Although he'd spent less than a day with this nominal great-great-great-great-...-granddaughter of his, Wayne had already formed a very deep impression of Rebecca, and had wondered more than once whether something had pinched this child's head when she was little...
By all reason it shouldn't be the case. Even setting aside the elite education required of all noble children, her identity as a spellcaster was practically proof of intelligence on its own, after all, casually conjuring up a fireball wasn't something just anyone could manage...
The others, meanwhile, were in no mood to dwell on Rebecca's habit of speaking without thinking. Even Hestia, who was usually strict with Rebecca, was consumed by deep worry.
"Are you saying... the creatures that appeared in Seawright territory are the same monsters from seven hundred years ago?"
Wayne sighed. "Judging by how unfamiliar you all are with them, I take it they haven't been seen in several centuries."
"The wars against magic beasts after the pioneering era are ancient history," Hestia said, shaking her head gently. "They're recorded in the chronicles, but the most recent entries are at least six hundred years old... From what I've studied, the creatures that wandered out of the old empire's wasteland did plague Andraste for a long time, but ever since the elves helped humanity build the Sentinel Towers, those monsters became nothing more than legend..."
Wayne frowned slightly.
"The Sentinel Towers... Something built by elves shouldn't fail so easily."
"We have to inform His Majesty the High King," Rebecca suddenly clenched her fist, her expression dead serious. "Monsters that vanished centuries ago have suddenly reappeared within the Kingdom's borders, someone needs to get this intelligence back as quickly as possible. And Seawright territory has suffered catastrophic losses from this unprovoked disaster. We... we need to petition the crown for help..."
Wayne thought about "his" past glorious achievements and smiled with confidence. "Don't worry. Given House Seawright's standing in Andraste and the influence I left behind, I'm sure the capital at Sunspear will spare no effort in helping you rebuild your territory."
But to his surprise, when those words left his mouth, neither Hestia nor Rebecca showed any sign of relief. Instead, their expressions turned deeply uncomfortable.
Wayne was baffled.
"Uh... what's wrong?"
Could it be that after seven hundred years, the legendary Grand Duke Gwayne Seawright's name no longer carried any weight in this kingdom?
"Great Ancestor..." Hestia's face looked terrible. She bit her lip hard several times before finally seeming to steel herself. "Actually, I wanted to tell you something back in the crypt, but... I simply couldn't bring myself to say it."
Wayne had a vague inkling of what was coming, but nodded anyway. "Go ahead. I'm listening."
"House Seawright's glory is no longer what it was. While you are still recognized throughout the Kingdom as the legendary Founding Duke, the truth is..." Hestia glanced awkwardly at Rebecca. "The truth is that Rebecca, who currently holds the family title, is merely a viscountess. And this Seawright territory... is the family's last remaining domain."
Wayne was dumbfounded.
"...What?! As I recall, when I 'died,' I already held the rank of Grand Duke, hereditary and irrevocable, at that. And my lands stretched all the way from Seawright territory to the Holy Spirit Plains... What on earth did the later Seawrights do? Assassinate the High King? Stage a rebellion?"
Hestia hung her head in shame. "...A great deal can happen in seven hundred years. To a family, and to a nation. The Andraste of today is no longer the First Dynasty, but the Second. And House Seawright is no longer a pillar of the crown, but a name shrouded in disgrace, exiled by the royal house."
Rebecca picked up where Hestia left off.
"A hundred years ago, the last High King of Andraste's First Dynasty, Daeron III, died suddenly of illness without leaving an heir. By that point the royal family was already rife with internal conflict, even Daeron III's own right of succession had been disputed. After the High King's death, the queen and the regent failed to stabilize the situation in time, which led to the 'Mistfall Uprising.' In the Mistfall of Andraste year 635, members of the royal family with collateral succession rights began fighting over the throne. By the third week after Mistfall ended, the court struggle had escalated into open civil war. The various royals and the great nobles backing them began direct armed confrontation, and House Seawright was dragged into it... The root of it all was Marquis Gormon. The Grand Duke of House Seawright at the time was elderly but still in good health, and his relationship with his eldest son, Marquis Gormon Seawright, was extremely strained. Marquis Gormon must have sensed a threat... so he secretly schemed and joined that civil war. Because he hadn't yet inherited the family's authority and lacked sufficient influence, the Marquis turned his attention to the legendary ancestor..."
Wayne pressed his hand to his forehead. "Right, I remember now. He's the one who took my shield, isn't he?"
Hestia nodded and continued for Rebecca.
"Marquis Gormon first placed the reigning Grand Duke under house arrest, then removed your holy relic, the Shield of Andraste, the Kingdom's Guardian, from the ancestral crypt. He then declared support for Prince Magnus in the name of House Seawright heir. In March of that same year, Prince Magnus was assassinated. Marquis Gormon promptly switched allegiance to Prince Faeron. In April, Prince Faeron was defeated in battle and took his own life..."
Wayne: "..."
But Hestia wasn't finished.
"After that, Marquis Gormon sought out an uncle of Daeron III. He used his remarkable eloquence to forge an alliance, but two months later, the Grand Duke of the North, Brandon Stark, who had stayed out of the civil war entirely, suddenly pushed a young boy onto the stage, claiming he was the illegitimate son of the High King before last. The Northern Grand Duke then used this as leverage to enter the war, and by the Mistfall of Andraste year 636, it was over. Just before the war's end, Marquis Gormon tried his old trick of declaring loyalty to the new king, but before he could even issue the statement, he was attacked simultaneously by forces on both sides of the conflict and died under a storm of blades. After that came Andraste's Second Dynasty. Of course, the term 'Second Dynasty' itself... remains a rather sensitive topic even today."
At that point, Amber, who had been listening silently the whole time, chimed in with a languid observation.
"The whole farce lasted only a year, but it reshuffled the entire kingdom's order... Who on this continent doesn't know that bit of history?"
"Because the one who ultimately took the throne was an illegitimate child, the war is privately known as the Bastard's War," Hestia said. "A great many noble houses were implicated, but that was ultimately just part of the game nobles play. Moreover, the Kingdom was in extreme chaos at the founding of the Second Dynasty, and the new High King urgently needed to restore order, which required the old nobility's support. So most families weren't completely destroyed. Except for..."
"Except for the ones who'd stirred up the most trouble, right?" The corner of Wayne's mouth twitched uncontrollably. This entire stretch of history left even him, a being who had spent over a hundred thousand years gazing down upon the mortal world, feeling profoundly uncomfortable. He could only marvel that reality was truly more absurd than fiction. fiction at least followed some basic logic. How had that Marquis Gormon been so extraordinarily gifted?
"I imagine nobody outdid Gormon Seawright in terms of sheer chaos?"
"After that, House Seawright never recovered," Hestia lowered her head. "The family's fate could have been even worse, but your renown and the efforts of the old Grand Duke at the time managed to preserve the bloodline and one last foothold. But from that point on, the name 'Seawright' could never again be central to the Kingdom. As you can see..."
Wayne followed Hestia's gaze toward the definitely-had-her-head-pinched Lady Rebecca Seawright.
Rebecca noticed Wayne looking at her and turned. "Great Ancestor?"
"Misfortune upon this house, such misfortune upon this house..." Wayne pressed his hand to his forehead. Though he wasn't truly House Seawright's ancestor, Marquis Gormon's spectacular track record of catastrophic decisions had reached a level that could bring listeners to shock and onlookers to tears. Even hearing about it secondhand left him reeling. "And that fool lost my shield on top of everything..."
Hestia & Rebecca: "..."
The ancestor was cursing the great-grandfather again. As the younger generation, it was definitely best to keep quiet.
Fortunately, Wayne wasn't the actual wronged party, and he quickly adjusted his mindset, which, to Hestia, came across as extraordinary magnanimity. He shook his head.
"Forget it. Dwelling on the past won't help our current situation. Regardless of anything else, the reappearance of those monsters is an enormous threat to the human world. The High King in Sunspear may not care about the declining House Seawright, but he can't afford to ignore those creatures, and therefore he can't afford to ignore us, the ones who escaped this disaster alive."
Hestia nodded firmly. "You speak truly."
After that, Wayne lost his inclination for conversation. The dim, cramped underground passage sapped everyone's desire to talk, and all that remained was to pick up the pace and press on.
Fortunately, the straight tunnel allowed them to traverse the entirety of Seawright territory at maximum speed, and the nearest exit wasn't far from the castle. After traveling for some time, Wayne used his memories to determine they had reached a suitable exit point.
Thanks to the earth elemental blessing, the ancient tunnel stairs hadn't collapsed in the slightest. It was a further stroke of luck that the exit area wasn't completely buried under earth and stone. After clearing away some tree roots, vines, and loose soil blocking the way out, fresh air washed over every face for the first time in what felt like forever.
Daylight at last.
Ser Byron led the soldiers out of the opening first. Only after they signaled it was safe did the others file out one by one. The moment Rebecca climbed to the surface, she took a deep breath and whispered excitedly. "We made it out!"
Wayne emerged right behind Rebecca, and his excitement was no less than hers, perhaps even greater.
A vast, open world.
His first instinct was to raise his head and look at the sky.
As luck would have it, the world outside was cloaked in night.
But he was grateful for that darkness, for it let him see the stars of this other world for the first time.
A sliver of white light was already appearing at the horizon. The approaching dawn made the starlight seem thin and faint, and the sparse constellations all looked as though they were veiled in mist, hazy and remote.
They were utterly unfamiliar stars.
The white light at the horizon grew brighter and brighter. Night was passing, and dawn was coming. Every person who had escaped from the underground tunnel was immersed in the joy of surviving catastrophe. Wayne, more than anyone, turned toward the sunrise with a strange and overwhelming elation, opening his arms as if to embrace this new world's sun.
Then he saw an impossibly vast, luminous arc, radiating a faint, shimmering haze of light, gradually rise above the horizon and spill its radiance across the world.
It was not the sun.