Event synopsis: Preluding Lights
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Preluding Lights is a collection of tales surrounding various Operators and characters as they face the dawn of their new lives, hence the story's title, with a spotlight on Carnelian's service to Count Hohenlohe of Leithanien.
Crushed Earth
After the Chernobog-Lungmen crisis that Reunion nominally disintegrates, the surviving Reunion couple, Gareth and Illa, have to find a way of living. Under Gareth's suggestion, the couple decide to join the "Rusthammers," a violent anarcho-primitivist movement that disavows all kinds of civilizations. Illa fears that what they face will be a bunch of lawless bandits, but Gareth promises that the Rusthammers, despite their violence, are trustworthy enough to offer shelter for them.
Upon reaching the meeting spot, all they see is just a rusty hammer with a black banner being stuck on a boulder. Suddenly, a band of Rusthammer warriors rise from the mountains. The leader recognizes them as Reunion, yet he mocks them to be weaklings while trembling in front of the "noble scavengers" who fear not the shackles of civilization. To test their will, they give them three simple tools, a shovel, a pick, and a beast trap, and order them to survive in the wilderness for a month without aid from the outside world. Gareth curses that they are indeed maniacs who despise the Infected, yet the leader boastfully laughs and even brings a witness of their promise to the couple, one who is none other than their former comrade Boone. To the Rusthammers, everyone is equal regardless of Oripathy, social status, or races.
The trial begins, and at first, Gareth and Illa find it hard to survive. Nevertheless, as days pass by, the couple slowly learns many primitive survival skills. They start out as hunter-gathers, then they slowly cultivate wild plants and mossoats, learn to find water sources from rivers and oases, and make their own dried meat from wild animals. They have learnt to be real scavengers in the wilderness.
On the twenty-nineth day, Gareth and Illa notice an urgent signal around the wilderness, a trail of shoe marks of Ursine soldiers. Gareth prepares to retreat to avoid the soldiers, but Illa not only refuses, but also she wants to raid their military camp as vengeance for her village's destruction. After struggling with himself, Gareth agrees and follows suit. Just then, the Rusthammer leader shows up and admires their daring spring, and he congratulates that they are now a member of them. With a whistle, he summons the band and commands them to hit drums and raw iron tools to bring terror upon the Ursine soldiers. Together, Gareth and Illa join the raid, proving themselves as daring warriors of the barrenlands.
Flickering Sparks
Around the village of Akroti in Minos that borders Sargon, Pallas and her loyal Sarkaz bodyguard uncover Heavyrain suffring from severe wounds. The Sargonian soldiers remains alert against the Minoans, especially since the village is led by a priestess, the religious military leaders of the Minoan armies, yet Pallas shows her sincerity to treat her injury, knowing that she is just an innocent pawn by the invasive Lord Ameer. While Heavyrain accepts their hospitality, she still remains cautious even on the day of her departure. Heavyrain aims to flee from Sargon by heading north since she is a deserted soldier, and Pallas, despite Heavyrain's suspicion towards her, blesses her with safe journey.
That night after Heavyrain's departure, Pallas sighs that she could not have the chance to further understand Heavyrain, and the Sarkaz bodyguard understands too due to his own circumstance. Nevertheless, she wishes there will be a day when they could meet again not as enemies but friends. Just then, a Sarkaz assassin appears, and the bodyguard protect Pallas from the assassin. The assassin is here to hunt down Heavyrain, yet both Pallas and the bodyguard not only do not reveal their secret, but also proceeds to expel him.
Urban Legend
In Rhodes Island's playroom, Bena and her marionette Annie are curious about the digital game Kirara is playing, so she has Annie hide somewhere and proceeds to watch her playing, much to Kirara's surprise. Nonetheless, she introduces this newest horror game, Nukenin, and lets her enjoy it after toning down the game's horror elements. Kirara praises Bena's gaming skill, and she is amazed that she is even able to clear the secret stage.
After finishing the game. Kirara introduces the story behind the game. Nukenin is based on a famous Higashinese ghost story set in Shin-Aki, an abandoned nomadic city known for its abundant number of evil spirits, and it narrates the main character, a run-away warrior running an odd job, fighting against "Sawara the Silentious," the king of the ghosts in the city who seek to turn Higashi into a ghostly paradise. Kirara further explains that Shin-Aki is a real-life city abandoned following a disastrous Catastrophe, and many of its ghost stories are said to be true such as the legendary Saeki district where a ghost rōnin will hunt down victims until they flee towards the Infy Icefield.
Bena is interested in Kirara's ghost story, so she too wants to share her own version. Long ago, there was a Caprinae orphan girl who wanted to find a home in the slum, but the slum dwellers despised her. On a particularly rainy day, the girl saved an old woman from falling. Being grateful for their kindness, the old woman decided to bring them back to her home, and the girl happily carried the woman's fruit basket. Nevertheless, they were puzzled that she plucked apples even during rainy days, and the woman responded that only those plucked in the rain were the sweetest of all. Upon reaching her home, the girl noticed a marionette resembling her. The old woman ordered the girl to close her eyes... And suddenly, she yelled that she would devour her soul by bringing it INTO THE MARIONETTE!!!
Benna's horror story completely scares Kirara, and Bena concludes that such is a common case in Victoria where thousands of children disappear due to the woman's abdication. She even reassures that this folklore is an existing one. Just then, Kirara turns her head and sees Annie the marionette in front of her. Kirara immediately runs away in fear from the "ghost marionette."
Bena meets with Annie again with a high-five, proclaiming that their surprise attack works. Nevertheless, she proceeds to continue the aftermath of the story. It turns out the Caprinae orphan is Bena herself, and the story is based on her past, but rather than having her soul being suck by the marionette, the old lady, revealing to be the Grandmother of the "Castle of Dreams," invites her to a lavish dinner she could never imagine, though it still has a sad price Bena will never forget – washing tons of dishes after the dinner. Now that no one is around, both Bena and Annie could finally enjoy the digital game themselves.
Forgotten Lighthouse
Glaucus and Blue Poison are tasked by R.I. to investigate an abandoned tower along the Iberian coast, a lighthouse that is none other than the once spectacular Eye of Iberia. They make their way through the ruins and witness countless drowned corpses. Glaucus is amazed to see this tower being built with non-Originium technology, one that was only possessed by the Aegirians during the Iberian Golden Age. On the other hand, Blue Poison has some grudges against the Aegeirians as her race, the Anura, are once victims of their slavery.
Just then, both Glaucus and Blue Poison detect the presence of living beings inside the tower, causing them to be alert. Within darkness, the two make their move against the stranger. But she holds no enmity against them and puts her staff aside. The Phidian girl introduces herself as Aria, the only surviving guardian of the lighthouse, and she has been seeking for technical help from the outside world to restore its function. Even a smart technician like Glaucus could not restore the lost Aegirian technology, so she suggests bringing this matter to R.I. Aria is glad to hear that, but she immediately collapses. It turns out Blue Poison accidentally shot her poison dart during the encounter, and as a result, they have to bring her back to the landship for treatment.
After the mission, Elysium praises them for the good job. With R.I. being given permission by the Inquisition to set up their outposts, he hopes that the lighthouse will one day be restored.
Different
As usual, Carnelian has a business meeting in the name of Count Hohenlohe with the attendant of Sir Feuerbach. In the meeting room, Carnelia is interested in those red, oddly-shaped Originium decorations. The attendant responds that those crystals are meant to remember the tough period during the tyrannical rule of Herkunftshorn the Witch King as it reminds of his horror story of killing tens of thousands of living beings in a single street under his Spire. Even though nowadays, the Twin Empresses have ruled Leithanien with peace, the people could not forget his shadow.
After leaving, Carnelian encounters a girl trying to escape from some guards. She quietly follows until reaching an abandoned building, and she proves herself not hostile towards her as a warm-hearted Sargonian. The girl explains that she is an Infected who escaped from a nearby mining district after being upset by its strict rules. She wants to enjoy the freedom the Sargonians have in roaming around the wilderness just like Carnelian herself.
Just then, Carnelian notices some approaching Casters, and she orders the Infected girl to hide immediately. Carnelian bravely approaches the caster, and, as she expected, they are none other than the maniacal Echoes of Herkunftshorn who study the Witch King's dark legacies. She knows that those Remnants have long been working together with Sir Feuerbach to enslave the local Infected and use them as test subjects; Sir Feuerbach himself is in fact a follower of the Witch King. Carnelian proposes an Arts challenge against the Echo, but they turn down and decide to retreat out of fear to offend Count Hohenlohe. Before leaving, they warn her to abide by the customs of Leithanien, yet she refuses, stating that she as a brave Sargonian will only follow her own rules.
The Infected girl stops hiding, and she bursts into tears upon hearing that her parents in the mine could have become slaves of those wicked Casters. Nevertheless, Carnelian proposes she could seek aid from outside forces, and an R.I. operator reveals himself from the bushes. She immediately entrusts the girl to the operator, believing in them as "Infected experts," and she promises to the girl that they will meet again someday in the future.
Letter
Ensia, a.k.a. Operator Cliffheart, wants to seek an opportunity to have a private request to Courier, so after her breakfast, she brings him away from Matterhorn. She wants Courier to bring her letter to her sister Enya the Karlan Saintress. However, Courier turns it down; he elaborates that the situation in the Vine-Bear Court is getting tense due to the fragmented relationship between Enya and Enciodes, and he is unable to come close to Enya as a result.
Despite Courier's bad news, Ensia plans to hike back to Kjerag all by herself. After a field operation, she requests for a temporary departure, to sneak away. Upon hearing the news. Courier immediately rushes to bring back Ensia for safety.
Ensia is ready to climb the rough mountains of Kjerag, but Courier catches up to halt her mad mission. He does not want Ensia to get herself injured, just like her past when she accidentally contracted Oripathy after climbing Mount Karlan by her own. On the other hand, Ensia does not wish to see the relationship between Enciodes and Enya deteriorate. Courier gives up in the argument, but instead he orders Ensia to hand in the letter in exchange for her return to R.I. While the deal seems unfair, she reluctantly accepts.
Days later, Courier reports to Ensia that he has successfully delivered the letter to Enya, and Enya responds with a new letter to her younger sister, much to Ensia's joy. In the meantime, he wants Ensia to deliver a letter to the Doctor, an invitation letter from Enciodes to enter Kjerag. Little did she know that this invitation will soon become the catalyst for changes in the Snowy Realm.