Hydaelyn's Wing
Part 1: The Heart of the Empire
Chapter 11
Azionne did not often feel ill while riding ships, whether they were in the air or otherwise.
This time, though, she had to use all of her willpower to keep from spilling out the contents of her stomach as they soared across the Vector Plains to Maluke Pass.
The small, three passenger open-air airships rented from Vector were horrid contraptions, and Azionne thought that theirs was liable to fall out of the sky at any moment, even if they were incapable of flying particularly high. The engine roared, drowning out every other sound except for the occasional pop or bang and accompanying sudden lurch. She was not a religious person by any means, but she found herself thanking all of the Twelve for the bench in the center of the open air deck that she and Styrmyrgan were strapped to. It did not stop her body from occasionally jerking into Styrm's hulking armored form, but it did keep her from being thrown off the side of the ship.
The Roegadyn in question had his eyes firmly shut while his hands clamped the sides of the bench, his lips moving in what Azionne could only assume was a silent prayer. He looked paler than usual. Gogonegi, meanwhile, stood in the front of the ship holding onto the wheel with what appeared to be all of his strength. They passed half a dozen other similar airships in the sky, but none of them seemed to be struggling as hard as theirs.
Through it all, she barely noticed when the snow-capped peaks of the Maluke Pass loomed closer and their airship touched down where the Vector Plains ended. Styrmyrgan promptly unstrapped himself and proceeded to get sick over the side of the airship.
Azionne leaned on her staff as she forced herself to her feet, seriously considering frying Gogo on the spot. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are never the pilot of the Fahrenheit."
The Lalafell pouted. "It wasn't my piloting!" he protested. "They just gave me a very old ship."
"Then I will make them rue the day they rented us a faulty airship," said Azionne, clenching her fists. She suspected if it had anything to do with the fact that none of them were Garlean. She glanced at the distant Garlean castrum across the plains – Castrum Cometas, the westernmost Garlean stronghold on this continent – with a curse on her lips.
She climbed down the ladder and took a deep breath as she looked behind them, over the Vector Plains, composing herself. Vector city's white towers were far away now, as was any help Azionne and the others would need if things went sour with the Ascian in the mountain pass. Though Styrm and Gogo were perhaps the weakest of their group, Azionne truly did not expect things to turn sour this time. She would control any urges she had to blast the Ascian away, unlike what she caused at the parade in Ala Mhigo. She knew that it was likely her fault that the assassination failed, so she resolved to fix things by learning anything she could about the Ascians before attacking again.
Furthermore, Granny's words upon their parting rang heavily in her ears. She stole a glance to Styrm, who was doubled over in the grass, and Gogo, who awkwardly patted his back. They are my responsibility now, I suppose.
Who are you kidding, dearie? You don't protect anyone – only kill, kill, kill!
Silence, Azionne thought. I do not want to hear anything from you. I have a task and I must stay focused.
You'll just mess it all up again, you know, the voice said. None of the others trust you as it is.
I said to be silent!
Ever since her self-imposed exile to the Black Shroud, where she delved deeper into Voidsent magicks than she ever had before, she bore scars from her attempts to gain power. One such scar was the one plaguing her mind, a Voidsent that had latched onto her for its own ends. But she supposed there were worse prices one could pay for the power to vanquish an Ascian.
The wind blustered against the three of them and howled through the mountains, bringing an icy chill with it. Azionne hugged her cloak tighter to her body as she approached the other two. "Shall we proceed?"
"Why couldn't we have walked here?" Styrm moaned. "The plains seem nice, and there are not many monsters that I can see…"
"That would have taken far too much time," Azionne snapped at him. "The Ascians move through dark portals that they can open and close at will. We may already be too late."
"If they can do that, why would they go through Maluke Pass?" Gogo asked. "The lady at the airship rental said that no one really goes through here anymore since airship travel became so popular. Most people from Vector just fly right over the mountains to Garlemald."
"There must be something in here that they want," said Azionne, staring up the rocky path that ended at the open mouth of a tunnel far above them. "We must hurry."
Through years of disuse, the icy caverns inside Maluke Pass had become perilous to walk through. Rimy paths concealed treacherous holes that cracked under Styrm's feet more than once as they progressed. Azionne had to lead the way with her fire magic, clearing through barricades of rock and ice and the occasional snow weasel creature that attacked them. Other wintry beastkin crawled through the tunnels, which were hard to see as the whole place was dimly lit by light filtering through adjacent tunnels leading outside. Light reflected off some of the ice formations, mesmerizing Styrm and Gogo.
"Focus," Azionne told them, single-handedly fending off another round of weasels. Styrm had his sword drawn, but apparently found it difficult to strike the fast-moving creatures as they skittered across the ice. Gogo pulled out a round mechanism from his pack, pressing a button in its side to release spinning blades that propelled it into the air. Another pair of blades unfolded from its bottom, which cut a swathe through a pair of burly blue-furred beastkin with powerful jaws.
Grinning at his success, Gogo did not notice a third beastkin bounding toward him, its slobbering mouth open wide.
"Master Gogo!" Styrm shouted, rushing toward him. Gogo turned to the creature, eyes wide, and fumbled for his gun. With a loud bang, he managed to fell the creature with a well-timed bullet. The noise sent the other creatures scurrying away.
"I'm doing it!" Gogo said, beaming at the corpse just ilms from him. "Looks like I can actually fight after all!"
"Well done, Master Gogo!" said Styrm with a cheer.
"You fool!" Azionne spat. "The Ascian must have heard that echoing throughout the whole tunnel!"
Gogo winced. "I'm sorry…"
She was about to tell him off further when a bestial roar resounded further down the icy tunnel. Styrm nearly dropped his sword when an enormous bear with blue fur appeared in their path, rearing back on its hind legs with another roar that almost made Azionne sway on her feet.
"A bear!" Styrm exclaimed unnecessarily. "We must have woken it!"
Cursing, Azionne prepared a spell, knowing that any hope they had of spying on the Ascian was lost. "Fire!"
The fireball launched from her staff, but when it hit the creature it dissipated harmlessly. Instead, it only seemed to enrage the beast, which charged right at her.
Let me kill it! The Voidsent inside of her screamed in pleasure.
"Blizzard!" Ice exploded outward from her feet when she swung her staff, stopping the bear in its tracks. Before she could do anything else, it roared again and lunged free from the ice, causing her to scramble backwards rather ungracefully. Her sudden movement to dodge made her slip on the ice, her shoes losing their grip. She fell right on her backside, staring right up at the bear as it stood to its full height, claws raised.
Before it could crush her, Styrm launched his whole body at it, slamming his shield with enough force to knock the bear backward. Another one of Gogo's mechanisms circled behind it, shooting a spray of bullets from the air. The beastkin roared in pain and lunged at Styrm, its claws raking across his armor. The Roegadyn responded with a shout and a swing of his blade, drawing blood as it cut across the beast's thick blue hide.
It shrank back, crying softly, and Azionne thought it would retreat. Instead, aether swirled around it, covering the bear in a white glow that healed its wounds.
"Magic?" Gogo asked, stunned. "But how?"
Azionne stood, her brow raised in confusion. "That's impossible. Maybe a creature could cast such a spell in Eorzea, but certainly not in Ilsabard. There is not enough aether in this land."
Styrm raised his sword and shield. "Could it be the Lunatic Pandora and Legatus Terra's doing?"
Once it finished casting its spell, the bear roared again, louder than ever. Azionne prepared another fire spell, but she noticed the air around them getting even colder. Her breath frosted in her face as the roar lengthened, and she felt more aether focusing on the beast. Before she could shout a warning to the others, ice formed in front of its maw, shooting towards them. Shards of ice cut across her skin while snow chilled her to the bone almost as much as an Ishgardian winter. She hugged her cloak close to her, unable to concentrate enough to cast another spell.
A loud crash of rock against ice made her look up, where she spotted a boulder that had fallen into the path between Styrm and the bear. It kicked up a cloud of dust and ice, but it halted the bear's ice roar and sent it scurrying down a different tunnel in fear. Azionne shivered, but sighed in relief.
"So… cold!" said Gogo, hugging himself.
"Have some fire crystals to warm yourselves up, then." Azionne looked above them, spotting a man in a black cowl who tossed a bag down at them. Styrm caught it as a reflex, revealing a set of glowing crystals inside, as he had said. Azionne gripped her staff again, thinking he was their Ascian, but quickly realized she did not have the same feeling from seeing him that she did at the parade when she spotted Emmerololth.
"Who are you?" Azionne asked him, her eyes narrow.
"Now, now, is that any way to greet your savior?" He had a mocking voice, smooth and low. The man jumped down from the ledge, deftly landing on top of the boulder he had pushed toward the bear. "I'm just a fellow traveler."
"We are grateful," said Styrm, holding one of the fire crystals and passing another to Gogo.
The man's bright blond hair and third eye marked him as Garlean. "You received those in Eorzea," Azionne pointed out.
The Voidsent in her mind cackled. Ooh, he smells nice. Reminds me of home!
Azionne crossed her arms. "And you have been touched by the Void."
The man paused and pulled back his hood, giving her a clearer look at him. Scruff lined his jaw. "How do you know that?"
She recognized him now. He did not seem to be armed, so she did not bother to blast him away with a spell. "Why would I tell you that, Nero tol Scaeva?"
"Nero tol Scaeva?" Gogo exclaimed, eyes wide. "Truly? Even I have heard of him!"
The former legatus raised an eyebrow. "So you know me. What, did I personally wrong you in that silly war back in Eorzea? No hard feelings, friend."
Azionne laughed. "Not quite. In fact, it may have been the other way around – I am a member of the Riskbreakers. I thought my allies managed to kill you in the Praetorium." Azionne herself had not personally joined the main attack on Castrum Meridianum, which the Riskbreakers initiated before the Eorzean Alliance could form a concentrated attack together. Their move had annoyed the three grand companies, but it had helped to clear a path for the Warriors of Light to get to Gaius and his fearsome Ultima Weapon. While Ashelia and the others fought in the center of the Praetorium, Azionne used her magic to cause chaos on the outside.
Recognition passed across Nero's face. "Ah. Well, I am sorry to say that the Riskbreakers and Warriors of Light both failed in their attempts at just that. Though the Warriors of Light and I have recently buried the hatchet, you could say. I would like to do the same with you, since I am horribly outnumbered and unarmed at the moment." She wondered if his connection to the Void had anything to do with whatever recently happened between him and the Warriors of Light.
Styrm kept a hand on his sword. "What are you doing here? Why would you fake your death?" The attack on Castrum Meridianum had taken place before he joined the Riskbreakers, so he had never met Nero.
"Traveling through Maluke Pass, just like you lot," he answered.
"We were looking for someone," said Gogo, who seemed somewhat star struck at the sight of Nero. Azionne rolled her eyes – of course he would be a secret appreciator of one of the Empire's greatest minds.
Azionne mentally cursed – the Ascians had probably never been here. "Someone had mistaken you for our target," she said, glaring at Nero. "Why would you traverse Maluke Pass on foot? Don't you have airships? A military escort? Castrum Cometas is only a short distance away."
The Garlean shrugged. "Terribly sorry to disappoint." He crossed his arms. "Faking my death could be misconstrued as desertion, you see, so I have to lay low as I make my way back to Garlemald to argue my case. I would much rather go there on my own terms rather than in chains. I could never give that damnable Terra the satisfaction."
Azionne was suspicious of the man, but gestured for Styrm to stand down. "This coward is not a threat to us. Any status he had in Garlemald will likely be gone now, even if he manages to stay out of prison."
Styrm glanced back at her. "But Lady Azionne, he is an enemy to the Riskbreakers!"
"He is not even worth that anymore," Azionne replied. "Let him be on his way."
"A simple 'thank you' would suffice for saving your sorry lives, but that is not my place to say," said Nero, giving them a smirk and a shrug. "Well then, until next we meet."
Azionne crossed her arms as she watched him continue down the path. When he was out of their view, she turned to Gogo. "This has been a waste of time. Let us return to Vector… and try not to let us fall out of the sky."
"Was it really a good idea to let him go?" Gogo asked with a frown. "He, um, might have known about the Ascians."
"He is not working with them anymore," said Azionne. She took the bag of fire crystals from Styrm. "Perhaps if we are lucky the Garleans will decide he is a traitor and have him executed." Though she could not bring herself to truly care either way.
"He did not seem to be a bad person," said Styrm.
As they walked back the way they came, Azionne glanced at the two, who now walked with her instead of behind her. "I will say this quickly," she said. "You two did well today. I expected a bumbling fool and a coward, but you two saved me from that bear."
Styrm stopped walking and saluted her. "Yes, Lady Azionne!"
"Ugh, gods, loosen up just a little," she said, rolling her eyes. "The constant salutes are grating to me. But do keep calling me 'Lady.' I like that."
Gogo smiled, which was a rarity in her presence. "I'll try not to disappoint you, A-Azionne," he said.
"Right," she said. "Now let us hurry to that poor excuse of an airship before I change my mind and decide to make us all walk back to Vector."
Author's Notes: The Crystal Tower questline was totally not the last we have seen of Nero. I don't see him doing anything in Ishgard, so I put him into this story! This was a really fun chapter to write for some reason.
Any feedback would be appreciated!