They meet during the Long Night, in the ruins of what once was Ifrit's kingdom of the sun.
She is weary, so bone weary, yet she forces herself to keep standing. Before her, the healer finishes speaking to a small group of people. A family, she thinks. A man and woman bow repeatedly with their hands pressed to their chests. They've been blessed, it seems. She tries not to hate them for their luck.
The pain she's been ignoring for days now overwhelms her patience. She steps into the firelight that surrounds the home. The healer tenses before he sees that she's not a daemon and extricates himself from the couple to approach her. Cautiously, he holds up his hand to cast brighter illumination on them. His pale skin almost glows in the light.
Her eyes sting from it. Once, she could keep her eyes wide open in the harshest midsummer day, the sun glowing off the sand dunes. Now she's half-daemon herself, flinching from the light as if it could kill her. Such is life now that the Scourge has killed the sun.
"Are you well, my lady?
She grips her stave tighter, more to keep herself upright than anything else. "Are you-you're the healer of the people? Ardyn Lucis Caelum?"
He reaches out his free hand to her then pauses, uncertain of whether or not he should touch her. "I am."
"I am Elpis Maelen of the Izunia tribe, daughter of the High Priestess Drusa. I have come to beg for your help."
She'd meant to get on her knees and touch her forehead to the ground. Instead she falls, the glow of Ardyn's light disappearing to darkness.
Elpis wakes to a soft pillow under her head. Blinking, she takes in her surroundings, seeing the torches that cast a circle of light around the ruins of a building. A long piece of undyed fabric hangs over the top of the ruins, forming a roof. It's the only thing that's slightly familiar to her.
The healer-Ardyn-must have brought her to a house. She lies on a pallet in what might have been a gathering room; a fire burns in a far wall, lending warmth and safety to the room. An oven, not recently used, is further behind her. Everything else that might have once claimed this as the home of a family is gone.
The events of the last month come rushing back to her as she carefully sits up, expecting pain where there is none. She moves her hand experimentally and finds it's no longer broken. What's more, she can once more breathe without crying. He must have also healed her while she slept. Belatedly she puts a hand to her hair and finds her blue headscarf still in place, as well as her shoes. He may have healed her, but he evidently didn't touch her more than he absolutely had to.
She hears motion to her side and Ardyn appears from behind another piece of fabric that must lead off to a different part of the ruins.
"Welcome back to the land of the conscious."
She feels the embarrassed blush rise to her cheeks. Thankfully, her golden brown skin keeps it from being too apparent. "I am sorry for the trouble, healer Ardyn. I... may have pushed myself too hard."
"It's no trouble." Ardyn sits next to her and hands her a bowl. Inside is some sort of broth, but that's as much as she sees before she's slurping it down.
Her mother would kill her if she were here. As she's not, Elpis greedily drinks the whole thing down in one go. It tastes incredibly bland, but it's food, and that's all that matters to her now. When she looks to Ardyn, one corner of his mouth lifts in amusement, his kind eyes showing no judgment.
"It should restore some strength to you," he says. "I healed your fractured ribs and broken wrist. You'll forgive me for doing so while you slept?"
She sets the bowl down beside her pallet. "Yes, of course. Thank you."
"You're from the desert, correct?" Ardyn seems pleased by her surprise, a cocky glint in his amber eyes. "Your clothing is distinctive."
Elpis gives him a sidelong glance, uncertain as to whether that's meant to be a compliment or not. From what she'd heard in years past, the people of Solheim dressed in a gaudy fashion, though looking at Ardyn's simple black and red robes now she wouldn't be able to guess as much. In contrast, her orange dress and blue-green belt are garish.
"Ah," Ardyn says, "I've come across poorly. My apologies. I only meant that the style is different from what we had here, as are the colors."
What they'd had before Ifrit reduced his kingdom to ashes and cinders, he means. "I see."
"Allow me another guess, hopefully without coming across as a dull jackass this time. The Scourge brings you here?"
Elpis' fists clench. "Yes. Seven people in my tribe had it when I left. More may have fallen. We'd already had two turn. They were... dealt with." Elpis closes her eyes. The broth has helped a little, but she's still so tired. "I have money. I can guide you through the desert to my tribe. Name your price and I will pay it."
"My price is nothing," Ardyn says. "I must ask, though. Even before the fall of Solheim, the desert peoples were not known to be a sociable kind. When diseases had ravaged them before, they preferred to keep to their own and spurned outside help." He studies her intently. "You came alone and with no chocobo or other means of transport. You had very little in way of supplies. Your tribe doesn't know you're here, do they?"
She's never been good at lying, so she doesn't bother. "No, I came alone. My mother would hold to the old traditions and keep us secluded. Even with the Scourge ravaging our people. My sister, Charis, she..." Elpis trails off, remembering how Charis had looked the last time she'd seen her; the thick lines of darkness trailing under her skin like veins. Elpis forces the memory from her mind. "She has it, and our mother will not ask for outside help. I cannot stand by while my sister turns into a daemon and must be killed."
Ardyn leans back, his gaze going somewhere past the walls of their little ruin, to something only he can see. "I see why you'd go to such lengths. I'll go with you to the desert; my brother Somnus and some others will accompany us."
Elpis begins to stand from the pallet. "Thank you, Great Healer, thank you. If we leave now-"
"Ah, no," Ardyn says, catching her by her arms and gently pushing her back down. He gives her a stern look, though it's tinged with amusement. "You need your rest." He holds a hand up before she can protest. "All I ask is one night, Lady Maelen. Sleep for one night, and we will set off when you awaken. If you die of exhaustion in the desert, not only do my brother and I perish, but so does your sister."
Quelled by his damnable logic, Elpis bites her tongue hard. Ardyn smirks, then his expression softens as he lays his hand on top of hers. Though she should hit him for the presumption, she finds comfort in the gesture.
The thing about visions is that they are not precise. Visions can give you the purple-red of someone's hair, how it hangs past their shoulders; it cannot give you the scent that lingers in the strands. They can tell you what someone may say, but they never quite get the voice right, nor how the smoothness of it sends a shiver down your spine. You can see how someone will put their hand on yours and have a vague sensation of weight, but you cannot feel the calluses of the palm, the heat of the skin, how it feels against your own.
The Ardyn in her visions pales in comparison to the man before her.
When she wakes some time later, Ardyn is nowhere in sight. Instead a black-haired man with pale white skin sits across from her, sharpening a sword.
She looks quickly to where her stave rests against a piece of wall. Then she curses herself for being a fool: If the man had wanted to harm her, he would have done so while she was sleeping. Still, even as she tries to rationalize her anxiety away, a sliver of unease still rests in her chest. Something about this man simply makes her uncomfortable.
As if knowing she's thinking of him, the man looks over. "Well met," he says politely. "My brother is out finding the last few supplies we'll need for our travels. He wanted you to eat that-" he motioned to a new bowl that sat beside her, "-when you awoke."
Elpis takes up the bowl, watching the man carefully. "Your brother... the Great Healer?"
Something flashes across the man's face that's gone so quickly that Elpis can't identify it. He smiles briefly. "Ardyn. Yes. I'm Somnus, his younger brother." He sheaths his sword and Elpis finds it does not put her at ease. "You made quite the impression on my brother. He admires your determination."
She grimaces. It wasn't determination so much as desperation. Why, then, does the idea that she made an impression on the Great Healer so... satisfying?
Elpis begins to eat her broth, slowly this time, then blinks when she finds Somnus giving her a strange look.
"You didn't pray before you ate."
It's such an absurd statement in these new times that all she can do is stare at first. She stopped praying to the gods when they had their War. As she can think of no good way to answer without antagonizing Somnus, she decides not to, instead returning to her meal.
If Somnus wishes to prod her further on it, he's stopped by the return of Ardyn and two others. He smiles widely when he sees her. "Good morning, Lady Maelen!"
He means it so sincerely despite the pitch black of the world around them that it actually makes her smile. When she sees the flash of satisfaction in his gaze, she realizes he wanted her to smile. Is he this charming with everyone, she wonders, or just me? Perhaps he, too, had visions of her.
That thought causes her smile to fall. The Astrals should have no place in her life now. Elpis decides not to think of it anymore. Right now, the only important thing is her people.
"Allow me to introduce Crescentia Nox Fleuret from Tenebrae-" He motions to a woman with pale skin and a kind smile. "-Adeodatus Amicitia-" An intimidatingly tall man with olive skin nods in acknowledgment to her. "-And Deusdedit Scientia." The last man with braided black hair and brown skin like her own bows his head respectfully. "Adeo and Deus will be staying behind to keep an eye on things while we're gone. Lady Crescentia will be joining us on our adventure, where we'll likely come close to dying many times."
The woman, Crescentia, gives Elpis a small, exasperated smile. Her near-white hair is hidden under a white veil with red sigils Elpis doesn't recognize on the hem. It puts her at ease, a little, to see another woman wearing a headscarf. "Ignore him," Crescentia says as she comes to sit next to Elpis. Her grey eyes sparkle in the firelight with mischief. "He's always very dramatic."
"More traveling actor than destined healer," the one named Deusdedit says, though not unkindly.
Ardyn puts a hand to his heart, feigning hurt. "Someone must keep our spirits up in these dark times, and I daresay Somnus is too serious to do so."
Somnus shrugs a shoulder. "One of us has to be serious."
"Dear brother, the only beings more serious than you are the dead."
Everyone, save Elpis, laughs. Even Somnus joins in, though Elpis thinks it's withdrawn and perhaps not as sincere as the others. The camaraderie between them reminds her of home so much that she feels as if her heart might crack in two.
She sets her empty bowl down. Suddenly she's more than ready to begin their travel. "If you're ready, we should go."
Ardyn glances at the bowl. "You're certain you can manage? I know my cooking isn't good enough to warrant an empty bowl, let alone two."
"It's not," Elpis agrees, and she's rewarded when Ardyn laughs. It's a low chuckle, and she gets the sense that he reserves only for certain people.
"Don't be in a rush to leave just to escape my cooking, my lady."
Elpis sighs, trying to keep a straight face. "I see I'll be cooking for us from now on. Thank you for the warning." More seriously she continues, "I assure you, I'm fine. Are you certain you're ready? I know you must travel much, but this is going to be a far longer trek."
Ardyn waves away her concerns. "We'll be fine."
"As you said, it's not the first time they've had to journey far," Adeodatus says. He's a large, intimidating man, towering over everyone else in the group. Elpis can't help but wonder if the Titan might be his father.
She looks between all of them. It's clear why Somnus is going. The sword hanging at his hip speaks volumes, as do his lean muscles. Even Ardyn clearly has experience with battle, as evidenced by the muscles Elpis has tried very hard not to overtly admire. Crescentia is less clear. Although she knows that looks aren't a good indication of power, Elpis thinks she'd rather have Adeodatus with them than Crescentia.
Elpis stands and goes to Ardyn, lowering her voice. "May we speak?"
"As my lady commands."
Elpis decides it's better that she not respond to that and walks out of the ruins out of earshot of everyone. She makes certain they're alone before saying, "What is Crescentia's role here? Has she any fighting experience?"
Ardyn glances back at the group. "She has powers, like you and I, but they're weaker. She can more than hold her own, Lady Maelen, of that I assure you."
She sets her hands on her hips, tilting her head in consideration. The urge to trust Ardyn's judgment is strong, but so is her own intuition. She had frankly only thought Ardyn would be joining her; two extra seems unwise.
As if he can sense her indecision, Ardyn places a hand on her shoulder and smiles. "I promise you that if anyone proves to slow us down, I'll send them back here to Solheim. Unless it's myself, then I'll have Somnus carry me on his back. I won't let your sister wait a moment longer than she must."
She can't stop the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "She's right, you are very dramatic."
"And yet, most sincere."
Elpis steps back and nods. "I'll trust your word, then."
"I hope not to disappoint you, my lady."
I don't think you could. Embarrassed by her own thoughts, Elpis turns and makes her way back to the group. Once more she looks Somnus and Crescentia over, trying to see what Ardyn sees, trying to imagine how much they must have been through already if he trusts them so absolutely.
And, perhaps, she's searching for why Somnus' inclusion makes her feel so uneasy.
"Well," she says at length, "once we're in the desert, don't touch or eat anything without asking me first. And if you see any animals, assume they want to eat you and act accordingly."
Crescentia laughs. "We'll be fine! We have you to guide us, don't we?"
Elpis thinks they'll probably last a day before one of them manages to find quicksand.
To their credit, it takes a week after they reach the desert before Elpis has to stop Ardyn from eating poisonous berries.
She sets a hand on his arm, dragging it down from his mouth. "Unless you want to spend the next few days having your organs turned to blood and coming out of every orifice before dying painfully, I suggest you not eat those."
Ardyn raises an eyebrow and drops the berries from his hand. He'd been in the middle of a story, gesturing grandly to emphasize his words, and seemed to have picked the berries almost without thought. She's sorry to have stopped him. "Daemons, dangerous animals, and now even the flora want to kill us? Tell me, Lady Maelen, why do your people insist on living here when it seems the desert would rather you were dead?"
She smirks. "I can't speak for the first peoples who decided to live here," she says, "but everyone who lives here now knows how to survive here. It likely saved us from the Scourge for a time. And..."
Elpis glances to Somnus. The tension between them has only grown worse every time they have a meal and Elpis does not pray over her food. If Ardyn has noticed, he's chosen not to speak on it. He and Somnus both still pray. She's seen Somnus speak with Crescentia at times and the two of them glance at her during such talks. Thus far, she's pretended not to see.
Still, she won't let Somnus's disapproval intimidate her. "It helped us, I think, when the Astrals had their War. We fared better than did Solheim, at least."
Somnus scoffs. "Solheim was doomed, no matter what. They reached too high with the gifts the gods bestowed, and sought to use those same gifts to kill the Astrals."
"If I recall correctly, only Ifrit granted a gift," Ardyn says lazily.
"If the others didn't wish for humans to receive his gift, they could have stopped him easily. They did during the War."
Elpis can't help but bristle. "The War that destroyed Solheim and most of the world? If that was easy for them, I would hate to see what difficulty would be like."
"You should," Somnus agrees.
With an uneasy laugh, Crescentia steps between them. "We shouldn't waste any energy on this right now, in the middle of the desert."
"Besides, it's clear neither one of you will agree with each other," Ardyn says. "Save the theological debates for when we aren't in danger of possibly being eaten by an animal of unusual size."
Elpis should leave it alone. She knows she should. It will get her nowhere, and it would be best not to make an enemy of any of these people.
Her anger wins over her reason. "If the gods didn't want us to use their gifts to their full potential, then they should have kept those gifts to themselves," she says. "Instead of becoming angry with humans when we play in ways they do not approve."
A tense silence falls over the group, broken at last by Ardyn's laughter. "A heretic!" There's no judgment in his voice, nor in his expression.
The judgment lacking in Ardyn's face is on full display in Somnus'. "You shouldn't speak of the Astrals so. We have a responsibility to use their gifts wisely. They have a right to punish us if we aim too high."
Crescentia holds a hand out to him. "Somnus..."
Elpis narrows her eyes. "Then you would have us be slaves? To be happy we're beneath them?"
"Everything has its place in the universe," Somnus says, so calm, so full of certainty. "Eos created the Astrals first, then us. We have our place. To rise above that is to upset the natural order of things."
"Then maybe the natural order deserves to be disrupted."
Crescentia groans. "Oh, no."
Somnus tenses. "You should be thankful to them for your life!"
"A life I did not ask for! No one asks to be born or created," Elpis says, and she knows her expression is mulish, the same expression her mother laughs over. "And I've been fortunate to have a good one. What of those who do not? What of those who have fallen to the Scourge? Is that the design of the gods, to bless some and damn others? Why do they get to choose that, to treat us like their toys?"
She's aware, suddenly, of eyes on her. Elpis turns and finds Ardyn sitting on a boulder, chin in his hand, watching both of them.
"Oh, don't mind me," he insists. "Continue with your conversation."
"Don't encourage them!" Crescentia scolds.
Elpis is about to retort when she feels a shiver in the sand beneath her. She pauses, her eyes straining against the utter black beyond their firelight. She hears a quiet 'what?' from Crescentia.
And then she sees it.
"Sandstorm!" She's off and running, grabbing both Somnus and Ardyn by their arms, hauling Ardyn to his feet. To her relief, he doesn't trip, or hesitate like Somnus does; he seems to trust her implicitly in this. She can only hope Somnus thought to take Crescentia's hand.
She runs as fast as she can, towards them to the rock formation she'd been heading for in the first place. There are caves built specifically for this purpose. All she has to do is get them there. And yet, somehow, she knows they won't make it. The storm will swallow them before they can reach the formation and the cave she knows is hidden there.
But she still runs as fast as she can. She cannot die here. Her sister needs her.
A hand on her arm jerks her to a sudden stop, nearly wrenching her shoulder out of its socket. Elpis spins on Ardyn, enraged. "What are you doing?!"
"We won't make it by foot," Ardyn says, his other hand going to a small sword he keeps at his hip. Somnus already seems to know what his brother's about, as he comes near and puts a hand on his shoulder. Crescentia grabs hold of Somnus. "And as I've no plans to be buried alive just yet, I say we take a faster route. Hold on, Lady Elpis."
Before she can say anything, Ardyn aims his sword and throws it into the darkness. She hears a distant thud, and then-
And then the world disappears around her in a burst of blue light and she feels as if she's flying through nothing and panic seizes her and the only real, tangible thing she can feel is Ardyn's hand on her arm and then-
All of them crash back into the world and Elpis falls to her knees, gasping at the sudden hard ground beneath her. Crescentia stands beside her, and it distantly irritates Elpis that she's the only one who fell. Ardyn removes his sword from the rock it impaled and looks to her.
"On your feet, my lady," he says, holding out his free hand to her, and she wonders how he manages to look so gallant and why she's both annoyed and charmed by it. "You know the way from here."
Impossible, she thinks as she takes his hand. They're at the rocks now, and though she wants to interrogate him, the storm is still gaining on them. She hurries up the narrow path, Ardyn's light easing her way, and then they're at the mouth of the cave.
Somnus leans against the wall, having to hunch down so as not to hit his head on the top. "The storm will blow in here."
"It's better than being outside," Ardyn says, and for the first time, he sounds irritated with his brother.
Elpis takes a breath and shakes her head. "No, it won't." She reaches a hand up to the sigils carved deep into the rock while her mind's eye goes to the light at the very core of her being. She only gives it a tug and yet it surges through her gleefully, wanting to be freed, wanting to be used.
She activates the wards just as the storm reaches them, and the sand hits against the magical barrier that covers the entrance to the cave. The sigils glow white with her power. She lowers her hand and shoves the power she doesn't understand deep, deep down inside herself.
"Well," Ardyn says after a beat, "that's luck."
"The blessing of the gods," Somnus says quietly.
Elpis can't help but roll her eyes. "No. Other tribes created these caves as protection against these very storms. Someone else put this spell in place. We're simply using it for now."
"Then you must have magic of your own," Crescentia says. She's staring at Elpis with an expression that's parts reverence and... disappointment.
Elpis looks to Ardyn. He's already made himself comfortable against the wall of the cave, likely to save his neck the pain of having to hunch like Somnus. The fact that they were almost buried alive doesn't seem to disturb him at all.
"I don't," Elpis says to Crescentia, her tone flat.
"Ah, ah, Lady Elpis," Ardyn tuts. "You have too many tells to be a successful liar."
"We should get a fire going," Crescentia says, stepping between them. Elpis sends her a grateful look that she receives with only a nod.
Somnus does not take the bait. "You've been gifted by the gods as well," he says, disapproval on every inch of his face. "And yet you still speak of them so poorly?"
She shrugs a shoulder. "I'd rather not speak of it, actually."
"Why not say anything before now?" Somnus asks, his voice rising. "I knew your story didn't make sense. You should have perished in the desert on your own. Being chosen by the Astrals explains much."
"I... to be honest, I never wanted these powers," Elpis says. "And I don't enjoy having to rely on them. So I keep it to myself."
Scoffing in disgust, Somnus turns and goes to explore further into the cave. Ardyn makes no move to follow him, only says, "Please don't die, Somnus."
Crescentia gives him a dark look. "You are impossible," she says, then begins following after his brother. "Som, wait!"
"If he does get eaten by something, clearly that would be the gods' design," Elpis mutters to herself, perhaps louder than she intended, as Ardyn laughs. She knows she should tell Somnus not to wander off, but she's just petty and spiteful enough to let him leave.
Elpis watches Crescentia retreat into the darkness, realizing that this leaves her alone with Ardyn. She isn't certain why that fact makes her nervous. Possibly because she's acted abominably to the brother of the man who might save her sister. The possibility that it might be anything else isn't something she can focus on right now.
She sits across from Ardyn and bows her head, knowing an apology is needed, however irritated she may be. "I apologize, Great Healer. I shouldn't have insulted your brother."
Ardyn smirks. "First, my lady, Somnus finds insult in many things. I daresay he's angry because you're making sense. Second, please call me Ardyn. There's no need to stand on ceremony anymore. 'Great Healer' makes me sound like a pretentious prick."
Surprised by his language, Elpis covers her laugh with a hand. She should explain to him that in her culture it would be an insult to call him by his name, to act as if she's close enough to have that honor. Her mother would slap her senseless if she knew.
But none of that will matter soon, will it? Elpis thinks. Besides, what mother doesn't know can't hurt me.
"Very well, then... Ardyn."
"So, now will you speak honestly about your powers, my lady?"
She considers, looking off to where the others disappeared. Strangely, she doesn't feel uncomfortable speaking about it with Ardyn. Perhaps because he showed no judgment of her heresy towards the gods. "I remember... a man coming to me one day when I was young. Just past my seventh turn of the sun. A man in blue armor with black wings."
She remembers she wasn't terrified of him, as she maybe should have been. Elpis wonders if that was her true reaction, or if Bahamut had kept her from being afraid somehow. There is so much she still does not understand about the gods and the control they have over humans.
"I remember his voice hurt my head, even as I could understand him. He told me that he would bestow upon me powers so that one day, I may help bring sunlight back to our star." Elpis swallows hard and shakes her head. "I didn't understand his meaning at the time. The War had not yet happened, and I was a child of the desert. All I knew was the sun. To think that it could ever go away was unimaginable."
Ardyn, who has been listening patiently with an unusually solemn expression, stirs. "I imagine so. I was visited in the same way. My family, the Lucis Caelums, were perhaps as close to royalty as one could be in Solheim while Ifrit reigned. My father and mother worked with the magitek. They both died during the War."
Elpis bows her head. "I'm so sorry."
He shrugs. "I've come to terms with it. Somnus has not. He... seems to believe it was what they deserved, for creating machines that could fight the Astrals." A darkness flickers over Ardyn's face. Then he shakes it off. "In any case, Bahamut visited me after the War, when the Scourge began to rapidly spread. I was spending my days tending to people. I was then given these healing powers to save the rest of humanity. Like you, he said I could end the Long Night."
She shifts uncomfortably, biting her tongue. Ardyn smiles slowly, amber eyes half-lidded. It's a surprisingly intimate expression and she doesn't know how to react to it.
"You can say whatever it is you're thinking, Lady Elpis. The Astrals sleep, save Bahamut, and so they cannot hear what you say. They likely wouldn't notice even were they awake."
"It's not the Astrals I'm worried about."
He raises his brows. "Me, then? I am not Somnus, my lady. I do not judge your doubts as heresy."
"And why not?"
Ardyn scratches at his chin, pondering. "It's human to have doubts, and to question things. And besides, if Bahamut was truly angered by your words, he would have taken your powers away, I should think. That tells me he must not mind much."
A shiver of unease travels down her spine. She does not share his certainty in the least, not when it comes to the gods.
But she is certain of her safety with him, now. "It's only... if they're so powerful, why can they not cleanse Eos of the Scourge themselves? Why must they leave it to us?"
"Ah, my lady, you're falling into discrepancy," Ardyn teases lightly. "You cannot want the Astrals to leave humans be and also want them to erase all our ills."
"I know," she says with a sigh. "I know. I only wonder that, if they must be involved with us, why can they not take away this one thing? Why must people suffer? I don't want them to solve all our problems. But this Scourge is so massive, some days I wonder if it can be beaten at all." She motions a hand to the cave entrance, indicating the blackness outside. "We haven't seen our sky in ages!"
Suddenly serious, Ardyn leans forward, though he does not reach out to touch her. He hasn't done so in the time they've been traveling at all. "It will be beaten, Elpis," he says. "I promise you that. We will see our sky again one day, and the sun, and the stars."
He sounds so certain that Elpis believes him. And yet, a fear lingers. "At what cost, though?"
"Whatever the cost, I will pay it."
She's struck so suddenly by the image of him sitting on a throne, a crown on his head, that she almost gasps. The man before her, the healer of the people, Bahamut's Chosen, is so willing to save people that he will pay whatever price to do so. Even, Elpis suspects, if the cost were his life. It makes her want to weep, and she is not a weeping sort.
Just as quickly, the image fades, and Ardyn is no longer a king but a man, dirty from their travels, a shadow along his jawline where the beginning of a beard lines it, but still so certain of his path. She wishes she could share in that certainty.
She laughs quietly, almost in disbelief. "You know," she says, "I didn't believe you had powers."
He blinks, and she can tell she's caught him by surprise. "No?"
"No," she says. "Even with my own, I didn't want to believe that one man was capable of ending the Scourge. I couldn't believe it, because if I did, and then I'd found you and it turned out you weren't real, I don't know what I would have done." She pauses. "Well, no, I would have punched you. But after that, I don't know."
He chuckles once more, and perhaps it's the light playing tricks on her, but his expression seems almost... fond. "I suppose it was quite a shock when I brought us to the rocks, then."
"You might say that."
"Somnus threw up his first time," Ardyn says cheerfully. "You handled yourself admirably."
"To be fair, if he'd had a deadly sandstorm at his back, he might not have thrown up his first time. It helps your focus."
"A shame we can't use it to help us in other times, then," Ardyn says.
And then they're both laughing, and it's comfortable, and for the first time in years, Elpis feels hope.
Soon, Crescentia returns with Somnus in tow. Somnus brings them a dead mountain mole to cook. He keeps a wide berth from Elpis, and that suits her fine. Ardyn launches into another story to distract from the tension between them and soon has Somnus' full attention.
Crescentia, however, leaves them to sit by Elpis. "I had a sister, too."
Taken aback, Elpis can only blink. The other woman smiles, her eyes sad. "Her name was Stella. She was my younger sister. She was a lot like you, always so ready to argue, blazing as bright as a star." She sighs. "She caught the Scourge and turned."
Elpis closes her eyes and bows her head respectfully, for the second time that night. How many more will she have to mourn before the Scourge is gone? "I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," Crescentia says. "Our father, he, um, took care of her. He died from his wounds after the battle. I was thirteen when it happened. I used to wonder the same things you did, you know. Why did the gods take Stella and my father? Why did they let any of this happen at all?
"My mother, she's a Priestess of Bahamut. His most devoted, I would say," she continues. Elpis is briefly confused by the term, then realizes it must mean something different in Tenebrae. "She told me that the gods have plans for all of us, even the tiniest mouse, and that no one is too small for their attention. We all have our parts to play, some big and some little, but all of them important in their own ways. Even if it's just to be someone's best friend, or help a person you only ever see once. We're all important."
Elpis raises a brow. "And so their deaths were to teach you something?"
Crescentia nods. "It's better than dying for nothing and causing only pain, isn't it? The pain is still there, but their lives had a purpose and a meaning."
"Forgive me," Elpis says levelly, "but I think simply being alive is a purpose and a meaning in of itself. We don't need the gods to give meaning to our lives. We have family and friends and loved ones for that."
To her credit, Crescentia doesn't seem offended. "But what of people who have none of those? Without the gods, they would have nothing."
"Then you find value in yourself and create your own meaning." Elpis shakes her head. "Please, I don't want to offend you, or anyone here. All I want is for my sister to be healed."
Crescentia tilts her head and smiles sadly in understanding. "But don't you see? That's why Somnus is angry. You speak as if you want nothing to do with the gods, but when it suits you, you call on their gifts to help your sister."
She cannot immediately think of a reply, because it's the truth. She is being a hypocrite. She rails against the gods and then asks for their help in the same breath. Shame floods her and she turns her face away from Crescentia.
"You're right. What else can I do, though? I can't let my sister die."
"I know," Crescentia says, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe consider the gods sent you to Solheim for a reason."
Elpis looks to Ardyn, whose laughter almost fills the cave, who is making even Somnus laugh, and she hates the idea that she was led to him with a fierce passion. What she hates more is that she can't deny that the gods have brought them together for reasons she can't understand.
All she can control now is whether or not she accepts it.
Later, when most everyone is preparing for bed, Elpis approaches Somnus. "May I sit for a moment?"
Cautiously, Somnus nods.
"I wanted to apologize," Elpis says, making certain her expression gives no hint to how much she dislikes her words. Her mother has raised her well in this; she knows how to control her expressions at all times. "I shouldn't have spoken so harshly to you about your own beliefs, even if we disagree. I'm sorry for it."
Somnus stares at her for a long, uncomfortable moment. Unlike his brother, his intensity is almost suffocating. "You're right," he says at length. "We shouldn't argue about it."
"Especially because she could leave you in the desert," Ardyn adds helpfully as he comes to sit across from them both.
Somnus scoffs lightly, his smile matching Ardyn's so much it's easy to see they're brothers. "Sure. You wouldn't let her."
"Hmm," Ardyn says lightly, looking to Elpis. "I daresay that if Lady Maelen has her mind set to something, the gods themselves can't dissuade her."
Elpis grimaces as she feels the tension thicken between them all again. Somnus studies his brother intently, glances at Elpis, then turns away. "We should rest. As soon as the storm is over, we'll need to start up again in order to make up lost time."
"You're right," Elpis agrees, shooting Ardyn an annoyed look. He looks not at all sorry.
And, secretly, she's warmed by his words.
It isn't until later that she realizes Somnus never apologized for his own part in the argument.
They come upon the Izunia campsite a month after they leave Solheim. They're all worse for wear, though Ardyn's powers have kept them from being too badly injured. They let minor injuries heal on their own, not wanting to drain too much of his power before they reach the campsite. Elpis stops them a mile away from the perimeter. The firelights that encircle the site just barely lights the ground before her feet.
"When we arrive, let me do the talking," Elpis says. "Whatever you do, do not speak until I say you can."
Somnus crosses his arms over his chest. They have not grown fonder of each other since the cave. "Is there something else you haven't told us, Lady Maelen?"
Ardyn cuts in before she can reply. "Let's do as she says," he says. "We're guests here, and I'm not looking to run for my life so soon after our journey has ended." He turns to Elpis and bows to her, then cocks his head up towards her while still bowing. He smiles almost cheekily. "Lead the way, my lady."
Nodding, Elpis grips her stave tighter, then takes a breath and straightens her shoulders. The first one to see her is the sentry posted at the main entrance, firelight sparkling in her dark red hair. Elpis raises her hands and bows her head low.
"It is I, Elpis," she says. "I have returned from my journey and wish to speak with my mother."
The woman scoffs lightly. "And those with you?"
"The Great Healer of Solheim, Ardyn Lucis Caelum, and his associates," Elpis says. "Please, Nomiki. I beg your mercy."
Nomiki raises an eyebrow, strutting over to the group before stopping next to Elpis. She studies all of them carefully, eyes lingering on their weapons, before setting a hand on Elpis' shoulder. "It is not my mercy you should be throwing yourself on, Lady," she says. "Your mother is furious."
"Yes, I know," Elpis says. She expected nothing less. "What of Charis? Is she still...?"
Nomiki looks away and drops her hand from her shoulder. "She lives."
Her heart drops into her stomach and it takes all of her willpower not to run for the tent they've set aside for the afflicted. She clenches her fists instead. A hand rests on her shoulder, steadying and comfortable, and Elpis looks to see Ardyn beside her.
Nomiki stares for a long moment at Ardyn's hand, her expression cooling considerably. "I will take you and your... friends to your mother. May she have mercy on you."
They follow Nomiki into the camp. People Elpis has known her entire life stop and stare at her as if she's a stranger, their looks becoming guarded when they see the outsiders. Elpis keeps her head high. She will not show her shame to her people. She will take her punishment without flinching.
They enter into her mother's tent, the red fabric dark against the firelight. Her mother, with her long kinky hair and the orange jewel resting on her forehead, sits on the cushion meant only for the High Priestess. Standing beside her is Kirti, her mother's lover, her brown eyes worried. More guards stand behind her, which Elpis has always found funny. Her mother can fell anyone without sweating.
Surrounding her are the Eldest of their tribe. Few of them give openly hostile looks to Ardyn and others won't even look at her.
It's only when Elpis comes to stand before her mother that she begins to feel fear.
"Esteemed Lady," Nomiki says, "your wayward daughter has returned."
Her mother's voice is cold as Shiva's touch. "So I see."
Elpis gets to her knees and touches her forehead to the soft orange rug beneath her. She hears the others at least get to their knees, if not bow, and she has to hope it's enough to placate her mother for now. Elpis holds her position in utter silence, sweat dripping down her neck.
Finally, her mother speaks. "How dare you?"
Elpis keeps herself from flinching. "Mother, I-"
"I have not yet given you permission to speak," her mother snaps. "You disobeyed my orders and left our people for the outside lands, and now you bring outsiders back in with you? You dare show your face here again, knowing what it means?"
Trembling, Elpis weighs her choices. She thinks of her sister's laugh, her kind smile, the ways she can be free that Elpis cannot. She thinks of Ardyn, of the visions that led her to him, of the king beneath the healer. Of the man who does not yet wear a crown who can make her laugh as no one else.
And, somehow, she finds the courage to rise from her bow and look at her mother straight on. She does not rise from her knees-her mother would break her legs to keep her on them-but she does keep her chin high.
"I do dare," Elpis says. "I dare because I love my sister."
She barely sees her mother move before she feels the back of her hand. Elpis catches herself before she falls, her eyes stinging, the slap pounding in her head. She makes no noise. Behind her, someone stirs, and she hears whispered words exchanged between two people, but she cannot tell who.
"Insolent child."
"Drusa." Kirti's low voice comes between them. "This is a conversation best had in private, away from outsider's eyes."
"No," Drusa says. "She has brought them here, and now they can bear witness to her punishment."
"Allow me to interject."
Elpis cringes and briefly wishes Ardyn weren't, well, himself.
"As I understand it, seven of your people have been afflicted with the Scourge. Perhaps more, in the time we've been traveling. I respect your... customs and traditions, and of course you should do with Lady Maelen whatever you see fit."
Ardyn comes to sit on his knees next to Elpis and bows his head. It's not the right gesture, not nearly respectful enough, and yet Elpis wants to thank him for it all the same. "I, Ardyn Lucis Caelum, the healer of Solheim, humbly request that you allow me to tend to your afflicted. Once that is done, whatever the outcome, I will gladly take Elpis's punishment in her place."
"Ardyn," Somnus hisses.
Elpis finds she cannot move. She stares dumbly at Ardyn, her vision blurring, whether from the pain of the slap or from something else, she isn't sure at first. If it's a vision, it fades quickly.
Drusa is silent for far too long, studying Ardyn carefully. "And why would you do that?"
"I'm the reason she left," Ardyn says easily. If he's intimidated by Drusa, he doesn't show it. "It seems only right that I should bear the punishment in her stead."
"A noble fool," Drusa notes drily. "And here I'd thought I'd broken you of your habit of bringing home strays when you were a child, Elpis." She shakes her head. "The gods do love their games."
"You must not allow this child to so flagrantly ignore your word, Esteemed Lady," says one of the Elders, a woman named Lucretia. "She acts as if she is the only one in this tribe who will be losing a loved one to the Scourge. Many of us will be, and yet we do not seek help from outsiders who may bring us harm instead."
"We mean you no harm at all," Ardyn says easily.
Lucretia narrows her eyes at him. "You may not intend it, no. That so rarely keeps anything from actually happening."
Ardyn raises an eyebrow. "You'd judge us for something that may happen? That seems unwise."
Another Elder named Erastus looks down his nose at Ardyn, his expression a study of disdain. "In other tribes, speaking as you are would get your tongue cut out. This is not Solheim, boy, and you would do well to remember that."
Elpis aches to reach out and set her hand on Ardyn's, to keep him from angering anyone further. She dare not touch him in front of her mother.
Drusa, for her part, has been silently watching Ardyn. Her expression is impenetrable. At length she sighs and returns to her cushion. "You cannot take her place, healer. Our laws do not allow it, and if they had, her punishment is not something that can be borne by you."
A few of the Elders begin to speak up, but Drusa silences them all with a sharp look. It's a skill Elpis wishes she had learned.
Drusa's gaze goes past Elpis, past the group, to a spot above their heads. Elpis recognizes the trick. Her mother had taught it to her when she was younger.
"If you find you cannot bear whatever you must say next," Drusa had said, "look to the front of the tent, just above the entrance. Spare yourself from seeing how your words can ruin those you pass judgment on."
Now, Drusa says, "I will allow this healer of Solheim to see to our afflicted. Afterwards, whatever the outcome, you may stay here for two days and two nights before you must leave. As for the punishment of Elpis Maelen, mine eldest daughter..." She takes a breath. "You are hereby banished from the Izunia tribe for the rest of your days. If you so love the outside, you will join it."
The words are ceremonial and not meant to be an insult, and Drusa says them flatly, and none of that stops Elpis's heart from breaking. She shakes her head before Ardyn can say a word, keeping him silent. With shaking fingers, she removes the jewels from her headscarf, the jewels that show her to be the future High Priestess.
"When I was a child at your knee, you told me that as High Priestess, I would have to make impossible choices every day." Elpis stands and walks over to the woman who is no longer her mother. "This is my impossible choice: My sister and my people, or my future. I chose them. I give my life here gladly if it means Charis still has one."
With that, she drops the jewelry into her mother's lap. Elpis turns back to Ardyn and says, "I'll take you to my sister."
The tent that they'd hastily set up for the afflicted rests near the outer edge of the campsite. People give it a wide berth, though contact with the Scourge doesn't seem to make a person catch it. It strikes at random.
Elpis supposes they'd rather be safe than sorry.
Somnus stays back at the entrance, while Ardyn and Crescentia follow Elpis. When she looks at the woman questioningly, Crescentia says, "I want to help. I can't heal them, but maybe if I just speak to them while Ardyn's working on someone else…"
Elpis nods slightly and opens the flap to the tent. As her eyes adjust to the dim lighting, she finds her sister immediately, lying on a pallet in the back. Elpis hurries over and gets to her knees beside her. "Charis, wake up. I'm back. I've come back for you."
Her sister stirs, then opens her eyes. Elpis tries to keep herself from recoiling at the sight of her sclera having turned black. Two months and the Scourge has made little progress, but what little it has still makes her heart hurt.
"El?"
"Yes," Elpis manages a smile. She takes her sister's hand in her own, squeezing it tightly. "It's me."
Ardyn comes to sit next to her. He smiles, even as he must see how dire Charis' situation is. "Hello, Lady Charis. Your sister brought me here to tend to you. I'm the healer of Solheim."
Charis' brows knit together, her eyes unfocused. "Solheim? Have we gone so far?"
"Don't worry about that now," Ardyn says, taking her hand from Elpis. "Just rest a moment."
He presses his other hand to her forehead and closes his eyes. At first, nothing happens - and then a soft golden light emits from his hands, growing until it envelopes Charis' body, until Elpis has to look away lest it hurt her eyes.
She looks instead to his chest and has to bite back a gasp. She can see the Scourge draining away from her sister. And it's going directly into Ardyn.
The light flashes once more, casting dark shadows on Ardyn's face. Elpis thinks she sees dark tearstains trailing down his cheeks but when she blinks again, they're gone. Ardyn is all that remains.
Then he recoils slightly, as if in pain. Charis' body jerks beneath his hands. "It's-fighting me-"
Charis lets out a low growl, the voice far deeper than anything she's capable of normally. A hand slams on top of Ardyn's, the nails beginning to turn into black claws that dig into his skin. Ardyn hisses in pain but doesn't move.
"No." Elpis shakes her head, fury and despair rising inside her. "No. You can't have her."
Without thinking of what she's doing, Elpis puts her own hands on top of Ardyn's, and finds the place deep inside of her where the light that Bahamut granted her rests. It races through her body and, like a bucket overfilling with water, begins to stream outside of her skin. A glow of gold lighter than Ardyn's joins his. Suddenly she can feel the Scourge, can feel how it's been eating away at Charis these long months. She can feel how hard Charis has had to fight it and how tired she is now and Elpis's fury grows.
"You cannot have her!"
She joins her power with Ardyn's, the force of the joining almost knocking her onto her back. Elpis pulls at the Scourge, wresting it into a smaller and smaller shape. A roar fills her ears and trembles through her blood. The daemon inside Charis wants to live.
"Focus on the Scourge, Elpis," Ardyn says, his voice strained against her ear. "Block out everything else. We have it."
Someone's shrieking, and Elpis can't tell if she is, or if it's Charis, or someone else altogether, but Ardyn's voice draws her away from it all. She focuses on the Scourge and on her power, how it laces together with Ardyn's, how she can feel his heartbeat through their connection, and Charis', and with one last burst of power, she pulls her sister free of the darkness inside her.
Gasping, Elpis falls onto her back. Her power slowly returns to the center of her soul, leaving her weak and shaky. She stares up at the top of the tent, gingerly searching her soul, looking for the darkness she'd taken from Charis. It isn't there.
Elpis sits back up and looks to Ardyn. Sweat runs down his forehead and his brow is knit in heavy concentration. And then, with a quiet groan, he pulls back the golden light from Charis.
He takes his hands from her sister and seems to almost slump before catching himself. He opens his eyes and, after a beat, smiles. Only Elpis can see the tremble in it. "Ah," he says, panting slightly, "I see loveliness must run in your family, Lady Maelen."
The whites of Charis's eyes have returned, and her veins no longer run black. A healthy flush returns to her warm brown skin. Her freckles once more stand out on her nose. Her hand and fingers are blessedly human. Charis gasps softly, then sits up.
"Easy," Elpis says, putting her hands on her shoulders. Laughing even as tears form in her eyes, Elpis hugs her sister tightly, breathing in the stale sweaty scent of her. She never thought she'd be so glad for her sister to smell so badly. "You're fine, Charis. You're healed. My gods, you're safe."
She shares a relieved look with Ardyn before he stands and goes over to the next person. Elpis almost reaches out to stop him, then lets him go. He won't stop even if she asks. Even if he clearly needs a moment to gather his strength once more.
Charis pulls away from Elpis and blinks in bewilderment. "I smell like a goat. Why do I smell like a goat when there's a really handsome man nearby?" She runs a hand through her black hair and her eyes widen in horror. "My hair! It's so greasy! El, where's my headscarf? Hide me before he comes back!"
The tent fills with the sound of Elpis's laughter, a sound the camp hasn't heard in ages. Soon it's joined by the joyous cries as the seven afflicted are healed and reunited with their families. Elpis helps set Charis to rights before sending her off to their mother, then looks for Ardyn.
She finds him in a darkened area of the tent, his back to them all, his shoulders slumped. Elpis goes over to him and cautiously puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Ardyn? Perhaps you should sit…"
Ardyn's body shakes under her hand. Then he takes a deep breath and smiles at her. For a brief moment, blackness runs from the corner of his mouth, and his amber eyes glow in the darkness. And then, just as before, it's gone. Warmth returns to his eyes and there's nothing on his mouth except a smile.
"I'm fine, my lady," he says, holding his arms out. "Though you're welcome to check me over, if you're so worried."
Elpis stares at him, searching for something she can't put a name to. She realizes she has yet to see Ardyn do away with any of the Scourge he's taken in. That nameless something clicks into place, but refuses to be turned into words that she can speak.
So instead, she lowers herself to her knees before him and bows her head to the ground. "I cannot thank you enough for saving my sister. I am in your debt eternally."
"Ah, no." Ardyn kneels before her and lifts her head up gently with a hand under her chin. He smirks, cocking his head to the side. "None of that. I don't want your kindness or friendship if it's only brought about because you think you owe me something."
He pulls away, looking to the people he's saved. A peaceful expression comes over him. "This is thanks and payment enough. Your happiness is all I require, my lady."
Before she can think of what to say, Ardyn stands and goes to rejoin Somnus. Elpis watches him, heart racing in her chest for reasons she can't understand-or, perhaps, doesn't wish to think about just yet. Not when her life is about to be toppled over completely.
Crescentia joins her side, clearly biting back a smile. "So," she draws the word out, teasingly. "I think I speak for Ardyn when I say you have a place with us, if your mother doesn't change her mind. Solheim could use your gifts."
Elpis laughs bleakly. "I couldn't even save my sister on my own."
Crescentia shakes her head. "That's not the gift I meant. And maybe I should say, Ardyn could use someone like you. He… holds himself back from us. It's not that he doesn't like us, but-" Crescentia trails off, mouth twisting in indecision over her words. Then she says, "Ever since he realized his destiny, he's kept to himself. Except with you."
She rubs at the back of her neck nervously, cheeks hot with a blush. "He's charming with everyone. Do you really mean to tell me that there aren't plenty of women and men he hasn't flirted with in Solheim?"
"Sure," Crescentia shrugs. "But there's something different about him with you. Don't think I haven't noticed you two staying up late to talk to each other after Som and I have gone to bed." She smiles at Elpis fondly, before turning serious. "He's right, though. Don't stay with us just because you think you owe him something. Make sure you know your own feelings."
I cannot believe I'm being lectured by a girl barely older than my sister, Elpis thinks. Still, she nods in understanding. A red mark on Crescentia's palm catches her attention and her eyes widen. "What is that?"
She startles and then hides her hand behind her back, almost guiltily. "I tried to help you both when the Scourge was fighting Charis," she says. "But you were both so powerful that my own power was thrown back. I'm fine, though!" She smiles. "I shouldn't have been so thoughtless."
Elpis isn't certain if she entirely believes her levity. There's a flicker of unease in Crescentia's eyes that worries her. But frankly, she's also too tired to interrogate Crescentia too much, and she has too many other things to untangle in her mind. She leans against a tent post. "There should be some burn salve in the proper sick tent. It might help."
"Oh, thank you." Crescentia peers at her. "Will you be all right if I leave you alone here?"
Elpis can only nod once more before closing her eyes. Blessedly, Crescentia doesn't press the issue, and soon Elpis can hear her footsteps retreating the tent.
In the solitude of the tent, Elpis takes a deep breath, and for once wishes her visions would tell her what path to choose from here.
Title comes from "Memoro de la Stono" from FFXI and, specifically, the Distant Worlds album.
Some notes:
1. Because all the different translations of FFXV have differing stances on Ardyn's name, I decided not to untangle that to make it all congruent with each other and instead make "Izunia" a name he borrows from Elpis' people. This way, specifically, what he says in the English version is still pretty true: "You'll never guess whose name Izunia was."
1a. On that note, Elpis' people live in the desert where Hammerhead will one day be. This calls back to how Noctis' journey began, but I also did this because Ardyn says in Chapter 13 that "in Lucis there lived a healer". However, Lucis did not yet exist until well after he was imprisoned, so that line was Ardyn/the script writer simplifying things for time. Solheim existed in between Cleigne and Duscae, therefore I chose to make Elpis come from the desert by what would be Insomnia so that line would still technically be in line with canon.
2. I decided to make the side characters ancestors of the main party and Lunafreya. That way, we see the beginnings of Lucis. The original female lead of FFvXIII, Stella, is also mentioned. (Sorry, girl. You have rotten luck in every story, it seems.) This will also play into events later.
2a. Somnus isn't evil, just Conflicted.
3. I'm gonna be leaning hard into the Christian allegory and imagery that FFXV used, especially with Ardyn. Elpis' last name holds a clue as to who I'll be drawing inspiration from for her.
4. I realize I'm playing fast and loose with a lot of the canon surrounding Somnus and the Oracle, specifically, and the exact nature of Starscourge post-Solheim, but hopefully it pays off in later parts. To that end, I look forward to all of this being Jossed as soon as Episode Ardyn releases.
5. The soundtrack for this part consists of:
1. Somnus: Dreaming of the Dawn (from the FFXV piano collections)
2. Shadowland from The Lion King Broadway soundtrack.
3. Various Storms & Saints by Florence and the Machine.
Thanks for reading. Hope to see you back for part 2.