"Well, Keeper, welcome to Greenhaven."

I looked around the castle. It was made of gray stone with high turrets and formidable towers. The courtyard was large and bright with grass - actual grass - filling the spaces between the pathways. To me, it looked welcoming and scary at the same time. Two people, a tall man with graying hair and a shorter woman obviously from Amaya, were standing in the middle of a cobblestone ring. The man beckoned me to him and, almost nervously, I walked over. I was tempted to release Braca, but decided against it.

The woman circled me, a multicolored bird perched in her shoulder. Eventually she spoke, "She is the one from my vision, Olvan."

The one called Olvan smiled. "Greetings, young one. You know I'm Olvan, and this is Lenori." I looked back at Lenori. I could understand why Keith liked her. "Could you bring your jaguar out?"

"That may not be a good idea. She doesn't really like new things." I explained.

Olvan stroked his beard. "Just try it."

I sighed and held out my arm. There was a flash and Braca appeared. She drew back at her new surrounding, her tail lowered. "Calm down, Braca." I murmured, stroking her back. "There's nothing to worry about." Eventually she calmed down enough, sitting down with her tail wrapped over her paws. "There you go, girl."

"This must be Braca. Keeper, you have a spirit animal that no one else has ever had before."

I tilted my head. "How? I've heard a jaguar isn't common, but it still happens."

"Not like that." Lenori explained, "I've been reading up on Ancient Times and I stumbled across a passage about when there were Spirits roaming Erdas. The spirit of the night was a jaguar named Braca. That means your spirit animal is ancient, older than the Great Beasts."

I looked at Braca, who seemed to be nodding. "I guess that means I have a literal Spirit animal."

"I think that's why you have your abilities."

"Erm, what abilities?" I asked, tilting my head. "Do you mean how we seem to be closer than anyone else who has had a spirit animal would be at this point?"

Lenori thought about that. "Well, yes, though that wasn't the thing I was going to talk about. I meant how you can cure the Bile."

That caught me off guard. "But why would I want to cure anything from the Bile? It does so much good and all." I had seen it save people and animals alike from the bonding sickness, seen it help so many people find their animal companion. The Amayan waved her hand, signalling for something to come out. Keith walked out of the main castle, carrying a cage about the size of my head. Inside was a massive salamander that despite how big the cage was, it could hardly fit inside. It was snapping at the bars, trying to get outside. I took a step back.

"This," Lenori said once the salamander and Keith had reached us, "is a poor little thing we found in Nilo when some Conquerors were playing around with their Bile. Does it still look like it helps things? Touch it."

I hesitantly touched its lashing tail. Immediately it started smoking, making a horrifying noise. I jumped back, accidentally stepping on Braca's tail and making her jump. "Sorry."

The salamander shrunk back into the size it should, completely docile now. It leapt out between the bars and made a break for it. It didn't get far, as Braca chased after it and pounced on it. That was the end of that poor salamander.

"See, Keeper? You have a gift." Olvan said. "We need you to use it to help us save all of Erdas. Will you help us?"

I didn't answer for a little while, exchanging a glance with Braca. Then I spoke. "Where do I sign up?"

Question:

What should the next question I ask be?