Hiel

**Hiel** is a eccentric Laphine engineer who lives in the southern portion of Eclage. He doesn't like normal Laphines, Saphas, or animals. He doesn't seem interested in anything outside of his research and experiments.

## Story

**SPOILER WARNING:** Plot and/or ending details follow.
Hiel was visited by a Norman adventurer one day in his home while he was in the middle of an experiment. Before he could kick out the perceived intruder, the adventurer mentioned that he/she came on behalf of Clever. Intrigued, Hiel reveals that he managed to swipe a Dimensional Gap fragment (illegally) in order to figure out how to travel through space and time and meet people in the past. He recalls that some Cat Hand agents tried to sell him some books containing information about dimensional rift travel by Normans from Midgard, but he called them liars and kicked them out of his yai. After the adventurer confirms the cats' knowledge, Hiel asks the adventurer to go speak to some cats for him to find out more information.

The adventurer returns with a Dark Debris and some gemstones along with information from some Cat Hand agents. Hiel begins arranging them according to the cats' information, but the rift fragment still didn't react. He then rearranges some of the stones, which causes him to knock down the Dark Debris. The adventurer manages to catch the stone just in time and chastises the Laphine scientist for being so careless. Upon putting the Dark Debris in the middle of Hiel's arrangement, the yai suddenly went dark and the two of them witnessed an argument between two mysterious Dona Laphines. After that brief glimpse, Hiel tries to activate the rift fragment again, but his efforts were futile. He urges the adventurer to try to make it work and the adventurer succeeds in giving them another vision in which one of the Donas Laphines they saw earlier was speaking to an Elder Assembly. Once the vision passed, Hiel theorizes that the two of them have just looked into past events, but he doesn't have enough historical knowledge to know for sure. He tells the adventurer to revisit his friend Clever who has much better expertise in that field.

After the adventurer left, Hiel managed to figure out a way to make a portable rift reactor. In the process, he inadvertently transports Robert to the present, who angrily demands to know who he was and if he was working with the Elder Assembly. The adventurer returns in time to explain everything to Robert. At this, Robert releases Hiel and exclaims his head spins at the prospects of being thousands of years into the future. The adventurer then notes the difference in personality between the two Laphines and asks to not bring it up again as it hurt him/her to listen. Hiel feels offended and huffs at the adventurer's request. He then goes on to explain the rest to Robert and exclaims that he is elated to actually meet Robert as the Laphine is a legend to all Laphine engineers. He goes on to praise how Robert managed to cultivate both the home tree and the Bifrost simultaneously. Robert then demands to see the home tree for himself, to which the adventurer obliges by leading him out of Hiel's yai.

The adventurer returns about five minutes later to tell Hiel that Robert faded back to his time. Hiel explains that the rift reactor doesn't have a strong output since it was made to be portable. He had set the machine's chronological frequency at a particular point in time which would allow them to meet Robert as many times as they want. However, the problem is that the rift reactor has to be at a designated location in order to find the person they want. Hiel explains that living entities are harder to pin down compared to non-living entities. He demonstrates by holding up a pen he had somehow snatched from Robert. The adventurer concludes that they should be able to meet Etran as well. Hiel theorizes that it would be possible, but the problem would be to find the particular spot in the future that would locate Etran in the past. The adventurer then asks if he/she could take the rift reactor, to which Hiel surmised that he/she wants to take it out into the Bifrost. He thinks it will be too dangerous for the machine to be out in the field (he could care less about the adventurer's well-being). The adventurer then points out that it would be the only way to test his theory about Etran. Hiel becomes conflicted between testing his theory and keeping the rift reactor in one piece. He finally agrees to let the adventurer borrow it on the condition that he/she is very careful with it as it was the only reactor he had with the correct chronological frequency.

After the adventurer left, Hiel began tweaking the spare portable rift reactor he had, allowing it to work no matter where the user goes. The adventurer returns some time after he finished to ask about obtaining a home tree leaf. Hiel explains that it would be difficult to obtain one as any harm made to the home tree is punished with immediate exile. In addition, home tree leaves that dry up don't drop to the ground, but instead become life energy that is restored to the land. So picking up a home tree leaf that has fallen would not be possible either. However, Hiel notes that it would not be illegal to receive a home tree's leaf if it was taken by the creator of the home tree.

With this in mind, he summons Robert again, who remembers the adventurer leaving him hanging at the home tree and promptly grabs the norman's collar in anger. As Hiel looked on, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic and very familiar whenever Robert appeared. After the adventurer leaves to deliver the necklace, leaf, and Robert's message to Etran, Hiel began to work on the second portable rift reactor to expand its range and temporal limitations. The adventurer returns later to tell Hiel that Etran thanks him for building the rift reactor. Hearing this, Hiel is happy and hopes to one day reunite Etran and Robert.