Chapter Thirteen: Back to Mist





The sun was rising over the mountains; tiny streaks of light snaked in-between the massive peaks, lighting the mist in segments. The entire valley was lit red and gold and rose; the mist, which created a layer between sky and earth, burned as if it were on fire. The entire town glowed softly, pulsing as the shifting mists received and reflected the burning rays of sunlight. It looked as if the Village Mist was on fire; a golden, heavenly fire.

I swallowed, hard.

My voyage up had been less than remarkable; the chocobo I had ridden had chattered for miles after it discovered I spoke its language. Chocobos are very strange creatures. They have been friends with humans longer than any other monster; yet all of their conversation seems to consist of silly things, like the weather. Perhaps it is because they have been with humans so long that they are incapable of discussing anything but trivial matters. Chocobos made a choice, long ago; freedom for safety; and they chose safety and the help and protection of mankind, giving servitude in return.

I had worked my way through the silent Misty Cave at night; it was full of pensive magic which reached to me, spoke to me, gave me visions. There were shadows in that cave that were watching me, the shadows of my mother and her magic. I did not want to linger. I had placed that horrible day behind me; and I did not want to hear what the shadows were whispering. I reminded myself not to think of Edge.

And thus I returned to Mist early in the morning, as the sun peeked over the glossy mountains and set the air on fire. No one was awake. There was no motion save the rolling motion of the mists far above. I was alone. I found it amazingly peaceful.

I entered the small town tentatively, and was pleasantly surprised. It was not the devastating image my mind had kept for so long; houses had been rebuilt, things had been repaired, and the town looked whole and peaceful. I felt my entire body relax as I sighed. The town was not a place of happy memories; at least I could have this one before everyone awoke.

I wandered about the town, my footsteps silent, moving in the mist as if I were part ghost. I saw they had erected a new Town Hall and an extension on the inn. The grass was green and thick beneath my feet; flowers were blooming around the houses and the forest looked healthy and alive. I took a deep, mist-filled breath and prepared to enter the building my feet had led me to: my old house.

But when I looked up, I was mildly alarmed: there was no house. In the place where my home had stood was a shrine, a small trellis covered in flowers. A path led me under an ornamented gazebo and through some gardens until I found a new addition: a graveyard. It was more than beautiful; it was ethereal, shining in the sunlight and mist as if it were magic. At the very front was a monument. I bent to read it, brushing away strands of lock's-ear and ivy:

These gardens are dedicated to those who lost their lives in the tragedy of fire.

Then I looked at the gravestone next to it and my breath caught in my throat.

Aurelia Radiance Drake. Beloved mother, friend, and protector. Gave her life in the defense of Mist Village.

My mother. Lying on her grave was a handful of fresh flowers. I began to cry, silently, catching the tears in my hands, covering my face. Mother, oh ... I bent down until my forehead was pressing against the grass. Oh, how I miss you... All of the turmoil of the past few days, the fight with Edge, the horrible words - all of it caught up to me, and I was weeping, furiously. I wasn't strong enough, mother. I released my sorrows onto my mother's grave.

Finally I sat up, sniffling. Not bothering to wipe my face, I looked around at the stones, seeing names I knew and recognized. In the midst of my despair I wondered why there was no stone with my name on it. I imagined a small rock beside my mother's: Rydia Tanaquila Drake. Missing in the fire. The thought was horribly morbid, and I laughed a bitter laugh, full of tears.

Then I heard footsteps behind me. All too quickly, I spun around. Behind me was an old lady, bent over a staff like Tellah's, carrying a handful of fresh flowers. She looked at me and gave a little "Oh!" of surprise. Then her eyes widened.

But I had recognized her first. "Maara?" I whispered. It was the old woman who had cared for me as a child when my mother was gone, off at trials and banquets. Maara had cushioned my family after my father vanished; she was our support, our adopted grandmother. She looked older and more worn than I remembered. But I recognized the lines in her face and her friendly blue eyes.

And in those eyes was recognition. "Rydia?" she whispered in return, staggering on her staff. "Little Rydia?"

I leapt up from the ground, new tears falling down my face, tears of happiness washing away the sadness from earlier. I threw my arms around Maara's neck and cried into her shawl. She stiffly put her arms around me, laughing.

"Little Rydia's finally grown up. We heard about you, y'know; all our monsters couldn't stop talking about you. And we heard you did something grand - traveling to the moon, saving the world? What sort of nonsense is that for a child of Mist?"

I was laughing and crying at the same time, my face buried in the woman's clothes. Maara smelled like comfort and mistweed. She smelled like home.

Finally she pushed me away. "Let me take a look at you, girly," she said. Her old eyes - one of them whiter than the other - ran over my traveling clothes, my long green cloak. "My, you've grown. And in magic as well. By my Dragons, Rydia, you've grown up."

"And how are you?" My voice was bubbling with happiness, though it caught on the tears in my throat.

Maara looked down at the flowers in her hand. "I was just a-comin' to give these to your mother," she said absentmindedly. "She always loved the mistblooms. It's been strange here without her. Without you. The town's rebuilt, but -" Her eyes met mine, suddenly panicky. "The town's not the same, Rydia. Something's a-brewin'. There's something out there in the mist that just don't feel right."

Then I heard other footsteps behind her, and a male voice said softly, "Do you think she's -?"

Three men stepped from the trees. One of them I recognized as Dahrin, the innkeeper; the other two I did not. The one to the left said, "Maara, we were worried about you."

"Oh, by my Dragons. Worried. I come here every day," the old woman said grumpily.

"Yes, we know," the man replied. "And you shouldn't. You haven't been the same since the -"

Then their eyes fell on me, and Dahrin gasped. "Is it - Rydia, is it you?"

The other man then, to my utter surprise, fell to his knees before me. "Rydia - you - it's true. We've been waiting for you for so long."

I was shocked into silence.







There were about three dozen people in the village, and they were all gathered in the new Town Hall. I was sitting in the front - much to my dismay - on a long bench. Spread before me were Mist's survivors. There were some faces I remembered, and many that I did not; most of them were adults, men that I may have never met in my childhood. I wondered how I could have been away so long that half of the people of my small hometown looked like strangers.

The children were beside themselves. Apparently I was a sort of legend in the town; when stories started coming back to the people through their summon monsters, word spread like wildfire that I was alive, and in the Land of Summons, and in training. And then when I hooked up with Cecil again the stories grew. I was my own folk tale. It was quite disconcerting.

I had wandered around the town at first, as the word of my return had spread and people had begun creeping out of their homes. I couldn't stop asking questions, but they were lost in the barrage of cries from the townspeople as they saw me. I embraced my mother's best friend, Lucia; I discovered to my sorrow that my best friend Caria had perished in the flames. My other childhood companion, a small girl called Remy, had taken one look at me and attached herself to my leg. She was sitting in my lap right now as I faced the town in the hall.

I was in shock. My entire body was trembling. These were faces that I hadn't seen for eleven - no, almost twelve years now. And suddenly I was like a goddess to them.

In shaking terms I quickly told them the story of Cecil, Baron, the Land of Summons, Golbez, Zemus, the Crystals, and the Moon. I could see the questions burning in their eyes as I spoke, but something in me wanted to get the tale out and be done with it. Questions could wait.

When I reached the end, there was a moment of silence. Then the same man who had fallen to his knees before me said, "We've been waiting so long for you to come back, Lady."

"Why do you call me that?" I looked at him quizzically, Remy squirming on my lap. "I'm from here, same as you."

"But," he said quizzically. "Look at you. You've traveled to the Underworld and the Moon. You can summon the King and Queen of the Monsters and one of their Gods. You have the forbidden magics. Rydia - you're like a legend come true. And you've finally come home to us."

I heard Maara cackle from the back. "Summon Monsters," she began, but a tall man hushed her.

"Maara hasn't been the same since the say of the fire," the first man said slowly. "I'm afraid she's lost her mind. Don't take anything she says too seriously."

"I fear I can't remember your name," I said.

He bowed to me extravagantly. "I'm Koren," he said. "I live on the outskirts, in the forest."

I sighed, and splayed my hands in my lap, where Remy grabbed them and rubbed them all over her face. "I guess ...I guess I should tell you why I came back," I said. "It won't be easy for you to hear, but ...I've been away for a while, and I want to help you all - help to repair this town. I've been in the Land of Summons, and things are changing."

"We know." It was the man who had been with Koren and Dahrin, the innkeeper; he had introduced himself as Heiber. "There are strange things going on. That's why we've waited for you for so long."

They had all been using that phrase, and it made me nervous. Waiting for me to - what?

"Look," I said slowly. "I have just come from Baron, and -"

An audible gasp went around the room. "What?" I asked. "What did I say?"

"Thank God you got out of there alright!" It was a young woman with a rather feverish look on her face; I recognized her as Kell, the alchemist. "They hate us in Baron!"

"No, they don't, Kell. They respect us. They may think we are strange, but they don't hate us anymore."

"You don't know." Another young man spoke up. "All the time you've been gone. The people in Baron want to destroy us! They still think we're much too dangerous. And once they heard about you, it only got worse!"

"I just came from the castle!" I insisted. "Everyone there treated me with respect and friendship."

"Not the royals." Koren's voice was a hiss. "The average folk, like us. And it's not just Baron. People all over the world are afraid of us, Lady Rydia, and if we don't move quickly, they'll wipe us out."

"They'll do nothing of the sort!" I stood in a flash, setting Remy down on my seat. "Through my travels I have personally befriended most of the kings and leaders of this world. All they want is peace."

"Then why did they destroy our town?" Kell was incensed; her eyes were burning bright, and I remember noting it was odd. "They tried, a year ago. We've had to work long and hard to get here."

"Didn't you hear me?" I was trying desperately to hold on to my temper. So often in the past few days I had let it fly; I had to start taking control. "Cecil brought the package. But he was ordered by the King, who was in fact a monster in disguise, who was under the control of Golbez, who was under the control of Zeromus. It was Zeromus who wanted to destroy us. And we destroyed him instead. Cecil didn't even know what he was bringing." I sighed. "Cecil had accepted the Light of Ordeals - yes, I know you all know what that means - and he is King of Baron. And he wants to help this village recover."

"No!" Heiber jumped up. Eyes turned to him; he flushed slightly, but his gaze was locked with mine. "We can't take aid from Baron. They're the ones who set us where we are! How do we know they just won't destroy us again!"

"Trust me," I said acidly. "Cecil feels so guilty about this town that he would coat it in mithril if he thought you would forgive him."

My words were met with stony silence. "What," I said slowly. "You are going to forgive him, right?"

"How can we?" Kell choked on her words in bitter amusement. "That fire killed my brother. And Remy's parents. And Dahrin's wife. And Caria. And your mother. You can't forget things like that."

"We don't have to forget," I insisted. "Cecil has repented of his deeds and faced the Light of Ordeals, the gift of the Gods! I have trusted him with my life. What do you think that means?"

A man in a green shirt raised his hand. "You're asking us to trust someone we've been cursing for a year, Lady Rydia. And not only that. This Cecil of yours may or may not be what you say. But it doesn't change the fact that the people of Baron are prejudiced against us, and it runs deep."

"Rydia." Koren was being deeply respectful, but somewhere I felt he was mocking me. "You're our savior. You are the child-turned-adult, the warrior who can lead us to recovery and greatness. Come back to Mist; stay here and help us."

"Help you do what?" I asked tentatively.

Koren had slowly walked up and was staring her in the face. "We want retribution," he said softly.

I gasped. "What?"

"Haven't you ever wanted revenge?" he asked, slowly pacing the length of the room. "Haven't you ever wanted to just lash out at the world?"

"Once or twice," I admitted, and then shook my head. "But I did, and it didn't do anything. The time for revenge is past. You have to listen!"

"No, we don't!" Heiber was just as passionate. "Look, Rydia. Stay here. You have the powers of the King and Queen, and the wrath of Meteo. Make demands of the world. We are the Callers; we're not going to grovel for some ex-mercenary king's handouts! Make them pay tribute to us or feel the wrath of our monsters!"

Some of the townspeople were shocked at the strength of his words. "Heiber, sit down," said Jassiline, who worked at the inn. "We're not strong enough. We won't make it through another war."

"Besides," said Dahrin, "the monsters are becoming harder and harder to summon."

I looked at him, my eyes narrowing. "What?"

Marra crowed from the back. "The monsters are moving away," she cackled. "They're too far away for most of us to reach them. We're losing contact."

"No!" I clapped my hand to my face. "Asura - no! I have to go back!"

Remy clutched at my skirts. "No, Riddy, stay." I was momentarily swept up in a brief memory of Edge, who was the only one to call me that name since my mother - there you are, Riddy - and then I was back in the Hall of Mist, panicking.

"You can't go!" Koren was almost angry. "You just got back!"

"I will come back," I said fiercely. "But I've just realized something. And you know how time is in the Underworld; I have to hurry, or else it may be too late."

They were all looking at me; some with fear, others with respect, some with anger. "I promise you," I said, clenching my hands, "I will be back within a week. But I have to go and find out something about our Summons."

Koren bowed his head. "We can't stop you," he said.



I ran out of the town and through the cave at lightning speed; lucky for me, my chocobo was still there, and I leapt on its back, urging it to run. I wanted to return to Baron first - talk with Cecil, patch things up with Edge - and then I could collect my strength and teleport myself into the Land of Summons, which would be easier. The bird loved the run and I was back at the castle in no time.

But Cecil was holed up in a meeting with the other Kings - I assumed Edge was there as well - and I couldn't get in. I paced the castle, not wanting to wait. Suddenly I heard soft footsteps behind me and turned. The Elder of Mysidia was watching me, a bemused smile beneath his cowl.

"I was sensing a lot of impatient energy," he said softly.

"Oh," I burst out. "I want to wait for Cecil, but I don't know if I have time - oh, Elder, why didn't you tell me?"

He looked mildly surprised. "Tell you what?"

"You warned me about Meteo, yes, and it hurt - a lot. But you never said anything about how people would want to use me like a tool!" I was frustrated beyond belief, but I realized I was taking it out on the kindly old man and relented slightly. "I'm sorry. It's been a hard month."

He came to stand beside me. "The Forbidden Magics were sealed away for a purpose," he said, "and only someone with great strength can seal or unseal them. They have minds of their own, those terrible spells, and sometimes they themselves break out when they sense that they are needed. They came to you; they chose correctly. But it will be making them go home that will be difficult. They have minds of their own."

I sighed. "I feel like people are trying to play me like a pawn," I said. "I mean, they don't seem to realize that casting these spells is not a pleasant or desirable thing. It's like - it's like they don't understand why I would never ever do it again casually. You know, they don't realize it; it's as if I have an advantage, and they're sure I'll use it for my own good, because that's what they'd do."

The Elder smiled. "And thus is wisdom achieved," he said briefly. "I must tell you, daughter. Cecil will be in that meeting all day. I suggest you go on your hurried errand and come back to meet with our young King some other time."

I smiled at his advice and impulsively threw my arms around him. "Thank you," I breathed, heading back to the small room I usually used. It would be quiet and peaceful there, and I could concentrate enough to cast the massive transport spell.

But on my way up I passed Edge's room.

I knocked gently. No answer. I opened the door slowly, not wanting to disturb anything. The room was empty; Edge's clothes were strewn about the place, and his bed was ruffled, unmade. I grinned; it was exactly like what I had expected. My eyes fell on his small writing desk and I had a sudden idea.

Edge. The pen was oddly dripping, but I didn't know how to fix it. I came back, but I guess you're not around. Great sentence. I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I have to leave again, but I'm sure I'll run into you sometime. The note was stupid, but it made me feel better. The weight on my heard lightened. At least he would know that I - what? That I still cared? Cared about what?

I closed his door with a gentle click and headed upstairs. Once in my now-empty room I sat down on the edge of the bed and gathered my thoughts and my powers. I wrapped my arms around myself and closed my eyes, whispering the words that would take me back home - my second dramatic homecoming of the day.