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Upon a Spectrier-drawn carriage, I arrived on the grounds of CASTLE CALCIFET during a gloomy winter afternoon.[break][break]

Indeed, though it once stood proud and magnificent at the peak of the mountainous valley, the citadel now seemed oppressed by the very heavens it had been built to neighbor. Vivid as its red banners once were, with the golden crest of the family Calcifet at their center, they now all shared a filter of muted grey as the cold breeze blew through them without care.[break][break]

Overgrown, neglected, and forgotten topiaries flanked each side of the main route as we entered. Inside them, I could vaguely make out the faces and distorted limbs of the Dragon-type Pokémon they had once depicted. There a Salamence with a twisted neck. There a Hydreigon with bony-like branches jutting out from its eyes. There a mournful Noivern cloaked in wings of rotting leaves.[break][break]

This was no longer a place that celebrated the nobility and power of Dragon-type Pokémon. The DRACONIC SPIRIT no longer dwelt here as it once did. And proof enough of that lay at the end of the route preceding the estate's main entrance. The idol statue of the great and powerful ZEKROM that once stood there, greeting every guest with its jeweled eyes, had now been reduced to a pile of obsidian rubble.[break][break]

Crystal fulgurite had spawned where the BOLT had struck, jutting out from the black ore like a flame frozen in time.[break][break]

I had never seen the monument in person, only seen it recorded in images and described in text. But the same could be said for everything that had transpired in HOENN since Remiel Calcifet had chosen to take part in the ULTRA BEAST WAR.[break][break]

[break]

As the doors are pushed open, flooding the great hall with dull light and frigid winds, I recall the circumstances of our last meeting. I had traveled to RUSTBORO CITY to meet with the crown prince personally, urging him not to bring GALAR into such a tumultuous conflict in the name of a region that would never see to pay her reinforcement back. That night, on the eve before the deployment of Galar's forces, our discussions turned into arguments.[break][break]

[break]

I cannot recall, now, what exactly had been said. I can only recall the emotions. But we had split ways then and there and swore to keep it that way. And I, a man of stubbornness that sometimes moonlit as conviction, hadn't returned to HOENN since.[break][break]

Just a few steps inside the once grand chamber and I'm overcome with a sharp chill. In the darkness of its upstairs, I see various Ghost-type Pokémon peeking out at me with curious stares. Naturally, the void left by the dragons had attracted them. It helped that Remiel once had a liking for them, too. To see them wandering about freely, however, is worrying.[break][break]

I summon a LAMPENT to ignite the chandelier above, and those phantoms scatter back into their shadows like roaches. With a warmer illumination now flooding the heart of the castle once more, I am greeted with what appears to be a gallery. Six glass cases stand beside each other at the very center. Unlike the rest of the chamber, however, they appear well-kept.[break][break]

[break]

The first to catch my attention is the RED ORB split in two. I lean forward slightly to view it closer and attempt to discern the reason for its state. Just then, however, I saw what appeared to be a specter in the shape of a woman through its translucent red. Alarmed, I stand upright once more and see that she is no illusion at all.[break][break]

Standing at the top of the main stairs is a woman veiled in black, gloved hands clasped at her front. Silently she stares at me. Unlike the Ghost-type Pokémon from prior, however, she does not seem afraid of the light.[break][break]

"M-My name is OSGOOD DOVECOTE," I call out to the faceless stranger, realizing the pitch of my volume is not needed as the chamber carries my echo well. "And I am here at the summons of MASTER CALCIFET."[break][break]

FATHER WINTER 2