Pamela
"Yes, it is true. I saw her enter the Brass Fortress with my own eyes. He didn't fight back because you cannot change fate. That was his belief. He let her, almost to mock her."

*They would begin going down the Scaffolding, down deeper. The newly excavated area that was just blown open was glowing a faint blue color.*

"Vivec remained until he simply disappeared. Whether you believe in the Secret Syllable or not, his reason for disappearing is unknown. Perhaps he became Higher."
Rhonda
She listened silently and attentively as he spoke, following him all the while. She wondered what the source of the glow was. Maybe aetherium, she briefly thought, but her mind was stuck on what Byleth had just said.

"The Secret Syllable... You mean CHIM? I'd only seen it mentioned in the Sermons and the Mythic Dawn Commentaries, and neither of those came from exactly sane or reliable sources," She commented. "I find it more likely he just found someone to modify his appearance and melded into the background."

She kept her eye out as she spoke, inspecting their surroundings as they moved deeper into the excavation.
Pamela
"There is nothing less trustworthy than the word of a Poet. I have no doubt this level of ascension Exists, but Vivec knows the boundaries that separate fact from fiction. He knew them so well that's he learned how to break them. He existed inside his verse, but recognized the lies. The contradictions.
He both did, and did not believe his own tales."

*They could now see in this newly opened area. A small cavern filled with glowing mushrooms. The faint shadows of dwemer pillars were apparent. Some sort of underground garden. He cast magelight and turned, entering.*

"To me, CHIM is the point where fact and fiction become melded as one. Tiber Septim and Vivec... Both have countless stories which may or may not be true. CHIM may be the ability to alter Reality, or it may just be what happens to legends, if that makes any sense."
Rhonda
"That's as good a hypothesis as any," She answered as she followed him in and looked around, drinking in the sight of the ancient place. People walked here ages ago, tended to these plants. It was remarkable and unnerving all at once.

"Maybe it doesn't mean royalty in the same way we use the word to talk about an emperor or a king. Maybe it refers to what you were saying, where legends eventually gather contradictory tales." The gears in her mind turned as she contemplated an idea. "Assuming the Aurbis is comprised of song and notes, maybe it's achieving a state where your individual song becomes... Muddled, almost, and all the parts that were added onto it become indistinguishable from the original."

She let out a small, single chuckle and said, "This is getting to be exactly what we talked about, isn't it? Theory that won't do much good, if any?"
Pamela
"I had hoped you would reach that realization."

*He looked around the Garden. Over to the side in a sort of pod was a near-pristine Architon.*

"Hm, this is promising."

*He examined it, it was dead... Its Aetherium was absent. But if Mirihil had a watchful eye, shed see a small crystal glowing in the grass.*
Rhonda
She let out a small hum at his reply. Still, she felt herself drawn to think and theorize. She certainly wouldn't let it take up more of her time than necessary, but just as it wouldn't help anyone, it couldn't hurt anyone either. Not so long as she didn't let studying such concepts get in the way of helping people, at least.

"Something over here," She said as she tossed a mote of Magelight over to where the crystal was growing. She stepped towards it, eyes going wide and breath catching in her chest when she realized what it was. 

"Is this aetherium?" She almost whispered, voice laden with borderline reverence. She willed her Magelight to dim, allowing the gem's natural glow to take the fore as she got down one knee to inspect it more closely. "I'd read about it, but I've never seen any up close..."