Half an hour later, Fion stood outside Ericsson's rather impressive house in the merchant district. Raising his arm, he knocked on the door three times and proceeded to wait. It took quite some time before the clicking sounds of an unlocking door could be heard, and then, following that, the door swung open, revealing the imposing figure of a retired politician, merchant, and teacher of Talze Uteran children. Standing a head above Fion, with tufts of blond hair poking out of his bandaged head, the man gestured with his right arm, [b]"You're the last Seyour then?"[/b] His left arm was held in a sling, and his clothes were still crusted with blood. No doubt, he had been very occupied last night. [b]"Word gets around fast."[/b] Fion said neutrally as he looked the man over. Seems he'd suffered quite a bit during the attack. "You know what I'm here for, then?" He asked, getting right down to business. After everything that had happened, he had no more patience left for small talk. [b]"No, I have no idea why you're here, unless you've gone the black sheep to part of the mob,"[/b] Gael replied, mirroring Fion's flatness of tone, [b]"You don't look like someone stupid enough to think that kids could summon monsters though. Don't prove me wrong."[/b] [b]"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm not here to kill any Talze Uterans."[/b] Fion shrugged with his remaining arm. [b]"No, I'm here about Fion Meyer. The girl that was under your care for a while? Died after my mother couldn't save her?"[/b] A small bit of surprise entered Gael's expression as he heard of this. Crossing his free arm over to the back of his neck, he scratched an itch, thinking for a moment. [b]"What exactly did you want to know? Seems like you have plenty of facts already."[/b] [b]"Just one thing, since my mother's not around to tell me."[/b] Fion raised his left and only remaining arm. [b]"Is this her's?"[/b] [b]"And how would I know that? The Meyer child was buried, and she had all her limbs attached during the funeral. And the Meyer family cemetary is protect by three layers of magical protections, rune magic that's inscribed on the fences that surround it. However..."[/b] Opening the door slightly wider, then, Gael tilted his head inwards, as if gesturing Fion to come inside. Fion followed him in, slightly disappointed at the answer he'd received so far. All her limbs attached during the funeral? Damn. Now it was highly unlikely that Meyers' arm was the one attached to him. His mother could have dug the body up, but that was a long shot. Of course, given that he was going to do so before Gael mentioned the magical defenses... Regardless, he followed Gael inside, intrigued at what the old man had to say. The living room of that tall building was largely empty, save for half a dozen identical chairs. There were sprays of blood decorating the walls, as well as shattered glass and tilted photo frames, but other than that, the dim room was empty. The sounds of thumps, presumably footsteps, could be heard on the floor above, and, sitting on one of the chairs with a sigh, the heavily built man asked, [b]"What was the answer about the origins of your left arm in the past?"[/b] Fion frowned as he took the seat opposite Gael. [b]"They told me that they'd gotten it off a dying girl."[/b] He said, his eyes flashing down to his arm. [b]"When I was eight. I know that there's a fallacy here. They told me I got the arm from some other girl in the nursery that died in the attack."[/b] He sighed, bracing himself for Gael's reaction after the next thing he said. [b]"Now, this is perfectly logical. I completely believe this except for one thing: there's a little girl by the name of Fion Meyers showing up in my dreams and trying to murder me. And before you ask, no. I'm not crazy. This has happened plenty of times now. Believe what you will, but that's my explanation."[/b] [b]"Hm..."[/b] mused Gael, dropping back into deep thought, [b]"And what did that girl look like? Has it happened plenty of times over the course of your life, or has this been happening more and more often?"[/b] [b]"Furthermore...what has changed during all this?"[/b] [b]"Brunette, young. Around the age when she died, I suppose."[/b] Fion replied, surprised that Gael had actually believed him. [b]"And it started happening after the Bakery Town incident. You've heard of it, right? I was there for that whole mess. My left arm started seizing up and I started dreaming about a little girl trying to bite my head off after that."[/b] The Bakery Town incident. Two casualties who were reported to be regulars at the Bureau in Illiserev, as well reported sightings of a vampire and an odd occurence in which, while initial reports sighted only a singular rift-beast heading to Bakery Town, two separate crystals were seen. An odd occurrence, but nothing too solid, nothing that could be tied in to the theory that had been shared with many of the higher ups surrounding the Sidosa Board. [b]"The description matches what I remember of her,"[/b] he said, [b]"But can you go and describe the first time you had such a dream? What do you remember having changed during that time specifically? Related to your magic or your weapon, perhaps?"[/b] [b]"...I'd completely forgotten about that."[/b] Fion blinked. [b]"After the first dream, I woke up, and she was still there. Touched my sword, smiled, and disappeared."[/b] He drew his talentium scimitar, setting it on his lap. [b]"Felt something was off with the sword after, but my Sword Arts were fine and the blade held up while I was training with it."[/b] [b]"And your latest dreams...describe them to me."[/b] [b]"Fine. This was yesterday, right after I lost my arm. I pass out, I start dreaming, the damn girl is in front of me again. Suddenly, her left arm disappears, she turns into a girl my age for some reason, and she calls herself Fion. Then she asks me if I know what her life was like, because she knows mine. She asks me if I'm a man, we go into some nonsense about gender identity, and then she draws a sword on me and says something about 'regaining what she was missing'. Naturally, I draw my sword. Then her face expands and swallows everything."[/b] Fion paused, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it all. [b]"Then I wake up again in the lap of a lady friend of mine. She smiles at me and crushes my eyes. I wake up again, in my own bed. My butler,"[/b] Fion looked down, frowning as he remembered that Richard was dead. [b]"He walks in and pours something over my head, which melts me, and then I wake up for real."[/b] [b]"Right then, seeing how you're a member of the Sidosa Board now, it should be alright to share this information with you."[/b] Massaging the bridge of his nose for a bit, Gael collected his thoughts, and then stated, [b]"Talentium is, essentially, a crystallized form of life. Following this idea, Sword Skills and Sword Arts are basically magic or forces that are powered by this life fuel, just like how witchcraft can be empowered by blood sacrifices."[/b] [b]"Assume that some fragment of Fion Meyer's soul, consciousness, or life, was preserved in her left arm. It may be possible that she's slowly...resurrecting? Reawakening? Gaining her self-consciousness again? by absorbing the talentium of your sword. You said that there was a change in your sword after the first major dream, yes? And during your latest dream, Meyer had held a conversation with you, before she swallowed you."[/b] [b]"Furthermore, if she has control over your dreams, it would mean that she also knows of the people you're close to."[/b] [b]"Of course, the whole theory of talentium equating to life could be wrong, but...nevermind that. The Meyer family cemetary hasn't been cared for for quite a long time, and, in my opinion, that whole article about your mother losing her ability to use magic was rubbish. There had been no other recorded case of that during the Talentless Strife, nor the battles after that. And there's a difference between refusing to use magic, and being totally incapable of using it."[/b] He let his words and doubts hang for a moment, before dropping out a final statement. [b]"For someone who was engaged in the military for so long, Lady Tanith had quite a dramatic reaction to the death of a single child."[/b] Fion stayed silent for a moment, letting Gael's information sink in. First things first, the man had essentially confirmed that his left arm was once Fion Meyer's. He'd deal with that first. The bit about his mother could wait until he figured out what was going on in the present. [b]"So...about Meyer's arm, two things: what happens if she reawakens, and what's the effect on my Sword Arts if she's absorbing the blade's talentium?"[/b] [b]"Not sure about what would happen if she were to reawaken, but it's not every day that someone has two different minds in one body. Your Sword Arts, on the other hand...as she gains more of her consciousness, could you even call your Sword Arts your own anymore?"[/b] Fion bit back a curse at what he heard. So far, this wasn't looking very good for him. [b]"Do you know any way to put her back to sleep? Or failing that, get rid of her? I quite enjoy not being possessed by a transplanted arm."[/b] He said flatly, now glaring down at his hand. [b]"Do you prefer being armless and magicless?"[/b] Gael said. [b]"This is the first time I've really heard of this, so I'm just theorizing, but if she does gain consciousness...I think you'd be better off learning how to coexisting with her. If you had a conversation with her during your last dream, perhaps, when she's fully...alive, she'll be more reasonable."[/b] [b]"But before even that..."[/b] [i]Was this an intentional action?[/i] Those unspoken words rung in the back of Gael's mind. Damn. Fion feared that lopping off his remaining arm was the only option available to him if he wanted to be rid of the girl, and so it was. Well, maybe Gael would be right and Meyer would be more reasonable as she awakened. Or maybe she'd continue trying to murder him in his dreams and take control of his body. Frowning, he realized he had no other choice but to wait and see. In all honesty, Fion wasn't looking forward to having to be dependent on someone else for his combat abilities. But Gael was still speaking, and Fion cut his thoughts off to pay attention once more. [b]"Go on."[/b] [b]"What I'd like to know is whether or not this was an intended result, for you to be able to use magic. And even outside that...have you ever even tried to use Sword Skills before? And even further...was this the 'completed product', or was this simply an 'experiment', a test?"[/b] [b]"That's a good question."[/b] Fion replied, looking pensive. [b]"My tutors and I both focused on Sword Arts, since I could do them. We never really tried to see if I could perform Sword Skills. But in the dream, Meyer said I 'lacked Sword Skills'. Whether that means that I simply don't use them or can't use them, I don't know. I suppose I could try to learn, but I have other priorities at the moment."[/b] And then there was the other thing Gael had said. To be honest, Fion wasn't quite bothered by the possibility that his mother may have used him as a guinea pig for whatever purpose. He'd made good use of the power he'd gotten, even if it was all going wrong for him now. She probably hadn't intended for him to end up like this, but losing his actual arm was his own damned fault anyways. [b]"Are we done here, then?"[/b] Fion asked, his mind still racing. [b]"As I said, I've other priorities right now."[/b] Like whatever the bloody hell had happened to Riley. [b]"Like finding Riley?"[/b] A shadow of a smile entered Gael's face then. Young love was still sorta adorable. [b]"What."[/b] Fion said flatly. How the hell did he know? And...wait. Why did he care that the old bastard knew anyway? Oh, right. Because somehow, he knew about what Fion got up to in his free time. [b]"You know what, at this point, I don't even care that you know about my personal life. Just tell me how you know."[/b] [b]"Well, that incident at the Ball WAS rather well known. Courtright was pretty much boasting about how Riley finally got a boyfriend or whatever."[/b] That shadow of a smile was a splitting grin now. It was always fun to see the reactions of those who refused the obvious. [b]"Old loon. I should stab his nephew again for this."[/b] Fion sighed, burying his face in his palm. [b]"Anyways, are you done prodding into my affairs now?"[/b] And just as he uttered that sentence, he smacked himself in the face. Fucking phrasing. [b]"Affairs? Plural? It must be nice to be so young and bad."[/b] [b]"And like that, we're done here."[/b] Fion stood up, turning to leave. [b]"Thanks for the help with my arm. As for everything else, choke on it."[/b] --- Man, Escellar wasn't sure about mood swings, but it appeared that his old friend was suffering from it so much more than himself. Had he already forgotten that, just a dozen years ago, the rift-beasts were considered to be monsters that were invincible? To think that the great mage had degraded so far...the years clearly had not been kind to Eldren. Nevertheless, he smiled and said, [b]“I'll leave you to your gathering then. It'll be good to fight by you once more, my friend.”[/b] With that, he walked off once more, exitting in search of more volunteers.