D's Journal/Alternis's Journal

The following is a list of the writings in Alternis's Journal, viewable from D's Journal in Bravely Default. It is unlocked after defeating Alternis Dim aboard Grandship and obtaining the Dark Knight asterisk.

Entries marked with an asterisk ( * ) indicate identical or similar entries found in the Enigmatic Writings.

9/01

 * Ducal Reckoning 9/1/16—

The Council of Six ship Dark Knight weighed anchor today, our destination Ancheim.
 * 9/01

This marks the first entry in my fourth journal kept since my tenure as an officer began.

My current mission: to collect the airship newly developed in Ancheim's secret shipyard.

I am to transport the skystone given to me by the grand marshal and see it installed, rendering the new vessel skyworthy.

I've just set a southeastward course and noticed my coffee's gone cold. I had it cleared away.

The view beneath me is a sea of clouds, its eastern edge taking on a ruddy tinge as my fresh cup is brought.

This aroma is one of my day's few luxuries.

9/06
I have come to the Profiteur Merchantry's secret shipyard in Ancheim.
 * 9/06

Work installing the skystone within the newly built ship I'm to collect is at a standstill. Three days of waiting. The heat is stifling, and the coffee drowned in sugar. I hate this place.

It's to be called the Eschalot. I'm surprised the first word from Edea's lips upon seeing the blueprints has become its official designation.

I'd braced for another night of cat napping in this sweltering dock, but just received word the skystone is set and sealed.

The ship's maiden flight is to the Flor-Cheim Sea, where the ship I rode here is berthed.

While it lacks the horsepower of a heavy cruiser like the Dark Knight, the ship is nimble and its design pleasing.

I find myself quite taken with it.

9/10
Following her test flight to the Flor-Cheim Sea, the Eschalot has begun seafaring tests.
 * 9/10

I am confident the ship's power, speed, maneuverability, and defenses all meet the requirements laid forth by the Sky Knights.

The airship originally assigned to the Sky Knights suffered damage during the initial incursion into Caldisla and crashed. The mission to tow the newly completed Eschalot to Caldisla's Lontano Villa will commence in one month's time. It will be Edea's first sortie.

It falls on me to spend the next ten days overseeing thorough testing of the craft's ability to withstand the Sky Knights' rough handling.

9/20*
The steel airlock door creaked shut behind me.
 * 9/20

Footsteps investigating the noise drew close for a moment, but soon faded.

I lowered myself into bed with a sigh.

My right hand unconsciously drifted to the back of my head.

There, beneath my pillow, it fell upon a picture frame.

Within it, a disheveled room full of scrap iron, oil stains, and a single, beautiful flower...

My beloved Edea...

I pine for the chance to see a smile unfurl across your face set in equal parts courageous fire and innocence.

I long to hear your voice, sweet like a spring breeze. Let it speak my name, and I shall die a happy man.

I could hear the nervous shuffling outside my door of someone afraid to disturb me. Not afraid enough, it seems.

I returned the photo to its hiding place and answered without bothering to conceal my irritation.

"I'm awake. What is it?"

I skimmed the manual I'd been given, then tossed it on the bed.

I returned to Edea's smile, perfectly preserved within the picture frame.

The Eschalot. My lips formed the word time and again as I watched the new ship in tow from my cabin porthole.

9/24
I make for Caldisla aboard the airship Dark Knight.
 * 9/24

I entrusted a subordinate with the task of towing the Eschalot to duchy waters, and now sail to give word to the Sky Knights.

It was late afternoon by the time we moored at the Lontano Villa's air dock.

"AAAAH, is this our new boat? It's so BLACK and PUNCHY!"

As I descended to the villa roof, I was met with the loudest misunderstanding I've ever encountered.

"Whaaaaat? Why send our new ship back to the duchy? We're here, man! Bring it to us! BRING IT! Or just give us this one. Either or."

Constant shouting aside, Barras Lehr's point is utterly reasonable. To him, at least. One assumes.

But he's not getting my ship.

"Hey, kid! You made it!"

When I reached the villa's study, I was greeted with a rough slap to the back from Heinkel, captain of the Sky Knights.

He continues to treat me like a boy despite my superior rank. Strangely, I don't really mind. Arguing with him is a waste of time, regardless.

Two hours later, I sat down to a table laid heavy with a feast.

What began as a welcome celebration for me ended in a horror show of Barras's inhuman appetite and Heinkel and Holly's tag-team drinking.

"Edea will serve in Ominas's unit."

I was sobering up on the balcony when Heinkel came to deliver that news, leaving me wholly flustered.

I could see his grin from the corner of my eye as he raised his glass in a mock toast.

Knight Argent Heinkel.

Tales of his feats go back before the duchy's founding. He holds the grand marshal's trust, to the point of once serving as captain of his personal guard.

For some reason, this hero has taken an interest in me from a young age. I owe him more than I can hope to repay.

9/25
Heinkel's proposal would have been confusing enough even without the exquisite hangover clouding my brain.
 * 9/25

I asked if he was mad to suggest infiltrating the Caldislan castle town. His reply came with a laugh.

"You didn't seem to think so when you volunteered for the job."

I should have smelled a trap when he brought that flagon out to the balcony.

"Going under cover all alone for little Edea's sake? Ooh, what a man! I might swoon."

Leave it to Holly to smell blood in the water and join in the teasing... Just leave me alone!

"Yes, YESSS, charge into enemy territory and single-handedly smash everything! STRATEGY!"

Where do I even begin with Barras? Also, his voice is splitting my head in two.

And why is he performing maintenance on MY ship!?

It may be black, but my armor is hardly subtle, so off comes the helmet for this mission. I'm leaving my sword as well.

Wait, am I seriously going through with this? I was dropped a ways from the city, told to await a smoke signal, and with that, my ship left for the villa once more.

9/26*
I hurried for the capital as the sun dipped below the Norende Plateau.
 * 9/26

My steps are unnervingly light without my armor, and these clothes hang oddly on me. Most of all, I feel naked unarmed.

I was greeted at the city's edge by the sound of a whistle marking the arrival of a merchant ship.

Between the merchants and wholesalers, the dock workers unloading crates, the tired crewmen, and the eager children excited by the exotic wares, the port was buzzing with people.

As I pushed my way upstream through the crowd and along the avenue toward the palace, I spotted a splendid building, its roof a rich navy.

This must be the inn the old fisherman described.

Inside, I found a man with a gentle mien sitting behind a well-polished counter.

I asked after any vacancies, but he replied with a chagrined, "sorry, we're all full up tonight."

It feels quiet for a full inn, but I don't suppose I can blame him.

A walk-in customer, at this hour. Clearly not a local. No one to vouch for me.

Any respectable innkeep would offer some version of the same excuse.

When I inquired after a place to eat, he said down by the port there should be a cheap pub catering to sailors that's open until morning.

Lovely. Back down I go...

At the hill's bottom I ate my fill at a food cart aimed at drunken sailors. Now it's back up to the inn.

I refuse to spend the night kept awake by carousing seamen.

I let myself into the empty house next door to the inn. I'll just have to sleep lightly.

9/27*
I was awakened by the sound of sword practice, shouts of exertion, and the pleasant smell of toast.
 * 9/27

One of the king's guard, perhaps? Looks about my age, and reasonably skilled. I lay in my makeshift bed, lazily counting his swings.

"Hurry up, Owen. You'll be late."

Upon hearing the innkeep's words, the youth replied and made his way down from the misty hilltop and into the inn.

The scent of breakfast coming from next door has me drooling...

One bite of my rock-hard bread brought me back to reality. The bacon burnt coal black and the murky, bitter coffee made me wish it hadn't. I suppose I can expect no more from a shabby stand in the port.

After choking down my fill, I climbed the hill toward the palace.

Supplied by a series of lush waterways, Caldisla was once a formidable city-fortress. These days, its hooked central avenue is lined with a magic shop, general store, armory and other businesses.

A large gate stands as a vestige of that era, though now it serves mostly as a site for the town bulletin board.

"This year's boar hunt is set to begin once the final slot is filled! *Weapons provided by the hunting committee."

A boar hunt? With the duchy attacking?

I was speechless. As I made to leave, I felt someone grasp my shoulder.

"This fellow says he'll join the hunt! We ride today!"

I turned, shock and irritation laid bare, only to find Owen, the young man I had seen practicing in the fog that morning.

My initial protests were drowned in a rising cheer, and as the smith handed me a broadsword and buckler, I dumbly accepted. Potions from the town chemist followed.

Between their expectant smiles and Owen's grin, I found myself unable to say no.

On the road, I was told a litany of facts I cared nothing about.

The search for food to fatten up before hibernating apparently drives the giant boars to local farms, where they raid crops and injure workers. As a result, the city gathers volunteers each year to hunt them.

As captain of the guard (I discover), responsibility for overseeing the hunt falls upon Owen.

The armorer was slated to participate, but a leg injury has him on crutches. Owen says he was searching for a replacement when he found a promising candidate during his morning practice. Lucky him.

We walked a full, tiring day stalking our prey. First the trader gave out, then chatter dried up between the two young castle guards.

Sunset found us upriver from the city, at the entrance to the Norende Canyon. Just as we decided to make camp, a rustling came from the thickets behind us!

The boar that leapt out was indeed a giant—a vicious, one-tusked monster that had survived the last year's hunt. In a flash, it gored one of the guards, then the other, leaving only Owen, me, and the trader. The boar stamped the ground, preparing to charge the old man now paralyzed with fear.

I expect we'd all given up hope for the kindly old merchant, when the beast suddenly changed course.

With only seconds to react, Owen landed a mighty blow, felling the monster in a single strike!

I set about treating the young guards' injuries.

The trader, clearly still worked up, narrated Owen's victory to the two boys. With every reverent word, I felt as though I was being derided as useless.

The others took to sleep, while I sat watch to keep the fire going. Owen rose, and came to sit beside me.

"Thanks for before."

I kept silent, but he pressed on.

"The boar only changed targets because you circled behind me and channeled your energy at it. It's thanks to you we're not carting home a corpse."

He sat waiting, apparently bent on receiving a response. His grin is infectious.

"I took the surest course of action," I replied as I held aloft my broadsword.

"I had my doubts this blade was up to the task."

The weapon's edge was chipped in places, its length bent. With a gentle shake, the pommel gave an unsettling rattle. Owen burst into laughter at the noise.

Apparently my response passed muster. He continued, his grin never flagging.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll stay at my place. I'll give word to my father to open a room for you."

I was dragged on this hunt, but if it earns me a real breakfast, it's a bargain I'd take gladly.

9/28*
The innkeep's voice and the smell of coffee being laid on the table roused me from my thoughts.
 * 9/28

"You're from Ancheim, eh? You'll be wanting extra sugar, then."

Politely declining, I took a sip. Quality beans, roasted to perfection... Exquisite.

After the hunt, we'd carried the wounded back to town. We tied the boar to a high tree branch; Owen said the townspeople would come for it later.

After seeing to the boys' treatment, Owen invited me to his home, the inn.

"Savior" was the title he used when introducing me to his father. I was mortified.

I was on a journey of personal discovery, originally come from Ancheim... They bought my arbitrary lies without hesitation. They welcomed me.

That evening, we dined early, and well. The boar had been carted back to town, and our share of the meat filled a table.

Once Owen returned from the palace, we sat down to feast. The innkeep is a brilliant cook, and we ate, drank, and reveled into the night.

"Come by the palace tomorrow. I want you to meet the king."

He repeated himself time and again, words slurred from the wine, despite my pretending to be asleep.

9/29
I stood before the king of Caldisla.
 * 9/29

Owen seemed determined to drag me into the king's service.

It's a mercy he didn't know he was speaking to one of Eternia's Council of Six. I expect the embarrassment would be crippling.

The Caldislan king lacks any presence. Any fire. Outside and in, he's utterly common.

If I were to kill this man where he stands, would it aid Edea?

Remembering that I am unarmed, and that Owen isn't, nips any plotting in the bud.

After regaling the king with tales of my valor, he pushes for my appointment to the king's guard.

I parry with a roundabout excuse.

Perhaps the king mistook my hesitation for modesty, but he did not press the point. The audience ended, and Owen's scheme with it.

I left the palace, surreptitiously noting the number of guards, their equipment, and any other indication of Caldisla's might.

To be blunt, Owen is the only real obstacle here.

Given Heinkel's strength, I expect he could take the kingdom by brute force, if necessary.

10/03*
I've been in Caldisla a week, with no sign of the smoke signal. I join Owen in his training some mornings, walk the city streets, chat with the elderly, drink with the sailors at the docks, arm wrestle the drunks... Mostly, I just pass the time.
 * 10/03

Today was another peaceful afternoon, the same as any other.

Owen was at the palace since morning. I was enjoying a cup of the innkeep's coffee.

It happened in an instant. I felt as if someone was set to plunge a knife into my back. I turned, and saw a window.

Through it, the northern sky was on fire in a flash of pure white.

Moments later, the inn shook. An earthquake? Shockwave?

All of Caldisla trembled.

The innkeep moaned about a set of heirloom teacups breaking. I had my doubts that teacups would be the worst of the damage.

Outside, I spied some injured people, but the city and palace stood unharmed.

Another flash lit the sky to the northwest. Close. The Norende Plateau, perhaps...

10/04*
It wasn't till the following morning that Owen came home. By the time he finished muttering about his morning training, he was snoring.
 * 10/04

A knock at his door put an end to that brief rest that afternoon.

"The river's jammed with rubble!"

After receiving the scout's report, Owen wolfed down the late breakfast his father had readied, then turned to me.

"Sounds like I may need a hand later."

I nodded, eyes fixed on the northwestern sky.

The bridge across the Caldisla River has lain in ruin since the duchy felled it. Now, a flotilla of further rubble and countless corpses approach from upstream.

Upstream means the Norende Canyon, and the village of Norende at its source. I suppose that's our epicenter.

Owen and I split up and joined the others searching for victims.

Owen's team searched the river's mouth, while I gathered men from town to search further upstream.

I've a long sword at my side—a new one, this time, in good condition. Seems the smithy's been busy.

The armorer, the old trader, and a dockhand joined me on the shadowy path through the canyon.

A few paces in, the armorer spotted something floating by: a young man, floating face up and snagged on the rocks.

We ran to his side.

"He's breathing! The boy's alive!"

While the others rejoiced, I was more concerned with the ominous shadows surrounding us.

"Goblins!?" "What are monsters doing here?"

There ought not be monsters so close to human settlement. Not in these numbers.

The townspeople were clearly overwhelmed. No doubt this was their first such encounter.

I hesitated, unsure for a moment. But no, I had to take action.

"When I give the signal, hoist this boy out and sprint for the canyon's mouth. Is that clear!?"

A nod returned from each of them.

Sudden movement would distract the creatures for a moment. I hoped that was all I'd need.

"Now! GO!"

"Thankfully, both merchants escaped, as well as the dockhand with the unconscious boy across his shoulders.

Left alone, I faced a quickly-closing circle of enemies. So be it, I thought. Come closer, then. A bit more... A deep growl emerged from my chest.

"...Black Bane!"

When I emerged from the canyon on shaky legs, I was greeted by three anxious faces.

"It was this fellow that saved me," I said, holding aloft the badly worn longsword. A huge, proud grin threatened to split the armorer's cheeks.

We hurried the boy back to town.

I carried him to the inn.

"I need spirits and all the bandages you've got. And gramps, all the potions you've got, too!"

I laid him in a bed by the window, stripped him down, and had a look at his wounds. Thankfully, they were light, though he still showed no sign of stirring.

Owen's group returned soon after, a few of his men wounded. They'd run into monsters as well. Leaving men to guard the gates, he made for the palace to report and formulate a plan.

When he came by to deliver the medicine, the old trader remarked that the boy's clothing bore a Norende pattern.

10/07*
Three days the boy has stayed at the inn, and still no sign of waking. The innkeep says he's run a fever the entire time.
 * 10/07

This afternoon is a warm one. Now I'm watching the innkeep nod off at the counter.

The aftershocks have stopped, and peace is slowly returning to the city, but a shadow lingers over the earth, the sky, and the townspeople's hearts.

Glancing through the window, I saw people motioning toward the port. Another merchant ship, I thought, but no. Their shouts were anxious, not excited.

I stepped outside. Following the gaze of the others in the street, I saw a merchant vessel drifting into port.

But something was wrong. The ship was listing hard, its aft mast broken.

I sprinted down the hill.

As I ran, I noticed a dark, heavy color spreading through the water from the mouth of the bay inward.

I caught snippets as I passed. "The sea's begun to rot." "Ships can't leave the bay." "No fish in the last few days."

A few days? Then the change began when the quake hit...

The ship listed further, rescue boats surrounding it.

Most of the cargo had already been cast overboard.

When the boats reached the pier, a parade of passengers and crew emerged, each looking more exhausted than the next.

By some miracle, there were no lives lost, though most of the freight followed the ship to the bottom of the bay.

The merchants mourned their lost profits and the crew their vessel. The seamen had lost their sea, and the passengers were now stranded. Despair ran rampant.

Except for one young girl.

She was full of questions. About the quake four days prior. About the flash that lit the sky. About Norende.

"Did you know someone in the village? Family, perhaps?"

Her jaw set at my query. Was it anger? Fear? She wordlessly shook her head from side to side.

"No? I just figured, hearing you ask about the quake so soon after weathering the sea. I thought maybe you were a friend of that boy's."

"Boy? What boy?" came her reply. Suspicion played on her face. But as the next boat reached the pier, we were shooed out of the harbor.

"Another visitor from Ancheim, eh? You must be tired. Why don't you stay with us till you're settled?"

Hmph. I recall a different sort of greeting. I cast a sour smile his way, and he responded with a grin.

"We've a sick one in the back. I hope you won't mind."

The girl replied with a nod.

Her name, I learned, was Agnès.

She seems guarded about her past. Not that I can talk.

Conversation continues to be awkward.

She shows interest in what was happening in this country when the quake hit. For my part, I ask her about the sea.

Her ship had left before the earthquake struck. She says about halfway between Ancheim and Caldisla, their pace began to slow.

The seawater clouded, and dead fish began to float to the surface. First small ones, then larger.

As they neared port, the wind died. It was pure luck the ship drifted in before going calm.

Other vessels they'd passed in the bay, she reported, were less fortunate.

She listened as I recounted what happened in the canyon, the color draining from her face.

I told her the village was likely at the quake's epicenter, and that monsters had flooded the area in its wake.

We talked late into the night.

10/08
As the morning mists cleared, I saw traces of a smoke signal hanging in the southwestern sky.
 * 10/08

I ate breakfast, the same as any other day, and saw Owen off to work.

I owe him a greater debt than he knows. And a few apologies.

After one last cup of the innkeep's coffee, I departed.

"Out for another of your walks?" asked the old trader as I passed.

"Something like that," was my reply. I handed him what money I had, and asked him to bring whatever medicine it bought to the boy later.

With the city behind me, I broke into a run for the lake to the southwest.

Along the way, I encountered three packs of monsters. The longsword I'd been given broke midway through the third.

I arrived to find the Dark Knight moored and waiting.

Aboard the ship, I donned my jet-black armor and helm for the first time in two weeks.

With my trusty blade hung at my side, I made for the bridge.

There, my crew informed me of our return orders.

My new mission is to survey the changes occurring throughout the world, and to report them to the Council.

The report on Caldisla had already been sent from the Lontano Villa. Their conclusion: that the Great Chasm that appeared beneath Norende was both cause and effect of the quake.

"No threat in region save Captain Owen's blade."

After firing off a wire to Heinkel, I gave the order to return to Eternia.

As we neared the crags, I received an urgent wire from Ancheim.

"Wind vestal missing."

A description of the ship she was thought to have taken followed, as well as its destination.

Surely not, I thought, but the facts aligned. Agnes, the vestal of wind?

I sent another wire to Heinkel, and a copy home to the Council.

In reply, I received word that Edea had been charged with the vestal's apprehension. Their operation begins tomorrow.

I had hoped to send her off on her first mission. A shame...

10/25*
An urgent wire from Caldisla came during the night.
 * 10/25

"Sky Knights routed. "Airship stolen by vestal and accomplices.

"Edea believed among their ranks."

10/26
The Knights of the Eternian Sky, Fourth Division of the Eternian Forces, is lost. More than anything, it was Heinkel's defeat that shook the ranks. Shook me as much as anyone...
 * 10/26

As I summarized what information I had, local news reports arrived to provide more detail.

One bore the headline, "Vestal Of Wind Breezes Into Caldisla!"

"(10/16) The vestal, joined by Tiz Arrior, survivor of Norende, promised the king they would rout the duchy's Sky Knights. Days later, she thwarted the Eternian siege and beat their men at the lake to the southwest."

Tiz... That boy!

"(10/16) In recognition of her sparing the land from the Sky Knights' cannons, Caldisla's king offered her his full support, swearing to send his full force north to strike the duchy's base pending the bridge's repair."

That battle saw Barras and Holly face the vestal... They were good soldiers.

"(10/18) The wind vestal and Tiz Arrior set out for the ruins of Centro Keep to defeat the mage responsible for torching Caldisla's castle town.

Seeing an opportunity in the vestal's absence, the duchy struck the palace by airship, slaying the captain of the guard and abducting the king."

Some days after the keep's fall, the vestal and her three accomplices struck Lontano Villa and absconded with the Eschalot.

Eyewitness reports confirm that Heinkel lured them aboard the ship, and that they engaged in combat. The knight's whereabouts are presently unknown.

A guardsman on the day of the attack claims he learned of Black Mage Ominas Crowe's death at the hands of the bloodthirsty vestal through a report from Edea Lee.

He opened the gates for her immediately after.

Was Edea taken hostage by the vestal and her henchmen?

The Council of Six was called, and I delivered the collected findings of my investigation in Caldisla. Orders for the vestal's arrest were sent to Ancheim's Khamer & Profiteur Merchantry.

11/12
Half a month after giving the order, no word of the vestal's capture has returned. Nor any certain news of her at all, in fact.
 * 11/12

One report claimed she returned to Ancheim on the 5th, while another suggested she fled its borders again on the 11th.

I've gathered the major reports documenting the changes befalling the world since the chasm's emergence.

Multiple sources confirm that, save a few stretches of sea, the oceans all show signs of rot, causing the mass death of marine life and precluding ships from sailing.

Next, reports confirm that the westerlies, trade winds, polar easterlies, and seasonal winds have died. No sea breezes, no currents down mountains or through valleys. No word as to the cause.

In civil war-torn Eisenberg, volcanic activity has spiked, resulting in massive casualties.

Even within the duchy, reports claim the crags are rising. The effect this bears on air currents is under study, but no conclusions have yet emerged.

Victor has theorized that the crystals of fire, water, wind, and earth have all entered a state of quasi-dormancy in the wake of the chasm's appearance.

After delivering my report to the Council, the grand marshal gave me direct orders to investigate Ancheim.

At last, an excuse to look into what's befallen Edea! I was packed within the hour, and now write from the Dark Knight's bridge.

11/13*
The Flor-Cheim Inner Sea remains unsullied, and serves now as a holding place for ships from neighboring waters as well.
 * 11/13

I walked the port asking after the vestal's whereabouts (or those of the ship she stole, at least), but was unable to uncover anything useful.

My continued search brings me to Ancheim proper. The ship's almanac has this to say of it:

"A clockwork metropolis, nestled in Harena's sandy bosom. Here time, above all, is sacred. A massive timepiece crowns the kingdom, fueled as all of Ancheim is by the ceaseless currents originating from the Temple of Wind to the south."

I crossed the desert and arrived at the city's edge.

It seems those ceaseless winds have ceased in the chasm's wake. Deprived of a precious power source, Ancheim's people now suffer under forced manual labor.

Those I met were too tired and apathetic to answer my questions.

Perhaps motivated by the coin I flashed, one man I asked stammered this through an awkward blush:

"T-try the Yulyana Woods..."

I reached out to hand him the money, but he turned and ran without taking it. Very odd.

I returned to my almanac.

"Yulyana Woods: The hidden heart of an ancient wood northeast of Ancheim."

11/22
This makes ten days I've run around Ancheim, from the palace to the Temple of Wind, the Harena Ruins, and back to Ancheim...
 * 11/22

Still no sign of the vestal. No sign of Edea.

Even in the Miasma Woods, sole land route connecting Ancheim with Florem, home of the Water Crystal, I found nothing of use.

After camping in the desert, I have sand in every crack of my armor, making it screech with every movement...

Ah! Just now, a report from the lookout!

A flash in the southern sky—multiple sources confirm it.

By the time I reached the inner sea, details had arrived from the men I left in Ancheim.

Apparently, the light rose from the direction of the Temple of Wind. I have a bad feeling...

11/23*
The air in front of Ancheim's royal palace was taut.
 * 11/23

The vestal heaped abuse upon the king, then presented something to the agitated masses assembled there.

It was a chain bearing an evil sigil. The glassy-eyed mob reached fever pitch...

The vestal pointed south, and the delirious mob turned their eyes to the sky, crying out her name.

I moved to approach her, but the zealous crowd was packed tight.

Fearing for his life, the king fled to the palace, escorted by his guard.

11/27
Days have passed, and still the people of Ancheim form a human wall around the vestal.
 * 11/27

It seems this Tiz person guarding her really is the boy we saved.

Still no sign of Edea.

I've received word that the vestal has been in contact with Prime Minister Dominus Harena.

Fed up with the heat, I shed my armor and patrolled the palace in plain clothes. A voice called to me from the distance, and a shock raced up my spine.

It was Edea.

"What are you sneaking around here for, Ringabel?"

Ringabel!? Who in blazes is Ringabel? She rain straight for me.

"You called, Edea?" came a reply from behind me. In a moment of panic, I hid in the crowd and fled the area.

I emerged near the bazaar, and was choking down a cup of the sugar water that passes for coffee here when the scout I'd put on the vestal's trail send word.

It seems she and her minions make for the Eschalot, moored in the inner sea.

11/28
A full day has passed since the vestal boarded the Eschalot.
 * 11/28

It's taken time to load the supplies furnished by the prime minister, but it seems that delay nears its end. I boarded the ship alone.

None of them suspected a thing. I began with Tiz, striking him unconscious. The vestal screamed. I demanded her name, confirming that she truly is the one from Caldisla. I doubt she recognized me, given my armored state.

Then she appeared, from the neighboring cabin. I'd waited so long to see her...

I reached out to Edea, assuring her that her capture at the hands of the vestal was at an end. The words she spoke then were unthinkable.

"I'm not her captive, and she poses no threat. I'mm here of my own free will!"

Was she joking? Temporarily insane? No matter how many times I beseeched her, she refused to heed reason. When words failed, she drew her sword on me.

Edea threatened to resisst if I harmed the vestal.

While I had no fear of losing, she's too tough an opponent to subdue unharmed. I could not bring myself to harm the grand marshal's daughter...

At a loss, I decided to content myself with hobbling the vestal. I destroyed the skystone powering the Eschalot and made my escape.

Unable to fly, and trapped by the putrid oceans, the Eschalot is now a prisoner of the inner sea.

Edea, a traitor? I must get word of this to the grand marshal immediately. And discreetly...

Ignoring the storm of questions and emotions raging within me, I boarded the Dark Knight and set sail.

12/07
Curse my traitorous tongue! What have I done? In one thoughtless moment, what have I wrought?

I gave the Council my report on the vestal's actions in Ancheim and the Wind Crystal's awakening. Were I not a fool, I'd have stopped there...

Victoria's idle suspicions gave way to Victor's inevitable question, and I found myself unable to avoid mention of Edea...

I ought to have delivered the news to the grand marshal in private, or at very least not in the company of those two!

They've ever held a grudge for Edea, and I've delivered them a perfect excuse to torment her. They even pressed the grand marshal for his word that all enemies of the duchy must be killed! And now they make for Florem!?

They spoke of apprehending the vestal, but I have my doubts as to their true intentions.

I begged the grand marshal's permission to travel to Florem myself. Perhaps I can enlist Einheria's aid...

It's a gamble I must take.

12/08*
Good. They haven't come by...
 * 12/08

I was worried I might run into them here. That would complicate matters.

I could do little more than beg her help in the broadest of terms, then it was back to my ship and away again.

Though perhaps a bit out of date, the ship's almanac has this to say of Florem:

"True to the old teachings, Florem's women live in chaste humility, in coexistence with the spirits of nature."

And of the land's people:

"Devout Crystalists, they reject war and conflict, instead choosing lives of peaceful reflection."

Sounds like a recipe for carnage if those two heard these words...

12/30
Wracked with anxiety since Victor and Victoria entered Florem. I decided to reach out to them for periodic reports. The response I received showed Victor's cold conclusion: "Stop meddling."
 * 12/30

Curse them both!

On the other hand, the reports from Einheria's people on the vestal's doings and the state of Florem are piling up.

The vestal was sighted within the city, then in the Temple of Water. Upon her return, she departed once more; witnesses report her party made for Mount Fragmentum in the east.

Only tomorrow remains before this miserable year is over. I can only pray the next brings greater peace.

I'll not hold my breath...

1/31*
After a month of anxious silence, they finally sent a wire.
 * 1/31

"The wind vestal entered the Sacred Flower Festival."

...What?

Einheria was kind enough to elaborate in her report.

She suspects the wind vestal's participation in a tawdry beauty pageant is an attempt to make contact with the Vestal of Water, currently in hiding. At least that makes some sense.

2/03
Word came just before dawn that the galleon Grand Healer had ignored traffic control directives and docked atop Central Command.
 * 2/03

The Grand Healer is Victor's personal airship. Victoria will be aboard as well, no doubt.

this stunt they've pulled docking without permission shows the regard they have for the rule of Eternian law.

Any efforts I made to question their intentions were ignored as Victor marched past me to the central elevator, Victoria held in his arms.

It seems he made straight for the white magic circulation hub on the ground level.

I found the guards standing watch along the way bleeding and unconscious.

What madness is this?

The white magic circulation hub stands at the east of the first floor of Central Command. Lined floor-to-ceiling with odd machinery, it has always made me uncomfortable.

I found Victoria floating in a chamber of fluids that resembled a great mechanical heart. Victor stood nearby, staring at monitors and muttering.

"The lecture can wait."

He spoke without turning to face me.

"My report as well. Victoria...try to bear it."

He opened some valve, and the color of the fluid deepened...

I took it upon myself to report Victor's return and Victoria's treatment to the grand marshal.

I summoned Victor's lieutenant, and got the details from him.

2/05
Victor and Victoria remain ensconced in the white magic circulation hub.
 * 2/05

Meanwhile, Victor's man offered an account of what had transpired. I added his report to my collected findings on Florem.

An official account of the event had this to say:

"(1/28) The vestal of wind appeared in Florem's Sacred Flower Festival wearing full vestal regalia. Though traditionally famed for their piety, the people met her with cold dismissal, and the vestal's pleas were drowned out by the jeering crowd."

Years into the Bloodrose Legion's infiltration campaign, prodigious funds and an aggressive citizen reprogramming effort have won them near-complete control of Florem.

The news entity responsible for producing the above report is essentially a mouthpiece of the Legion.

Meanwhile, a bulletin from the Orthodoxy struck a different tone:

"As false rites come to close, the babbling brook's voice reaches the wind. Though it blows west, it cannot sense the shadow close behind it."

A coded plea for help from what meager resistance remains.

Put plainly, it states that at the Sacred Flower Festival's end, the water vestal sent word to the vestal of wind. The latter left to meet her, but failed to notice the assassins on her trail.

A second such notice followed soon after.

"The water rises to meet the demon-child's light, shielding the air as it vanishes into vapor. Left alone, the winds howl in mourning and rage with purpose."

Heh. Demon-child. An apt description. It seems the water vestal was killed protecting her colleague from Victoria.

And Victor's subordinate reported that it was in the battle that followed that Victoria succumbed to a fit, prompting Victor to spirit her back to the duchy.

News continues to flood in from Florem, hot on Victor's heels.

The same Orthodoxy rag reports that the vestal of wind awakened the Water Crystal, celebrating the return of the world's oceans to purity.

Reports from across the globe corroborate this claim.

This marks two crystals awakened at the vestal's hands.

Victoria is still out, and Victor is seeing to her around the clock.

The council chamber feels barren with only two of the six in attendance. The air hangs heavy.

2/16
We've received word that the vestal has departed Florem, but none of her destination.
 * 2/16

The purification of the world's oceans has snapped the tether binding her there. There are those who fret she's lost for good, but there are only two places she would go.

The Crystal of Earth is protected by the duchy's crags and the bulk of the Eternian Forces. It's unlikely she'll head there first.

That leaves Eisenberg and the Fire Crystal. I sent word to our men there to be vigilant, and received a response from Grandship.

From the minutes of a sitting of the Grandship Council:

"The vestal of wind and entourage arrived some days ago. The Council debated for five days' time whether this was to be taken as an official visit or a simple act of tourism. She departed for the west before a conclusion was reached."

It seems an agent of the Shieldbearers has also come requesting aid several times, but I doubt he'll find the infamous "Sleeping Council" any more forthcoming than the vestal did.

Now, we wait for the vestal to be snared in the nets of the fleet we've placed in the Sea of Corsairs.

2/17
Eisenberg—the vestal's next likely target, and war-torn theater to Eternia's First Division.

These last few days I've been reviewing the notes from my time there four years ago, before my appointment to the Council of Six.

Situated south of the Eternian continent, Eisenberg is composed of active volcanoes, and sustained by the rich mineral deposits beneath its soil. Mining, refinery, and metal casting are its chief industries, and mythril steel one of its most precious exports.
 * Eisenberg:

An exceptionally hard metal refined from locally-mined ore. Upwards of 80 percent of the world's mythril originates in Eisenberg's mines. In rare cases, the same veins have yielded orichalcum.
 * Mythril Steel:

An extremely precious metal, found exclusively in Eisenberg. Its durability is unrivaled, making it ideal for use in weapons and armor. Also notable is the extreme amount of energy released when the metal is melted under high pressure.
 * Orichalcum:

Civil war has persisted in Eisenberg for four years, with the land divided between the Swordbearer and Shieldbearer factions.

The Black Blades, First Division of the Eternian Forces, assist the Swordbearers, making up for the latter's vastly inferior numbers and evening the balance of power in the region.

One could say the evils troubling the duchy today have their roots in the outbreak of this war, four years ago...

As allies in Anticrystalism, the duchy had an understanding with the dissident faction known as the Swordbearers for some time. Their declaration of uprising came together with an urgent request for aid.

It was far earlier than we had expected. We were unprepared.

Yet Eisenberg was a stronghold of Crystalism, second only to Florem, and the Swordbearers represented the entirety of the nation's Anticrystalist movement.

As the philosophy's chief proponent, the duchy could not deny their plea.

The Shieldbearer forces outnumbered the Swordbearers a hundred to one. The war would end in one swift massacre.

The grand marshal responded by deploying Swordmaster Kamiizumi's First Division under the guise of a mercenary band known as the Black Blades.

The Blades' pre-dawn infiltration of Eisenberg's borders and the subsequent airship raid were successful. Starkfort was ours by the next morning.

Not yet a Council member, I was sent to inspect the fortress two weeks after its capture, and to compile a dossier on its status and layout.

That was when I was first approached by Swordbearer commander Yewmire Astrae.

He came with effusive thanks for the duchy's support, and none-too-subtle demands that the report I send to the grand marshal paint a glowing picture of the uprising.

But the fact remains that the rebel leaders acted in haste, and their imprudence dragged Eternia into a struggle from which it stood to gain nothing.

The commander, for his part, was overjoyed—drunk on the Swordbearers' first decisive victory. I could not conceal my mounting frustration at his oblivious presumption.