Gray Hyena

Up in the cold northern Duchy of Bifrost, the man who will become the story's hidden engine is living a small, quiet life under the alias he was given after his crash. His epithet in these early days is "Gray Hyena."

G.S (Gray Scavenger) — a ranger in his late twenties with no memory and no real name. In the Ezekiel calendar year 1202, the man who would become G.S crashed from the airship and lost his memory; the ranger Anagi found him and gave him the name. After Anagi's death from illness two years ago, G.S has lived as a solo guide, the most renowned mountain-and-dungeon expert in Bifrost. He is, of course, the crashed Black Prince — but neither he nor anyone around him knows it.

Strider Nox — a fellow Bifrost ranger who doubles as secretary to Duke Moselle; the connective tissue between G.S and the Bifrost court.

Sara Randgrid — captain of Bifrost's Valkyries.

G.S returns to Bifrost after a year away, taking in the nostalgic scenery — the same "fruitless year" tracked in his own story, a year spent wandering Antaria for anyone who knew his face, ending the day Iyolin's party arrives. At that moment, Bifrost elder Ragnum is killed through the Empire's betrayal: the dark wizard Sangir uses Imperial and Black Legion troops to eliminate him and drive a wedge between the Duke and Senate factions. Witnesses mistake the Imperial Asura Machina responsible for Bifrost's own guardian deity, Ascalon — the source of the "Ascalon reappearing" rumors that spread through the duchy.

Strider, Sarah, and G.S hurry back after hearing Duke Moselle urgently needs them. The Duke informs them of a string of disappearances — among them Ragnum, who hadn't been on good terms with the Duke — leading to suspicion that Moselle himself is the mastermind. To clear his name, he asks the trio to investigate.

Valkyrie and Ranger equipment turns up in the Sulfur Cavern, and the three venture deeper, following tracks to a place scattered with evidence that Imperial soldiers had been there. Realizing this is a matter of national importance, they hurry back toward Bifrost Castle — only to be confronted by the Black Shadows, an Imperial covert unit operating in the duchy under cover of the unrest.

On the way, they encounter the Valkyrie unit fighting a goblin horde and step in to help; the hunt succeeds, but Strider suspects the goblins' abnormal aggression may itself be connected to the Empire. After hearing all three reports, Duke Moselle finds the problem more complex than expected — if the Senate is involved, bringing it to light won't be simple — and Strider offers to keep investigating in secret, bringing the incident to a temporary close.