Nephis looked in the window and remained silent for a while. Her face was distant and still. After a while, she lightly shook her head.
"No… not yet."
Cassie seemed to be surprised by that answer.
"No? But… why?"
Changing Star sighed.
"The… Fire Keepers. That is what people call the Awakened who follow you, right? They all look up to me, do they not?"
The blind girl silently nodded.
"Of course! We… they have been waiting for your return ever since escaping the Forgotten Shore. Even though the Dreamer Army was an alliance of convenience, the bonds that were forged between its members are real. Their bond to you is real, too."
Sunny sipped his coffee with a strange expression. Neph, meanwhile, lingered for a moment, and then said:
"But they want more than just to welcome me back. They expect me to lead them, like I did on the Forgotten Shore. Am I correct?"
Cassie nodded once again.
Neph looked away.
"How can I lead them when I don't know where I am going? I… I need more time to figure things out before I face them."
The blind girl remained silent for a while, then sighed.
"I… I understand. I think."
meanwhile, did not
going to do, so she could not offer the remnants of the Dreamer Army guidance. She could not become their general again until she decided on the
that, she had spent two whole years alone in the Dream Realm… if he knew anything about
of new information that became available to Neph after she came back. That had to change her approach a little, but should not have affected the core of it. So why was she
was she
was not sure that he wanted to know… yet. In any case, he was going
was something else
glanced at Nephis and Cassie and
you two forgetting something? This is still my home! We only agreed that Nephis would stay here for a week. Shouldn't you at least ask me before deciding to leave her
going to let Changing Star pull off
at him with an unreadable
mind if I stay
then
you, and all that. See, was that so
***
about the state of the Fire Keepers and the renovations they were making to the
and Neph were left
a few
want to go home? I mean… I never really had one, more or less,
then slowly
was growing up. Sometimes because our financial situation changed, sometimes due to security issues.
remained silent for a
who surrounded me that created the feeling of home. But they are all gone now, one way or
conversation he once
And who those people were. You
Changing Star nodded.
You could have called it a great clan, even, although that distinction was not established yet back then. Apart from the immediate family, the clan also encompassed hundreds of other people. Professionals to manage our properties, craftsmen, mundane soldiers, Awakened retainers, their dependents… a Legacy clan is more than just a
grew silent, and then
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