This is an amnesia free zone! Events and characters have been reworked for this remix, primarily noticeable in altering ages of a few characters. I hope you enjoy this interpretation.

While the premise of the story is humorous at first glance, it does delve into some dark themes such as death, sacrifice, suicide, manipulation, and such. There is also some nondescript nudity and censored language.

Rune Breaker (AntiAmnesia RF4 Remix)

Chapter 1: A.L.N.

Winter 89, year 1610

A momentary glance at his sleeve cuff showed that he'd neglected to actually button it this morning. With a soft sight, Volkanon corrected that mistake and turned back to the task at hand. There was a lot on his mind, he realized: the investigation into the disappearance of the last prince, the preparations to receive the new prince today, the second disappearance this season being one of his students, the reports of a Sechs warship flying around in Selphia skies, the current mood of the divine wind dragon, plus all the usual tasks of keeping the castle running every day. These were troubling times.

He looked over the telegraph he'd received recently about when the prince would arrive. Due to the shorthand script, the prince was only referred to by the initials ALN. Volkanon went ahead and put 'Prince Arthur' from his knowledge of the royal family of Norad. He was the youngest son of the high king, but with two older brothers, he was unlikely to inherit that throne. Still, he had an excellent reputation with the skills that Selphia desperately needed in a leader.

And there was a lot that needed to be done here. The town's population was worryingly low for its size. While there was a good percentage of young people, there weren't any children at the moment. Most of the young adults were unmarried and too busy trying to keep the town alive. The general store that everyone went to for basic goods was already on a government grant from Norad to stay in business because it was the center of a frail economy. They had some attractions to visitors like an excellent inn, famous restaurant, and a master florist, but all three of those businesses had been slow to any but residents for over a year. Then there was the whole reason for Selphia's existence, the presence of the divine wind dragon Ventuswill. She'd been almost completely silent for this whole winter and often struggled just to stay awake. If any of those parts were lost, the whole town could collapse into a ghost town.

It was incredibly lucky that they'd gotten the attention of a person so high in the ranks of nobility. In the past ten years, Volkanon had seen a number of rulers come and go, mostly from lower nobles who found it to be an obstacle to trying to climb the ranks. They usually left for a less 'dead end position', as the last (and probably most terrible of the lot) prince has put it. He hoped this true member of royalty could get the town back on its feet and growing again.

And he'd likely be the first to know if it was working, as Volkanon was the butler and personal servant to Lady Ventuswill. By extension, he was the same to her partner in the prince or princess of Selphia. But as much as he hoped for success, he worried about the futures of his two students and if he should pass them on to masters in more active communities. That would give them better opportunities. Whether he did or not, he'd stay behind. His loyalty was to Ventuswill and he'd be here as long as he lasted.

The floating armband around his upper arm vibrated, catching his attention. The gems on it flickered to life and glowed brightly, the main one being red. Immediately abandoning the paperwork, Volkanon got out of his seat and ran out into the hall. He nearly left, but there were footsteps on the stairs as Vishnal came running down as well. "Sir?" he asked, caught breathless in sudden worry.

"Get over to the clinic and warn them there might be an emergency visit," Volkanon ordered. "Then come back here and keep things running smoothly. I'll go after her."

"Yes sir," he said, and the two of them took off across the town plaza in their separate directions.

Following the signals from his armband, Volkanon headed south down the dirt roads in Selphia's countryside. The snowy winter land here was full of hills, cliffs, and valleys, crisscrossed with various crevasses that had to be navigated by series of wooden bridges. They were starting to thaw at the shift in seasons, but still dangerous to travel. At one point, he came across a large fallen tree in the road. He didn't have time to be clearing it fully, so he hammered it to the side of the road on his way past. He might need the road clear on his way back.

He found his other student Clorica in a snowbank by the bridge that led to Rouge Spring and eventually to the mountainous Maya Road. It wouldn't be the first time he'd seen her like that, as she had a curious talent to fall asleep anywhere she happened to be. However, the armband wouldn't have alerted him if she was simply asleep. There was a handmade bandage wrapped around her right arm that looked swollen. Checking on her, she had a fever in spite of the cold and was unconscious. Volkanon got her bag off her to sling over his shoulder, then picked her up and cast a teleport magic to hurry back to town. This was too much to try carrying her back to town the whole way.

He thought about kicking down the clinic door, but as worried as he was, he respected the doctor too much to damage his door that way. Fortunately, an old woman opened the door almost as soon as he got there. "Come in, we just finished getting ready," she said.

"Thank you, m'am," he said, nodding to her. She was currently visiting as a midwife. The town nurse and trained midwife Nancy was almost ready to have her own child, so they'd invited this colleague from another town to help them out. Since she couldn't help, the other two had Volkanon place Clorica on a working bed so she could be examined.

With a cold clinical look in his eyes, Jones undid the bandage and studied the wound. "This is from a gunshot, probably two days ago," he said after a few seconds. "Marjorie, could you work on countering the infection while I extract the bullet? Volkanon, you'll need to leave since I have to set up a surgical sphere to do this."

'I'm not familiar with gun wounds, so is there any poison I need to counter too?" the midwife asked, taking Clorica's pulse at her left arm.

"No, but they're typically made of iron so be careful of the metal runes," the doctor said.

"I trust you folk to take care of her," Volkanon said, then left the clinic area.

Nancy was sitting on a couch in the living and dining space. She seemed tired, taking it easy in the last days of her pregnancy. "This is terrible," she said. "Clorica wouldn't have done anything to deserve getting shot at. But, she had to be near the border with the empire to come across anyone with a gun."

"I knew she was in that area, but she wasn't supposed to cross over the border," he said. "We'll have to wait and hear from her what happened."

"We'll take good care of her until then," Nancy said.

This was truly a bad time. Hopefully their new prince got here safely.

"Prince, you need to be heading out shortly," the family butler said.

Was it that late already? Signing the paper quickly with 'Arthur L N', he placed it in an envelope to be mailed out later, then checked the clock. The airship he was leaving on was due to depart the castle town in two hours. "There's plenty of time," he said, although he'd want to put off any other business until tomorrow. Or later, depending on how much he had to do in preparing to take the role as the Prince of Selphia.

"No, the knights have determined that we should move you to the airship quickly," the butler said. "There's been some ruffians in the town, thus they want to get you out to a better defensive position in case of trouble."

That worried him. How would the people in town fare? "Is it those rioters from yesterday? What do they want?"

The butler shrugged. "The reports say that they're all from outside of town, so there's suspicions that they're sent from another country to distract and disturb us. And with you heading out near a potential hot zone for conflict, we don't want to take risks with your safety."

"A preview of what's to come, I suppose," Arthur said. But he'd been preparing for that possibility. Selphia was right at the border of the Norad lands and the Sechs empire, the closest town to the empire's capitol. But if that region fell, Sechs would have an excellent foothold deep into Norad territory, near several vital resources and with a good shot at the Norad capitol. When war broke out (and it seemed every day to be more of a 'when' rather than an 'if'), he'd be right in the middle of it.

And the butler knew of that danger too. "I think you should really request a company of knights to bolster Selphia's defenses immediately, before you go. It concerns many of us that you're going right into this."

"I'd rather not until I'm sure it won't be taken as an act of war right off," Arthur said. "But I shouldn't delay going out there now that father's accepted my proposal. Selphia needs a good leader right now; leaving them hanging any longer is a greater security risk to all of Norad."

He came over and put his hand on Arthur's shoulder. "You misheard me, we're worried about you. The way Sechs is acting now, they wouldn't hesitate to take someone like you hostage to put pressure on our kingdom."

"Thank you, but I've made up my mind already," he said. Then he hugged the butler. "I'm sorry. I'll be careful in this, as much as I can be for all the risks."

"Your brothers could learn a lot from your bravery," he said, patting his back before letting him go. "At least I can be sure you'll be in good hands with the servants there. The master of the household is one of the best of us, Volkanon. You can trust him as much as you do me."

"That's good to know," Arthur said, smiling. There was some fear in him because this was a risky move, but the need was far greater than any personal hesitations could stop him. He'd seen it himself in a visit to Selphia this past spring. "If they're going to move me out soon, I should go visit with father briefly. Have my things been moved to the ship already?"

The butler nodded. "I've just gotten notice that they've been secured there. Remember to take care of yourself and don't work yourself too hard."

"I'll try not to," he said, although they both knew that he would work as long and hard as necessary with little thoughts to breaks. He wondered if his caretakers had sent word ahead to keep him from doing so. "I'll miss all of you here. Good bye."

"Good bye, Arthur," he said, a sad smile slipping through his usual façade.

Meeting up with his family was a whole different matter. Arthur had to take advantage of one of the maids stopping to say goodbye to him to send word into the court that he was coming for a quick visit. Otherwise he might end up delayed. With her assistance, he was able to get past the ministers and nobles waiting on their time to speak with the king. That made him feel a little bad for delaying official business with the kingdom, but otherwise he might not get in to speak with his father until evening. It had happened many times before.

Unfortunately, it seemed his father was already in a meeting with Arthur's two older brothers. It was hard enough some days for him to speak to his father, but with his brothers around? The two of them didn't like him at all, taking each other along on training sessions and visits to other regions but never asking Arthur along if they could help it. To make it worse, Arthur always felt self-conscious of his golden blond hair when among the darker blue and violet hairs of the rest of royal family. It wasn't the only way he stuck out like a sore thumb, just the most visible.

"I will be heading out to the airfield early to try avoiding the trouble in town," Arthur told them, speaking formally as that usually didn't cause problems. "I hope it ends quickly and peacefully here."

"Right, it should be over once we capture the instigators," the king said, getting up to come shake his hand. "Thank you for taking on this vital work, although I wish you could do so under safer conditions."

"I will try to make things safer through my work," he said. "Thank you for letting me do this."

And that was pretty much the extent of that goodbye, since he didn't want to trigger an argument with his brothers. It was just how things were and he'd accepted it long ago. Even so, he felt a lightness in his spirit as he left the castle and headed out towards his new life. These burdens wouldn't be troubling him daily any more.

"I'll be heading out once I'm ready," he said, signing 'A Lest N' on the payment slip that the inn's maid had given him. "And thanks for your courteous service; this place is like an oasis of calm in this busy town."

The maid brightened at the compliment, her previously dull mood disappearing. "You're welcome, sir," she said. "We're glad to provide a respite to travelers."

"If I have reason to come by, I'll try to stay here again," he said with a smile. "Have a good day."

"You too."

Once the door was shut, Lest went back to the mirror in the room and considered his appearance. Yesterday had come with plenty of problems. All that should have happened was he arrived at this midway point by airship then spent the night waiting for the next leg of the trip. He had hoped to have a few hours to look around the capitol of Norad, maybe even pick up a few items he could use that he couldn't buy out in his tiny hometown of Grelin. But then some thugs, apparently a group of bandits, had tried to capture him. Or more precisely, the rune spheres that he was supposed to deliver.

"They knew about them and that I would be handling them," he said quietly to himself, brushing his hands through his silver blond hair. But there wasn't much to think about before another smile crossed his face. "Well then I just need to not look like me. Good thing I packed for…" he laughed lightly and opened up his bag, shifting through the enchanted tabs in order to get the clothes and items he wanted.

He could not use illusions to change his appearance, at least not magical ones. He had a talent as a rune breaker, ruining spells and enchantments unless they followed certain forms. Although, being called a rune breaker was a bit of a misnomer. It was more about breaking artificial bonds formed between runes in the process of casting magic. Natural bonds were just fine around him, which actually made him the perfect person to deliver the rune spheres. They were a set of powerful magical artifacts, ones that played by natural bonds and had a tendency to cause odd side effects in most people who handled them. Somehow Lest being a rune breaker meant they did nothing to him.

While he couldn't use magical illusions, those weren't the only illusions possible. Lest dressed in black leggings and a white slip, both of which slightly altered the appearance of the shape of his body. He then put on a white blouse, a dark gray jacket with a houndstooth pattern, and a black and gray plaid skirt. Adding on black sneakers, a necklace made from a light crystal, some casting gloves, and a gray beret, he looked much like a young woman in a school's uniform. The bandits would be looking for a young man from a farming village, so they might look past a 'her' trying to find him.

Lest closed his main bag, then made sure that the bag with the rune sphere was secured to the inside of his jacket. Back when he'd been packing for this move, he and his family had found that the rune spheres messed with the enchantment on the bag even though they had made it with his talent in mind. Then there was how important they were, not just to him but to the bigger picture. He wanted to know right where they were with no chance at misplacing them. Now that he was prepared, he took his things and slipped out of the inn, trying not to be seen and questioned by the staff. He'd already paid in full, no need to get word spreading that he might be disguised like this.

He spent a few moments thinking over the events of yesterday again. It had all started with something unexpected: his sister and father taking him to the town square where nearly everyone in town had gathered to say goodbye to him, wish him luck on his mission, and most surprising of all, apologize to him. "We realized that you have been working hard to help everyone in spite of how our superstitions led us to treat you," one woman had said. "The fact that you'd do that when some of us believed the worst of you, we feel awful about it now. We're sorry for everything.'

"You don't have to explain it," he said to them. "I feel it; I forgive you. Just remember how important love is. We are loved by the world and we love it back, meaning we need to show love for all that is in it."

Yes, they were loved by the world… more precisely, most who lived in Grelin were those so loved by the world that it had given them great blessings to become earthmates. While the blessings were freely given, all earthmates were then required by the laws of magic to return the blessings given to them. Usually it was through a price that represented a service the earthmate could offer the world. Lest subtly cast a few spells over potted plants and sidewalk trees as he walked along the capitol's streets, as that was part of his price. But more important than that was the idea of love. They were given a deep love no matter who they were, no matter what mistakes they made. Thus, it was only right to give back a love that would freely forgive to the world, and forgive all who lived in the world. Even the bandits, although it was still his mission to keep hold of the rune spheres until he got them to where they needed to be.

His father had spoken to him about that as they were saying goodbye outside of the airship. "You're off to complete your mother's dreams. It's going to be dangerous around Selphia in coming days, so be careful."

"I know, but it's too important to ignore," Lest said. "And it's more than just mother's dream, it's our whole family along that line for over a thousand years."

"Right, absolving more guilt and countering more hate than any one person could solve," his sister Frey had said. "I wish I could go too, but there's other things I need to do in fixing this whole mess. But we'll fulfill our family's quest, I'm sure of it. You're perfect for the job."

"Not as much as you are," he'd told her.

But that was all in the past. It put a personal weight on this for him, even more so than the time he'd realized how long his mother's family had been trying to solve this issue. It was all about the flow of runes, the ether sea that was the source for magic to earthmates and all others in the world. It was about the gods and dragons and hate and love and sacrifice… his role now was delivering the rune spheres, but even something so simple needed to be taken as important as any other part. Although anyone else walking on the streets might just think he was lighthearted in singing words they didn't understand as he headed for the airfield.

Runes of aggression caught his attention, making him look ahead. There was a group of three knights in full armor walking along with a young nobleman not far from him; they were facing a group of rough characters that Lest recognized as the bandits that had known about the rune spheres yesterday. In the latter group, there was a new man who stood out among them like a lurking nightmare. While the bandits wore leather armor and rough headbands, this one was dressed in full armor so complete that not a hint of the person in it could be seen. The effect was only sharpened by the glossy black metal the armor was made out of, the sunlight reflecting in a dark red gleam. A battle scythe of a piercing white was attached to his side and even Lest couldn't read any emotional runes in him.

Pausing with a shiver at the armored thug, he wondered again about these bandits. The rune spheres were not spoken of to anyone outside of Grelin and he'd assumed for a long time that they'd been a secret for generations. Then again, people made mistakes and perhaps word had slipped out a few times. But why now, at this crucial time?

"We're after your spheres, you dumb ****," one of the bandits said, causing some confusion in the nobleman.

"Wait, is this the same guy?" another asked, causing more confusion. But there was also a streak of pride in the bandits (save the cold armored one). They weren't going to back down now that they had picked a fight with royal knights.

"There seems to have been a misunderstanding," the nobleman said, keeping a remarkable surface calm in spite of the threat. "Still, you will not be allowed to get away with causing such chaos in the streets of the capitol."

"Don't be so cocky, we're after something much bigger," a bandit said.

To the shock of everyone, the armored bandit suddenly grabbed hold of his scythe. Lest could feel his gaze more sharply than an arrow. "The earthmate must die," he said in an inhuman tone and dashed with some mechanical device right past the nobleman and his knights, knocking one of the latter over. He was headed right for Lest.

With a slight golden glow, Lest quickly cast a shield with his gloves. While it wouldn't last, it lasted long enough for him to hurl it into the armored bandit to stun him briefly. He then ran past the group and hurried on the way that he knew would take him to the air field. A fight between the regular bandits and the knights broke out as he did, but once the armored bandit recovered, he ignored the nobleman in favor of pursuing Lest. Chaos broke out in the streets on the way, mostly at the rushing man in armor rather than the running girl ahead of him. While the armored bandit didn't seem to be using his dashing power all the while, he did so occasionally to close the distance. Lest was going to need something more to buy enough time to get to the airship. If it was in already. He hoped so.

He approached an open square in front of the gate that led down to the airfield, seeing an opportunity in how people were already clearing the area due to alarms sounding in the city. But the casting gloves wouldn't be enough. Using them to summon a staff, he skidded into a stop in the center of the square. Metal runes were gathering powerfully around his opponent, indicating that he could use rune abilities and was charging up for a big one. But that was the chance Lest needed.

"I am the Executioner," the armored bandit bellowed, shifting his hold on the scythe in preparation for the ability. "All earthmates will fall to my blade." A shine came to the deadly blade. His momentum and mass in that armor was going to make this even more dangerous.

Lest clasped the staff in both hands, trying to ignore the dread in his heart from knowing that a mistake here could be his last. Focusing his rune energy and making those lines appear on his skin, he used his talent to break runes right as the Executioner started his rune ability. The attack fell apart as it was trying to form, with the bandit able to perform the physical movements but suddenly finding himself at the center of the released energy. The Executioner dropped to the ground with a tremendous din. And in that, Lest finally found some emotional runes in him, not what he had been expecting.

Even so, he couldn't let go of this chance. Lest turned and hurried through the gate, the guards on duty letting him pass in favor of trying to capture the Executioner as the apparent instigator. Out in the airfield, he spotted a familiar airship to his relief. He headed right for it as he was no longer being followed.

A woman with her brown hair in a bun was on the ground by the ship. "Morning Lest, what's the rush?" she asked.

"We've got to get out of here soon, Nem," he replied. "Bandits know about the rune spheres and they were accompanied by some guy calling himself the Executioner who's out to get earthmates. He identified me just on sight."

"Mercy, yes, let's get out of town," she said, changing her work to getting the airship off the ground as soon as possible. "Let Lena know and we'll hurry."

"Thanks," he said, heading up the boarding ramp into the ship. Hopefully that armor couldn't get the Executioner into the sky. But he wondered about what he'd felt from the man. Fear and hopelessness? That didn't match up with his actions, but the heart usually spoke the truth.

Arthur wasn't accustomed to fighting going on just a few feet from him. For once, he found himself wishing he had gone out with his brothers on battle training exercises. One of the knights pulled him aside to better protect him while the other two kept the bandits busy until the city guards could come by to take over. He also worried about the girl who had run on ahead only to be chased by that man in monstrous armor. Even if he was moving out of the capitol, it was a concern to him that people were being harassed here where they should be safe.

An earthmate… was she one? They were a rare group he'd never met in person, mostly sticking to a few small villages with incredible farms. Although, there were reports in the last few decades of various wandering earthmates who settled into regular communities on some directive from their elders. There wasn't a lot that could be researched on them as they kept many of their secrets close in their tribe. As far as Arthur could tell, they did more good than harm with no reason to come into conflict with others. But the armored bandit had seemed intent on killing her.

"Let's fall back to the castle," one of the knights suggested as he was able to get out of the street fight.

"I'm going to need to come back out here to get to Selphia," Arthur argued. "Let's get to the ship as planned and hunker down there. We can use the side streets if need be."

"That's probably better overall," another knight said, so they entered an alley to reach a quieter street and head for the gate to the airfield.

They did get held up once again as the armored bandit was apparently captured in the square outside of the airfield's gate. The guards there seemed unsure about if they could hold the man, even though they had him under what seemed to be several restraining spells. Once again, Arthur wanted to go ask questions and figure out what was really going on. But for his safety, the knights with him wouldn't allow it and barely agreed to try sneaking out the gate through the guard's gatehouse with him. This got him to the royal airship where he was promptly put in the safest room below the deck and told to stay there.

Arthur didn't like being treated like this. Sure, he was better at talking his way out of a problem than fighting, but he didn't like being considered weak and helpless. He amused himself for a moment in thinking of how his brothers would be much more vocal about their independence. But since he'd be waiting for some time before they even left the capitol, he found his books and brought out one on farming. That was one thing about this position as Prince of Selphia: he'd be expected to do some farming in order to fully fulfill the role. It was odd, but a strong tradition in that region. However, that was something he had no experience with. He hoped they would be tolerant as low skill as he learned.

But he'd also have to balance the threat from the Sechs as well as addressing problems within Selphia itself, like their stagnating economy. Still, Arthur was looking forward to this. It was a great opportunity to prove himself.