It took Eizen less than five minutes to get completely lost. Pendrago was huge, the streets crowded and labyrinthine and all almost identical, and there were random dead ends everywhere. He tried to go in the direction he thought they had come from, but to no avail; soon, he couldn't even find his way back to the Pendrago Shrinechurch, the walls of the surrounding buildings too high and close for him to make out any landmarks in the distance in any direction.
"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Sadie demanded eventually.
"No, Sadie, I don't," Eizen sighed, already frustrated enough. "Do you?"
"I'm not your tour guide, hellion-spawn," she snapped.
"Didn't we decide a couple of days ago that you were going to stop calling me hellion-spawn?" Eizen asked her, exasperated. "I thought you agreed to call me by my name."
"I never agreed to that," she retorted. "You made me call you by your name because I was asking you a question."
"Sadie, please…"
"I'm not going to dirty my tongue with your name, wretch," Sadie spat.
Zaveid and I call Eizen by his name, Edna pointed out. If it isn't demeaning for a seraph, it shouldn't be demeaning for you. Or do you think you're better than us?
"Of course not, Lady Edna!" Sadie squeaked. "But-"
Then cut the "hellion-spawn" crap and call Eizen by his name, Edna stated. She emerged from her place in Eizen's chest to manifest in front of Sadie and added, "As a seraph, I command it of you, lowly human."
Zaveid chuckled at the back of Eizen's mind, and Sadie flushed. "I…I want nothing more than to do as you command, Lady Edna," she stammered, bowing. "But-"
"But nothing," Edna said coldly. "Call Eizen 'hellion-spawn' again and you'll be disregarding the will of the seraphim."
"Take it easy, Edna," Eizen said, recognizing the telltale signs that Sadie was going to start breaking down soon.
Before the conversation could continue further, a sudden voice above them called out, "Edna?! Is that you?!"
Everyone turned and looked up. On the rooftop of a nearby building stood a woman with shoulder-length vibrant green hair that was frosted white at the ends; though her clothes were white with green patterns, like most seraphim, instead of robes, she wore a fitted t-shirt and tight ankle-length pants tucked into solid boots. Without waiting for a response, she leapt off the rooftop with a summersault to land next to the group, beaming at Edna.
"It is you!" the wind seraph said brightly. "Hey, Edna! I haven't seen you in forever! What are you doing way out here?"
Zaveid emerged from his spot within Eizen's chest. "Well hello, baby," he said without missing a beat. "Edna, please introduce us to your lovely friend here."
The green-haired woman burst out laughing, as though Zaveid had just told the funniest joke she'd ever heard. "You haven't changed a bit, Zaveid!" she chortled, fondness in her voice.
"Do we know you?" Edna asked tonelessly. "Seriously, I have no idea who you are, and I don't think Zaveid does either."
"Huh?" The mystery seraph blinked, looking almost offended. Then, a moment later, she laughed again, apparently at herself this time. "Oh, right," she said, "silly me. See, my name is Aline, but you guys would know me better by my true name: Wilkis Wilk."
"Wilkis Wilk?" Zavied repeated, frowning; he appeared baffled, but Eizen couldn't shake the feeling he'd heard that name before. "No, sorry, that's not ringing any bells…"
"That's because you never bothered learning the true names of Sorey's Squires," Edna said flatly before turning back to Aline. "Lailah mentioned you," she went on. "You're Rose, right?"
"I mean…" Aline's smile dimmed. "I'm not really Rose. But, I was her, once - I have her memories, at least."
"Rose?" Eizen repeated.
Edna glanced at him. "Yeah," she said. "Eizen, this is Rose. You know, the Prime Squire after Sorey sealed himself with Maotelus? That Rose."
"That Rose?!" Eizen gasped, amazed. He stared at the woman who had once been a hero of legend. Humans were sometimes reborn as malakhim, he remembered, thinking back on his parents' story; I guess that didn't change when Maotelus arose. Incredible…a hero of legend, reborn as a seraph, and right here in front of me…
"Rose?!" Zaveid was exclaiming, delighted. "Is that really you, babe? I didn't know you were reborn!"
"Maybe if you'd taken more time to talk to Lailah when you visited her, you would've known," Edna said pointedly.
"It's so good to see you guys again," Aline said happily. "I'm sorry I haven't run into you before now…but, I've been busy."
"Busy with what?" Zaveid asked. "Something more important than me? That hurts, sweetheart."
"Stop!"
The sudden shout drew everyone's attention to Sadie, who, Eizen immediately noticed, looked like she was about to snap again; her brown eyes were darting between Aline, Zaveid, and Edna, her face twisted with confusion that looked like it bordered on pain.
"I…I don't understand," the Squire whimpered. "Rose, the hero of legend, was…she was a human, and her name was Rose. This wind seraph said her name is Lady Aline. I don't understand…"
"Sometimes, when a human dies, they can be reborn as a seraph," Eizen told Sadie gently. "No one knows what causes it, but…it happens. Apparently it's more likely for humans with high innate resonance, so…I mean, I guess it makes sense that Rose qualified for rebirth."
"But a human reborn as a seraph isn't the same person they were as a human," Edna added. "The change fundamentally alters a person's soul; most of the time, they don't even keep their human memories…though you said you did, Aline?"
"Yeah," Aline nodded, "I have all of Rose's memories."
"And you say you kept her true name, too, but not her common name?" Zaveid asked. "Odd…usually, when a human is reborn, either they keep their name, or they don't…"
"I'm guessing it's just a weird side effect of a human with a true name being reborn," Edna shrugged. "That probably doesn't happen very often."
"I'm sorry for the confusion," Aline told Sadie, offering her a gentle smile. Her smile faded, and she added, "But, um…what was that about Rose being a hero of legend?"
"You're kind of a big deal, babe," Zaveid informed the wind seraph with a grin. "Your name and legacy are taught in history classes across Glenwood. Hell, I think even some folks on the far continent have heard of you, since trade routes opened between us. You know about that, right?"
"Yeah, I actually just got back from a trip to the far continent about a week ago," Aline replied. "It was really rewarding to help ships sail across the ocean smoothly for the last couple decades, but I wasn't finding any leads on my big mission, so I decided to head inland to keep looking."
"Big mission?" Zaveid questioned.
"Last I heard, she was on a quest to find Arma Dylan for Lailah," Edna said. "But that was a couple hundred years ago. Have you still not found him?" she asked Aline.
Cold blossomed in Eizen's gut at the mention of the former Prime Lord. "No," Aline sighed heavily, and something about her response told Eizen that she was unaware of Lailah's fate. "I can't find any trace of him anywhere. I don't think he's dead, but…he's just vanished." She shook her head, then smiled again. "But, I'm not gonna give up! I'm gonna make Lailah's dream come true, no matter what it takes."
No one spoke. Eizen thought he might vomit if he opened his mouth.
"…Hey…what's going on?" Aline asked, her smile dimming as she looked between the four allies. "What'd I say?"
"You don't know," Zaveid said softly.
"Know what?"
"Lady Aline," Sadie said formally, stepping forward, "I…I am truly sorry to inform you of this, but…Lady Lailah is no more."
Aline blinked. "No more?"
"There's a new Lord of Calamity," Eizen said, finding his voice at last. "She turned Lailah into a dragon, and Mikleo, too. The Shepherd of Legend, Sorey, who recently returned to us…is dead, by her hand." Might as well get it all out of the way.
At first, the wind seraph didn't seem to really understand what Eizen had said; her magenta eyes gave a long, slow blink, her expression blank. "Lailah…" she breathed. "Mikleo…and…Sorey…?"
"I'm sorry," Eizen told her. "I…I'm so sorry. I know you and Sorey were close…and, if you've been helping seafarers for two decades, you wouldn't know that he came back recently, so I…" He shook his head. "I'm really sorry."
"Sorey…Lailah…" Aline swayed, then dropped to her knees, horror lighting in her eyes as comprehension dawned.
No one spoke for a long, long minute. What could anyone say?
"…What happened?" Aline finally whispered.
"Almost twenty years ago, Sorey came back, and Maotelus too," Edna replied. "As soon as he came and found us…well, you remember that hellion with the swords who kept asking us if Maotelus was back yet?"
"Huh? Oh, you mean that guy who got all up in arms because of Rose's fighting style?" Aline responded. "Yeah, I remember him."
"That's right!" Eizen gasped. "You knew my father! Or Rose did…"
"Your father?" Aline asked, surprised.
"Yeah, well, he found us when Sorey did," Edna went on, "and then we went and called on Maotelus, who took us down into the earthpulse where his not-exactly-girlfriend was trapped with Innominat. He broke the seal, freeing her, and also Innominat, whom Maotelus consumed, taking on all his power - that's why all humans can see us now, I'm sure you've noticed that?"
"Yeah," Aline replied, "I thought that was weird, how everyone could suddenly see me." Incredibly, she smiled slightly. "I was so used to being a ghost."
Zaveid laughed, and even Edna giggled a little; Eizen wondered what the joke was. "Anyway, Rokurou and Velvet eventually figured out that they didn't want to be hellions anymore, and Maotelus purified them and gave them human bodies because they were old friends and stuff, so they could live human lives," Edna continued. "They got married and had three kids. And then…" The earth seraph's face fell. "Recently, one of those kids became a new Lord of Calamity. Sorey tried to quell her, with only Lailah and Mikleo backing him up, and she took them all down."
"Wait wait wait," Aline said quickly, getting to her feet again, "you mean that the hellion Rose said we should help fathered a new Lord of Calamity?"
"It wasn't like that!" Eizen exclaimed, stepping forward. "My dad didn't want her to turn, neither did my mom, none of us did! Niko just…she kind of went nuts when she found out our parents' story, and got obsessed with this idea that malevolence makes people immortal; she never listened to any of us, she burned our house down and nearly killed us when she turned! Rose - Aline - you didn't help a monster, I swear!"
Aline stared at Eizen, and he felt his face get hot. "You," she said slowly, "are…the Lord of Calamity's brother, and that hellion's son?"
"He's not-" Eizen cut off, remembering as he spoke that his father actually was a hellion again now, thanks to his sister. "He wasn't a hellion when I was growing up," he revised. "He's just…my father. My sister corrupted him again after she turned, but…I'm not the son of a hellion, it's not like that."
"Yeah, no, I get that," Aline said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I just don't remember the guy's name."
"His name's Rokurou," Edna offered. "Don't worry, it took me a while to learn his name too. It's a weird name."
"Anyway," Aline went on, "what I meant to say is…he fathered a Lord of Calamity, but he also fathered a Shepherd. And you became the Shepherd, even though the Lord of Calamity is your sister?"
"You knew I was the Shepherd?" Eizen asked, surprised.
"Of course!" Aline said brightly. "It's obvious just from looking at you, you radiate strength and purity." She smiled. "I guess if you're his son, Rose wasn't wrong to let him live after all. Some humans are just…" The wind seraph shrugged. "…born bad, I guess."
"Yeah," Eizen said softly. "I became the Shepherd because…she's already done enough. Sorey always told us that the Shepherd stands alone between the light and the dark, and I didn't want anyone else to have to suffer because of my sister. So I stepped forward to stop her myself."
"That's really noble of you," Aline remarked. "I can tell you're a good guy. Hey, what's your name?"
"My name's Eizen," Eizen replied.
"Eizen?" Aline repeated, turning to Edna. "Isn't that the same name as-?"
"He was named after my older brother," Edna answered before Aline could ask.
"Oh yeah!" Aline exclaimed, "I remember now, that hellion guy was friends with your brother!"
"I've actually been living with the family since just Velvet and Rokurou were purified," Edna went on.
"We're one big, happy family!" Zaveid grinned.
"You too, Zaveid?" Aline asked. Her gaze panned across the four heroes once, and she gave a resigned smile. "Well…I'm glad to hear that, at least. But Sorey…" The smile dropped, her magenta eyes darkening. "Sorey…dead…and Lailah is…"
"A dragon," Edna finished. "Yeah. And so's Mikleo. If you've seen two dragons flying around with hellions on their backs, that's Lailah and Mikleo, along with the Lord of Calamity, Niko…and her father."
"Huh?"
"Like I said, my sister corrupted our father when she turned," Eizen explained. "He…He serves her now, and so do the dragons who used to be Lailah and Mikleo. We don't know how she's controlling any of them, but she is somehow. It seems like she's holding something over my father, and the dragons…well, we don't know how she's controlling them."
"I see," Aline said slowly. "Alright, I think I'm getting it. So, just one more question: If Lailah's gone, where's your Prime Lord?"
"You're looking at him!" Zaveid said proudly. "I became the Prime Lord after Lailah fell."
"Really?" Aline asked. "I didn't know wind seraphim could be Prime Lords."
"Any seraph can do it, as long as they're willing," Zaveid said. "Everyone else was too scared to step up, so I took the job myself."
"Uh-huh." Aline tilted her head, then shook it. "I…Okay…I'm sorry, this is a lot to take in…"
"Sorry you had to find out like this," Edna said. "It's too bad you didn't get to see Sorey again, I'm sure he would have loved to know you were reborn."
"Yeah…" Aline looked at the ground, her eyes glistening. "I…I had hoped that, when he came back, I'd get to ask him…what his last words to me were. I couldn't hear them. And now I won't be able to ask…"
"Listen, Aline, I…I'm really sorry," Eizen said lamely. "But, uh…we were just on our way to try to take the trials of the elements, at least the ones we can take right now…but we got lost. Hey, can you show us the way out of Pendrago?"
"Oh, you're lost?" Aline asked brightly; for some reason, all her gloominess evaporated. "I'd be delighted to help you out! Helping people is my business, after all! Follow me!"
"I thought killing people was your business," Edna teased as Aline started walking briskly down the road they'd been following; Eizen felt a wash of relief as they started following their new guide out of the massive city.
"Killing people was Rose's business," Aline said coldly. "I'm not Rose."
"You were Rose," Zaveid pointed out.
"Yeah," Aline sighed, "but I'm not Rose now. Honestly, I…I kind of hate Rose. I mean, who did she think she was, acting like she had the right to decide who deserved to live and who deserved to die? She was a monster, by her own logic! Like, remember that time she told you guys, 'killing is a sin, and anyone who doesn't understand that is a monster'? Meanwhile, she was happiest when she was killing people! And sure, she tried to justify it by looking into her targets and seeing if they were good people or not, but I mean…she was just a hypocrite, and a murderer! A thug! Not to mention that she never really thought about anything, living on instinct alone…"
"Lady Aline," Sadie spoke up as they rounded a corner, "I'm sorry, but…what are you talking about? Rose was a hero; she founded the Scattered Bones, yes, but we know now that the assassins' guild operates with a strict code of honor - only rogues who disobeyed Rose's orders killed senselessly or just for money, and they were strictly punished. Besides, Rose took on Shepherd Sorey's mantle while he worked to purify the Great Lord Maotelus, recruiting people with resonance as Squires under her and dedicating her life to the purification of the land so the Great Lord of Lords could one day return. She was…well, she was a hero. Many people look up to her, even today."
"Hero worship much?" Edna asked Sadie snidely.
"Look, I won't deny that Rose did some good things in her life," Aline conceded. "A lot of good things, even. But as a person, she was so…blind. She's lucky her intuition was so sharp, but even then, the fact that she enjoyed leading a band of assassins speaks to the dark side of her nature. I…I'm not proud to have been her in a past life. When I realized what had happened - that I'd been reborn - I decided to dedicate myself to making up for Rose's sins, to making the most of my second chance, you know?
"Nothing wrong with making the most of a second chance," Zaveid remarked in a dirty tone.
Unsurprisingly, Edna gave her Prime Lord a swift jab in the side with her umbrella.
"It's too bad you were reborn as a wind seraph," Eizen said after a moment. "Without Lailah and Mikleo, we're short a fire seraph and a water seraph, and we could really have used your help if you'd been one of those."
"I'm sorry," Aline said, glancing over her shoulder to give Eizen a deeply remorseful look. "I didn't ask to be a wind seraph…I didn't ask to be reborn at all. Honestly, I can't help but wonder if I was only reborn because Dezel was watching over me."
"Hey, I didn't think it was your fault!" Eizen exclaimed. "I didn't mean it like…Look, you have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn't have mentioned it. I'm sorry."
"What's with all the apologizing?" Zaveid asked. "No one here has anything to be sorry for."
"Besides you," Edna growled at him.
Aline laughed. "Gods, I missed you guys," she told Edna and Zaveid fondly. "I wish I could go with you. But, you know, you already have a wind seraph on your side, so…"
"We missed you too," Zaveid told her. "At least, I know I did-OW!" He cried out as Edna stabbed him again. "The hell was that for?!"
"For being you," Edna replied coldly.
Their guide laughed again, and then they rounded a bend and found themselves looking out on the entrance to the city, a short staircase straight ahead that would take them into the plaza from which they could leave. "Here we are!" Aline told them cheerfully.
"Thank you so much, Aline," Eizen told her, relieved. "Listen, I'm really sorry, but we have to go; my sister's a terror, and-"
"Hey, I get it," Aline shrugged; "go take down the Lord of Calamity and save the world, gentle Shepherd. I can talk with Zaveid and Edna any time after we're all safe."
"Thank you," Eizen said again.
"Don't mention it!" Aline reassured him, her lips curled into a catlike smile. "I'll see you guys around. Good luck!"
"What will you do?" Edna asked her.
"I…" Aline sighed. "I think I'm going to keep looking for Arma Dylan. Even if Lailah's gone, I can at least tell him that he had a huge fan in her once. Hey, if you guys find anything, anything about where he might be now, let me know, yeah?"
"We'll keep an eye out," Zaveid assured her.
"Thanks, guys," Aline said.
"It was nice to meet you, Aline," Eizen told her.
"Yeah, likewise!" Aline responded brightly.
Everyone turned to go.
"Hey, Eizen?"
Eizen stopped, as did his allies, and he turned back to the wind seraph who had once been a dark hero. "Yes?"
Aline's head was tilted, and her magenta eyes seemed oddly sharp. "I'm sorry you have to fight your sister," she said, "but…well, I try not to rely on instinct as much as Rose did, but my instinct says that as long as you push through, something really good is gonna happen."
"Something really good like what?" Edna inquired.
"I dunno," Aline shrugged. "But I think, as long as you don't give up, when this is all over, you're gonna leave the world better than it was when you came into it." She smiled. "I dunno, it just felt like something I needed to say. Hurry up and go take the trials already! I'll see you around."
"Yes, I…thank you, Aline," Eizen repeated. "I…yes. Thank you."
With that awkward farewell, he turned and headed for the exit to Pendrago; behind him, Zaveid and Edna waved to Aline before coming to rest within his chest, and Sadie followed behind.
~X~
Follow the hills to your left, Edna told Eizen as they emerged into the wilderness outside the massive city's walls. Westronbolt Gorge isn't hard to miss.
Thanks, big sis, he told her, still shaken by the chance encounter they'd had. Fighting hellions was almost meditative for him as they began traversing Pearloats Pasture, heading for the rougher terrain to the west.
Hey by the way, Edna, Zaveid remarked, and Eizen got the sense Sadie couldn't hear him, nicely done handling Sadie earlier. That whole "will of the seraphim" thing even had me going.
Yeah, I can't believe it took me this long to try it, Edna sniffed. She's stupid, but she's going to be fun to toy with.
Edna, please don't, Eizen thought at her. I appreciate the gesture, but…it's not her fault, okay? She was raised to think this way, she can't help it. We need to ease her in slowly, not take advantage of her.
Aw, c'mon, let us have a little fun, Zaveid urged, though Eizen could hear the smile in his voice.
No, uncle, Eizen responded before Edna could express the overwhelming anger and disgust the Shepherd felt coming from her. Especially not you.
What's that supposed to mean?
A hellion fight interrupted the conversation, and Eizen chose not to continue it. His mind kept drifting back to Aline, a fleeting conversation with a hero of legend who knew his father from the days before his mother was freed from the earthpulse. There were questions he wished he'd asked, things he wished he'd said…but, there was no sense dwelling on that now. I have a duty, he reminded himself; taking the trials and acquiring the spiritual powers of the elements is my main focus, nothing matters more than stopping Niko.
Yet his mind kept wandering.
Stop it. Focus now, think later.
Slowly, the ground underfoot turned barren and rocky; just as slowly, the encounter with Aline was filed away in Eizen's mind, set aside so he could focus on what was important. Then, around a corner, Eizen and Sadie were met with the sight of a treacherous valley made of narrow ledges and thin rock bridges carved out by the whipping winds over a seemingly-bottomless abyss.
It's just through here, Edna informed them. Don't worry about the path crumbling, I'll prevent that; just keep to the rock faces and watch your step when you fight the hellions.
"There are hellions here?" Eizen exclaimed.
There are hellions everywhere, in case you haven't noticed, Zaveid said pointedly. It's inevitable, especially with the Lord of Calamity on the loose. Just take care not to fall, and you'll be fine.
There were indeed hellions as they made their way along the winding, narrow outcroppings of stone, leeches and trolls and goblins that rode little catapults on wheels. Ironically, the Rangetsu style lent itself well to the terrain - Eizen couldn't dodge to the side very much, and blocking ran the risk of knocking him off-balance, but dancing around with the moves his father had taught him meant he was rarely in danger. Sadie had a harder time of it, but she pushed through well enough, and of course Edna and Zaveid had no troubles; they forged their way through the ravine, turning left when the path split into two, and then, slowly, the chasm ended, leaving solid, even ground. Edna and Zaveid emerged as they rounded a corner and were faced with the sight of a tall, ornate tower.
"Ahh, this place brings back memories," Zaveid sighed contentedly, and Eizen stopped short to look at him as he turned a smile on Edna. "Ain't that right, babe?"
"Does it?" Edna asked tonelessly.
"Sure!" Zaveid grinned. "Right here is the first time I ever saw you away from the Spiritcrest, after you teamed up with Sorey. You remember, doncha?"
"Oh yeah," Edna said flatly, "I remember now. As I recall, you were trying to destroy the hellion that was vital to the Wind Trial, and when we stopped you, you attacked us instead."
"That's right! You smacked me around pretty good," Zaveid chuckled. "I didn't know you could fight like that, and I was mighty impressed. Yeah…" He smiled up at the tower, heaving another contented sigh. "Good times…"
"What a stupid thing to get sentimental about," Edna muttered.
"So this tower is…" Eizen said slowly.
"Welcome to the Guinevere Shrine, home of the Wind Trial," Edna told him. "Don't bother with those stairs along the outside, you'll find the trial through the front doors."
"What are those stairs for?" Eizen asked, eyeing the narrow, crumbling stone ramps that led up and around the massive building.
"So humans can get to the top and give their lives to the seraphim or something stupid like that," Edna replied.
"So this is that shrine!" Sadie gasped from behind them. "I thought so when you said the name, but I didn't know it served a secondary purpose as a trial for Shepherds!"
Everyone turned to her; her brown eyes were wide as she gazed up at the tower.
"Sadie…you've heard of this place?" Eizen asked her.
"Of course!" Sadie replied brightly. "Any true devotee of the seraphim knows about this tower. It is said that those who throw themselves from the top will grant the seraphim all the strength of their life force, and in return be absolved of all their sins and misdoings in life and gifted with eternal happiness in heaven."
Zaveid folded his arms and chuckled. "Whoever came up with that is a real piece of work," he remarked. "What kinda sicko makes up something like that, just to convince humans to die pointlessly?"
"Pointlessly?" Sadie repeated, turning to Zaveid in alarm. "But Lord Zaveid, as a seraph, you must know the truth of the legend! You - you've surely accepted sacrifices from this place yourself over the centuries, haven't you?"
"Wait, you mean you actually believe in that crap?!" Zaveid exclaimed, and he laughed. "Sadie, sweetheart, that ain't how it works."
"Huh?" Sadie blinked.
"It's true that we seraphim can draw strength from humans," Zaveid explained, "but not from their deaths. It's your prayers that lend us power, your faith in us - that's why Lords of the Land need devotees to maintain their blessings. But a dead human is of no use to us. We can't make use of their life force or whatever - a dead human doesn't have any. You want to lend us support? You gotta be alive to do it."
"But…but…" Sadie spluttered, her cheeks turning bright red. "But…but it's such an important and prevalent legend! So many people have given their lives to your kind here!"
"And I'm tellin' ya, it's all been for nothing," Zaveid stated.
She shook her head manically, and Eizen again recognized the telltale signs that she was on the verge of a breakdown, though this time, he couldn't fathom why. "Sadie, does it really matter?" he asked her. "We can't do anything about anyone else who's jumped off of this tower…"
"Coming here has always been my greatest dream," Sadie whispered, and Eizen's blood ran cold. "There is nothing I want more than to eventually give my life to the seraphim."
"You want to die?!" Eizen exclaimed.
"No!" she responded. "No, but…but I want to show my devotion to the seraphim, give them some use out of my lowly human life. Lord Zaveid," she said desperately, turning on the Prime Lord again, "are you absolutely sure that the sacrifices here-?"
"All for nothing," Zaveid repeated firmly. "A dead human is just a dead human - gone, boom, nothing to it. Even all that talk about being absolved of your sins and all that? Nonsense. If it was that easy, well…" He shrugged. "It ain't. Trust me."
Sadie's eyes squeezed shut, and Eizen was alarmed to see a tear track down her face. "Sadie," he said, as gently as he could, "what's wrong? Why is this so…so upsetting?"
Shaking her head violently, she opened her glistening eyes and glared at him. "I wouldn't expect a selfish, corrupted soul like yours to understand!" she snapped.
Whether he was selfish and corrupted or not, one thing was certain: Eizen really and truly did not understand. He stared at her, trying to think of something to say, something that would somehow make her feel better, or at least clarify what was going on. Nothing came.
"Heh heh heh."
Zaveid's sudden chuckle drew Eizen's attention, and he looked over to see the wind seraph tip his hat and saunter over to the crying human girl.
"I think I get it," he said, and he draped an arm over Sadie's shoulder and leaned on her.
The Squire looked up at Zaveid, apparently shocked at his nearness.
"Sadie, babe, this world we live in is ruthless and unforgiving," Zaveid said matter-of-factly. "Life is damn good at telling cruel, sick jokes, and it's gonna tell 'em whenever it gets a chance, at the expense of as many people as possible, that's just how it goes. Unfortunately, no matter how you slice it, to live is to suffer…and, well, I hate to have to be the one to break it to ya, but there is no easy way out. There's no magic portal or secret ritual that can make it all just go away. If there was, I'd've taken it a long time ago."
"But-But Lord Zaveid, you're a seraph!" Sadie exclaimed. "What could a divine seraph possibly know about pain?"
"More than you can ever imagine," Zaveid replied grimly. Then he cracked another lopsided grin and went on, "Now, it's true that death is a kind of salvation, for some…hell, maybe for everyone, in the end. But taking your own life?" His smile dropped. "That's something else entirely. The way I see it, that's just the punch line that every single one of life's cruel, sick jokes is always trying to build up to. I wouldn't be surprised if, when you kill yourself, the last thing you hear is the smug, self-satisfied laughter of this cold, cruel world as it takes delight in knowing that it beat you, that it won. And I don't know about you, but I don't wanna give this world that kinda satisfaction…nor would I want it to get that kinda thrill from anyone else, either. Ya feel me?"
"Uncle Zaveid, you…you've really thought about this," Eizen said softly, the corners of his eyes stinging.
"Yeah, well, y'know," Zaveid dismissed, shrugging off of his perch on Sadie's shoulder to stretch languidly, "in passing. I'm a seraph who's lived over two thousand years, I've had a lot of time to think about…things."
A sad whimper caused Eizen to glance over at his big sis, and he saw that she herself was on the verge of tears, just before she tilted her umbrella to hide her face.
Silence stretched between the comrades for a long minute. To Eizen's left, Sadie was furiously trying to wipe her cheeks clear of moisture; in front of him, his uncle stood with his back to the group, tense muscles along his bare shoulders speaking of pain he would never discuss; and to his right, Edna struggled with her own urge to cry, ducking under her umbrella so no one would see her weakness. Eizen stood among them, turning his gaze from one to the next and back again, and felt completely and utterly helpless. Life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, he knew that full well, but the weight that hung on his companions now was like nothing he could ever fathom.
He thought of his mother, who had lost everything, barely managed to eke out a new life, and then seemed to lose that second chance too, and how it had broken her down beyond even malevolence. He thought of General Donovan in Lastonbell, shouting at him about the pains of living in a society, of the constant struggle in obscurity most humans had to face for their whole lives. He thought of Celica, born with a disease that doomed her to a short, weak life, without having done anything to deserve it. Cruel, sick jokes indeed…cruel, sick jokes that Eizen didn't understand. He had never suffered like that before. Sure, he'd lost his home, seen most of his family turn into monsters, and was despised by the girl he'd loved since the age of four, but none of that really felt heavy to him, none of that felt like it could begin to compare to the burdens his companions seemed to be shouldering. The only thing that came close was killing General Donovan, ending a man's life, but though that weighed on him, it wasn't enough to make him desire death, not even a little.
I really don't know anything, he thought. Or rather…I don't understand anything. Knowing and understanding aren't the same thing. I know Zaveid lost the love of his life, I know Edna lost her older brother, I know my mom lost her whole family, but I don't know what that feels like. If to live truly is to suffer…
"Pain and death are all that await those who won't embrace malevolence, and he would have everyone suffer and die for his silly ideals!"
Niko's words, the speech she'd repeatedly made every time he'd seen her - not just since she turned, but before then as well - came back to him now. Was this what she was talking about? This pain he didn't understand? If he didn't understand it, who was he to say…?
No. Eizen clenched his fists. Life may be cruel sometimes, but that doesn't mean it's not worth living to its fullest. I don't have to know how dark things can get to understand that. It's like uncle Zaveid said, there is no quick and easy way out; not death, and certainly not malevolence. Niko is wrong.
Yet the minutes ticked by, and no one who did understand seemed willing to break the silence.
Finally, awkwardly, Eizen cleared his throat. Everyone jumped where they stood, as though they'd all been far away in their minds. They probably had.
"Listen," Eizen sighed as all the attention turned on him, "I…I'm sorry. For all of you, for whatever burdens you carry. I wish there was something I could do, for any of you."
"There ain't," Zaveid informed him.
"I know," Eizen said, "and I'm sorry for that too. But…well…we did come here for a reason: we need to obtain the blessing of Lord Hyanoa. Can we…go do that? Please?"
"Sure thing," Zaveid shrugged, vanishing to rest within Eizen's chest.
Edna followed suit without a word, and Eizen stepped towards the tower. When Sadie didn't immediately follow, he stopped and turned to her. "Sadie…are you going to come?" he asked. "Or would you rather stay down here?"
"And leave something so important to someone like you?" she scoffed, her expression hardening with hatred. "No. If I don't keep an eye on you, you'll doom us all."
It was better than seeing her cry, at least, and Eizen suppressed a sigh as they finally opened the doors and entered the sacred Guinevere Shrine.
Immediately inside, a vast chasm split the room in half, but Eizen didn't even have to ask; he called on his uncle's power and breezed across, taking Sadie with him. On the other side, to his surprise, there were hellions, if only a few, but he fell into the rhythm of battle without hesitation, as did his comrades. Then, there was nothing left but a glowing panel; he and Sadie stepped onto it, and it brought them up to the next floor.
Here, things got a little more complicated: instead of a solid floor with a gap, there were incomplete stone pathways that separated from each other like stepping stones, and huge metal doors that blocked passage forward sometimes, as well as the occasional hellion. Also, here and there, they found odd windmills that sang of the power of the Great Lord Hyanoa.
How do I turn these? Eizen asked his seraphim as he approached one.
Same way you cross gaps, Zaveid replied: become the wind.
Right.
Casting Silver Wind, Eizen transferred the power of his wind seraph to the windmill, and it spun; a door nearby rose, allowing them to continue.
Hey Edna, you said there was something you said to Dezel here five hundred years ago, right? Zaveid asked as they proceeded. What was it, again?
I said, "It really gets the job done, that spinny mist thing," Edna replied, an oddly grumpy edge to her toneless voice. His response was so incredibly boring, I had to say it multiple times before he even realized I was trying to get a response out of him.
What did he say? I'm curious.
He just said "It is the Wind Trial, after all."
Rising up on another panel, Eizen heard Zaveid's laughter at the back of his mind. Yeah, that fellow was always a stick in the mud, the wind seraph chuckled, sounding oddly nostalgic.
Indeed, Edna concurred, Dezel was reserved and serious, not to mention well-meaning. Hard to believe he was raised by someone like you.
Well, that's a bit of a low blow, Zaveid remarked. But to be fair, it might be a stretch to say I raised him; he just kinda latched onto me as a kid, after your brother and I rescued him from some hellions…and I mean, he was a kid, what was I supposed to do, throw him to the wolves? I gave him his own pendulums, let him copy me when I fought…sure, I took him under my wing, but we weren't that close. Mostly, the fact that I was taking care of a child made me exceptionally appealing to the ladies.
Eizen snorted, and though he couldn't be sure over the sound of Silver Wind carrying him across a gap, he thought he heard Sadie make a slight choking sound too. Below the hollow of his throat, he felt a surge of Edna's disgust; it was stronger than he would have expected, even of her, but he didn't comment on it.
I tried to get him to loosen up a little, Zaveid went on, but he just wouldn't have it, and after he was too big for the ladies to coo over, he made a terrible wingman…so, I handed him off to this other wind seraph I knew in passing, Lafarga, and never saw him again, until we ran into each other right here at this tower.
So you ditched him because he couldn't help you manipulate women anymore? Edna asked disgustedly.
Ouch! Come on, Edna, that's harsh! Zaveid protested. I didn't ditch him, I just introduced him to someone who had more patience for company than me, that's all. He could take care of himself by then, I made sure of that much, and Lafarga was a good guy, they bonded immediately. Like I said, we weren't close…and c'mon, babe, you know me, I don't stick with the same people for too long. I go where the wind takes me.
"You've stayed with us, though," Eizen remarked.
Well, I have and I haven't, y'know? Zaveid responded. Sure, I always came back for a visit, but it's not like I lived with y'all, except when we were waiting for Cellie to be born…and even that was pretty hard on me, to be honest.
Boo hoo for you, Edna sneered. If you hadn't passed Dezel on to Lafarga, it's likely that neither of them would be dead now.
Absolute, horrified shock radiated from where Zaveid lived in Eizen's chest; he didn't even retaliate. An entire floor of the shrine passed in utter silence, save the occasional hellion fights, and Eizen quickly became uncomfortable at the tension between his seraphim. He waited for his big sis to apologize or qualify her statement, but she did neither.
"Edna," he sighed on the next ride up, "I don't know the people you're talking about, but don't you think that was a little…mean?"
It's true, she shrugged.
Pain lanced through Eizen's chest from where his uncle rested, and he winced as they kept making their way through the trial. Please, Edna, he thought at her privately, please don't just leave it at that. You've really hurt him.
Heaving a sigh for Eizen alone, she opened her thoughts to the others and added, But on the other hand, then Rose would have married Prince Konan, the Scattered Bones would never have been formed, and no one would have been around to rescue Sorey from Kittybeard during that fight in Glaivend Basin. Your negligence may have cost two wind seraphim their lives, but it's also the reason the world as a whole was saved from absolute chaos five hundred years ago, so…you know, it wasn't all pointless. Their deaths served the greater good in the end.
Yeah, Zaveid sighed, ain't that how it goes? Just another one of life's cruel, sick jokes… Still, Edna's concession seemed to have had some effect, and the tension eased slightly as they finished climbing up through the tower and found themselves at a door that could only lead outside. Something was going on between his seraphim, Eizen knew that much, but it was their business, and he didn't pry.
"Are we…supposed to go out there?" he asked instead, gesturing to the door they'd reached.
Yep, Edna replied. Don't worry, the stairs out there are in much better condition than the ones at the bottom, you'll be safe if you watch your step.
Eizen glanced at Sadie, but his Squire was expressionless. Knowing he couldn't say anything that wouldn't just make her upset, he opened the door and stepped outside, Sadie right behind him.
o~X~o
The top of the Guinevere Shrine.
Sadie had always dreamed of coming here. As they stepped out onto the stone steps that would take them to the top and began the final ascent, she gazed out at the scenery. It was more barren than she'd imagined it would be.
Not that that matters.
In her fantasies, she'd always been a proud, grown woman whose usefulness had outlived itself, ready to do one last good deed in giving her life force to the seraphim after a lifetime spent fighting hellions and birthing children of noble blood. Now, that dream would never come true; Lord Zaveid had insisted that, even here, a human's death served no purpose to the seraphim, that it was those who lived that gave seraphim strength. Maybe it was better than asking her to believe that there was no way to lend the holy seraphim power, but she had held this dream for so long, only for it all to crumble away.
Still, even with that dream dead, she had a duty to attend: as a Squire, it was up to her to ensure that her hellion-spawn Shepherd didn't fail the trials set forth by the Great Lords. When they had climbed the last of the steps and reached the very top of the tower, there, alone on the vast expanse of the roof, was a massive hellion that seemed to burn with sheer malevolence: a headless knight on a skeleton horse, tattered and black and evil, as all hellions were.
Just another fight. Sadie's heart soared as she drew her battleax, its weight the most comforting presence she knew in this world. Even if the seraphim had forbidden her to kill, beating the malevolence out of hellions was a rush she wouldn't trade for anything. Lord Zaveid and Lady Edna emerged from their places within Eizen, and the four of them charged forward to fight the beast.
"Is this part of the test?" Eizen called over the sound of battle.
"Yup!" Lady Edna replied.
This one was strong, and Sadie swung her ax at the monster giddily. But then, as she dodged a blow from its long lance, she happened to spot something else, something she hadn't been able to see from where they'd arrived on the rooftop.
There were long stone walkways branching out from the tower, all of them meant - or so it had been said - for humans to plunge down from, that they might give their lives to the seraphim. If that wasn't what they were for, Sadie couldn't fathom why they even existed, but in the distance, she saw a small figure with straight blond hair and a white dress approaching one of the ledges.
Jumping away from the fight, Sadie glanced at Eizen and the seraphim; none of them had noticed the young girl walking to her death, too focused on fighting the beast that stood as their trial. That was why they were there, after all…but Sadie hesitated. Eizen wouldn't care about a child's life, of course, being hellion-spawn, but maybe Lord Zaveid or Lady Edna could-
As she glanced over at the distant figure again, the child turned to look at her, and Sadie felt her heart skip a beat. Even from a distance, the little girl looked so scarily similar to…
All thoughts of battle forgotten, Sadie holstered her battleax and ran away from the battlefield towards the girl. Yes, that face, it was so similar to the one she'd only ever seen in the paintings her parents kept everywhere…maybe not an exact match, but…
"Wait!" she called as she drew close to the little girl. "Hey, wait, what do you think you're doing?"
"I've come to give myself to the holy seraphim," the child answered calmly, as though she couldn't see the fight taking place in the background. "I've trained my whole life, that my soul will be pure and good, and grant the divine spirits the power they need to protect this world."
"No, stop!" Sadie exclaimed, grabbing the girl's hand. "You're wrong! Dying won't help the seraphim!"
Brown eyes turned up to look at Sadie, so similar to those she saw when she looked in the mirror, and the girl tilted her head. "Says who?" she asked.
"T-The seraphim who brought me here," Sadie replied, and she gestured behind her to where Lord Zaveid and Lady Edna were combatting the monstrous hellion. "They told me that they can't make use of a dead human's life force. Listen, what's your name?"
"Oh…" The girl's eyes clouded over with sadness as she seemed to finally notice the fight. "They must be nephilim, then. Poor things." She turned back to Sadie. "My name's Dahlia," she said. "What's your name?"
"My name is Sadie," Sadie answered. "And…what do you mean 'nephilim'?"
"I've heard about seraphim like them," Dahlia explained. "Fallen ones, who come into being as divine spirits, but then forego their holy natures to live lives of corruption and flesh, as though they were mortal. My mentor, Lord Rook, was a fire seraph, and he warned me against their kind many times."
"They're…?" Sadie felt her eyes go wide. "They're not…holy?"
"Not them," Dahlia answered confidently. "They wouldn't be able to make use of my sacrifice. But the true seraphim, those who watch over this world and protect us from all that is evil, they are not like those seraphim."
It was so simple, a perfect explanation for everything that had happened since Sadie had been made a Squire, and she desperately wanted to believe it. To not think of Lord Zaveid or Lady Edna as true seraphim, the seraphim she'd spent her life devoting herself to, made everything easy. And yet… "But…but Lord Zaveid is the Prime Lord under the Great Lord Maotelus," she said softly. "The Great Lord of Lords granted him the power to anoint Shepherds and…and spread the power of purification."
"Lord Zaveid?" Dahlia smirked. "You mean that seraph who isn't wearing a shirt, showing off his muscles like a human man?"
"Well…" Sadie glanced back at the fight. Lord Zaveid was certainly an exhibitionist with his body, not to mention shameless and…and even something resembling depraved at times. Could that really be in line with a real seraph's true nature?
"You're a devout believer, aren't you?" Dahlia asked innocently. "Just like me. I can tell, you know better than most people what's truly of value in this world."
"I…I try to be," Sadie stammered, still reeling. Nephilim. It's so simple. So easy. It explains everything.
Then why does it feel so wrong?
"Why don't you jump off the tower with me?" Dahlia asked eagerly. "Leave these nephilim to their vices and join me in what's good and true."
The girl's bright, happy face reflected exactly how Sadie had always thought she would feel upon climbing the Guinevere Shrine tower, but somehow, she couldn't muster the same enthusiasm. Something didn't feel right. She thought of Lady Edna's declaration that everyone had their own problems and had to deal with them, of Lord Isan's infatuation with Lady Edna even as he granted the area around Marlind his blessing, of Lady Aline's shame at having the memories of the legendary hero Rose despite all the good that that hero had done, of Lord Zaveid's…well, everything he'd ever said, more or less, if she was honest with herself.
And then, she thought of Lady Morgrim.
"To believe that you have all the answers is to be wrong, no matter who or what you are. So do not be afraid to ask questions, even the ones that frighten you, and do not be afraid to doubt what you think you know."
Lady Morgrim, who, despite taking the form of a cat, had been more in line with what Sadie had expected of a seraph than any of the humanoid seraphim she'd interacted with. She alone had noticed Sadie, looked into her soul and given her advice to better herself. Now, Sadie was faced with questions that terrified her…and she had promised to take Lady Morgrim's advice to heart.
"How do you know about nephilim?" she asked Dahlia. "Please, tell me…tell me why I should believe you over the seraph chosen by the Great Lord Maotelus to grant the flames of purification to the world."
"I told you, Lord Rook explained it to me," Dahlia answered readily. "He's the one who raised me. I was abandoned in a shrine to the east when I was just a baby, and he took me in. He's really strong, but really gentle and wise. He told me all about what I had to do here, how it was my duty to give my life to the seraphim. You'd like him if you met him."
"What kinda sicko makes up something like that, just to convince humans to die pointlessly?" Lord Zaveid's words echoed in Sadie's mind. At the time, she had tried to suppress the thought that Lord Zaveid himself could at times be described as a sicko, but it burst out now through the weakness of her confusion…and if Lord Zaveid could be described that way, perhaps other seraphim could too. Maybe…maybe the holy seraphim really were just people…and this Lord Rook…
"Come with me," Dahlia repeated, tugging Sadie's hand as she took another step closer to the edge. "Let's both show our devotion to the holy seraphim, Sadie. The true seraphim will grant us eternal happiness in return for our sacrifice."
Sadie looked back one more time, at the seraphim who struggled with a terrible hellion, at the human who had drawn the Sacred Blade despite his blood. They believed in something better, in a world where malevolence could be purged without death, and though Lord Zaveid and Lady Edna weren't what she'd expected of seraphim…
"Come with me."
"I…" Sadie turned to Dahlia and took a breath. "…No," she said, pulling her hand free of the child's grip. "Dahlia, what if you're wrong? What if your Lord Rook just…just wanted to play a cruel, sick joke on you?"
"He wouldn't do that," Dahlia stated.
"But what if he would?" Sadie pressed. "If…If you've been raised to believe one thing your whole life…I mean, just believing something doesn't make it true, and people can be wrong in how they raise a child…" The words hurt on the way out, but she couldn't stop her tongue from shaping them.
"What should I believe in, if not the person who raised me?" Dahlia asked.
"I…I don't know," Sadie whimpered, her eyes burning. "I don't know, but…but I don't think you have all the answers, Dahlia. Maybe…maybe come back down with us, and we…we'll find something else for you to do. Some other purpose."
But Dahlia shook her head. "I feel sorry for you," she said, stepping towards the ledge. "You're clearly devout, like me, but you've spent too much time with nephilim." She sighed. "Oh well. I'll see you in heaven."
And she turned and jumped.
"No!"
Without thinking, Sadie ran forward and dove for the ledge, reaching out her hands and just barely managing to catch Dahlia's wrist.
"I won't let you do this!" Sadie shouted at her. "The seraphim need your life, and…and you need your life!"
Dahlia looked up at her dispassionately, all the emotions gone from her little face. She didn't struggle.
Grunting with effort, Sadie heaved the girl back up onto the ledge. "There are better ways to serve the seraphim," she said. "If we spend our lives staying devout to them, offering them our prayers, then they will give us their blessings. Dying won't lend them strength."
Still, Dahlia didn't respond, her face a mask.
"Sadie!"
Sadie turned, and saw Eizen, Lord Zaveid, and Lady Edna running for her; there was no sign of the hellion they'd been fighting.
"What's going on?" Eizen asked breathlessly.
"This is Dahlia," Sadie explained; "she was going to jump. I…stopped her." Suddenly, it occurred to her what she had just done: turned her back on everything she believed in, all for the words of a seraph who seemed more human than her own father. Moisture welled in her eyes again. What have I done?
"Congratulations," Dahlia said, her voice suddenly even more empty of emotion than Lady Edna's usually was, and she stood up, breaking free of Sadie's grip with a strength no child of that size should have had. "You have passed the strength trial of Lord Hyanoa, young Shepherd…and your Squire has passed the spirit trial on your behalf."
"Huh?"
o~X~o
Eizen stared at the little girl Sadie had apparently saved. She was blond, with big brown eyes that looked oddly similar to Sadie's, and she wore nothing but a plain white dress and sandals…all of which looked remarkably untattered for someone who claimed to have climbed all the way up the outside of the tower.
Her words registered. "Spirit trial?" he repeated.
"Indeed," the girl said tonelessly. "The trials of the Great Lords are not only of strength, to ensure that you can indeed fight against malevolence, but also of spirit, to prove that you are worthy of their blessings. We couldn't think of an apt trial for your spirit, so we set it on your Squire instead." She shrugged her thin shoulders. "I didn't think it would work, but I've been wrong about humans many times before."
"Just who the hell are you?" Zaveid demanded.
"Oh! My mistake." Dahlia smirked, the expression uncanny on such a young face. "One moment," she said, and she closed her eyes.
As Eizen stared at her, her features began to shift and change. Her hair shortened and darkened to a dusty black tipped with purple, braided and tied up into pigtails by red, flower-like bows. Her skin, already fair, paled to a sickly white, and her dress darkened into a deep purple robe, bound at the waist and wrists by black belts studded with metal similar to the choker around her throat, that came down to her knees before cutting off to reveal thigh-high boots with heels. A wand tipped with a red gem was clasped in one hand, her fingernails were dyed crimson, and when she opened her eyes again, they were a purplish-red color.
Zaveid and Edna both gasped in alarm. "Symonne?!" Zaveid exclaimed, taking a defensive stance. "What the hell?!"
"At ease, Prime Lord," the seraph apparently named Symonne told Zaveid; "I am not your enemy this time. I serve Lord Hyanoa now, running this trial for any Shepherds who happen to arise."
With that, she walked past Eizen and made for the central area of the rooftop.
"I…have questions," Zaveid said dumbly.
"Same," Edna concurred, sounding equally stunned.
"You know this seraph?" Eizen asked her as Sadie stood up.
"She used to serve the Lord of Calamity, General Heldalf," Edna explained. "Last time we saw her, she was crying on the floor of a shrine dedicated to Zenrus that led out into the fallen village of Camlann."
"Then how did she end up here?" Eizen asked, turning to look at the dark seraph girl who was only a little bigger than Edna.
"That's what I wanna know," Zaveid said in a low voice, striding after her.
Everyone followed him, though Eizen's legs seemed to move entirely of their own volition, and he had a feeling it was the same for Sadie and Edna.
Symonne stopped at the center of the rooftop arena, and Zaveid walked up to glare down at her, his arms crossed. "You've got some explaining to do," he said.
"I don't need to explain anything," Symonne stated, and she gave a wicked little smirk. "Perhaps if you asked nicely, though, I would be willing to answer your questions."
"Alright then, would you please explain what the hell you're doing up here?" Zaveid demanded.
She chuckled as Eizen, Sadie, and Edna joined the Prime Lord. "I was born a wind seraph," she said dispassionately, "though I have taken oaths to expand my abilities. After you destroyed my master, I had to seek new employment. Fortunately, Lord Hyanoa reached out to me, as he had use for my talents, and I chose to take him up on the offer."
"So after you tried to drown this world in malevolence, one of the Great Lords offered you a job?" Edna asked, clearly skeptical.
Magenta eyes met blue, sharp and cold. "I never did tell you about my curse, did I?" Symonne asked softly.
"I assumed it was something like the Reaper's Curse," Zaveid remarked.
"No…" She smiled, though the expression was anything but pleasant. "Mine is a far crueler burden. I carry what is known as the Hound's Curse: misfortune and failure will follow wherever I go, so long as I act of my own volition; the only way I can ever succeed at anything is by taking orders from someone more powerful than myself. The only choice I am allowed to make in my life is whose orders I follow, nothing more…and since I am quite powerful, my options are limited."
Eizen's stomach turned. "That's terrible," he said. "I…I'm so sorry, Symonne."
"Save your sympathy," Symonne told him. "There is nothing you can do about it…nothing anyone can do. And I am not sorry to now serve someone who doesn't ask me to do anything besides stay far away from the rest of the world. I have my illusions, and I have my peace, so long as I lend guidance to the occasional Shepherd. It is not a bad life, to live up here."
"Illusions," Eizen repeated, and he glanced at Zaveid. "Is this seraph-?"
"Yep, she's the one who gave me the idea for my oath," Zaveid confirmed, nodding.
"And you've used it remarkably well," Symonne told him. "It is only right that you should be Prime Lord, Lord Hyanoa and I both agree on this." She shook her head. "Enough about me. You have passed the trials, Shepherd; I grant you the spiritual power of wind, on behalf of Lord Hyanoa."
Mana swept through the already-breezy air, swirling around Eizen and filling the space where Zaveid always stayed in his chest, a rush of raw power.
"Now," Symonne said, and she waved a hand, conjuring an illusion of the hellion they had just defeated, "armatize with your wind seraph and perform a Mystic Arte, and the pact will be complete."
Still reeling from everything that had just happened, Eizen nodded and raised his left hand. Focus now, think later. "Fylk Zahdeya!"
His uncle's being merged with his flesh, but this time there was something more in the bond - it felt as though it ran deeper, some primal force binding them together even more perfectly than they had ever been before. United, they ran at the illusion, hit it a few times, and then summoned the inner, potential power of battle.
"Lord of Wind!"
A domain froze time, and they rose up high on a swell of energy.
"Come, divine wings! Swarm the sky!"
Blades like those that spread behind their back when armatized filled the air around them and rained down on the false hellion - dozens of them, maybe even hundreds of them, all striking the conjured beast and the ground around it with piercing wind mana. But they weren't through; the mana of each blade waited until the rain was done.
"Sylphystia!"
All at once, the blades exploded in one final burst of energy, obliterating their target.
The arte ended, and Eizen and Zaveid touched down gently on the ground before de-armatizing, leaving Eizen breathless.
"Such power…" he gasped, a hand over his uncle's place in his chest.
"Well done," Symonne stated. "Now go. Leave me." She turned her back.
"Lady Symonne?"
Sadie's voice drew the dark seraph's attention. "Yes?"
"May I…" Sadie seemed to curl in on herself, biting her lip. "May I ask you about…about nephilim?"
Symonne gave her a cold, cruel smile. "There is no such thing," she said flatly.
Sadie gasped and recoiled.
"Seraphim are seraphim," Symonne told her; "the word 'nephilim' comes from ancient legends told by humans over three thousand years ago, before even the Era of Darkness…legends only the Great Lords remember now. But legends are all they were."
Sadie didn't respond.
"But you already knew that, didn't you?" Symonne smirked. "You passed the trial, after all. Or did you want to hope that you were wrong?"
Sadie turned away, but Eizen didn't miss the glimmer of tears in her eyes. Whatever had passed between Sadie and the illusion of the little girl Dahlia, it had cut Sadie deeply, and Eizen desperately wanted to ask.
But he didn't. Instead, as he straightened up, something else occurred to him.
"Hey, Symonne?"
"What now?" the seraph girl asked impatiently.
"There's something you should know," Eizen told her: "a long time ago, my parents discovered that a seraph can break their own blessing - or curse - by eating the heart of a white-horned dragon. And, well…the current Lord of Calamity rides a white-horned dragon."
Briefly, Symonne gasped, her eyes misting over for just a moment, and Eizen knew he'd read the girl correctly: her callousness was something she'd developed to cope with her horrible fate. A split second later, though, her face hardened again. "So what?" she asked coldly. "It's not as if I can go with you - you already have a wind seraph on your side, so I can't be your Sub Lord."
"We still have to kill a white-horned dragon, though," Eizen pointed out. "Maybe, after we do that, we'll take her heart and bring it to you."
"Hate to be the one to shoot you down," Zaveid spoke up, "but dragons' hearts don't keep. When a dragon dies, its body dissolves - with the occasional exception of its bones, but that's it. Just another one of life's cruel, sick jokes."
"He's right," Symonne confirmed. "I appreciate the sentiment, young Shepherd, but you cannot help me. And as I said, I am content to live up here, alone."
"But…" An odd sensation churned in Eizen's stomach, a sort of visceral protest against the idea that someone was doomed to suffer and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Begone," Symonne told him. "You have much left to do if you are to save this world from the Lord of Calamity."
"She's right," Edna pointed out.
"I…" Eizen shook his head, then bowed. "I'm sorry you have to live like this, Symonne," he said. "Thank you for helping us, you did your duty well."
"I always perform my duty well, so long as it is given to me by another," Symonne said tonelessly.
"Well, thank you all the same," Eizen insisted. "Seriously, I…thank you."
She didn't respond. He turned to walk for the stairs, and suddenly a vicious blast of wind knocked him back.
"There's a faster way down, you know," Symonne told him.
"Huh?" He turned to her, only to see a faint, mean smile playing about her pale lips.
"Jump down," she said. "Your wind seraph can catch you, ensuring you come to no harm."
"Uh…no thanks," Eizen said nervously. "I'd rather take the stairs."
"It was not a suggestion," Symonne stated. "Consider it the spirit trial we were unable to give you on account of you needing to be up here when you passed it. Jump, and trust your wind seraph to catch you."
"Um…" Eizen looked between his seraphim and Sadie, baffled.
"Are you afraid of heights, Shepherd?" Symonne taunted. "You will have to face things that scare you far more than this during your journey, if you are to succeed. We cannot have a Shepherd who would back down at a crucial moment. Either jump, or Lord Hyanoa will take back his blessing."
"Can that happen?!" Zaveid exclaimed.
Symonne smirked. "Are you willing to find out, Prime Lord?" she asked in reply.
"I guess you haven't changed after all," Edna muttered.
"Look, she's not wrong," Zaveid shrugged, and he turned for the ledge Sadie had prevented the illusion of Dahlia from jumping off of. "I'll meet you guys down there and catch you when you fall, okay?"
"Uncle," Eizen began, but Zaveid was already running for the edge. Alarmed, Eizen ran after him as he dove off the building, skidding to a stop just shy of the ledge and peering over to see Zaveid twirl in the air a few times before he planted his feet on the side of the tower and dashed the rest of the way to the ground. A loud whooping from below told him his uncle was entirely unharmed, and had probably even had fun.
"Come on down!" came the distant voice of the wind seraph. "I'll catch you!"
Edna and Sadie approached to stand beside Eizen and look down. Eizen glanced at his big sis.
"I'm not jumping," she told him before he could utter a sound. "You do it." And she vanished to rest within his chest.
Nervously, Eizen looked down again, at the tiny, distant speck that was his only chance of surviving the fall. Not that Zaveid wasn't powerful, but…
"Go on, Shepherd," Symonne spoke up from behind them. "Take the plunge. If you cannot do this, you will have no chance against your sister."
He flinched, but of course she would know if she served Lord Hyanoa. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to keep his eyes open as he stepped forward and allowed himself to fall.
"Well done…"
The distant voice was almost drowned out by the wind that began howling in his ears as he plummeted to the ground. Spurred on by some instinct, he spread his arms and legs, falling front-first, as though hoping to float like a feather. Then, a gale of green wind erupted beneath him, pushing him back up.
He closed his eyes. The wind felt like home, like family, like a much simpler life that was long gone. Uncle Zaveid used to buoy me up in the air all the time when I was a kid, he remembered suddenly. How could I have forgotten?
His fall slowed, and he opened his eyes just in time to alter his position and touch down on the ground lightly. He was breathing hard, but he couldn't help smiling a little, and Edna emerged to stand beside him.
"Nothing adds spice to life like a little danger, huh kiddo?" Zaveid grinned at him.
"You're both insane," Edna stated.
"Hey, I had no choice," Eizen pointed out. "And besides…yeah, that was actually kinda fun."
Zaveid laughed, only to be cut off by a scream from high up.
Turning his face towards the top of the tower, Eizen caught side of Sadie, tumbling through the air, her cry of terror growing louder by the second.
"Back up!" Zaveid shouted, and he lunged forward and raised his arms, summoning another whirlwind just in time to slow Sadie's descent.
Eizen got out of the way as the arte spread, blasting against the human girl who had gone silent; Eizen wondered if she'd passed out. Maybe the same thought had crossed Zaveid's mind, because instead of lowering her to the ground, he took another step forward and gently caught her in his arms as his burst of power faded.
"You alright there, darling?" he asked Sadie.
Sadie was panting, obviously breathless with adrenaline and fear. "L-Lord Zaveid," she gasped. "You…You saved me."
"Don't mention it," Zaveid smirked, and it hadn't escaped Eizen's notice that he was still holding her. "That's my job."
Edna jabbed Zaveid. "You can put her down," she told him.
"Can you stand, sweetie?" Zaveid asked Sadie.
"Y-Yes," Sadie stammered, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks. "I…Yes, I'm fine."
Almost reluctantly, Eizen's uncle set Eizen's childhood crush on her feet and stepped back. "Well," he sighed, "that's our work here done. Nice going, your Shepherdness…and Squireness," he added to Sadie with another smirk.
"It'll be dark soon," Edna remarked, glancing at the sky that was indeed darkening. "We probably shouldn't try to make our way through Westronbolt Gorge after sunset…but I also would rather not camp out under Misty's eyes. Even if she serves Lord Hyanoa now, that girl gives me the creeps."
"Misty?" Eizen asked.
"Symonne," Edna explained.
"Let's camp on the edge of the gorge," Zaveid suggested. "I'd rather not sleep somewhere she can see me, either."
"We can make another shelter with your power, Edna," Eizen said with a nod, "and this time we have sleeping bags, so the fact that it's so rocky around here won't be so bad."
"Have you ever slept in a sleeping bag, Eizen?"
Surprisingly, the question came from Sadie. It was the first time she'd ever voluntarily called Eizen by his name.
"Well…no," he answered. "But at least we don't have to sleep on just rocks, right?"
"True." The Squire folded her arms and looked away. Something in her brown eyes seemed haunted, as though she was still recovering from seeing a ghost.
"Hey…are you okay?" Eizen asked her.
"I'm fine," she said. "Just…tired. Let's set up camp and get some sleep."
Something else I don't understand, Eizen thought, but he gave her a nod and turned his back on the Guinevere Shrine. "Let's go," he said. "We did what we came here to do."
As they walked away, Eizen felt exhausted but incredibly proud. One trial down.
A/N 1: For more information on my headcanon regarding Zaveid's relationship with Dezel, please check out my Zestiria-only M-rated oneshot, "Wingman". There's a little foreshadowing in there for reveals I have planned for towards the end of this story, too…
A/N 2: Credit goes to penname "alphawolf2196" for all names (but not characters) associated with Symonne's illusions in this chapter. Look forward to his Dahlia and Rook someday, as he writes his own answer to this world that was left unfinished! :)
A/N 3: No, Symonne is not wearing that skimpy little vest thing that passed for her top in Zestiria. She serves a Great Lord now, she has to wear something a bit more decent. Just to be clear.
POST-REWRITE A/N: If this was a game, there would be several sidequests in the future involving Aline, especially after Sahra joins the team, for reasons that will become apparent when you read the new OC version of Sahra. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to work them smoothly into this written version of the tale, the fic's already plenty long and I'd have to break up the flow of the story to do more with her. So, I'm sorry to say it, but this is the only time Aline is going to appear in this fic. I just had to do SOMETHING with Rose, even despite making the team's fire seraph an OC, so this is my nod to her.
