White Mage, Insomniac and Warrior of Light
"A sword in the stump? Bad idea. Really bad idea..."
You would have responded, of course, but found a yawn splitting your face. The masked girl kept talking to you, complaining about the lalafell, you'd imagine, but it was the moogle that drew your attention. It floated in between them and, as always, you did your best to ignore it.
The lalafell was content with ignoring the ranting girl as well and asked the moogle, "Is this our dark stranger?"
You almost snorted. Dark was a word no one could possibly use to describe you. You were dressed in white, after all. Well, mostly. Comes with being a white mage, probably.
"No, no, not this one!" The moogle trilled in it's high pitched voice, "Not even close, kupo!" Ugh, you really couldn't stand these floating balls of simplicity. These nasty little buggers always tried to mess with your staff, which was an artifact with a shard of the mothercrystal herself embedded into the tip! The nerve of them!
"Hm? You know him, Kuplo Kopp?" the masked girl asked. You did snort this time. Hydaelyn above, these names. The lalafell eyed you strangely but said nothing.
"Well, not exactly, but we did once share a carriage. Isn't that right?" the moogle trilled, floating about happily.
"Sadly we did," you tiredly responded with a sigh.
The lalafell ignored you and put on a strange set of goggles. Your eyes widened impeccably when they took in the residual ather. Interesting. He peered around the clearing, apparently observing the disturbed flow of either you had found here earlier, at the tree stump. The sight still agitated you.
"How are the readings?" his female companion inquired.
"Same as last time," the lalafell responded, "There is a disturbance here as well, and newly manifested at that." Now these were some interesting goggles, you had to admit. Usually it took a severe aether exposure to grant one such sight. "Kuplo Kopp seems convinced of your innocence," he addressed you, shrugging off his goggles, "But if isn't your doing, whose is it?"
You yawn, can't help it. This whole mess had cost you more sleep than is good for you. Shrugging, you point out the blade to them, which is quite so obviously Ixal made.
"Ever since the calamity, the forest's been really sensitive," the girl spoke, apparently intent on lecturing you. And hey... did they just ignore you? Again? But she just continued on, the annoyed gleam in your eyes probably lost to her. "The slightest disruption to the aetheric flow..." Yawning again, you tune her out. As if you didn't know what a disturbed aether flow meant! You are a damn white mage! You basically live off aether! Well, that and what little sleep you usually get.
The rumbling ground nearly knocks you off balance. Great. What now?
You see the aether swirl and buckle under the wound the flow had received here, the trees, the poor treants, they writhe in pain and anger, crawl out off the ground to unleash their fury. They are lost now, the aether poisoned them. A fate not even you can undo.
"It seems we have little choice...," the lalafell laments, brandishing his staff. A thraumaturge, it seems. The girl unclasps a pair of brass knuckles form her hips, bouncing into a fighting stance. A pugilist, if you aren't mistaken.
Sighing and suppressing another yawn, you brandish your own staff, the white ash wood gleaming in the sun and the crystal on it's tip flares to life, spreading mother Hydaelyn's light all around you. "Let's get this over with..." The treants march forward and you see the lalafell channeling a lot of fire. What the hell? He did realize they were in a forest, right? Next to the lifemend stump no less? You can't let the little fool start a fire here. So, almost a bit resigned, you gently raise your staff and channel your aether.
"Breath through me, Mother Hydaelyn..."
The flash of Holy is unmistakable, the disturbingly bright and hard light explodes forth from your staff and washes over the diseased forest creatures. It rips through their core, tearing the aether from their forms and leaving behind purified husks that would soon fade into the wind.
The girl shrieks in surprise as the powerful white magic washes over her, bringing her to her knees. The lalafell is outright knocked over head and stares at you with undisguised wonder.
"By the twelve!" he exclaims, climbing to his feet again. "A white mage!"
Rolling your eyes, you slowly step down from the stump and offer your hand to the girl. She had sunken to her knees, which wasn't surprising. Your magic was rather potent and had knocked out a few people before. "Can you stand?" you ask of her, "This isn't over yet."
Maybe it had been a bad idea to pick up the crystal, but the aether drew you. Hearing Hydaelyn's call... this vision... A crystal bearer, were you now? But... if Hydaelyn called upon you, you would answer. She granted you the power to banish the dark, a duty that you felt yours ever since you became a white mage. If these crystals would reveal themselves to you, there wasn't much other to do then just continue on.
"Shine thy light on all creation..." Such were her words. And you would heed them.
Oh shit no! The first thing you saw after prying your eyes open was the damn moogle so you batted it away. "Damn pesky...," you grumbled to yourself as you sat up. Was it necessary for the Mother to knock you out?
"You fainted. A surfeit of aether no doubt." You craned your head around to the lalafell that stood besides the Ixal blade embedded into the stump.
"No shit." A surfeit indeed. For Hydaelyn to communicate directly with you... You could still see the residual aether clinging to all of your body.
"Hm.. And what have we here?" It seems she had found the Ixal body.
As they inspected it, you were struggling to your feet. The aether that clung to you was so pure, it blinded you almost completely in it's brightness. By the twelve, your eyes! If this stayed any longer, you would be blind for real, not just appear as such with your silvery white eyes. What did they say? A chieftain? Oh well...
The girl approached you, a kind smile visible on her lips. "How are we feeling? Better?" she asked, kneeling besides you.
"I suppose. My head feels about ready to kill me though. How about you?" She was wounded in the fight after all.
"Oh, I'm fine!" she assures you but you can see her grimace as she gets up to lend you a hand.
Ignoring her hand, you place your own just above her thigh. "Shine through me, Mother Hydaelyn," you whisper and let the light envelope her injured leg.
She gasps softly, probably awestruck by the instant effect your magic took. "Thank you," she whispers, pulling you to your feet.
"Think nothing of it. I am a white mage after all."
"Understood. Over and out..." the lalafell thraumaturge speaks into the link shell and turns to you for a second before talking to the moogle. Dear Mother why is it still here? "Kuplo Kopp. Please bear word of these developments to Brother E-Sumi-Yan. We shall soon return to give a full report."
Ah, he must be the one the guild master had mentioned when you visited earlier. Short tempered, he had called him. Short indeed...
"Understood!" it trilled and you roll your eyes. The girl catches you and giggles. "Over and out, kupo!" And just like that, the flying nuisance leaves. Thank the twelve, this noise they make while flying is infuriating!
The lalafell approaches you and his partner. "This is where we part ways," he informs you. "Till next time. Take care!"
"If you do indeed investigate the either disturbances, then we shall she us again soon, I fear," you inform him. He simply shrugs.
The pugilist smiles at you before following the already leaving lalafell with a short wave.
"Take care," you tell her.
"Oh," she suddenly exclaims, halfway out of the clearing before spinning around to face you. "You should definitely take that sword back to the Bannock! It might be a clue!" She waves enthusiastically before going after the impatiently waiting lalafell. "You don't suppose that adventurer could see Kuplo Kopp, do you?" she asks him as they walk out of the clearing.
You yawn as you pull the sword from the stump. You haven't been an adventurer in years! The nerve of them...
"And this occurs to you now!?" you hear the disbelieving shout of the lalafell. Chuckling, you stow away the dark blade. Better get back soon. You need some sleep...
A/N: So... I did this, I guess. I wonder, tell me what you think. Maybe I could keep on writing this, giving the Warrior of Light some personality.