The path that Casey had showed them was indeed a treacherous one. The ground beneath them was steep, its rolling, uneven hills and slopes made it hard for the group to walk, and the gnarled, snake-like tree roots that littered the path didn't help either. Visibility was low, as the thick canopies obscured all light. Aurelio had summoned a few fireballs from his tome, but the darkness of the forest swallowed them up as well. It was a grueling, unforgiving path, and after what felt like an eternity of walking, the group reaches a small fork in the road.
"Which way do we go?" Callista asks.
"I dunno." Aurelio reigns in his fireballs in an attempt to get a better view of the map. "There's no mention of a fork anywhere on this road."
"We're not lost, are we?"
"Far from it, I've followed this map to a tee."
"It's black as pitch out here, how can you tell which road we're following?" Maude sighs.
"Trust me Maude, I know what I'm doing." Aurelio says. "My sense of direction is very keen."
"You have no idea where we are, do you?"
Aurelio looks around and murmurs to himself. "We'll take the left bend."
"We can't just pick a path blindly." Maude exclaims. "If we trust your 'sense of direction,' we'll be out here forever!"
"It's not blind, there's some light down the left bend." Aurelio says. "Lights normally indicate a building. It may not be Arqferi, but we'll find someone who could show us some directions. There has to be someone to light a torch after all."
"And if that person is a hostile?"
"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
And so the group continued down the left path.
After another long while of walking, it was beginning to grow harder to persevere. Everyone in the group was growing fatigued and it became harder and harder to trudge on.
"There's," Aurelio says, his breath bated. "Our source of light."
Though a bit hard to see at first, there was a large outline cast in the shadows of the trees. It was a large wooden building, not too grand in appearance and yet it carried an air of power sophistication. Aurelio heads towards the door but stops. He breathes in and smiles a bit. Ever since he had received Meru's light, he felt attuned to the earth.
"There's a spike in mana here." He says. "A lot of spells have been cast on these grounds over the years..."
Aurelio walks forward and musters the last bit of his energy to knock on the door. There was no response. Aurelio waits a moment and then knocks again and the door opens. He's greeted by a tall, thin man with bright emerald green eyes. His dark brown hair was a curly, unruly mess and his scraggly beard was no better. The man looks at Aurelio and smiles.
"Good afternoon." He says. "How can I help you all?"
"We're on our way to the royal capital." Aurelio says. "But we've been walking for so long. Pardon my asking, but would it be alright if we stay here for a moment, to catch our breaths?"
"Certainly." The man says. "My home is open to all. Come in, I've got a few seats in the lounge."
The man beckons the group inside and they follow him in. He leads them down a small hall and into a dimly lit lounge. The lounge contained a few well-upholstered chairs and loveseats which the group eagerly placed themselves upon. The room's walls were plastered with portraits of various historical figures, some Aurelio recognized and some he did not. There were hundreds of bookshelves lining the lounge, and each shelf was stacked with volumes of glistening tomes.
"That armor." The man says, looking over at Ian. "You all are from Arqferi, correct? What are you doing all the way out here?"
"Yes, my masters and I hail from the royal capital. I am Ian, commander of the royal army and liege to Prince Aurelio and Princess Callista." Ian says calmly. Even without any wind in his lungs or strength in his body, Ian did his best to keep up his cool and polite demeanor. "Thank you for allowing us to use your home as a respite."
"It's no problem at all." The man smiles. "But my, I wasn't expecting to have royalty here anytime soon. I take it you two are the prince and princess?"
Aurelio and Callista nod.
"My, it's quite uncanny how much you two resemble your father."
"You know our father?" Aurelio asks.
"Your mother and father both." The man says. "For a brief time we worked together, way back when. Excellent warriors they were. And sharp too, your father is quite a smart man, and judging from that tome you carry I'd say he passed some of his wit onto you."
"Thank you sir, but, um, just who are you exactly?"
"Oh! I never introduced myself! How careless of me!" The man exclaims. "My name is Wynne. I am a sage who walks under the light of Meru."
"You're Wynne?" Aurelio beams. "I've read tons of your books! You're quite talented, I've learned several things about magic from your volumes."
"How flattering." Wynne smiles. "And what an honor it is to be in the presence of such esteemed Arqferians. Heh, hopefully you all can forgive me for being a sub-par host. Where are my manners? Can I get you all anything? There's not much here, but I'm happy to share what I have."
Wynne steps into a small room and after a few moments returns with a small plate of refreshments, which the group eagerly tears through.
"Forgive me Wynne, but I never did answer your question from earlier." Ian says. "We were on an escort mission, but after nearly running out of resources nearly half way through, we head to make our way back in order to restore our stock. The paths through this batch of forests were our quickest way back, but they're rather unforgiving. We've nearly ran ourselves ragged."
"Indeed, this plain can be rather difficult to traverse through, especially on foot." Wynne nods. "The seclusion is nice though. The quiet helps with my studies, and being this close with nature helps to channel mana."
"To change the subject real quick, you said you fought alongside my mother and father, correct?" Aurelio asks.
"That's right."
"And so you battled Mortabe, yeah? What's he like?"
"He's a wretched beast, a gnarled shell of spite and envy." Wynne says. "But why do you ask?"
"I was wondering about the influence he can inflict on people, his 'curse.'"
"It's a real thing, let me assure you. A nasty thing, it takes hold of people with clouded minds and warps their heart. Mortabe's power is the opposite of Meru's, it sickens and corrupts." Wynne sighs. "But why are you asking me this? Your father sealed away Mortabe years ago. His influence shouldn't be strong enough to affect others."
"His seals been broken I'm afraid." Aurelio says sadly. "A woman by the name of Angelica broke the seal by unsheathing this really scary looking sword. She's spread Mortabe's curse to the north and inflicted the people of Vibestia with it. That's why Maude and Galatea here. We're trying to help them restore their homes. So what I'm asking is, is there anyway to cure the curse?"
"Angelica..?" Wynne says. "This is bad..."
He stands and paces for a moment before heading over to one of the bookshelves and grabbing a thick book. Wynne returns to his seat and sighs.
"I guess I should tell you the whole story. I'll try to keep it quick.
"A long, long time ago, before this land even existed, there was a great and powerful dragon by the name of Sanastrum. But Sanastrum, great as he was, was an old deity. He began searching for a place to die, a place where his children Meru and Mortabe could carry on his legacy. And so after seven days of searching, Sanastrum found a warm spot in the sea and lay down. When his last breath escaped from his lungs, his body transformed into this beautiful continent we live on now. After the place was eventually named Sanasa in his honor by the four Ancient Kings.
"With their father's death, Meru and Mortabe each gained half of his wealth of power. Meru gained the power to create life and Mortabe gained the power to take it away. Then, the two siblings were given gifts: Meru received the holy lance Anima from a deity unknown yet Mortabe received the cursed sword Nymphe from Death himself. Using their newfound powers and blades, they coexisted together, working in peace to make this land rich and fertile. They lived in balance, Mortabe granted peace to the sick and old and Meru bequeathed life into the young and new.
"Time passed and the first humans born came to Sanasa. They lived in peace with land and respected those who lived there before them. They were particularly fond of Meru. Our ancestors extolled her incessantly, and Mortabe began to grow jealous of his sister's constant praise.
"In an attempt to spite his sister, Mortabe created the Oxalians, a race of Manaketes who were forged in the image of Mortabe's wounded pride. But as you know, dragons are proud, and so they refused to worship Mortabe as he had intended for them to. After all, what made him so different from them? They saw him as just another dragon. This angered Mortabe greatly, and his anger and envy began to grow and consume his heart, corrupting the holy blood given to him by his father Sanastrum into a toxic, acrid ooze. Mortabe no longer wished to watch over the people like he was tasked with doing. He wanted to see them gone.
"It's unknown what happened for sure, but many scholars believe that Mortabe used to his newfound influence to cloud the mind of one of the humans Meru loved so dearly. With Mortabe whispering corrupt nothings into his ear, the man became a twisted envoy of envy and bloodlust. Under the command of the curse, the man climbed up the Altar of the Gods, took the Nymphe, and then went down and killed another man. This is what was believed to spark the First War.
"As the war spread, so did the curse, and so to thin the growing animosity amongst the people, Meru rallied the four strongest and purest men from each corner of Sanasa--the Ancient Kings. With their weapons at the ready, the Kings went and tried to talk since into the inflicted people, but to no avail. The Kings didn't want to use violence against their own people, but they had no choice. They smote all of the accursed on the continent, and yet Mortabe persisted. He went after the minds of the Kings, and so to protect them, Meru bequeathed to them some of her light. Their pure, valiant hearts readily accepted the light and transformed their weapons into the first four divine weapons in Sanasa's history.
"All that was left was Mortabe. Using her light, Meru had transformed the bow of Alberte the Radiant King into Arcmerum, the divine seal. With the shining bow in hand, Alberte shot down Mortabe, sealing the god within his sword. The curse was gone, but so was Mortabe. Saddened, Meru ordered Alberte to seal her away as well so that she could spend the rest of eternity with her brother. Alberte served Meru with fierce loyalty, like a knight to his queen; and so while it pained him to do so, Alberte shot Meru as well, which sealed her within the Anima. Before returning back down to their war-torn kingdoms, Alberte placed these weapons atop the Altar of the Gods where they were intended to rest forever.
"With Meru gone, the Kings' weapons returned to their original states, the Arcmerum shifted back into the Iustitia and Pax respectively and so on. It's unknown as to why both Meru and Mortabe's influences still continue to affect people even after so many years, but many theorize--myself included--that the lights Meru and Mortabe both bequeathed upon our ancestors still persist and refuse to burn out, instead of fading away they get passed down from generation to generation."
Wynne sighs and shuts the book. He looks at Aurelio with a grim expression.
"So, in a nutshell, death is the only release from Mortabe's influence..." Wynne says.
"Is it really the only way?" Aurelio says glumly. "I never want to have to raise a weapon in order to kill..."
"I'm afraid it is for--for some..." A look of revelation appears on Wynne's face. "Back when your parents and I fought the Dark Scouts, the remaining scouts were freed from Mortabe's influence whenever we killed their leader. Their leader received his share of the curse from a man named Cedric--Angelica's father. This is just a theory, but it's possible that the curse weakens as it's spread."
"What does that mean?"
"Sadly, Angelica will have to be killed on the field of battle, and whoever she cursed likely will too; but if you lot kill whoever he or she has cursed, then the curse will be lifted from the people of Vibestia."
"So you're saying if we kill Sieghild, the Vibestians under her influence will be freed?" Maude says. "That'll make things easier for us."
"Hypothetically, yes."
"But what happens after we kill her and Angelica? What of Mortabe himself?" Aurelio asks.
"That depends." Wynne sighs. "It would seem that more influence that's spread, the easier it is to break a seal. If you can stop Angelica from wreaking all this havoc, then Mortabe won't be free from his confines and we can all rest easy again."
"Put like that it sounds easy." Ian sighs. "But Angelica was incredibly strong. We'll have to bulk up significantly if we expect to end this."
"The Nymphe grants its wielder unholy strength." Wynne sighs. "But you all possess strength, I can see it within you. Your teamwork will lead to victory."
"Mm, we possess the power of light too." Callista says. "And light always Trump's over darkness right?"
"Right." Aurelio nods. Truth be told however, he was still feeling unsure of himself. Could they really win? Was what they had enough?
The group sits in the lounge for a few moments, quieted by the severity of the information thrust upon them. Wynne gets up and places the book back on the shelf. He looks over at the group and Aurelio smiles weakly. It was at least reassuring to have someone who believed in them.
"It's getting late." Ian says. "Perhaps we should start moving My Lord. I'd hate for us to overstay our welcome."
"It's really no worry, you all can stay as long as you need." Wynne says. "I wouldn't recommend trekking back out there until you're all fully rested."
"Wynne, you're a sage, do you think you could warp us to the capital?" Aurelio asks.
"Lord Aurelio, you shouldn't ask such questions of our host." Ian says, his voice scolding. "Such a spell must be taxing."
"On the contrary." Wynne chuckles awkwardly. "It wouldn't be any trouble at all. I can warp you all whenever you're ready. Though I must warn you, you should probably prepare mentally. Being warped feels a bit strange, especially to first-timers."
Wynne heads over to a small chest in the corner of the room. He opens it and digs around for a moment before pulling out a long, slender rod that glimmered with a pale green light.
"This is a Warp staff I found along one of my trips." Wynne says. "And it's quite a reliable one too, it's never missed its mark. Now then, you all stand still, I'll have you outside the castle before you know it."
Wynne takes the staff and casts it, enveloping the group in a pale beam of light. In the blink of an eye, the light dissipates and the group was nowhere to be seen. Wynne takes the rod and sets it back in the chest.
In a burst of green light, the group lay scattered about the castle's main courtyard courtyard. It took a few moments for them to reclaim their bearings, but the group soon gets back on their feet. Aurelio looks around. It was the same courtyard where Ian, Callista, and he had played in when they were children so long ago. It was the same courtyard, and yet it felt so alien to him. Aurelio hadn't had a chance to truly relax in so long, and the realization left him a bit dazed. He sighs. He'd have a chance to relax when Mortabe's seal was mended. He'd have a chance to relax once everything was said and done. The sun was setting and the faint sea breeze caused the flowers to dance gently under the orange-purple sky.
"I'm home." Aurelio thinks to himself, smiling weakly. "I'm home, but not for long..."