SOFSD Chapter Two

Uldah's Adventurer's Guild Inn 2 months later

S'elene couldn't help but sight quite a bit, having to deal with all the memory wipe for twelve knowns why irked her very much, she had no station or reputation here like she used to. All those years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears were just GONE. She shook her head at the thought Her master would berate her if she thought negatively about her predicament if anything he would say to look for the lesson in it all.

On a plus side she recently joined the Black Mage Guild as she liked to put it. Saying that long name was murder for her lisp and she absolutely refused to attempt to pronounce it. She was always gifted at arcane magics although she wasn't the best at it. She was only the fifth smartest of her class for good reason. Although the grades were only about a .5% difference between the five.

She looked over the theories of weaving both the aether of fire and ice at the same time to achieve what most mages have difficulties casting without the help of a white mage, Flare. While NOWHERE near as powerful as Bahamut's castings it was still an impressive feat. It helped the young Vierra that aether flowed naturally around her, especially more so since that vision.

Every now and then though she would get random headaches and visions without her say that tended to sap most of her energy even for her reserves. She scoffed a bit and hoped this next mission would go well. The Paladin Order here in Uldah had a secret mission for her to help find its Leader, she had gone missing a few days ago and had yet to be seen.

She looked over her new gear that she had just purchased. A black trench coat with light armor underneath, black leather pants and strapped boots. She of course had leather gloves and out of a whim purchased an eye sash over her left scarred and different eye color. Last month it changed color to a azure blue from its usually silver white, she had a feeling it had something to do with the first vision she had a couple months ago.

"Hmm…. I suppose I'd better let people think I'm am nothing but a simple mage… Even if they don't remember 'The Blood Moon Reaper.' From that incident I should lay low… I lost much of my abilities due to Master Louisioux. Freaking teleporting us all to random destination was NOT the brightest idea for him…" she mused as she looked over her claymore and gun blade before she snapped her fingers and they seemed to be made into two separate job crystals.

—

Meanwhile over in the Black Shroud

A young miqo'te looked over the herbs she had gathered recently with a glint in her eye ones fulled with knowledge that few would dare to even approach at her young age. Her ears slightly twitched before she pointed in a seemingly random direction before a heavy huff came from said direction.

"I swear to the twelve Y'shtola your ears are more sensitive than a foxes a time." A white haired male grumbled as he took a seat next to the woman and grabbed a piece of Archon Bread from the plate before spreading some butter over the bitter bread.

"You may be a prominent member of the Rogue's Guild Thancred. But you still have yet to meet HER standards that I've grown accustomed too several years ago" the young mage replied with a slight crooked smile on her lips as she hand her hand motioning back and forth in a pondering way.

"Oh Twelve forbid I'm as good as your girlfriend was Rhull…. Speaking of, any inklings where she may have gone?" He ask softly, the subject of who they were talking about was never spoke aloud around them since the day she disappeared from the field of Cartenau.

"Nothing concrete however… this started glowing recently, it's very dim compared to how it used to be a decade ago but… I can't help but have hope she is somewhere out there, alive." She retorted before drinking some of her wine after a long winded sigh.

On the table in a locket was a lightly iridescent crystal of silver and purple, one of the user's job crystals that she made. The two eyed it very carefully before turning to the window of the current night sky in the forest.

"Oh you know how she was. Duty always came first. Although she is more stubborn than me at times." He chuckled a bit before getting up.

"Now if you excuse me I have a date in Thanalan. I have to go address some rumors of a lalafell."

"Don't go wooing after women as you usually do little thief. You always get in trouble for it." She teased before putting the crystal in her bosom.

"Yeah yeah yeah…" he mumbled as he wove his hands with some strain and teleported to Ul'dah, magic was always hard for him to use at times after all.

—

Back in Thanlan

S'elene couldn't help but sigh slightly. Why did she ALWAYS seem to have to be involved in politics. Lady Lilira had gone missing which is why there were more Sultansworn running about lately. She sighed as she nodded at her contact, if anything she'd probably be paid quite well for her services if she was successful.

Luckily tracking was one of her fortes in life, having to deal with siblings when she was younger tended to do that. Thankfully with it being nighttime it was cooler out and she didn't have to deal with the sun, despite her form as a Vierra letting her deal with sun a lot more easier at times than when she was a Miqo'te.

"Least I finally got used to this body. Only took a damn month." She mumbled as she started to talk with the Sultansworn in the small outpost about some rumors she had heard of the lalafell's disappearance to try and get some leads to help her find the young noblewoman.

Several Days Later

S'elene had finally made some headway and some tracks still remained as she smirked a bit.

"For a noblewoman, she's not half bad at stealth…" she mused before she heard a voice from under the Sultantree and decided to quiet down and start sneaking over to where she heard the voices.

"I'd prefer not to join them, if it's all the same to you." She heard a male reply with a condescending tone in his voice.

She rolled her eyes a bit as she looked closer and saw that the young noblewoman seemed fine with the man.

"Oh shoot…. Someone actually beat me here and here I though all the thieves were at Limsa…" she mused outlaid.

"Ah you must be the one the stationmaster had mentioned. Lady Selene was it? You should return with us, I'm sure he would be eager to thank you in person." He replied with a knowing smirk and loose stance with his hand on his dagger on the side.

A roar came across the three as a Blangas came before them. The two narrowed their eyes as they both prepared themselves.

"Lady Lilira for our sake please stay out of harms way. And I needn't say my dear friend that we must stay IN harm's way." He stated as he drew his sword and S'elene drew her staff.

"Try not to die little thief, you don't seem to be of the gladiator or marauder type of fighter." She retorted back as she began to draw on fire aether to her staff and cast Fire II at the beast causing it to screech in pain.

"So says the mage" he quipped back sarcastically. Y'shtola was not kidding about women getting him in trouble, always seemed to be a point with him about women.

Thancred lunged forward as the smoke cleared hitting a couple joints in the voidsent's legs, causing it to bleed quite a bit before S'elene started firing a mixture of Fire and Thunder at the beast as aether started forming and circling around her as she drew in on the fire aether with a smirk.

"OI Thief get ready to duck!" She called out as she started weaving the fire aether quickly.

"What do you-" was all he got in before he dove out of the way instantly recognizing it.

"DESPAIR!" The inside of the beast seem to convulse and misshapen as it exploded in fire and dark blood staining the thief's pants and shirt.

"Grreeeaattttt Tartaru is gonna give me such a fit about getting this blood out." He complained as she health his dagger.

"Why even wear expensive light armor then dearie?" The Veirra retorted as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms before checking to make sure the noblewoman was unharmed.

"Because she made it for me and I only recently started traveling." He explained as he dusted himself off.

S'elene looked over and found a blue crystal in the corpse and started examining it before she seemed to be within her own mindscape yet again. As she opened her eyes below her was a arcane circle with six separate open spots where focuses would be. Suddenly one of the started glowing blue before her vision grew white again and she heard the words from the ethereal being.

"Hear… Feel…. Think…"

Meteors seemed to fly past her for a few more moments before she seemed to be floating in the lifestream as a astral projection and before her lay a crystal as big as her,glowing brightly.

"Crystal-Bearer, I am Hydaelyn. All made one. A Light there once was that shone throughout this realm, yet it hath since grown dim."

"And as it hath faltered, so that Darkness risen up in its stead, presaging an end to Life."

"For the sake of all, I beseech thee: deliver us from this fate!"

"The power to banish the Darkness dwellers in the Crystals of Light. Journey forth and lay claim to them."

As she heard these words from the motherly voice, more crystals slowly came into her view in the lifestream. 13 crystals to be exactly and in the center of them, one that dwarfed them all together. The Mothercrystal herself.

"By thy deeds shall the Crystals reveal themselves to thee."

"Only believe for the Light liveth in thy heart."

"Go now, my child, and shine they Light on all creation."

As the voice faded and her astral body flew beside the Mothercrystal, she started flying towards the light and for a split second she saw two piercing azure blue eyes before she woke up in the desert again.

"Ah,coming around now are we?" Thancred spoke nearby her.

"Nevermind her, what was that?!"

Thancred shook his head as he helped S'elene up.

"The question isn't "how" but "who"- we're not dealign with booklets bandits." Thancred replied.

"Care to explain why you fell asleep after you fell the beast? Too much aether in the last attack hmmm?" He questioned the bun curiously.

"Hydealyn." She muttered as she shook her head still trying to get her senses straightened.

"Interesting… hadn't considered that…. This could change EVERYTHING…" he muttered a bit

"Say again Ser?"

"Oh just thinking aloud. At any rate we must return to the station master and report this at once."

"Ohhhhh no, I'll do it myself. I don't need you lot." The noble lalafell snorted as she stormed off before the two shook their head.

"As you with, Your Impetuousness."

"Fan of big words are we?" S'elene replied to the shorter Hyur.

"Quiet you… ah do be careful, Mages are quite susceptible to aether withdrawal if they haven't mastered the balance. Twelves knows it took one of my colleges ages to figure that out."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I'll be sure to remember that ohhhh sneaky one." She waved off as she made her way back to the stationmaster.

S'elene made her way back easily just in time to see the Sultansworn go back towards the city with their target as Papashan, the stationmaster approach her.

"So I understand you fought bravely to protect Lady Lilira from void sent. Normally you would deserve all the riches in the royal vault, Alas a small token of my gratitude is the best I can offer you tonight."

"Oh it was decently fine. Came across a thief with stark white hair and a decent dagger to help me with said voidsent." She explained to the man.

"Ahhhh I see you met Thancred. He's a scholar who spends his days investigating oddities in the aether, rather too fond of the sound of his own voice for my liking, but perfectly harmless." He stated

S'elene cursed a bit at her lapse of judgment, hard to believe she would come across one of her friends from before the incident this soon. Normally she would chase after him and want to catch up. Sadly she knew both him and any from her past would not recognize her at all between the memory loss and the body change. She balled her fist in frustration. She needed to find a way to be able to change her form again.

"Yes, I'm familiar with his tone of voice. Still needs to be humbled a bit in my opinion…"

"Nothertheless you're what we like to see around here. I pray you show the same kindness to the people of Thanalan as you did to us today."

"Oh it's nothing Papashan, I do have a request though. Tell the Commander of the Flames that the Blood Moon Reaper lives. He'll know what I'm talking about. Do keep it anonymous eh?" She grinned deviously before taking her leave.

'If anything… that rumor will get to Thancred and hopefully Shtola… I may not be able to make headway with them yet, but they should breath easier knowing I'm alive now…"

—

Several days later at Coffer and Coffin

S'elene sighed as she took a sip of her pumpkin coffee with some cinnamon bread in her little corner in the bar. It had been a few days doing some small quests here and there. She wasn't one for that small of labor with delivering goodies but it was still Gil despite her being pretty well off with her retainers that she had hired a couple months back upon entering Ul'dah.

She waved her hand in a clenched fist in a deep thinking moment as one who often dabbles in arcane typically do. At least with the Miqo'te mages that she had noticed. Lately she had been getting a almost motherly voice in her head, guiding her ever since she found that crystal. She deduced that if she gathered more of the crystals she needed in the future the stronger the voice may become. So here she was with a few tomes in hand doing research on any and all history she could get on the Mother Crystal: Hydealyn.

It had seem that she had been around for Eons and responsible for the teleportation network that all denizens of the star have access too, although some, mainly in smaller cities and towns, needed to have the energy frequencies maintained in order to keep it activated which was of little matter if you know even a decent amount of aether theory and practice.

No what worried the Vierra was that these so called "Warriors of Light" are often gifted with something called The Echo a power that seemed random at times although there have been many warriors of light throughout the eras. Only a few have managed to get the power to work in their favor. So S'elene decided to plan ahead and find any and all research papers on theories on how to control, alas she wouldn't be able to start unless she found any other users and get their own personal experience of the power. After all it would NOT do for a tactical of her own mantle to randomly faint at unopporunte times, she could get taken advantage of, which she swore never to let happen again from years past.

"I keep telling you we need to get these damn coblyns out of that mine shaft, we're losing at least a third of our orders to them." Selene heard from across the bar with a twitch of her ears.

'Hmm… eh what the hell not? I need to test my reflexes anyway with my claymore. I believe I'm at 70% capacity right not with getting used to my body in ways like that.' The Vierra thought as she made her way to the voice.

"Excuse me Ser. I believe you said you have a Coblyne problem?" She inquired.

"Oh… uh yes I do Miss?"

"Akashiya. I have abilities of many kinds, although I will require Gil and materials for my job. Tell me…. Do you know what Primordial crystals?" She inquired with a grin as she took him over her to booth for some privacy to talk shop.