Phe's Tale
Stories of Pheonic Rae from Vana'diel- featuring drama, /wrist characters, and lots of craziness!! Rated M to be safe.
[All rights belong to their owners/creators. Vana'diel and FFXI are properties of SE Inc, etc. etc. This is my own work, all flames can be sent my way- need them to keep my toes warm. ]
Author's Note- This starts before the events of "Immortal Sentries" and artistic license has been much abused as I wrote it originally about 6 months before ToAU was released. Subsequent chapters are and will skip about a bit- but hey this is Vana'diel- world of flying rats and radioactive squirrels! Plot holes may happen, but otherwise- enjoy!
"Arelia!" A boy of about fourteen years shouted out over the forested path.
"Arelia!" He called again. He paused, but only the birds replied. "Arelia!"
At the third unanswered call he shook his head, muttering dire promises for the luckily missing Arelia.
Arelia was a young Elvaan foundling of about six years. No one knew for sure. She had been found one day wandering about the town square. None of the local Elvaan families had come looking for her, so Koren's mother had taken her in. She'd always wanted a daughter.
Arelia loved to explore, she just wasn't very good about finding her way back again. Despite his being a squire to the Captain of the Guard, his mother still expected Koren to find his foster sister whenever she went on her "excursions".
"Arelia!" He called again as he reached the end of the path and stepped onto soft-grained sand. The town of Imalda had grown over the years from a small fishing village into a bustling trading town that drew traders from all over the Empire. Imalda's beach was considered by many to be one of the finest in the region, with sugar-like sand and rich fishing beds just outside the small bay.
That morning the famed beach looked as if a war had passed through leaving only destruction in its wake. A sudden storm had blown up the night before out at sea around sunset. It had stormed and raged over Imalda in the early morning hours before heading further down the coast. Debris littered the shore. Downed branches and piles of driftwood, rope and rotting seaweed lay where the high winds had tossed them. It was just the sort of place his foster sister would love to play adventurer.
A bright flash of light caught his eye. Thinking Arelia was playing with a piece of Sea glass and had caught the early morning sun he jogged down to where the light had come from.
"Arelia!" He called, frowning when there was no answer. "Arelia, you'd better answer me, if I get in trouble from Sergeant Dynul for being late I'm taking it out of your skin!"
He squinted against the early glare trying to see. There was something there; he hadn't imagined the brief flash of light. He jogged closer, squinting only to break into a run as he realized what he was seeing.
Right above the high tide mark lay a small figure. His eyes had caught the sun reflecting off a metal badge of some sort.
"Areli-"His shout strangled in his throat as he drew close enough to see that it wasn't his sister crumpled in a lifeless heap at the base of the bluff. It wasn't anyone from town actually- no one he knew dressed like that. Despite being sea soaked and caked in sand, he could tell that the figure was dressed in strange red clothing made of fine material unlike anything he'd ever seen before. The soaked and injured figure was also a Mithra he noted with some surprise.
The only Mithra he knew was an Officer for the famed mercenary company Salaheem's Sentinels. Was this wet and injured Mithra one of them? The badge she was clutching looked like one of their recruitment badges- Koren jerked and turned at the sudden thump and the sound of someone sliding down the bluff behind him.
Arelia giggled happily at her success. "I hid good! You couldn't find me at all."
"I wasn't looking," He replied tightly, bending down over the crumpled Mithra. He could tell she was breathing but he didn't know if there were any other injuries.
Arelia frowned at his indifferent reply, she often went hiding just to get him angry and frustrated at her. She considered it part of her job as his younger sister and took her duties seriously. If he'd figured that out she'd have to change her tactics.
"Well what are you looking at?" She snapped pettishly.
"A Mithra" He said. "I think she's been shipwrecked. We need to get her to the healer. "
"A Mithra?" Arelia was startled. "But the only Mithra we know is Donni and she's a Sentinel!"
"I don't think she's from here," he grunted out as he stumbled to his feet, having some trouble with the- nearly- dead weight. A solid sounding *thunk* had him looking down. "Arie, bring her sword. We don't want the Sea to get it."
Arelia looked down at the blade. It was nearly as long as she was with jewels set in the pommel. After a few futile tries at carrying it, she shrugged and started dragging it by the hilt. The sword carved a line in the sand, marking the two's slow progress to town.
****
Koren was a tall boy with matching strength from his weapons training, but he had barely managed to reach the path before stumbling over a root and falling to his knees. The Mithra was jostled, but other than a low moan she didn't seem to have felt the sharp movement.
Shame ate at his belly as he tried to stand again only to realize that he couldn't. He'd have to leave her here with Arelia and go into town for help. He tried to lower her to the ground gently, wincing as he accidentally bumped her head against a root. Another low groan rumbled out of her throat, but she didn't open her eyes. Arelia joined the Mithra in an exhausted heap. She was panting and red-faced from her task as well.
"Arie, you stay here with her, I'll go for help." Koren told his weary sister.
"'k," She said, moving over to cushion the Mithra's head in her lap. "Who are you going to fetch? I heard Mama Kie tell Mistress Ililsa that the healer had been summoned to one of the farms this morning for a birthing."
Koren felt a wave of helplessness pass over him at her news. The healer would have to be fetched and no one he knew in town knew how to care for a ship-wrecked injury in the meantime. "The Captain," he decided. "I'll go get Captain Rezor. He'll know what to do."
"Ok," Arelia nodded. "But Koren-"she held up one of her hands. "Hurry, she needs help quick."
He took off running at the sight of sticky wet blood covering his sister's palm."
As I'm sure you've guessed I ended the first part unconscious and full of sand after a storm. I know, I know, major cliche but it works. Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it^^
She could hear him calling. Squinting, she could almost make out his familiar blue-tinted shape. It comforted her as the blackness closed in. She was too tired to do more than wonder absently at the summons and a more pressing concern held her groggy attention.
Phe had never been scared of the dark. But here, where it was absolute, well, she'd been trying to decide between panic and terror. The feeling shamed her even as that panic-terror ate at her stomach in acidic glee.
Carbuncle's light grew brighter, coming closer until she blinked, shaking her head at the blinding light against the blackness. When she could see again, his familiar fluffy-tailed self was clear, the ruby on his forehead pulsing slightly.
COME His deep musical bass, as always, striking her as odd coming from his adorable self. It seemed even more strange in the inky dark. A small sound of panicked laughter escaped her control. Phe began to shake and take great big gulps of air that her lungs suddenly rejected. His presence here, in all this nothing, was too much. Sensing her control shatter, the ancient spirit moved closer, enveloping her in his glow. Warmth seeped into her; slowly calming the panicking Red Mage. After a time, how long she couldn't tell, the shudders stopped and she was breathing normally, the terror fading.
Exhaustion washed over her. All she wanted to do was lie down and sleep. She'd be safe now. She could rest now.
The rodent it seemed had other plans.
COME He repeated YOU'RE NEEDED STILL.
His deep voice echoed in her skull in a command impossible to ignore. Weary, irritated and goaded beyond her limited patience, she climbed to her feet hanging on to her regained control by a thread. The darkness was all encompassing. Phe looked pointedly at her rescuer and gestured for him to lead the way. With what sounded suspiciously like a choked off laugh, Carbuncle started forward. "Where am I?" She asked, setting off in the direction he indicated.
In between consciousness and the Final Dark that all mortals must one day go to
Phe digested that silently before saying dryly, "Must've hit my head harder than I thought."
Carbuncle barked in laughing agreement. Yes, very hard. Leviathan sent me. He sensed you beginning to cross over after you washed up on the beach.
"Must have been some storm than if it roused Leviathan," She mused as they continued walking. Carbuncle made a rumbling sound she took for agreement. More time passed before she asked the question nagging at her- "- but why are you here? I shouldn't be able to speak to you unless I'm actually using my summoner training."
He stopped and turned to look at her. Startled, she stumbled into his glowing form. Surprised she looked around- not that there was much to see- automatically on guard for any threat. She relaxed as he spoke: Silly Red Mage. As if any of us are so limited. Our strength is muted to what mortal bodies can accept on your plane- here we are not so limited and it is not yet your time.
"I see." Pheonic said, not seeing at all, but decided to let it go. Her experience with the celestial avatars had always been one of awe and confusion if truth be known. They walked on silence. After a time, how long she couldn't begin to guess, Pheonic felt each step more and more. It took greater effort to lift each foot for the next step. She forced herself to take one step, then another until she was falling into light.
*****
She was falling. Again.
I am so gods-be-damned tired of falling. Pheonic muttered to herself as she felt the all too familiar sensation of her insides vacating their proper homes and taking up new residences in her throat.
At least this time it wasn't dark, she reflected. In its own way it was just as disconcerting as the dark had been- she still couldn't see worth crap. Still, unlike her recent trek through darkness, the light that she kept falling through was warm. Falling was still an uncomfortable experience to the Mithra's senses.
Her eyes closed, since the falling sensation wasn't as bad when she wasn't looking- Pheonic strove to ignore her surroundings. Soon, she began to purr as she felt the warmth seeping into her body as it did on chilly nights when she'd sit on the hearth next to the fire in her Jueno room and read.
As she always did when reading by the fireplace, she felt herself begin to drift. Yawning, she shook her head to try and wake herself up only to sigh and drift back to that cozy fire warmed hearth, knowing her moogle would cover her with a blanket before she got cold when the fire finally died.
And continued to fall into the light.
*******
The first thing she heard, before she even opened her eyes, were birds. The morning calls of whatever morning birds were called in this place.
Much to her mother's amusement, her eldest daughter had never been able to sleep through bird song. Whenever the birds woke up, so did she.
If only to go hunt them down and silence them before going back to sleep.
Pheonic opened her eyes despite her wishes and saw that she laying on a sinfully comfortable bed staring at a beautifully painted ceiling. The room she was in was full of light, not the blinding, but warm, light she distantly remembered falling through~and wasn't that going to be a fun nightmare to have when I next go to sleep?~ but the sun-made golden light of early morning that always accompanied her morning alarm birds.
The bed she was laying in was at the far end of a room that was obviously a corner room of the house- palace?- she had been taken too. Comfortable and plush looking divans were clustered around the fireplace, which had a hearth large enough for a family of Elvaan to sleep on. Tapestries and wall hangings depicting lush and foreign landscapes decorated the wall around the fireplace. Draperies framed a bank of windows on the wall immediately across from the fireplace, letting in the morning sun. Across from her position on the bed was a set of glass doors opening onto a large balcony and letting in the bird song that had woken her.
Looking at the luxury that surrounded her, Pheonic was suddenly aware of how grubby and unkempt she felt.
A small breeze drifted into play with the gossamer curtains hanging from her bed. Her attention caught, she watched curtains dance for a moment before noticing the man standing the the balcony doorway.
Phe watched him with curiosity filling her blue eyes but remained silent as he stepped into the room.
"You're awake. How are you feeling?"
Why is that always the first thing anyone ever says when after being injured? She mused silently, amused by the well meaning questioner and his typical question. She'd been asked that question more than once since becoming and adventurer. How do I feel? How do you think I'm feeling after hitting my head, being washed overboard, half drowned and half-crushed by storm driven waves and Altana knows what else?
Keeping her thoughts silent behind unblinking eyes she smiled wanly and said, "I think I hit my head harder than I thought." Her rueful tone brought a quick smile to the man's face. He was tall, for a Hume, with longish blond hair that fell stylishly to touch the top of his neck. He was dressed in dark embossed armor that she didn't recognize.
"Loyiont, Imalda's healer said that you would have some painful headaches for several days even after you woke." He told her gently, noticing her wince as she began exploring the knot that had formed in the back of her head. "Wonderful," Pheonic sighed. "Mother always said I have a hard head, but I don't think this was quite what she meant."
This time her host laughed outright, laughter shining in his eyes. He shook his head still laughing, "No, probably not. My mother says the same about me."
"Mothers are like that," She agreed, carefully moving her head from side to side . "By the way, thank you so much for caring for me. "
He waved away her thanks, "No, thanks needed. I simply provided the room. Loyiont felt this was the only place quiet enough to let you heal in peace. You caused quite a stir when little Amelia and her brother found you on the beach." She could well imagine. "I'd like to thank them personally, when the good doctor lets me have visitors, of course."
He bowed at her request. "I'm sure they'd love to meet you. The lad Koren, a squire here, carried you off the beach before running to town to get help. He and his sister have asked after you since."
She nodded as firmly as the throbbing would allow, "I'd definitely like to meet them then. Again, thank you for your kindness. I know it wasn't just a case of simply giving me this room while I heal."
Her host shook his head smiling, "Well, I'll admit I did have an ulterior motive. Your appearance has sparked many questions. Its not everyday a strangely dressed Mithra comes out of the sea."
She looked at him, hearing the unasked questions. He looked back, waiting. They continued to stare at each other as she considered what to say, mentally cursing the pain. It was making thinking difficult, and she needed to be very careful in her answers to her host's natural questions.
With a as much charm as she could muster, she replied carefully. "I'm sorry. My mother would smack me for not introducing myself, my lord. I'm called Pheonic Rae- and as you've no doubt guessed I'm not from here."
"Galen, Lord of Imalda." Her host returned the courtesy. "And yes, we'd already gathered as much."
"No, I'm from the Windurst Confederacy." Pheonic paused to see if her home country was a familiar to him. At his nod she continued, "I'm a Red Mage adventurer for Windurst and when passage opened up to the Near East I decided to go see what all the recruiters had been rhapsodizing over.
So I bought passage on a ship. We were nearly to port when a storm came up. I was trying to save one of the ship's crew when something fell and hit my head."
She paused, sifting through memories. "I fell, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in this gorgeous room."
"Any idea how you made it to shore?" Ralen asked thoughtfully. At her small frown, he explained. "The nearest report of any recent shipwreck is at the Lamia Reef, three days sail from here. There weren't any survivors reported, but yet here you are."
"Three day sail?" She whispered in shock. Leviathan had done more than inform Carbuncle of her condition. "No," She shook her head slightly. "I'm have no idea how I got to shore, my lord."
He nodded, "Loyiont said that you may not remember, not surprising considering that knot you have."
She smiled faintly, "Not exactly how I wanted to arrive though. Lost, no memory and half-drowned. With a knot on my head the size of an Orc's head."
"There are some things even the gods can't prevent." Ralen smiled at her quizzical look. "If theres no explanation for how you landed on Imalda's shore then that leaves divine intervention, doesn't it?"
"I suppose so," Phe said quietly, unsure if she wanted that idea to take root, although it was true enough. "I've always found there to be a reasonable explanation to most things though."
"Spoken like a true Mithra," Ralen laughed, shaking his head. "I've sent word to the local Sentinel office." He gestured at a neat pile of items sitting on a low table on a far wall. "You were holding one of the Salaheem Sentinel Invitation badges and it seemed a fair guess that you might be associated with them. They may or may not reply."
Feeling weary all of a sudden, she nodded wordlessly. Seeing the fatigue in her eyes Ralen bowed politely, "I can see your in need of sleep, Lady Pheonic. I'll let you heal and hopefully next time we speak you can explain to me what type of magic a Red Mage controls."
"As you wish," She agreed, watching him step out of the room and closing the door after him. She wasn't sure what to make of there not being any guards posted at her door. She wasn't sure what to make of any of this, she thought frowning. Too much had happened since that gods-cursed storm had decided to spawn. She needed time to consider. And to heal, she thought wincing again at the pain stabbing through her head to settle sullenly behind her eyes.
Yawning, she rested her head gently on the pillows stacked behind her. She'd start considering and planning after some rest.
Now if only those birds would stop chirping!