"It seems the Blasphemers weren't happy about that at all, as they've tried countless ways to continue their original mission. They nearly…" Ysevel trailed off, swallowing a dry ball of spit and glancing at us worriedly for a moment before continuing. "N-Nearly wiped out a race of powerful creatures known as hegraphenes, the only ones stated here that knew how to wield Wraith mana, when they refused to give it up," she read with difficulty, feeling a surge of emotions beginning to well in our cores.
I didn't know how to frame my emotions at that moment, but I knew that we needed to find out the truth, even if it pained us to learn it.
"However, that wasn't without the help of other creatures known as the Alternates. It says that the Blasphemers banished those who couldn't wield Wraith mana to a realm known as Vareluth, the Underworld; using the Alternates as a means of controlling the hegraphenes there," Ysevel said.
She did her best to read it as a matter of fact, and not reveal the fact that a piece of Kalia's life, once shrouded in mystery, had just fallen into our laps.
"T-That's horrible. Those poor creatures must have suffered so much pain," Meliss said, putting a hand to her mouth in shock, but the rest of us, those who'd come to know Kalia and her clan, felt an almost unbearable weight in our cores.
Ysevel did her best to fight back tears, blinking a few times and shaking her head as all the emotions rushed through our connections with Kalia. It's alright, Ysevel. Please, keep reading, our mentor said in as soothing a voice as she could muster.
She subtly nodded and cleared her throat, reading a few lines of the book to find where she'd left off.
"When the slaugh-... deaths of these hegraphenes were discovered, the Dragons used their might to remove the remaining Alternates from the land, stripping them of their cores to walk as little more than empty husks of their former selves. They even went as far as removing half the citadels that served as hubs of these powers from the realm, though it doesn't say where they put them," she said, finding it difficult to read through blurry eyes.
"That's probably for the best. If one of these Blasphemers ever managed to get in here, that'd be the first information they'd search for," Ed said, considering the possibilities, but we knew the answers to at least two of them: Valdis and Pyrdredd.
"Indeed, though it also says that there were scars left upon the land as a result. I wonder what they mean by that," she muttered the last half almost to herself. "I believe I can answer that quite simply: The Rhydian Mountains, Harut, and the ground beneath your feet, the Gramm Isles," Calduran said gravely, causing Irun to flinch at his words. "Y-You're saying Harut is one of these scars, Great Calduran?" he asked, trying to hide his genuine surprise.
"Not the country, but the desert that remains. Have you ever wondered why it's so perilous to traverse it without a special compass? The actions taken by the Dragons when the Great Partition occurred caused the once-fertile land to become that way. However, Caegwen was spared much of the damage due to the Hynafol Arboraneth in Myrdin," the old dwarf replied, raising more than a few eyebrows in response.
Ysevel flipped through a few more pages to see if that was correct, and her eyes widened when she found her answer. "He's right. It says here that the land was once as lush as Caegwen, though the land became barren and scarred, as it was the epicenter for the Blasphemer's attacks on the hegraphenes," Ysevel continued, prompting Irun to blink several times in shock.
That explains why Irun noted their architecture was so similar, I realized, getting a nod from mom and the others who shared that thought.
"What of the Isles, then? How are they a scar?" Meliss asked, but Balgrim was the one to answer. "That's because once our forefathers discovered what had happened, they thought it would be better to remove themselves from the equation entirely and begged the Dragons to separate them from the mainland," he said with no small amount of embarrassment.
"Cowards," Athar's alternate spat, but neither Balgrim nor Calduran could say anything against it. "It's true. They were cowards for leaving the Continent to fend for itself. Technology might have even progressed much further had it not been for their decision and upholding of traditions to keep our history safe," Calduran replied solemnly, shocking Athar that he'd actually been right in his assessment.
Ysevel closed the book and her eyes simultaneously. "Everything that follows is history we already know, for the most part, but I think we've found enough of the answers we were looking for," she said, still feeling Kalia and Devyr's emotions just as strongly as before.
We all knew there was more to the story of the Great Partition, but there were still questions that couldn't be answered by what the dwarves had kept locked away for nearly a thousand years. As we left the archive, I was grateful to see there was a way for us to return to the surface quickly. A mechanical cart powered by mana stones that was only revealed by a hidden space in the hall we'd walked down by activating it with mana.
As it turned out, it was only accessible on the way back up, but that was neither here nor there.
There were, of course, many questions that burned in my mind.
Why the Wraithborn? Was it just because Tyrant mana couldn't control them, or was there something more? Is finding the other citadels part of Mideia's plan? I asked myself after we bid Balgrim and Calduran thanks and farewell for the day.
I couldn't put my finger on it, no matter what I tried, but I knew there had to be a reason for that small piece of information to be there. We walked silently alongside Kalia, Devyr, and my mother, trying to absorb all the information we'd just received.
"Kalia, I… I'm sorry," Ysevel said, knowing she wouldn't answer aloud. "It's alright," Kalia whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "At least we know what we're up against now, right?" she continued hushedly after realizing there wasn't anyone within audible distance.
Ysevel paused momentarily, but nodded her head in understanding. "We'll make them pay for what they did to your family," she said sternly and in a tone I hadn't seen her use before. "Yes, we will," Mom added.
They didn't need me to chime in, already knowing my thoughts on the matter, but I did anyway. "We're with you, battle-sister; in both victory and defeat," I said, quoting an excerpt of the vow we all made. Kalia gave me a firm nod and bid us farewell, leaving with Mom and Devyr.
After saying goodnight to the others, Ysevel and I returned to our room, but before we could even unclasp our armor, there was a knock on the door. We both looked at each other with pure befuddlement, but to our surprise, we found Athar waiting just outside our door.
"Thoma, we need to go, right now. Ysevel, you come too," he said urgently. "What's going on? Did something happen?" I asked seriously. "On my way back to my quarters, I overheard one of the maids talking about some massive beast to the north, and that they were going to send some scouts to investigate it," he replied hushedly.
"You think Balgrim will be going along with them?" Ysevel asked, getting a nod of confirmation from him. "Do we tell the others?" I asked, but Athar shook his head. "If we're spotted, it might add tension between Siraye and Balgrim, even more than there already is," he said, tilting his head slightly as he shifted his gaze away from us.
"Fair enough. Let's get moving," I said, following Athar down the halls.