"Naja…" Qete spoke as she dismounted her horse. She walked toward them, immediately getting to the point,
"What happened to her??" She asked Zed as she saw Alloy's unconscious body on his arms. She walked faster and got to see her up close, in her worry of Zed's expression, she just held Alloy's forehead… hoping she was going to be okay. Zed gave both of them the debrief of what happened when he and Alloy got there, but he had no idea what Perilius' power was, he just felt Alloy's drift go out of control and he reacted to it, she was fast, almost, if not faster than Zed himself in his first state, then he explained what happened after he passed through Lore and Trogan. Leading to the current situation.
The air grew stale, a bit heavy, on all three of them, nothing like this had ever been expected in Zephro, they had dealt with pirates, looters, rogue guilds that tried to fool them before, even Syndicate 'tricks', but this faction was the opposing one to all the rest, they didn't care for anything or anyone except their goal, a goal that Alloy would eventually come to find out, for now, they had to deal with the situation as it was.
"Qete." Naja began. "Do you know about Alloy's other power??"
"Huh?? Two drifts??!!" Her expression filled with surprise and shock.
"No… she doesn't have two drifts… but the dark presence that led you and your men here came from her."
"WHAT??!!" She exclaimed.
"I know you can still feel it. I think it subsided when she passed out." Zed added as he crossed his legs to sit down with her, his expression slightly changed, he was still worried, however, he knew he had to help Alloy hide her secret power, the world reacted differently all over about things they never understood. Alloy was lucky, she landed in one of the most peaceful and understanding kingdoms the world had to offer. But she had to stay hidden, if not her, her power did. Qete calmed down to feel the presence coming from Alloy. It was filled with hate, burden, anger, and even death. It startled her, giving her chills down her entire body.
"W… what the hell… is that??!!" She shakily asked.
"Whatever it is, its not my daughter, but it travels with her." Zed answered.
"Where did it come fro…"
"Qete… focus." Naja said. "Do you see her bracelet??"
"Y… Yes."
"Eliza-san placed the strongest runes she could get that didn't collide with the power she holds on her bracelet." Naja spoke when finally, Qete noticed.
"That's why it's black… isn't it??" She realized.
"Yes, however, she's busy dealing with our knights as we speak. With your power, can you create the same, if not a better seal??"
"I can." She said as she knelt next to the King and his Princess. Upon looking at the bracelet, she held her hand on to it and closed her eyes to concentrate.
"I see… its made to react to her emotional and mental state. When they're drastically imbalanced, the runes leave room for her to access her power… and vice-versa." She gasped.
"What… what is it??" Naja asked.
"The chain… the bracelet itself is a rune??!!"
"I had no idea… where could Eliza-san have gotten such reactive metal??"
"Soran had some," Zed clarified. "He melted one of his daggers to provide the alloy needed for Eliza's creation of this bracelet."
"Oh… from his travels around the world, huh??" Naja asked. Zed just grunted slightly as his response. "Will that be a problem, Qete??" He asked, glancing at her.
"No… not at all, Zedlis-sama." She confirmed. "I can adjust it as well, do you have a preference for how this power should stay locked??"
"I do… I…" his words lost their path to his mouth from his mind, instead, what flooded his brain was memories. Alloy, Ivy, Trogan, Lore. These four had gone through something they were never prepared for before. And as King, he took the blame on himself, he saw Trogan, years before today, how his armor changed to look more and more like Zephro's symbolism, he was proud of how he handled matters, how he held his own, and how he stood up for the weak in his own… rough way.
He saw Lore, her crushed self after her parents passed, he used to help deliver the sad news himself to the bereaved. But when he entered the thirteen year old's home, he saw how much her family believed in him, there were posters, figurines, everything directed toward being one with the King and Zephro, his face lit up with tears and he cried with Lore for a whole day, he cried because he hadn't seen something like this in his life, he cried because he couldn't save the poor girl's family, but once he stopped, Lore stopped shortly after. She was so tired she slept on his lap. He stuck with her, promising her parents that he would bring her up to live up to their love for the country, for knighthood, and for their child. What he didn't know, was that Lore heard it all since he spoke it more than he thought about it. She cried on his royal robes and suddenly jumped from his lap.
"What's wrong??" He asked, startled as well. "Dirtying a royal's robes is a crime."
"What?? No it's not!!" He laughed.
"It is according to Mom and Dad…"His laugh stopped immediately, his face turned, his eyes filled with crocodile tears. He cried yet again with Lore in his arms.
"Do you wanna become strong?? Like your Mom and Dad??" He asked, weeping in front of her face. She smiled.
"YES!!" She said, excited. 'Malory Makin. Herald Makin.' he thought as he held her hand to go outside. 'I swear to protect this little girl, I promise to make her stronger, your love for this country will never disappear from her heart.'
She grew under Zed's personal supervision, since she was the daughter of a knight, she was a Noble who grew up in the center of Oku, the Noble town that was right before the Oku bridge that led to Korra, where at the time, Korra was a bit more in cahoots than it was in their current time. Zed remembered moving her home to make it the closest to the Palace so she could see him whenever she pleased.
His next memory brought very big crocodile tears to his eyes, when Lore and Trogan became friends, she was already a very skilled knight and he was a not so praised Syndicate member who was brought after Qete arrived at Korra, he remembered how Naja used to forbid their working together due to the childish games they played while on missions, and now, what played in his mind was that Lore was holding his dead body the same way he held Alloy's unconscious one. His left eye dropped a tear down his cheek as the battle's aftermath settled on him along with all he knew about them.
"Zedlis… Zedlis-sama??" He was brought back to reality by Qete who noticed his tears and his blank expression.
"Huh??" He reacted, "I… yes… I want you to…" he spoke briefly before speaking what he felt. "I… give me a moment, please." He said.
Qete looked up at Naja for a clue on what to do, she nodded and she stepped back, standing behind Zedlis' left shoulder, wondering what went through his mind when suddenly, Alloy moved slightly, her mouth began making weird sounds since she was unconscious, but one word was heard clearly, a word that sent Zed back a little later after he met her.
"Ivy…" was all Alloy managed to say as she moved her head to sleep better.