The meeting of disclosure held by the seven started to settle down quickly after the important details were presented. Being left with an avenue of freedom opened up the room to closer ties, forged by trusting bonds.

Ayzherie still could hardly believe just how deep this discovery actually went, she thought her own condition was a big deal. Dramatically shifting styles of life, switching from a village life to suddenly the big city, and even being so convincing in appearing local. The matter of the Astral Flame seemed to play a role in that, if she was following the flood of details correctly, but even that was remarkable. To have burned away who a person was, and to leave behind someone else that would continue the life that already was, all three girls were going through something massive. Riyxia though personally had even more than that, not even being an organic person anymore, she was instead a creation produced artificially, living completely unlike anyone else. At that time, there was some exploration of just how much of a change that could be, as Riyxia was demonstrating her spectral form. It was requiring the instruments on the Astral Flame to track her movements, but it was clear she was stepping free of her body by her own will. Ayzherie couldn’t even imagine personally what it might be like, to never again actually sleep, only to instead have a body that slept while the specter, the essence in fact, wandered freely like a ghost.

Such wasn’t even an inaccurate comparison, she basically was a ghost in this state, as fearsome as that idea really was. This was her essence set free from her body, though their most established expert on the Astral Flame seemed convinced that this would only be possible by segmenting the essence and leaving a portion behind, like a remote control. Even in that situation, there was talk that she really should avoid putting too much distance between the two, even if it remained uncertain what consequences would occur if she did so. Having herself suffered in her own wonder, using herself as a focus for her gift regardless of the risks, she fully agreed that Riyxia should not perpetuate her own mistakes, especially since the potential costs seemed far greater.

Sryine and Vwyx meanwhile were still left to ponder the state of their own identity. Sryine had the most insight in this regard, especially after hearing that the essence they then probably obtained would have originated from Earth, at least this was the most likely case. The hardest part was realizing that she was any different than she thought she was, but simply considering her past compared to her present, it sorta did make sense. She used to be just a bookworm, accepting her exclusion from the path in life the rest of her family took. They were leaders, she had no such inspiration, she just liked keeping quietly to herself, no real responsibility except her books. None of those thoughts made sense anymore, she couldn’t understand how she might have been so willing to have life just drift past without making the most of it, to search for her own path of improvement and discovery, especially if there were profits to be had. Being sensible of the situation, that’s probably what bothered her the most, she hadn’t even lived with the idea of Qeld until she had left the village, and now it was suddenly such a big deal to her. That’s probably where her new essence steps in, living a life on Earth much like that, a business lady devoted to professional and financial success, probably under the weight of high expectations. The Terran Mythos spoke of earth having its own path of development, discovering things like automation long before teleportation. Her essence there had probably then strove to found a company that brought Earth into a new prosperity in some chosen area of development, something she had discovered somewhere and pursued to the end of her life. It was that same ambition that looked upon her own knowledge of the Terran Mythos and craved to find a way to bring some kind of new inspiration to Celese, using knowledge she had accumulated. She felt like she was being used, yet only aware that her perspective might be better aligned in saying that she was the one doing the using.

Sryine expected Vwyx had something fairly similar going on. A crafter who wondered what it might be like to make instruments, suddenly being someone talented in making instruments and managing complex systems. Even in a world full of automation, it was probably safe to assume that there would be people required to make sure things kept going, people trained in the physical dexterity to piece together things as more than just the ideas she considered, much like how the projection instrument they had produced had worked out. It was her idea, and Vwyx had figured out how it physically could be made to happen. She wondered what the chances were that their two essences had known each other in their lives on Earth, though with all consideration there might still be hardly any chances of that. What did make sense was that they were probably both city women, and that’s how they’ve just managed to fit in so well in Windvale, how things had just been so natural.

Riyxia would have the same situation, but was a lot harder to measure out. None of them knew her predecessor very well, so figuring out what parts of her were from her original essence and which were instead her new essence remained challenging. Sryine could understand, this was just another factor included in Riyxia’s original goal of knowing where her predecessor ended and she began. In this case, it was more specifically where her old essence had ended and the new one had begun. Sryine was getting sorely tempted to consider if both Vwyx and herself should also consider changing their names, their senses of identity being so shattered. Well, there was still a huge difference, she actually had a grasp over her two essences, considering she still possessed all of her memories. Additionally, she was actually still an elf. With those things in consideration, it might be going too far to even try to claim her situation was even close to as bad as what Riyxia was going through. It was Sryine’s life she was continuing, so there would be no problems in her continuing it as Sryine.

Vwyx was actually of similar mind, just with a more substantial sense of obligation. She had a sister waiting for her at home, a sister who had believed she was alright. Sure, she was her own way of fine, but just as they had to explain the matters involved to their current company, she was keenly aware she would need to explain things to her family too. What she could possibly say though was yet another matter, that she was a replacement for the girl they used to know, one who probably mostly died in that fire? She knew she could live up to being Vwyx for herself, but she wasn’t quite as certain how she could accomplish such for her family. It would be wrong to even assume there would be no impact, she was raised keenly with training to be a good craftswoman, and yet now this new version of her with her new ambitions would be stepping in and even feel like an impostor to everyone else. In fact, her dreams of instrumentation, were they even originally enough to make her feel comfortable enough to escape the village, or was it only this new version that had been so capable, already deviating herself before she was even aware of it. Even knowing such, could she even give up on her new values so easily and just focus on living the life desired by her original self? Somehow, the concept of denying who she had become simply felt impossible.

“Okay, so, it seems like this has been a very successful meeting then, but we should really be wrapping things up. We’ve talked heavily about the circumstances, but not where things will go from here. After carefully considering the matter, I think it’s safe to assume you three have a concern with where in the city you might belong, considering you aren’t even from the city. I would again make the offer to consider us your new home, but I think we might need to make sure there are some adjustments to that consideration, I know you really don’t want just fit yourselves in with the same discipline, and you do have a lot of other things to worry about than just defending the city from beasts all day long. Suffice it to say that I don’t think any of you have the determination to be a full Hunter. However, you have some very useful specialized talents, and I think with consideration to your specialization, taking in some outside volunteers to help with the general tasks around here could be good for both of us. This matter of the Astral Flame is going to need some additional research, so it is a good thing we have someone from the academy here to help us with such research, sort of his school project. As a volunteer organization working with the Hunters, it is good that you have brought with you some of your own staff to help manage the various aspects of your business, as a sort of additional outside help.” Ayzherie was already putting things together, building a structure out of the chaos they had been dealing with. Even this assumed agreement managed to magically be formalities that honestly changed nothing.

“Of the three major subjects at hand, disclosure of such information will be protected. Matters of origin do not matter within the Hunters, so there should be no reason for your village to come up. If you require assistance with aspects of the city, please bring any such request to me so that I can ensure you are provided with a private capacity to acquire such information. Matters of the Astral Flame will be held as confidential, considering the potential threat presented by public release of such information. On that matter, I will even ensure there is a secure facility prepared for the research of any matters related to the current traces of the Astral Flame, but I don’t think it would be wise to further any research into the flame itself, considering current details regarding the damage and lives lost in the previous incident. In fact, our student here.. who I believe had not yet introduced themselves…” “Oh, Eqriuxzl, ma’am.” “Eqriuxzl here is going to be expected to halt any research in any other aspect of the Astral Flame. You should be fine with this idea, in consideration that you now know why the current traces exist. Our focus and concern is entirely on facts presiding within these existing traces and the impacts presented by them, not with anything that should have long passed.” Ayzherie did have some concerns in matters of Eqriuxzl’s research, so she wanted to make sure it had a measure of control. She would have to ensure that he not only left all related materials behind, but that he brought anything related here for safe containment.

“Finally, Riyxia will certainly be accounted for as a person of individuality, much as she deserved. The hunters do not hold any bias between elves and humans, the inclusion of this third option does nothing to change that. We understand that the general public may not be as quick to understand, so you will be held in account as an elf from all official standpoints. We will however make sure that your special needs are held into account as well, that medical supplies will not be sufficient to deal with your own injuries, and that Vwyx here will be needed to identify suitable replacements. When it comes to your own spectral ability, this will be documented as simply being an aspect of your own gift, and considered in much the same light as anyone’s gift. However, be aware that since it is being considered as part of your gift, it will be included in portions of your future training, especially in sessions involving the gift. I understand that it isn’t quite exactly the same thing, but it is a part of you regardless, and it will need training. Your overall abilities will also need to take into account any other unusual facets of your unique physique, both in training and with everyday matters. For example, we can safely assume that the classical expectations of stamina and senses would not apply to you, that you would need to have both evaluated in a unique case. I understand that today you have been promised rest, and that will not change, but be ready for your training tomorrow, there will be much to do.” Ayzherie was actually already making plans for how she would be adjusting training going forward to compensate for this new knowledge.

“With that though, I suspect you all would be interested in an opportunity to rest. Eqriuxzl, I would ask that you follow me, so that we can get you set up for your future study right away. Jwyexzn, your tasks will not have changed, but I hope you will be more open about your discoveries going forward, to all of us. Please make sure to take time to rest for yourself so that you are also ready for tomorrow. Hyusziq, I heard you were considering a business venture of your own, we might have time to discuss the matter today for a short time immediately following lunch.” Ayzherie wasn’t even making any verbal expectations for the girls today, only leaving it that they should find time to rest. After having such an exhausting morning, all three girls were very interested in taking things easy for the remainder of the day. So with that, everyone departed accordingly, the three girls heading directly back to their room for the rest of the morning.

Lunch approached, bringing the three girls out from hiding. Even through lunch, no one was even considering them with any kind of unusual regard. Being left to their own freedom, the three girls decided to get some fresh air for the afternoon, watching some of the other hunters do some of their own training. They found Dhyinze and Nuiqhyx, hard at work running laps, followed by split weapon training for the two of them. Dhyinze was given some target practice with his firearm, while it seemed Nuiqhyx was some kind of trap expert, spending time setting and disarming traps. Getting to witness some of the training done by others, Sryine decided to wander off and check out what other forms of training were being applied around here. Vwyx however just wanted to stay and watch the two hunters she knew do their thing, cheering them on their successes and shouting comforts when they didn’t quite make expectations.

Ryixia felt both solutions were a bit too loud for her tastes, and went to go find a quiet place to just take in the serene sights of nature. She wandered off towards the mountains and found a quiet stone to sit on, turned facing towards the city from the outside. From here, she could see that it looked like there was supposed to be part of the city existing on this side of the river, but most of everything here was ruins and hunter encampments, like this side had been totally lost to civilization. The bleak gray stone on this side made the whole expanse seem both lifeless and colorless, like something had torn the life and will straight out of the land. The almost chasm dividing both sides was a similar mesh of stone and life, the passing green decorating the abundance of stone, before settling far below into a stretch of blue, almost in reflection of the sky. The sky today was instead very white and cloudy, being today devoid of all pretense of color. She hoped that things might clear up tonight, she had made arrangements with Ayzherie that might allow an opportunity to at least spend a portion of the night in a room closer to the exit, giving her spectre access to the night sky once again. From white to black, the colorless options given to the sky when even the sky was not allowed time for its own life.

The city however was nothing like that, it was awash by a plentitude of colors, both now and in the still darkness of the night. Most of the color was artificial, but it was this painted color that had given the city its own life, and she for one would not be a person to diminish the quality of artificial life. Beyond the city, mostly obscured from this perspective, she knew there were fields filled with life colors, colors that were even natural. Green fields scoured grass among even the lively brown dirt before still lively brown trees supporting green leaves. She knew not all leaves were green too, some were yellow, red.. and even blue. In this way, Windvale seemed like an artificial bastion of life, doing its best to hold back a tide of colorless death.

This thought and comparison brought her a strong feeling of peace, a comparison to her own inner turmoil. She was herself an artificial life, a creation on the borders of life and death, and within she strove to make sure it was the life that won out in the end. But just as she had travelled here from the fields of life beyond, to now rest in the mountains of death across the boundary, so too was she left to reflect on the side of death within herself. Even if it was only a trace, within her was something that had come from the Astral Flame, a thing comparable as death itself. The belief was, this aspect of death was her actual core self at this point too, just like Sryine and Vwyx. The shimmer of light she had always seen, that was the shimmer of a flame that had not gone out, the flame of death itself, and yet the flame that gave her life in turn. This flame had been both her death and her creation, her ending and her beginning. Because of such, it was impossible to appreciate the life within her, without accepting the death there too. For she might be in a position that appreciates the fields of life, but she does so from the mountains of death.

Riyxia sat there to appreciate the perspective a while more, hearing a howl ring off in the distance among the otherwise still silence. Tomorrow there would be a lot to do with others, plenty of things to resolve as a group, but for now she would just attend to herself.