Dibarra the Collected

We saved five of the children. it was not enough. Dibarra killed two of them. I need to get faster, stronger, better... we also nearly lost Steam and Alizée. In addition, Oro almost looked as if his muscles were failing. It's always difficult to write about battles. They're all pretty much the same. Even though I've never been part of a major war. From what I've heard about the front lines, it's a completely different world from the short battles I'm used to.
For Alizée and Steam, it was their first fight, and they were so full of adrenaline. Oro and I tried our best to bring them back down to earth. Frederik was surprisingly calm for someone who isn't a fighter. I am glad we had him with us, he is a good medic, and apparently, his humor hits the mark with these creatures. Aura... is hard to figure out. Either this was her first fight too, or she's used to wiping out entire battalions single-handedly. Without thinking twice, she built a working sentry gun out of parts lying around. Oro and I probably have similar pasts. He went into battle with precision and determination. But even he was almost overwhelmed—would I have suffered the same fate in his place? No matter what, he faced death without fear, wearing a death mask. I have heard that everyone who has not yet encountered death fears it. Who is Oro really?
 
And what exactly is his deal with the Ice Djinn? He brought us to the Towers of Dibarra and even offered to rescue us if we failed. No one would do that much without expecting something in return. I hope Oro isn't carelessly risking his soul, but that's not how I see him. If he is doing it, it's a calculated risk for which he would sacrifice himself. Orio is noone who gets lost in a blind forest! Maybe i should start calling him his full name. Oro'thion earned my respect - but not my trust.
 
The Djinn teleported us directly in front of the tower, which was surrounded by a garden half of which was in darkness and half in partial shade. There were flowers in both halves of the garden, white ones on the light side and black ones on the dark side. The black ones were fully open and the white ones in the partial shade were only half open. The garden reminds me of myself. On the dark side, sadness, melancholy, and all the bad memories await. On the light side, hope and euphoria grow, but they are dampened by the environment in which they exist.
The flowers had the same effect and at the same time a whisper within them. The dark flowers offered me, I don't know how else to put it, to free myself from negative emotions. I didn't receive such an offer from the other side, but probably because they are not fully bloomed. I did not give in to the offer. I have enough experience with being confronted with one's desires and cravings to know that a whip immediately follows to keep you in line. I picked a flower from both sides with the intention of giving them to Zhahara Jal'zuun, Steam's aunt. Just as Tholim was interested in the sand, Zhahara will throw herself into researching the plants. I hope they survive until then and... that I picked them correctly. Wait - should I call Steam also by his real name? Siham... it sounds much to serious for such a child.
 
The quick thinking of Aura get us access to the tower. But did she really think quickly? Or did she know the tower and how to get inside? She also immediately recognized the elevator as such and got it working. Maybe she has a deeper connection to this place than we thought. Now that I think about it, she was never attacked during the whole fight...
Were the guards waiting for us upstairs? What if Aurelie knew there were guards right at the end of the elevator? What if she was a key figure at the court of the seven princes and that's why she lost her memories? She even speaks their language. And why else would her watch suddenly be a compass through the trap-filled courtyard, which, according to the servant, can only be crossed unscathed if one of their own is with us? We didn't notice any traps along the way. What if they simply didn't react to us because Aurelie was with us?
The only one who seems to have no secrets in this group is Alizee. I mean, yes, she has a very strict family, but so far I haven't noticed that she or her family have any secrets they're hiding from us. Well, she looted a basilisk stone, but that's nothing unusual. Aurelie also pocketed some of the guardian golems to recycle their magical remains... Wait a minute, what if Aurelie built these guardians in the first place? She seems very skilled and knew exactly which of these Wardens were still intact enough to be reused.
 
When we entered the throne room of Dibarra, Alizee and Steam rushed in like rookies. We really need to work on our teamwork. But I have to admit that both of them know how to strike. Steam in particular seems to strike harder than he looks. We found two ways to save the children. They were held captive in small magic circles that absorbed their fear, as the legend said. We were able to pull them out and bring back their memories of home. This broke the connection and they were sent home. The second option was to destroy the shadows that formed the counterpart to the knot that held the children captive.
In his distress, however, Dibarra turned two of the children into shadows, and we unfortunately had to fight them, with Oro'thion taking on the burden of redeeming both children. When we had freed all the children, Aurelie killed Dibarra a third time. This time, however, he did not wake up again, as he had when Steam killed him twice before. The children's fear had brought him back again and again. The third time, however, he was pulled into the large egg-shaped hourglass and sealed there. I hope that was the last time we saw him, but I fear he will return in a few centuries if we do not redeem the seventh prince and break the curse. The fight was so close that I had to summon it to save Steam and Alizée. I feel sorry for the two shadows I killed with it... I hope their souls don't end up with her, even though she was one of the nicer people to me. Something felt strange about fighting with the weapon, though. It felt different—colder—than when I got it, and it connected rather .... normal with the enemies.
 
We managed to go home the same way the children did - thinking of Shal'Azura. I am so happy to have Te'sarim back. We fought half of the night.
Today Steam wants to go to the Silver Calling. I am too tired to talk him out of it. I hope he finds what he's looking for there quickly. I wonder how the children are doing. They all lost their parents, and atleast one of the girls lost her brother too. At home, they would be drafted into the army without any relatives. Who is responsible for them here?