Fódlan Alternative II

{Part Two: Blackened Sun} Chapter Twenty-Three: Masked by Earth I

At the start of the next moon, You awaken and begin to prepare for the day. Seraphine speaks to You along the way.

Seraphine: I'm feeling much better now that we've been able to put a bit of time and space between what happened before and where we are now... That did us a lot more good than I could have ever imagined.

You nod your agreement, glad to have been given the chance to breathe without fear of what You were supposed to be used for as a child.

Seraphine: How... How are you feeling about all of this? I know it must be a lot to take in.

You hesitate to think about it for a moment before You shake your head. You tell her that You have decided where You will stay, and there is nothing anyone else can do to change what You are doing, and You are fine with that. You want to be here with the people You care for, and anyone who tries to get in the way of that will have to suffer the consequences.

Seraphine: I'm glad to hear it. Now, let's go and see what the others are up to. I bet they're going to want to talk to us about everything going on, especially since the end of this war finally seems to be upon us.

You nod and start to walk up to the cardinals' room. When You arrive, You find the Ashen Wolves gathered together. There is a small statue sitting on top of a segment of the map, and You stare down at it. You already know what the market is meant to designate without needing to ask. That must be where the entrance of Shambhala is hiding.

Ernst: I suppose this is it then... Belenio gave us the push in the right direction we were looking for, and all that's left is to put all of this into motion.

Magnus: I'm concerned he could have lied to us about this. I wouldn't put it past him given everything else he's done up to now.

Gabriel: I'm worried about that too... He could have tried to hide the truth from us for the sake of keeping us from getting rid of the rest of his allies.

Tsubasa: You don't need to worry about it. A few of our scouts went through that area, and they came back with good news.

Saias: That's a promising sign... But I'm still worried this could end up being wrong somehow. What will we do if Belenio pointed us in the wrong direction?

Cyrus: We're in the right place. It's been a long time since Druilla and I were last there, but I'm sure this is where the entrance to the city is.

Taiyin: If you don't mind my asking... Why weren't you able to go to Shambhala for all that time? Isn't that where you're from?

Druilla: It was, but I suspect others thought of us as risks to the army as a whole, so we were kept away.

Grey: And they were right about you leaving... Though it's certainly done a lot to help all of us on this side of the war.

Ansel: Regardless of what has happened in the past, we need to prepare ourselves for this battle. It won't be easy.

Quinn: That much is true. This will be our hardest battle yet... The final fight to decide the end of the war once and for all.

Eli: I imagine all of the enemy forces have decided to hide in Shambhala for the sake of keeping themselves safe... Not that it will do much to save them.

Magnus: We'll just have to prove where we stand. They won't realize they've walked to their deaths until it's already too late.

Gabriel: I can't believe the end of the war is almost here at last... We've been fighting for so long now. I almost forgot what peace was like.