The silent air hung heavy over the Staraptor. The statue, situated as it was on the highest point in Eterna City, had been visible from the second they broke clear of the thick canopy of forest. And, much like the ever-present silhouette of Mount Coronet dominating the horizon, they could spot it from virtually every corner of every street. Perhaps that was why the clearing at the top of the hill seemed so empty. There was no need to venture all the way up there to take a look when you could just as easily see it from your bedroom window.

Or perhaps it was how intimidating it seemed once you were up close, as Roisin was finding out as she and her companion stood beneath it, gazing up at the towering creature carved out atop its own monolithic plinth. "How does it go again?" Roisin asked, her eyes remaining fixed on the imposing figure of Dialga looming high above. "That poem?"

Skye glanced over at the Staraptor briefly, otherwise content, in the presence of one of the Creation Trio, even if it were merely a likeness, to simply be. Turning her own eyes back upward, the great gemstone embedded in the chest of the ancient yet curiously unweathered statue glittered in the sunlight, its radiance a beacon for those willing to seek it out. The Lanturn took a breath to soak in the aura surrounding the shrine, before launching into the requested recitation.

"Tears, through joyfulness, or tinged with sorrow
Drift on rivers true into tomorrow
We who weep must forge ashore
And walk the world
Echoes of Dialga's roar
In time unfurled"

Closing her eyes, Roisin tried to focus on the verse itself, searching for whatever deeper meaning they might have held, or just a whisper of the energy Skye was continuing to try and steer her towards. But, just as always, nothing came to her. The words were simply that to her. Words.

Until, just for the most fleeting of moments, something felt different. The world felt different. The city, the hill, the statue, even the Lanturn stood next to her, suddenly seemed like they were all so distant, and Roisin saw herself, in her mind's eye, somewhere bewilderingly liminal. Familiar and yet not. On the precipice between what she knew and what she was yet to discover.

On the shores of Lake Verity.

Blinking her eyes open, the big bird's vision was already fixed on the brilliant diamond in the statue's torso, almost as if seeing it anew for a second time. A soft twinkle caught her eye, appearing somehow to emanate from deep within the crystal rather than a mere reflection from its surface. Was that feeling what Skye had been helping her search for all this time?

Maybe there was something to it after all.

---

000 - New Arrival
016 - Old Enemies
018 - Shark Attack