“I saw that the Order is in the city now,” Dallion said casually. “Does that mean they’ve repaired the awakening shrine?”

“It was faster for them to build one in the village proper,” Kraisten replied. “There are always a few monks here now. They’re making sure that everyone has the potential to become an awakened. Quite a few have joined the monastery.”

“That’s good.”

“Mostly, they're here because of your mother. As Dherma’s only double-digit awakened and with music skills, they want to steal her from us.”

“I doubt that, father,” Gertha said in diplomatic fashion.

“You can see it better than me,” the old man grumbled. “They just want to make you a nun, so you go about from place to place and convince the world of the Order’s good intentions.”

Your grandfather has a rather sharp tongue, Nil said. After the events in Nerosal, it had become impossible for Dallion to keep his family history secret, from his echoes and guardians, at least. Did he always hate the Order?

He’s not hating on the Order, Dallion replied. He’s just warning me about them in the only way he could.

Wise words, indeed.

“What about you?” Kraisten shifted the topic of conversation. “What have you been up to? Working in a mending shop in the big city?”

“I was part of a guild for a time. It didn’t work out, so I’m training to become a hunter.”

“A hunter, eh?” the old man remained unimpressed. “Been out in the wilderness a lot?”

“A fair amount.”

“Please be careful out there.” A sense of fear emanated from Dallion’s mother. “Especially since you have a girlfriend now,” she “innocently” let the word slip into the conversation. This definitely caught the old man’s interest. In contrast, Dallion’s brother had become exceedingly annoyed that his mother had hijacked a perfect topic of adventure in the wilderness, for something so trivial.

“Yes, I’m with someone now.” Thanks, mother, Dallion thought. “She’s a hunter, and a forger like you.” Dallion decided it wasn’t appropriate to mention that she was also a gorgon. “We were on a job nearby, so that gave me the time to come visit.”

“What did you do?” Lin grasped his opportunity to get the conversation back on track.

“I was hunting griffins.” Dallion smiled.

“Griffins?”

“Large birds with the body of a lion. Well, half lion, half eagle.”

“And you caught them?”

“No,” Dallion laughed. “The point wasn’t to capture them, just to get something from them. You see, I was in a shade griffins’ lair. These are creatures that used to be sun griffins, but were—” Dallion paused a moment. It had become so normal for him to discuss matters relating to chainlings and the Star that up till now he’d never considered how touchy the subject really was. Just mentioning the words could be potentially harmful, all the more so in a small village such as this. “—changed into something scary. In their current state, they could no longer have young, so they steal the eggs of other griffins so they can raise as their own.”

“Wow!” The boy beamed. “Can you fix them? Make them sun griffins again?”

“Not everything can be fixed,” Dallion’s grandfather said firmly. “Sometimes the best thing is to move on. You father doesn’t try to “fix” the boars who are attacking our livestock, is he?”

“No?” Linner wasn’t sure what the proper answer was, but had a good idea what his grandfather wanted to hear.

“It’s the same with life.” The old man stood up. “I’ll go rest a bit. How long will you be staying?”

“A few days at most,” Dallion replied. “I’ve got another job I must do.”

“Life as a hunter must be interesting,” the old man grumbled, and left the room.

“Things haven’t been easy for him,” Dallion’s mother said once the old man had left. “The changes in the village were faster than he’s used to. And then, there’s his condition…”

“I know.”

Dallion still had trouble understanding the old man. When things were bad, he did everything in his power to help Dallion as much as possible. Now that Dallion had actually made it, he didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

He just wants the best for you, dear boy, Nil said. And in his view, the best is not being here.

So, he did everything possible to help me escape this place? I thought that he wanted me to be free and not get sealed.

Apparently, not. Only he could say for certain, and by the looks of it, he doesn’t intend to tell you.

“So, want to see my room?” Linner urged Dallion once more.

“I will. Is there a place for me to sleep here?” Dallion turned to his mother.

“There’s a room for you. Father was against it, but I always kept a room ready, in case you ever came back. I’ll show you.”

“I can do that!” Linner said.

“Well, have it ready for me.” Dallion winked at his brother. “I just need to go see Gloria for a short while and will be right back.

“Aww.” Linner crossed his arms.

“Don’t be like that,” Gertha chuckled. “Your brother is an important hunter now. Of course, he’d want to see the village chiefs. After that, you’ll be able to show him everything you’ve found.”

“Promise?” Linner looked at Dallion.

“Promise,” Dallion said. “I’ll be back before you know it.”