Sector Break: Battle of Ratikstead

Tainted Oath

"Morning, Helen," Mandred says as he walks into her room. For the past weeks, Helen has been staying with Mandred. Despite failing the squad test and ultimately having to try again, Helen has gained the respect of Mandred's parents. She is now working part-time as their son's guardian.

"Today, we are finally heading for Celgate. I want to learn more about Eden. Do you think you can tell me the story while traveling?" Helen asks curiously.

Mandred smiles.
"It's a sad tale, but if you wish to join the Churches at some point in your life, you should learn it," he comments while opening the windows.

Helen has been struggling with her mind lately. Something has been drawing her back to Ratikstead. An uneasy feeling like something terrible is going to happen if she doesn't go. Could it be her brother who is in danger? Or is he trying to lure her there? Now that she is trying to find out what really happened that night, could he feel threatened by it? But how would he know? Rex could be beyond the Fog Wall by now. He hasn't sent a card in the last month.

"Helen? Are you still struggling with that brother of yours?" Mandred asks curiously as if he had read her like a book.

"Something is calling me back home. It has been for the last few days. And I don't know what to do. If I go, what if it's a trap? But on the other side, he is my brother," Helen explains calmly.

"Ask Eden. Surely the Churches can give you advice on this," Mandred responds with a smile as he begins to clean his sword.

The two had been practicing for the past two months now. In that time, Helen has gotten much better at fighting smarter.

"Ask Eden, huh? You almost sound like him," Helen responds with a chuckle as she grabs her bags.

"Like whom?" Mandred asks curiously as he follows her to the carriage.

"My brother. He was always closer to our mother than anyone else in the family." Helen remembers the time when all of them were together.
"He'd pray before our mother's grave with every choice he would need to take."

"Quite a mother's child, huh?" Mandred teases as he helps her with loading the carriage.

"I suppose so. I wonder if he really saw me as his sister. In a way, I had to become his mother. Be strong where he wasn't. It felt good, knowing that I could protect him from harm while he slowly started to find joy in his life again," Helen explains with some sadness in her voice.

"That sounds like a typical Demon possession," Wilbur says sternly as he walks out of the home with another pair of bags.

"I must agree. Demons often make the perfect world to draw people into a state of no return, anywhere from winning a lot of Arca to finding the perfect wife," Mandred explains calmly.

Helen immediately feels nervous again. The option to find out the truth is there. But to find out the truth, she must put Rex through a world of pain. Is that worth it? Would she rather be feasted on by whatever possesses her brother?

"Well, we should make for Celgate. It's getting hot, and I want to be out of the sun," Mandred says calmly before getting in the carriage.

Wilbur holds Helen down with a stern hand.
"What are YOU aiming for, young Helen? I hear you speak of your brother in all sorts of contexts, but have you ever thought of what you want in life?" he asked sternly before getting into the carriage.

She never thought beyond joining the Myradyn Knight's Academy. Now that she failed her test, does she really have a new goal?

"Let's go, Helen! It gets night faster than you think when you're on the road.