#merrydiviner

She hated the dark. Or, well, she didn’t really hate the dark-- not always. But darkness like this, closed and cloying, the weight of dread settling in your lungs and weighing upon your heart? Maria hated this kind of dark. 

At least she was awake for this, and the cold was less noticeable after having come from the floor above. Still, with the utter darkness now and the human shaped hole in the ice earlier... something was out here, she was sure-- probably something she had tried to save. Her stomach twisted; she had only wanted to help. 

“I’m going up there,” the little princess whispered, voice hushed by the mood. Flashing one last smile at the group (could they even see it?), she darted ahead on light feet, sticking as close to the wall as she could. Nothing rose from the gloom to trip her or trap her, but still. She couldn’t shake the feeling that it would.

          when they’d finally received orders on the weapon bunker’s location, he’d been pleased to be on the move again, to have a clear and actionable goal in reach. it would help with the atmosphere among the others, too, he thinks; troubles were only stirred when there was nothing else to occupy the mind.

          but whatever he had expected to find, it wasn’t this.

          what he’d anticipated would be a standard military holding, brimmed with storage and an array of rare weaponry, was anything but. the domed interior seemed to shine — metal, there was so much metal; everything seemed to be made of it. strange colors twinkled, as if just out of sight, and what he could make out of the objects kept here didn’t appear of be weapons of any kind. at least, not that he knew.

          and if that wasn’t enough, the only apparent doorway slammed shut with a metallic clang behind them while they were all distracted.

                                        ❝ ... ❞

          most of the others had already fanned out, whether to curiously inspect what caught their eye or in pursuit of the mission they’d been assigned. he has half a mind to follow suit, but now has little idea of what the church wants to secure from this storage. he sees no swords, no spears, no tomes. in fact, watching the others leave their backs vulnerable as they begin to comb, he feels less and less sure of what to expect. there shouldn’t be any active danger in a subsidiary armory, but then this place had been almost too easy to access for what claimed to house the church’s most formidable arms.

          ❝ ... i’m going to patrol the perimeter for anything dangerous, ❞ he informs innes, one of the few who hasn’t yet dispersed, grasping the shaft of reginleif hung across his back. the polished wood slides into his palm tip-down, at the ready, its weight comforting. and then, noticing that the woman who claimed to be a diviner — the sole accompanying faculty, if he recalls — has hung back as well, he offers to her: ❝ you can come with me if you’d like. i’ll protect you if anything proves suspicious. ❞

@merrydiviner​

As you gather information from the students and the surrounding villages, you begin to notice a common thread: mages utilizing unfamiliar spells that aren’t known in Fódlan or beyond. But as you prepare to ambush a group of suspiciously-robed “mages”, you notice their physical, non-magelike builds and strange weapons in their hands. Swords, lances, axes, all made of a strange “organic” material, if you could call it that, and eerily similar to what you’ve seen from the Heroes’ Relics. The Church would be more than interested in bringing those back for inspection, whether by force or theft. [Grants Any Weapon + 1]

Chrom paced restlessly around the square of the village he’d been sent to. Despite being a new student, the faculty had called for more people to come and aid with the situation in the Faerghus. On the march over, he’d been filled in on the strange goings on recently with infected villagers and mages using unfamiliar spells. Despite his lack of knowledge of the arcane, Chrom was willing to lend whatever help he could.

His current order was to prepare an ambush for said mages. Scouts had reported that there was a group hiding out in a storehouse on the village outskirts. What interested him was the description of them having more muscular builds than you would expect for a magic user and using melee weapons alongside spells. He may be useful for the upcoming fight after all. Apparently the weapons resembled Heroes Relics, whatever those were but the Church wanted them retrieved so that was now his goal too. 

Pausing in his movement he met the eyes of a purple-haired woman watching him with a calm confidence. He flashes a quick disarming smile and heads over to lean against the wall next to her. There was a tension in the square, the energy which gathered before a battle as people made their preparations. Maybe this person held some new information.

"Hello, Lady Maria. May I sit here?" she asks, although she's already taken a seat. If asked, she'll simply say that she foresaw Maria saying yes before she even asked. "I brought a gift, especially for you. It's a Hoshidan omamori, they're supposed to bring good luck, bring fortune and drive away evil. I hope it aids you in our travels." She hums, before an idea strikes.

"How about a cup of tea? I can teach you how to read tea leaves, if you like."

The delight is clear within an instant.

"Miss Orochi!" Maria greets, eyes shining. She scoots just an inch or so away to afford her new companion more room, though her knees point toward her and her expression brightens so clearly that it is clear the gesture was borne of anything but distaste. "Of course you can! You really brought a gift for me?"

She holds out her hands to receive it, an almost bashful excitement writ in the small 'o' of her mouth. It is so... so cute! And just for her, really? Really truly? And it's good luck charm, too! Where should she keep it? No, that's obvious-- on her person of course! Small hands wrap preciously around the gift, holding it close to her heart, eyes fluttering closed a moment in wholehearted appreciation. Thank you, Miss Orochi.

"Thank you, Miss Orochi!" She says again out loud, the joyous light of her eyes now nearly blinding. The charm remains in her gentle grasp, though she will later stow it away in her coat pocket nearest to her heart. "I'll keep it safe! Actually, I made good luck charms for my friends at the academy, too! I didn't bring any for us since I could look after everyone myself... but I should have!" A bright laugh, rosy hues narrowed in simple happiness as she peers up at her. "They weren't nearly as pretty and wonderful as yours, but I wish I had something to give you, too!"

"Orochi, my favorite little troublemaker," he greets in turn, meeting her grin with a smirk of his own. With her here, what was shaping up to be a terribly boring trip—full of doom and gloom, tears and loss—is bound to be a bit more lively.

(It helps soothe his concerns, curbing the edge of anxiety that he's not used to dealing with. Nina will be safe, wherever she is sent. Leo will be able to take care of himself here. It will be fine.)