Clever

**Clever** is a Laphine historian who researches Alfheim and its biology, geography, and archaeology. He is currently being held in Eclage's prison for an unknown crime. He likes to talk a lot and sing to entertain himself in the prison, much to the guard's annoyance.

## Story

**SPOILER WARNING:** Plot and/or ending details follow.
While sitting in Eclage's prison (and tormenting the guard on duty), Clever was visited by an adventurer who was doing work for the current Mayor Jun. After a short conversation, he asks the adventurer to bring him some Grape Juice Herbal Tea before he would be willing to divulge rumors he has heard. The adventurer leaves and returns with the drink to Clever's delight.

After telling the adventurer about existing rumors, Clever reveals that a Dimensional Gap opened up near Eclage. No one outside his research team knows about it as it's been kept a big secret from the public. Since he is unable to investigate the rift further due to his imprisonment, Clever refers the adventurer to his friend Hiel who was also a member of the same research team studying the rift.

The adventurer returns later to tell Clever that he/she and Hiel managed to make the rift fragment work. The adventurer goes on to tell the historian that they saw a glimpse of two Donas Laphines. Clever then tells the adventurer to wait while he scrounges through his research notes to see if there was any connection. He reveals that prior to being imprisoned he was looking into Eclage's history and the differences between the unofficial history and official history. He explains that aspects of Laphine history that either included oppositions in Donas nobility or slaughter among Donas Laphines cannot be recorded as part of official history. As a historian, he is given both the full unofficial history and the modified official history. Part of his job was to correct distorted facts. When the adventurer inquires if he was jailed for that, Clever responds that he was sentenced for defacing property, much to the adventurer's dismay.

Clever goes on to explain that the truth of Eclage's founding is part of the unofficial history and he discovered some parts were incorrect. He affirms that the two Donas Laphines that the adventurer and Hiel saw should be Etran and Robert. Etran argued for the revival of the Bifrost while Robert was the head of the group that promoted both the revival of the Bifrost as well as the cultivation of the new home tree. Both were excluded from official history as per the policy of not recording oppositions in Donas nobility. At this point, Clever is unable to remember any more from his research and directs the adventurer to the Eclage library to find more information.

The adventurer revisits Clever, who assumes he/she managed to find the Eclage Monthly magazine that he referred. He explains that the information within is more accurate than any other journal source and that the higher ups haven't put it under scrutiny since it was published by a third-rate magazine. The adventurer then asks Clever about Etran and Robert, who replies that the Elder Assembly held great influence over the Donas nobility and established most of the Laphines in Eclage. When he discovered that the unofficial history was built on the sacrifices of young Laphines, he just couldn't believe it. He tried to write a paper on it and proposed the idea of properly including Etran and Robert into the official history. His presentation was rejected and, in response, he defaced every yai in Eclage using spray paint (what images or words he used is unknown). It was for this crime that Clever was in prison for the past year.

Just then, Clever notices that the prison guard was looking over at them and tells the adventurer to go see what's up. The adventurer goes over to talk to the prisoner and returns to tell him it was nothing. Clever then goes on to ask the adventurer if he/she wants to help him out. If not, he/she should forget about him and everything that he/she has learned. If so, then the adventurer must promise to keep everything he/she has learned a secret. The adventurer agrees to help him out and the historian is overjoyed.

Clever reveals that the reason he and Hiel wanted to get their hands on rift fragments was to meet Laphines from the past. For Clever, he wants to set Eclage's history straight; for Hiel, he just wants a limited copy of the interior architectural plans for the home tree. The adventurer remarks that Hiel's goal may be different from what Clever thinks, but Clever says to let Hiel be and compliments Hiel's engineering expertise. He remarks that Hiel must have figured out how to use the rift fragments by now and asks the adventurer to go use Hiel's tool to meet with the Laphines from the past and report his/her findings to him.

After some time, the adventurer returns to Clever and relays to him everything that has happened since he/she last saw him. Clever is elated to hear about Hiel's success and to finally know the truth. He wonders if Etran and Robert reunited and the adventurer responds vaguely. Clever agrees that it's too soon to tell at this point and becomes determined to set Eclage's history right after his sentence is over.