TRINITY RISING
Summary: Tiffany considers her Wyld Hunt - to protect people from the dragons by forming the Pact to kill them - before a vision of Orr develops around her. The Pale Tree and Trahearne notice something different about Tiffany and Fiona, and, after answering their queries, they travel through the vision toward Arah. Partway there, they come across a Pact camp with Trahearne addressing Pact soldiers. Real-Trahearne is, of course, quite confused. Then a group of six - including Tiffany, Fiona and Beorn themselves - approach and report to Trahearne. The Pact soldiers fight some Risen, and then the Pale Tree shows them a troubling vision of Destiny's Edge, wherein Caithe's refusal to share the secret of the sylvari with them results in her separating from the group.
Chapter eleven: The Dream
Author's Notes:
This chapter picks up right where the last one ends. There is one or two short paragraphs and one or two brief mentions of Christianity, but I am going to make the call that the heavy plot and significance of the surrounding material is more important. (And you do want to know what Tiffany's Wyld Hunt is, right?)
Okay, here's the story now:
If Fiona ever found out that Tiffany's first reaction to having a Wyld Hunt is not 'I am part sylvari!' she would faint. As it is, Tiffany's first realization is more of a profound understanding of a new responsibility set on her shoulders - a realization that, while she had been pursuing this course of action before, now she is firmly set on this path.
Her determination renewed, she knows that her goals are now concrete - there is no room for deviating. If anything, she is more motivated than ever to form the Pact and take it to victory against the Elder Dragons. Her desire to do this, previously just her mental goals, are now infused in her very soul. Her resolve hardens, and she promises the Dream at a soul-deep level that she will complete her task.
Her Wyld Hunt - now isn't that the weirdest phrase ever - might be slightly vague to anyone else, but Tiffany knows what it is. It is layers, all interconnected. She is to protect the innocent, the civilians, from the Elder Dragons. At it's simplest, that is her task. But it also, somehow, there is more - it suggests, perhaps even pushes her towards, forming the Pact to the end of defeating the Elder Dragons.
Upon noticing this, Tiffany realizes that, without that nudge, her task is to protect people from the Elder Dragons - not to form the Pact or kill them, but to protect the innocents. She even wonders if that 'nudge' is really just her subconscious fusing her Wyld Hunt and her prior goals together… but she doesn't think so. Her Wyld Hunt is less of 'protect people' and more of 'form the Pact and kill the Elder Dragons so that people will be protected.'
Tiffany is not to worry about defending people from threats not related to the Elder Dragons. She is to worry about the dragons' threat.
It goes against her nature to not worry about people - in any sort of danger - and she knows she will have a hard time just letting it go. She is… it is her responsibility to care about and protect everybody, because she knows the future. But she does know that the Elder Dragons are the biggest threat; she had been preparing to take them down already. She might not be able to release her concern over the civilians quite yet… but she can deal with the dragons. She is - or will be - the Pact Commander, and she can deal with the dragons.
As she accepts the responsibility her Wyld Hunt has given her and the weight of its magnitude settles on her shoulders, the Dream withdraws into a corner of her mind - still there, still radiating joy and love, but not occupying her full attention, not being such a powerful presence that she can't help but respond to the pureness of it. Then, as if her soul had opened her eyes to a new world, in a new body (though she knows she is not back in Tyria; she can still feel the Dream all around her), vision returns. Blurry like before, but the lines quickly become defined, the colors become brighter and separated.
Tiffany is stunned.
The deadness of this place. The lifelessness of Orr is glaring. She is gazing upon the land with her soul, and Orr does not just look dead and withered, it is dead. She can feel an oppressive weight surrounding her on all sides, can feel the despair and wiltiness of the place, the destruction that took place here and the aggression of its new nature and inhabitants. It feels pale, as if it is fading from the land of the living, or, worse, becoming a darker, twisted version of itself, a land of destruction and emptiness rather than life and hope. Tiffany's breath catches in her throat. Orr is dead. Like a part of Tyria has been torn out - a hole in her being, a wound that will cripple her, that may never be healed. The Dream itself seems to grieve for the land.
And yet, under it all, a tiny, faint glimmer of something - a thread of life, of hope.
And suddenly, Tiffany understands Trahearne's Wyld Hunt much better now. Trahearne does want Orr to remain in this desolate state. Trahearne feels that tiny pulse of life in Orr, and hopes he can fan the heartbeat of life back into the dead land - revive it to its former beauty. Orr in its present state fills him with despair and sadness - a continent of such promise and potential, reduced to dust and corruption and claimed by an Elder Dragon. He is, quite possibly, even angry at Orr's predicament, and Tiffany shudders at what might happen if Trahearne ever finds the person responsible for it, or if anyone tries to step in his way of healing it.
Fiona gasps. "What just - we're in Orr, aren't we?"
Tiffany just nods mutely, still in awe at what had just happened to her.
"Yes," Trahearne comfirms, his voice sad. Tiffany realizes that this feeling of deadness does not exist in Tyria; Orr just looks dead, there. But Trahearne saw this in his Dream… and every time he sees Orr itself he remembers the deadness pervading the land. Feeling the deadness again… Tiffany can only imagine his desire to heal it.
"It's so… dead," Tiffany says softly, marveling at the Dream's ability to convey in an emotional way the corruption defacing Orr. She can hardly comprehend the Dream… and she reminds herself that, as the representation of God - no, as God himself - she never will be able to. Once she realizes that, everything clicks into place. She'd never been able to work logic into the way that God exists - it is all too complicated for her - and so she had just trusted (like with such things that God has always existed since before time existed, only that makes no sense) that, even if she can't understand it, it does make sense on some level. The Dream now fits like a puzzle piece into the same spot that the Holy Trinity had once occupied.
It spins her worldview around around and puts a different perspective on life, but it is the same God-hole and the same piece within the hole, and once Tiffany accepts that, everything is not so different after all.
Trahearne nods, and turns to look at her, his expression wondering. "I can… you are full of the Dream. How…?"
Tiffany realizes that she can feel those around her much more fully than she could before; an echo through the Dream of their current state of being. Fiona has received the Dream as fully as she has, and Beorn as well. Her bond with Beorn has not changed, and Tiffany feels slightly smug that her connection with Beorn trumps the sylvari connection through the Dream… although if all sylvari felt each other's emotions all the time, the whole race would be a tangle of messed up emotions. Two people sharing emotions is quite enough.
Quite interestingly, though, Tiffany can only feel very faint echoes of Trahearne. She can tell he is around, that he is near and where exactly he is, but not much else. On the other hand, she can sense Fiona's mood. Tiffany can't tell her sister's exact emotions - this isn't anything like the companion bond - but she knows that Fiona is full of joy and happiness, the same as Tiffany herself.
The Pale Tree's Avatar appears near them. "They have been melded with the Dream, Trahearne," she says. "They have joined it as fully as any sylvari."
Now the thought occurs to Tiffany that she is part sylvari now. She resists smirking at Fiona.
"The question," the Avatar continues, "is how. The Dream recognized them, welcomed them… and they recognized and welcomed it back."
Tiffany does not feel like holding this secret from them. It could be that their mutual connection to the Dream lends itself to trust; it could be subconscious trust that the Dream is letting this happen (they are directly within it, after all) or the Dream telling her something subconsciously, it could be that she just feels full of trust and joy at the moment and is being rather reckless. Tiffany doesn't really think about any of this - like when she feels sleepy and tired and yielding.
"We're… me and Fiona are from another world," she explains. "The Dream exists differently there, and we communicated differently there. When we came to this world, we couldn't feel… it… anymore, and were quite worried and concerned and doubtful. We didn't have a clue that it existed in Tyria as the Dream. But when we felt it, we knew it. The Bible says that 'my sheep know my voice,' and I suppose that's what happened here."
"We've never… we never had this deep a level of connection back on earth," Fiona marvels. "This is… the most wonderful thing in the world."
Trahearne and the Pale Tree's Avatar nod in agreement.
Tiffany glances at Fiona, her eyes filled with joy.
After a moment of silence, contemplating the peace surrounding them like a blanket - and the responsibilities her Wyld Hunt has given her - Tiffany speaks curiously. "Where are we, exactly?" she asks, addressing Trahearne.
Trahearne, however, looks instead to the Pale Tree. Tiffany wonders for a moment why; he has been studying Orr all his life, shouldn't he know? But then the Pale Tree speaks.
"A place you have long avoided, my son," she tells him. "The road to Arah."
'Oh. He avoided Arah?' Tiffany wonders. She wonders how close the Artesian Waters are to Arah; maybe this avoidance is the cause of never having completed his Wyld Hunt until the Pact took him there. But she cannot remember.
"That is your goal," the Pale Tree continues. "The dragon's base and location. You may see visions along your way; things that may come to pass."
Tiffany wonders how different from the in-game quest this vision will be, but realizes that it does not matter. Despite living here and nearly dying many times, she had never quite fully grasped that they are no longer within the game, that this is truly real. Everything clicks suddenly, much better than it had before; no, she clicks into Tyria in a way she hadn't until now. She has a reason for existence, a reason for being in this world over earth. She still feels separate from the people around her - knowledge of the future is a heavy burden - but she fits into the world - the universe, the bigger picture of history and future and existence - as she hadn't before.
The differences between Tyria and the game make no difference, now; they are separate things… and Tiffany will keep it that way. She will make sure that the Elder Dragons die - she knows they can be defeated, she knows how - and she will save as many lives as possible in the process.
"Where did she go?" Fiona asks, startled. Tiffany glances at her, then realizes that the Pale Tree's Avatar is gone.
"It is difficult for her to maintain this vision," Trahearne explains. "And even moreso to maintain representation of herself. We must press on."
"So the Pale Tree is controlling the vision, not the Dream itself?" Tiffany asks as they follow the sylvari down the road.
"Yes. The vision is generated from the Dream, and with the Dream's memories and knowledge, but the Pale Tree maintains it."
"That makes sense," Fiona comments.
As they continue on, Tiffany notes with a touch of amusement that Trahearne is rather unable to hide his interest in the land.
"Orr was once beautiful," Trahearne notes, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"It's hard to imagine, seeing it like this," Tiffany comments. After a moment, she adds, "Your Wyld Hunt is to restore it, right?"
"Yes," Trahearne agrees. "I don't think it is just Zhaitan that despoiled it, however. The Cataclysm likely played a large role, as did the Guild Wars that took place not long prior to the charr invasion."
"Over a hundred years underwater probably had some effect, as well," Fiona suggests.
"Possibly, although I doubt that did more than destroy the temples and other buildings," Trahearne notes. "I am rather surprised myself that any are left standing after so long. The only possibility I can think of has to do with Orr's magical potency."
"What do you mean?" Fiona asks. Tiffany glances at her in slight surprise; they and the others had been discussing this just before Blightghast arrived on Claw Island.
"Before Orr sank, magic was quite abundant," Trahearne explains. "It was used every day for what you and I would consider trivial things, and nobody thought twice about it. I imagine that just the amount of magic being used would rub off on the surrounding area, and the side effects could have been anything."
Tiffany sees a ghostly-seeming Risen approaching them.
Fiona seems to notice them, as well. "Is that something to worry about?" she asks. "I mean, is it… real?"
"Oh yes," Trahearne nods, drawing his weapons. "It is as real as back in Tyria here. You can die if you aren't careful."
"I see," Fiona nods, bringing her staff around into her hands. Tiffany nocks an arrow while Beorn lumbers forward.
The arrow flies while the Risen is still some distance off, but Tiffany's jaw drops as the Risen dodges the arrow, slips past Beorn, and continues on.
Fiona tosses an orb of magic at the Risen, but the magic just… slides off of it. Beorn manages to slash his claws at the back of the undead corpse, distracting the Risen momentarily, while Trahearne reaches out with the sickly green color of Renewal to touch the Risen.
It stumbles, but continues on toward them, and Trahearne takes a step back in surprise and fear, Renewal gathering at his fingertips again.
Tiffany sends more arrows, but the Risen somehow manages to dodge them, as well as Beorn's claw attacks.
Renewal reaches out again, this time flowing around the undead monster coming for them. It halts in its tracks, and Tiffany's arrows finally find their mark and Beorn crushes its head.
"What… I've never seen a Risen dodge like that before," Tiffany says shakily, her own adrenaline rush fading.
"Zhaitan's corruption is stronger this close to Arah," Trahearne answers after a moment. He opens his mouth to continue, but Fiona interrupts him.
"More incoming!" she shouts, pointing down the road.
"Oh dear," Tiffany sighs, seeing a horde of Risen coming at them. She puts her bow away, pulls out her axes, and steps forward with Beorn.
She rotates her axes in her hands, severing limbs and cutting spines, but the Risen keep moving, disregarding the missing limbs. Even chopped all to pieces, they keep twitching and jerking, flailing in a way that could be dangerous.
It takes several minutes, but finally the last ones are rendered useless - dead is a relative term, both in Orr and as representations within the Dream.
Fiona, whose face is pale - she had been quite unable to help in the fight, aside from applying boons to Tiffany and Beorn - asks shakily, "how do they do that?"
"Zhaitan's magic is much more effective this close to Arah," Trahearne reminds them. "Other magic would just wash off, and the Risen are much more driven and single-minded - they disregard pain and injury to serve their master, but are also smarter about it. Further away from Orr, they must be more cautious, because the dragon's corruption does not reach that far and cannot resurrect them without special means. This is balanced by how much control Zhaitan has - the Risen further away are much more sloppy, whereas these are nimble and agile."
Tiffany frowns, glancing back at the still-twitching corpses. "So the only way to get rid of them permanently is to burn them?"
Trahearne nods. "Yes, that works. Another method is the Aspect of Renewal… or at least, that is a method that would work on most Risen. I can overpower them with Renewal, wiping out Zhaitan's control and preventing that body from rising again, but the Risen here are so steeped in Zhaitan's magic that the amount of Renewal required is impossible."
"Is that what you were doing on Claw Island?" Fiona asks.
"Yes," Trahearne confirms. "They must have been far enough away from Zhaitan - if they were ever as close as this - that it wore off."
"Would it work on the champions?" Tiffany wonders.
"Sadly, no," he replies. "They radiate Zhaitan's magic themselves - though on a lesser scale - and possess Zhaitan's ability to raise the dead."
"So they're portable mini-Zhaitans," Fiona suggests. "They can do all the things Zhaitan can do, but not as much and they don't have as much range?"
"Yes," Trahearne agrees. "Zhaitan hides behind its armies of undead, and Blightghast and the others are its hands, reaching out across the world to carry out its will."
There is silence for a minute as they continue along the road to Arah.
"The question, of course," Trahearne says after a moment, "is not how to dispose of the bodies once they are dead, but rather - "
Tiffany glances at him questioningly, wondering why he'd stopped speaking, then notices the Pale Tree's Avatar before them once again.
"Continue, Trahearne," she tells him. "What is it you wish to know?"
"How will we defeat these undead?" he asks directly. "They are much more formidable than the ones at Claw Island, and it takes more to defeat them, even when they are alone. Is attacking Zhaitan even plausible?"
"Not alone," the Avatar says, shaking her head. "Alone, Zhaitan's domain is impenetrable, its forces fierce. But with unity, you will find that many impossible things can be achieved."
Tiffany's face lights up; she now has two reasons (besides knowing the future) to form the Pact; her Wyld Hunt and the Pale Tree's own words.
"Unity," Fiona repeats.
"Yes, the Orders of Tyria represent a unity of the races that is lacking elsewhere," Trahearne agrees. "They are some of the only forces that stand a chance against Zhaitan."
"Keep an open mind and a ready spirit, my children," the Avatar advises. "Much of what I have to show you may be confusing until the time comes."
The Avatar fades away, and Tiffany glances at Fiona. 'Til the time comes, yes… and for me, it has come and gone and undone itself in what is pretty much time-traveling.' Tiffany also realizes how… cryptic the Pale Tree can be. She hadn't noticed it until she knew exactly what the Pale Tree was talking about, but still…
"Come; from her words, there is more, it seems," Trahearne notes, and the three make their way down the road again.
Quite soon, Tiffany sees a wall with a blue rim - magic conduits at the top, she supposes - and knows what is coming. That is the look of a Pact outpost; no other fortresses use the blue defense, and Tiffany finds herself wondering what it does. Is it guardian magic to ward away Risen? Is it some other invention of the unity of the Orders that keeps the Risen at bay? She'd never thought to wonder about it before, but Tiffany dismisses the question until later as she smiles at the sign of the Pact's influence in the area.
Trahearne and Fiona seem quite puzzled by what it could be, and as the three follow the road to the entrance of the outpost, the Pale Tree's Avatar is there, waiting for them.
Trahearne opens his mouth to ask a question, but his own voice interrupts him.
Tiffany glances past the Avatar to see the fort filled with visions of soldiers - Pact soldiers, from all the Orders - and Trahearne himself, addressing them.
"Defenders of Tyria!" vision-Trahearne says, and real-Trahearne looks quite confused. Vision-Trahearne continues, "when Zhaitan rose from slumber, it found a long-dead land and calimed it. It expected the rest of Tyria to be as easily conquered. But we live, and we breathe, and we fight! All races, all paths of life, we stand against Zhaitan! The dragon is a terrible foe, and it wants us to be afraid, it wants us to be paralyzed in doubt - because fear will destroy us! But I tell you this - we are not afraid! Though death claims us, we will never kneel!"
As vision-Trahearne proclaims his defiance of Zhaitan, the ground shudders and rocks in what seems to be an earthquake.
"Do you feel that?" Vision-Trahearne asks, almost demands, of his audience. "The dragon hears us! It is Zhaitan that is afraid! To Arah, and victory!"
As the Pact soldiers cheer, real-Trahearne turns to the Avatar, confusion written on his features. "This - this is a vision of the future?" he asks. "Mother, I do not understand… I'm no general."
"Yes you are," Tiffany replies promptly. "Can't you picture yourself doing that?" she gestures at the crowd.
The sylvari looks confused and uncertain, and the Avatar steps in. "Trahearne, my son. You must be what Tyria needs you to be. You have more courage than you realize."
'Oh, yes,' Tiffany realizes sagely. 'More courage than anybody I know - to stand up and give speeches like that. I could never do it. And Trahearne is - he's - he's shy. He's introverted. I never thought about that before.* Yes indeed, more courage than he realizes, that and self-confidence.'
Trahearne looks lost and unsure, and Fiona pipes up, "hey, at least you have a warning! Imagine if you didn't?"
The sylvari looks even more perturbed than before, but the Avatar holds up a hand for silence and points down the road in the direction they'd been heading before they encountered the Pact.
Six figures are coming toward them, and Tiffany easily recognizes herself and Beorn among them, as well as Fiona, Forgal, Lightbringer Vriré, and Sieran.
"Trahearne!" vision-Sieran calls, and vision-Trahearne turns to see them while real-Trahearne sighs in resignation.
"There are Risen not too far down the road," vision-Vriré tells him.
"There are several giants and abominations with them," vision-Fiona reports.
"They're the tough kind, too," vision-Forgal adds.
Vision-Trahearne nods in acknowledgement and turns to the Pact soldiers. "Today we show Zhaitan that it cannot dominate any land where we still breathe! It cannot frighten us into submission, and we will stand against it until it falls! We shall destroy the best it can send at us, and more, until we stand at the gates of Arah! To victory!"
The Pact soldiers cheer, and vision-Trahearne leads them and the scouting group down the road.
Real-Tiffany, Fiona and Trahearne follow the visions to where a fight between Pact soldiers and Risen is taking place. Trahearne blinks as they take down the Risen quickly and efficiently, with a practiced hand and coordinated eye.
"Come on, let's get the big one," Fiona suggests cheerfully.
"Wait, Fiona," Tiffany says. "Remember, mesmer magic doesn't work on them!"
Fiona shrugs. "I can…" she pauses. "I can help in other ways," she says quietly.
Tiffany blinks; Fiona had always rushed in, magic working to take down her enemies. She hadn't been big on a support role before. But as she watches Fiona head toward the fight, channeling magic toward the Pact fighters rather than the Risen, Tiffany realizes that the Dream must have changed her or told her something.
Tiffany decides to speak with Fiona later about the experience, and nocks an arrow. That Risen giant is big and it has its back to her, so she is fairly certain she can hit it, despite Zhaitan's magic making it a more formidable foe in combat.
As she lets loose her arrows, she sees the group that her own double is part of - plus Trahearne - take down the Risen giant in the same amount of time it takes the rest of the Pact soldiers (with real-Tiffany and real-Fiona's help) to get rid of the other one.
She knows that this scouting group certainly was never part of the game; for one thing, Forgal and Sieran would never be in the same mission together, and there would never be two PCs - Tiffany and Fiona - and Vriré had never made an appearance in any missions that Tiffany knows of.
So it is somehow relevant to the changes she has made, something new, and real-Tiffany wonders about it as the Pact soldiers regroup.
Tiffany sidles closer to vision-Tiffany, wondering about her.
Vision-Tiffany smirks at her vision-friends. "We'll take Arah yet," she says, her voice full of supreme confidence - the same confidence real-Tiffany feels.
"Don't be so sure," vision-Vriré warns. "One battle does not decide the war."
Vision-Forgal nods in agreement. "I've seen battles that were about to be won, but then the tide turned in the blink of an eye and we lost."
'I wonder what battle that was?' real-Tiffany wonders. Nobody had ever spoken to her about such a battle. 'But I know why vision-Tiffany is so confident. She is me, she has the memories and knowledge of the future.'
"Look, the Pale Tree has manifested herself over there," real-Trahearne points out, glancing at his own double with something like a thoughtful frown.
Real-Fiona, who had been staring into space thoughtfully (but also perhaps weaving a sound enchantment over to where vision-Fiona, vision-Sieran, and vision-Trahearne are talking), comes back to herself and nods. "Let's go to her, then," Fiona suggests.
The Avatar of the Tree greets them, then gestures to where a ghsotly Destiny's Edge are standing in a group, talking cheerfully amongst each other.
"The ghosts of the past have been washed away, but the memory of the injury remains. Destiny's Edge stand upon the brink of one of the worst calamities…" the Pale Tree looks directly at Tiffany and Fiona. "…and only you have the power and knowledge to stop it."
Tiffany and Fiona glance at each other nervously, both absolutely sure of what the Pale Tree is referring to - future knowledge. But they'd brought Destiny's Edge together, and even here they are friends.
The Avatar of the Tree gestures them onwards. As the twins walk toward Destiny's Edge, Tiffany hears Trahearne address a question to the Pale Tree - he is obviously taking advantage of time separate to ask about the whole Pact-vision-thing.
Vision-Logan is grinning a joke vision-Rytlock had just told, and vision-Zojja is in the middle of explaining her latest idea for an invention - it's capabilities and requirements - to vision-Eir.
"It's just an idea at the moment - I'll have to do some extensive research before I can be sure it is even possible - but I'd like to find a way to recreate that shield Fiona and Logan used," vision-Zojja explains. "It's a mix of Protection and Deception - a very odd mix - and I'm not sure I can incorporate both of those into a device. But it would be quite useful in a fight against anybody wielding enough Deception to shadowstep like Scarlet Briar."
"Speaking of Scarlet," vision-Rytlock notes, turning to vision-Caithe. "What was that secret she mentioned?"
Vision-Caithe shakes her head. "I can't tell you. I am sorry, but I just can't. If you knew you'd understand, but…"
Tiffany glances at Fiona, who quickly fills her in on the 'secret of the sylvari' that Scarlet had mentioned in Sorrow's Embrace.
"Yeah," Tiffany nods. "Probably Mordremoth. My question is how Caithe knows."
Fiona frowns.
"But nothing, Caithe," vision-Rytlock interrupts. "This is obviously important."
"It actually distresses you, and we all know nothing can do that - not since Faolain died," vision-Zojja adds.
"We care about you, Caithe," vision-Eir puts in kindly. "If something is bothering you, you know you can tell us."
Caithe just shakes her head again. "Not this. It's too - you'd never…"
"Why don't you just tell them?" Tiffany wonders, but the ghostly visions of her friends don't respond.
"We can always ask Fiona, you know," vision-Zojja offers. "She seemed to have some idea of what was going on."
"She didn't," vision-Caithe says firmly. "Nobody knows. The only other person who does - " the sylvari cuts off abruptly and says no more.
"Do you think we should tell them?" Fiona asks anxiously. "That we know the future, I mean."
"I… maybe," Tiffany admits. "It just doesn't fit. I might have to tell Eir, though - Braham found out that we know each other. Eir is smart, maybe she can give us some advice. And she seems to have Caithe's best interests at heart."
"We need to be able to trust each other if we are going to succeed," vision-Eir insists. "Keeping secrets is not the way to go about this."
"We've lost because we thought we could trust and turned out to be wrong - at least temporarily," vision-Rytlock huffs. "If Logan had told us about Queen Jennah - however unrelated it might have been - we would have been more prepared. Caithe, you might think this is in no way connected with us… but we should still know."
It obviously pains vision-Caithe, but she closes her eyes and, after a long, painful moment, shakes her head. "I can't," she whispers.
Vision-Eir seems perturbed by vision-Caithe's stubborn refusal, but remains silent.
"She's always been secretive," vision-Logan reprimands the others. "And we all have our secrets. It's probably blackmail Scarlet has on her; I, for one, would like not to pry."
"Just tell us, Caithe - is it important?" vision-Eir asks at last. "Does it have to do with the Elder Dragons?"
Vision-Caithe doesn't answer, just looks between her friends with a haunted, pleading look in her eyes - a look Tiffany decides is most supremely out of character for the sylvari.
"That's all we're asking, Caithe - we just need to know if it affects us," vision-Logan says gently.
Again, vision-Caithe doesn't answer. "I just… just stop," she says, her voice breaking. "I can't. Just… just leave me alone."
"No, Caithe," vision-Zojja says firmly. "Secrets and distrust will tear us apart."
"I'm afraid I agree with Zojja," vision-Rytlock sighs, snapping his claws in and out in agitation. "I'd rather not make you tell, but she's right."
One by one, the other members agree, and vision-Caithe's pleading expression turns downcast and full of grief. A single tear escapes one eye as she shakes her head for a final time.
"Do you not trust us?" vision-Logan asks sadly.
Vision-Caithe doesn't reply, but the answer is evident.
"So be it," vision-Eir sighs. "Keep your secret." The finality in her voice is firm, despite the reluctance with which the words are said.
As vision-Caithe turns away, vision-Zojja gives a sad sigh. "She was the reason we came together," the asura says softly. "I can't believe she…"
Vision-Eir nods. "I just hope… I just hope she returns. And that her secret won't doom us all."
Tiffany's breathing is shallow - she pants quick breaths and her eyes are wide. "I - I - but they - but - what? If it is Mordremoth, why wouldn't she tell them? What other secret could there be, one that identifies with all sylvari like you said?" She'd brought them together just for them to separate? Again? Now, with the Pact about to form and move on Zhaitan?
"One that she would keep even from Faolain - one that was the reason she decided not to love Faolain anymore," Fiona adds.
Tiffany nods mutely. "I brought them together for this? For Scarlet to wreck everything, pull them apart…"
"This hasn't happened yet," Fiona reminds her. She continues with an edge to her voice. "But it is very likely to happen. They've been messing everything up recently."
Vision-Caithe is the only one left; the other visions had all disappeared. As the two watch her, they get an impression of time passing, and vision-Caithe speaks briefly to other visions of people - sometimes Destiny's Edge, sometimes not - getting more quiet each time, with longer spaces between each one, before she, too, vanishes like the other visions.
"I don't know how to stop this," Tiffany realizes. "I know it's the Mordremoth thing, but… there's no way we'll find a way to fix it without revealing our future knowledge. She isn't going to tell us, not when she doesn't tell her closest friends."
"Maybe we say the Pale Tree told us? She as much as admitted to knowing that we know the future before she sent us over here."
"Maybe," Tiffany says slowly. "I'm not sure what to do anymore."
Author's Notes:
I decided to end it here, both because this chapter was really hard to write and I thought you should get the next chapter already, and because the chapter was getting long and this was a good place to end it before the next section.
So anyway! I learned a lot about doing characterization and character arcs, so there's a new, interesting level of depth to Tiffany and Fiona now! See if you can spot characteristics of either of them that you never noticed before!