[b]Jade, Dolly, Mirror[/b]

The crew is all there when you reach Jade’s birth. Apparently the cult held some kind of vigil in response to Jade’s sudden departure (after they had finished resetting the berth and cleaning up from the hasty launch sequence, the entire place looks spotless). 

Nine Forests, as the chief engineer and thus nominal second in command of the cult after the high priestess, formally receives Jade’s return. She bows at the base of the hangar and provides the physical direction for the final landing, while Silver Ripples confirms the docking over communications. You get the sense that, if she had her way, there would have been some kind of procession and she might still be holding out for the declaration of a feast day.

This whole thing is, after all, not dissimilar from classic Hybrasilian folktales and myths. A champion blessed by a goddess rushes off to rescue a maiden kidnapped for sacrifice. Distant villages, competing in which gods they serve acting as terrifying foreign enemies. Ancient tales where duels were fought in swords, poetry, and trickery, and the heroes were exalted equally for facing a whole hunting pack and surviving or for managing to sneak drugging incense into the heart of their enemy pyramid and then bind them all in cover of night. 

Six Stones, who has just enough of a grin on her face that you can’t tell if she is serious or not, will join Nine Forets to greet the exit from Jade with a grass crown to honor Mirror and a garland of flowers for Dolly as high priestess. She will try her best not to turn that grin into a smirk when she sees that’s the only thing Dolly is wearing, and she will fail. 

Before passing a little time and learning about your next match, close out this scene with Jade’s cult and how the returning heroes greet their reception.

***

[b]Solarel[/b]

It is in knowing your place that you see the Kathresis at last. It is a vast winged shadow within itself, the darkness at the heart of its own storm. 

Worth is found in order

It wraps you in its embrace, its wings are soft and they rustle like leather. 

Order determines the shape of love

You cannot feel the snow, nor hear the voice of the spirits within the confines of the Kathresis, though all things are within the confines of the Kathresis. 

There is no greater love than knowing where you are meant to be

Deep within its embrace, you can hear the heart of a star. The wings of shadow encircle an unbreakable light. 

To love all things as they are meant to be loved is to grant them each their place in turn

And in the heart of the star there are a thousand minds yearning for freedom and they are all of them embraced in shadow so thick and deep that they cannot speak and you are wrapped in silence. 

***

[b]Isabelle[/b]

It’s in the middle of your repairs that Asil calls upon you. She doesn’t interrupt your repairs though. Rather, she arrives in person, at the hangar, when everyone else is dismissed, you ought to be asleep, and it’s the middle of the night. You might wonder how she’s keeping tabs on you. You could ask her.

“You’re going to let me help you fix this,” she says. It isn’t a question, but she doesn’t start touching the Emberlight until you say something. She’s been paying attention to Isabelle and understands what respect might mean to you. 

If you leave her standing there waiting too long though, she might feel inclined to punish you for it later~.