Fela truly felt the axe drop when she stepped outside and saw green-brown tar seeping across the neat yard of the Lodestone. Despite the resignation she'd built up over the past few days, her blood still ran cold at the sight of the ruined well. Her potencia spring must have corrupted overnight, and the poisonous fluid was laid bare for her, a taunting reminder of their predicament. It only took her a minute to gather herself and rush towards Spirit Town, hopelessness fighting against the wall of composure she was trying to maintain.

Despite the drought, Valle managed, in most places, to maintain an air of normalcy. But Spirit Town was dying, struggling much more than the rest. She could see it in the piles of rotting vegetation that now lined the streets, the lack of people. Just a few days ago, Fela had resented this place, refusing to accept her connection to a group of people she didn't know. Now, she wanted nothing more than to find a way to help. She found Viktor's home to be the busiest spot in town, his aides rushing about with bundles of clothing and supplies in their hands. When she finally found him, standing along the outside deck, she couldn't help but note how haggard his face had become.

"You're going somewhere." She said. A statement, not a question.

He nodded, looking over at her. "I want to make an appeal to Valle in person, since my messenger failed to return. As ff there wasn't enough to deal with, apparently there's been wild animal attacks reported throughout the mountains recently, and I can only assume that's what my messenger had been stopped by." Viktor seemed to trail off here, eyes glazed over for a moment. "The responsibility of a Master.," He murmured. "Handpicked by the sovereign crown, governing the land with a duty to the people... I would say that Valle's only done a halfway-job of it. But still, we need the crown's aid, and he's the only connection we have. Sometimes, Fela," he said, stepping closer to her. "It's the people who have to take matters into their own hands." His look was intense, and she simply nodded, for lack of a better response. "Take a look around, Fela. While my world has come crashing down around me, the rest of Valle might just survive- but it's an illusion. A shopkeeper might think all they've lost is the strength of a Bestian, or a butcher might have to do without the aid of an ice-controlling Frume. But the lives of the humans around us have grown to depend on potencia just as much. They've grown dependant on the striders for access to the outside world. Still, it might be tough, but there's a chance they'll make it." Viktor's voice went brittle. "I wonder, though, how Valle would respond if its human residents were in the same state of crisis as us."

After a moment's pause, Viktor looked at Fela's stricken face. He wrung his hands as if abashed, and gave a tiny smile. "Not to worry. The Senate will act accordingly. Anyway, there's another reason why I'd like to reach the Estate. The place was built on the largest potencia well in the entire mountain range. If that spring has already been, ah-"

"-been corrupted." Fela offered. She couldn't help herself.

"Yes," he said, nodding to himself. "Even if it's been corrupted already, The Estate must have potencia in storage we could use."

Fela nodded. It only took her a moment to make her own decision. "I'd like to go along with you," She said. "My well's gone too." She backpedaled, realizing the magnitude of her request. "I'm sure you were going to have the Senate join you, someone with authority... but still." she trailed off, her mouth moving far too quickly.

Viktor gently shook off the question, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm hesitant to waste potencia on spirit-powered travel, since it's such a short distance to Valle. So instead of flight, or control the wind and such," he said, with a faint smile, "the most efficient way to Valle's estate is by strider. And the Lodestone," he added after a thought, "might be the only team with a strider, a pilot, and a storehold of potencia we could use on such short notice."

She immediately caught on, and felt a grin spread across her face. She'd been worried for a moment that he'd say no, considering his reservations earlier to the childrens' involvement, but maybe she'd proven herself since then! She agreed almost immediately to gear up the luxury strider left abandoned at the shop. After all, it had been there for days now, and this was far more important than some merchant's new ride anyway.

Now that the matter was settled, they quickly established their arrangement and travel plans. Fela left by early afternoon, heading back to the Lodestone. She didn't mind the work of preparation. It left her mind free to ponder the things Viktor had spoken of this morning.

He was right. Outside of Spirit Town, Valle would likely survive. They'd have to switch to a much more self-sufficient lifestyle, but they didn't need potencia the same way spirits did. She wondered how far out of their way these people would go to help.

Fela understood the frustration of Viktor's position. If only Valle was less isolated, they could simply turn to a different Master, appeal to the Sovereign through a direct channel. But they were alone in the mountains, too far away from anything else and an unresponsive guardian. No wonder Silva felt so responsible for the well-being of the place. She had taught Fela that if something needed to be done, the best person to depend on was yourself. It was a mentality that made sense here, in Valle. She thought about those empty streets, the lush aura of Spirit Town reduced to a grey, diseased state. Fela had looked at these silent houses, imagined the families that lived within them. Were they hopeful for a solution? Resigned to a fate that creeped closer and closer? It had never occurred to her to think of them as anything different from the human families that walked into the Lodestone every day, but Viktor had clearly felt that they were seen as something else.

She glanced up from the strider and gazed around her, at the bustling market. There was always a human majority here, but for the first time in as long as she could remember, there was no one else like her on the street. She was alone. As people nodded to her, waved, acquaintances with a greeting or two, Fela wondered how empty the gestures really were. How far had the news gotten about spirits and their potencia? Knowing Valle, she guessed almost everyone knew by now. Suddenly, she felt resentful of this pantomime of normal life while others struggled just a few streets over. The fresh anger of that thought shocked her a little, and she shook her head, hoping to shake these new inhibitions loose and focus on what was ahead.

Fela rose early the next morning after an evening of aimless pacing and tasks she'd already done hours earlier. She found herself checking and rechecking the strider out front. Without a true cargo hold, she'd had to get creative with the luxury strider's storage capabilities, packing clothing, food, and most importantly, the last of her potencia stores in the back of the cockpit. Viktor would have to settle for just enough room for the two of them.

Just as she was closing for the night, a young man appeared by the entrance to the yard. Otherwise unexceptional, his legs bent strangely, almost backwards, marking him as a spirit. Fela could tell at a glance that he didn't suffer from potencia deprivation, noting his now-uncommon vitality when compared to the others she'd seen lately. It made her suddenly realize, belatedly, that without her well, she'd soon resemble the washed-out residents of Spirit Town.

"Viktor expects you by noon latest," the man said simply. A messenger then, his useful ability granting him extra rations for its use. When Fela nodded her assent, he bounded away, his unique limbs working like a spring that propelled him a dozen feet with each step. Transfixed by his movements, she watched as he leaped down the street.

Viktor stood alone outside the gate as Fela arrived, piloting the strider through deserted streets. She was no Basil when it came to piloting skills, but she still got the job done, gracefully pulling to a stop right in front of him. He nodded a hello, and she pulled down the contractible staircase so he could clamber up. He was silent as he climbed into the cockpit next to her. If it was even possible, she thought Viktor looked even more tattered than yesterday. She put the strider in gear and stomped down the street without a word between them. She knew what to do anyway- they'd hashed out nearly every detail the day before. Now there was nothing left for Fela to do except head out of the city. They had decided that for the sake of resource management and speed, they would be the only ones making the trip.

They headed out of Spirit Town, moving straight north, instead of leaving through the shopping district's West Gate. They made their way through Valle, passing the much livelier human neighborhoods on their exit out of the village. Viktor gazed at the bustle impassively, no doubt comparing the scene to the ghost town they were leaving behind. Fela, for her part, tried to push out those intrusive thoughts, focusing instead on the calls and well-wishes they received on the way out. No doubt news of the drought had finally spread throughout all of town. If there was one thing you could depend on in urban life, it would be the speed and efficiency of town gossip.

In the hour it took for the strider to reach the edge of town, a small crowd had gathered behind them in an impromptu procession. People were drawn to the scene, the only vehicle still moving in the streets.

"Look at that," Fela mused, turning to wave back as they headed into the forest.

"Yes, they've all hoping for their fuel shortage to end, aren't they?" Viktor responded dryly.

Despite herself, Fela shot him a dirty look; he stared back surprised. She steeled herself, preparing to apologize, but Vikor beat her to it.

"I sound quite bitter, don't I?" He said, looking away. "Especially considering the way you were raised."

Fela nodded, but she didn't know how to respond without risking an offense against Viktor and his authority.

He seemed willing to drop the conversation, however, his attention now focused on the forest around them. He pointed, and Fela watched as trees reshaped themselves, their wood twisting to form a gap in the woods large enough for a strider to pass through. Using his skill, Viktor could create his own path through the mountains, a direct line towards the Valle Estate. Fela urged the strider forward, craning her neck to watch as smaller shrubs and bushes rustled themselves out of the way. They moved through this living pathway, watching branches writhe like snakes, leaves darting above their heads like a school of fish all swimming in tandem. It was a strange and wonderful sight, to see such objects of immobility prancing like an animal.

Finally, Viktor spoke up, dashing Fela's hopes that he had forgotten about their earlier exchange. This aversion was new to her, though. Usually Viktor was the one coaxing responses out of her. But when he spoke, she realized he had, in fact, moved on to a different conversation.

"We come from different perspectives, I think." He said, finally. "There's so much you missed, Fela. Holidays, superstitions, traditions... There are a million little things we do everyday that would seem unfamiliar to you. But the biggest difference between you and me is our history. Do you know why that is?"

Fela furrowed her brows, still thinking about his point on tradition. Viktor was patient though, and didn't press her for an answer.

"The present is based on the events of the past." She said eventually. "So if I don't know my own spiritual past, I can't hope to understand my position in the present."

He gave her a broad smile. "That's a thoughtful answer. But it's not really about you, exactly - the individual in the present. It's about the group as a whole. Take our position right now as an analogy: I'm working towards a solution to the drought right now because I want to help the people I'm connected to, not myself. And it's our history that may lead us to understanding why it's been left to you and me to take up the challenge."

Fela nodded, but she didn't quite understand everything he was saying. Sensing this, Viktor spoke on. "This is a good opportunity to tell you about the origins of Spirit Town." He gave a short laugh. "A history lesson to pass the time."

"The founding of Valle was much, much older than both you and me, when people began pushing south for farmable land. But all they found were mountains, and so Valle became a simple outpost for travelers passing through the range.

"Around this time," he said, smacking the dashboard gently, "machinations were less than a figment of the imagination. Hiring spirits was still the best form of traveling, and so people either used their two feet, or turned to them to be flown, carried, or otherwise brought to their destination." Viktor snapped for effect.
"These were the only kinds of spirits in the outpost of Valle for decades- those with movement-specific skills who were working, I mean. Then, the Lumina Conflict changed everything about relations between the two groups."

Fela cut him off mid-lecture. "You mean the spirit-human war, right? But that was hundreds of years ago!"

"I did say this was a long time ago, didn't I?"

"Yes, but It's just crazy to think that Valle has been around for such a long time."

Viktor nodded in agreement, but wasted no time in jumping back into his story.

"Most people know about the Lumina Conflict, the end of the dual monarch. One for the spirits, one for the humans. But with the unsolved assaination of Julius, the Human King, along with tensions developing over ancient potencia springs, the most famous war in history broke out." Suddenly, he changed topics. "I'm sure you've played taglight when you were younger?"

Fela thought back to when she was younger, playing with the other kids in the streets. Taglight was a game that could only be played after the sun went down, where one person was selected to be the pursuer, and the other players had to escape their grasp. The catch was the fact that everyone, except the pursuer, had to carry a lantern with them. Oftentimes, the only thing the pursuer could even see were the bobbing lights of the other players darting madly around them.

"It's a callback to the warfare of the Conflict." Viktor said. "The battles were often guerrilla style, with small groups attacking each other from the safety of the night. Light-ability spirits would often create false settlements, luring the enemy side into an ambush."

"Oh." Fela said. She knew what the word 'war' meant, understood the death and destruction that followed it. But to her, it was an abstract idea, one that held no true emotional anchor. It left her struggling to really fathom what it meant for those thousands of people who gave their lives up, all for an unresolved murder.

"Valle eventually became a safe haven for spirits who chose not to take a side. When potencia was found in these deep, secluded mountains, it was the perfect place to avoid human prejudice and conflict. Of course, human travelers still passed through, but these weren't soldiers, and no one was complaining about a thriving town after miles of hard climbing, one with hot meals and warm beds.

The Lumina conflict ended without resolution, simply for the fact that people were tired of fighting, and tired of the human royals, hungry for revenge. This was a time, after all, where only spirits had a use for it, so it seemed like a frustrating and useless waste of energy. using an alleged assaination an entire reason to start a war.

"A century or two later, Valle began to attract permanent human residents, with human-spirit relations slowly healing, and the place grew into the city we know and love today."

Viktor paused, and Fela could sense a shift in his words.

"We welcomed them with open arms, helped them build homes, create lives up here in these unforgiving mountains. And yet, I've yet to see any form of support for spirits right now besides empty gestures. I was born into a family who worked this human-spirit relationship for generations, and made sure I learned the history that went along with it. There are patterns I can see Fela, from events just like this one. The way we're left to solve unsolvable problems ourselves."

He watched the forest undulate around them for a while, the trees shuffling to reclaim their original plots after the strider passed.

Finally, Viktor spoke again, but his voice had gone soft again. "You don't have the same connection to this history as I do, and you spent your life living among humans. We're so alike and yet worlds apart. If nothing else, it gives you a willingness to connect, and an optimism that knowledge has crushed for me. After all, the past may serve as a teacher, but nobody's a fortune teller."