Harudan sat in front of the crystal, waiting for it to reveal its secrets to him. It never would, not without hours of effort on his part. And he had been putting in the effort, so much of it that the only thing he could think of to do was stare at it until something happened. Nothing would, of course, but he could still hope.

Its glow wasn't bright, but it was enough to keep the small room well lit. There wasn't much else in it; two tables, one for the crystal and one for Harudan, small piles of books spread across both. The red curtains were drawn across the arched doors that led out to the balcony. The stone walls were bare, faint shadows showing where there had once been paintings.

Harudan tapped on the edge of the table, frowning down at the open book in front of him. He'd asked the servants to gather as much information as possible on the Sanctum of Ishin, fyrite, and the crystal in front of him from the palace library. All it had resulted in was a few piles of books and a set of old scrolls.

He never had been big on reading, but it was the only way to learn what he needed to. Part of him wished he was more like Nerin, instead of reading at a snail's pace and getting bored after only a few sentences. If his brother was there, he might be able to actually learn something.

All the texts he'd read so far said the same thing; the Sanctum of Ishin was deemed a holy place after the discovery of Sol and Lune, the real Gods, and that the crystal was something that had already been there to mark the land as holy. The more religious texts (About the Old Gods, of course) said that the crystal was a gift from Ishin to keep the people warm in winter. It seemed pointless to give to the Ishini as they could already do that, but nothing ever questioned it.

There was something strange about the way the crystal called to him. It grabbed his attention and kept it easily, even though all it did was sit there. It was the air of mystery about it, most likely, but also an opportunity for more power. There was something more to the crystal than what met the eye, especially considering it wasn't fyrite.

During one of his dreams, he had come up with a theory that he then expanded upon the next day. If the monk, Isiah, was who he said he was (and Harudan was almost certain that was the case) then he would have been exposed to the crystal for years. Something could have happened, he wasn't sure what, but there could have been something he did that granted him the power to wield flames. Maybe, if Harudan tried hard enough, he could also wield that power.

If he did, he wouldn't have to worry about the numbers in his army. He would be the main source of power, he could fight on the front lines and decimate the people who threatened him. The only issue it would cause would be the fact that he would be in more danger of being assassinated. But Jonin would never let that happen to him. He had the best protection in the world, he'd made sure of it.

He couldn't get his hopes up too much. For all he knew, the crystal only emitted heat, but he still wanted to learn it's secrets. It didn't look anything like the fyrite stones he had looked at in his books or the two that sat on the table in front of him. It was something completely different, completely new. How had no one thought to study it beforehand?

For the first time since he'd found out, Harudan was annoyed that Jonin had killed his uncle. The man probably wouldn't have followed him anyway, but Harudan could have at least forced him into helping. Instead, he was dead and the books in the laboratory were burned to a crisp, leaving him to struggle for the answers.

Scratching at the door pulled him from his thoughts. Ignis sat there when he opened it, staring at him with wide eyes, a thin stream of smoke drifting up from his nose. He flew up and landed on Harudan's arm when he offered it. "Hello, boy," Harudan said and scratched the drake under the chin. "Come for a walk with me."

The servant who had gathered the books for him had told him that there were still others in the library. He might as well grab them himself, seeing as he was getting nowhere with the others and needed a break from the cramped room. Ignis gave him a chirp and breathed out a puff of smoke.

The library was on the ground floor, far from the effects of the crystal. He didn't bother to use his powers to warm himself up, something about the cold had become comforting over the past few days.

He passed by the war room with a frown. No noise came from within, but he knew the map and the statues still stood in there. As far as he was aware, Jonin was sorting out their trip to Reed, while his other two advisors were prepping everything for battle. A raven had been sent to the King of Minisia the night before detailing their choice in the battlefield. All they were waiting for was a reply.

After the first battle, Harudan could attack wherever he wished and the same went for Minisia and the Askari. There was a certain amount of etiquette to uphold, even if war, but it would go out the window the instant first blood was drawn. During that battle, he would be able to get a look at King Ouron, if only for a few minutes. He would show the man the might of Brenmar.

He would have to lead a wave of the men, but not until the end, not until there was an extremely low chance of him being killed in battle. He would be there for the beginning too, to give some kind of inspiring speech to his people as a King should do, but then he would be kept in a safe area with his Guard.

That would happen with or without the support of the people in Reed. It would go better for them if they had all the people they could get, but they were better trained than the desperate peasants of Minisia. They also had the aid of a town to the north, by the name of Tynin, which produced some of the best trebuchets, catapults, and siege weaponry in the realm.

Of course, the more people they had, the better, especially considering the plans General Juna had. But if he could just figure out what the crystal did, then maybe it wouldn't just be him, but some of his most trusted that gained the power to do what the monk did. And once they figured that out, they could figure out how to get his brother back.

He sighed as he pushed open the tall library doors. There weren't many other people milling about the shelves, a few servants dusting off the books and a few reading on their break. All of them turned to bow at him as he entered and he gave them a polite nod in response. His father's words echoed in his mind, telling him that he shouldn't be so kind to them, but he'd rather not have them rebel in the middle of a war.

The books he had asked for would have been set aside. All he needed to do was ask the librarian for them. The kind-faced woman smiled at him when he arrived and grabbed a stack of books from under the desk she stood at. Harudan thanked her when he grabbed them and moved to sit at one of the available desks.

He didn't want to be stuck in the room with the crystal any longer. He'd spent too much time in there as it was; staring at the lump of rock was starting to take its toll on him. Ignis jumped down onto the table when he sat, curling up and leaning his head on his tail to watch Harudan do his work.

For a little more than an hour, he skimmed through the pages of the three books he had been given. The sun slowly moved across the sky outside, lighting the room in a pale orange. The servants came and went as he read, wandering through the ceiling-high shelves in silence.

With his chin resting on his hand, Harudan flicked through the thin pages of an old text. It was written by a researcher a couple of hundred years after the discovery of Sol and Lune, trying to learn all he could about the Old Gods from their followers. It was boring, the way it was written, but Harudan read it anyway.

The Mother told me that the King at the time gifted them the Sanctum as it was much closer to Ishmar than the old one, which lay in the mountains. According to her, the crystal they pray to had been there before they arrived and that even those who used to look after it didn't know what it was used for.

Most of the followers believe that there is more to it than the heat it provides them with and I am inclined to agree. I believe that what it is made of holds the key to Sol's true power, but the only way to find out what it is is to break it open. So far, all attempts have resulted in failure.

The crystal is unable to be broken open by modern mining equipment and the Mother has forbidden me from trying any further. It may be that the mystery of the Sanctum of Ishin and its crystal will remain unsolved. I will travel to Ishmar and ask the King-

"Harudan." The gravelly voice pulled him from the dull words of the nameless researcher, even waking Ignis from his slumber. Jonin stood on the other side of the table, his arms crossed over his chest and a disapproving frown pulling at his lips. "I've been looking for you."

He sighed and closed the useless book. "I've been busy," he said and gestured at the open books around him.

"With the crystal, again," Jonin replied and sighed.

"I'm hoping that this will help us with the war and maybe even with Nerin," he explained. For some reason, Jonin didn't see what was so important about what he had taken back from the Sanctum. He would make him see.

But the man only seemed more irritated. "How?" he asked incredulously. "You never should have taken it in the first place."

Harudan's brow furrowed. "We're going to be taking a lot more than that soon enough, Jonin," he said and leaned back in his chair. "What's the issue here?"

"You shouldn't have killed them. I should have been there-"

"If you had been there, you would have done exactly what I told you to do."

Jonin's hand slammed down on the table loudly, but the librarian didn't try to silence him. "I would have done it better! It would have been cleaner! And Turian would not have been there!"

Harudan hissed in a breath at the words. It wasn't it often that Jonin yelled at him. "I know I made a mistake with the Sanctum, but trust me, whatever this crystal is will be of use to us," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. Their conversation should be private, not among the servants. "I just need to figure it out."

Jonin ran a hand through his hair. "Have you forgotten that we need to go to Reed, or have you been too focused on your crystal than the war?" he asked, his teeth bared.

He had no idea where Jonin's rage was coming from. It could be the stress of war, of having to protect him in the midst of battle, but he didn't want to deal with it. "I have not forgotten. I am allowed to focus on multiple things at once, especially if I think it will benefit our effort."

The other man took a deep breath and reached down to pat Ignis. "What did you find out, then?" he asked.

That the crystal couldn't be broken. "Nothing yet," he lied, knowing that the truth would only anger his Captain more. "But give me a little more time and hopefully I'll have a few answers."

"You don't have much time, we leave for Reed in the morning," Jonin told him. He hadn't known that plans had been made so quickly, but they did need the soldiers as soon as possible. "Unless you wanted to bring your books with us."

"No, I'll leave them here. I think I need a break from all of this anyway," he replied and closed up the books. He would get a servant to bring them up to his office later that night.

Jonin offered his hand to help him from the chair. "Come, it's almost time for prayer," he said as Harudan stood. He gathered the books and dropped them back with the librarian, giving her his orders.

As they walked towards the church, the words of the researching repeated over and over again in his mind. The stone couldn't be broken, not with the mining tools from centuries ago. Things had changed in that time, of course, meaning that it might not be the truth anymore. But if it was, what did that mean for him?

Did he need to break open the crystal to discover it's secrets, or could he do it with just the useless books from the library? He didn't know the answer and probably wouldn't until he tried to break it open. And if he could do it (something he still didn't know with absolute certainty), would he break it completely and lose his chance?

He had told Jonin that he wasn't going to bring any of the books, but a part of him was still tempted to grab one or two of them. He needed to distract himself from it all. Hopefully, a break from it all would allow him to come back to it with a fresh mind.

"Any word from the search parties?" he asked as they turned towards the church.

Jonin shook his head. "Not really. They've all headed north, but they haven't found anything of note just yet," he answered, his voice laced with disappointment. "They'll find him, Harudan, they will. I'm sorry I couldn't bring him back to you."

Harudan squeezed his hand for a second. "I forgive you." It was the truth, but still, he longed for his brother, the last of his family, to be with him again. The Oshana's needed to stay together in tough times, but they were already on complete other sides of the realm. One day soon, Harudan would see him again.