The ten warriors found themselves on a white staircase. Slowly, they walked up and saw an empty landing. "Where are we?" Terra asked, stepping back a little. "Shouldn't we be back already?"
"I don't know, but I think Cosmos might be able to tell us," Cloud said. Out of a blue, a woman with white hair tied into pigtails appeared right in front of them. She wore a form-fitting black dress made out fine silk and had deep azure eyes. Zidane let out a low whistle.
"I like where we are so far…" he said, examining the woman in front of them from head to toe.
The woman smiled at them. "Hello and welcome to the Soulstream. My name is Nao Mariota Pryderi," she said calmly. She was greeted by confused looks, making her giggle a bit. "You can just call me Nao for short. Right now, I'll be sending you to the world of Erinn. But before I do, would you like to ask something?"
"Oh! I do!" Zidane said, raising his hand. "Where do you live?"
Nao giggled again. "I live here," she replied, motioning to the vast expanse of sky.
"I have a question," Light said, stepping forward. "When can we speak to Cosmos?"
Nao furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but I can't answer that question," she said uneasily. "Are there any more questions?" she asked, turning to the others. "Don't worry, Erinn is a peaceful place. There are many nice people down there," she said happily. "I'll be sending you down there already. Please give this to the Chief in Tir Chonaill. His named is Duncan. You can't miss him," she said, giving Light a small envelope. "Enjoy your new life," she said softly as the warriors started to fade. When they finally disappeared, Nao looked up at the sky and frowned. "Those were some weird ones Goddess Morrighan," she murmured.
This time, the warriors found themselves standing on what seemed to be a portal or seal of some sort. There were a few raccoons and chickens roaming around and a boy with a huge helmet covering his face stood near the fence. "Where are we this time?" Luneth asked, raising an eyebrow, slightly annoyed.
"You're in the Forest of Souls and my name is Tin. You must be the new arrivals. Nao just told me that you guys were coming. You see that road there, follow that and you'll be able to get to Erinn," the boys explained.
"Forest of Souls?" Cecil asked, dubious.
Tin nodded. "Yep, but once you get out of here and enter Tir Chonaill, you won't be able to come back for some time," the boy said.
"Do you know anyone by the name of Cosmos, young one?" Light asked.
The boy shook his head. "Nope, but go ask around town… Maybe they know something." He pointed a finger at the downhill path again. "Follow that road and turn to the left. There's another portal there that will send you to Tir." The warrior nodded and walked away, following Tin's directions. The other soon followed after their leader. "Enjoy your new life!" the boy called.
The Warriors did see another portal, and hesitantly, they stepped upon it, being transported to another place.
In a blink of an eye, they were now in the middle of a small square. They saw three small houses and based on their signs, they were the general shop, grocery store and the bank. Up on a hill, they saw an old man standing, looking about, and another house.
"Who do you think this Duncan person is?" Tidus asked, scratching the back of his head as he looked around.
"Maybe he's that old guy over there," Bartz said, pointing at the old man who was giving them a weird look. "Let's check it out!" They walked up to the old man and saw that he was, indeed, old and wise, just by looking. "Hi there. Do you know a Chief Duncan anywhere?"
The old man nodded. "Yes, I am who you're looking for. Nao told me all about you…"
A girl with purplish silver hair sat beside the inn. Her short wavy hair was tied into a half ponytail, bangs framing her forehead, though a stubborn lock of hair remained in the middle. She had deep purple eyes that glimmered as the sun shone upon them. Her lips formed into an intoxicating sweet smile. She wore what looked like a priestess' robe. It was of the purest white with light blue trimmings and scarf tossed over her shoulders. Though her robes hid it, her strap boots that reached mid way to her knees were a dark chocolate brown, while a single purple rose was tucked safe behind her ear.
"Ahhh, Dewberry… Don't you love it when the sun shines?" the girl asked turning to her left, only to see air. "Dewberry?" she called, her eyebrows furrowed. She heard her dear penguin's squawk and turned her head to see that she was up on the hill. "Get down from there you stupid flightless bird!" the girl called, her hands on her waist.
"Aiyannah, I don't think calling your penguin a 'stupid flightless bird' will make it listen to you…" Nora said, smiling at the girl. Nora had honey blond hair that reached her shoulders. She had blue-green eyes that sometimes reminded the girl of the lakes of Emain Macha. She wore a cream colored dress under a green apron that matched her eyes.
Aiyannah frowned. "But Nora…" she whined. The girl looked back up on the hill and noticed her penguin run off into the graveyard. "Come back here you stupid bird!" she yelled as she ran after it, leaving a giggling Nora.
"What's up with her?" a small girl asked from the windmill. She was a young girl wearing an old apron that's too big for her, and a worn out hat which covered most of her hair. She had cherry red eyes that were giving Nora an inquisitive look.
"Dewberry just ran off again Alissa… Nothing new," the woman chuckled.
"Ohh… I told her to keep it on a leash," Alissa muttered.
"Alissa!" Nora chided.
"Sorry…"
"Come back here you stupid bird!"
Squall turned around and saw no one. "Did you guys hear that?" the man asked to the others. They all shook their head.
"Must be the young ones," Duncan said, shrugging. "Anyway…"
"Dewberry! I order you to stay put!" she barked, but the bird still ran around the spider infested graveyard. Aiyannah chased after it, but the penguin proved to be too fast. "Damn it! Where's Mangosteen when you need her?" she screamed. The penguin exited the graveyard, running towards the chief's house, making the girl even angrier. "Don't you go there! You remember the last time you played there!" The bird stopped for a moment and faced her owner. The bird stuck out her tongue, (if that's possible) further infuriating Aiyannah. "Why you little…" The bird jumped up in surprise as she lunged for it. Dewberry ran away, squawking in triumph, toward the chief. Aiyannah picked herself up and ran after the bird again.
"Hey, do you hear that?" Tidus asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Hear what?" Luneth asked, cupping his hand around his ear. "Hey… is that a bird?" Luneth asked, pointing at the black and white bird near Zidane's tail.
"It's a penguin Luneth," Cloud corrected.
"Hey there lil fella," Terra cooed as she crouched down, petting it. The penguin paid no attention to the girl and stared at the swaying tail. "I think he likes you Zidane," she pointed out.
The genome turned around and smiled. "Hey, what do you know? I'm well- Yeow!" The bird bit on to his tail, making Zidane shout in pain. Aside from Zidane's cries, another voice grew louder and louder.
"Hey' isn't that De-" Duncan said, but was cut off.
"DEWBERRY!" an angered girl screamed, running towards the group.
"Oh! Aiyannah, I didn't know-" The girl collided with the ten warriors, pushing them off the hill and sending them rolling down the square.
"Aha! I finally caught you, you little brat!" Aiyannah cried in triumph, holding up the penguin, who was desperately trying to escape, with her two hands. "Now you little…" Aiyannah heard moans all around her and looked down. She saw ten people lying on the ground, holding their heads with their hands and rubbing their temples. "Oops," she squeaked. She glared t the penguin that was innocently looking at her. "I will so kill you later…" she threatened. She let go of her pet and set it down near the steps. "Stay there," she ordered. Aiyannah turned back to the people and helped them up. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered. "I didn't mean to…"
"AIYANNAH!" a voice boomed from atop the hill.
The said girl slowly turned her head and saw a very angry chief. "Oh, hi Chief Duncan. Fancy meeting you here…" she chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. The man beckoned for her to come up and she followed him. "Hehe, sorry 'bout that," she said sheepishly.
"You should be apologizing to them," he said, looking over at the ten people that were still in the square.
"I was just about to do that sir," she mumbled under her breath. "I'm very sorry for what happened. I won't let it happen again. Please forgive me," she said softly, bowing down, hand clasped together on front of her. She silently cursed her pet as she saw her smile (if that's possible. How can birds smile with their hard beaks?). She felt something being placed on her head and straightened herself up, reaching up, feeling her flower.
"I think that belongs to you," a man carrying many weapons said as he patted it back into place. "There's no need for apologies," he said, smiling.
"B-But…" she stuttered.
"It was just an accident young one," a man in black armor said.
She shook her head. "But my penguin…"
"Was that your penguin?" a boy with a tail in his hands said. He shoved his tail in front of her face. "See what your pet did to my precious tail? He took a bite from it! Tell me, does it look like anything like food?" he ranted.
A brunette wearing the toga-like outfit pulled the boy away. "I'm sorry about that. He's a bit sensitive about his tail," he whispered.
"Sensitive? My tail's sensitive! That bite really hurt!"
The brunette rolled his eyes.
"Umm…" Aiyannah looked up at the other people. Man, were they… different. In Erinn, armors weren't really that bad, but something was just different about them. "New arrivals?" she asked sheepishly. They all nodded. "So that explains it…"
"Aiyannah!"
The girl stiffened. "Coming~!" she chimed as she hastily grabbed her penguin and ran up the steps, raising the skirt of her robes a bit so she wouldn't trip. "I said sorry already. Please forgive me. Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease!" she pleaded in a flurry of words. The man rolled his eyes and raised a hand, silencing the girl.
"I thought you were off to Iria," Duncan casually said.
"Uhh… Umm… I… You're not mad?"
"No, as long as you apologized," the older man said, patting her head. "Now, what stories do you have to tell your old friend?"
The girl smiled and started to tell him everything she had seen in the new continent. She excitedly told him her travels across different lands, and her encounters with different people and monsters. "Iria is so amazing and full of wonders Duncan. I hope you could go there someday," she said as she looked up into the sky, thinking of all the wonderful things she'd seen.
Duncan chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Well Aiyannah, my age and my job as the chief prevents me from going on adventures, unlike you."
"Umm, Sir Duncan?" Light called. "I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion but-"
"Oh no, no, no… It's alright." Duncan pulled the girl closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone, this is Aiyannah, a good friend of mine. She might look young, but she's one hell of a fighter and explorer. Aiyannah, these here are new comers."
"So I've heard," she said, looking at the people she pushed over again.
"Hello Aiyannah. My name's Zidane Tribal," the boy with the tail said. "I'm sorry for my sudden outburst a while ago…" He inched closer beside the girl and looked at her suggestively. "Are you busy later on?"
The girl covered her mouth with a hand, muffling her giggles. "I'm sorry, but nothing can replace exploration in my heart."
"I'm Luneth," the other boy said. He looked down with a worried expression and turned to her again. "I think your penguin's suffocating." Aiyannah looked down and saw that she was hugging her pet a little too tightly.
"My name's Terra Branford" the lone woman said, a smile on her face. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Cloud Strife," the blond man with spiky hair said.
"Cecil Harvey," the dark knight said.
"I'm Firion," the man with many weapons introduced himself.
"I'm Tidus," the other blond said.
"Squall Leonhart" the brunette wearing a black jacket mumbled.
"I'm Bartz Klauser. How do you do?" the other brunette said.
"And I'm the Warrior of Light," the man wearing a helmet finally said.
Aiyannah gave him a questioning look. "Call him Light for short," Bartz said.
"Though you can call him Quinn if you want," Zidane snickered. Light shot Zidane a glare, silencing him.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Aiyannah, Aiyannah Aurora Sylveria," Aiyannah said sweetly. She looked at the shadows and frowned. "But I need to go now. I have some part-times to do…" She crouched down and set her penguin on her feet. "Tell Caramely to be in charge alright? I'll call you guys when I need you." With that, the penguin ran off, squawking. She quickly stood up and dusted her hands. "I'll be-"
"Aiyannah?"
"Yes chief?" she said, turning around, mocking a small salute.
"How 'bout you show them around," the old man said, gesturing at the warriors.
"Ei?" she said in surprise. She glanced at them uneasily and let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine. I'll give them a tour of the whole Uladh continent," she said, rubbing the back of her head. "See ya around Duncan!" she said as she headed up north. The other warriors nodded towards the old man and caught up with Aiyannah. "First stop, the Healer's." The girl chuckled and turned around, now walking back wards as she talked to them. "Dilys'll get a heart attack. Haha." The girl turned around again, skipping towards a small building. "Here we are~!" she sang. She opened the door. "Oh Dilys~!"
In the middle of the room stood a tall and slim in a green healer dress. Her dark bobbed hair falling to her neck is neatly combed, and her brown eyes shimmered as she smiled at the girl in the door way. "Aiyannah~!" she chimed as she hugged the girl. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt? You should have called me! Do you have any wounds? Are you sick? Do you need a check up?" she quickly said, inspecting the girl for any injuries.
"Told ya," she chuckled, looking over her shoulders towards the others. "I'm fine Dilys," she said, prying away from the healer's grasp. "By the way, these are some new friends of mine. Duncan asked me to show them around."
Dilys looked over the girl and indeed saw other people. "Hello there. I'm Dilys, this town's healer. If you need to buy any potions or need any treatment, feel free to come to me anytime," she said sweetly. "Though it does cost you some money. An HP potion is worth 140 gold each, while a bandage is 250 per five pieces. A full treatment would cost you 90 gold though," she said.
"Rip off…" Aiyannah murmured under her breath. Dilys shot her a glare, making her smile ruefully. "Anyway, this is Light, Firion, Luneth, Cecil, Bartz, Terra, Cloud, Squall, Zidane and Tidus." The healer nodded in acknowledgement. "Oh yeah, I need ten HP potions Dilys. Here's the money."
Dilys gave her the potions, giving her a look. "I don't understand why you still buy potions when you can heal yourself."
Aiyannah shrugged. "It uses too much energy." She turned around, skipping out. "See ya Dilys!"
"Take care!" the healer called, waving good bye.
Out on the road, Aiyannah waved at a man who was standing near the healer's house and giggled. "Who's that?" Luneth asked, falling in step with Aiyannah.
"That's Trefor. He's like the guard here," she answered, shrugging. She noticed a few foxes following Terra, making the half esper a little wary. "Don't worry about them. They're weak lil things. They won't attack unless you do," she explained. "You don't mind a bit of walking do you?" she asked, not bothering to turn around.
"No," Light answered. "We've been on a journey ourselves before we arrived here in your world."
"Erinn." Aiyannah said.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Erinn. This planet is called Erinn," she explained, turning around and digging into her pocket, producing a small folded piece of worn out paper. "This is a map of the world. I'd like to explain in to you guys, but the nearest library is in Dunbarton. The school here is only for magic and combat. No books." She passed the paper around. "Please take care of that. It's been to places none of you have ever dreamed of going."
"So you're saying we're here, in the north of this small piece of land?" Squall said, pointing at the spot that said 'Tir Chonaill.' Aiyannah nodded. "Then what's Sidhe Sneachta?" The girl looked up in thought.
"It would be hard to explain. It's better if you see him with your own eyes…" she drifted off. "Oh well, I'll introduce you to the other villagers for the mean time since it's too early!" she said, skipping down the road. She led them to Malcolm, the general shop owner, Caitin, manager of the grocery store, Bebhinn, manager of the Erskin Bank in the village, Alissa, the windmill operator that sorta likes Luneth, Lassar, the magic teacher who now hates Zidane, Ranald, the combat teacher, Ferghus, the ever hated blacksmith, Nora and Piaras, the innkeepers, Endelyon, the local priestess, Meven, the local priest and Deian, the cocky shepherd boy. "Alrighty then," Aiyannah sighed as she stretched from side to side. "Off to Tarlach!"
"Who's Tarlach?" Cecil asked, following right behind their guide.
"He is a great druid. You can call him a mage as well. He is skilled in magic," Aiyannah explained. "He was one of the three missing warriors who went off to Tir Na Nog in order to save Goddess Morrighan, the goddess of war and vengeance. It was thought that they died; all three of them. Mari, a young but great archer. Ruairi, a master of hand to hand combat. Tarlach the great druid." Aiyannah shook her head, "Maybe this isn't the time to tell you that story," she said, smiling towards them. Her smile faded when she saw confused looks. "What?"
"Why would someone want to save a goddess of war and revenge?" Terra asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"You misunderstand," she giggled, lightly shaking her head. "Morrighan is not a goddess that would send forth destruction. No, that's Cichol's and Macha's job. Morrighan, on the other hand, tended to the wounded soldiers back during the great wars," she explained.
"But-"
"But nothing. Morrighan is a kind goddess. She is the kindest amongst the three goddesses of war," Aiyannah said, stopping in front of a seal, hands on her waist. "Here we are, the entrance to Sidhe Sneachta. You guys alright with cold?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.
"We don't mind," Tidus said, shrugging.
The purple eyed girl smirked. "Alrighty then. Coyotes are inside so please be careful. There's another seal like this inside that's going to lead us to Tarlach." She gazed up at the setting sun and narrowed her eyes. "We should hurry up for you guys to see something cool," she said, skipping into the seal, disappearing. The warriors looked at each other, doubting, but nevertheless, went in. They were greeted by the gust of cold wind and snowflakes falling. They saw the girl already a few feet ahead of them and tried to catch up with her.
"Aiyannah, wait up!" Luneth called, running after the skipping girl while dodging the snowmen everywhere.
The girl turned around and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh! Am I too fast?" she asked, putting a finger against her cheek, innocently looking at them. "I can slow down if you want… But then you won't see it."
"See what?" Cecil asked, now in his paladin form.
Aiyannah narrowed her eyes at the white knight. "Weren't you in the black armor a while ago?" she asked, pointing a finger at him. Cecil was about to say something, but the girl shook her head. "Never mind that! Come on!" she said, running this time towards the seal.
"She's a lively one ain't she?" Firion commented, running after the girl.
"She sure is," Cloud mumbled.
"But doesn't she give you a sense of peace inside? She has something in her that just makes you see in a brighter light," Terra said, a smile on her lips. "She's lucky to live in such a peaceful world…"
The warriors entered the next seal and found themselves in a forest path. Aiyannah was already ahead of them, hurrying, skipping and humming at the same time.
"Tarlach~!" she called, her hands around her mouth. The ten warriors stopped in their tracks as a big brown bear that was standing on some sort of altar came into view. Aiyannah squealed in delight as she saw the animal and wrapped her arms around it, nuzzling into its fur. The bear let out a small groan, its eyes rolling. "I'm so glad we caught you in your bear form!" The bear looked at her questioningly and noticed the people she was with. It nodded towards their direction and closed its eyes. "Aww~" the girl whined.
A bright light surrounded the bear, blinding everyone, making them shield their eyes and take a step back. "I'm surprised that these new comers are already capable of entering this place," a man's voice said in mild interest. The people looked up and no longer saw a bear. Instead, they saw a tall man with wavy blond hair and glasses in a brown robe. "My name is Tarlach."
"Was he…" Luneth asked. His question was immediately answered by a nod. "But how?"
Tarlach looked at them, then at Aiyannah. He turned to them again with an apologetic look. "It's a story too long for me to tell given the amount of time that I have as a human," he said. "But I think this fine young lady over here would be glad to tell you the whole story. She's such a chatter box," he teased, making Aiyannah frown.
"I'll tell you guys when we get to the inn," she said. "I'll tell you guys everything that you want to know."
"So what brings you here to this desolate frozen land?" the druid asked.
"Nothing really," the girl shrugged. "Just wanted to visit you and show these guys something cool."
Tarlach raised an eyebrow. "You think me changing forms is cool?"
The girl ignored the question, already turning around and heading towards the exit. "See ya Tarlach!" she called, waving. The warriors bid farewell to the lone druid and followed after their guide. "You guys tired?" she asked as they exited Sidhe Sneachta. She turned around and saw that Terra was already fighting her eyes to stay open. "It's just a short walk back to the in. Don't worry. I'll take care of all the expenses since you guys seem to be broke," she said, walking down the road.
"Hey, what's this?" Bartz asked, looking at a portal that had a large blue stone chained to two stone posts.
"That's the moon gate. It's the fastest way to get from one point to another here in Uladh. The only thing is that it only works during the night, and that you have no choice in where you go. There's a fixed schedule as to where the moon gates would lead," she explained.
"How interesting…" Firion murmured. "So where do they lead to now?"
"They should be going to Port Ceann. It's a port for ships that would be heading off to Port Qilla in Iria," she casually said, turning to the right. "Here we are. Come on in."
They entered the building and saw Piaras behind the counter. "Our biggest rooms are for only four people," he told Aiyannah. "You can take two and take another room that can hold three people." Aiyannah nodded. "That would be 2,750 gold." Zidane widened his eyes as he saw the small pouch filled with money being handed over. "Here's the keys," he said, handing over three keys. "You know your way already lil missy."
"Come on guys," she said as she climbed up the stairs. "This is a kinda small inn, so they only have eight rooms. Two singles, two doubles, two for three people, and two for four people… Hope you don't mind," she said, opening one of the doors on the right. "Here's the room for three…" she turned to the two doors in front of the room and opened them as well. "… and here's for the four." She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Now, who gets to sleep where… By default, me and Terra are going to go together. Any one wants to join us?"
"Umm… Aiyannah. Let the child stay with us…" Terra suggested.
The girl looked at the two shortest in the group. "Which child?"
"Luneth."
Aiyannah looked at the boy in red armor and sighed. "Yeah, he'll do. You guys decide on who sleeps where," she said, throwing the other two keys towards them as she entered the three-person room. "Wake up early alright? Dunbarton's pretty far, so we should have an early start. G'night!" she slammed the door in front of the guys' faces. It was decided that Cloud, Squall, Bartz and Zidane would share a form while Firion, Light, Cecil and Tidus would share the other. Back inside the girls plus Luneth's room, they were already getting ready for bed.
"That was a long day!" Luneth said, taking of his helmet.
"Mhmm," Terra agreed, sitting on her bed.
"Tomorrow's gonna be longer. I'm going to bring you the library so you can learn some stuff about Erinn," Aiyannah said, lying down on her bed, staring at the ceiling, hands cradling her head. "So tell me, who are you guys exactly?" she asked, turning to her side.
"We're the Warriors of Cosmos, the goddess of harmony," Luneth replied. "We just won a war against Chaos, the god of discord."
"Cosmos and Chaos? Never heard of 'em," the girl sighed.
"We stumbled here by accident. Before we came to this village we met a woman and child," Terra said.
"Nao and Tin… Figures," she muttered. "I'm calling it a day," she announced, pulling the blanket over her shoulder. "G'night…"
"Sweet dreams Aiyannah…" Terra whispered.
The night was calm and quiet, but Aiyannah still woke up in the middle of the night. She rubbed her eyes awake as she sat up. Her friends were still asleep and she decided not to wake them with her tossing and turning in her bed. She stepped into her boots and went out for a midnight walk. It was cold, the moon nice and full, like always.
Sleep wasn't really important for the likes of her, a Milletian. Food and sleep weren't needs for her. She considered them as a hindrance when she should be off travelling the world and getting into trouble. She took in a deep breath, the nice cool air calming her down. She raised her eyebrows when she saw a person run past her, heading for the fields. Another went by, then two, then three. She was about to stop another one to ask questions, but when she heard the growls echo, she licked her lips and grinned.
"Maybe a few giant wolves would get me going…" she chuckled as she ran towards the direction of the fields, her swords in her hands.
Bored… bored… bored…
This fic was the product of a black out in my neighborhood so, yeah…