The Last Saga 2 (part 1 of 3)

a Original Fiction fanfiction by Kaiser

Date Begun: 28th April 2005 
Date Ended: 12 th May 2005
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Albums listened to during the making of this fiction: American Idiot 
(Green Day), Facelift, Jar of Flies (Alice in Chains) Scars (Soil), The 
Definitive Act (Tsunami Bomb),White Blood Cells (The White Stripes), 
Offspring, Conspiracy of One (The Offspring), etc.  

Author's Notes: Well now. This is The Last Saga 2. While being the 
second story in the series, it's not a sequel to LS1. The Last Saga 2 is 
a whole new story all of its own in world and plot, and I'd like it to 
be regarded as such. Like its predecessor, The Last Saga 2's influence 
stems from the RPG world, to which I am finally being re-affiliated. 
This story and all of its characters are property of the creator, me. 
Got any comments? Then send them to moonknuckle@hotmail.com. Now read 
on!   

**********

"The Word of the Gods,
 and the Descendant of the People.
They shall meet again,
 and thus a new world will be cleaved."

- Divination 17: 56 "The Contest of Heaven and Earth"  (Opus Edda) 

**********

PART ONE 

**********

Rune of Eltah hummed a sweet folk song to herself as she put the 
finishing touches to a little bit of work she had been doing. Her wooden 
knitting needles worked swiftly between her fingers. It was nothing 
special, really. It was a simple piece of embroidery, a soft 
handkerchief of white, with a little rose in its centre. Once she was 
done with the finishing touches, Rune put her knitting needles down upon 
the wooden table she was sitting besides and sighed with a smile, wiping 
her forehead. It was finished. She could finally show it to the one it 
was intended for. Well, a little later on.  

Rune stood up from the chair she had worked on, and then strode for the 
side compartment of a kitchen. It was a small little house she had been 
living in. Nothing flashy. Nothing erect from pure stone or steel, just 
a quiet little home in the quiet little village of Reen. It was quite 
understandable really. This was the life that Rune had been accustomed 
to for all she could remember. Had she been thrown into a situation 
where normality and regularity were not part of the main run, Rune would 
have found herself lusting after a place such as this. Little did she 
know, forces were moving swiftly to amend that. For now the young woman 
skipped over to the side unit of her kitchen and began working on 
dinner. Just for herself and her grandfather. It was nothing special. 
Rune pulled out a kitchen knife from one of the counters in the side 
unit. She placed it down gently and then reached upwards to a certain 
cupboard fixed into the wall. Rune opened the door to that cupboard and 
pulled out some spices and such. Made from plants that grew only around 
this area. Which made them rather unique. And gave the village strong 
trade with those who liked these kinds of spices, those who lived on the 
continent. 

While Rune hurried to prepare everything, a much older person stepped 
down the stairs from above, in the hallway. Taking small strides he came 
into the kitchen area and saw Rune hard at work, just now putting some 
water to the boil on the hob.

It was her mild-mannered grandfather, Edward.  "So. I see you are 
cooking for lunch again, little Rune?"

The girl herself turned around and tugged a few strands of her 
waist-long, midnight black hair behind her ear. "Grandfather? Oh, I 
didn't see you there. Well, since you asked, I am cooking dinner today. 
I can't ask you to keep doing this for me. I know that you used to be a 
great chef in the past, but..."

Edward chuckled, leaning down on his oak wood walking stick. "But I'm an 
old man, and we of old age must make it 'easy' on ourselves, is that 
right, dear?"

Light-hearted as Edward was, he did have this amazing power to make any 
comment about his old age seem like an insult. Rune stifled a giggle for 
his benefit and turned back to the hob, dropping some samples of the 
collected bottled spices around her. 

"Sorry about that, Grandpa," Rune answered, "But you know I'm right 
about it. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you just because you 
wish to keep me from cooking. And it isn't the worst way to relax when 
I'm not cleaning or training."

Edward lowered his smile. "Your training is important, Rune. This is a 
dangerous world that we live in. You know what is happening on the 
continent, do you not? The savage barbarian armies of Ottaman are 
ravaging the borders of Daneland. If nothing stops them they will keep 
advancing north until they walk upon our island. Thus I need to be sure 
that you can protect yourself. I will die eventually. And you must be 
prepared to defend yourself and your home from all those who would bring 
you harm. By the Gods, you must be ready."

And there was little Rune could do to argue about that. Edward had a 
point. Reen Village was the one and only village based upon the small 
Island of Frayne. It a was sunny, soft, beach-ridden haven that most 
people on the continent could only dream about. But it was technically a 
part of the country of Daneland. One of the three major countries of the 
world. The others being Lemarchand to the north and Geshtar to the 
southeast. Geshtar was ruled by a powerful and very ruthless man called 
Shaddad al-Khidr.  But no one really called him that anymore. Because of 
his success in unifying all of the many tribes of the southeast, he 
gained the title of 'Ottaman XII' upon his coronation as king of 
Geshtar. Now he was turning his conquering eye upon Daneland. Thus 
people had to be ready for anything that may come their way. And Edward 
had been training Rune in swordsmanship. She wasn't much of a fighter 
when they first began; but recently she had been showing great skill and 
potential.  But for an outsider to look at Rune and her sweet 
personality, you would never have guessed it. A trait that Edward was 
taking note of. But not one that he was entirely surprised by. 

...And there were reasons for that.

"I understand, Grandpa," Rune answered, "You want me to be safe. As 
would any other parent. I can get to grips with that. But I'm not a 
superwoman, you know. I have my limits."

Edward believed that they could be surpassed. "Well, just remember what 
I have said, Rune. The world outside of Frayne Island is not a safe one. 
You must be prepared for the day that the outside world makes its mark 
on us."

"I will, don't worry. Just let me," Rune shortly turned to her set of 
spices, "Oh no!" 

"What's the trouble?" Edward asked curiously.

Rune scoffed. "I forgot that we ran out of all my secret herbs 
yesterday! I was going to buy some at the market, but they said that 
they sold out of all of it. I can't believe this. I guess I'll have to 
go up Gram Mountain to get some."

"Gram Mountain?" Edward mused, "That's where most of the herbs sold at 
the market are picked. You can go. Just be back before dusk. I do not 
like the idea of you alone on that mountain trail at night."

Rune nodded to her grandfather and undid the cooking apron that she had 
had around her waist and neck since morning. She slapped it to the side 
of the kitchen unit, then turned to the kitchen table. Her straw basket 
(one that Rune had weaved herself) was on it. The blue-eyed teen picked 
up the basket, waved goodbye to her grandfather, and then exited their 
house through the back door in the kitchen. Rune strode around the 
corner of house, a small alley way next to her fence. Then she stepped 
out and was fully bombarded with the sights and sounds of Reen Village. 
It was an average village but with a far warmer feel to it. Men worked 
hard out in the fields or sold things in the shops, while women mostly 
buzzed in and around the markets and stalls, buying fruits and vegetable 
for whatever they planned to be cooking. By now, most of the kids had 
broken up from their lessons in school, which were mostly teachings of 
History, Language, and the legacy of Avernae. Rune walked calmly with 
her straw woven basket out into the main sand road snaking through the 
village centre as a footpath. She tried not to draw too much attention 
to herself, but, as usual, attention soon found its way to her. As Rune 
walked by, some of the villagers (most of which older and female) cast 
the girl mistrusting looks. She tried to ignore it. And after nine years 
of coping with it, you would have believed that Rune would have at least 
adjusted to this.  But no matter what the situation, she could never 
really cope with these people giving her these kinds of looks. 

You see, the Island of Frayne was a beautiful place. It had fair amount 
of trade with the continent, and there were times when important 
officials would vacation here. But the people who lived in Reen Village 
had a deep mistrust of foreigners who *remained* in their island. And 
Rune was one of those kinds of people. She had come to Frayne Island 
nine years ago with her birth parents. But they disappeared and ever 
since, Rune was raised by her Grandpa. He was a national of Frayne, so 
few people actually bore him any ill will. Only those who did not like 
his choice to raise Rune here had a problem with Edward. 

But by now there was nothing she could do to change the minds of these 
people. If her fellow villagers could not accept her, they probably 
never would. Of course, not everyone distrusted Rune. And one of those 
people happened to be running towards her. Rune's soft sapphire eyes 
rolled to her left and, with no small entrance, she could see a young 
woman running up towards her. The smile on Rune's face brightened when 
she saw the girl. She happened to be a close friend. Oddly named, 
Satsuma. She was a year younger than Rune, eighteen, with long 
strawberry-blonde hair which she tied into a large ring, which often 
swayed behind her back when she moved. Her moccasins skidded to a stop 
in the dusty village footpath when Satsuma slowed herself down to speak 
with her friend.

"Hey, Rune!" She said brightly, "I haven't seen you all day! Where've 
you been, huh? I knocked around your house this morning but you still 
weren't there!"

The dark-haired woman blushed and looked away. The handkerchief she had 
been knitting all morning and afternoon was actually for Satsuma. It was 
a present after all. And her friend was in no way undeserving of it. 
"Actually, Satsuma, I-"

Rune stopped herself when a furious look suddenly passed over Satsuma's 
bright green eyes. The taller woman sighed and half-smiled, just 
realizing the mistake she had made. 

Satsuma shook her fist at Rune. "What did you call me, Rune?! What have 
we talked about?!"

"...I'm sorry, 'Setsu'." It had always escaped Rune's mind that Satsuma 
hated her first name. She got so angry whenever someone called her by 
that name. Thus she had told most people to call her by the nickname, 
'Setsu'. It was something she preferred in all ways possible.  

Satsuma lowered her fist and crossed her arms with a huff, shutting her 
eyes swiftly. The red in her cheeks now began to fade. "...Alright then. 
Honestly, Rune, we've been best friends for more than nine years now. 
And somehow ya keep calling me by that name!"

Rune smiled softly. "But I don't understand why you hate your name. I 
think it's cute."

"YOU THINK IT'S CUTE BEING NAMED AFTER A FRUIT?!" Satsuma bellowed, "I 
can't stand it! Oh well. I can forgive your naivet‚. You are my best 
friend after all. So, you feel like going for a swim or something? I've 
been bored all day."

Rune shook her head. "No, I can't right now. Maybe tomorrow. Right now I 
have to head up Gram Mountain path and get some herbs for dinner 
tonight. Hey, do you feel like coming over? I've got more than enough 
food for three."

"Sure!" Satsuma agreed eagerly, "But you're not going up Gram Mountain 
alone are you?"

Rune shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, sure. What's the big deal?"

"...You know they say that place is haunted," Satsuma put forth, adding 
a willowy effect to her voice to emphasize the point, "They say that at 
night, the dead spirits of all of Ottaman's victims rise up the 
mountains to ascend to the 'Gods'. But if they don't find the peace they 
seek, they'll stay in the mortal plane and... EAT YOUR SOUL! BWA, HA, 
HA, HA!"

Rune visibly shivered. "That isn't even funny, Setsu... besides, I 
thought that you didn't believe in Avernae's teachings?" 

"I don't," The redhead replied snorting, looking away, "There are no 
such things as Gods. That's just a trick that the teachers at school 
pulled on us to keep us all working hard. It's just like that idea that 
every Cardinal of the Avernae Church is born on the eve of Winter 
Solstice. Nothing but tricks."

It didn't take a genius to see that Satsuma was an unbeliever. The 
Church of Avernae was the most popular religion in this world. Its 
influence spanned over all three major countries of the continent and 
was headed by Cardinal Danel Ferey, a conservative and elegant member of 
the papacy. This Polytheistic religion worshiped many Gods, each one 
characterized by a different element or concept. There was the Water God 
Zaiki (who was the principle God of Frayne Island), the Fire God Nai, 
the Earth Goddess Serene, the Thunder Goddess Divinity, Ishu the Goddess 
of Love and War, Necros the God of Death, the Goddess of Darkness 
Aeraph, and Onreld, God of Light. The book of Avernae was known as Opus 
Edda. Which schoolchildren were taught from. Rune herself did not know 
if she believed or not, but most people in this world were believers. 
Though no religion ever came without its sceptics. Satsuma being one of 
them. 

The woman with the ring hairdo shook her head. "Anyways, I don't like 
the idea of you going up to Gram Mountain alone. Even if you've done it 
before. I'll have to do the noble thing and accompany the fair maiden as 
she ascends into the wilderness. As the Master Thief of Reen Village, 
it'll be my duty to protect you!"

Not that Rune minded Satsuma coming with her. But she took note of that 
little title that Satsuma had anointed herself with. 'Master Thief'. She 
was known for pilfering small things around Reen Village. Sometimes to 
impress Rune, but mostly to train herself to being a good thief. It was 
not exactly a profession but Satsuma was actually good at it. This 
lifestyle did not win her any points with the other villagers, though. 
They all assumed that Satsuma's desire to be a thief stemmed from of a 
lack of direction. Both of her parents had been dead for sometime now, 
taken by sickness. And she currently lived alone. 

Rune shook her head. "It's not good to want to steal things, Setsu. 
You'll get in trouble."

"Hmph," Satsuma shrugged that off, "Stop worrying so much, Rune. A 
Master Thief like me NEVER gets caught in the act. Now lets get going to 
Gram Mountain. If I'm coming over for dinner tonight then I wanna make 
sure you get the right stuff!"

Again, with that overwhelming tank of energy, Satsuma grabbed Rune by 
the wrist and literally dragged her off towards the other side of Reen 
Village. The great sunset in the sky was now turning a warm red. Showing 
that the sun would soon fall into the night. The two girls went through 
the northern gates of Reen Village and walked up the path towards and up 
Gram Mountain. The Island of Frayne was quite small, about 2000 metres 
in total diameter. And because of this, Gram Mountain stood out a lot. 
It itself was not a tall mountain, and it could easily be scaled without 
fuss. Though people did not often venture to the very top of it. This 
was because Gram Mountain's fields grew further down from the summit. 
Aldin Mine, a coal mine based at the foot of the mine, had workers that 
came up the mountainside to relax. That idea showed how safe it was. But 
being the kind of girl that she was, Satsuma had to greatly romanticize 
the whole thing.  The pair of them ascended Gram Mountain for the next 
ten to fifteen minutes. And soon they came to the huge fields of spice 
plants that grew there. The soil around Gram Mountain was rather 
fertile, so plants grew here far easier than they would have done on 
ground level. 

When Rune and Satsuma made it to the fields of spices, they stopped 
walking.  This was as far as they needed to go. The nineteen-year-old 
kneeled down and hummed to herself and started picking some of the 
spices she had been running low on for supper tonight. Satsuma stood 
beside her and looked over the edge of the mountainside. Because of the 
relatively  small size of Frayne Island, she got a clear view of the 
beautiful blue of the sea. The waves constantly crashing, the seagulls 
always singing; and yet this sea blocked Frayne from the rest of the 
world. Setting a bittersweet tone for Satsuma. 

Rune gently tossed more of her needed spices into her basket. And then 
looked up at her friend Satsuma. Who had somewhat of a half-nostalgic, 
half-pensive expression upon her vibrantly cute freckled face. "What's 
wrong, Setsu?"

She continued to look out at the sea. "It's so big, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"The sea," Satsuma said simply, "So big and blue and beautiful. The 
elders say that it protects us from the continent, and that warlord guy 
in Geshtar, Ottaman.  But the continent must be something really 
special. And I've never even seen it before. I wanna be out there, Rune. 
I wanna know more before I get old and stuff. I wanna have amazing 
adventures and show the world how good a thief I am."

Rune giggled. "That's just a dream. It's nice here on Frayne Island. 
Nice and peaceful."

"You mean boring." The redhead replied.

"Well maybe a little," Then Rune stood up from the ground, "But it's 
also safe. We have a nice life here. It can get dull at times, but, it's 
better than being somewhere else where all people do is fight and work."

"Well, if I can't have my adventure out there," A sneaky smile crossed 
Satsuma's face. And she turned her look over from the sea to the top of 
the mountain, "I guess I'll have to make myself a little adventure 
here."

Rune didn't like that audacious look in her friend's eye. "...What do 
you mean by that?"

"Lets go up to the top of the mountain," Satsuma suggested with glee, 
"it'd be a blast!"

The older girl shook her head. "...Oh, I don't know about that, Setsu. 
My Grandpa and the rest of the villagers say we should always stay away 
from the top of the mountain."

Satsuma chuckled. "That proves there must be something interesting up 
there. I thought about doing it before, but now it just seems like so 
much fun! C'mon, Gram Mountain is completely safe. It's not like 
anything up there can hurt us. And even if you're worried, I'll be there 
to protect you, remember?"

"...I'm still not sure about this, Setsu..."

But by now, she was too set on the idea to turn back. Satsuma looked 
over her shoulder back down to the village. It wouldn't take long to 
explore the top and then get back before nightfall came down on them. 
The gears of planning were already rolling against each other in 
Satsuma's brain. And Rune could see that just from looking into those 
inquisitive jade eyes of her friend. 

Satsuma made her decision in that instant and dashed further up the path 
that led to higher parts of Gram Mountain. But not before looking back 
and shouting, "Look, if you don't feel like you're up for it, go back to 
town and wait for me! You can get cracking on that dinner and I'll be at 
your house as soon as it's ready!"

And she was off. Rune was left standing back with a surprised 
expression. One that warped into something of worry. The idea of Satsuma 
being up there all alone... and after that little story she spun about 
spirits 'rising up' to the Gods, Rune didn't like any of it. She 
couldn't let her friend go up alone. Soon Rune's heels were clicking 
with a dash after Satsuma, still with that basket in hand. And soon 
after that she caught up with the girl. Satsuma looked back over her 
shoulder at her friend. 

"Alright!" The ring-haired woman expressed, "I KNEW you'd wanna come 
along, Rune!"

The mild-mannered girl sighed. If Rune HAD to come along, it would be to 
make sure that no harm came to Satsuma. The elders of Reen Village had 
often spoken of how safe Gram was for anyone who happened to be walking 
on it. But they also forbade people from going to the top of the 
mountain. Which struck Satsuma as odd. Was something up there that the 
elders did not want someone to see? For a while now, that curiosity was 
kept under wraps. But not now. The two girls made their way away from 
the spice crops and strode up Gram Mountain even further. The higher 
they got, the more room they found. The footpath grew longer and wider 
with each step they took. It was strange for Rune, because she had never 
seen these parts of the mountain before. But for Satsuma it was quite 
exciting. She had never been off the island once in her entire life. For 
the most part, she felt familiar with everything it had to offer to her. 
This was an all new area. So for the moment, Satsuma felt like 'a kid at 
a candy store'. 

"Whoa," Satsuma said, looking around, "It's kinda weird, isn't it? I 
thought that we'd seen everything on this boring little island but I was 
wrong."

Rune looked around as well. "But there isn't anything here, except..."

But she stopped herself. Both she and Satsuma stopped walking when they 
came across a new structure on Gram Mountain. No set of crops, no 
cluster of rock; but a building. To be very specific, it was a church. 
Obviously of the Avernae Faith. The church was quite small in size. 
There was only one spire at its centre and the outer walls were covered 
in cobwebs from what looked to be years of neglect. Chances are, nobody 
had ever come to this place in the last eight or so years. Which was 
odd. This was quite a religious island. Why wouldn't the elders allow 
worship here? 

Satsuma's smile widened with glee. "Oh, jackpot! I knew there had to be 
something up here that was worth looking at! Lets check the place out!"

Beforehand, Rune would have made a case for them to go back down to the 
village instead. But for now she was quite taken by this new sight. What 
was a church doing up here if no one was allowed to climb this far up 
Gram Mountain? It seemed there would be only one way to find that out. 
To take a look inside the church. Rune followed Satsuma and she walked 
to the old wooden doors that closed the church off from outsiders. They 
were locked. But Satsuma didn't call herself a Master Thief for nothing. 
She reach back into her ring of strawberry blonde hair and pulled on a 
thin metal hairpin. Then slotted that hairpin into the lock of the door. 
A few seconds of jiggling and the worn wood doors started to creak open. 
Satsuma pushed them open fully and strode into the church with Rune 
taking up the rear. The two of them looked around. It was quite dark in 
there, mostly because the windows were boarded up along the walls. The 
floors of pew were just as dusty as the seats themselves. And all the 
statues and artwork  had either been damaged or just wasn't there 
anymore. However, there was a mural on the right wall. 

Satsuma growled, slotting her hairpin back into her hair. "Oh man! This 
place is nothing but junk! I thought that there'd at least be something 
worth stealing in here!"

But while Satsuma bitched about what she couldn't find, Rune took note 
of what she DID find. That mural. She didn't know why, but for some 
reason, she was curious about it. About what it depicted. There were no 
images of Gods upon it. Those were reserved for the statues and the 
copies of Opus Edda (if any were around). The mural showed two human 
beings. One of them was carrying a sword, wrapped in amethyst energy, 
the dark light. The other one was surrounded in golden light, wielding 
some sort of staff. And they looked to be in the midst of a fierce 
battle. The skies above were grey and thunderous, lightning bolts 
crackling down. But the further along the mural got, the more damage was 
done to it. Thus it was quite impossible to tell what the outcome of 
that fight would be. 

Satsuma looked over at Rune. Watching her watch the mural. And so the 
thief turned to it herself and had a look. "What's so special about 
that, Rune?"

The black-haired girl shrugged. "Nothing I guess. It just sort of stood 
out."

"Meh. It's all a bunch of Avernae junk. People will wise up to how 
insane the idea of Gods in heaven really are. But whatever the reason, 
this place doesn't have much on it. I guess we should go back to the 
village and head back up the rest of the mountain in the morning, eh?"

"Yeah. That sounds-"

Rune stopped herself when she heard a growl. Then looked back from the 
mural to Satsuma. She apparently heard it to. When Rune looked at her, 
the Master Thief simply shrugged her shoulders to indicate that she 
didn't know what it was about. A second growl came. One that was much 
louder and deeper than the first. Which showed that it was so clearly 
not a human growl. Rune and Satsuma turned to the left. Looking over at 
the altar of the church. And they both gasped at what they saw on top of 
it. The people who visited Frayne Island from the mainland described 
them as 'Hell Cats'. It was a large cat-like being; its spiky fur toned 
with the stripes of grey and black. It ears were elongated and wiggled 
around every few seconds. Its claws gnashed at the stone of the altar it 
stood upon. And it savagely sharp teeth were brandished when it opened 
its small but powerful jaws. 

Satsuma blinked in panic. "A Hell Cat? W-what in the heck is something 
like THAT doing HERE?"

"I knew this was a bad idea," Rune chided, "I knew this was a bad idea!"

Well there was nothing they could do about it now. The Hell Cat growled 
again and remained poised on the stone altar of that Avernae-based 
church. It stayed where it was but looked ready to pounce on them at any 
second. Satsuma grit her teeth and reached behind her back. She was not 
expecting any problems but she made a promise to protect Rune. So she 
would have to use her Father's gift. Satsuma pulled out a long dagger 
from her back pocket. It's butt and hilt were both made from gold; and 
small crimson rubies were fixed into it. The dagger was known as Quiri. 
Though Rune had never seen it before. And if the situation was not as 
critical as it was, then she would have asked Satsuma about it there and 
then. Satsuma brought the Quiri before her and shifted ahead, getting 
Rune to stand behind her. The Hell Cat then released a powerful roar 
that echoed throughout that small church. It leapt into the air and 
descended towards Satsuma and Rune. The two girls scrambled away from 
that point in opposite strides to avoid the attack of the animal. But 
this church was far more battered than either of them realized. As soon 
as that much pressure was placed on the floorboards from their running, 
they weakened. Particularly in the point at which Rune treaded. The 
wooden floorboards beneath her could not support that added pressure. 
And they collapsed beneath her. 

"Rune!" Satsuma yelled in fear.

The dark-haired woman just managed to hear it but could not reply. And 
her body fell down into a lower level of the church. Rune's torso landed 
with a thud on a dusty floor; which was this time made of pure stone. 
Her basket fell from her hand; but by now, the spices were the last 
thing on her mind. Once she had gotten her thoughts together after the 
fall, Rune exhaled and looked around at her location. Just as she 
thought, this was a new floor of the church. A small room that looked 
more suitable for storage than anything else. However the room did store 
something of value. Quite a lot of value, actually. Rune rolled over 
onto her stomach and then stood up from there. When she did she was 
graced with the sight of a weapon. 

A sword.

It was positioned on a small, circular stone pillar. Wrapped in its 
brown leather scabbard, the more than visible hilt was made of a strong 
silver and with a brightly shining sapphire gem at the butt. Though she 
had no idea WHY at that point; Rune was drawn to that sword. In the same 
way that a moth is drawn to a flame, or, in the same way that two pieces 
of metal with opposing magnetic charge are drawn together. It meant 
something. Rune felt this. And she felt that she had to touch it. To 
reach out and claim it. Which she did. Rune walked to the stone pillar 
in almost a trance and lifted up the sword. She pulled the blade free 
from the scabbard of leather. Revealing its amazing design. It was 
slightly shorter than the average length of a broadsword. But a bit 
thicker. And etched into the steel of the blade were a set of words. 

One side of the blade read, "RUSTAM."

The other side had written, in far smaller words, "Scion of Earth."

Rune had no idea what that second comment was supposed to mean, but she 
knew that the first was the name of the sword. Rustam. It was clearly 
special. And Rune felt linked to it in so many ways. For a few second 
she stood marvelling at the gleam and polish of the blade. Not a shred 
of dust had gathered on it even though everything else around here was 
covered in the stuff. But she was broken out of that trance when she 
heard Satsuma's scream from up above. She was still in trouble. Rune 
quickly attached the scabbard of Rustam to her waist and ran to the 
other side of that small storage room. There was a set of stairs there 
that probably led back up to the top floor. It did. Rune got back up to 
the upper floor through a door beside the altar. And Rune blinked at 
what she was seeing. Satsuma was on the ground. Quiri was out of her 
hands. The Hell Cat was about to jump on her. If it had its way, it 
would rip Satsuma to pieces and eat her remains for lunch. 

But there was no way Rune would allow that. "Over here!"

A new sense of courage enveloped Rune from the moment she touched the 
Rustam. And the skills she had learned from her Grandpa suddenly became 
more and more apparent in her mind. More useful. More needed now than 
ever before. The Hell Cat roared once more and galloped over at Rune. 
Satsuma was screaming at her friend to leave, but Rune couldn't hear any 
of it. The young woman shut her eyes and focused only on the energy of 
the monster. A rush of power and adrenalin poured through her. Then in 
that second, Rune pulled the sword back to her waist. Then slashed 
violently and magnificently in a half-circle motion around the front of 
her body. The Hell Cat veered over her with somewhat of a muffled 
screech. Rune dodged out of the way, rolling to escape the attack. Then 
the body of the Hell Cat fell apart into two evenly cut slices, 
splattering its green blood everywhere. On the altar, on the floor, and 
on the statues of the Gods that happened to be fixed nearby. Satsuma 
looked on with a stunned expression. She had studied a bit about sword 
skills in school. And that little move happened to be called an 'Air 
Wave Stroke'. By slicing hard into the air, the damage done by the wind 
pressure is magnified enough to act as potently as an actual blade. With 
the right sword and the right amount of strength, an Air Wave Stroke 
could cut through stone. Did... Rune actually do that?

The mild village girl lowered her furious face for one that was much 
more accommodating than the previous. She sheathed Rustam a second 
later, turning back to her friend, Satsuma.

"Hey, Satsuma... are you okay?"

The redhead was too shocked by Rune's sword skills to berate Rune for 
calling her 'Satsuma' again. "...Rune... how did you do that?!"

The other woman smiled bashfully and stuck out her tongue. It seemed 
like her grandfather was right after all. Training in the sword arts had 
paid off after all. But it wasn't just that. Rune had begun the first 
step in her destiny. The tragic fate of the Scion of Earth... had 
finally begun. 

**********

THE LAST SAGA 2 - Gates of the New Age 

**********

The region of Lemarchand existed to the far north of the mainland. It 
was around a seventh of the size of Daneland itself. Small overall, but 
very vivid in life and active in the affairs of the world. One most 
glaring being the campaign that Ottaman XII currently led against 
Daneland and the Avernae Church. Though the Avernae Religion found its 
home in Lemarchand, there were well established churches of it in the 
mainland. In particular, towards the north. The closer you got to 
Lemarchand, the stronger the religious fervour would be. Which perhaps 
made it easier to understand how Ottaman could be unhinging the faith of 
those to the south in his desert country of Geshtar. 

Which was the subject of today's open sermon. The capital of Lemarchand, 
Valencia, was small in comparison to the major cities of Geshtar and 
Daneland. But it possessed one thing that separated it from the rest. 
This was the very station of the power of the Avernae Church. 

Power that was summed up in the spectacular sight of Holy Basilica It 
was a grand palace made of fine foreign marble and pillars. The arches, 
hallways, galleries, halls, side-halls, corridors and front precinct 
were all made beautifully. Full with many statues and artworks of the 
Gods. The Holy Basilica was thought of as a church. But it acted and 
looked more like a palace. And it stood for the power of Avernae and the 
magnificence of the Gods. By now many people from Valencia had gathered 
in the city's centre, to the Holy Basilica. Thousands of men and women 
all gathered up in the vastness of its main courtyard,  standing 
patiently and looking up to the top spire and the fine white balcony 
that stuck out from it. They all mumbled and chattered to themselves as 
they waited for him to make his appearance. Word had been spreading like 
wildfire about the atrocities that were taking place in the southeast at 
the hands of Ottaman's armies. The fear was that his hatred of the 
Avernae Church would lead him to Lemarchand. But then they all silenced 
themselves. They kept their gazes on the balcony that most came to 
watch. A figure walked up to the edge of that balcony. Dressed in fine 
papal garbs with a gentle yet commanding aura about him. A man of around 
sixty years in age; his wrinkled flesh and aged mind possessed of much 
knowledge of the world and the intrinsic details of the Avernae faith. A 
man who had read the Opus Edda from front cover to back over 400 times. 
The leader and mortal icon of the Church itself...

...Cardinal Danel Ferey.

The moment he was seen at the balcony, giving a brief wave to all the 
thousands of people gathered in the courtyard of the Holy Basilica, the 
populace gave their respect. They put their hands together and bowed 
politely in synchronization with each other. It was a form of due 
respect that was given every time this man began and ended a sermon from 
his balcony. And in consideration of the great numbers of people that 
had showed themselves today, it was more than obvious that Cardinal 
Danel's words were greatly needed. 

The great leader of the Avernae Church spoke into a magical ruby orb 
rested upon the marble balustrade of the balcony, to magnify his voice 
to the people. "Greetings, dear children of the Gods, glorious offspring 
of Aeraph and Onreld. Today we have gathered in great numbers to pay our 
worship to the Gods that cleaved our world from earth and sky. But not 
in reverence. I know what troubles you all. News of the rampage of the 
heathen, Ottaman, has brought you much concern. But fear not. The 
blasphemy of the Geshtar King will not go unpunished. It is the will of 
the Gods for evil to be destroyed. As the many verses of Opus Edda 
teaches us, the evils of those who stray from the true path will always 
be vanquished. As long as we entrust ourselves to the bosom of their 
light. Have faith in the will of the Gods and they will deliver us from 
the darkness once again."

Speeches such as those gave these devoted people the hope they needed to 
believe that the Gods would save them from the encroaching Ottaman. The 
crowds all placed their hands together and bowed, then spoke in unison; 
"Praise be to Avernae, and ever praised."

With that said, Cardinal Danel stepped aside to one part of the balcony. 
And a second figure rose up from the palace halls to that balcony. A 
great contrast to the age and wisdom of the Cardinal. She was a young 
woman. And from the many gasps of the people below; it was more than 
obvious who she was. Her long braided platinum blonde hair flowed down 
elegantly to the back of her knees. With a shining silver headband 
fixing her bangs in place. She was dressed in a female variation of the 
clothing that Cardinal Danel was wearing. But these were pure white, as 
opposed to Danel's white and dark red. Her soft sky blue eyes rolled 
from the crowds to the book she carried open in her gentle hands. An 
older version of the Opus Edda. This beautiful girl held an aura about 
her. One of tremendous dignity and inner strength. Along with immense 
kindness and a deep attachment to the people she happened to stand 
before. They shared that passion. In religious and... less religious 
ways. For she was the daughter of the Cardinal, in contention to be the 
future leader of the Avernae Church upon the death of Danel. 

And her name was... Helene Ferey. 

Women tended to be highly respected in the Clergy. They were the symbols 
of fertility and kindness in a world that so sorely needed that image. 
And though Helene would only be the third female Cardinal ever, no one 
person in all of Lemarchand could have imagined anyone else to fill the 
shoes of Danel. For Helene was very popular with them. Tremendously so. 
It clearly was due to her magnificent beauty and almost ethereal 
presence. Many regarded her as a reincarnation of a Goddess, holding the 
fate of many in hands that were simply too gentle and caring to 
disregard. Helene nodded to her people from the balcony. The crowds put 
their hands together and bowed to her in their respect. Then Helene 
strode up to the magical orb that magnified vocals, looking down at her 
copy of Opus Edda. 

The entirety of the crowds listened with deep enchantment as her soft 
pink lips parted. And she began to sing one of the many song verses that 
had been written in the Opus Edda in celebration of the magnificence of 
the Gods. 

"Et y sha! Ysou ya moht Onreld! Shei y et meh mayaha! Ono y sha Aeraph 
to dah! Ohah sono y et shaha! Go jaim y et ma so ha! To somoh y et 
matah! Mio sho kyata mejah! Ello so y et ma yahmah! Jah mah y et kah! 
Koh y et Ishu bedah! Koh y et Ishu I mo toh kah!"

None of those around in the courtyard (with the slight exception of 
Cardinal Danel) could have understood what that meant. That was a piece 
from one of the earlier copies of the Opus Edda. And thus it was written 
in the ancient language, Et Ohm, which few others outside of the Clergy 
could understand. This did not matter to the people watching Helene 
sing. Her sweet, entrancing voice was enough. Danel knew what it meant. 
It was a simple song telling of the creation of the first two Gods, 
Onreld and Aeraph, who were more or less the 'King and Queen' of Avernae 
religion. The song then goes on to speak of the love that they shared 
together. And thus Aeraph gave birth to Ishu; Goddess of Love and War. 
And she went on to create the world and give birth to its wildlife, its 
grass, its waters, its mountains, its skies and its delightful beauty. 

Helene continued like this for over an hour. Singing the sweet verses in 
the ancient language of Et Ohm, to a grateful and scared mass of people. 
But her voice soothed their fears of the great warlord Ottaman. Just as 
Cardinal Danel predicted that it would. To hear that amazing voice of 
Helene's would make that easier to understand. And when her songs ended, 
there were almost sighs of regret from her audience. But their lust for 
the purity of this girl had been rationed for once a month. Which made 
sermons like these so much more special. The crowds all signalled their 
respect to her with the pressed hands and the bow, and Helene stepped 
away from the magic vocal orb. She turned and entered the Holy Basilica 
again, leaving her elderly father behind to address the crowds. And soon 
after he exited the balcony and returned to the innards of that marble 
bastion as well. Helene stood beside one of the painting-decorated walls 
of the corridor, catching her breath. Singing to the citizens of 
Valencia was more draining on her than it would have been for any other. 
She put her heart and her soul into it. Which was, inevitably, a taxing 
process. 

The Cardinal himself stopped when he turned a corner and saw his 
daughter in a fatigued state. But with the girl's amazing presence of 
beauty, such a thing looked more foreign upon her than it would on 
anyone else. Helene was a frail child, after all. And only eighteen in 
her years.

Danel nodded to her. "You did very well, my child. Your lessons in Et 
Ohm had truly proven to be successful. You read and sang those words 
more marvellously than ever. I am sure that the panic over Ottaman's 
rampage will be quelled for now. All thanks to you and the voice that 
the Gods blessed you with."

"T-thank you," Helene replied in effort, "so... that will be... my last 
reading?"

"Yes. In a few days time you and I will be leaving for Castel, to take 
care of a few issues. We shall be staying there for around two weeks. So 
prepare yourself for the journey. I suggest that you have much rest 
beforehand."

Castel. 

It was a famous city. If Daneland was the biggest country in the world 
and Castel was the biggest city in Daneland; then it was quite natural 
to think of it as the biggest city in the world. It certainly held more 
sway in the mindset of the people than other cities. For both good and 
bad reasons. Castel was a vibrant and beautiful place. Full of the most 
modern and artistic architecture in the world. It was also a rich place. 
Home to the ruler of Daneland, Queen Diamond. The Cardinal himself had 
been named after the whole country, hence the name 'Danel' 

Helene wiped the small beads of 'glow' from her face. "...But you 
still... haven't told me... why I must accompany you to Castel... 
Father..."

Cardinal Danel closed his eyes. "That is not for you to be concerned of, 
at this point. The most you need to think of is resting and relaxing 
yourself now. Retire to your room. I have some business that I must 
attend to."

The young woman Helene bowed to her father in acceptance of that. Then 
turned and walked tiredly down that hallway towards her room. Cardinal 
Danel then turned and strode down the corridor into a separate room. 
Danel closed the door behind him. It was an average-sized room of the 
Basilica, a kind of library. When he entered, Danel took note of the two 
men who happened to be standing beside a wooden desk.

"Did things proceed well, My Lord?"

Danel nodded to them. "Yes. Helene's singing has soothed the fears of 
the people of Valencia. I do not know what can be done of those outside 
the city, but this should calm anymore panic from taking place here. And 
now that that issue is adjourned, what of the other one?"

The second man nodded to the Cardinal. "It has been set. The plan is 
underway. A small force of men and Angel Knight Vohraphamon have been 
sent to the Island of Frayne to fetch the girl. She happened to have 
been hiding there for a long while. Nine years. But as we thought, 
Richard of Eltah is not with her. He appears to be dead. Just as we 
suspected."

"Hmm," Cardinal Danel sighed, "such is the fate of those who wish to 
unhinge the natural order of the world and deceive the will of the Gods. 
The Contest of Heaven and Earth must take place. Richard has merely 
postponed the inevitable."

**********

The corpse of the Hell Cat suddenly seemed less frightening to Satsuma. 
What she was more concerned with was the fact that Rune had resisted 
this thing's attack. And only with one sword. As fancy looking as it 
was, even Satsuma knew that the Air Wave Stroke which killed the Hell 
Cat was a display of Rune's power. Power that Satsuma didn't even know 
the girl had in her. It was amazing. 

Right now the two girls sat in the Old Church on Gram Mountain. Night 
had fallen. Though her Grandpa wanted her home before nightfall, Rune 
couldn't rush now. When she had fallen through the floorboards and 
picked up the Rustam sword, Satsuma had been fighting the Hell Cat on 
her own. But she was scratched along her leg by its claws during the 
fight. It was not a very deep cut but still needed treatment, lest it 
get infected by something. So Rune put together all her medicinal 
know-how and gathered together a few herbs from the basket she dropped. 
Not only did they act as spices, but also as a kind of disinfectant. 
When crushed and mixed with water, of course. Rune did just that. And 
she came back to apply (what had become) this balm to her wound. Satsuma 
grit her teeth and sucked in pain. The balm had a bit of a sting. But 
Rune was determined and kept on with applying it to Satsuma's injured 
lower leg. Eventually Satsuma started to get used to that stinging 
feeling. And so she just concentrated on the girl that was doing this 
for her. 

Rune was really kind. 

And it seemed like the longer they knew each other, the more they 
surprised each other. Satsuma had no idea about Rune's sword training 
under her grandfather. They had known each other for nine years and 
there were still things that they did not know about one and other. But 
they had their whole lives to figure that stuff out. Satsuma just laid 
back and let Rune tend to her injury. Once the thick green balm had been 
massaged into the scratch, Rune tore off a piece of her skirt and tied 
it around that graze. 

Rune shifted back and sighed. "There. All patched up."

Satsuma stared at her with misty (even somewhat longing) eyes. 
"...Thanks."

"It's not a problem," Rune answered, "I don't mind helping out a friend. 
But we're really late now. My Grandpa is probably kinda worried about 
me."

"I'm sorry, Rune. I'm such a screw up. I shouldn't have dragged you 
here." Satsuma said in a soft, self-reprimanding tone.

But that wasn't what Rune wanted to hear. The dark-haired girl leaned 
over to her friend and placed a caring hand against Satsuma's cheek. 
Something that was soothing her. Calming her down. Satsuma blushed a 
dramatic shade of crimson upon feeling that soft touch; staring into 
Rune's expressive and endlessly devoted blue eyes. 

"Hey, don't say that,"  Rune requested, "I came of my own free will. I 
like... being with you. That's what matters, right? And you're not a 
screw-up. You're my best friend. We take care of each other and look out 
for one and other. You've never let me down."

And it was comments like that that made Satsuma so resilient. As long as 
she had Rune at her side. The redheaded teen smiled sweetly at her 
friend as a thanks. Her blush growing in hue. Their friendship meant so 
much to Satsuma. But there was so much more that existed beneath. 
Feelings that had remained hidden for so many years...

"Rune... I..."

The dark-haired swordswoman tilted her head to the side. "Yes?"

"...I... have something... I wanna... say..." Satsuma struggled to get 
it out. Words that both needed and wanted to be spoke. But fear and 
overall indecision got the better of her, "...but don't worry about 
it... I... I can tell you another day..."

Rune figured that whatever Satsuma wanted to say, it was important. But 
if she didn't want to say it, then Rune would not press her about it. 
The older girl shifted upwards and off her knees onto her feet. Satsuma 
joined her in standing up. They had to get moving. Edward would most 
likely be pretty worried if they left it any longer. Rune and Satsuma 
dusted themselves off and left the Old Church. One thing that Rune did, 
curiously, was keep the Rustam blade she found. Satsuma figured that it 
she wanted to show it to Edward. But there was a lot more to it than 
that. Rune kept it... because part of her felt like this sword belonged 
to her. As though it were made for her and her alone. Regardless, Rune 
and Satsuma quickly left the Church and trekked down the path of Gram 
Mountain. All seemed normal at first. 

Until...

"Hmm," Rune sniffed at something in the air, "Do you... smell smoke... 
or something?"

Satsuma did the same. "...Not really."

"Then I wonder why-"

The sword-wielding teen silenced herself and froze when she looked over 
the edge of the mountain path. Looking down upon Reen Village. And when 
Satsuma joined her in looking at the village, they both shared an 
expression of terror between them. Reen Village was in flames. It was a 
horrible picture for the both of them. Houses had been crushed into 
nothing but rubble. The surrounding farms had been broken into, their 
fences torn down and the livestock running around freely. Women and 
children could be heard shrieking and yelling in both pain and fear. A 
group of soldiers were buzzing around the town and were slaughtering 
anyone who so much as looked in their direction. And the ashes of the 
homes that were burning in the heat soon started to rise. This was 
carnage. 

Rune was gob-smacked. "Dear Gods! The village is on fire! Grandpa is 
down there!"

And she instantly dashed down the footpath to get down to the village. 
Satsuma yelled a quick 'wait up!' and ran after her friend. It took at 
least fifteen more minutes but they managed to get back down to the foot 
of the mountain. Which made it easier to see what was going around Reen 
Village. A group of soldiers, dressed in white armour and bearing the 
emblem standard of Avernae; a triangle with a pentagram inside of it. 
Rune and Satsuma darted to one side of a nearby house to avoid being 
seen by anyone. These soldiers lit alight new houses and hacked down 
anyone who came within a stone's throw of them. 

"I can't believe this!" Rune exclaimed in a whisper, "What on Earth is 
happening?"

Satsuma grit her teeth and stayed out of sight. "Look at the symbols on 
their chest-plates! Those guys are working for the Avernae Church! I 
knew it! I just knew it! I knew that they couldn't be trusted!"

"There must be some kind of mistake! The Cardinal would never allow 
something like this, Satsuma! Something's gone wrong here!"

"Sure has," Satsuma seethed, "But we can't stay here forever! We have to 
get to your place as soon as we can!"

Rune nodded in agreement with her friend. The searing hot fire and grey 
smoke were starting to spread throughout Reen Village. The two of them 
were just about to flee to the right and run around this house to make 
it to Rune's place, but before they could, a whole new figure stepped 
out of a house down the street. Rune and Satsuma happened to catch a 
glimpse of that figure. He/she was like nothing Satsuma had ever seen 
before. But Rune couldn't stop herself from reacting to him/her. The 
tall figure was wrapped securely in an intrinsic steel armour that was 
painted in the grimly magnificent colour of white. Not a single shred of 
the person's human body could be seen under all that armour. And in 
his/her armoured hand was an extremely thin and elongated sword. Around 
1.5 metres in length and 3.6 centimetres in width. It was dripping with 
fresh blood along the edge of blade. Satsuma blinked in surprise. He had 
never seen anyone dressed in so much armour before. But Rune was a 
different story. Though she had NO idea why, she felt... familiar with 
this type of soldier. And a knowledge she didn't even knew she had came 
to memory.

"An Angel Knight..." Rune said in cautious fear.

Satsuma looked over at her friend. "A what?!"

Rune knew exactly what that person was. An Angel Knight. They were an 
order of VERY powerful soldiers who served directly under the Cardinal. 
There was only around fifty of them, but that was enough. The Angel 
Knights were known for their superhuman strength, amazingly destructive 
weapon-skills and their ability to use some of the most powerful magics 
known to man. Many tales had been told between the people who knew of 
the Angel Knights about them. Some said that they were all strong enough 
to cut mountains in twain. Others argued that they were the mortal 
sentinels of the Gods, doing divine work on the human world. Whether or 
not these tales were true, it was accepted that the Angel Knights were 
by far the most powerful warriors on the face of the earth. And it was 
long believed that their strength was the standing symbol of the 
authority of the Avernae Church. For an Angel Knight to be stationed 
somewhere as remote as Frayne Island, showed that this whole affair was 
not a mistake. They had been sent to Frayne Island for a reason. But 
why? Cardinal Danel had been known to be a gentle, pious man. Surely he 
could not have ordered this?

Rune was mesmerized as she looked at this Angel Knight. When she looked 
at him/her, she felt this pang of familiarity. Of nostalgia. But 
Satsuma's face was far more urgent. "Look, we can't stand around here 
all day! We have to get to your grandfather, alright?!"

That managed to break her out of her spell of confusion and 
acquaintance. Satsuma ran around the unburned alleyway that spanned the 
length of the residential area. Towards the centre of Reen Village. Rune 
followed her in a swift jog. But she could not help but turn her head to 
the left and watch the Angel Knight stand through the gaps between the 
houses. They soon came to Rune's home. But it was not undamaged. The 
part of the roof of it had collapsed into the bedrooms. The other half 
of the house was on fire. And the door leading inside had been broken 
open, ripped from the iron hinges of the doorway. Rune gasped and ran 
inside with Satsuma beside her. Their throats coughed at the thickness 
of the smoke. And their eyes watered from it. But they continued to 
search the place until they could find Rune's grandpa. 

They did.

But he was injured. Mortally. "Grandpa!"

Rune rushed over to his side. Edward was laying across the floor. His 
lower chest was covered in blood. His arms and legs had been burnt. One 
side of his face was covered with thin slash marks, and his right leg 
was bent at an awkward angle from the knee. Obviously broken. He 
couldn't walk, and could just barely see what was going on around him. 
If he didn't bleed to death from his wounds, he'd probably choke to 
death from all the smoke. 

"Grandpa...!" Rune's voice broke into sobs, "...I... can't believe this 
is all happening..."

Edward struggled to pull a smile. "...Be strong... Rune... I know 
that... this is hard... upon you... but... this was... un... avoidable. 
The destiny of... the world... demands it..."

"Grandpa! We have to leave! Now!" Rune yelled in tears, "If we don't get 
you help, you could... you could..."

"...Die...?" He put forth, "...You have... the medical... sense to 
know... that I... am already dying... Rune. And before... I fall... I 
must... tell you... the truth..."

Rune blinked in her tears. "...The truth...?"

"...I am not... your biological... grandparent... I was... a friend... 
of your father's... you know him... you have told me... you remember 
him... in your... dreams... Richard... of... Eltah..."

That was true. Rune had dreamt of a man known as Richard many times. And 
she always told Edward about those dreams. He confirmed that Richard was 
her father. But he had never told her anything about him. Not really. 
Edward would always reply to a question of Richard with the same 
reaction. 'That is for another day', he would say. Now it seemed that 
day had come to them. A day that, regrettably, was going to be Edward's 
last. 

Rune nodded. "Y-yeah. Y-you just told me that he was a good man. 
N-nothing more."

"...He was... a good man," Edward confirmed, "...He was... a... 
friend... of the... previous Cardinal... of the Church... of Avernae... 
Berthelsen Schaefer... and he was... allied with... the current 
Cardinal... Danel... Ferey... there was... a secret... a plan... 
involving you... Rune."

The young woman blinked. "M-me?"

"Yes... you were born... in... Lemarchand... not from the mainland... 
and your father... brought you... here... because... he wanted... to 
prevent... your true destiny... and I fear... that... it cannot... be 
avoided..."

"I don't understand," Rune said, clasping Edward's hand, "I don't 
understand all this!"

Edward spoke again. "Listen... to me. Go... to... Castel... or the 
Cardinal... will never... stop hunting... you..."

Then the old man's weakened eyes rolled down to the leather-protected 
weapon that had been strapped to Rune's waist. The Rustam Sword. Edward 
did his best and finally managed to smile. "I see... you have found... 
Rustam... it was... made by... me... at the... behest... of your 
destiny... something I fear... that you... can no longer... run from..."

Now Rune was beginning to understand things. "...This is why you taught 
me how to fight, isn't it? You wanted me to know how to protect myself. 
You knew something like this was bound to happen, didn't you?"

Edward nodded slowly. "...Yes... now go... you... do not... have... much 
time... and your powers... have not... matured enough... for you... 
to... defeat... an Angel Knight. You must flee... you must... flee... 
Frayne... Island... and... go... to... Castel..."

And those were his last breaths. Edward's wrinkled lips fell silent. And 
his tortured body became still. He was dead. A fact that was obvious to 
both Rune and Satsuma. Rune was stunned by all of this. The attack on 
Reen Village, the revelation that she and Edward shared no biological 
blood ties, the idea that she had a 'destiny'. All of this was shocking. 
Rune was left wide-eyed. So many things had happened and been learned in 
this brief day. But in the end all it led to were more questions. And 
Edward seemed to have believed... that those questions would be answered 
if Rune went to Castel. Satsuma stood silently, watching Rune sit beside 
her grandfather's corpse. Until she heard grunting and idle chatter. 
Obviously they were soldiers. And if they got caught they would probably 
suffer the same fate as Edward. 

Satsuma rushed over to her friend. "Rune! We've got to go! Now!"

She knew it. Rune wiped the tears from her eyes, and placed Edward's 
hands together. Then stood up with a resolute expression. She did not 
understand why ANY of this was happening to her. But she did know that 
she wanted answers. And that seemed to be what Edward wanted for her 
also. "...Lets go..."

**********

Beams of light criss-crossed over Helene's face from the slight gaps 
between the delicate white curtains of her window. She released a tiny 
moan, stirring, and then waking. She leaned upwards and rubs her eyes 
softly. Now she felt rejuvenated. After a song reading to the crowds of 
a sermon-gathering, Helene always found herself drained and weakened. 
But a good night's sleep did so much more for her. And helped her to 
restore her energy. Helene looked around for a little while. Taking note 
of how quiet it was. Her room was large. Full of many dolls she had a 
passion for collecting (some even came from Geshtar), flower pots with 
rare lilies and roses, thick books and scrolls of artwork that had been 
drawn for her. As well as dozens of presents from men who her father 
Danel considered to be her suitors. She had taken no charm from any of 
them. But she admired their zeal. However, right now, Helene did not 
require a betrothed husband.

Her needs were far more simple. 

But she was the daughter of the Cardinal. She was the future Cardinal 
herself. She would, when the time came, be the ruler of Lemarchand. She 
was in effect, more of a princess than a saintly songstress. Helene 
inheriting glory would be unavoidable. No one would understand if she 
told them that this made her far from happy. But those problems she left 
unspoken. The beautiful blonde woman climbed out of her large fluffy bed 
in her white nightdress, then bent down by her bed. She clasped her 
hands together and muttered a morning prayer to the Gods like she did 
every morning and night. Before and after sleep. It was a standard 
practice that showed Helene's faith in all its glory. In her prayers she 
pleaded for the safety of the people of the earth, in particular from 
the savage, venomous fang of Ottaman XII. 

That was the first act of her daily comings and goings. Helene stood 
upright and walked to one of her three large pine wardrobes and began 
picking out clothing for the day. She would not need her robes. There 
would be no address to the people of Valencia today. But what she did 
have was classes. She was not taught at any school in the city. Helene 
was taught by the finest scholars in all Lemarchand. These lessons 
varied between the History of the world, lessons in speaking and reading 
and writing in the Et Ohm language, schooling on the Opus Edda, 
Mathematics and Magical Engineering, Geography, and most important of 
all, training in the use of magics. Helene had a natural gift for it. 
Not one that she understood, obviously, but it was something that many 
people were taking notice of. 

Helene pulled out a small navy blue button blouse, a white undershirt, 
and navy blue skirt. Before she got dressed she walked over into a side 
room against her bedroom. It was a rather lavish bathroom made of the 
same white marble that was really a defining trait of the Holy Basilica. 
It took just an hour for her to bathe and return from that bathroom. Now 
clean and prepared for the day, Helene dressed in the clothing she 
picked out of her wardrobe. Then a knock came at the door when she was 
adjusting her collar. Bang on time. Helene knew exactly who this man 
was. 

"Please come in, Wishram." She exclaimed elegantly.

The door to Helene's bedroom opened slowly. The excessive yet light 
layers of white armour that was a trademark of the Angel Knights, made 
an appearance. This one was known as Angel Knight Wishram. He was 
appointed as Helene's guardian nine years ago. He uttered words through 
the sleek gaps in the steel of his helmet's visor. 

"Lady Helene," Wishram spoke, "It is time for your daily lessons."

Helene smiled at him. He looked quite out of place in Helene's lavish, 
feminine bedroom. And considering the fact that Angel Knight Wishram was 
literally powerful enough to destroy hundreds of men in the blink of an 
eye, Helene showed very little in the way of intimidation. She had known 
him since she was a little girl. Frightening presence though an Angel 
Knight was, Helene had grown to think of Wishram as a friend. 

And she hadn't really had a friend, since...

"I know, Wishram," Helene dared not venture down that road of memory, "I 
am ready. Though I do feel a bit peckish. I hope that my earlier lessons 
will be over before breakfast is served. Will my Father be joining me 
this morning?"

The metal-covered head of the knight shook. "No, milady. Cardinal Danel 
had much to do today in preparation for your trip to Castel. As your 
guardian, I shall be accompanying you to the city."

Helene nodded to that but took more note of the absence of Danel. So her 
father would not be eating with her. She was not surprised by it. Helene 
saw very little of her father. But that was to be expected. He was the 
head of the Avernae Church. Which made him leader and ruler of 
Lemarchand. Thus Cardinal Danel was one of the three most politically 
powerful figures in the world, alongside Queen Diamond of Daneland and 
Ottaman XII of Geshtar. If Helene was anything like a princess then 
Danel most certainly fit the role of a king. 

"Okay then, that's fine," Helene sighed, "I suppose that my last lessons 
for two weeks should be enjoyed to their fullest." 

**********

"I wonder what the village looks like now?"

Satsuma untied a rope that was tying a certain boat to the dock of the 
bay. Slowly at first. Releasing the rope would allow for the boat to 
drift away into the sea. That would allow them to leave Frayne Island. 
Perhaps forever. But that was not such a small notion for Rune to 
swallow, even if Satsuma didn't find it all that difficult to accept. 
The black-haired woman looked over at the island. Its beaches. The 
waters around it. The image of Gram Mountain in the background. And the 
wisps of smoke that rose up from the area at which Reen Village was 
built. Her grandfather's corpse was somewhere beneath all that smoke. 
And now that the morning had hit Frayne Island, Reen Village was most 
likely nothing more than a pile of ash. All the boats that had belonged 
to members of the village were still here. No one had escaped the attack 
of the Angel Knight and his/her troops. All aside from Rune and Satsuma. 
If they had not of gone up Gram Mountain when they did, they would have 
both been killed.

But for what reason did they come here?

...Edward had told Rune to seek out her destiny in Castel. Whatever was 
going on here, Rune could tell that she would play a part in it. She had 
to discover what that part was. Thus she had to say goodbye to her home. 
The beautiful island of Frayne. Satsuma untied the rope that was secured 
to the portside. Then she unwrapped the sail tied to the mast of the 
boat. It was a small little form of transportation. Built for just two 
people, and carrying only a small amount of supplies that Satsuma had 
managed to gather from the now vacant coastal homes. There was not much 
they could salvage. But it was enough. It would take around a day to 
reach the mainland from here. They had three days worth of food on them. 
If anything happened, they would have enough to live off for two more 
days. 

While Satsuma untied the sail, she looked down at the quiet Rune. "...I 
took a few lessons in sailing from a fisherman a couple years ago. I 
stole his fishing pole from him as training in becoming a Master Thief. 
He forced me to work for a day, catching fish with him. And it was 
really boring at first. But when he taught me how to sail, I knew that I 
would use it in the future for something. I guess I was right, huh?"

Rune said nothing.

Satsuma sighed again. "...Look, I know it doesn't mean much coming from 
me. But I'm SO sorry for what happened to your Grandpa. I know how much 
he meant to you. Now that those guys from the Avernae Church have all 
cleared out, we should just concentrate on getting to the mainland. 
Right?"

The woman known as Rune stirred a little from hearing that one.  But 
there was so much that was swimming around in her head from all this. So 
suddenly. Though Rune had never really considered herself a believer in 
the Avernae faith, she believed that the heart of the Church was pure. 
That the clergy and those in worship of it were good people. But why 
would the Cardinal allow something like this? For what reason? There 
were over 300 people living in Reen Village yesterday. Now only two of 
them were left alive. Why in the name of creation would someone as 
powerful as the Cardinal permit something like that to take place?

The black-haired girl looked to her right. To the sea. "...The Cardinal 
has betrayed us. I don't know why he did what he did... and I don't know 
how I know what I know. But I'm sure that the Angel Knights work 
directly under Danel. If one of them was leading this attack... then it 
was carried out in the name of the Avernae Church. And I won't rest 
until I figure out just WHY he did this."

Satsuma had never heard Rune sound so resolute. "...Hey... this is tough 
for you... I know. I lost my parents long before all this. And I 
guess... I don't have any real ties to Frayne Island other than you... 
but I'm gonna miss it too, in a weird way."

This was what Satsuma had wanted for a long time. To be able to leave 
the island and explore the mainland. But Rune had a mission now. To 
learn the truth. "...Lets get going, alright? I just can't stay here any 
longer."

Satsuma nodded and fully undid the ropes around the sail. It flapped 
outwardly and was blown back by the stern winds that were gathering 
around the island. Blowing in the correct direction. To the south. To 
the shores of Daneland. Frayne Island was at the foot of a cluster of 
small islands known as Paradise Isles. They were located at a short 
distance from the mainland of the continent. Daneland. They would sail 
to a port town on the coast, called Strolheim. It was a fishing village, 
mostly. Life there was similar to that on Frayne Island. But it had the 
fortunate luck to be apart of the vast country that made its ruler, 
Queen Diamond, a very rich woman. Strolheim would be their first stop. 
Then they would move onwards to Castel. It would probably take a little 
while to get there. But it seemed that Rune was more than prepared to 
wait if it meant figuring things out. And where Rune went, Satsuma went. 

The boat they had borrowed quickly took off thanks to the strong winds 
coming down from the north. And it drifted away from Frayne Island 
towards Daneland. Satsuma and Rune had different reasons for leaving. 
Rune wanted answers. Satsuma wanted adventure with the girl that had 
become the most important in the world to her. Though they had these 
opposing needs for escape, they would do it together and face the world 
that existed outside of Frayne Island. Which, until today...

...had been their entire sphere of existence.  

**********

The journey from Frayne Island to the mainland was actually shorter than 
Satsuma had expected it to be. Thanks to the strong winds that were 
blowing southwards from the north, the sail of their boat was able to 
get a good gust behind it. One that was strong enough to carry them all 
the way to Daneland. To the port town of Strolheim, to be precise.  They 
had left Frayne in the morning. And by the late afternoon, Satsuma and 
Rune could see the town and the lands it was built on in the distance. 
From then on it was just a matter of thinking up the next move. 

Neither Rune nor Satsuma had EVER been to the mainland before. It was 
obvious that Rune had lived outside of Frayne Island at a point, in 
Lemarchand. But at that time, she was just a child. She did not know 
much of it. And her memories of those times were small and few. It was 
Frayne Island and Reen Village that she knew of. Everything else in the 
world was quite foreign to her. So when she and Satsuma finally reached 
Strolheim, their boat docking in the bay, they would need to find their 
way around by use of a map or by word of mouth. Now that they were on 
Daneland, things would probably be a lot tougher than on Frayne. Satsuma 
and Rune stepped out of the boat and jumped up to port. Which itself was 
quite busy. Dozens of burly men, mostly fishermen, some other being 
traders, carried huge crates and caskets of goods from shore to ship or 
the other way around. Huge nets of fish were dragged up onto port from 
small ships just like Rune and Satsuma's. While travellers and vagrants 
either entered ships to get out to sea, or left their boats in order to 
explore the mainland. 

Rune held a hand above her eyes to block out the sun. "Whoa. This place 
is... busier than I thought it would be..."

"Oh, this is great," Satsuma was gushing with emotion, "I can't believe 
I'm finally on the mainland of the continent. And to think, this place 
is one of the smaller towns in Daneland!"

The swordswoman Rune looked over her Master Thief friend. Satsuma was 
really excited about all of this. Though there was a lot more for Rune 
to be concerned about right now, she was pleased about that. Satsuma had 
spent most of her life longing to get out and have these amazing 
adventures. To be a Master Thief, and live life on the edge. Up until 
yesterday, Rune thought that would never happen. But now it was. 
Satsuma's dream was coming true. Well, at least maybe part of it was. 

Rune crossed her arms. "...But, I guess this is just a quick stop. We 
have to find out from someone how to get to Castel. I hope its not too 
far from here."

"I'm sure it isn't," Satsuma replied, "but don't you think we should 
rent out a couple of rooms first? I don't know about you but I wanna 
sleep in a warm bed tonight."

The black-haired woman finally pulled a smile. She was so lucky to have 
Satsuma with her, right now. Anyone else would not have been able to 
restore cheer inside of her. But little Satsuma was different. Beneath 
the shell of this immature, thieving little hyper-active hottie was a 
layer of calm emotion and passion. Something that was... both 
overwhelming and appealing at the same time. 

"Yeah, you're right, Setsu," Rune claimed, "I don't think we should be 
leaving Strolheim on the same day that we got here. I wonder how much 
two rooms would cost at an Inn? I don't really have a lot of money on 
me."

Satsuma blinked. "Well how much 'ya got?"

"About 300 gold pieces," Replied Rune, "Would that be enough?"

The Master Thief scratched the side of her head. "Hmm. I'm not really 
sure. I have about 150 on me right now. That's 450 gold pieces between 
the two of us. I guess that's enough. But we're gonna need more money to 
get to Castel, I think. We probably should have thought about that 
before we left Frayne Island..."

"...Darn it," Rune exclaimed, "...this is going to be harder than I 
thought. But I suppose we'll just worry about all that in the morning. 
Lets just find out how to get to Castel, then rent out some rooms for 
the night."

Satsuma nodded to her friend. That seemed like the right thing to do 
now. Over thinking things could often be as destructive as not thinking 
about them at all. If worst came to worst then they would have to find a 
couple of jobs to earn money. They had the option of walking between 
towns. Which seemed like the cheapest way forward. But it would also be 
the most taxing. Regardless, Satsuma and Rune left the busy ports of 
Strolheim and entered into the town itself. And they were not surprised 
to see that it was quite different to what they had known in Reen 
Village. It was a port town and thus a place of trade. Men and women 
buzzed in between each other to reach from one place to the next, always 
with goods in their hands. The small animals that happened to be locked 
inside cages for transportation could be heard. The clucks of chickens 
and quacking of ducks were particular. The main streets were full of 
food stalls selling all kinds of fruit and vegetables that could be 
found around these parts. As well as weapons stalls for travellers on 
the move. 

As Rune and Satsuma walked though the market-like streets of Strolheim, 
Rune soon became aware of a certain thing. The more she looked around, 
the more she saw soldiers. It was not very noticeable at first because 
of the noise and the amount of people about. But if you looked hard 
enough you could see men and women dressed in sparsely-armoured military 
uniforms. Rune could see that they were not working for the Cardinal, 
though. Their chest plates did not bare the insignia of the Avernae 
Church, the Pentagram Triangle. These soldiers were under the service of 
the ruler of Daneland. That person being Queen Diamond. Her full name 
was Genevieve Diamond Annabel-Bainbridge. She was the only child born to 
the previous king and thus she was rightful heir. However she was quite 
young when she ascended to the throne, only at the age of 9. Now she was 
28. Thus far she had proven herself to be a capable ruler of Daneland. 
Her rule was both fair and just, she had attracted far better popularity 
than that of her father and the corruption rife in the Danelish Monarch 
was solved. Thus most people of Daneland, particularly those to the 
north (with less contact to Geshtar) were quite patriotic and ardent 
about their queen. The emblem on the armour of her soldiers bared the 
violet rose, which was the symbol of the Bainbridge family. And that 
patriotism was sorely needed against the armies of Ottaman. The savagery 
of the Geshtar King's military was fast becoming infamous over the 
world. New recruits were needed to bolster the Danelish Army all the 
time. Which perhaps explained why there were so many soldiers around 
Strolheim. It was one of the many towns at which people signed up for 
military duty. 

When Rune and Satsuma passed by a building that seemed a little taller 
than the others, they realized that it was a local Inn. They would have 
to make a stop here. Who knew if there were anymore around Strolheim. 
The two girls marched through the swinging doors into the Inn, which 
happened to be named the Blue Moon. Their intent was to go straight to 
the reception desk to rent out some rooms. But they stopped and looked 
across from the desk to a crowd that was gathering over by a set of 
wooden tables and chairs. About fifteen men and women in a circle. All 
soldiers. All armed and all dressed in Danelish battle armour. There 
were two other men in that circle. One a soldier, the other looking to 
be a civilian. But this 'civilian' was clearly significant. He was 
dressed simplistically, in leather brown trousers, a loose white shirt 
and a brown over-jacket. With spiky russet hair and knowing/amused 
forest green eyes. He could have been no more than 24 or 25 years in 
age. And he was held by the collar by another man, taller, much more 
muscular, with a furious expression on his face. 

"You coward!" The larger man spat, "You'd really desert the Queen's Army 
now!? When we need as many soldiers as we can spare?! What the HELL are 
you thinking, Baliero?!"

The man known as Baliero smirked. "...I'm thinking that I like living. 
And I'm not the kind of man to sacrifice himself for a hopeless battle. 
None of you will make it out of this war alive. Not when you're letting 
your 'Gods' do the work for you."

The taller soldier scowled. "That's just like you, isn't it, Baliero?! 
You always have your damn head in the clouds! But this isn't a joke 
anymore! I don't believe in Avernae's crap anymore than you do but we 
NEED Lemarchand's soldiers for the battle! And as surprising as it is, 
we could use YOUR help too!"

"Is that right?" Baliero prodded with a smirk, "Well I don't think so."

A darker frown then crossed the irate soldier's face. "...So you'll just 
turn your back on your country!? On your Queen!?"

"Not Queen Diamond... just Avernae..." Replied Baliero.

The tall soldier had heard all he wanted to hear just then, though. He 
drew back his fist and roared loudly, striking Baliero across the face 
with a searing punch. Baliero was released and he stumbled backwards 
from the force of the strike, a trickle of blood running from the corner 
of his lips. The angry soldier scoffed at him, then turned and marched 
right out of the Blue Moon Inn, closely followed by the rest of his 
troupe. They seemed to be part of a division of the Danelish Army. Rune 
and Satsuma looked on as they all left. Leaving Baliero behind. And that 
was when they noticed the sword and scabbard at his belt. It was a thin 
sword. Built like a rapier. Upon the leather scabbard was the woven name 
'Hammon'. From what Rune could remember from her school days on Frayne 
Island, Hammon was once an ancient demon of destruction that lived 
thousands of years ago. But what took Rune's concern more was the 
condition of Baliero. Rune, not really knowing why, jogged up to him, to 
inspect his face.

"Are you okay, sir?" Rune asked him. 

The older man smiled and licked the blood of his lips. "...It's okay, 
kid. This jaw ain't made of glass. And that burly son of a bitch had his 
reasons. Truth be told I can't really blame him for believing in 
Lemarchand."

A quizzical look came from the younger woman. "What are you talking 
about?"

"Haven't you heard?" Baliero asked. "The Force of Onreld, Lemarchand's 
military, is finally sending troops to Daneland to reinforce the 
Danelish Army. Once they all assemble together they're going to storm 
the front lines of the Daneland-Geshtar conflict."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Rune wondered. 

"Maybe," Then Baliero's face suddenly became serious, "but if you're 
like me, then you'd know that neither the Avernae religion nor Cardinal 
Danel can be trusted as far as you could throw them. The Queen's Army is 
on its last legs though... so naturally their gonna jump at any chance 
they have at pushing back Ottaman's forces. Even if it means trusting 
the untrustworthy."

That was a fact Rune did know. After what the Cardinal's troops and that 
Angel Knight had done at Reen Village, it was more than obvious that 
there was a darker side to the Avernae Church. Baliero seemed to be 
aware of it too. 

"...I know," Rune said solemnly, "I know what... Avernae are capable 
of..."

One of Baliero's eyebrows rose as he watched the dark-haired girl. That 
was said with a little sadness in it. Maybe he wasn't the only one who 
mistrusted Avernae. Satsuma then walked up to the two of them, running a 
hand through her strawberry-blonde bangs.

"So," The Master Thief began, "Who exactly are you?"

Baliero smirked at the redhead. "...I have no idea why I should 
introduce myself to a couple of kids, but, despite the lucky punch I 
just received a couple seconds ago, I'm feeling bright today. The name's 
Baliero. I was a soldier for the Queen's Army as you can see. But I left 
it when those idiots decided to adopt Avernae into the war. All this 
talk of Gods and prophecy and revelation got me a little agitated. So I 
left. Simple as that. Now I'm a mercenary. It's not a bad life... gets 
me a little cash here and there."

Satsuma nodded. "So you're an unbeliever too, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Baliero then looked between the two of them, "but 
we can't leave the score like that now, can we? Why don't you two name 
yourselves? After all, you know who I am."

Rune did the honours. "Us? Well... my name is Rune. Rune of Eltah."

Baliero blinked. "...Did you say Eltah...?"

"Yes... it was my Father's title. Why?"

The older Baliero just waved that off, "Nah, nothing important. Now what 
about your friend with the ring hairdo over here?"

"This is my friend, Satsuma," Rune nodded to the grinning Satsuma. 
However that grin turned into an angry frown and Rune just suddenly 
reminded herself of her friend's golden rule, "...but she kinda prefers 
to be called Setsu. We both come from Frayne Island."

Baliero crossed his arms together, thinking. "Frayne Island, huh? That's 
one of the Paradise Isles, isn't it? But I thought you tropical people 
didn't like venturing to the mainland unless you had to."

"...We do have a reason..." Rune responded, "...We have to get to 
Castel..."

Baliero smiled at her. "Ah. A woman with a mission. Kinda rare these 
days. Nonetheless, I have to say, I'm heading to Castel too."

"Really?" Said Satsuma.

"Of course. Castel is a huge city. It's far bigger than Valencia of 
Lemarchand or El Kumah of Geshtar. I'm looking for work and the best 
place to find it would be there. And I'd be heading out for there in the 
morning, if not for the issue at Adelaide Pass."

Rune's eyes grew inquisitive. "What's Adelaide Pass?"

"To the southwest of here are a set of mountains called the Strolheim 
Range. They surround most of this part of the county, blocking off the 
Strolheim region from the rest of Daneland. But years ago the people of 
this village built a mountain pass nearby. So that venturing to the rest 
of the country was easier. That path is called Adelaide Pass. But it was 
also built above an abandoned mine called the Enfar Colliery. And the 
Enfar Colliery was left derelict because of a monster infestation sixty 
years ago. So they closed off the mine and nobody went anywhere near it 
from then on. However... it seems that one of the monsters that took 
over the Enfar Colliery has escaped... and its been killing people on 
the Adelaide Pass. Those soldiers that you just saw? They were members 
of the Griffin Panzer Division of the Queen's Army. They were ordered to 
kill off the monster on Adelaide Pass before joining the main army in 
the fight against Ottaman. I was once a member of the Griffin Panzer 
Division. So... when they saw me... I guess it dragged up some old 
memories. Not to mention feelings of betrayal. Of course, I kinda feel 
betrayed myself that Queen Diamond has been taken in by that raving old 
charlatan, Danel Ferey."

"So we have to wait until the Griffin Panzers kill the monster?" Satsuma 
wondered.

Baliero nodded. "Yup. But I plan on slipping by anyway. It won't take 
them long to kill off that monster. Whatever it is. Those guys are 
pretty tough when they need to be."

But that really wasn't on Rune's mind now. "Yes, but you said that you 
were going to Castel, didn't you? I know this might seem rude to ask... 
but... could we come with you?"

"Huh?" Satsuma expressed.

"We don't know the way ourselves," Rune said to her, turning between 
both Satsuma and Baliero, "And I trust you, Baliero. I'm going to Castel 
under the wish of my grandfather. I won't pretend to know what I'll find 
when I get there... but I have to get there. Will you help us? Will you 
allow Setsu and I to come with you?"

The laidback swordsman shrugged. "Sure. It can get kinda lonely 
travelling by yourself, anyways. And travelling with two young women 
could brighten up the whole journey... however... I do have a 
condition."

"Which is?" Satsuma asked.

"You two are in charge of your own lives," Baliero said seriously, 
"Sometimes travelling the world can be rough. If you need a hand, then I 
guess I'll be there to give you one. But I sure as hell won't take 
responsibility for either of you. You got that?"

Satsuma and Rune nodded. They didn't expect it any other way. And it 
seemed... that the journey towards the city of Castel just got a little 
bit easier.

**********

"Upon clouds of great weight and heft but with the swiftness of a 
thousand dragons, Ishu rode towards that which would prove to be her 
destiny. It was the words of the Goddess that spread the notion across 
the world. The notion that the children of Onreld and Aeraph, the human 
beings; would follow. And thus her lips delivered the decree that 
blessed and cursed us to infinite stalemate. To the idea that shapes the 
known world. The constant struggle between good and evil, love and hate, 
war and peace, riches and poverty, sickness and health, flame and water, 
darkness and light. The two forces struggle against one and other. 
Without the knowledge that neither force can win. Until that hallowed 
day when the Scion of Earth and the Oracle of Heaven will face their 
destinies. For they are the Word of the Gods and the Descendant of the 
People. They shall meet again and thus a new world will be cleaved. To 
Heaven shall be a mortal paradise - to live by rapture and joy. To the 
people there shall be a mortal hell - to live by flame and sword. The 
chant of the prophet will bring understanding. And the epoch of the Gods 
will begin anew."

A verse of Opus Edda.

Helene shut her copy of the holy book of the Avernae faith and sighed. 
It was all written in Et Ohm. That was the best she could do for a 
translation. That particular chapter of Opus Edda, Divination, was one 
of the few that she had not read yet. It was clearly an important 
chapter because the Et Ohm used was a lot more complex and ropy than 
usual. But that was the main incentive for Helene to learn it. The other 
28 chapters she knew almost by heart. This was the last one. Once she 
fully memorized it, she would be as well versed in the Avernae faith as 
Cardinal Danel. 

Not very exciting, though. 

At least not for a young woman. 

There were more interesting sections in Opus Edda. There was a chapter 
was about a fierce battle that the Gods had against their mortal 
enemies, the Rah. And how, when the Rah were about to face defeat, they 
created an evil and dreadfully powerful monster called Amun to attempt a 
second shot at the destruction of the Gods. Thankfully Amun was killed 
with the combined efforts of Nai, Zaiki and Onreld, while the other Gods 
used their powers to hold it down. That chapter was known as Maelstrom. 
It came directly before Divination. 

Helene sighed and looked upwards with her beautiful baby blue eyes. Up 
into the skies that were overhanging the gardens of the Holy Basilica. 
This was her favourite place of the Basilica. A gigantic garden that was 
located at the back of the palace and cut off from the frontal 
courtyards. In was a large stretch of finely trimmed grass, full of 
blossoming red rose bushes and divided into certain sections by white 
marble footpaths. Helene sat down on a pink blanket she had laid across 
a small patch of grass at the edge of the garden. Beside her was a large 
stone water fountain, which had a wonderfully sculpted statue of the 
mighty King of the Gods himself, Onreld. Standing across from Helene by 
about twenty metres was Angel Knight Wishram. He had not carried his 
spear (Janus) with him because there was little danger of Helene being 
attacked in the Holy Basilica. But she had to be safeguarded from 
anything that could possibly happen. Which was why Wishram was always at 
hand to protect her. 

Helene placed the book to her side and continued to observe the stars of 
the night.  It was quite a bright night. No clouds lingered. Giving a 
perfect view of  constellations, like the Sword of Zaiki, high up above. 
"They look so beautiful tonight."

Wishram looked over at his charge. "What was that, Lady Helene?"

"The stars," Helene spoke softly, in her slow, sweet & soft voice, "They 
look wonderful tonight. There are no clouds at all to block them. I do 
not take the time to look at them these days. Mostly because my studies 
take up so much time. But they really are beautiful. Don't you think 
so?"

The Angel Knight grunted under his helmet.

Helene smiled at that. "You're a secretive person, aren't you? Why don't 
you tell me what's on your mind?"

"...On my mind?" The powerful warrior exclaimed, "...Very little. 
Besides your protection."

"I see. But... don't you have... someone... special to you...? Have 
you... ever had... someone like that, Wishram?" 

That brought up memories that he might not have wanted to think of. The 
Angel Knight crossed his arms and looked upwards into the sky, just as 
Helene had done. "...I did have someone special to me, milady. But... 
that was a long time ago. What is it that brings this on?"

Helene drew her knees up to her chest and sighed. "...I wish I had 
someone special. You know, sometimes... when I look at the stars... I 
feel as though I can remember something... about my past. I can see... a 
girl... who I really like..."

"This... girl," Wishram spoke as if he knew what Helene was getting at, 
"...Do you know what her name might be...?"

The innocent blonde shook her head. "No. I really don't. I can't 
remember her name... but I know that I feel happy... when I think of 
her. She has dark hair and blue eyes... she's very sweet and 
understanding... but sometimes I don't know if my image of her is a 
memory or just a dream. Sometimes I imagine that the two of us... 
used... to walk together in the garden on nights just like this. But... 
the image is so hazy... do you think that I'm... just imagining all of 
this...?"

Angel Knight Wishram's white armour clinked as his body shifted. He did 
have an opinion of what Helene was thinking of. But it was not the time. 
There was still so little that Wishram understood about the past 
himself. "...I think that if these images make you happy... then you 
should hold onto them. As long as you realize that they are only images. 
Regardless of how much you wish for the opposed... you cannot make them 
a reality."

"Yes... I know," Helene said, slightly downtrodden, "...I just wish... 
that I could understand why... I have these visions. I wish I knew... if 
the girl is real."

**********

The morning after Rune and Satsuma's meeting with the mercenary 
swordsman Baliero came swiftly. It was the beginning of a new stage in 
their journey, after all. Once the bright beams of morning time came 
down on Strolheim Village, the three of them were all up and ready to 
roll. The beds in the Blue Moon weren't very great to rest on but they 
managed to get a good night's rest. And so as soon as morning hit, they 
were off. 

Rune, Satsuma and now Baliero, left the soldier-ridden town of Strolheim 
via its gateway to the west. Beyond that place would be the Strolheim 
Mountain Range. And though that range was Adelaide Pass. Their current 
target to reach the inland of the country. Below the beams of the early 
morning sun, the three companions strode across the grasslands towards 
Adelaide Pass. In the far distance, Satsuma could see the mountains of 
the Strolheim Range. Taller than anything she had been told of in 
classes. Schools did have a habit of underestimating things. And on 
Frayne Island that was a particular fact. Probably to stop the kids from 
guessing and wondering about the outside world. For a place where the 
curriculum was based on the very teachings of Avernae, that wasn't too 
surprising. 

While Rune walked alongside Baliero (with Satsuma slightly ahead of the 
two of them) she was compelled to ask him a question she had been 
thinking about for a while. "Baliero? Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Um... what are the people from Geshtar like?" Rune asked aloud, "Back 
home on Frayne Island, they talked a lot about how ruthless Ottaman's 
armies are. Is that really true?"

Baliero's normally laidback face grew serious again. "...Rune? No matter 
what you learned on your island from Avernae, what they say about 
Ottaman is true. I've never seen his face before. But I fought 
head-to-head with his armies on Geshtar land, in the heat and sands of 
the Great Desert of Ka'ha. Most people call them the Bloody Horde. And 
that name suits them so well. They come in huge numbers. Their skin is 
tanned, their clothes are loose and they wear turbans. White turbans. 
Which seems to be linked to their own religion called Mah Kai. They come 
to the battlefield with terrifying shrieks. Over and over. Then they 
gallop straight at you on horseback and slice your frontal forces to 
pieces with their curved Kashaiyaba scimitars. Swords sleek enough to 
hack off a man's head in one stroke. And once they win a battle and push 
back Danelish troops, they attack nearby Danelish settlements. They burn 
the houses to the ground, steal the riches and food, kill the men and 
the feeble, rape the women and kidnap the children for use as slaves of 
war. The Bloody Horde are the most dangerous and merciless army the 
world has ever seen. These days, criminals are punished by having to 
fight on the front lines against the Bloody Horde. All because it's 
pretty much a death sentence in fighting them. Now Ottaman is close to 
conquering southeast Daneland. If he annexes it into his empire he'll be 
even stronger than before. Hence the patriotism of the Queen's Army. And 
the need for help from Avernae."

Rune was stunned. "Wow. I never thought the situation was that 
serious..."

"It is." Baliero assured, "That's why the Griffin Panzers were so 
desperate to sign me back up for the good fight. They need all the help 
they can get against the Bloody Horde. I would have fought with them to 
the end... but I can't... fight under the banner of Avernae. Not even if 
I wanted to."

Satsuma looked back at the older man. "You have a problem with them too, 
huh?"

"...Damn straight. To be frank, I couldn't give a shit about Avernae or 
Geshtar. I hate 'um both. So I decided that I'm not gonna fight in this 
war anymore. Not unless Queen Diamond wakes up to Avernae."

Rune could tell that this was not a view that the majority had. Most 
people loved Avernae and its worship of the Gods. But those people had 
not seen the things that these three had seen. The three travellers 
crossed the slight grassland gap between Strolheim Village and the 
Strolheim Mountain Range. It did not take long. They soon came to the 
foot of one of the many mountains that cut off the Strolheim region from 
the rest of Daneland. Between that mountain and another was the winding 
path of Adelaide. The first section of that mountain pass was built into 
the mountain. And so it came off as more of a cave for the first three 
hundred metres. After that it was an open air stroll through the rest of 
the pass to the other side of the mountain range. 

Rune, Satsuma and Baliero stopped when they reached the wide mouth of 
the cave-like opening of Adelaide Pass. Across from it was another 
opening. Also built into the face of the mountain. But that entrance was 
boarded up and sealed off. That had to be Enfar Colliery. The very same 
place at which the monster had reared its ugly head. 

"This must be the place." Satsuma said.

Baliero nodded. "Uh huh. Adelaide Pass and the Enfar Colliery. We 
probably shouldn't hang around here for too long. Lets just get moving."

"What about the Griffin Panzers?" Rune wondered, "Would they have 
finished dealing with the monster by now?"

That was something that Baliero was sure of. "Yeah. Trust me, Rune, 
those old 'pals' of mine are no slouches when it comes to fighting. 
We're all clear."

As long as he was sure of that. Rune, Satsuma and Baliero then walked to 
the mountain-face opening of Adelaide Pass. And it happened to be rather 
dark in there. It was a very spacious corridor supported by wooden 
beams. The darkness had been cut out due to a few lit torches attached 
to the craggy walls. Obviously the work of the Griffin Panzers. So the 
three of them strode through the sparsely lit corridor. Baliero kept 
silent while Rune and Satsuma looked around at the place. But their 
attention turned to something rather different the deeper they got into 
Adelaide Pass.

Satsuma caught the peculiarity first. "...You smell that guys? Kinda 
smells like... blood...?"

"Blood?" Rune blinked, "Are you sure?"

Baliero sniffed in the air. "No. She's right. What the hell does that 
mean-"

Then the three of them all stopped. Their eyes widened in unison when a 
whole new sight graced their eyes in that large cave-corridor. It was 
the Griffin Panzers. But not as the brave bunch that Rune and Satsuma 
had seen in the Blue Moon Inn. But as a pile of dismembered corpses. 
Baliero's shocked expression was shared between the three of them when 
they took this in. All of the Griffin Panzers were dead. Their broken 
arms, legs, feet, hands and heads had been chopped off from the torsos. 
Puddles of blood were everywhere. Still wet. Not yet drying. And all 
that blood happened to be staining their armour and clothing. The 
lavender rose upon their chest plates were now smeared with blood. As if 
staining the authority of Queen Diamond and her whole dynasty. The foul 
stench of all that blood was more than either Rune or Satsuma had ever 
experienced. Baliero had had to deal with this kind of gore every day 
when fighting against the Bloody Horde. But the notion that those who 
were once his friends had been killed and mutilated to this degree... 

"W-what the...?" Baliero was literally stunned, "...What the hell 
happened here?!"

Rune called the keepsakes of the Avernae faith unconsciously. "...Dear 
Gods..."

The former soldier of the Queen's Army rushed over to the piles of 
sliced-up corpses and expected this all. Not one of them had been left 
alive. All twenty of the Griffin Panzers were dead. Their weapons were 
broken, their armour was shredded, and from the fact that none of the 
corpses seemed to have their eyes closed... it appeared that none of 
them even knew what had hit them. 

Satsuma's throat trembled. "...I... guess... the monster... must 
have..."

"...No." Baliero said solemnly, his emerald eyes looking to the maimed 
bodies, "This was not the work of some random cave-dwelling creature. 
The strokes that hacked off their limbs are too even and precise. The 
Panzers have been murdered by someone - or something - with a weapon. 
Quite a powerful one. And judging by how fresh the blood is... whatever 
attacked the Griffin Panzers is..."

Down the corridor, around a corner, the sound of footsteps, heavy with 
the clang of armour, could be heard. Rune and Satsuma suddenly became 
alert. The mantra of slow, metal-ridden footsteps became louder and 
louder. An intimidating shadow became visible around down the length of 
the curved corner. 

Baliero stood up with focused eyes, reaching for the hilt of Hammon. 
"...probably still here."

The chain of footsteps came to a stop. And Rune, Satsuma and Baliero was 
given sight of the one that had committed this terrible act. An Angel 
Knight. Decorated in all the layers of white steel armour that were 
their trademarks. Rune's eyes widened when she realized that this was 
the exact same one that had attacked Frayne Island. From his/her left 
hand extended that same enormously long and thin blade (Stratum El 
Dalvacour)  and in his/her right hand was the head of the monster. Its 
thin, long snout and neck, covered in its green blood. This Angel Knight 
had killed both the monster and the Griffin Panzers. The Angel Knight 
tossed the head of the dead monster onto the corpses of his/her other 
kills and lowered their hand.

Baliero's face showed both violent anger and paralysing nervousness. 
"...An Angel Knight? Here? What in the hell...?"

From nothing more than instinct, Rune reached for Rustam, "That's the 
same one! The same Angel Knight that attacked Reen Village! The one that 
probably killed my Grandpa!"

Through the breathing holes of the visor of the helmet, the Angel Knight 
spoke. The depth of the warrior's voice now clearly identified its 
gender. Male. "...They used to call me... Angel Knight Vohraphamon. You 
are denying the will of Avernae... the will of destiny. You will come 
with me now. Rune of Eltah, sole daughter of Richard..."

Rune was surprised. This Angel Knight knew her father. But she didn't 
address that. Satsuma stepped ahead of her swiftly, pulling out her 
knife Quiri from the little sheath she had made for it behind her hips. 

"Rune isn't going anywhere!" Satsuma yelled at him, "Especially not 
without me!"

Vohraphamon swept Stratum El Dalvacour to one side of him, flinging the 
blood from its blade off in one easy motion. "...Then you will die."

Baliero frowned. This... thing was after Rune. But as much as he hated 
Avernae, he was more than aware of the strength of the Angel Knights. No 
single member of the Bloody Horde nor the Queen's Army could compare to 
it. And though he had opted before not to make any kind of allowances 
for Rune and Satsuma, he found himself acting on his militarily-honed 
instincts. Baliero withdrew Hammon from its sheath. Then charged 
straight for Angel Knight Vohraphamon. The holy warrior swung the 
lengthy Stratum El Dalvacour into a defensive position across his body. 
Rune and Satsuma looked on when the enraged Baliero crashed into 
Vohraphamon's blade with his own. The two locked swords in that instant. 
The young ex-soldier struggled against the emotionless Vohraphamon. Even 
in a one-handed grip, that Angel Knight handled his weapon with twice 
then strength that Baliero could with his own.

"Rune, Satsuma!" He cried out to them, "Run! Now!"

Rune hesitated in place. Could she leave Baliero alone with someone like 
that? Satsuma seemed to have made the decision for her. The redhead 
grabbed Rune by the wrist and made a dash around the struggling Baliero 
and Vohraphamon.  But while Satsuma dragged Rune off, the older girl 
could not help but look back at Baliero. He had said that he wouldn't 
put their lives ahead of his own while they travelled together. So why 
did he do that? Regardless, Baliero held off the towering titan of white 
armour, looking up at his helmet, into its visor, looking deep into the 
thin slit that acted as an eye hole. 

"Y-you!" Baliero closed one of his eyes and strained, "W-what does 
Avernae want with a kid like Rune, huh? What's the secret?!"

Vohraphamon continued to effortlessly hold back Baliero. "...Fool. That 
girl is one half of the culmination of Ishu's legacy... and the key to 
the unlocking of my master's new age. It cannot be avoided. For it is 
destiny. The Scion of Earth WILL meet with the Oracle of Heaven. And the 
birth of the Holy Realm will take place upon that which you know. Upon 
the face of all reality."

"...What the hell... are you... talking about?" Questioned Baliero in 
confusion, "M-master? Do you mean... Danel? Or...?"

Suddenly Vohraphamon broke the lock. With one awesome stride, he pushed 
forwards and knocked Baliero directly out of his struggle. The young man 
fell backwards and violently landed to the ground with a thud. Shaken... 
but still managing to retain his grip on Hammon. The Angel Knight looked 
down at the swordsman, swinging Stratum El Dalvacour to one side of his 
body. 

"...I will not kill you now," Vohraphamon spoke, "... for your role is 
small. But needed. Keep this in mind. The Scion of Earth will meet with 
the Oracle of Heaven. That is inevitable. And the coin of chance that 
will decide the Contest of Heaven and Earth shall be spun to our will. 
The Holy Realm shall come into being. And thus my duty will be 
fulfilled."

Baliero wasn't understand a word of any of this. But it didn't matter. 
Vohraphamon then walked away, past the corpses of the Griffin Panzers 
and the decapitated head of the monster. The ones he had killed. Toward 
the entrance of the Adelaide Pass. Baliero released a sigh and sheathed 
his blade. He had been spared for some reason. Now it was becoming clear 
that Rune was a lot more significant than just some random traveller. 
There was an epic scenario that was taking place around all of them. 
Baliero could sense that, whatever was going on, it was important in 
regards to the fate of the world.

And Rune was the fulcrum upon which this scenario danced. 

**********

Helene sighed.

With her right hand pressed against the glass of her large bedroom 
window, she looked out at the vastness of the gardens that surrounded 
the Holy Basilica. This was her home. And now she would have to leave it 
because of something her father wouldn't even tell her about. It was 
time for her trip to Castel. Whatever was happening, Cardinal Danel 
clearly viewed it as important. Thus Helene had to do as he wished and 
join him. Though she suspected that her father would have an audience 
with Queen Diamond at some point during this little trip. The Queen of 
Daneland had much to discuss with Cardinal Danel. Now that the Force of 
Onreld would be joining the Queen's Army on the battlefield in the fight 
against Ottaman and the Bloody Horde, the situation between the leaders 
of Daneland and Lemarchand had to be clarified. The amount of troops and 
the positioning of them was also important. Queen Diamond and Cardinal 
Danel were sure to discuss such issues.

However Helene could not understand why she had to be involved in any of 
it. Not only was this out of the blue, it interrupted her lessons. Most 
people would have been happy with the prospect of a trip to a new land 
but Helene did not see it that way. All she could think of were the 
possible reasons for joining her father in his journey to Castel. 

While she looked out of the window, Helene remembered that she would 
have to bring a copy of Opus Edda with her. If anything, she would be 
ordered to continue her studies of the Divination chapter regardless of 
a trip to Castel. But Helene would not take her polished, hardback third 
edition of it. She would take an older copy that she had had since she 
was a youngster. The blonde sighed once more and strode across her 
lavishly decorated bedroom. To a small wooden chest that was located by 
her bed. Helene opened the lid of the chest and reached inside. She 
pulled out her older copy of Opus Edda. She had no idea why (after all 
she hadn't read from this particular copy in years) but this book held a 
lot of sentimental value in her. Helene slowly dragged her fingers over 
the cover of the thick book to wipe off the traces of dust that had 
gathered on it. Then shut the lid to her chest. It was fitting that if 
she had to go to Castel with her father, then she could at least bring 
something of value with her. 

A knock came at the door. "...Milady? It is time to depart for Castel."

"Yes," Answered Helene, "I am coming, Wishram."

The preacher girl took one last look around to see if she had forgot 
anything she needed to bring with her. All her luggage had been packed 
the previous night, so there was nothing to worry about on that front. 
But still, Helene did not want to look back and realize that she had 
forgotten something. Even if she would only be at Castel for a brief two 
weeks. She checked. There was nothing. Helene held her older copy of 
Opus Edda in one hand and then turned to the door, opening it. Outside 
was Angel Knight Wishram. Clad, as always, in that hulking white steel 
armour. This time he had brought his mighty spear - Janus - with him. 
Wishram was her personal guardian. So he would be accompanying her to 
Castel. Which Helene was thankful for. After living such a sheltered 
life in the Holy Basilica, Angel Knight Wishram was the closest thing 
she had to a friend. 

"I am ready to leave." She said to her guardian.

Wishram nodded his helmet-enswathed head and walked on. With Helene 
following closely behind him. But she could not help but take a few 
looks at the place around her. As if this was the last time she were 
ever to see it. The artwork, the statues, the pillars, the furniture. 
All of it held weight in Helene's heart. This was all her life. Inside 
these halls. Soon afterward, Helene and Angel Knight Wishram were 
descending to the lower levels of the Holy Basilica. They came out into 
the colossal frontal courtyard. The place where the spectators all 
gathered for a sermon from the Cardinal.  Helene gasped when she saw 
that which she would be riding on to reach Castel. 

It was an airship.

This particular airship (which happened to be named Cloud Dancer) was 
huge. Nearly seventy metres in length and over nine metres in height. A 
masterpiece of Lemarchand engineering, its four engines ran on 
magically-produced energies. The Cloud Dancer possessed six major 
zones/compartments. 1) Flight Bay. That was basically just the place 
unto which things were loaded from outside into the ship. 2) Passenger 
Bay. The compartment where most of the passengers would sit and enjoy 
the flight from place to place. It had a maximum of ninety seats. 3) The 
Bridge. This was where the airship was both flown and where the captains 
would discuss certain issues. 4) The Galley Where the food was stored 
and meals for the passengers were prepared. 5) The Dorms. The 
compartment that the passengers would sleep in during particularly long 
flights. This zone had twenty rooms and could accommodate for an 
absolute maximum of sixty people. 6) The Engine Room. Which speaks for 
itself. Magically-powered airships of this sort were far too expensive 
to make elsewhere. So the Cloud Dancer was a rather unique piece of 
machinery. 

Helene stood in awe of it. 

While Wishram walked to the opened Flight Bay. "Come along now, Milady."

The innocent blonde nodded to him and followed. The two of them entered 
the Flight Bay through a steel ramp fixed against the side of the ship. 
When she was on board, an attendant helped Helene and Wishram to the 
Passenger Bay, where they could take their seats. They got there was no 
fuss. Helene sat on one of the cushioned seats in the middle of the row, 
right by a window. Wishram sat down just a few places behind her. Helene 
looked outside through the window to the courtyard. And watched as her 
father, Cardinal Danel, walked with a group of soldiers and his own 
personal guardian, Angel Knight Ishmael. Ishmael was the current leader 
of Angel Knights and rumoured to be its strongest member at present. The 
only one who had ever been stronger than Angel Knight Ishmael was the 
previous leader of the Angel Knights. Something and someone that Wishram 
knew well. 

Helene watched the Cardinal up until he entered the Cloud Dancer. 
"...Wishram? Will my father be sitting with us during the trip...?"

"No," Said the strong, silent warrior, "Cardinal Danel will remain on 
the Bridge with Angel Knight Ishmael."

The young woman sighed and looked downwards. She and her father hardly 
ever saw anything of each other. But then... that had been the way 
things were for as long as Helene could remember. Once the Cardinal was 
on board, the flight began. In the background, the chugging magical 
engines started up. The roar of the engines was followed by the slow 
rise of the Cloud Dancer into the air. Onwards and upwards. Helene's 
sapphire eyes scanned the scene through the window. And she took her 
last few glimpses of the Holy Basilica. The Cloud Dancer hovered in the 
air for a few long moments. Then took off swiftly into the air.

Helene looked away from the window and then down to her lap. She 
wouldn't be able to get a good view of Lemarchand until the airship 
ascended a bit more. So she turned to her older copy of Opus Edda. But 
when she took a good look at it she could see something sticking out of 
pages just slightly. Like a small bookmark. Helene opened the book to 
that page and took out the bookmark. But it wasn't an actual bookmark. 
It was a photograph. It was in black and white, the best that 
magically-powered flash boxes could capture. Helene's cerulean eyes grew 
in size when she looked at this picture. 

It was of a smiling young girl, dark-haired, with her arm wrapped around 
a younger version of Helene. It had been taken in the rose gardens that 
the Holy Basilica was so famous for. But that was not the surprising 
thing. Not at all.

"I don't believe it," Helene whispered, "that is... the girl I see in my 
dreams... but who...?"

Helene turned the picture around swiftly to see if something had been 
written on the back. There was. It was dated; 24th of August,  AC 784 
(AC standing for 'After Consecration'). That was nine years ago. So 
Helene would have been nine years of age when the picture was taken in 
the rose gardens of the basilica. But even more interesting was the 
little passage written on the back of the picture, below the date. 

Helene spoke it out in a whisper, so as not to be heard by Wishram. 
"...To the friendship and love that I hope will never end...  my darling 
best friend, Rune..."

Onwards to Part 2

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