Lunar: Kokuhaku Suru Kioku (Lunar: The Memories I Confess) story and art by Akari Funato Version info: Fourth version, updated December 31, 2009. Airship design by Hajime Satou! Airship design by Hajime Satou! This is apparently very important, since Satou's name is plastered all over the manga (given even more prominence than Funato's actually), so - airship design by Hajime Satou! (It _is_ an exceptionally cool, beautiful airship, though.) [Notes (a whole lotta Notes): "The Memories I Confess" is one of three stories about Ghaleon's past included in the Lunar: Vheen Hikuusen Monogatari manga published by Asuka Comics DX and Kadokawa Publishing. If you wish to try to pick up a copy (and if you're a Lunar fan, I highly recommend that you do so - Funato's art is beautiful), try any online import house that does special orders (or if you live in the big city, try (of course) a Japanese bookstore). You'll need to supply the book's ISBN#, 4-04-852950-1. It might take a while - my copy took four months to get in. Translations of the other Vheen Hikuusen Monogatari stories can be found at http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/trans.htm. The Japanese name for the magical city of Vane is "Vheen", and since I'm translating a Japanese manga, it's "Vheen" from here on in. Breaks in lines generally indicate that the text has moved to a different voice balloon. It's not infallible, but it's a good general guide for those who have the manga and would like to read along. Page numbers are also marked too. Anything in brackets is description or commentary by me. The action of the manga is rather episodic, so excuse me for saying using "Later" 34 billion times in my ongoing action descriptions. CHARACTER GUIDE: Save for Ghaleon, all of the characters in this story are original (i.e., never before introduced in the Lunar universe), so here's a quick run-down (a more in-depth character guide, with pictures, is available at http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/kskchara.htm): *Ghaleon: Needs no introduction, but I should note that he's seventeen years old at the point in time of the story. Much of the story centers around his attempts to finish constructing the airship his brother designed and to come to terms with the ill feelings he had towards his brother. *Zain: Ghaleon's older brother, now deceased. Fascinated with birds; his great dream was to build an airship and ascend to the skies, but he died of unspecified causes before he could accomplish that. Very respected and beloved in Vheen. *Latona: Singer in love with Zain. Very attached to the old ways of the magic race in Vheen. Acts as a sort of big sister to Ghaleon. *Morris: Current premier of the magic guild; flippant, smug. In love with Latona. *Rouj: Elderly magic teacher and scholar. Takes a sort of grandfatherly interest in Ghaleon and is his prime ally in the construction of the airship. *Tagak: Blacksmith; Rouj's son. Very pragmatic and not a "people person", so to speak. *Guildmistress: The current Ausa guildmistress of Vheen. *Niea: The guildmistress's daughter. Looks up to Ghaleon as an elder sibling and calls him "oniichama", her corruption of the Japanese word "oniisan/oniisama", the Japanese word for "big brother" (slurred in Japanese child-speak) used for someone endeared to the speaker. Extra note: the "magic race" to which the elf-eared characters above belong is referred to as the "mazoku" in Japanese ("ma" = "magical" or "evil", "zoku" = "family" or "race") - the same name of what is called the "Vile Tribe" in the English versions. They seem to be regarded as one and the same here - Morris talks about going to one of the "many magic race villages on the Frontier" at one point, and Latona and Tagak sport the same lines/markings/tattoos on their bodies that Xenobia and her sisters have. No explanation is given as to why all of the Vheen mazoku have pointed ears while none of the Frontier mazoku do. Disclaimer: Lunar, Vheen Hikuusen Monogatari, Kokuhaku Suru Kioku, and all related official works are property of Game Arts, Asuka DX, Akari Funato, and/or Working Designs; this document isn't affiliated with either. Translation by R. Capowski at RACapowski@sceneryrecalled.com; please don't repost it without permission.] *************************************************************************** pg. 93 [Yes, that's where the story starts.] [The story opens upon a long shot of the city of Vheen.] Ghaleon (narrating): Vheen, proud and noble. Lunar's one and only floating city of magic and learning. It was here, in this box garden I will forever cherish, that I was born seventeen winters ago. pg. 94-95 [We see a montage of a funeral procession held inside a dimly-lit cathedral, blurry and indistinct - a clutch of mourners, scattered priests and harpists, a wailing woman...] Ghaleon: My brother is dead. pg. 96 [The mourning party has left the cathedral; a simple service over the burial site is being conducted.] pg. 97 Rouj: --And so, with this, we are the entirety of the magic race living in Vheen. Only five of us, then. [reading from book] "Goddess Althena hath bestowed upon us profound sorrow as the price of our long life." A prose poem your big brother was fond of! Ghaleon: What a romantic _he_ was. Rouj: Don't speak as if this doesn't concern you. You were _brothers_, Ghaleon. [A procession of mourners enters the graveyard.] pg. 98 [A woman walks by carrying a baby; the child starts to cry. The mother frantically tries to quiet him.] Woman: ! I'm sorry, I'm sorry--... [Rouj walks over and picks up the baby; it stops crying.] Rouj (smiling): Oh, there - what a good child! His name? Woman (crying): ...Master Zain was to have named him for us. Rouj: Really? Well, there's no way the fellow under the tombstone can help with that now. Ghaleon! What do you think about giving this child Zain's name? Ghaleon (surprised): ...My brother's name? pg. 99 Woman: You--you mean it!?!? That's far too _kind_...! Ghaleon (to Rouj): ...Let me think it over. He was a lousy brother. His studies were his only virtue... Rouj (surprised): And that is the highest praise one can receive here in Vheen! [The human mourners file by and place flowers on Zain's grave.] Various Mourners: Master Zain was a good person. So kind and not a bit proud... Taking the time to meet and work with us before a test for far into the night... Latona (looking at mourners): Almost all of them are students Zain taught at the guild. Morris (looking more at Latona than the mourners): How many are there, I wonder... Ghaleon (thinking): Everyone's hearts are warmed by memories of being with my brother - except mine. [The magic race folk start to walk home. Ghaleon observes the unlit streetlamps as he walks by.] Latona (sadly looking over her shoulder): They replaced the hanging lanterns half a year ago. Because they were dilapidated and a hazard, they said. pg. 100 [The five walk home in the snow.] Morris: There is the matter of the transfer of Zain's official duties... Rouj: I'll take up his post at the guild. After all, I was the one who taught Zain himself in the first place. Morris: I appreciate it. I'll oversee the city landscaping project. With this snow, the guildmistress's return will probably be delayed to a week from now. We'll just have to hold down the fort until then. Rouj: Is your job as premier going well, my lad? Morris: Very well, with the exceptional aides who've joined us this year. And we have only the west side of town to landscape, after all. Latona (turning to Ghaleon): Ghaleon, what happened to your hat? [Ghaleon was wearing a little white beret-thing at the start of the story; he now realizes it's gone. He starts to double back to look for it...] pg. 101 Tagak: What's the matter? You lose it? Latona: But you were wearing it when we left the shrine... Rouj: Did it get blown away by this storm? Latona: It was a pure white chiro-fur hat. Morris: Is it so important a hat that it's worth catching a cold over? You'd better come back later to look for it. Let's go home. [Latona comes up and gently takes Ghaleon by the shoulder.] Latona: You won't be able to find it buried in the white of the snow, now. [Tagak starts to leave.] Rouj: Tagak? Tagak: I'm going to drop by the warehouse. Go ahead on back with the others, Father. Ghaleon: ...I'm going too! pg. 102 [Everyone goes with Tagak to the warehouse. Zain's airship stands half-built and unfinished.] Ghaleon (thinking): To construct an airship... Rouj: If he could only have lasted just one more month... Ghaleon (thinking): ...my brother's final dream. pg. 103 Latona: What'll become of the ship? It's Zain's ship! The dream he left behind! Can't we just finish it ourselves somehow? Ghaleon (thinking): If that ship did get built, what would it matter, anyhow? Rouj: Don't talk nonsense. There's no one who could take Zain's place. The one who started the project is dead. There's nothing we can do. It's scrap. Ghaleon (actually pausing to think): What did he mean to accomplish by building that ship? pg. 104 Ghaleon: I'll finish it. [Shocked looks all around at this pronouncement.] Tagak: ...Zain's... ...ship?... [Tagak approaches Ghaleon and grabs him roughly by the collar.] pg. 105 Tagak: _You?_ You're studying divinity! You're no better than an _amateur_! HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ZAIN'S PLACE!? Ghaleon: The plans have to be practically all drawn up. Tagak: And what if modifications have to be made in practice!? Do you think that mere calculations on paper can instantly translate to a perfect execution in reality!? [Rouj intervenes.] Rouj: Ghaleon, the airship is a tool meant to transport living beings. It's not to be taken lightly. Tagak (storming out): I refuse to entertain the whims of that brat! pg. 106 [Scene change, much later; we see Ghaleon surrounded by books, researching and recopying, then Rouj visiting Tagak in the latter's smithery.] Rouj: By all appearances, the boy seems serious about it. He's shut himself up in Zain's study - the fool hasn't come out for seven days. Tagak: Do we know _why_ he's so serious? That's the issue! [Back to Ghaleon - who has just been approached by Morris...] Morris: Didn't you hate Zain? [Morris kneels down next to Ghaleon.] Ghaleon: He was Vheen's foremost researcher in the field of magic dynamics. I respect him for that. Morris: But you didn't _like_ him, did you? pg. 107 [Latona arrives, carrying a (very nicely arranged, by the way) meal for Ghaleon.] Latona (disapprovingly): _Morris_. [Morris moves closer to Ghaleon and whispers right in his ear...] Morris: We'll continue this some other time - I'm no match for Latona. So long. [Morris leaves.] Latona: You have to at least eat a proper meal, now! [Ghaleon begins to eat - sorta; he stuffs a piece of bread half in his mouth without even looking up from his books. Latona laughs and smiles.] Latona: When you do that, you look *just* like Zain! [A little girl runs through the house where Ghaleon is studying and bursts into his room.] Niea: _ONIICHAMA!!_ pg. 108 [Note, in case you didn't read the Notes at the start of the document: Niea is calling Ghaleon her own variation on the respectful Japanese word for "big brother", "oniisan"/"oniisama", slurred in Japanese child-speak.] Ghaleon (calling from _Zain's_ room): Over here, Niea. Niea (right up against Ghaleon's face): Oniichama! Oniichama! Ghaleon (still studying): Ah - welcome back. Where's the guildmistress? You came back together, didn't you? Niea (tugging on Ghaleon's arm): You mean Mother, riiight?!...The _other_ side! C'mon! Latona (from the shadows, sitting by herself): ...I'm afraid I must refrain. I don't feel at home on the east side. [Ghaleon and Niea go into the east end of town, where the houses are better-kempt (better-kempt than ruins, anyway) and more modern but less beautiful and more rustic. There is also a conspicuous number of pregnant women, women with strollers (the Lunar version of strollers), small children...] Ghaleon: How did you like the city of Meribia? Niea: _THERE WERE A LOT OF _BIIIIIG_ BOATS!!_ HAVE Y'EVER SEEN ONE, ONIICHAMA!? Ghaleon: Nooo, I... [Ghaleon and Niea walk by two guild students. The students are happily chatting and such, but as soon as they spot Ghaleon, they halt and stand silent at attention, respectful but cold and tense and uneasy.] pg. 109 Ghaleon (thinking): I've never been outside Vheen. Niea: MOTHER!! [Niea runs to her mother, the (very permed-up) guildmistress, who has arrived in Vheen in her coach. Morris is also present.] Guildmistress (to Ghaleon): I heard about Zain. The man was my teacher as well; I'm terribly sorry. I understand that you've taken up the construction of the airship, correct? So, how is that going for you, Ghaleon? pg. 110 Guildmistress: The guild students would appreciate it if you allowed them to offer their assistance... [A bunch of emotional guild students.] Various Guild Students: U--um... --We'll do our best not to get in your way!! We won't ever be a bother to you! We all looked up to Master Zain! We want to be of help to you! We'll do anything! PLEASE! [The students stare in pleading expectation...but Ghaleon is silent.] pg. 111 [Later, in the guild library - Ghaleon is again researching; Morris is again approaching him.] Morris: Why did you refuse? Ghaleon (not looking away from books): ...It's none of your business, Morris. Morris (pointing behind him with his thumb): There's a whole other shelf of books on the study of magic dynamics over on the other side. [Ghaleon turns to walk past Morris to the shelf, but Morris steps in front of him, leaning on the stacks and blocking his path.] Morris: Shall I tell you what I think? ...You're jealous. [Ghaleon looks squarely at Morris, with a bit of a saddened, shamed face, and bats Morris's hand aside to leave.] pg. 112 [Later on - Ghaleon is placing a pad of schematics before Rouj.] Ghaleon: These are all the schematics my brother left behind. There were also twenty-six sheets of rough drafts besides. Rouj (exasperated): Ghaleon, I _told_ you before...... Ghaleon (oblivious): I tried to fill in the gaps with the help of his notes. Rouj (deflated): ......... [Resignedly, Rouj finally looks at the blueprints.] Rouj (pointing to area of schematic): There're too many lines here. What were they divided like this for? Ghaleon: It changes each line's resistance value, causing the connections to switch out. Rouj: Increasing the flow of power. Ghaleon (pulling out more schematics): I think my brother probably put these values in place with that purpose in mind. [Ghaleon starts writing on a chalkboard to illustrate.] Ghaleon: If you calculate backward using the mana interaction formula... pg. 113 [Rouj stares at Ghaleon's calculations in consternation.] Rouj: The... This is _too much_...! Do you mean to tell me that you _really_ mastered _all_ this? In these last TWO WEEKS!? Ghaleon: I still have only memorized the material. I have yet to put it into practice. Let's do it, Rouj! If you're with me, we can complete the ship! [Later, at Tagak's smithery...] Rouj: How'd you like the chance to leave behind a name for yourself as Vheen's foremost sheetmetal worker? Tagak: I have no desire to be famous. Rouj: I'm not going to be around for much longer! Give me a going-away present. Let me create some fond memories to comfort me in hell. Tagak: I've heard *that* old spiel 184 times before. pg. 114 [Ghaleon walks up to the doors of Morris's office.] Ghaleon (to human guild official): Where's Morris? Guild Official (a bit frantic): ! ...He's inside. The meeting's ended now, so... [Ghaleon enters. Later...] Morris (sitting at desk, flipping through Ghaleon's report): My...quite uncommon for you to come to the east side of town, isn't it? Perhaps you've been kind enough to bring me, say, an answer to my question the other day? Ghaleon (anxiously): An answer to what? Morris: Why did you take it in mind to build the airship? Ghaleon: ......... It'd cost the same to finish building it as it would to dismantle it, and the construction of a magical airship would make an unparalleled contribution to Vheen's prestige and academic endeavors. Morris (tossing report aside, smirking): .........Oh, I suppose. We were in a bit of a lull here, anyhow. Leave all the drudgework involved with procuring the supplies to me. pg. 115 [Morris rises from his chair and walks over to the windows to look outside at the birds.] Morris: Did you know? The east side here has experienced quite a baby boom in recent years. The guild is planning to expand its campus and dormitories starting this year in anticipation of future growth. They're even including the "ruins" on the west side in their prospective construction sites. Indeed, they reproduce at a _frightful_ rate... Ghaleon: ? Why don't you have a kid too, Morris? [Morris gives a wry, bitter smile.] Morris: So easy to say, isn't it? Even for you... I was rejected the week before last. She said I'd have a better chance if I were dead. [Later, at the warehouse...a crash is heard.] Tagak: GHALEON!! pg. 116 [Ghaleon, writing brush in hand, enters the room.] Tagak: _GHALEON!_ _DO_ something with this girl!! [Niea has broken a glass beaker (once) full of something. She bends down and reaches to pick up the glass shards.] Rouj: AAAAH! No! Don't you touch that! It's dangerous! [Tagak unceremoniously scoops Niea up with one hand and deposits her in front of Ghaleon.] Ghaleon: Niea, this is not a playground! Besides... what about your morning studies? If you start playing hooky now, you won't be able to become a great guildmistress like your mother! Niea: I'm not gonna be a guildmistress! Ghaleon: Niea! Niea: I-- I'M GONNA MARRY YOU!! Ghaleon: Ni... [Niea starts bawling. Ghaleon futilely tries to calm her down. Rouj, looking on, is laughing his head off.] pg. 117 Latona: She only wants to be your helper; what's wrong with that? You were always following Zain around like that yourself when you were her age! Ghaleon: ......... [Ghaleon pauses with a kinda pensive, but aggrieved, "wish you hadn't said that" look on his face. Niea, almost over her crying fit, pouts and looks at Ghaleon accusatorily.] Ghaleon: Do you promise that you won't drive Rouj crazy with asking him questions? Niea: Mm! Ghaleon: Can you listen to what Tagak tells you? Niea: Yeah! Ghaleon: You have to be quiet and still and not run around! Niea: Yeah! Ghaleon: Make sure to finish all your studies before you come here! Niea: Yes! [Night; a panorama across the ruins. Ghaleon is still drawing up schematics but hears a sound and looks out the window.] pg. 118 [Latona is singing. Morris, Rouj, and Tagak, all at their respective homes and workplaces, hear her as well. Everyone stops to listen.] Ghaleon (thinking): Latona is singing the Althena Requiem my brother so loved. pg. 119 [We see an overhead shot of Vheen. The east side is composed of new housing and lush greenery; the west side, old buildings and ruins.] Ghaleon (thinking): Long, long ago, in my grandfather's day, Vheen was filled with our people, the magic race. Before long, on the east side, the visitors who fell in love with this city will take their first hesitant steps toward weaving for it a new history. [A close-up of the ruins now, weathered and decaying.] Ghaleon (thinking): Wasting away in secret, in our little box garden, as if our magic race has outlived the long life granted us... I wonder what of ourselves, if anything, we'll have left behind. [Note: it might be beneficial to go a bit more into detail here concerning the nature of "hakoniwa", box gardens. As the name implies, they are miniature gardens grown mostly in boxes, with the "objective", if you will, being to compose more of an overall landscape rather than just an assemblage of various plants. The emphasis can be on the vegetation itself, or the gardener can concentrate on creating a contained, contrived environment with miniature buildings, pseudo-topography, and the like - little dioramas with real greenery. "Box" gardens can also be grown in earthenware bowls - a connection in that the shape of the floating island of Vheen does look somewhat like that of a mass of earth removed from its round bowl, though this is obviously not the primary parallel drawn through the use of "hakoniwa" here.] pg. 120 [Daytime. Ghaleon stands by Latona, who sits among the ruins.] Latona: Did you hear from Morris? This will all be gone, he says. ...Underneath that gona tree was you and Zain's special seat. On Zain's days off, when it was clear outside, the two of you would sit over there and just bask in the sunlight... You two would wander the west side's back streets, gazing at the setting sun on the way home. You'd imitate Zain, staring at the sky while you walked along, and so you'd often trip and fall down and cry... Rouj and my father would every morning secretly clear off the paths you'd take! ...I bet you didn't know that. Ghaleon: ...I don't remember my childhood well. pg. 121 Latona: What about the wall on the corner? You had climbed up and were walking along it when you lost your footing. You slipped and cut your forehead and made a big fuss! [We see Ghaleon's recollection of the event - him as a little boy, fallen at his brother's feet, Latona tending to his scrapes and bloodied forehead. Little Ghaleon stares wide-eyed up at his brother - whose expression is unreadable, as it is cloaked in shadow.] Ghaleon: ...I don't remember well. Latona: You've forgotten? Why not? Why not forget? It's all so _boring_, isn't it?! Even the memories have faded away. Some "city" - it's nothing but ruins! ......I was born in Vheen... and yet, little by little, it's as if it's changing into a city I don't even know. pg. 122 Latona: And now even Zain is gone from Vheen. And what is my place here now? Where can I go? Sometimes, I get so I don't know. Ghaleon: Let's get back to the warehouse, Latona. The wind's harsh here. [They do so, to find several guild students and Morris milling about, loading things in.] Guild Student (spotting Ghaleon): Oh-- Ghaleon: ...What are you doing? Guild Student (frantically): We were told to haul in the materials... That's all! Honest! [Ghaleon finds Morris overseeing the whole operation.] Morris: I asked them to! These are the supplies you ordered. They've arrived! Ghaleon (a little stunned): Ummm...thank you. Morris (handing piece of paper to Ghaleon): Check over the list yourself to make sure everything's here! [Note: the dialogue balloon attributes Morris's first line and the "Umm...thank you" to the same, unclear speaker. I believe this is a mistake; the first line is clearly in Morris's style of speech ("de ne" at the end of the sentence, etc.), and there's no reason why he'd be saying "thank you" here. The characters' expressions are also appropriate to what I conclude to be their lines. The only alternate reading of which I can think is if Ghaleon were speechless and Morris were trying to prompt him sarcastically on what to say, but there are no quotation marks in the dialogue to indicate such.] pg. 123 [One of the students bringing in materials stops to stare in awe at the airship; in doing so, she accidentally bumps into Tagak, dropping the jars and sacks she was carrying. She meekly stoops to pick them up, and Tagak starts to help her.] Guild Student: I'm, I'm sorry - I'm sorry-- Tagak: No...it's all right. Guild Student: I'm sorry-- [Tagak notices that the girl's hands are trembling horribly. He goes outside.] Ghaleon (just noticing this): Tagak. [Ghaleon follows him.] Tagak: Whenever they see me, they all clam up - scurry aside. pg. 124 Ghaleon: ...Tagak. They don't act like that because they hate you. Tagak: I can't just put up a cheerful facade like Morris. I won't stand to engage in deceit. [Later; Ghaleon is in Zain's room sketching more plans for the airship. Niea is crawling up on the desk.] Niea: Oniichamaaa... [Niea has found a small, strangely-curved rock.] Niea: What _iiiis_ this? A fish? What's all the blue on it for? Ghaleon: The blue is probably paint. Niea (holding out rock in hands): What _iiiis_ it? Ghaleon (testily): I don't know. Niea: It was your big brother's, right, oniichama? Ghaleon: I hardly talked with my brother, so I don't know. pg. 125 Niea: Like meee, just nowww, I talked with Mother and said I'd "be right back"! Ghaleon: Really. Niea: What'd you talk with your brother about, oniichama? Ghaleon: ......... Nothing. [We see Zain in silhouette, watching the birds in the sky.] Ghaleon (thinking): Because my brother was always staring at the sky... pg. 126 [We see a silhouette of Zain walking along looking at the sky, oblivious to young Ghaleon running along behind him.] Ghaleon (thinking): ...because he took no interest in me - because he never took a glance at me, who followed him... [We then see, again in silhouette, Zain on his deathbed, Tagak, Rouj, Morris, and Latona gathered around him - and Ghaleon, now at his current age, standing a distance apart from them, his back to his brother. We then see Ghaleon's profile in detail close-up - his expression blank and emotionless.] Ghaleon (thinking): ...I therefore took no interest in him. pg. 127 [A montage of time passing as Ghaleon, Rouj, Latona, Morris, and Tagak labor on the airship. It's shaping up nicely.] pg. 128 [Another day at work. Niea is running toward Ghaleon, who is up on the scaffolding surrounding the ship. Niea is carrying something in her hands.] Niea: Oniichama! Oniichama! Look! Look! [Ghaleon turns to look down below at Niea. She holds whatever it is she's carrying up toward him.] Niea: It's blue! Jes' like the fish! I caught it in the garden just now-- OH! [Niea's prize - a bird - wriggles free from her grasp and takes off in a flurry of feathers.] pg. 129 Niea: Ohhh... [The bird flies past Ghaleon. The boy watches it with intent and wonder as it soars straight up to the sky.] Niea: And I so wanted to show it to you, oniichama... Ghaleon: Don't worry. I saw it just fine. Niea: Really? You got a good look at it? Ghaleon: Mm. Niea, even a baby bird wants to be free. It'd be a pity to put it in a cage. Niea (smiling): Mm! [Rouj wanders over to the scene. Niea is holding the strange-shaped rock she found in Zain's room (which she was also carrying with the bird).] Rouj: Oh! Little miss! Niea (carrying on, showing rock to Rouj): See, just now, it was here with this fish, but it flew away! Rouj (staring at stone): Eh? That's not a fish you have there. Niea: What? pg. 130 Latona (smiling): That's a bird! Niea: A _bird_!? Latona: That's what Zain said! Right, Tagak? [Flashback pic: Zain coming to Tagak's (run-down) shop, strange rock in hand.] Tagak: That was fourteen, fifteen years ago - he brought it to my place saying, "This is a blue bird. Paint it the right color for me". Rouj: He just all of a sudden became utterly taken with the idea of birds. I wonder why that was, now? Niea (waving her hand in a Horshack-esque manner to get attention): _I_ like birds!! Morris (leaning against and looking out window): He had his head set the same way as our little friend's - off in the clouds with his favorite things, his fanciful ideas. He was so filled with hope and anticipation for the unknown. pg. 131 [We again see a silhouette of Zain looking at the birds.] Morris: His gaze was fixed only upon the afar... and he would stop still upon spying flocks of birds. Where was it that he wanted to go, I wonder, building something like that airship?... [Ghaleon listens to Morris's story in solemn sadness. The scene shifts to Ghaleon drawing up plans in a laboratory. Rouj walks in, brandishing a set of schematics.] Rouj: Ghaleon, do you have a bit? These are the calculations pertaining to the capacity of the energy storage tank. Would you check them over for me? pg. 132 [Ghaleon does so.] Ghaleon: ...... Rouj: No mistake, is it? I've reworked it eight times myself. Nothing is amiss in either Zain's plans or the list of crystals required... Those are the values the man wanted... ...enough energy to circle Lunar three times... Ghaleon (looking anxious): Rouj. Why this much? Is it really necessary? It's just a magical airship, isn't it? Rouj (slightly tersely): So it would seem. Ghaleon: What about a weapon? Rouj (scratching his head): I can't see Zain expending energy on something like that. pg. 133 Ghaleon: The energy the emergency magic barrier requires is minimal, and... Rouj: At any rate, as long as we're thinking about the airship, we need to give it an inspection while it's still in Vheen. I hope we can manage to get that tank filled up every time we need to... For what purpose could that ship possibly require so large a reserve? [Suddenly, Ghaleon's eyes widen in shock...] Ghaleon: ...Is it that he didn't mean to come back? Rouj: Huh? [Ghaleon goes to Zain's grave; he finds the guildmistress there, laying flowers on the tombstone.] pg. 134 [A close-up of the grave - we find there are many bouquets left there.] Guildmistress: You're certain Niea isn't bothering you? ...Really? Good. If there's anything at all I can do for you, just say the word. Ghaleon: ......... Why did my brother try to build an airship? [The guildmistress is a taken a bit off-guard by this question, but...] Guildmistress: Why do you build one? [Ghaleon just stands there, at a loss.] pg. 135 Ghaleon (looking down): I don't know! Guildmistress: Why did you take up its construction? Ghaleon: I don't know. Guildmistress: _Ghaleon._ Ghaleon: I know nothing about my brother. [Ghaleon again remembers himself as a boy, fallen and scraped up chasing after his brother, Latona cleaning up the blood, people gathered around him, and his brother before him, cloaked in shadow, imposing and unmoving.] Ghaleon (thinking): After that day, my brother became so distant. His silence was horrible for me. Ghaleon: Whenever I think of my brother, Ghaleon (thinking): Just thinking about it turns my throat to ash. Ghaleon: ...my heart just...stops...it's so unlike me. pg. 136 [The guildmistress affectionately cups Ghaleon's face in her hands.] Guildmistress: That's because you're not the kind of young man you think you are. [The guildmistress produces a small book.] Guildmistress (smiling): ...He always did have a hard time expressing how he felt. [The guildmistress hands the book to Ghaleon.] Guildmistress: I'm giving this to you. Do with it as you like. I couldn't burn it as I was asked, so I was planning on returning it to his grave. [The guildmistress begins to leave.] Guildmistress: That "fish" Niea found - that was something you made when you were three years old. pg. 137 [Nighttime. In his brother's former room, Ghaleon pauses and anxiously gazes out the window at the starry sky over the ruins before hesitantly sitting down to read the book.] Ghaleon (leafing through the book): There are dates here...this is a diary? Zain's Diary: He was out walking. Ghaleon: ? Zain's Diary: He got a scratch. Ghaleon: ? Zain's Diary: He skinned his knees and elbows. He has a slight fever. Ghaleon: ......... pg. 138 Zain's Diary: ~ month ~ day clear weather Ghaleon asked me the name of the blue bird he saw in the sky. [We see Zain at his study, looking out the window, with little Ghaleon sitting on his desk beside him.] Zain's Diary: And yet I couldn't answer. I didn't even know. What kind of scholar am I? Ghaleon (looking at "bird", thinking): There were so many things I never noticed because I was just too close to them. pg. 139 [Ghaleon looks back to his early childhood. We see Zain still awake late at night in his room writing and a bleary-eyed Ghaleon listening in bed in his own room.] Ghaleon (thinking): Every night, before I'd go to sleep, I'd strain my ears to listen next door... through to the other side of the thin wall that separated us. I'd hear the ruffling of papers, the scratch of a pen, a cough... [Ghaleon, now seated in his brother's chair, doubles over, hugging his knees. He breaks down crying.] Ghaleon (thinking): My brother is gone. My _brother_ is gone. Forever. I'll never get a second chance. pg. 140 [Morning. Ghaleon is burning his brother's diary outside; he seems at peace. Rouj walks by.] Rouj: My, you're up early! [Ghaleon smiles.] Rouj: ...Do you understand what made you want to build the airship now? Ghaleon: ...To tell the truth, not yet, not really... and I don't understand my brother either. But I feel I was able to put my mind at ease just a little bit. pg. 141 [Rouj affectionately slaps Ghaleon on the back.] Rouj: Hm! Not bad, there! Not bad at all... [Ghaleon smiles. Rouj starts to go back inside.] Ghaleon: Rouj! Rouj: Eh? Ghaleon: Thank you for all the help you've given me! We wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you. Rouj (winking at Ghaleon): Hm! Well, I'm just doing what I enjoy! If you're looking to thank me, wait till the ship goes up safely - then it'll sink in. pg. 142 [Rouj starts to go inside.] Rouj: I'm going to duck in here for a second. We'll probably just about finish up the ship today. Ghaleon: Yeah. Rouj, that reminds me - about that energy distribution matter we were discussing... [Ghaleon pauses; there is no reply. He looks back; still nothing.] pg. 143 [Ghaleon pulls back the curtain over the doorway Rouj entered and goes inside.] Ghaleon: ......Rouj? [Ghaleon looks inside; Rouj has collapsed.] pg. 144 [Rouj is on his deathbed. Ghaleon is seated near him; Morris, Latona, and Tagak stand.] Rouj: I'm sorry...that this had to happen now. ...but it's only natural, you know. It's my time, after all. [Latona, in tears, cannot bear this and runs out of the room.] pg. 145 Tagak (calmly smiling): Give my regards to the old lady for me. Rouj (smiling): Mm. [Rouj reaches up to tousle Ghaleon's hair.] Ghaleon: Rouj. Ro... [Rouj's hand falls. Another burial is held, this time with only four in attendance.] pg. 146 Tagak (to a despondent Ghaleon): I'll die too one day. And Death will visit you as well. [An overview of the ruins.] Tagak: All who know of us will die. And when that happens, and the day comes when we are all forgotten, it'll be all right. We ourselves have always drawn our breath atop the histories of those nameless to us. [The grieving party starts to walk back. Ghaleon clings to Tagak, who puts his arm around Ghaleon.] Tagak: Even when Father's name fades away, that which he taught us will live on in Vheen. pg. 147 [Night. Ghaleon goes to the warehouse and the almost-completed airship. Blueprints in hand, he sadly ignites a small magical fireball in his hand - intending to set the prints afire and use them as a torch to burn down the airship.] Latona: _DON'T!_ [Latona comes in and seizes the plans from Ghaleon.] Latona: So it's all right to give up now, when we've come this far!? _That's_ your answer to everything? Ghaleon (angrily): Rouj is gone now! We can't just go on building an airship that could _crash_ for all we know! Latona: THE SHIP WILL FLY! Ghaleon: HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE!? pg. 148 Latona: BECAUSE IT'S ZAIN'S SHIP! [Both pause.] Latona (crying): ...Please, Ghaleon. Please don't steal any more memories of Zain away from me. You're so cold! Don't you have any regrets at _all_ about the way things are!? [Ghaleon is stunned at this. The next morning, we see him on the doorstep of the magic guild's classroom.] pg. 149 [Ghaleon takes a deep breath and opens the door.] Stunned Guild Students: Ma...Master Ghaleon! [Ghaleon bows grandiosely.] Ghaleon: I believe this will be asking too much - but Rouj, too, is gone now. The components are ready. All that remains is their assembly and the test. I would like your help in constructing the airship. Frantic Guild Student: Oh, no, Ghaleon, sir, please don't bow! Not for us... Another Frantic Guild Student: Just coming all this way to actually meet with _us_ is _already_ far too much...! [The guild students swamp an astonished Ghaleon.] Various Guild Students: There's something for all of us to help with, right?! We'll get it done! We'll do our best! Please let us help!! pg. 150 [Back to the warehouse. Guild students swarm over the airship, with Ghaleon supervising. Morris drops by...] Morris (looking around, mock-pensive look on): Well, what do you know... _Myyyy_.... Are you _sure_ this will work...? Ghaleon (tending to clipboard, not looking at Morris): If you're here to say something smart, Morris, you can just go home. Morris (smug look on face): Noooo...not at all... [Ghaleon gives Morris A Look.] Guild Students (up on scaffolding above): GHALEON, SIR! We'd like to raise the propulsion components up here; may we get some more pulleys? Ghaleon: ? I'd think magic would suffice. Don't they teach applied magic at the guild? pg. 151 Guild Student (sweatdropping): Yes, sir - but there're close to 100 parts here... (*mmph*) Ghaleon: ? Guild Student (nervously, covering other's mouth): NO - we'll do it!! [Sweatdropping, the second student opens a book, worriedly begins a very intricate chant...] Other Guild Student (sharply, under breath): _Don't screw up the spell._ [...and very laboriously levitates a part up. (We see only portions of the chant: "...my name is Marcorč...who hath made covenant with thee...o spirits of earth and air, lend thy...to my plea...")] Guild Student: Whew... Ghaleon (puzzled): What's giving you so much trouble? Guild Student: Huh...!? [Ghaleon turns and effortlessly and instantly levitates a part upward.] Guild Student: _!!_ pg. 152 [Ghaleon is once again mobbed by magic guild students.] Various Guild Students: Mas--Master Ghaleon!! That--...that just now!! The spell......what about the spell!? How can you just cast magic without a spell--...!? No way--! Ghaleon: ? Various Guild Students: Master Zain and Master Rouj both had to use the proper spells... Morris: In class! The proper chants and incantations are a magician's fundamentals, after all! With our instincts and blood, we of the magic race have no need of spells. Observe! [Morris instantly produces a magic flame with a casual flick of his hand.] Various Guild Students: WOW!! Cool!! That's so cool!! Will we be able to do that too someday!? Morris: Ha ha ha... Probably not. (*smile*) [Latona appears with a group of adult magicians.] Latona: Ghaleon! These people say that they're Zain's...that they're *former* guild students. pg. 153 [The magicians join in helping to build the ship. Niea and the guildmistress show up as well.] Niea: Is everyone being nice to each other? Be careful not to hurt yourselves, OK! [Tagak instructs a guild student on how to assemble the parts. The student frantically writes the instructions down on a pad of paper.] Tagak: Starting from the inside, take every other piece... [Some magicians and guild students are unfurling a banner.] Magician: Wouldja look at that, huh! Dying this with Iluk's plants did just the trick! [Ghaleon is on break having tea. Two giggling female guild students join him.] Guild Students: So, we're not getting in your way!? Good!! pg. 154 [Some students produce another banner.] Guild Students: Look!! [Two students laboriously carry up some supplies to Latona, who's doing some wiring. She does not regard them amicably.] Guild Students (nervously): Umm...we brought you some more screws... [A guild student (the very same guild student who bumped into Tagak, in fact) and Niea are bringing around a tea cart.] Guild Student (merrily): Tagak, sirrr--! Would you like your tea hot or cold...? Tagak (hammering, nails in mouth): Lukewarm. pg. 155 [Night falls. The ship is almost ready. The remaining members of the magic race sit around drinking tea.] Latona (looking up at ship): You know, I wonder, once the ship was ready... where was it that Zain wanted to go in it? What about you, Ghaleon? Isn't there anywhere you'd like to go? Ghaleon: ...Outside Vheen? Latona: Of course! What did you think the airship was for? We'll go see whatever of the world Zain couldn't...whatever he didn't get a chance to see. Morris (arms folded, with withering look): In Zain's place...hmm? Tagak: A trip? That doesn't sound too bad. With Father dead, there's nothing keeping me in Vheen. pg. 156 Morris: And there're still plenty of villages exclusive to the magic race left on the Frontier! We have our lives ahead of us! Not so horrible a prospect, is it? Latona (barely tolerating him): What about your job? Morris: Just one more week, and I'll be able to leave my duties in someone else's hands. [Latona returns her attention to the airship.] Latona: Just think - an airship journey, unbound by the landscape! I can just see us effortlessly sailing around the world! We'll soar higher than Vheen itself, nearing the Blue Star above, chasing the night...with all the time in the world to think about tomorrow. [The next morning. Ghaleon is in Rouj's house with Tagak, baskets of books around them.] Ghaleon: You're giving them away? [Tagak is actually engaging in a Japanese tradition known as katamiwake, where a deceased person's effects are divided among family members and friends by which to remember him or her.] Tagak: Father's effects. Take what you like. pg. 157 Ghaleon: ...Tagak...do you think I maybe should do the same with my brother's possessions? Tagak (smiling): When you think you're ready. [Ghaleon goes into his brother's room and looks around - at his bookshelves, at his gilded binoculars, at the succession of progressively- improved carved wooden birds on his desk. Ghaleon then sits on the sill of the window in front of his brother's desk, back to the streaming sunshine, and smiles.] Ghaleon: ......... ...Brother. pg. 158 [Ghaleon travels to the east side of Vheen. He runs across the two guild students he encountered when he was walking with Niea to meet the guildmistress early in the story.] Guild Student: AH! Ghaleon, sir, good morning! We'll be coming to the warehouse again this afternoon! Ghaleon: Oh, I'm glad! We'll be counting on you! [Ghaleon meets with the guildmistress in her office.] Ghaleon: Once we finish inspecting the propulsion, we'll be able to take the airship out for a test. I'd like for you to be present, if possible. Guildmistress: Because you're not sure what will happen at the test, I assume? All right! I'll help in any way possible in my capacity as Vheen's guildmistress. [The guildmistress gazes out the window and smiles.] Guildmistress: It gladdens me, too - that ship of Zain's. Zain...hm. He made an impact on someone in everything he did. Those who attended his lectures...those who assisted in his experiments... everyone! That man just held some sort of blazing light within his heart... pg. 159 Ghaleon: ......If the ship does fly...it might just... it might allow me to understand some things that I right now just don't. Guildmistress, I-- I don't hate today's Vheen. So many _humans_ - complete strangers! - are working so hard and eagerly, studying and learning... to become citizens worthy of Vheen - for the sake of the city! I am happy to have been born in a city so beloved. [The guildmistress smiles. Meanwhile, at the warehouse, the guild students are working on the airship.] Guild Student: Wonder what it needs such a big energy tank for?... Guild Student: Guess it's gotta have a reserve. Guild Student: Even so... pg. 160 Guild Student: What the heck do you suppose it expends all that energy on? Guild Student: It's Master Zain's design, so... (Smarter Than the Average) Guild Student: HEY! I'VE GOT IT! Ghaleon: What have you "got"? Spit it out. STTA Guild Student (sweatdropping): _Ma-Master Ghaleon!!_ Well, you see...um...the ship flies all around everywhere, right? I mean... All over the world... Like, over level ground, volcanic regions, icy and snowy regions, in clear weather, rainy weather, in storms... Well, the energy the ship consumes in order to protect the passengers varies according to each separate environment, right? It needs so much energy so that even if something happens to it in flight, it's equipped to deal with any problem it runs into! I mean, it's pure conjecture! Just a guess, really! [Ghaleon gets a stunned, sort-of-reverse-Eureka "why didn't I think of that?" look on his face. Later, work ends...] Guild Students: Well, then, see you again tomorrow! Good night! Ghaleon (alone, seated): ......... He never _was_ one to let the weather deter him... pg. 161 [The next scene, at the airship - which is completed. Tagak is inspecting up inside the ship; the other magic race folks are below.] Latona: All that remains is tomorrow's test, then! Why don't we take a break? Morris: Tagak, aren't you coming down? We're going to have some tea... What's the matter? Tagak (looking at horizontal post inside the ship): ......Zain's written something here. Latona: Something from Zain!? Let's see!! [Ghaleon goes to look.] Ghaleon (looking at post): It's my brother's handwriting - no doubt about it. It slants upward like his... Tagak: It must have been hidden by a magic spell until now and we never realized it... Morris: Well, what does it say!? Read it!! Ghaleon (reading Zain's note): "This ship is dedicated to the growth of Vheen and..." ......... "the future of its guildmistress." pg. 162 [Ghaleon reacts in silent shock. The others react in various levels of not-so-silent shock.] Tagak: "The growth of Vheen"... Latona (greatly pained): ..."the future of its _guildmistress_"...!? Morris (a little angry): ...The ship... It wasn't for himself or the magic race? He built it for the _humans_...!? [Suddenly...] Ghaleon: ......ha...!! Ha ha ha ha ha!! Ghaleon (thinking): Of course! _I_ was the one who wanted to use the ship to run away from Vheen, not my brother! pg. 163 Ghaleon (thinking): What my brother wanted to create wasn't the airship itself, but a record in Vheen's history of him having created one. He wanted to leave behind in Vheen some proof that he was once here - Morris (hands on hips): ...Well, well - Zain still managed to put one over on us! Tagak (smiling, looking at Ghaleon): Yes, but...that's just like Zain. [Ghaleon leans his forehead and hands against the post and closes his eyes, happy.] Ghaleon (thinking): because my brother, too, loved Vheen. [Latona, however, is not happy; she is frozen by deep shock and sadness.] pg. 164 [Latona goes home and spends the rest of the day sitting amongst the ruins in the darkness, in deep, deep despair. The next morning, she walks along in despondence, not noticing anything - until she walks by a couple of guild students and notices them carrying...] Latona: _!!_ ...Those...Those aren't-- ..._Zain's books!?_ pg. 165 [Latona rushes to Zain's room - only to find it empty. Stunned, she collapses to her knees...] Latona: What... ...What is this... Ghaleon: Latona! [Ghaleon is giving Zain's books away to the guild students.] Ghaleon: I've decided to give away my brother's effects... If they just sit around in this room forgotten, gathering dust and rotting away, they're only trinkets! It's better that they live on as memories in someone's heart. They've made everyone so happy... I'm just sure my brother would... Latona? [Ghaleon turns around; Latona is gone.] pg. 166 [At the airship test site - Ghaleon is speaking to the guildmistress.] Guildmistress (surprised): ..._Me?_ Are you sure? Ghaleon (leaning against the wall, casually): The ship is piloted essentially by one person. I had originally intended to do it myself, but this is my brother's will. I'll go aboard with you to assist. How does that sound? [The guildmistress smiles.] Guildmistress: ......Well, if that's what Zain wanted! If anything should happen to the ship, it'll be all right with me there! My transfer spell got an A-plus! Guild Student: Energy tanks at full capacity! Guild Student: All systems are go! Morris: The roads below the route you'll be following have been blocked off for the duration of the test. You may crash wherever you like! Ghaleon: Sorry, but that ship's not going to fall! pg. 167 Ghaleon: It's my brother's ship. It'll surely fly. Tagak: Feel all right with the guildmistress with you? Ghaleon: Yeah. Niea: I WANNA GO TOO... Ghaleon (tousling Niea's hair, smiling): You can go next time. Hang in there! [Latona appears, face downcast and expression deadened. The guildmistress notices her.] Guildmistress: ! Latona! Oh, good! The test's just about to... ...Latona? [Latona at first does not acknowledge her...or anyone. Then...] pg. 168 Latona (slowly looking up): Don't touch Zain's ship. [Latona casts a ferocious wind and ice spell that engulfs everyone nearby.] Guildmistress: !! Latona: Vheen was _our_ city - the magic race's city! But then _your_ kind came! Invading one after another! Morris (annoyed/angered): Stop this, Latona. Latona: Why must we suffer like this?... why are you all intent on stealing every last thing away from me!? pg. 169 [The winds increase in strength; several in the group cast protection spells.] Guild Student: Guildmistress!! Guildmistress: Latona! This is a misunderstanding! We-- Latona: I won't stand to lead such a wretched existence any more - _not a moment longer!_ I won't hand over a single thing more to you!! NOT VHEEN!! NOT ZAIN!! [Latona throws fierce gales at the guildmistress; they knock away her two guild attendants, but the guildmistress's protection spell safeguards her.] pg. 170 [Ghaleon frantically tries to cast a binding spell on Latona...] Ghaleon: Latona-- [...but it's no use; Latona's rage is too out of control to be contained. She - or, rather, the fierce winds which have become a sort of extension of her and her fury - knocks him aside.] Ghaleon: NO ONE WANTS THIS! NOT MY BROTHER! NOT ME! NO ONE... _LATONA!!_ Ghaleon (thinking): The mana in the air is converging - with dreadful speed. pg. 171 [Latona unleashes even more winds.] Latona: The _truly_ strong shall rule Vheen!! [Ghaleon's eyes widen.] Ghaleon (thinking): No - I'm wrong. This-- Latona: AND PURGE THE WEAK FROM THE CITY!! Ghaleon (thinking): It's not Latona. I'm sure of it. It's the guildmistress - she's supremely-- [The guildmistress readies herself, then...] pg. 172 Guildmistress: BLAZE!! Ghaleon (thinking): --POWERFUL!! pg. 173-176 [The spells clash in a cataclysmic blast - eventually, the fire overpowers the wind. All watch - Tagak calmly, Morris and Ghaleon in horror - as the flames engulf Latona. Latona screams - and then, for one brief instant, quiets - a final glance reveals her countenance at grateful peace. The fire then completely consumes her; when it clears, only a small ring Latona wore on her finger remains. Morris looks on with sorrow; Ghaleon, shock; the guild students, fright; the guildmistress, in shock at the consequences of her spell.] pg. 178 Tagak: ......... The wind's stopped. [The guildmistress is still distressed.] Morris (angrily, to guildmistress): If you had relented, you would have been killed! You made the right call! The ship's untouched! Proceed with the test! Now - GO!! pg. 179 [Niea runs up to her mother; the guildmistress picks her up in her arms.] Niea: Mo...Mother! Mother!! Guildmistress: ...It's all right. I'm safe, too. Let's take a ride together, Niea. After all, you're the next guildmistress. You have a right to be present at this historic moment! Ghaleon! Ghaleon (picking himself up): I'm all right! I can go! [Ghaleon, the guildmistress, and Niea step up on the ship's walkway and begin to be lifted into the ship.] Guild Students (running after them): Guildmistress!! Guildmistress: Don't worry! What kind of guildmistress do you think I am!? pg. 180 [The guildmistress takes the pilot's seat. She gingerly touches a control orb and is "charged" with a bright magical light.] Guildmistress: !! Ghaleon (at the other controls, calling over his shoulder): Guildmistress! Let me give you some explanation-- Guildmistress: No need! The knowledge was just imprinted directly on my mind! pg. 181 Guildmistress (grinning): ..."If you can't handle this, you just don't have what it takes to be a guildmistress!" ...Strict as ever, aren't you? [An energy barrier begins to form around the ship. Everyone watches, the guild students praying for it to "Fly..." "Please fly...", and Niea clings to Ghaleon.] Guildmistress: FLY--!! pg. 182-184 [And danged if it doesn't. The various spectators look on in wonder, relief, and awe; the guildmistress silently looks up with a tear in her eye. Ghaleon and Niea stand side by side at the front of the passenger compartment, completely enclosed by glass (or some other clear substance) on the top, sides, and bottom, affording an unbroken view of the landscape of Lunar and the Blue Star lying ahead. Niea takes Ghaleon's hand and grins.] Niea: It's like we're birds now. [Ghaleon looks at her and smiles.] Ghaleon (thinking): That was what I wanted, wasn't it? My delusion... That if I had the airship to myself, I'd have my brother, too... pg. 185 [The next morning. Ghaleon is walking to the fountain of transmission, packed traveling sack in hand, looking up happily at the sky at daybreak. Morris has already arrived; he smiles and flips Ghaleon a quick wave "hello". As he does so, Ghaleon notices that he's wearing a ring - Latona's ring.] pg. 186 Ghaleon: That ring... Morris (smiling): It'd be a pity to leave her behind, don't you think? Could I possibly deny her? Latona's end was one of the futures I myself just avoided choosing. And, in one way or another, she made her own mark on Vheen's history as well. Through her twisted devotion, she chose to condemn herself to the past. She was a foolish woman who surrendered herself to pride. pg. 187 Morris: But, even so, to me, she was a good woman. [Tagak, Niea, the guildmistress, and several guild students and magicians arrive. Tagak is carrying Niea, who is waving the hat that Ghaleon lost at Zain's funeral.] Tagak: Ghaleon! Isn't this your hat? Niea: It was me who found it! [Ghaleon takes his hat.] Ghaleon (smiling) The one I lost that day. ......Thank you. [Tagak puts Niea down and joins Morris and Ghaleon near the fountain.] Ghaleon (to the guildmistress): We're leaving the airship to Vheen. [This astonishes the guildmistress.] Ghaleon: It was my brother's sole request. Use it in good health. pg. 188 [The guildmistress pauses, then...] Guildmistress: ......I'll miss you. Niea (wide-eyed): Oniichama, are you going away somewhere...? No! I'm going too! Ghaleon: Niea. Niea (sobbing): NO! I'M GOING TOO!! Noooo... Ghaleon: Niea. I'll come back from time to time. Vheen's my only home, after all. [Ghaleon takes his hat and places it on Niea's head.] Ghaleon: I promise. Here. I'll give you my hat to prove it, okay? [Ghaleon kneels down in front of Niea, smiles, and wipes away her tears.] Ghaleon: This, my brother gave to me when _I_ was little. pg. 189 [Ghaleon, Morris, and Tagak begin to transfer away.] Niea: I'll become a great guildmistress! I'll always be waiting for you here in Vheen, oniichama!! Ghaleon: I'll write you a letter every year on your birthday! I promise! [The trio transports to the ground.] Morris: Well, now, where would we like to go? Have we decided? I've got some time on my hands! Let's keep each other company! Tagak (looking at map): How about the sea? I don't think you've ever seen it before. Ghaleon: All right! Let's go! Our first stop - the port city of Meribia! [The three start off on their journey, birds in flight overhead.] pg. 190 Epilogue: [A long shot of Vheen orbiting the Goddess Tower.] Narration: And so, before long, time passes - 120 years. Ghaleon, never to recover from the wounds upon his heart, returns to Vheen. [We see Ghaleon turning away in sadness and despair at Dain sacrificing himself to Althena...] Narration: ...but that is yet another tale. -OWARI-