One must not think that good intentions beget good results.

The Gods made the world crueler than that.

— Excerpt from Meditations, by the Red Emperor

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Somewhere in the Slumbering Forest, bordering the Northern Plains and Techoria City

Tagga whistled in awe at the sight of the night sky being brighter than day, shielding his eyes with a large hand as he squinted at the horizon. He kicked a rock down the cliff they were camped upon, watching it drop down into the Slumbering Forest below before returning his clear blue eyes to the skies. "Alchemists, ey? To think they can turn night into day. Perhaps the Twin Stars were right to ask that Raven whelp to make a foray into alchemy."

Pakku stood by Tagga's side at the cliff's edge, still and silent. Unlike Tagga's cropped light blonde hair, Pakku's sandy-colored hair draped down to his shoulders in elegant braids and his free hand was absentmindedly rubbing a braid with his fingers as he observed Techoria from afar. Peering with his left eye through a circle he made with his thumb and index fingers, Pakku only kept one gray eye open as he looked far away at the city of Techoria bathed in a brilliant inferno of light.

"Well? Do you think it was enough to kill the Prince?"

Pakku shook his head. "I'm not sure. The blast seems contained, somehow." He shrugged. "Could be the SunFlower's barrier. Could be something else."

"But is he alive?" Tagga squatted down near Pakku. "Come now, share with me what you See."

"There isn't enough information to make a decision."

"So it's still possible he could have escaped that blast?" Tagga began to brush the divine snow off his thick fur coat, but then stopped to admire the way the luminescent motes became flecks of silver against the brown fur. "We could take an opportunity if there is one."

"An opportunity against him?" Pakku shook his head, his eye still squinting through his fingers at the horizon. "He's injured at best."

"I didn't know Ravens were afraid of wounded prey."

"But Ravens always knew Oxen tend to misjudge situations." Pakku turned to look at Tagga, closing his left eye and opening his right. "You want to be his next tattoo, then go. No Mother would mourn the loss of your bloodline."

Tagga's guttural guffawing echoed loudly through the air. "A few of your sister Ravens certainly disagree, ey?"

"Are you going or too afraid now?"

"Earlier you said the Eclipse and WildFire are both at that camp, didn't you?" Tagga shot Pakku a sly look as he began collecting their things. "Two for two of us."

"I'm not going. Some glaciers aren't meant to be scaled by ourselves, Tagga." Pakku peered at the fading light as far, far away the dome of light flickered into nothingness. "Don't weigh me down with your ignorant choices. The Twin Stars must know what we've seen."

"A shame, ey. Shame." Tagga shook his head, "If only —"

The two of them swung their heads upward, immediately alert. Tagga gestured at their campfire, smothering it without even emitting the vestige of ghostly smoke. Without the light, darkness immediately cloaked their temporary campsite and their eyes adjusted in dim glows.

Moments later, a strong gust of wind blew overhead and both of them saw a shadow fly through the sky towards the Red Army's encampment.

They waited for the wind to die down before Pakku gestured northwards. Tagga nodded, and the two men leapt from the cliff, vanishing into the night.

***

Red Army Encampment, Outside of Techoria

The Red Army had set out an encampment one league outside the walls of Techoria, neatly arranged rows of tents in a gridlike pattern made for easy traversal. Though IceMourne's divine snow fell down from the skies, a fiery Domain enclosed the encampment and none of the snow fell within. It was dawn when the wind picked up speed, blowing in with a gale-like force and causing the soldiers on guard duty to mill about.

Rei descended from the skies and stepped onto the snow right outside of the barrier. She flicked her fan, slamming a wall of air through the entrance and blowing it wide open for her. Multiple soldiers came out to engage her but a flick of her wrist sent them flying into the tents as she marched into the encampment.

"You should treat our people more carefully, Rei. With a murderous aura like that, it's no wonder the soldiers were on guard."

She didn't stop or turn at the voice that echoed throughout the encampment. "Should I care about those that never learn to distinguish between me and an enemy, Jett? You'd think they would recognize me by now." She continued marching forward even as Jett dropped from the shadows to match her stride. "I saw the SunFlower's explosion on my way here. How is he? Is he hurt?"

"Ruskru has just brought him back, so I haven't seen him yet." Jett stood much taller than her, his longer legs comfortably matching up with her swift stride. The auburn-red hair that he kept short glowed iridescently in the light of his flame barrier, reminding Rei of something she would need to ask him about when she had the chance. But that wasn't important right now.

"So he was injured?" Rei snapped.

Jett gave her a sideways look. "You should watch your tone with me while you walk within my Domain, no?"

"As though I would care about your hurt feelings." Rei snorted. "Don't you know I'm only tolerating your Domain because it keeps these useless soldiers from freezing to death? Why didn't you or Ruskru join him? Do they call you WildFire just for show?"

"The Prince always told you to choose your words wisely, Rei. Very interesting word choice for the weakest out of all of us."

Rei bristled. "'Weakest,' is it? Come to think of it, Roxxa intervened to save you the last time we had a spar, didn't she?" Rei's hand strayed close to her fan. "How about you tell me why neither you nor Ruskru were with the Prince in Techoria?"

A spark danced between Jett's fingers before he blew it out with a lengthy exhale. Then his eyes flickered back to Rei. "The Prince forbade us to. Actually, he entered Techoria under a temporary truce for discussion, proposed by Flangel the Wise. Ruskru and I wanted to follow, but he said it was a matter of sincerity, given his relationship with the Master Alchemist." Jett clenched a fist then, his gloved hand covered with flame. "And they used that sincerity. They lied to separate him from us. But it doesn't matter now. Techoria is in ruin and everyone in the city was caught in the SunFlower's blast."

Rei lifted a hand and then set it down again quickly. "So…"

"So?"

"Marlo." Her expression seemed pained. "WindShaper. Is he…?"

"We haven't entered Techoria, but Ruskru only came back with the Prince after the SunFlower's explosion cleared." Jett shrugged, then gave her a pointed look. "WindShaper chose his fate when he refused to serve the Prince. Your martial brother knew the risks when he sided with Techoria."

Rei did not pause in her stride as they came upon the largest tent in the middle of the encampment. "Marlo was a fool. A kind, stupid fool."

Jett held open the tent flap for the two of them. "As the Prince would say, this world the Gods created makes fools of us all."

They encountered Ruskru coming out of the back room, bearing a hooked staff with a ruby crystal embedded in its tip. Tall, with dark eyes and thick black hair that he had tied up in a bushy ponytail, the Titled One known as the Eclipse wore a comfortable black kurta that fell down to his knees, trimmed with white and gold. A red sash wrapped around his waist, loose ends flowing just beyond his right knee.

"Is that…Flangel's Staff? I'm surprised the Prince recovered it." Jett made a move to push past Ruskru, but Ruskru's arm held out to block him.

"No." Ruskru's voice made it clear that it was not up for debate. "The Prince is … sleeping."

Rei clutched at her fan and Jett took a step backwards, hands in a defensive position. "Sleeping?"

"Only just entered his slumber, so we should have nothing to worry about. Yet. The SunFlower lives up to its legacy as Flangel the Prodigy's greatest achievement and Flangel the Wise's greatest regret." Ruskru's eyes shifted to Rei. "It's good to see you, Rei, but is there a reason you've abandoned JiangXi? Or did you recover what was stolen?"

"Neither. The bandits I found in the Slumbering Forest knew nothing about the stolen egg and I fought their Titled leader to a standstill. I didn't lose, if that's what you want to know." Rei crossed her arms at Ruskru's raised eyebrow. "No, I left because that City Lord from Oasis signaled for help. By the time I returned to JiangXi, I found the city's group of insurgents began calling themselves the Dao and had taken the City Lord hostage. I engaged them, but IceMourne brought Winter's Sorrow in the middle of the fight and it swiftly became disadvantageous for me after a fight with another Titled One. JiangXi is lost for now — but the residents can suffer the unruly rule of the inexperienced before we reclaim it come Spring's Blessings."

"That's a lengthy recounting of how you retreated in front of the enemy." Jett blew a spark at her. "I believe we call that losing, Rei."

"I didn't lose." Rei grit her teeth at him, the spark dissipating before it could reach her. "Did you not hear? I wasn't going to fight a disadvantageous fight."

"What would you call losing control of JiangXi then, if not a loss?"

"Enough." Ruskru's voice did not raise but the force embedded within the word sent a tingle down Rei's back. "Both of you should stop bickering as though you are still children. Rei, simply tell me if the situation in JiangXi takes any priority right now."

Rei gave Jett a silent glare but she faced Ruskru. "This isn't the first group of insurgents we've stamped down, and neither do any of them seem capable of being Titled. It's not a priority since they may be confused — the leader of the Dao seems to believe the Prince gifted JiangXi to the Lord of Sands, and I think he may believe there is a new alliance. I didn't correct the misconception."

"I'm curious about what gave this new group the courage to try, but it sounds less important than the matters at hand. We will discuss the matter of JiangXi later." Ruskru's attention turned back to Jett. "You know what to do. Evacuate the Red Army as soon as possible."

"It's the middle of Winter's Sorrow." Rei hated looking up at the two of them, lifting herself up to Ruskru's eye-level.

"Rei is right. A forced march at this time would be brutal for the soldiers." Jett frowned, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets.

Ruskru shook his head. "Some would die, but it would be better than them being in this area if the Prince were to suddenly wake up. Or were you suggesting that the three of us combined could contain the fallout within this tent when the Prince wakes?"

Rei's face paled and the air around Jett flared with anxiety. "Do we know… how long?" Jett asked in a low voice, a hand worrying at the hem of his clothes. "If he wakes up before Spring's Blessings, we might not have enough time to call over the others and contain the damage."

"Teljumaya was six months, but we don't really know what keeps him asleep, do we? His body is already fully healed, and perhaps his slumber is the cost." Ruskru's eyes closed and his brows furrowed in thought. "As for calling over the others, we won't need to. We only needed to contain the fallout in Teljumaya because too many others lived there. Now with Techoria gone, if we move the Red Army far enough there should be no issue. The decision is clear. The closest city is Crescent City. Jett, you will protect the Army with your Domain on your way there with Rei's help; the two of you can spread the burden of keeping the soldiers alive."

"Is that it? The Prince gave us no other orders before he went into slumber?" Rei struggled to contain her anxiety. "If it's a matter of guarding while we wait for him to wake, I can —"

"That was an order. Your arrival was unplanned, Rei, and I understand you've lost JiangXi. I'm sure you had your reasons, but failure is failure. Now is not the time to be selfish." Ruskru closed his eyes slowly, then opened them and asked her in a solemn voice. "There was a second order. Do you know what we came here for?"

"The SunFlower."

"Yes, the SunFlower. But now it's gone. Master Flangel was quite cheeky for one who held the Title of being the Wise. The design diagrams for the SunFlower are not found even in his Staff."

"So, it's over?" Jett crossed his arms. "We came all this way for nothing? The Prince said that the SunFlower was necessary to fight the Leviathan. None of us was there to experience it, but the SunFlower managed to send the Prince into slumber. That was all the proof we needed of its strength and now it's just…gone?"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Not quite. The Prince said that Flangel's Ring is missing." Ruskru ran a finger over the gemstone embedded in the Staff. "I searched Flangel's Staff and found nothing related to the SunFlower. Alchemists are prideful. They would never truly destroy all of their research. The Prince thinks that the design diagram is still in Flangel's Ring, or it is with the Prodigy."

"The Prodigy?" Rei frowned, trying to remember. "You mean the youngest…"

"Yes. Allegedly, she turns six years old this year, but don't let that fool you. The Oracle personally bestowed that Title to her." Ruskru tapped a finger against Rei's forehead, "Though, that is an issue for another time. Your main goal right now is to help Jett move the Red Army to safety. I will stay here to dissuade any potential people from thinking they can take advantage of the Prince while he recovers. After that, we can find Nettie, the current Prodigy." Ruskru's voice lowered. "I am not the Prince but someone must lead. Will both of you offer me your hearts?"

Rei glanced at Jett, who did not look back at her. Though miffed, she did not force a discussion. Neither of them cared to challenge Ruskru's leadership while the Prince slumbered.

"I offer up my heart." Jett bowed his head.

Rei joined him, aligning her bow towards where she sensed the Prince's faint aura behind Ruskru. "I offer up my heart."

Ruskru's hands found the two of theirs.

"Though only temporary, I accept."

***

Inner Sanctum, Sanctuary, ZhiXia City

The ink in the message had not yet dried, but the Oracle appreciated that the Head Priestess of JiangXi responsible for leaving messages had a habit of keeping her messages simple and to the point.

New leadership. Resources accounted for. Negotiated with mursashu. Return to Sanctuary upon Spring's Blessings. Cerelia.

Unfortunately, this Head Priestess' brush strokes were less refined and controlled compared to the message the Oracle had read earlier, and that one had been clearly written in haste.

With a dip of her finger into the scrying bowl, she sent ripples cascading towards the edges as the image faded away. Only when the water was still again did she shake a sleeve and allow a burnt-orange feather to float out.

"Molam succeeded."

The feather dipped close to the water before drifting to the edge of the bowl as though carried by a sudden gust of wind and began to glow.

Of course he did. I was involved.

"Your confidence contradicts your anxiety during the period of time since you lost connection with the feather you had given him."

Perhaps you were mistaken.

Silence fell between them as the Oracle chose to not pursue the subject, contemplating what she had learned in the meantime. The message from before floated into her mind, black ink on white paper written in precise calligraphy. Techoria destroyed. Red Army moving. Prince slumbers.

The Prince had made a public move for the first time in decades and another city had been destroyed. The Oracle lingered for a moment on the thought, wondering if she should be feeling more for the people that had died. Techoria was just the latest city that disappeared and she felt comparatively more numb than ever before, as though she had simply accepted the loss. Another loss in a long line of losses, counted more in cities than the number of lives. What had these lives been traded for?

Are you thinking about the boy or the situation in Techoria?

The Oracle twitched. "Both. Flangel failed but it was not entirely unexpected." The Oracle's eyes glittered behind the mask. Flangel had understood her, even if they had disagreed. "Are you certain about what the spirits are whispering?"

I cannot ascertain anything, only what they are whispering. The Prince is still alive, but he was forced into slumber.

"Then the spirits have confirmed it, if only indirectly." The Oracle's mask seemed dark despite the brilliance of her white glow, and a moment passed before she answered. "So now we shall see what Molam will do when he comes back."

To do what? Have you forgotten you must make do without the boy?

"...That will depend on him."

No. The feather's glow became a kaleidoscope of livid red and apoplectic orange, before settling back on a pulsing yellow that receded into the color of a late sunset. You made him a promise.

"And he will be able to return to the Castle in the Sky. He came down once. He can do so again."

Do not force him again. The spirit's voice became insistent. He should only help you by his own choice.

"I think he will surprise you."

What makes you say that?

"In the battle with the Tempest, he begged you to save the others."

… Not because he bonded with them. I expect he thought he would need them to move all the elderwood. He can't do that by himself.

"Perhaps. Worry not, I will respect his decision. But at the same time, you should not force him to waste away, sequestered from the world."

You should not apply your own regrets unto others.

"He will be afforded the opportunity to decide on his own," the Oracle reiterated, "So long as neither of us overtly influences him otherwise. And I am preparing for the possibility of Molam choosing to leave forever."

Oh have you now?

"Yes. I sent Ji to collect Yao-ren on his way to escort Molam back here."

That is you influencing him with two Titled Ones.

The Oracle did not flinch at the spirit's accusatory tone. "It is not the primary intent. Merely the level of importance which we place on getting Molam back safely. With the World Tree's elderwood, you can rebirth sooner rather than later."

The feather's glow pulsed. Moments passed, then the spirit's voice seemed calmer in the Oracle's head. I see you no longer refer to him as a child.

The observation made the Oracle pause as she peered back into the scrying bowl. Darkness greeted her, splashed with wisps of red. So even in slumber, the Prince guarded himself against her scrying.

"Molam has succeeded twice," she acknowledged, "And I believe he can do it again. All I can do is sow the seeds and hope that tomorrow, something grows."

You ask too much of someone who has already given all he has.

"No, I do not. Did you forget? I was once human too." She lifted a finger over the bowl and a solitary drop of water fell down the middle, breaking the still waters. "You might believe he has already done all he can, but a small droplet can disturb the surface of a very large lake."

The darkness rippled and became clear, showing a mountain's frosty peak. At the tip of the mountain extended a structure of ice, frozen in the midst of an eruption with cascading ice sheets that came together to look like a giant light-blue rose.

***

The Slumbering Forest

The pixiu held its black wings over Yao-ren's head as he rolled the boulder uphill in the snow. The sheer cold of Winter's Sorrow seeped into his aching bones but he dug his feet deeper into the frozen earth, his hands pushing relentlessly against the gray stony surface. IceMourne's Domain drained him of his strength, but what of it? This was his punishment.

When he had pushed the boulder to the top of the hill, he took a moment to rest as he gazed at the graves he had dug. Forty-nine graves in total, all but one filled.

His bond snorted, wisps of vapor evacuating from its nostrils as its snout reached forward to push the boulder with him.

"Nocturne, don't." Yao-ren spoke up. The sensation of needing to speak to his bond unsettled him. He had temporarily limited their connection so that his grief would not spill over but Nocturne's misery pulsed through their muted connection. "Your leg is injured. Just keep the snow off me."

Noir's hooting echoed through the trees, punctuating the ebb and flow of the owl's anguish through their limited connection. With a snort, Nocturne lifted its head away and shook the collected snow off its black wings. Yao-ren placed both hands against the rock's surface and renewed his push.

When the boulder had been positioned at the head of the grave, Yao-ren flipped it into an upright position with a grunt and then shoved it into place. He had placed markers earlier in the snow to ensure it would be centered. Seeing that he had set it correctly, Yao-ren then pushed against the boulder from several different angles until he was satisfied with its stability. Only EarthShaker could move it now.

The final step's difficulty lay not in the act but the unavoidable torrent of memories. Steeling the front of his finger with aura, Yao-ren knelt down and began pressing into the boulder's face to carve out their names. Yuechi, who loved to make soup and experimented for them every week. Nydal, who blushed when the women complimented his lustrous dark hair. Mikhael, who always joked about his lazy eye as the one that did all the seeing… As each stroke of his finger etched an open gash upon the rock's surface, their voices and faces dredged themselves up in his mind.

He had found each of them — no, they had each found him — and together, they had found warmth.

Yet he had let the Tempest get away without avenging them. The grief latched itself into him in ways he could not shake and as it buried itself ever deeper it found a fearsome ally. A memory long buried raised itself like a submerged beast along the back of his thoughts. A dome of dark light held Yao-ren back as he tried in vain to claw through the Domain to reach his parents. Behind them, the city of Kamisukawa burned and a solitary figure watched in silence as flames spread from its hands high above the skies.

"Is it finished?" The low voice came from behind him. It shook Yao-ren out of his reverie, and he blinked at the last name carved — his own. His fingertip throbbed with pain but something felt missing. Yao-ren looked up at the top of the names and carved out the final words: The Unseen.

"May God Yven guide them." The voice behind him rumbled.

"May God Yven receive them." Yao-ren intoned in kind. He stood up and turned to see the Whale of ZhiXia, Ji, stand up. A broad-brimmed straw hat covered the man's head and the collected snow fell down the brim, falling around the man's large frame as he brushed off the snow. The man wore short sleeves despite the bitter cold yet seemed unphased by it — his bare right arm carried the tattoo of a tiger while his bare left arm carried the tattoo of a whale.

The Titled One had arrived while Yao-ren had just finished digging up each of the graves with his bare hands and offered to help. After Yao-ren had refused the offer, Ji had quietly waited for Yao-ren to finish without complaint.

"Why did you include your own name?" asked Ji. "You aren't dead yet."

Yao-ren clenched his fist, feeling the throbbing in his finger. Many answers flitted through his mind and he discarded them all until he found the one that felt least like grief. "So that this isn't a gravestone until I come back." He pointed to the last, empty grave. "If what you told me is true, there is a good chance someone will need to bring me back here."

"You don't need to go." Ji's black eyes looked at Yao-ren, his voice calm. "If none of us survive, no one can bring you back here. You can still choose."

"Choice." Yao-ren's soft voice exuded derision. "The surest path to regret."

"But you've done nothing worth regretting."

"We did. Or at least, I did." Yao-ren collected his items. "It was my idea to target the Empire's merchants, and it seems we finally stole something that caused the Empire to take notice, enough for the Tempest to show up." He shook his head as he wrapped his clothes around his body. "I should have done better. But that's all in the past now. I will come with you."

Ji's eyes seemed unmoved. "Having lived a life of regret, I can tell you now that it is not a life worth living."

"There are no right choices in life then." Yao-ren's voice hardened. "Only wrong or worse. And this feeling, right now —" He clutched at his chest as he looked down, eyes staring at the grave closest to him. Krista, who loved to brush Nocturne's fur. "I no longer want to choose wrong. Only worse." His eyes met Ji's again. "If the Oracle thinks there's a chance, then I want to see this Molam for myself."

***

JiangXi

Shurra unwrapped the last of the bandages around her thigh and set it to the side. With a light finger, she gently touched the freshly tattooed skin underneath. Agytha's sword had left a white scar on her skin, puffy and uneven. Now it acted as a representation of the clouds. Underneath its falling snow roared a victorious white bear with a bleeding leg, the body of a viper laying at its feet.

"So, what do you think?" Kalle picked up the bandages and stuffed them into a bag, then threw it into a fire. "Did it turn out well?"

"Your idea for using the scar as clouds was quite inspired." Shurra praised grudgingly.

"I'm glad you like it." Kalle undid his gloves and threw them into a bag marked "dirty." "Is that enough for you to go back to the Hearthome?"

Shurra snorted. "As if. Agytha was strong, but that Tempest…" She closed her eyes. "The next time I see her, I won't be so helpless."

"She toyed with you while she was weak." Kalle said in a flat tone.

"I had just finished a fight too. But yes, it's no excuse. I aim to do better. Agytha is just the start." Shurra looked at Kalle, her eyes flickering to his undecorated scar. "Or you could. If you get such an achievement, they must accept you back. And then you can change it from within."

"What makes you think I want to go back?" Kalle said sharply, then stood up and sighed. "It doesn't matter. My new place is here now. Changing this is far more important."

Shurra shrugged, then changed the subject. "Do we know what we're doing now?"

Kalle hesitated before answering. "Molam's been quiet, but apparently he's returning to ZhiXia City with Mursa Shang's mursashu come Spring's Blessings. I believe he wants Primrose to lead while he's gone."

"All by himself?" Shurra frowned. "We don't know if he'll return perfectly fine. The Tempest's seen him. What does Primrose say about this?"

***

"I kept its shape, like you asked," the blacksmith unfolded the oiled black cloth with his large, meaty hands to show Primrose the dagger. The straight blade gleamed in the well-lit smithy.

Primrose picked up the dagger, hefting its balance and swiping at the air twice in quick succession, the metal flashing in the air, then the blacksmith flinched as she buried it into the wooden table.

"It will suffice." Primrose dropped a bag of coins on the table. "I appreciate your craftsmanship."

"I did my best to balance its weight with the hilt, but you'll need time to adjust to its shape in battle, lass. This speartip is a fundamentally different shape than your other daggers." The blacksmith produced a leather sheath with a strap and slid it over to Primrose before pulling the bag of coins towards himself. "I wouldn't want something I made to get you killed because of your stubbornness."

"I appreciate your concern." Primrose glanced at the word stamped into the leather sheath. Duty. "I see you managed to fit in the name too."

"Normally a weapon's name should go on the blade," the blacksmith explained, "

But as you instructed me to leave the blade as untouched as possible, I opted to place it on the sheath instead. Will that work for ya?"

"It will do. I like it." Primrose pulled the dagger out of the table and sheathed it, then the sheathed dagger disappeared up a sleeve. "Thank you for taking on this order for me with such short notice."

She turned to walk out, but the blacksmith asked in a low voice, "What will the Dao do now?"

Pausing for a moment, Primrose considered the question as she turned back to him, noting his furrowed bushy eyebrows. "Our leader says he is going home. All new roads must be well-traveled, and so the Way will follow."

"But what about JiangXi?" the blacksmith asked.

"JiangXi will be well cared for. When you sow the seeds of tomorrow, you must start somewhere." Primrose opened the door and left.

***

Somewhere in the snow

A little girl stumbled through the snow, using a hand to pin her cloak tightly around herself against the chilly wind of Winter's Sorrow. A sudden gust of wind blew straight against her face, blowing open her hood and revealing the black curly hair and dark skin that swiftly became covered with luminous snow. With a swift reach, she snatched the hood back over her head and pulled it over her face, bending down to blow her heated breath into her freezing fingers.

The bitter cold bore into her bones and she reasoned away the temptation to use a warming stone in case the Red Army was searching for her. The cloak served to mask warmth but…she huffed again into her numb fingers.

On her index finger, a ruby gleamed against its golden inset and seemed to dredge up the echo of Grandfather Flangel's last command.

"Deliver my Ring to Head Scholar Panmoru at the Fallen Star Pavilion. He will understand. If the Empire would take it from you, destroy it instead."

Nettie puffed her cheeks and exhaled onto her fingers one last time before standing up again, checking a compass for her bearings before setting off south-east.

Nettie would do what Grandfather Flangel had asked.