But I won't have peace here until these revenant fragments are back where they belong.
Ermengarde
Master and Wiš'adel have been fighting constantly. They sound crazier than the ancestors in the furnace!
Nymph
I'm sorry, Ermi... I've practically combed every inch of Kazdel, but I just couldn't find the remaining fragments.
Ermengarde
Please, I'm counting on you. What about that slum kid who was with you?
Nymph
He ran the number of households in this area against how fast we walked and figured that we had to split up to check everything before sundown.
Nymph
We split it down the middle. He said he had some repairmen on his side with sticky fingers, and he wanted to take the opportunity to teach them a lesson.
Nymph
I hope he's not putting himself in danger... but I'm sure he can handle it.
Hey, come on, it was just a few questions. Why the weapons?
Pohl
You can't expect to run a dirty operation without facing the music. And I never said I was gonna report you to the Military Commission... Alright, if it's just the two of you, I could use the exercise.
Pohl
What? Those guys are with you too? Er, how many are there? Twenty? Thirty?
Do you think a revenant would miss the Furnace after a few days and go home on his own?
Ermengarde
Are you even listening to yourself?
Ermengarde
Would you want to go back to the place where you were held prisoner for centuries?
Nymph
It's just an idea... I don't know what it's like in the Furnace.
Nymph
You know, maybe Kazdel is a kind of furnace, too. People outside think it's scary and terrible, but it's home to us.
Nymph
It's hard to imagine being imprisoned for hundreds of years when I've been around for less than twenty. Maybe you're in a better position to judge, Ermi.
Ermengarde
I wouldn't carry on down this topic if I were you, Nymph.
Nymph
Heheh...
Ermengarde
You really are something else, Nymph. Probably no one else in Kazdel who would think like that but you, our kindest Djall.
Nymph
Huh? What'd I... (Sniffs) ...Do I smell herbal tea?
Nymph
Oh, I remember now! Qalaiša's place is right over there. Should we pay her a visit?
Ermengarde
Nymph! We have more urgent business, remember?
Nymph
Right, uh, I was suggesting we go ask about the revenant fragments... who said anything about berry cookies? Are the fragments not urgent business?
Ermengarde
Fine... But don't take too long.
Ermengarde
It's a wonder you get along so well with Qalaiša, though.
Nymph
She's wonderful! She always gives me little presents when I visit. Why is everyone scared of her?
Nymph
Oh, but I can't go empty-handed, official business or not!
Nymph
Let me see. She only moved in recently. What would be a good housewarming gift...?
I didn't have time to prepare a gift, but I hope you like this anyway.
Nymph
I remember you said you wanted some flowers to cover up the smell of herbs in the house.
Nymph
Oh, careful of the mud, I picked them with the roots so you can plant them in your garden.
A pair of hands, fair as ivory, takes the flowers. Blue petals fall upon her gloves like the patterns of fine embroidery.
Qalaiša
Blue snowdrops... can Kazdel's barren soil nurture such beauties now?
Qalaiša
Thank you, Nymph. I'll place this gift in the finest vase.
Nymph
Glad you like it!
Nymph
I didn't know they were called blue snowdrops.
Qalaiša
I'm delighted that you came to visit, Nymph, but unfortunately, I'm about to head out.
Nymph
Oh, you're busy? Is this a bad time? I'll—
Qalaiša
Not at all. Just a small errand. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes. You can wait here.
Qalaiša
Just don't touch anything while I'm out.
Qalaiša
Some things are... not ready, or suitable, to be presented. Promise me?
Nymph
I promise! I won't touch anything. My parents taught me manners.
Qalaiša
Good girl.
Nymph sits down by the desk. The warm candlelight is like a fragile barrier against the shadows from the corners and the roof.
A faint, acidic scent wafts from the herbs hanging from the roof beams. The wooden cabinets by the wall stand like coffins, guarding secrets that must never see the light of day.
Nymph
Whew, my heart's racing for some reason.
Nymph
What's that creaking sound? Is there a musbeast in the walls?
Nymph gulps. She feels a chill run up her spine.
She keeps glancing at the window, but the daylight outside seems to grow darker every time she does.
Her heart races with an unusual rhythm. The Djall touches her chest, and feels a trembling—box.
Nymph
Oh, it's just the detector.
Nymph
Wait!
Nymph
It wasn't reacting when I was outside. Could the fragment be in this house?
Nymph
My back's starting to hurt from sitting too long. I should stretch my legs. It's alright if I just took a look around, isn't it?
Nymph
This way? That way? Up there? It's not under the floor, is it?
Nymph
There! The signal's getting stronger...
Nymph
Ouch!
Nymph
Where did this cabinet come from? Was it here all along?
Nymph
Oh no, I knocked something off!
Nymph
Qalaiša is gonna think I messed with her stuff! I've got to put it back...
Nymph
Surely it's fine to put back something that fell on the floor?
Nymph bends down and feels for the blurry shadow in the darkness.
A strange sensation strikes her fingertips. She lifts the shadow, revealing a garland of branches, thorns, and mossflower, with snowdrops still mixed in.
Nymph feels her heart skip a beat upon saying the ancient Sarkaz word, like the chill she gets when an actual snowflake falls on her palm.
She stares at the garland in her hand, resisting the urge to put it on.
The room seems to shrink and darken, until it's almost suffocating. The sound of breathing in her ear grows heavier, but is it her own, or from... behind her?
The branches entwine with her hair, and the thorns pierce her palm. Nymph silently counts, then turns slowly but resolutely to look behind her—
The walls of the hut fall and the roof is gone. I find myself in the wilderness, the chaos of battle coming from beyond the dust.
The garland in my hand has turned to blood, spilling through my fingertips.
A bloodied nachzehrer crawls toward me, but I cannot move.
???
Help... me... Master...
Nymph
Who are you?!
Dying Nachzehrer
Tell the Liege... the King of Sarkaz is dead. Yliš has fallen.
Dying Nachzehrer
Why... do we still fight?
Nymph
...
I hear the ancient Sarkaz language, disjointed syllables that come together to form words—
'King', 'Death', 'Fight'.
I try to ask him where we are, but my words slip away from my lips, turning to faint echoes in the sky.
Nymph
Where am I?
Dying Nachzehrer
The end of the battlefield... the boundary between life and death...
Dying Nachzehrer
Why do you not grant me your blessing, Master? Do you despise my cowardice too?
Dying Nachzehrer
Grant me the pain of decay, grant me the continuation of life... take this power away.
Dying Nachzehrer
Please take it...
He pulls out a rotten object from his chest and places it in my hand.
His visage contorts from pain. His eyes are a mixture of reverence, fear... and hate.
Nymph
G-get it away from me!
Nymph
I don't want it! Help!
Dying Nachzehrer
I understand... this is not a blessing, but punishment for my desertion.
Dying Nachzehrer
Please... Master Qalaiša.
Nymph
You called me... Qalaiša?
Nymph
Wait, why is my hand acting on its own?
Nymph
Is this a trick, Qalaiša? Stop it!
I raise my hand at the broken figure, but the hand I see is wrapped in bandages soaked with dried blood.
A tattered cloth brushes against the deserter's helmet. The scent of decay flows out, tearing away at what remains of his reason, filling his husk, bringing... life.
I feel a daze, then hunger. I bestowed strength on my weakened kin, becoming stronger in the process.
Without speaking, I hear a familiar voice in my head.
Familiar Voice
Cast down your weapon, deserter, and leave my battlefield.
Dying Nachzehrer
As you wish, Master.
He casts down his heavy armor, piece by piece, revealing terrifying wounds through gaps in the cloth that shrouds him.
The blood seeping out of his body coagulates instantaneously, like new skin.
Dying Nachzehrer
Have you seen snow before?
The sound of the word is peculiar, but I understand what it means.
It has been so long since it last snowed in Kazdel, many have forgotten how to pronounce the word.
Dying Nachzehrer
I killed an Ursine and cleaved open his chest. I watched as he died, but he didn't seem to feel any pain, repeating only a single word over and over.
Dying Nachzehrer
(Saying the Ursine word for snow)
Dying Nachzehrer
It must be something that removes the pain. Have you seen snow, Master?
Familiar Voice
Pain is the shadow of strength, and life is the sun. I cannot see snow under the scorching sun.
Familiar Voice
You're afraid of pain, but not of death?
Dying Nachzehrer
But why we live in... nay, it is not my place to say.
Dying Nachzehrer
I should go, Master.
Familiar Voice
Go north, and don't come back.
The scene before me fades into the distance. I am rapidly moving away from the ground, and toward the battlefield.
I see helmets clash and swords strike against armor. I see the shadow of death looming over Kazdel.
Behind a cracked boulder lies a small patch of ice where wind and snow cannot reach. Beneath this ice, the water remains calm, cradling a round air pocket like a sorrowful eye.
The Northwind Witch cracks the edges of the icy surface with her staff, and the air pocket escapes, becoming one with the wind and snow again.
Northwind Witch
I came across this place by chance. The musbeasts won't drink from it, even if they're dying of thirst.
Northwind Witch
This spring does not grow or diminish, its water always clear. It exists on its own, outside of this snowfield.
Northwind Witch
I once bandaged myself by this spring, but later discovered that immersing in it was far more effective.
Nymph
Like, you bathe in it? I've heard that workers on the mobility layer bury barrels in the ground to bathe, but it's so cold here...
Northwind Witch
The water is not deep. You can hold my hand, if you're afraid.
Nymph
Alright, I... I guess I'll try.
Nymph
Eek!
I step slowly into the spring. The cold penetrates the armor and bandages that do not belong to me, piercing my every bone.
The water covers my shoulders and presses against my heart.
Nymph
Qalaiša, no, Northwind Witch... do you remember encountering a dying Nachzehrer deserter, a long time ago?
Northwind Witch
I do.
Nymph
Did he ever see the snow?
Northwind Witch
I heard he died on his way to the north.
Nymph
But he saw the snow, at least, didn't he?
Northwind Witch
No. He may never have seen it, but the snow was always inside him.
Nymph
Hm...
The heartbeat gradually slows and I can hear the sound of snowflakes falling on my head in between the rhythm.
The festering wounds and old scars continue to sting. The withered flesh and blood will never flourish again. But none of it matters anymore.
The pain has not lessened. It simply exists in another form now, like snowflakes that melt in the icy spring.
Nymph
Qalaiša... is this really a dream?
Nymph
If it is, who did you make it for?
Nymph
What do you want to tell them? Your past, your future... or who you really are?
Qalaiša does not answer. She sits by the shore, her staff laid sideways on her legs.
I see a blue-purple butterfly fly past her hair.
One after another, they encircle the icy spring, turning the decay in me into new butterflies as they flap their wings.
Crystalline butterflies surround her. Her fingertips drop down to brush the surface of the water, but there is no ripple.
The snow stops and I suddenly realize that so too has this dream.
You have rejected the title that the Military Commission conferred upon you, Qalaiša.
Nachzehrer King
Do you know what you have turned down? A war that we have yearned for too long.
Nachzehrer King
The blood of the old days will not be washed away. Don't tell me you really intend to leave with that house? The Liches will never allow you to leave with their handiwork...
Nachzehrer King
...No.
Nachzehrer King
Why is there a Djall here?
Nymph
Er... hello... my liege?
Nymph
Are you... King Nezzsalem? I read about you in my textbooks...
The tall Nachzehrer bends down toward me. I cannot tell whether he is observing, listening, or trying to discern my scent.
Nachzehrer King
Why have you come? She has not polished this memory, nor connected it to other things.
Nymph
I-I don't know. One minute I was in an ice spring with her and the next thing I know I'm here.
Nymph
Um, what do you by not connected to other things?
Nachzehrer King
Qalaiša deserted her war, but never her kind.
Nachzehrer King
She preserved her memories... for her kin, for reasons unknown.
Nachzehrer King
Perhaps she discovered a new path in the endless icefields...
Nymph
Do you mean we're in Qalaiša's memories?
Nymph
Do you know how I can leave? How do I wake up from this dream?
Nachzehrer King
Time has no meaning here. No one can know when you will wake up, or if deeper slumber awaits.
Nymph
Then... are you real, or a version from Qalaiša's memories?
Nachzehrer King
It does not matter.
Nachzehrer King
The life of Nezzsalem matters not. The name of Nezzsalem is synonymous with war.
Nachzehrer King
But it has been a long time since I talked to someone like this.
Nymph
Okay, maybe we can chat until I wake up...
Nachzehrer King
Has the war for Londinium ended, Djall?
Nymph
Yes... I suppose. But I don't think you'd like how it ended...
Nachzehrer King
No...
Nachzehrer King
Surely I would have passed on, but Kazdel and the Sarkaz will remain...
The Patriarch of the Nachzehrer stays silent for a long time, as though he has forgotten I am here.
Nymph
A-Ahem!
Nymph
Maybe we could, er, talk about something else?
Nachzehrer King
Very well.
Nachzehrer King
Is it turnip season?
Nymph
Huh? Oh... not a lot of people plant them these days. Most people plant maize and sweet potatoes.
I left a pot of herbal tea on the stove outside before I went out. It's just about ready now.
Qalaiša
Get the tea set out, Nymph. The one with the pink roses is for you...
Qalaiša
Nymph?!
The tray slips from the Northwind Witch's hand, and she only has time to grab the scalding teapot. The tray shatters on the floor, but she simply stares in horror at the table—
The garland of branches, thorns, and mossflower lies beneath the dim candlelight. The Djall is gesturing excitedly to it, as though roasting sweet potatoes in furnace ash.
Nymph
It's even sweeter than honey when it's fresh out of the furnace! Worth the blisters it gives you.
Nymph
Oh, look at me, I just keep talking about myself. What about you? What's your favorite food? Sauteed turnips?
Nymph
Oh, sweet potatoes might be your next favorite? Just give me a minute, I'll fetch a few from the furnace for you.
Nymph
Qalaiša! You're back! Hey, when did I wake up?
Qalaiša
What's going on? Nezzsalem...?
Nymph stares blankly in front of her, then looks down at her hands, before looking to the Northwind Witch with teary eyes.
Nymph
Q-Qalaiša! I'm sorry!
Nymph
I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I won't touch your stuff again!
Nymph
Ouch! Hot! Why are you standing here with a teapot in your hands?
Qalaiša
Why do you think?
Qalaiša
How did you get to my unfinished trinket in the time it took for me to pick a few flowers from the garden...? You even got... him out.
Qalaiša
Tell me what happened.
Nymph
Th-The revenant detector started reacting as soon as I walked in. I felt like I had to look around a bit.
Nymph
I never meant to put it on, but it's like my hands weren't my own.
Nymph
Then I had a scary dream. One moment I was you, flying all over the battlefield. Then I was in an ice spring with you. Then a monster almost ate me!
Qalaiša
Those are dreams that I made with my own memories to help Nachzehrer veterans cope after returning from war. They haven't been fully tested yet. They're dangerous!
Qalaiša
Thank goodness you weren't hurt. I'm not leaving you alone in this house ever again, and you can forget about today's berry cookies, if you can't keep your hands to yourself!
Nymph
I really didn't mean to put it on! But there was some sort of power compelling me. I thought you were playing a trick on me!
Qalaiša
Could it be the revenant fragment you were talking about? No wonder the hut hasn't felt quite right these past few days. I thought it had indigestion or something...
The Northwind Witch puts down the teapot, walks around the room, then looks up at the center of the roof.
Another one. I wasn't even looking and I already spotted four safety hazards on my stroll...
Odd Passerby
Such a poorly designed junction of pipes is incredibly vulnerable to changes in the Furnace's power output. You're basically looking at a potential explosion.
Odd Passerby
Well, good thing the old timers in the furnace don't have to stay in there much longer. Hopefully, by then they'll...
Odd Passerby
Flower petals? Where did these come from?
Odd Passerby
Blue snowdrops, huh? I used to plant them back in Columbia. I didn't think they could grow in Kazdel.
Odd Passerby
Times sure are a-changing...
???
Beep—Beep—Beep—Beep—
Odd Passerby
What's that? A... Djall?
Nymph
That's the guy! The detector is going nuts!
Pohl
It's really loud. It's not going to explode, is it?
Nymph
There must be a huge revenant fragment on this guy!
Odd Passerby
Stop pulling at my sleeve! It's a bespoke coat!
Nymph
This guy-It's a living armor!
Odd Passerby
Living armor? Ha, haven't met such a rude little girl since the K'uk'ulkan.
Nymph
He's starting to talk gibberish... the revenant must have possessed him. Pohl, hold the box for me!
Pohl
You want to stuff the whole guy in? I don't think your box is big enough.
Nymph
Here—goes!
Odd Passerby
Hey, get this box off my head before I lose my temper!
Odd Passerby
Huh? Why are you also in the box? And why are you in pieces?
Pohl
He's making a run for it!
Nymph
I'll tie his hands!
Nymph
Stay put! Your big head's gonna break the box! I don't need Ermi getting mad at me again.
