Of Valor and Verdicts

"Of Valor and Verdicts" is the twenty-second episode of Regolus: Dark Age. It is the seventh episode of Book 2: Courting the Divine. 
== Official Description ==
"Our adventurers, the “Golden Sentinels” (if Gold has any say in the matter) have devoted themselves to a new purpose, at least for a time. These newly minted initiates have been charged with a grave and perilous task: to seek out the scattered Lighthouses of the realm and reclaim the fabled Heraldic Beacons, lest they fall into the clutches of darker forces. Yet, before their fateful journey could properly unfold, the party fractured from within.
As the seeds of romance began to blossom between Theagus and Iridia, and as the bonds of camaraderie grew ever stronger among the company, a shadow loomed. In a moment meant for sparring but lost to wrath, Aelys drove Lenore to the very precipice of death. And as Lenore slipped into the veiled realm beyond, V offered a choice both merciful and dreadful—a hand stretched out to bring her back from the abyss. 
In the wake of such grievous sorrow, we ask you to join us within this Dark Age and take part in our tale together.”Of Valor and Verdicts (YouTube).
== Plot ==
=== Part 1 ===
* A storm begins to brew on the horizon, just as Synnove leaves the Exactionem Inquisitorio to go back to Spearhold Keep; out of nowhere the Fading Book on her hip warms up, and Stella whispers “You are free.” 
* Synnove arrives at the Keep and sees the people standing around and the blood on the floor of the training area. Commander Bertrand stands before the kneeling Aelys, who still has the spear going through her shoulder, pinning her to the ground. The Commander tells the onlookers that this was a sparring match gone a bit too far and that there is nothing to worry about. Bubbles quickly makes his way out of the doctor’s tower. Bertrand looks over to the shocked Damien in front of the Armory Tower and tells him to prepare the Ares Protocol. Synnove runs up to Aelys but is stopped before she can reach her. JB asks if she did not hear him calling for her - she didn’t. Bertrand tells Synnove to take it low and slow, as they don’t know what exactly happened. Bubbles wonders where Lenore went. Hearing that, Aelys lifts her head, but Lenore’s body is nowhere to be seen. Bertrand warns Aelys that they will remove the spear now, but Aelys should remain calm and let Bertrand transport her to the Armory Tower where she is going to partake in questioning. Synnove is confused about what is happening. Aelys just says “I did” before the spear is removed and she is lifted up by the Commander, Aelys’s hands kept where they can be seen. Synnove goes up to heal her, telling her that it is going to be okay and whatever happened, they will figure it out. The magic flows into Aelys, she feels it fully healing her body and even more, as if Stella rewards her for what she did. Aelys looks down to the book on Synnove’s hip. “I am so sorry,” Aelys says before being walked away by Bertrand. 
* Bubbles investigates the magic in the area to see if he finds out anything. His goggles show him the Conjuration Magic that is wreathing off of this pool of blood but as he continues to look, one of the lenses in his goggles cracks, still functional but something interfered. 
* JB and Bubbles try to explain what they saw: Lenore and Aelys were fighting, and Lenore went down, but now Lenore’s body is gone. Synnove asks why they said ‘body’ and wants to know where her sister is, but the others don’t know. 
* Bertrand asks them to come with her to the Armory Tower. On the way, JB asks again why Synnove couldn’t hear them through the Sigil. Synnove just hears Stella asking her if she trusts her. Synnove thinks Lenore must have disappeared like she did before and doesn’t believe she is gone. 
* Inside the tower, one of the walls has opened up and reveals an armor rack with a white gold armor that looks akin to rudimental Solarborne armor. Aelys is put into it before it closes around her, with the Ares Protocol activated. Synnove asks if this is really necessary, but this is what Aelys wants right now. The interrogation begins. Bertrand asks what Aelys’ intention was this afternoon when she and Lenore began to spar. “I wanted to hurt her,” and that is what she accomplished. The Commander asks why, so Aelys says that “this is all [she] can do.” She explains what happened and that Lenore mentioned what some of their compatriots have been saying about her. Lenore didn’t mean anything bad by it, but it snapped something in Aelys. JB speaks up for her; clearly she has lost control, but he doesn’t think the outcome was her intention. Aelys tries to interrupt him, but he continues. They don’t know where Lenore’s body is, but he still thinks it was a sparring match that got out of hand - and that is what it has to be for everyone else. Bertrand asks what the end result of the match was. “She died,” Aelys can feel it; she has done it before like this. Synnove doesn’t believe her, but Aelys says Lenore will not come back, not this time. “It wasn’t anyone other than me. I was lost to it, I couldn't control myself. It wasn't a failure of anyone else’s part but mine. It’s what Sal was talking about and it’s what I’ve always been. I’m sorry, Synnove.” Synnove still denies it and goes through different stages of grief. Aelys tells her to ask Stella if she doesn’t believe her. 
* Even though Aelys just confessed to being a killer, Bertrand says it cannot change the confines or parameters of their current assignment. JB says that keeping Aelys like that is unnecessary. Bertrand cannot lose or waste any more resources, and both the Copper Legion and Sentinel operate beyond the standard jurisdiction of the Coalition or many other nation’s laws. Commander Bertrand decides: “Sentinel Scion, you are not pardoned. You are not released from the burden of your actions. You will serve as a member of Sentinel and you will serve that tenure indentured under the explicit watch of ordermate Jean-Baptiste Beaumont, code name Sentinel Aegis.” She turns to JB. “Sentinel Aegis, on the path to completing your various aims and ends I expect regular reports, by any means, on the actions and whereabouts of your ordermate Sentinel Scion. If they break protocol, if they continue to needlessly waste Sentinel resources, actions further than this will have to be taken. Is that understood?” JB agrees. When Bertrand sees that Synnove is still in denial, she asks if Synnove can handle loss, as that is part of the job. “I can handle loss before, I can handle it again. Doesn’t mean I like it.” Synnove turns to Aelys and wants her to say that X did this, but Aelys can’t say that. Her view was narrowed but the feeling was her own. “It is what I tried to warn you about, what Sal tried to warn us about. I thought I was different… I’m not. I am so sorry, but that doesn’t excuse it.” She accepts Bertrand’s justice but would take the judgement of those closest to the person she wronged. Bertrand cannot let that happen. They are all under her purview and swore an oath minutes ago to stand for something greater than they are. They have to keep up an image. Bertrand reminds them that they are worth more than their own lives and feelings now and asks that they remember that before she frees Aelys out of the armor and sends them away. 
* Aelys stays crouched down and, without lifting her head, asks what Synnove would ask of her. Synnove gets down on her knees next to her and takes her face in her hands. She pleads to Aelys to tell her it isn’t true but Aelys cannot tell her that. She tells Synnove what Lenore has said to her and that it hurt her more than anything and it snapped something in her. All Lenore wanted was trying to help Synnove, and Aelys killed Lenore anyway because she could. This is what she did to Finn'el, this is what Sal was scared of and what she has been trying to fix her whole life. It was only her and her alone. “But I am your friend”, Synnove says, still not believing that her sister is really dead. All she has to do is find her sister and then they can get this all sorted out. Theagus tries to make her understand that her sister is not coming back, but Synnove is still in denial. JB asks if Theagus is able to use his magic to help, but whatever happened to Lenore was very powerful and he can only speculate. He will help Synnove find anything that might tell them more about where Lenore’s body has gone. 
* Before they make their way outside, Aelys tells Synnove in their minds to talk to Stella and ask her why she is happy with Aelys. This time, Synnove is able to hear what was said, not like before when JB screamed for her through their mental connection.
* While Synnove and Theagus go into the courtyard to investigate the blood in the sparring arena, Aelys and JB want to find a place to sit at the beach. The second Aelys hits a strip of shadow, blackened hands reach out of it and grab her. JB immediately tries to get to her but his hands move through her like she wasn’t even here to begin with before Aelys vanishes, surprise and fear on her face. 
* From where Aelys disappeared, JB sees strangely shaped inky footprints that move southwards through the city, in the direction of the bay. He follows them. 
* In the sparring arena, Synnove steps in front of the blood stain and tries to sense what happened here. As she reaches out with her magic, Stella manifests, sitting in the middle of the blood stain. She looks at Synnove, beaming, and tells her that she told her already what has happened, that she is free now - free of the anchors that held her down - just as Stella is free from her own. However, it was Stella’s decision to burn down the cottage. Lenore was not an anchor for Synnove, and Synnove wanted to save her sister. Stella says that Lenore didn’t want to save her and that “they’re afraid of us, her and those whom she serves.” Stella continues that “our shadow did the work they were supposed to”. Synnove was getting pulled too far down the current, and they had to change that. With her voice getting louder, Stella asks if Synnove could have done it on her own. Synnove points out that Lenore is her sister, just like Stella is, but Stella denies, saying that neither Lenore or Stella are/were Synnove’s sisters. Stella is more than a sister because “we are us”. Synnove wants her to show her what happened, but Stella already told her. Synnove has to be sure she really wants it because she will not be able to unsee it. Stella tells her that her sister was a wound that is now healed. “She was my wound though, not yours.” Synnove wanted to decide how she handled the situation and not let others take it away from her. “We are us, you are me, and I am you,” Stella answers. Stella got to decide that Lenore was a wound because she sees further than Synnove. When Synnove takes Stella’s hand, she relives the entire fight through Aelys’s body and emotions. When she sees Lenore going down, she feels the blossoming of a connection between something inside Aelys and something that was further in the city at the time. When she relives the moment when Alewjin knocked Aelys to the ground, the vision ends and Stella is gone, leaving only the words “I set you free” in the back of her mind. 
* Synnove panics and immediately wants to go to the temple on the beach, but Theagus stops her. Loss and accepting it is not an easy thing to do but she should take a moment to breathe before she runs off to pray. Synnove thinks it is her fault that happened. When Lenore was excommunicated, they had to try and forget her and pretend she never existed. It was really hard for her, so Synnove wrote in her book that maybe it would be easier if Lenore was dead because then at least she wouldn’t be wondering where her sister was every day. The book gets warm when she says that. Synnove needs to fix it and get her sister back, no matter what. Theagus and Synnove follow JB to the beach as the storm clouds above them get heavier and heavier. 
* Aelys drops out of the shadows in front of the familiar ice throne, the Xilyreon sitting in it. But it is not alone. Next to it stands Stella, still looking like Synnove. They are in the middle of a conversation but stop when they see Aelys. “Child of the hour, we were just speaking of you,” the Xilyreon says before Stella vanishes, leaving only a red phoenix feather behind. They were talking about Aelys’ work, even though they think it is a pity it ended so soon. Aelys disagrees. She needs to be able to control herself. “If I am to do anything that I want to do - need to do - I can’t trust anyone else, I’ve known that forever, but I should be able to trust me and I don’t.” The Xilyreon asks why she doesn’t trust it, because what do her wants and her trust matter anyway? “I can’t keep being a thing that is only valuable because of things others gave me,” even if that is what Aelys was made to be. No matter what she does, she keeps making mistakes and all her successes can be credited to others. The only things that are hers are the things she has done wrong. The Xilyreon wants her to list them so it can eat them, but Aelys won’t allow that; they are hers and she needs to remember them. The Xilyreon wants to just hear them because Aelys didn’t feed it otherwise, so Aelys tells it that throughout her life, she pushed everyone away who offered a hand, including her siblings, because she didn’t need them. She took lives like that of Finn'el like they were nothing, because they weren’t to her. The Xilyreon counters, saying neither was Lenore’s. But that is the issue, Aelys answers. It should feel like something. “I understand why you and I make sense. You consume, I destroy, we are kindred in that sense. I don’t blame you for anything. I wouldn’t blame a fire from burning. You act in accordance to your nature. I’m trying to figure out mine.” The Xilyreon thinks she acted in accordance with her nature moments ago. That is who Aelys was made to be, but perhaps it is not who Aelys is. Aelys doesn’t know who she would make herself into but she wants the option to make her own choices and walk her own paths. Unfortunately, the Xilyreon reminds her that there is no herself, as they are bound through the copper skeleton. “You can never be you. You are mine, as you made me. Will you feed me or not?” Aelys decides that even though she wanted it to be her Xilyreon and she needed it to be her treasure, until she is worth carrying the Xilyreon as an equal, as an ally, until the Xilyreon is Aelys’s and she is the Xilyreon’s, she must say no. During that conversation, the Xilyreon got closer and closer to Aelys. It gives her the choice now: it can take her form now and always and eat everything Aelys holds dear until she has nothing left to mourn, and then she can be herself again; or each day that passes that she does not feed it, it will take a piece of her as its due per the demands of their vow, and when at last there is nothing left for her to hold herself up with, there will be no Aelys, there will only be Godsleep. “I suppose it must be that way,” Aelys answers before its tendrils go straight into her chest and take a piece of her.* Aelys’ consciousness fades. 
* JB is the first one to arrive on the beach; he sees an unconscious Aelys lying in the sand near the temple, surrounded by a pool of drying black ichor. He picks her up and makes his way to the temple, where he finds six people with shaved heads and Lucen currently doing renovations; the already ruined symbol of Sindar now wedged into the sand. Lucen seems to be working on carving a new symbol for this temple. JB tells them to go home for the day, but Lucen can’t do that because they have orders they have to follow. It is only when Synnove and Theagus catch up and join them that the workers stop and give a little bow to Synnove. Synnove tells them she needs the temple for prayers, a new doctrine she is writing, and to rest for the day. Before they go, Lucen takes the unfinished symbol she was carving and places it onto one of the walls. The symbol is of an open book with a great many spoked wheel behind it. The second the final nail hits, Synnove sees golden light coming from it and going into the cracks in the walls. Lucen and the other six workers leave. As soon as they are alone, Theagus talks to Synnove and tells her he thinks that sometimes she is blinded by the being she follows. But Synnove still thinks she just has to talk to Stella and convince her, and then Lenore can be brought back to her. 
* The second JB puts Aelys down, there is a flickering of light through the cracks in the wood, and Aelys awakes. JB asks what happened and where she went, so Aelys explains that the Xilyreon spoke to her and that the deal still stands and she has to feed it, even though JB told her it is toxic. But Aelys doesn’t plan on doing it, which means she will probably be dead in a week, at which point the others will have to deal with the Godsleep. She will try to find a way to prevent that by continuing to search for the Dreamer’s Codex or contacting Maravix, but she is unsure if that will work. She tells them that it is not Godsleep's fault, it is hers and her family’s. They treated the Xilyreon as a burden as they were to it, but she wants to change that if she gets the chance. 
* Aelys then tells Synnove that when she arrived, Stella was speaking to the Xilyreon and it was praising Aelys for what she did. They know each other and there might be more behind it that they can only speculate about. 
* What is clear is that they as a group need to talk and be open about what is going on. When JB asks if Synnove thinks what Stella wants is in her best interest, Synnove answers that what Stella wants, what she wants, is in the best interest of the whole world. They want to heal all wounds and don’t want anyone to hurt anymore and Stella knows how to do that. “Lenore did hurt,” Aelys chimes in. It seems like Synnove already knew that Stella and the Xilyreon knew each other. “Every light must cast a shadow.” Theagus and JB tell her to think about the fact that Synnove came in here to convince Stella to bring her sister back when Stella already made up their mind and was happy about what happened, and that Stella did not let Synnove hear when they screamed for her through the mental connection. 
* JB then turns to Aelys: “Just because you feel as though you lost control, does not mean that any action of yours can be taken without considering the thing inside of you that is forcing you to do shit.” Aelys tries to make him understand that she did things like this long before she got the Xilyreon, and they will get to that topic, but they should let Synnove talk to Stella first. Because Synnove won’t listen to them until she gets her answer. “And that’s okay, I wouldn’t either,” Aelys adds. JB is still unsure, as something doesn’t feel right, but Synnove tells them that she has never failed at anything in her life and to let her try.
* Synnove walks into the middle of the ruined temple and not only takes her shoes off but also leaves the book on the ground; she knows that Stella is not just in the book. She sinks down to her knees and lets out a wail from the center of her being. She begins to pray: “We have walked this path together for a long time. I’ve found you in a place like this. You saved me, I saved you. You saw my life, you saw how much I loved Lenore and how much Lenore loved me. I could not love you if Lenore didn’t love me. She taught me how to love. Every good part of me is because of Lenore. I need someone to bring her back, I will do anything. I will give anything. Just please, I can’t lose her. I lost her once and I can’t lose her again. I will do anything, take anything. Take anything from me, just give me her back, please, anything.” 
* The others around her see the book snap open and flipping through pages, as Synnove’s words start echoing from the book in a voice that is both Synnove’s own and not, and golden light starts to glow more and more in the cracks of the wood of the temple. 
* When Synnove opens her eyes after she finished her last word, she sees Stella in front of her, but not how she normally used to look like for Synnove. Instead, Synnove sees herself in Stella’s manifestation. Stella asks if Synnove meant what she said, that without Lenore her love for Stella is nothing. Synnove loves Stella and she loves Lenore, but Stella thinks she cannot do both. The book snaps shut. “Then you are not who I thought.” Synnove pleads with Stella to understand and to not make her choose, as they are both her sisters and she loves them both. She will do anything, Stella can take anything, but she needs Lenore back. “Do you weigh anchor or set sail, Synnove? I intend on taking all that I can if you wish such a transgression upon us all. I will have to find a new venue.” Synnove thinks Stella doesn’t mean that, that she is just upset and hurt - and Stella is, for Synnove has wounded her very being. She asks again for Synnove’s truth, but Synnove’s answer doesn’t change. She loves Stella, she loves Lenore, that is her truth and that will not change. “Then you are no carrier of mine,” Stella says; a wave of light, a rippling of energy, erupts from where she was. The symbol flies off the wall, as the book rips out into open air and flies away. For the first time in years, Synnove doesn’t feel her magic. She breaks down. “Just take my heart. It’s not worth anything without Lenore.”
* The storm clouds have reached the temple, cracklings of almost blue and purple light threading through them. As the book leaves, thunder echoes from the sky, and with a bolt of light shattering down, a figure is silhouetted. A figure that almost bears Lenore’s silhouette, but not quite. Though she is no longer Isskari, she retains the definitive features that shaped her life and bind her to her family. She has changed, her once broken horns are now whole again; where the jagged edges once ended, they now continue in obsidian. Her Mark of Phylaxis, the 3 band tattoo that remains on her left forearm, glints with obsidian, with magic, and with power. When she looks up, the others can see that her eyes no longer match Synnove’s; the whites of her eyes are no longer white, but a swirling gray framing brilliant purple irises. The being once known as Lenore, Valor**, stands in the doorway for a second before she steps in.
* She finds Synnove and immediately runs towards her. Synnove asks if she is real, but Lenore told her she would never choose to leave her. They fall into each other's arms; Synnove doesn’t care that her sister feels ice cold now. She asks again if this is real, if she is still alive. “I am still here, I am still yours, I am still your Lenore, but the deal for me to come back is that I’m different, but I am still here.” Valor explains that you can’t just come back from the dead; she chose to come back, but that there are consequences that she is willing to pay to be with Synnove. They both apologize for what has happened and their actions; they both think it was their own fault that Lenore was gone. Valor gets to stay with them for now, even though she still has other work to do for Væxtaar, but they can use the time they have together now without being distant to each other. Væxtaar brought her back, and they came to a good understanding that even though it might be difficult, she would have a way to come back. She is not here, even though she is here; to be here feels like she is puppeteering herself from somewhere above, like there is a step between her and the people around her. Valor doesn’t think Væxtaar was supposed to let her back, but he made her in a way that she could. Even though she has changed and she might feel a bit hollow now, she thinks it was worth it to be with Synnove again. Valor knows that Synnove said she wants her own life and doesn’t need her, but Lenore needs to be with her sister. Synnove was angry and didn’t mean it. She has always loved her and was mad, but she is sorry. They both are. Lenore should have talked to Synnove instead of provoking her own downfall. For now, they just need that moment in each other’s arms.
* The others around them listened to that conversation. While tears stream down JB’s face, Theagus looks at Valor with his goggles. He sees the single most concentrated amount of necromantic energy that he has ever seen in a single space, radiating from the scar in Valor’s chest. 
* As soon as Valor’s eyes find Aelys’s, Aelys falls to her knees and bows her head. She apologizes, even though that does not change the situation, but she is seeking what atonement she can, and she is glad Valor is here for Synnove. Valor stands up and steps in front of Aelys. She grabs her by the collar and lifts her up so Aelys stands again. Valor asks if it was her, and Aelys confirms. Aelys feels remorse, but she doesn’t think they will have to deal with her for much longer, so she doesn’t know if and how she can make it up to Valor. Aelys still asks what she can do. Valor wants a favor - Aelys will be there. Valor tells her that Aelys is lucky Synnove likes her so much, but the day Synnove doesn’t anymore, Valor will not care anymore - and she will win round 2. 
* The group lays down some ground rules for the future, including “sparring is going to have heavy restrictions, including cushions, helmets, and referees.”
* While Lenore and Synnove hugged, Synnove saw a person over Lenore’s shoulder: hunched over, tattered cloak around them and a cane in their hand. When they first meet each other’s eyes, Synnove thinks it is Stella’s face, before it shifts again to Lenore’s old face, and only then it refocuses again to the face of an old woman standing there, a little shimmer under the cloak. She just grins at Synnove before without moving her mouth, Synnove hears her voice loud and clear: “Well done, well done.”
=== Part 2 ===
* The figure Synnove sees seems familiar to her, like a favorite smell you haven’t smelled in years. “I know you, don’t I?” she asks. “Of course,” the figure answers. They tap with her cane and the sigil on Synnove’s hand flutters. Synnove asks if she knows Stella, but they tell her that this is a story for a different day. Synnove doesn’t know why but she doesn’t want them to leave. She feels calmer around the figure. “That is what I am here for,” the old woman says. They will find Synnove, if she’d like. As soon as Synnove looks down to her hand and asks if they can tell her more about the sigil, the figure is gone. 
* Instead, they see someone running in their direction, as Katari catches up to them and screams from a distance that they keep leaving her alone and somebody should just talk to her for once. Nothing is resolved until then. They are bonded as a team now; she is trying to connect to them, but every time the others just leave her. They tell her what happened but when she hears that Aelys punched Lenore, Katari asks if Aelys took that from her, and that Valor smells wrong now. It is Katari’s duty to hunt the other Isskari in the group down, and she is trying not to. Even now that Valor is changed, Katari has to hunt her but not for the same reasons but because she smells of necromantic energies. Valor ensures that she is not going to eat people and that she is just here for Synnove and to do her job. Katari struggles because she tries to acknowledge the things she knows before she can let go of them. They continue to tell Katari what happened here at the temple, that Synnove tried to pray to Stella and failed, for the first time. Her book flew away because Stella is mad at Synnove because of the choice she made and her truth. Now she feels empty and is not sure if she can do any magic. She can still heal because that is what she learned, and she still has that amputation knife, so she can still be of help to the group. Katari invokes her part of the deal: she will show Synnove the Isskari traditions, and that includes training. Katari will show her how to use that knife. It might take some time, but Synnove will learn. 
* The group discusses their next steps. Aelys tells them about the deal she made with the Xilyreon and that she has to feed it or else it will take pieces of her over time. She still chose that option instead of it taking over now because it buys them time to find a solution, which might be the Dreamer’s Codex, but they haven’t gotten any information about that here in town. Valor remembers that Disterra has the single biggest repository of information, knowledge, and written text on the entire Prime within the library known as the Archives, and they might be able to find out more when they make their way to the Lighthouse in Disterra. The only problem is that it takes around a week to get there, and Aelys has 6 days before the Xilyreon takes over.  
* Theagus remembers the way they previously traveled with the help of the morphocite and Lenore’s blood. When he says “Lenore,” Valor feels a weird dissonance throughout her body, as if she is not the one being spoken to. It was fine when Synnove said the name “Lenore”, but when others say it, it feels wrong. Theagus says that maybe they will find a way to travel faster but they would need something from Disterra to do this. Dr. Iridia might have something, but they would have to talk to her. Traveling through the Lifeless Sea would be the other way to get to Disterra, but that would mean they’d have to reach Storm’s Gate and travel though Storm’s Gap, or Storm’s Run, which is guarded by the Blue Cloud, a dragon that lives in the Lifeless Sea and is known for absolutely obliterating anyone who tries to make it anywhere through a large chunk of territory, such as Storm’s Run.  
* They have to find a way that is either quick enough to get to Disterra in time, contact Aelys’ sister Maravix or someone else that could maybe know more, or feed the Xilyreon before it takes over Aelys’ body. Aelys still has hope and doesn’t want to give up on the Xilyreon - just as Synnove feels about Stella - but it is not fair to give up right now. They decide to split up the group to talk to different people and prepare different travel methods so their journey can start as soon as possible. Before they leave the temple, Katari emphasizes the importance of working together and being a group again, and the others agree. 
* When Synnove leaves the temple, Aelys hears a voice in her head that sounds like Synnove: “Don’t you worry, we will be just fine.” Aelys asks why she hurt her, but she gets no response. Before JB leaves, he picks up the Sindar symbol from the ground and tries to put it on the wall, but it won’t stay there and flies off again and again. Aelys just hears a clicking of a tongue in her ear. She tells JB that she doesn’t think he should do that, as it seems like it won’t work. He puts the symbol in his bag for now. 
* Aelys asks JB for meditation advice, so they make their way a bit further away from the temple to meditate. On the way, Aelys apologizes to JB and thanks him. It might not fix the problem, but JB explains that it still means something. They sit down in the sand in a meditative pose and JB starts to guide Aelys through a meditation like he learned it, to let thoughts pass through and to not hold on to anything. 
“When I was young, the only time I was able to actually practice and feel the meditation was when I would wake up very early in the morning. I would descend the monastery, I would go down to the lake, and especially in late fall/early winter before the ice took over, after the winds of summer died down. I would sit on the pebbled shore and I would just look at the lake. And I would always think that it was a strange beauty that it would be almost like glass mirroring the sky. It is stillness without stagnation, it’s clarity. There is no becoming exactly like the still lake, but it helps to try.” 
* JB feels the calmness washing over him as he guides them through it. During the meditation, Aelys places herself into these images JB paints with his words. She takes deep breaths, and, instead of the dark negative energy that surrounds her normally, there is a shimmering, pale light blue aura lined with navy that briefly flickers in and out with her breaths before it is gone. Aelys feels that a seed has been planted that needs some careful cultivation and guidance, but a path has been opened. 
* The rest of the group made their way back to Spearhold Keep. Valor gets a couple of looks, but nobody seems to recognize her as if they don’t remember the being she once was at all. While the others go to the stables, Theagus visits Iridia. Before he steps through the door of the tower, Hope speaks up and asks if he really has to go inside, as they get ever so far away once Theagus is in there. Theagus tells them that he will be back outside soon and that he would like to show Hope something afterwards that might help the both of them. 
* Theagus enters the tower and talks to Iridia, who now has a Sentinel amulet wedged into her suit. Irida tells Theagus that she heard they are venturing eastwards, even though one of his group members told her otherwise and now it makes her look quite bad in front of her kin in the Court of the Star. It will be her task now to distract them which upsets her as “kinship should be held more highly than anything.” She is not and has not been working with the Court, but blood is blood and the ichor of the mind flows very thick. But that is not the reason Theagus came here. He asks if she has an item from Disterra but unfortunately she does not, so faster travel to Disterra is not an option. A faster return is possible, so Theagus gets a morphocite crystal with Lenore’s blood from Iridia that they can use to return.
* When Theagus steps out of the tower, he calls Hope to show them the new magic he can cast. Hope wants him to show it to others instead so they can all watch and then everyone will feel nice and better again. “They all feel very sad, and it gets very cold.”
* Katari, Valor, and Synnove reach the stables where stable master Szerus and Commander Bertrand are currently preparing the vessel and the dune hogs. When Bertrand sees the being once known as Lenore, she stops for a second. Valor asks if she missed her, but Bertrand doesn’t even seem to remember that she was gone in the first place. Valor seems okay now, so they can work. Bertrand and Szerus will prepare them for their travels, and Bertrand tells them to not cause even a fraction of the trouble they caused her here, as compared to the Lighthunters, she has been forgiving. The Lighthunters are a governmental agency in Disterra that protects and secures information and items while wearing esoteric helmets. Bertrand tells them to fly under their radar as best as possible. There should be some of the Lighthunters at Storm’s Gate that will help the new Sentinels make the run but they should try to stay on their good side. Valor notices how calm Bertrand stays. “Someone has to be”, the Commander answers, but Valor still thought she would feel more and be more excited to see her. Bertrand seems more and more confused about the situation and doesn’t seem to remember what happened at all. 
* Szerus and the others prepare the hogs and the vessel, and Szerus briefs them about what to expect and what they need, including different creams, all while Katari fixates on one of the hogs to get to know them/get used to them before they travel together. 
* Bubbles, Aelys, and JB arrive at the stables. Bubbles informs them that a faster travel method to Disterra will not work, but he asks them if they would like some hope instead. The others agree, so Bubbles demonstrates some new magic he learned, including making someone rewind in time for a few seconds. 
* After deciding that Katari and JB are going to take the reins of the hogs, the journey to Disterra begins, and the group leaves Faleeria. As the skimmer pulls away, wind in their faces, with mistakes behind them and a task ahead, a few things happen simultaneously:
** If they would turn around, they would see Voltaire standing on the top wall of Spearhold Keep, just waving and watching them go. 
** As Synnove’s gaze pivots, she sees that cloaked old woman sitting in the corner of the vessel, just watching. The second Synnove’s gaze is past her, the figure is gone again.
** Somewhere, an elf, plated in a tunic with midnight and magic, steps out of a thickly ridged tree line underneath a burgeoning cloud of crackling green light, their black hair swept over to one side, and their glittering green eyes scan the horizon, before he lifts off the ground and flies south towards the Lifeless Sea.
=== Notes ===
*When the Xilyreon takes a piece of Aelys, all of her stats are reduced by 1.
** The name Valor was only revealed above table so far. For Synnove, it will stay Lenore, but for others the new name is Valor. At this point in the story they all still call the being once known as Lenore by her old name - even though she is not Lenore anymore. For this summary it was decided to already use the new name.
== Characters ==
=== Player Characters ===
* Aelys Sa’Viraan
* Theagus SOT
* Jean-Baptiste
* Lenore/Valor
* Synnove Oleander
===Mentioned===
* Finn'el 
* Maravix
* Garavellir
* Ur-Viraan
* Væxtaar
* JB’s old master
* Gelfin Flax
=== NPCs ===
* Stella (Dark Age)
* Xilyreon
* Ygritte Bertrand
* Damien Bishop
* Rusty
* Lucen
* other Carriers of Light
* Gold
* cloaked woman
* Katari
* Iridia
* Szerus
* Voltaire
* Bathriel
== Locations and Organizations ==
=== Locations ===
* Faleeria
** Spearhold Keep
** Temple on the Beach
* Disterra (mentioned)
** The Archives
* Storm’s Gap & Storm’s Gate
* Orphanos Monastery & Lake (mentioned)
* Üthevhenan (mentioned)
=== Organizations ===
* Copper Legion
Sentinel
Court of the Star
Light Hunters
== Tarot Card and RP Warmup ==
The tarot card for the episode was The Hermit. It was the last card that was left of the deck. 
The roleplay warmup question was: "Does your character think/has your character ever thought that they are psychic in some way?"
== References ==