"So how does maturing into an Aspiration typically change one?" Disastrous visions of teaching Lily to dance aside, that seemed like it was going to be a significantly more relevant question to you soon.

"You'd know more about that than I would." Rinnier shrugged. "I've never spent much time learning about that."

"No, but you have experience with it that just studying didn't give me. The general idea I know: More freedom, a stronger ego, an increase in autonomy..."

"...I guess that sounds right." A finger tapped her lower lip thoughtfully. "Mn, I see what you mean. I'd never thought so clinically about the process. Did you have any more specific questions about it?"

"No, nothing in particular. More, just what kind of experience you had with it. Did yours have any dramatic changes to it?"

"No, no. Not really!" There it was again. A wistful tone you weren't used to hearing out of the spitfire Testament. She lingered on the thought, visibly sorting her thoughts before continuing. "We were careful to control their growth so that they wouldn't mature beyond their apparitional state too quickly. It's important to build a relationship before then, since they're always more independent later. You wanted to draw out their infancy as long as you could, really, while they were still cute and obedient - So as a side effect, we had a long time to get to know them. Dramatic changes usually don't happen without some kind of formative event or trauma."

...You could think of a couple things that may have qualified as that for Aegis. The fact you'd really not established much of a relationship with it at all before it matured was another awkward piece of low-key anxiety tossed in the back of your mind, because if that was what determined an Aspiration's preferences, then you'd effectively passed Aegis off to Ari very early on. Before she was even capable of communicating with it, even.

It made sense, though. You were well aware that Apparitions would carry their experiences with them when and if they managed to mature beyond the need of a core and become an Aspiration - The key factor there really being to consider that transition to be the stability of their ego. Apparitions were, to an extent, impressionable. Malleable. Often operating only on instinct and their natural form of Clarity. An Aspiration was something that had grown beyond that instinct and formed its own thoughts and opinions.

As far as your Mana studies went, the Shrine considered Aspirations nurtured into existence by an adept to be 'artificial': Tainted by deliberate human experience. A separate matter entirely from the naturally born Aspirations that very rarely occurred in the world. With the subject now very firmly in your lap, the idea that there was any meaningful difference between what the Shrine considered an artificial Aspiration, and one born naturally, seemed more and more mired in a question of moral principle.

It went a long way in explaining why Apparitions very rarely matured when left to their own devices. There would be no catalyst to nudge them beyond the simple, instinctual life they were born with- And when there was a catalyst, it was liable to be a severe one.

So, whether it was proximity to Dryad's Throne, or the stress it had lived through, Aegis was a child that had been forced to grow very... Very quickly. You weren't liable to see any more dramatic changes out of the flesh-clad Aspiration, but whatever course it had found in life was already deeply set.

Lily, on the other hand, was a child - Exactly the child you'd thought of her as. She was young, naive, and curious... And staying with you, it wasn't a question of if she would become an Aspiration, but when; When, and under what circumstances. You weren't exactly in a position to offer her a safe and stable environment to mature in, and if that process was something Rinnier and the Teranford family had tried to drag out for as long as possible then you had even less chance of that.

Time, especially on the scale of years, wasn't something you had in abundance.

"Irue, are you alright?" A touch snapped you out of your thoughts.

"I'm fine, just thinking." Rinnier hummed something, withdrawing the hand on your shoulder. "What was yours like?"

"Incorrigible and stubborn." She snorted, "Even as an Apparition it wouldn't listen half the time, and the other half it'd take an argument to get it to cooperate. It was incredibly embarassing trying to get it to do what I wanted in front of people." She threw a hand in the air, fingers curling as if to strangle out her ire. "My father's was well behaved, my brothers never had this problem, just me! Just me! I swear to you it was born broken somehow."

"That's... Not what I expected." You smile slightly at the display of exasperated seething at your side. "It was always like that?"

Rinnier gave an irritable huff. "No. For like a month and a half it was a sweet and precious thing. And then it shed its horrid little disguise and became a hellion. The only saving grace was that it didn't listen to anyone else, either! If you can call that a grace in the first place. Father let it go on for a year to see if I would curb it on my own before deciding he'd provide me an 'example' of 'proper communication'. Whatever he asked it to do, it chose to set fire to his desk instead. I was punished for that!"

You stifled a giggle in the middle of your throat, earning yourself a dirty look from the distressed redhead. "Sorry, sorry. That must have been horrible." You can't imagine how miserable either Lily or Aegis could make your life if they'd followed that sort of example.

"It was." She affirmed resolutely. "It was awful, and I hated that little bastard."

Rinnier had once stressed to you how it felt to be cut off from Salamander - Long ago, when you'd been more stranger than anything else. As if an entire sense had been lost, a color removed wholesale from the world. A blander, duller existence. Muted. It wasn't a loss you could relate to, as the exact thing she'd lost was something you'd never been able to get for yourself... And hearing her talk, you realize now that it was more than just that connection she lost in the process.

You had a choice to push further over her Aspiration, to wonder aloud what had happened to it at the end. Had they rebelled? Had they been snuffed out? Had they simply left? When the connection was broken and Salamander forsook the royal family, what had come of their Aspirations?

You had that choice and you hesitated, glancing at the flame haired Testament indecisively, wondering if it was worth ruining this rare moment of openness. The question formed on the tip of your tongue regardless. "What happened, then? To your Aspiration. Or... Everyone's, really."

A breath of silence filled the gap, her lips pursing thinly together. When finally the answer arrived, it was carried on a tired and bitter sigh. "...The Mana's favor is fickle. Shortly before Teranford fell, they attacked us. Tried to raze the royal palace, everything in the city..." Her voice closed to a resentful whisper, "...The royal family."

"Oh." Thinking back to how fire had reacted to Rinnier in the past, that... Tracked. "I'm sorry for asking."

"Mn.." She shook her head, less at ease than she was minutes ago but fortunately not angry. "It's not your fault. I probably needed to talk about it eventually. That was the spark for everything going up in... Well, flames. Literally and figuratively." A wane smile flashed your way, "Our royal family maintained its claim to the throne by divine mandate, Salamander's indisputable favor. Our whole foundation crumbled that day, civil war broke out in earnest not long after."

You let the conversation dwindle there, standing under the morning sun as a breeze picked up through the whispering grass. Having the Mana that you built your right to rule around try to burn your capital city and royal family down seemed the most justified cause of changing leaders you could imagine off the top of your head, but... "Was there any warning? Explanation?"

"Before they betrayed us?" Rinnier shook her head, brows knitting together as she dismissed the idea. "Our favor was stripped that day, they wouldn't speak to anyone. All that mattered was trying to drive us out."

"No-" You interject pointedly, "-Salamander didn't drive you out, though? You said civil war ensued. The attack failed, and last I heard, Salamander abandoned the nation as a whole."

"Yeah?" Rinnier turned a tired look your way, holding her hand up for emphasis. "And you've seen first hand what Salamander thinks of us now."

"I know you're skeptical of it, but humour me." You press, feeling on the cusp of something. Gears in your mind churned, puzzle pieces slipping together frighteningly quickly. "Was your favor stripped all at once? Or had it been harder to talk to them leading up to that point?"

"I don't... Maybe?" Rinnier returned irritably, pausing to take a deeper breath... Before trying to give you the patience you'd asked for. "Something like that may have happened, yeah. I remember the oracles complaining that their communions were growing hazy."

"...Oracles?" You blink, sidetracked momentarily.

Rinnier waved her hand dismissively. "Old codgers who consulted Salamander and advised my father."

you mouth an 'oh' before shaking your head. "Right. Hazy. What about you, specifically. Did you have issues communicating leading up to that day?"

"...Yes. Sort of?" She frowned, discomfort and irritability floating through her eyes. "My Aspiration had been particularly ornery for several days, but it was always a pain in the ass. Was that supposed to be our warning?" She turned the question back to you with some disdain.

"Maybe. But not for what you think." Teranford was Salamander's land, a territory near the Throne of the flame Mana itself. If it wanted people gone, it wouldn't have failed... And under no circumstances would it have abandoned its own Throne. "Mana are deeply possessive of their favored, if it's being taken from them then usually they become aggressive in an attempt to keep people and places to itself. You've mentioned that the land itself was being teraformed, didn't you? Changed from the desert to something lush? Green?"

"...You're suggesting the Salamander Mana attacked us to try and protect us from being taken by something?" Rinnier hazarded.

"I'm suggesting that maybe you weren't forsaken at all." You raise red eyes to meet Rinnier's.

"If there were another Mana that contested Salamander, one that could have overriden its presence, then that would explain everything, wouldn't it?" The former princess wasn't convinced, but the indecisive sway in her stance led you to press your case further. "The difficulty in communication as its connection dwindled, the sudden aggressiveness, the way it not only abandoned the people but the land itself."

"Alright... Let's say you're right." Rinnier grumbled skeptically. "What Mana, why, and what does that mean ultimately?"

"Dryad." You gestured emphatically to Lily, the wooden mask perched atop your head ambiently. "Mana of life. Most of its apparitions are plant or tree based, it's single handedly responsible for how verdant our territory is."

Her eyes flicked from yours towards the apparition in question, a frown set on her lips... And slowly the skepticism melted. Reforming, slowly, into something akin to coiled hate. "...So it could be responsible for the teraforming as well, which would have indicated a significant presence of the Mana in Teranford just prior to..." She trailed off, but neither of you needed to complete the sentence.

"So Dryad is to blame for ruining my life, destroying my country, and setting in motion the events that left all of my people forsaken by the Mana they dedicated their lives to." She concluded acidly, turning her attention back to you. "Why?"

"That... I don't know." You admit, wilting a little. "I told you about the Atelier. Dryad... Has problems. By all rights it shouldn't have been able to exert its influence between its Atelier, much less that far south. Not on its own, anyway."

"...But if it had agents to act on its behalf?" Rinnier lent the notion through grit teeth. "Like a community of nomads cultivating its presence under the cover of agricultural techniques?"

"Maybe?" You're not convinced Dryad could have done anything even with help. It had been kept fast asleep in its Atelier, sealed away from the rest of the world. "All of Dryad's adepts were killed a long time ago. The only people who would even know it exists at all anymore would be the people who sealed it: Artemis."

"Ephlesia..." Rinnier murmured. This was beginning to retread ground you'd touched before; Suggestions that her brothers had led an exodus of her people from the civil war directly into the waiting arms of the people ultimately responsible for causing it. "It all comes back Ephlesia, doesn't it? Your Atelier story, Teranford's civil war, La'Fiel's... You're going to trace everything back to Artemis?"

"Unless you have a better solution." You retort, "We know Artemis is involved in stoking the tensions here in La'Fiel, they were directly responsible for the rebellion in Carona. I know they were responsible for sealing Dryad. If I'm right, and Dryad is somehow responsible for what happened in Teranford despite being sealed, then that means..."

"Artemis, right." Rinnier grumbled. She held a hand to her temple, gently massaging her forehead in an effort to fend off a headache far too early in the morning to have. "...I can feel my blood pounding over this."

Was it a good sign that she was taking you seriously enough to be angry over it? While heartening in its own way, it didn't make seeing her like this any better. You proffered an apologetic smile. "As for what all of this means though... I don't know yet. But, Rinnier, if Salamander didn't forsake you, and it's just been driven away by Dryad, then isn't that better?"

"Better?" Rinnier's shoulders tensed as she turned to you, sparing a withering glance at Lily before looking out into the woods. "Why would that be 'better'? I can't hear Dryad, and even if I could, I'd only hate the thing. I don't want to be a Dryad adept. I wouldn't want that damn thing in my life at all."

"Better because if Dryad could be convinced to give you up, Salamander would be waiting to stake its claim immediately." You point out, stepping up beside her. "...In theory, you could be a Salamander adept again."

Her jaw tightened, but not a word escaped. A long, drawn out silence stretched between you...

"Theory?" A weak murmur, reticent and small.

"Theory's about all I'm good for." You affirm, wearing a faint, self-deprecating grin. "But if I'm right..."

"If you were right, I'd kiss you." She sighed, and with a small laugh, tried to roll the tension from her shoulders. "...Enough of all that, though. I didn't plan on ruining my morning thinking about stuff like this, and even if it's true... What we're doing won't change. We're already well past the point where knowing any of that would have helped us stop what happened."

Rinnier stepped away, grit on the road crunching under her boot as she made her way back towards the knights.

A sobering thought, as you watched the wind catch her hair as she left...

Even if you were right, it was too late to stop what happened.

Even if you were right, it might still be too late to stop what was happening now.

You are Irue Valen, blood heir to house Valen, and it was time to get moving. You were eager to see what your aunt's summons were about. Later tonight you imagine Ari would be back and ready to be quizzed on Wisp, so it would probably help to think up some questions to ask her ahead of time. You had the rest of the day for that, which... Who knows how long the day would last.

And- Dammit, you forgot to ask Rinnier about Kara.

>Chase her down to ask anyway on your way back to the knights
>Focus on trying to work with Lily. Rinnier suggested dancing...?
>You have other plans today (like what?)
>You may skip the rest of the travel time, but you have to quiz Ari regardless.

Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

Where things are said: https://twitter.com/Riz_QM
Where things are asked: http://ask.fm/RizQM

Assorted Supplemental:
Irue Things (up to 74) - https://pastebin.com/PchcdWpw
A List of Forgotten Things (up to 74) - http://pastebin.com/kPEscJ3h
Irue's Memoirs (Scares the QM to update) - http://pastebin.com/sWnicrK7

Arc I - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DMjxLjSbvr-xcxqX9M_ysKaBV1zkUmu5/view?usp=sharing
Arc II - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cXL1fIYb22IqQ51wWUp3-IMZa2nV5TY8/view?usp=sharing

"Really I'd say anybody catching up should read threads instead of this because of what goes on in them, so this is more for looking back I'd say." - Ebook anon

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE
Friends Forever - http://pastebin.com/Yn0QaTVB
The Woman Beneath Steel - http://pastebin.com/pMGgiHC3
Paper Flowers - https://pastebin.com/Pk0W7rEm
Merciless Compass - https://pastebin.com/8Hy0krxv
Better Strangers - https://pastebin.com/mvShXpCt

Misc notes:Guess who left off in the middle of a conversation? That was hell to pick back up.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TarAKEt4uvucx-3y4A5d2T46FPF3dXs60an9-AMrJUA/edit?usp=sharing

Memo:
1. Work through dying before it causes issues with the Shade scar.
2. Return and investigate the Dryad Shrine
3. Bring Miska and the other "People skilled with arms, with a taste for conflict" with us to the main house.

Itinerary:
1. Discern knights with an affinity for Mana worth polishing.
2. Train the most combat apt knights.
3. Track down Asche, who left to find the descendant of the Ice Queen's bloodline.
4. Track down the Tier siblings, currently located in Resuri.
5. Expedition for resources to the north.
6. Unfinished business at the Ruined Shrine.
7. Respond to your aunt's summons.

Current Goal: Respond to your aunt's summons.
What's On Your Mind:

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>>4882111
You came back!

>Chase her down to ask anyway on your way back to the knights

Welcome back.
>>4882111
It's probably best to let Rinnier think on that particular revelation before dropping the bomb that our dog ran away.
>Focus on trying to work with Lily. Rinnier suggested dancing...?
It is also an aerobic activity and thus contributes to some physical development. Hopefully.
I had the idea to combine dance with combat as a more performative duel or spar might, can even get some knights in on it, but while getting every single one of Irue's bones including the small ones of the ear broken is a hilarious idea it is also an absolutely horrible one when control over the apparition is not quite assured, nor is their understanding of what a practice bout is supposed to be.

We just shouldn't do this for too long. Touching your wood too much makes you go blind.

>>4882111
>Focus on trying to work with Lily. Rinnier suggested dancing...?
Giving Rinnier space to thonk, seems like a good idea.

Something to reflect on would be to consider that we have now come to the conclusion that Artermis has at very least undermined and engineered events in La'fiel, Teranford and elsewhere for long enough, well before we were "born" to cause all of this to transpire; what other unfortunate events have they had their hands in, involving the lives of those that surround us, and especially our own.

I have a strong suspicion that they were at very least, heavily involved in our family's murder especially considering that they know that Behemoth can be "tamed" it wouldn't have been impossible to have the one on that day to have been guided by someone.


We also need to contact Caylen using the Jinn Branch once we get to the house to see if we can convince him by any means we can, to get him to turn around and come back.

>>4882110
>I know they were responsible for sealing Dryad.
Technically not true; the Shrine sealed Dryad. Artemis was responsible for studying the disease that infected it.
Though IIRC Luna adepts were the principal agents in the sealing.

>>4882111
Welcome back. Figured you'd show up sooner or later.
>Focus on trying to work with Lily.
Dancing doesn't seem like something Rue would willingly engage in. Hide and go seek, or some sort of children's game maybe?

>>4882328
Of course!

>>4882769
This is an important technicality, and also entirely correct. Artemis was a branch split off from the Luna Dominion after the sealing of Dryad, assigned with study and the isolation of fragments retrieved from the East Heaven dead zone.

Since then however, the split has become more than a designated formality and Artemis itself has grown into a powerful faction by its own right, occupying the city of scholars, Ephlesia. While their origin is part of the Shrine, they've fully split off and become a semi-opposing faction at this point due to their vocal clashing with the Luna Dominion over how best to handle the dissemination of knowledge.

I'll close the vote a bit later tonight!

oh, goodness this quest.

I remember reading it and really enjoying it around the time rue was in the ice palace but I lost track of it
time to reread

>>4883686
Welcome back, anon! Hope you have fun catching up!

>>4882111
We told Rinnier a lot and any more might be been overkill but I noticed we talked around the terraforming method, the nomads used those fragment things to make lobotomised dryad trees like the one that's taken over our manor. We have the tree fragment, the magic telephone fragment and I believe we picked up an unaligned fragment on our previous expedition? Maybe Mim took that one, I can't remember. Anyway, Rinnier might be able to make some kind of inference from this information so it's worth bringing up next time.

>Focus on trying to work with Lily. Rinnier suggested dancing...?
We must raise our future wife with care, she absolutely needs to know how to dance.

Welcome back Riz. This quest has been a fixture in my life for so long, it always makes me happy when you come back.

>>4883743
>This quest has been a fixture in my life for so long
It's really weird when I think of how long Valen has been running. I really thought it'd have concluded by now, but the times I ran started getting more sporadic. Occasionally I wonder how the lives of my anons have developed in the meantime, like... What if some of them got married? How many different jobs have they held? What if they've moved to different regions? Did they get through covid okay?

It probably sounds strange, but occasionally I find myself wondering and worrying about stuff like that. I hope everyone's done well for themselves, or at least found a path to say they're not ashamed to have walked.

>>4882328
Actually, what about Kara?

>>4882331 (dance spar?)
>>4882393
>>4882769 (hide and seek? a game?)
>>4883743
Dance Dance Apparition!

Alright, writing!

>>4883753
You are a caring person. I hope you're doing well too.

>>4883753
>I hope everyone's done well for themselves, or at least found a path to say they're not ashamed to have walked.
Tragically I have found myself in this strange and eerie place called /qst/. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get out, if ever. Maybe I need to get married to escape.

Ok so now that we're in a bit of a lul, how far are we set, generally on the "Dryad getting all the revenge on Luna and anything that gets in their way regardless of the costs" train, and how much should we try and limit casualties because if we don't do anything after things kick off Artermis is going to cry to the Shrine and get everyone on their side which will probably either roll Dryad up in short order, again.

Or get drawn out with neither side doing much of anything other than running up the casualty counts until the magical "Nukes" start flying.

Welcome back Riz! I don't have the time to participate, nor have I finished reading the archives, but I just wanted to welcome back qst's best QM and the return of it's best quest!

...On second thought, you'd probably given her enough to mull over for one day. Talking to her about Kara could wait; She'd never had a positive opinion of the demihumans anyway. Sparing a glance back towards the forest line, you felt Lily's ivy tendrils playfully brush against the nape of your neck, and nudged her gently with your fingertip to readjust the mask perched over your crown. It slipped free from its position, settling comfortably over your eyes in a way that man-made products likely could never compare to.

"Dancing, huh...?"

It'd been a while since you did that, and you only vaguely remembered some of the formal steps. You could do worse than spend your time on the road working to get more comfortable with Lily, seeing as you'd made enough mistakes raising Aegis... This one you wanted to at least try and do right. Teaching her to dance was certainly an option. Could you dance on the road? ...Did you want to dance your way to your aunt's?

Knowing you were going into conflict in the future, making it more of a performative spar sounded more efficient. Or it would, except you didn't know where to begin when it came to sparring - A problem you had successfully gotten around thus far by utilizing desperate flailing, skillful manipulation, and self-destructive relics of ill-understood power! ...Thinking about it, you should probably address your own lack of sparring knowledge before trying to draw Lily into one.

The sheer amount of effort you imagine you'd need to spend to get Lily to understand what sparring is was already giving you second thoughts.

What other options did you have... A game, maybe? Hide and seek occurred to you briefly, but there weren't many ways for you to hide in a moving escort, and even less ways for Lily to seek without meandering about ambiently. Fetch? Jump rope? You didn't play a whole lot of games as a kid, what options were there, anyway?

You offer a vague question up to Lily, wondering what her preference on the matter was... And dancing seemed to win. Or maybe she just liked the idea of moving. Whichever the case, this was going to be your day now.

Step, 1, 2, 3... Step? No, that's not...

"Shut up, Rinnier."

"I didn't say anything."

You dutifully ignore the amused lilt in her voice as you return to your phantom dance partner. Ideally Lily would have not been a mask while this was ongoing, but there were a handful of problems to address first... The most pressing of which being that you needed to keep moving while dancing, and formal dances did not typically extend in a straight line indefinitely. You were starting to remember the dusty, unused-patterns that'd been stuffed in the back of your mind all this time, but it wasn't helping when you had to readjust your position constantly every few steps.

So you improvised. You had the ingredients necessary for dancing, you just needed to adapt to your limitations and make it work! This was easier said than done, and thus Lily had taken to observing curiously from her perch as you pieced together what, exactly, you were going to try and do with her.

Occasionally Rinnier would snicker, but that wasn't important.

Step, 1, 2, 3... adjust, 1, 2, spin...

Lily's idle wonder and excitement over the process was, at the very least, a gratifying encouragement to keep going. She was keeping a close watch over your movements per your promise-slash-warning that she'd need to be doing it with you when you were done figuring out what, precisely, you were doing at all.

Hopefully you didn't tire yourself out before you got to that point, because walking all day on top of dancing was taking a toll you hadn't properly calculated when this plan started.

A bead of sweat slid down your cheek, tickling the skin on its way down. The sun had risen well overhead at some point, and your calves were starting to ache. A few months ago, you would have been completely exhausted - Now, you were just a bit winded. What you had to show for it was less than you'd have liked, but more than enough to function for what you needed.

You were not a rhythmic genius, so you doubted the alterations you'd painstakingly put together were going to get adopted into any formal social gatherings anytime soon, but for something adapted on the fly?

"So what does the partner do?"

"What?"

You wiped the moisture from your forehead, turning wine red eyes over to your Testament when she offered up a skin of water.

"That dance has a partner. You adapted your side, how does the partner's go?"

Water slid down your throat. Not terribly cool, but appreciated none the less, and your eyes drifted down to consider the skin that carried it.

You were regretting this dancing idea immensely.

"You could have waited until we stopped for the night to do this, you know." Rinnier mused.

"I have plans at night, and most of my time is open during the day." You shake your head, handing the waterskin back. "I don't want to skimp on the time I spend trying to work with Lily."

"Hmm..." It wasn't an unconvinced hum, but Rinnier's arms crossed beneath her chest as she looked you over. "If you were going to try and adapt an entire dance like this, why not just try and improvise from the start? It's more natural than rote repetition."

"I am not exactly a skilled dancer, Rinnier." You straighten your back, drawing in the cool air from a burgeoning breeze as you did so. "I wanted to start somewhere I was familiar."

"I suppose that makes sense. I would have offered to teach you, but that doesn't help with nurturing your apparition any." Rinnier's head tilted minutely to one side. "...I don't actually know how dancing would work with your apparition as a partner."

"...What?"

"When I suggested dancing, I probably should have been clearer: It was all improvisation. Free dancing. The apparition would wreathe itself around you in the process, and the goal was to continue the dance without touching one another, but stay as close together as possible." She gestured vaguely towards you. "A partner with their own set of dance steps seems like a complicated thing to try and teach an apparition."

"...You couldn't have told me that sooner?"

"You told me to shut up." Rinnier sniffed, affecting an offended tone - Wholly belied by the glint in her eyes. "Besides, I'm sure your knights appreciate having a new topic to gossip over. What kind of ritual is Ser Valen doing now?"

"Please..." You heave a sigh, "Can you at least try to be helpful with this?"

"No," Rinnier quipped, "This is funnier."

"I wasted hours on this! At least give me an example to follow!"

"Ah... That, I can't actually do." Rinnier laughed softly, patting you on the shoulder. "I'm about to go check on the escort formation, and even if I weren't, I'm not used to dancing without a pole."

You arch a brow in her direction.

"Dancing and martial exercises aren't too disimilar once you have a feel for the rhythm, so I practiced with that in mind." Rinnier broke off, dusting her hands against one another as she made to leave. "Don't overthink it too much, just try and find a way for your apparition to move with you."

You watched her go for a moment longer, holding your hand up after she'd disappeared into the knights. Lily wasn't fire, she couldn't exactly just weave herself around you. She was wood, and... Ivy? Vines? You passed the query to her half-heartedly, only for the ivy that had been tickling your neck the past few hours to shiver. An excited affirmation came almost as quickly as the sudden spread of vines did, coiling around your arms just a little tightly for comfort.

It was disconcerting to feel, like your entire body was being consumed by a maw of tiny tendrils. Taken, wrapped and bound in an embrace you couldn't escape no matter how you struggled. A full body binding that... Reminded you even more uncomfortably of the way you'd woken up draped in greenery while sleeping in Dryad's Atelier.

It twisted and split along your hands, small flowers budding to cover the thin wooden skin which rooted itself to your body with rings of ivy slipped around your fingers. Less an exoskeleton as lightweight gloves, ending in vaguely pointed fingertips.

You wiggled your fingers experimentally, testing the resistance. At first it was too much to do more than twitch - A problem solved with Lily reluctantly loosening her bindings to give you more room to breathe. Literally. Beyond that, though you wondered just what this was supposed to accomplish.

"This isn't exactly what I meant, Lily."

Her response, such as it was, consisted of being conveyed the dream of a hug so big it could hug every piece of you simultaneously. The omnihug.

You sighed.

"The point was not to touch me, though?" A singular, reluctant moment passed... And the bindings loosened just a little further. "You're still touching me."

Spirals of ivy vines coiling in mid-air around your limbs. Carved wooden hands, split in half to float at the ends of leaved tendrils above and below your own. Your legs remained free for the moment, uncoiled, unbound, and unmolested by Lily's attempt to make her omnihug dream a reality after being argued back down to a reasonable limit.

Could you have wings? Probably. Would they let you fly? No. Would they look cool? Depends on who you asked. Were you going to walk down the road with giant flower wings? No, no, definitely not. And so you worked to coax Lily into forming herself around you in a way you would accept. Something scant, not too intimidating. A small handful of vines, absentmindedly twitching and curving in the space around your arm as they supported Lily's own multisectional hands - Now resembling less the hand they were meant to have been and more floating thorny digits.

Digits which, theoretically, should mimic the movements of your own fingers.

Theoretically.

"Lily, pay attention."

...There they go, thorny fingers wiggling like a nest of confused snake heads. Perfect.

"Now, no matter how I move, you shouldn't touch me. We'll stay like this... Let's say until night. Can you do that?"

An immediate disagreement.

"Why?"

Lily returned to you the notion of dancing - which to her, evidently, translated to hugging while moving. Elaborate, sophisticated hugs. This was, she complained, the exact opposite of that. This was the antihug.

"It's important awareness practice-" Or so, you tried to explain.

The Dryad apparition retorted plaintively that hugging made you very aware of each other and was a better idea than not hugging. Unfortunately that is not the awareness you were aiming for here, and so her disagreements were vetoed and the practice resumed with mildly rebellious snake fingers.

You rather rapidly began to realize, however, that the most crippling detriment to this plan wsn't Lily's cooperation - It was her attention span. So long as she remained focused on you, you could move almost as you pleased! Catching her off guard every now and then with a skip, or a sudden swipe of the air, or twirling as you walked... The last of which nearly resulted in you being tied up by your own arms. But her attention could only stay on you for so long before it wandered, and the child's extended tendrils gained a mind of their own to try and snare butterflies nearby, or begin tugging on your clothes, or... Something.

You were fortunate to not be too close to anyone else, or you imagine she would have attempted to enact her omnihug plans on one of your knights if they strayed too close.

Lily was a sweet child, and she did try to be obedient. She tried hard.

But there were many things which needed hugs in this world, and she could provide them. She would provide them.

...You try not to feel too discomforted over the certainty she held in this.

Evening was approaching by the time you'd sorted yourselves into something resembling satisfactory performance. At this point even you were starting to grow distracted, and you realized you still needed to think up some Wisp related questions for Ari to see how well she'd handle being quizzed.

Now the basic idea was somewhat taught to Lily though, you could do this a little more easily day to day! Maybe one day you could even trust her within touching distance of someone else.

>Questions for Ari? Up to 3.
>Anything else you'd like to do before she shows up?

>>4885597
>welcome back qst's best QM and the return of it's best quest!
I am skeptical of these things. But I'm glad to know someone else is enjoying the quest! I'm kind of curious where you are in the archives, and what turned you on to Valen. Are you new to the quest, or just catching up after falling off?

>>4885821


>What are the hallmarks of a Wisp creature or adept?
>What is the relationship between Wisp and their Adepts?
>How does Wisp's connection with life compare with Dryad's?

Seems like a good variety and a ramp of difficulty (With some useful insight for her in there as well)

Also, take the time to collect yourself so you approach this as a conversation, not a lecture. The idea was to keep her stimulated, so pay attention and listen to her

We can ill afford another failure.

>>4885821

>>4885865 Has a good mix of questions, and we may be able to get more insight on the last one if we tell Clara about Dryad, the forest and subsequent happenings.

Another thing to potentaly test out if dryad wakes is if we can revive the bodies in the Catacombs (there's probably a reason why they were entombed), or follow the river looking for wherever the "fey" touched bodies end up.


>Anything else you'd like to do before she shows up?
Tell Lilly she did a good job and Ask for a Hug,

Reinforcement is important to cementing learned lessons.Also Irue could always use more hugs, especially since things are only going to get worse, much worse.

>>4885816
Lily is adorable.

>>4885821
>What does Wisp like?
>What does Wisp hate?
>How do you protect yourself from a crazy Wisp-powered terrorist?

>Reward Lily with a hug. Positive reinforcement is important.

>>4885823
But I believe them wholeheartedly!

To answer your question I actually caught the very first thread live and it was apparent to me that the writing was of high quality, but at the time I did not participate in any quests and so simply choose not to participate in Valen quest either and instead simply lurk even as you lamented at times only having 3 voters.

My apprehension doubled after Irue wandered through the forest and fought a bear and I began to adopt the then (and perhaps even now) commonly held view that Valen quest was a "hard quest" after she first went to the temple.

I kept up with the quest as it was written until Irue was replaced with the dopplerue, then real life got in the way and I dropped off for a while. Then over the years I read the archives and got to the end of the first arc after Irue dealt with the mayor, I reread this part multiple times as I kept forgetting stuff because I kept having to stop catching up with the archives due to real life. I vaguely remember having gotten a fair bit past this part but then forgot much of the events after my most recent drop off. Since I have no job and no obligations now I intend to catch up starting from just after Irue dealt with the mayor, since my clearest recollections are from the first arc.

>>4885815
>The apparition would wreathe itself around you in the process, and the goal was to continue the dance without touching one another, but stay as close together as possible."
Hm. Yeah, see, the point of the fire dance was to figure out how to interact without burning. That's not really relevant for a plant-based creature.
Next time this comes up, I'll back some sort of martial work; sparing or choreography or something related.

>>4885817
>Could you have wings? Probably. Would they let you fly? No. Would they look cool?
They would absolutely look cool. Or really dorky. Very polarizing, I suspect.

>>4885821
I'm still too rusty to figure out decent Wisp questions.
On the hug stuff: Maybe a hug can be offered as payment after completing tasks we set for it? Might be workable, so long as we don't train it to expect a reward every time it does something.

>>4885821
>How can you expect a wisp adept to behave?
>Describe the values Wisp adheres to and values that would be antithetical to Wisp, how would Wisp and its adepts react to these opposing ideals?
>How would you approach dealing with an enemy wisp adept? (distinct from the how to kill question)

>Anything else you'd like to do before she shows up?
Um, follow up on the words lesson we gave Lily before?

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>>4885817

>>4886037
On things to do with Lilly we should review our time in the Forest Atelier to see if can pick anything up or ask Marchovic for access to any poisonous seeds / plant material since he collects them for "resistance training".

On that note Thread #73 >>3604082, Assuming that some sort of Poison was used by Artermis, it might still be there at the Ruined Shrine; and so might be worth investigating for our own use or building a resistance to

>>4885972
>>4886037
>>4886381

I am not explicitly against hugs, but I caution making performative gestures with a being that has close access to our mind and is learning from us.


Irue may do well to get and give some hugs, but the last thing we need is to teach Lily how to manipulate.

>>4887072
This is true, we should endeavour to treat Lily with sincerity.

>>4887072
Depending on exactly how she turns out, having a second that can direct people around, and participate in combat, or act defensively in our stead could be useful since having Asche cockblock us at every turn makes that impossible.

Another thing we could to would be teach her to talk properly so she isn't just repeating things she has heard without understanding what they mean, though that might have to come later once she has matured.

I sort of envision her as a body double, bodyguard, healer and effective anti adept rolled into one.

>>4887258

I believe that Irue's habit of regarding things and people as tools or solutions is ultimately her most dangerous flaw, and would like to direct her when possible to self-examine and consider them less pragmatically.

Lily wants to help. We can teach her and guide her development to be useful, but it's important to consider her as a companion first.

>>4887295
We have the same problem with Ari, they were (and still are) both far to impressionable at this point of their development to allow for it to be completely freeform, and considering the time constraints we are under we may need to accelerate things even if it turns out to be substandard or not exactly what we wanted.

But on that note, depending on how long we have before things come crashing down we should have time to keep trying if we need to.

I'm going to go over our time in the "Forest" Atelier and see if it turns up any activities to try.

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>>4885865
>>4885876
>>4885972
>>4886094
Wisp questions!

>>4885876
>>4885972
>>4886037
Positive reinforcement for Lily! She did her best.

>>4886094
Chatting with Lily! Word lessons are important, probably?

Closing the vote here, I'll get to work!

>>4886112
Lily loves you. Also saved this! I am beginning to wonder if you just have a photoshop template for this face saved for future variations.

>>4887072
This is true. She already spends quite a bit of time in contact with us.

>>4887258
I've had the same rough idea about her long term role. Ultimately, it would be the same as what Aspenrue was supposed to fill.

While I suspect proper talking isn't in the cards for a long time, teaching better communication would be a worthwhile endeavor.

>>4887578
"Kim's game" is something we could do pretty easily to develop memory, and "Hide and Seek" or "Spotlight" could encourage camouflage or stealth development, Scissors Paper Rock could be used to train her to look for "tells"


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim%27s_Game

>>4887438
>I am beginning to wonder if you just have a photoshop template
No. It's a Sai template

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" You weren't sure if the fatigue setting in was from the walking, dancing, or trying to coerce Lily. Whatever the answer, the day had passed blessedly swiftly with something to occupy your attention. "A little more practice like that and we'll be ready."

Curiosity. The unworded, general question over what you'd be ready for.

"...I don't know." A second passed before you admitted yourself. "But if things keep going like they have so far, there'll be something. We're going to be ready for it."

You were tired of being caught completely unprepared and out of your depth. Given you had declared your primary enemy to be a faction of Luna Adepts with generations of headstart in sabotage and subterfuge, an generous observation would be that you were going to only get even further tired of feeling this way in the days to come - That you acknowledged this did nothing to make you want to tolerate it any more patiently.

Thus, every little bit counted. Time spent with Lily, quizzing Ari, training your knights... Preparing yourself and the people around you as best you could manage.

The apparition in question let a shiver tremor through its coiled ivy, self-assuredly planning to also be ready! She was oddly endearing, the more time you actually spent with her. Positive, enthusiastic, affectionate and supportive... Naive, almost to a fault at times, but sweet. She'd worked hard today, so you didn't hesitate to brush your fingers over the mask's surface in an approximation of a well earned petting for the apparition.

You had the half second forewarning of Lily's surging satisfaction before the ivy which had been dutifully attempting to coil about you touchlessly rapidly bound itself to your arms.

Lily loves you.

Trying to extract yourself from a twisted net of vines was how Ari eventually found you, having stopped several paces short to observe your vain efforts for... Longer it had taken you to notice her, you're sure.

"Do you need help, Master?" Her head tilted to one side, dull brown eyes watching you closely as you paused to adjust your grip on Lily's vines.

"No, Lily is just being a little clingy."

Ari's eyes flickered up towards your mask, then back to you. "Lily says you needed a hug?"

"I didn't need a hug, but Lily worked hard today so I let her have one." you correct absentmindedly.

"So if I do well, I get a hug?"

You finish extricating yourself from Lily's hold, turning an exasperated look Ari's way. A faint quirk of her lips smiled back at you, one arm looped behind her back as she waited for you to finish. "We'll see how well you do. How's your day gone, by the way? Did you spend much time working on what we talked about?"

"Mm..." Ari nodded, stringy brown hair bobbing in time. "I'm getting along with everyone. The knights are nice."

"Making friends?"

Ari shook her head this time, the smile never quite leaving her lips. "No, but they know who I am."

"I'd prefer them be a little more familiar with you than that."

"Are you friends with them?" Ari's head tilted, watching you patiently as you thought over the innocently dropped question.

"...I'd prefer them to be a little more familiar with me than they are." You repeat after a moment. "But alright, small steps."

"Hmm..." The brown haired Testament gave an understanding nod and sidled closer. "I tried thinking over what you asked me to. I'll get a hug for answering questions well, right?"

"I don't recall mentioning that." You reach out to pet Ari absently, feeling her brush her cheek against the palm of your hand in the process.

"Lily got rewarded."

"Lily is a child." You note wryly, catching a brief flash of irritation flicker across Ari's faintly smiling face. "Now, let's see... Sit down, let's talk for a bit and see how much you still remember."

"Yes, master..."

"Irue."

"Irue." Ari amends herself with a cheerful lilt as she settled onto the ground.

You'd start simple, you decided, and work up to more complicated questions depending on how things went. Settling into the grass opposite Ari, you reached for the easiest starting point you could think of: "What does Wisp like? What are the traits and things it favours."

"Wisp likes people trying their best." Was her immediate answer, and you expected as much - It was a simple question. "It favours... The healthy, and people who are never satisfied, because it's never satisfied. It likes people who don't give up, and trials, and unreasonable demands."

...Alright. She wasn't necessarily wrong, but you have to wonder when she started having such strong opinions on Wisp. "Why would you say it favours the healthy, as opposed to people being healthy because they're favoured?"

"Because when you're born sick or frail, people think you're spurned by Wisp." Ari explained, "Wisp is the Mana of vitality, the Mana of health and strength, right? So its favour has to come before the trait it embodies."

"So, since its favour comes first, wouldn't that imply that by being healthy they were favored prior to their health?"

Ari's brows knit, and she opened her mouth to object... Pausing, with a look of concentration as she picked her words. "...No." She shook her head resolutely.

"Alright," You folded your legs together, curious to follow your Testament's thoughts. "Why?"

"Because Kara was probably stronger than a Wisp adept, but the Mana don't favour the demihumans at all." She began, "...And the Wisp Representative in Carona is blind. If Wisp's favour preceeded health, then someone supposedly spurned by Wisp couldn't become an adept of Wisp. So even if Wisp's favour can grant health, there has to be something there before that for it to favour, and I think it prefers people with a higher... Higher... base? Perimeter?"

"Parameter."

"Yeah!" Ari nodded gratefully. "Higher parameters."

"So if that's true, and Wisp is biased towards higher parameters in its favour, how did Carona's Wisp Representative become a Representative?"

"Mmn... Don't know, but... I think people can change easier than Mana. Even if you're not born loved by one, it doesn't mean you can't be loved?"

You rest your chin in the palm of your hand, rolling her answer around in your head. She made fair points, but you're not sure what to think of them. Nothing she said was incorrect, strictly speaking, but it would take a Wisp Adept to directly dispute Wisp's biases.

"So moving on, what does Wisp hate?"

"Umm..." Here her confidence faltered. "I'm not sure it hates anything? It and Shade erode each other, but I'm not sure they dislike one another. It can't hate failure, because it expects its favoured to fail, doesn't it?" She looks to you questioningly, "Wisp has high expectations and always disappointed, but it wants people to keep trying. So... Giving up, maybe?"

The Mana don't hate one another, no. Even though Wisp and Shade dissolve one another's presence, and their adepts are often at odds, officially speaking the Shrine taught that the Mana's opposition to one another was an existential dichotomy rather than a strict dislike.

...Although, officially speaking, the Shrine didn't teach Dryad's existence at all - But technically speaking, Dryad wasn't a Mana anymore. Hmm. "Would you say Dryad hates any of its siblings?"

Ari blinked owlishly, her mouth opening into a small 'o' before her lips pressed together in a thin, furtive line. A deep breath filled her small frame, eyes drifting shut... And there she sat, several breaths of silence filling the clearing sans the mildly distant din of your not-so-far-away knights. When she opened her eyes, small glints of amber speckled her brown iris - sinking back into the muddy surface almost immediately.

"No."

"...No?" You hesitate to push the answer, wary of prodding Ari to try and dive deeper for an answer-

-Yet such fears seemed unfounded as she simply shook her head. A resolute, confident answer. "It wants its siblings to understand."

"Understand what, exactly?"

Artemis had traumatized Dryad so deeply as to tear it from its Clarity - A fundamental necessity in weakening the Mana of Life's strength and demoting it from an all powerful existence to merely an Aeon of pseudo-divine status. By all rights, between that and its reaction to Luna all this time, you'd imagine hate was something it learned intimately in the process.

"Pain." Ari's answer was discomfortingly light hearted. "Suffering. Rejection. Loss. The way it feels to have the things you love ripped away. Loneliness."

You stare at one another for a long, awkward moment.

"That sounds a lot like hate."

"It's not." she assured you brightly.

You filed that uncomfortable tidbit away for the moment and clear your throat. "Going back to Wisp, could you describe the values Wisp adheres to, and values that would be antithetical to Wisp?"

"Hmmn... Values..." She rolls her eyes skyward, huffing softly at the hair covering her brow. "I think it values perseverance. And ambition. Or... Not ambition exactly...? Like wanting something bigger than you have, or too big to have, maybe." She held her hands before you, trying to physically illustrate her thoughts in a more understandable way - and failing. "But even if it wants that, it doesn't expect to get it."

"So how do you think it reacts to that? Always wanting something, but knowing it can't get what it wants. How do you think its adepts react to that?"

"I don't know." She offered an easy admission, shrugging unhelpfully.

No. You were going to need to prod her a bit more for a better answer. "Well, how would you react?"

"If I wanted something I couldn't have..." She sighed, thinking it over slowly. "I'd try different ways to get it. Maybe I was doing something wrong, or maybe I could get it if I tried something different." She pieced her thoughts together slowly, deliberately, before presenting them to you. "I think I'd need to be patient."

"Would you give up?"

"You never gave up." She returned earnestly.

"...Alright." You nod, taking the answer for what it was. "So following that, how do you think a Wisp adept might behave? In general."

Your mind drifted to the Paladin, who had become something of a recurring thorn in your side during your time in Carona. At this point you had nurtured a legitimate grudge in the man, so you'd be far luckier than you could count on if you never saw him again. The worst part was just not knowing when or where to expect him next... And with Kara gone, your options for dealing with him had dried up miserably.

"They would be stubborn. Devoted. If they had a goal, I think they'd probably die before really giving up on it." Ari mused, "...I think... They might expect to never get what they want? and be that much more willing to do something drastic to see it happen. Even if they're not there to see their dreams happen."

...Yeah. That sounded depressingly like what you expected.

"So, let's say you made an enemy of a Wisp adept." May as well consult Ari on this - Additional minds thinking about it could yield something useful. "How would you go about protecting yourself from them?"

"Stay with you." Ari answered blandly, meeting your wine red gaze with absolute sincerity.

"...Let's say I made an enemy of a Wisp adept." You supply, "How would I protect myself from them?"

"You?" Ari tilted her head to one side. "...?"

"Humour me." You grin over her confusion. "What would I do? What could be done in general?"

"In general... I think keeping a Shade adept nearby would help. Or other Wisp adepts. Or maybe Aegis? Apparitions might be strong enough to help. Umm..." She trailed off, fingers stroking slowly through the grass at her side while reaching for a better answer. "...Not make one your enemy? Make it up to them somehow?"

Nothing you hadn't thought of to some degree, but you expected as much. "So what about me, specifically? What do you think I'd do?"

"Find something he valued more than himself and hold it hostage." With this she lit up, looking up to you with a glint of admiration.

"..." Your tongue slipped across your lips awkwardly. "What if I already messed that up?" By complete accident, mind you. Or necessity. You needed those mercenaries out of the picture before realizing he was probably leading them.

"Then..." Uncertainty tinged her tongue, testing the waters for a second answer... Before it seemed like she found something to dust off, half-forgotten, from the back of her mind. "Criticize his dreams until he was a broken and depressed wreck?"

You... You can't say you haven't done that, but you're not sure how to feel about being called out on it. Much less by someone looking at you so warmly. A heavy sigh slipped your lips, shoulders sagging under the... accusation? Expectation? "How do you know about that, Ari...?"

"Know about what?" Ari blinked, once again inquisitive - And causing a pause in the back of your throat.

"...The mayor of Carona. I never told you about him."

"...?" Her head tilted, the smaller Testament rocking back and forth nonchalantly. "I had a dream about it a little while ago. Was that who it was?"

Oh.

Oh, the dreams from 'Hearts in Harmony' weren't one-sided.

You felt your stomach twist while that took its time sinking in. You'd worried as much, but having it confirmed belatedly like this wasn't terribly heartening. "What else did you dream about?"

"I can't really remember." Ari admitted, "It's been a while. You just seemed very heroic during that one, so..." She trailed off, drawing small circles in the grass with the tip of her finger.

"Alright... Last question, then." You shook your head, trying to dislodge the weird feeling you'd been left with. "This one will be difficult, and I don't actually know the answer either, so think carefully about it, alright?"

"Mm!" Ari nodded seriously.

"How does Wisp's connection with life compare to Dryad's?"

"Ah... Um." Ari's finger stopped in the grass. From silence, and a sudden stillness, Ari pressed the palm of her hand into the grass and considered the blades springing up from between her fingers. "...I know the answer, but explaining it is..." She struggled to tell you exactly what her problem was - Struggled and failed, and the failure only frustrated her wordless tongue-tying further.

>Wait for an answer now. She'll blurt something out if you make her.
>Give her time to think it over properly. At the very least it should help her make it understandable.
>On second thought, don't answer that.
>Other? (write-in)

>>4889777
Ari has definitely wracked her brain hard. She deserves a commendation.
>Give her time to think it over properly. At the very least it should help her make it understandable.

>>4889777
>Wait for an answer now. She'll blurt something out if you make her.
>Give her time to think it over properly. At the very least it should help her make it understandable.

Why not both?

Also
>Admit to Ari that we regret what we did to the mayor, or at the very least that's not the kind of person that we want to be anymore. There was probably a better way to handle that.

>hug ari

>>4889777
>Give her time to think it over properly. At the very least it should help her make it understandable.
>Other? (write-in)
See if Lily could answer that

Also hug Ari

>>4889777
Yeah, let's hug Ari. We're basically her parental figure, so we shouldn't be stingy with affection in order to promote a healthy attachment style.

>>4889772
>It likes people who don't give up, and trials, and unreasonable demands."
...Isn't that more Shade's wheelhouse?

>"It wants its siblings to understand."
Gonna have to disagree there. Dryad has never been understanding of the other Mana when we've spoken with it. Rather the opposite, if I'm remembering correctly.

>Your mind drifted to the Paladin, who had become something of a recurring thorn in your side during your time in Carona.
Speaking of hate...

>"Stay with you." Ari answered blandly, meeting your wine red gaze with absolute sincerity.
...She is aware of our miserable track record with violence, right? We'd be a liability, or at best useful as a distraction.

>"What if I already messed that up?" By complete accident, mind you. Or necessity. You needed those mercenaries out of the picture before realizing he was probably leading them.
Wait. Is that how we were supposed to have handled that mess originally? I don't think so. Following her own logic, a Wisp adept would be more likely to be willing to sacrifice something they valued in pursuit of a goal.

>Give her time to think it over properly. At the very least it should help her make it understandable.
no hug; we already explained our reasoning.

>>4890338

No. Shade loves you for your potential, not your achievement or diligence.

The strongest warrior in the land will never satisfy Wisp the way the meekest urchin pleases Shade for simply braving the night, even if he never returns.


As for Dryad, she wants them to understand her _Pain_. She wants to teach them her experience, which, from a mortal perspective is pretty similar in shape to vengeance.

>>4889777

>Give her time to think it over properly. At the very least it should help her make it understandable.

>Hugs as long as it's clear she gets one for being Ari, not for answers or good behavior.

>>4890373
>Hugs as long as it's clear she gets one for being Ari, not for answers or good behavior.
Seconding this

>>4890338
>...Isn't that more Shade's wheelhouse?
Irue noted this is a bit of a weird take on Wisp, and isn't sure when Ari gained a strong opinion on the Mana in question, but the general idea isn't wrong. >>4890373 outlines it well, but to further illustrate from Irue's understanding:

Wisp is never satisfied with you, no matter what you do. You should have done it better, faster, more efficiently, more effectively. And even once you manage that, it's still not satisfied with you - you should have done something more important instead. It appreciates that you are still trying, that you haven't just given up, but you're never going to be good enough. It has unreasonable expectations of people, so Ari postulated that it likes unreasonable demands, since that is what she views it as making constantly.

Shade is always proud of you. It believes you can do it, whatever "it" is. It's the kind of thing which will remind you of all the things you've done and be like "hey remember when you did that? That was amazing, you're amazing". That said, it's also utterly merciless, and if you happen to die trying to do something, that's just the limit you found. It will remember you fondly.

Wisp won't kill you for failing, but your success will never warrant its satisfaction or full hearted praise. You brought peace to the country? Took you long enough. Look at all the people who died in the meantime.

Shade, no matter what you do, is always in your corner. It believes you can do it, that you're capable of anything, even if you're nervous. Did you take a walk after spending two months in your bed, depressed? You're the man! You're doing it! You can do anything, just try!

>>4890861
Thinking about it, your experiences with Shade have not often been encouraging, so a better way to frame it would be...

When Wisp sets a goal for you, it expects you to fail. Even if you succeed, you failed because you didn't succeed enough.

When Shade sets a goal for you, it expects you to succeed. Even if you fail, the fact you made the attempt at all is a success of its own in some ways. If you die in the process, you died a hero and a role model worth its respect.

It is a little funny to me that Shade and Wisp wound up taking such a major influence in Valen's story compared to... Anyone else. Even Dryad and Luna don't seem to come up as often.

>>4890900
I think it may be partially because of how many people that Irue has interacted with that are linked to either, and the fact that their adepts appear at least to be the most combat focused or willing to do dumb things for any reason under the sun they can find.
Would Clara's "investigation" have turned up who invited the Main branch on their fateful journey to Teranford, and would they have been affiliated with Artermis / the faction that suggested importing the relic [Priat mentions this in thread #53 >>589662 ] (even if the timelines don't overlap).

I have a feeling that this could come full circle or at least give us a target to go after (If Rinner cooperates) on the way over, with Dryad backing us up or as a quick proof for the Shrine that Artermis has failed, in it's original goals and needs to be "cleansed".

Also what was Irue's "dad's" position on Artermis and their goals.

>>4890900
>Thinking about it, your experiences with Shade have not often been encouraging
Ha! Our relationship with Shade is indeed best described as "complicated".

>When Wisp sets a goal for you, it expects you to fail. Even if you succeed, you failed because you didn't succeed enough.
Are...are /we/ Wisp?

>spoiler
ShadowRue is what kicked things off with Shade, which is the source of the majority of the complication.
FWIW, I'd be down for Rue to work more with some of the more neglected Mana. Jinn really only had the one large negative interaction; same with Earth (Genome?); Aside from the Ice Queen, we haven't seen hardly anything of Water.

>>4890861
Thanks for clearing that up. I'd always associated Shade with, in a word, struggle. Looks like he's more of a "sink or swim" kinda guy. He's the dude that'll cheerily say "you can do it!", regardless of your ability to actually do it.

>>4889777
>Give her time to think it over properly. At the very least it should help her make it understandable.

FINALLY out of the woods. Missed this quest like you wouldnt believe

>>4889800
>>4890092
>>4890138
>>4890338
>>4890373
>>4891388
Think it over! It was a surprise question anyway.

>>4890092
You kind of want an answer now, though.

>>4890092
you... regret... what you did to the mayor? First I'm hearing of this.

>>4890112
>>4890142
>>4890373
>>4890815
Ari deserves hugs!(...?)

>>4890338
No hugs!

Alright, let's see what we can do!
---

>>4890138
>Can lily answer that?
Of course Lily can answer it, but if Ari is struggling to explain it then Lily will be unconveyably worse.

>>4891388
Welcome back anon! What were you doing out in the woods?

>>4891551
I'm the conscript anon, it was rated military exercise for 3 days. Shit kinda sucked but you feel great afterwards

>>4891551
>First I'm hearing of this
? I thought Irue felt awful when she realised she just left him to slowly starve to death instead of giving him our well earned knife, though that was more on your end than any anon sentiment. If I'm wrong then ignore that part of the vote, I guess?

What happened to that knife by the way? Did Clara steal it? I want it back.

>>4891567
Considering our "previous" attempts at using a sword, we're liable to be losing fingers in short order regardless of what we do.

>>4891606
Wrong! The last time we touched a sword was just before we lost the knife, we got a chest of treasure and a weapon for Rinnier out of it.

>>4891617
We still don't know what was up with that, either the bracelet is cockblocking us (like Asche is) or something more is going on.

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>>4891622
...The bracelet? Could it really be so simple?

Ari's comments on Dryad's position [>>4889773
] are similar to the "Attendant's" ( response chain startsThread#54 >>658018) comments.


No one we've seen with it had any other prophecies (Mint, Valen Ancestor? Ariel, Irue) so it could be or other doll related reasons.


Also I'm coming up with a list of stuff to do once we get to the Estate and break things down in to actionable things and points of interest to discuss with various people [including forcing contact with Caylen, and prodding Clara about the main branches death since everything is likely interlinked, on a dizzying level]

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>>4891622
Actually I remembered something now that you brought up the bracelet.

Look at this weird early cgi looking thing that Riz posts in the OP. I was staring at the ask.fm version one day trying to figure out what it was when I noticed the filename. CompleteRelic.png

Is the Valen Quest logo Irue's bracelet with an additional ring? I think that's a fragment in the middle too.

>>4891685
Since Asche has been less than useful, and won't explain things unless we ask, and even then is extremely evasive, nonsensical and counter productive we should ditch it somewhere, or attempt to figure out its "recent" chain of custody within the main branch and if that lines up with who gets "donated" to the Forest instead of entombed like the rest.


We should definitely go see the Valen Catacombs if we can spare the time at some point to verify some things, and remember fleeting times when our life wasn't so shit.

>>4891669
>>4891622

From a purely practical standpoint, if it's the bracelet, it's a better than even trade. Our abuses of the bracelet may have been painful, but are significantly more valuable as a panic button than the ability to handle a weapon we've by our nature never used.

It's funny you mention it, but it might be some kind of curse or covenant involving either the bracelet or the main line. Is the origin of the Valen family's tradition of the Testament, monster taming and "slave holding" based in an incapability for direct combat in some or all of the family?

The Testament in particular feels like it might have been a tradition "rule patch" to avoid a diplomatic threat from singling out a Valen noble in dueling, or to force fragments of mana to respect that same noble even if he or she uses proxies to handle any less than elegant disagreements.

Of course, it could be misdirection. Irue seems to have been atypical from the start, and the combination of being mana-purged, carrying that bracelet, being Dryad's playdate and any number of other aspects could be to blame.

I wouldn't blame Asche too much by the way. I honestly believe she's doing all she can in her circumstances.

Haha the bracelet makes things go kabloam haha!@@

>>4891622
>>4891669
>>4892157
Didn't we figure out it was the bracelet doing that a long time ago when we tried to practice with the house guard? It's pretty easy to check: put bracelet in pocket, try to use weapon.

>>4892157
Based on what I've seen I have a feeling that the Bracelet is used by the assigned "Warden of the Forest" of each generation It was turned back over to the Ancestor by Artermis the the Seal was implemented. as part of their toolkit, and the Wardens are the Valens that get "returned" to the Forest instead of being entombed.

If I'm right Ariel's body won't be found in the Catacombs which is why I want to go look.

Also that was a long outage

>>4892505

That makes sense I think. They would quarantine the bodies just in case any remnant of Dryad or the corruption persisted. Last thing we need are Valen liches.

>>4892538
But then who is doing the destruction of the bodies on the far end?

We could see to their potential reresection, via Dryad if we still have the bodies; they would at least be useful to bounce ideas off.

We should ask Asche why the Valens even have the Bracelet; and why it was given to Ariel, especially considering that it was present in the Forest Atelier.

You kind of wanted the answer now, but it wasn't fair to put her on the spot like this. You'd given her warning to think about Wisp, not Dryad and its relations. "So you do know the answer?" You accepted her nod, "Well, think it over. Before we leave my aunt's, I want you to be able to tell me."

"Then I'll get a hug?" Ari perked up.

"No." You wrap an arm loosely around the smaller girl's shoulder, "You don't need a reward to have a hug."

There was hesitation, a second of immobility, before she hugged you back. "So I can ask for a different reward?"

You roll your eyes, patting her shoulder. "Don't get used to rewards."

"Tch." A dissastisfied click of her tongue was the extent of her response, but the once frail Testament didn't seem inclined to fuss over it. If anything, she only nestled more comfortably against your side. "Why are we going out to your aunt?"

"She sent a summons." You answer blandly, "That's all I know. It's unusual for her to do something like that, so I don't know what to expect, really."

"...Unusual?" Ari shifted in your grasp, curling her arms around your forearm to hold it against her.

"Hmm..." How do you explain this... "What do you know about my family and I?" Maybe it was a little late to be asking this, but you'd not spent a great deal of time focusing on trying to teach your Testaments about your family. Rinnier knew the details fairly well, Kara wouldn't have understood in the first place, and Ari... You never really considered Ari knowing to be important. Especially not in comparison to everything else that had fallen into your lap during and after the Rite.

"You're the heir to the Valen family, the house of nobility that owns this territory." She waited for your nod, glancing up at you for confirmation before continuing. "The Rite was about being seen as an adult, and when you passed it, your aunt gave you Carona to look after."

"Accurate." She'd been paying attention, you're not sure if that should surprise you. "As heir, technically the whole of House Valen should belong to me once I come of age, and as you noted, since I passed the Rite, I am an adult. Technically speaking, I'm not the heir to House Valen anymore, I'm the head of House Valen."

"And as Testaments, we have the same authority and standing as you." She supplied. "So if you're the head, why are we looking after Carona?"

"...Good question." One whose answer was complicated, and a little frustrating. "Most people don't know that I exist. I've lived mostly isolated in my house for years, since my parents died. Publicly, my aunt is the head of House Valen now. She's been the acting steward who handled all of our family's affairs for... Around a decade, really." And you'd discovered first hand just what that meant these past months. No matter where you went, your name was worth nothing if no one recognized you as the heir.

"...So she stole the house from you?" Ari shifted to lay her back against you and relax.

"No." Your rejection came instantly, an almost reflexive denial of the idea itself. "I mean if she was going to do that, why would she have kept me around this long? Or educated me?"

If your aunt had wanted to steal the Valen family heirdom from you, all it would have taken would have been removing you from the picture at any time during the last ten years. Ten years in which you would have been powerless to stop her even if you wanted to. She had tried to marry you off, which was what prompted the entire ordeal up till now, but even doing that was a public acknowledgement that you were still there... It was probably the worst way you could imagine to try and get rid of an obstacle to control of the house after so long.

You shake your head, "No, aunt Clara's never seemed interested in keeping the house for herself. I can't even remember the last time she'd actually thrown her weight around as acting head... Not until recently." The arranged marriage, of course. Assigning you governorship of Carona. This summons... This summons.

"So... If you demanded the house, she'd have to give it to you?" Ari mused.

"Probably." You nod, "The biggest problem with that at this point is getting the rest of the nation to acknowledge me. My own territory doesn't seem to know I exist, I have no idea how far that extends." Getting recognization of your status and position was arguably more important than the position itself. Clara could act as the head of house Valen even if she wasn't because of that recognization. She was acknowledged as the leader, and you... You weren't even acknowledged as existing, as far as your experiences thus far had shown you.

Well, outside of Carona, at least. You'd earned their recognition the hard way, but there was no mistake of their loyalty to you now. That thrice-cursed town was yours now... For better or worse. As Rinnier had put it, you had struggled to turn Carona into your own personal base of power, but you had succeeded in doing that.

...Another terrible move on your aunt's part, if her plan had been to keep you from regaining the authority of house Valen from her.

"...You hate Carona, don't you?" Ari tilted her head up vaguely, "Why are we bothering with it when you could just be the head instead?"

"Hmm." You'd be lying if you said the didn't want the town to burn down more often than not. Thinking about Carona in general just gave you an upset stomach, at this point.

"Do you want to be the head of the house, Master?"

...

Did you?

It had been a pain when she assigned Carona to you, but you could have refused. You could have demanded more. You could have just said 'no'. You had sulked, denied dealing with it, and generally procrastinated on bothering with the unwanted responsibility, yes... But you'd done it. You had, ultimately, accepted it.

You'd had it driven into you, time and time again, what the weight of leadership meant. Did you want more of it? Did you want even more people relying on you than you already had? Than you already struggled to meet the expectations of?

...Had you ever actually wanted to be the head of house Valen?
I͟ ͘͘d̡̧̡ó̕ņ͜'̛͘t̛͘͝ ŗea̵l̕͝ly w̵͠a͠͡n͘t͘͝-̨͟

What if becoming the head tied you down to this territory, when you needed to take the fight to Artemis?
I̷͘͟'m̸̡̧ ̷n̵̨͞e̸ve̕͟r̵̕ ̶̵g̨o̴i̴͠nģ̛́ ͢͠t̴̸o̡ b̛é̢̛ ̨͢a̡͟rou̡͞͠n͜d́-

"Master- Ow, ow, Ow!"

You pinch Ari's cheek, tugging on it absent mindedly. "I'm sure we've talked about this."

"Eewoo! Ahm sahry, Eewooooo...." You let the tormented Testament's cheek go with a sigh, letting her rub at it. "That was mean, Irue..."

"Maybe I should pinch you more if it keeps you from calling me that." A disgruntled harumph was issued as her response, and Ari stubbornly made herself at home on your lap. "...I don't know yet, about being the head of the house. Having house Valen's resources and influence would be a major boon in fighting Artemis, but if it ties me down too much..." You shake your head, petting Ari absentmindedly. "...I'll do what I have to. Putting a stop to Artemis has to come first."

"Hmm..." The stringy haired girl let your answer hang in the air, humming a vague acknowledgement and leaving it at that.

You traced one of the dual rings of your bracelet with the tip of your fingers, closing your eyes as the nightdew began to settle and faint chill crept along through the wind. One more day come and gone.

>Do something before bed? (what?)
>Make plans for tomorrow? (These will be explicit scenes)
>Think about the rest of your travel time. (Arrive at your Aunt's)
>Other? (write-in)

>>4892630
>Make plans for tomorrow? (These will be explicit scenes)
Talk to Rinnier about what she should do while at the Estate getting concessions for Carona from Byrn, Seeing what he knows about goings on in the surrounding area especially Sylv and Resuri and other mundane topics like Training our "Knights" and the upcoming civil war[mention the Ice Queen's Atelier would be useful, and that Asche is doing something somewhere](so she is running interference while we do other stuff while we're there).

So we can focus on catching up Clara on the; Fae[Keep Lilly with us, so she can take a look at any injuries/ wounds], Artermis, potential Healing options (The Diary, and Dryad) and Caylen with minimal interruption while we're at the Estate.


See if Miska is doing any better

Ari should probably spend her time looking through the Archives to see what she thinks is interesting.

>>4892630
>Think about the rest of your travel time. (Arrive at your Aunt's)
FUCKING ENOUGH OF THIS TRAVEL LIMBO WEVE BEEN STUCK HERE FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG IRL??? I WANT OFF THIS RIDE FUCKING FUCK!

>>4892850
We decided to respond to the summons in #76 (mid Dec 2019, through Jan 1st 2020) so yes we've been doing this for a Year and a half.

>>4892878
HOLY SHIT GET US OUT OF HERE NOW

>>4892627
>"The biggest problem with that at this point is getting the rest of the nation to acknowledge me.
Yes, but also no. If we took our place as head, for most people the last name is the important one, not the first. And as nobility doesn't go around in person giving orders, it would only be the people we directly interfaced with that would notice a difference.

>Did you?
Yes. No question.

>You could have just said 'no'.
A meta note: you never gave us a chance to do that, Riz. Not without stopping whatever was going on to complain.

>>4892630
>Think about the rest of your travel time. (Arrive at your Aunt's)
It's been long enough, I think. Though I do hope we experiment with various learning stuff with Oakenrue on and off during the jump. Dancing is pretty much a bust, so maybe tinker with simple memory games, throwing/hitting accuracy tests, some sort of sparring (insomuch as Rue can spar), or anything else that comes to mind.

>>4892878
>>4892930
To be fair, "a year and a half" sounds much more dramatic than "2 threads ago".

>>4892850
I am pretty sure I've given you guys the option to skip to the end of this travel sequence multiple times. I'm surprised it took this long.

>>4892933
>spoiler
This reflects more specifically on Irue than you. You also didn't choose to go on a month long bender after the fact - Irue did.

CALL THE VOTE NOW I WANT OUT OF HER

>>4892986
But this is downtime that can be used to get a better understanding of things, dig for more information for more pieces fit, and do some self improvement / work on our followers, and interact with Lilly while the stakes are "temporarily" low.

>>4892992
FUCK YOU NIGGER CALL THE VOTE

>>4892630
>Think about the rest of your travel time. (Arrive at your Aunt's)
I'd like to watch over Miska, train Lily and teach Ari off-screen.

>>4892850
You made me laugh so I'll second this even though I'm enjoying the mundane travelshit.

>>4892630
>Think about the rest of your travel time. (Arrive at your Aunt's)
>Practice with Lily offscreen

>>4892676
Skipping travel time!

>>4892850
>>4892933
>>4893010
>>4893906
plans for explicit scenes!

By popular demand, Irue's Comfy Travel Downtime will continue, I guess.

>>4893989
Just checking to see that you did actually get the vote backwards on purpose, right?

This dumb trick gets someone every time, I don't get it.

>>4894174
Once or twice, a long ways back, Riz screwed up some vote count or misinterpreted some votes or something maybe a vote for using the bracelet at a bad time?. Ever since, I always go back and double check to make sure the votes couldn't be reasonably misconstrued when this sort of vote tally comes up.
And to be fair, it looks like a simple copy/paste error if you don't know better, all the way down to his apparent reluctance to continue something he initially thought would be glossed over (this entire travel sequence).

The rest of your time on the road fell into a blur. The bulk of your day often spent playing with Lily in one way or another, never quite settling for one activity over another - Though the child didn't seem to mind. Anything you did with her was as engaging and wonderful to her as the last, to the point that you suspected she was just happy to have your attention in general. Even the smallest praise caused the little Dryad apparition to positively preen, and the more you talked with her, the more words she began committing to memory.

"Fuck you~!"

Unfortunately, the addition of new words had not seemed to improve her handle on their meaning to any degree, and thus she remained bound to silence for the foreseeable future. Masks shouldn't talk anyway.

You spent a bit of time each night quizzing Ari on the Mana. Mostly excuses to teach her more of the things you'd spent most of your own life learning, and she soaked it up gladly - Using it, in turn, as an excuse to sneak in more physical contact. A small price to pay to placate her dissatisfaction over having to sleep elsewhere all of a sudden. A sleeping arrangement you were extra resolute in enforcing now that you had confirmation those dreams weren't one-sided.

The day-to-day wandering continued when you weren't otherwise busy; You wanted your face to be more familiar with your knights before this trip was over, and the more at ease they got with your occasional appearance the better.

Before too long though, the gates to your aunt's estate were on the horizon. Seeing your journey over almost made you more tired than the journey itself, but now was hardly the time to rest - You had a lot of things you needed to take care of, and nowhere near the time you wished you had to do it all in. "Rinnier, can you handle seeing to the knights being settled?"

"I'll handle the arrangements." She affirmed. "You'll be meeting with your aunt immediately?"

"That's the plan. I want to find out what this is about and fill her in on what I've learned in the meantime." Last you saw your aunt, she'd been riding off to intercept Caylen. You'd be lying if you said you weren't similarly curious as to how that went... And wouldn't honestly be surprised if you ran into Caylen under house arrest while you were here. "If you run into my uncle, pry him for what information you can regarding the territory. He's always kept his ear to the ground, so anything we can learn from him would save us time trying to gather the information on our own later."

Mana bless, you were tired of working on an intel-deficit.

"Got it. You're not meeting him with your aunt?"

You roll your shoulder, staring up at the gates as they began to open. The courtyard stretched out before you, an empty space you'd last seen filled with a pack of demihumans trying to spar with Kara. "Whoever has the time first. I don't want to linger here any longer than necessary."

"Hmm..." Rinnier took your answer at face value. "I'd like to spend some time looking through the archives here before we leave. If it seems like it'll take too long, I'll cut it short."

"...Looking for something?" Your brow arches, casting a side-long glance the flame haired Testament's way.

"I don't know yet." She shook her head, regarding you. "You ever feel like something's right in front of you, but you're missing the little pieces you need to see the larger picture?" A scowl tugged at your lips, and Rinnier snorted. "Right? I don't know what I'll find, if anything, but this is a good chance to look."

"What are you trying to figure out?"

"Hmm. I'll tell you later if I find anything. Too much to explain right now, but you reminded me of something I read a few months back."

"Few... Months?" You mouth the words, setting the curiosity aside for later.

A pair of the estate guards had broken off to greet the knights at the head of your escort, and in turn been deferred to you and your Testament - Proudly led back to you behind Ari's shoulder. "Ser Valen." As one they saluted you, "Welcome back. You've been expected."

"So I've heard. Tell my aunt I'm here, I imagine she'll want to see me immediately."

"We have standing instructions to lead you inside as soon you get here." One nods, standing aside with an arm extended in invitation.

Figures. When you said immediately, you meant it. Exchanging a wordless nod with Rinnier, you split off and leave your knights in her hands as you follow the estate guard into the manor itself. It was a large place as always, with a balcony you'd almost expected to see your aunt smugly staring down from for the second time in as many visits... But where your vision lingered, only empty space occupied.

Portraits lined the walls as you walked, boots soundless as they sunk into the embroided carpetry along the center walkway further inside. The faces of your family, most too far beyond your generation to recognize, stared out at you as you passed - Casting gazes of varying degrees of levity on your back. A serious family, a confident family, whatever your bloodline passed down, the red eyes were a constant; Rows of vivid, crimson gazes.

You can't actually remember spending much time in this house. It had been yours, nominally, at one point very long ago. So long ago that your memories were splotchy at the best of times - Over a decade ago, when your parents were still around, and you were still a child. You remembered most the moments that you spent: The scheming giggles of Ariel as she pulled you by the wrist, or the way your mother had watched your sister and you play in the flower gardens.

A man with unruly blonde hair held a faint grin from his portrait, wine-red eyes glinting warmly from behind a pair of half-lensed spectacles hanging off the bridge of his nose. A momentary meeting of your eyes before your gaze slid down over the portrait title.

Prias Valen

...Your mother wouldn't have a portrait here. No doubt one had been made, but you wouldn't find it out in a public space - These were reserved for the bloodline. Those who married into it were reserved for family portraits, or personal requests. You'd be best off asking your aunt where to find one.

You linger on the portrait of your father a little longer, turning to find your escort some paces further down the hall. He'd come to a stop at attention, keeping a discrete eye on you as he distracted himself. "Sorry, I got lost in thought for a moment."

"No need to apologize, Ser Valen." The estate guard offered an understanding grin before leading on. You were beginning to recognize these halls, not from your childhood but from more recent visits: An unusually locutious trip to bring you to your aunt's personal study. A place you could have reached almost ten minutes earlier if you'd just come straight here. "Here you are."

"Why did we walk around the manor to come here?"

"The area around the personal chambers are off-limits currently." He apologized.

"...Why?" Last time you were here, your uncle had cordoned off a section of the family archives for book renewal, but if he had done the same for house renovations... You hated how likely that sounded.

"Healer's orders."

The answer, however, only raised more questions. You held your tongue for the moment, opening the door to the study to just ask your aunt directly.

A room of moderate size, a single sword held sheathed and suspended along the wall. A heavily built wooden desk, stained a deep ox-blood red, with the family crest carved on its face with heavy and uncompromising strokes. The fireplace was cold and empty of its ashes, somewhat recently if the slight smear of dusty white was any indication. Books lined a single wall, providing you a glance of titles of books you hazarded pertained primarily to foreign policy, dueling treatises, and domestic affairs.

On the opposite wall, however, stood the map. A massive thing, longer than you were tall, with pin-held strings and notes stabbed onto the cork-like backboard that broke down much of La'Fiel into noble territories. A centerpiece which more than anything marked this place as your aunt's personal war room.

Between the two walls lay a largely open space. Left empty and unobstructed, so much so that you wouldn't be surprised to find out your aunt had taken to practicing her swordsmanship or footwork when she wanted a break from her other pursuits... And it was in that space that you met the sole occupant of said room, whose eyes had remained locked on the map since you arrived.

"Ah, Irue. Good to see you! Though I dare say you took your time getting here." A large man turned to you, stroking his neatly trimmed beard as he chuckled. "Promptness is a virtue, my child! Merchants will love you for it."

"...Uncle Byrn?" You blink, absentmindedly closing the study door behind you as you rescan the room and realize it was only the two of you here. "What's this about?"

"Straight to the point already, excellent. Excellent!" His grin widened, gesturing you further inside as he trundled across the room towards your aunt's desk. "Come, sit down. I'm sure you've got questions. You won't like the answers. They're very bad answers."

A foreboding statement, made by a man whose smile - ever present as it was - visibly strained to stay in place. you approached the proffered chair, resting your hand along the headrest's ridge rather than setting down. "I don't have a lot of time, uncle. Why was I summoned? Where's aunt Clara?"

"Recovering. Our son has entered his rebellious stage!"

"...Recovering? Caylen?" Your brows knit. "Did she get hurt bringing Caylen back?"

"Oh no. No, no, no.... no, if it were that simple we'd all be much better off for the situation we find ourselves in, I'm afraid." Byrn shook his head, "Caylen rebelling is not especially a problem, you see. The boy isn't a threat on his own. No, our problem is that Alouette has joined that rebellion. Or perhaps she is leading that rebellion. Whichever the case, she sent your aunt back to us in pieces."

Vitriol dripped from your uncle's hissing tongue, but it was far and away from the first thing on your mind. It took you almost a solid six seconds of blankly staring at the man, rolling his words back through your mind, before it even began to sink in. "...What?"

"The best healers in our territory have done what they can for her, Irue." Byrn's barrel chest swole, a heavy-set breath expanding his portly belly before he sighed - And with that sigh, uncurled the fist that had slowly clenched over the desk's surface. "I will be blunt, Clara is on borrowed time now, and precious little of it. She drifts in and out of consciousness, it is the best that could be done to keep her sedated enough to dull the pain."

"Wait-" Blonde hair tremors violently as you shake your head. "That doesn't make sense, Was she decapitated?! What in Shade's name happened to her that our best healers can't fix it?!"

Severed limbs? Doable if you had the limb in good condition. Crippled, but still workable if you didn't. Massive internal injury? Dire, yes, but it could be handled eventually if you didn't die before the healing began. The only exceptions were when Wisp itself just couldn't be stimulated strongly enough in someone - Like your own lack of Wisp, or in the body of those favored strongly by Shade.

"It is best you don't see her." Byrn growled, "But your guess is as good as mine, kiddo. The healers said her body is rejecting their mana. She called for you not long after she arrived, during one of the few instances of lucidity she manages to steal back... If I had to guess, she wanted to see you one more time."

"...Ah?"

...This conversation felt very, very far away all of a sudden.

"I trust you'll make yourself at home for the time you're here." Byrn's voice crossed that distance, but only faintly. "There is constant surveillance on your aunt, so the moment she wakes again I'll be sure to alert you. Until then-"

Alouette rebelled...? For Caylen...?

...Aunt Clara?

Did... Did he have any idea what he'd done?

"-If you need anything, anything at all Irue, I'm here-"

>?

>>4894839
first thought - artemis must be behind this
>We must assume leadership of House Valen

>>4894839
>Hug uncle, he probably needs it. Because this is a fucked up situation if I've ever seen one.
>Think hard.

We now can be reasonably sure that Artemis or whoever is behind them can make people's bodies reject mana.
Alouette being on their side means we're fucking dead if it comes to a fight. No amount of apparitions will help us.
Fucking Maran is to blame for everything, obviously.
We know where Caylen was supposed to be not long ago - in Sylv. Who knows where he's now though.
We need to bring uncle as an ally into this. We need the resources of the whole house.

>Tell uncle about Artemis and their efforts to undermine Valen's hold on Carona for reasons unknown (but not about Dryad or all that)
>Tell him we happen to know Caylen had been in Sylv
>Tell him Maran is manipulating Caylen. Drill him on who the hell she is and where she came from

I also wonder whether some Dryad sap might help auntie's health. This is a long shot however.

Stop fucking hugging people we need to start killing people

>>4894881
We have Maran for killing.

>>4894836
>"You ever feel like something's right in front of you, but you're missing the little pieces you need to see the larger picture?"
Valen Quest in a nutshell.

>>4894838
>"Come, sit down. I'm sure you've got questions. You won't like the answers. They're very bad answers."
I think I might like this guy.

I'm a touch surprised he (or the guards for that matter) didn't comment on us wearing a mask (of our own face? it's been a while) somewhere on our person.


>No, our problem is that Alouette has joined that rebellion. Or perhaps she is leading that rebellion. Whichever the case, she sent your aunt back to us in pieces."
This miserable fool managed to convince her to not only betray her house, but to butcher one of the family? What the hell is wrong with him?
Whatever the sequence of events, Alouette has clearly gone off the deep end; she will have to be killed.

>The healers said her body is rejecting their mana.
Have they managed to modify Fayka into having long term effects?
Wasn't Aunt's Testament a shadow horse or something similar? Could extended proximity to it be enough to cause Wisp issues?

>>4894839
this
>>4894868
and this
>>4894881

>>4894873
>We now can be reasonably sure that Artemis or whoever is behind them can make people's bodies reject mana.
Eh. There's a slim case for it, but Artemis are Luna Adepts, and all of Dryad's adepts were killed because they were infection vectors. If the Infection caused Mana issues, that would be a crystal clear symptom. Plus it would have invalidated Artemis as a valid Luna organization a long time ago.

>Alouette being on their side means we're fucking dead if it comes to a fight. No amount of apparitions will help us.
Depends on how much lead time we have, and how much collateral damage will willing to accept. Bracelet Apparitions do grow incredibly fast.

>I also wonder whether some Dryad sap might help auntie's health. This is a long shot however.
Fadeka is derived from Dryad sap. That's where it's Mana flushing ability comes from.

>>4894839
So she can't be healed and her body rejects mana, as far as I'm aware the only other time this has happened has been with us. We've always been ignored by other mana but even so we were able to get healed by a Wisp adept earlier on in the quest, it was only after we died and revived (necessitating direct contact with Dryad and thus contamination) that this changed. Maybe Clara is corrupted too, somehow?

In any case, if we can catch her while she's awake we can just have her undo her injuries with the Diary of Reflections. There was that single user revive power Dryad gave us, that's an option too, if the relic somehow fails.

>Swear Uncle Byrn to silence before showing him the Diary of Reflections
>Explain that we can use this to heal Clara, but she'll need to concentrate to use it. It is possible the sedatives may interfere with this and ask if we can lower her dose, or even take her off them without making her too wracked with pain to use the relic

>>4894913
I agree Allouette probably deserves to die at this point, but it'd be a lot easier to kill our cousin instead, Allouette doesn't give a fuck about Artemis, she's only doing any of this because it's the path Caylen has decided to walk. Without him she has no reason to work with them.

Also we're in a time of crisis, if we can bring back Clara with the relic we'd be much better off leaving her in charge. Irue doesn't know how to do any of this shit, and a civil war strikes me as a bad time to get in the drivers seat and start learning.

Its the best time actually
ABSOLUTE VALEN AUTOCRACY BAYBEE

>>4894925
I don't think Clara was infected though. More like it's the same thing that happened with Rinnier.

>Faedka is derived from Dryad sap
Yes, bu it doesn't have healing abilities.

>>4894839
>Ask to see her at least once to get Lilly's opinion on if she thinks Dryad can help, and to judge if it's the same or a similar poison, as was used at the Ruined Shrine based on all our experience in the Forest Atelier.

Based on the answer that Lilly gives us Suggest either taking her to the Fae (Dryad), or using the Diary.

Also if the bracelet can do a bunch of Mana based stuff, we could try and use it to gauge Clara's state to see if her balance is "off".

If Lilly thinks Dryad can help, send her on ahead so we don't have to waste time waiting for a response, while we beeline it back into the forest with Clara.


Also since I don't see us changing much there is no point in taking over at this point unless Clara dies since we're already going to have our hands full dealing with Carona and Artermis, and being forced to also deal with the crown and the Civil war simultaneously things will get complicated.

>>4895170
I mean, Dryad could bring her back to life if she dies, sure that's an option, but transporting her to the forest while she's in critical condition is going to kill her.

>>4895181
The healers can't do anything more either, only numb the pain so leaving her her ends up with her dead anyway, and we would then need to transport a body which may be harder to get away from the estate and degrade while in transport, and questions would likely be raised if we somehow bring her back.

Also it's another thing that may bring Dryad closer to the surface; and slipping their bonds considering that Clara is also a "blood" Valen, which may help provide the resources we need to take the fight to Artermis even if the revival process is unsuccessful

Also should we inform the Crown of the existence of the "Ice Queens" Atelier and its implications on their rule and ask for support in their dealing with the Civil war since a successful defense may well give us aa platform to go after Artermis since our goals align in that space.

There is also the Jin Branch that could be used to actually talk to Caylen.

>>4895181
Something I've been thinking about was that if Faedka comes from Dryad, where could the Anti Mana Poison they used come from, would the Sap from "Nymph Wood" have the same effect, since Dryad also seems to not like it, we could ask Lilly or Ari to explain it as well.

Also getting Ari to take a look at the body might also be something, since she can explain where the Dryad~Wisp difference in life/healing effects lies.

>>4894839

I hate it when I'm right.

Priorities straight; Byrne gets a hug.

No, I'm serious. The man's wife is dying. He needs comfort as much as we might, and we will need his emotional support to do what is necessary.

Because the next thing we need to do is see Clara; awake or not. We need to see her state. Even with the best healers possible, we have context that they do not, and may be able to heal her, or at least soothe her pain to lucidity. If we cannot, we need to figure out how we are going to do without: With Alouette defected and Clara on her deathbed, we're the heavy hitter of House Valen; and we're only 3/5ths of her.

As for assuming the mantle... Are you people fucking insane?
Byrne Valen won't fight us for the title unless we have the gall to try to take it over Clara's grave. If she dies, we virtually assume it by default, assuming there's a House Valen worth heading by the time all of this is said and done.


For those of you who are discussing Alouette; This is the face of Wisp. Goal, meet obstacle. We cannot fight Alouette (because we will lose. Even if we win, she will bleed us dry); If we want to incapacitate her, we will need to break Caylen.

In order

>Console Uncle Byrne. He's family and we will need all that remains of it.
>See Clara; We have information and tools at our disposal that may save her or buy time.
>Bring Byrne into the fold. We do not have time to play our childish spat anymore. We will only have Clara for a short while, and we will need every moment.

>>4895293
The only thing about Byrne is that he isn't a blood Valen which may interfere Dryad and we don't know how valid Artermis original concerns of an infection were true or just an excuse, so how far should we leave it at the Fae or explain Dryad to him.

>>4895305

It's a priority to check with Clara. I sincerely doubt Byrn is uninitiated to at least some level, but it's possible they kept an understanding with each other.

Anything we can share with him and vice versa would be a load off of us. The absolute worst case scenario will be Clara dying and having to play "Who can read the whole Valen Archive?" as a single-player game.

>>4895331
It's just that if the concerns were correct we don't want to cause problems we have to deal with down the line if we don't need to especially since we don't know what the symptoms are.

Also if we had to do the entire archive we have someone for that; (Ari) or failing that and we needed answers yesterday; Mim.

>>4895293
I concur with this, but to expound on the subject of fighting Alouette, while it's a bit early for that, I think that Shade is definitely the answer for crossing that bridge when we come to it. Being a wisp adept on top of an experienced warrior means she's unstoppable in a straight up fight, but Shade preys off of emotional vulnerability, where no blades made from steel no matter how sharp or strong can cut.
I'd wonder how much she'd resist sitting down at a table and talking given that as an adept she probably knows this.
Also, on leadership, we want to find out who's in charge, and if it's *supposed* to be us and people have been waiting and sitting on their hands, we need to act. I don't doubt our uncle has experienced and knowledge in playing the role as administrator, but if there's a deadlock because the actual house matriarch is busy being a vegetable as well as ground meat (some potato on top and she'd be a cottage pie), then there absolutely can't be *nothing* being done. House Valen still has assets, after all, and they'll need to be doing anything besides being caught in red tape.

>>4895224
You're fine with her dying in transit? What's wrong with using the Relic?

>>4895293
>>4894839
I like this, seconding.

>>4895532
If she dies in transit; and we do manage to revive her, less people will know and will therefore we will be more able to hide the fact that the "Fae" can bring people back from the dead.

Also Lilly and Ari working together is probably capable of stabilizing Clara during transport, and we can probably borrow a carriage or horse and cart to expedite our return to our manor before making it on foot across the river and into the forest.

Using the Diary to revert the wounds may not be quite as free from consequence or work the way we think it might or may have odd interactions, and is still untested at the moment We could test it on our wrist, but that's probably not a good idea to do on a whim.

>>4895554
Using the relic will have much fewer unintended consequences than being brought back to the dead or communing with a corrupted mana. In fact not once have we or Irue detected a single side effect of using the mirror. I know what option I'd choose if I was in Clara's position.

I'm not even overtly opposed to resurrection if it comes to that, I'm just kind of baffled that you're resorting to our ace in the hole immediately without even considering the potentially unlimited use full heal we're carrying around in our pocket.

They aren't even mutually exclusive, we can try the diary first and consider other options if it fails.

>>4895570
There is a slight chance that the Diary somehow preclude Dryad from succeeding, especially considering that it's not a Dryad based relic.

Also I see an awake Dryad as a big angry stick that we could use in the fight against Artermis, and direct to some degree, it
also awakening early may also reduce or even entirely prevent the civil war from occurring in the first place as everyone works together to defeat it.

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>>4895578
It would only interfere with Dryad if it was a Luna based relic, and it's not.

As far as using Dryad to kill Artemis goes, I had that thought too, and it would work! The only downside it that Dryad will kill everyone else in the world as well, and there may very well be no way to stop it.

>>4895595
They made their bed and accepted the consequences of their actions when they lobotomized Dryad, also based on what Ari said it's not going to kill them; only make them understand what they put it through, it sucks that they failed or gave up.


Undine is closely linked to Luna and so may be due additional consideration.

>>4895617
It says it right there, man. Dryad will continue killing people until it is forcefully stopped, and no one can do that except the other Mana.

>Ari said it's not going to kill them; only make them understand what they put it through

And what did they do to Dryad? They killed everyone it loved. Ergo, to make the Mana understand what they put Dryad through, Dryad will kill everyone. Maybe just the Adepts, but likely everyone but the Valens and anyone we specifically ask it to bring back.

>Undine is closely linked to Luna and so may be due additional consideration.

Okay, I don't know why you believe either of those things. Dryad brought us back to life while we were literally transformed into a different person. It is of no impediment to Dryad whatsoever.

>>4895651
>Valens and anyone we specifically ask it to bring back.
That is more than we need, it just means that things are going to go through a big shake up and we're going to have to renegotiate lots of stuff, or bargain Dryad down to just Luna adepts or Artermis in the best case.

>Literally transformed into a different person
We also don't know exactly what has happened to Clara, so it may be more than Physical wounds that is effecting her and Dryad may not be able to to deal with.
even with Dryad's full support it couldn't save any of its adepts anyway.

>>4895656
>We also don't know exactly what has happened to Clara,
Yes we do, she got obliterated by a wisp adept! The exact same thing that happened to us! Honestly you couldn't engineer a more similar set of circumstances if you tried, Irue even has the same unhealable quality. I feel like you've came to your conclusion first and are inventing reasons to stick with it.

>>4895659
All we know is that Alouette "interceded" and hurt Clara severely, we don't know if anything else happened or anyone else was involved in the conflict itself.

>>4895659
Something especially concerning is the "And doesn't explain what you did to her!" from the Merciless Compass pastebin.

>>4895659

While I support examining Clara's condition thoroughly, there are too many moving parts to claim that the same solution for Clara will work.

We're... not exactly baseline. She isn't either, but in different ways. Not to mention the same symptoms do not mean the same results. As a simple example, you get the same outcome when it comes to Wisp healing if you purge someone of Mana, or if you suffuse them in another.

We need information, because we aren't working in charted territory. We can't be sure Clara can effectively use the Diary in her state... Or even will: We don't know her mental state right now.

We can be relatively certain we could revive her from the dead with Dryad... And then what? Have we considered the ramifications of a Dryad-touched Clara Valen? If we aren't on Artemis's short list yet, we'll get there in a minute if they catch wind that the acting head of House Valen was merc'd by Alouette, and then shows up whole and hearty with a glimmer in her eye.

It's not cut and dry, and it's not simple. We need to lay out our tools, gather information and act decisively once we've come to our best conclusions.

>>4895680
Realistically we wouldn't be reviving her for altruistic reasons, she is far to valuable to the Crown's / our side of the war, becuse of her prowess as a leader and her current standing with other important people and factions.

I think the worst we could get back from a successful Dryad based heal is that she would have her connection to Wisp gone completely, and potentially in severe pain for the rest of her life.

Also I think that Irue would exhaust everything to prevent another set of familial deaths wherever possible, regardless of consequences.

I aint read all this shit you guys writing but it sounds limp wristed

>>4895720
Your not required to, it's mostly just finagling what is the "best" path to go forward with based on what we know and in which order to play our cards and what the consequences of doing so might be.

As a side note, another anon implied it but it's good to reiterate that we're assuredly next on the hit list if Artemis decides to take advantage of this. They have Calen in their pocket, and I don't know if you're disinherited if you're somewhat complicit in killing your mom, but if we get wiped out next then he's got the Valen name. Unknown if he must complete the testament trial even if he's the last remaining one or if that's just Valen custom for normal situations.

Otherwise we'd need to seriously consider breeding an heir of our own and I really don't think Irue even can so it'd be in our interests if Clara didn't die yet.

Also because she's assuredly a MILF so if that doesn't motivate you then nothing would.

>>4895784
If we were truly on the hit list, we would already be dead considering that they've had 10 years of us sitting in the same house doing nothing with only one other person within a days walking distance with only the occasional supply drop and unfettered access.

Even if we can't produce a Heir conventionally all we need is to find suitable person (whomever we were originally slated getting married to would probably be a good starting point) and drag them off into the forest and get Dryad to help.

>>4895724
best path is to take the reigns and be the head honcho, its bout time
>mmuh hug uncle and do this do that
Fuck that pussy shit we gotta get REAL

>>4895795
There's two things for that. One, is that Irue is a relative unknown even in our own lands, and the other is, I don't think Artemis had this planned, like, at all. They weren't planning this for ten years, they were trying for something bigger for more than ten years and getting foiled only for Caylen to shit the bed for everybody and run off with a pair of tits and a smile. This is more theoretically if they saw this as an unexpected opportunity, because it's not like Artemis plotted Clara's assassination or whatever, she got wrecked by her own attack dog, who is loyal to Caylen and not Artemis.
However, if I were somebody in Artemis, I'd see that all of a sudden things look really damn good despite not actually seeking this result so quickly, and think about how I could exploit it.

>>4895807
Considering that they almost certainly had Irue's family killed, they would know about the sole survivor but wouldn't be able to follow up in a short span because it would look more suspicious.

and it is incredibly likely that all Alouette has actually done it move up her own death up a bit, since no one in their right mind will trust someone that betrayed someone else even if their reasoning is perfectly sound, since nothing is stopping it from happening again.

and Caylen without any form of Valen associated oversight is a bad idea.

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>>4894868
>>4894913
All your base are belong to us!

>>4894873
>>4895293
>>4895532
>>4894928
Support Byrn and tell him everything?

>>4895170
>>4895293
>>4895532
>>4894928
No, we want to see aunt Clara now.

I won't be updating tonight so there's no need to close the window, but I doubt there will be any additional votes.

That said, I would like some clarification: Would you prioritize telling Byrn everything over seeing Clara immediately, or vice-versa?

>>4895883
Can we do both? Take Byrn to go see Clara and explain on the way.

>>4895883
Seeing Clara.

>>4895884
You can do both, but one needs to be done first.

>>4895884
Clara can provide additional information that might influence our decision to tell stuff to Byrn, so I propose we see her first.

>>4895887
Then triage for Clara, first seems like the safer play since we don't know how long anything we do will buy.

Why do we need to lore dump on the uncle now. Shit I care about more important stuff

>>4895903
It would get him up to speed so we can go do the important stuff, leaving him to manage the other stuff that needs doing; once we deal with Clara.

>>4895903

That's exactly the reason. We don't have the bodies. We need to delegate.

Irue is probably realizing at this point that the attrition of House Valen has already become serious. If we consider MIA and KIA, we're at less than half strength before the fighting even starts.

No wonder Shade is fond of us.

>>4895883
>Would you prioritize telling Byrn everything over seeing Clara immediately, or vice-versa?
See Clara I guess. No telling Byrn.

alright! Closing the vote with a preference for seeing Clara first!

"I need to see her."

Everything has could wait. Everything else would wait. You needed to see your aunt immediately. She was here, she was alive, that was all you needed! You could fix this! Even if she weren't alive, you might still be able to fix it. You could fix it. You pushed away from the chair, turning sharply on your heel without a second thought on a warpath towards the door-

"Hold, Irue, hold!" Your uncle's portly form jumped from the desk, scooting the heavy wooden frame forward in the process. "You can't just barge in, she is in critical condition!"

Your fingers clench around the door handle, stopping just short of throwing it open. "What does that matter?"

"Making a commotion will not help your aunt, Irue. The healers are already doing what can be done, interrupting them unnecessarily is only going to endanger her further." Byrn shuffled out from around the desk, moving with unusual spryness for a man of his size. He always seemed as if he were going to bounce from place to place, and it was queer - and a little relieving - to see that trait of his held even during a time like this. "I know you're upset kiddo, but you need to calm down."

"Calm down? You told me Alouette butchered my aunt because Caylen ran off on some dumbass whim and I'm supposed to stay calm?" You wrench the door open, "After I see her, I'm going after my cousin. I'm going to beat that brat until he's begging to come home!" And if Maran was a casualty in the process, all the better.

"Do not be rash right now! Those are likely the same thoughts Clara had, rushing off that night to bring him back. Do you want to end up like her?"

Yeah, these probably were the same kind of thoughts she'd had. She'd torn off on Ser Stomperson almost immediately after you'd told her your suspicions about Caylen, and neither she nor you would take no as an answer from him. Uncle Byrn was right: It would be better if you took a breath and thought this over slowly; If you calmed down, rather than storming off in an emotional whirlwind.

And as you slammed the door behind you, you resolved to do that later. It would take you a while to reach Caylen at this point, which gave you a large period of time in which to plan exactly how you were going to wring his Mana damned neck in a calm and collected fashion.

This was Maran's fault. Her damned face sprung to mind almost immediately, and you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the insufferable harpy had instigated it somehow - That, at the root of all of this, you could lay the blame at her feet. You don't know what she'd said, what she'd done, but Caylen, the imbecile, was wrapped around her finger. You'd destroy her the first moment you got for what she'd done to your family...

And while you raced through the halls, bitterness built in the back of your throat; A loathesome bile squeezed from the pit of your stomach as it twisted in knots. As much as you disliked that scheming tart, you couldn't let it end there anymore. Not after this. Caylen wasn't a child - He was capable of making his own decisions, same as you! What he'd done this time went beyond any excuse you were willing to accept. What in the names of the Mana had been so damned important to him that he'd do this to aunt Clara? What made that stupid brat think killing his mother was worth it? Betraying his whole damned family to side with Artemis?!

Honor? Sense of justice? If anything happened to aunt Clara - If you couldn't save her - You were going to murder Caylen yourself. You will rip his moral compass out of his Shade damned heart and make him choke on its shattered glass shards after you've used it to break in his teeth in like a hammer.

A thin haze filled in your mind, buzzing - vibrating - with your flaring temper as you stopped to scan the surroundings. Someone, multiple someones, were blocking the hall ahead. They weren't wearing a uniform, or at least none you would recognize. Maybe that made them the healers. All it made them to you was a hindrance.

"Get out of my way." If you found them, then Clara wasn't far off. Behind these doors? "I'm want to see my aunt."

"We can't let you pass right now, she's-"

Something very tautly wound snapped in the back of your mind, and the man's words were interrupted when Lily's vines surged forward to slam him into the wall. She'd taken her own initiative, simmering fury bleeding across the bracelet's connection to her. From her? Emotional feedback from you? Something else? You can't be sure.

"My name is Irue Valen." You turned your wine-red eyes to the other healer, feeling Lily's vine-like ivy uncoiling from you to slither through the air. "I'm the heir of this house, and that was not a request."

"Even if you..." The wall cracked behind him, eliciting a choking groan from his peer as Lily's vines proved unsure whether their goal was to strangle him or crush him against a solid surface. He swallowed his words, eyeing the bloodlusting flora in rapidly rising alarm.

"Move." Your teeth grit. "Or you will be moved."

...He moved.

You slammed the door open, leaving the sole remaining healer to try and extricate his peer from Lily's violent bindings - A task made easier with Lily's absence, but not one that made the apparition herself any happier. If anything, she seemed like she strongly would have preferred to stay there and continue the lashing... And had you not been so single-mindedly focused on Clara to jerk her away as you left, she would have done just that.

But inside was where everything came to a stop. The rush that fueled you here, the blood pulsing through your veins still pumping madly, all of it left you with a sudden and abrupt... Nothing. A tense silence you were reluctant to break, and once again the familiar feeling of things seeming so far away - All of it came to a head as you swallowed the dryness in your mouth and the sight of your aunt started to sink in.

Not decapitated, no, but... She remained as you remembered her: Indomitable, imposing, a steel thorn of a woman. She'd never once missed a step, her confidence not so much as flickered, even now, laying in bed and swathed in gauze, she seemed to rest more irritably than defeated. As if offended, even in her drug-induced sleep, that she had been left in this state. It brought a fragile, seed of a smile to your lips- A brief reprieve from your worry that let you take that first step towards her side.

In 'pieces' your uncle had said, and he meant it. She was laid out in her bed as normal, but the gauze which wrapped her body obscured the tell-tale gaps. The hands not quite connected to her forearms, which in turn lay just too far from her upperarms. Rigid casts kept the segmented limbs held in place, but seemingly too far from one-another to try and mend them back into a solid whole... And you didn't have the resolve to confirm whether or not her legs had been given the same treatment.

Still, Clara's breathing continued; Labored, even in rest. A shallow rasping that you held your breath to hear.

"...What in Shade's name did they do to you?" You murmured your disbelief, wary of disturbing her. This... This wasn't someone who lost a fight. Did they send aunt Clara back in a bag? How did she even survive the trip back? That she was even alive now had to be a miracle, or-

'Love~'

Lily's wrath flipped jarringly, turning an affectionate tone towards your aunt... Which, in turn, hesitated. As if the little apparition had realized mid-adoration she didn't recognize someone.

'...Love~?'

Your attention split between Lily's indecisive feelings, the little apparition wrestling over what to think of Clara, and paying attention to your aunt herself - The latter of which taking precedence when her breathing hitched and for the smallest of movements, you caught sight of her eyelids shifting. She'd woken, or your commotion woke her, or the drugs wore off or... It didn't matter, you closed the distance between you swiftly, hand outstretched to... To what? Hold her hand? To touch her?

'No~!'
"-rue..."

Your hand froze, restraining vines coiled about the outstretched wrist.

Clara's eyes shifted, following the ceiling until she found you, and her lips drew a severe line upon finally finding your face. She struggled to form words across her dry lips, with even the latter half your name more a belabored exhale than a pronounciation.

"...Ru-"
"Irue!"

Your uncle's voice boomed from just beyond the open doors, shattering the silence and your concentration as you jerked your head around to see him, panting, but catching up. He looked much like he'd sprinted a marathon with the way he gasped for air.

The larger man gathered himself, looking first to his wife, and then to you, concern and indignity warring in his expression. All the same, in Clara's presence he reigned his voice down to an urgent whisper. "Control yourself, Irue Valen. The man you near killed getting in here is threatening to leave, and we cannot afford to have any of these healers walk out on Clara in the state she is in!"

He drew a heavy breath, face tinging red- either from exertion or restraining himself, you're unsure. "Wisp bless when did you learn to run like that? Nevermind... She's awake now. It must have been some time since her last dosage..." Byrn ran his hand back through his short cut hair, wracking his mind for what to do, or say, before turning his attention back to you. "Fine, you've seen her now. I'm going to try and talk them into returning to resedate her before the painkilling effects wear off any further. Please, look over her until I get back and then we'll talk this over properly. Alright?"

...You feel like it was less a question with the way his hand closed around your shoulder and squeezed.

You turned your attention back to Clara, her eyes already closed again- Not asleep, by the contortion of pain across her face- and found your mind swimming.

>?

>>4898649
>Look out the window while waiting

>>4898649
See if Lilly thinks Dryad can help, or if she can get Clara conscious / lucid and then begin the explanation from the start.

If Lilly can't manage that use the stolen Jin Branch to try and reach Caylen, and use the bracelet to "signal boost" if that doesn't work out unassisted.

>>4898649
>?
Don't fucking touch her. Certainly don't let Lily touch her. We do not have any more than the most surface level of understandings as to what's wrong with her. Last thing we need to get some infection from her, or to give her one.

Instead, watch and wait. If she stays awake and tries to talk to us, listen. If she tries to strain herself, try to calm her (be removing ourselves from the area if needed).


Maran is almost certainly the cause of this, but Cayden and Alouette (especially Alouette), are full adults in their own right. They are either Infected, or have gone full crazy. Either way, all of them need to be executed for their crimes.

I dunno this whole plan to kill both caylen and lette is kinda whack but u look like you know what you're doing so I gonn roll with it

>>4898719
No idea how we would do it, we can't beat Alouette in a straight fight, and Caylen probably won't come back even if we explain that Dryad is waking up and our chance wasted because of Artermis to put it back to sleep, thinking it's a trap or tick to get him back.

>>4898649
The plan was to try and use the Diary, right? Why did everyone forget about it?
>Explain to Clara how to use the Diary. Put the DIary in contact with her (her head or body, since the limbs seem to be disconnected)

>>4898649
Btw, I think the cause of Lily's hesitation is that Clara's body is rejecting Dryad's mana as well.

>>4898776
The diary doesn't solve non physical issues, so if she "reverts" herself she probably won't be able to use her removed limbs and bay still be in pain.

Also reverting from that state may be difficult.

>>4898786
It wouldn't be worse than not trying at all.

>>4898798
We can narrow what has probably occurred by looking for similarities with the "Forest" Atelier Starts Thread #55

And we do know that Dryad can at least fix the physical issues as long as we have all of the bits since our neck isn't still broken. and since we can't feel our wrist may fix the pain issues too.

>>4898802
I don't understand what you're trying to say. What does Dryad of the Forest Atelier have to do with the Diary?

>>4898814
It's that if her rejection of mana is "unnatural" it may align with what we have seen of other Artermis poisons; like the one we have experienced, and seen in action during our time in the Forest Atelier.

And if rejection of Mana when you approach death was natural or a normal consequence of Wisp adepts fighting, we would probably know thanks to our studies and the healers wouldn't keep trying.


My main concern with using the diary is that may only fix the surface problems and not deal with the non physical stuff, and may interfere with Dryad if we keep going.

>>4898828
And I'm concerned that the mana rejection will interfere with Dryad, and think that fixing physical stuff is still better than not fixing anything.

>>4898843

from thread #56 Elly the Dryad repesentitive in the Atelier says when asked.
>"Dryad is... Different from its siblings. It has more in common with L̵̸̛͟͢u͢͞n̛͢a̷̧̡͡ than anyone else." She spoke the name brightly, ignorant to the distortion it caused. "Though Dryad loves all of its siblings, it adores L̵̸̛͟͢u͢͞n̛͢a̷̧̡͡ most of all, and one trait they share is the... Difficulty in describing their Dominion." She bit her lip, "I... Can't hope to explain Luna, but Dryad is life." She stressed the word emphatically, as if doing so would just enlighten you to her meaning. "What you see is nature, but Dryad is the life within it. It is the body in which all else inhabits."
>"Like... Wisp?" As far as you knew, everything she was saying applied to Wisp... Not whatever tree Mana Dryad had proven itself to be.

>"Yes! ...No, not like Wisp. Wisp is... Something else." She seemed to shrink in on herself. "Wisp... Heals. It strengthens and protects. It recovers." She listed off the basic properties of Wisp you had long since internalized from studies, "Dryad... Gives life. Before something can heal, it needs to be alive. Before it can recover, it needs to live. Dryad is the beginning to all of that."

based on that I don't think that at least leading with Lilly, then getting the healers to look at Clara, stable then into the forest to Dryad is the wrong idea.

>>4898855
Lely already doesn't want to touch her. But I assume asking Lily won't hurt.

>>4898828
>My main concern with using the diary is that may only fix the surface problems and not deal with the non physical stuff
The diary will change you physically, but it doesn't affect anything to do with your mana. Notably, you could take on the physical form of the Wisp paladin to lead his men astray, but this did not make you a Wisp adept, or even remotely more attuned to Wisp itself.

>>4898932
Lilly may have been reacting to Byrn's sudden appearance, or us being startled by him.

Also the Jin stick thing may help broadcast Clara's voice like she was on speakerphone or something.

>>4898943
Since I'm going to assume that she isn't dying of bloodloss, or lack of oxygen etc. it's that her body is refusing mana for some reason, and I'm going to assume that the cause of that isn't "physical" in nature and therefor won't be addressed by the diary, unless Alouette got her blade replaced by some relic or infused with those null shards from the exclusion zone or something. the regeneration of limbs and reconnection of nerves and tissues would probably be possible through the use of the Diary but that doesn't address the core of the issue for me.

>>4898965
Don't you want to at least test your assumption?

Damn chill, we didnt even talk it over with Byrn yet and you mfers wanna do this do that, them diaries can wait

>>4898987
Not really, no. Since Dryad managed to fix our broken neck we may also be able to get our wrist looked at while we're there too. by themselves so we know that that works, so we don't really need the Diary as long as we didn't lose any of the unattached bits of Clara somewhere and can get her or at very least her body to the Forest, though I will assume that it will have consequences ranging from Clara losing her Wisp attunement, to further rousing / properly waking Dryad but I feel that these risks to be well worth it since we can play them both to our advantage or mitigate them to some degree.

And Caylen and his crusade needs to be stopped before it truly starts up.


Also this raises the issue of what to do with the preserved bodies in the Catacombs if this works out ok, since we may be able to revive them to get additional insight into what to do in the future and potentially help placate Dryad if we can find the "right" bodies.

>>4898649
>Try to get her to use the Diary
>Don't touch her

>>4899006
That isn't true, Dryad forced our broken body back to life but COULD NOT heal any of our wounds. Read this please.

>Your eyes snapped open, willing your ruptured lungs to heave the full contents of their blood flooded hollows to slosh nauseatingly in your chest. In the broken, miserable chest of the Paladin whose body you still wore even as the roots and vines of Dryad cradled you under the Mana's firefly gaze.

>'Dear child,'
>'You came back!'
>'You cling to life by threads.'
>'We cannot heal you.'
>'You worried us.'

>You heave helplessly for breath, unable to convince the ruined tatters of your lungs to do their job any longer. This body was far past its limits. Nothing should survive this. You needed... You needed to change. The Diary- Where?

>Panic was setting in. You were alive but you couldn't breathe. Your veins weren't pulsing. Your body was cold. For every given sign you were dead but life persisted unreasonably. Your body was dead, you were alive, you couldn't-

>The Ice Queen's Relic cracked open as you lay your face haggardly against its pages, unable to cry, unable to expel the bile and vomit from your pulverized stomache. You had to... You were... Irue Valen.

>>4899030
Our neck still works, it's good enough.

I feel safer utilizing Mana than a relic

>>4899036
Anon, our neck still works only because of the relic. Dryad just gave us the opportunity to use it.

>>4899036
Yeah it still works, because we healed with the Diary. It's all right there in black and white, Dryad can force life back into a corpse but is incapable of healing the body the way Wisp can. The way the Diary can. Also he didn't break our neck, he shattered our ribcage and lungs into meat with a strike to our chest.

>The Ice Queen's Relic cracked open as you lay your face haggardly against its pages, unable to cry, unable to expel the bile and vomit from your pulverized stomache. You had to... You were... Irue Valen.

>And with that breath, everything was right in this world again. A veil of blonde hair cascaded from your side, intertwined with the possessively growing ivy as your sharp crimson eyes grew hot. Tears blurred your vision, too many to stop, too many to control, and you curled into yourself and screamed wordlessly as panic closed in around you with every desperately fired urge to breathe, for your heart to beat, for your veins to pulse.

>You cried. You screamed. Your hands dug at the ground, clutching desperately for something, anything, to hold onto as you rode through the emotions torrentially breaking your composure. Dryad's leafy embrace was only too happy to hold you, until even this uninjured body - Your own body, who you should have been - was too physically exhausted from the ordeal to do more than quiver with spine wracking sniffles and hiccups. Unable to contain the low and plaintive moan that hummed in your throat and bubbled past your trembling lips everytime your jaw drifted apart.

>You were alive. You were alive. You were...

>>4899047
>>4899049

And so the best order of operations would be Lilly>Pain meds?>return to Lucidity>Diary>Go see Dryad>Back to the estate.

The other problem was that we weren't Irue when we got injured, Clara is the identity we need and that's the one that's injured and we're also probably still dead, we should also probably use this opportunity to check in on us and our wrist.

>>4899051
It's been confirmed by Riz that you can transform into "uninjured you" just like Rinnier transformed into a younger and less chesty Rinnier.

>>4899051
So long as we're not dragging Clara's broken body across the region and mostly likely killing her in the process when we have the possibility of healing her right here and now I suppose I am mildly placated. I do have some concerns with this too, though.

>Lilly
Lily was hesitant to touch Clara and didn't want us touching her either. I know you're worried about her strange mana bullshit too so we should heed Lily's warning, whatever we do.

>Pain meds>lucidity
The meds will knock her out for a while, and there's a non zero chance she'll die in the mean time. If the Diary is successful here and now then we won't need the pain meds, if however the Diary fails then we won't be any worse off than we were before. In that case we can wait for a moment of lucidity, try again and if it fails in those conditions then Dryad it is.

Also, if the diary succeeds I do kind of want to take Clara and maybe Rinnier to see Dryad and get some answers about this whole mana fuckery.

>we weren't Irue when we got injured

This is true, but it won't matter, Rinnier discovered you can use the diary to return to a younger version of yourself and the physical status you had at that time. That's the healing loophole.

>>4899073
>>4899083

But what happens when you get to the same age as you were that you changed so the loop completes itself?

>>4899084
Good question, unfortunately we just don't know that yet. It's possible that you revert to your injured form, it's also possible by that point you have built a new identity of being that age and not being injured. We could test it on our arm if you want, or we could roll Clara's age back a few years to be safe. Hell, putting Clara in her prime might be a significant boost to our faction.

The worst case scenario is still miles ahead of our current situation.

>>4899090
And so how would we possibly pass of this "age regression" / Literally miraculous recovery off without suspicion.

>>4899093
Who cares? Our aunt's life is more important than Irue accruing more rumours of being fae. By the way, you'd still have a lot of explaining to do in the event the Dryad plan works as you intend, in fact you'd have to do all of your explaining up front to convince our Uncle to let us walk out the door to god knows where with his dying wife.

>>4899093
Much better than we could possbily pass off a resurrection by Dryad, considering first that Clara's healthy form is separated from her current state just by a couple of weeks, second that the Diary doesn't have to transform the user into an existing form, and third that everyone knows Relics exist and can do wondrous things.

>>4899105
We would simply take him with us, and explain everything as we went, I'm sure that Lilly would help smooth things over greatly.

>>4899106
The point of moving Clara before she dies, is that if she were to die on the way to Dryad no one would know, it would be much harder to get a dead body out without notice.

Letting people know that we have access to more than one relic is a good way to blow the effectiveness of it, considering the one we have relies on subterfuge to work.

>>4899115
He's already pissed off our behaviour thus far, he's not going to let us take Clara.

>I'm sure that Lilly would help smooth things over greatly
How? She barely knows any words, we communicate with her via the bracelet. "Hey Uncle look at this plant, it can move around and say fuck you. Now give me your wife." The only way Lily could help is if we decided to force the situation.

>>4899106
I don't want anyone to know we have relics. Let the healers and guards speculate. What they think doesn't matter.

>>4899122
>A plant, it can move around and say fuck you.
It's Literally all we will ever need.
but seriously the fact that we have a completely unexplored set of options to attempt when they are out of conventional ones, especially if there is a noticeable shift in her condition before we leave and we bring along both the healers, and Byrn (at least back to the manor) should at least go some way towards getting permission

>>4899130
Convincing uncle will be hard enough if not impossible but the healers are ready to walk out as is. He didn't even want us in the room much less dragging his patient cross country in a cart. Seriously, how can you convince any of these people to go along with this? None of this is an impediment to the relic plan, in fact if she was healthy by the time they came back they might not be able to stop us from leaving.

Your main problem was some kind of interference with Dryad, right? And Riz said outright,
>>4898943
that the Diary will have absolutely zero affect on matters related to mana, and by extension Dryad. Sure it might not fix her soul but you have confirmation that it won't make it worse either so why not fix her body first? We can do both!

>>4899137
Clara still needs to be lucid enough to be able to both understand and execute what we tell her to, there is a slight risk something goes wrong, she fails to understand something, or something unexpected happens since we're not exactly using it as intended.

>>4898649

Lily's reaction makes me very concerned about this. Either she's acting out of revulsion (based on what is interfering with the healing) or out of fear/caution for us. Neither is good.

My vote is to prioritize making ourselves avaliable if Clara wakes, but to gather info otherwise. We need to pick Lily's mind on her reaction (with restraint: last thing we need is an agitated Dryad aspiration in here.) We need to observe as best as we can.

We need calm. We needed it coming in here, but better late than never.
We need to open up to Byrn, we can't afford our emotions running away from us here, and he can help us in as a completely mundane emotional base.

If we end up doing nothing but being present, that's still better than many possible outcomes.

To mention, since I didn't see it yet, we haven't considered Hearts In Harmony as an avenue for communication here. If her state counts and we aren't taking to much of a risk, it might be a last ditch option to open some form of communication if we can't find something more practical.

>>4899150
The issue(s) with HiH is that it takes time, and that may be better spent planning or establishing how long we have until we decided on what to do, also her being pain or being on medication may interrupt / prevent it wasting our limited time.

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you will work in the newly established todesarbeitbezirk caronen until your body gives in and you will be made into fertilizer

>>4899148
Yeah okay, that's a good point. I'm willing to wait for a better moment.

>>4898649
>>4899030
I'll change my vote to the stop being mad post, except for the part where we sleep with Clara.
>>4899150

Also Riz, Lily handled that healer pretty handily.Iit seems a bit strange that she could cow wisp adepts so easily. Has Lily got stronger?

>>4898649
>>4898707
I agree with this here. We can't be too hasty- now that we know how bad it is, we can at least be assured that Clara won't die right in front of us before we can help. I don't know how effective the diary would be, though- and we don't know if anybody around here might be spies, unlikely as that seems. We have a little time to measure our options.

I'd like to note, though, that we can't think of our aunt as a completely benevolent person, certainly not considering history with her. Just because we're on the same side doesn't mean she can be entirely trusted. If we overplay our hand and restore her with the Diary, it is very possible she'd take that capability away from us as soon as she was healthy again. She certainly is much more powerful.

I have a theory on the nature of the wounds, as well. Wisp is healing and strength, though not life- since Alouette is a Wisp adept, theoretically, nothing is off the table technique wise. So I think that something Aloutte might be capable of is chopping somebody apart, and fusing their pieces seperate from each other- hence the separation but still somewhat-attachment. She basically chopped up Clara then stuffed Wisp-stuff in the gaps to keep her from being treated, because theoretically, she's not even in a state that would classically be called wounded. She's been ripped apart and stuck back together again with silly putty and until that's gone we can't do anything.
This also might be part of the intent, but getting rid of the putty all at once, as it were, may easily kill her on the spot as nothing's holding her together-apart anymore.

How we fix this is something I'd have to think more about.

>>4899755
>except for the part where we sleep with Clara.
I'd sleep with Clara.
Not as Irue though.

>>4899803
The Estate may have Faedka on hand which we know works as an Anti Mana poison (at least against Wisp), from the Better Strangers write up of the Paladin, Marchovic fight.

>>4899803
Alouette can't use Wisp though. She's heavily favored, but can't command it.

>>4899148
>>4899755
What better moment are you going to wait for? Byrn made it quite clear Clara is either in pain or sedated. This is the most lucid she's ever gonna get.

>>4900308
What we would do is try and get a coherent response out of Clara, and explain our intentions to Byrn and the healer when they return in order to delay the application of further sedatives in the hope that either she eventually returns to lucidity by herself as the medication wears off, or with Lilly's help.

Then proceed with explanation and use of the Diary.

>>4900321
Hasn't the medication wore off already if she's talking?

>>4899755
>Iit seems a bit strange that she could cow wisp adepts so easily. Has Lily got stronger?

>They weren't wearing a uniform, or at least none you would recognize. Maybe that made them the healers.

If they are healers (as they likely are based on Uncle's comments), they may not be adepts. Conventional medicine must still exist in some fashion, as I doubt there are enough Wisp adepts to go around. Plus her not taking to Wisp healing suggests her care might have been handed off to normal doctors.

>>4900308
I agree with you, I want her healed as soon as possible. I'm just tired of arguing about it. The majority sentiment seems to be that we'll do it when she's capable of stringing a sentence together, which is an improvement from earlier.

Anyway, calming down is also important. Irue wants to be a better person, so she needs to be able to catch herself when she starts losing control.

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Alright, going to sift through all this and see what I can do! Lacking a bit of sleep though.

>>4898682
Window watching!

>>4898688
Can Lily help?

>>4898688
Try screwing with the Jin branch to contact Caylen? If you insist, anon...

>>4898707
>>4899030
>>4899150
Watch! Wait! Don't interfere!

>>4898776
Aunt Clara, read my diary! wait-
---

>>4899755
Lily took her own initiative to try and murder one healer, but pretty much ignored the other. Neither of them showed any signs of supernatural strength you've come to associate with Wisp adepts.

As noted elsewhere, you've been told by your uncle that she is refusing mana, but you don't necessarily need to be a Wisp adept to be a healer - There's plenty of healing to be done with salves, drugs, surgery and the like. Most healing is done that way, because Wisp adepts are not wildly available to fix people all the time. Theoretically speaking, anyone with sufficient learning in medicine and healing techniques can be a perfectly competent healer.

>>4900301
Alouette is a poor healer, but an excellent command of Wisp within herself. She has difficulty applying Wisp to other people, in essence. She did some patchwork on you when Rinnier impaled you, and when you impaled yourself, but that is the extent of her capabilities in externalization so far as you know.

I'm too drunk for this rn but I'm glad you're back Riz.

Byrn left you alone, bustling out to find the healers you had stormed past to see to making amends... And leaving you with a sudden dearth of purpose for your fury. There was nothing to be angry at here, nothing to vent the frenetic energy squirming in your chest, nothing left for you to do but stand and... Wait. To watch over your aunt in the weakest you'd ever seen her - Ever imagined she could be.

Once the desire to strangle Caylen passed, you had nothing else to do but realize how little you could do. You had options, if she were awake you could at least heal the injuries by explaining the Diary of Reflections to her, but she barely seemed present. Whatever drugs they had her on kept her sedated, her pain dulled, but consequently you couldn't tell just how aware of her surroundings she actually was. What if she used it wrong? What if she couldn't use it at all?

Even if she were more awake though, Lily was reacting strangely. She'd stopped you from touching her moments ago, and kept oscilating between whether your aunt Clara was offlimits or not. "Lily," you start with a sigh, "What's the problem? Can you tell what's wrong with her?"

...The answer came in a flurry, and you once again found yourself wishing for Dryad's multi-voiced murmuring over this strange discerning you and the young apparition sifted through for each other. There were distinct... Feelings conveyed. Thoughts. Concepts, even - but they lacked context.

'Lost? Familiar? Strange?'

The clearest things you learned from her is that your aunt smelled bad. Some utterly, repulsively foul scent that Lily couldn't stand... It brought up bad memories, or maybe the memories were unrelated? Your aunt was a bad memory? In the time it took you to try and puzzle out what Lily was feeling, indignance flared from her childlike heart, coupled with full-hearted bafflement.

'Stolen? Stolen. Stolen!?'

...So on top of everything else, your aunt had been stolen somehow.

>Are you forgetting something...? (write-in)

None of which did anything to help you, or help her. You needed to calm down, but you desperately, desperately needed to vent still. This frustration wasn't going away, not now. Not right now, not after Kara leaving, not losing another family member, not-

Not... Not this again.

You'd come so far, so Mana damned far, you'd gained so much, fought for every inch of it and bled and cried, and she was going to be proud of it! You'd come to rub every damn thing you'd accomplished in her face, everything you'd done on your own, without any help! Just- Just look at where you are now! Look at what you did!

...Open your damn eyes again.

You could still fix this. You just needed a chance. Just one chance for her to be awake enough for you to fix things.

But time passed, and that chance never came. Clara continued to murmur, almost too fain to make out, as she grit her teeth through the pain. 'Run'... or 'Rue'... You couldn't be sure, but the only one who'd ever called you 'Rue' had already left, and your aunt was never one for pet names.

You sat by the window, Lily's confused, indignant babbling bubbling over in the back of your mind while your mind lie elsewhere; Thinking over the last time you'd seen her. That you'd been the last one to talk to her before she left, that she wouldn't have left if you hadn't told her about Caylen, that in a way, was this your fault? Caylen ran away, Alouette did this to her, Maran instigated it all, but had you been the final push to involve her? If you'd just kept it to yourself would she still have been-

No.

Your eyes drift shut, and with a swift shake of your head you violently crushed that line of thought. You weren't going to indict yourself over straws. At that rate you may as well blame your aunt herself for running off so brashly; Blame wasn't going to help you now. Something black crawled just under your skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake... And you felt calmer. Your anxiety dulled, fading - almost as if dragged - from the forefront of your mind into the blacker recesses of your mind and silenced.

Information. You needed to know more.

What had Alouette done to her? A new technique? No- Alouette was an outstanding warrior, a titan that even Kara was horrified to confront. She could cut Mistral's Child in half, yes, but you knew Alouette: In terms of manipulating Wisp, she was almost incompetent. The favor Wisp showered on her had never seemingly been returned, and she struggled even to provide patchwork healing in others... There's no way whatever happened to Clara was Wisp's doing - Or, at least not by Alouette.

...It was a long shot, but you still had that Jinn branch - 'Echo' - tucked away in its sheath. Could you contact Caylen directly and ask? It couldn't contact him directly, unless he himself had a branch around, but if there were someone near him that could interpret Jinn you might be able to get connected by proxy. Though, if he were working with Artemis, you wouldn't be surprised if he did have one.

If you couldn't strangle your cousin, you might still be able to yell at him.

>Use the Echo (how?)
>She's... Awake. Sort of. Explain the Diary of Reflections to her?

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>>4901385
I hope you're drunk for celebratory reasons, anon! Please take care of yourself.

>>4901558
>Are you forgetting something...? (write-in)
Lily's reaction brings to mind other apparitions' reaction to Nymph's Wood. Nymph's Wood was also referred to as "lost" by the Fae.
The words about bad smell and bad memories remind me of Dryad's reaction to Luna. Though I think Nymph's Wood also was said to have a "foul scent" by the Fae. As well as our knights they abducted.
"Stolen" may refer to the anti-mana effect, like Rinnier was "stolen" from Salamander, which is also connected to Nymph's Wood.

>>4901559
>She's... Awake. Sort of. Explain the Diary of Reflections to her?

>Or, at least not by Alouette.
Maran also can control Wisp. And _possibly_ also whatever Nymph's Wood is.

>>4901558
>Are you forgetting something...? (write-in)
I have a feeling it has something to do with the poison Artermis used during the Flashback; Which is why Lilly knows instinctively what it is but can't "remember" it( Flashback Starts Thread #55, posion mentioned Thread #60 >>1662992 ; but it doesn't quite line up with the explained symptoms) Also it may be that she is tightly bound to Wisp / Luna (or the Nymph Wood is also a possibility), and not Dryad and therefor has been "stolen", if it's truly a Mana based block / imbalance we may be able to undo / adjust the balance with any Faedka that the estate may have on hand, or bleed Lilly a little to get her Sap. Alternately we could get Ari to attempt to assist Lilly in explaining or use the Bracelet to further our connection to Lilly.


>Use the Echo (how?)
Contact Caylen, we know he has his own "branch" due to the call he had with Maran that we overheard, if that doesn't work attempt to boost it with the bracelet, and if that doesn't work attempt to reach Maran.

If the call succeeds get the answerer to go get Caylen, Maran, Alouette and maybe someone from Teranford so Rinnier can speak to them once assembled we can go though some of the following topics
>Clara's wounds and how to fix them

>The Behemoth under Corona
>>The Overheard conversation (Prophecy) and the Tier sisters and the implication on the Main branches deaths at the hands of a Behemoth.
Artermis's activities around Carona
>Bandits we got the Branch off
> the Flare Projector, and the fire.
> Reasons for Crown restricting flow of information

Warn Alouette about betrayal (No one trusts her now, and Artermis are exceptionally likely to just kill her off)
>An Overview of the "Fae", and what happened in the forest (at the Ruined shrine)
>The upcoming Civil War and out stake in it (we don't have one where Clara does, and so would be more willing to use more drastic measures)
>>The Ice Queen's Atelier and its hidden implications for the Crown


Threats / destabilizing actions we can use:
> Petition for increased Crown involvement / let foreknowledge of the Link in the IQ's Atelier slip which will torpedo their chance at legitimacy if done properly. (All)
>Caylen can "see" his Mother a least one more time before shit goes down or she dies, which can get him to focus (Maran)
> Implicate Alouette's / Artermis's trustworthiness to get her to keep her guard up and less likely to have a convenient accident leaving Caylen by himself. (Alouette)
Threaten to Wake Dryad and let them sort everything out, unless Caylen returns to us.

>>4901559
no, and no.
Using the branch is such a long shot it's not even worth bothering. Plus, there's a risk the people we got it from might have more, and thus could listen in to anything we send. If we want to try and use it in the future, we'll need to learn how to use it without it being a massive security risk.

Using the diary is a terrible idea. One, it is hideously powerful, and I don't trust her with the it's secret of existence and operation.
More importantly, as Rue outlines, trying to get someone completely unfamiliar with the artifact that requires specific mental states to use it for the first time to affect massive body changes is asking for her to fail and really screw herself up.

>>4901684
Once we're done with it all we would need to do is turn it over to the Shrine for destruction and that would be the end of it.

>>4901689
Assuming you're talking about the branch, how is that in any way related to trying to ring up Caylen with a phone he maybe, possibly has?

>>4901691
Then how did he get the call from Maran that we overheard; while we were visiting his Manor?

>>4901684
This guy is telling the truth. Let's consider a third option

>>4901679
Could you clarify why you want to bring up these topics?

>>4901696
We know that Maran won't tell Caylen the truth if anything unless it furthers her position, and we won't likely meet him again for a long time if ever.

It would be best to bring Caylen up to speed on what is actually going on so he can better inform "his" choice to stay with Artermis while Alouette is both still alive, and able to extract him if he decides to leave and if we die the last Valen is at least able to do something constructive instead of start from the beginning all over again.

Also there is a slight chance that we infect Maran or Caylen with something we say so Luna decides to burn their brains out the next time they commune with it.

It will also make clear if the relationship is salvageable or not, and we should just take the loss, and go wake Dryad up or not, since we should be able to pick up the pieces eventually and rebuild.

>>4901702
You got a stupid amount of crazy ideas man

>>4901703
The other part of it would to find answers that justify us staying our hand since apparently not once have become better off by doing anything at all that hasn't been immediately countered, and so if we don't do anything it's just a matter of time before we lose.

>>4901705
Idk what to say your idea is to phone them and start telling everybody a million fucking things. To put it short you are nuts

>>4901694
I'm of the general opinion that there is no good option for helping her at this time. She's simply too unstable for experimenting, Irue has no medical training whatsoever, and if we gamble and fail, Irue will have had a large hand in her death.That would cause strain in the family and weigh heavily on Rue herself.

Instead, I'd suggest either diving the library, sitting down and recollecting, or taking a break from the topic.
I seem to recall we brought this batch of knights out with us for a reason. iirc, training with Alouette?

>>4901711
it was mostly to see to their proper (general) combat / security training, and if any potential adepts could be picked from among their ranks, the knights that remained at Carona aren't likely to be useful in combat.

>>4901711
How about we start looking into the state of the house and how we could assume leadership, that would be pretty good I think

>>4901714
hmm. With Alouette gone, so to is the combat teacher. Presumably the normals guards could teach plenty to our completely untrained knights, though, so maybe that'll be enough for now.
I suspect the adept thing isn't right, because why would we drag them all the way out here when the Shrine in town could have done potential testing?

>>4901725
That works with me.

>Discuss the state of the house with Byrn

>>4901725
Regardless of whether we're in charge or not, it won't change what we do; since we aren't even in contact with the people we would need to start ordering around, or suggesting things to. We would still need to go through Byrn and we don't have time to waste on gaining peoples confidence and proving that we know what we're doing; especially since we don't and our "test" case hasn't exactly being doing to well even after we took over. And even at this point without Clara Byrn will probably take our suggestions on board.