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‘This is what I need you to understand,’ said Garovel. ‘This mystery... this is something that I have discreetly been trying to solve for around two millennia now. So it’s rather important to me that you not tell anyone else about it.’

‘O-okay...’

‘I’m serious, Hector. Not anyone. Not Roman. Not Lynn. Not the Queen. Not even Ramira giving you puppy dog eyes.’

‘Aha... yeah, I get it. I won’t mention Rathmore to anyone. But, uh... you still haven’t explained WHY you want to keep it a secret. Is this knowledge somehow dangerous?’

‘Of course it is. Rathmore’s Materials have all sorts of absurd powers that even I still don’t know about. If other people start studying them or otherwise trying to unlock their secrets... well, that’s the sort of thing that entire nations go to war over.’

‘I see...’

‘But it’s not just about preventing war for me, either. I’ll admit that a part of me is still hoping to harness their power for myself, one day. Or for yourself, that is.’

Hector wasn’t sure how to respond to that. As ridiculous as it sounded, he could still understand the basic sentiment. The desire for power. For strength. He’d been feeling it more and more, lately, for obvious reasons.

He did come up with a question, though. ‘You say you want to keep all this stuff a secret, but wasn’t Axiolis the one who recognized Rathmore’s Flame? And doesn’t that mean he already knows about it?’

‘Not necessarily. Lots of people know the name Rathmore and nothing else. The name has become famous even among non-servants. All the monuments saw to that.’ Garovel allowed a beat to pass. ‘But yeah, it’s totally possible that Axiolis knows more about it than he let on. We should be careful around him.’

‘Garovel, you’re starting to sound really paranoid. I thought you liked Axiolis.’

‘I do. He’s great. But hiding beneath that greatness could be the cold, black heart of a treacherous bastard.’

‘Wow.’

‘I’m not kidding, Hector. That’s how reapers are. We’re lying, power hungry, duplicitous sons of bitches. And we’re good at hiding it, too.’

‘...I’ll have to take your word on that one.’ Hector scratched his head and looked over all the plants another time. ‘Can we rejoin the others now? I want to see the rest of this place.’

‘There’s still more I should tell you, but fine. That was all of the most important stuff, I think.’

They left the verdure behind, and Hector let Garovel lead the way back to everyone. En route, however, another question occurred to Hector and began getting the better of him.

‘...Hey, what about Rathmore? If he was such a big deal, then what happened to him?’

‘The Vanguard happened to him.’

‘They killed him?’

‘Yeah. He was a nice enough guy when he was younger, but he became more and more of an asshole as he got older. Provoked a few wars. Ethnic cleansings. Human experimentation.’

‘Wait, did you... know him personally?’