Nefaria/Stories
Quotes
Adventurer Story Episodes
An Eye for the Ancient
( Inside the Castle )
Euden: Guess it's time for my training.
Euden: ...Hmm?
Nefaria: ......
Euden: Who's that?
Euden: Excuse me. How did you get in here?
Nefaria: You must be the denizen of this great house.
Nefaria: Prithee, might I be permitted to view this fine esta...
Nefaria: Hmm? Your mana...
Nefaria: Ah! You are Euden, he who is pactbound to the Windwyrm.
Euden: That's me, all right. But who are you?
Nefaria: I am called Nefaria.
Nefaria: It came to my attention that an ancient castle has returned to this world, and I could not resist laying eyes upon it myself.
Nefaria: I journeyed for an age from a country to the south where the burning sun scorches the land without mercy, and now I have arrived at last.
Euden: I wasn't aware there was a country that far south.
Nefaria: There was, once. Long ago and longer still.
Nefaria: The people of this place were happy in their lives. Of this much am I certain.
Euden: Huh.
Nefaria: Prithee, forgive me. You may disregard my words as you like.
Nefaria: *sigh* And yet, this will not do.
Nefaria: I cannot help but feel wistful when in an ancient stronghold such as this.
Nefaria: I apologize for appearing without invitation or leave and wandering about your estate.
Nefaria: I shall take my leave hence.
Euden: Er, but you must have come here for a reason, right?
Nefaria: I can't deny that I would have enjoyed a more leisurely tour of the premises.
Nefaria: Yet alas, I am but a suspicious intruder who would mostlike simply be underfoot.
Euden: You don't have to go, Nefaria. It's fine.
Euden: I have no objections to you taking a look around the place.
Nefaria: Fie, how can you even suggest that? You know nothing of me!
Nefaria: Nor do you have any way of proving that I am not here to bring you great harm.
Nefaria: Still...I suppose it is but fate.
Euden: How's that?
Nefaria: It is nothing.
Nefaria: Regardless, I accept your kindly offer to tarry here awhile longer.
Euden: You can stay as long as you like. Or, um, tarry, I suppose.
Queen of the Dead Sands
( Inside the Castle at Night )
Nefaria: Hmm. I see the rumors were true after all.
Euden: Oh, there you are.
Euden: It's time for dinner, if you're interested. I figure you must be hungry.
Nefaria: I suppose it does not hurt to enjoy a meal once in a great while.
Euden: We usually enjoy three a day, actually. Is that...not what you do?
Nefaria: Think no more of it.
Nefaria: You truly are a most peculiar fellow, Euden.
Nefaria: You are royalty, yet you choose to break the bread with baseborn subjects.
Nefaria: I mean that in a good way, of course.
Nefaria: Seeing all of you- as well as this castle- can't help but restore memories of my own past.
Nefaria: I, too, once sat about a table and partook in the evening meal with my vassals.
Euden: Really? Are you a queen, then?
Nefaria: Know you of the Desert of Death?
Euden: I've heard of it.
Euden: It's said to be a place where sand stretches endlessly toward the horizon and not a single blade of grass can grow.
Nefaria: That is the way of it now. But once, long ago and longer still, there was a country most beautiful there.
Euden: Wait, you said you came from a country to the south, right? So is that...?
Euden: No, that doesn't make sense. I've never heard of a country there- even in the past.
Nefaria: It has not been so for hundreds of years.
Euden: Sorry?
Nefaria: Once upon a time did a country prosper in that desert.
Nefaria: ...And I was its final queen.
Euden: Sorry, but I'm really not following this.
Euden: If that's true, then you would be...
Nefaria: It surprises me not that you would find this a tale most fanciful.
Nefaria: I can scarce believe it myself.
Nefaria: Yet memories such as dining with others- and of the final seconds of my life- are etched most clearly in my mind.
Euden: ......
Nefaria: And after seeing this castle, I have been able to accept all as reality.
Nefaria: This castle is indeed from ancient times.
Nefaria: There are many similarities between its architecture and that of the buildings in my time.
Nefaria: If it be possible for an ancient castle to revive in a night, why should it be beyond the realm of possibility for once such as myself to do the same?
Nefaria: That was my conclusion.
Euden: Then you really are...
Nefaria: Apologies. This must all be rather baffling for you.
Nefaria: Stories like this must sound like jangling nonsense to one who lives in the present such as yourself.
Nefaria: Yet I find myself weary from this conversation, and so I will leave to take in the cool night air.
Euden: Wait, she couldn't really be...
A Cursed Body
Euden: *pant* I think that's the last of them... Is everyone all right?
Cleo: I am well.
Nefaria: As am I, though that proved to be a battle most difficult.
Euden: Wait... Nefaria, you're hurt.
Nefaria: ...Hmm? Ah, so I am. I did not even take notice of it.
Euden: Can you heal her, Cleo?
Nefaria: You have no need to worry on my account.
Nefaria: A wound this shallow will heal on its own.
Euden: I'm not going to just ignore the fact one of my friends is hurt.
Nefaria: I appreciate your kindness, but...
Nefaria: Prithee, take my hand if you would, Euden.
Euden: Ah! It's so...
Nefaria: It is far too cold to be flesh of the living. Do you now understand my plight?
Nefaria: I am sure you have reasoned this out, Euden, but I once...died.
Nefaria: Wounds cause me no pain, if such sets your mind at ease.
Euden: ......
Nefaria: I lost my life and was then given rest in a royal sepulcher.
Nefaria: Yet for reasons I cannot ken, I recently found myself awoken from the long dark.
Nefaria: I know not whether I am alive or dead.
Cleo: Is this the result of magic?
Nefaria: The people of my country were well versed in magic, yet I know not if it relates to my current situation.
Nefaria: Perhaps it may not be magic so much as a malison or other curse.
Nefaria: For it is oft the fate of royalty to attract the ire of others without being aware of it.
Euden: That's...
Nefaria: Regardless, I assume you now understand why you need not concern yourself with my wound.
Nefaria: In truth, it's not as bad as it looks.
Euden: Just because you are what you are doesn't mean we're going to let you wander about with gaping wounds.
Euden: I wouldn't let another friend do that, and I won't let you.
Nefaria: You would name a walking enigma such as myself as your friend?
Euden: What you are doesn't factor into this.
Euden: You fight by our side and share meals with us, which makes you a friend and companion so far as I'm concerned.
Euden: Now will you PLEASE just let Cleo heal you already?
Nefaria: A friend...
Nefaria: So be it, Euden. I will accept your physic.
Nefaria: I apologize for inconveniencing you.
Not Much Beloved
Nefaria: Training alone? Commendable.
Nefaria: Would you mind if I set eyes upon you for the nonce?
Nefaria: I have no other means by which to spend my time and find myself growing...bored.
Euden: Feel free, though I can't promise this will be very exciting.
Nefaria: Do you oft train alone?
Euden: Or with others, if they're available... Ha! I have to get stronger if I want to rescue my sister.
Nefaria: Ah, yes. I remember the others mentioning your kin.
Euden: We're alike in that way, I suppose— we've both lost something important.
Euden: She gave everything to save me...
Euden: And when she was stolen from me, I was powerless to help her.
Euden: I'm not fit to be a prince if I can't even protect my own sister.
Elisanne: There you two are.
Elisanne: It's almost time for supper.
Elisanne: I'll not understate the importance of training, but it's equally vital to eat.
Nefaria: Heh. I find myself almost envious of you, Euden.
Euden: How so?
Nefaria: You have friends such as Elisanne who fight by your side, and that is a great boon indeed.
Nefaria: If your sister sacrificed her freedom for you, you simply march forth with your allies and reclaim her—then never permit such a thing to happen again!
Euden: ...I suppose you're right.
Euden: That actually makes me feel better.
Euden: So thank you.
Nefaria: It is fortunate you have the ability to reclaim what was stolen from you.
Nefaria: You are not a monster with no idea why she yet lives, or what she should do with the ＂life＂ she has been given.
Nefaria: My memories are fragmentary things, and there is much I do not bethink about my own situation.
Nefaria: I live, yes—but I have no idea what I should do with that life. What is this, then, if not a curse?
Nefaria: I can only assume I have been revived by churls who bear a silent grudge against me.
Nefaria: And that I was not much beloved by my people.
Nefaria: After all, when I revived, I saw naught but sand and misery in every direction.
Nefaria: Nothing remained to suggest my people regarded me with affection, or my loss with sadness.
Euden: Oh, I don't know about that.
Euden: I can't imagine someone as kind as you being hated by her people.
Nefaria: You would not say as much if you beheld the desert as I did.
Euden: ...Maybe so.
Euden: But I'll never know for sure unless I DO see it, so let's go!
Euden: We'll look for something that proves your people loved you.
Euden: I'm confident we'll find something.
Nefaria: Fie, what a mad thought! The desert where my country once stood is long and longer still from this place.
Nefaria: Surely you are far too busy for such mooncalf exercises.
Euden: If a friend is worried, there's nothing I won't do to help.
Nefaria: ...My apologies, Euden.
Nefaria: If you are certain, I would be in your debt.
Lifted by Love
Nefaria: Indeed. Yet now it is known simply as the Desert of Death.
Euden: I can see why. There really is nothing but sand in every direc... Wait, hold on. I see something.
Nefaria: You behold my grave.
Euden: Interesting. Let's go take a look.
Euden: We might be able to find something that you missed.
Nefaria: ...We found naught but the tomb.
Nefaria: I apologize for convincing you to engage in such a fruitless exercise.
Nefaria: ...Still, at least now all doubt has been cleansed from my mind.
Nefaria: I have no past, no future, and no way to learn more about myself. All I can do is live out the false and wicked life that has been forced upon me.
Nefaria: That is my fate.
Nefaria: I truly am cursed.
Euden: I don't agree, Nefaria.
Euden: I'd say the reason you came back to life is right here in front of us.
Nefaria: What mean you by this?
Euden: I mean this beautiful grave.
Euden: Your country fell—disappeared without a trace. Yet this grave looks like it was constructed yesterday.
Euden: I'd say that in and of itself is proof your people loved you.
Nefaria: Do you truly think so?
Euden: Honestly? I'd bet they loved you so much, they cast a spell that allowed you to come back to life.
Nefaria: I almost cannot accept...
Nefaria: Hold. Is this...mana?
SYS: As Nefaria places her hand on her coffin...
Deceased Retainer: Your happiness is our happiness, our queen!
Nefaria: Oh...
Nefaria: ...I remember now. I remember all. You were right.
Nefaria: The gentle mana I now feel is more proof.
Nefaria: I truly was loved...
Nefaria: ...I am well now. Let us return home to our castle and boon companions.
Nefaria: Farewell, my beloved people...
Euden: ...Sorry about this, Nefaria. I know it's not really ideal having to camp out here.
Nefaria: Your apology is unnecessary.
Nefaria: I am feeling rather tired, though. Perhaps it's time for sleep.
Euden: Whoa...
Nefaria: Hmm? What is it?
Euden: It's just that... Well, you seemed like a normal, living person just now.
Nefaria: Truly?
Nefaria: I can only assume it's due to the recent change in my feelings.
Nefaria: When I was first revived, I was alone. My vassals were gone, as were everyone and everything I had ever known.
Nefaria: But now, I have all of you calling me your companion—your friend.
Nefaria: Not only am I no longer alone, but my days are filled with happiness.
Nefaria: Therefore do I intend to live the life that my people gave me to its fullest.
Nefaria: I pray you will continue to be by my side.
Euden: Ha! You can count on it.