"So..." Luc eyes the Power standing before her. After pulling herself and Daf away from the Loboshigaru and Aslaran, she swiftly flew them a distance towards Endel, before she suddenly faltered and crashed into the ground. None of them were badly hurt, but following this, the Power had let go of Luc and Daf and started holding a onesided conversation with someone unseen. The conversation involved several desperate pleas and appeals to introspection, before the Power suddenly let out a loud yelp as she collapsed, with the glow surrounding her slowly fading. Luc and Daf had spent the better part of an hour tending to her before she finally regained consciousness. With her awake, Luc has decided to interview her. "I believe we need an explanation from you."

The Power nods slowly. "Of course. But first, allow me to apologize for assaulting you. Truly, I did not seek to harm you, however..."

Luc gives a quick nod. "No, I know this. A power is bound to her partner. For them to work together, the power follows her partner's command without question."

"Eh? How would that even work?" Daf tilts his head and scratches on the side of his forehead. "After all, she just up and betrayed him."

"No. I did not... betray him, though he considers it betrayal as well." The Power takes a deep breath. "So that you have a name to refer to me, call me Insight. That is the work name I was given by the Principalities." She gives Daf a quick nod. "And your friend is correct in that a Power is bound to her partner. In order for a Power to maintain its strength outside the realms of the holy plane of Exusiai, the Power requires a conduit which can channel that power. The members of the Order are trained in the ways on how to channel the power through their own bodies. This grants them the ability to perform miracles, similar to the litanies you have no doubt heard, yet distinct all the same. However, this channeling also allows them to empower Powers to act upon the Material plane. My flight, the lights I could conjure, my strength, all that was possible due to the channeling of Exusiai energies by my partner."

"Well, that does make a certain amount of sense." Daf licks his lips as he rubs his cheek. "But it doesn't explain you as being bound. Bound in what way?"

Insight sighs slightly. "To keep a Power under control, a member of the Order can perform four locks upon a Power. First is The Lock of Sight." She taps on her helmet. "Which inhibits reasoning, understanding and introspection. It makes me see things in the exact same way as my partner does. The second lock is The Lock of Voice." She points to her choker. "Which inhibits the ability to speak and to form an opinion. I become the voice of my partner. The third lock is The Lock of Motion." She motions towards her legs. "They inhibit my ability to move. I would not be able to move at all were it not for the will of my partner. Finally, the fourth lock, which is as powerful as it is simple. The Lock of Action." She points to her bracelets. "With the fourth lock in place, I lose all control of myself and yield it to my partner. As long as my arms are locked, I must do everything my partner commands."

A flash of realization crosses Daf's features. "I understand... but then why are you not "locked" now?"

"I... am not fully certain myself. Somehow, Luc's mother broke the locks of Sight, Voice and Motion. It may have been the litanies, but I am uncertain as the return of my own senses overwhelmed me mentally. Though with the Lock of Action still in effect, I kept your mother in place for long enough for my partner's partner to drain her." Insight looks away sadly.

"Drained...?" Luc asks with a minor crack in her voice.

"It is a newly developed spell of the Ethermancers." Daf interjects. "I do not know the details myself as to what exactly happens, but I have seen the Ethermancers use it to punish criminals in Endel. The victim is struck by a thin line of Ether energy. The line is kept upon the person for a while until suddenly they disappear utterly. What exactly happens to them is unknown but..."

"I see." Luc looks up into the sky for a moment, before she puts on a brave smile. "This is probably still better news than I could hope for. I thought you had killed her, but at least now there's some ill-defined hope that she's merely trapped somehow. I know the Ethermancers were fond of that."

"Luc... but wait. Your actions were still locked, so how did they get unlocked? And why did you choose to help us the moment your actions were unlocked?" Daf turns towards Insight, giving her a slightly suspicious glare.

"My mind was clear enough to gather a few of the things your mother did right before she was drained. Some of the litanies she used can only be incanted by the spiritually strongest mortals in Endel, and even they have trouble with them at times. When she could sing them out so fluidly, I knew she was no ordinary woman. She would also loudly taunt us, and from the taunts I gathered that she was your mother, and that your name is Luc."

"I was wondering how you knew my name yeah..."

Insight nods. "She loved you. I could hear that in her voice. So after she was drained, and I heard the two speak of her like she was merely a common thief, I knew something to be wrong. I chose to keep that to myself though, and instead work on the means to break the Lock of Action, as I felt that I could not proceed with this without knowing more. The trap you set up was clever, I'll admit, and somehow during the fight, you managed to give me... or perhaps him, the push neccessary to break the final lock."

"So you flew us away before he could reestablish the locks upon you?" Daf asks, though it is Luc who responds.

"Yes, and the one you were talking to, that was your partner wasn't it? But he would not listen to you, so he cut of your power, leaving you dying upon Prime."

Insight nods slowly as Daf jerks up into a standing position. "Dying?!"

"Yes. As a Power, I can't survive without sustenance from the Exusiai. If I do not soon return to my home, I will "starve" to death. I hope you will help me. My original mission was to prevent you from reaching Endel and retrieve something. A sword I think. That's what my partner picked up after your mother at least."

"Mother's sword? Why would they need that?"

"I was told it was stolen. It cannot be just any sword though, to send two powerful warriors just to retrieve it... also, it just bothers me that I do not know who you are, that they would seek to kill you before you return to Endel. I need to know why, even if it means I was wrong in believing you to be innocent."

Luc and Daf exchange glances, before Luc takes a deep breath. "My mother was Elisabeth Nehana, true heir to the throne of Endel. I am Luc Nehana, her daughter and thus before Barent in the claim to the throne."

Insight gazes harshly at Luc, before she looks away with a frown. "You speak true? I knew something was wrong in Endel. It was odd that Powers weren't allowed to enter Material without being locked, but that this would be the reason, I could never guess."

"I need to ask, what is so important about the sword though?" Daf tilts his head curiously. "Are you certain that you don't know?"

"Afraid not no. It feels like I should remember it, but I just cannot say what it is that makes the sword so valuable."

Luc nods slowly. "Well, we should push on then. We should reach Endel shortly enough, at which point we can get you back to Exusiai so you can recover, and we can bring an end to Barent's regime."

Luc beckons for the two other, and they fall in line after her. Slowly, the three begin to make their way towards Endel.