"A phoenix?" Willem had heard about this particular Magical Beast before, within the partially damaged books in the Grand Library. Thanks to Archus, who made him memorize the contents of such books during his time as an apprentice, he knew that the phoenix was also considered an immortal Magical Beast.

"The phoenix... Only one of his species... Brighter than the Sun and equal in size to our own species." The old man stroked his beard slowly.

(The phoenix is said to be able to reincarnate after dying or expending it's life force. The details of the actual method was skewed within the books.) Willem thought as he waited for the old man to speak again.

"The Old Gods had gifted me with a mate whom would keep me company until we could ascend together. She was born from half of my own lifespan to be by my side. However, the phoenix was alone, as he had always been. He was proud and arrogant, and he coveted what he could never have, someone to be with." The old man placed another memory within view for Willem to reach.

Willem reached out to the memory and the world again altered from the blackness, changing to red skies and bounds of trees with every shade of green.

Small creatures such as wolves and foxes, bears, and other forest life seemed to stand in vigil over the body of the female Stinging Blood Tortoise. Deep gashes and scorch marks marred the body as if a terrible fight had occurred. The blood of the Tortoise flowed into the ground, permanently discoloring the dirt red.

Despite the massive mounds of fresh flesh and blood, none of the predators within the area touched the Great Magical Beast's body. Instead, as if in solace, the beasts kept a quiet watch over the body to make sure it was undisturbed, day and night.

The view of the memory was from the position of the male Stinging Blood Tortoise, but slightly distorted in the fact that the female Tortoise's face could still not be seen.

"When a being attempts to ascend, they must do so in quiet seclusion. For this reason, I bore a hole in some mountain the Old Gods had left for us and focused on cultivating my ascension. I was gone for a hundred or so years before a feeling of devastation hit me suddenly." The frail old man shed a tear as he recalled the events leading up to the memory. "I was a fool to think the phoenix would not harm her while I was gone, young and naive... So young, she was so young."

Willem held up his hand in order to touch the female Tortoise's leg, which was splintered and cracking. His hand moved through the vivid depiction and he recoiled quickly.

"Such pain and fear I had never known, and I understood quickly that she was being attacked. We were of one body and one soul, how could I not know when she was in pain? I destroyed the mountain I resided in and crashed through the forests to get to her. Alas, even after traveling many days and nights, I was still two days too late. By the time the pain and fear was gone, her life had been extinguished. The path I took tore and sundered the earth, but I cared not. When she passed, I listlessly arrived to see the beasts watching over her body. Both predator and prey dared not shed blood in her presence. She detested violence, and was more than happy enough just being by my side. The beasts explained that the phoenix had come in the night while she slept and tore at her for days." The old man wiped the memory away as the beasts standing vigil left the corpse and went back into the forest, as if they had fulfilled their duty.

Willem stared into the black and pondered.

"Was there more to that memory?" Willem asked quietly.

"Yes, but who would want to see a Tortoise cry so much that he made a lake." The old man half-smiled and picked a new memory for Willem to watch.

"Try this one." The old man waved his hand nonchalantly.

The memory that the frail old man chose for Willem was just slightly after the events of the previous one. The Tortoise rose from the lake that he had created and tracked down the phoenix using every method he could. Willem memorized how he used the absence or abundance of heat to track down the beast, only to eventually find the phoenix devouring one of his spawn.

With pure anger as motivation, the Stinging Blood Tortoise used every ounce of magic within him to try and burn out the phoenix using Water Magic. Thousands of jets of water fired at the phoenix who had previously been occupied with eating the Tortoise spawn.

Caught slightly unaware, the phoenix had no way of casting protection magic in time and it's body of fire was quickly extinguished. With it's fire gone, the phoenix slowly withered to nothing while the Tortoise stood over it.

"Why, why would you take her from me? Answer me before you die." The Tortoise in the memory spoke.

"The strong kill the weak, all your children are dead. You were too slow." The phoenix answered.

The Tortoise watched as the enemy whom had stolen everything from him faded to nothing.

"As I watched the final ashes fall to the ground, a blazing light twice as bright as the sun exploded out and I was temporarily blinded." The old man explained as the memory turned completely white. "This was before I understood that the phoenix could reincarnate."

Willem nodded along with the explanation, waiting for the blinding light to disappear.

The light slowly dissipated, and the Tortoise saw the phoenix in all it's glory, seemingly completely unharmed. Unsure of what happened or what to do, and with nothing left to live for, the Tortoise gave it's life.

"Kill me. You have stolen everything from me." The tortoise in the memory quietly said.

"No, you will remain here with your failure, forever knowing you could have saved her... Saved them." The phoenix cried out and the trees and earth burned to black.

Before the phoenix flew away, it glanced back at the Tortoise and winked it's eye.

"The phoenix destroyed my memory of her, so that I could no longer remember what she looked like. I told you there were many from my time that were much better at mind magic. I did not even know of such an ability, let alone concoct a defense for it. I tried many times to find the phoenix again, only to be too late to it's destruction. Whole forests burned, lakes dried, earth was scorched wherever he landed, and dormant volcanoes became active in his presence." The old man once again wiped the memory away to black. "I can only guess that the Old Gods saw what they reaped upon the world, since one day any trace of the phoenix was gone. No fluctuations in heat, no trails of flames, only ashes from reincarnating and phoenix feathers from molting."

Willem remained in quiet contemplation while he did his best to remember every detail he was shown.

"The Old Gods looked upon me with pity and gifted me with the ability to command lesser Magical Beasts, and they filled this world with them, even going so far as to make a one way bridge from their world to ours. You have once gone to this place, though to the you now it was probably too dangerous to go further." The old man flashed a memory that was not his own, where Willem traveled through the Void and came across a deep cut in the earth that had sent shivers down his spine. "We call it The Red Maw, and it spews out the creations of the Old Gods that are not deemed worthy to remain in the other world."

"How do you know so much about this place?" Willem asked.

"Easy, I hold dominion over it. Even if my physical body is here, the gift the Old Gods gave me have no limitation." The old man smirked to himself.

Willem thought it over a moment, but decided to remain quiet. If he needed an explanation for everything he was told, the war would be over by the time he was done.

"I believe I understand, and I think I can help you get revenge for what the phoenix has done to you." Willem looked the old man in the eyes with conviction.

"I believe you, but I still will not take a side in this little game of war. Either way, I will get the Primordial Soul of that bastard." The frail old man matched Willem's eye line.

"Just allowing us access to the Blood City will be enough, whoever wins bears no consequence for you." Willem did his best to negotiate for assistance.

"Just grant entrance to the city? This can be done." The old man scratched at the turtle shell on his back.

"Fantastic, my soldiers will be moving tomorrow morning, but I will keep the battle short and quick so that we can continue our conversation." Willem bowed to the old man.

"Hah, you are confident and determined. I think you would do quite well if you do manage to ascend. I will wait for the end of the battle to contact you." The Stinging Blood Tortoise ended the mental connection and closed his eyes to sleep.

During the conversation with the Tortoise the day had gone and passed quite quickly. The night was dark and filled with stars, complete with a full moon overhead.

Willem drifted quickly back to the Bastion of Hope while avoiding the large denizens of the Void.

When he finally arrived back to his Private Sanctum, he closed his eyes and "rested" until the time to march.

Within the Bastion Of Hope, the inner city.

Despite not knowing why the swordsman would want to speak with them, or why he retracted his sword, Eleanor stood her ground and waited to see what he had to say.

"As I have previously explained, I am an emissary of the Grand Mage, Grandia. All six of you are on the list of important guests welcome to come to his Private Sanctum. Unfortunately, I can see the confusion on your faces and I cannot provide to you an explanation, it may be in your best interest to speak with the Grand Mage yourself." The emissary pulled out six necklaces with runic symbols carved into every one of them from his pocket.

They glowed a faint yellow, pulsing and receding like a firefly. The emissary waited for each person in the group to take one.

"What is this?" Eleanor studied the runic symbols but could not understand what it meant.

"From what I understand, these were especially made for you by the Grand Mage, they are connected to the teleportation array of the Private Sanctum. They do not require any magical ability to use, therefore your non-magical companions can use them. Just speak the word 'home' while holding it in your hand and you will be transported." The emissary closed the book he held and nodded his head in affirmation.

Eleanor stood with a blank expression on her face, but held the necklace tight.

The emissary bowed and left first, well aware that the task entrusted to him could take quite some time.

"Eleanor, what should we do?" Craig was the first to speak up, after the shocking turn of events.

"To ignore a Grand Mage's summons, even I am not that brave." Eleanor clasped the necklace around her neck.

The other five in the group mimicked Eleanor and wore their necklaces.

"Ready?" Eleanor nodded her head to the group.

"As I will ever be." Veeta took a deep breath.

"Home." They spoke in unison while grasping the pendants.

Magic encircled the six as the world warped and distorted in front of them, and after a brief moment they were within the Private Sanctum.

"Welcome!" The minor families who frequented the teleportation array greeted the new guests.