Phaerys, down on one knee as he finished the repairs to his leg, arose to his feet. He flexed the limb experimentally, satisfied that the joints were in proper working order for whatever lay before them on the road ahead.

He watched as Soul Reaver and Kitharsis both said their farewells to Jharm and shook the Seraph by the hand. Phaerys then approached Jharm and extended his own hand in kind, seemingly unaware as to the significance of the gesture.

"We accept that your purpose decrees that you remain here. You will serve your collective efficiently," he stated, very matter-of-factly yet the suit's translator seemed to convey a hint of earnestness. "There remains a non-zero possibility that we may meet again. I will greatly anticipate this."

The Seraphim places the head of his hammer down on the ground, freeing his right hand before reaching out and taking Soul Reavers extended one and giving a firm handshake.

"I would not worry much Soul Reaver.  Should the need arise once things are...settled here, feel free to reach out to me if needed and at least I can provide what help I am able."

He then turns towards Kitharsis and nods at those words before taking the offered hand in a tight handshake as well.

"Thank you Kitharsis, the same to you."

Kitharsis stands as the cushion of sand melts away beneath him.  The arrival of Jharm and Dervagon prompt the end of his brief reprieve.  He adjusts the sword at his hip, and shifts the heavy belt carrying the rest of his gear as he walks toward the others.

As Vee explains her origins, Kitharsis can't help but find parallels between what happened on his own home world.  It is what the Companions stand against, as much as they can.  But they cannot be everywhere.  This story and similar like it play out on a cosmic scale.

But, they do what they can, where they can.  Thankfully they were able to stop the years of conflict here.

Jharm explains his need to stay behind, and Kitharsis nods knowingly.

"You're needed here, Jharm.  Be the light for your own people now."

Kitharsis extends his hand in farewell.

"Until next we meet, be well."

Gulgrim's shoulders roll, popping and cracking from the strain of containing his power as he returns to his typical size.

Extending the Copper rod from his Cybork Arm, Gulgrim establishes communication with his forces across the battlefield and confirms their return to the fleet before looking to the others.

"So. Where'z da next fight? Dis wun was alright, but a little disappointin' fer 'ow big da foe wuz. Least me ladz got ta stretch dere legs, so 'least wasn't a total waste."

The warboss chuckles jovially, his previous malaise at the regular denial of combat seemingly forgotten in the aftermath of an at least acceptable scrap.

"If ye'z needz a ride, I'z sure me Krooza has da space fer all of ye dat needs it."

So, The Three-Edged Sword has drawn to a close.  I've opened "A Blade Resheathed" as our wind-down thread and as a place to post in-character, but while that is ongoing, I'd like to open this discussion on The Three-Edged Sword and what should come next.

First, my personal confession is that I was pretty consumed with work, life and another project during the "The Three-Edged Sword".  I feel I could have been more proactive in moving it forward, especially toward its closing stages.  On the other hand, I'm satisfied that we got through it without any disasters, and everyone stuck with it all the way through, which is great.

As for what should happen next:
- If you'd be keen to be a battle host and have an idea, please chime in and float your idea here!
- Personally I've had an idea in my head for years now for another plot, but if I were to host next I probably would instead try to conclude Jihon's unfinished "Salt in the Wound" storyline. I'm not 100% sure if I'm genuinely 'enthusiastic' about it though - it feels more like something that I should do.  It would be a big challenge: I'm not the original battle host, very little of his intended plan for it remains available, and I myself would have to refresh my memory on it... not to mention the difficulty of trying to continue it in an appropriate style that at least somewhat recalls Jihon's own.

But this is all reliant on people wanting to keep going, of course.  So let me know if you're keen to continue, and what you want to see next.

Another thought I can't shake is that if we're keen to continue, we likely will need to consider recruiting new members.  I feel that our current active user count is only barely enough to sustain the Epic board battles.  I don't have any brilliant ideas of how to do this, but could give an active recruitment drive a try.