Chapter 9
The breeze was cold but refreshing as it rustled the leaves above and turned the sylleblossom field into an ocean of waves. Ravus finished his flower crown with a satisfied grin before getting up. He still had a few minutes before he needed to head over to the Third Ceremonial Clearing for a walk with his family and their guests.
Prince Noctis was healing nicely from what he could understand, and would only need another week or so of treatments before the Scourge would be nothing more than a bad memory. Ravus looked forward to the end of the healing since it would mean he would be able to help with the physiotherapy. "Your Highness!" One of the servants called out in a reminder of the time.
Ravus smiled at the sylleblossom crown and headed over. He did enjoy the walks with King Regis and Prince Noctis. The King was happy to answer Ravus' questions on any number of subjects, from ruling a country to the plot of an enjoyable movie, and it made the time pass by quite quickly.
As he waved at his mother, Ravus noticed that neither Lunafreya nor their guests of honor were there yet, although their guards were standing at attention. His mother chuckled, reaching out to readjust his cape on his shoulders as she whispered to him. "Lunafreya insisted on going to fetch our guests. They should be arriving soon." Ravus nodded and hid his intended gift in the folds of his cape.
He barely had time to do so before he heard Lunafreya and Prince Noctis' laughter approaching. He turned towards them. Smiled as King Regis walked towards them.
The sky darkened as the breeze turned into strong gusts of sharp wind. A low rumbling sound caused Ravus to look up. His breath caught as the sky filled with magitek airships whose sides were opening one after one to reveal dark shapes illuminated only by a low red light. He knew what was coming. He had seen it happen countless times in his nightmares. Why was this happening again?
Ravus couldn't move as the first soldiers dropped through the air, gunfire sending the staff running while their guards moved to confront the invaders. He looked around, frantically trying to find his mother and sister among the growing chaos. Someone stumbled into him. Bodies fell all around him as more gunfire shook the air.
A flash of burning pain.
Ravus found himself pushing himself up to his knees, not remembering how he'd fallen. His left arm burning and freezing at the same time. The flash of metal had him turning around. A soldier, its metal face unmoving and uncaring, stood there. Its arm rose to point at him even as it opened to reveal a barrel and a flame.
His mother appeared between them. Her arms outstretched in order to protect him.
Time stopped.
A coeurl with golden eyes stood perched on a branch above the chaos. It met Ravus' gaze with intelligent eyes.
And he remembered. Ravus remembered the invasion of Tenebrae. He remembered his mother's death as she stood between him and Glauca. He remembered the time spent in the cruel and torturous care of Niflheim. His and Luna's rescue by the Argentums. Their recovery in Insomnia. The years of fighting and living with the Kingsglaive. The proposed peace talk which revealed itself to be Niflheim's treasonous plot to take Insomnia.
Ravus remembered waking up with a new artificial arm and helping Noctis as they fought against Niflheim. He remembered coming to Galahd after the disastrous attempt to form a covenant with Leviathan. The Trial ground found after the collapse of the cliff. The attack on their forces as candidates entered the grounds to find Kaitiaki and ask for help. Falling into the Trial and finding the Temple.
Nyx opening the door.
The shield Ravus summoned held the fire back with ease. He grabbed his mother's arm and moved her out of the way of Glauca's sword. "Go. Take Ravus and follow after King Regis."
"Wha… Who?..." His younger self, injured and unable to influence anything whispered even as Queen Sylva Nox Fleuret nodded and helped him up.
Ravus parried Glauca's next strike with ease, a vicious grin on his face. "One of King Regis' Glaive. Now go!" A blast of lightning magic opened the path for the two royals, Ravus followed after them for a few seconds before stopping and turning to face Niflheim's army.
"Move out of the way and you may be spared." General Glauca declared as he walked up to Ravus, one hand raised as the MTs turned their guns toward the single man standing between them and their targets.
Ravus closed his eyes, relaxing as he understood more of this place. As he opened his eyes once more, Ravus met Glauca's gaze with his own. "I am Commander Ravus Nox Fleuret, commander of the Kingsglaive! You will not take a single step past me!"
Glauca burst out laughing, shifted his stance as he lifted his sword. "You and what army?"
"This one." Ravus whispered even as he warped forward. As he reappeared behind Glauca, he was not alone. Nyx's kukris bit into the magitek armor with a vengeance. Ravus' rapier slid into the small opening and drew blood. Luca's magic infused bombs exploded behind them, the air turning frigid as ice spread over the clearing.
Even without seeing them, Ravus felt as glaive after glaive appeared around him and destroyed the MTs in a devastating and unstoppable wave of magic. Bound by the magic of the Lucii. Bound by fighting to survive and protect. Bound by chosen bonds that gave Ravus a third family that supported him.
And given shape by Kaitiaki's illusions. Shadows cast by the light of his own memories.
Ravus smiled as Glauca screamed in pain. This time… This time he would kill Titus Glauca Drautos with his own hands. Ravus charged forward. He warped through Glauca's strike, using the broadsword as a stepping point as he switched his rapier into his left hand and drove the razor sharp point into the unprotected eye socket in front of him.
As soon as the last of the MTs and Niflheim soldiers had been destroyed or captured, Ravus left the clearing. The coeurl joined him, a silent companion as Ravus searched for his family. He found them, safe and mostly uninjured, with King Regis and Queen Aulea arguing about where to go as they clutched their children tight.
Ravus spent a few moments simply watching them before he stepped into the clearing. He wasn't surprised to see his companion had not followed him. "Your Majesties, your highnesses; I am glad to see you safe."
"Who are you?" King Regis demanded as he shifted Noctis to another shoulder. The magic in the air told Ravus how close he was to summoning the Armiger.
Ravus didn't answer as his gaze met his younger self. The shame and fear in the eyes of the child he had once been told him why the shadows were still present. He still had something to say, something he wished someone would have told him right after the invasion and not several years after the fact.
Ravus, the commander of the Kingsglaive and adult who had received years of counselling and support, knelt in front of his child self. The distance between them shrunk down until they were almost touching each other. "You did all that you could do. There is nothing to be ashamed of because you survived. No weapon, spell or trick would have changed the outcome. Be honest with your sister and help each other. You are both important and both of you did the best that you could."
Tears started running down the cheeks of the child as the illusion faded, leaving Ravus alone with the white coeurl. He reached up to wipe his eyes and stood up. The coeurl purred and rubbed itself against his legs. "Thank you. Now could you show me the way out?"
The coeurl nodded and walked off, pausing just long enough to check if Ravus was following, as he led Ravus to the Tower.
The cave Ravus walked in was filled with a great tree, its branches filled by countless coeurls with golden eyes, while a great white coeurl slumbered under it. Kaitiaki most likely, though he didn't remember hearing anything about the coeurl breathing out thunderstorms with its rumbling breaths.
"Commander!" Ravus turned to the source of the voice and smiled as he saw Pelna step into the cave. Moments later, Selena stumbled in as well from another entrance, panting and gasping for breath. "Selena! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Pelna hurried to her side. She shook her head but didn't straighten for a few more minutes.
Coeurls streamed from behind them, moving past her to join the other coeurls in the branches. Ravus watched them carefully even as he asked, "What were your trials?" to the other two.
Pelna shrugged, "A poor attempt to confuse me with illusions." He winced as Selena elbowed him with a glare.
"Mine was anything but that. I didn't even realize that it wasn't real until I saw you two." Selena muttered, wiping the sweat from her forehead and straightening. She elaborated angrily, "I was back to the morning of Niflheim's attack on Galahd but this time they killed everyone. I had to escape alone and warn the others of the invasion before it was too late."
Pelna winced and, with a wordless question, embraced the youngest Ulric in a hug. Ravus sighed, "It was the same for me." When he noticed the odd looks the other two shot him, Ravus quickly explained. "I was back in Tenebrae the morning of the invasion... But I don't think it was a Trial in my case."
"It was not quite one but we will count it as such should you desire it." The voice, light and composed, cause them all to turn their attention to the tree. Or rather the singular black and grey coeurl approaching them. As the coeurl approached, its appearance changed.
First, the coeurl stood on its hind legs, then its front legs became arms while its back legs elongated. Its black and grey pelt shifted around its body, becoming clothes as its head became human. Finally the coeurl-turned-human stopped in front of them with a smile.
"I am Ara, one of the Hosts for Kaitiaki. I welcome you into the Inner Sanctum of our Guardian." Her golden eyes looked at them carefully. "The three of you have completed the Trial of Clans."
"What of the others? Nyx? Crowe? Libertus?" Selena demanded. "Are they..."
Ara raised a hand to stop her. "The other Candidates have failed and will be returned to the entrance once your Trials have been completed. They are unharmed and safe."
"Really?" Selena pressed. Ara nodded firmly, a kind smile on her lips. "Okay then, so we have other Trials to do?"
"Yes, only one may become the next Host for Kaitiaki's power." Ara explained with a wave towards the slumbering Coeurl Guardian. "Until that time, successful candidates must continue with the Trials."
Ravus interrupted her before she could continue. "And what exactly does being a Host entail? We came here with little information on the procedure or what might happen if we did find Kaitiaki." Pelna nodded his agreement as Selena tilted her head sideways to peer at the Guardian.
Ara kept smiling. "I see then allow me to explain what the Host is and what their duties would be." She waved her hand, lightning crackling in her palm until it flared outwards in a large circle. Within moments, a table filled with drinks and food - all of it Galahdian - with four chairs materialized. "This may take a while so please sit down. I will explain and answer any questions you may have."
Ravus looked over at Pelna and Selena then shrugged. He was rather hungry and something warm would help settle his mind. He took a seat and served himself something that smelled a lot like mint. Pelna and Selena soon followed his lead, sitting down and grabbing some food and something to drink.
Ara took the last seat and started explaining. By the end of the explanation, Ravus had his answer as to what to do next. Being a Host was quite the unique being, similar to a messenger and yet vastly different in many ways.
A Host was the receptacle of Kaitiaki's power, mind and a portion of their soul. By accepting those things within themselves, they became an aspect of the Guardian, able to call upon the previous Hosts as undying coeurls and create storms that rivalled that of Ramuh. They also received the memories of every previous Host and became linked to them mentally.
For as long as the Host lived, they would be the Kaitiaki's voice in judgement and decision making. And in death... Well that was one of the things that made Ravus certain he did not want to become a Host. For in death, the Host would join the other previous Hosts as coeurls protecting and serving Kaitiaki until the Guardian died.
Pelna brushed crumbs of his hands and asked, "So the Host can travel around Eos?"
Ara nodded, "For short periods of time, for they are tied to Kaitiaki and the Tree. Going too far for too long will result in the death of the Host."
"Well, that makes things easier." Muttered Ravus. Ara shot him a confused look but Ravus knew who would become the Host. There was really only one choice among the three of them. He stood up, turned to the Tree, Kaitiaki, and the previous Hosts, and bowed deeply. "I thank you for the gift you gave me. There is no need for further trials as only one of us has the desire to become Guardian Kaitiaki's Host." Pelna and Selena rose to their feet, near identical grins telling him he was right.
The only valid Candidate stepped forth, making their way towards the slumbering coeurl with careful reference. A hand was extended and placed on Kaitiaki's muzzle. A few words were whispered into the silence.
Large golden eyes slid open. Welcome My Host.