Epilogue: Light’s Memory
Erin learnt of Spark’s death a week after the battle in the sky. It was a week that had been both frantically busy and weighted with heavy, silent moments. Each day, she’d overseen new improvements being made to the guild hall or injured Priory members being transported back to the Shiverpeaks ‒ and she also read through the list of the dead, committing each name to memory.
Epilogue: Family
Oska’s memories of the final battle were fragmented. He’d been facing Artair ‒ that, at least, was clear in his mind. He’d struck at Artair again and again, never quite managing to made a decisive blow. He remembered being hit on the side of the head, perhaps by a fist, perhaps by Souleater. He remembered the dark maw of the rifle being turned upon him, coming close enough to block out the rest of the world. He remembered, behind it, Artair’s smile.
Chapter 5: Part 11 - Aftermath
There was a ringing in Erin’s ears that made the world feel distant and not quite real. Light was sneaking in through her cracked eyelids, just enough to let her know it was nearly dawn. And someone, perhaps very close, perhaps very far away, was shouting Auri’s name loud enough to cut through the whine.
Chapter 5: Part 10 - Stone
The screams were all Erin could hear. The world seemed to come to her in fractured images, one little piece at a time. The face of the human Talon she was grappling with in the moment before he pitched over the side of the Victory. A flash of blue-grey Priory robes and what she was almost certain was Marta’s face. A pool of blood spreading across the deck beneath her, making her footing uncertain. And the sudden parting of the crowd on the ship’s deck as Talons and Priory alike scrambled for safety.
Chapter 5: Part 9 - Steel
It was the greatest feeling in the world to know they’d made Artair angry. Oska watched as the portal at the end of the deck opened and the sylvari stepped out of it, a crowd of Talons at his back. He was no longer carrying his usual greatsword, but instead a sleek rifle that somehow looked all the more dangerous for being so subtle.
Chapter 5: Part 8 - The Flawless Victory
It had taken all Erin had to put her trust in Vasha. Even now, crouched in the undergrowth of Bloodtide Fen, she wasn’t quite sure what she’d let herself in for.
Chapter 5: Part 7 - Good Luck With Thieves
After days of frenetic activity, the guild hall had fallen eerily quiet. Oska was gone, of course, chasing Spark’s trail into the depths of Ascalon. Erin had tasked Marissa, Roan, Jean, and Caolinn to go after him. She was certain they had enough experience to handle Spark, especially Caolinn, who’d worked with the charr years before Light’s Memory formed.
Chapter 5: Part 2 - Honesty and Humility
Chapter 5: Part 1 - The Right Thing
Chapter 4: Part 8 - Conniving Natures
Erin was usually good at waiting. Hunting in the Shiverpeaks required the utmost patience, which meant it was a quality she’d cultivated even before she could hold a sword. But crouching in the undergrowth of a rain-slick night in Ascalon? This was more excruciating than any ambush she’d ever done before.
Chapter 4: Part 5 - Foolish Moves
Chapter 4: Part 1 - The Type To Hold A Grudge
Third Interlude: Opposing Sides
The message arrived at midnight, when the guild was quiet and everyone but Erin was asleep. There was no need to keep watch, but she did it anyway, standing in the open doorway and staring out into the night. Lion’s Arch seemed unusually subdued, but maybe it was only her mood that made it so. Marissa’s defection didn’t surprise her, nor Jean’s. The fact that Roan had followed them raised its own questions, but perhaps he was more comfortable with his former enemy than with a guild who were still strangers to him. Amber, though… There would be a reason for her departure ‒ there was a reason for everything Amber did ‒ but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.
Chapter 3: Part 9 - A Time Of Peace
Chapter 3: Part 4 - A Thorn In My Side
Erin wasn’t used to having sleepless nights. Usually, she was asleep within half a minute of putting her head down, a trick acquired from years spent in the wilds. Tonight, though, sleep seemed elusive. She just couldn’t remember the last time she’d been plagued by so many damned thoughts.
Second Interlude: What A Guild Leader Does
Erin was fairly certain she was having the worst day of her life. There had been, first, a somewhat fractious reunion with Amber.
Chapter 2: Part 9 - The Sharpest Blade
A wave of heat rolled over Oska’s back, hot enough to scorch the hair at the nape of his neck. Beneath him, Auri twitched, making cool air flood over them. When he raised his head, a bubble of her magic surrounded them, frost nipping at the tops of his ears.