[center][h2]Anne Mayer[/h2][h3]Aventon — Hunter's Lodge[/h3][/center]
[i]Magic.[/i] Anne couldn’t help but frown at the word. Where she came from, even the most inexplicable phenomena were rooted in advanced science or lost technology, and could fundamentally be explained and reproduced if only they were understood. This planet, on the other hand, was so far behind the times they didn’t even seem to have spaceships. Under such circumstances it was no wonder that superstition had taken hold.

[i]There were jewel users in the North, on the Absolute Defence Line. Most likely that second item has similar properties.[/i] That could make it a powerful weapon in the right hands, but Anne herself wouldn’t be able to use it. [i]And besides, why would the Heralds give their enemy something that could be used against them?[/i]

While she puzzled over the gem, Kendrick dug up something she’d entirely failed to notice before. Anne quickly read through the note, and her eyes went wide as she reached the end.

“Alvin mentioned a god as well. Or a Goddess, rather.” She threw a worried glance towards Millie. “He claimed that the entity spoke with Millie’s voice, and summoned me here along with the others. Which, if this note is true, would explain why…” Snuffed out like a light, it said. Was there even any hope of recovering that girl anymore?

Urgently now, she told Kendrick the rest of what she knew. “We first appeared in a church—but Alvin said he’d never seen it before. The entity working through his sister was gone by the time I arrived, but supposedly she called herself Lavielle.” She searched his eyes for any sign of recognition, familiarity. 

“If the Heralds wrote that note, then it’s proof they knew about this Goddess and her connection to Millie. If they were after the kids from the start, then they must have known before we even arrived.” Either they wanted access to the power that had brought Anne and the others here, or they bought into what the entity had called herself: a goddess, and object of worship.

[i]Better hope it’s not the second option.[/i] Power-hungry armies were one thing, but religious fanatics were some of the worst types of all to deal with.

[@PKMNB0Y]