Bridget didn't find anything on Ember's belly, which prompted Priest Krindle to check herself but again nothing was found. This led to a more thorough check by the pair with her mother joining in while Priest Saunt and Allen waited outside the room. Still, no matter how much they checked, the only Akashic symbol on Ember was the one in her eye.

Once she was dressed and back in the main room of the research facility, Ember was both annoyed and slightly embarrassed. From there, Ember found herself answering several questions given by the two priests about when she first discovered the symbol in her eye and if she had noticed any changes since then. The whole time, Allen took notes while Bridget gathered any supplies or books the priests needed.

Ember was very careful with her answers. She wanted to start hinting that the curse hid her abilities but was hesitant since she didn't have a sponsor yet. Again and again, she realized she needed a sponsor before questions began to come up in regard to how she had abilities. For now, she managed to dodge the issue.

Eventually, Ember notified everyone she needed a break and reluctantly Priest Krindle agreed to see her the day after tomorrow. She originally insisted on seeing her the next day but Ember had plans of her own.

"Before we go, I was informed that we'll have to pay a price?" This was Ember's opportunity to get out of the situation.

"Price? Hmm, I suppose that is normally what happens," Priest Krindle said.

Ember waited patiently for her to proceed. The priest looked pensive and then nodded her head.

"Yes, that's the best way to do it. There will be no price. The way your Akashic symbol is rooted in you is too valuable to be ignored. Don't you agree, Priest Suant?"

The priest nodded his head solemnly. "Indeed."

"Then that's settled," Priest Krindle said brightly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow," Ember corrected.

Priest Krindle sighed but nodded. "Yes, the day after tomorrow."

Ember joined in her sigh though for a different reason. She had hoped to use the price as a way to get out of the curse research but it looked like she would have to find another excuse.

Ember and her mother walked back to their room. Once they were inside, Ember sat her mother down and told her about what she discovered about her curse. She kept it simple, saying it was tied to her repeating her life so it wasn't something her mother needed to worry about. Unfortunately, she didn't think her mother completely agreed but she did seem to look less worried now that she knew the curse was directly from the Akashic Tree in order to repeat her life.

Ember left out the part about losing her sight and possibly other parts of her body the more she repeated. She knew she needed to be honest with her mother like she promised but there was some information that was best left unsaid. Instead, she began explaining to her mother about hiring Justine and the payment she was providing.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" her mother asked.

Ember nodded. "Very. I'm hoping that she can also help protect Lady Allyana."

Her mother sighed. "Why do you need to be involved, Ember? The guards are on the alert as well as the temple. Shouldn't that be enough?"

"It wasn't enough before," Ember said and reached out to grasp her mother's hands. "Trust me."

Her mother sighed. "I do but this is hard to wrap my mind around. It's not that I don't believe you but to me, you are still my little girl."

Ember smiled at her words. "I'll always be that Mom, but I also have to help when I can."

Her mother frowned but reluctantly nodded her head. "At least you are keeping your promise to tell me about everything." Her mother squared her shoulders. "And that's a good thing too, since now I have to make sure I find a house that has enough room for Justine, too."

"Thanks, Mom. I'll leave that part to you. Also, Justine will be in charge of giving you combat training."

"What?" her mother exclaimed.

Ember smothered her grin. "You did say you wanted to learn and Justine is an expert."

Her mother's cheek twitched. "Of course. What a great idea."

"Isn't it?" Ember said with a grin and then called up Keeper's Hold and pulled out the beast box. Opening the box was fairly easy since it now recognized her as its owner.

She pulled out the remaining silver bril and handed it to her mother. Her mother watched with wide eyes. "Where did you even pull that out from?"

"It's part of my ability. I can store things I find but there's a limit." Ember pulled out two silver flats from one pouch and then moved to the pouch filled with copper. She took out enough copper to cover the cost to employ Justine for a year and put it aside with the silver flats. She then took half of the copper remaining and handed it to her mother.

"You're giving me too much," her mother said, looking between the copper and silver bril. "I still have the money you gave me before."

"We'll need it to get settled here and take care of bills until we gain a more reliable income."

Her mother rubbed her brow. "This isn't something you should worry about. I can handle it, especially with the money you have already given me."

"I know but just in case, besides Rowan plans to do swordsmanship training and he'll need gear for it and to start eating more meat."

Her mother hesitated but nodded, taking the coins and putting them in her pouch. All except one. She handed the silver bril back to Ember.

"I have a silver bril already as well as some silver flats and tons." When Ember started to protest, her mother raised her hand firmly. "If I need more, I'll come to you about it but for now use it for your own supplies. You can't neglect your training if you plan to go on dangerous missions."

Ember frowned but nodded. She took out the pouch that held the silver and gold coins and put the bril inside. Then she transferred the remaining copper into the pouch, using the now empty pouch to put the money she set aside to pay for Justine.

Once that was settled, she put the monster box back into Keeper's Hold before turning to her next order of business.

She held out the papers Priest Beslen had gathered. "Want to help me pick a sponsor?"

Her mother smiled. "Of course."

The two began to go over the papers together and when Rowan came back, he joined them. Since her brother didn't know how to read it ended up with him just providing comments and suggestions as he listened to them.

"You should go with Knight Vantosia," Rowan said.

Ember rolled her eyes. "He's the worst choice."

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"I don't think that's true," her mother said.

Ember looked at her, questioningly.

"First, among your choices you know he is trustworthy."

"We don't know that," Ember said. "He could have ulterior motives."

"And you don't?" her mother said. "I'm not saying he's perfect or even completely truthful but you know he will try his best to help you. So far, he has protected you from Lord Felis and Welks on multiple occasions. He hasn't shown any intention to go after your weapon or even divulge the fact that you own it. And lastly, he has kept your secret and for all intents and purposes has offered you a sponsorship to protect you as well as because he wants to see your growth. That he is asking you instead of forcing you already says a lot."

Ember frowned but she couldn't deny her mother's words. "That makes it more suspicious."

"You're always suspicious," Rowan piped in.

That was true. Ember sighed. "I get what you're saying but...the problem is with his connection to the royal family. They could catch on and then they'll try to use me. And if I refuse to be used then what will happen to Knight Vantosia? I don't want to repay him with trouble."

Her mother frowned but nodded her head reluctantly. Ember knew her mother was drawn to Knight Vantosia since they knew him but his ties to the royal family couldn't be ignored. The situation would work out better if they were tied to a lesser noble family even if they had never met.

They talked more about the other two options only stopping for dinner. By the end of the night, Ember had made her decision and she only had one more thing to do, and that was talk to Knight Van.

The next morning, Ember went straight to Knight Van's temporary office but instead of having a meeting, she was notified to return in the afternoon. She was annoyed by the delay but instead grabbed Justine and went back into the woods to train. She didn't make much progress because she couldn't help feeling agitated about what was to come. Still, she kept going and eventually, the time came to talk to Knight Vantosia.

As soon as she arrived at Knight Van's office, she was guided inside where Knight Vantosia and an elderly woman sat. Ember looked at the woman in confusion before facing the knight.

"Before we get started," Knight Van said as he stood up and moved to the elderly woman. "This is Matron Cavel, she's an Oath Keeper."

Ember's eyes widened. "What?"

"I thought about what you said about trust and felt we required her." He then turned to the Oath Keeper and held out his hand.

The Oath Keeper took it and when she did a light began to glow around his hand. "Anything I say during this meeting will only be the truth and I will not communicate anything I hear in this meeting without permission from Maiden Ember, daughter of Mister Zeris and Matron Camila, as long as it doesn't endanger the royal family and the people of Nivikes."

As soon as he finished speaking a symbol rose from his hand and then swiftly moved to his chest and disappeared within.

"The penalty?" the Oath Keeper asked.

"Death," Knight Van said firmly, and then there was a loud click and the blue light covered Knight Van before disappearing.

Knight Van grimaced and then moved to his desk and gestured to the Oath Keeper. The elderly woman turned and left the office.

Ember stared at the knight in disbelief. "You really went that far."

"I wanted you to know how seriously I take this."

Ember could only stare. She hadn't expected this. Not only had he made an oath but one with a death penalty. It was too much and she couldn't help being impressed at the lengths the knight had gone.

"Before I hear your decision there is something I want to tell you."

Ember nodded numbly, wondering if what he was about to tell her would be as head-spinning as the oath.

Knight Van focused in front of him and then gestured to the air. "Can you see this?"

Ember looked at the air but there was nothing there. "I don't see anything."

The knight nodded. "I suspected that might be the case." He looked at Ember. "Like Oracle Patricia, I have a quest."

Ember stared. "A quest from the Akashic tree?"

Knight Van nodded. "Yes, and that quest is directly tied to you."

Ember blinked and the room was silent as she soaked in what the knight had said. The Akashic Tree had given him a quest tied to her. What was going on? Ember had to take a deep breath to steady herself.

"What is the quest?"

"I rather not say due to the possibility of it affecting the quest," the knight said. "But I can promise that it isn't anything harmful to you."

Ember suspected it wasn't but she still felt relieved hearing it though she wondered exactly why he couldn't tell her. "Is that why you want to sponsor me?"

"I can't say it doesn't affect my decision but it is not the main reason I wish to sponsor you. Like I mentioned before, I feel like you have potential and I want to see that potential be realized. It's more than that. It's like I need to see it."

Ember sucked in a breath and then looked down at her lap. A need? She wondered if the Akashic Tree was the reason for that. She frowned. No, if the Akashic Tree was manipulating people's minds then it wouldn't need to give out quests. So, was there another reason?

"With that in mind, it's important I inform you of the reward I will receive for fulfilling the quest."

"You're going to tell me the reward but not the quest?"

Knight Van nodded. "If I don't then you won't be able to trust me."

Ember nodded and the knight continued.

"The reward was a Token of Gratitude and my possible survival."

Ember stiffened and her eyes widened. Knight Van was saying more but all Ember could think about was the possible survival. In both her lives, Knight Vantosia had died while fighting the Dawneater, but the Akashic Tree was hinting that he could survive and she was tied to that survival.

Ember wanted to reject the thought because if she didn't she had to decide whether to walk away and leave Knight Van to his fate or to step in and possibly change his future.

"Is your quest to take me as your sponsor?"

"No," Knight Van said.

Ember felt relieved but it was short-lived. Sure, she could pick a different sponsor but it wouldn't change that in order for Knight Van to complete his quest her presence was needed. She groaned and flopped back in her seat.

Knight Vantosia looked at her and frowned. "Perhaps this is too much to put on someone so young."

Ember waved her hand dismissively. "It's too late for regrets." She rubbed her forehead. "Knight Vantosia, as you can probably guess, I'm tied up in a mess with the Akashic Tree. I don't know exactly what it wants but with how things are I can't say this won't end with a possible clash. You want to be my sponsor but what if my goals clash with those of the royal family?"

Knight Van stiffened and his hand went to his sword hilt and his eyes began to glow. "Are you saying the Akashic Tree wants you to go against the royal family?"

Ember knew she had to be careful how she answered this. "There is a monster called the Shade. They are a dark force in direct conflict with the Akashic Tree. They corrupt everything they touch and that includes people, but they are much more insidious than you can imagine. One of the ways they corrupt is through abilities. They offer people powerful Shade abilities and corrupt them from the inside. In the royal family, can you guarantee that there aren't people that might have given into that corruption?"

Knight Van gritted his teeth before his brow furrowed in deep thought. Finally, he let go of the hilt of his sword. "Why have I never heard of the Shade?"

"Most of them are hidden and it will be years before they become obviously active."

"How do you know all this?"

"It's because of my ties to the Akashic Tree."

"But you're a child. What does the Akashic Tree expect you to do about this?"

Ember shrugged. "I've been wondering that myself." In neither of her lives, had she had any direction of what to do and it was only recently, through Bird, that she even discovered that everything was tied to the Akashic Tree but one thing she did know for sure. "I think I'm supposed to stop the world from being destroyed."

Knight Van stared at her in disbelief, his blue eyes glowing. He then closed them and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "This is unbelievable."

"You're the knight of truth."

"Yes, but that only means that you think what you've said is true. You could be delusional."

Ember's lips tightened but she didn't say anything.

Knight Van sat there for a moment and then straightened up as he came to a decision. "I am loyal to the royal family and that won't change. But that doesn't mean I can't see their flaws and try to guide them to a better path." He stood up, putting his hands behind his back. "And it is clear the Akashic Tree wants me to get involved. More than that, what kind of man would I be to send a child to fight alone. My offer to sponsor you still stands and I will help you fight the Shade as well."

Ember couldn't believe it. Knight Van had accepted her story. Sure, she knew there was still doubt but he was willing to try. Though this could be an excuse to keep an eye on her she couldn't deny that having Knight Van as an ally would help her greatly and might even prevent the rising of the Vantosia Crusaders.

Her misgivings about accepting Knight Van's sponsorship were still there but now they were combated by the benefits. She would gain the benefits and resources provided by not just a noble but a royal knight. Still, there was one thing she needed to make clear.

"I have a condition," Ember said.

"What is it?"

"No matter what happens to me, you must try to the best of your ability to protect my family."

"I won't pick your family over my royal charge."

"I'm only asking that if they are innocent they should be protected."

Knight Vantosia frowned but nodded.

Ember smiled. "Then shall we make a contract?"