Broken Wings
N.W. 840
The Last Adventure

He was in the forge when the woman came by.

To be honest, he didn't recognize her at first. Silver hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, the many wrinkles and tanned skin lead him to believe it was one of the many elderly ladies around the small town of Eruden, a village that had cropped up on the shores north of Lloyd's home, not far from where Iselia had once been.

"Lloyd."

Except, he knew that voice. Even if it had changed as the woman aged, he knew that voice, knew the tone, and he finished off the piece he'd been working on quickly, setting it aside before pulling his apron off and dampening the flames. He was overdue a break, anyway...

He smiled as he turned to the half-elf who really wasn't identifiable as a half-elf, now that her age matched her hair. "Hey, Raine. Haven't seen you in decades."

Though it was really closer to a century. Raine had rediscovered her love of ruins after the last of her children had finally gotten married and left the nest. Kiernan had thrown himself further into his studies, and it seemed Raine had done similarly.

Though, he had to admit that it was amusing. Most of the ruins Raine studied now, she'd been alive to see when they were still in their heyday. But, she wasn't here for him to stand around reminiscing, and from the exhaustion evident in her frame, whatever news she brought wasn't pleasant. But he'd heard from Kloitz just last week, and for Raine to have traveled all this way from Mizuho, which was planted a few hundred miles from Meltokio last he'd checked, that meant...

"Genis... He's..." Lloyd started.

"Yes," Raine admitted. "To be honest... He died almost three weeks ago. They've only just found the body. Silly boy. Always racing about... I can't help but regret that he changed so very much from the child I had to raise when I was barely more than a child myself."

Lloyd knew exactly what she was talking about. Really, Genis hadn't become a nomad until after Presea's death, and Lloyd knew that a part of his friend had truly been buried along with her all those centuries ago. And, yes, perhaps he'd fallen in love again, and had a child—just one, because Miriam had almost lost their daughter and they hadn't dared try again for fear of her life and the child's—but as much as Genis loved his wife... Presea had been his first true love, just as Colette had always been Lloyd's.

And what better way to remember all of the good times spent traveling together, working on charms and little projects, than to continue traveling?

Genis had always come home to Miriam before her death a few decades ago, and now it seemed his traveling days were finally over.

"Dare I ask where they... found his body?" Lloyd asked, though the last two words formed thick and heavy on his tongue. He gestured for Raine to follow him, stepping through the workshop to the door that led into his house. She'd come this far...

The amusement in Raine's expression helped to soothe the aching in his chest at the loss of one of his oldest friends, and as she spoke, it was clear that the revelation she now shared with him had helped her as well. "Gaoracchia Forest. Well... Actually, closer to where Ozette was a millennium ago than anything else, but..." She stopped and gave Lloyd a meaningful look. "With Heimdall once again closing its gates to half-elves, and the sky garden on the Lezareno Building long since lost to the ravages of time, I think Genis chose his final resting place."

It was with a light heart and a slight chuckle that Lloyd nodded, because Raine's words rang true.

The sky garden where Presea, Alicia, and Regal had been laid to rest was gone. Miriam, though buried in the elven cemetery in the Ymir Forest, was a grave lost to Genis as the elves began to barr half-elf passage again.

But, buried in the once-Ozette area was Altessa, the dwarf having died decades prior to Yuan's passing... A dwarf who'd never returned to one of the cities, as Dirk had. And that area held so many memories that Genis would have held close to his heart.

Raine was very, very right. Her little brother had chosen his final resting place.

Lloyd pulled up a chair for Raine as they reached the table, and slipped into the kitchen to set a kettle on to boil. An idea was beginning to form in his mind, as he mused over all the graves that he could no longer visit... the graves lost to time or which were simply difficult to get to.

He had never become a Master Stonemason, nor did he truly wish to be a master, but he knew the art well enough now...

"So, when...?" he started as he walked back into the living room, knowing full well that hovering over the stove while the water boiled wasn't going to make it boil faster.

Raine looked up from her hands with a weary smile. "Next week. We're burying him next to Altessa, since the grave marker's still there. I figure that will give enough time for Victoria's family to travel. And she's supposed to be contacting Colette... Of my children, only Kloitz and Esme have confirmed they'll be coming, though."

Lloyd sighed, feeling Raine's disappointment in her children just as keenly. Of the four, only Kloitz had truly kept in contact with his parents after leaving Asgard. And his wife, Esme, had adored Genis and Victoria. So while it was to be expected that the two of them would come... Well. That still left Decus (because it seemed Raine had noticed her husband's resemblance to Lloyd's once-imposter, and the boy looked much like his father), Carina, and Celeste out and about.

Though, when it came right down to it, the younger three hadn't often seen Genis, anyway. Raine and Kiernan had lived in Asgard, whereas Genis and Miriam had lived and raised their daughter Victoria in Sybak. The two cities were quite a distance from each other—and Sybak had suffered a name change to Maltrice—and Genis' travels had rarely brought him to the city of ruins.

The kettle began to whistle at him, and Lloyd slipped into the kitchen, preparing a couple cups for tea and bringing them out to the table.

"Is Kiernan still teaching?" he asked, wondering after the blue-haired man's health. After all, the last time he'd seen Kiernan, Raine's husband had been ill.

"No. At the moment he's staying in Mizuho, since it moved again. It's right about where it was when Sheena first introduced us to the village, actually; close enough to be able to walk to the funeral when it's time," Raine replied. "But... I don't think he'll be long for this world. He has less elven blood than Genis and I do. Even at seven hundred, he's fading fast..."

Lloyd reached out to grip her shoulder, a gentle but firm reassurance of his support.

Raine was almost nine hundred, herself. And though it wasn't unheard of for an elf to survive for a full millennium... it was quite rare for a half-elf to manage it.

The next century was going to hurt, Lloyd realized. Genis. Raine. Richter.

And Ratatosk and his Centurions. Tenebrae had told them, time and time again, that Ratatosk would fade without the mana from the original tree... It wouldn't be long now before they would be gone.

Lloyd took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "You haven't been by the temple since Sheena died, have you?"

Raine looked up from her half-empty cup of tea and blinked at him. "...Is it still standing?"

Lloyd chuckled. "Mostly. Since it's home to Verius, I figured I'd better make sure it doesn't just collapse on her head. Though, really, it's more a private garden than a temple anymore. Colette enjoys keeping it neat, anyway." He shifted, glancing toward his workshop. "I've got this big block of marble I was planning on making into a few gravestones to replace some that are falling apart... But I'm starting to wonder if it might be better to make it a memorial of sorts, since there are just so many graves we can't get to easily anymore..."

Raine laughed a bit. "You do have an odd fascination with talking to rocks."

He grinned along with her. "Hey. As Tenebrae keeps putting it, if it means I'm taking the time to sit down and get things off my chest, then it's a good thing."

His professor nodded, a warm smile making the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes stand out all the more. "You're right. And I'm glad you're finding the time to unwind a little. It's been stressful for me the last few years... I can't imagine how much flying you, Colette, and Zelos have to be doing."

He shook his head, finishing his cup of tea before offer to refill Raine's, an offer she declined. "I love flying, really. I've got a purpose... And as long as I can still make a difference, I'm going to try."

"I suppose that's all that anyone could ask from you. Lloyd... thank you."

Lloyd stood, offering a hand to Raine to help her up, her joints no longer as painless as they had once been. "I'd tell you to come by more often, but..."

"Haha... I think this is going to be my last big journey. Back to the classroom with me for now," Raine replied, laughter in her voice. "But I suppose I'll see you next week."

Lloyd nodded. "I'll be there. Did you send anyone after Zelos?"

"No, though I asked Victoria to ask Colette to do it. I know you've been fairly settled these last few years..."

He shook his head. "I'll worry about Zelos. Thank you for coming by to let me know, Professor."

Raine smiled. "It's been a long time since I've been your teacher, Lloyd."

"Eh, you know what they say. Old habits die hard."

Raine laughed and turned, leaving in good spirits, and Lloyd silently congratulated himself on a job well done as he returned to the workshop, settling onto a bench to write out a list of friends whose graves were lost or too far scattered to be visited anymore.

Genis would probably have laughed at him for making a memorial...