Edinmire was far behind them. It had been four days since they left, and Richard was very happy that he had people to talk with. He wasn't close friends with Keith or Natani, but they didn't seem to mind talking with him. Sure, they had different views on things, but it was nice to actually learn about them. "I never would have guessed you would have so much going on. From exile to General is quite the leap."

"It's still a shock to most people, myself included." Keith admitted. "I just hope that someday I can finally make my way west. I haven't forgotten, but I need to deliver Laura's remains to her family. She needs to be remembered."

"We'll get there eventually." Natani said, stretching her arms out over her head. "I think she would understand why it's taken so long. We both would rather you actually live to deliver her, rather than having to also send you home in a box."

"Speaking of that, I remember Barret saying something about Ishtaer also burn their dead? Is that true?" Sythe asked. He had been pretty quiet for a while, but seemed to be rather happy to just listen in on conversation.

"It is." Keith answered. "When he lost his family, their bodies were burned on a funerary pyre. I did some reading about that actually, it's rather strange. While Ishtaer can't breathe fire and aren't actually dragons, I've noticed that a lot of their traditions are draconic in origin. They believe that dragon fire doesn't just burn the body, but the very soul of whatever it touches, which has shaped them to use fire in ways I never would have imagined, from burning the dead to several pieces of art that remain from the height of their power. From what I've seen in some books, it even influenced their architecture and literature."

"I didn't know that." Natani frowned. "Barret mentioned that they believe dragon fire runs in their veins, but never went into more detail than that. It makes sense though. They are the closest thing in the world to dragons that isn't a dragon. Though now I'm wondering if we get our funerary rites from them, or if it was the other way around? It was so long ago that there probably aren't any books on the subject."

"I doubt it." Keith pushed aside several large branches as he suddenly veered left, leading the group towards a nearby hill. "First, I doubt there are many books on the subject. Ishtaer were not as advanced with their technology or magic like everyone now is. Making books for them would be the same as everyone else: find a scribe and have them replicate the words over and over. Second, they were built roughly at the same time, just in different areas of the world. Keidrans probably had their own reason for wanting to cremate their dead."

Richard frowned as they walked, quiet. "I never realized that culture was so important to Keidrans. I guess I just never thought about it. I spent so long among humans and my own culture, I didn't want to think about how similar we are."

"Where did you grow up?" Natani asked as she reached for her bag. It was nearly noon, but the forest was dark as the skies were overcast and gray, threatening rain. "I vaguely remember seeing through the link that you grew up close to Maren and Karen, but I don't actually know where that was."

Richard pushed past them all, his face downcast as he pressed into the damp underbrush. "It's… it's complicated."

"Is this one of those secrets that you didn't want to tell me earlier?"

"Yeah. I'd rather not talk about it. It's… complicated." He continued to push through the dense forest floor, leaving the other three behind to ponder what could possibly be such a bother to him. Thankfully for Richard, they did not have long to ponder, as the forest suddenly broke as a nearly barren hilltop rose in front of them. Sure enough, just where they had predicted, there were the remains of an ancient tower here, though remains was a stretch. "That's… a pile of rocks."

"What were you expecting?" Sythe asked as they caught up. "It's an ancient watchtower, not a castle."

"It's less than even I hoped for." Keith said as he wandered over. "Far older than I expected too. By the looks of it, this isn't Keidran architecture. This is very old Ishtaer stonework."

"They had influence all the way out here." Sythe asked, rubbing his hand across the smooth stone. Despite the age, or because of it, each stone was nearly perfectly smooth. The remains of the tower were rather large, but most of it had crumbled into itself, creating a bed of rock within the nearly forty meter wide circle. There were two areas on the edges that seemed to be where stone had fallen down extra hard, where ancient doorways had once stood. "Their territory spread very far from their capital in most directions."

"It used to cover most of what human territory now covers. After the fall of Nemurnal, humans finally unified against what they suddenly perceived to be a common foe, and took over." Keith explained. "This might have been the very edge of where they once claimed."

Suddenly, chuckling reached their ears, and they turned to Richard, who was smiling as he walked over. "You know, if we fix this up, then Edinmire will have architecture from every single race! Humans and Keidrans settled the town, Basitins have reinforced it, and now the Ishtaer protect it!"

Natani smiled, watching him as he climbed over the low walls, but then her eyes turned skyward. "It's going to start raining soon, and for how dark those clouds are, it'll rain pretty hard. We should set up camp."

"Here, help me move some of these rocks." Sythe called. "I can see a hatch in the ground here." A few minutes later, the sky turned dark gray, and low thunder rolled as Keith lowered himself into the newly uncovered basement. It was old and musty, with vines and moss growing on every single surface, and roots growing from the roof. The ladder that once leaned against the wall had been overrun by a creeping vine that formed a new, natural ladder for them to climb down. There were the decaying remains of a table, several shelves, some chunks that could have been chairs once, but a metal sconce hung on the wall, a burnt candle somehow still resting in the rusty holder. As Keith slowly walked in, his foot collided with something heavy. Looking down, he saw an ancient rusted sword, broken in half and barely recognizable as a weapon.

"Looks safe enough, just watch where you step. Found half a sword here." Natani, Sythe, and lastly Richard lowered themselves into the hole, leaving a rope attached to part of the debris above as rain began to fall. "We could hunker down in here while the storm rolls over, even clean up a bit, make it ready for the Basidian engineers." Their bags fell with dull thuds, and they let their aching feet rest.

They sat around the fire a while later as water slowly dripped into the cavern, happy and warm, sharing food, drinks, and stories of their past. Sythe told tales of when he was learning to speak common, telling them his favorite words to try and learn, as well as some of his worst translation errors when he started. But Richard was silent, staring into the fire, his mind and his stare both a thousand worlds away. "You alright?" Sythe asked, putting his hand on Richard's shoulder.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Just… just thinking."

"She'll be alright, you know. Raine."

"I wasn't thinking about her." Keith and Natani looked over as Richard sighed. "I was thinking about my dad. What he would think of me right now if he could see everything I've done."

"I don't know your dad, but if he's anything like you, he'd be proud." Keith said with a smile, but the smile vanished quickly as Richard scoffed.

"He's nothing like me. I don't like to think about him, but ever since Edinmire got attacked, I keep thinking that I'll have to face him again soon. And it won't be as a father and son, but as adversaries on the field of battle. My dad runs the Templar Academy in Durlon. That's where I grew up. Maren and Karen are my cousins, but they grew up in the country, away from everything. I hope that I can see him again, to explain to him why I have to do what I do, but every time I close my eyes, all I can see is his armor, his sword, and his scowl. He would hate me. I've done everything I can to protect people, and he would hate me for it."

Silence fell on them, broken only by the sound of the falling rain. For several long minutes, they sat, processing, reassessing, and formulating words. It was Keith who spoke first. "Trace has done a lot. You knew him before all of this started. You know what he was like. And you know that he is not the same man he was. So if he can leave the past behind, so can you. My father was a terrible man, but I would not be where I am now if not for him. Your father may disown you, he may hate you, he may even try to kill you, but you have us. I bet that when the day comes, when you finally see him again, he will be proud of you. And if not, then forget him, and focus on those who matter. You have us, you have Trace and Flora, you have Maren and Karen, and you have Raine. You've been forced to make terrible choices, but you haven't been broken. You've grown stronger."

Richard let a small smile out. "I guess. But he is my dad. I hope I don't have to meet him in battle. But if I do, then I will be able to hold my own against him. I'll make him listen. Then, he'll know why I've done all I've done." A loud crack of thunder and a flash of lightning lit the cavern, causing everyone to suddenly jump. The sky outside had grown dark, and they suddenly found themselves yawning. "I didn't realize it was so late. We should get some sleep, and start cleaning up in the morning."