Leonora practiced the steps Paine taught her. They felt crude and ugly, but the air moved when she followed that rhythm. When she followed the whispers of the trees and listened to the silence of the earth. Grass didn't twist or rip under her feet because she learned to step lightly and often instead of dragging and sliding.
In the solitary, dewy morning, she found the quiet key to finding harmony with the earth. She used the base she learned on VII and integrated patterns native to her own world. It felt awkward and haphazard, but she tried it anyway because if anything happened on IV, she wanted to be ready.
The scattered souls wandering Saronia's territory coalesced at her dance as misty shapes. Her feet turned cold—bare and unprotected as it was from the chill—but she couldn't bring herself to pause. It felt right to move like this. She wondered why such an art wasn't better practiced back home.
"Looking good," Porom said.
Leonora stopped and stuttered, "Y—you were watching?" The souls vanished.
"Only since I left the Cabin." Porom took a seat on a boulder and gestured. "Where did you learn that?"
"Gaia VII." Leonora tested the stretch of her ankles and pulled her staff free. "They said it's used by trained Senders to put spirits to rest. It's effective against undead and it's already saved my life twice."
"Will you teach me?"
"You want to learn?"
"Yes." Porom stood and joined her.
"Okay. I just need to…" Remember how to do what she was doing because Porom didn't usually care about this like this and was she actually impressed? "After me."
Leonora swirled her staff and Porom stepped back to let her move. She wouldn't disappoint Porom, that was for sure. She would show her everything she learned between Gaia VII and her adventures through space.
Leonora made careful steps about the spot and reminded herself how to attract those scared and angry spirits, few though they were on this planet. Within moments, the motions came like clockwork and Leonora remembered how to dance.
She spun and flipped the tip of her staff toward the sky. Angled and reversed in a lopsided orbit before swirling both hands in flying patterns. An old and traditional dance meant to celebrate the heavens in all their layers.
Porom must have caught onto her pattern as she soon joined in and danced Leonora's opposite. The motions were choppy, and Porom obviously never tried this before, but she caught on quick, and soon they formed two halves of the same.
Staff around the orbit, stop and point, refresh position, and move up a layer toward the stars. After that, descend back to the skies and the fowl that lived therein.
Green light soon danced with them and Leonora felt the tug and pull stronger on her side than with Porom. Porom wouldn't hold the same grasp on the planet's energy, but that wouldn't last long. Leonora expected her to pass her by sooner rather than later. Maybe not today, maybe not this year, but eventually Porom's power would outshine Leonora's.
That stung.
Yet as she moved in tandem with her, Leonora couldn't imagine a time when she felt warmer. A time when she felt more at home than at Porom's side. Battered, maybe, and a little rough at the edges, but it was still the same mage she longed to know as a sister.
A swell of mystic energy and stardust filled her lungs. She felt the edges of the land and the reaches of the stars. She wanted to slip into its chaotic stream and sing the endless stream of eternity that awaited her beyond the edges of the sky.
The spirits felt the pull of that yearning and hovered near. The dark stain of bloodthirst faded to intrigue and wonder at the forces they called in from the great beyond.
Leonora spun her staff and almost hit Porom, but Porom must have lost herself to the rhythm as well as she slipped away. She favored a lighter aesthetic than Leonora, with less moving and more staff twirling.
Leonora focused on her step pattern, moving in circles to follow unseen guidance.
Porom fell still, staff held upright and stern. "Something like that?"
"Something like that." Leonora would have laughed were it not for the knot in her stomach at how fast Porom caught up to her. Not that Leonora became much of an expert, but she thought it could at least take an hour for Porom to pick up the basics that Leonora knew.
Porom set her staff on her back and wrung her hands. "What are you doing up so early, anyway? I didn't see you up before Palom last time."
"Palom gets up in the early morning."
"Ha. You don't deny that you like to keep close to his schedule."
"I used to. I didn't even realize how desperate I felt." Leonora felt heat in her cheeks and looked away. "I must have looked like a flailing child."
Porom put a hand on her shoulder. "I think we all did. Fear makes us act in bizarre ways."
"You've always looked perfectly collected to me."
"Because you didn't pay attention. But there's no reason to be scared with the things we learned along the way."
Leonora took comfort in Porom's confidence. "After we win, then what?"
"Then nothing. Life goes on and we'll go on with it."
"Will we go home?"
"Sure. Do you miss Troia?"
"… Not really."
"Mysidia?"
"No."
Porom looked confused. "Then what? There's something you want from Earth, isn't there?"
"No."
"… You don't want to go home?"
Leonora felt heavier, hands as weights on her arms. "No."
"Why not?"
"Because Palom doesn't have a place there. He's happier here. And if he's happier here, I want to stay with him here."
Porom went quiet for a long moment and Leonora berated herself for talking about it. She still wouldn't understand. No one would—
"We can change that," Porom said, voice soft enough that Leonora wondered if she heard her right. "We can change Mysidia. And Troia's already changing on its own. We can find places there for both of you if you want them."
"But… I want to travel. I still want to become a sage and see everything our world has to offer. If these planets can hold so much wonder and exotic magic, then what are we missing out on back home?"
"More than we realize, I'm sure."
"But it's so much closer than any of these planets are. And if we can glean everything Earth has to offer, then what about the planetary system? What about our galaxy? How much can we learn from traveling the stars? We have a thousand opportunities at our fingertips. A million dreams to see and a billion stars to touch."
Porom looked away. "Then that's your adventure to take. And I hope you enjoy it."
"But I don't want to leave if you don't want us to. You and Palom have so many things you need to talk about, and I think it'll take a long time to smooth over the words you've left unsaid. I can't get between that."
"If you're saying you'll take an adventure by yourself—"
"I might."
"—Then I discourage it."
"Why? I can come back and visit and—"
"—And expect Palom not to wither and sulk the whole time you're gone? I'd rather not. Either take him with you or stay. Or dump him somewhere where I don't deal with it because I've had enough of his tantrums."
"Would he really?"
"Do you have to ask?"
Leonora felt a rush of excitement and she fought a smile. "Maybe you're right. But I can't stay in Mysidia or Troia."
"Then make that decision together when the time comes. For now, just appreciate the time we have here on Blue Terra because I don't know how much longer it'll last."
Leonora took Porom in a hug. "Thank you."
Porom returned it and Leonora loved how she smelled like spring flowers and forest cold. "No, thank you."
They practiced further until Palom came out and took a seat by the river. He cast no spells, as was typical for the morning, and didn't glance their way before taking out one of his books and starting writing. He glanced up and smiled at her—
Odin.
Leonora looked away and remembered her practice with Porom, who gave her a smug expression first. Leonora only wished she could smother that exhilarating rush that came at seeing Palom. It distracted her from her work.
Balthier sat at Fran's bedside, fingers clasped under his chin and heart racing. It was days since she collapsed, and he couldn't believe he let her get so close to the magicks practiced by Terra and Rydia on the edge of their small estate. Couldn't believe he let Bhunivelze twist him around to the point of neglecting Fran's sensitivities. But then, Fran never needed him to watch her exposure for her.
The fact that she held herself together until they left the others was testament enough. If Fran felt the need to observe Rydia and Terra's practices, then there was something valuable to be gleaned from said practices. … If only it didn't leave him without a partner for days on end.
Fran's eyes moved under the lids, frantic. Balthier wondered what it was she saw but gave up on learning such a long time ago. Fran would tell him if it was important.
He assumed this place was safe. Without the same mist as had on Ivalice, he couldn't imagine it affecting Fran the way that it did. But the Wood prepared its children as sensitive to magic of all kinds, and while that made for a handy tell in unfamiliar territory, it made Fran vulnerable to strong bursts that would at worst disorient the most inclined human.
Fran shifted. He got his hopes up every time she moved, yet not once did she show consciousness to break her endless sleep. She had episodes in the past, but—
Her eyes opened.
Balthier's heart stopped and he reached out. "You've been through quite an event, my dear—"
Fran gave a feral scream and twisted to her feet, motions jerky. Balthier reached for her and she threw him back.
He hit the wall and pain burst in his back. He scrambled to get to Fran. She threw the bed over and it shattered against the ground. Balthier moved past the littered destruction to take her hands.
Fran wrenched away and hissed, mouth curling in a snarl. "You know not what you meddle with!"
"Maybe not, but I know you." Balthier gripped his arm as it stung. "What is it that triggered this?"
"Distant calls. Piercing screams. They lie around us in wait, yet we poke them as resting monsters to be enraged!"
Balthier risked another step closer and Fran didn't throw him back this time. It hurt to move, but he knew better than to assume Fran hostile and she would likely benefit from friendly proximity. She calmed even as he watched. He said, "What matter is it that our good friends are meddling with, then?
"Beings beyond our control. Stronger than this corrupted light and motivated to protect their territory. Those brought low must be avoided if we are to hold our own when we beat back the first!"
"Then we should mind our hands, shouldn't we?"
"More than we if this world is to survive the coming war." Fran looked outside. "We should warn them."
"I imagine no warnings will stop these ones. But let's see if we can steer them properly."
"Agreed."
"And then we find a calm place for you to rest, Fran. You wear thin and my betrayal did little to keep you strong for this war you speak of."
"I'm not made of such weakness. I shall worry about rest once we've arranged our survival and set at ease the little ones." She paused and slowly turned as if seeing him for the first time. "I did not mean to hurt you."
"I know you didn't."
"Yet you're pained all the same. Rest. I'll heal you before worrying about the rest."
"Very well." Balthier took a seat again. "Just make it quick. We've work to do."
Arc sat on the rooftop of the Cabin, higher now with the added floor. They put in a whole tower-segment that was really a glorified couple of stories of minimal space but held the quiet and solitude of cordoned rooms and closed spaces. He planned to make good use of those when the time came, but for now, it felt like a prison waiting to swallow him whole.
The dawning sun brought no warmth and blinded him despite the mountains and castle blocking most of its light. The Crystals didn't take kindly to light, hence their places in secluded areas. He saw it for the damaging force that it was instead of the warming energy he was used to.
He could fling himself toward those mountains if he wanted. But he didn't want to get stuck somewhere without shade. He thought he'd travel all over the place if he could move as the twins did, but now it didn't even feel relevant.
A distorted and broken drawl broke his reverie, the real voice of Earth speaking. He didn't know which Crystal it spoke to—the language of theirs showed no obvious patterns. Arc covered his ears, but it did nothing to stave off the wrenching squeals that erupted from water.
The faint echoes and ripples of the old voices he knew revealed themselves as rending cries, alien and unfamiliar to him. Even if he retreated inside, it would do nothing to stave off the unsettling shrieks and grumbles that came from nowhere. Yet the world felt too big and hungry out here. The sky yearned to consume him in its depths.
He worked up the courage to leave his perch and made it to the grass before toppling over, balance overridden by a stream of garbled words that sounded vaguely familiar and translatable, but no translation came to him. Only distant and strange emotions like he knew the intent behind the sounds but not the origins.
"Hey."
Arc startled to his feet and pressed himself to the wall. A twisting light floated there, its hand outreached. "Luneth," Arc said, throat scratchy. "You-you're just Luneth."
"What else would I be?"
Arc struggled to breathe, unable to take his eyes off that swirling energy that represented Luneth's soul. It didn't look like a Warrior's image so much as an illusion of it. The fae didn't have souls like humans, but it still held the blessing of the crystals. The… brand.
The brand that stood out as negative space to the rest of the light. The spiked and sharp mark of the Crystals, like misshapen rock.
"Arc."
With a blink, the image vanished, and Arc looked into the worried eyes of his brother. The eyes that never betrayed fear or doubt or any of those human emotions because as it turned out, Luneth wasn't human.
"I'm fine." The words surprised him, and Arc reached for Luneth. "I'll be okay. What did I miss?"
"Nothing. I should be asking you that." Luneth supported Arc and guided him inside. "You look like you've seen hell. Again."
"Or something close."
"The Crystals really screwed this one up, huh?"
"They did. Or I did. Or Bhunivelze. They're not used to reconnecting, only creating afresh. They're trying to fix it, I think. I only catch feelings instead of cohesive thought and it's warped by years and years of experience that we didn't realize we had. But I can't translate it into anything I can put into the library so it's pointless unless I can get this information into people's heads. And we can use it because these things really aren't gods, but they act like it because they're so far advanced beyond us. But they carry certain weaknesses that they rely on us to protect like humans and bees because did you have any idea how important bees are?"
"Uh, uh." Luneth clamped a hand over Arc's mouth. "Let's get you somewhere dark and secluded. You act up when you've been around people too long."
"And books make it better?"
"Yes."
Refia joined them inside after Arc settled on the makeshift seating they arranged out of wood and spare fabric. "Lenna left," she said. "As did Onion. I hope we were right about Blue Terra being safe."
"Nowhere is safe," Arc said.
"And that's why I'm still here," Luneth said. "Safe is overrated. What about those portals? Weren't the twins gonna get us to go places?"
"Not us," Refia said, "but yes. They're working on it. After they rest, of course, because both Palom and Porom have lingering issues from possession and Leonora get stuck in some dead place for a bit."
"But I wanna see portals."
"And you'll see them. Just don't try to walk through them or I'll have to channel all my white magic straight into you and I need that stuff for more important things."
"Like what?"
Arc looked about the room. Despite the dark, Refia and Luneth stood out like they had lights inside their skin. Refia glowed a faint blue of affection and Luneth purple courage. When he thought about Ingus, he remembered ruby-red as the designated determination. When he looked at his own hands, he made out a green shimmer under the skin, signaling his kindness.
"I'm anything but kind," he said to himself. "That doesn't make sense. Oh, wait, I'm only… what am I?"
"Yeah," Luneth said to Refia, "there's also that."
Repeated guttural and pitched clicking in his head, sounding from the Crystals like they meant to answer his question.
Horror dawned on Refia's face. "You haven't heard them since you got back?"
"… I said I hear them."
Refia backed away from him and Luneth said, "Let's not worry about that for now."
Arc curled into himself and pressed his knees to his chest despite the painful stretch. Something else clawed at his stomach and threatened to pull him back into nothingness. Something reached for him despite the small and secure space of this room. Something he hadn't felt since they passed through the Land of Eureka and the Crystal Tower. He didn't dare turn around. "Something's threatening the crystals," he said.
"Bhunivelze," Luneth said, "yeah, that's kind of a known issue."
"More than Bhunivelze."
Refia asked, "Who, then? Do you know?"
"When we found Toan and beat the Black Knight… did we beat the darkness? The Void?"
"Yes," Luneth said. "That instance of it, for sure. But you can't beat the Void because that's like beating air."
"It feels the same as in the cave."
Refia's posture strengthened as if comforted by the thought. "Porom mentioned something about that. But Lightning said they took measures to keep the Void separate."
"Separate doesn't mean uninvolved." Arc swallowed hard. "Is there something behind me?"
"No," Luneth said.
"It feels like there is."
"The Cloud did that," Refia said. "You might have forgotten."
"I remember. I didn't turn around then, either."
Luneth rolled his head in place. "I've got a thing or two to say that I didn't get in last time. I'd love the chance to tell that Cloud how I really feel. Wait, the Crystals had to reconnect to me, didn't they? Why didn't I get to hear nightmare sounds like Arc?"
"They must have accounted for it," Refia said. "Maybe they realized you were fae and adjusted accordingly."
"Lame."
Arc shivered, cold overtaking him. He took the cloth from the bench and wrapped it about himself as if he could pretend that thing behind him wasn't here. Luneth complained of boredom and teleported out.
Oh, goodness, came an airy woman's voice, distorted by the link. I didn't expect to hear your voice on these channels.
Arc lost his balance and toppled over. Refia helped him back up. "Ruby?" he asked.
Yes. Where can a woman find some privacy these days? Alas, I don't feel like crossing the ocean today, but I should tell you that Toan's wondering where you are. Won't say it of course, because why would he, the little stoic punk.
"I met him. We spoke."
"Ruby?" Refia said. "Where?"
"She's… talking," Arc said. "I think?"
No, I'm using advanced magic to communicate words you can't hear but—ugh. It's complicated. I was just trying to arrange a drop, but why not? I'll entertain you if you tell me why you can hear me.
"The Crystals are broken."
I don't see how enhancing your range of communication makes it broken… Oh. The distortions. Duh.
Refia watched him, confused, and Arc relayed Ruby's words.
"Tell Ruby," Refia said, "that we've got a lot on our plates. Actually, we could use her help."
No can do until I get this stuff sorted on my end unless you want a hoard of sea pirates on your tails. But I'll see what I can manage. And tell Refia to get practicing with that magic of hers or she'll never get good at it.
Arc asked more questions, but the link returned to the Crystals' alien language. Instead he gave Refia Ruby's message.
Refia muttered about that, offended by Ruby's nonchalance. Arc wondered if Ruby remembered the Cave. Maybe she could help.
