Welcome to Gaia! ::

All this time, Victoria had taken Renault's bag, ever so curious to peer inside to see what was in it. But she resisted. Especially since the original owner was now back.

She heard enough. He didn't bring the Manakete bard or his... ancient mage of a friend back.

Victoria knew Father Renault must have felt terrible about that. Still, she had one thing to do to bring him just a sliver of happiness. "Father Renault, I kept your possessions safe, whatever they may be." she told him, and although she kept her normal, cheerful tone, there was a bit of despair lingering deeply within her mind. If Ashera and St. Elmine were really here, why would they let this happen? Asami and her 'venom' surely brought the chaos that ripped Learania into the fires of war.

"I have good news, you know. This tome I have, it can reverse their conditions. We won't have to fight members of our Order anymore, Father."

"Trust me." She said. "I wouldn't have woken you up if it wasn't. I despise you! And as much as I hate to say it I'm going to need some help from you."

For a moment, the Saint didn't respond, lost in his own thoughts. But a moment later, he shook his head, blinking the confusion from his eyes, and smiled at the bishop. "Thank you, Victoria," he told her. But at her next words, his smile grew wider. "Truly? That's the best news I've heard in a couple of days. It's too bad that I couldn't have brought Nils or Rei back. . ." Renault paused, but retained his cheerful demeanor. "But it will be all right. Neither of them are in great condition, so the next time we meet it won't be so hard to subdue them, hopefully."

He reached out to take his bag from Victoria, then noticed her curious gaze. So she wanted to know, hmm? Well. . . it couldn't hurt. She wouldn't harm anything. Placing the bag in his lap, he rummaged in it for a moment with his free hand, then pulled out Aureole, handling it carefully. He stretched out his arm towards Victoria, offering it to her. "You may examine that, if you'd like; just be sure to return it."

Sue finished it all. The preparations. The arrows were loaded, her elixirs were stocked, and her killing edge was sheathed where she could easily draw it. The nomad took a look at Myulgre, hung up on her wall. Her inheritence, her birthright... handed down only to one who would one day be chief. Taking it from the wall, she felt its power flowing through her. Hanon's power. "Father Sky... Mother Earth... and great Horseman Hanon... give me strength." she whispered, carrying on Sacae's old tradition of praying to the relics of old for guidance.

Victoria all the while ran her fingers over the sacred tome. "This is... St. Elmine's legacy. Before he passed away... long ago in my world, Archsage Athos used this against one of his best friends. A light of the purest kind, not even tainted by the tiny bit of sin that rests in all of us modern priests and clerics that forge tomes today. Our Lady Saint truly did have a heart of gold... not even I could say that much. But for you to have this, Father Renault, it means you were Chosen. I have nothing quite so special... except this... which can lift Learania's curse. But I want to believe I'm Chosen too, because of being spared that day..." again her painful past came forward to sting right where it hurts.

{Forgive my long posts! D: I don't wanna log into my other account.}

Renault blinked slightly. Chosen? Him? He hardly thought of himself as such. . . but it seemed that he had redeemed himself in some small way. He smiled gently at Victoria. "Don't say that," he told her, voice kind. "If someone like me, who has spilled so much blood, can be forgiven. . . I'm sure you are far ahead of me in such a respect. You are more worthy to wield such a thing than I." He paused, and his eyes grew a bit hazy. "And as for Archsage Athos. . . I know this. His friend was my one-time master. . . and I witnessed his last actions firsthand. This tome was entrusted to me by the Archsage himself."

But a moment later, Renault was distracted by the feel of a small presence. There, at the window; was that a bat? How odd. It seemed to be trying to get inside. Some feeling inside Renault stirred, and he got up, leaving Amelia on the couch. He strode over to the window and opened it, feeling the cool night breeze rush in, and then held out a hand. "Hello, little one," he whispered. "Come in. You are welcome here."

"A... bat?" Victoria blinked, wondering what it was doing here. Maybe it was escaping the chaos.

Sue noticed it too after coming out of her room from her ritual. The little creature, fluttering inside...

Thrashing in the air, a small grey bat swooped in. There was an imbalance in its flight, for the creature was still a little dizzy from its meeting with the window, but it possessed the ability to disregard such trivial accidents. The bat fluttered around the room, grasping a feel of its surroundings as its eyes adjusted to the lighting and its wings clipped the difference in air quality, grazing Victoria's head, and soon it was swooping around Renault's head in countless circles.

This particular bat had made appearances before during the previous autumn season, particularly around October when it was acting as a messenger. And it appeared that the bat had not been relieved of its former duties. As it circled Renault's head in search of a landing spot, it firmly clutched a large and neatly folded magnolia leaf between its little talons.

Malachi finally settled for Renault's shoulder, plucking the oversized magnolia leaf from its talons and presenting the folded message to the bishop.