We were really hoping more people would stay, but like at the end of a party, no one wanted to hang around and help clean up the mess. Well, except for the dozen Kobolds who we straight up adopted into Linqs. They even insisted on adding their loot into community storage. Dawn had a hard time trying to translate "buying stock" into a fantasy setting without our help, since we were giggling uncontrollably at her efforts, but she finally got her point across. Dola and his people were overjoyed to be a part of our family.

"Dola," Dawn says, "We're going to have a meeting. I want you to sit in with us."

Damn, I totally forgot about those meetings. They may be useful and informative, but they're so boring and it's too late to come up with an excuse to get out of this one. My eye twitches at the thought of sitting through it, especially since we have so much on the table. After each major skirmish during the Quest, we sat down to talk strategy. It was a little monotonous, like sitting in a least favorite class and I had to stop my mind from drifting off. Sometimes I would keep a blueprint screen open to keep my hands busy while we went over everything. Unlike school, however, I never had to prove I was paying attention during the meetings. My actions on the field would do that for me.

I was right. There is a ton of stuff on the docket today, the first of which is the battle and how it went. I get the feeling that Dawn might be trying to gloss over the topic and then bury it in more interesting things in case the subject of Victoria comes up. Not a bad plan since there are plenty of other things to talk about afterwards.

With over a thousand ingots each of Lucidium and Wraithsteel, we afford ourselves a little waste in the form of research so that afterwards we can utilize both as efficiently as possible. As far as the Blacksmiths have discovered, the Lucidium has the same lightweight, yet extremely tough property as Umbramium, the shadow based metal, except Lucidium has the radiant element. The Wraithsteel is still a mystery, as is what part of the wraith it came from. I had my money on the tentacles, since they made the swords, but couldn't be sure since the matte black ingots didn't have any red eyes or fangs.

The Infernal Canvas, a thick woven, yet supple, black material shows off a very feint rainbow effect if inspected a couple inches away from one's face. It imparts a multitude of elemental resistances and will probably become the base material for the new Linqs standard clothes. There may be a lot of it, but we still wanted to be absolutely sure of the items intended to be crafted from it. The same went for the Wraithsteel, since we didn't know when we would ever see it drop again. So, other than research, the only ones meant to craft with them would be Dawn and the Tailors, Xana and Truban. If I'm able to Improvise with it I would also get a chance, but I wasn't exactly rushing to try just yet. I had other things on my mind.

As thanks for helping us fight, we allowed everyone to keep the equipment we armed them with: iklwas, armor, potions, and Spell Cards. Victoria looks at all of us, "Everyone actually tried to return everything, including any rewards earned after the raid. Imagine their surprise when we turned them down. I had to explain that since they participated, they were due a portion of the reward and the gear was simply a gift from the people of Linqs."

With a wink, she continues, "I told them not to forget about us and that we would be establishing a settlement soon. They said that judging by the level of our crafters and what we simply gave away, they couldn't wait for us to open up for business."

This discussion leads directly to the subject of the Spell Cards Richter crafted. Not only were they handy and versatile, depending on what Spell is used they could be very powerful. "Right now I'm limited to a casting cost of twenty MP," Richter says, throwing his hands up in defeat, "And the only way to increase it is to practice Scribing with other, stronger Spells, I think. Unfortunately, we used up most of the scroll paper I need to create the cards and we're miles from the nearest market place."

"It's okay, Ric," Dawn comforts, "We're in no hurry at the moment. Now for the fun stuff… We need to get a deconstruction group together and post a guard detail just in case. Victoria got Sonny and Kona to scan the area for any more Porcelegion units in the streets. So far, they said it's clear. Then we'll visit the boss squatting on our dungeon."

"Do you think it's going to be a riddle-asking kind?" I ask, looking up from my blueprint screen. "Maybe we don't have to fight it?"

Dawn ponders this for a moment and looks over at Victoria who simply shrugs. "Wanna test it out?" she asks. I give her a tentative nod and she gives Victoria a Whisper Ear Cuff, "Keep an eye on him and report back as soon as you can. Just find out what the Sphinx wants, no fighting. Oh, and take the two Nightmares. Sound good?"

"Aye aye, captain," I affirm. As in, 'I see what you're doing there, you sly dog.' Dawn's face even melts into a smug smile, before popping wide open in genuine happiness.

"Totally forgot! We didn't get a chance to, but now we have a bunch of chests to open! Shall we do it outside?" The table erupts into cheering, except for Dola who shrinks and shakes in his chair.

"Like, don't worry, little lizard buddy!" Rachel says, picking him up to his feet as we all head outside the vardo. "This is going to be fun!"

I get the honor of cracking open my newly acquired Knight Chest first. After that, we'll decide who gets the Jester's Box and the Rook Chest we earned ages ago. As humble as she is, we all agree that Dawn gets to unbox the fabled Queen Chest.

With one hand holding the chest from the bottom, and the other waving theatrically on top, I look around at the others and land my eyes on Dola. With a pop and a burst of light, I reveal my prize.

[Great! You received Boots of Athleticism!]

I look down at the shoes already on my feet and shake my head, "These grant Leap and Dash, but the ones I have on are part of a much better set. Anybody need or want them?" I hold up the pair of tan leather boots with wings stitched on the ankles in red, metallic thread. There's a small pause where no one says anything until Rachel raises her hand.

"Boom," I toss her the boots and she squeels.

"I hate to be, like, stereotypical, but I love me some new shoes!" Her old ones fly into storage and she equips the new ones with another squeel, turning them this way and that, catching light on the wings and making them sparkle.

Kona has her hands flattening her ears and a grimace scrunching her face, "What do you even need those Skills for, don't you Blink Step?" She glances down at the boots and her eyes widen. Her hands drop down and her ears shoot forward at Rachel, "They are nice though, aren't they?" As the two fawn over the shoes, Serenity shakes her head and smiles. Dawn tosses the Jester's Box to Richter.

"Wanna see if we can get more scrolls?"

"Heh heh, don't mind if I do." Richter spins the cube on one of its corners in his palm. It stops right side up, like a trick he practiced many times, "Let's see, let's see. Something I want or something I need…"

The black, red, and white box is gone, but it wasn't replaced by a crate of scrolls to Dawn's dismay. Instead, a black chain necklace with a purple, crystal pendant in the shape of an open hand sits ominously in Richter's hand. He equips it and stares at a description screen.

With a wide smile, he summons his ghostly, purple Mage Hand. The pendant begins to glow and the magical hand splits into a mirroring pair. He waves and twirls both hands in the air, makes them disappear for a bit, and returns them to view with Kona's Flying Broom in their grasp.

"Hahaha! Two hands are better than one!" He laughs, lifting the broom just out of reach of the frustrated, feline Faunus. "Now, the question is, 'Did I need or want the Dyo Mage Hand Necklace?'"

"Richter…" Dawn admonishes and he returns the broom with a grin, the hands dismissing with a puff of purple smoke. "Alright, two more." She tosses Dola the Rook Chest and Victoria the Queen Chest. They both stare back at her, hoping their befuddled looks would be enough to get an answer.

"Dola, as a sign of good will towards the emancipation of you and your tribe to Linqs, you may have the honor of opening the Rook Chest." He looks down at it with eyes wide and jaw slack, turning it around with his claws. Victoria still has her eyebrow arched and Dawn returns it with a sly laugh and a grin, "You're our resident royalty so you get the Queen Chest!"

Vic scoffs and rolls her eyes, but she begrudgingly smiles back, "Fine, but I'm not lucky with these things." A flash and pop steals our attention from her and toward the source of the distraction.

Growing pale and quivering, Dola hands a polished metal-bound book to Dawn before feinting. Rachel is the one to catch him before he hits the ground, using her new Dash Skill to move behind him in an instant. Dawn describes that, instead of a title on the front, the two chapters within are listed on the front with room for more. She opens the description screen and gives us a moment to read it before activating it.

[Zan-grim's Tome of Fortifications. Master Wonderous Object

[Hamfell Zan-grim, a master Scribe and Blacksmith, was once a weapons designer for the Algomin'ra Kingdom. This item was lost in a raid on the capital city by a nomadic tribe of warriors.

[Each chapter is a Transformation Ritual Spell that targets the book and changes it into a type of fortification after reciting that chapter's incantation.

[Chapter 1 - Wall of Swords

[Durability: 300/300, Base Damage: 20, Armor: 10, 10*Simple Iron Sabers

[Chapter 2 - Instant Fortress

[Durability: 800/800, Armor: 30, 12ft x 12ft x 15ft.

[Each Spell lasts 8hours/dismissed and has a 72hour cooldown. If the structure is reduced to 0Durability then it will return to book form and will have a 7day cooldown. Up to 3 more Transformation Ritual Spells may be enscribed into the Tome of Fortifications. Only Transformation Ritual Spells may be used in this way.]

Just like the one that gave us the Nightshade, this Rook Chest has gifted us a fun new way to play the game. There's nothing overly powerful about this item, but it does offer opportunities to be and to become extremely useful. Risking the need to use it later, Dawn activates Wall of Swords by reciting the incantation.

"Cold iron into living steel. Ancient defenders, come forth. Create the array for life. Wall of Swords!"

"Cheesey…" I tease from behind her. She flips me the bird as a large magic circle appears on the road in front of her. Ten iron sabers rise up from the ground within the circle and float into the air. They form two, staggered rows with some swinging room in between each sword, but close enough to each other that, if they can't move further than a couple feet from their point of origin, they can still pair up on a single target. I'm itching to see them in action, but there are no Porcelegion soldiers left in the streets according to Sonny, Kona, and Serenity.

"What if I--" A slap to the back of my head stops me, sending my hat flying into my hands and shooting a spike of hot embarassment through me.

"Don't you dare finish your suggestion, Winters." Victoria follows her assault with a hand running through my flames, then resting her forearm on my shoulder. "We'll get to see it in action soon enough. Or do you not want to see what I can pull?"

Dawn dismisses the wall and the magic circle fades away, taking the swords with it. We all gather around Victoria. The Queen Chest has the same basic, wooden box design the size of a typical shoebox as all the other Chessts. The logo of the queen piece sits neatly on the center of the half cylinder lid. According to Sonny during my very first round of unboxing in the Rentas Dungeon, only one other Queen Chest has ever been opened in recorded, Arcean history. But now…

A hard slap to my rear is echoed by the creak of an opening lid. The flash and the pop aren't any different and a platinum ring takes the place of the box, laying in Victoria's hands. I'm not sure if everyone else was expecting an airship or giant, flaming sword like I was, but I know I wasn't expecting to see something so… normal?

She opens up a small description screen and pushes the screen in front of me. Her hand balls up into a fist around her prize and she falls to her knees. She takes in short, rapid breaths and grits her teeth in agony. One of her hands stops me from helping her up and I look at the screen to find the explanation.

[Ring of Freydis Regalus. Unique Mythic Accessory. Ring

[Requirement: Valkyrie Race

[This enchanted ring was imbued with the spirit of a dying Legate Valkyrie who led her soldiers to victory against overwhelming odds. Her energy altered and strengthened the affects of this ring.

[Armor: 5

[+5Strength, +5Dexterity

[Awaken Skill: Valkyrie Wings]

Everyone stares at me expectantly, so I clear my throat, "Okay… this ring actually belonged to her grandmother, Legate Freydis Regalus. It… um… is a very important family heirloom. Uh…" I clear my throat once more, glancing down at Victoria as she mournfully inspects the item.

"It's okay, Ardy. I can trust everyone here,"she mumbles as she chokes down her emotions, dragging her forearm across her eyes. "I'm… I'm a Valkyrie…"

Kona and Serenity gasp aloud even bringing an arm up as if to defend against the revelation. Elsbeth's melancholic demeanor changes into one of deep thought as she ponders the implication. Sonny and the players don't react to her words in any way and I'm finally allowed to help lift her back on her feet.

"I'm sorry I never told you…" To see this normally strong woman shrink into her chest is unbearable. I reach a hand for her shoulder, but another beats me there. Elsbeth turns her around and embraces Victoria. She struggles against her weakly, protesting, but not really trying to escape. Kona, too, goes in for a tentative hug, motioning with her head for Serenity to join. The Infernus whinces, and jerks back slightly. Kona doesn't force her any further, closing her eyes and pressing her cheek against Vic's back.

I can see the turmoil on Serenity's face. She's going over history, the world's and her own. She remembers the lessons of suffering and bloodshed, but also the sacrifice and comfort she experienced for herself. Her eyes turn to us. We want to plead a case for Victoria, but it's not up to us to decide how she should feel. I can guess what she might be thinking. Here she is, facing one of the people who has been caring for her and defending her against real monsters and villians. Someone who brought her hope, gave her strength, lead her to love again. This person who has been scarred and cast aside from her home in the same way as she had is supposed to be a blood thirsty monster from legend? This woman, crying into her friend's shoulder over the memory of her grandmother and from the shame of her exposed heritage is supposed to be a Bloody Angel?

She takes as step forward, hesitating to take another. Her hand reaches out, fingertips landing on a shoulder. Kona looks up at Serenity and the ruby red hand that's sliding down to her back. There's a smile curling both of their lips, "Victoria means more to me than her bloodline. I'm sure the others will agree."

"Look at me, blubbering again." Vic laughs and clears her throat, "I need to go kill something. Ardy?"

"Hey now, don't kill me. Kona's gonna get mad at me again." My hands wave in protest. The heavy atmosphere lifts away and everyone gets in one last hug before disengaging. "I think I still have the Nightmare cards and my Rucksack, so I'm ready to go when you are, Lieutenant."

"Right," Vic says with a sniff and ruffles Kona's hair and ears. She bows and bumps her forehead against Elsbeth's, "Thank you, everyone. We'll save the big reveal to the rest of Linqs for later, shall we?"

I pull out the white book Miss Delvina gave me, it actually didn't have a title even in the description screen, and hold it up in the air, "After you show me your new Feat, we're going to have a little history lesson."

[Return to Battle: If the owner of this Feat dies in combat, they are returned to the battlefield with 1HP after a 1minute cooldown. This can only be used once every 6months.]

After reading Victoria's Feat, it actually made her grandmother's story make sense. As loyal as her soldiers might have been, if she were to come back from the dead by rays of light and mistakenly revealing that she was a Valkyrie their allegiances would have been strained to say the least. If they did turn on their beloved Legate, then they could've made up any old story to save everyone's reputations, tellkng everyone she died a hero and leaving the soldiers off the hook for their mutiny. The biggest differences between Freydis and Vic's deaths, is the amount of witnesses and the involvement of the players.

Atop our mounts, lovingly named Corsina and Avronette by Lavina, Victoria reads the book while I keep a look out. According to what she's read so far, the first Valkyries were actually soldiers specifically created by and for the Heroes and the wars they constantly waged. They were an amalgamation of different types of Summoning and Transformation Spells and a mix of several races, mainly Celestial. That was why they were born with several innate Feats and that, even when the bloodline diluted, some Feats managed to survive through the generations. Historians aren't clear on what exactly happened to the Heroes, but after they vanished from the world, the Valkyries were allowed to continue living on Arc.

At first, not knowing what else to do, the Valkyries continued to fight each other and pretty much anything else that crossed their path. Different hero factions went to war, killing themselves by the hundreds, until they realized that no new Valkyries would be born and their dwindling numbers meant that eventually they would be wiped out. This was important to them, not because of self-preservation of their race, but because they genuinely loved fighting and, well, they wouldn't be able to if they weren't around anymore.

So, they gathered the remaining population to one area, established a city, Coronus, and hatched a plan. Being a gender specific race, they created a sort of Quest that lured men of all races to their city. They chose ones with high Potential, an odd Stat like Luck, that cannot be quantified, but something that the Valkyries could see.

That part makes me wonder about her feelings toward me, and whether or not the love she feels is actually an instinct left over from her ancestry? When she failed to get pregnant with Lord Bertrand, was it because she couldn't or was it something else? Maybe she and I are more compatible? Maybe she and I could…?

"Ardacen…" She stops her Nightmare and it takes me a moment to do the same. "You don't think the way I feel about you is--"

"Whether it is or it isn't, you chose me. And until you find someone better, you're stuck with me." I laugh weakly, but it gets her to smile. "Here, show me the description screen of your ring while you keep reading the book," I say as a way of changing the subject for both our sakes.

I look it over again, this time scanning the new Skill to see what it does and it explains a lot about her. It's a Racial Skill that can only be used when Awakened under certain circumstances, just like her Valkyrian Bond Feat. And, like Valkyrian Bond, it suits her personality to a T.

>Scan

At level 23, Vic's MP is at 48 and her regeneration rate is 2MP per second. So, even though her SP is at 210, she can only use Valkerie Wings once and then she has to wait about thirty seconds, which can be a long time in a normal battle.

Anyway, the Skill certainly explains her love of weapons and growing stockpile. We take a short break to explore her new Ability. There is a trio of Dire Wolves directly on our path that we could probably avoid, but it's almost like we were meant to run into them.

She starts off simple, leaving her hands empty and focusing on the Thunderstruck and Ramona's Memory floating behind her. When I ask her, she tells me that she can feel limbs on her back and the leather grips of each weapon in the grasp of something that feels like hands. Even with Arcane Vision, I inform her that I can't see anything holding them up.

"Queen Herexa's Regalus Shards bracelet works just like this," she says as she waves each weapon in turn, "except on a much grander scale. Do you think she has more Awakened Abilities, then? None of us ever talked about this root of our ancestry. Well, not to me anyway. Maybe the book talks about the Shards. There's so much I don't know and so much I thought I did, Ardy."

When we make our final approach to the Dire Wolves there is no hesitation in her attacks She doesn't say a word, giving all of her attention to the task at hand. I support her with Hellbent Roar and Beacon of Alacrity, readying myself to cast Healing Breeze or one of my attack Spells just in case, but they aren't really necessary. Once she became comfortable with the Skill, she drew out an Ace of Spades and juggled all three weapons between her hands and the phantom limbs. If she was busy using a weapon in her hands, the "weapon wings" would fan out and only attack if any of the Dire Wolves got near enough. Soon, she starts to pepper in some Skills when the appropriate weapon would be in her hands. Once her shield made its appearance and her halo switched on to increase her rainbow bar regeneration, her resemblance to the term "Bloody Angel" became crystal clear.

At higher levels, more weapons will be added to her wings and the first thing that pops into my mind is Vic versus Sonny, fighting each other without moving a single muscle. Maybe they can spar later and teach each other? I daydream fight as I inspect the new Monster Essence Core in my hand.

"Gods, that was fun!" She activates her Skill once more as I pick up the loot sacks. "Almost makes me proud to be a Valkyrie…" She freezes at her own words. Her weapons droop to the ground as she stares at her grandmother's ring. I summon both mounts and bring them closer to her.

"Well, you're not like the first ones, right?" She mounts her Nightmare and looks back at me with a puzzled expression. "You're not always trying to kill everything like some battle junky. You're fairly civilized, I mean, look at your Artisan Classes. Dancer? Musician?"

We continue our conversation and our journey as the sun gets closer to setting. Vic interrupts herself to ask me to help her find a safe place to camp for the night, "Anyway, I was forced to learn those, just like all the women in my family. I think our parents just tried to dull our edges so we didn't become blood thirsty monsters."

"Did you?" My question startles her and she doesn't answer right away. "Did you become a blood thirsty monster?"

She casts her eyes down to her mount's neck, "I don't know. I love combat and weapons, Ardy. I'm everything the book says a Valkyrie is. I have two Feats and a useable Racial Skill to prove it."

"All that proves is your ancestry. When the people of Linqs needed your help, what did you do? When your husband at the time, cheated on you and kicked you out of your home, your city, what did you do? Did you just say 'fuck it' and go on a murderous rampage?" I couldn't ask about her time in the military since I woefully remain ignorant about it.

"I sure as hells, thought about it…"

"Instead, you helped people. You saved Elsbeth and Ramona and Kona. You gathered other exiles together and kept them safe and alive. Sure you fought, you fought to protect people. It's okay to like combat, I like it too. It doesn't have to define you."

I search my Bracelet of Storage for something and withdraw it, "You crafted this for me, remember?" I hold up the Improvised Brigandine she made for me in Rentas Dungeon. I've used it as emergency armor ever since. "You could've made a weapon for me, but you didn't. You chose to make this. You chose to protect me."

She wipes a tear from her eye, "You look too deeply into things." When her eyes meet mine again, a thin smile brightens her face, "Thank you, though. Really. Maybe I shouldn't read the rest of the book myself." She tosses it back to me and I put it and the armor away.

"I'll read it and tell you about the good stuff. How about that?"

She snorts a short laugh, patting Corsina on the side of her neck, "I love it when you give me the good stuff."