It was late by the time they reached Lastonbell, but everyone still awake there welcomed the Shepherd and Squire with open arms. Edna could feel Eizen's relief to be back in a town that both knew and accepted him, though there was still the faint prickle of guilt when he remembered the life he'd taken here. Everyone explained what had happened in Lastonbell to Sahra over dinner, and she took the information in passively. Edna also remarked that it was a shame she wasn't in the mood for heat after the Fire Trial, since they now had a fire seraph who could keep Zaveid under control if they visited the sauna; when Sahra asked why she specifically would have been needed, Edna insisted the two of them retreat within Eizen for a brief, private conversation so she could tell Sahra the story without Sadie hearing it. Sahra was not even remotely surprised, and not for the first time, Edna noticed that her disgust towards Zaveid seemed intense enough to be personal. But she didn't ask, instead manifesting to finish dinner and go to bed.
"I can't believe we're going home," Eizen sighed as they headed for their rooms. "It feels like it's been several lifetimes since I last saw Ladylake…"
"You've become a man over the course of this journey, kiddo," Zaveid remarked as the boys split off from the girls, and Edna prayed he wouldn't follow that train of thought down the path she was certain he was going to go. As usual, Edna got her own room, while Sahra and Sadie shared one so they could talk until the human fell asleep, after which Sahra would stand guard outside the inn; this was already their routine, and it had done wonders for Sadie's disposition, so Edna had no reason to complain.
When morning came, they stopped by the store to restock their supplies, though there wasn't too much need for it that Lastonbell could fill, then made their way through Volgran Forest. Donovan said he corrupted all the hellions we purified going through here the first time, Edna remembered, and it certainly seemed like there were a fair number of beasts roaming around despite Sindra's domain. Maybe we should have gone back… But it was too late to worry about that now, and with Sahra helping them, nothing in the forest put up any kind of real fight.
Finally, the woods thinned, and they reached Glaivend Basin. Sadie was walking ahead, but as soon as she set foot on the sand, she jerked to a stop.
"What's wrong, Sadie?" Eizen asked, stepping up beside her.
The Squire didn't need to answer; the moment Eizen crossed the threshold, a malevolent domain slammed down on him, suppressing his seraphim's abilities to manifest.
Niko, Edna thought. Great. Just what we needed.
He can't hear us, right? Sahra asked.
Not unless he turns back, Zaveid sighed. Let's hope he actually does this time…
By some miracle, Eizen actually took a step backwards, outside of the malevolent domain that covered Glaivend Basin. "Guys?" he asked. "What should we do?"
All three seraphim emerged, and Sadie joined them back within the shelter of the trees.
"Thanks for turning back for once," Edna remarked; "that could have gone badly." She opened her umbrella and twirled it idly. "There's another way to Hyland besides going through Glaivend Basin. Sorey had to take that path a few times due to the tension between Hyland and Rolance during his journey. Hopefully, it hasn't collapsed since then, but even if it has, my power can always clear the way, and it's a better option than trying to face the Lord of Calamity before we finish the last trial."
"Which way?" Eizen asked.
"Head northeast," Edna told him, pointing with her umbrella. "There should be an entrance to a tunnel called Lamorak Cave just on the other side of a stream. That'll take us around Glaivend Basin to the Bors Ruins, which is right next to Marlind."
"Sounds good," Eizen nodded, and his seraphim retreated to rest within him as he led Sadie back into the forest and along its northern edge.
But of course, nothing could ever be so simple for them; when they reached the northern corner of the woods, they found what had once been a gentle stream to now be a raging river, with a slight cliff rising on the other side in place of a riverbank.
"I thought you said it was a stream, big sis!" Eizen exclaimed as his seraphim manifested again.
"It was," Edna shrugged. "Not sure how it got like this…"
"This is the same stream that flows through Marlind," Zaveid mused. "But it wasn't like this up there…" He shook his head, then rubbed his chin, assessing the situation. "That cliff on the other side means Silver Wind won't get you across. Not like this, at least - wind doesn't normally blow upwards. And without a water seraph…"
"I can get us across," Edna stated. "Let's just hope the cave is still there when we reach the other side."
Summoning spires of earth for them to jump across, though, wasn't as easy as Edna expected - the water was both deep and fast, and though water wasn't Edna's element, she could feel the earth itself protest along either riverbank as she tried to conjure something they could stand on in the middle of the torrent, as though a slight misdirect of the flow would cause multiple landslides. Eventually, she had to settle for making one small island on the halfway point that Silver Wind could just barely get them to, then reaching into the land and convincing the cliff on the other side to lower enough that their wind seraph's power could carry them the rest of the way. When at last they were across, a shallow indent in a wall of mud indicated where the entrance to Lamorak Cave had once been.
Aw, no way! Sahra groaned. It's collapsed?
Try using Giant's Strength before we give up, baby brother, Edna told Eizen; maybe it's just a shallow blockade.
"Right," Eizen said, and he thrust a palm forward, drawing from Edna's strength. The earth in front of them crumbled, revealing a hole that led into the earth.
Finally, some luck! Zaveid remarked as Eizen and Sadie ducked into the dimly-lit cavern.
Don't jinx it, Edna told him darkly.
The cave itself was riddled with the remains of what looked like mudslides; the passage was too narrow for even hellions to be lurking, and Edna's power was needed to forge ahead multiple times. Still, the cave existed, at least, and they pushed through as long as there was a tunnel for them to squeeze into. Eventually, as they left the narrowest of the passages behind, what looked like natural light glimmered on a wall far ahead, and they rounded a corner into a massive space, one hole in the surrounding rock leading up a mound of dirt and outside.
But the exit didn't hold their attention for long.
With a roar, a massive drake leapt out at them from their left, and Eizen and Sadie scattered, barely dodging its fangs. Edna and the other seraphim manifested and prepared their weapons.
"A dragon?" Eizen asked.
"Nope, just a drake," Zaveid responded. "Maybe a water seraph, if we're lucky."
That'd be nice, Edna thought as she charged a seraphic arte.
Eizen slashed the scaly beast with his katana, and Sadie armatized with Zaveid; after so much travel together, none of them hesitated, not even against such a powerful foe. Was it Edna's imagination, or did her earth-based attacks seem to do additional damage? She tried not to hope this really was a water seraph, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it might be the case.
Though it was a drake, the five heroes were strong, and only a few healing artes were needed to keep everyone on their feet. When eventually Eizen armatized with Edna and cast their Mystic Arte, the drake fell and did not rise.
Both humans de-armatized as the flames of purification washed over the corrupted seraph, until there was nothing left but a woman lying face-down on the ground. She wore a blue dress with long, loose sleeves and laces up the back; her back also bore a holster that held a broad-headed silver spear with ornate wire filigree between the blade and the shaft. Her hair was a sapphire-blue color, just slightly lighter than her dress, straight down to just past about chin-length, before it curled into triangular little whirlpool shapes and turned white, leaving the strands in about a dozen or so sections. Edna had barely registered that it really was a water seraph when a strangled noise from behind her caused her to turn around in alarm, only to see Zaveid staring at the former drake with wide-eyed shock.
"No," he whispered. "It…can't be…" He shook his head slowly, his eyes not moving. "Theo…dora…?" he rasped.
Edna blinked and glanced back at the water seraph.
"Who's Theodora?" Sahra asked from between them.
"Friend of his, died a long time ago," Edna answered briefly, turning back to Zaveid. "And no, you idiot, of course that's not her."
"No," he whispered, shaking his head again. "No, of course not, she…she'd never touch a weapon…"
"And the hair colors are reversed," Edna said pointedly.
"Huh?" Still staring, Zaveid blinked a few times. "Y-Yeah…so they are…"
But he wouldn't stop gazing at the female seraph they had just purified. Something about the way he looked at her made Edna scowl, and she turned her back on her Prime Lord to refocus on what might end up being the luckiest break they'd had since Niko turned. After a moment, the woman stirred, groaning slightly as she lifted her head and opened her violet eyes to look at her rescuers.
Zaveid gasped, his steps uneven as he lunged forward, and suddenly he was kneeling in front of the fallen seraph, one hand held out. "Hey," he murmured, "are you okay?"
She looked up at him, and blinked as their eyes met. "Y-Yes," she stammered, placing her fingers in his palm, and he pulled her up. "I…I'll be fine. Thank you." Even once she was on her feet, she couldn't seem to tear her gaze away from Zaveid for a long minute.
Upright, it was easier to see her build. She was slim, and she looked shorter than she actually was; everything about her seemed to declare that she was delicate, easily broken. Her dress had a high neckline and hung around her figure just barely not loosely enough to make her look too thin; at the waist, it came in slightly, then flowed down in a skirt composed of crimps and frills that brought to mind a cascading waterfall before coming to a slightly ruffled hem just shy of the ground. Definitely a water seraph, Edna thought, but the way she and Zaveid stared into each other's eyes somehow made Edna less than eager to see this water seraph join their team.
After far too much time, the seraph blinked, shook her head, and turned to Eizen. "You must be the Shepherd?" she asked.
"I am," Eizen confirmed, stepping forward. "My name is Eizen Rangetsu-Crowe. This is Sadie, that's Zaveid, this is Edna, and this is Sahra."
Violet eyes turned to each of the Shepherd's allies as he introduced them - eyes that seemed timid, shy, nervous for some reason. "It's nice to meet you all," she finally responded politely. "My name is Lucine."
"Lucine…?" Zaveid repeated.
Lucine flinched, as though hearing her name spoken out loud was painful, and she turned on him abruptly.
"I mean, that's, uh," he cleared his throat before giving her a very forced smile, "that's a beautiful name."
What the heck? Edna thought; Zaveid never got nervous, especially not around women, but now he was acting like how she assumed Eizen had acted when he'd first tried to talk to Sadie a few years earlier. Even despite that, though, a slight blush crept into Lucine's porcelain cheeks, and she looked away from him.
"Thank you for saving me," she told Eizen with a slight bow. "Any longer, and I would have turned into a dragon. I am forever in your debt." She grasped her left forearm in her right hand demurely, then said, "Please, do not let me keep you; you have wasted enough time on me already."
"Lady Lucine," Sadie said, stepping forward, "pardon me, but…you are a water seraph, yes?"
"I am…" Lucine replied slowly.
"We are in great need of a water seraph," Sadie told her. "Please, would you consider doing us the honor of joining us in our quest?"
"Joining you?" Lucine seemed to curl in on herself, blushing even deeper. "Surely you could find a water seraph who would be of more use to you than me…"
"Not really," Edna shrugged, forcing herself to ignore the inexplicable resentment that coiled in her gut; "most seraphim in the world are too scared to face the current Lord of Calamity. We were just on our way to Elysia to pester the water seraphim there into helping us pass the Water Trial, with no hope that they'd stick with us afterwards. Can you use that spear you're carrying?"
"Y-Yes, I can," Lucine answered, nodding. "Not that it was any use when I foolishly decided to step outside Lamorak Cave for a moment." She shuddered. "Such malevolence…I've never felt anything like it. I should have known better than to step outside, but…I missed the sun…I made a mistake, as I can only ever seem to do. Even in trying to seal this cave off, it seems I failed, since you all managed to get in here…"
Guess that explains the change in geography, Edna noted. Why would she want to seal off this cave, though…?
"Well, with a vessel, you don't have to worry about corruption," Sahra pointed out, smiling radiantly at the nervous water seraph. "And hey, we all make mistakes sometimes, nothing wrong with that. Come on, Lucine, join us! We'd be happy to have you."
"I am not so sure about that," Lucine mumbled. "I would only be a burden to you."
"I'm sure," Eizen said firmly. "Lucine, please, we need a water seraph."
"If you can fight, that automatically makes you more helpful to us than any of the wimps we were planning to ask for help," Edna pointed out dully, setting her concerns aside. "Besides, didn't you say you owed us?"
"I…" Again, the water seraph moved uncomfortably, but something in her expression seemed to shift. "I don't think you really want my help," she said, "but if you truly believe I can be of use to you, then…I would be honored to be your Sub Lord."
"Sweet!" Sahra cheered, and Lucine started walking over to her.
"Ahem."
Zaveid cleared his throat, and Lucine turned back to him.
His nervousness was gone, and he gave her a lopsided smile. "I'm the Prime Lord here, babe," he told her.
"Oh?" Lucine gasped, glancing between him and Sahra. "But…but I thought-"
"The Prime Lord doesn't have to be a fire seraph," Zaveid explained; "he or she just has to be willing to take the job."
Hopefully, this is the last time we ever have to explain that to someone, Edna thought as Lucine looked between the wind seraph and fire seraph a few more times.
Sahra nodded at Lucine, and Lucine walked back over to Zaveid. "Very well," she said. "Please, make the pact."
The Prime Lord reached out and took Lucine's hands in his - and was it Edna's imagination, or was he holding them more gently than he had for her or Sahra? "O ye born of the sacred currents of peace," he intoned, "here let our pact be forged, that my tetherless freedom may be as thy purification! Shouldst thou accept this burden, speak aloud your true name."
"M-My true name?!" Lucine yelped, pulling her hands back and leaping away from him. "Out loud?! Must I?!"
"Uh…" Zaveid looked around at his allies, blinking, clearly just as baffled as they were. "Well…yeah. I need to know it to complete the pact, and Eizen and Sadie need to know it to armatize with you."
"W-What about them?" Lucine whimpered, gesturing to Sahra and Edna. "Do they need to know it?"
"I…Well, I mean, I guess not…" Zaveid said slowly, his brow furrowed under his hat.
"What's the big deal, anyway?" Sahra asked with an easygoing smile. "A seraph's true name is really personal, sure, but I shared mine readily - as a Shepherd's Sub Lord, you have to trust the team, even I know that."
Again, Lucine flinched, and her violet eyes were perfectly round with something like terror as she glanced around at everyone, making her delicate face look even more meek and vulnerable. After a moment, Edna rolled her eyes.
"Look, I don't know what your problem is," she told Lucine, "but we don't have time to waste." She turned her back, twirling her umbrella. "Come on, Sahra, let's give her some space while Zaveid makes the pact."
"Oh, uh…okay, sure," Sahra shrugged, and she followed Edna back into the narrow cavern they'd emerged from and around a corner.
As they walked away from the scene with the water seraph, Edna scowled under her umbrella. In her chest, she felt an unpleasant mix of emotions she couldn't quite sort through, nor could she simply suppress them as she usually did with her feelings.
"What a weird girl," Sahra remarked when they stopped, confident that they were far enough away. "She seemed really scared for some reason. Why would a seraph be scared of their own true name?"
"Beats me," Edna muttered.
"But hey, at least Zaveid's happy," Sahra went on, her voice laced with exasperated resignation. "He must think he's the luckiest Prime Lord in the world. Did you see the way he was looking at her?"
"Yeah, I noticed!" Edna snapped, more harshly than she meant to.
"Uh…" Edna looked up to see Sahra frown at her. "You okay, Edna? You seem grumpy, even for you."
"I'm fine," Edna growled.
"You sure?" Sahra tugged at her braid. "Come on, you can tell me. What's bothering you?"
Edna was about to deny everything again, when suddenly, the phosphorescent light of the caves caught Sahra's eyes in such a way that they seemed to glow for a moment, and before she could think about it, Edna blurted out, "He's never looked at me like that."
As soon as the words came out, Edna clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing how that sounded. Sahra blinked, then laughed. "Edna," she chortled, "are you jealous?"
"No!" Edna snapped. "Don't be stupid! Of course I'm not jealous!"
"Not even a little bit?" Sahra teased, and again, her eyes seemed to flash with light.
"No, I'm just hurt, and a little disappointed," Edna replied, then flinched again at the unexpected words that flew off her tongue without her willing them to.
"Sounds like jealousy to me," Sahra snickered.
"It's not," Edna stated, and she reached over to where her plushie was dangling from her umbrella and squeezed it, trying to get her thoughts in order. "It's just…he's been asking me to be his girlfriend for years now. I was never going to say yes, but…I don't know…maybe I was starting to think he actually meant it."
"Girlfriend, huh?" Sahra mused, fiddling with her braid again. "I didn't think Zaveid even knew that word - he's not the kind of guy to ask something like that. It's weird, how he looks at Lucine, but I don't think it's crossing his mind even with her."
You'd be surprised, Edna thought, remembering how he'd thought Lucine was Theodora. "In any case, it's a good thing we ran into her," she said flatly; "this just proves I've been right to turn him down all this time."
"Let's hope Lucine has that kind of sense," Sahra remarked, frowning again. "Honestly, the way she was looking right back at him, I'm a little worried. If she's not careful, he'll break her heart and walk away laughing."
Laughing? That's a bit much…"Why do you hate him so much, anyway?" Edna inquired. "It's pretty obvious you have something personal against him…Eizen wouldn't want you to talk about it around Sadie, but did Zaveid seduce you too, like he did Forsea?"
"What? No!" Sahra exclaimed. "No, no, it's nothing like that!"
"Then what is it?" Edna smirked, glad to have turned the discomfort around.
Sahra sighed, tugging at her braid again. "Edna," she said, "I've been a seraph for nearly fifteen hundred years; Zaveid and I have crossed paths several times before…and every single time, he's hit on me. I keep telling him no, I've told him several times why I would never, but whenever I see him, he's forgotten all about me and just asks again."
"And why would you never?" Edna asked. "Besides the obvious, I mean."
"Because," Sahra answered resignedly, "I'm not the person I was when I was human. As a human, I liked guys - never really had a serious relationship, but, you know, I enjoyed men. But when I was reborn, I just…" She shrugged. "…lost interest."
"So…what? You like girls?" Edna asked.
It had been intended as a joke, but to Edna's complete shock, Sahra nodded. "Yeah," she replied. "And I've told him that several times, sometimes politely, sometimes not so politely." She scowled. "And yet every time I run into him, it's just, 'Hey, baby, you up for a fun night?' He probably still doesn't remember, the pig. It's obvious he just takes what he wants and doesn't give a damn about anyone."
There was a lot to sort out in this declaration, and Edna toyed with the idea of telling Sahra that, while she wasn't exactly wrong per se, there was a lot more to it than there seemed to be. But Zaveid's complexities were something he kept from everyone, something he even tried not to admit to himself, and…well, it wasn't Edna's place to tell people his darkest secrets, no matter how annoyed she was at him at the moment. "Well, you're the resident fire seraph," she pointed out instead; "it's up to you to keep our wind seraph under control."
"Got it," Sahra nodded. "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
He probably will anyway. Edna opened her mouth to say as much, but footsteps from behind Sahra caught her attention.
"Lady Sahra?" Sadie asked. "Lady Edna? The pact is forged, and Lady Lucine has joined us. We should head for the Lefay Shrine as quickly as possible."
"Right," Edna agreed, and she closed her eyes and returned herself to her vessel, from a greater distance than she was used to. Sahra did the same, and then they were all together within Eizen, including the new presence that sat between Edna and Sahra on the left side of Eizen's chest, right next to his heart.
Welcome aboard, Lucine, Sahra said cheerfully. Glad to have you!
Thank you, Lucine responded, though she still seemed nervous. I promise I will do my best to be of use.
You already are, babe, Zaveid assured her.
Indeed, Edna agreed. Come on, Eizen, let's get to the Lefay Shrine. Once we have the spiritual power of water, we'll be able to take Niko down.
Niko? Lucine asked as Sadie rejoined Eizen and they headed for the exit together.
The Lord of Calamity is a girl named Niko, Edna explained. She's-
A sudden gasp from her vessel cut her off, and she looked out through Eizen's eyes to an incomprehensible sight. Wondering if his vision was mistaken, she emerged, the other seraphim joining her, only to discover that no, he hadn't been seeing things.
The exit to Lamorak Cave was almost blocked by a mound of dirt that they now stood on top of, and from this vantage point, it was clear to see that the Bors Ruins were completely blanketed in hellions of all sizes. Every rock, every tree, every blade of grass was smothered in writhing, crawling malevolent bodies, the monsters swarming over each other like a horde of ants.
"So many hellions," Sadie gasped. "How did this happen?"
"We didn't come through here on our way to Rolance," Eizen remembered out loud, and he looked at Edna. "You said there was no reason for us to go this way, Edna."
"There wasn't," Edna pointed out.
"I'm not sure we can fight them all," Sahra remarked. "But we can't go through Glaivend Basin because of Niko's domain. Should we…try to find a way around?"
"Easier said than done," Eizen responded slowly. "But I don't see any other options…" He looked around the exit to Lamorak Cave, frowning.
A sound caught Edna's attention, and she looked to the side to see Lucine drawing her spear, her violet eyes flashing with determination. "Wait!" Edna exclaimed, but Lucine was already dashing down into the sea of hellions, twirling her weapon like a baton.
"What the hell?"
"Lucine?!"
It was too late; the monsters had already noticed the water seraph. Her form wasn't bad by any means - she slashed and stabbed with her broad-headed spear, twirling and casting the occasional quick water-based arte, cutting through the vat of hellions like a river - but for all her apparent competence, there were clearly too many enemies for her to win the fight.
"Maybe we shouldn't have brought her," Edna muttered.
"Hang on," Sahra gasped. "Guys, look!"
Edna looked back at the battlefield. Though the malevolent creatures swarmed at their enemy, it actually looked like Lucine was holding her own against them.
"They're all going down in one hit," Eizen breathed. "They're weak. Maybe we can take them after all!"
"Well, what are we doing just standing around?" Sahra asked, drawing her daggers. "Let's help!"
"Right!" Eizen nodded, drawing his katana, and he, Sadie, and Sahra dove down the dirt mound to join Lucine in the fight.
Just before she followed her allies, Edna glanced over and saw that Zaveid hadn't moved. His eyes were wide and focused on the scene before him, his expression slack with wonder; she didn't have to follow his gaze to know where he was looking. He's practically drooling, she noted with disgust.
"Hey," she said sharply, jabbing him in the arm with her umbrella. "Are you going to help out or not, Mr. Prime Lord?"
"Huh? Oh!" Zaveid shook his head hard, then set his jaw and raised his hands. "Right. Let's do this!" He ran into the fray, and Edna jogged after him.
The hellions were indeed weak, each one quelled almost as soon as they were struck; but there were so many, so incredibly many, that it almost didn't seem to matter. After a couple of minutes, Eizen armatized with Edna, and they tried to cast a seraphic arte that would make a dent in the hordes, but there was no time to charge it as the hellions smothered them, flowing over them in waves. Realizing that they could only strike out with their weapons as individuals, they severed the armatus and kept fighting. Slowly, the tiny nicks and cuts left by the endless sea of malevolent creatures began to add up. It didn't matter that the monsters were weak, Edna realized; there were simply too many of them. Was every single insect and blade of grass in this entire forest turned into its own hellion?! she wondered.
"Open your heart!"
A domain suddenly froze time, leaving only the water seraph who had charged blindly into this battle in motion. One sandaled foot pressed down on a small hellion, and she spun around, drawing a circle on the ground with her spear, blue light erupting from the line etched in the dirt.
"May these waves from the depths wash away your sins…" she intoned.
A Mystic Arte? Edna thought. On such a weak enemy? She really is stupid…
Lucine finished drawing the circle, twirled and lifted her spear, then brought the point down on her target.
"Cleansing Tsunami!"
Water mana erupted from underfoot like a geyser, and Edna promptly ate her unspoken words as the attack cascaded over the entire battlefield - instead of getting weaker the further it spread, the torrent seemed to grow stronger with each hellion it quelled, spreading outward from the one who had cast it and smiting every single bit of malevolence in its wake. When eventually the arte ended and the domain broke, they were left standing in an empty forest, insects and rodents and bits of plant life all falling to the ground and scurrying away until they were entirely alone.
Facing away from her new comrades, Lucine brought her spear up in a salute of sorts with a flourish, then holstered the weapon across her back once more, the point poking out over her left shoulder.
"Is everyone alright?" she asked, turning around.
Everyone stared at her, stunned.
"Damn," Zaveid remarked, breaking the silence, "you've got some skills, babe! Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"I'd rather not talk about - oh!" Lucine exclaimed, noticing, as Edna did, that Zaveid was down on one knee, clutching his chest, his body covered in wounds. "Zaveid! You're injured!"
"Oh, don't worry about me, baby," Zaveid smirked, looking up as she trotted over to him. "I'm a man, I can take it."
"Hold still," she instructed, and she raised her hands just an inch away from his shoulders. Light began pouring out of her palms, swirling over his body and knitting the gashes in his seraphic skin back together.
Edna stared in surprise - though she knew a couple of defensive artes, healing artes had never been the sort of thing she could conjure on the fly like this. Even Lailah had never exactly been a master of healing, though she'd been much more adept at the skill than any other seraph Edna had ever fought alongside before.
"A healer too, huh?" Zaveid asked with a lopsided grin. "Is there anything you can't do, angel?"
"Angel"?! For all her centuries putting up with Zaveid's gross behavior, not once had Edna ever heard him call a girl "angel" before. Scowling, she stepped forward. "Make rational decisions, apparently," she snapped in answer to Zaveid's question.
Both Lucine and Zaveid turned to her, startled, though Lucine continued healing the downed wind seraph.
"Are you stupid?" Edna demanded of their new ally. "What were you thinking, charging into a mass of hellions like that? If they'd been any stronger, we would all be dead now, and there would be nothing to stop the Lord of Calamity from smothering the world in malevolence!"
"I…I'm sorry," Lucine whimpered, cowering away from Edna in terror, moving her hands as though to defend herself as Zaveid stood up, fully healed. "Please forgive me, I…I only thought that, as allies to the Shepherd, it was our duty to quell malevolence, and…well, these creatures were obviously suffering. I only wanted to help them."
"Suffering?" Edna repeated. "You mean you knew they were weak?"
"I don't know," Lucine mumbled, shaking her head, the white curls at the ends of her straight blue locks bouncing across her shoulders. "I only felt that…that I needed to help them, since it was within my power to do so. Would we have left them malevolent if given a choice?"
"Maotelus could have purified them after we took Niko down," Edna pointed out bitingly, ignoring the fact that the water seraph was clearly on the verge of tears. "You shouldn't have taken that kind of risk. Any more judgment calls like that on your part and the world is doomed."
"Take it easy, Edna," Zaveid said calmly, stepping in front of Lucine as though to protect her. "The fact is, we were able to purify them, with Lucine's help, and we're all okay. No point worrying about what might've been."
"Unless she does something like this again-"
"I agree with Zaveid," Eizen spoke up, cutting Edna off as he stepped forward, the others walking over to join them. Edna glanced at her baby brother, and saw that his expression was grave. "These hellions shouldn't have been this weak, Niko wouldn't be this sloppy," he said; "the only reason she'd pull a rush job like this is if she was trying to give the appearance of something we couldn't get past."
"So…" Sahra said slowly, "something that would rout us back into Glaivend Basin? Or at least something that would make us waste a lot of time trying to get around it…"
"And if she was trying to waste our time, then that begs the question of why," Eizen went on. "What is she doing that she doesn't want us to interrupt?"
"Isan!" Edna gasped suddenly as realization struck.
Everyone turned to her. "Isan?" Sahra repeated, confused.
"Do you know Isan, Sahra?" Eizen asked her. "He's the Lord of the Land for this area."
"He's also Edna's boyfriend," Zaveid smirked.
"He is not my boyfriend," Edna stated, wondering just how obvious the unspoken 'yet' was at the end of her sentence. Maybe he should be. "But the Bors Ruins are within his domain, and we made sure he was strong enough to resist Niko's power before we left. How could there be this many hellions this close to Marlind?"
"Maybe Niko went back for the holy tree?" Sadie suggested.
"There's still a blessing for this area," Sahra said remarked. "I don't think he's been corrupted."
"He wasn't before, either," Eizen informed her; "it was his vessel that was being destroyed by Niko's power." He met Edna's gaze and nodded at her. "Let's check on Isan before we head for the Lefay Shrine."
"You don't think Niko's making a move for Ladylake?" Sadie inquired.
"She can't be," Zaveid stated with certainty. "Nothing can break the barrier I helped set up, not even if she'd been working at it since we left, which we know she hasn't been. It's more likely she wanted to pull something in Marlind."
"Then that's where we'll go," Eizen stated. "Come on, everyone."
As all four seraphim retreated within Eizen's chest, Lucine asked, Barrier?
Zaveid, Maotelus, and the Lord of the Land for the area, Uno, worked together to set up a barrier around Ladylake to keep the Lord of Calamity from getting in, Edna told Lucine.
And nothing can break it, Zaveid added.
Eizen started running through the forest that housed the ancient ruins, Sadie right behind him.
Um…Shepherd Eizen? Lucine asked timidly. Please forgive me for my rash decision. Edna's right; I shouldn't have leapt into that battle. I made a horrible mistake.
"I'm glad you did, Lucine," Eizen responded firmly. "We could've wasted an entire day avoiding a fight that could have been won, and who knows what Niko might have accomplished in that time?"
Still, it was a terrible risk, one I should not have taken, Lucine stated, and the amount of guilt coming from her place in Eizen's chest seemed excessive to Edna. I'll try to be more careful in the future, but…I did warn you that I would make mistakes…
Seriously, angel, calm down, Zaveid told her. It all worked out for the best, and there's no sense dwelling on it. Not to mention you kicked some serious ass. I'm glad to have you as my Sub Lord.
Rather than flirting or flattering, his tone seemed to suggest that he really meant every word he was saying, and Edna frowned to herself. Not to mention calling her "angel" again, she thought privately. He never even called Sahra that, and she was the Fire Angel…
T-Thank you, Lucine stammered in response to Zaveid's words, as though no one had ever said anything nice to her before. It was still a terrible risk, though, a terrible mistake; I've never been able to unleash my powers like that, since I couldn't purify malevolence on my own, so I didn't really know what I could do. I'm glad I was able to fix my own error…but I still shouldn't have acted. It's my fault you got hurt.
You're the one who healed me, too, Zaveid pointed out, with an end result of a lot less malevolence in the world. Stop beating yourself up, sweetheart, you did good.
Raw embarrassment radiated from where Lucine rested, and she didn't speak again; clearly, the water seraph didn't know how to take praise. Weirdo, Edna thought privately.
Outside the forest, there were more hellions that hadn't been affected by Lucine's Mystic Arte, but they didn't seem particularly numerous or strong. For once, Eizen and Sadie avoided fights, focusing on getting to Marlind as fast as possible. The gates were locked, and a row of bow-wielding guards rose from the top of the wall when Eizen pounded on the door.
"Identify yourselves!" barked a voice.
"Jason, it's us!" Eizen called, and Edna was mildly impressed that Eizen had remembered the leader's name. "Eizen and Sadie!"
"Shepherd?" came the guard's voice. "You've returned?"
"Yes," Eizen nodded. "Is everything alright here?"
"All is well," Jason replied, and all six adventurers blinked in surprise. "What do you need of us?"
"We need to see the Lord of the Land," Eizen replied. "Is that okay?"
"Of course. Open the gates!" Jason barked, and the doors to Marlind groaned open. Barely managing to call out a thanks, Eizen dashed across the threshold, hurrying for the holy tree with all the speed Zaveid's power could give him. As soon as they reached the clearing before the enormous tree, Edna emerged, and the other seraphim manifested behind her.
"Isan!" she shouted, charging for the nearest root; at the back of her mind, she noticed that the flowers growing there looked much healthier than they had before. "Isan, are you here?"
The guardian fire seraph of Marlind emerged, his delicate face frowning with concern at being called on…at first. Then his eyes landed on Edna, and the corners of his mouth lifted, a light sparking in his amber eyes. "Lady Edna," he breathed as she ran up to him. "You've returned."
"Are you okay?" Edna asked, trying not to sound too worried.
"Yes, I am quite well," he replied with a nod. "The Lord of Calamity has not come to us since you left."
"But…" Edna trailed off, heat prickling in her cheeks as she turned to look at her comrades, all of whom, she was relieved to see, appeared equally confused.
"Guardian seraph Isan," Eizen said at last, stepping forward, "we're here because we came across a tremendous number of hellions in the forest housing the Bors Ruins, and we were concerned that such malevolence could exist within your domain."
"Yes," Isan frowned, "the Bors Ruins. The Lord of Calamity has concentrated a terrifying amount of malevolence on that area in recent weeks. I have done my best to mitigate the damage, but to weaken the hellions that were birthed as a result was all I could do. Thank you for quelling that nest, it is a relief to no longer have that vat of malevolence in my domain."
"Weaken?" Edna repeated in a whisper, her seraphic blood running cold. "But then…"
"It wasn't a decoy," Eizen breathed. "It was a deathtrap."
"Now hold on," Zaveid spoke up, "Niko doesn't want to kill you, she said as much last time we ran into her."
"Maybe it's like Lady Sahra said, and she was trying to rout us into Glaivend Basin," Sadie suggested.
"Either way," Edna inserted, turning a sharp glare on Lucine, "we shouldn't have been able to win that fight."
Lucine looked horrified; her eyes glistened with tears. "Please forgive me," she whimpered. "I…I nearly doomed us all. I'm so sorry."
"Settle down, angel," Zaveid told her gently. "You didn't doom us, we're all okay, and now there are a lot less hellions in the world."
"Yeah, let's look on the bright side!" Sahra concurred, smiling. "Not only did we clear out a ton of malevolence, but Niko doesn't have some big plan that she was trying to keep us from interfering with. Ladylake is safe, everything in Hyland is as safe as it can be, it's all good!"
"Sahra's right," Eizen agreed with a relieved sigh. "We escaped the trap my sister was trying to set for us, and we don't have to worry about what she might do next."
"Today was one day when there would have been some harm in being cautious," Sadie stated. "We probably shouldn't take that kind of risk in the future, but it worked out for the best this time."
"But I acted rashly, and nearly killed the world's only hope," Lucine insisted, still tearful, as though she couldn't see anything but her own faults. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"
"Apology accepted already, angel," Zaveid said. "No harm done. Lighten up."
But the water seraph grasped her left forearm in her right hand, which Edna took as a more ladylike way of hugging herself. She should feel bad, but not this bad…
"Look," Eizen sighed, "it's getting late - Lamorak Cave took longer to get through than I would have liked. Let's rest at the inn here and go to the Lefay Shrine in the morning. Lucine, we'll explain to you everything that's going on over dinner, okay?"
"As you wish," Lucine nodded.
"Ahem…"
Everyone turned at the sound of a man clearing his throat, and were surprised to see Isan blushing faintly as he took a step closer to Edna.
"Lady Edna," he began, "if you are going to spend the night here in Marlind, then…would you do me the honor of dining with me?"
Edna blinked. She vaguely remembered saying she wouldn't say no if he asked her out to dinner, but for him to actually do so was something else entirely. Then again, what's the alternative? she thought. Go over the whole story of the Rangetsu-Crowe family yet again while Zaveid and Lucine make eyes at each other the entire time? For Zaveid seemed entirely occupied with gazing at the water seraph, not the same way he had before - more confused than desperate - but still as though he was mesmerized, to the point where he hadn't reacted to Isan's proposal at all; and Lucine, though still tearful, was meeting his gaze with what Edna could only interpret as wistful longing. If this was how it was going to be with Lucine on the team, the choice was a no-brainer.
"Of course, if you'd rather stay with your companions-"
"I'd be happy to have dinner with you," Edna told Isan, cutting off his embarrassed babble and favoring him with a smile. "Lead the way."
Isan extended his elbow like a gentleman, and Edna placed her fingers on his forearm as he led her away from the group she'd been traveling with. Never had she thought she would be so relieved to be separated from her baby brother, even for a moment, but if spending time with Eizen meant watching Zaveid and Lucine interact, she'd much rather go on a date with someone who actually paid attention to her.
~o~
There was, of course, only one place for an adventurer to get dinner in a village as small as Marlind: the inn. The Shepherd's team would be there eventually, but for now, Edna and Isan approached the counter alone.
"Pardon me," Isan said to the innkeeper. "Lady Edna and I wish to dine."
"Lady Edna?" the human repeated, looking down at Edna with surprise that seemed to border on alarm. "This is your date? Um…Lord Isan…with all due respect-"
"We're seraphim, dummy," Edna growled. "Don't let our appearances deceive you; I'm actually much older than he is."
"Appearances are not the same for seraphim as they are for humans," Isan said firmly. "Please, do not insult my lady again."
"O-Of course," stammered the innkeeper, though she was blushing heavily. "My apologies. Follow me."
Tucked away in a corner of the dining area was a small, two-person table set aside from the rest of the room, decked out in a white tablecloth and a couple of candles in shiny metal holders. Edna stared as the innkeeper placed two menus on the table and lit the candles, Isan pulling out one of the chairs for her.
"Did you plan this?" she asked the Lord of the Land.
"I hope it wasn't too presumptuous of me," he replied apologetically as she took her spot and he pushed the chair under her before walking around to take his own seat, "but I…well, I confess, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since you left."
Edna couldn't completely resist the urge to blush, though she kept her face as expressionless as she could. Still, the gesture warmed her heart, in ways nothing had since her older brother had abandoned her to live alone atop Rayfalke. I should have thought of Isan more, myself, she reflected, feeling slightly guilty.
"Lady Edna, do you…mind if I ask you something?" Isan queried.
"You can ask," Edna shrugged, glancing through her menu. "It doesn't mean I'll answer."
"You…mentioned, on the day you saved the holy tree, that you are older than Maotelus," he began slowly.
She glanced up at him sharply. "Are you going to ask how old I am?" she demanded.
"No, of course not!" Isan exclaimed, lifting his hands. "I wouldn't dream of such a thing! I was merely wondering…if you don't mind my asking…why you chose to stay this size, rather than mature further?"
"Does my size bother you?" Edna asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Not at all," he replied. "I know full well that a seraph's appearance holds no bearing on what sort of woman she is - my mentor was a normin, and she was one of the most mature and wise ladies I've ever known. In fact, you rather remind me of her…" He shook his head. "Forgive me," he said; "you needn't answer my question if it's too personal. I was just curious."
A man who didn't judge her for her size. Edna had known, of course, that he'd had had a crush on her when she left, but she'd never really given him - or anyone - that kind of credit before. Something stirred in her chest, an odd sensation of…belonging? Relief? In any case, she decided to explain her choice, more fully than she ever had to anyone before.
"I was born on top of Rayfalke Spiritcrest, about two thousand years ago," she told Isan. "When I came into being, I was taken in by another earth malak. From the moment I manifested, he and I both knew that we were brother and sister. He raised me, looked after me, and I lived with him for years…but…" She sighed. "Have you ever heard of something called the Reaper's Curse?"
"As it just so happens, I have," Isan nodded. "A terrible blessing, one that brings naught but misfortune upon the bearer and everyone around them."
"Yeah…my brother had it," Edna explained. "Living with me put me in danger. Between that and the fact that he was always adventure-crazy, as soon as I was big enough to stand on my own, he…he left me." She turned her gaze to the tablecloth, remembering. "He just up and left, one day, without so much as a goodbye. I only saw him once after that, but as soon as he showed up, a horde of hellions attacked and nearly killed us, and he didn't try again. He always sent me letters, and little trinkets he found while exploring the world, but…it wasn't the same." She turned in her seat and held out one booted leg. "Before he left, the last things he ever gave me were these boots - they used to be his, but he refitted them to match my shoe size. If I let myself get any bigger, either I wouldn't fit into them anymore, or they'd grow with me, and then they wouldn't be his anymore, they'd just be…mine. I guess staying this size is my way of keeping him alive," she concluded, settling back in her chair.
"Alive?" Isan repeated. "What became of your brother?"
"About a thousand years ago, he turned into a dragon," Edna answered. "A little over five hundred years ago, while I was traveling with Shepherd Sorey, I helped the team…lay him to rest."
"Oh my," Isan breathed, his amber eyes wide. "That's terrible. Lady Edna, I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine how painful that must have been for you."
He really seemed like he meant it, and Edna glanced away, trying to shrug it off. "It's not so bad," she said tonelessly. "He was already dead, really, we just…set him free. I don't have to worry about him anymore, whether he's scared or in pain or knows what he's doing. He can rest in peace now."
"Yes," Isan sighed, "I am sure he is relieved to be free of such a horrible fate. But still, family is an especially precious thing for a seraph, few of us get to call anyone our family; to lose someone so close to you in such a terrible way…well, it speaks volumes to your strength that you yourself have not succumbed."
The respect in his gaze as he looked at her was like nothing anyone had ever directed at Edna before - until now, the only respect she'd ever gotten had been a sort of surprised respect, that such a small seraph could be so strong, so powerful, so smart. But Isan didn't look at her that way. He looked at her as though she was…well, as though she was much older, wiser, and more powerful than him, regardless of her appearance, which she was.
Desperate to change the mood, she said, "So you had a mentor who was a normin, huh?"
"Yes," he nodded, "Normin Skohlur. She was the Lord of the Land in a village to the north, near where I first manifested a little over a thousand years ago, and gave me guidance for most of my life before I came south. She was…well, how do I describe her…?"
"Wait," Edna smirked, "let me see if I can do a perfect impression of her before you even try." Schooling her face into its usual, completely neutral position, she took a breath. "Sigh…Siiiiiiiigh…Oh," she mumbled.
Isan barked a laugh. "Yes, that's exactly how she was!" he confirmed, smiling radiantly. "Did you know her?"
"I know of her," Edna shrugged. "Her name was Grimoirh, right? She was friends with my brother during the fall of Innominat."
"Friends with - ? Oh!" Isan gasped. "Your brother was that Reaper?"
"Yup," Edna chuckled. "Small world, huh?"
"I should say so," Isan remarked.
"And that's not all," Edna went on; "my brother and Grimoirh were also friends with the current Shepherd's parents…in fact, my brother's name was Eizen, too, and Shepherd Eizen was named after him."
"Parents?" Isan repeated. "Is the Shepherd not human? I didn't think humans lived that long…"
"They don't," Edna said, "but Velvet and Rokurou were hellions for centuries. Velvet was the one who sealed Innominat away…" Though she had cringed at the thought of telling this story again to Lucine, something about Isan made her want to talk about her family, the people she'd known who had shaped the world, and she found herself outlining the whole tale as a waiter took their orders and dinner was eventually brought out.
"I heard the first part of that story from my mentor several times," Isan said when Edna finished, "but I never dreamed it would have an ending like the one you just described!"
"It's not over yet," Edna pointed out; "Velvet and Rokurou's children are the Shepherd and the Lord of Calamity."
"Indeed," Isan sighed, "much as Velvet and Shepherd Artorius were family. A terrible thing it is, for family to be pitted against family so."
"The circle of destiny turns once more…" Morgrim's words came back to Edna then. Was this what she meant? "I mean, Velvet and Artorius were in-laws," Edna dismissed; "I'm not sure if that's the same thing, really. Of course, I don't know much about human society."
"You've been living with them," Isan pointed out as he cut into his salmon.
"Yeah, but our family are a bunch of weirdos who lived out in the eastern forest," Edna shrugged. "It's not like being Lord of the Land or anything. Hey, why did you become the Lord of the Land down here, if you manifested up in the north?"
"Well…it may be rather silly of me, but despite my element, I don't much like the cold," Isan explained, almost sheepishly. "I only stayed near where I was born so that I could learn from Grimoirh, who was studying the subject of Lords of the Land at the time, and taught me everything she knew. She was very studious, as her true name suggested, always in pursuit of knowledge - I expect she's on the far continent now. But once she decided her studies were done, and to abdicate her position as Lord of the Land and move on, I had no reason to stay in the frozen north, so I headed south; I wandered for a while, but wasn't really sure what to do with myself, until I reached this village and met the previous Lord of the Land, Rohan…"
They went on talking, Edna hardly even noticing that her occasional bite of noodles quickly grew cold, exchanging stories and anecdotes about their respective lives as seraphim. For some reason, talking to Isan was easy, easier than talking to anyone else Edna had ever met - even with her older brother, or her baby brother, there had always been some sort of expectation, some pressure to say the right thing, but Isan welcomed her every word without any such pretenses hanging over them. It shouldn't have been surprising for a Lord of the Land, a seraph whose job it essentially was to listen to human whining day in and day out, yet it was surprising for someone to treat Edna like her words really mattered. Isan treated Edna like she was an adult - and not just an adult, but the adult, as though he were nothing but an ignorant child not worthy of her time. Instead of feeling smug, though, Edna felt a little embarrassed; the more they talked, the clearer it was that Isan was just as deserving of respect.
Well, almost.
Somewhere in the room, the rest of the Shepherd's crew came in, ate dinner, talked, and went to bed, and Edna barely even registered their presence; Isan gave her all of his attention, and she was more than happy to give him all of hers in return. Eventually, some time after dessert had come and gone, Isan began to reveal that he had a sense of humor - a mild, tame one, but one that Edna appreciated a lot more than Zaveid's bold-faced awfulness, and her date actually managed to make her laugh a few times. All thoughts of her duty as Sub Lord, the troubles of her family, the fights she had yet to face, just melted away, and there was only Isan, and her, alone together in their little corner, the rest of the world a mere mass of distant noise. Edna never wanted it to end.
"Pardon me," Isan eventually said to a staff member who happened to be passing by, "but would you tell me the hour? I seem to have lost track of time…"
"It's…long after midnight, Lord Isan," the girl stammered.
"Wait what?!" Edna exclaimed, shocked.
"My word!" Isan gasped. "I've neglected my duties for far too long!" He turned to her. "Edna, if you'll please excuse me-"
"No, no, I should get going too," Edna said quickly, standing up. "We have a trial to take tomorrow, and I need to be rested."
But as they both left their table and the candles that had been replaced…how many times, Edna wondered? Three?…neither of them wanted to separate.
"I'll walk you home," Edna told him after a brief moment of awkwardness at the door to the inn.
"I would be honored," Isan bowed, and they left together.
Outside, under the occasional star twinkling through a thin cloud cover, neither seraph spoke, not wanting to disturb the humans who slumbered around them, but they didn't need to say anything. Just walking with Isan left Edna feeling content, happy, and she hated the sight of the holy tree as they approached the vessel the fire seraph lived in.
"Well…good night, Edna," Isan said, turning to face her. "I had a wonderful evening."
"Me too," Edna told him. "I…I hope we get to do this again sometime."
"As do I."
They looked at each other for a moment, and for the first time all night, Edna felt some sort of pressure to…do something. Like there was something that was being left unsaid, and she would regret it for the rest of her life if she didn't say it. But…
"Isan," she said abruptly as he turned to his vessel at last.
"Yes?" he asked, turning back.
Edna hesitated for only another moment, then jogged up to him, summoning the earth beneath her feet to lift her up so she would be high enough, and pressed her lips against his. He kissed her back, gently, tenderly placing his arms around her slender frame, and Edna felt a wave of contentedness, of completeness, like nothing she'd ever known.
After a moment, they pulled apart, just a bit, just enough to look into each other's eyes in the faint light of the nighttime, light that would be too dim for humans but didn't affect them at all.
"Edna," Isan murmured, uttering her name with more reverence than most people even spoke of Maotelus.
In response, she kissed him again, weaving her fingers through his short, scarlet hair and pulling him closer. Again, his lips returned her pressure, opening and closing against hers, gently, lovingly. Sweet, warm happiness swirled through Edna's body, washing away all her worries and fears, and she reveled in this moment, a moment she would cling to through the horrors to come, horrors that seemed so small and far away just now.
When at last they broke apart again, she was surprised to find her breath coming a little hard. "I'll come back," she told him. "I promise I'll come back to you, Isan."
"I will count the days until you do, my dear Edna," Isan said, taking her hands in his gently. "But please…do not rush your duties for my sake, I would not want you to return prematurely. Promise me…promise me you will not come back until your task is done, and all is well. If you only think of me during your journeys to come in the meantime, that will be more than enough."
"I will think of you," Edna vowed. "And I promise I won't come back until we can spend all the time we want together without any burdens weighing on us. But as soon as everything's taken care of, I will come back. I promise you this, Isan, by my true name…Hephsin Yulind."
"Hephsin Yulind," Isan repeated, speaking the words like a prayer. "My dear Edna…my true name is Fowhask Ekav."
True name exchange was a powerful thing between seraphim - an unbreakable bond, a vow of absolute trust, more intimate and sacred than humans could ever imagine. Edna had never thought she would have such an exchange with anyone besides her older brother, but somehow this felt even deeper than that.
"Fowhask Ekav," Edna said softly. "I'll come back to you someday."
"Good night, Hephsin Yulind," Isan told her. "Sleep well, and stay safe."
"You too," she told him.
With that, he vanished to rest within his vessel, leaving Edna alone on a short pillar of earth, which she quickly returned to the ground, leaving no trace behind. She was less quick to turn her back on the holy tree and walk down the path to the inn, but eventually, she did so. Below her, the earthpulse flowed, and she knew that, no matter what happened next, what she had just shared with Isan would be immortalized in the Earthen Historia forever; above her, the clouds thinned, and the twinkling stars also bore witness to the love blossoming for a seraph far older than her face suggested. It felt like some sacred secret that every unseen, silent entity in the world had committed to memory but would never tell, and Edna felt light, as though she could fly.
Eventually, she reached the Marlind inn, and was surprised to see Sahra waiting beside the doorway, her crimson hair bright against the dark wood of the building - had Sahra been there when Edna had left with Isan?
"Hey, Edna," Sahra said as Edna approached, a knowing smirk on her face. "Did you have a good time?"
"Yes," Edna answered simply. "But I'm tired now."
"Well, if you go into the hall with the rooms, the one on the right at the far end of the hall is the boys' room, next to that is you and Lucine's room, and then my and Sadie's room is just to the right of that," Sahra told her.
"Ugh," Edna grumbled. "Can I take your room instead? I'm surprised I can't hear Zaveid and Lucine out here."
"Huh?" Sahra blinked, then smiled and shook her head. "Actually, Zaveid's sharing a room with Eizen. Lucine's alone."
"Really?" Edna asked, surprised.
Sahra laughed. "I know, right?" she chuckled. "I kept waiting for him to make a move, but he never did. Actually…" Her smile faded, and she started fiddling with her braid. "It was kinda weird. Over dinner, they kept looking at each other - like they have been since we met her, you know? But then…I don't know, something weird happened, and it was suddenly like Zaveid was trying to look at anything but her." She shrugged. "Maybe he realized she's too good for him - I mean, she's really sweet. Kinda hapless, like we saw earlier, but she's got a really soft, gentle heart."
"It's not like Zaveid to avoid taking advantage of a vulnerable woman," Edna remarked. "Did something happen?"
"Well…now that you mention it…" Sahra mused, her free hand going to her jaw. "It was…right after we explained that the Lord of Calamity was Eizen's sister. She actually cried for Eizen, weird as that is, like, shed an actual tear - she literally just met us, but she seemed really upset to know that she was helping Eizen fight his own sister. It was right after that that Zaveid started acting weird around her."
"Huh," Edna responded tonelessly. "That is weird…"
"Now, enough about Zaveid and Lucine," Sahra said, suddenly smiling again. "Tell me all about you and Isan! How did your date go? Do you like him?"
Though the crescent moon was faint, a sudden shaft of light seemed to catch Sahra's green eyes and make them shine for a moment. "Yes," Edna replied, "I really do like him. A lot. In fact…it kind of bothers me how much I like him."
"Bothers you?" Sahra repeated. "Why would it bother you?"
"Because…" Edna hesitated as Sahra's eyes seemed to flash again. "I don't know…I don't need a man to be happy or…or anything like that."
"Of course you don't!" Sahra said cheerfully. "None of us needs a man - or woman, in my case. But, you know, if we happen to want one, and they like us back, it's always nice. It's about what you want, Edna, not what you need."
"What I want," Edna repeated, and she glanced to her right, in the direction of the holy tree. "That kind of bothers me too, because…I…I think I might want to grow for him."
"Holy crap!" Sahra exclaimed, her grin positively splitting her face. "This is really serious! Does your size bother him?"
"No," Edna answered, "he doesn't care about a woman's appearance - his mentor was a normin. But…I think it might bother me a little. I had to use seraphic artes just to get in a position to kiss him."
"You kissed him?!" Sahra squealed.
"Yeah," Edna shrugged, trying to act casual. "A couple of times. It was…" Amazing. Heavenly. "…nice. But it kind of bothered me that I was so small."
"Hmm." Sahra tilted her head, one gloved hand again going to fiddle with her braid. "In my experience, there are two reasons a guy would make a girl want to change," she said at last: "Either he makes her feel ashamed of who she is and she wants to be someone different to make him happy, or he makes her want to better herself and improve who she is to make herself happy. You should probably figure out which this is before you act on it."
"I wasn't going to make any decisions anytime soon," Edna grumbled. "Look, I'm tired, all right? We have a trial tomorrow, and I don't want to be all grouchy for it."
"Get some sleep," Sahra said, nodding and stepping aside. "Sorry to bother you, I just…I'm excited for you, you know? This is really big!"
"Yeah," Edna muttered. "Good night."
"Good night," Sahra responded. "Oh, actually, wait!"
"What?" Edna growled, turning back.
Sahra was fiddling with her braid. "Sorry if this seems random, but talking about love and stuff reminded me of something," she said. "Sadie told me that there's a law against arranged marriages in Hyland, and that it was Rose - the one who desecrated Master Rokurou's teachings to form the Scattered Bones - who put that law into place. Is that true?"
"Yeah," Edna replied slowly. "Yeah, Rose put that law in place."
"May I ask…why?" Sahra questioned. "The founder of an assassins' guild shouldn't care so much about what's right."
"It was a personal thing for her," Edna told the fire seraph. "Her friend Alisha agreed to an arranged marriage with some jerk chosen for her by the Rolance Emperor to strengthen the bond between the two nations or something, and the guy she was forced to marry treated her like trash. Rose kept hoping that Alisha would put in a contract to have him killed, but Alisha wasn't that kind of person, she just put up with it, even though she was emotionally damaged by the time he finally died of old age; so instead, Rose decided to see that law made, as the only thing she could do, so no one else would end up like that." Edna scowled. "Of course, people like the Halloways can always find ways around the law…"
"I see," Sahra said thoughtfully, fiddling with her braid again. "Thank you for explaining that to me, things seem clearer now. Please, go get some rest, I'm sorry for keeping you," she added quickly.
"Good night," Edna mumbled, too tired to even muster a bite to her voice, and she went in at last.
Opting not to bother the human she still didn't particularly like, Edna chose to take the room she was supposed to share with Lucine. The water seraph was lying on her side on top of the blankets of her bed, her back to the room, only her spear and her blue-ribboned sandals - which, Edna noticed distantly, lacked heels - lying by her bedside. Edna took off her boots, her glove, and her headband, and placed them and her umbrella at her own bedside before crawling into bed herself. Her being still hummed with energy, though, and she wasn't sure she could sleep.
Isan. Fowhask Ekav, Isan of Pure Faith. As confused as she was over her ideas for where they might go from here, Edna couldn't deny that she felt happy, truly happy, happier than she could ever remember feeling. Curling up in her bed, she decided to just set aside all her worries and enjoy it. Was this love? Being in love had never appealed to Edna, but if this was what it was like…
"Edna?"
The sudden, drowsy voice startled Edna from the beginnings of slumber. "Yeah?" she asked Lucine.
"I'm glad you're happy," the water seraph mumbled sleepily. "Truly I am. But could you please…keep it down a little?"
"Keep it down?" Edna repeated, baffled. "I didn't say anything!"
"Oh." Lucine jolted, apparently in surprise. "Yes, of course, I…Never mind, I'm sorry. Forget I spoke."
Weirdo, Edna thought, glaring at her. But even as she glowered at her new comrade, something suddenly occurred to Edna: the way Isan had looked at her when he told her his true name was the same way Zaveid had looked at Lucine when she was purified. Weird as she is, Lucine really is the luckiest break we could have gotten, Edna realized. She's not just a water seraph capable of fighting, she could be exactly what I wished for the night before we left Ladylake: something to make Zaveid not hate being alive anymore. Even if it is just because she looks like someone from his past, maybe…maybe I could find a way to use that to give him a future. Assuming he doesn't do something stupid and gross and screw it up…
That, she thought, turning over and surrendering to sleep at last, would be a much taller order than anything she would ever have to face with Isan.
If you'll indulge me for a moment, I'd like to explain how Cleansing Tsunami would work in gameplay: my idea is that it would do more damage and have a larger blast radius depending on how many enemies there are and how weak the target is. Say for example you found yourself wandering the starting area of the game after spending time in more high-level areas, and you didn't have a way to instantly negate battles, and some enemies came running after you and were faster than you, and it just so happened that two of them touched you at once, leading to a "dangerous encounter"; in that case, casting Cleansing Tsunami would be an instant victory, defeating even the foes not yet spawned in. On the other hand, using Cleansing Tsunami against a high-level boss with no adds would do about as much damage as a regular attack. It would be a very gimmicky, situational Mystic Arte, but something like that would have made certain points in Tales of Zestiria at least five percent less aggravating to go through, am I right? Plus, it would be EXCELLENT for farming grade if you're trying to level up a weapon that you don't actually want to use for important fights.
ALSO, while we're on the subject of my water seraph: one hundred internet points and/or a shoutout to the first person to correctly guess Lucine's true name! You have to guess her actual true name to win, not her identity. Offer does not apply to penname "alphawolf2196", for several reasons. Only a hundred points, because, come on people, this one's easy. And NO, her true name is not "Suijia Kwivdux", or even "Morevu Kwivdux", that would be dumb. (Yes, it turns out that I am aware that Theodora had a true name in Japanese and that it implies she was probably also a wind malak, shut up, her element was never mentioned within Tales of Berseria itself and therefore my ground rules give me free rein to do whatever I want with her memory.)
Retroactive A/N: Again, originally the Lord of the Land in Marlind was Rohan, like in Zestiria, but I changed it to an OC for multiple convenience purposes; apologies again to anyone used to Rohan, or anyone who saw any reviews that contained any mention of Rohan.
Trophy earned for this chapter: [image of slim, pale fingers in a broad, tanned hand] "Doppelgänger" - Proof that you have the last bit of help you need on your quest. She seems to bear an uncanny resemblance to someone your Prime Lord once knew…What other secrets is she hiding?
