Hello Everybody! This is my first attempt at a TLoD Fic, so be nice; constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome. Please, SOMEBODY tell me I wasn't the only person who wept uncontrollably when Lavitz died? I mean, God, I fricken love him! Why does the cool knight guy always have to get knocked off? T.T Anyway, this Fic is in memory of my favorite wind dragoon, seconded only by Syuveil. Apparently I've got a thing for air elementals…

Before I actually start this thing off, I feel the need to explain some stuff. A cat-o-nine-tails, for those of you who don't know, is a type of whip with nine thongs instead of just one. (By the way, "thong" is another term for a strap of leather, you perverts.) The end of each thong is knotted around a jagged shard of metal that sticks into the skin and leaves marks not unlike the scratches of a cat (hence the name). Actually, a cat-o-nine-tails can have anywhere from nine to twelve to even twenty thongs. "Nine" is just a general term.

Also, Llumnaies is pronounced LOOM-nay-eese. When said properly, it should sound like LOOM-nayss. Just so you know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Dragoon or any of the characters/locations therein. I do, however, own Llumnaies/Luma, her sisters, the soul-eating demon thing, the apprentice fates and their race(s), the village of Torrent, the dancing goddess, the Moonlit Cathedral, and the story.

Infinium: Cat-o-Nine-Tails

Prologue

A solitary figure staggered quietly across the crumbling path. Her sky-blue armor soaked with blood; some her own, some not. A lock of azure hair covered the left side of her face, giving her a defeated look and adding to her bedraggled appearance. Her jade-colored eyes stared at the ground as she limped along the broken walkway. Mayfil, she thought bitterly. How fitting that we should die here of all places.

Her echoing footsteps halted abruptly as she came to a stand still, swaying from side to side in order to keep from collapsing. She lifted her face slightly, shifting her gaze. She became fully aware of her surroundings as muffled shrieks and groans filled her ears. The horrible noises grew louder, threatening to pierce her sanity. Calling on whatever strength she had remaining, the bloody warrior raised her left hand high above her head. "Shut the hell up!" she screamed into the gloom. Bringing her arm down as hard as she could, the woman flicked her wrist, sending the sickening crack of a whip through the air. It reverberated off the walls menacingly.

Thoroughly exhausted, she sank to her knees. She panted, wincing with each painful breath. That won't keep them away for long. He body grew rigid as the clank of heavy footfalls approached. Here they come again. She was half expecting some vengeful wraith to swoop down and tear her limb from limb, but, to her mild surprise, the apparition simply knelt beside her. The woman grimaced as searing pain jolted through her ribcage. "Damnit!" she cursed, putting a hand to her chest. Inhaling raggedly, she turned her eyes in the direction of the entity. "Yes?" she spat nastily. "Did you need something?"

The spirit seemed slightly confused. "You…you can see me?" it asked, the voice that of a young man's.

-"No."

"Then how did…?"

The woman in blue leaned forward and held herself up with her free hand, coughing up blood as she did so. "I don't have to see you; I can hear you." She paused to let another wave of agony wash over her broken frame. "What do you want?"

The disembodied voice didn't answer. After a moment, he placed his invisible hand on the injured woman's shoulder. Instead of sinking right through, the hand remained solid. He wrapped his other arm around the woman's waist and stood up. "You look like you could use some help," he said as he started making his way over the piles of debris.

He shouldn't be able to touch me, let alone carry me, the astonished warrior thought. He must have a very strong spirit.

The two of them carefully walked, or in the case of the woman: stumbled, to a nearby wall. Slowly, gently, the apparition set her down and propped her back up against it. He himself then sat beside her.

-"Thank you."

He was about to reply when the angry shriek of wraiths returned. He stood up and pulled a spear from the sheath strapped across his shoulders.

The woman couldn't see him draw his weapon, but she could hear the sound of steel being pulled from leather. She knew what her unlikely helper was doing. "Leave them be," she whispered. "If it is my death they want, they shall have it soon enough."

The un-seeable figure sat back down, but did not sheath his spear. He turned his eyes from the surrounding shadows to the blood-covered female in front of him. He studied her face. Despite the dirt and bruises, she was quiet pretty. Her hair was cropped short just above her long, pointed ears; save for a single shock that protruded from the left side of her forehead and tapered down to her chin. He started ever so slightly upon hearing her speak.

-"Are you still there?"

He gave a soft smile, not that the woman could see it of course. He knew what it felt like to die. He remembered being afraid. "Yes. I won't let you die alone, my friend."

The woman opened her eyes weakly. "Friend? I've been here ten minutes and you already think of me as a friend?" She chuckled; a light, tinkling laugh that seemed out of place in such a dismal environment. "That's nice. I don't think I've ever had a friend before. Sisters…but never friends." She grimaced, then turned her head in the voice's general direction. "You sound like you're wearing armor. Were you a soldier or something?"

The apparition sighed quietly. "I was knight. I died protecting my king."

"I'm sorry," the woman whispered. She was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. She pushed herself up into a more comfortable position with her right hand, then laid said appendage in her lap. "Do you have a name, or should I just call you 'knight'?"

"Lavitz."

"Lavitz," she repeated. Her face twisted into an expression the spirit couldn't recognize. Her eyes fell to the hand in her lap. "That's a strong name. I'm Llumnaies."

The knight furrowed his brow. I've heard that name somewhere, he thought. I know I have. His musings were interrupted by a pained grunt from the woman in blue. He looked on as she reached over and pulled a single knotted thong from the cat-o-nine-tails at her side. She held the strap up to her face and twirled it slowly between her fingers.

"How ironic," she whispered slowly. "The fate that measures the threads of the living…" She dropped her hand back into her lap, closing her eyes as she did so. "She must have made a mistake with you…"

Lavitz could only watch as her head dropped to her chest; she was gone. He cupped her cheek in his gloved hand and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, Llumnaies," he whispered. He pulled his hand away as the woman's body glowed a faint blue. Starting with her fingertips, she dissolved into a rain of shimmering, azure light.

The stunned apparition stared at the spot where she had been. The only clue to her existence was the single leather strap left on the cold stone floor. Slowly, as if he were afraid that it too would disappear, the knight reached out his fingers and gingerly touched the piece of material. As soon as he did, the harsh black of the thong shone silver. Lavitz attempted to retract his hand, but the shred of leather wrapped itself around his wrist and slithered along his arm at an alarming speed. Curling and twisting like a serpent, it snaked its way up his bicep and plunged into the armor of his chestplate.

The knight gripped at the spot where his heart should have been and grunted slightly in pain. He watched as a trail of blue sparks echoed the path of the leather strap, leaving a burning sensation its wake. I…I can feel pain? he thought incredulously. How?

The sparks had spread to his other arm and were now engulfing the rest of his body. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the lights vanished. The apparition looked down at hands. Where the sparks had been there was now solid flesh. Lavitz flexed his fingers, then placed two of them against his throat. There, beating steadily as if it had never stopped, was a pulse. "I'm alive again…" A tiny, slightly confused smile found its way to his lips as he ran a hand through his flaxen hair.

He turned back to where the woman in blue armor had once been, and his smile faded. "Llumnaies…thank you." Whatever else he was going to say was cut off by the sound of distant voices. He listened as they got closer and closer until…

"L-Lavitz? Is that you?"

The formerly deceased knight turned slowly to face the questioner. "Hello, Dart."