During the next seven days, we walked right behind Aydaan as he guided us through the ashen wasteland. The Servant was now marching Northwest, leading us closer to the base of a mountain range that loomed on the horizon. As we got closer to it, the number of Necromantic horrors and other creatures increased, which made sneaking past them much more difficult. Wraith and I fought them more often than before, while poor Aydaan simply ran and hid, stating he wasn’t designed for combat.

Speaking of my Champion, I noticed that after Aydaan revealed to him the true nature of his pendant, he had spent most of the time without uttering a single word, often staring to the northern mountains with brooding eyes. He was clearly bothered by the implications of having a memento of one of the Ruling Houses of old A’dar hanging around his neck. I tried my best to take him away from his troubling thoughts, but he always rebuked me quite harshly, saying that he was fine.

“But you are not, Wraith!” I finally said after his umpteenth dismissal of my concerns. “Not only you’ve been awfully quiet these last days, but I’ve seen you eating much less than usual. If I’ve known beforehand that learning more about your pendant would upset you like this, I…”

“You what?” my Champion snapped. “Woulda kept your damned trap shut? But you needed to sate your scholar’s curiosity, no? Well, it’s sated now!”

“I just don’t understand why it bothers you so much!” I yelled my own frustration. “You said that you didn’t care about it!”

“I didn't care when it was just a worthless piece of metal, but now-”

Wraith stopped and took a deep breath. “Now I can only wonder what the hell does it mean for me… Treasures from the fucking rulers of a lost civilization don’t end up around your neck by accident, you know?”

He looked at me straight to the eyes, his azure ones clouded by uncertainty. “I can’t help but think that whatever this damned thing store is meant for me. I’m even surprised it's driving me crazy so badly. Maybe I’m…” he stammered, “maybe I’m afraid of knowing… of what it could mean for me.”

This was the very first time that Wraith admitted being afraid of something since I met him. Not even the perils of the Wastes seemed to faze him, yet he was deeply troubled by the possible contents of his Memory Crystal?

I guess even the bravest is afraid of something; for my Champion, it was the fear that unveiling the pendant’s secret could cause, or force, an unwanted change in him.

I approached Wraith slowly and gently took his hands on mine. His gaze darted away in embarrassment.

“Shittiest Champion ever, right?” he chuckled dispassionately. “Scared of a glorified medal of all things…”

I tightened my grip on his hands in a reassuring gesture. “It’s alright to be afraid sometimes, Wraith. That won’t make me think any less of you. In fact, I believe that I couldn’t have asked the Gods for a better Champion.”

“And just look at you, acting so fucking cool now!” he smirked. “Keep on that and I might fall head over heels for you! You’ve been clear from the start that you wanted me to stay professional, remember?”

“Well,” I smiled, my own eyes drifting sideways. “Maybe… something has changed in me since then… Change might be a daunting prospect sometimes, but isn’t necessarily a bad thing…”

“No…” he whispered. “I guess it might be nice sometimes…”

I dared to look forward again, and I noticed that Wraith had leaned in, his face just a couple of inches away from mine; his piercing blue eyes stared at me intently, and I felt the warmth of his breath dispelling the chill air around me.

My cheeks started to burn, and my heart raced to overwhelming speed. I closed my eyes and leaned in, slowly narrowing the gap between his lips and mine…

… When what could only be described as the Machina equivalent of a loud throat-clearing rasp forced me to reopen my eyes and step away from my Champion in deep embarrassment. Wraith seemed quite flustered as well.

We turned our attention to our mechanical friend, who was simply staring at us from a few steps ahead, his crystal eye blinking at a lightning-fast speed.

“Aydaan is really sorry to interrupt Lady Shjasta and Master Wraith’s public display of affection,” he said with his monotone, mechanic voice. “But he must warn you that a potential danger approaches.”

When we finally remembered where we were, we ran towards a nearby rocky outcrop. Once safely hidden from the approaching peril Aydaan spotted, Wraith dared to take a quick look to identify the menace.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Our long-lost Anchlesian friends finally showed up,” he said after stepping back. “Five of them, lightly armored. A scouting party.”

“Aydaan remembers what Lady Shjasta said of the Anchlesian Empire a few days ago. That they are really bad people that worship the Raven of Death.”

“Indeed,” I nodded. “They are planning to claim a powerful artifact hidden in this place to help them conquer the whole of the continent.”

Wraith quickly put up a strategy against the Anchlesian scouts. He asked Aydaan to serve as a distraction while he sneaked on them. I was to climb the outcropping and cast my fire magic at them from a safe distance.

The Servant reluctantly agreed with the plan and stepped out of our hiding spot to intercept the approaching party. Wraith went the opposite direction to go around the rock formation and approach them from the rear.

I climbed to the top of the rock and stayed low, waiting for my Champion to initiate his attack. From my vantage point I could clearly see the Raven scouts closing in on our position.

They wore leather armor unlike the Legions, but their design and pitch-black color were unmistakably Anchlesian. The five men carried short swords hanging from their belts and crossbows slung over their backs. They wore cloaks of a deep crimson hue, and their heads were covered by helmets adorned with black plumes on the sides, making them look like men with bird heads.

I next noticed Aydaan entering the right corner of my sight, rushing towards the Anchlesians while waving his arms effusively to get their attention, as if the fact that he was a walking metal man wasn’t a quaint enough sight to do the trick.

The Ravens rushed to Aydaan’s side, swords and crossbows at the ready. The Machina fell to his knees with his arms high over his head to show he wasn’t carrying any weapons. The scouts surrounded him menacingly, and I started to fear for my new friend’s safety when I noticed a shadow moving on the corner of my left eye.

It was Wraith. He moved surprisingly fast, and yet his feet didn’t raise a single puff of dust with each step forward. He really was a sneaking expert, and none of the distracted scouts noticed him until he had unsheathed his blade and pounced forward to strike the closest one to him, running the blade right through his target's back while pulling him towards the ground.

That was my cue to step out of my hiding place. I took the gnarled wooden staff hanging on the outside of my rucksack with my left hand, while I raised my right arm and opened my hand. I sank the tip of the staff firmly on the rock while I recited a quick prayer to invoke the Gods’ cleansing flame.

A small sphere formed in my hand, which grew larger and warmer quickly, becoming as large as a melon in less than a second. I hurled it towards the Anchlesian scouts a hundred yards away from me. The flaming projectile rushed forward, and while it didn’t hit anyone directly, upon touching the ground it caused an explosion of such intensity that it pushed everyone - including Wraith and Aydaan – several feet away from the blast.

I must admit that even I was surprised! Never before was my Fire magic that powerful before. Maybe the tiara and the staff I received from the Emissaries were indeed amplifying my Gods-given power?

In any case and despite the unexpected potency of my fireball, Wraith got up faster than the remaining four scouts and managed to kill another one before he had a chance to get up. However, the other three surrounded him.

I asked the Gods for their fire once more and produced another fireball. I aimed for a spot a few feet behind the Anchlesians to make sure the resulting explosion only affected them. And it worked.

After this point my Champion had little trouble dispatching all of the scouts except one he held at sword point, making him kneel on the ground. He then looked in my direction and beckoned me to approach.

“I spared this one so he can tell us about their plans,” Wraith said as I was within earshot. “By the way, you gotta be careful with those damned fireballs of yours next time!”

“Sorry!” I apologized. “Something unexpected happened to my spells.”

I took a closer look at the captured scout. He was perhaps a few years older than us, his deep black eyes burning with terrible anger. He looked at me from head to toe and hissed.

“A Yslean bitch and a Yeonbrookean punk, matching the description of the ousted Princess Shjasta and her Champion…”

“You are awfully well informed of what happens in Ysle, Anchlesian,” Wraith said while pressing the tip of his sword against the man’s throat. “But talk out of line again and I’ll make you eat your own damned tongue!”

“We have our way of knowing things, Yeonbrookean” the scout flashed a sly smile. “The Raven-priests have eyes and ears everywhere. And we know why you are here.”

“And we know why you are here, Raven” I retorted. “We’ve heard it from one of your escaped slaves.”

“Then you know that it’s already too late to stop us,” the scout interjected. “The Empire will get through sheer ingenuity what it couldn’t by force of arms. And not for a lack of trying, might I add!"

The scout's eyes turned to me. "Ysle paid a heavy price for their freedom, which only happened after the previous Princess had no choice but to go to Yeonbrooke and spread her legs in front of the Triumvirs like a cheap whore!”

Angered by the way he spoke of my mother, I slapped the man in the face with all the strength and fury I could muster. His left cheek started to redden and swell, but he kept his irritating little smile.

“Tell us everything you know about the ‘Heart’ your masters seek!” I demanded.

“Might as well tell you, for you won’t be able to do shit to stop the Raven-priests from getting their prize!” the Anchlesian chortled. “An entire Legion is preparing to march towards A’dar as we speak. And it’s led by the Arch-priest himself!”

“Cut the crap and speak up, you little shit!” Wraith growled with clenched teeth, pressing his blade just enough to draw a bit of blood from the scout’s neck.

“We are looking for a remnant of the Raven God,” the Anchlesian finally said. “His Shade once roamed this land, and though it was banished by the A’dari, some of its power remained. That’s the Heart… the Heart of Kalymnos, the One and True God! With it, Anchlesia will have the power to rule all of Alnor forever!”

Upon hearing this I felt light-headed, and a cold sweat started to bead my brow. I used the staff as support to avoid falling to the ground.

“The Heart of a Void-lord… Gods protect us!” I whispered fearfully.

“Your pathetic Gods couldn’t even protect their holy city from us!” the man laughed.

“The Gods work in ways no human mind could possibly comprehend,” I said after recovering. “Maybe They let Their City fall so we could be here today to learn about your plans; so we could warn the Compact about them.”

“Do you think the Triumvirs will be able to stop a living god? You are a delusional bitch!” the scout laughed again.

“Enough, Raven! Time for you to meet your Dark God!” Wraith said as he prepared to strike down the Anchlesian.

But it was then that we heard a loud screech coming from beyond the black clouds above us.

We looked up just in time to see a large flying Waste-monster diving at great speed towards us, its huge maw wide-open and ready to swallow us whole. Wraith grabbed me and pushed us both away from the gaping, teeth-studded jaws, while Aydaan ran in the opposite direction, howling in fear.

The Anchlesian scout, however, couldn’t do anything to avoid being devoured by the flying monstrosity while being on his knees. It was so fast he didn’t even have time to scream in terror.

The creature started to flap its leathery wings to gain altitude and speed, soaring away from us.

“Hopefully that will be enough to sate the monster’s hunger,” Wraith said. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” I replied as I got up and started to dust off my robe.

Another piercing screech broke the silence, and we saw the flying monster turning back towards us. It seemed that the Raven only whetted its appetite after all! It came to us at a blazing speed, ready to gulp us in one go.

“Try to cast another of your souped-up fireballs, Shjasta,” my Champion suggested. “Hopefully it’ll dissuade the damn thing from eating us!”

I did as Wraith requested, holding the staff while intoning my prayer to the Gods. I tried to hold the fireball in my palm for as long as I could, watching it grow larger and hotter. When the Waste-monsters was less than a couple hundred yards away I unleashed it.

The flaming sphere swished as it flew through the air, almost as fast as the monster. It crashed squarely on its head, and the resulting explosion brought the beast down, its body sliding over the ground for several feet until it lost its momentum. I thought I had killed the monster at first, but it immediately got up, shrieking in pain, its head swinging wildly from left to right. Flapping its wings rapidly, it went airborne again, flying right past our heads, speeding away from us until we lost sight of it.

“That was very close,” Aydaan said as he came out of hiding. “Aydaan is really sorry he is of no use in combat,” he lowered his head, his eye dimming until it almost stopped glowing.

“Aydaan wishes he was designed for combat, so he could help his friends,” he lamented.

“You have been of great help to us so far, Aydaan,” I said, taking his mechanical hands between mine. “Maybe we couldn't have made it this far without you.”

The Servant rose his head slowly, and his eye started to glow brightly again. “Lady Shjasta is too kind to Aydaan,” he said.

“We are just a few more days from the Sanctum. We must continue.”

The three of us resumed our march, leaving behind the battle site and the unburied bodies of our enemies. I wanted to at least give them a funeral prayer, but Wraith said lingering there might lure more unwanted attention.

I still offered a quick, silent prayer for their souls, hoping that the Gods would have mercy for them. But as I finished praying my mind was once more clouded by dark thoughts.

I remembered what I said to Wraith when we got to the top of the crater’s wall. Now everything made more sense; the Heart of Kalymnos was the source of the darkness engulfing the Wastes. I shuddered at the thought of what atrocities would the Raven-priests commit with it in their possession.

Gods protect us all!