“She’s there!”
“Master?”
“Sapphire…”
Sapphire blinked. “I’m Sapphire.”
“What I mean is… when Sapphire, I mean the other Sapphire, when the little girl used her spell to bring everyone back, Twilight attacked her, destroying her lore and keeping you from absorbing it.”
Sapphire looked away. “I’m aware of that… my memories of my mother are limited. She doesn’t seem to have the same prejudices my father had, but seeing the sadness in her eyes over a daughter that doesn’t recognize her, it bothers me.”
“You spent your life trying to put your soul back together, and just as you were reaching the last few pieces, a piece was taken from you and destroyed. I understand.”
“It’s… not that important.” Sapphire bit her lip. “It’s been much harder to find pieces of my lore, and some of what I find might not even be me anymore. There are so many holes in my memory. I don’t even remember how I was shattered in the first place.
My eyes widened. “Really? It wasn’t Twilight?”
She shrugged. “I don’t believe it was. I recall living on the surface. I recall a tribe of deep dwarves. Then darkness. The next memory I had was Mary. Even my memories of the Deep and mother I only gained in the Twilight Dungeon.”
I shook my head. “You’re wrong about one thing though. It does matter. This is your history. This is your family. You need to at least remember where you came from. It’ll help you decide where you’re going.”
She gave a sad smile. “What was done, was done.”
“Or, maybe there is still a chance!”
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She frowned. “What are you saying?”
“I’ve been digesting the lore like you recommended. This isn’t the best way. It’s sort of like tossing a locked diary into a blender to open it up and read the contents. What comes out is scattered and broken. However, there were things in here that King Diorite decided your people needed. I’m also learning a bit more about how he built his dungeon to block Twilight from the Infernal Dungeon. My Dungeon Builder has leveled a bit just by understanding how he built dungeons and incorporating that knowledge.
“Okay, but what does that have to do with me?”
“Oh, right! It was his dungeon that created the necromancer Sapphire. She might have contained a small fragment of your soul, but the lore and history were part of the dungeon. Some of it came from King Diorite, and some of it came from you. What I mean to say is that I found the piece of lore that belongs to her. I’m not saying it is Sapphire… it’s more like a Sapphire template. I could create a generic dwarf necromancer.
“I’m not sure I understand how this will help.” Sapphire frowned.
“I’ve been watching other dungeon masters. My Dungeon Master level is up to eleven just with my passive use, but combined with Dark Priest and Dungeon Builder, I believe I can create a copy of lore and give it to you.”
“A-a copy?” She made a face. “I’m a blacksmith, Master. I’m not interested in being a necromancer.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Normally, what I’m talking about would be the method to create job tokens. I’m still not certain I could make one without directly seeing someone else make one. However, in this case, I’m talking about recording what’s left of your memories, as well as the memories of you.”
Realization finally began to dawn on her face. “You can recover my memories of my childhood?”
I held up my hands. “I can record the lore and affix it to your soul. It’d be like a job, although there wouldn’t be levels. Right now, all you can remember are shadows, but with those memories as a reference, you may be able to gradually recall your youth… at least to the level any normal person remembers their life.”
I understood what Sapphire meant when she said it wasn’t important. How much did anyone remember their childhood? How much of it was even correct? We glorified things and half-remembered others. This wouldn’t bring that brave little girl back. However, this would at least give her some memories of her parents.
“Oof!” I made a noise as I was suddenly hugged tightly by Sapphire.
Although she wasn’t showing her face to me, the sniffling I was pretty sure she was crying. As much as she wanted to hide it, this was something that meant a lot to her. That’s why I had gone out of my way to look for it in the first place. With a light smile, I reached out and held her.