Breeze moves through the Tower that appeared in the Hedge maze of the Rook and Rose to Viktor's study. She stands in the doorway, looking at the desk where he had once sat, writing in his journals. The pain in her chest is acute, both sharp and dull. The Tabaxi feels as though her chest will collapse under the pressure of her grief, as though the Lord of Blades is trying to squeeze the life out of her once more. The office becomes blurry through her tears, but she steps forward, approaching the desk. She reaches out, touching the wood, looking at the letters neatly stacked there. There are letters from most everyone. Most of them are from her. They are letters of goodbye. Letters of apologies. Letters that declared love and expressed regret.

A sob rises into her throat and shakes her chest, breaking the silence.

She sifts through them, finding hers to Viktor,, her perfect, beautiful script writing out his name. She turns it in her hand, checking the seal. She hopes that he read it. But it is intact, and for some reason, it hurts more than anything else she could have found.

Another long, painful moment passes before she sets it down among all the others.

Like a a ghost, the bard moves around the desk until she is sitting before his chair. She touches the back of it, running the soft pads of her fingers over the leather. She pulls it back and sits. She stays still for another long, agonizing moment, letting the feelings wash over her. She spent so much time trying to stay separated from them, trying not to fall apart, but now she was home, and it is so difficult to keep it all together.

She wipes her eyes and pulls out some paper and sets up the ink pot and quill. She takes a deep breath and stares at the paper. This will be the last letter she ever writes to Viktor. It seems a waste of time, but it will join the pile of letters she never actually shared with him. Writing him was more a journal than communication. Of course, now maybe he could read them. She had no idea what he could do.

Dearest Viktor,

I do not even know where to start. We both knew that after all of this, we would never see one another again, but I have to write this, even if you never read it. It is the closing of our chapter. The end of an era. A brief, vicious era, that brought me joy... if only for a moment.

As you know, I have emotionally detached myself from the others for various reasons. I have tried so hard to be considerate and consistent. I have done what I can to uphold my values and not lose myself and what grounds me. I knew that I would be saying good bye to everyone after this. Red planned on taking Green and Dawn off into the country to retire into a quiet life of the mundane. Rocio and Gunne can never return to society, not after what they have done, and I planned on returning to Sharn to resume my goal in working with others to protect Eberron or, if I could not clear my name, return to Xen'drik to live my own version of a quiet life.

We prepared carefully. We spent almost every gold we had and exhausted ourselves. We had scrolls, potions, items, and deals with entities we had no business speaking with. We found an empty plain that had already seen more than its share of death and destruction and then we waited. We waited like the exhausted adventurers we were. Once, I would have called us heroes. Sometimes, I imagine that we were, in that moment, but it was simply resignation. The Lord of Blades would never give us peace. He would chase us down into other planes of existence if he could. Why he despised us in particular, I have no real notion. Red revealed that she had the ability to offer help. Help that would make us faster, more resistant to the Lord of Blade's attacks, and so much more.

He appeared. One moment we were waiting and the next the world was vibrating with power none of us could muster and he was in the sky, looking down on us. I cannot remember all he said, but he called us roaches. He condemned us for opposing him and disrupting his plans. He called us roaches. He said that if we gave him the Eye of Syberis that we had, he would kill us quickly and not desiccate our corpses with his madness. He didn't refer to it as his madness, though. He simply said he would not turn us into warforged. That was his mercy. His compromise.

We refused. Rocio said something along the lines of, "That is a lot from someone who is basically 3 years old."

That seemed to infuriate the Lord of Blades more than anything else we had said or done up to that point. He descended quickly, flying down at an alarming speed until he landed with a heavy thud to the ground. The entire world felt heavy then. I fell to the ground. I lacked the strength to stand up to such magic. The others, however, stood their ground. The oil of slipperiness we had all used kept him from keeping us still. Rocio, Gunne, Green, and Dawn clashed with him. Gunne and Rocio were giants. Beyond giants. All I could do was take one laborious step after another and do my best to keep them healed. Gunne took the brunt of the assault. He was a tatter of blood, mostly coming from his nose and ears, by the time I got to him. Red gave me the ability to move faster than time. I used beacon of hope and healed Gunne, though it was a drop in the bucket to what he really needed.

It was enough to keep him alive, though.

I was worried Gunne would not make it, but they managed to cut the Lord of Blades down, making him stagger. He reached into the ground and a fissure cut across the landscape and from it poured an army of warforged and siege equipment and metallic nightmares with fiendish energy. Green had been flung afield, but he managed to rejoin us. I made the best use of my healing that I could as we took hit after hit from the army. The others fought valiantly, but we were barely hanging on.

Then something unexpected happened. Vextrix was over us, golden even in the odd light. Red protected us with a wall of force as Vestrix decimated what remained the forces. Then he was plucked from the sky and flung far afield. I could not believe he came to help us. I wonder if he came to help Rocio. I wonder if some sort of familial guilt brought him... or maybe he knew something we did not.

Either way, the Lord of Blades was back and he threw a meteor storm at us. We weathered it well. Gunne came out better off than how he went in. We stood there, resolute and ready. I cannot remember what he said. Only that he was even more angry with us and he seemed to be initially. He pulled us into a demiplane. It was black and red and confusing. We existed in a space that seemed to be darkness, but we could see each other perfectly. The Lord of Blades surrounded himself in a large shield and made it so that shrapnel flew around him, slicing us when we got too close.

We quickly discovered that our spells were not working on him and that Gunne could not scratch him. We scrambled. Rocio became the target of his ire, and for a terrible moment, I thought that Rocio would die. We bent time and reality to keep them alive. The Lord of Blades cast me back onto the battle field and away from everyone else. I had no idea how long I would be separated, not that I could think straight. But I knew what I would do. When I appeared back, I pulled out a subtle spell mind crystal and cast wish. I healed us all completely, but it left me weak and barely able to move.

Dawn was the one doing the most damage to the Lord of Blades and she was also the most frail out of all of us. I kept being banished from the fight, but I did my best to bolster and heal her. Still, it was not enough. Nothing was enough. His power was simply too great and we could not hit him hard enough often enough.

He cut off her head.

Red screamed. it was a terrible sound.

And then she did something foolish, but expected. And it saved us all. She wished for Dawn to be alive. And then Dawn's head was back on her shoulders. She was barely clinging to life, but she was alive. We healed her. We gave her everything we had to give her just enough life to continue.

And then she finished him. And it was over.

The Lord of Blades seemed surprised and he laughed before collapsing. i could only stare. I didn't know what to say. Part of me wanted to comfort him. To promise him a better life than this one.

But then Red collapsed. We ran to her, and I knew that wish had demanded something from her. It was taking her life. She coughed blood and grew weaker and weaker. She spoke to Dawn and Green, telling her she loved them. They told her she promised them retirement, told her they couldn't go on without her, begged her to stay. They demanded I help. They demanded I summon Viktor. I took the watch, telling them that there was nothing to be done. She didn't belong in Eberron. Her time was borrowed. It had always been borrowed, but they didn't want to hear it.

The watch vibrated in my hands and I opened it. Alec came out in a collection of blue light. It was bittersweet seeing him. In our brief adventure, I had grown fond of him. But he simply said goodbye to Red, told Green that Borovia needed him and that he could not stay as he was still hunted. He said goodbye and left with his watch.

Then you and Albane arrived. You had the eyes in your hands like they were nothing more than blue marbles. A storm gathered so quickly and only your voice could be heard. I wanted to hug you one last time, but i was frozen in place. I was scared that if I held you, I wouldn't be able to let you go. You said your goodbyes and departed in a storm. The rain was oddly fitting. You even healed the land, getting rid of the necrotic mists over Cyre and Argonesson.

All I could do was fall to my knees and cry. I couldn't even be bothered to listen to Dawn or Gunne. Gunne left a rabbit foot on Red's body as a goodbye gift and left. I have no idea where he is. I have no desire to look for him. So long as he stays away from Chell and their children, that is all I can hope for.

It took a long time to clear our names, but at least we were given the chance. I still don't know what I was accused of exactly. Convincing people that I am not actually able to control people was rather tiresome.

But you left me the guild. You left me your son. Our son. He is a human, but I should still think of him as such. I have named him Zephyr Khorad. I wish to honor you, but I also wish to honor my late brother. I hope you like it.

Thank you, Viktor. Thank you for everything. I know you blame yourself for all that happened, but it wasn't. Not really. You were just a young man living a awfully lonely life. I am glad that I could make it bearable, if only in brief spurts. I know I was in and out of your life so quickly. You had to spend such long stretches of time without me. And yet, I feel like you were never too far away in time. Moments apart from you... for me were just blinks of an eye. For you they were years.

But thank you for loving me. I wanted to be loved by someone as much as I loved them. You surpassed that. It was a brief time, but it was ours, and I will cherish it forever.

I love you, Viktor.

Goodbye,

Peaceful Breeze of Chime Valley

((Please keep in mind that this is OOC knowledge))

Dearest Viktor,

As I often do, I struggle with how to write this. After all, you will not read them. I have no idea what will come of it.

We spoke to Calliope and she was difficult. She did not want to answer our questions, but i feel as though she did at points. She tired of our ignorance and our constant grasping. We captured her, but what resulted with our knowledge changed our plans. We will not be combining the parts of you and Albane.

In some ways it is worse.

It has been revealed to us that the Lord of Blades is not just your son, but has been your son since you started to walk upon the mortal plane. You fell in love with a woman long forgotten and had a child with her. The child was lost to time. He had no great achievements and never caused the problems you did when left unattended. But he did find you again while you were in Cyre and you were reunited as father and son. You... but not you.

Still, you have some obligation to him.

I struggle with how to convey this. How to accept it. Calliope took away my ability to bear children. You would think that I would have no true issue with this. After all, I never intended to have my own children. I never thought it a possibility, or wise. After all, I plan on returning home to my people. How could I split a child between that world and this? I'm also vain and conceited. How could I destroy my body to bring new life into this world I'm so desperate to save?

You told me that you felt as though you had no connection to your previous lives. You are so different in each one, and having met three versions of you, I'm inclined to agree. I told you I would have to restore your complete divinity to break the cycle and have you return to your proper place. You said you would stop being selfish and go. I will not be selfish either.

Oh, why is this so difficult?

You asked me to find him after we have killed what he is now. After I take his divinity and make him a simple mortal. You asked for me to find him, raise him, be his mother. I told you I would if it was needed, but I would watch him. I cannot in good conscious kidnap a child that is loved from his family. I'll help him, though he might not ever understand why I would be his benefactor.

You said you thought I would be a good mother.

What kind of mother could a person like me possibly be? I'm willing to sacrifice so much so that people that hardly deserve it can have a tomorrow and freedom. I am willing to let you go.

Before I left you, you gave me a box that you had locked away. You told me not to open it until I was with the others. I did as you asked and found a deck of cards. I knew what it was without identifying it. Nothing else could warrant the security you had it under. The Deck of Many Things. A cursed object if there ever was one. I snapped the box shut and tried to take it away, but the others insisted that they draw. They even pressured me into it. Green's sword transformed into something more powerful and gems were had. Our bodies were altered. I had to fight some spectral reaper. I have very little ability to fight anything, but I managed to survive. I did get physically stronger though, I suppose. Not by much, but it was something.

After that, Rocio approached me and asked if I could cast simulacrum on them. I asked what it was for and they would not answer me. I knew then it was for their quest to kill the bloodline that slaughtered theirs.

I understand the drive for vengeance to a point, but I lack the stomach for it. Perhaps if I were the one that lost all of my history I would be driven to such a point. I do not know. But I cannot. All I could think of was a child looking at me, terrified and innocent. I cannot make them pay for the sins of their forefathers.

Rocio enlisted Gunne and Dawn to help them. Green refused to be completely helpful, from what i understand, and I refused to assist in any way. I would not take them and I would not bring them back. I would have no part in such a dark act. My magic would not be involved in any way that I could help it.

They came back successful, but Gunne is different. He's darker. More terrifying. The man I knew him as is turning into something I cannot stomach. I cannot look at Rocio without feeling profound sadness and disappointment. Dawn has returned broken and despondent.

This journey is breaking us. The bonds that held me to them are fracturing. We're supposed to be heroes. We're supposed to save the world from the machinations of the Lord of Blades.

How is it that my friends are turning into villains before my eyes and I cannot stop them?

We cannot waste anymore time. They may not want to fight him any longer if we do.

I wish I was stronger. I wish I was smarter. I wish I could make it end the way I envisioned it.

Yours,

Breeze

((Please Note the Following is Out of Character information to those that read it other than the people involved. Mostly))

Dearest Viktor,

I struggle to start this letter. One day, a version of you will read it. Which one, I do not know. This particular entry into our life together seems to be the perfect one to mention such an eventuality. After all, you expressed to me that you often feel like a different man entirely. Having met 3 versions of you so far, I cannot help but agree. You are not the same. I'm sure over the hundreds of existences you have endured, there have been similarities.

But I digress.

We had to pull Calliope out of her realm and subdue her in order to rejoin the halves of you in her realm. We debated and argued and planned. I hated it. I never wanted to fight her. She was someone I respected and feared since I met her. She was always an enigma. I felt sick. I still do.

We bought the same armor we once sold so rescue Red. Antimagic plate armor. Rocio wore it. We knew we had to stop her from casting. But we had to draw her out.

And the only bait I could think of was myself. She has been eyeing me warily since she realized we had feelings for one another. I promised her that nothing would come of it. We could not have children. But when I told her that, you were merely a human man. A tabaxi and a human could not have children together without serious magical intervention. I had no intention of going to such lengths.

But it turns out you aren't actually a human. Not really. You're so much more.

So I made up a lie. We married. I was pregnant. I made an awful bump to trick her and Bim. My poor sweet Bim.

Can they ever forgive me for what I did? I am crying again just thinking of it. The pain I caused them. I cannot forgive myself.

But you pulled me into the pantry as everyone was setting up the display of celebration. I confessed to you that I had dreamed of a life together after we defeated the Lord of Blades. I could barely get the words out, I was so emotional. I had thought we could clear our names and live a stable life. I told you I never expected children. When I left home, I accepted that as my reality. But I thought we could form a family in a fashion, and I that was my dream.

Then you told me that you wanted to live what we had left together to most. After all, the whole reason we have to draw Calliope out was to meld you and Albane. And what will happen when that is done? I do not know and neither do you. But I can only imagine the worst.

And so you proposed to me. With a platinum and diamond ring of all things. The irony is not lost to me. But I will cherish it until my last breath. I feel like a dragon myself. Hoarding treasures.

After a private moment, I called Bim to join us and tried to subtly tell them that I am pregnant. I didn't want to make it too obvious. After all, Bim couldn't let it slip that it was a trap.. but I suppose she still knew it was. Or maybe she didn't. I don't know. Not yet. Maybe I never will.

We then waited and waited until exhaustion started to wear on us. I wanted to just go to bed with you, but the others insisted we stay. Eventually I was too tired to care about life or death or plans and I want to join you. You were snoring, you were so tired.

I had trouble sleeping. Then you were no longer snoring. You weren't there. I went to your study and you were behind the table. You seemed cold and distant. I couldn't understand. You had just proposed and told me you wanted to live what we had left together to the fullest. We spoke and then you rebuffed me. I suppose there is something to say for my confidence. I knew it wasn't you. I demanded to know who.

I suspected something when you called me Breezy, but I didn't think Bim could be you. But you were Bim and the dream wavered.

How can I live with myself. My poor sweet friend was so sad and guilty. I hugged them and stroked their wild hair and apologized. I didn't realize she would hurt Bim like this. She could have used anything else. But she used my sweet Bim.

I am a monster.

Bim begged for forgiveness and I told them I wasn't angry. I wasn't mad. How could I be? I didn't tell them it was my fault, but I apologized as we cried together. I begged Bim to keep my painting of us safe. It is my favorite. And you won't remember me anyway.

I forgot to mention, Bim promised me that Calliope promised not to hurt me. But she will, won't she? I'm going to anger her so much. Funny. I wonder how long it's been since she's actually felt something. I can't imagine giving people any power over your feelings is something a practical immortal can stomach after so long.

I told Bim I wished that we could have more time together, but that I had to wake. But I couldn't. Calliope's hold on my mind was too strong. But then, I was awake. Bim must have broken the dream. I woke to silence. Complete silence. The sort where you can't even hear the blood rushing past your ear drums or your heartbeat. I was trapped in vines and you were completely out of view. I could see her over me and I was awash in a sickly green light. I saw Bim, sobbing in the silence and looked back at Calliope.

There was no escape for me. I could not use my magic and I felt like my brain was wrapped up in the vines as much as my body. I simply surrendered to whatever it was that she was doing. There was no point in trying to fight, and whatever she was doing didn't cause me pain. Whatever it was, it wasn't meant to kill me.

So I had to take what small victory I could. I had failed. Hardly a surprise, all considering.

I closed my eyes. I felt a strange vibration, but I didn't look. And then there was the sound of combat. The sound of metal against metal and the vines were gone and my mind was back. I could see the others surrounded Calliope and the fight was on. It was a dance of Antimagic. I managed to contain the situation as I did with Lucatiel. Unfortunately that and some poorly placed walls of force were my only contributions.

Rocio, Green, Gunne, and Dawn fought her, and despite crippling her by taking away her use of spells and magic items, it was a long slog. After all, druids can still do druid things. But in the end. We did it. They did it.

But the worst is still yet to come.

Your Wife,

Breeze