Elion was curious.
Obviously, now he knew this whole situation had something to do with her. And the system. He could glean a few things from this already; he might be wrong, but the clues were there.
Right now, Ophelia was still finishing her Story, so he kept these theories at the back of his mind. Ophelia's voice lowered as she continued.
"No blessing meant no protection, and we had nothing but our own strength to protect ourselves."
"Many theories spread through our people. Some blamed fate. Others blamed divine politics. But most believed it was because of the ruler at the time.
"He had… a reputation," Ophelia admitted. "I cannot say he was innocent.
"The timing, however, was perfect.
"The paladins returned," she said. "But this time, they did not come alone."
"A mysterious group aided them. Their coordinated attacks were very effective. We did not have time to gather and make contingency plans; hell, I hear they couldn't even fight back.
