Melody wasn't sure what exactly she was expecting for her mother's old home. She had never put much thought into it. That was probably a good thing; otherwise, she might have been a bit underwhelmed.

"We're here."

Melody hopped out the back of the transport, following her mother. They were in the middle of open grassland, the same blank white space they had been traveling through all day. There was nothing she could see to indicate what her mother was talking about. Melody felt vaguely disappointed.

"We'll set up out here. Please, don't hesitate to alert us if you need us." Loghain was talking with Arianell.

"I appreciate that, but I can't think of anywhere on the planet that we would be safer than in the nest. Relax."

All she got was a half-heart grunt in response.

"Mom? Where are we?"

"Oh, I suppose I never told you. Come here, little bird." Arainell gestured her daughter forward. Taking hold of her hand, she held their joined hands out. After a moment, the back of both of their hands glowed gold, with the image of a feather appearing. Then the world shifted.

Melody likened the sensation to moving floors in banue, like you were being pulled through space, but in reverse. This felt like reality folded around you. Instead of you moving, the ground beneath you moved. In an instant, they were standing at the foot of a mountain. It shot up into the sky, as pure white as the fields they had been in. Around the mountain, there were floating chunks of lands, surrounded by banks of clouds that seemed to cradle them and carry them along as they orbited the mountain.

"Wow. This is much cooler."

"You didn't really think that empty field was our nest, did you?" Arainell asked her tone somewhere between smug and amused.

"I don't know! You never talk about it. I wasn't sure what to expect." Melody defended herself.

"Mmm. Well, I suppose that's true. It's just… A bit hard to put into words."

Just then, there was a burst of light from one of the floating islands, and a massive bird with rainbow wings that dwarfed the island it just left flew up toward the peak of the mountain far overhead.

"...Yeah."

For a few long minutes, Melody and her mother stood there, drinking in the scenery. Melody felt an instinctive sense of peace and safety as soon as they had entered this place. It was a welcome sensation after the stressful and terrifying trip here.

That calm moment ended as Melody could see another massive bird approaching them, coming down from the mountain's peak. This one closely resembled Arainell's own Beast form. Four wings, with primarily brown feathers, sprinkled through with gold, blue, and purple feathers. A long, trailing tail. A long, majestic neck ending in a relatively small head with an equally small beak.

In moments, the Beast was landing in front of them. Melody suddenly found it difficult to breathe from the dense mana flowing off what had to be one of Melody's relatives.

"Hello, Mother," Arainell said, confirming Melody's assumption.

"Hello, dear. You finally decided to visit. And with my granddaughter too. To what do I owe the pleasure?" An airy, refined voice drifted into Melody's mind.

"I need to talk to Grandmother. Things have happened. The gods are moving."

"The Matriarch is aware. Come. She'll want to hear what you know."

Arainell once again grew out her wings, scooping up her daughter and, taking into the air, headed toward the mountain, with the Beast, who was apparently Melody's grandmother, following close behind.

"Really, Ari, must you continue to occupy that form? Even here?" The voice returned, accompanied by a sigh.

"Now is not the time. I made my choice, as you well know. I don't want to hear it." Arainell shot out, her tone sharp.

"Please, this isn't good for you. Or your daughter." Her tone was almost pleading.

"Not now, Mother."

"This conversation will happen, whether you like it or not."

Arainell sighed. "This is why you don't get to see us."

"Oh, don't be like that."

"Mom?" Melody was unsure what exactly was going on between her mother and grandmother, but it sounded like there was a reason behind them never visiting, beyond the distance.

"It's not your problem, dear."

"But-"

"Not your problem, dear," Arianell repeated firmly.

"...Fiiiiiine." Melody pouted. Her mom had spent the last few days not telling her anything. What was one more?

They flew on in silence, every one of them upset at the others. It only took a few minutes for them to reach the summit.

The whole flight up, Melody had been looking at the snowy peak, wondering why her ancestor would want to live up in the cold. It was a big mountain, after all. She finally got her answer as they ascended over the mountain. Looking down, Melody could see a divot in the mountaintop, like a crater. At its edges, the snow disappeared, giving way to the most vibrant forest Melody had ever seen or heard of. It was a riot of colors coming from plants of all shapes and sizes.

There was a physical, tangible quality to the mana coming from the garden that Melody could feel even from a hundred feet in the air. Unlike her grandmothers' mana, which had felt suffocating and intense, this was a calming, serene sensation. Just being nearby was relaxing in a way Melody could hardly put to words. Breathing in deep, some of the concerns and stress from the hectic and terrifying events of the day faded from Melody.

They began to descend toward the center of the garden, toward a structure that somehow looked like both a palace and a giant bird's nest. It was circular, with odd protrusions sticking out of the ceiling without any apparent rhyme or reason. It was only a single story tall but had the same sense of grandeur as Melody's own home, mostly due to the absurd amounts of rare metals and jewels worked into every inch of the whole building. To the point where it looked more gaudy than anything else.

Still, it was an impressive display of wealth. Melody had a feeling that the amount of resources in the nest-palace would have been worth a fortune even in Shodenburg terms. No wonder her mother had decided to marry her father if she was used to being around this much money. Anything less probably would have felt like moving into a dump with a hobo.

"You finally decided to return, Arainell dear. And you've brought someone rather interesting. Come, we shall speak." A voice, quiet as a whisper, slipped into Melody's ears. Looking around, there was no one around. Shrugging and chalking it up to magic, Melody continued to marvel at the garden until she could no longer see it. They had flown down into an open courtyard at the center of the nest. It was much larger than she had originally assumed, looking at it from the air. The courtyard was easily several hundred feet of little stone paths through a much more subdued version of the vast garden outside.

Sitting at a table made of some kind of gemstone on chairs made of a shiny black material were a man and a woman. The woman had much the same appearance as Arianell and was wearing a beautiful dress in a rich purple with blue accents, but the man was different. He was rail-thin and tall, with sun-kissed skin and fiery red hair in a long-sleeved black shirt and tan pants.

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"I greet the Matriarch," Arainell stated formally, bowing. Melody belatedly following along after a second.

"Hello, dear. Come, sit. We're having some lovely tea. That Arathmian King gave it to me the last time I was in Sanhotagu. He still asks about you, you know." Casually, the woman waved a hand as she spoke, and three more chairs appeared around the table, along with teacups and saucers.

Halfway to sitting down, Arainell froze. "He knows well enough that I'm not interested. He needs to learn to quit." Melody was surprised at the amount of anger in her mother's voice.

The Matriarch waved a hand. "Oh come now, that wasn't meant as a jab, truly. You should know that none of the Royalty recognize your marriage. This is to be expected. Especially when your chosen husband is so… weak."

Arainell scoffed. "He may not have martial power, but he isn't weak. He's amassed nearly as much wealth as you, Matriarch, and that's as a 'mere human' without the help of our abilities."

Frowning, the Matriarch put down her teacup midway to having a sip. "Surely you've been helping him. Why else would he…."

Arainell laughed. "No! He actually insists that I only use our family's abilities for things for myself. He courted me because he actually loves me, Matriarch." Arainell shook her head, losing her humor. "I'm not here about old news. There have been…things… happening."

"That's not very descriptive, dear."

"I'm aware."

"Would you like to elaborate?"

"I'm don't think you'll believe me."

"Nonsense. I've seen a great many things, dear. I doubt you can surprise me." The Matriarch laughed lightly.

Over the next couple of hours, Arainell recounted the event following Melody's first meeting with Tia with minimal input from Melody herself. Various snacks and more tea were brought out throughout the story as the Matriarch and Melody's grandmother, who had taken on a human appearance, listened intently. They didn't give much away, but Melody thought she saw several flashes of concern accompanied by glances in her direction and a look of genuine anger when Bremain was mentioned.

Once the story was ended, there were several long moments where both the women listening stared off into space, deep in thought. Melody continued to drink her tea and eat several of the snacks brought out. Everything was delicious, and she was honestly pretty hungry. She was thoroughly checked out of the story by this point, considering she had lived the whole thing. Melody was much more excited, thinking about what all she would gain from absorbing some of the interesting plants in the garden.

After taking a long drink of tea, the Matriarch spoke. "...Well, I see why you might be worried about your words being unbelievable. This…This involves some forces thought long, long gone from this world. This 'Tia' has a strong resemblance to the entity known as the Overseer."

"What is she?"

The Matriarch shook her head. "No one knows. She was part of the events that led to the end of the War of Loss. As with everything else from that time, not much else is known. The mere fact that essentially no substantial information remains has led many among the Royalty to assume they were among the enemy the gods fought when they arrived here."

"Forgive me; I'm not very well informed about the War of Loss, Matriarch."

"Ah, I suppose that's true." She smiled. "There's not much to say. The gods came to Atay seeking refuge from some enemy. Within ten years of their arrival, some kind of resolution came about in their war. Whatever happened caused everyone to lose most all their knowledge about the war, outside of the knowledge that it occurred. The biggest question among the Royalty has always been 'who was the enemy?' Our only clues to those events involve the entity you mentioned, along with two others."

Arianell frowned throughout the whole explanation. She stared at her teacup, eyes unfocused and unseeing. Suddenly, her head whipped up to stare at the Matriarch. With grace and certainty, she rose from her chair before walking around the table to kneel beside the head of her family. With her head bowed, Arainell spoke formally.

"Matriarch, a member of your blood comes before you to seek guidance and grace."

In response, the trace of humor and levity disappeared from the Matriarch's face, and she shifted to face Arainell's kneeling form, her bearing regal and cold. "Ask your questions, child of my blood."

"Is my daughter in danger?"

"Yes."

The word hit like a hammer blow, Arainell's shoulders sagging. "I beg of you, Matriarch, my Queen, mother of my blood. Please, save my child." Arianell continued to kneel for several long seconds, her body quivering with tension, nails digging into her palms hard enough to draw blood.

The Matriarch sighed. "Very well, child of my blood. I shall take your daughter as my ward, and a member of my blood, in spite of your unsanctioned union."

Arianell nearly collapsed, all tension draining from her. "Thank you. I…Thank you, Grandma. I'm sorry I upset you."

"Humph. As you ought to be. Running off like you did. Had the whole family worried sick. Honestly, dear. You could have sent a message of some kind. Besides, your thanks might be a bit premature."

"What?"

The Matriarch, ignoring Arainell's guarded expression, turned to Melody, who had been mostly ignoring this whole confrontation in favor of all the good snacks. "You'll be fighting for your life, dear. Best to take it deadly serious."

"Huuagh?!" Melody exclaimed, halfway through a bite of some variety of scone, when the ground opened up beneath her, dropping her into the mountain, chair, scone, and all.

{}

"Why?!" Arainell cried, watching her daughter fall into the earth. "She's just a girl!"

"Ha!" The Matriarch laughed, "A girl who has an eighth-tier beast as a mother and apparently dealt a fatal blow to a seventh-tier defense specialist. She's more than qualified for a visit to the trial grounds."

"Why?!" Arianell screamed, near hysterical.

SLAP.

Arainell shook her head, her ears ringing. She hadn't even seen the blow.

"Are you quite done now?"

She nodded. Yelling wasn't going to get Melody back.

"Now, as to why. As much as I am loath to admit it, I cannot guarantee your daughter's safety. Not against the Overseer. Perhaps not even against Gun, should he come looking."

"But I thought-"

"Hush. You have no understanding, child. The gods do not fear us. Not really. They leave us be since we do not interfere with their precious blessed. If Gun decided to come here in person and kill your daughter, we could not stop him. He would pay a heavy price, but he would not die."

"But the cities that fell-"

"Rouges. Those that gained great strength without becoming Royalty."

"So, what? The gods could just walk all over any Royal that gets in their way? I find that hard to believe."

"You have lived in a peaceful time." The Matriarch sighed. "You did not see the horrors the gods wrought when they arrived. So many Royalty died trying to force them off Atay. The very World Spirit acted, and yet they still remain."

"Then why the trials?! What's the point if none of us can protect her anyway?! Why should she suffer?! I… I just want to keep her safe. She shouldn't have to deal with this nightmare." Arianell collapsed to the ground. She had tried so hard to keep Melody safe, even coming back to her ancestral home, only to find it all futile.

"To grow stronger."

"What?"

"You asked me why the trials." The Matriarch's words were calm against the mothers' raging worries. "Your daughter has somehow gained the attention and favor of a being we know very little of. However, we do know she is immensely powerful. The trials will be the perfect ground for young Melody to grow. So that she can defend herself."

"You think she can become strong enough to protect herself where you can't?"

"I don't know." The Matriarch stared at the table, though her gaze seemed to go through it. "Only her own efforts will show her potential.

{}

Melody screamed as she fell into the dark. Whatever hole she had come through had closed behind her. Luckily, it was not a long drop. The chair hit uneven ground at an odd angle, throwing Melody to the cold ground. It was pitch black, cold, and slightly damp wherever she had ended up.

"Ugh. What?" Melody stared blankly into the blackness, trying to find any hint of light. Her arm felt funny, and she probably skinned her hands. She might have hit her head. It was hard to tell. After looking in a full circle around herself with no light to be found, Melody rolled her eyes. She had an answer that solved two problems simultaneously.

Opening the Interface, Melody blindly tapped to her Storage and selected the third item. The healing pod she had used on her mother built up in front of her, not that she could see it. Standing up, she reached out until… there! The panel on the side of the pod lit up. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Immediately, Melody went about adding a light function to the Interface. A hundred experience later, she had another source of light, and the way to get some proper equipment.

Forest though, Melody got in the pod. She could figure out where she was, and what to do about it after she was in perfect health. Just before the pod knocked her out to begin her healing, Melody smiled. This was exciting!