Note: I'm going to put this up anyway, even with the thing all freaky.
Sorry about that.bear with me, and I'll reload all the chapters that I
update that are affected. Sorry for the long wait, I was on vacation. Do
not worry, I made up for the lateness with an extra-long chapter. Enjoy!
---***---
Ailani sat on a corner of her bed, in the room that had been given to her. There were no windows; only a small slit opening out onto the corridor beyond the door, which was locked. She felt very dirty; she doubted a dive into the pool of that bubbling, volatile liquid in which this beastly tower was situated would cleanse her. But Ailani was also feeling something she had never felt before.
Ailani de Braska Guado felt helpless.
Her magic seemed suppressed somehow; she had tried an Echo Screen, thinking maybe she had been Silenced, but it had nott worked. Ailani knew that even if she had been able to use her magic, there were ancient spells on that door that wouldn't allow so much as a grain of dust to pass it. Her sword had been taken from her, as had the little sickle knife of Avalon; the drow priestess that had taken the dagger had handled it gingerly, wrapping the hilt in a thick cloth before taking it. Obviously, they had some sort of aversion to things of Avalon. She hoped that would aid her, but as the only things she had from Avalon were her robes and that knife, both of which she did not have with her, that was a useless idea. An acrid breeze blew into her room, sending Ailani into a paroxysm of coughing. Finally it let up, and she raised her head again, eyes red and watering.
If this place isn't hell, she thought, I do not want to see what hell is.
She fell into a fitful sleep; imagining glowing red eyes watching her from the corner of her room, things scuttling along the floor. It took her a moment to realize that a pair of eyes was watching her from the corner. The eyes were blue, however, and much kindlier-looking than any she'd seen in a long time. Carefully, Ailani uncurled and stepped off the bed. "Who's there?" she called in as imperious a voice as she could.
A feminine figure wrapped in a blue cloak stepped from the shadows. The hood was drawn up over the face, but the frost that appeared even on the hellfire-heated floor of her room gave Ailani all the indication she needed. "Shiva?!"
The aeon slowly lowered her hood; blue hair almost the same shade as Ailani's tumbled out. Shiva regarded Ailani with something resembling a mix of curiosity, appraisal, and sadness. "Ailani.dear child."
Ailani fell to her knees. Shiva took her chin in chilly fingers and said, "Not to me, Ailani. Never to me. There is one more deserving of your praise, The One who made the Celestial Heavens and the World. He even made us aeons; we are his emissaries to the World. But this is no time to be discussing theology."
Ailani looked up with awestruck eyes at Shiva. "Lady, why are you here?"
Shiva turned to look behind her, and two other aeons appeared out of nowhere, quickly changing into what had been their human forms. Valefor was a woman with bright red hair; Leviathan, a muscled young man. Both bowed to Shiva, and nodded to Ailani.
"Daughter," Valefor intoned in a voice that echoed with ghosts of the past. "Shiva, are we ready?"
"Waiting for the sign," Shiva said quietly. Silence reigned in the room as the three aeons and Ailani listened, watched, waited for the sign. Then a breeze that was not acrid but fresh and clean blew through the room, lifting Shiva's cloak and Ailani's hair. Both closed their eyes and inhaled deeply. It brought with it the sounds of fighting, the twang of a bowstring, shouts in the elfin and drow tongues.
"It is time."
---***---
Calix attacked with a fury that he never had before. Drow and demons scattered as he charged, blades flashing, through the archway that led to the bridge over the moat. The place was swarming with drow in particular; Calix cut through the male soldiers, trying to get to the priestesses before they could start casting spells.
One of the soldiers dropped a globe of darkness over him. For a moment everything was silent; then the globe dissipated and Calix looked back appreciatively to where Yuna was casting defensive spells like mad, concentration etched into every line on her face. Seymour was blasting away with various black magic. Alastair was shooting away, his enchanted arrows streaking towards whatever target he sent them to and never missing. Rikku also jumped in, pulling items out of hidden pockets and either combining them or tossing them about without a moment to aim at any particular target. Drow were stopping, paralyzed, all over the field.
The demons posed a different threat entirely. Immune to Rikku's items, they charged her and she went down. Calix swore and rammed his sword through the chest of the demon he was fighting; the demon crumbled and Calix ran back and defended Rikku's body until Yuna could cast a Full-Life spell. She stood and yelled "Thanks!" over the din. Finally they broke through and stormed the inner gates of the tower.
Noxious fumes assaulted their noses as soon as they hauled the huge doors open. Their hands over their noses and mouths, they almost flew up the flight of steps - to be confronted with five doors. Rikku looked around at them, and kicked one. "Ow!"
"Shows you. Did you think it would tell you if Ailani was that way if you kicked it?" Alastair said. Rikku stuck out her tongue. Yuna knelt on the stone and sloshed down an Elixir. Seymour was walking around, touching the doors, muttering under his breath.
"I believe Ailani is through the fourth door from the left," a soft voice behind them said. All whirled to see a small woman with thick, shining red hair in a robe standing behind them. No one had any doubts that she had not been there a moment before. Calix pointed one of his blades at her.
"Who are you?"
The woman bowed. "I am Valefor."
Everyone gaped. Finally Seymour coughed and said, "But aren't you supposed to, ah, not exist? The Planet said that you had been set free - "
Valefor smiled. "Just because I was 'set free' doesn't mean I ceased to exist. Oh, no," she continued. "The aeons are very much alive."
"How is that possible?" Yuna said. "I sent you."
Valefor looked at her. "Dreamer, I thought you more intelligent than that. It is a long story.
"Originally, the aeons were not the beings you know today. We were once - oh, I suppose you would have called us angels. We were more messengers, keepers of the peace and Order in the World, known as simply the Deva. There were eleven of us originally; other, lesser Deva were made. But we, the Deva, were second only to The One. You will be familiar with us; Bahamut, Shiva, Leviathan, Ixion, Ifrit, Alexander, Anima, Anima, Diablos, Phoenix, and myself."
"S'cuse me," Rikku said," but you only said ten."
Valefor's face darkened. "The rogue Deva was Gilgamesh, Lord of Holiness. He was the greatest of all, even before Bahamut. He became ambitious, and desired to sit on the Seat of The One. The One struck him down, and he came here, to the place that was called many things - once it was a Crater, once the site of the castle of an evil sorceress. He had many sons; the oldest you know as Aubrey. Gilgamesh is naught but spirit; his body is that of a human, or once was the body of a human. It is such with Aubrey - once there was a human by that name, but he is no more. Now Devali inhabits the human Aubrey's body. He wishes to turn Ailani to something as himself, by making her drink from the Cup that is Never Clean. This Cup holds the blood of one of our kind."
All shuddered, and Valefor shook herself. "But now is no time for talking. As we speak, the Cup is being readied. If we are not quick, the Fallen will have a new Queen and King."
"I thought Gilgamesh was immortal," Calix cut in, being familiar with the story.
"He is. But he has many faces, one of which will be your lover if we do not hurry, and I fear we are already late. Shiva will have our heads."
She went up and touched the door; it swung open and she passed through, followed by the others. All looked stricken when they looked down on the throne room that the walkway they were on wrapped around. The height of opulence, it nonetheless had an air about it that was utterly repulsive. It could also have been the large, solid gold cup on a pedestal in the center of the room, filled to the brim with the blue-glowing blood of the Deva. Three figures were gathered around this cup currently; a black- skinned woman with long white hair and robes embellished with many renditions of spiders, a muscular figure sporting a black cape, and another man with a red cloak.
Valefor rushed them along, looking pale. Once out of the room, she turned to Seymour and said, "You knew who they were."
Seymour nodded. "Lolth, Sephiroth, and Gilgamesh. The three the Planet fears most."
"The One created them, too, you know."
"I know."
Calix waved his blade. "Why is Sephiroth here? According to Spira's histories, didn't he die?"
Valefor shook her head again. "There is no time. We must hasten to Ailani's tower before Aubrey comes to get her. Shiva and Leviathan do not want to fight."
"Shiva-?"
"There is no time! Come!" And, with more speed than seemed possible, she took off at a sprint, taking a flight of stairs that spiraled higher and higher. They ended in a door so heavily spelled that even Rikku could feel the tingle of the magic. It made the tiny hairs on her arms stand on end, and she smoothed them absently. Valefor looked apprehensively at the door. "I am not sure I can open it. Seymour, try that spell the Planet gave you."
"How - "
"Just do it, please."
Seymour concentrated a moment, then flung his arms wide; the tingle of magic subsided, and the door clicked open. Calix was the first in, dropping his blades and embracing Ailani tightly. The others ringed them. Ailani looked gaunt; it was apparent she'd been fed properly, but she seemed thinner because of some sickness of spirit. Alastair was examining the wards on the room and nodding to himself; Rikku was following him. Yuna was talking to Shiva and Leviathan, half in a state of rapture from talking to them. Seymour stood awkwardly by the door, not really sure of where to fit in. Finally Rikku grabbed him and dragged him over to where Ailani was sitting on her bed, smiling broadly and visibly holding back tears.
Father and daughter regarded each other for a moment, and then Ailani looked away and said softly, "I'm sorry."
Seymour smiled reassuringly at her. "It's all right. I understand." He knelt and hugged her, and to the surprise of everyone in the room, she hugged him back. He drew back and traced the crescent moon on her forehead. "I am proud to be the father of a priestess of Avalon." Then Rikku broke the scene and demanded she be allowed hug her second cousin.
It was Calix who first heard the stamp of boots against stone on the steps up. He hissed, "Attackers!" and ran over and shut the door softly, then he and Seymour crouched on the wall next to it and cast his cloak over his head. Alastair grabbed Yuna and Rikku and hid in the opposite corner. The vanished, leaving Ailani to sit on her bed, her old expression of mingled arrogance and hatred on her face.
The footsteps got louder and were right outside the door - then stopped. The guards (or escorts) were muttering amongst themselves. Calix cast invisible eyes at Ailani, worried. Leviathan did look a little jumpy, though. He thought of Nenya, hidden in the last bit of fertile forest ground on the approach to the Tower, and wondered if he should have brought the great magical stallion with him.
Seymour, beside him, was cursing softly in a language that the elf-prince did not know. Calix looked questioningly at him, and Seymour mouthed, spells.
Of course, Calix thought. There had been layers of spells on the door, and now they were gone. One of the voices outside approached the door, and opened it. A drow male, with a wicked-looking sword and dagger in his gloved hands, entered and strode fearlessly over to Ailani. "Where are the wards?" he demanded.
Ailani looked disdainfully at him. "How should I know? According to you, I am 'Avalon scum' and nothing worth knowing magic."
The drow slapped her, and she recovered quickly, rising to her feet. "How dare you touch me!"
Another voice, more imperious, joined those out in the antechamber beyond the door. The drow male called out in his language, and the new voice responded. The drow shrugged, and grabbed Ailani's arms; twisting them so she cried out. Keeping her in front of him, the drow forced her out the door, and the voices receded.
---***---
Ailani sat on a corner of her bed, in the room that had been given to her. There were no windows; only a small slit opening out onto the corridor beyond the door, which was locked. She felt very dirty; she doubted a dive into the pool of that bubbling, volatile liquid in which this beastly tower was situated would cleanse her. But Ailani was also feeling something she had never felt before.
Ailani de Braska Guado felt helpless.
Her magic seemed suppressed somehow; she had tried an Echo Screen, thinking maybe she had been Silenced, but it had nott worked. Ailani knew that even if she had been able to use her magic, there were ancient spells on that door that wouldn't allow so much as a grain of dust to pass it. Her sword had been taken from her, as had the little sickle knife of Avalon; the drow priestess that had taken the dagger had handled it gingerly, wrapping the hilt in a thick cloth before taking it. Obviously, they had some sort of aversion to things of Avalon. She hoped that would aid her, but as the only things she had from Avalon were her robes and that knife, both of which she did not have with her, that was a useless idea. An acrid breeze blew into her room, sending Ailani into a paroxysm of coughing. Finally it let up, and she raised her head again, eyes red and watering.
If this place isn't hell, she thought, I do not want to see what hell is.
She fell into a fitful sleep; imagining glowing red eyes watching her from the corner of her room, things scuttling along the floor. It took her a moment to realize that a pair of eyes was watching her from the corner. The eyes were blue, however, and much kindlier-looking than any she'd seen in a long time. Carefully, Ailani uncurled and stepped off the bed. "Who's there?" she called in as imperious a voice as she could.
A feminine figure wrapped in a blue cloak stepped from the shadows. The hood was drawn up over the face, but the frost that appeared even on the hellfire-heated floor of her room gave Ailani all the indication she needed. "Shiva?!"
The aeon slowly lowered her hood; blue hair almost the same shade as Ailani's tumbled out. Shiva regarded Ailani with something resembling a mix of curiosity, appraisal, and sadness. "Ailani.dear child."
Ailani fell to her knees. Shiva took her chin in chilly fingers and said, "Not to me, Ailani. Never to me. There is one more deserving of your praise, The One who made the Celestial Heavens and the World. He even made us aeons; we are his emissaries to the World. But this is no time to be discussing theology."
Ailani looked up with awestruck eyes at Shiva. "Lady, why are you here?"
Shiva turned to look behind her, and two other aeons appeared out of nowhere, quickly changing into what had been their human forms. Valefor was a woman with bright red hair; Leviathan, a muscled young man. Both bowed to Shiva, and nodded to Ailani.
"Daughter," Valefor intoned in a voice that echoed with ghosts of the past. "Shiva, are we ready?"
"Waiting for the sign," Shiva said quietly. Silence reigned in the room as the three aeons and Ailani listened, watched, waited for the sign. Then a breeze that was not acrid but fresh and clean blew through the room, lifting Shiva's cloak and Ailani's hair. Both closed their eyes and inhaled deeply. It brought with it the sounds of fighting, the twang of a bowstring, shouts in the elfin and drow tongues.
"It is time."
---***---
Calix attacked with a fury that he never had before. Drow and demons scattered as he charged, blades flashing, through the archway that led to the bridge over the moat. The place was swarming with drow in particular; Calix cut through the male soldiers, trying to get to the priestesses before they could start casting spells.
One of the soldiers dropped a globe of darkness over him. For a moment everything was silent; then the globe dissipated and Calix looked back appreciatively to where Yuna was casting defensive spells like mad, concentration etched into every line on her face. Seymour was blasting away with various black magic. Alastair was shooting away, his enchanted arrows streaking towards whatever target he sent them to and never missing. Rikku also jumped in, pulling items out of hidden pockets and either combining them or tossing them about without a moment to aim at any particular target. Drow were stopping, paralyzed, all over the field.
The demons posed a different threat entirely. Immune to Rikku's items, they charged her and she went down. Calix swore and rammed his sword through the chest of the demon he was fighting; the demon crumbled and Calix ran back and defended Rikku's body until Yuna could cast a Full-Life spell. She stood and yelled "Thanks!" over the din. Finally they broke through and stormed the inner gates of the tower.
Noxious fumes assaulted their noses as soon as they hauled the huge doors open. Their hands over their noses and mouths, they almost flew up the flight of steps - to be confronted with five doors. Rikku looked around at them, and kicked one. "Ow!"
"Shows you. Did you think it would tell you if Ailani was that way if you kicked it?" Alastair said. Rikku stuck out her tongue. Yuna knelt on the stone and sloshed down an Elixir. Seymour was walking around, touching the doors, muttering under his breath.
"I believe Ailani is through the fourth door from the left," a soft voice behind them said. All whirled to see a small woman with thick, shining red hair in a robe standing behind them. No one had any doubts that she had not been there a moment before. Calix pointed one of his blades at her.
"Who are you?"
The woman bowed. "I am Valefor."
Everyone gaped. Finally Seymour coughed and said, "But aren't you supposed to, ah, not exist? The Planet said that you had been set free - "
Valefor smiled. "Just because I was 'set free' doesn't mean I ceased to exist. Oh, no," she continued. "The aeons are very much alive."
"How is that possible?" Yuna said. "I sent you."
Valefor looked at her. "Dreamer, I thought you more intelligent than that. It is a long story.
"Originally, the aeons were not the beings you know today. We were once - oh, I suppose you would have called us angels. We were more messengers, keepers of the peace and Order in the World, known as simply the Deva. There were eleven of us originally; other, lesser Deva were made. But we, the Deva, were second only to The One. You will be familiar with us; Bahamut, Shiva, Leviathan, Ixion, Ifrit, Alexander, Anima, Anima, Diablos, Phoenix, and myself."
"S'cuse me," Rikku said," but you only said ten."
Valefor's face darkened. "The rogue Deva was Gilgamesh, Lord of Holiness. He was the greatest of all, even before Bahamut. He became ambitious, and desired to sit on the Seat of The One. The One struck him down, and he came here, to the place that was called many things - once it was a Crater, once the site of the castle of an evil sorceress. He had many sons; the oldest you know as Aubrey. Gilgamesh is naught but spirit; his body is that of a human, or once was the body of a human. It is such with Aubrey - once there was a human by that name, but he is no more. Now Devali inhabits the human Aubrey's body. He wishes to turn Ailani to something as himself, by making her drink from the Cup that is Never Clean. This Cup holds the blood of one of our kind."
All shuddered, and Valefor shook herself. "But now is no time for talking. As we speak, the Cup is being readied. If we are not quick, the Fallen will have a new Queen and King."
"I thought Gilgamesh was immortal," Calix cut in, being familiar with the story.
"He is. But he has many faces, one of which will be your lover if we do not hurry, and I fear we are already late. Shiva will have our heads."
She went up and touched the door; it swung open and she passed through, followed by the others. All looked stricken when they looked down on the throne room that the walkway they were on wrapped around. The height of opulence, it nonetheless had an air about it that was utterly repulsive. It could also have been the large, solid gold cup on a pedestal in the center of the room, filled to the brim with the blue-glowing blood of the Deva. Three figures were gathered around this cup currently; a black- skinned woman with long white hair and robes embellished with many renditions of spiders, a muscular figure sporting a black cape, and another man with a red cloak.
Valefor rushed them along, looking pale. Once out of the room, she turned to Seymour and said, "You knew who they were."
Seymour nodded. "Lolth, Sephiroth, and Gilgamesh. The three the Planet fears most."
"The One created them, too, you know."
"I know."
Calix waved his blade. "Why is Sephiroth here? According to Spira's histories, didn't he die?"
Valefor shook her head again. "There is no time. We must hasten to Ailani's tower before Aubrey comes to get her. Shiva and Leviathan do not want to fight."
"Shiva-?"
"There is no time! Come!" And, with more speed than seemed possible, she took off at a sprint, taking a flight of stairs that spiraled higher and higher. They ended in a door so heavily spelled that even Rikku could feel the tingle of the magic. It made the tiny hairs on her arms stand on end, and she smoothed them absently. Valefor looked apprehensively at the door. "I am not sure I can open it. Seymour, try that spell the Planet gave you."
"How - "
"Just do it, please."
Seymour concentrated a moment, then flung his arms wide; the tingle of magic subsided, and the door clicked open. Calix was the first in, dropping his blades and embracing Ailani tightly. The others ringed them. Ailani looked gaunt; it was apparent she'd been fed properly, but she seemed thinner because of some sickness of spirit. Alastair was examining the wards on the room and nodding to himself; Rikku was following him. Yuna was talking to Shiva and Leviathan, half in a state of rapture from talking to them. Seymour stood awkwardly by the door, not really sure of where to fit in. Finally Rikku grabbed him and dragged him over to where Ailani was sitting on her bed, smiling broadly and visibly holding back tears.
Father and daughter regarded each other for a moment, and then Ailani looked away and said softly, "I'm sorry."
Seymour smiled reassuringly at her. "It's all right. I understand." He knelt and hugged her, and to the surprise of everyone in the room, she hugged him back. He drew back and traced the crescent moon on her forehead. "I am proud to be the father of a priestess of Avalon." Then Rikku broke the scene and demanded she be allowed hug her second cousin.
It was Calix who first heard the stamp of boots against stone on the steps up. He hissed, "Attackers!" and ran over and shut the door softly, then he and Seymour crouched on the wall next to it and cast his cloak over his head. Alastair grabbed Yuna and Rikku and hid in the opposite corner. The vanished, leaving Ailani to sit on her bed, her old expression of mingled arrogance and hatred on her face.
The footsteps got louder and were right outside the door - then stopped. The guards (or escorts) were muttering amongst themselves. Calix cast invisible eyes at Ailani, worried. Leviathan did look a little jumpy, though. He thought of Nenya, hidden in the last bit of fertile forest ground on the approach to the Tower, and wondered if he should have brought the great magical stallion with him.
Seymour, beside him, was cursing softly in a language that the elf-prince did not know. Calix looked questioningly at him, and Seymour mouthed, spells.
Of course, Calix thought. There had been layers of spells on the door, and now they were gone. One of the voices outside approached the door, and opened it. A drow male, with a wicked-looking sword and dagger in his gloved hands, entered and strode fearlessly over to Ailani. "Where are the wards?" he demanded.
Ailani looked disdainfully at him. "How should I know? According to you, I am 'Avalon scum' and nothing worth knowing magic."
The drow slapped her, and she recovered quickly, rising to her feet. "How dare you touch me!"
Another voice, more imperious, joined those out in the antechamber beyond the door. The drow male called out in his language, and the new voice responded. The drow shrugged, and grabbed Ailani's arms; twisting them so she cried out. Keeping her in front of him, the drow forced her out the door, and the voices receded.