oneandmikleonly | [SPELLBIND

...I trust you.

[it seems inadequate. he'd barely started coming to terms with Sorey being gone before they found themselves here, together. in the heat of the moment he had trusted Sorey to do what he had to do, but what's it going to be like having to do that all over a second time, when their borrowed time from Qri runs out?

they're selfish thoughts, but it's not like he's perfect.]

That's high praise coming from you. I'll make sure not to disappoint you. Who knows, maybe everything will already be settled when we get back and we'll have nothing to do.

[his smile softens, touched even though it's something he already knows. it's still nice to hear it. there are plenty of unknowns to deal with whenever they manage to make their way back home, but trust doesn't have to be one of them.]

...Say, did Lailah mention anything to you? After everything.

[sore arms or not, he reaches over to squeeze Sorey's shoulder, supportive and grateful.]

...what do you mean? That's kind of broad, isn't it?

It was meant to be broad. I'm not really sure how to explain it. When Lailah and I tried to purify Heldalf at first we saw some of his memories, and I think we saw you.

...what?

[what]

The previous Shepherd had a sister, and she had a child that looked like you. She also had your circlet. But...they were both human, and they died when their village was caught in the middle of a battle. It seemed like too much of a coincidence for them to be completely unrelated to you.

[this is why Lailah should explain these things, Sorey doesn't know how seraphim are made]

[what????????

no seriously he doesn't have a response for a minute]

[falling silent for a minute, letting Mikleo have his thoughts to himself while he tries to put the story together in a coherent manner. it all happened so fast, with one thing after another piling up near the end, that it takes him some time to sort things into a chronological order.]

When we saw Heldalf's memories trying to purify him, we found out that he was friends with the previous Shepherd, Michael. Although at that time he'd already retired and was making a life for himself in the village of Camlann, along with his sister and the rest of the people there. Camlann was also where Maotelous was being kept in secret, and Michael had asked Heldalf, as a general of Rolance, to help keep the village safe. But Heldalf didn't keep his promise, and instead used Camlann as bait in order to attack Hyland. The village was used as a battleground and the people were caught up in it; their homes were destroyed, lives taken.

Michael and his sister Muse were caught up in the battle as well. Muse's child was inside of a burning building and Michael tried to rescue it...but it was already too late. He was overcome with rage and grief and used the child and himself as sacrifices to curse Heldalf to live alone forever.

[giving a little shrug as if trying to shake more memories out]

I'm not sure how it all connects, but like I said, it seemed like too much of a coincidence for it to be meaningless.

[this is very sad, but also incredibly confusing. Mikleo puts a curled hand on his chest, an unconscious gesture of distress, then catches himself and lowers it again. he doesn't even have the circlet right now, it was taken from him, or lost between worlds...but...]

. . . Gramps told me the circlet was from my mother. I . . .

[a little distantly]

I did wonder why no seraphim we met ever mentioned having parents.

[his eyes watch Mikleo's hand make the gesture and abort it, upset forming at the edges of his mouth. there was no option of not mentioning it once he'd thought of it, but the revelation didn't have to come as such a shock, and he feels bad about that.]

It wasn't something that ever came up when we were the only two kids in the village, and neither of us had parents growing up. Still...

[shaking his head]

How would a human baby turn into a seraphim one?

How would a dead human baby turn into a seraphim one?

[that comes out harsher than he meant it to, and he bites his lip, his face mirroring the hurt expression on Sorey's]

[he opens his mouth to say that maybe the baby wasn't dead, but, the baby was very dead and he knows it, so he closes his mouth again]

...Seraphim are born from the earthpulses, usually. I don't think that was a lie we were told. But we've never seen that happen ourselves to verify the exact process, and no one's ever said it's the only way for seraphim to be born.

It could also be an anomaly that no one was aware of as possible. Maotelous was being hidden near that village, so it must have been on top of a strong earthpulse. The events that took place there could have caused something to happen that no one expected.

You think the strength of one of the Five Lords could have caused it...?

[he bows his head a bit, enough for his hair to shield his eyes]

...there's so much we don't know. I didn't realize I'd need to ask Maotelus about that sort of thing, so...I didn't...I suppose I could go back and ask. Sometime.

[when 'sometime' will be, no one knows]

We might not be able to ask now, but we might still be able to get some answers. Or form a hypothesis. If we're traveling to other worlds, it's possible that one of them could have had something similar happen that could provide a plausible explanation.

[he's grasping at straws, unable to sit quietly and play the waiting game if there's some way for them to look into what happened]

Perhaps.

[he's too far away for Mikleo to touch, but there's a tiny nudge in Sorey's head anyway, mind-to-mind through their own telepathy rather than Qri's, a shaky reassurance]

. . . patience. It'll be all right.

[SPELLBIND - IC CONTACT]

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