[ It's not until Viktor asks that Claude realizes - yes, he will have to explain that, won't he? But where to start; he continues turning the gear a bit longer like it's holding his attention rather than needing a bit to sort through the finer details of how to summarize what happened to the monastery, to Fodlan, everything tied to both. A simpler explanation's for the best. ]

There was a war, back where I'm from. The academy was set at the main monastery of Fodlan's religion, and that Church in particular was under attack when the war started. The monastery fell the day the war began and suffered immense damage. We worked on rebuilding what we could when we were stationed there but there's a long way to go.

[ Time to put the gear down. What parts are on the table are what Claude considers now, though they don't offer him any answers in return for his consideration about clock repair or otherwise. ]

Much of what's come to pass recently between Thorne and the Free Cities is familiar to me in ways I wish it wasn't, for everyone's sake.