Burmecia, the City of Eternal Rain
Freya stood on top of the entrance of her home, observing the kingdom with sleepy eyes as the rain poured. It was dark out as the sun wasn't going to set for another few hours. This only served to add to the somber and almost macabre feeling of the kingdom. While the condition of her home had improved to how it was less than a year ago, the city still showed scars from the Mist War. It still pained the young Dragon Knight to see the remains of buildings that were once home to families. To see once flourishing business now reduced to empty husks that served little other than being shelters for those who had lost their houses. To see a once alive kingdom now a shell of its former self. To say that it broke her heart would be the understatement of the century. Still Freya tried to look on the bright side, no matter how far or dim it seemed. It was pretty much one of the few things that kept you going.
Freya decided to sit down as she yawned. Once again she had trouble sleeping the night before. This had been a reoccurring problem for the past few months. At least once every other week she would wake up in the dead of night because of some nightmare which shook her to the core. The nightmare would typically begin with Freya in Burmecia, alone. She would walk for a bit when suddenly the city was lit with fire. Accompanying the flames were countless screams of pain and suffering, no doubt those who perished in the Black mages' attack. Some nights it would feel as if the flames were real as the scorching heat and suffocating stench of smoke overloaded Freya's senses, with the screaming only making things worse. Then Freya would soon find herself in Cleyra, still alone. The same thing would repeat as the tree settlement suddenly caught on fire and horrible wailing would be heard. However, everything stopped as a shadow loomed over Cleyra as suddenly Odin came into view on top of his horse. And just soon as he appeared a giant blast came thundering. This would signal the end of Freya's dream as she would wake up in a cold sweat.
The nightmare was so intense for Freya that no matter how hard she tried the dragon knight couldn't go back to sleep that night unless she consumed sleeping weed. However, she knew that taking too much of the plant could lead to an addiction, and she couldn't afford another one. So Freya elected to consume the sedative plant rarely. This meant that once in a while she would have an off day and sadly today was one of those days. On the bright side, it just so happened to be one of her days off duty as well. Freya sighed as she brought her knees up to her face and rested her head.
"Maybe I should take a walk," Freya said to herself. "It's not like I have much else to do." As she was just about to get up she sensed someone else jump right next to her on the platform.
"Had another nightmare darling?" Freya didn't even need to look to her left as she recognized the voice of her husband Fratley.
"Yes, my love."
"Was it the same one as usual?"
"Yes dear." Freya then felt Fratley sit close to her as he wrapped his arm around her. Freya wasted no time laying her head on his chest as Fratley soothed her head. "I don't think these nightmares will ever end." Fratley didn't know what to say as he continued to comfort his lover. "No matter what these nightmares keep coming back. Just as I think I'll stop having them, the same night I'm haunted by what happened to our people." At this point the dragon knight trembled as her eyes welled up. "It's all my fault. Maybe if I was stronger back then I could have stopped Brahne." Freya grabbed Fratley's coat as she gripped the fabric. Drops of tears fell down her face as the Burmecian could no longer hold them in. The visions of not only her nightmare, but the events of those dreadful days from last year flooded her mind. For a while the only sounds that could be heard on top of the gate were of the raindrops and Freya's sobs. Fratley could only continue to sooth his wife's head. He pushed his own head down unto Freya's to provide more comfort. After a few moments, Freya's sobs ceased as she raised her head and let out a sniffle.
"Do you want to head back home my love," Fratley asked as he caressed his wife's cheek with one of his hands. He knew that sometimes a good cry was needed for her to feel better after one of her nightmares. Freya still looked down as she wiped a tear from an eye. The royal dragon knight closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled as she looked up to Fratley.
"Yes darling," she answered as she stood up, with Fratley following suit. The two faced where their house was as Fratley grabbed hold of Freya's hand.
"I'll stick by your side Freya Crescent," Fratley said with a hint of determination. "I may not have been there when you needed me the most, but I'll help you out no matter what." Freya gave a faint smile at her husband's words as she gripped his hand.
"I know you will Fratley," she responded as the two Burmecians jumped off the entrance of their city and walked to their home.
The City of Lindblum, (A few hours later)
The sun rose on the soon-to-be-lively city as people began to wake up and leave their houses. Much of the city had been sufficiently rebuilt after Branhe's attack using Atomos. This included the Theater District. Within the district stood a building that served as the headquarters for the theatrical thieving group, the Tantalus Troupe. The leader, a pigman named Baku, was gathering the members of the Troupe as they had a busy schedule ahead of them.
"Alrighty fellas, let's go over what we will be doing for the next few days," Baku stated as he looked at the troupe, which included Blank, Marcus, and Cinna. "Ol' Cid is payin' us a buttlod of gils to head over to Burmecia and help with reconstruction. Poor bastards over there were hit harder than us." Baku cleared his throat as he took out a piece of paper. "As the Regent himself says here, we are to try out one of his newest inventions. This gooey stuff is called "cement". He said it's supposed to help those ratfolk with repairing their houses even with all that rain. Any questions?" Marcus raised his hand. "Yeah Marcus?"
"How does Cid expect just a handful of folks to help rebuild Burmecia? Even if it's improved in the past few months, it still sounds like a daunting task for just a few people."
"Excellent question. Ciddy was generous enough to assign a bunch of constructors and stonemasons to come along with us. He said that they would help us try out this 'cement'," Baku responded as Marcus nodded his head. "Any other questions," Baku asked as he looked around. It seemed like no one else had anything else to ask. Giving a hearty laugh, Baku spoke, "Alrighty then bozos, let's head to the Prima Vista and head to that wet city then." Everyone stood up as they walked over to where their airship was. As they did, they saw Cid next to the ship along with a group of workers that were likely the builders that the regent assigned. Baku chuckled as he waved to the Regent, "Top of the mornin' to ya Cid." Cid gave a bow as the pigman walked over.
"Salutations to you as well Baku," Cid responded. "I would like to give my appreciation once more for your acceptance of this task. It pains me to see the Burmecians and Cleyrans still struggle from the Hell that Brahne put them through, so it only felt right to help with repairs. I only wished that we had done so sooner, but we had to focus on our own repairs."
"Say no more reggie, I'm sure those ratfolk are grateful enough that you let some of them in as refugees. Plus, like I say better late than never," Baku remarked. Cinna titled his head to Blank.
"When has he ever said that," the stout man whispered, to which Blank shook his head and shrugged. Baku cleared his throat causing the two men to straighten up. Even though their boss's back was facing them, they could feel the look he would've been giving them
"As I was saying, don't worry about those Burmecians. By the time we're done with their city, it'll be even better than before," Baku stated as he bellowed out another laugh. Cid couldn't help but smile.
"I'm sure your troupe will do a fine job, especially with my men helping you," the regent replied. "Speaking of whom, I would like you to meet the leader of the carpenters I've gathered to help you." As Cid said this, a tall elephant lady walked by his side. "This lovely lady here is Bhrithi. As you can tell, she is no slouch when it comes to construction." Bhrithi nodded humbly as she looked at Baku. The pigman smirked as he examined his fellow demi-human.
"It's a pleasure to meet ya ma'am," Baku said. "Hope you don't get airsick cuz we'll be taking our reliable airship to get to Burmecia." Baku pointed to the Prima Vista as Bhrithi and her men looked at the ship. Some were amazed at the quality and design of the ship while others (including the elephant leader) wore neutral expressions.
"I assure you that my men and I are more than capable of air travel," Bhrithi replied as she turned to her subordinates. "Come along gentlemen. If we wish to get to Burmecia soon we mustn't dilly dally." The rest of the builders nodded in agreement as they followed Bhrithi to the Prima Vista. Baku chuckled as he watched the builders enter the airship.
"Huh, looks like I might be able to bag myself a Grade A babe on this trip," Baku muttered to himself. He turned to Cid. "Welp Ciddy, it was nice talkin' to ya, but we best head out now."
"Indeed. Oh and if you would not mind Baku, please give King Puck my family's warmest regards," Cid requested.
"Sure thing. I'm sure the royal runt would be happy to hear back from ya," Baku said as he walked over to the Prima Vista. "See ya regent."
"Good luck on the construction my friend," Cid said as the pigman left. The regent sighed a bit. "I do hope that this proves fruitful in helping the Burmecians and Cleyrans," The regent said to himself as he walked back to the castle.