"At exactly midnight today, December 18th, the jaeger group responsible for the attack in Legram were apprehended by the Railway Military Police. Sources indicate them to be members of the feared jaeger corps, The Red Constellation. It is unknown who had hired the jaegers, but the Bracer Guild believes that…"

*click*

Thoma sighed. Scratching the itch from his head full of bed hair, he started to unpack the bundle of clothes from his duffel bag. Traveling for half of yesterday meant he had all but a couple of hours of sleep before dawn breaks in the highlands— along with the resounding calls of chores. Fortunately, he had his portable orbal radio for company, the soft music blending in with the night atmosphere.

Until the morning news.

His brother had woken up much earlier than he did, as was usual. Instead of the clergy outfit he usually wore, Gaius was back in his family's blue nomadic garb, as if he had never left home. "Did you sleep well, Thoma?"

He didn't. "I slept so much yesterday, and now my back's killing me. Why can't Calvard have trains like Erebonia?"

Trains were faster than cars. Or buses. Calvard only had those, unfortunately.

Gaius laughed. "Different countries, different ways of life. Isn't that why you wanted to continue your studies in Calvard?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Boys," their mother, Fatma, called out. A succulent meaty smell permeated the Worzel residence as she did. "Breakfast will be ready soon."

That meant they had to go meet their guests now. Thoma threw the shirt he brought home at his bed. "So much for unpacking."

"You'll have plenty of time to do it when we get back," Gaius said. "I'll help."

"Thanks…"

Air. Fresh, green air. Or, as Gaius would put it, the blessed wind. Roer had clean air as well, but it just wasn't can't compare to the naturally chill breeze of the highlands. After a while cooped up in the RF building, air-conditioning started to smell bland. Alisa breathed in the invigorating pleasantness to maximum lung capacity, before exhaling in a loud shout. "AAHHHHH!"

The train ride wasn't boring— quite the opposite in fact. Mostly because she spent it working remotely through her laptop. Managed to make a dent in the paperwork, in fact. Sharon could polish it up back at home. Now though, Alisa just wanted to relax— take a small vacation even.

...Yeah, right.

She scrolled down her ARCUS' playlist and sat on the stairs leading up Zender Gate. Soft music hummed from her earbuds.

August 1207.

A massive pulse of orbal energy was recorded originating deep in the Nord Highlands. Too far to affect any civilization, but the treacherous mountains made it impossible to investigate. An aerial unit was dispatched by the Imperial Army.

That had been a disastrous choice. Another orbal pulse, stronger than the last, shut down the airship's flight engines. Thankfully, only a few minor injuries were reported by the crew following the incident. The army sent out a smaller unit— same result, and ever since then, air travel has been restricted in the surrounding area.

Whatever it was, it put both Erebonia and Remiferia on their guard, mediated by the Nords and the Bracer Guild. The Gralsritter claims that it's an artifact, but Gaius insisted that that remains to be seen. Leman, meanwhile, had already sent in Director Tio Plato, her knowledge allowing an initial assessment, to which Alisa would follow-up on.

Today marks be the first day she would be helping out in the investigation, along with the RF group's annual check-up of the orbal network antennas situated in the highlands. The blasts had damaged some of them but, thankfully, most were easy to repair.

It's not an exaggeration to say that nearly half of Zemuria would be counting on her and her technical expertise. Idly, Alisa twirled a lock of hair on her face— a difficult habit considering her shorter hairstyle. She brushed it aside instead.

A hand patted her head. "Huh?!"

"I didn't mean to surprise you, Alisa," Gaius said, arm held back instinctively. He laughed off the Rean-esque gesture and bowed his head. "I'm sorry we're late."

Slapping her cheeks awake, Alisa beamed back. "Oh, no. It's fine, Gaius. Thanks for coming to pick me up."

"Goodmorning too, Ms. Reinford," the younger man behind Gaius spoke. Besides him, three horses wagged their tails as they savored their snacks.

"Goodmorning too, Thoma! It's nice to see you again. I missed you so much," Alisa called out rather excitedly, eliciting a blush from the teen.

"Don't tease him now, Alisa. He's Sharl's," Gaius added.

"H-hey!"

Alisa coyly tapped a finger to her lips. "Oh yeah. Whoopsie~."

"You guys, really…" Thoma grumbled. His comfort came in the form of a lick by his horse.

"Should we get going?" Gaius said. "I imagine our escort would be arriving soon. We can catch up during breakfast."

Alisa nodded, her eyes glistening in the early sun as she hoisted herself on her horse. A different mare from her field studies years ago, but sitting on the saddle felt natural to her as if reuniting with her long lost steed. She handled like a tamed beauty and had the delicate smell from a nice bath.

Alisa scratched its neck, and it neighed in delight. "You're quite the beauty, ain't ya?" she said. "I can feel it now: the wondrous breeze on my face, galloping across the vast, open plains. Mhhhh."

Getting up on his horse as well, Gaius chuckled. "It's part of the reason why I wanted you to come early in the first place. I figured you were due some R&R in your busy schedule."

"Thanks, Gaius. That's sweet— but I'm okay, really!" Alisa reassured.

She definitely wasn't thinking of the massive amounts of paperwork back at home.

Breakfast… was lovely. Alisa burped as she sat on the cushion of her yurt. Gaius and his father were kind enough to assign her own private residence she could work in, which meant she can act however she wanted— in relative peace and without a mischievous maid teasing her at every turn.

Speaking of maids... "Sharon?"

"What is it, milady?" the robotic assistant said through the laptop's speakers.

Time to squeeze a few extra minutes of work. With her mom around, she really had to step it up to not get left behind. Alisa cracked the fingers of her hands. "Bring up Director Tio's report on the orbal antennas. I want to run an initial diagnostic on the network before we check each of the towers."

"Yes, milady."

Several text documents popped open. Clicking one, Alisa scrolled down to a marked paragraph she had commented on. "The connection to Crossbell and Leman are fine, which just leaves checking Erebonia and Jurai."

Sharon affirmed. "Shall I place a call right now, milady?"

"We can start relatively nearby. Put a call through to Rean Schwarzer."

The AI did as told, and after a few tentative moments of electronic thrumming, the image of a raven-haired instructor appeared on the screen. "Hello?"

"Hi, Rean."

"Heya, Alisa," Rean said groggily.

"What's up with you?" Alisa asked, leaning closer to her laptop. "You look like you've wrestled a bear or something."

Rean rubbed the crust from his eyes and roamed a hand through his tangled bedhead. He really didn't look all that great. "Just can't sleep, is all."

"...Fie?"

"Yeah."

She could've figured that. They haven't received word from that troublesome bracer ever since she posted Laura's lunchbox in the Class VII group chat. Knowing Fie, the silence was probably intentional. "She's okay. Laura's with her."

"I know," Rean mumbled. He forced himself to smile, in his usual fashion. "I like your hair," he said, changing the subject.

"Thanks. Anyway, can I have Crow's ARCUS number? I need it to test something."

"You blocked him and deleted his number -again-?"

"Can you blame me? His prank calls were getting annoying!"

Not fun times. Crow had an amazing perception when it came to one of his pranks. More often than not he'd call in extremely inappropriate times for the most mundane of reasons. Like in one of her meetings with investors.

"Thanks, Rean. Sorry I can't talk more. I'll call you again when I get back home."

"It's alright— it cheers me up just seeing you guy's faces every now and then."

"You should take care of yours," Alisa added, a worried smirk on her face. "Don't want your precious students to see you all haggard like that, right?"

"I will. Thanks, Alisa." Rean nodded and waved goodbye. "See ya."

"Byeeeee."

The video call ended with a click, and already a new number was dialed thanks to Sharon.

"Now comes the hard part," Alisa mused to herself. No amount of bracing could ever prepare her for the headache that is Crow Armbrust.

The screen flickered to life. Crow greeted her with a premeditated grin, much to her displeasure. "Sup, 'lisa."

"Don't call me that."

"Oh c' mon. Angie can call you that but I can't? Talk about gender discrimination."

"I'm discriminating against the Armbrust gender," she said. An exchange they had pretty much regularly. "Anyway, I called just to see if the connections to Jurai were working properly."

"No problems on my end."

"Thanks. I'm hanging up now."

"...Wow, 'lisa. Wow."

Alisa sighed. "Fine. How are you, Crow? Sorry I blocked you," she said with as much sorry she had in her entire being. That is to say: none.

"I'm fine, but…" Like a pouty child, Crow fluttered eyelashes at her. "I'll feel better if you promise not to block me again?"

"Not a chance. Isn't Instructor Sara with you right now?" Alisa asked.

"Yeah, she's uh… Just a sec."

Alisa heard a shout. Followed by whining from a voice she knew far too well. She could guess what Sara had been up to, judging by the way the woman had no makeup on. And was dressed in her PJs.

Despite Sara's obvious lack of sleep, she brimmed with an infectious joy. "Heyyyyyy, Alisa!"

"Goodmorning, Instructor. Are you enjoying the games I sent you?"

"I'm having a blast, thank you for asking~."

"Hehe, that's good to hear. I don't have a lot of time to catch up though…"

"It's fiinee," Sara yawned and walked off-screen. "Say hi to Gaius for me."

"Will do."

"Hey, Alisa. Question," Crow interrupted before she could end the call, a curious expression on his brow.

"What is it?"

"If you knew Sara was coming over to my place, why didn't you just call her instead of me?"

"I— "

…

Obnoxious. Annoying. Face-punchable. Grin. "Short hair's kinda cute if you wanted my opinion," Crow teased.

The line cut off, and within seconds, Crow's number was back on Alisa's blocked contacts list. A new record; it only took him a minute. She groaned into her hand, migraine imminent.

"Data compiled. Should I place the next call, milady?" Sharon asked unhelpfully.

"N-no. No. That's enough for now, Sharon."

No way was she going to continue with the blush burning her face.

A honk outside brought her mind back into the highlands. It sounded like their ride was here. She slung her bow on her back and double-checked her inventory. Her ARCUS was fully charged, and her quartz were properly set up. Spare ones clinked in her pouch, in case she had to tinker with her orbment a bit. Their escort said they'll be back later in the evening, but she had always been the type to stay on top of things.

Powering off her laptop, Alisa slapped her cheeks once again and hoped to Aidios that Crow's compliment would die a fiery death.

Short hair's kinda cute...

...Some prayers just weren't meant to be answered.

Outside, Gaius hefted his spear over his shoulder, garbed in his Dominion gear. The rest of his family huddled around the armored vehicles parked in the center of the encampment. Lacan Worzel, the settlement's chieftain, was deep in conversation with a major from the army.

Alisa couldn't make out the discussion. Her attention lay focused on the bereted woman stepping out of a car. "You're…"

The woman gave Alisa a salute, her short brown hair ruffling in the breeze.

"Sergeant Major Noel Seeker of the Crossbell Guardian Force, on long-term TDY under the Imperial Army, at your service."

"I can't believe another member of the SSS would be here!" Alisa exclaimed while leaned forward on the backseat. "Director Tio's told me so much about you, Sergeant Major."

"Noel's fine. Should I call you Ms. Reinford, or…"

"Alisa."

"Got it." Noel smiled, her eyes concentrated on the road. "We didn't get to talk much during the wedding but it's a pleasure to meet you, Alisa. And it's been some time, huh Gaius? How's Wazy these days?"

On the passenger seat, Gaius crossed his arms in thought. "The best I can describe is that he is still Wazy. For better or for worse," he said, sharing a laugh with Noel.

The two of them then sighed defeatedly. Alisa tilted her head with a growing question mark on her face. An inside joke, probably, but she didn't mind.

Looking out the window of the car, she felt like an excited girl out on her first field trip. A band of hawks soared high overhead, and a herd of wild sheep followed their car's trail. Alisa craned her neck, and let the wind blow on her hair. In the distance, she could see the mountains painted in a wash of blue and white. She lazily swept a finger through them as if trying to smudge them off their canvass.

It really is beautiful here.

So beautiful. The breeze on her face, the fauna roaming about, the calming rumble of engines, friends chatting away the time— it reminded her of the peace they fought so hard for. How many others were living in it. A war-less land.

And it was about to be threatened once more.

"Better buckle up, Alisa," Noel said, shifting gears. "Road's about to get bumpy."

Following her orders, Alisa closed the window just as the car hit its first bump. Grassy green plains made way to craggy slopes and mountainous rock formations. They descended the winding road carefully, but efficiently thanks to Noel's superb driving skills.

Gaius was the first to speak up. "Long ago, my ancestors, the neolithic Nords even before Dreichel's time, used to occupy these lands as a bastion against her foes, hence why you can see tower-like structures built into the landscape."

It was easy to see why now that Gaius pointed it out. Alisa did a double-take glance through the cliffs, and what was just tall rocks morphed into ramparts and stony towers. They overlooked the cliffside, offering the ancient warriors a vantage point against intruders.

Another bump. Alisa braced herself behind Gaius' seat. "How far deep does this path go, anyway?" she asked.

"Deep enough that you won't recognize that you're still in the highlands," Noel said. "Once we go past those two cliffs, we'll reach one of the army's auxiliary ports. After that, though, we'd still need to travel by foot for a couple more selge to reach the main base."

"Is it that far away?" Alisa asked. Her butt felt kinda sore now.

Noel nodded. "Yep. Orders are orders, ma'am. I'd much rather drive all the way there myself, but with how the closer you get the more likely orbal equipment degrade, that's a pipe dream."

"Wait, degrade?" That was new. "I thought the field only caused a temporary malfunction in orbments?"

"That's the thing, Alisa. At first, we assumed it to be similar to Liberl's orbal shutdown phenomena. Spend a few months here, however, and we noticed a far more sinister aspect at play."

"The orbments aren't just malfunctioning," Gaius continued, his face frozen serious. "But, it's as if the orbal power within them is being actively siphoned away. EXACTLY like the aforementioned orbal shutdown phenomena.

"It's not limited to artificial orbal energy either. The nearby septium veins have all been dried up as if the very lifeblood of the land was drained— leaving only barren soil and frenzied monsters in its wake."

Noel glared as she steered into a swerve. "Which begs the question…"

"Where does all that orbal energy go?" Alisa realized.

"As a precaution, both the Remiferian government and the Imperial army have restricted access to any orbal devices and/or weapons within the vicinity, unless absolutely necessary," Noel said. She gave Alisa a small smile. "You two are exceptions, though. Don't worry. Your weapons are fine."

Alisa blinked, still trying to digest the new information. If this was all true, then not only can this be categorized as an international crisis, but they could also be dealing with Sept-Terrion tier levels of technology, the likes of which could affect the entire northern Zemuria.

Nobody told her it was this bad. "What the hell IS this thing?"

"It's not an artifact, that much we can still claim," Gaius said. "Most artifacts are related to Aidios in some way— but this thing… is a heresy on par with The Faceless."

"I think it would be best if you see it for yourself, Alisa," Noel added. She cocked her head towards the window. "You can see it now in just a few more seconds."

She wiped the foggy glass and peered through it. The car drove past a passage between two cliff sides into a rugged valley. Dead trees dotted the land while a thin stream flowed where there would have been a river. The sky loomed over them in an overcast gray.

Alisa gaped.

Through the mist, she saw it. A gigantic dome made of steel and stone, hundreds of selge across. Four limb-like rooks jutted on either side of it, all half as tall as Orchis Tower if she had to surmise. Hexagonal cracks were visible on the walls, converging towards the top of the structure. A massive 'head' laid at its center, the shape reminding Alisa of a turtle's, in fact.

But the thing most curious about it… was that every arge of it was tinted an abyssal black.

A colossal tortoise. A dark golem, laying dormant in the vale, mightier and several times larger than the highland's Guardian statue. They were driving towards it, but she still couldn't believe her eyes.

"Amazing, right?" Noel asked dryly. "It's unofficial, but for now, we call it…"

The Fortress in the Highlands, Svartr

A/N TIME!

First off, really really sorry for the long delay between the chapters. This fic was only supposed to start after I had finished the Legram Arc in The Dark Prince of Helmdrr, but I wrote the first chapter on a whim and published it cuz why not. Sort of a trailer chapter, I suppose.

For now though, expect this to circulate more regularly until I reach another hiatus point/timeskip. As said, events here occur concurrently with my other fic.

Secondly, this fic is tagged Alisa x Crow, but won't focus on it... yet. Spoilery, but it's fair game considering it's a pairing.

So what do you think? Love to hear your thoughts.

Reviews, favs and follows are appreciated.

See ya.