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At long last, after many weeks of arduous traveling, The Lands Trio are nearing their destination. Initially, Zenchi set out from the complete opposite side of Evercrest on a journey to meet an important individual. Said task was given to her by an older fellow who appeared to be a sailor. He recognized her as the well-known Hero Of The Lands and advised her of something of a dire situation over at his hometown, G’eelm Outpost. It isn’t a big City or Capital, but Zenchi would never be one to turn down anyone’s plea for help. The only problem? G’eelm Outpost is all the way across the country and there’s no quick way to get there within a short timeframe. Nonetheless, she set out on this journey after receiving some particularly concerning details about the state of affairs at the Outpost from the old man. At first, she went by herself, but along the way, she reunited with her childhood best friend, Ithaca Juneia, by pure chance at the Wonderkept Woodlands. After seven years apart, it was a joyous, yet emotional reunion between the two. Zenchi and Ithaca had both carried the heavy trauma inflicted on them by seeing their home village of Alleria-Sune burned to the ground. Alas, it was now in the distant past and the most they could do was move forward with their lives. Ithaca had been tracking and following the elusive Hero Of The Lands’ trail for some time now, but always came up short when attempting to meet with her. But in the end, whether it was by sheer luck or careful diligence, she reunited with her lost friend. Even more interestingly, the two friends encountered a mysterious masked woman at an abandoned coliseum around the middle of their journey. She claimed to be a bounty hunter, only giving them the codename of Scarlet Heart. She was a slender, somewhat cocky leopard who intended to bring the two in for a hefty bounty reward. Of course, Zenchi and Ithaca would never keel over so easily, and a fight ensued. The leopard was a much more potent fighter than they expected, wielding two pistols that could fire an entire army’s worth of bullets in a matter of seconds. However, the bounty hunter lacked something the two Gifted warriors had in spades: impeccable teamwork. As a result, she was subdued and left vulnerable. But out of nowhere, she seemingly became possessed by an uncontrollable rage. It was no ordinary outburst though, as she had just been Gifted right before their very eyes. She put up one more bout of combat before exhaustion overtook her. With the two groups now at an impasse, they went their separate ways, but they all knew they would meet again soon. Looking forward some time later, the bounty hunter seemed to have a change of Heart, claiming to have regretted her previous actions and wishing to apologize. As it turned out, she held a tragic past as well, being abandoned and humiliated by her blood family and used as a pawn for political gain by her adoptive family. She only became a bounty hunter to make a new start, a new name for herself. In a way, she thought of herself as a hero, a hero who took down the most vile of criminals…at a cost. Perhaps she’d lost her true ideals to greed somewhere along the way, and it was only when she came into contact with Zenchi and Ithaca that she regained some of those critically important morals. While skeptical at first, Zenchi accepted her apology and even took her in as a new friend and teammate. Her name was no longer Scarlet Heart, but her real name, Roseland Mingwei.

Now, the three of them have been through battle after battle together, further honing their friendship and teamwork, becoming something of an unstoppable force. Three Gifted fighters, Zenchi, Ithaca, and Roseland all on a joint mission to change The Lands. They now find themselves on Canary Path, a crisp, golden-grass stretch of land with the Angel Mountains in clear view. Topped with their iconic, shining halos, they provide a critical landmark and reference point when traveling in an unfamiliar area. However, Ithaca notices something else important just barely in view, “Guys look! I can see the lighthouse!” She points up just above the tree line where she can see the tallest point of G’eelm Outpost, the G’eelm Lighthouse, signifying that their destination is only minutes away. Roseland crosses her arms, talking down to Zenchi in an almost condescending tone, “Zenchi, I hope you weren't led astray after all this time. This...Chieftain requested our help?” While Roseland usually sits as the cool, calm, and collected point of the group, she can’t help but question her friends’ judgement at times, “Sometimes I think you're too naïve.” Without making eye contact, Zenchi rebuts the leopard’s snark remark, “It's too late to turn back now Roseland. Besides, I have good reason to suspect he's no ordinary sailor. Let's go you two.” Studying her map, Zenchi recollects what vague information she knows about the situation at G’eelm Outpost. Should the story come to be the truth after all, this could be an interesting next few days at the very least. Only time will tell as they approach the main entrance of the busy Outpost.

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I proudly present to you all the project I've been working on for the past few months: The Sea Is Calling! In this comic, we will join Zenchi, Ithaca, and Roseland as they arrive at G'eelm Outpost for their next mission. Word has it that there's a certain important individual that Zenchi needs to meet with. I wonder what awaits them in the near future?