Chapter 2: Part 4 - A Chilling Discovery
The ruins of the guild hall didn’t look any better on Erin’s return to Lion’s Arch. If anything, after days of being picked over by scavengers and rained on once or twice, they actually looked worse.
Chapter 2: Part 3 - Chain of Command
Erin had always loved the Black Citadel. Hoelbrak, her home city, was a place the norn went to socialise, to drink, to boast. The charr capital, on the other hand, smelt of hot steel and engine oil. It was alive with the sounds of industry, as busy and productive as a city could be.
Chapter 2: Part 2 - A ‘Conversation’
Two things were vying for Erin’s attention. It did not surprise her, given the current state of her life, that both of them were Valparis.
Chapter 2: Part 1 - Ambush
The Grove wasn’t what Oska had expected. He’d passed through the place only a handful of times before, never going far from the bustle around the asura gate. He also didn’t have a lot of experience with sylvari; there was supposed to be one in Light’s Memory, but he’d yet to actually meet her. Somehow, he’d imagined their home city being somewhat backwards, just a patch of trees in the forest, probably surrounded by swamp.
First Interlude: Hammer and Anvil
Most of the time, Erin thought she was reasonably in control of her guild. Some of its members could be awkward ‒ and plenty of them liked to argue ‒ but overall, they were willing to follow her lead.
Chapter 1: Part 10 - A Coming War
Dusk had always been Oska’s favourite time of day in Divinity’s Reach. The city came alive with music and colour, the air filled with smells of cooking and smoke, and there was something new to discover on every street corner. As a child, he’d spent long hours roaming through the city as the light faded, until one household servant or another was sent to bring him home.
Chapter 1: Part 9 - Family Reunion
If Erin had pictured the home of the Valpari matriarch, it would have looked exactly like Blackthorn Manor. The grey stone walls, the soaring turrets, the crenellations and grand front doors. Apart from its tall windows, looking back at them like blank eyes, it was surprisingly defensible. It even had a moat, if only at the front.
Chapter 1: Part 7 - Babysitting
Out of all the new recruits to her guild, Erin hadn’t expected Auri Valpari to be the most difficult. Both she and Oska were odd and not always in step with the world around them, at least at first glance. Once you got to know them better, you discovered that Oska was far sharper than he first appeared and had something of an acerbic tongue. Auri, if anything, was even more dreamy and distracted. She had a tendency to finish Oska’s sentences, but a lot of the other things she said made no sense at all.
Chapter 1: Part 5 - Ashes
Seeing the guild hall burn wasn’t quite like watching her life go up in smoke, but it wasn’t far off. Erin stood on the docks of Lion’s Arch, trying to be stoic about the fact that there was nothing left of the place but a pall of smoke overhead and a greasy stain on the ground. The wooden walls had been old and dry; they’d burnt quickly and with significant heat. The Lionguard, presumably used to such fires, had done nothing but hold back the crowds.
Chapter 1: Part 3 - Den Of Thieves
The guild hall of Light’s Memory had, if Erin was honest, seen better days. It was a former warehouse on the docks of Lion’s Arch, which had seemed practical in the early days of the guild. Back then, with Zurra only just captured and Erin newly in charge, all she’d wanted was a safe place for them to sleep, train, and catch up with one another between paying jobs.
Chapter 1: Part 2 - Old Acquaintances
Reconnaissance in Divinity’s Reach wasn’t what Oska was used to. He’d grown up in the city and knew every nook, cranny, and secret there was to know – but that wasn’t helping much now. He hadn’t been sent back here to fight enemy forces, or carry intelligence, or even to learn the city’s news from his family. He was here, in the words of his new guild leader, to watch and wait.