Hey. How many years has it been since I last saw you? Too many, if you ask me.

I found your letter, by the way. I keep it with me always. When I don't have the strength to go on, when I doubt myself, I read it. When I'm happy, when the relief rushes in after battle, I read it then, too. I never would have made it this far without you. So now it's my turn to write you a letter. I have so much to tell you about! I've made a lot of new friends (and enemies, of course, you know me), reunited with old ones... But where do I even begin?

I've almost led enough uprisings that I have to count them on both hands. I'm in a whole other world! That's not even the most outlandish thing to happen - would you believe me if I said Urianger knelt before me? I was so shocked! It was sweet of him, even if he didn't need to. After all, everyone is just trying to do their best; are we not all deserving of love? Not that I'll ever let him forget about it, mind you! I certainly won't be forgetting. I'm also learning to rely on them more, in no small part thanks to being bullied into it by one of my new allies. Me! Bullied into something! It will make for a great tale, I think. One of those children's tales with a moral at the end of the story. "Your friends want to help you, you don't have to do it all alone." Do you really think I was like that...? Is that why you always came to my rescue so recklessly?

Speaking of tales, did you know I keep little mementos of every journey? A helmet, an axe, a hairpin, a crystal, a mask... And many more! My room is getting awfully cluttered, but it's so hard to let go of the ones I once loved. My heart aches every day with how much I miss them. How much I miss you. Even so, I will keep walking forward, your shield ever at my side. Knowing that you believe in me, that my friends believe in me, keeps me going. Even if whatever world I'm in starts to fall apart around me, even if I start to fall apart, I will keep fighting to protect our precious memories.

You'll always be my hero. May this letter reach you across the aetherial sea.
- Hope Incarnate



(Noble barding, please!)