Fae stood in the Echo of Truth with Olivia and Sonya, staring at the floor. The mosaic there showed hundreds — could it be thousands? — of people prostrating themselves. Some knelt, hands held high, necks craned back, their faces transfixed in expressions of wild ecstasy. Fae’s stomach twisted at the sight.
They’re like people possessed. And focusing all their devotion on…
When she looked up at the ceiling, her heart stuck in her throat.
“Wasuryu…” Sonya murmured, her voice taut with anger and fear.
It was Wasuryu like Fae had never seen him. Not a face in a window, not a melting humanoid puppet, but a proper Dragon, huge and serpentine and terrifying. His scales glittered green, and his eyes blazed with an insatiable, predatory hunger. He was majestic in his own way, but all Fae could see was a wicked, disgusting tormentor.
“People… worship him?” Sonya asked.
“We saw them,” Olivia said.
It took Fae a moment, but then she understood. “The city,” Fae said. “His city. All those people who tried to stop us from escaping… they’re totally devoted to him?”
It was hard to grasp. That city had been massive, with towering skyscrapers, easily housing hundreds of thousands of people. Did Wasuryu really have an army of fanatical devotees on his side?
“Dragons are awe-inspiring creatures,” Sonya said. “And he’s had centuries of lying in secret, slowly building a following, luring people into his clutches. He’s a vile, cruel, disgusting creature… but he has a great deal of power. And now we see how far his influence spreads.”
As Fae looked around at the wall, her heart sank. “And it’s spreading further,” she said softly.
All along the wall, she saw the Dragon’s city. And there were devotees of Wasuryu — not many, perhaps a few dozen — leaving that city. Each of them donned a long green hooded coat, emblazoned on the back with a silver sigil like a Dragon’s eye.
“They’re… coming for us,” Olivia said. “Aren’t they?”
“He’ll never let us be free,” Sonya said. “His jealousy and vengeance know no bounds.”
“We… should be safe at least until we reach the Orphan of the Dawn,” Olivia said. “They wouldn’t come to Grimoire, would they?”
“If they did, we’d have plenty of people we could quickly call on to help us,” Fae said. “So they likely won’t pose any threat to us until after we’ve gone to the Orphan of the Dawn…”
“Fae, you can’t touch things, can you?” Sonya asked, holding out her notebook and pen. Fae reached out, but her hands passed right through.
“No, sorry,” she said.
“I’d hoped we could get a drawing of their coats and crests,” Sonya said. “But… I suppose they’re not difficult to remember.”
“I won’t forget,” Fae said.
And I’ll have my body back soon. Then I can draw everything I’ve been holding close in my memories.
There was nothing else to see here, so the three left the Echo of Truth. When they came out the door, they weren’t back in the Palette in the Clouds, but instead had returned to Renault — and Fae to her state as a soul that could only watch her body from above.
They told the others about what they’d seen — not just in the Echo of Truth, but at the Palette in the Clouds from Tio and the Artisan. Regrouped, they continued on together. Just like every previous Echo, the latest opened the way forward, and they arrived in Grimoire.
Grimoire…
I knew I would have to come back here. Even so…
To be here twice without actually being in my own body…
“After the Antarctic, Grimoire’s winter isn’t so bad,” Jupiter said. Even so, she had her gloved hands shoved in the pockets of her coat, and was bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Come on, don’t be a baby,” Mercury said. “You love winter and you know it.”
I do, too. But I…
…can’t even feel it.
“Hey, but being back in Grimoire is a great opportunity, right?” Jupiter asked. “Especially here.” They all stood on the cliffs overlooking Grimson Bay, and Jupiter turned back to look at Grimoire University’s campus. “We can at least ask a few questions about —”
“Hey, shove it!” Mercury said, smacking Jupiter in the back of the head.
“O-oh, right,” Jupiter said suddenly, looking away in a very conspicuous manner.
“Wait, what’s the problem?” Sonya asked.
While the Star sisters acted suspicious but said nothing, Madeline stepped forward. “You didn’t regain all of your memories,” she said, her voice shaky. “Did you?”
“Don’t look so guilty,” Mercury said, flashing a grin. “We knew the risks. And we all agreed that saving Fae was more important than getting all of our memories back.”
Saving me?
Fae almost asked the question aloud, but then she recalled the explanations Madeline and Toryu had given her about what had transpired in the Silver Star Sanctuary. The computer containing the memories of Ciel and the Star sisters had also been tied to Fae’s restraints, and in order to rescue Fae, they had to shut the system down completely — and permanently.
Madeline’s been wracked with guilt worrying about whether or not she gave them enough time to retrieve all of their memories. Now… well, the truth is pretty clear.
“We’ve remembered a lot,” Neptune said calmly. “But no, we did not recover all of our memories. And it isn’t your fault — it’s just as Mercury said. But… Jupiter has a point. Since we’re here, if you don’t mind waiting for just a short while, I’d like to investigate something.”
“What’s that?” Madeline asked.
“The thing is, we didn’t just lose memories from the Silver Star Sanctuary,” Mercury said. “We don’t remember leaving it, either, or all the journeys that eventually took us to Grimoire. That doesn’t make any sense, right? Wasuryu was feeding on our memories back at the Sanctuary, so he couldn’t have kept stealing from us after we left, right? But even so…”
“We have a mysterious benefactor,” Neptune said. “Whoever paid for our college and lodgings, as well as provided us with generously full bank accounts, is still unknown to us. We’ve inquired before, of course, but we’ve learned a lot since then, and there are some lines of investigation I’d like to try. We won’t take long, if that’s all right with you.” She turned her gaze on Fae.
“It’s all right,” Fae said, and the Sojourner repeated with her voice. “Do whatever you need. If you need to stay…”
“Don’t even go there,” Mercury said. “We’re seeing this through to the end with you. Just give us, like, an hour?” She looked at Neptune, who nodded. “An hour. The last Echo is under The Gate, right? Let’s all meet at Shore Park.”
They agreed and went their separate ways, the Star sisters heading to Grimoire University, while Fae, Olivia, Sonya, Madeline, Ciel, and Toryu made their way down to Shore Park. Shore Park sat at the farthest edge of Grimson Bay, and was made up of a sprawling playground with lots of nice benches, where they sat and waited.
It was… strange, with the triplets gone. It was strange, too, sitting at Shore Park under Grimoire’s current sky. It must be midday, but it was awfully dark, thanks to a thick ashen veil that blocked most of the sun’s light from reaching the city. Fae loved grey winter days, but this wasn’t one of them. It was eerie, uncomfortable, and it didn’t help that she wasn’t properly in her body.
Without the triplets, it was quiet. Madeline and Fae had never been big conversationalists, and Olivia and Sonya clearly followed suit. Sonya spent her time writing in a notebook. Ciel could get chatty when people talked to him, but he rarely initiated conversation. The boy always seemed so pleased just to be, always looking around, taking everything in with his inquisitive gaze.
And then there was Toryu. The tortoise-like Dragon seemed perfectly comfortable going with the flow. He could talk quite a lot when the situation called for it, but he seemed more than content to sit back on a bench and puff on his pipe, saying nothing.
After a little while of waiting, Olivia stood and walked out onto the beach. She called forth her alabaster scythe, and then started moving through a series of katas. She had graceful, easy steps, but also wielded her weapon with strength and decisive intentionality. Fae found herself captivated watching her.
“Olivia,” Madeline said after watching for a while. “Do you… think you could show me some moves sometime? I’ve developed some methods of combat, mainly for self-defense, with magic, but I know I’m basically an amateur when it comes to fighting. If you have any insight or instruction, I could really use it.”
Olivia seemed taken aback, but only for a moment. “I would be open to trying,” she said. “But I’ve never taught anyone to fight before. I’m not sure how compatible my own skillset and experience will be with yours, so please don’t get your hopes up.”
“Thank you,” Madeline said.
Footsteps sounded on the sand, heralding the return of the Star sisters. All of them looked disappointed.
“A total bust,” Jupiter said, hands folded behind her head. “Whoever helped us, they’re a complete unknown.”
“Maybe they’re a ghost,” Mercury suggested with a teasing grin.
“D-don’t even joke about that!” Jupiter pleaded, only growing more agitated when Mercury laughed at her reaction.
“We’ve done our best,” Neptune said. “Whenever you’re ready, Fae, let’s move forward. I’m sorry we kept you waiting.”
Fae started to reply, but someone else — a stranger — spoke, catching them all off-guard. “Please, don’t leave,” said the new voice.
All eyes turned to a man, very tall and very slender, with long limbs and long, narrow fingers. He was dressed oddly, in a long coat with tassels running down one side that reminded Fae of those atop graduation caps.
“I apologize for the interruption,” the man said. “And I promise I won’t delay you more than necessary. But…” His long, dexterous fingers pushed up his glasses, “I believe you are looking for me.”
“You’re the guy who helped us?” Jupiter asked.
“Zade!” Toryu said, smiling. “So you’re behind this?”
“You know him?” Madeline asked.
“Indeed I do,” Toryu said. “Zade and I go very, very far back.”
“Far back?” Neptune asked. “So then he’s —”
“An Enchanted, yes,” Zade said, nodding in a way that looked rather like a bow. “Toryu has helped me a great deal, many times, particularly when I was young and reckless.”
Fae couldn’t imagine the man before her being “reckless,” but time had a powerful transformative effect on people that was likely exaggerated for the long-lived Enchanted.
“But… an Enchanted helped us,” Mercury said. “All this time we just assumed it would be a Human, someone who lived in Grimoire.”
“I may be Enchanted, but I do fit your second criteria,” Zade said. “For a very long time, I have lived in or near Grimoire, only occasionally returning to the land of my birth. And… recently, my homeland was devoured by Darkness. Grimoire is truly my home, now.”
“Devoured by Darkness?” Neptune asked.
“The Endless Night draws ever closer,” Toryu said.
Zade nodded. “Darkness spreads,” he said, “and though my Location had the protection of a single Paladin, that was not enough. One of the Sons of Night seeded Darkness there and killed the Paladin who protected us. I was not there at the time, but I have heard the story from the few that escaped.”
“But… why did you help us?” Mercury asked. “How do you even know us?”
“And why don’t we remember you?” Neptune asked.
“I…” Zade hesitated, his eyes downcast. “Let me start with the last question. While I cannot be entirely certain, it seems highly likely that Wasuryu’s power to steal memories has a residual effect. In short, I believe that you were bleeding memories even when you arrived in Grimoire.”
“Bleeding memories?” Jupiter asked. “So… we’ll never know what happened?”
“Not necessarily,” Zade said. “I… well, let me backtrack. How do I know you? In truth, I don’t know you. But I knew your parents.”
“Our parents?” Mercury asked, eyes wide. “You knew them? But how?”
“I was one of a very few Enchanted who lived in this city when it was still in its infancy,” Zade said. “At that time, the Lunar Architects were still in this town, directing its construction and development. One of the families among the Architects were the Alisters. I became dear friends with them, and they spoke often of their closest friends among the Architects: the Stars.”
“Whoa, hold up a sec,” Jupiter said, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t mean… our parents… they were Lunar Architects?”
Zade nodded. “Indeed they were.”
“But that’s —!” Mercury started, but a look at Neptune stopped her.
“Time flows differently between here and the Dominion,” Neptune said. “And the Silver Star Matron said that the difference is even more pronounced in the Sanctuary. And then there’s how our aging was changed due to being carried in the Dominion and born in the Sanctuary… while we aged to eighteen years physically there, more time passed than we realized. Centuries could have passed in Grimoire.”
“But that’s nuts!” Jupiter said.
“It isn’t,” Neptune said.
“Yeah…” Mercury said, though her voice shook. “It makes sense, considering all those factors… but… it’s still hard to believe.”
“If they were Lunar Architects,” Neptune said, “then why did they leave Grimoire? They were on the run when they reached the Silver Star Sanctuary, and their pursuers ended up killing them in the end.”
“That… is because of the Doomed Beast Project,” Zade said.
“Doomed Beast?” Jupiter asked.
“When the Architects arrived in Grimoire,” Zade said, “they soon found that beneath this city resides a well. A well of Darkness. They didn’t understand it, and they failed to seek the outside help they needed. Because of their secrecy, only Earth’s Paladin knows of its existence. But they feared what it would do. And over time… they hatched a wicked plan. With the help of a powerful key, and chance encounters with two great, mystical beings, they set into motion a plan to destroy Grimoire.”
“Destroy Grimoire?” Mercury asked. “What the heck? They’re the ones who founded the city, aren’t they?”
“And they saw the danger that the Darkness posed, without understanding it fully,” Zade said. “Their plan was to have one of these great beings — the so-called ‘Doomed Beast’ — destroy Grimoire so utterly that it would destroy the Darkness with it. The other being — they called her the ‘White Whale’ — would carry them to safety, and return them to the desolation once the Doomed Beast’s work was done. Then they would raise Grimoire anew from the ashes — a phoenix, with no more Darkness to speak of.”
“Th-that’s insane…” Jupiter said.
“You said they used a key,” Madeline said. “Was it the Key of the World?”
Zade’s eyes widened a fraction in surprise. “The Key of the World… perhaps it was. I do not know for certain. But the kind of power it afforded them… yes. It is very likely that is what they used. At some point, they lost the key — some believed that Earth’s Paladin had taken it back, for he was the one who granted it to them, believing they would use it for good — and they believed Grimoire’s necessary destruction to be far off, so they did not enact the Doomed Beast plan in their lifetimes. But they kept knowledge of it alive among certain mage families, for when the time was right.”
“There were…” Neptune said, “…some Architects who opposed this plan. Weren’t there?”
Zade nodded sadly. “Both Alisters and Stars opposed it. The Alisters… were killed. Slain by their own allies and oldest friends. They managed to secure an escape for the Stars, and I assisted with that. But the Architects pursued, and in our mad race through the Dominion… I lost your parents. I sought them for many long, long years, but never knew where they went.”
“You helped them escape?” Mercury asked.
“Yes. I am sorry I could not protect them the whole way. After so much vain searching, I returned to Grimoire, hoping for clues of their return or whereabouts. And it was in their old home, which had remained untouched since their flight, that I found a message left for me: ‘Should they return, look after our children.’ I did not know how I could possibly know their children, how many they might have, and I thought it puzzling that they did not speak of their own return. But… I waited. Only rarely did I leave Grimoire for the Dominion, and only then for very brief intervals.”
“But you knew us when we came to Grimoire,” Neptune said.
“Yes,” Zade said. “Many have traveled to Grimoire from the Dominion, but none have ever done so like you three did. Late at night — or, I should say, early in the morning, just after Hollow Hour had ended — I was walking along the Bay. And I suddenly saw a multi-colored star in the sky. I thought it strange — blue, yellow, red, so bright and vibrant — but I only thought it stranger as it seemed to come closer. Soon, I realized it was hurtling earthward, and worried that we may have another Crater District in the making. I prepared to use magic to slow or halt that star’s descent… but something stayed my hand. An instinct, perhaps. I felt something, and stepped aside. The star came to earth, right next to me, but did not land with a great explosion or fiery fury. For all its speed, it landed as softly and lightly as a feather. And as the light faded… there you three were.”
“We came here on a star?” Mercury asked.
“I… believe you were the star,” Zade said. “All three of you, together. A magic I have never seen nor heard of before or since. But there you were — asleep, and clad in the silvery clothing of the Silver Star Sanctuary. I… it may seem strange, but I knew the instant I saw you, who you three were. There was no mistaking it. After so very long, you had returned to Grimoire, but alone, without your parents. There were clear signs of a journey fraught with danger, a great struggle to reach this city, and then of course the unbelievable method of your arrival. A falling star… and so, I recalled what your parents had left for me. That simple note, that simple desire, to look after you. You were the right age for college, so I took you to the University. I —”
“You never told us anything,” Mercury said. She looked hurt, not angry. “I’ve never even seen you before. You knew our parents, knew where we came from, who they were, everything… and you just left us to fend for ourselves, knowing nothing.”
“I… struggled, with my choice,” Zade said, bowing his head. “When you awoke, you clearly had lost nearly all of your memories. You knew your names, and you spoke the words ‘Silver Star Sanctuary’ without knowing what they meant. Neptune spoke in hushed, frightened tones for a short while about a Dragon, but soon it seemed that her memory of that vanished. You were still losing memories even as I was with you. But I had heard rumblings of a wicked Dragon — Toryu and I have long been friends, so I know a little bit about Wasuryu — and that made it clear to me just how much danger you had been through… and I worried how much you could still be in. So I… I decided to give you the freedom to choose.”
“Freedom?” Neptune asked.
“Freedom without knowing all the facts sounds sketchy to me,” Jupiter said.
“And perhaps you are right,” Zade said. “As I said, I struggled with my choice. But I thought… and I could never know what your parents would desire for you, but… well. I am a parent, myself. I thought… you should have a normal, comfortable life here. And you should have all the means necessary to do as you wish. I left… clues. Vague clues, but enough that you would be able to find your way back to the Enchanted Dominion, that you’d know, even though at the time of your arrival this city kept magic a secret, that you were mages, too. And while you lost so much, as I watched you from afar, it was clear you remembered enough. You had echoes of memories — of your parents, of the Silver Star Sanctuary — and a clear drive to find the truth. That… was enough for me, I suppose. I am sure it sounds unfair to you now, and speaking with you now after all this time I can understand that, a perspective I had not considered before. I… am truly sorry. For any hurt that I have caused you.”
“Freedom to make our own choices, huh…?” Mercury asked, staring at the sand between her feet. “You sure did set us up. We haven’t had to work for anything. All the gigs at Grim Night’s were for our own enjoyment and out of passion, never because we needed the cash. We ditched a ton of classes to explore the Enchanted Dominion. We… were able to make our own choices.”
“But we could have known the truth so much sooner,” Jupiter said, hands clenched into fists.
“If we had…” Mercury started, slowly looking up until she locked eyes with Fae — Fae the soul floating invisible over her body, not Fae the body controlled by the Sojourner. “If we had, we never would have met you. And if we hadn’t, you never would have been able to find your way around the Dominion. If you’d ever figured out how to get there, you probably would’ve been alone, because you were such a stubborn loner when we first met. And maybe… maybe the bad things wouldn’t have happened to you, but… I mean…”
“I know,” Fae said, and the Sojourner repeated her words. “Despite how things ended up… I’m glad we met. I wouldn’t change that.”
Mercury smiled, just a little.
“So why come to us now?” Neptune asked. “After all this time, you now tell us the whole truth?”
“Firstly, because I saw you with Toryu,” Zade said. “That told me that you had found your way to the Sanctuary, and that you must have discovered a great deal of the truth, if not all of it. But I saw you like that the previous time you were in Grimoire. I didn’t approach you then, because… of this.” He unslung his bag from his shoulder and held it out to Neptune. “I went to the Silver Star Sanctuary myself. The Matron was… not very happy to see me. But Wasuryu’s power over that place was ended, and the Matron would rather lock herself in her rooms than contest anyone’s entry. I retrieved all I could find of your parents. Photographs, albums, music sheets… there wasn’t much, but I made sure to find it all.”
“So you managed to retrieve them,” Toryu said, nodding approvingly. “I was too busy distracting Wasuryu, and once he was cast out of the Sanctuary, we had to leave immediately for Fae’s sake.”
“These are…” Jupiter started, slowly approaching the bag, “pictures of our parents?”
“And more,” Zade said.
Neptune finally took the offered bag and opened it. She and her sisters sat on a bench, pulling everything out. There were four thick, heavy photo albums stuffed with photos, too many for the pages, so some fell out and they hastily grabbed them before the breeze stole them away. There were also six framed pictures — four of just the sisters together, and two of the three with their parents. Three folders were in the bag, too, containing numerous sheets of music.
“I also heard of your exploits,” Zade said. “I met Blaire, a bard from Starlight Spires, who had recorded many of your exploits, but wasn’t sure what to do with them. I helped her print and distribute them.”
“You met Blaire?” Mercury asked, looking up. She laughed. “She really was a bard. I still can’t get over that.”
“Wait,” Neptune said, looking through the now empty bag. “There should be journals. From our parents.”
“Oh, right,” Mercury said. “Wait, no. We took those, didn’t we? When we left the Sanctuary?”
“Did we have them when we arrived in Grimoire?” Neptune asked.
“Journals?” Zade asked. “No, I… you had the clothes you wore, and each of you had a single Talisman. But you had no other possessions, not that I knew of. You checked your pockets, too — the three of you were in a bit of a daze when you awoke, but also seemed worried that you’d lost something.”
“Lost?” Jupiter asked. She punched her leg, glaring angrily at the ground. “Why would we lose something so important?”
“So it’s somewhere out there,” Mercury said, looking up at the sky. “Lost to the Dominion.” She let out a sigh, then looked down at the photo album in her lap, opened to the first page. A smile crossed her lips, and she looked at Zade with eyes that glistened with tears. “Thank you. I’m not sure I agree with how you handled everything, but it all led to so many good things, and now this… so… thank you.”
“Yeah,” Jupiter said, though she didn’t look at Zade. “This is…” She gestured at the photo albums and framed pictures and folders of music. “Thanks.”
“Thank you,” Neptune said.
“What will you do now?” Toryu asked.
“You seek the Orphan of the Dawn, correct?” Zade asked.
“We’re almost there, in fact,” Toryu said.
“Ah.” Zade nodded. “Well, then… I shall leave you, for now. But whenever you return to Grimoire… I will not be a stranger. Not anymore.”
“You… said you’re a parent, right?” Mercury asked.
“Yes,” Zade said.
Mercury smiled. “Can I meet your family next time?”
Zade seemed taken aback, but nodded. “Yes. Certainly. I would like that.”
After a while, Zade left them. The Star sisters didn’t even finish looking through everything before placing the albums and folders back into the bag. Neptune was placed in charge of it, and they rose, nodding to Fae. “We’re ready to go,” Mercury said. “Sorry. That we kept you waiting.”
“You can take as much time as you need,” Fae said.
But Mercury shook her head. “We did. More than that. And we’ll still have plenty of time to look at everything along the way. You’re almost there. Let’s go get your body back.”