Soul Eater - A Soul That Feels

Mapping History

Stein finally stopped and set the file down, holding onto a single piece of paper. "Here, this is what we're looking for."

Kami set her stack of papers down and looked up. The others ceased their investigation with the stacks of books they'd uncovered in the library.

Stein pointed to Sid. "Open the book on the history of Lowe Village and go to the chapter about the girl in the forest." He pointed to Mira beside Sid. "Bring us a map of the outer-lying villages from Lowe to Death City." He looked at Spirit and Kami. "Find me every scrap of evidence about witches born soon after the first Kishin's rise and the events that shaped Lowe Village." He looked at Karey. "Find me everything you can on a village turned town called Bermesk."

Marie touched Stein's shoulder. "Are you sure I can't do anything."

Stein picked up a small note pad. "Follow my lead and write it down. The connection's there."

Marie nodded and touched his shoulder again. "Was she special to you?"

Stein stopped and turned to her. His eyes clearly etched his need to tell her, but he slowly smiled. "She was something else. If you think I've got problems, well, at least I had family and friends to fall back on." He looked away. "You and her would've been good friends if you ever had spoken to her."

Marie blinked. "I've met her before?"

Stein was about to answer when Kami set the map down on the table. Spirit handed Stein a pencil. "I'm not sure exactly where, but somewhere just outside of Lowe was a destructive path that was untraceable." Stein put a small mark beside Lowe.

Sid set the book down beside the map. "It's pretty graphic. I hope it describes what you're looking for."

Mira came to stand beside Sid and set down a book's leaflet. "Here's a map with the road from Lowe to Death City, or the most direct path." She stood back and watched Stein. "I'm not sure if that's what you were looking for.

Kami held her book close before she and Spirit approached. "I know you were looking for this, but here. This is a directory of every witch born between the rise of the Kishins and the Battle at Bermesk. They were the two large land-marked events from that era."

Karey set down four books. "These are the informational history books on Bermesk."

Stein pointed to Marie. "Start taking notes." He looked at the two maps. "Read me off the names of the witches and their locations of birth as well as their mother's names." Stein began to mark up the map with small marks everywhere.

"Witch born to Meister Gerald Finnch and Witch Kare Polish, born in outskirts of Bermesk to the East. Name: Fancy Torrent. Weighed six pounds at birth. Sent to the church for practical schooling. Unable to fly." Kami blinked. "That can't be our Torrent, could it?"

Stein looked up at her. "Next."

Kami nodded and continued reading the list.

Stein pointed at Mira. "Mark these villages along the path to Death City. Mark Bermesk, Veltro, and Sirkan." He looked at the map again. "Start with the beginning of the destruction in Lowe. Direct me from there, describing all the Golem-maker's who were killed during the destructive path."

Sid began with the recent deaths and worked his way back. They were descriptive recollections.

Stein pointed to the last death the book had mentioned. "Was there any witnesses as to the death of the young girl?"

Sid nodded. "A man named Giriko Sou witness the incident. He was the last to engage her in combat. His Golem withstood most of the blows. He was able to capture her after that, but she escaped the same night and Giriko was found nearly bled out. They don't know what had happened, but Giriko Sou was able to recover and he still lives in Lowe as far as we know."

Stein nodded and circled an x on the map. "Tell me about Bermesk."

Karey nodded. "Bermesk is the birthplace of Fancy Torrent, a well-known witchling. Her brother was killed due to his uses as a weapon. He was a rare weapon with several abilities that wasn't like Tsubaki. However, Fancy's father, Gerald Finnch was a Golem creator from Lowe who was residing in Death City as a Meister for a short time before returning to Bermesk." Karey looked up at Stein.

Stein was leaning on the table. "Was Fancy killed in Bermesk?"

"No." Karey looked back at the book. She began to read right from the book. "Although we have cleansed ourselves of witches, there was a strange incident where a single witch escaped with her husband and daughter. She fled through the passes to Lowe, a village that accepted many witches for a short time. However, the daughter seems to have lashed out, as there were deep grooves cut into the trees surrounding the leveled house.

"However, we have found evidence that the young witch is not as consumed by madness as the other witches we have executed. The young witch was the same witch who allowed a woman who may have lost her child to be able to bear that young child. The young witch seems to have a gift of healing."

Karey gasped and looked up. "That is Torrent!"

Stein marked a specific spot on the map. "We sealed her right under her own house." Stein pointed as Kami and Sid looked.

Sure enough, the spot Stein had marked as the birthplace of Fancy Torrent was the same place she'd been sealed, nearly twenty feet down, but the same spot above ground. When Stein traced the path to the exit, it came out just outside the reach of Lowe's strange trees. The Golems had come and kept her safe for ten years.

Sid looked at Kami. "Then she's going home."

"Right back to where she started."

Stein shook his head. "No. But read this." He set the paper down for them to all look at. "This will tell you what she'll do next."