The completion of Liem's task was received with gratitude from Hieropoios Natalia, who instructed him to give her a day or two to prepare his reward — only for the Advocate Oracle's awakening to give her more than that! Over a century later, Natalia finally is able to visit Liem directly in his home. She indicates that she's already visited Akua to reward her for her labors, and that Fane appears to have returned to the Tree ( she seems very morose about this, because that funky skeleton guy was right up her alley ); Liem remains the foremost of Meridian Shard-Bearers that she directly liaisons with, and while she politely waits to be invited in, her posture brokers no doubt that she will be entering.

Her normal, resplendent robes have been replaced with a modest habit and gown, her fingers bare and hair neatly tied in a braided bun, exposing the tapered length of her elven ears. Rather than bequeath him with a reward, she asks him what he would like in return for his service — he may ask a question of her, or seek the resources of the Church of Helios, for example. Before he decides, she has a few things to inform him of.

— She gives him two more Shards, rich with contained Oblivion — and indicates that he is not expected to deliver these at all. They're simply the results of his and his companions' work, as the research that was run from observing the impact of Oblivion on the fragile Shards Yima gifted to her sycophants allowed them to create two concentrated "bombs" of Oblivion. He can keep them, or pass them along to others. They'll impact even a Shard-Bearer's Shard, though, and cause them great harm ( or even dissipation, if OOCly agreed upon ).

— Secondly, she explains to him that the spell focus gem was the second part of a three-part "trap", with the first point having been procured by Set in the Beyond. Not the Temple he and Liem explored, but a location where a Zenite was made to poison their own energy. She only needs one more point to be able to finalize a large trap that, she hopes, will cripple Zenith beyond measure in the endgame of the war. She'd like to be kept in the loop, if he knows anyone capable of assisting her with that third point. It will also allow her to free the spirit, allowing he and Dimitri to keep their promise to it.

— Lastly, the identity of the root creature's Shard is now known to her. Please pick a partner ( any partner ), for a fun CR-based piece of Lore and an opportunity to impact that CR!

Once she finishes divulging these pieces of information, she folds her hands in her lap and allows him room to determine what he'd like of her ( which will be screened from here on out )!