“Even if seeing the world is fun and exciting, Home is still always the best.” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

Rather than accompany the Bone Lord on the remaining conquest of Vitalica, Aideen’s party was given a direct order to return to the Lichdom for rest and recuperation instead, so they did just that. Aieen had no real worries about the conquest, so she left without much fuss, knowing all too well that even at its peak, Vitalica would have never stood even the slightest inkling of a chance against the Lichdom.

Aideen also had no real worries about the survivors from Danna. This was not the first time the Lichdom conquered another land, and relocation of refugees was something they were quite well versed in. Secure in the knowledge that the survivors were in good hands, she could take her – somewhat forced – rest without too much troubles in her thoughts.

The order to rest and recuperate also extended to Kino and the three siblings, who had been with her over the mess. As such, they dropped off their reports – mostly the information they received in the north, as well as a summarized version of what happened in Danna – at a Death’s Hand facility near the border once they returned to the Lichdom.

They also met with Celia shortly afterwards, as the girl had been out with Mallard when the incident happened and thus missed out on the muster and first wave of the march. She came along with the second wave, only to run into Aideen’s group as they returned. They exchanged worried hugs and stories of what they had been up to once they ran into each other.

“I was wondering why the Bone Lord mustered the army and launched an invasion so suddenly, but I guess it made sense when you put things that way,” said Celia when Aideen told her of the group’s experiences in Danna. “That place would have gone to hell in a handbasket by their own doing had we done nothing, so I guess they’d be gone one way or another.”

“What was it like over there?” asked Kino with some curiosity. “I never got to ask how everyone else saw what happened back there from afar. I did hear that it’s supposedly visible worldwide, Deities involved and all, but I’m curious what it looks like to people watching that happen from afar. Those three don’t count as far as they’re in the same city,” she added while gesturing towards the three siblings.

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“Oh, it was quite a spectacle, all right. We were sleeping when we were suddenly awakened by this sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once, then when we looked outside, we could see the Deity’s manifestation in the distance clearly, somehow, and even heard what she said. It was a rather humbling thing, all considered. A lot of people went straight to the temples and prayed after it happened.”

“Master Mallard was quite shocked to see something like that. If he wasn’t Unliving I think he might have had a heart attack and dropped dead right there, I swear,” added Celia with some amusement. “I immediately tried to get back to the north once I saw that happen to look for some information, but I only arrived in Tohrmutgent after the first wave of the army had already left, so I joined the second wave, and you know the rest. Now it's my turn. What was it like to see it up close?”

“Probably not much different than what you described, to be honest, other than having a much more up close and personal view of the things happening,” admitted Kino with a shrug of her shoulders. I do agree that it was a very… humbling experience. Nothing like seeing a Deity manifest right next to you to make you feel small and insignificant.”

“Must be something, all right,” agreed Celia as she nodded her head. “You three also definitely got way more than what you bargained for on this outing, huh? Not that anyone can really plan for sudden acts of the Divine messing up one’s planned itinerary, I guess.”

“You can say that again, Miss Celia,” said Eilonwy with a shrug of her shoulders. “I had thought that this trip would just be a typical first official run for me and Kino as agents, not… well… something that involves the Deities and a whole invasion force on top of everything.”

“Definitely not what we expected either,” admitted Áine with a shake of her head. “Me and Rhys just thought we’d keep Eilo company since we have some free time and missed her a bit. To be honest, things were going about as we expected, up until we went to Danna. That’s where things just went completely out of our plans all of a sudden.”

“Chalk it up for the whims of a madman that happens to be in power, girls,” noted Aideen with a sigh. “If a madman is in a menial position, the damage they can do is similarly minimal at best, but if one is given power like the one we had to deal with… The damage they could do to the world at large might well be something that called for Divine intervention.”

“It’s a lesson to learn for the future, if any of you happen to be living elsewhere and see such a madman making their way up the rungs of power. It might be worthwhile to upend your life there to get rid of such a person rather than let them inflict their madness upon everyone else,” she continued. “Failing that, you could instead just pack up and get out of there before things go badly. Either works and honestly, depending on the situation, sometimes such an ending might well be what some places deserve.”

“Fair point. I guess if the people somewhere chose to put such a madman on the throne on their own, it’s not exactly our responsibility as passersby to fix things for them,” noted Rhys with a nod. “How do you usually like to say it, Aunt? They reap what they sow?”

“Precisely, Rhys. You can help people from disaster, but you cannot save them from themselves. Keep that in mind.”