Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts: Light Chaser

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When Tinarah mentioned him knowing Stamatis and he rubbed the back of his head, "Well... kind of? We met once, briefly. He speeched at me and left. But he isn't exactly a forgettable guy." when she mentioned having not been around anyone her age in so long, he didn't really know how to reply to that. Sure, he'd gone through a month of intense training, but he wasn't in complete isolation from his age group or anything. So he couldn't imagine having been in Tinarah's shoes. He was ready to comment but Choma walked on in and Take turned his attention towards him and listened to Tinarah's reply. He... wasn't exactly sure what he could add to the conversation in particular. He nodded at her when she had looked towards him when she mentioned the food. He shifted a bit uncomfortably and didn't completely leave the room, but he did find himself shifting towards some food in the kitchen and grabbing some more noms since... well he was still hungry. He almost never ate until he was full.

 

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Aria was taken aback by Gero's reactions to the bracelet. He... seen it before? She was about to open her mouth, but was stopped when she saw his stare harden and how he wanted to get away so quickly. She held her wrist in her hand, watching him go with sadness in her eyes. She let out a long sigh as if she was holding her breath, moving the bracelet around her wrist idly. "I'm... sorry about that," she sighed out. It wasn't really her fault, but she felt so helpless and was mad at herself for being a sort of problem.

She squeezed her wrist and then shut her eyes to calm down her anxieties and her frustrations. She wasn't hungry anymore as she was. She remembered her damp hair though and looked up at it, pulling at a snarl. "I um... I'm going to go brush out my hair," she mumbled. "And then I'm going to go check up on Take and... Tinarah." The two of them had been through a lot, especially Tinarah it seemed. There was nothing else to be done here with the nightmare. Aria would just have to keep figuring this out on her own, like she had done before. Her injuries were healed, and Take and Tinarah were still recovering.

She turned to leave and then stopped. "Thank you, by the way... For waking me up and taking care of me when you did." Aria offered Torrin a small smile and then looked to the floor, hurrying off down the stairs to go back to her room. Hopefully the small crowd that was there earlier would be gone by now...

Spoiler: Tales of a Princess: A Light Is Born

Age: Two Days Old

And what of the child’s name, Master Gero?”

“Her mother told me that she would be called Aria. A lovely name.” An elderly man spoke, looking down towards the tiny child wrapped in a fluffy purple blanket.

“And her parents?”

“Safe. Perhaps, when the time is right, they shall be reunited but with the current state of the Realm of Light, she is safer being placed in the care of another.”

“Master, why couldn’t she just stay here? Is this not the safest place for her?”

“You know she cannot stay here. We cannot be distracted from our duties by having to take care of a child as well. Not only that, but we would prevent her from having any semblance of a normal childhood by doing so.”

“I...suppose you are right. Forgive me, Master Gero.”

“There is no need to apologize.” The old man pulled the child out from her crib though he handled her like a delicate flower that would have been crumpled up had he applied just a little more strength. “Enough children have been harmed by our pride and interference. She will be better off in the hands of another but that does not mean I cannot keep my eyes on this child.” Without so much as summoning his keyblade a column of light materialized beside the old man.

“It is time to take her to her new guardians.” Gero looked down at the sleeping baby and allowed himself to show a faint smile.

“I will resume my studies until you return, master.” The other man bowed his head slightly as Gero stepped through the portal with Aria and disappeared.

On the other side, the portal closing immediately behind Gero, the old man cradled the baby with one arm while the other pulled up the hood of his brown robe. Gero looked ahead to the dirt path before him, lit only by moonlight and the starry sky. It would take him some time before he would reach the location of the child’s new home but he chose to walk to conceal himself from this world and prevent a disturbance.

Eventually, as first light began to break, they arrived at a humble abode made of wood and stone, standing about two stories high. The roof had light blue shingles on top, worn from the weather with a chocobo weather-vane. There was a large wooden porch with two white rocking chairs on it with a small end table in between the chairs, and wind chimes with butterflies and small birds tinkling in the wind. The windows were large, the inside of the house obscured by pastel colored yellow curtains. The door was painted a dark blue with a little knocker of a chocobo head holding a ring in its mouth. A light was shining through one of the windows, indicating someone was awake at this hour already.

“There it is.” Gero spoke, standing in view of the home. As he spoke the child in the crook of his arm began to stir and let out a tiny weak cry. She fussed as she wriggled under her blankets, pulling out one arm from the bundle and grabbed at her face. Her mouth opened slightly and then she placed her thumb in her mouth and began to suck on in, snuggling into the older man’s chest for more warmth and comfort.

Gero’s eyes watered on seeing the innocence of the child in his arms, radiating such a powerful light. Memories of another such child returned to him but when he looked back at the house he could see a silhouette moving from behind the window those memories returned to the dark corners of his mind.It was time.

He approached the home and knocked on the door.

Soft footsteps approached the door, and then it was opened with a creak. A young woman in her mid twenties appeared at the doorstep, her black hair done up in a bun with wisps of hair floating out of place and framing her face. Freckles dotted her cheeks, and hazel brown eyes met the figure on the doorstep. “You made it,” she breathed out with a sigh of relief. “Won’t you come in for a moment?” She offered, opening the door more for Gero to enter. “It’s chilly outside… I have tea on the stove if you need to warm up.” She was wearing a light grey shawl with little decorative threads hanging down and a light blue house dress with a simple white ribbon around her waist. She was dressed in a haste, but for good reason. Her eyes drifted to the bundle in Gero’s arms, and then gasped softly as she pressed a hand to her chest. “Is that… is that her?”

Gero nodded in response to the woman’s question. “Yes. Her name is Aria.” Gero spoke softly as to not disturb the child who was already beginning to close her eyes once more. “I’m afraid I cannot stay for long. Times have been difficult to say the least and bringing her here might have brought unwanted attention. The longer I stay, the more likely danger is to follow.” He paused for a moment. “That is not to say, I will never return. Once the situation has been resolved, I intend to keep a close eye on Aria.” He looked down at the baby and smiled. “Her light is so strong. Even now...”

Anja watched the wise old man for a moment with the child, seeing how much he was attached to the small infant. She received word of when the baby was born, which was just yesterday. To see an impact this infant was making already touched Anja’s own heart. She smiled and pulled the shawl more tightly around her. “We’ll watch over her-“

“And take good care of her,” came a deep reply from behind Anja.

The woman looked behind her to see a burly young man, dressed in a white button up shirt and blue denim pants. She smiled as he laid a hand on her shoulder and then looked back to Gero.

Lanar smiled and nodded towards Gero, and looked down at the bundle in his arms. “It feels like our prayers have finally been answered,” he spoke softly. “We’ve been waiting for a child for so long.”

Anja held Lanar’s hand and grinned at Gero as tears of happiness came to her eyes. “We know she’s not ours for long, but we will love her now and forever as if she is...”

“Then it seems that she will be in good hands. I am glad to hear that.” Gero raised the baby up then stepped forward towards the couple and offered the child to Anja. “I trust that you will take care of her.”

Anja closed the space between Gero, and carefully took the infant in her arms. Aria stirred in her sleep and then nuzzled into the woman’s chest. Lanar peeked over Anja’s shoulder at the baby they were just given, and smiled softly. “She’s so tiny…”

“She’ll grow,” Anja said as she looked over her shoulder to her husband and swayed the baby gently in her arms. “She’ll grow…”

 

Illiana continued going through the trees, occasionally stopping for a moment. As Glyde started speaking, Illiana stopped dead in her tracks as she turned to Glyde. "I figure I might as well be in company; you know, rather than sulking about on my own like a lost, stray pup; you, as i recall, were the one told me to stop having such a pity party." She sat on the branch. Would you look at that....He actually listened. Glyde had paused but then continued. "And you just happened to be the only other person left to converse with at the moment." Silence passed through the two for a moment before Illiana turned around. In the next instant, she dropped down with her legs still wrapped around the branch. Glyde then spoke once more, breaking the silence. "So, I take it that jumping out of windows and climbing trees in wedges must be a less arduous undertaking than going down a set of stairs?" Illiana sat back up on the branch before grabbing the branch with her hands and hanging off it. She swung back and forth before launching herself onto another branch. She got up onto the branch before speaking. "I'm not a big fan of doing things normally sometimes." She turned around before continuing. "Gets boring pretty quickly if you just keep doing things normally each and every day." She jumped back onto a previous branch. "You gotta shake things up." She then jumped onto another one. "Make something different. Don't keep things dull." She crossed her arms as she looked back at Glyde. After a few moments, Illiana looked back at the castle. "We should probably head back. Not a big fan of kids skipping meals, the food is probably ready by now so you can't go skipping the most important meal of the day." She paused before continuing again. "Though I won't be having breakfast this morning so....gotta make sure you eat something." With that, Illiana then jumped her way back to the castle. "If you don't wanna get left behind, then hurry up!!" She turned her head back at Glyde, shouting at him. She faced forward as she continued her trek back to the castle.

 

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Chrono was silent as Atmos's sister made a portal and left the room. He didn't know who this 'Master Selene' was, but if she was around Tinarah's newfound height, then it should be find using her clothes."She's okay for the most part." Recalling the incident earlier with Tinarah and the other girl, he knew that he couldn't say that she was fine. When Atmos's sister had returned with clothes in hand, Chrono took them and gave an appreciative nod. "Thank you." With the clothes in hand Chrono had returned to Tinarah's room and placed them down on her bed.

With that being taken care of, Chrono thought it'd be best to inform Tinarah that she had a fresh set of clothing waiting for her. He ventured towards the kitchen and upon arriving, looked around for any signs of his sister. His search was a short one for he spotted her speaking to Master Choma. "Oh Tinarah." Was the first thing he said upon spotting the group. "I put the clothes on the bed in your room." He then noticed that she was holding out her wrist and Chrono was surprised to see a lack of scars on them. "Your wrist? It healed up?"

 

Seeing that Avra had blown their cover, Chrys couldn't help but sigh. Despite her personal qualms about her own ability to speak effectively, it may be the only solution. On the other hand, they hadn't necessarily lost the element of surprise. After all, the princess would hardly be prepared to handle the powers of two keyblade wielders. They also hadn't actually been spotted. She supposed though that they could also easily overpower the princess if she didn't agree to come with them, which slightly worried her. The Princesses might need better protection, though now was hardly the time for her to think about such a thing.

She didn't think she could take another negative response, but... she wanted to talk. If only to explain why they were taking her away from her home and all she had ever known. The girl, Pocahontas, would have the right to know that at least, whether she came along willingly or not. With her decision made, Chrys jumped from the branches of Grandmother Willow. She landed gracefully with knees bent at the base of the tree, not far from Pocahontas. Straightening herself slowly as to avoid conveying a threat, Chrys gestured to herself with her hand and introduced herself in response to the princess's demand.

"I am Chrysanthemum Light. You may call me Chrys. Both I, as well as a companion of mine came here seeking you. For you see, you have a power that can be used to stop a great evil. To that end, we came seeking the blessing of this tree. However..." Chrys hesitated as considered her next few words. Hiding their role in the tree's silence was pointless. Even if they could hide it, it would not be for long. Absolute honesty was the best policy. "...She was not pleased with us."​

 

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The girl finally had a chance to brush out her long hair and actually style it. With the way battles had been going, Aria decided it was high time to tie it back in a braid so she could see more clearly. She even decided to add a few beads from the bags she grabbed from the previous world and placed them in there. By the time she went to check on Tinarah and Take, they were summoned before the Council.

It was a little nerve-wracking for Aria as she stood before the chairs that were aligned in front of them, and they were made to stand in a line. She glanced at Master Choma before looking up at the whole Council and caught Master Selene trying to wave at them. Aria instinctively waved back and then realized what she was doing, sheepishly lowering her hand and tucking her arms behind her back.

She listened attentively to Master Gero, although feeling uncomfortable all the while. Seeing him in a different light earlier, while understandable given that she didn't know what happened to him, bothered her.

It was then Tinarah's turn to tell her story and what happened to her.

The whole time, Aria kept her head down, listening to all the words. She could feel anger swelling up inside of her towards the Light Chaser, that he would lie to the both of them and send Tinarah away to a strange place and not back with their friends...

The more Tinarah said, the more frustrated Aria was feeling towards herself and the situation her dear friend was put through. They weren't close, but Aria tried her best to show the girl how much she mattered and that Aria had cared about her. The part where Tinarah said all of them had died, Aria felt the girl look back at her and met her eyes for that brief moment. Aria was gradually blaming herself for not holding on to Tinarah to keep her in sight until they both got out of Sleeping Eventide. They both foolishly put their trust in the Light Chaser, someone they were told to fear and to be wary of.

By the end of the tale, Aria could see that Tinarah was visibly upset and shaken. Her heart went out to her and she glanced at the others briefly before stepping forward to the girl's side. It made sense now why Tinarah looked older, sickly, weak, and was the way she was now. In a matter of almost three days in Aria's time being back with the others, Tinarah had somehow experienced five years, some of those being so traumatic and heart-wrenching. And it made more sense why Grandpa Gero was extremely hard on Torrin earlier.

Aria didn't even look up at the Council as she stood by Tinarah's side. She could see her knuckles white and how hard she was trying to keep it all together in front of everyone. Aria's eyes soften as she looked to the girl's face, making sure Tinarah knew she was there before hesitantly putting an arm around her not so young friend anymore and squeezed her lightly. It was then she noticed that she herself was tearing up too, droplets rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry..." Aria whispered to Tinarah. She meant for her finding out that Mika was really gone, but also for all that she had to endure and go through. She gently laid her head on Tinarah's shoulder in an act of comfort and then stood up straight, rubbing Tinarah's other shoulder with her hand to try to soothe the girl the best she could. "I miss her too..."

 

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“Doing things differently, huh?” Glyde’s neck arced upward. He gazed reminiscently through the few openings in the treetop, catching what he could of the sky above. He heaved in deeply. “I had tried doing things differently; trying something new, that broke up the monotony of everyday life. It ended up… well, not all that great we’ll say.

“That’s kind of what got me here though. If it means anything, I don’t feel so much sorry for myself as much as sorry for other people that ended up worse off for it. what I had done, that is. Mostly, I guess it’s just… well, guilt, on my part. I messed things up back home. I think that’s why I ended up on Atmos’ world in the first place. But I don’t really know.”

He lowered and leveled his head and saw Illiana starting to move faster. He heard her beckon for him to hurry back to the castle, so he could eat his breakfast. Obliging with no further words, he started to run back through the thick of the forest. Unsure where he had gotten to the strength and audacity for it, he managed his way back up the tree and into the open window near his room.

Within the remaining time, he squeezed in a hurried shower (at best, a formality, as he only had his single set of clothes to return to after) and consumed his morning meal before falling in behind Master Choma to meet with the Council.

He maintained focus on Gero as he spoke, and then on Tinnarah’s story as she took her turn. It all seemed complicated; Tinnarah’s nervousness and dishevelment only made it more difficult for Glyde to wrap his head around. He looked to the ‘Master of Masters.’ Raising his hand, he spoke out, “apologies if I’m speaking out of turn. I’m, very new to this being a Keyblade wielder business. What, or rather who, are The Seven?” Though some vague memory of their mention lurked somewhere in the back of Glyde’s mind, he couldn’t pull anything more from it.

 

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Takehiko's silence through this was perhaps not that stand out since others were silent, but it was not because he didn't have moments where he wanted to speak out. But Take was distracted by something completely different, and that was Gero. Even when the old man was not speaking, when his attentions should have been on Tinarah or Torrin, the boy was staring at the man. Though know expression laid on the boy's face, the confusion could possibly have been seen in his eyes. There was a... familiarity to this man. But Take was certain he would have remembered this man had he met him. But there was something that sparked an insane familiarity that was driving the boy up the wall. Eventually, there were words that Torrin said that made Take stop and look at the man.

He'd already heard Tinarah's story, once with less detail and once with more. When Torrin spoke his side, perhaps there was too much skepticism on his mind. Or perhaps Atmos' training was beginning to sink in a little too much. Maybe it was because he had more reason to care about Tinarah than he did Torrin. But finally Take spoke still in line, "Why though, Torrin?" the boy paused a minute and realized he wasn't clear and further elaborated, "You said the side you were on in the war is worried about maintaining the balance and doesn't want to leave the realm. But you came here to find out how to safely pass into this one? You'd think that would be a strategic disadvantage if that were the case, knowing a way to safely pass while also trying to keep people on the other side of your civil war out of the realm of light. So why did you need to know that in the first place?" Takehiko paused and looked around before he looked straight at Torrin, "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you're here since you've been more than helpful. And you have given and had more taken from you for the Realm of Light than you necessarily needed to if this is indeed your home. But, well..." Take took a deep breath and grabbed his cast and asked, "How do we know you're doing this for the right reasons? And not for some kind of future benefit?"

 

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Aria gave Tinarah one last hug before they both fell back in line where they were. She stood in her spot by Master Choma and Torrin, not knowing what to do with herself as she half-listened now to what was being said. She found the interaction between some of the masters amusing... And then Torrin told his side, along with important questions from Take. Tinarah's story about Other Torrin was disturbing... and she could see that the other Torrin before was visibly disturbed by it...

Still, Take did have a few good points...

The princess of heart sighed out silently, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear as she waited for the answer. She didn't feel like she had anything to offer to say at this time. It was mostly her own thoughts swimming around in her head. She never was good with politics to begin with... Or war for that matter...

 

Qamar listened to her Master and knew what he was saying just wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to shy away from darkness. She wanted to come to accept her own darkness, but staying away from a person from the realm of darkness would only make things worse. As far as Qamar has seen, Torrin may have an anger problem, but everyone keeps assuming things and she just wanted to get to know him better.


Looking at Kide, Qamar tucked the picture away in her pocket and sighed. “I’ll have to ask him or one of the two from the realm of darkness later….” she said, frowning. If only she could figure out that story her mother told her back when she was a child. She just knows that that story would play a big role in figuring out the man in the picture. After all, that was a wedding band on her mother’s finger, so why would this guy be her uncle?


Master Kidemonas’ comments about being able to become a Master, Qamar felt a little disappointed. They had both been working hard and were both capable of taking care of themselves by this point. Sure when she first came she was much younger. At the ripe age of 15, she definitely needed help getting things done and learning things, but she was older now. Heck, she considered Stamatis to be a father figure and Aster a mother figure. They were the two who helped her a lot when Kidemonas was busy being himself. They gave her so much advice along with the other members of the Council of Lights, she considered them all to be the closest thing to a family she’ll ever have. Adalric was….more a friend than anything special, though. They didn’t talk much, but she cherished each moment, even if she made him apologize for her most of the time.


When Kide mentioned controlling her darkness, Qamar couldn’t help but think of master Skia. That woman was able to use her darkness and use it well. Qamar aspired to be like her and hoped to one day be like her. At this point, though she had her own problems, so she figured maybe aspiring to be Skia would be on the back burner.


“I’m taking this to the kitchen, I’ll be seeing you at the Council room.” Qamar said, bowing to her Master as she left. She carried the tray to the kitchen and quickly ran back up the tower towards Gero’s room. She knew his study was up there and maybe she’d be able to catch him or even get in there herself. She knew it was off-limits, but it couldn’t help to try, right? She stopped at the door and found that she just couldn’t unlock it. Not even using her keyblade worked. Grumbling, she ran back away, not caring right now. She just wanted to get that meeting over with.


She met with the rest of the guests in the council room. Qamar took her spot next to Adalric and joined him in bowing to the Master’s as they sat down. She stood at attention, listening to Master Gero speak of the events that were going on at this time. The news of the Light Chaser was something Qamar didn’t really know much about. She just knew that the Council of Lights knew him. Once it was revealed that the Light Chaser could have been stopped, but the three that knew him best failed. He then went on to mention the Seven. Her heart raced, knowing full well that she was probably, at this point, going to go and rescue the remaining Seven.


For the reason of Gero’s absence, Qamar was surprised to hear he was actually teleported to some strange realm for 6 years. Glancing over at Tinarah, Qamar saw how scared the girl was. Her recounting of the story made Qamar remember her own father and how he was forcing Qamar to try and use her own darkness to get him what he wanted. She was only 5 when her mother died from an illness and left Qamar with her “father”. For years, she was subjected to using her darkness to get her father what he wanted. That was, until she gained her keyblade at the age of 13. She finally turned on him one day and stabbed her father in the chest, watching his heart fly out and her darkness enveloped his physical form, turning him into a being known as a heartless.


Qamar started to listen to Tinarah closer when she was speaking of the Light Chaser. She spoke of being promised to be returned home and finding her brother. He pushed her off and she somehow lived. Qamar winced at the thought of the pain Tinarah must have gone through to that point. The pain she went through for all of that. Qamar had an idea, but she could never truly understand the pain. Absentmindedly, she put a hand on her hip and rubbed it gently. The rest of Tinarah’s story was intense. Watching a boy die and people promising to help her but not being able to do that must have hurt her. That explained why she was scared of Qamar earlier.


Eventually, she got to the point where she told of what happened with that other place’s Torrin. How he was a King and some girl named Mika was his Queen. Qamar listened intently, curious as to how this other Torrin caused her so much pain. By the end of the story, Qamar saw Tinarah’s shaking shoulders. She wanted to approach the girl, but she knew it wouldn’t end well. Instead, she watched Aria approach the girl and comfort her. Another boy came forward and asked what the Seven were.


She scoffed at that question, wondering how they couldn’t know who or what the Seven were. Even Qamar knew that Aria was one of them. The light that radiated off of her was sickening, but alluring to Qamar. She wanted it for herself and she wanted to have it. Though she knew she couldn’t, of course. Qamar couldn’t help her urges. Master Kaio finally spoke up and Qamar already knew he was fed up with Master Choma.


Scratching her cheek awkwardly, Qamar absentmindedly started to remember the story her mother told her….

Spoiler: Story

A young Qamar ran up to her mother. At this time, she had just turned 5 years old. Her mother wasn’t feeling so well this night, so Qamar was playing doctor and trying to make her feel better.


“Momma, tell me a story that makes you feel good!” she begged her mother. Qamar loved hearing stories and wanted to hear a new one as well, so she hoped her mother would indulge in her wishes. Qamar’s mother chuckled and hugged the child as she climbed onto the bed. Her husband walked into the room and sighed. “Qamar, please, leave your mother alone. She needs to sleep.” he begged the child. “Eifa, please tell her to leave.”

Spoiler: Story

“Ravana, I have no problem with her. She is my baby, you know. Maybe you ought to start treating her like your daughter?” Eifa looked at the man with a raised eyebrow. The man had brown eyes and short brown hair. He wore plain clothes and looked to be strong. Possibly because of the work he did. Ravana shrugged and turned to leave the room, not caring to stay and listen to the story.


“My dear Qamar...my moon….let me tell you a story about a lady who fell in love.” Eifa pulled Qamar close and began her story.


“Years ago, a lady of the kingdom who was close in the court due to her father being a public figure, had been watching generals of their armies training troops. Down on the ground, she watched a man with hair dark as the night and eyes as gold as the ring on my finger sparring with a fellow. She instantly fell in love, watching him get close to injury and managing to use his darkness to save himself. Of course this spar was a friendly one. Once he finished, she made her way to meet him.


She introduced herself and he to her. For months after, they met and got to know each other. It took him a year to finally ask for her hand in marriage. She said yes and they were married soon after. Three years after, she finally had a growing baby in her belly. In those years, however, a war was beginning to break out in their kingdom. Fearing she would lose the baby, and fearing the war she was opposed to, she fled the kingdom. She left her husband behind and found a home in another kingdom…


During her time there, her belly grew with the baby inside her. She eventually returned to her kingdom, ready to burst, and found her husband. He was wearing his armor and ready to attack anyone who dared oppose him. The man was on the side of fighting the other kingdom. This caused conflict with his wife, as she didn't want to fight.


Once he saw how ready to have their baby she was. The day finally came and the woman gave birth to a beautiful girl...the baby looked exactly like her father and was given a name that her mother thought was befitting the girl. “My baby...my moon….Qamar…” the mother snuggled her newborn baby.” Eifa finally finished her story.


Qamar blinked and looked at her mother. “Wait a sec, that baby has the same name as me!” she said, gasping. “Is that why you named me Qamar?”


Eifa chuckled and nodded. “Yes...sweetie, please, if I don’t get better, take this picture.” Eifa spoke, reaching into a book beside her bed and pulled out a photo of herself and a man with black hair and yellow eyes. “This picture...it will help you understand my story much later.”

Qamar was brought back to reality when she heard Master Varos slam his fist onto the table. At least Master Stamatis looked better for the time being. Master Gero spoke of his side of the events that Tinarah relayed to the rest of them. It was then that Qamar’s mission was being made more clear. She was going to be sent out to try and stop more worlds from being lost. Of course, Master Gero was curious as to why Torrin and Boreas were in the Realm of Light currently.


Torrin’s story sounded sad to her. Though the mention of a civil war piqued Qamar’s interest. That sounded exactly like what her mother had told her years ago. Qamar felt her chest tighten and she knew then and there that, no matter what, she was going to follow Torrin, no matter what.


Take spoke critically of Torrin’s reasoning and Qamar tsk’d. “Darkness isn’t as bad as some of you’d like to think.” Qamar spoke up. “Believe me, I’ve lived with it all my life. You’ll live if you get some help from a guy from the Realm of Darkness.”


Qamar looked at Torrin and scootched closer over to him, going past Adalric. “I know this probably isn’t the right place for this, but hearing Torrin’s reasoning made me remember something…” Qamar whispered to him. She pulled the picture her mother gave her out of her pocket and showed it to Boreas. “Does this man look familiar? Or maybe his clothing…?”​

 

Boreas walked with Choma to the kitchen "Well, a request for aide could still be sent but I wouldn't hold your hopes up too much, we don't have an awful lot to spare I'm afraid." Boreas said "From what he told me this has been going on for atleast a year... In my opinion too long without a proper response, I'd almost suggest they were indeed turning a blind eye and letting him go about it as it suits them perfectly fine and yes I am aware this is hardly the place to say that." As the master said it wasn't so bad his castle got damaged as long as everyone got out safely, he didn't entirely agree with the sentiment as a stronghold was destroyed and more so his home was destroyed. While Boreas travelled around more with the military he placed more value in his home.

As they ran into Tinarah and Take in the kitchen Boreas simply grabbed his breakfast, introduced himself to the little lad known as Take had some small talk and excused himself from the group eating his breakfast on his own, followed doing some much needed freshening up, he hadn't really had the chance over the past few days and the closest he had gotten was his swim to save Gero. After having taken his time to freshen up it was about time to get to the Council meeting. Boreas found himself standing between Torrin and the rather friendly gentleman from the other day. He looked at the masters sitting opposite of him, only three familiar faces among the nine masters. It was fairly standard council talk at this point to stay on the topic at hand and some explanation of the situation at hand, Boreas couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at the bad design of this council room, he figured they only rared held meetings with people other than on their council or it was just a psychological thing of them placing themselves above whoever they might talk to. Regardless of the design though Boreas stood straight, hands clasped behind his back and at attention listening to what was said.

Their plan was to simply deny their former member only one of the Princesses of Heart, while it ensured that the Light Chaser couldn't execute his plan it was just defensive and reactionairy, they weren't seizing the initiative as long as he was missing that piece he couldn't execute his plan but with all of them cooped up in here that meant the Light Chaser still had free reign and if those students of his grew in power too then all they would have done was buy time, time while usefull to prepare would in the end be useless because of the power unleashed would be too much. Gero then hinted at that other Realm and requested Tinarah to explain her story.

Tinarah stepped forward and Boreas simply listened to the whole story even if he already knew bits and pieces of said story. And he didn't regret saying what he had at Choma's castle. When she got to the part about this other Torrin he cast a glance to his friend and gave him a reassuring nod, reminding him of what he had said. That wasn't the Torrin who stood beside him, he wouldn't do those things. It all made sense though, how wary she had been when they found her and the shape she was in. Aria looked after Tinarah, afterwards there was a little bit of pointless chatter going on regarding the knowledge instilled into one of the students. It was now Torrin and his turn to justify their presence in the Realm of Light. Torrin didn't seem to thrilled by this, neither was Boreas but Torrin seemed especially agitate, but Boreas nodded and let Torrin explain himself first.

Torrin gave his explanation and Boreas knew it wasn't the full truth that Torrin was telling, however he wouldn't say a thing, while he had shared Torrin's motivations with people it had only been people who should know or he couldn't keep the truth from like his King. As Torrin finished Take spoke up and sure it made sense what he was saying. "Not how, rather if. While we do not wish people to leave, we're not so uncaring that if they were to succesfully evade us and leave to simply have them die out here, they are still our people. Furthermore if it was found that it was difficult to make the journey and adjust to the Realm of Light we can discourage the people who are to leave." Boreas said.

Boreas only glanced towards Qamar for her comment about the Darkness and simply raised an eyebrow questioningly. She had a point though, darkness was a necessity, it was a part of the dichotomy. Without dark there could be no light and vice versa. "You're right this is hardly the right time for this..." Boreas said in a low voice and quickly inspected the photograph and thought about it. "I do not recognize the man but that style of armour, it's design reminds me of my own, it's make seems to be from the Realm of Darkness." After answering the question he stepped forward.

"My purpose here is threefold, one of my tasks has already been completed." Boreas started off. "After fighting the Light Chaser to retrieve Aria with Torrin, Atmos ended up in the Realm of Darkness, we found her and brought her before the King, I was to return Master Atmos to the Realm of Light, in return for our aide Master Atmos was to find Torrin and return him to us as we lost contact with him. I was tasked with helping in this endeavour too. As we travelled she explained the situation with the Light Chaser to me, as Torrin has been taking the fight to him, I figured he would not abandon his fight so I am here to help in this fight as it is the quickest way to bring him home, not to mention the fact that this whole situation concerns us atleast as much if not more than it concerns you. And how I see it you can use all the help you can get if none of you are going to be leaving this place." Boreas looked at every single one of the masters sitting in front of him, tempted to remind them that everything that was said about Torrin was about a different Torrin, not the one standing beside him, he would keep it to himself for now though.​

 

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Aria listened carefully to Boreas' explanation. As she did, a thought suddenly came to her. Maybe it was because she was overwhelmed with all that was going on earlier, but she realized what it meant for the Council to keep at least one of princesses out of the Light Chaser's grasp. Or what it could mean.

When it seemed like Boreas and Torrin said their peace, Aria cleared her throat and looked up at the masters from where she stood. "Pardon me... I'm a little slow. But what do you have in mind for keeping at least one of the princesses safe?" she asked. She felt all eyes staring at her and resisted the urge to scrunch her shoulders and duck her head. Instead, she stood a little taller and took in a quick breath. "I'm assuming that one princess refers to me?" She placed a hand on her chest with a little raise of her eyebrow and then looked to the two from the Realm of Darkness. "... With the way things have been going, or at least from my understanding, we need as many keyblade wielders as possible out there."

She then glanced at Gero for a brief moment and then looked to the other masters, folding her arms over her chest. "If keeping me safe means I have to stay here while my friends go out there and put their necks out to protect the rest of us, that's not going to sit well with me. And this castle reminds me too much of a box. Not as small, and it's furnished and nice... but a box. I don't do boxes. Besides, it kind of seems like a bad idea to keep all of your power in one place, at least to me. You have a way to know of remaining three princesses not yet found by the Light Chaser, and then me. What if the Light Chaser finds a way to overrun this place? If he has the ability to send others to another place in space and time, heal scars like they weren't even there in a manner of minutes, and restore a world almost fallen into darkness in almost a day, what's not to say he's going to muster enough courage to face the rest of the masters here? Especially if he gets desperate to get the last piece when there's not more princesses to get... Wouldn't it be better if the one you had was constantly on the move?" She then frowned a little and let her arms fall to her sides. "And why settle on one princess being out of his grasp? Why not the rest of them that are out there?"

She bit her tongue when she was about to say she felt like they were wasting their time here while the other princesses were in danger. She was already asking many questions and was severely out of her comfort zone. "All I'm saying is when I was back in my home world, I had to learn to defend my farm from wolf-like creatures tainted with darkness. I was told to stay back then, but after a while they needed me to step in. I don't want to sit here and wait for things to get resolve. I want to be out there and help figure things out, and I will. Obviously worlds are still falling to darkness, even with the Light Chaser out there trying to bring some of them back while... trying to fulfill other agendas like make everyone's darkness disappear and make things super unstable. And then Torrin's realm has people that wanna leave, and that may cause an upset of balance. I mean, I wouldn't want to live in a place where I have to watch out for Heartless all the time. At least that's... how I figure things are?" She looked over at the two from the Realm of Darkness and then back to the council. "So there's more than one issue going on here, and not enough people out there to find out the why's and how's."

 

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Glyde reeled back into the cluster of people as Master Kaio took it upon himself to berate his lack of knowledge. He scoffed, making a near-silent grunt under the din of the Master's raised voice. What a jerk. The Master wasn't nearly as collected and eloquent as Glyde would have expected of someone of his position. Nor did he seem to have grasped the entirety of what Glyde had said; it was as if he hadn't prefaced his question by informing them that he was practically brand new to wielding the Keyblade. Thankful, at the very least, for the defense on his behalf taken by other Masters, he withdrew himself from the immediate conversation. He wouldn't pursue matters of his own ignorance any further; not with the Council anyways. He would simply have to learn more from Atmos when time allowed for it.

It wasn't until Aria had chimed in her opinion on the plan of staying fortified within the castle that he stepped up again. "As far as the keeping the Princesses, namely Aria, safe, wouldn't this be the first sort of place that this Light Chaser guy would come looking? I mean, if he's searching for these Princesses, then castles like this are probably high up on his hit list, so to speak. Not to doubt any of your abilities as far as concealing and protecting this world, but if he does find it, it's not too likely that he'd just pass through and let it be, is it?"