Severa's Tale: Act II
Puppets Don't Cry
Section B
Part I
The Story so Far:
Having come and gone from the Grimleal-occupied Ylisstol like a spring breeze, Lucina finds herself amidst a barren desert with no indication of which way leads out. She carries both an unconscious Severa and questions about her blade that only her father can answer.
Author's note: I recommend listening to Tostarena: Night when you see one * mark.
*On the prospect of sand, Lucina found that these fine debris of rocks were truly, unquestionably evil in their yellowish filth. Although one might call her insane for arguing the moral standings of inanimate objects, Lucina would reply that these objects had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Whether it was scorching hot, or unbearably cold, sand would always serve as a hindrance. Unlike dirt, which simply existed without causing any issues, sand would always find a way to sneak into one's life and ruin a joyous mood, like questions about self-worth.
Her favorite example of their evil was when she was young enough that her father was still alive, and he took her, her mother, and her brother to the beach with Cordelia's family in tow. When she wasn't chasing Inigo with a toy shovel, she was avoiding the bright sections of the beach like it was her duty, as they were blisteringly hot and burned her bare feet. Even her mother took care to wear sandals, lest her feet suffer the same fate as Lucina's.
When she asked her father why the sand was so mean, he laughed in response and told her it was simply a fact of life: hot sands burn with the heat of the sun. Lucina wasn't convinced; she would lead a crusade against the filthy rocks and end their tyranny. Her mother would be free to walk barefoot on the beach, and she would no longer have to feel sores on her feet.
As she looked over the vast, blue mounds of sand in the unknown desert she had arrived in, with enough sand in her boots to embolden her childlike ideas of crusades, she wished that she was at least at a beach. That way, she would be in sweltering heat instead of freezing cold.
The fact that Severa was unconscious and held in Lucina's arms like a bride didn't help her mood. A mood that hung over her like a raincloud as she slowly, arduously trudged down the hills in a direction she had decided on an hour ago. Her throat was aching, her feet were pounding and throbbing, and her arms felt as though they would simply give up and drop Severa at a moment's notice.
She dared not fail Severa by giving up. Dying from exhaustion in a sandy grave was among the worst ways to go out, only slightly better than drowning in a small lake.
"What would the Hero-King do?" A simple question that she would ask herself in times of stress. It had worked before, and surely it would work now as she scanned the horizon for something to help her. "He would find a hidden trinket in the sand to save him. Every desert has a hidden trinket."
Unfortunately, her hands were occupied with holding Severa. Regardless of how cute Severa looked when she slept -a fact Lucina swore to never tell her in person- she was simply too heavy to sling over Lucina's shoulder to free her arm. "Okay, something smaller... What would my father do?"
Her father would probably have one of his allies cart him on their mount. Given that Cynthia was a good distance away in some gods-forsaken direction, this plan was also moot. "Severa… Please wake up…"
Lucina's knees buckled and her tears began to stain the sands. "I don't want to die alone…"
As she knelt in the sand with fear gripping her heart, a chill went down her spine. She felt as though a hand had tapped her shoulder; she quickly looked back to see nothing but the dark sky above. "Who's there!" She called out.
Another tap poked her boot, making her jump and let out a yelp. She took a few steps back as her heartbeat climbed, then looked down to the sand where she had stood.
A line began to form in the sand, pushing the particles away as shapes began to form. It reminded Lucina of when she would use her finger to draw shapes in the beach sand, only now this was caused by some unseen force.
She watched in astonished horror as more shapes were drawn in the sand, forming together to create a message.
'Go!' the lines in the sand read, followed by an arrow pointing her towards a dune a short distance away. Although she was skeptical of trusting messages from unseen bystanders, it was better than the alternative.
"Thank you!" Lucina called out as she hurried in the direction of the arrow. Her mind raced with ideas as to who could her savior be. Was it a servant of Naga? Or maybe it was a cloaked member of the Grimleal, luring her into a trap.
As she surmounted the hill of sand, she looked out to see a dilapidated entrance to a building covered with sand. The rest of the building must be underground, judging by the entrance being the only visible part.
She decided that uncertain chances of an ambush were better than certain chances of death and entered the cavern while Severa began to stir.
If Lucina had chosen to ignore the message of the unseen aid, she would have witnessed a group of cloaked men storm through the desert and circle around the message of 'Go!'
They were led by hounds affixed to leashes, and the dogs wore metal helmets that had blue crystals attached to them. They sniffed the ground and began to bark around the message.
A circle was formed around the message by the men, who fumbled with their coats and pulled out lanterns that contained the same blue crystals from the dogs' helmets. They tapped the crystals in unison, creating a small field around each one.
"We know you're here, Shepherd!" The men spoke as the fields from the crystal grew. The sand inside the fields were bathed in the blue glow, along with the men and the hounds as the fields merged together to cover a large circle.
In the center of the circle of soldiers was a hunched-over figure; a man with orange hair and a bandanna around his forehead. A blue outline glowed around him as he stood up, pulling his finger away from the message he had written. He was semi-translucent in his glow.
"Well, you caught me," Gaius spoke with a smirk as the lantern-wielding men drew their swords. "Try not to make it too painful, okay?" He watched with a simple glare as one man stabbed him in the gut with a sword, making his blue body explode in a collection of glowing orbs.
The luminescent balls flew off like a swarm of flies to the northwest; the men turned off their lanterns as the commander tapped his earring.
"Conductor Validar, we've retrieved the escapee." He spoke into the earring. "We're en route to reboard the Specter Express before sunrise."