The rumblings of some distant commotion disturb the scant snow atop the trees. What should be a silent street is filled with an ominous warmth.
This used to be a road at the foot of Mount Karlan that led to the Vine-Bead Court, but now, Victorian soldiers bar the path as the treads of their tanks crush its surface. A blatant, impassable barrier.
The loudspeakers atop the tanks play a message in clear Kjeragi—
'People of Kjerag, do not panic. In accordance with Victoria's policy regarding the current situation, we will ensure everyone's safety.'
'This operation will not disturb the everyday lives of residents. We simply suggest everyone stays at home in this weather.'
'We also have a warning for the criminals who have abducted Victorian citizens, and for those who associate with them: release the hostages immediately, or we will take immediate action!'
Kjerag Elder
Say, mister, mind if I cross the road?
Kjerag Elder
I need to head home to get the fire going. It's about dinnertime, and my wife's waiting for me...
Victorian Soldier
This area's off-limits. You either take a detour, or you wait.
Kjerag Elder
But... I'm just trying to get to the other side of the road.
Kjerag Elder
If safety's your issue, go ahead and search me. I've just got food on me, nothing else.
Victorian Soldier
Are you with the Vine-Bead Court?
Kjerag Elder
No, I'm just a smith.
Victorian Soldier
Then take a detour or wait.
Kjerag Elder
I've crossed this road for decades now...
Worried Passerby
Don't cause trouble for them, mister, nothing good'll come of it!
Exasperated Passerby
Just listen to them and get out of there already!
Victorian Soldier
I will not be repeating myself a third time.
Kjerag Elder
...
The old man totters away. He turns his head to look back. Through the window of his workshop, his wife looks back at him.
He waves his hand, telling his wife to leave.
Kjerag Elder
Kjeragandr above... I wish to hear of your wroth...
Invaders! How dare you! Get out, you hear me?! GET OUT!
Worried Passerby
'Victorians' this, 'Victorians' that... It's the word I hate hearing most these days.
Worried Passerby
...Didn't think there'd still be anyone brave enough to kidnap one at a time like this.
Exasperated Passerby
Don't you get it? It's obviously just some worthless excuse. Now that the Victorians are here, Kjerag is about to change...
Furious Passerby
Vollpfosten! You're all just sitting back to watch while going on with your pessimistic talk! You're more spineless than a starving burdenbeast! I'm going to show them the real Kjerag!
Worried Passerby
If you're going to make a ruckus, do it somewhere further away! Don't drag me into this!
Exasperated Passerby
Right, right, go to Karlan Trade. They've got guards, don't they?
Furious Passerby
You're all a bunch of cowards...
Exasperated Passerby
Cowards? I get it, you've got guts, and you don't mind getting your hands dirty, but do you have a family?
Exasperated Passerby
If this is the outcome of the negotiations, if the three clans, the Vine-Bead Court, Karlan Trade... if none of them are going to do anything, what can we do?
Exasperated Passerby
Kjeragandr above... Forgive me for my fear, my cowardice...
Anger, fear, unease... All sorts of emotions roil across the unarmed crowd, but they have no effect on the armed soldiers across from them.
Their voices are drowned by the roar of the engines.
Your Grace, our fleet has encircled the passes into Kjerag's mountains.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
The vanguard force in Kjerag has also surrounded the Vine-Bead Court. Kjerag's own warriors are powerless to resist us.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
The whereabouts of Kjerag's Saintess are currently unknown, but we shall ensure that the moment she appears, we will locate her.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
The situation is still under control... so forgive me for speaking bluntly.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
There is no need for Your Grace to attend the battle in person.
Duke of Caster
Do not be hasty, Phillipa.
Duke of Caster
Choose your words wisely. If I may correct you, Kjerag is not our enemy, but a valuable partner in cooperation.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
But Karlan Trade still has not given an official response to our invitation to negotiate.
Duke of Caster
Haha... I can imagine.
Duke of Caster
Enciodes is a prideful man. One assumes that having to process this failure must be of inconceivable difficulty for him.
Duke of Caster
You must have heard some of the tales about him, Phillipa. By all calculations, he is your kin as well.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
If he really is the talented genius the rumors paint him as, then why did he abandon the chance to stand by your side, deciding to bury himself in the mountains instead? I simply don't understand.
Duke of Caster
Like I said, he really is the prideful sort.
Duke of Caster
I shall give him a little more time... Six hours should do it.
Duke of Caster
If the government of Kjerag continues to refuse to accept our agreement, then things can only end in a rather regretful manner.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
Understood.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
There is still one trifling matter I am unsure is worth Your Grace's consideration.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
The matriarch of Clan Browntail, who by all rights should be dead. We have discovered further traces of activity from her.
Caster's Personal Guard Captain
She is currently hidden within the Vine-Bead Court, under the protection of the Black Knight.
Duke of Caster
Hmm... Enciodes would not go to great lengths to hide someone unimportant at a time like this.
Duke of Caster
It is not worth mentioning... but I am not fond of variables.
Understood. I shall carry out this assignment to a limited extent, then await further instructions.
Trilby Asher
All hands take note. Team 1, guard the front. Team 2, head to the north gate to lock it down. Teams 3 and 4, find high vantage points to watch the Court.
Trilby Asher
Be on guard. If you allow even a single soul out, you shall have to answer to Her Grace in person.
I have not received any orders to allow Victorians in, sir.
Victorian Ambassador
I understand. We shall wait here for a reply.
Karlan Trade Employee
The chairman has informed me not to accept any invitations. If you—
Victorian Ambassador
No matter, I am happy to wait here patiently, just like how every child of Kjerag waits for bitter winter to pass.
Victorian Ambassador
Speaking of, how do you people prepare for winter? I am rather curious.
Gnosis
I fear you may not have the opportunity to learn for yourself.
Victorian Ambassador
I am not here representing myself. My own experiences are not important, Mr. Edelweiss.
Victorian Ambassador
I believe these terrible conditions call for giving everyone an equal chance to express themselves, don't you agree?
Gnosis
...Why are you here?
Victorian Ambassador
Rest easy, Chairman Edelweiss of Karlan Trade.
Victorian Ambassador
I have come here for one very simple task: to invite Mr. Silverash to the negotiating table on behalf of Her Grace.
Victorian Ambassador
A simple, peaceful conversation, all for protecting the bond between our two nations.
Gnosis
You have brazenly sent an army to surround Kjerag, aimed your cannons at civilians, and dispatched your troops to blockade our markets.
Gnosis
Are these actions meant to be part of this 'peaceful conversation'?
Victorian Ambassador
Mr. Edelweiss...
Victorian Ambassador
Her Grace simply wishes to let the true master of Kjerag know that a speeding warship cares not where the people atop its deck run. For most, their best choice is to hold the handrail tight.
Victorian Ambassador
Profound understanding can come over the passage of eons, or it can come in the blink of an eye... It all depends on the 'commands' you have received, sir.
Gnosis
Get to the point, Victorian. You shouldn't need me to teach you how to say what you're here to say.
Victorian Ambassador
I would much rather call it 'sending a request', Mr. Edelweiss. A request from Victoria is a rather rare sight these days.
Victorian Ambassador
We cordially invite Mr. Silverash to a spirited discussion with Her Grace about the future of Kjerag.
Victorian Ambassador
We shall ensure the meeting goes smoothly. Her Grace has also commanded that none be harmed.
Gnosis
Then we too have our own request: Victoria is to immediately cease this military invasion.
Victorian Ambassador
I regret to inform you that such a thing hinges on the results of Mr. Silverash and Her Grace's talks. I am unqualified to make such a promise in Her Grace's stead.
Victorian Ambassador
Right now, my only hope is that there shall be a place warm enough for me to spend the winter... A fleeting hope that it shall be Kjerag.
I have asked myself that countless times, until tears of remorse flowed down my face, for I could not find the answer
Just like how, as I waver in the cold wind, I cannot find anything
The Heart of Karlan is mere mystic rhetoric
A painting within a dream, a mire amidst the mountains
The Vine-Bead Court says that, when you are on the brink of death, you shall see Her face
I believe this is my last chance
Yet I am unable to prove anything to you
I see only my mother by the bonfire, my wife underneath the curtains
The life I should have
You have come to the end of this faithless follower's epitaph, one written by him, for him
His last request to you
Is to wipe away the snow upon this tomb
A lonely grave stands by the road. Enya and Adso stop in front of it.
Adso
All I did was bury him.
Adso
He only had time to carve himself a marker before he died.
Enya
So the bones we saw along the way are all...
Adso
The bones of humans.
Adso
Only human beings would use value and meaning to paralyze themselves... To climb Karlan, to walk to Her side, to witness Her existence, they are willing to give their lives.
The Saintess's right hand brushes against the worn wooden marker, completing its master's last wish.
Cold wind sweeps past her fingertips, as if urging her to grab hold of something. She lifts her head towards the snow-capped peaks, as her ears catch the sound of a young woman laughing...
Enya
Elder, did you hear—
She swallows down her unfinished question. The laughter echoes between the mountains, then fades, until it becomes nothing more than memory.
Adso
I didn't hear anything.
Adso
Please proceed, Saintess.
Enya hesitates for a moment before nodding, continuing onwards towards the darkening horizon, towards the peaks laden with thick snow.
The wind picks up, tangling itself in the Saintess's clothes. It leaves behind snow stuck to her brow, like how it sticks to the withered trees she walks past.
You need to try harder, we can't keep up with Enya if I have to keep pulling you—
Elena
Hah... Hah... We're only... two steps behind... No need to stand so close...
Elena
...Oh, right.
Elena
Just now... they were talking to something... right?
Joanna
Hmm... I think I saw it too.
Elena
But there's nothing here except snow and rocks... Whatever, doesn't matter.
Elena forces herself forward a few more steps. Behind her, the snow where she stepped is suffused with a deep blue glow.
At the same time, she has the faint sensation of someone watching her, though the only one by her side is Joanna, gritting her teeth as she pulls at Elena's arm.
The billowing wind has numbed her brain. It must have been her imagination. As the thought runs through her mind, Elena hears a sigh.
...You took it upon yourself to enter a gamble you are fated to lose.
Adso
Saintess.
Enya
This is...
Adso
Indeed.
Adso
The depths of the mountains... The location of the Heart of Karlan.
Joanna
I did as you asked, Enya! I dragged her all the way here!
Joanna
(Quietly) We're here, don't just stand there.
Elena
Huh...?
Elena
...Wait, this, no, it can't be!
Elena puts all her strength into shaking her head and patting her cheeks before taking out a bevy of instruments, waving them against the cave wall.
It is an ordinary cave, one that can be seen anywhere in Kjerag. Its only unusual property is its proximity to Mount Karlan's peak. Enya heads deeper within, her breathing picking up pace as she does.
The deepest part of the cave is only a hundred meters from the entrance, barely wide enough to fit five or six men. The rocks are covered in a thin layer of moss and lichen, and the air is permeated with the humid scent of fungi and soil.
Adso
You are not the first who wished to find Her, and neither was I.
Adso
My greatest wish during my youth was to witness Her true form, to prostrate myself before Her. And so, I checked every book in the Hall of Writings, read every line of every poem, all to find proof of Her existence.
Adso
Many before me have left behind records and analyses. One mentioned this place, the only cave atop Mount Karlan.
Adso
I followed the endless, rugged mountain trails before finally finding myself here.
Enya
The records say that the clerics of the Court once sought refuge in the depths of Karlan.
Adso
Just so.
Adso
Perhaps you still recall the story of the Saintess who roused Kjeragandr.
Enya
According to legend, when Kjeragandr sent divine punishment, the Vine-Bead Court chose a hundred girls in succession to ascend the mountain and pray. The last of the girls was the one who quelled Her fury.
Enya
But in truth, that final girl was the daughter of a clan leader, which incited the great clans to ally and lay siege to the Court.
Adso
During the massacre, the surviving clerics fled here, after which came the so-called 'miracle'. Peace returned to Kjerag.
Enya
And how would you explain this 'miracle'?
Adso
Look at Kjerag as it is now, and the answer shall be clear. Who has ever heard of a war that came to an end for no reason?
Adso
If even the murder of a girl can transform into a sublime 'miracle', so too can political compromise become the stuff of legend.
Enya
Murder... So that is how you see the actions of the Court of old.
Adso
Indeed. To use murder to seek comfort, to allow ignorance to spur on the heart. This is the bloody debt the Court has borne in the name of 'Kjeragandr'.
Adso
With no god to promise us eternity, our every step is on thin ice, with no room for inattention.
Adso
I have brought you here to learn the truth behind Kjeragandr, Saintess.
Adso
And now... I shall wait for you, no matter how long you struggle to process it.
Elena
Enya! Come over here, quick!
Elena
This pile of rocks at the deepest part of the cave doesn't seem natural. It's more like a door that someone built.
Adso
...The clerics of old made this place into a sanctuary. Finding things here is hardly strange.
Enya
In other words... Behind this 'door' is most likely the hiding place of the ancient clerics, and a place where countless secrets of Kjerag are hidden...
Adso
What is more likely is that behind that door, you will find absolutely nothing.
Enya
Then let us bear witness, Elder Adso.
Adso
...
Enya half-shuts her eyes as she walks past the old man droning on about history, slowly approaching the end of the cave.
She takes a deep breath, then presses her body against the cave wall, like a reunion hug after a long time away.
Soil sticks to her hands and cheeks, moss pokes out from under her hair. It is as if she were fast asleep atop the earth.
Enya
I... can feel it.
Elena
According to my readings, Enya, behind this super-thin rock wall, there seems to be a giant cavern.
Elena
But there's no other way in... I can blow this door open, if we have to.
Joanna
Wait, this is holy ground—
Enya
Do it.
Joanna
Wha—Enya?!
Elena
O Kjeragandr above...
Elena
Pardon the intrusion, it's all in the name of truth!
