Chapter Text
Nephis, for the first time in a long time, found herself really curious about history. In the past, she had often been engrossed in the tales from ancient earth, tales her grandmother loved to teach her, and during her career as an awakened she had often sought out knowledge on the past residents of the dream realm, just as much for the edge it could give her in combat as for thrill of learning the stories. However, the past two years had barely afforded her any free time, being sent on mission after mission by Anvil.
This time, however, she had indulged herself. The first cohort of firekeepers had recently made it out of the second nightmare, temporarily lessening the burden she faced, so she was able to read the report. The Report on Everything by Nobody, that is.
And it had intrigued her, yes, answering countless questions about the history of the dream realm, its societies, the daemons and gods that had once roamed it, and even considerable amounts about the nightmare desert that she had spent so long wandering, including accounts even from the talking skeletons she had met inside it. That part she had found interesting, as it meant the author had visited before the death zone prior to herself.
What intrigued her even more, though, was the report’s detailing of the Tomb of Ariel, and how it brought up information that almost made it seem as though the author had been spectating her third nightmare, with its references to Ananke and the Azure Serpent, Daeron.
Not only that, but there was even some sort of hidden portion of it, only made available to saints.
And thus, she was at the academy right now.
“Yes, so, as I was saying, the report had been left on my desk, right here, mysteriously, two months ago on the winter solstice. There was a note, which, along with more personal details, asked me to publish the larger paper that you all would be familiar with, but also detailed that the smaller book, which several copies of had been left alongside the first, be not opened by those below the rank of transcendence. Unfortunately, I am thus unaware of the contents of the second book, and curiosity has all but driven me to jump into a nightmare seed. In fact, I had even tried opening one of the smaller books despite the warning, but found myself unable. So yes, you are welcome to take your copy with you.”
“Thank you. And this note with...” Nephis thought better of asking to see the note though.
After all, the report had almost certainly been written by the other Dreamspawn.
***
Saint Cor was a busy man. Perhaps the busiest, he often thought. And having to plan around unexpected events like the myriad of saints that were popping up and random dumps of information that put entire government databases to shame didn’t help. Actually, things weren't that bad with the rise of three new government saints and countless masters and awakeneds after the Chain of Nightmares being able to take up many of his duties, such as the aforementioned events.
He had sent Kai and Jet to meet with the mysterious saint- Athena would never be his pick for a diplomatic mission, and he was too tied to NQSC and had to control the ramifications for the Report on Everything- Athena also wasn’t reliable in reading or understanding history, he had found out.
He sighed thinking back on it. ‘Really, how could she forget to even mention the seventh nightmare?’ reading the paper had been one shock after another, even after the “Perfect Summary” he’d received.
But he had high hopes for relations with the mysterious saint- he had shown goodwill toward the government by returning the sleepers to the academy, and his obviously neutral location combined with his low-laying attitude indicated he at least had no ties to the great clans.
***
Ki Song found herself continuously upset by Mordret. She, of course, needed to dispatch a Saint to Godgrave, either to make allies with the man there or to claim his citadel by force. Mordret would usually be her first choice for such a mission, even if it all but guaranteed the latter option, but he was currently... misbehaving. The boy always did so, but this time he would even refuse her summons, and had made it clear that this mission would not be something he would undergo.
Thus, Ki Song had been left little choice but to send one of her own daughters to Godgrave, given that her other Saints had little chance of being able to stand against the man who had made a home out of a death zone. Even with the strength of her daughters, she had still felt uneasy, and had ultimately decided to dispatch both Revel and Seishan. Revel because, if the reports were accurate, the Saint’s shadow based abilities would be countered by her True Darkness, and Seishan because a diplomatic mission that featured a good chance at danger would serve as a good first mission as a saint, and she would be able to support Revel in traversing the sunny Godgrave.
***
Morgan scowled. The elder council’s reasoning had made no sense- Nephis was being sent to Godgrave to make contact with the mysterious saint, as was either to sway him to valor or subdue him, and Morgan would follow along, as Nephis couldn’t exactly be trusted to make allies by herself, considering both her stoic attitude and the high-held concerns over her loyalty, despite how well she had conducted herself over the years.
The only problem was that there was no actual reason for Nephis to go if Morgan would be sent anyways. Neither of the two would be threatened by some random Saint, even if the man was likely to be abnormally strong.
Of course, the real reason was simple- The elders had expected her to perish while attempting the third nightmare alone, and had developed political stances accordingly, and found it easier to readjust their positioning while both princesses were away from Bastion and thus unable to react appropriately.