upgrade crystal. "So you don't enhance the extras, huh?"

"No, because they're for throwing, and I'd risk losing a valuable crystal," Caliopia said.

"Okay, I'm going to hang on to the rank A and S crystals for the time being," Vivian said. "They could come in handy someday… but I'll at least try to get them appraised as soon as I can. If it's alright with everyone else, I'll sell the rank B and C crystals that haven't been claimed. I can share the money with you guys, is that okay? I thought we'd just split it four ways, meaning each of you three gets a quarter of the earnings."

"Sounds good," Janessa said.

"Yeah, I won't say no to some money!" Caliopia said.

"Eumelia, are there any other crystals you'd like to keep?" Vivian asked.

"Hmm… there is one, but… I'm not quite sure which one it is," Eumelia said. "How much can you tell about what effects these have?"

She indicated the unknown rank B red crystals.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you much more than I already have," Vivian said.

"Then, can you tell if there are duplicates?" Eumelia said. "That two of them are exactly the same, for example?"

"That I can do," Vivian said, pointing at two pairs. "These two are exactly the same, as are these two here."

Eumelia picked up the one she hadn't indicated.

"Then I think this is probably it," she said. "But we should probably get it properly appraised first, right?"

Vivian nodded. "Then I'll let you choose one of these five once they've been appraised," she said. "Now, let me see what else you found…"

She looked over the piles of items that the girls had sorted, paying special attention to the bright yellow spear that one of the spirits had been using, as well as the staff.

"Replica horns, a lover's charm, a paradox eye, a resonance shield box," Vivian mused. "These are all useful items, though not particularly rare. The spear though, I've never seen one quite like it. I bet it could fetch quite a price… and this staff also looks like it might be a pretty rare item. Then the materials are mostly common things… meat, vaccum pipes, firefly paper, stones… wait, what's this?"

She picked up the brass teapot to examine it.

"It's warm," she mused. "Could be a beak breath… that's a little uncommon, though it still wouldn't fetch that much of a price."

She set it back down and took a look at the recipe cards.

"Well, the weapon recipes aren't useful to us," she said. "Nor is the ramcluster – it looks like an airship part. And the other three I already have."

"In that case, can I keep all the recipe cards?" Eumelia asked. "I know someone else who's collecting them."

"That's fine with me," Vivian said. "Is it fine with you girls?"

"I can't grathmeld, so I have no use for them," Janessa said.

"Same here," Caliopia said. "Mom can't grathmeld either, so… it'd be a waste to give them to us."

"Unless you wanted to learn," Vivian said.

"Even then, it's not like it's easy to learn…?" Janessa said. "Doesn't it take at least a year to master it?"

"I think it usually does," Eumelia said. "But every now and then you get a genius who masters it in a single day…"

"No way!" Caliopia exclaimed. "That's just not possible, right?"

"That's what I thought too," Eumelia said. "But it really happened."

"Alright, lastly… what on earth is this?" Vivian asked, looking at the hymn crystal. "I've never seen anything quite like it…"

"I wondered if it could be a hymn crystal," Janessa said.

"A hymn crystal!?" Vivian gasped. "Hmm… I don't really know anything about them, but… it does seem possible, maybe…"

"Why don't I take it to the Church of Elemia and see what they think?" Eumelia suggested. "Since they're the ones looking all over for a hymn crystal, and I was going to head to Nemo anyway to meet someone."

Though she said that, she had some reservations about actually doing it. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to give this hymn crystal to the church.

"Then let us know what they say!" Janessa said.

"Yeah, I'd like to know too!" Caliopia said.

"Well, I guess it's settled then," Vivian said. "Now, how about we have lunch before Eumelia heads out?"

---

Hymmnos Corner

In this section I'll provide translations of any Hymmnos passages that occur in the main text.

"Wee ki ra murfan near en crushue. Wee ki ra selena sarla sos yor."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_LIFE=W:R:S/.
Singers: Aurica Nestmile, Nicky Estminster, Janessa Reshom
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: A healing song that seems to be common in the Wings of Horus.
Meaning: "I feel the life, and I craft it. I play a Song for your sake."
Credit: Translation taken from the EXA_PICO wiki

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here. Fou paks gagis wearequewie has, wi harr ffas, wi jambea has pat. Was yea ra rana presia neyxin infelious ubititoe amariare bister ess dorre. Was apea erra pat spiritum mea ttu presia ryushe omni lof."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_BEAST=CALLING/.
Singer: Nicky Estminster
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The first verse (and refrain) of Nicky's beast calling magic.
Meaning: "Here I wish for a companion and will accept what comes. I'm excitedly wishing for her to be fast, and free of foot. Please let me run happily across the land with my greatly beloved beast. Release my soul into happiness so I can journey forever as I please."
Credit: Original

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here. Fou paks gagis wearequewie has, wi harr ganna, wi flipel has pat. Was yea ra ryushe presia neyxin infelious ubititoe amariare thazaar ess dorre. Was apea erra pat spiritum mea ttu presia ryushe omni lof."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_MECH=CALLING/.
Singer: Caliopia Halley
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The first verse (and refrain) of Caliopia's mech calling magic.
Meaning: "Here I wish for a companion and will accept what comes. I'm excitedly wishing for her to be strong, and free of engine. Please let me fly happily across the land with my greatly beloved drone. Release my soul into happiness so I can journey forever as I please."
Credit: Original

"Wee touwaka wa jass ferx ess here. Fou paks gagis wearequewie has, wi harr ffas, wi fwal has pat. Was yea ra famfa presia neyxin infelious ubititoe amariare fau ess ciellenne. Was apea erra pat spiritum mea ttu presia ryushe omni lof."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_BIRD=CALLING/.
Singer: Eumelia Nestmile
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The first verse (and refrain) of Eumelia's bird calling magic.
Meaning: "Here I wish for a companion and will accept what comes. I'm excitedly wishing for her to be fast, and free of wing. Please let me fly happily through the skies with my greatly beloved bird. Release my soul into happiness so I can journey forever as I please."
Credit: Original

"Was paks wa chs fayra hymmnos."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_FIRE/.
Speaker: Caliopia Halley
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: A green magic that generates a continuous barrage of fireballs.
Meaning: "I'm very excited to turn song into flames."
Credit: Original

"Was paks wa chs quesa hymmnos."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_THUNDER/.
Singer: Nicky Estminster
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: A green magic that generates a continuous arc of lightning.
Meaning: "I'm very excited to turn song into thunder."
Credit: Original

"Was paks wa chs fhyu hymmnos."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_GALE/.
Singer: Caliopia Halley
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: A green magic that generates a continuous blast of wind.
Meaning: "I'm very excited to turn song into wind."
Credit: Original

"Was paks wa chs colga hymmnos."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_ICE/.
Singer: Janessa Reshom
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: A green magic that generates a continuous barrage of large hailstones.
Meaning: "I'm very excited to turn song into ice."
Credit: Original

"Fou paks ga heighte jenge!"

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME/.
Singers: Eumelia Nestmile, Janessa Reshom, Caliopia Halley
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The basic song magic that simply summons a ball of symphonic energy.
Meaning: "Though I'm nervous, I'll injure the enemy so this can end soon."
Credit: Original

"Rrha wol wa stel spiritum oz jenge mea."

Speaker: An unnamed fanatic priest spirit in the Temple of Elemia
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: A Hymmnos spell to activate the power of the Soul Drain staff. Normally one would probably use "ma" instead of "rrha", but the spirits are acting almost purely on instinct rather than rationality, so they substitute that first word.
Meaning: "Accepting the great fervour within me, I shall steal the soul of my enemy."
Credit: Original

"Fou paks ga flip jenge qym elna herra sapon willie rol valine."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_DRAIN=YEARS/.
Singer: Nicky Estminster
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The powerful debuff song known also as Reverse Youth – one of Sailor Beast's two signature skills in the game.
Meaning: "I shall reverse the enemy's years so that they remember the weakness of childhood."
Credit: Original

"Wee paks ga nha sheak ar ciel viel fayra en quesa oz sephaje."

Hymn Name: EXEC_HYMME_SUN=DROP/.
Singer: Nicky Estminster
Language: Central Standard Hymmnos
Notes: The Plasma Ball song magic, one of several elemental attack magics commonly known by summoners. (In the game, it's one of the skills of the Beast Master.)
Meaning: "Fairly nervous in anticipation of the end, I call down the sun into this world, along with the fire and thunder of creation."
Credit: Original

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This chapter introduces the first time that Eumelia has really broken from the flow of the story. it also serves as something of an introduction to what life on Falcon's Claw is really like, something that I had previously glossed over. Perhaps some readers may also notice that the reyvateils featured here were already mentioned in the previous chapter! This is also our first time seeing one of the Sailor Squad in an actual combat situation. On the other hand, the main story hasn't progressed very much in this chapter… but don't worry, the next several chapters will make up for that in spades.

Along with posting this new chapter, I've made a few minor revisions to previous chapters for consistency:

• I decided to refer to the two wings as Left and Right, rather than East and West.
• The reference to Janessa in the previous chapter was revised to use her nickname, as well as accounting for the fact that she can't yet control drakes and wyverns.
• In chapter 5 I mistakenly noted that Claire is a class A reyvateil. She is in fact class B (or at least, she was working with Tenba).