>>5271329>>5271336>>5271406"...The new one or the old one?" You raise an eyebrow at Rickert, asking if he's still following Griffith.
"...New one? What are you talking about? There is only one Band Of The Falcons." Rickert says, still being unaware of Grififth's plans.
"Let's hope it stays that way..." You reply with wishful thinking. "I don't think we've ever talked, but it's nice to meet you, Rickert. Knowing who Griffith is saves us the trouble of talking about him. Amazing what 3 years did to you, would never say you were the kid from the mercenary group if you didn't tell me your name."
"Time was generous to me, I've had plenty of time to learn a few things staying with Godot..."
"My condolences about his passing... Were you his pupil?"
"You could say that. Decorating the hills with these many swords is no easy task. Until recently, I didn't even know what happened with my old comrades, but I felt like expressing my respect towards them by making a sword for each of the fallen."
"...That many? That's what you've been doing this entire time?" You're impressed by Rickert's humbling display of honor towards the old band, certainly grieving them a lot more than Griffith ever did, perhaps even Guts himself.
"Well, I don't know the exact number of people who were still on our group, but the gesture is what matters. Plus, It's only made me better at smiting. Last time Guts asked for us to reforge it, I even helped him out with the work, Godot was already too old to do most of his job by himself, but that didn't stop him from working himself to the grave... The way he did not want either me or Erica to turn out like him..."
"He was the best!" You see the visage of Erica being alone in a fiery, devastated by the war as Godot reminded himself of the countless weapons he did under the tutelage of a castle lord. Feeling like he had been a hypocrite for too long, being the one responsible for the taking of lives while hiding in the shadows of his anvil, he decided to take care of the young Erica as his own daughters, perhaps the only legacy that he would leave behind that had nothing to do with bloodshed.
He truly seemed like someone with great talent, to additionally house Casca while Guts was off at the cost of nothing is worth commending indeed.
"I can't believe Guts never told you anything about the eclipse... If you were a falcon, you deserved to know about it." You comment on Guts' stubbornness to share information and keeping others in the dark, it's no wonder you know more about the creatures of the dark than him just by having the virtue of using your mouth. "How did you even live through that hellscape? Were you not there?"
