Hi! VV here, deviating from my norm and bringing you a new story from my personal all-time favorite game, featuring a character I personally feel could have used a lot more screen time! It's been half a decade since the events of Final Fantasy XII, and Mjrn has grown increasingly more worried about things she hears of from the outside world, and concerned for the safety of the Wood after what she experienced when she first left it. And though the Wood cannot speak to her anymore, Jote can still hear it, and the Wood knows of Mjrn's restlessness. Against the law of the Green Word, the Wood has decreed that Mjrn must leave, that she might find answers beyond the Wood's reach. [Rated M for planned progression further down the road. More to come on that later.]
The young Viera trembled, shaken by the taint of fouled mist, the crude hume-crafted stone wreaking havoc on her nerves. She'd come here in innocent curiosity, led by the wanderings of men in iron, in and out of the jungle, and in and out of their tunnels. The Wood had warned her against this, but in her naivete, she had not heeded the warnings, had followed the humes across the plains, much to her folly.
The men in iron were on here before she knew it, ridden in upon the backs of chocobo, spears leveled menacingly toward her. Several raised their metal masks, likely intent on seeing her more clearly- she had heard from some of the warders the humes had inferior eyes- and she did not much care for the way they looked at her, the sneers they wore- and on one or two, blatant, outright hunger. And when they spoke, they spoke of things she dared not repeat, even things she had never heard of before, though she knew by the way they spoke that these things were foul and cruel.
And then the men in robes had appeared, and she found she cared for them even less. The tied her in chains of cold iron, drew her into the tunnels, deep among the stone where not even a whisper from the Wood could be heard. The man in glasses had come in, the man with the wicked smile who seemed to talk to those who were not there. He brought with him a stone, a small blue thing, carved into smooth angles and flat planes. The Mist this stone gave off drew a fear from the Viera that she had never felt before. The man in glasses dropped it at her feet…. Then he turned, and left.
Mjrn sprang awake, sitting upright, arms crossed over her chest, trying to rub some warmth back into her arms. She sat upon the wide bough of a great tree, thin beams of moonlight shining through the branches overhead. This was not the first time she had woken like this, and she was sure it would not be the last. Five years it has been, and these nightmares yet trouble me… The young Viera turned her head upward, toward the stars. "Will you answer my call, this night?" she whispered softly. She closed her eyes, breathed deep… A light breeze stirred the leaves, a faint glow drifted around her… But she heard nothing.
When she had returned to the wood after Fran and her companions had found her in the mines, the Wood had spoken her in whispers. Since then, it had grown steadily quieter, and it answered her call with less frequency… But she was not alone in this. Many of the wood-warders, and most of the salve-makers worried that the Wood was losing its voice. It had come to where there was only one among them who could still hear the Wood as they all once had.
"The Wood says your stir in restlessness, Sister," Jote stated, her voice soft and quiet. Mjrn turned gradually, to catch sight of her sister. She was no longer surprised to see Jote awake; the eldest of her sisters rarely slept these days. She worried for her fellows, for the village, and for the Wood. "You call to her, but the Wood cannot reach back, cannot sooth your troubles. She asks that I..." Jote's voice hitched. Mjrn stared in surprise, and moved closer. Jote sat among the shadows, but even in the dark, the young Viera could see tears in her sisters eyes. "She asks that I bid farewell to another sister… The Wood says that you must forsake the Green Word, Mjrn, that you must go among the humes as you did once before… That you, who were once so close to her, might find what among the world of humes causes such distress to the Wood." Drawing a deep breath, Jote stood, walked over to Mjrn, knelt down before her. She brought her arms around Mjrn's neck, drew her close. Mjrn could feel the warmth of her sister, but could feel her sister trembling as tears racked her body. "Goodbye, my sister," she whispered quietly.
Mjrn sat where she'd woke, staring in stunned dismay as her sister turned and vanished into the night.
And there we have it. Yes, I know this is VERY short (I usually shoot for around 2-4k words in an average chapter of my fics) but this is just to get things started. It felt fitting to leave this one short and sweet, just to set the tone for the story to come. Stay tuned for more short-haired, short-dressed, rabbit-eared goodness. -VV