"Do you think I’m mad?" Celeste asked Rusty as he got himself some brandy.

"Don't know you well enough to say one way or the other, Ms. Avon. But you need to at least know what's going on around here. The elves could tell you, but they don't know all the details, despite their claims otherwise.”

“First, tell me about these two camps that everyone keeps talking about.” Maybe if she knew a little about them, she could determine where anyone she knew might be if they were still alive.

“That’s completely new to me.”

“The remaining population of Feon split into two main camps, the Revivers and the Renewers. There are other camps, but they’re small and usually only a family or two.” He took a small drink of the brandy and capped the flask. “But to understand what each group stands for, we’ll have to go back to the civil war that took place in Feon.”

“Fifteen years ago, right? The Crystal was shattered at the end of it.” She could still barely believe it, but what she saw was real, the whole city in ruins and wild vines who wanted to spill human blood. No wonder the elves saw it as a cursed place. “The Shattering is what the elves called it.”

“Yes, that’s one of its names. Some people call it the Calamity. The dwarves often refer to it as the Upheaval and the goblins the Great Shaking. I still remember the earthquake to this day. I was working in my smithy when the ground shook. It knocked me to my feet. Once it stopped, I got back up and went into my cabin, only to find that every shelf had fallen and there was a giant crack in my floor. Everyone on the continent felt it.”

If the earthquake had been that big, Celeste had to wonder how anyone survived it. She supposed those in the outer rings probably had a better chance since there weren’t as large of buildings to fall on them, but they were also not built as well as those in the middle or inner rings.

“How many people were lost in it?”

“No one ever got a number, but a dwarven record keeper estimated that it was a third of the population. And that was after heavy losses during the civil war.” Rusty let out a sigh and took another drink of his brandy. “Then after that, lives were lost in the ensuing conflict between the Revivers and Renewers.”

“It’s hard to believe that all of that happened in fifteen years. I must’ve missed the signs of the civil war back then. I knew people were unhappy and I don’t blame them, but I never thought it would come to war so quickly.”

Rusty cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. “No, the war ended fifteen years ago. The civil war raged on for five years before that."

"I've been asleep for twenty years!?" Celeste nearly fell out of her chair. Rusty allowed her to collect herself. "How did it start?"

"Well, I'm sure that you know it had been building up for a long time. I think what sparked the whole fight was when an officer of the Guard struck down a noble who gave him an order to kill a lower class family because they stood against her just taking things from their store. Then that same officer declared that the nobility was useless and they no longer had the right to rule and do as they pleased. When the other nobles demanded his head, his troop refused to turn him in. They ordered other troops to attack them, but a good chunk of them joined him and there was a big battle.”

Yes, that would certainly be an event to start a civil war. And she could also bet that Derrick had joined that certain officer. He had no love for nobles and wanted to be in the Guard so he could change things once he got in a position to do so. There was no way he would turn down an opportunity like that.

“Then what happened during the civil war?”

“You’d probably have to ask someone in one of the camps for all the details. I stayed out of Feon when I could during that time. But the gist of it was there was the side of the revolutionaries then the ones that sided with the nobles. It was bloody and brutal. Brother against brother, father against son. I bet there wasn’t one family who didn’t lose someone to it.”

“So who shattered the Crystal and why?” She could think of why either side would want to capture the crystal. With it, one could control the very landscape of Feon. At least, that was always the impression she got when people talked about it.

“Some say it was the nobles since they were losing. Some say it was the revolutionaries in an attempt to destroy their enemies in one blow. But I’ve heard the third story and I think it’s closer to the truth.” Rusty adjusted himself in his seat and leaned a bit closer to her. “You see, as a blacksmith and half-dwarf, people from both camps feel comfortable in telling me some things when they come to have work done by me. So I know things that other folks might not.”

So that explained his odd looks. Celeste couldn’t ever recall meeting someone who was half-dwarf. When people talked about being half something, it was usually elven. Maybe they just got all the attention over the half dwarven ones. He continued his tale.

“What I was told is that two revolutionaries went to take custody of the Crystal and once they did, there was a great disagreement about what to do with it. And during the ensuing fight, it was shattered and well, you know what happened. I don’t think it was planned.”

“These revolutionaries, I guess they died. The elves told me that the tower collapsed. No one in the tower could’ve survived that.”

“Under normal circumstances, no. But when it happened, the two revolutionaries got shards of the crystal stuck in the body. One got in his eye and one in his heart. I suppose if it had been any other crystal than the Earth one, it would’ve killed them.”

Celeste nodded. After all, the Earth Crystal had often been referred to as a life-giving crystal. Its power was used to keep crops healthy and bountiful, even during the drought of the summer. It was what allowed Feon to prosper and grow as it did.

“What happened to them? I take it you know or you wouldn’t be telling me about them.”

“Needless to say that after their fight, the two went their separate ways. Davik the soldier went on to become the Lord of the Renewers. They believe in totally abandoning everything about Feon before the Shattering. Said there was nothing worth keeping from it. Orsic the scribe went on to become leader of the Revivers, though I think he was more or less forced into it. The Revivers want to rebuild Feon, albeit in a different location and with different laws and such.” Rusty let out a grunt and rolled his eyes. “Then, of course, those two groups fought and both sides sustained heavy losses. They struggled with each other for ten years. For the last five years, they’ve had skirmishes, but they’re both pretty much at a stalemate.”

Celeste tried not to let herself get too hopeful when Rusty mentioned that the leaders had been a soldier and a scribe. Maybe they knew of the fates of her brothers. Hopefully, whichever camp they had gone to they weren’t on opposite sides. No, they would never be. Sure, they didn’t agree on everything but they knew how to get along regardless. A civil war wouldn’t have changed that.

“Can you tell me where the camps are?” She asked eagerly as she got up, nearly knocking Rusty’s flask over. He startled a bit, seeing that she had been pretty quiet and still until now. “Or maybe show me a map and I’ll go there myself and..”

“Woah there, Ms. Avon.” He held his hand out and motioned for her to sit back down. “You can’t just go riding into their camps without knowing what’d you be getting yourself into. Besides, you don’t recall the last twenty years for whatever reason. They’ll think your mad like the elves do and turn you out.”

“Then what should I do? I need to try to find someone who knows me so that I can prove that I’m not mad and maybe to tell me what happened to my brothers.” Celeste sat back down. “But you’re right. I should wait a bit, try to adjust to this new world. Have things changed that much?”

“Among humans, yes. Neither camp is very welcoming toward strangers, though they deal with the smaller camps sometimes.” He explained. Celeste nodded in understanding. “As I was telling Kyn earlier, my property is neutral territory. There’s a tavern that is the same way. Everywhere is fair game outside the actual camps themselves. Let me go to the tavern and put out some feelers to see if I can’t get some dwarves that do business with both camps to do a bit of subtle asking around. Everyone knows us dwarves are nosey, so they won't think much about it."

"What do you want in return? I don't expect you to help me for free, especially seeing that you barely know me." Celeste looked around the cabin. It looked fairly clean. "I can cook, clean, um…”

“You could start with the dishes from this evening.” He pointed to the bucket. “The well’s right out back, can’t miss it. And don’t worry about repayment too much. I just want to see where this all leads. Besides, I have to discuss a couple of things with Jyn.”

Celeste nodded and picked up the bucket. While cleaning wasn’t her favorite thing, it was something she was capable of doing. Madame Bustier often made her dust the store and sweep the floors. She usually did the dishes. But since it hadn’t been that long since they ate, it shouldn’t be too hard to wash.

She drew the water from the well and started scrubbing the bowls and cups. Once those were scrubbed, she rinsed them before putting them on top of the well cover to dry out in the sun. Celeste stood by the well for a few minutes to give Rusty and Jyn time to talk. She wondered what Kyn would think of his plan. To her, it was pretty solid. It would be a good way to get information without arousing suspicion. If the elves didn’t believe her story, the humans certainly wouldn’t, especially with everything that had happened in the last two decades.

After a bit, she returned to the house with the bucket and put it back. “The dishes are drying outside in the sun. We just need to remember to bring them back in before nightfall.”

“Yes, a family of goblins has nicked enough of my plates and silverware as it is.” He and Kyn were sitting at the table. “But they’re too fast for me to catch.”

“I thought goblins were no longer raiding. That’s what I’ve been told.”

“They don’t. But some of them still participate in petty theft just like some people.” Rusty got up from his chair. “I have a couple of things to finish up in the forge. Make yourselves at home.”

The half-dwarf headed out of the cabin, picking up a hammer along the way. Kyn sighed a bit.

“I’m sorry, Celeste. I know all of this has to be hard on you.” The elf stated as he took a drink from the cup he had. “And what Rusty said got me thinking. I still don’t think you slept for twenty years, but maybe something else happened to your memory.”

“Do you believe that I’m Celeste Avon now?”

“I’ll refrain from saying much else until I know more.” He sat back in the chair. “Just don’t get too hasty. Answers don’t come quickly when it comes to the mind.”

She wasn’t seeking answers for her mental state, but to ease her worries. But Kyn was right. It had been twenty years and a lot had changed. No doubt anyone she knew who was still alive changed too. Yes, she needed time to absorb everything before any real searching could begin.