Disclaimer: I don't own FFX
Authoress Note: I figure that each aeon/fayth that has an element attached to them probably has their chamber of the fayth like their element. For example, Shiva's is freezing cold whereas Ifrit's will be blistering hot.
That's how I like to see it anyways.
The Path I've Chosen
By: Animeroxsmyworld
Chapter 3
After finding comfort from the heat the temple provided, Jecht swore loudly when the cloister of trials and the chamber of the fayth revealed a brisk chill and piles of snow, as if slapping him for presuming the warmth was offered freely.
The temple probably just didn't want to give the summoners hypothermia as they tried to complete the challenges. It wouldn't do them any good to kill the people who were trying to save Spira from utter destruction.
"This is bullshit." Jecht complained openly as he stood outside the chamber of the fayth, hands moving against his arms to try and bring some semblance of warmth to his body. If he continued to stay this cold for much longer he wouldn't doubt that his teeth would begin chattering.
Auron simply ignored him as he watched the door to the chamber, waiting for any sign to show that Braska was done praying and showing his respect to the fayth inside. Though if there was something more required Auron wasn't sure for he had never actually been inside the chamber himself. If Braska was successful however, the process of receiving a new aeon would be very taxing for him and Auron didn't doubt that Braska would be more than exhausted by the time he emerged from the room.
"Why can't we jus' go inside there with 'im?" Jehct complained, shivering as he spoke.
"It's forbidden." Auron supplied, looking at Jecht for the first time since following Braska into the trials, his anger towards the man from Zanarkand and all the problems he posed simmering at the back of his mind.
"That's crap. What's he even doin' in there?" Jecht snapped, the cold making his mood absolutely irritable as he glared hotly at the door that was concealing the man that would allow them to finally leave this frozen hell.
"Praying. He has to pray to the fayth and in turn they will judge him. Only a worthy summoner will receive the aeon." Auron explained, gaze flicking back to the door before he shifted, stretching his arms to work some heat into them as well. He might be wearing more layers than Jecht but the cold was still beginning to seep into his body.
He too would not object if Braska would emerge soon.
He blinked when he was met with a face of pure confusion. "What?" He asked rudely, nose wrinkling.
"That's how they judge his worth? By his prayers?" Jecht asked incredulously. Auron's brow flattened quickly as Jecht's tone registered in his mind, the undertone of ridicule not missed by the warrior.
"Your prayers reveal your heart." He stated matter-of-factly. Jecht snorted in such a way that Auron couldn't tell whether it was laughter or dismissal. Either way he didn't like it.
But before either one of them could do anything else, the door to the chamber groaned as it opened and Braska filled the doorway, sweat rolling down his face as he staggered. Jecht blinked in surprise at the summoner's clearly exhausted appearance while Auron started making his way towards the older man.
"Lord Braska…"
Braska's eyes focused on Auron, the man blinking sluggishly as he took a slow step forward. "Auron." He said, his voice weak, lips blue from the cold, before his eyes rolled and his body fell.
Shouts of surprise filled the air as both guardians jerked, Auron managing to grab a hold of Braska's robe before he could hit the ground while Jecht came up only a mere second later, helping to haul Braska upright. With Braska no longer doing anything to support his own weight, the two guardians were left with having one of his arms slung over their shoulders as they tried to move about.
"What the hell happened?" Jecht asked as he grunted from the newfound weight added to his side.
"It's a very taxing process." Auron grunted back as he too fumbled with Braska's unconscious form. Jecht muttered inarticulate obscene words while Auron's brow furrowed. Even if the procedure was taxing, he hadn't expected it to have this big of an effect, he had never quite heard of a summoner passing out after receiving an aeon before.
And then he felt it.
It was a bone chilling cold, the kind that made your insides hurt and your body numb. It was seeping from the door to the chamber of the fayth, the open door just beginning to grind close as Auron stared up at it. As it shut, the icy feeling disappeared from the room, returning it to its normal irritable coldness.
If it had been that freezing inside the chamber while Braska was praying for the full 15 minutes he had been trapped inside, than it was little wonder he had collapsed.
"We should hurry and get him to the priest." Auron bit out sharply, a tone of urgency in his voice as he realized that Braska just might need medical attention. The kind of attention that he nor Jecht seemed to have.
"What do ya think I'm doin'?" Jecht shot back before the two practically raced Braska's body out of the freezing hell.
Luckily for the two guardians, the head priest at the temple knew a few cure spells for such this occasion.
"This happens more than we would like to admit." He admitted sheepishly as he ushered the trio into an empty room where the temple would usually house the sick and injured, the heat of the temple beginning to thaw the damage that the chambers below had caused.
"Well maybe if you would spend some money to heat up the whole damn place instead of jus' the main floor, shit like this wouldn't happen!" Jecht snarled as he relinquished his hold on Braska and let Auron ease him down onto the bed that sat in the plainly decorated room.
The priest looked up at Jecht aghast. "We can't! It would…the fayth…it…!" He sputtered.
Auron found himself explaining before Jecht could even ask. "Some fayth are affiliated with different elements. The one Lord Braska went to go see just so happens to be affiliated with ice and snow. Asking the temple to heat up the chamber where the fayth is would be like asking them to kill it."
Although he had never actually been inside the cloister of trials or farther until now, Auron knew all about the temples and the different aeons. He was an ex-warrior monk who had served in a temple after all.
The priest nodded his head vigorously at Auron's explanation while Jecht still continued to scowl.
"Sounds like a load of bull to me." Jecht grunted while Auron finally stepped away from Braska, allowing the priest, who was now becoming more frightened of Jecht with each passing second, the chance to scuttle over to the summoner's side and begin healing him.
"Dear me, he did get it rather bad didn't he?" The priest mused to himself as he continued to weave the spell, Jecht shooting a glare the priest's way before all three returned to watching Braska as the priest straightened, the color beginning to seep back into Braska's face. There was a moment of silence before Braska's eyes fluttered and his mouth opened, his chest heaving in a lungful of deliciously warm air.
Auron visibly relaxed, the tension practically disappearing from his body as Auron groaned. His body felt like it was on pins and needles as his once cold form began to warm, pain throbbing through him. His hands went to his head, trying to stop the pulsating pain that was throbbing against his skull.
"Are you feeling better my lord?" Auron asked in concern as he began walking forward, the priest excusing himself from the room now that his service was no longer required. If they needed him, he would just be out in the hall.
"I can honestly say I've been better." Braska replied as he cracked an eye open, wincing against the harsh light from the above fixture. His response brought a small smile from Auron and a smirk mixed with a snort from Jecht.
Braska slowly sat himself up, the only sounds in the room being the rustle of his robes before Auron cleared his throat.
"Did you er…get the aeon?" He questioned, unsure how to phrase it delicately before just outright speaking what was on his mind. He would hate for Braska to have gone through all that to merely get rejected by the fayth.
"O' course he did!" Jecht replied from the side, waving the question away as if Auron shouldn't have even bothered asking. He spoke with such a volume of confidence that for once, Auron actually felt stupid for questioning the summoner.
Yet he couldn't help glancing at Braska from the corner of his eye. Despite Jecht's clearly confident statement, the blitzer was staring at the summoner intently as well. Apparently his confident statement needed reassurance.
Braska looked at them both for a second before his lips pulled up and he nodded.
"You never would've been able to get me out if I had not."
Braska didn't want to inconvenience the temple anymore than he felt they had so the trio trudged back through the snow until they came across a budding travel agency stationed not too far away.
They would rest the night there before heading towards the Thunder Plains.
Teeth chattering, Jecht all but barreled through the front door of the agency, swearing and painting whatever words he used absolutely colorful. The person behind the desk, a young woman, just watched him owlishly from behind a thick pair of goggles.
"Calm yourself." Auron instructed as he came through the doorway, Braska following behind him. Jecht was too tired and cold to start an argument, thus letting his tirade fall into quiet words and grunts of anger. Auron shook the snow that had started to fall from his hair while Braska began shaking the flakes from his sleeves.
The woman behind the counter seemed to regain herself, realizing that these people were probably customers and straightened.
"Rammu, lyh e ramb oui?" She asked politely. Jecht stared at her, nose wrinkling ever so slightly.
"Huh?"
Auron blinked as well before looking around the shop, as if noticing it for the first time. "It's Al Bhed." He mused out loud before turning to look at the girl directly. "Do you speak Spiran?" He asked raising a brow.
He was met with absolute silence as she just stared at him, her brows rising in silent confusion.
"Guess not." He muttered. Through all his studies he had yet to learn the Al Bhed language. Their culture was thought blasphemous to the teachings, relying instead on machina instead of Yevon and the aeons.
Before either of the guardians could say anything, Braska made his way to the counter that separated them from the Al Bhed woman, still shaking himself free from snow.
"Rammu. Fa fuimt mega du nahd uid drnaa nuusc vun dra hekrd." He explained, the girl blinking before smiling. The moment that she realized they might not speak the same language as her, she feared that things would get really complicated. The agency was still rather new here in Macalania and so it was usually only Al Bhed's who came in. Either that or their customers were able to at least speak some Al Bhed. Yet when she heard no Al Bhed leave these new comers mouths, panic began to wash over her.
Only for relief to chase it away when the robed man opened his mouth and seemed to speak it rather fluently.
"Oac, uv luinca." She nodded, Braska nodding in turn before reaching into one of the pockets in his robe and pulling out his travel money. In turn, she passed him three separate keys that led to the three rooms he had requested. He thanked her and handed the keys to the slightly stupefied looking guardians.
"These are keys to your rooms. We'll only be staying one night." He explained.
"Anything beats roughing it out in the forest again." Jecht declared as he looked at his key before heading back towards the only door that led further into the shop.
"For once I have to agree with him." Auron muttered as he pocketed his key as well and followed after the shirtless man. Braska made to follow after him before pausing in the doorway.
"Frana ec Rin?"
The woman turned to look at him before frowning. "Ra'c yd dra udran crub."
Braska only nodded before continuing down the passage. It might just be better for him if he didn't see Rin right now. The Al Bhed community was very tightly knit and Rin had been very good friends with his wife.
He didn't think the man would be very pleased with his decision to leave Yuna behind to pursue the summoner's pilgrimage. Despite his many good qualities, Braska hoped he didn't accidentally run into him.
Him…and Cid.
The next morning, the three were pleased to awaken well rested with a complimentary breakfast offered to them by the agency. Of course Braska had to be the one to translate everything but that seemed to be of little concern for them at the moment. They were too focused on the meal to let the language barrier bother them, they hadn't truly had a decently cooked meal since Bevelle, since Auron's cooking skills were only on par so eating out in the wild wasn't exactly a party for the mouth.
But it was unfortunately thanks to this, that Jecht was able to fall into his old habits.
"Where did you get that?" Auron accused, pointing to one of the several flasks of alcohol Jecht now had strapped to his hip, opposite of his sword. Yevon that would be a stupid combination.
"I ordered it." Jecht smiled lazily, taking a sip from the flask Auron had gestured at.
"You can't even speak Al Bhed!" Auron snapped while the three wove through the Macalania woods, heading towards the Thunder Plains. They had been too satisfied with their meals and easy rest that Auron had only now noticed that Jecht had been drinking something this entire time.
Jecht wagged a finger in his direction. "Paan."
"What's that mean?" Auron asked glancing towards Braska who was watching the exchange with a frown. He didn't approve of Jecht drinking, or at least, drinking this early in the morning. It wasn't even noon yet.
"It means beer." He explained. "Though I don't know where he learnt it."
Jecht only smiled before taking a deliberate sip from his flask, delighting in the anger that flushed Auron's face. He laughed before running off ahead of them, not bothering to reveal that he had actually figured it out himself by watching the only other customer in the agency order. When the elderly man had said the same word and received what looked exactly like beer, Jecht was quick to put two and two together.
"He's like a drunk child." Auron seethed while Braska sighed. They watched as Jecht scampered ahead, having much more energy than they'd ever seen him with, before he disappeared from their sight.
"He can't get that far." Braska stated. "The Thunder Plains are close."
Indeed, if one stopped and listened, they could already hear the rumble of thunder rolling through the air. The sky was fading from the clear blue to a startling black and the air was beginning to dampen with the ever present threat of rain. As they neared the entrance to the Thunder Plains, they found Jecht standing stock still, eyes fixated in front of him.
If Jecht had been awed by Macalnia, he was dead fascinated with the Thunder Plains. But to watch a fiend go scuttling across the open plains only to get blasted with lightning immediately made him change his mind from awesome to downright dangerous.
Though he had to admit that had been pretty sweet.
"Where—" He started, only for Braska to cut him off.
"The Thunder Plains." The summoner explained, already anticipating the question the man was about to ask. "The storm overhead is always constant, never stopping. It's a place that calls for great caution."
"Even with those towers serving as lightning rods, it is still a nightmare to cross. Many people have easily died trying to pass through." Auron continued as he came up to Jecht's other side.
Jecht just stared at the scene ahead of him before a huge grin lit his face.
"Awesome!" He enthused before scrabbling forward, only to flinch as lightning struck a couple feet away from him and made him dart to a nearby lightning tower. "Someone tape this!" He cried as he placed his flask back onto his hip and began rummaging through his pockets for his sphere.
Disbelief colored Auron's face. "Are you joking?"
"No, seriously." Jecht called before he found the sphere and ran back, thrusting it in Auron's hand, an eager grin still on his face despite the lightning flashing down around them. Auron didn't have a chance to protest before Jecht darted back, this time going to a tower that was even farther, and turning around to strike a pose.
Auron muttered incoherent things before flicking the sphere on and holding it up without care.
"Hey! Hold it steady!" Jecht called out from where he was positioned.
Auron sighed in irritation before he steadied his hold on the sphere, the picture becoming better though he honestly didn't care.
"Why am I doing this?"
When no answer reached his ears Auron looked over and frowned when he saw Braska staring off in the distance, a deep look of thought etched on his face. Auron watched him for a second, ready to shrug it off as one merely lost in thought when Braska's eyes moved and he mumbled something under his breath.
Auron blinked before following his gaze, realizing that Braska was indeed looking at something. Off in the distance Auron could just make out the iron working of a rather big house, but he couldn't quite be sure. It was still quite a ways away.
"What do you see there my lord?" He decided to question instead.
Braska started for a second, his grip on his staff tightening before he relaxed as his eyes settled on Auron. "Oh I was just…thinking."
Auron raised a brow but said nothing. He would not raise a flag if Braska wished to keep secrets from him. He was allowed to have his own thoughts after all. As one set on the path of a summoner, Auron would actually expect as much.
Jecht's voice called to them from the distance as he began making his way towards the two. "This is important!" He yelled. "No foolin' around! You're gonna spoil it!" He declared in irritation at the lack of attention Auron was giving the task, obvious by the fact that the sphere was once again veering off course.
Auron only rolled his eyes and ignored him. He was about to open his mouth when he saw Braska's eyes widen and a flash of lightning filled the area as it struck nearby ground.
"Whoa!"
Auron couldn't help snapping the sphere back to Jecht, the shirtless man lying dazed on the ground. The ex-monk felt his lips begin to quirk up into a smile.
"Are you all right?" Braska asked as he began walking forward, ever the thoughtful one.
"Now there's a scene for posterity!" Auron grinned, unable to help himself. His comment made Braska pause before the summoner leaned his head back and laughed, as if realizing the hilarity of the situation.
Jecht only groaned on the ground before he began to roll over onto his hands and knees. "Yeah yeah." He grumbled bitterly. He shot the sphere a dirty glare and recognizing his queue, Auron shut the device off.
Rammu, lyh e ramb oui? – Hello, can I help you?
Rammu. Fa fuimt mega du nahd uid drnaa nuusc vun dra hekrd – Hello. We would like to rent out three rooms for the night.
Oac, uv luinca – Yes, of course
Frana ec Rin? – Where is Rin?
Ra'c yd dra udran crub – He's at the other shop
Paan - Beer
