“The Ambrosial Lily is an unnatural flower that grows to release an ominous purple glow growing on the borders of mana rich environments. For alchemical purposes, it contains a perfect balanced neutral state of mana and natural antioxidants, making it a delicacy for many more mana hungry wildlife that aren’t competing for resources in a mana rich environment themselves. It also makes it perfect as a baseline for many intensive experiments as a stabliser thanks to its innate properties or even as a reagent to kickstart a concoction of more volatile reactants. Unfortunately, it’s also evolved to be highly poisonous in which mishandling it causes it to release a cloud of toxic spores and fumes that can incapacitate even an orc. In a field of activated ones, even kill it.”

  - Alchemist Vittoria Sacher, An Alchemist’s Guide, “Chapter: Foundational Ingredients - Ambrosial Lily”

  Anna stared into her soul. Sophie could only gulp a little as the princess drew closer, their noses practically touching as she examined her. She could see faint flickers of recognition, confusion and sorrow dancing across Anna’s eye. But the predominant emotion she could feel was disdain.

  At least she wasn’t alone facing the princess. Elaria remained beside her, unmoving, though thoroughly amused judging by the small smirk that formed halfway across her face. Opposing them, the dutiful maid Kimmie kept her head bowed. Sir Lyran’s gaze was presumably like Anna’s fixed upon her, though Sophie couldn’t tell with how well his helmet’s visor completely obscured his face.

  Anna let out a disgruntled huff and reached over to grab Sophie’s face, alarming both her and Elaria who immediately readied themselves.

  “Afraid? So easily? Hmmm?” Anna tried to goad them.

  “Tch.” Elaria finally let a little of her own emotions show.

  “So fragile. Yet… how… strange.” Anna ignored her sister and smiled.

  Sophie winced as she watched Anna lick her lips. A deep seated uneasiness skittering throughout her whole body. Whatever controlled Anna, she could only label it with the one sensation that it elicited within her. Wrong. It was simply wrong and didn’t belong.

  “Hmm, how fascinating.” Anna chuckled.

  Sophie closed her eyes and stilled her breath. Anna sniffed around her cheek like an animal trying to identify its prey. Then she just abruptly stopped. As if she was unaware of herself, her hands then pulled at Sophie’s cheek.

  “Ngh!” Sophie grunted from the sharp pain that tugged at her.

  ‘Hey!” Elaria snarled only to be met with Sir Lyran approaching closer to stop her.

  “Sophie?” A more familiar tone emerged from Anna’s mouth.

  Sophie sighed in relief.

  “Yeah. That’s me.” She managed to joke.

  “Hah. Hahah. Yeah. Huh, would you look at that.” Anna chuckled.

  The ranger paused, realizing how uncomfortably close they were and quickly pulled away.

  “Sorry.” She abashedly mumbled.

  “It’s fine.” Sophie snorted, “That was just… a little close.” She offer the girl a conciliatory smile.

  Seeing this display, both Elaria and Lyran seemed to back down. The two settling back into their posts though keeping a wary eye on proceedings. This lull however, meant that for the first time, Anna’s attention was turned to Elaria, the ranger now studying the bard for herself.

  “So a sister, huh?” Anna queried, “She looks a little older than you, how the hells does that happen?”

  “I’m right here.” Elaria tutted, “You could pose the question to me instead.”

  “Mmhmm, but I saw how calm you were back then. I’m certain you’ll have a perfectly insane yet reasonable answer.” Anna replied, “Sophie would just sound insane, and that’s just a little funnier.”

  Sophie frowned, taking a moment to fully digest Anna’s words.

  “Hey! What the hells?” She snapped.

  Anna let out a soft chuckle, having earned a little bit of respect from the bard.

  “Goddess. We really do meet in the weirdest ways, huh?” Anna smiled wistfully.

  Sophie let her indignation slide and grunted, “Yeah. Yeah.”

  The three settled into an amicable silence. Disentangling themselves from the more heightened emotions they faced mere moments ago. There was a certain calm that Sophie found almost nostalgic. It reminded her of when she had cried into Anna’s arms after their battles in the Mistveil. A release of emotions and catharsis that forged a strange bond between them. In this moment, looking up to find Anna’s weary gaze meeting hers, she could practically feel that memory wash over them both. Without saying a word, they both smiled at each other.

  “Anna…”

  “I suppose you both must have questions for me. I”ll try my best to answer some of them before she returns screaming.” Anna grinned grimly.

  “That’s… are you okay?” Sophie asked.

  Anna arched an eyebrow, somewhat amused at the concern she was being shown. In spite of the situation, she reached over to ruffle Sophie’s hair. This time however, Sophie did not grimace from the contact and embraced it. A brief reprieve from the stresses of Gratia.

  “No.” Anna chuckled, “I don’t think I am.”

  “O-oh!” Sophie mumbled.

  “But it’s fine. I’ll manage. Been doing so for this long already. Besides,” She snickered, “first time I’ve ever heard Pyra being so wound up about something. It takes a lot to drive her mad, hah.”

  “Pyra?” Sophie squeaked.

  “Ah, right.” Anna stopped ruffling her hair and clasped her hands together, turning to address Elaria as well, “Her royal majesty Princess Pyra. As you can probably guess, that is my… other passenger, that I currently share with.”

  “Pyra?” Sophie frowned.

  Searching her memories, she found nothing. She turned to seek Elaria’s assistance, but the bard had turned up empty as well.

  “I have no recollection that we’ve ever met someone called Pyra.” Elaria answered for them, “Nor do I believe there would be anyone we have offended that would adopt such a moniker.”

  Anna let out a bark of laughter before sighing heavily, “Makes sense. She’s not exactly a social person if you couldn’t tell already.”

  “A little, yes.” Elaria agreed.

  Sophie just nodded.

  “Well, that’s the thing. I think this might answer a lot of questions that you might have while also giving you a whole lot more.” Anna smugly declared.

  Then she stopped, just staring at the two fo them. Feeling like they were on the verge of a revelation, Sophie grew impatient with the sudden silence. She gave Anna a gentle prod to encourage her to continue. Anna just smirked.

  “See, she is called Pyra, yes. But the reason why she singled you two out is simple. Her real name, as she’s been so pleasant screeching into my ears the past few days, is Pyra Kastiane.” Anna paused, letting the two take in the information. Only when they started frowning did she continue, “As far as I know, she and… her soldiers.” She gestured at Sir Lyran, “are far, far, older than we can imagine.”

  That’s… Sophie’s eyes widened, and for the first time in a long while, even Elaria held a look of utter shock. The two didn’t speak, just trading bewildered glances at the new information. Another Kastiane? They seemed to be asking each other. It was a startling revelation indeed. For in her eyes, she was a Kastiane, that much she knew. Elaria and Sophia were both existences born from interference by matters beyond the mortal realm, but connected nonetheless. But if what Anna said was fact, then that meant that there was more significance to her name than she had originally thought.

  “So you mean…”

  “Since you are, without a doubt, one of the strangest little creature’s I’ve ever had the pleasure of interacting with…” Anna teased.

  “Hey!” Sophie whined, they were having a serious discussion, now was not the time for jokes.

  “Haha, sorry. Couldn’t help myself. It’s not like I get many chances to tease people anymore.” Anna looked away sadly, a hint of bitterness in her voice, “Still, back on topic. Yes, Sophie. There is the very real chance that Pyra, or well, this fragment of her is in fact related to you. Probably why she was freaking out about Elaria also being a Kastiane.”

  “But Ela is related to me.” Sophie protested.

  “Maybe. But last I recall you were a maid who suddenly decided to beat back some strange monster in Melton. Only child, orphan, no family. So to just suddenly have a sister…”

  Sophie bit her lip and grumbled, “Okay, maybe a different origin but still.”

  “Aye, whatever it is I’m sure its just as meaningful. What I’m trying to get a here though, is that despite being an absolute loon, there’s a chance Pyra remembers who her family is. And-”

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  “Madam.” Sir Lyran’s guttural growl finally interrupted.

  Everyone turned their gazes towards him, even Anna seemed a little surprised at the sudden interruption. Judging from her expression, Sophie could assume that most of her guards or soldiers rarely ever spoke much to her, let alone have the gall to interrupt.

  “My apologies. May I speak?” Lyran growled.

  “I… huh… uhh… sure?” Anna hesitantly affirmed.

  “First there were three sisters, and two brothers. Then a fourth came. Whom a war followed. The two brothers fought, died for their family. One of the three was betrayed and butchered. The last two marred by scars of the past for the rest of their existence. And the fourth, thought gone and lost. Dead. But here you stand. An imposter or real? We still do not yet know.”

  “But the memory I received, words from Morea herself.” Sophie argued.

  “A bargain with a dark witch. A Lady of Shadows, The Lady of Lies. A truth doth she revealed? Or a most comforting veil?”

  “What reason would a Goddess have to lie?”

  “A plan to obfuscate, secrets to hide. Pawns to be used. Do you believe a deity cares for the peasant?” He snorted, "In the game of the heavens that abandoned its creations, why then, would they reveal something, if not for their own machinations."

  “They were sieging a dwarven hold. The Lady herself came with an emissary to talk. Why bother if she would just lie?”

  “A pittance of effort for a Goddess.”

  Sophie was ready to continue when Elaria gently tapped her hand. She paused and bit down on her lip, giving Elaria the chance to speak.

  “Perhaps that might be so. But we have reason to believe her words to be real.” Elaria stated.

  Sophie traded a knowing look with her. After all, Sophia’s existence was all they needed as evidence. Of course, that wasn’t something either of them seemed willing to expose and for that, Sophia felt a modicum of relief. Sophia should not have to suffer because of her.

  “It might even reason that you are correct, that there is also adamant reason for you to doubt our claims. But putting that aside, it would seem you know more about this matter than we do. Just what happened to her?” Elaria gestured towards Sophie, “I confess, we know embarrassingly little about her past and-”

  “A chance.” Lyran ominously stated, “A chance for our people.”

  “Enough.” A threatening growl emerged from Anna’s throat.

  Her tone seemed too hostile yet retained the hint of weariness. A perfect combination of the two.

  Lyran held a gauntlet over his chest and bowed, “Apologies. My lady.”

  Anna sighed, “It matters little at this point. Many things still remain undecided, nothing that we can change in this moment. A chance or otherwise.”

  “As you say. My lady.” Lyran affirmed.

  “Still, Sophie, Elaria. Pyra is incensed that you took her family’s name. That was why she wanted to meet you, assess you. Heh.” Anna snickered, “Now she just seems confused, and angry, that part never changes.”

  “Heh.” Sophie offered her own half hearted chuckle.

  “So if she is related to Sophie, what exactly does the mean?” Elaria asked.

  A gleam overtook Anna’s gaze and she looked almost amused, “Tribune Lyran laid it out in full already, did he not? Four sisters, two brothers. Two sisters remain, now, potentially the fourth that had been missing has returned.”

  “That would be me?” Sophie mumbled.

  “Correct.”

  “Huh…”

  “A real family, huh. Would you look at that.” Elaria nudged her jokingly.

  Sophie almost smiled but also shook her head, reaching over to touch her sister’s hand.

  “A fun discovery, but one that changes nothing between us. Heh.”

  “Heh."

  “Which does spark a good question, Sophie.” Anna interjected, “How did you just get a sister? Adopted?”

  “That’s…” Sophie paused and cast a hesitant glance at Elaria.

  From the bard she sought some form of judgement for the information she wished to share. Elaria however, offered no real guidance. Just a supportive smile that told her nothing of her own opinions, only that she would approve whatever it was that Sophie choose.

  She pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. She supposed that magical phenomena were so commonplace that Anna didn’t make the connection yet, that or the ranger had simply too much going on to remember. For she would’ve assumed that given Anna’s exposure to the master of the void. That both fortunately and unfortunately meant that she had a nugget of valuable information. However, the less people that knew about the void the better. It left her in an awkward spot and she remained uncertain about how to proceed.

  She had no time to consider the idea however, for Anna slammed her hand down upon one of the tables while the other clutched at her head.

  “Your… sister… wants to share a few thoughts.” She rasped, "Alright, alright. Calm down." She mumbled to herself.

  Kimmie hurriedly went over to the ranger’s side and offered her body to support Anna’s swaying. The ranger mumbled something under her breath and her aide nodded, hoisting her back into her seat. When sitting down, Sophie saw the malevolent gleam return alongside a sinister smile.

  “Well, well. Your friend is correct. There are more than a few things I’ve noticed.” Pyra clicked her tongue, “Come closer. Thou hath nothing to fear.” She demanded.

  Sophie didn’t move, only pursing her lips questioningly.

  “Insolent little cur.” Pyra scoffed but did nothing more.

  Instead, the princess sighed and tried once more to beckon her.

  Feeling a gentle nudge from Elaria, Sophie gave in and complied.

  Pyra cared little only leaning forward to examine Sophie once more. Then she furrowed her brow and looked past her at Elaria. Upon staring at the bard, the princess’s brows were knit even tighter together.

  “You. You both.” She snarled.

  “What?” Sophie growled back, unable to stand the tension.

  “I sense in the tow of you a lack of… hmm… an emptiness, a lack of life.” Pyra hummed thoughtfully, the princess’s expression becoming more curious.

  “A lack of life? Like your constructs?”

  “Like my…? That’s what you think of them? The gall on your feeble lips. Hah. No, no. They’re real as can be, you little fool. And the ones who did… return, shall we say.” She subtly glanced towards Kimmie, “They are far, far, more elegant than the pathetic magicks of this era. They live, they think, they simply also choose to obey. But they are free. The welps of this age? Unthinking creatures unworthy of even the lowest modicum of respect. Insects.”

  Sophie was taken aback by the sudden rant, the princess seemed surprisingly animated. Her reaction left an opening however, and the princess chittered in amusement.

  “What? Just because the cripple describes me as a person of ages past does not make me some uncivilized barbarian.” She spat the last words out disdainfully, “I see the people and the lands of these people, and I pity them all. So conceited, so backwards in comparison. Their magic especially. A paltry demonstration of the arcane. Did you not view the splendor of my creation? The wall that surrounds this land? Mightier than their perverted sorceries and impotent spells. Even now, it remains unbroken.” She boasted.

  “Fair enough.” Elaria spoke up, noticing Sophie’s hesitance in responding.

  “Exactly.” Pyra smirked appreciativey, then frowned, “But what was I talking about anyways?”

  “Us two?” Sophie tried to remind her.

  “Ah, right. Yes. You two are different somehow. My constructs have heart, spirit. Though they are returned. If you think them puppets, then thou art even more so. Alive but not really. Geshdictus zayens.” She uttered in a strange language.

  “Pusum nshmae.” Sir Lyran suggested.

  “Pusum, indeed.” Pyra mumbled thoughtfully.

  “Pardon?” Sophie absently asked for clarification.

  “Hollow. Fool.” Pyra tutted disparagingly, “Still, take solace in the fact that it is what keeps you alive. For I will now give you a chance to explain yourselves, lest I… indulge myself in the suffering I planned for thee. And if not for oneself, then for your compatriots, whom I believe are far more… feeble in flesh”

  “Explain…?”

  “How you stand before me. How you taketh my family name as your own. And if thou art truly my kin, then how is it, that so many perished but you have not? Was all the suffering for naught?”

  Pyra’s eyes narrowed, her arms now crossed. She would be a demanding judge, one already predispositioned against them. Sophie hoped that should anything displease her, Anna could help hold her back.

  “That’s…”

  “A complicated story.” Elaria backed her up.

  Sophie smiled appreciatively at her sister.

  “Then disentangle it for me.” Anna snarled, “I’ve already dismissed the diplomats and your friends. We have all the time in the world.” She declared, “Do your best to not waste it.”

  Sophie sighed and gently tapped the table to signal Elaria. Her sister was curious at first but then grunted her assent. Another show of support. Whatever the consequences of the information they would tell this ‘princess’ they would deal with it later.

  So she spoke, taking care to obfuscate what details she could. She told Pyra about her experience with Anna in the barrows of Eichafen, their struggles in Melisgrad and the being she unleashed upon the city. She then talked about place beyond the stars, the land where the stars and planets collide, where distance and size matter little beyond the vastness of the infinite void.

  She even described the palace in the void. The finery and furnishings, the empty cold halls. She didn’t even get to talk about Elaria when she noticed a shift in the princess’s mood. Where she had once questioned her or acted callously, Pyra now simply sat and listened. The disdain and disgust she held replaced by a more complicated and unreadable expression. For a brief moment, when Sophie described the chamber she awoke in, a flash of sorrow even crossed Pyra’s eye.

  “And I found Elaria there. Or rather she found me. But we survived, clearly made… different, somehow. Likely why you felt why our presence is so strange. It is not a place I think ordinary people could survive, I think.” Sophie finished.

  “Oh? Aside from the obvious?” Pyra snarked, though noticeably less sharp than before.

  “Mhmm. Our friend, err, Anna’s friend, Mila. One of the inquisitors. I had to drag her there with me to release her from a botched spell. She could barely live long enough for the effects to wear off and be pulled back into reality. It seemed… unpleasant.”

  “Hmm.” Pyra mused, oddly quiet, "And your home in this... void. It is as you described?"

  "Yes."

  Sophie exchanged a look with Elaria. But neither spoke up, letting the princess stew in whatever thoughts were going through her mind.

  There was an uncertain quiet as they watched her stew with her own thoughts. The situation made all the more uneasy by how pensive the aggressive princess had become. Only when Pyra’s eyes met with theirs once more did her judgement come.

  “Huh. Hmm.” Pyra mumbled, “Go. Go back to your comrades. I shall call for you tomorrow.” Pyra absently ordered.

  “What?” Sophie let out a baffled squawk. She hadn’t even responded to everything they had

  “It is not often one earns my mercy. Go.”

  “But-”

  “You have given me much to think about… girl. Ah, ah!” Pyra wagged a threatening finger, “Do not test my patience or generosity. I am not like your friend. My mercy is earned, not freely given.”

  “That’s-”

  “Sophie. It’s alright.” Elaria grabbed her shoulder.

  Sophie bristled.

  Pyra looked away, her gaze now hidden from view.

  “Hahahah, go! Go!” Pyra laughed then roared.

  Alarmed, Elaria tugged on Sophie’s shoulder and this time, allowed her sister to drag her away.

  She quickly offered a polite bow and her sister dipped her head as well. Though both of them doubted that Pyra had noticed either gesture. Whatever occupied the princess’s thoughts, it had consumed her entirely. She didn’t even acknowledge them when they pushed open the door and closed it behind them.

  Sophie found herself left with a plethora of unanswered questions that only grew with each passing moment. She cast one last look at the doors behind her and sighed. Just like that, the two of them had been dismissed. Left to ponder on their own the events of the day.

  She had come to Gratia to help Mila and to see a friend. Now she had potentially found a sister, a real sister somehow possessing the body of her friend. She couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation beyond losing herself to the absurdity of it all. Overwhelmed and lost, she could only resign herself to doing the one thing she could do right under any circumstance. Sit around and think.