George walked out of the Guild Hall feeling like the world had been swept out from under his feet. “It can’t be! I won’t let it!” he vowed inwardly. “Remian can’t just die like that!” Growing up with the Circling Ravens, he had always had to stay indoors or closely under the watch of a slayer, because outside, there were slavers who kidnapped children. A lot of his friends disappeared over the years that way. The outside was a scary place, and that’s why food was scarce, and expensive. George longed to take care of his friends, to plant food in a garden and provide for everyone so that they would never have to go hungry again. But he couldn’t leave. A little herb garden in Mandy’s kitchen was the best he’d been able to manage. Going out was impossible and far too dangerous. Until Remian arrived. Suddenly, they weren’t afraid to go out any more. He was an agent of the Iron Legion! As long as he was there, as long as they were with him, nobody was afraid to leave the tavern, to leave

The Black Depths Lake was a deep, dark mystery. While most lakes would seem friendly, like shimmering curtains, or clear like a mirror, the Black Depths had dark green waters that swirled ominously, as if daring a young, clueless boy to brave its depths. George was not that daring. All he wanted to do was stay in his nice, safe, farm and grow cabbages or some other edible foodstuffs. Diving into the Black Depths to meet with the Deepsilver Lord was not his idea of having fun. Given a choice, he did not want to go into those waters. “Um… hello?” George tried. [Anyone there?] In the deep, something stirred and shifted. A sparkle of silver flickered. [Hello…?] Geroge tried again, really, really not wanting to go down there. In the darkness, light sparked. A single, radiant flash, sending untold numbers of fish and water spawn fleeing in all directions. Meanwhile, George sat down at the lake glumly. “What am I even doing here? What

Remian came out of the infirmary after visiting George, Tim, Mindy and Max all in a row later that day and shook his head. “What are we going to do about Deepsilver?” Jujar wheezed. “Harness the power.” “Harness it?” Remian pondered Jujar’s advice for a moment. “You mean, like the Ecclesia’s Lightning Rods? Hmm. If we could use their lightning-storage technology, we use it to power our airships and other machines. Or maybe we should do it like the Empire and convert it to mana. But either way, that kind of technology isn’t easy to get a hold of. They are closely guarded secrets and the devices produced are well-guarded and monitored.” “So?” Jujar asked. Remian fell silent. “I guess we could send Mikai and some of his friends to Ecclesia. I don’t think we want to risk provoking Zor’khan-dras at this time. Or maybe we could try our luck at Liberteria. I heard they were experimenting with that sort of thing too.” At that point, Asda dropped by. S