Greg was beginning to see why it was written in the Royal Knight's notes that Veldway was 'complicated.'. "So you knew she was a threat."

"Of course. Anyone who could recognize patterns could tell she was getting ready for something terrible. Her level of skill, mental instability, and access to rare materials all made it statistically certain that something catastrophic would happen."

"I thought she would pose a Calamity-level threat in five to seven years. She beat my guess by about two years. It was impressive, but in a scary way."

"And you didn't think to tell anyone?!" Lylia's voice had a sharp edge to it now.

"I sent seventeen different warnings to different authorities over the past ten years. Fourteen were not paid attention to."

"Two were recognized, but nothing was done. One led to an official investigation that found Agatha to be 'eccentric but harmless.'" Veldway's voice stayed flat, but there was a bitter undertone. "I stopped sending warnings when it became clear that people only care about what I think when they want something built, not when I'm trying to stop something from being destroyed."

The meadow was quiet except for the fake grass rustling in the fake wind. Greg could see how the pieces fit together.

Veldway wasn't just avoiding Agatha. He was hiding from a world that had always ignored him.

Greg said softly, "That's why you went away... It wasn't only about safety."

"Partial credit. Safety was a factor, but primarily I left because I realized I was functionally useless in any capacity except manufacturing items for other people to use."

"Nobody cared about Veldway Blackcourt the person. They cared about Veldway Blackcourt, the weapon supplier."

"When Christoft needed better armor, he visited. When Tunner wanted an unbreakable shield, he made requests."

"When Rosalina required training constructs, she commissioned them." He picked up another blade of grass. "None of the training constructs visited simply for a social call. None of them asked how I was doing. They asked what I could make for them."

Lylia said, "That's not true! Rosalina cared about you."

"Rosalina cared about making sure her knights had access to the best equipment. The difference is important." Veldway dropped the blade of grass. "I'm not angry about it."

"I'm just telling the truth. The more useful I am to others when it comes to crafting, the more valuable I am to them. Take away that utility, and my worth goes down to almost nothing."

Greg felt like he understood something new. He had thought that the hard part would be finding Veldway. It was much harder to get him to help.

"Christoft died saying something that you should hear..."

Veldway wasn't at all shocked hearing that because he knew that day would come. "What did Christoft say before he died?"

"'Tell Veldway, the water remembers,' he said before he died fighting the Calamity. Does that mean anything to you?"

Veldway stopped moving. "Did he say that?"

"His exact words. Just before he gave up his life to save others."

Veldway didn't say anything for a long time. Then, "Christoft and I used to train together."

"At first, he was terrible at swordplay because he kept hitting too hard. I made him a practice dummy that used water resistance to help him learn how to do things correctly."

"He named it the Water Guardian. He said it remembered his mistakes so he couldn't make them again." Veldway's voice was lower now. "He wants the weapon to beat the Calamity."

"Your weapon?" Elwen asked.

"It is not my weapon because it was never owned by me. People always ask for the weapon, not the person. Christoft is dead, and the last thing he said was about gear." Veldway got up quickly. "You need to go."

"I would rather not be helpful anymore... Find another weaponsmith for this problem!"

Greg said, "There is no other weaponsmith," and he didn't move. "And you're wrong."

"I am not often wrong. It seems likely that I'm not wrong right now."

"You're wrong because you think Christoft wanted a weapon. We all know he wanted you to be back." Greg moved a little closer. "He didn't say, 'Tell Veldway that we need the weapon.'"

"He told me to 'tell Veldway that the water remembers.' He wanted you to know that he remembered. That training together was important, and you meant more to him than what you could do!"

Veldway's jaw tightened almost without anyone noticing. "That's an emotionally manipulative way to look at it."

"Maybe, but isn't it also true?" Greg kept going. "You said that no one comes to visit just to do so."

"Well, I'm here. Not because I want you to make me something, but because I want to be your friend."

"I want to meet the person who makes friends for weapons because they're lonely. The person who makes fake meadows in pocket dimensions because they need beauty in their life."

"And also the person who remembers training sessions from six years ago because the details are important to him."

"You don't know me," Veldway said, but his voice wasn't as sure as it had been before.

"Then let me... Let us all." Greg pointed to his friends. "Yes, we came here for help, but not just for your weapons!"

"We came to get you. Lylia remembered you, and that's why! Christoft thought of you. The Royal Knights, even with their flaws, saw you as more than just a tool."

"They took advantage of me."

"They found you indispensable. There is a difference, and need doesn't take away value because it proves it. People care about you, Veldway. You just stopped believing it."

The silence that came after was not the same as before. It was heavier because it had been alone and misunderstood for so long. Hammy decided to bounce over and bump into Veldway's leg while making a soft chirping sound.

Veldway looked down at the goo. "Your pet is smarter than I thought it was."

"Hammy isn't a pet. It's family." Greg smiled a little. "Just like you could be if you let yourself."

Another long pause. Then Veldway sighed, and it sounded like he had been worn out for decades.

"The weapon that can end the Calamity is the Resonance Hammer. It's a siege structure that stands about fifty feet tall when fully set up."

"The basic idea is simple... it takes in kinetic energy from its surroundings and releases it all at once in a single strike. Against something like the Calamity, which is held together by magic, a strong enough kinetic disruption could, in theory, break its structure."

"In theory...?" Lylia got the qualifier.

"I never finished it. The power needs were too high, the calibration was too demanding, and I didn't really need to finish it because no one was asking for it."

"I was only building it out of curiosity." Veldway stopped. "But the parts are here."

"With the right help, it would take about four hours to put it together and turn it on. Deployment would have to be cautious because the Hammer can only hit things that are right in front of it."

"Someone would have to get it close enough to hit the Calamity's core."

"Can you finish it right now?" Greg asked.

"Yes, technically, but things are more complicated." Veldway turned to look at the door to the chamber. "The weapons that are alive outside."

"They're not just things I made up. They are friends, in the only way I knew how to make them."

"They were the only ones who didn't want anything from me when I got here. They just lived next to me."

Lylia understood right away what he meant, "They won't let you leave."

"Yes, the odds are that they will try to stop me from leaving. They've gotten used to me being there."

"Some of the more intelligent ones are worried about being left behind. Departure would set off safety measures that I stupidly put into their behavioral matrices." Veldway's face was difficult to read. "I did a good job on them... they care about me too much to let me put myself in danger."

Greg thought about it. A man who was so desperate for real connection that he programmed loyalty into his creations, only to be trapped by the care he had made.

"Then we tell them what it means..."

"We explain to them why you need to leave."

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