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The Kamikaze, as graceful as the savior winds which bore its name, landed in front of the small compound on the southern border of the Empire.
“We’ve landed, milord,” Marianne called from the helm of the ship. The Outland Count nodded and scooped Margherita out of his lap and into his arms; the fluffy, white dog yipped happily and sniffed the air with vigorous curiosity.
Edge stared at the entrance of the compound with an inscrutable expression. His face was white as a sheet, but other than that, it betrayed no emotion. He pulled the mask portion of his cloak up over the bottom half of his face and adjusted the hood from where it had been blown about during landing.
As Guild Muninn departed the Kamikaze with the Count, Ciaran smiled and took to the helm of the ship. “I’ll stay with yer skyship so she’s ready to go on a moment’s notice,” he reassured them, patting the steering wheel lightly. “So don’t yeh be worried about that.”
Marianne nodded with a grim smile and waved as she descended the steps onto the sparse grass of the Cloudy Stronghold.
Once the steps to the deck were folded up and everyone was steady on their feet, they all looked around in amazement at this new land. Crumbling, moss-coated aqueducts lined the southern borderlands, too high for the Kamikaze to reach the top of, and far too high to see the tops of from the ground. Small, still lakes adorned the corners of this small enclave, and beyond the line of Imperial warships that stood behind the South Sanctuary, the guild could see another antiquated complex. The grass was sparse and dry, yet vibrantly green, a storm of contradictions; small farms dotted the landscape, their fields barren except for a few stalks of wheat growing stalwartly out of the lifeless soil.
Edge, however, glanced around with a different sort of awe, one filled with fear and homesickness and pointedly absent of curiosity, that did not go unnoticed by the Outland Count.
“My boy, are you alright?” the Count asked with genuine concern, touching Edge’s shoulder lightly. Edge jumped a bit at the sensation of the Count’s fingers and nodded.
“I’m just… This place reminds me of my own home…” he whispered, staring down at the ground.
The Count nodded as Lis glanced over his shoulder suspiciously and called out for the two to come with them.
“It’s so strange to think of humans living at the foot of Yggdrasil, isn’t it?” Marianne mused as she opened the heavy door of the compound. “It’s like a dream.”
“It’s like if angels came down to Earth and communed with us,” Lis replied thoughtfully as he followed her inside.
Miku looked behind her to make sure that Edge and the Count were with them before saying, “The Vessels have always revered Yggdrasil… To think that humans can touch it, when we merely hear the words of its prophet from afar, is awe-inspiring.”
A pained expression flickered across her face as she remembered the Medium’s plight. Lis smiled sadly and put a hand on her back. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll save her soon enough.”
Mia nodded from underneath Miku’s cloak. “We have to save her! That’s our job, right?”
As the heavy door slammed shut behind Guild Muninn and the Outland Count, the two Imperial soldiers inside stared at the party with great interest. The Outland Count stepped forward.
“Is the meeting to be held in the next room?” he inquired.
The Imperial soldiers stood at attention and looked directly at the Count.
“No, Your Grace. Your escort may wait in the next room, but the meeting will be held in the one beyond that,” the one on the left explained.
“There is another soldier in that room to ensure that nothing happens to your detail,” the one on the right added.
“Thank you.”
The Outland Count turned to Guild Muninn and nodded, and they went into the next room.
Past the door, there stood a painfully familiar man. Though his gray hair was slicked back to reveal black roots, and his pointed stare was immeasurably cool and detached, it was undeniably Whirlwind. His cold, steel armor resembled that of the Imperial soldiers in the other room, differing only in color- Whirlwind’s was an unforgiving black.
“Greeting, Your Grace,” Whirlwind said coolly. “His Imperial Highness will be with you in a moment.”
As though on cue, the doors into the next room opened, and a young man stepped through them.
“I thank you for meeting with me this day, Outland Count. I am Baldur, son and representative of Emperor Alfodr. I am gladdened to my heart's core to be reunited with fellow humans.”
The Imperial Prince’s carriage was dignified and aloof, but his large eyes and innocent mop of white hair pointed at a youth unbefitting of the maturity in his expression.
As the two members of nobility exchanged pleasantries, the five explorers looked at each other worriedly. And as the Count approached the door, he turned to them and noticed this.
"Don't worry," the Count reassured them. "Margherita won't let anything happen!" Margherita barked happily, her tail wagging where it poked out from under the Count’s arm. "I know you must have questions as well. I suggest that you speak to Whirlwind while I am indisposed." The Count smiled dauntlessly and walked into the next room.
As the doors shut with a resounding boom, Guild Muninn realized that they were alone with Whirlwind.
A traitor.
With his arms behind his back, Whirlwind looked at the guild expressionlessly. The guild stared back at him, trying to find the words…
A choked sob came from the left of the group, and everyone turned to see who it came from.
Edge was staring at Whirlwind with such pain, such sorrow, that Marianne could tell that it was from more than the pain of betrayal. As tears rolled down the man’s face, she shook him lightly.
“Edge, is this what you refused to tell us…?” she asked quietly.
Edge’s breathing grew quicker and more ragged as he continued to stare straight at Whirlwind.
“E-Edge?”
“L-Logre…” Edge croaked.
A brief look of surprise flashed across Whirlwind’s face, but he didn’t lose his composure.
“...Logre?”
“Is that your true name, Whirlwind?” Miku asked.
Whirlwind nodded. “My bloodline has served the Emperor for generations as Imperial knights,” he explained. “About ten years ago, I was given a mission to go beyond the barrier...that wall of clouds in the ravine. But my skyship crashed within view of Tharsis. Ever since, I've posed as a wandering explorer and waited for the right opportunity.
“There was another skyship that was with us. My ship contained only myself and Emperor Alfodr, while the other one contained a detail of around ten Imperial soldiers that would escort us through the labyrinths as we gathered the pieces of the Titan. These soldiers were handpicked from among the Imperial army’s best and brightest to serve the royal family directly. I was their commander.
“Our skyships were separated early on when a snowstorm hit us, blinding us. When my ship came through it, the other one was gone. We were never reunited, but I did come across the wreckage later on…”
Logre cleared his throat.
“I had assumed that everyone on that ship had died, because all that was left was their charred remains… However, it seems that one soldier did survive, and that we simply have not been able to meet.”
He stared pointedly at Edge.
“Havardr… Rumors have been swirling since your guild’s arrival, that another soldier was found alive. His Imperial Highness believes it wholeheartedly, and I know it to be true. I am certain that you would be welcomed back with open arms.”
The others stared at Edge with shock and betrayal as Edge buried his face in his hands and began sobbing loudly. He was shaking, and his ears grew redder by the second.
Marianne wrapped an arm around Edge’s hunched back and held him close to her side. “Edge… It’s okay. It will all be okay,” she whispered soothingly.
“But I don’t get it! What’s so great about this ‘Empire’ that you left Tharsis?” Mia huffed.
“Mia…” Lis said calmly, holding her back. “It seems that this is his home.”
“He surely didn’t have to kidnap the Medium, though,” Miku countered. “Will she be alright, Wh- Logre?”
"She's safe,” Logre answered. “She should still be resting in the Echoing Library to the north as our guest. The Sentinels' legend has it that the Vessels took the Titan's Soul back with them... But what they refer to by this is the Medium herself.”
Miku coughed nervously and nodded. “That’s how she receives her prophecies… She is Yggdrasil.”
“Bringing the Titan's Soul back to the Empire was one of my tasks…” Logre continued. “I didn't think it would take that form, though. We have no intention of harming the girl, but she will remain in our custody until we are done with her."
“What are you going to do to her?!” Mia yelled from Lis’s embrace, a simple side hug that kept her at bay.
“I do not know the details of the ritual,” Logre said curtly. “However, if the Medium was able to leave Yggdrasil once, then she will be able to do so again.”
“But what’s even the point of this?” Lis asked tiredly. “Why is this ‘Empire’ so attached to Yggdrasil in the first place?”
Logre paused for a moment, lost in thought, seeming to consider how to explain this to the guild.
“I failed you…” Edge whispered hoarsely. “I was supposed to help you…”
Logre glanced at Edge; though his face was calm, his eyes betrayed his sorrow.
“Havardr, I know you know this…as well as I do. Your job was to protect the king and I. You have not failed in your mission. My duty is not yours.”
“No… I still feel…”
“Edge, please… Let Logre answer one question at a time,” Marianne said in a calm, soothing manner.
“Whir- Logre…” Lis began. “What is this Empire, that they care so much about Yggdrasil?”
"The Empire is descended from the humans who once lived at the foot of Yggdrasil," Whirlwind said calmly. “It was our ancestors who created the Vessels and Sentinels… After an accident at Yggdrasil, most of us, save for a few, evacuated north, beyond this Cloudy Stronghold. That is the truth behind the Battle for the Holy Tree passed down through the Vessels' legend. We are the humans they tell of who 'ran' from the Titan. That must have been how it seemed to them."
“So… So you...didn’t abandon us?” Miku inquired, trembling with the weight of this information.
“No, we did not,” Logre answered. “We evacuated our civilians, and only combatants stayed behind to quell the Titan. The Sentinels and the Vessels to the south of the border are all descended from the warriors and medics who fought at our side; thus, they may feel that the other humans fled out of cowardice. However, the Vessels and Sentinels who live to the north and still serve humans know the true history of the Battle for the Holy Tree.”
Miku was now staring down at the ground, lost deep in thought. Lis wrapped an arm around her tiny shoulders while making sure that Mia still couldn’t escape and whale on Logre.
Logre cleared his throat, and everyone looked up at him.
"Over one hundred years ago, the Empire was faced with a dilemma that we need Yggdrasil's power to solve. To harness it, we'll need the Titan's Heart, its Soul, and its Crown. The Vessels had the soul, the heart was with the Sentinels, and the crown was an heirloom of the Count's.
“The crown was easy to get, since the Count didn't know its value. The heart and soul weren't so simple. At first, I thought of simply taking the Medium away, but then my cover in Tharsis would have been blown. So I kept a low profile until the heart was found. With both gathered in the same place, I made my move."
A pained expression flickered across his face as he admitted his betrayal.
“You could have told us!” Mia shouted.
“Really, you could have,” Miku concurred. “I’m sure the Count would have been more than willing to help your people.”
“I don’t understand, Whirlwind… Ah, Logre…” Marianne pleaded. “Why didn’t you ask anyone for help?”
“Your anger and distrust are only natural, sin---”
“We could ask Edge the same thing, couldn’t we?” Lis grumbled, glaring at the blonde man who was now out of tears to shed.
Edge looked up at Lis with a haunted expression. “I couldn’t...blow his cover,” he said shakily. “The Empire couldn’t be uncovered too quickly, or it might slow down exploration in Tharsis… Had the Count known of its existence, he may never have decided to send explorers to Yggdrasil in the first place, wary of their reaction. If you haven’t been home in a decade, forced out of your home, to wander through snowstorms and the mazes of mantises’ scythes all alone until you reach a foreign land, wondering all that time if your family is even still alive, your foremost concern would be getting home swiftly as well.”
“Havardr makes a good point,” Logre said with a nod in that general direction. “I could have been entirely open and possibly had the willing help of the Count, the Vessels, and the Sentinels. But the Empire's problem was nearing a crisis point and I could not fail. So I made sure I was holding all the cards before opening negotiation, knowing full well how it would look. Right now, His Imperial Highness is in there, explaining to the Count how necessary Yggdrasil's power is to us. Once the crisis has passed, we will return the heart. And of course, the Medium will be free to---”
The doors behind Logre slammed open, shaking the entire room.
The Outland Count stepped into the room, his face red with fury, his lips drawn into a tight line. He was shaking like a leaf, and Margherita was whimpering in his arms.
“Milord, what’s---”
Prince Baldur stepped out calmly behind the Count and surveyed the scene. He looked back at the Count.
"Outland Count, is our dream of utopia truly so difficult to understand? If you are a leader of men, then you must consider what is most beneficial to Tharsis as well. We are both humans, who share an ancestry. What else can we do but join hands?"
The Count turned to Baldur angrily, protectively clutching Margherita closer to his chest.
Baldur glanced over at Edge with some degree of interest, and held a hand up to stop the Count as the older man opened his mouth.
“One moment, if you please. Logre, is this the other soldier that’s been rumored to have returned?”
“He is, Your Highness.”
“I see… Please lower your mask, if you will, in the presence of royalty.”
Edge’s hand was already on the mask of his cloak and was lowering it as the young prince spoke. The Count was staring at Edge with shock and disgust.
Baldur smiled brightly. “So you must be Havardr Svensson! My father spoke highly of you, as the youngest recruit in this generation. I simply cannot believe that you survived that skyship crash. Logre tells me that the wreckage was absolutely horrid.”
Edge closed his eyes with a pained expression, gritted his teeth, and nodded. “It absolutely was, Your Highness… I was the only survivor. I still see the flames when I close my eyes at night…”
“Well, you fulfilled your duties to the best of your ability, and I am willing to let you return to your homeland and serve me once more…” Baldur said with a polite, dignified smile.
“You can’t---!” the Count cried. “You simply cannot join this wretched prince!”
Baldur glanced back at the Count coldly. Edge also looked over at the Count.
“I’m so sorry, Your Grace, but I… I’m finally home, and I---”
“You don’t understand! Prince Baldur’s plans are loathsome! He intends to sacrifice the Medium to revive the Titan and the Vessels and Sentinels to augment its power! He claims to be building a utopia, but what worth is there in a utopia built on a mountain of corpses?!”
Whirlwind’s eyes widened upon hearing this, and he turned to his lord. Edge was trembling with fury, his icy blue eyes cutting holes through everyone so much as in his peripheral vision.
“Is that so…” he growled. “Well then, consider me dead and gone in your records. I could never stand for a ruler that so blatantly defies Emperor Alfodr’s wishes while still claiming that he’s the standing Emperor. I will not stand for such a ruler. I will not claim Imperial citizenship while you still breathe, Prince Baldur.”
Edge’s rapier began rattling in its sheath, and he looked down in confusion only to realize that he was gripping the pommel so hard that it was shaking in time with his body.
Baldur shrugged and turned to the Outland Count calmly. “Very well. It seems further explanation is due. I cannot let you leave in this state. Logre, detain the Outland Count. I leave the handling of his escort to your discretion.”
Logre hesitated for a moment before pulling his giant sword off of his back. It began to emit a mechanical whir.
“That must have been what was in his bag…” Marianne mumbled as she stepped in front of the Outland Count, pulling up her shield. “Everyone, behind me!”
“I’m sorry that you came to such a decision, Havardr…” Baldur said quietly as he turned to leave the room. “You will be missed.”
Edge choked back a sob as he stared at his former king leaving the room.
“Logre… You don’t have to… Please...”
“Havardr, there is nothing more to say. The situation has changed. Now, will you protect the Count, or not?”
Edge unsheathed his rapier and turned to his comrades.
“Follow my lead,” he said sternly. “I know my way around a Drive Blade.”