"Heralds, Blades, Homunculi… It didn't matter what you were labelled as, or that so called honour that came with the title? Complete and utter bullshit. We were nothing more than experiments, born and grown in tanks in the hopes that at least one of us would be transformed into a successful philosophers stone…We live only to serve"—Edith M. Brown Diary, 850

Monday 19 June 840

Sister Oak
Shiganshina Branch
Church of Faeries, Order of Ymir

Dearest Sister,

Hello, my name is Sister Spark. I am an Elder on the Council of Ymir, highest authority of our most gracious Mother and director of operations in the Herald Experiment. I write to you now in regards to your queries about the Herald experiment. If you're reading this, then that means you've successfully produced a quality philosophers' stone. I wish I could be there to congratulate you in person, but certain circumstances seem to have prevented it.

I'm sure by now you must be very confused as very little of our true aims have been revealed to you. I can only assure you that everything that's happened to you and your children, was done for a reason. You won't remember, but the world beyond the Walls is rife with strife and war. Billions of lives lost to gunfire, war and Titans. Suffering on a global scale. The fallout of the construction of the Walls was unimaginable, but what came after was worse.

We called them Titans for their large stature and dim intelligence; monsters that roamed the land without a sense of purpose or direction. They are violent, unpredictable, incurable…Or so we thought. In time, a new generation emerged that could not only retain their intelligence and humanity, but wield their new Ymir-gifted powers with deadly accuracy. And suddenly there was a reason to hope.

But holding onto it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed inside harsh environments where their brain activities could be studied. All in an effort to understand what makes them different, what makes your children different.

You may not realise it, but they are very important. Unfortunately, the experiments have only just begun. As you'll no doubt have realised, not everyone agrees with our methods. Progress is slow, people are scared. It may be too late for us, for me, for you; but not for them. The outside world awaits your children, your Heralds. Remember: Holy Ymir must rise again.

May the Goddess bless you,

Elder Spark
Herald Director & Council of Ymir
Church of Faeries, Order of Ymir