Each of these comes with a set of terms at the end, for those not savvy to XC3 but interested in reading, anyway!
Kotetsu knows that the Homecoming is the highest honor a soldier of Agnus (or Keves, for that matter) could receive. Living out through the end of your tenth term, returning to the Queen herself… How could one not revel in that? Not be proud as the end of their life comes, to the sound of many Offseers' flutes?
And yet, four months from his own Homecoming and only one from Tomoe's, Kotetsu can't help but feel dread instead. What was the point? In fighting for so long, taking others' lives for the Flame Clock, only to die? The golden twinkle of ether did little to help it.
To Kotetsu, it was no different from when Tomoe played after the battle had ended. Blue motes of life lifting into the air, returning to the Queen in a less than spectacular fashion. Melancholy and sad - life lost for no reason.
Why were they fighting, anyway? It's not as if the war is coming any closer to a close. It's not as if returning to the Queen in grand fashion or bloody fashion mattered much. They were born to die, and it just doesn't sit right.
He can't count the number of fellow soldiers he saved only for them to succumb to Keves on two hands anymore, he hasn't been able to since his sixth term. He's sure many others can say the same thing.
Of course, Kotetsu only voices any of this to Tomoe. She's older than him, understands the tragic truth of Homecoming and all of it. He can only imagine what others would say if he said any of this outloud. What he would be thought of as.
He's often already considered too reckless for such an accomplished soldier. He can't risk any more labels hitting him before Homecoming - because he might not make it if he isn't careful.
Pao Lin and Subaru walk by and, for just a moment, Kotetsu finds himself a bit envious. They're not even ninth term yet, let alone tenth. They still have a zeal for their life, one that'll probably get them killed before they even make it.
Kotetsu tries not to think about that too hard. He's saved them both on the battlefield before, he doesn't want to add them to the neverending list of the people who died, anyway. Who succumbed to the hell that was this war. This world.
Fighting in order to live, and living to fight. That was the way of their world, of Aionios. Kotetsu hated it.
Ivan slinks by and he feels bad for the kid - a Healer type Blade wielder, he always seemed to lag behind. Never able to kill enough or heal enough to really stand out. It was probably only because of how good he was at blending it that he was even still alive.
Not a fun though, but a realistic one. The people bad enough to stand out almost always died. The ones good enough to stand out, too. After all, who better to attack than the people most likely to kill all your crib mates, the people you serve beside?
He knows at least once their Commander has sent them out with express orders to attack the other side's best. And Kotetsu had killed them, had done what he must. And stood to watch as the motes of light travelled into the air, guided by the melody of Agnus.
He'd touched a mote that day, a Kevesi mote. He'd realized there was so much more than he thought, that there was a reason behind the melancholy when Tomoe played. He felt the life of a Kevesi in a way so intimate it still makes him shiver to think about.
Offseers must understand this, too. The way every mote was the same, no matter who it was from. No matter who was lost in the battle, be it a failure or victory for either side. Sending them all on, all the same.
Their light shouldn't have to fester just because their Offseer is dead, don't you agree Kotetsu?
When Tomoe asked that the first time, he had been confused. Now, he understands better than he wished he did.
He sees her, then, speak of the Consul. She's talking with Keith, someone who had recently started his own tenth term. He still has a zeal towards his Homecoming, but Kotetsu wonders if that'll last.
Even if he never does what Kotetsu has, never reaches out and touches one of those motes… The closer you are to an inevitable death, the harder it is. Even now, Kotetsu's hands shake when he thinks of it sometimes.
Tomoe's do, too, if you know when to listen. Her melody beautiful but shaking with the knowledge soon the flutes will be played for her. That her memory will fade as soon as the soldiers of Colony Gamma do.
And Kotetsu won't be too far behind.
He almost wishes there was a way to run. A way to survive without doing this, but that is not the way of Aionios. You have to kill others, have to fill up the Ferronis's Flame Clock. If you don't, it'll run out. And when it does…
Each and every soldier remaining's life is snuffed out. Gone as if they had never existed. He remembers seeing it at least once, a few terms back in the battle against Colony 6. He'd been happy then - their life had been theirs.
But now he wonders if his life is even his. But hey, what did he know? He was just a hot-headed Defender, right? One who did what he had to to keep others alive, even when he should start sitting back - he didn't want to lose his chance at Homecoming, did he?
He thinks he would rather go out on his own terms. Now isn't the time for that, though. There's too much left to do. Too many people left that he could leave behind. Maybe after Tomoe was gone, after Keith had settled into being on his own tenth term…
Kotetsu summons his Blade, walks towards the training grounds. He needs to stop thinking.
Agnus and Keves - The nations of the world, locked in an eternal war. Keves is notable for soldiers with wings on their head as well as grey-skinned soldiers. Agnus is notable for the blue crystals everyone seems to have, as well as lines of ether, element reflecting hair, scales, cat ears, or blue skin.
Term - Soldiers' word for ages. First term is the equivalent to the age of 10, while tenth term is 19. When you hit 20, the end of your tenth term, you are sent off in a Homecoming.
Homecoming - A special event when a soldier reaches their tenth term. Upon it, they meet the Queen of their respective nation directly and are sent off in grand fashion- celebrated for making it to the end.
Offseer - Special units who return light and ether to the Queen, who all soldiers are said to be born of. This function is done using a flute. Kevesi Offseers work alone, while Agnian Offseers tend to work in pairs.
Ferronis - Titan-like structures that house the Flame Clock, the heart of a Colony.
Flame Clock - The condensed life and will to live of every soldier of a Colony. To survive, they are forced to fight the other side and steal their own life.
Consul - Mysterious people with direct links to the Queens. Appear to be working with both sides of the conflict.
Attacker, Defender, Healer - The three roles of combat, ever soldier has a niche they fit into. Units tend to include at least one of each.
Blade - Weapons that represent the being of a soldier. These are weapons they can naturally summon and use in battle. The source of their combat roles.