Once more, this humble scholar finds themselves interviewing a devil. While this Tender has a reputation for kindness, it is my experience that those who wear such a facade are the most treacherous of all. As such, more than most, its retelling must be treated with caution.
–Artemis Lunark, Scholar of History at New Ro’an Interplanetary Research Institute.
***
"Ah, you wish to know of Percival. Few saplings take root so well as he, and fewer still help so many others sprout in their shade."
The being took a moment to feed a fruit to one of its many raptors, plucked from the vines growing along its own back. Only once it was done with this no doubt insidious activity did it continue.
"I'm sure you are aware that when he took his partner Tamrie out to become an ensouled, they were distracted by leviathans. An auspicious sign, given what came from her awakening. Of course, she was only the first he helped bloom. The Tethered soon followed."
As if the being believed the humble scholar needed an example, it held out a bud which quickly morphed into a lotus. Upon each of the petals was a form Lunark would later confirm corresponded with several famous Tethered.
"Of course, young Percival wasn't content with his existing garden. In the wake of the Howl, he swept the entirety of Cape Aeternia, discovering those who’d been sheltering throughout. Which was when he found the great complex labelled, Overflow B, which we now call Overflow City."
"Yes, yes, but what about the invasion of Spellford?"
Tender let out a gentle laugh, setting the hairs on Lunark's neck on edge. "There was no invasion. It was little more than a diplomatic visit. And perhaps a family outing. There were a few minor incidents. Something involving a forge, I believe. Mostly they enjoyed the festivities. They'd arrived during the Calm Run, a local tradition, which they watched with the local ruler and his daughter Arizar."
"Is that when he raided the High Djinn's library?" Lunark asked. It wasn't what the records said, but it made no sense for the man to have been given preferential access. Not when he'd retrieved more spells than any other guest in the records.
"He did indeed retrieve spells from the High Shaper's library, though he did so as guest of honor. So much so that he was supervised by Thozgar's daughter."
Lunark frowned at yet another of his theories being refuted. He'd hoped for at least some corroboration, but much like its brothers, the being negated him at every turn.
"Spells were far from the only bounty young Percival nurtured during his visit. A fair trade and information on enemies threatening to cut down all he'd grown."
"The Sahevin and the unclean clans. Those were real?"
"As real as you and I."
"Then he left? Just like that?"
"He did, though his Knight Exemplar companion, Calbern, followed his own path for a time. Instead, he was accompanied by an artist, the High Shaper’s daughter and an order of Kinya users."
"The Vox Knights."
"Yet another seed planted. This one in a bog, where it would slowly flourish.
"Though when he returned, Percival discovered his tended lands were indeed under threat. It took mere days to confirm the unclean clans were on the march. And the Sahevin didn't take even that long to fertilize the roots of Verdant Point.
"While they fortified their home, Percival fell into a malformed construct of my brothers."
"The Dauntless incident." Lunark rubbed his hands together. Little was known about what happened in that time, other than the fact Aeternia's spymaster somehow originated from the event.
"Yes. Though it was not a single incident, but several."
"Wait? Multiple? That's not in the records," Lunark grumbled even as he adjusted his notes.
The being's green eyes glinted for a second as it chuckled softly, drawing Lunark's attention away from his writing.
"Yes. He witnessed the Dauntless' near destruction. It was also his first sighting of ancient city of Yanerow, which still remained locked in stasis."
"Did he understand the significance?"
"Not yet. He was more concerned with keeping the Dauntless from falling out of the sky."
"And when did his lover discover she was a Caller of the Deep?"
"It was between visions, though she had not yet accepted the call. That was not until after the leviathans returned, while the Sahevin besieged their borders."
"Wait, she went off while they were under attack?" That was the closest Lunark had to... no that wasn't what he was here for. One minor act of cowardice wasn't an atrocity. Especially not for a lover who’d left the last magelord.
"Not immediately. Instead the leviathans helped. It wasn't until Percival activated the barrier you now know as the Aeternia Aegis that Tamrie and the Leviathan's departed."
Lunark sighed. Of course. He couldn't have even that much.
"After confronting the Panther lord with Lenexxa’s assistance, Percival discovered the clans once served as wardens. One of which had committed several atrocities while foreswearing his oaths."
"And the Last Magelord recruited him? Serpent lord Vergel, correct?"
"No. It was the bear lord who had twisted his vows. The serpent lord had not only kept them, under young Percival and my brother Keeper's watch, he reswore them.
"It was during this time the first of the Shield class airships took to the sky, the first true step in sheltering the many faltering blossoms across the peaks. It was also around this time, the Knight Exemplar Calbern returned, by way of the hidden prison."
"And then he activated the Aegis? Did it require the sacrifice of refugees?" Despite the question, Lunark didn't have much expectation behind the question.
He was starting to wonder if the devils vaulted reputations for honesty was deserved. Or if there was no atrocity for him to find. Still, the story was far from over, and he had much left to discover.
The being chuckled. "No. The only sacrifice was Percival's own. He faced a reflection of the man who once summoned him to this world, slaying him for the second time."
Lunark blinked.
That... that hadn't been in any of the records he'd read. It seemed he’d had doubts at the wrong moment.
"It only took him another day of rather unpleasant work to bring the Aeternia Aegis online for the first time. In doing so, he pushed his strength higher, crippling his progress as he did so."
"What about the killing of his summoner? Was the last magelord a devil in disguise?"
"No more than you are, young Lunark."
"I'm no devil!"
"Hmm. Indeed. Shall I continue?"
After Lunark gave the being a grudging nod, Tender did as promised, raising one skeletal hand upwards as if blocking out the light. "Despite raising the Aegis, it was not perfect. Shortly after they'd raised it, a number of Sahevin slipped past the protection, among them a most devious pest."
"The Abyss Emperor." Lunark had only ever seen a recreation of its skeleton. That had still been enough for him to be impressed. Even more so now that he knew the last magelord had merely been Pegasus at the time.
Being impressed wasn't the point of his research though.
"While he fought the Emperor, the crew of the Dauntless emerged around Cape Aeternia. They tended the garden during his desperate battle."
"And then he dropped a mountain on it." Lunark knew that too. The last magelord liked knocking over mountains. Which had been another reason Lunark was certain there must have been atrocities in his past. How could a single person knock over so mountains without wiping out a village or two?
"Two, if you would know the truth. And his ward ensured the Sahevin’s return to the cycle with an artifact she crafted in Spellford. Their victory was sadly overshadowed by the dragon Bahama arriving."
"And... then?"
"Then the Tethered blossomed into the Untethered, Bevel and her sister unearthed their pain, allowing their tears to nurture renewed bonds, and Percival renewed his oath. Shall I tell you the words?"
"No. No, I know the oath."
Lunark had heard the oath often enough during his training at the institute he could repeat it in his sleep.
And he was starting to wonder if there was a chance it hadn't just been empty words.