Orkney

'Bout time we made it. So this is the northernmost point in Britain, huh...

If this were Proper Human History's Britain, we'd be right around Edinburgh, I'd say...

But it looks like this is about as far north as this version of Britain goes.

I'd heard it was cold here, but I still wasn't expecting it to be THIS cold. It never gets anywhere near this chilly in the south.

？！

Those're the tears of the Rain clan.

They're all that remain of the Rain clan after it was wiped out in Fae Era 4000.

They're a song of grief and admonition to the other clans, and an apology meant for the faerie of paradise.

Exactly what it sounds like: a faerie who came from paradise. Don't worry, it'll all make sense soon.

I'm sure. Sorry I didn't say anything sooner. Hang in there. It won't be much longer now.

？！

An apology meant for the faerie of paradise...

Come to think of it, why did the Rain clan die out? Was it mors? Northern faeries?

Nope. The Wind, Earth, Fang, and Wing clans all joined forces to wipe them out in one night.

An alliance between four clans... That would definitely be enough to wipe out a single clan.

But I thought the clans all hated each other until Morgan united all of Britain.

So how and why would that many disparate clans form an alliance like that?

Good question. It's hard to imagine that happening unless they all hated the Rain clan more. A strong common enemy and all that.

Were the other clans just that afraid of the Rain clan? Were they just that powerful?

Not at all. The Rain clan was a quiet, peaceful clan, just like the Mirror clan.

The whole reason they took up residence here in the north was out of a desire not to fight the clans in the south.

Then, why?

Because they helped the faerie of paradise.

They took pity on her when she washed up here from paradise, and raised her as their princess, like she was one of their own.

The other clans, well, they didn't like that...at all.

They were all, "No way we're letting her go on her pilgrimage. All those traitors need to die for this."

？！

Sorry, no more chitchat for now. We've got someone here to welcome us to Orkney.

...

Oh wow, what a beautiful wolf! And its fur looks so warm!

Yeah. There's almost something godly about it... Wait. It actually has real Divinity?

(But, there's no gods in Britain... Does that mean there's a Divine Spirit somewhere nearby?)

...

It's heading off that way. Do you think it wants us to follow it?

Yup. There's a little boat up ahead I used myself a long time ago. We can take it up to Orkney.

Don't worry, it's only a thirty-minute ride. And once we get there, my adventure will be over.

Yeah. And there's another wolf already there Along with

Hey, there you are, Freki. Want some of this fish Muninn caught?

That's a Servant, Fujimaru.

This mean there's been another Proper Human History Servant besides Oberon here?

？！

...Hm?

Hey, Fujimaru! 'Bout time you got here! I was beginning to think you'd never show up!

？！

Cú Chulainn!?

Whoa there. Mind not calling me that? It really drags this Spirit Origin's output down.

'Round here, I've gone by Grímr for a long, long time now. Don't forget it.

Grímr... Come to think of it, I do remember there being an old faerie by that name in Europe, but...

(Wasn't that also another name for the Norse Allfather?)

What, you didn't tell 'em about me, Habetrot?

Not even after I bailed you out in Sheffield?

Yikes. There was so much happening back then that I didn't realize at the time, but you've really gotten old, Grímr.

What're you talkin' about!? I'm as young as I ever was!

I don't know what my predecessor was like, but I'm the second generation! Sorry to disappoint!

Man, I had no idea time could be so brutal. Aesc'd drop dead in shock if she saw you now...

？！

Sure, I'll be glad to fill you in. Not like this is our first time meeting, is it?

But first...I've gotta see if the Child of Prophecy there is the real deal or not!

Damn, this guy means business! Is it all right if we fight back, Fujimaru!?

？！

Got it! It seems this man's much less nice than your usual acquaintances, Fujimaru!

I don't know why, but something about this guy really rubs me the wrong way! Come on, let's get him!

So the Child of Prophecy likes to gang up on Heroic Spirits she's never met before, huh? All right, I see how it is.

I have nothing to say to a kid who can't even be civil. Go on, get outta here.

B-b-but, YOU were the one who said to bring it on! Isn't that right, Fujimaru!?

Hell, you were the one who said we should fight him!

Nope, I suuure didn't. I just made a fire 'cause it's sooo cold out here.

What are you, a damn child? Sulkin' like a little brat just 'cause you lost!?

Huh? Seriously? Now you're starting to sound like Oberon...

？！

Yup, that's Grímr all right. He might be all grown-up now, but he's still mean as ever.

All right Grímr, tell us what's going on here! How long've you been back in Britain!?

"How long have you...been back"? That sounds like...

CúI mean, Grímr, this wouldn't happen to be your second time being summoned here, would it?

If so, would the first time be long ago, back in the Fae Era, and the second time be, well, now?

Oho. We've got a clever one here, hm? Guess you'd have to be, since you already saved humanity once.

Anyway, I think that's enough joking for now.

Now that I've crossed staves with you, I can tell for sure that you're the Child of Prophecy, the faerie of paradise.

Allow me to introduce myself again.

I'm Grímr the Sage. My True Name is Cú Chulainn. I'm a Heroic Spirit from Proper Human History.

Six thousand years ago, I was summoned here as the Divine Spirit of Odin.

This time around, I've been standing guard here day and night for the last year on Odin's behalf.

A Divine Spirit... So then, is this one of those "god" beings you told me about, Fujimaru!?

But, he's so...affable! He's not the least bit majestic!

That's about the reaction I was going for. You're a lot more amiable than I expected.

You're right. I'm not at all majestic. I might be here as Odin's proxy, but I'm still just another Heroic Spirit, like that old man over there.

So how 'bout you just call me Grímr, you know, like a friendly older brother sort.

Ha! Older brother? If you're here as a Divine Spirit's proxy, then you're just as much of an old man on the inside as I am.

No way! I'm young in mind AND in body! Know why? 'Cause I bit it before I got old!

(I wonder why those two get along so poorly.)

？！

But never mind that. I've got some explaining to do first, don't I?

Unfortunately, my role here's more than a little complicated...

So I think I'll start by clearing that stuff up.

Listen up, Fujimaru. You too, Child of Prophecy.

First up, my relation to Chaldea. I'm the same Heroic Spirit you formed a contract with in Fuyuki.

Yeah, I did get reset when I went back to the Throne of Heroes...

...buuut I retained my records of you, Olga Marie, and King Arthur, who's still holding her ground here.

I see. You're talking about Singularity For Singularity X, as Chaldeas defined it. The one that took place in Fuyuki in 2004.

I've seen the data on that incident, too...

And I'm pretty sure any Servant that's been dismissed would never bring any records back with them.

You can thank my Divine Spirit for stepping in on that. Hell, in my case, you could even call it the Counter Force.

The god who gave me this Authority explicitly said he wanted me to watch out for you guys from Chaldea.

He's also the god of magecraft and wisdom, see, and apparently, he looked into the future and saw we needed to do something here before things got real bad.

By "here," he meant Fuyuki and Britain, and by "do something," he meant

Well, it seems to come down to, in a word, recovery.

See, this god's had his eye on this Lostbelt for a hell of a long time. A multidimensional eye, specifically.

He first summoned me here six thousand years ago to aid the faerie of paradise.

That was the first Grímr the Sage. He was a Pseudo-Servant possessing a local faerie's body.

I remember! He was about fourteen years old, and he had a sword instead of a staff!

Did he now? Well ain't that something. What kinda kid was he?

He was a real brat! Always getting into trouble! Aesc leaned on him a lot, though!

So you and I used to be battle buddies. That's good to hear.

Yup. After we parted ways with Aesc, the two of us talked a lot.

You made that magic powder for me and came up with a plan, then disappeared during the Great Calamity, right?

Yup. The previous Grímr disappeared either because Aesc revoked his contract or because she killed the Tree of Emptiness.

But before he disappeared, Odin left some insurance in the form of a countermeasure to be implemented if this Lostbelt swapped places with reality.

He knew that once humanity's "everybody dies" ending the Incineration of Humanityhad been resolved, there'd be no avoiding the bad ending, the Reconstruction of Humanity.

All the necessary conditions were in place.

So he figured the least he could do was handle the issue here to take some of the load off Chaldea.

And I'm the Pseudo-Servant he chose to help resolve that.

In the first phase, he conferred his Authority upon me making me a Caster. Then I showed up at Point X, Fuyuki, and formed a bond with Chaldea.

After that, he sent me here to Britain, where humanity would be in real dire straits if someone didn't step in.

Though I had no idea about Grímr the Sage before I got here.

The only thing I inherited was my duty as a Divine Spirit of Proper Human History.

I didn't know the first thing about this place. I was in the same boat as Fujimaru in that regard.

So after I was summoned here, I spent a year investigating what had happened in the Era of the High Queen.

I learned about the calamities... The clans... Morgan... The Tam Lin... The transition from the Fae Era to the Era of the High Queen...

...and once I saw...THAT in the bell tower here, I put most of the pieces together.

I knew then that my job was to wait for you guys here...

To ensure that the pilgrimage succeeded... And to get the faerie of paradise back to paradise.

？！

Don't overthink it. It's just like Fuyuki.

From here on, I'm gonna accompany you on your journey. I'll act as one of your Servants and all that.

In exchange...

I'm gonna do whatever it takes to fulfill Ainsel's prophecythe promise Aesc couldn't keep.

I guess kid me was too soft to get the job done, but that's the job Grímr the Sage is here to do.

It's an awfully roundabout way of summoning a Servant to help, but I'm glad to have you on board, Grímr the Sage.

First off, we'd love to hear what you know about the Fae Era and the Era of the High Queen, but before that

You don't gotta tell me. You're here looking for the shield girl, right?

You're more worried about your trusted partner's safety than about fixing humanity. I know it's not very sagely, but personally, I couldn't agree more with that stance.

Besides, I'm sure she knows way more about the Fae Era than I do, so you may as well hear it from her instead.

Oho, a grateful, two-handed handshake, huh? Now that's how young people oughta be!

Hey, our goals are basically the same. All you gotta do's help me with mine.

？！

So you know where Mash is. Then...does that mean

Yup. She's by the Bell of Pilgrimage.

See that broken-down castle over there? The bell tower's right at the top.

Well, that makes this simple. Come on, Fujimaru, let's go get her.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. We got some real nasty things to get past between here and there.

They look like the kinda ghosts you'd see wandering around in foggy woods, but they're all way tougher than you'd think.

We've still gotta get past 'em, of course, but don't go thinking they're weak just 'cause they're ghosts.

In fact, if things go wrong, you might find these creatures much harder to fight than any other enemy you've faced so far.

Don't be hasty. The bell tower's not going anywhere. We need to take it nice and slow through this fog if we're gonna stick together.

...Hey, Grímr. We've covered enough ground by now that we ought to be at the bell tower.

Hell, we just went up a big staircase a little while ago. So why're these things

...What can I say? This stuff happens. Druids aren't usually the ones to commune with the dead, but what the hell.

They're asking you if you're qualified. Looks like they really don't want you going on ahead.

What do you say, Fujimaru? Wanna wait here until the fog clears up?

？！

You heard the man, gents. We appreciate your warning, but you needn't have bothered.

What are you guys still doing here, anyway? Souls are supposed to reincarnate. Here, how 'bout we help speed that along!?

We made it to the top! There's the bell tower, just like Grímr said! And over there

？！

...

That's right. She's been in this coffin for the past twenty-four hundred years, since Fae Era 400.

？！

Your guess is as good as mine. You'll have to ask her about that yourself.

But according to the notes the first Grímr left, the coffin's spell should be lifted once her Master touches it.

You made it. You two are finally reunited.

Hooowever...

It looks like there's still one last obstacle left to overcome. You won't be able to get near the coffin or the bell unless we do something about those things.

Give 'em hell, Altria. You're the only one who can beat 'em.

...

...Are you okay with this, Habetrot? Even though they're calling your name?

I'm fine. You're just hearing things. Go on, Altria. Get them.

This terrace beloved by a group of gentle, peaceful faeries, is Orkney's holiest place.

The ancient era these spirits belong to is long over. It's time they left.

...You did good, Altria. I think you've both come to terms with things now.

Once you ring the bell, Orkney's role will be over. But first things first.

Go ahead and touch the coffin, Fujimaru. Once you do, she'll be back to normal, lickety-split.

？！

Ah... Aah... Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

Why... Why...? Why...!?

This was supposed to be the greatest day in Britain's history... Everything was supposed to change for the better!

But they...they killed Uther! They slaughtered my entire Round Table...like they...like they were just trash!

They asked the world of us! They thought the world of Uther!

But now, they've poisoned him... They were too afraid to even face him! Cowards!!!

Uther... Talk to me... Uther, Uther! Say something! Please, say anything! Just open your eyes!!!

I never let failure stop me! I've kept trying all these thousands of years!

Am I doomed to fail here, too!? Is it still not enough? Am I not enough!?

Is it not... Can I not save Britain!? Is there no Britain that can be mine!?

Gnn... Nghh... Gaaaaaaaaah!

Peace... Equality... I never... I never should have tried for EITHER!

How dare they... How dare they!? I will never forgive them! Ever!!!

(Huff... Huff... Huff...)

Ha... Haha. Ahaha. Hahaha. Ahahahahahahaha!!!

...That's it.

I won't deliver the faeries absolution; I won't deliver salvation.

Enough of this faerie of paradise, of being Avalon le Fae. I should have ruled this land from the start.

There she is! It's Aesc the Agitator! Capture her alive! The clan heads have ordered that she be made to stand trial!

Wait! Stop! I'm not Aesc! I'm not!

But, wait... Who am I? Who am I!?

...The Tree of Emptiness. A needle made on a foreign planet to close the seam in the universe.

I already know how it works. It's beautifully designed, but that is of no consequence to me.

Take the rest of the universe for all I care, celestial sphere, but Britain is mine.

I'm going to end this cosmic fantasy, and make my own dream come true.

No more of this Lostbelt "what if" absurdity. I will make my Britain real, even if I must stitch it to the fabric of this planet myself.

Londinium is destroyed. The "savior" has no doubt been executed in Salisbury by now.

Ector has already gone his own way. It is only us heading to Orkney.

You were right all along, Mash. Our whole pilgrimage was for nothing.

What? No, that's... That's not

Please don't look so sad. I've grown used to this.

Besides, everything...all of this, even the conversation we're having now, is merely a hypothetical the Tree of Emptiness is creating.

It doesn't matter what we do. The Fae Era is going to end, and the Era of the High Queen will begin.

Aesc's failure was probably inevitable.

I just...couldn't handle the way things ended. That's all.

Aesc...

Londinium is destroyed, Aesc is executed, and the first Tam Lin goes to Orkney along with her coffin.

That's how the savior's tale ended in the Era of the High Queen you came from.

So we need to make sure that's exactly how things turn out, or there'll be paradoxes when you wake up.

The Fae Era will last for four hundred more years. Then, in its twelve thousandth year...

...the next great calamity will destroy everything, and the Era of the High Queen will begin without the Tree of Emptiness.

Once the Era of the High Queen begins...

...you will be unable to act as Mash until after the calamity of Norwich in 2019.

If you do anything at all as Mash, the world will see you as a paradox from the Fae Era and erase you.

...I see. So the moment I was sent into the Fae Era with the water mirror, I was bound to live out the rest of my life in it.

And to get back to the time I came from... I need to be inside a quantum coffin.

That's right. Even though we know how Rayshifting works, we can't travel through space-time without a Coffin.

That is probably exactly why Morgan only sends calamities BACK in time to the Fae Era.

The Fae Era can tolerate a few inconsistencies. As long as the Era of the High Queen remains intact, nothing else matters to her.

I doubt she cares at all about the suffering the calamities she sends back to the Fae Era will cause.

...

Besides...to be perfectly honest, I knew how this was going to turn out.

Even if you had never come from the future to make it clear, I've always known the savior will fail.

Huh? So...you already knew that the Fae Era would end and the Era of the High Queen would follow it?

No, that part, I did not know. But by the year you came from, A.D. 2019or 14,019 in Fae Era terms...

...Britain would already be destroyed.

That's what happened in the first Lostbelt Britainthe real one.

But I didn't like that, so I came to the Fae Era from the future, like you.

From my perspective, this has always been the second version of this world.

Though now that you're here, I suppose you could call it the third.

Or maybe it's just a slightly different take on the second, since we kept the basic chain of events the same.

...Um, can I ask you something? Does that mean your real name is

Oh good, it looks like Totorot found us a small boat. Come on, let's go, Mash.

That is, Galahad, first of the Tam Lin. That is your name, now that you are going into the coffin.

Have you said your goodbyes to Totorot? ...I see. So she made a promise to you.

I think I'd better explain something to you, Galahad.

When the Fae Era transitions into the Era of the High Queen, all the information that was added in this new second version of the world will be erased.

The Era of the High Queen will be a continuation of the events from the original second version. The first and new second versions will never have existed.

The only thing that will carry over is you, sleeping in this coffin.

In four hundred years, when the Era of the High Queen has begun, I don't think even I will remember you.

More precisely, I will become the second version of myself once again.

So if a faerie were to try and bring memories from this new second version into the Era of the High Queen...

Then the world would perceive that faerie as a foreign elementa being who was never part of the second version's Fae Era.

You mean...it'll be as though she never existed in this history...?

I'll do my best to prevent that from happening.

As long as no one perceives the contradiction in history, she should still be able to exist.

It's no trouble. I already intended to have you forget everything I'm about to tell you for as long as you remain in Britain, anyway.

...Listen to me closely, Galahad. What I'm about to tell you now is for after you wake up from your slumber.

If you and Chaldea should succeed at excising Morgan's Faerie Britain...

...then the battle that awaits you in the next Lostbelt will be the same as the one I face...

It will be a battle to make peace with your own heart...a battle to understand life itself.

As good as your reasons to fight have been, you've lacked the will to do so.

You may not have been aware of it, but you've been thinking of the power to hurt othersto hurt the worldas something bad. Consequently, you've been running from it.

But everyone has the ability to cause harm, and the responsibility that comes with it.

It isn't that humans want to do good. They just keep choosing things that they think will give them the best possible future.

...And there's no right answer in those choices, no matter how many people they may end up saving.

Since there are no right answers, you must decide for yourself what to protect, and what you will fight against, Galahad.

You will come to know many hearts and minds, and all will be different.

Some will try to understand. Some will refuse to give up.

Some will be accepting. Some will refuse to succumb to hate.

Some will try to shake hurt off. Some will refuse to be corrupted or influenced.

...But no matter how wonderful a person may be, they will never have a heart free of conflict.

Every heart has its battles to fight. Please, try to stop running from that.

Because when the hole in your heart is filled with a reason to fight that's all your own...

...then Galahad will once again entrust you with all of his power.

...No heart is free of conflict... ...No matter what sort of person you are...

That's right. You'll probably have forgotten this by the time you wake, but when the time comes, I will make sure you remember.

Though even I can't say whether you'll become someone different, like I did...

...or if you'll remain yourself as you continue to grow.

This is goodbye. Oh, one final thing.

You should know that even if you should meet me after you wake up, I won't know you.

I may think of the coffin I left here after you are caught up in the water mirror in Norwich...

I may even realize what it all means...

...but I'm quite sure that the me you meet then will no longer be Aesc.

...

Thank you so much for everything, Aesc! Even if you knew how things were going to turn out...

I still think your journey did the name "savior" justice!

Well sure! We gave it all we had, didn't we?

Farewell, brave knight of the future. In light of your achievements, I'll let you in on a secret.

Aesc the Savior isn't my real name. My adoptive mother gave it to me after Orkney was destroyed.

My True Name is Morgan.

I'm Avalon le Fae, the faerie of paradise who washed up here from the planet's inner sea to save Britain.

I'm also King Arthur's archenemy, the witch who destroyed all of Britain in Proper Human History.

That is the name of the Lostbelt's king who awaits you in the distant future, the one Chaldea must defeat.

？！

？！

？！

Is this...Orkney...?

...Ahh... I think... I was just told something very important...

？！

Sen...pai?

？！

Right... I'm back, Senpai.

I've been on a very, very long journey... There are so many things I want to tell you.

There's Sheffield... The Fae Era... And...

Aesc the Savior...the one who sent me back here...

...That's everything I experienced here in Britain. To sum up:

There have been two iterations of the Fae Eras.

Aesc the Savior has been alive for six thousand years, and she's also actually Queen Morgan.

And while Aesc wasn't capable of it, as Queen Morgan, she's able to Rayshift things.

Finally, Aesc also referred to herself as "the faerie of paradise."

Does any of that help?

Definitely. If nothing else, I now have a pretty good idea as to how the Era of the High Queenthat is, the current era Faerie Britain came about.

You do? I didn't get it all.

My only thought after hearing all that was, "I guess Japan ain't the only island nation whose people had nothing better to do than fight each other."

Believe me, that's got nothing to do with being islands. It's pretty much the same in Europe.

Wherever there are territorial, religious, and/or class differences, you're going to get war.

That said, since an island nation obviously doesn't have to worry about invaders as much thanks to its lack of adjoining land, that warfare does inevitably end up being waged among its own people.

But even so, there's something off about this Britain.

Sure, it's had more than its share of problems, like the lack of land, lack of humans, and a different ethnic group taking up residence in the form of the northern faeries...

But even so, they should have been able to put aside their differences and come together as a nation sooner.

And yet, it sounds like there was no end of war all during the Fae Era, no matter how many times the savior smoothed things over.

Do you know what the cause of that constant discord was, Fujimaru?

Sorry, but no. Those are definitely one of the main triggers, but there's still a deeper issue at play.

？！

That's right. The faerie of paradise, Avalon le Fae.

In addition to the clans' turf war, their main dispute was what to do about her. Their opinions were split right down the middle.

But before we get into that, I think we'd better clear up what exactly the faerie of paradise is.

Isn't that right, Altria? Go on then.

It's about time you told them the duty you've known about sincno, the duty you were given when you were born.

...

？！

Y-you mean I didn't tell you already? Th-that's weird. Guess it slipped my mind, haha.

Okay, I can tell you now then. It's not like it's any big secret, after all.

As you can probably guess from the name, the faerie of paradise is a faerie that was sent here from Avalonthe planet's inner sea.

The duty part, though... That's a little vague.

When I was born, I heard a voice telling me "Venture into Britain and right its wrongs."

That's it. That's all I got.

I think it must have been the same for my predecessor... The faerie of the lake.

Apparently, the faerie of paradise is a star seed that washed up on Earth's surface from paradise.

If she's lucky enough to take root on the surface, she then becomes an infant of sorts...

...and keeps growing like a human until she reaches her mature form.

Most faeries seem to either love her or hate her for that.

AescI mean, Morgan, must have been a star seed when she washed up in Orkney all those years ago.

The Rain clan's leader then raised her as her daughter, which ultimately led to Orkney being destroyed.

In my case, I'm guessing I first washed up in the Lake District, after which the Mirror clan leader threw me out to sea.

It was probably sheer luck that the faeries of Tintagel found and rescued me.

？！

Well, yes, but not all of them.

If nothing else, the head of the Rain clan raised Morgan like she was her own daughter.

Though that also led to the other clans putting aside their differences just to wipe them out.

It's the upper-class faeries with the most prominent bloodlines who most hate and fear the faerie of paradise.

And that's because

Hmm, I don't think that's it. We've already got the King Clan coming in to kind of replace the Rain clan, after all.

So seeing how there've been clan changeovers before, I'd guess it takes more to inspire that kinda hatred.

Right on. Remember what we said about outsiders before?

？！

That's right. The faerie of paradise may be a faerie, but she's not a British faerie.

As far as the clans are concerned, both Morgan and Altria are invaders from a foreign land.

Well, more specifically, they see them as the isle's rightful heirs.

The Rain clan heard the voice of paradise and decided to follow the faerie of paradise.

They believed Morgan was truly meant to be the isle's king.

For them, the pilgrimage was probably a ritual meant to return Britain to its rightful king.

But the other clansWind, Earth, Fang, and Wingrefused to accept that.

Instead, they all banded together to destroy the Rain clan and their hometown of Orkney.

...Right. That's the fall of Orkney that took place in Fae Era 4000.

But the faerie of paradise survived that attack and began a journey to save Britain under the name Aesc.

Yup. That was probably the key point.

How do you mean?

Let's go over the whole timeline briefly, to make sure we're all on the same page.

I hope you don't mind, Altria, but it'll make things easier for us if we use the B.C. method of counting.

12,000 B.C.: The British Lostbelt, a world comprised solely of faeries, comes into existence.

11,000 B.C.: This is probably when the first Great Calamity struck.

6000 B.C.: Britain's landmass grows out as far as what we call Scotland.

The southern faeries encounter the northern faeries, who had been living off the woods formed on Albion's remains, and the War of Spring begins.

After the war, the Rain clan and Mirror clan build their own kingdoms where the war was fought.

4000 B.C.: The faerie of paradise washes up at Orkney, which is summarily destroyed by the clan alliance.

2000 B.C.: The northern faeries arrive on British soil once again from Ireland to the west.

This leads to the War of Summer, which would have wiped out the clans if Aesc hadn't stepped in to broker peace.

The northern faeries are then welcomed into Britain as a new clan, the King Clan.

400 B.C.: The War of Autumn. The Round Tablea group of humans and human sympathizersbegin an armed uprising in the name of peaceful coexistence.

This leads to Uther, a human knight, being recognized by the clans as the first king of Britain.

But then, in Londinium, on the day of Uther's coronation, a group of insurrectionists destroys the Round Table.

Uther is poisoned, Aesc is executed, and the savior is never seen in Britain again.

And finally, we come to 1 B.C.:

The year a Great Calamity wipes out most of the faeries in Britain, and puts an end to the Fae Era.

That's a rough timeline of the major events of the Fae Era based on all the information we have so far.

...

So? What's this key point you mentioned?

What else? The point where the timeline diverges into a first and second version.

In the first versionthe original timeline...

...the faerie of paradise must have been killed in Orkney during the massacre in 4000 B.C.

In that timeline, Britain experienced a number of catastrophes...

...and in 1 B.C., it ultimately became a completely dead wasteland.

There may have still been a few straggling survivors, but the land would never again gain the numbers it needed to flourish as a seed.

I'd guess that for the next two thousand years or so...

...it became a vast wasteland where lower-class faeries were just barely able to eke out a subsistence-level existence, with nothing in the way of civilization.

But if the faerie of paradise survives the attack in 4000 B.C., then we get Faerie Britain we know now, huh.

...Gotcha. So she really is protecting Britain, at least technically.

That's right. Over ninety percent of the faerie population was wiped out by the Great Calamity of 1 B.C.

That's when the debt they incurred at Londinium finally caught up to them. It all happened on an unprecedented scale.

There was the Calamity of the Beast, which devoured the faeries' cities, and the Calamity of the Flame, which razed everything to the ground.

According to the first Grímr's notes, those are the two calamities that ended the British Lostbelt. However

We still don't know how she did it, but it was after that all went down that Morgan began a new era.

She must've used a spell powerful enough to wither the whole damn Tree of Emptiness.

That was when she stopped the British Lostbelt from ending there and revived it as Faerie Britain.

Yup. When she did, the faeries who'd nearly been driven to extinction came back as their next generation successors...

And just a few months later, things were back to normal, with the clans at each other's throats again.

That was when an invader appeared. One that had all the faeries quaking in their boots.

She came from Orkney, Britain's long-forgotten north, and storms came with her.

Once again, the faeries banded together to try and kill her, but she was far stronger than all of them combined.

And so, the invader dominated all of Britain's faeries herself, and built the castle of Camelot beside the pit as a sign of her dominance.

That invader was Morgan, and the war her invasion began was the War of Winter.

It's the event that ushered in the first year of the Era of the High Queen, or 1 A.D. in Proper Human History.

But, so what?

However she might've ended up there, Morgan's still a threat to Proper Human History, and must be stopped.

So as another faerie of paradise like her...

...you're the only one who can defeat her and return Britain to the way it should be.

R-right... I-I guess so... Hahaha...

Um... Oh, what do you think, Mash? Do you want to fight Morgan?

I... I did think of AescI mean, Queen Morgan, as a friend...

...but I'm still willing to fight her.

I promised Boggart, Rob, Wag, Winky, and so many others that I would save the faeries of Britain.

I will try talking to her first, of course. But if she won't listen, and fighting is our only option, then I won't hold back.

I may be Aesc the Savior's friend, but I'm not one of Queen Morgan's knights.

R-right. Of course. ...Man, she's so responsible...

Are you done talking now? Then hurry up and ring the bell so we can get back to Britain already.

I don't know about you guys, but I've had enough of this cold. Plus, the others are probably worried about us.

？！

Oh? I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. Habe...trot, was it?

You must be one of the faeries who's been helping Senpai out on his journey here. It's a pleasure to meet you!

Thanks, but you really don't have to be so formal. I'm just kind of along for the ride.

？！

What's there to say? This is how it is.

I mean, when did I say she and I were friends, or even acquaintances?

I'm just a guide, that's all. And now that my job's done, I can go back to taking it easy.

Huh? I mean, sure, you did just kind of show up out of nowhere...

And even though you've been great about keeping Fujimaru's spirits up, we never did learn much about you...

So, why did you do all this? And how do you already know Grímr?

Oh, that? He and I met here a long time ago. Right, Grímr? This was all part of your plan, wasn't it?

...Yeah, I guess so. I probably did plan all this.

Nice job, Habetrot! Now everything's wrapped up nice and neat!

See? I might just be a weak, lower-class faerie, but I'm worried about Faerie Britain, too.

Now, go on and ring the bell, Child of Prophecy.

Once you do that, you'll finally be on level ground with Morgan.

...All right.

I'm still not entirely sure what's going on, but I can't say no to those eyes.

Song of paradise. Voice of the inner sea. You who were born to be selected, to decide the fate of this land, and to see justice done.

The bells of the bones of inception shall show you the way. Forgive us these sins.

？！

Then I take it we're headed to Edinburgh next, like we discussed in Orkney?

Yup. We gotta go talk to Cnoc na Riabh. Last time, she wouldn't even give us the time of day...

But now, Altria's the leader of the Round Table Army, and she's rung four of the Bells of Pilgrimage.

Between that and the fact that she and Cnoc na Riabh are old friends, she should be more than willing to negotiate with us.

Right, Altria?

...Huh?

Wait. Are we at...the ashen shore?

？！

...Oh. I see. We already made it back. I guess I zoned out.

So, did the bell ring like it's supposed to? Am I any different now?

Don't worry. The bell rang nice and loud, and your Spirit Origin's definitely stronger.

You might still be no match for Morgan, but no ordinary faerie stands a chance against you anymore.

Yup. Cnoc na Riabh shouldn't have any issue with forming an alliance with us now.

So let's march right up to Edinburgh and get this anti-queen coalition underway!

(...An anti-queen coalition, huh...)

(True, if Cnoc na Riabh were willing to join us, we'd have enough of an army to give us a fighting chance...)

(...But Queen Morgan's been protecting Britain all on her own for two thousand years, right?)

(I...honestly don't know if I can even look someone so amazing in the eye. I really hope I can do this...)

...