Chapter Five: Part Three

Regulus's soldiers from the Bianca Alliance arrived within two days. The warship that had been watching from the southeastern part of Zelant's borders descended upon the smaller island, and as promised 300 soldiers in white armor came to the Old Capital ready to fight. Astraea had prepped the Reformation Army for the arrival of the Alliance soldiers, but there was no denying the tension between both factions. There were thankfully no reports of fights, but the two sides kept to themselves.

"Import a lot of booze here," Viktor suggested. "Alcohol will make them get along."

"Or it could make things worse," Richard said cheerfully.

…I'm starting to see why we need to give a lot to do to the soldiers here at HQ,Astraea thought.

Satoshi'sGaraponstand proved to be extremely popular with both groups of soldiers (which didn't surprise Astraea) and Jeane was popular with everyone because of her beauty and flirtatious demeanor. There was also considerable excitement over Bright, as everyone was pleased to not only see a friendly dragon but also a dragon who was the companion of a Dragon Knight. Though Futch quickly became annoyed when people demanded to pose for pictures with Bright.

"Charge 'em money," Gygax suggested to his mentor. "That'll pay for our fare home once this war is done!"

"Bright isn't some prop for a photoshoot!" Futch snapped.

"Hey, your sword!" A Zelantan soldier exclaimed. "Is it true that the legendary Humphrey Mintz once wielded that sword?"

"Yes, it is," Futch said, relaxing a little.

"Can I hold it?"

"NO!"

Thankfully it only took a couple more days after the arrival of Alliance soldiers for everything to settle down. Once morning after breakfast Astraea decided to go for a walk in the city. Dawa accompanied her as she always did, but Astraea was surprised to see the group that wanted to join her.

"I would like to see this fabulous city," Regulus said with a cheerful smile. Dinah and Nakoa stood behind him with smiles of their own. "What better escort for me than the future Queen herself?"

Dawa looked displeased, and Astraea knew that she had the option to say yes or no. Ultimately though she knew what the right answer. "I would love to," she said with a smile. "And I think it would help morale for our soldiers to see us out in public together."

"That is exactly what I thought, Your Majesty," he said with a cheerful gesture. "Shall we go?"

Astraea was heartened to the more people roaming the streets. People did look surprised to see her walking with Regulus, but she saw no looks of condemnation from either Zelantan soldiers or Alliance soldiers. On the contrary, what little tensions remained seemed to ebb a little.

"I've made arrangements with your man, my Lady," Regulus said suddenly.

Astraea gave him a puzzled look. "'My man'?"

"Sir David Silverberg," Regulus clarified. "Peculiar young man. Rare to see someone so young be so brilliant. But after thinking about it, I felt it would negatively impact morale for you to pay your reparations directly to me. We don't want it made publicly obvious of your compensation to the Alliance soldiers. So Sir David will act as our liaison; you give him the money for the reparations, and he will deliver it to me."

"…That sounds fair," Astraea said after a moment. "Can I ask you something, Lord Regulus?"

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"You said you wanted the 100 million Potch in reparations paid before I go to the King for Royal Combat. Why before?"

Regulus gave her a sideways glance. "Because this isyourdebt, my Lady. As it stands right now you are a recognized Queen amongst your allies but you are not the official monarch of Zelant. Once you become the Queen of the Kingdom my Lady—your compensation becomes thecountry's compensation. There will be a perceived expectation that Zelant itself is responsible for the reparations, not just you. That will create even greater problems between our two countries. The whole point of my being here is to end the conflict between us, and the Alliance is throwing its support behind you for this purpose. That is why you must pay before you take the throne. Settle the debt owe you my people so that there is nothing hanging over your reign."

Astraea nodded stiffly and looked. "I understand. And I will do it, Lord Regulus."

"I'm not looking to put pressure on you," Regulus said. "Nor do I expect you to take food out of the mouths of your soldiers to pay me. You may pay any increments at any period of time. Don't bankrupt your Army for me…but also don't forget to make those payments."

"I won't, Lord Regulus."

"If I may Lord Regulus," Dawa spoke up suddenly. "Her Majesty understands her debt to the Alliance. You do not need to keep reminding her of it, Lord Regulus."

Regulus glanced towards her, and his bodyguards immediately narrowed their eyes at Dawa. "I see you're as charming as always, Lady Thorin. But I forgive you."

"Forgive me? For what?"

"When we last met you accused my country of causing the Massacre of Innocents," Regulus pointed out. "You were wrong, and I'm sure you're sorry that you were wrong. So I forgive you."

Dawa snapped her teeth loudly, and Dinah and Nakoa mutually snarled. "Say!" Astraea shouted, turning to the two women. "How long have you both been in Lord Regulus's service?"

Both Dinah and Nakoa gave her puzzled looks. "It's okay," Regulus reassured them. "You may answer Her Majesty."

Both women relaxed. Nakoa smirked and spoke first. "Ten years," she responded. "I have known his Lordship since we were children."

"Nakoa was the only one of my playmates who didn't hold back in fighting me," Regulus said in a dry tone. "She even dislocated my shoulder once or twice."

"You did?!" Astraea gaped at Nakoa in shock. Nakoa shrugged in response.

"So of course Nakoa was perfect to guard me," Regulus said around a laugh.

"I have served Lord Regulus for five years, Queen Astraea," Dinah said respectfully. "I was a marionette before I was headhunted."

"A 'marionette'?"

"Dinah used to participate in an event in the Bianca Alliance we call 'beauty pageants'," Regulus explained. Dawa's brow rose in surprise. "Five years ago Dinah won the title of "Most Beautiful Woman in the Alliance". The Council of Five attended her "crowning ceremony", but unfortunately an assassin killed one of the Council of Five. Dinah here—she dove straight off the stage and tackled the assassin, single-handedly detaining them." Regulus chuckled softly. "She did more than the guards on duty did, so of course I wanted her for my personal detail."

"It was nothing," Dinah said. "Do you hold beauty pageants here, Your Majesty?"

"Ah…no, we don't," Astraea said. "What is a 'beauty pageant'?"

"A competition," Dinah said. "One not decided by strength but by physical and mental beauty."

Astraea blinked once. Then twice. She had never heard of such a competition before. She knew she could stay silent, express disbelief over such an event, or compliment Dinah. After a moment she decided. "I'm glad you won. You're very pretty, Dinah."

Dinah's smile broadened. "Nakoa is prettier than I, though. Had she ever competed then she would have beaten me."

"Fat chance of me competing," Nakoa muttered.

"Let's keep walking," Regulus said. "Where shall we go?"

Astraea took them on a different route than what she normally did. Instead of heading east (towards the shops) or south (towards the residential streets) she headed north. She had heard that the theater was located there and she wanted to check it out. The five walked together in silence for a bit idly chatting. Regulus seemed fine discussing Nakoa and Dinah, but said almost nothing about himself. Astraea noticed but decided to say nothing.

They found the building that Astraea believed to be the theater. It was a beautiful marble white building with arching cathedral windows in the front and marble columns. Astraea wanted to go inside, but then she noticed activity at a street across the plaza from where the theater was.

As there weren't many houses up this way, the streets were mostly deserted. Astraea saw a large red-bricked building that appeared to be circular in shape with a golden dome on top. The double-doors in front were large and ornate, but a man with shoulder-length blonde hair and an olive complexion was standing in front of the building staring up at it. His back was to them. "Who is that?" she wondered aloud.

"Let's find out," Regulus said.

They approached the stranger, and as Astraea got closer she noticed that the man appeared to be in his early thirties and was wearing a long-sleeved green peshtemal robe top with black shorts and sandals. "Excuse me?" Astraea asked.

The man turned to face her, wearing a wide smile with his dark brown eyes gleaming. "Do you know what this building is, Miss?"

"Your Majesty," Dawa quickly corrected him.

Astraea looked towards the red-bricked building. A few guess flooded her mind but after a moment she shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't, sir."

"This," the man said, pointing to the building. "Is an indooronsen.The largest I've ever seen!"

"Anonsen?" Astraea's brow rose and she looked at him. "Oh…a bathhouse!"

"Oh, we have plenty of these in my country," Regulus said. "They can be very relaxing."

"I've been trying to open my ownonsen—or bathhouse—for a long time," the man said, his tone eager. "I spent ten years working for someone else and I want to do my own thing. I know everything there is to know about running anonsenproperly!"

Astraea felt a bubble of excitement build inside her. She looked at the man again. "What is your name, sir?"

"Lundgren," the man responded. "Do you know who I might be able to speak with to get a permit to open this place?"

Astraea smiled at him. "That would be me, sir."

She quickly explained the current circumstances to Lundgren. For his part the man looked intrigued. After a few moments he nodded eagerly. "If you would allow me, I would love to set up my business here and service your Army. Would you allow to claim this abandonedonsenfor myself?"

Astraea nodded and shook his hand. "Welcome to the Reformation Army, Lundgren."

Lundgren cheered and pumped a fist. "I'll have this place up and running in no time, Your Majesty! Just you wait!" He then raced towards the building, tore the planks off the door, and then raced inside.

"What a strange gentleman," Regulus said thoughtfully. "This was an abandoned city not too long ago. And he wanted to open a bathhouse here anyways?"

"I'm not going to complain," Astraea said, turning to face the group. "I think I'm going to head back to the castle now. There's some stuff I need to drop off for storage."

"I can do that for you, Your Majesty," Dawa offered.

"It's just seeds," Astraea said, pulling out the bags of seeds she had bought. "I keep forgetting to turn them in to Janna. And I have to figure out how to plant pomegranate seeds—"

"Pomegranate seeds?!" Dinah exclaimed, her eyes widening. She held out her hands. "I've never seen pomegranate seeds before! Can I see it?, Your Majesty?"

"Sure." Astraea gave her the bag and she looked at Regulus. "Your residence is near the castle, isn't it?"

"Oh yes, I chose a very large mansion," Regulus said cheerfully. "Someone of my position must have a home with a minimum of five bedrooms."

Astraea choked on a laugh. "All right—"

"Hey!" Dinah exclaimed, disappointment flooding her face as she looked into the seed bag. "These aren't pomegranate seeds!"

"How would you know if you never saw them?" Regulus laughed.

"B-But the bag says they're pomegranate seeds," Astraea said.

"No, look!" Dinah turned the bag over and poured the seeds into her palm. Astraea expected to see red, juicy seeds spill out. But what came out were small, dull yellow seeds. "Do you see? These are potato seeds!"

"P-Potato?!" Astraea grabbed Dinah's wrist and looked at the seeds closely. "These are potato seeds?! You're certain?!"

"Y-Yes, I am Your Majesty."

"Oh, thank you!" Astraea suddenly hugged her tight. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Dinah looked at the others in confusion. Dawa managed a small smile. "We can get a gardener now."

"Yes, this is it," Wenke said, looking at the bags. His brow furrowed in confusion though. "Why would they put potato seeds in a bag labeled "pomegranate seeds"?"

"I'm not sure," Astraea said softly. "But will these seeds be enough for your community garden, Wenke?"

Wenke smiled brightly at her. "Yes they will, Your Majesty. And a promise is a promise. Once I get these seeds planted I will come to the Old Capital and set up a garden there."

"Thank you, Wenke!" Astraea gave him a quick hug. "Thank you so much! Welcome to the Reformation Army!"

"There's a lot of bad things happening to our country," Wenke said soberly. "It needs to stop and I believe you can do it. I will give you my support, Your Majesty."

Astraea squeezed him tighter. "And I'm glad to have the support of a big brother."

Wenke was visibly stunned by her words, and for a moment he looked emotional. But he quickly composed himself and nodded. "I will join you in a short while, Your Majesty. I promise."

Astraea was in a good mood that evening, but after supper she was approached by David, who wore a somber expression. "Your Majesty," he said softly. "Could you come with me, please?"

"What do you need?" Dawa asked him.

David looked between Astraea and Dawa. Then he glanced around the great hall to see if anyone else was around. Satisfied they had some privacy, he moved closer. "I want—no," he cut himself off. "Ineed.I need to show you, Your Majesty."

"Show me what, David?" Astraea asked.

David raised his gloved left hand. "How I got this rune. I need to show you."

Astraea's eyes widened as she realized what he meant. "Y-You want Lord Daunte to show me that memory?!"

David nodded. "I need to do this, Your Majesty. You showed me what happened to you with the Massacre of Innocents. It's only right that I show you how I got this rune. I spoke to Lord Daunte already, and he agreed to project the memory to you."

Astraea glanced at Dawa. "I don't mind if Dawa comes," David said. "But I—for my safety Your Majesty…I only want to showyouthe memory."

Astraea looked at him. Dawa visibly frowned at him. "You're hiding," she pointed out.

"I am," David said. "But Her Majesty will understand when she sees it." He looked at Astraea. "Would you mind coming with me now, Your Majesty? I don't want to delay this any longer."

Astraea swallowed thickly. After a moment she nodded. "Let's go."

They went straight to Daunte's house. Astraea was heartened to see that they had received furniture (though there seemed to be minimal furniture) and they seemed comfortable. Nakula and Arin looked surprised to see them, but Daunte waved them in from where he sat at the dining room table. "You're here to show Queen Astraea, aren't you? Let's get it done now."

"Show them what?" Arin asked. "A memory?"

"An important memory," David said. When Dawa closed the front door he took off his gloves. He showed the symbol of the Shining Rune to Daunte. "This is it, Lord Daunte. The Shining Rune."

"Is that a True Rune?" Nakula asked.

"It's not public knowledge, and I'm trying to minimize how many people know," David explained.

"And you want to show Queen Astraea how you got this Rune?" Daunte asked.

David nodded. "I owe it to my Queen. I can't hide something so monumental from her."

Daunte nodded and gestured to the seats across from him. "Please, both of you sit down."

Astraea and David sat down across from him. Dawa moved to stand behind Astraea, Arin sat beside Daunte, and Nakula stood at the end of the table. Daunte held out his right hand. "You know how this goes. Take my hand please, Sir David."

David took his hand. Daunte extended his left hand to Astraea, who took it without prompt. "It will be like before," Daunte said. "Close your eyes and I will call upon the Rune of Restoration."

Astraea squeezed her eyes shut; holding her breath. After a few moments Daunte spoke. "Rune of Restoration. Please show us Sir David's memory of how he got the Shining Rune."

Astraea felt the familiar surge of power, but it wasn't as profound as it had been before. She wondered if it was because she was the recipient of the memory, and not the focus. After a few moments she opened her eyes—and she saw darkness.

No…not entirely darkness. She saw a dark corridor in front of her alit with torches. The fires that burned from the torches were bright blue. Then she heard footsteps down the corridor and she squinted at the darkness. She blinked in surprise when she saw David walking down the hallway. He was wearing a well-tailored uniform and he had a look of wonder and fear on his face. She quickly had a sensing feeling that wherever this memory happened, David was NOT supposed to be there.

David suddenly paused before a doorway and entered. The room was massive; alit with low blue lights and filled with many glass containers on small square tables. Hundreds if notthousandsof glass containers. What was peculiar about the containers what that they were small; possibly 50 cms long and 38 cms wide. They were made of glass and shaped like capsules, and had a bluish liquid inside of them.

And in every single container…was ababy.

Astraea gasped in shock. David in the memory looked upon the room with an expression of shock and horror. Astraea felt tears stinging her eyes as she looked around the memory. Rows upon rows of glass capsules containing a baby. Babies that were unmoving and looked asleep, with tuffs of brown hair on their heads. David in the memory gulped audibly and approached one of the containers, his breathing low and unsteady. He hugged his arms and his body was shaking. He stopped in front of the capsule and stared down at the baby. He looked at the baby to the left, then to the right. Then he looked at the baby before him once more. Astraea felt violently ill at the visage in front of her.What is this? Where did these babies come from?! Who did this?!

What does this baby have blonde hair?

David's voice hummed in her ears, and Astraea quickly realized that it was a thought that crossed David's mind in the memory. She realized then that the baby in the container in front of Daviddidhave blonde hair. She looked around at the hundreds of other babies around them and she saw that all of the other babies did indeed have darker hair. This one baby was the only blonde. She wondered why David had such a thought, but then she saw the lingering horror on his face. She realized then that he was having a difficult time comprehending and reconciling what he was seeing. That the observation about the blonde-haired baby was the only thing that made sense about the situation.

David touched the sides of the container and examined it closely, as though trying to figure out how to open it and get the baby out. Thoughts that he felt in the moment echoed around them.What is this what is this are they alive are they alive I have to help them I have to save them can I save them?

He stiffened when that final thought crossed his mind. She watched the realization dawn on him that he didn't knowhowto save any of the babies. There was no way of knowing if the babies were alive, and if theywerealive if they could survive outside the container. His breathing grew heavy as panic visibly settled in. There was nothing he could do. Astraea knew it, and it broke her heart to see David in the memory come to that realization.

David covered his mouth and turn and ran. He was panicking; that much was certain. But in his panic he didn't turn down the way he came. Instead of going to his left he went to his right, running further down the corridor. David's panicked breathing filled her ears, followed by the sounds of his thoughts.

I'm in trouble I'm in trouble go go go go GO—

There was a heavy door at the end of the corridor that looked like it was made of steel. David burst through the door and slammed it shut behind himself. He pressed his body against the door, his breathing labored, and he acted as though he was trying to block off an invading force though no one had chased him. It took a few moments for him to compose himself, and he turned around to face the room. His body stiffened, as he obviously realized that he had taken a wrong turn and didn't know where he was.

Thisroom was not as big as the last, but it had a ceiling so high that Astraea's saw nothing but a black void above their heads. The room was round too, and all around them she saw gold bars. Rows upon rows uponrowsof gold bars. Stretching from the ceiling to the floor, disappearing into the darkness above them. She felt completely overwhelmed at the sheer excess wealth before her. She had never seen anything like it. Not even Zelant's own treasury had this level of wealth!

David in the memory also looked amazed by what he was seeing. Astraea then became aware of a…'whirring' sound in the room. Astraea looked towards the back of the room and that was when she saw the open coffin.

Or at least it looked like a coffin. A coffin made of some sort of black metal. Behind the coffee were three white boxes resting on shelves. They were the most peculiar boxes Astraea had ever seen. The boxes appeared to also be made of metal, but the front of each of the boxes had a glass window that illuminated light. The box at the far right had a series of green vertical numbers that kept changing. The box in the center displayed nothing but a green line that rose and fell steadily in a repeated pattern across the glass. And the box at the far left looked blank.

What are those?Astraea wondered.How are those boxes displaying those images? Are they powered by a rune?

David moved closer, standing at the coffin's left. Astraea looked instead the coffin and horror filled her body. "Luc!" she cried out.

She didn't know how it was possible.Lucwas inside the metal coffin! Or at least the person inside the coffin looked like Luc. It looked like he was a wearing a white robe, but she only saw his body from the waist up. His facial features seemed similar to Luc's and the person had similar brown hair to Luc. But his complexion was white and translucent; his cheeks looked hollow and sunken in. There were black splotches around both eyes, which were half-lidded and seemed unseeing. The body looked undisturbed except for dozens of—tubes that seemed to be sticking out of it. Clear tubes were sticking out of his chest through the robe's lapels, and the tubes were also sticking out of both arms. Astraea felt violently ill to see a body be treated with such disrespect. She leaned in close to get a better look at him, and she noticed something on the back of his left hand.

TheShining Runewas on the back of the body's hand.

"My God," David in the memory whispered, leaning over the side of the coffin to look at the body closely. At that moment, the unseeing eyes flickered and looked at David. David screamed and toppled backwards, landing hard on the floor.

He's alive?!

It was a thought all three of them seemed to have.

The body in the metal coffin didn't move. The eyes remained looking to where David had fallen. The blank glass window on the box suddenly flickered to life. To Astraea's amazement,wordsstarted appearing on the glass window! David struggled to his feet, and his eyes widened when he saw the words on the screen as well. After a few moments, a full sentence was displayed.

YOU SHOULD NOT BE HERE.

David looked down at the man in the coffin. He was still unmoving. Not even his face moved. Only his eyes moved. David stammered for a few moments before he spoke. "Who did this to you?!"

The man still did not respond, nor did he move. The window that had displayed the sentence went blank briefly, only for new words to slowly populate across the glass.

YOU NEED TO LEAVE. YOU WILL DIE IF THEY FIND YOU HERE.

David's face turned ashen as he read the words on the window. He glanced down at the body. "A-Are you speaking to me through that box? How long have they kept you like this?!"

Another reply came from the box.I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS. I DO NOT MOVE. I DO NOT SPEAK. I DO NOT SLEEP. I EXIST.

"'I exist'," David read aloud, his tone quiet. He looked down at the man. "Thisis existing?"

I EXIST SOLELY FOR THE RUNE. THAT IS MY ONLY PURPOSE.

David shook his head and leaned over the metal. "I'll get you out of here," he said shakily. "I can help you—"

A low buzzing noise suddenly filled the room. The man in the coffin's left arm suddenly stiffened and began trembling violently. It was the only part of his body that moved. Astraea saw from the tension in his arm that he was in great pain, but his face was still unchanging.

After a few moments, the symbol of the Shining Rune rose into the air. Just as suddenly, a very tall pile of raw gold appeared right beside David. It was as tall as he was! The 'whirring' sound that Astraea heard before suddenly hummed in the air, and a metal countertop suddenly extended from the wall. Astraea realized that there was a square opening in the wall. Two metallic arms emerged from either side of the counter and began quickly grabbing the pieces of raw ore. When the first piece was set on the counter, the top of the counter began to move backwards toward the wall. One by one the pieces were guided to the wall, where they entered the hole and left the room.

Further down the wall, Astraea saw another countertop extended from the wall. The top of the countertop was also moving, but towards the room. On the countertop were bars of gold. One by one they slid into the room and were deposited onto the existing piles in the room.

In the memory, David looked between the two counters and then back at the body. "W-What is that rune?! It produces gold?!"

IT IS THE SHINING RUNE,came the reply on the window.ONE OF THE 27 TRUE RUNES, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF ALL PRECIOUS METALS IN THE WORLD. I AM COMPELLED TO WIELD IT. AND I AM COMPELLED TO USE IT WHEN IT IS NEEDED.

"So this is how the Holy Kingdom has maintained its wealth." David looked around at the mountains of gold bars around them. Then he looked back down into the coffin. "T-They've kept you prisoner here? Just to be a vessel for the Shining Rune?!"

THAT IS WHY I WAS CREATED. THAT IS WHY I EXIST.

"W-What about those babies out there?!" David gestured towards the door. "Why are they here?!"

THEY EXIST FOR THE SAME PURPOSE. ONLY FOR THE HIGH PRIEST. ONLY FOR THE TRUE RUNES.

David sputtered in horror. "This…This isinhumane!" He grabbed for the tubes in the man's left arm. "I'm getting you out of here!"

THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO FREE ME.

David looked at the box and then down at the man. "…How?" he asked.

The response was quick…and horrifying.

KILL ME.

There was a sudden distortion to the image. A loud roaring sound filled the air. Astraea watched David in the memory shout and gesture wildly, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. It was clear that he didn't like the proposal. The man in the coffin still did not move, but words continued to populate the window of the one box.

YOU CANNOT HELP ME.

THIS BODY DOES NOT FULLY FUNCTION. ENOUGH IS PRESENT ENOUGH TO RETAIN THE RUNE.

IF YOU MOVE ME I WILL DIE ANYWAY.

WHAT YEAR IS IT?David must have response, because after a moment the text continued.I HAVE BEEN TRAPPED IN THE STATE FOR 179 YEARS. THEY TORTURE ME TO FORCE THE RUNE TO ACTIVATE. ALL DAY. EVERYDAY. IT NEVER ENDS. IT WILL NEVER END. I DO NOT WISH TO BE A PRISONER LIKE THIS ANY LONGER.

KILL ME.

KILL ME.

KILL ME.

KILL ME.

KILL ME.

KILL ME.

KILL ME.

David ducked his head and gripped his hair with both hands. The same two words repeated over and over again on the window. Astraea's own breathing was labored by the scene in front of her. The man…the person who had held the Shining Rune before David…he had been trapped inside of a coffin for179 years?! Unable to move or talk?! Trapped inside his own body while it was being tortured to produce gold?! For ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-NINE YEARS?!

Harmonia. Harmonia did this to him. And I was honored when I thought I was accepted into one of their schools!

David in the memory suddenly screamed. The piercing noise cut through the roaring sounds. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a dagger. He swung his arm high and swung it down, plunging the blade deep into the man's heart.

Suddenly the world was plunged into darkness. Astraea and closed her eyes. After a moment she opened them, and she was back in Daunte's house sitting beside David at Daunte's table. Daunte was pale-faced, and his chest heaved with heavy breaths as he stared in silence at David.

David however sat very still, staring down at the Shining Rune symbol on the back of his left hand. "…That's how I got the Shining Rune," he said quietly. "And that's why I can't use the Rune. The Shining Rune jumped to me because there was no one else available for it to jump to. But I cannot use the power of the Shining Rune…because I'm not it's chosen bearer."

Triona

"Lady Sarka, he is here."

Sarka quickly looked up. "Send him in," she said.

The footman went back to the door and motioned for the person waiting outside her office to come inside. He was younger than she expected; he almost looked her own age. He had short fiery red hair, dark brown eyes, and a reserved expression. He wore a blue headband, blue vest, white shirt, and tan pants. His arms were tucked behind his back as he came into the room, and he bowed respectfully. "I have come as summoned, Lady Sarka."

Sarka rose from her chair in greeting. "Welcome to Triona, Mr. Biehn. We are honored to receive a warrior from Toran's Warrior's Village. Especially a warrior who is the son of Village Chief Tengaar."

Biehn smiled in reply as he straightened. "There is still a lot for me to learn, Lady Sarka. But I hope to prove myself as worthy warrior as both of my parents are."

"Let us get to why I have contacted you," Sarka said. She motioned for him to take a seat in front of her desk. She sat down once he did so. "I have heard of your investigative skills."

"It helps to pay my expenses while I do my Journey of Manhood," Biehn said. "So you wish to hire me, Lady Sarka?"

"Yes," Sarka said. "My country is currently embroiled in a conflict with a neighboring country but also a civil war. There is something that is bothering me that I want you to get to the bottom of. Can you do it?"

"…It depends," Biehn said after a moment. "I'm going to need more information before I accept this job."

Recruits: Lundgren (104), Wenke (49)