GAMEPLAY

Marsha: Hyah!
Marsha: Hurry now, Freya!
The Sachsen lifts its hooves and charges into the fierce Alpine wind.
Above them an eagle flies, its broad and powerful wings cutting through the sky like a golden arrow.
Marsha: Look, above us! It's wonderful to see Verena flying so high after her recovery ...
Marsha gazes at the soaring raptor. Her young face lit with excitement.
She had found the injured eaglet beneath a mountain ridge a month ago and took it under her care.
Now, as if a gift in honor of her eighteenth birthday, her charge once again takes flight.
A good omen, she hopes, for her own ceremony. With the swearing of her sacred vows to the Order, on this day, dressed in her finest robes, she will become a true knight.
Marsha: Today, Freya, I become a knight of the Order. Sworn to fight in its honor. I submitted an application too; if the Grand Master accepts, I'll be trained as a pilot!
She leans down to share her secret dream with the horse as they ride forward.
Marsha: Then I'll fly through the air, just like Verena.
Marsha: I can't even imagine what it must be like to see the world from above. They say that once you're high enough, the whole world just looks like moss growing over a rock.
The young novice spurs her horse, giving chase to the triumphant eagle. She is about to become a knight and soon a pilot flying over the field of battle.
With the wind whipping past her ears, she feels as if she is already flying, riding the wind through fire and blood toward her future glory.
Marsha: Up there in the sky, skill and courage alone decide victory and defeat, just like jousting knights in the old days.
Marsha: Up there, she can bring victory and honor to her Order and her nation!
She loses herself in the vision. In her mind, she imagines herself as her eagle, looking down at the world as she swoops between the clouds.
The boundary between earth and sky dissolves. Her dream feels close enough to touch.
Marsha: Faster, Freya! We have to keep up—
The horse answers with a loud neigh. It sounds like an agreement. She races wherever the knight's heart leads them, swift as a flash. No field is too vast for them.
Glory. Bravery. Loyalty. These are virtues and the triumphs of a knight.
Galloping hard, Marsha believes her path lies wherever these words guide her.
At last, the eagle becomes no more than a gray speck on the horizon. And Marsha allows her steed to slow and rest. Her dream flies off on the back of those golden wings until—
Adelheid: There you are, Marsha.
Marsha snaps out of her reverie. She dismounts in a flash and rushes toward her teacher.
Marsha: Adelheid! Did the reply come? Did the Grand Master approve my application?
Adelheid sighs.
Adelheid: I'm sorry, Marsha, but you've been assigned to the 15th Infantry Regiment. You depart in one week.
Adelheid grips Marsha's shoulder firmly, trying to temper her young novice's enthusiasm with a serious look.
Adelheid: There's nothing romantic about the war you're about to face, child. You must be ready to take care of yourself.
At the time, Marsha couldn't fully understand the gravity of her mentor's words.
Though she did not get to live out her dream, she was still excited to serve her Order.
Able to finally march out and win glory as a knight.
Marsha wakes with a deep ache in her bones. Her heartbeat drums in her ears.
The ice water has done its job, easing the worst of her pain.
She lies on a makeshift "bed" of sheets, her clothes already dry.
Marsha: I need to thank Adelheid properly.
She sits up, and the first thing that meets her eyes is a pair of hands.
The nails are uneven. Thick calluses cover the joints. The dry skin is cracked, and bronze stains linger around the fingertips.
They are the hardened hands of a trained knight, reshaped by disinfectant and iodine.
Wounded Soldier: Ugh!
Doctor: Who can check on Iliia? His wound may be infected!
Marsha steps out of the storage room.
Marsha: I have Dakin's solution here!
Marsha returns to her work as though nothing had ever happened.
Though the words of her mentor linger in the back of her mind.
Marsha: Let me clean this wound.
She returns to the patients and leaves her past behind.
The stars and the moon hang in the sky once more, but there's still no sign of reinforcements or relief as Marsha calls to make her report.
Marsha: ... Sir, if possible, I hope the Foundation will be able to transfer the heavily wounded to safer territory.
Creius: I will speak with "Razor" and leave the matter to him.
Marsha: Mr. Razor was supposed to meet me in town this evening, but I haven't been able to reach him.
Creius: I received a report that he made contact with Manus Vindictae along the way. But as soon as he mops up that little problem, he should arrive at the hospital without delay.
Marsha allows herself to relax, tense aching muscles finally slack. Though the change would be imperceptible to most.
Marsha: Good. Then I will await his arrival.
Marsha: There are some soldiers here from out east, the Don region. They've heard about the fighting there and wanted to help. Could transportation be arranged?
Marsha: Also, I've submitted a request to remain here and assist the hospital staff until the evacuation is complete.
Creius: Approved and arranged. Though I expect you to accompany them on their journey back.
Creius: The Timekeeper's team will be headed that way as well.
Creius: Your next mission is to support our Zeno allies in their fight and to rendezvous with the Timekeeper's team to assist them in whatever they need.
Marsha: Understood, sir.
Creius: Hold on, soldier. Mind if I ask about your friends from the Order?
Marsha: They'll be staying behind here as well for the time being. We're working together to get the wounded treated and evacuated safely.
Creius: Right. Here's hoping this will mark a change in our rocky relationship. Keep me updated.
Marsha: Yes, sir.
Hildegard: Marsha!
Марша: Marsha hears someone calling her name.
Not far away, several knights sit together in a loose circle, soft laughter drifting from the group. Hildegard waves at her.
Hildegard: Feeling better?
Marsha: Yes. I'm sorry for making you worry.
Hildegard waves her hand.
Hildegard: I'm just glad Adelheid found you when she did. I'm not sure if you would have lasted much longer.
Marsha sits down beside her.
Marsha: What were you talking about?
Hildegard: Old memories. Remembering all the chores we had to do when we were novices.
Under the night sky, the knights' faces light up as they reminisce.
Marsha: Ah, I remember—carrying up those bundles of firewood that were nearly as tall as we were.
Hildegard: Yeah. And it wasn't even our job most of the time!
Not every would-be knight had a pure heart. Some of the older novices would often slack off and bully the younger kids into doing their work.
Hildegard: All the way up the hill, three or four of us at a time. And the bundles would never hold together.
Hildegard: I remember we'd try to chase the ones that fell out as they rolled off the side, tumbling into the woods.
The two young novices would simply sit at the edge of the slope and sigh.
Marsha: I always loved the stories you told about them.
Marsha: Those falling pieces were actually adventurous wood sprites we had freed from their roots, and now they were travelling to distant lands.
Marsha: They would talk to the wind, do battle with legions of insects and beasts, float along rivers, and eventually rest on a shore, waiting for a new journey to begin.
Hildegard: Haha. What can I say? I've always enjoyed a "knightly adventure."
They laugh together like old friends, like sisters.
Under the hospital eaves, the branches in the courtyard act as silent witnesses, holding on to their memories. A breeze passes through, and those memories drift away bit by bit into the night.
Hildegard: I miss those days so much, Marsha, when even the most trivial of things carried an unquestioned meaning.
Hildegard: Things felt as though they were in perfect order. Every bundle of wood had its purpose. Even if it was only meant to warm a study room.
It should be as simple as that. Knights that set out to fight for justice and wander the land ... returning laden with treasures and glory.
This was the story they wanted for themselves. Back then they couldn't or wouldn't imagine any other end.
Marsha: ... Have you spoken to the Grand Master?
Hildegard: I have. We're all concerned with what we should do next.
Hildegard: Marsha, you've found your own path, haven't you?
There's a trace of envy in her eyes as she says it.
Marsha: You know, Hilde? Ever since I met Adelheid again, I've started dreaming of the old days.
Marsha opens her hand, as if turning the pages of a book.
Marsha: Dreams that have let me relive my past, the good and the bad.
Marsha: One thing is certain—Though I've traveled far, I never strayed from the right path.
Marsha: Seeing things here, I think that's true of the Knights of Hochland as well.
Marsha glances around at the end of her words.
Marsha: Hilde, where is Adelheid?

Open your eyes to see the future that we know?

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