You guys are so fantastic, I can't even stand it XP
When thinking of the throne room—imagine a room about the same size as the one in Zelda, Ocarina of Time when Link duels Dark Link. BIG.
And also-I foolishly decided that a good way to de-stress from this chapter was to continue my quest for the Tournesol in FFXII. This was a mistake.
ALL I WANT ARE TWO SOUL POWDERS! YOU SELFISH UNDEAD MONSTERS—I HATE YOU AND YOUR FACE! (two hours of battling…and then I died right when things got interesting).
Ahem.
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Chapter Twenty One
They awoke the next morning to find another meal laid out before them on the table. Ramuh had left sometime during the middle of the night, and Rydia felt calm despite what they were about to do. His tale had worked some wonder on her unconscious mind, and rather than tense, she felt a strange sense of peace.
They ate their breakfast and sorted through their equipment in silence, until a knock brought their attention to the door. It was Shiva who entered, her eyes immediately searching the room for Rydia's.
"Are you ready?" She asked, fingers still gripping the latch. Her blue robes were slightly different from the day before, more elegant perhaps, and her hair was braided to perfection. Rydia snorted. It was as if this was to be some elaborate display—the humans versus the Eidolon king, and Shiva wanted to be sure she had dressed for the event.
Rydia nodded with a nervous smile—knowing she would never truly be ready. How could one prepare to do battle with the Lord of all Waters? There was only the insane sort of courage that had bolstered them through this all along, and on that, she relied. As she stood, she slipped her whip into the belt at her waist, the familiar weight of its coil against her hip.
"Leviathan?" Cecil simply asked, and Rydia nodded again, her eyes fixed on Shiva.
The Eidolon resolutely steered them into the road and Rydia heard Edge and Rosa release slow breaths as they followed her out the door.
This time when they entered the throne room, Asura was absent. The king awaited them and his long beard trailed to his waist like moss. He wore a royal mantel of heather atop robes the color of the ocean, from deepest caverns to the spray of the waves.
Rydia led them all in a bow to the king of the Feymarch. He was a grand and impressive figure, whose appearance bespoke a certain timelessness-ancient and unfathomable.
He looked the humans over with a well trained eye, already gauging them. "Rydia, child," he said with his rich and rumbling voice. "You are the first and only to best my Lady Queen. But strength of arm alone will aid you little in the face of true evil. Without the strength of will to keep it aligned on the proper course, all the power in the world amounts to nothing. My spirit has been tempered and honed in the forge of the ages. Will you face me, knowing what it means to do so?"
"Yes, your majesty. We will," Rydia answered, feeling her nerves rising.
The king nodded and spread forth his arms. Water bubbled out of the floor as though from a spring, and within minutes, the honey combed ground was flooded with several inches of water. Soon several inches had become several feet and the five of them were standing in water up to their knees.
The king underwent a transformation before them. His features were overwhelmed by a searing blue glow until his human form was all but forgotten, and in its place, writhed the sea serpent he truly was. His sinuous body reflected mottled purples and blues; his fins a translucent green, spider-webbed with veins. From head to tail he took up a significant portion of the room, much of his body roiling and visible above the water with a series of barbs and spines helping to propel him in the shallow water.
As with Asura, Rydia had never fully seen the king in his true form—the events of the whirlpool in the sea and the subsequent capsizing of the ship had left far too many disjointed images and sensations in her young mind for her to recall an accurate picture. To see him now, she felt terror. True terror. The kind you feel when you find that some legends are real.
She had ever known the king to be warm and compassionate, a steady presence and pillar of strength in the Feymarch. But in her ears all she heard was a deafening roar—the bellow of a dragon that brought to mind the crashing of waves against land. The king's presence reminded her of just how small she truly was. Nothing but a single drop in a much larger ocean.
"To battle the Lord of the Seas, you must first appreciate what it is I am," she heard Leviathan's voice boom at her. She blinked, and found his glassy blue eyes fixed upon her. She was having trouble keeping her legs from shaking, and she swallowed hard. "I am the being your ancestors feared," she heard him say, but she wasn't certain if the words were real and tangible or if she'd heard them in her mind. "I know the deepest craters of the earth by name, and I have explored the jagged coastlines of each rock that floats within its oceans. You face me by my true nature—with terror so deep within your veins that you cannot fight it, not even a little. For it is right to fear me. Just as it is right to fear, in some regard, what is unknown to you. But if you cannot turn that fear to action, neither my help nor any others, will save you from yourselves. This is your test."
His head rose up so that it almost touched the ceiling of the throne room, and his fins fanned out about his face as a fearsome crown.
There was to be no trickery or mind games with this challenge, and Rydia knew it immediately, just as she knew the king was no tame creature by any degree. This was to be a test of commitment, of bravery, and of arms.
Cecil did not look to her on this occasion for advice, but had his sword already drawn. Kain, who stood beside him, had chosen his spear for this battle rather than his axe. The two men were already taking positions before the king, struggling to proceed in the knee-high water.
Rydia slipped her whip from her belt and its loop sloshed in the water. There was little protecting herself and Rosa from Leviathan's wrath with the men spread out as far as they were, and the leather of her whip felt heavy in her hand.
Rydia recalled her experiences in the water caverns with Cecil when her adventures had first begun. She knew which spell to cast against her sovereign, but to do so, would kill them all.
Rosa slung her bow from her shoulder, seeming to understand Rydia's predicament.
"Magic won't work, will it?" she asked, sparing Rydia a knowing glance.
Rydia shook her head. "Not if I want to fry all of us," she replied.
"Well then," Rosa said, drawing an arrow from her quiver and nocking it to a string. "It's been a while since I've taken arms."
"Looks like it's just the two of us," Edge called out to the mage, waving a kunai carelessly in the air. Rosa gave him one of her patented looks before shaking her head.
It took Rydia a moment to realize what Edge had meant, but then she noticed the water continuing to rise. Cecil and Kain were weighed down by their armor, and Kain was having particular difficulty negotiating his spear with water now reaching his elbows. Only Edge and Rosa with their ranged weapons maintained any level of mobility.
The king seemed pleased by their predicament and hissed. His mighty tail plummeted toward them like an avalanche—relentless and unavoidable.
The ensuing wave threw them all from their feet and plunged them into the water so that their backs struck the floor only for them to float to the surface again like pieces of driftwood. Rydia snorted water out of her nose, the burning sting of brine in her sinuses and throat.
Rosa spit water from her mouth as she struggled to stay afloat and hold her bow. Eventually, she gave up on trying to do both, and hooked her bow around her shoulder, beginning to chant while sputtering water. Rydia was aware of currents in the water around her indicative of Leviathan preparing another attack, but before she felt the suffocation of his serpentine body coiling around them, she sensed herself being lifted from the water—tugged.
She heard Rosa sigh with relief at her completed spell, and realized the mage must have cast Float to rescue them from Leviathan's domain. The water had continued to rise beneath them, and now there was several feet of deep water, consuming half of the throne room's height. Rydia could see Leviathan beneath the surface—circling, calculating—and then his tail whipped above, sweeping toward Cecil first, and then at Kain, who defended himself with the shaft of his spear before stumbling backwards. She and Rosa hopped out of the way, and she heard several distinct, rhythmic sloshing noises as shuriken struck the water—Edge.
Rosa had slung her bow from her shoulder once more and was aiming into the water, but several jets of water prevented her from taking an accurate shot and she dodged, being showered with brine in the process. Leviathan was making himself a difficult target as his long serpentine form slid through the water beneath them.
Without warning, the king suddenly erupted from the water, encircling Cecil in an inescapable coil of fins and scales, and pulling the paladin beneath the water in a shower of bubbles. With a shocked gasp, Rosa brought her bow to bear, taking aim through the undulating water. She released one arrow and the water blushed red. An unearthly roar escaped the waves and Cecil floated again to the surface, coughing and sputtering.
The king had followed Cecil to the surface, his maw open and snarling. Rydia held her whip in her hand, prepared to release its end with one good snap and deter the king from pulling her beneath the water as well, but Leviathan's attitude then changed. His eyes took on an unearthly glow and Rydia felt the air around her become suddenly frigid, her hair freezing in the erratic patterns it had been spun into by the tumult. She knew which spell this was even before she felt the cold chill of ice on her skin. Blizzaga stole her breath, and she fell to a crouch—gasping—still suspended by the magic of Rosa's Float spell. Her skin glowed pink and red from sudden frost burns, and she couldn't seem to shake the cold from her body, as she clung to an invisible floor, shivering.
She stared numbly where Leviathan's fearsome head loomed above the water but felt she couldn't move even if she wanted to. The cold had sapped her of her energy…
A bright explosion and a surge of heat snapped her to attention. Leviathan sped away, startled, and Rydia felt the residual chill flee her body. The feeling returned to her extremities and she locked eyes on Edge whose hands were arranged in some intricate sign, no doubt the source of the magic she had just witnessed.
The expression on his face was fierce, focused, but as if he sensed her eyes on him, he glanced at her briefly. He nodded in the direction of the king and she took his meaning. She could cast magic so long as none of them were touching the water.
She began to chant and once again wove the words to Thundaga to aid her. No sooner had the bolt of lightning erupted from the ceiling and sizzled into the water in spectacular fashion, did Leviathan writhe and plunge deeper into the pool. A moment later, an enormous wave surged from the opposite end of the room. There were few words to do it justice—it was a sheer wall of water, a deep sea swell, and it spanned the full height of the room. Rydia's heart dropped to her feet as she steeled herself against the inevitable. There was no way to avoid Leviathan's attack, and Rydia and the others were inundated as they were pulled backwards and under the water once more to be spun and turned around.
Rydia had the wind knocked out of her when her back struck the floor this second time. Dazed, and her lungs aching for air, she nevertheless felt herself rising to the surface—until the magic of Float unexpectedly wore off. She floundered in deep water, pushing herself upwards, and once her head had surfaced and she had gulped down a mouthful of air, she turned to see what had happened. Rosa was nowhere to be seen. She spun more frantically in the water to find the others, and saw Edge a short distance away, and even Kain, who was struggling to keep his head above water.
Where were Cecil and Rosa?
More jets of water exploded in her direction, burning her eyes, and she paddled away from them, annoyed by her lack of mobility. She swam to her left and all of a sudden felt the water moving around her. Much to her relief, it was Cecil, not Leviathan, who appeared next to her, hoisting an unconscious Rosa with him. Her golden hair was plastered to her face and her head lolled to the side, lifeless. Her lips were blue from cold.
Their one healer, the one person who could keep them above water—without her, the rest of them had little chance of escaping this test alive. Rydia wanted to help Cecil in some way, but her pack had become twisted and tangled and she couldn't search through it and swim simultaneously. To discourage her further, Leviathan's tail split the water between them and she was swept away, flailing and kicking to stay upright.
Cecil was chanting—practically shouting—as he held Rosa's head above water. He was chanting the Raise incantation, but it was not a spell to be cast quickly. Leviathan was circling again, getting ready to strike, and with a snap and a spout of water, Kain vanished. Rydia knew that Cecil was short on time, and if Rosa could not be revived…
"Rydia!" she heard Edge yell at her. Her eyes madly searched for him, and she noticed he was closer than expected amidst the riotous waves.
"Rosa—" she cried out, unable to think of what else to say.
"I know," he replied. "You and I have to keep Leviathan distracted."
Her brows angled into an expression of disbelief. "How?"
He pointed in the direction opposite of their companions. "We need to spread out."
"And then what?" she yelped, spitting out mouthfuls of water.
"You know spells other than Thundaga!" he shot back, frustrated by her indecision.
Of course she did, but would any of them be any use?
"Distraction, Rydia!" he told her helplessly, trying not to be pulled under by the waves. "All they need is a distraction!"
Her arms and legs burned from treading water for so long, but she fought the current and swam after him.
She hurriedly checked over her shoulder and saw that Kain had re-surfaced, vapor issuing from under his helmet as he exhaled nearly as much water as air. When she returned her eyes to her destination, she saw Edge do something she didn't expect. With great credit to his acrobatic skills, he had propelled himself above the water and had used that same speed to skip above the water like a stone. His footfalls made light splashes on its surface as he sprinted farther across the room.
Rydia paddled after him, mystified. Just how many peculiar skills did he have in his repertoire?
She eventually found herself behind the king, and Kain was doing a respectable job of keeping Leviathan's attention fixed upon himself. He was using his spear as a harpoon to keep the sea serpent at bay.
Cecil was still keeping Rosa afloat, and Rydia could tell that the strain of treading water and chanting was taking its toll.
Rydia began chanting as well. Not calling upon the elements, not calling upon the most effective spells she knew for just such an instance. Instead, she began twining together filaments of magic into something that would at least slow Leviathan down. She called upon pestilence and disease—the foul spell Bio. The king had surfaced for a moment and had just opened his mouth to spew frigid water at Kain, but Rydia seized the moment from him. She completed her incantation and the magic she had summoned coated his wet skin with toxic slime. The king bellowed and roared, his head snapping to and fro, as water streamed from his maw in furious torrents. His ancient eyes fixed upon Rydia, but Edge wasn't about to be shown up either. He threw dart after dart, each blade embedding into the serpent's neck, blood trickling in rivulets into the water.
Leviathan changed course, sliding through the water like an eel, his jaws skimming the water's surface while he hunted for his prey. Rydia swam out of the way, being propelled further away by the rush of water that accompanied Leviathan's movements. The king was pursuing the ninja.
Rydia watched with morbid fascination while Edge continued sprinting over the water, hopping and changing direction almost as much as the king. But he couldn't keep running indefinitely.
Edge had led Leviathan on a merry chase, leading him to a corner of the room farthest from Cecil and the others, but then the king lost his patience. Using his tremendous tail, he swept a wave of water at the ninja prince, throwing him off his feet as he plunged underwater not to re-emerge. Rydia was caught by an edge of the same wave, and the swirling undertow as it ricocheted off the throne room wall, pulled her under and spun her around.
In that moment, when she couldn't tell up from down, Rydia felt herself being hoisted upwards.
Rosa!
Float carried her to the surface and beyond—and once more Rydia hung suspended several feet above the water. Even Edge, unconscious though he was, had been rescued from the pool. She wasted no time.
She had never double-cast before, but the Feymarch buoyed her and allowed her to believe that she could ask anything of her magic. Thundara and then Thundaga—lightning illuminated the room; sizzling, arcing, snaking across the air in brilliant flashes of white that stung the eyes to look upon. Leviathan did his best to avoid the bolts, but the water itself began to steam from the heat caused by Rydia's spells. She became relentless, casting until the room reeked of ozone, and until her companions had had a chance to rejoin each other. She couldn't hear anyone over the sound of her own voice as she wove her words together.
Leviathan countered with ice and with arctic air, but Rosa replied with magic of her own. Spells were flung in every direction, as Rosa's white magic offered them protection and healing; and Edge, conscious again, cast his own magic, keeping the king preoccupied.
Even Kain had eventually regained his composure and leapt into the air to strike Leviathan from above, and for a moment, Rydia lost track of him as another storm of lightning erupted at her words.
Kain's spear dove into the water like a fisherman snaring a fish on the hook, and more blood stained the water.
Leviathan surged forward, showering them with brine. He leapt and dove, waves lapping at their feet. Cecil was pulled below, and then Edge was struck by the king's tail, thrown backwards several yards with a whip-crack of fins and barbs.
Despite wounding the king, their attacks had done little to stop him altogether, and Rydia was frantically trying to figure out how they were going to accomplish this.
After each of Leviathan's attacks, the five of them made an effort to group together; or rather, they had been herded together by the king's movements. Looking around them, a plan formed in Rydia's mind.
"Edge, can you command ice?" she hissed at him.
His offended manner told her everything she needed to know.
"Good," she said, closing her eyes once more.
She beckoned the crystals for cold, the biting chill of winter, and Blizzaga poured from her lips like ice water. She directed it not at Leviathan himself, but at the water—a wide, frigid arc that froze the water into a wall. And then she began to cast again, calling upon the arctic winds until her one wall had become a barrier. Opposite, she heard the sounds of ice cracking and popping, and had confidence that Edge had followed her example, completing the circle around them.
When she opened her eyes she admired their handiwork—a complete ring of solid water hedging in Leviathan. He was forced to stay precisely where he was, a fish trapped in a puddle. The five humans hovered above him, but with less room to move, the king had less chance of mounting an effective attack. That didn't make him harmless, however, and Rydia began the next stage of her plan as she heard the first cracks in the ice.
She grabbed Edge by the arm, and he whirled to look at her a little furiously. She imagined there were several words he would like to tell her for getting them involved in this mess in the first place; but instead, he was waiting for her, brows poised expectantly.
"When he comes above water—together," she said breathlessly.
His eyes searched hers for a moment and then he nodded in understanding.
Rydia had no idea how he could have understood her with so little explanation, she barely understood herself; but she doubted the king would give them another chance as this. Her plan had to work.
Leviathan explored the edges of his frozen cage until finally resorting to a more direct approach. He began to swim faster through the water, churning up a whirlpool, and Rydia knew it was now or never. She began to chant once more, her eyes open. She had to time her spell perfectly, and she waited until Leviathan's nose had just broken the water to hasten her incantation. The king lunged at the five of them, breaking the water like glass. Rydia released one last Blizzaga spell at that precise moment. Beside her, Edge cast magic of his own; and together, the two ice magicks spiraled across Leviathan's sinuous body, freezing every water droplet and every inch of the wave enveloping him until the king was trapped—a living sculpture.
Cecil glanced at Rydia, startled, and cautiously approached the sea serpent with his sword raised. Leviathan growled, halting the paladin, and the sound became a deep sort of hum. The vibration of the sound splintered and then shattered the ice with terrible pops and cracks, and Rydia felt a surge of disappointment as Leviathan shook himself free of his prison. She prepared herself for another attack as Leviathan began to glow wholly and entirely, a searing blue-white. The brilliance of the flash left her momentarily blinded, and even time seemed to slow down, but rather than an attack, she felt herself succumbing to gravity.
Float had worn off, and where she expected her feet to meet water, she continued falling until she landed on the floor of the throne room. Her vision began to return in streaks, and when she looked around, she noticed that all of the water had vacated the room. Her companions were all standing on damp ground, and Leviathan the sea serpent was gone—replaced by his human form.
Rydia struggled to regain her breath, at a loss for what had just happened.
The king folded his arms, studying each of them.
"Did we fail?" Rydia asked, afraid to hear his answer.
The king shook his head. "No, my child. Indeed, you bear the light."
"Then—the challenge. We succeeded?" she asked, baffled.
"I grant you my power, the power of Leviathan, the Eidolon King, to summon at your command."
"But—why—we barely had an advantage over you," Rydia went on, fishing for an explanation.
"A single tree will splinter in a mighty wind, but a tree among its fellows will be caught before the ground," he said carefully, looking at each of them. "You took shelter in the company of your allies, little one. Together you are strong, and you proved to me that you understood this in the end."
"Your Majesty—" Rydia stammered out, too shocked to say much else, as she hastily bowed. As she rose, she heard soft clapping. Behind the king, Asura had entered, her calm face smiling.
"Well done, humans," she said.
"My Queen," Rydia said, bowing again.
"Rydia, child, you have grown so much in your time away," the queen told her. "To have bested the both of us, truly you are ready for what awaits you. And the rest of you—I am pleased that my ward has companions brave enough to stand beside her when she challenges beings out of legend. It takes a great deal of nerve to support your allies so completely.
Rydia glanced at Cecil and saw the exhaustion in his face. Everyone looked worse for wear, and she felt entirely responsible.
"Cecil—everyone," she said. "Thank you for coming here with me, despite the strangeness of my request."
Cecil offered her a tired smile. "For all its strangeness, I'm glad we were able to see your world, Rydia, and to meet in person, the king and queen of this land."
When Rydia returned her gaze to Leviathan and Asura, the two of them were smiling as though they shared some private amusement.
"What a tale this will make," Leviathan announced. "Of men who would be kings and of women who wield power they have only just begun to understand. Surely, there will be tomes written on the subject—the five humans who were granted the favor of the Feymarch."
"But don't become overconfident," Asura warned. "This journey you're on will be the making of you. Some of you may rise, and others fall. We have seen this over the centuries—men and women coming to power, claiming thrones…making wars. It takes the truly wise to learn from all those things the trappings of greatness."
"There is one who sleeps in Baron, yet," the king added. "A man whose passion, for both his life and for the kingdom he left leaderless, has bound him to its service forevermore. Seek him out if you require more answers. In the meantime, put an end to this imposter to the world stage—this Golbez. I have seen many humans be born and die, but none quite so cunning as this. It's almost as if he is no mere man at all, but a puppet to some grander scheme. You may yet find a greater force at work here. Something we've felt stirring for some time. Go with our blessing. Find your answers and may their seeking not be your ending."
"Your Majesties, thank you," Rydia said, as she led everyone in a deep bow.
"Stay here for one more evening, and in the morning we will see you off properly. Rest and recover your strength, and we will have directions to the place you are seeking in the morning," the queen assured them.
The door opened behind them and Shiva entered.
"This way, humans," she said, beckoning them to the door.
They followed her out of the throne room for a second time. This time when they exited the library, the entirety of the Feymarch had come to see them.
Curious eyes peered at them from all corners, and several familiar faces crowded in, asking questions.
Rydia looked helplessly at her friends, and then at the Eidolons. She heard questions about Rosa's hair—as if having hair the color of gold was more strange than hair that was green. Dragoons weren't really part dragon, were they? Were there still two moons in the sky? The Tower of Babil, did it truly hold the crystals, or were they secretly being hidden somewhere else?
This round of questions had very much the same feeling as the day before, and the person who seemed to be enjoying the attention most, was Edge. Rydia rolled her eyes as he tried explaining to one of the younger Eidolons that his people had history nearly as long as the Eidolons themselves—rich in tradition. After several minutes, Shiva shooed the five of them away from the library and back to the house. By the time they had stepped through the door, Shiva and presumably a few others, had effectively gotten rid of their followers.
"You'll have to excuse them," Shiva explained. "With Asura and now Leviathan, the five of you have become something of a legend yourselves. You are no longer confined to this house and are welcome to explore the Feymarch if you wish. And before I leave, is there anything you require—food or drink?"
"The queen mentioned directions to our next destination," Cecil pointed out.
Shiva nodded. "Yes, I believe someone has been off finding those for you. Anything else?"
"I think we're content with what we have here, thank you," Rosa said, looking up at the Eidolon from where she had seated herself at the table. "I need some time to sort through everything," she added.
"Of course," Shiva replied, nodding. "I'll see to it that you're not disturbed."
Rydia sat down near Rosa, feeling the drain that accompanied a great rush of emotion. She was sure everyone else was feeling the same.
"Food will be brought to you later this evening. In the meanwhile, I suggest you rest," Shiva then told them as she stepped out the door.
"Thank you for all you've done, Shiva," Rydia told her.
"I've done nothing, really," the Eidolon answered with a small smile as she left the house.
"So—" Edge fished, "That was it, then? Battle the king, almost die in the process, and then in a sudden fit of whimsy, he grants you his power?"
Rydia frowned at him. "Challenges are all different," she answered.
"Rydia, that was risky," Cecil sighed, rubbing Rosa's shoulders.
Rydia looked at the other woman and noticed her face was ash white. She had been through quite a lot this morning, and was no doubt remembering her close brush with death.
"I'm sorry, Rosa," she offered.
"I'm fine, Rydia," Rosa answered with a sigh, flitting her gaze up to Rydia's. "How did you know he wouldn't have finished us off?"
Rydia shrugged. "I didn't. But the purpose of the test wasn't to kill us."
"Just to almost kill us," Kain muttered.
"We're all alive," Rydia pointed out. "And with the king and queen on our sides, Golbez will be in for quite a world of pain."
"None of this will mean a thing if we can't find the Sealed Cave and its crystal before he does," Cecil replied.
"We'll find it," Rydia answered. "We will."
"I'm curious about what Leviathan said," Rosa mentioned. "About there being one who sleeps yet in Baron. You don't think—"
Cecil shook his head, but Rosa had caught Kain's attention. "His Majesty?" the dragoon asked. "Is that even possible?"
"Your king?" Edge asked incredulously. "I thought he was dead."
Rosa frowned at the prince. "Please mind your words while speaking of King Odin—the true king, not the imposter."
"One who sleeps," Kain mused. "What did he mean by that? Is he suggesting that Odin has become more than a man?"
"Some humans became Eidolons long ago," Rydia supplied.
"Humans turning into Eidolons?" Rosa gasped. "I would be thrilled to learn if our king still lives, but to become an immortal? How is that possible in an this present age?"
Rydia shrugged. "Perhaps we should visit Baron and find out," she suggested.
Cecil and Rosa looked at her for a moment and then settled into a quiet discussion with Kain about the matter. Their conversation was intense and had an earnest ring to it about returning to Baron, possible passages in the basement where they could search for clues. After several minutes, Rydia discovered that she had no place in their conversation, and chose to find her own place for quiet contemplation. She left her friends to their musings and returned to the streets of the Feymarch, not knowing that she was being followed.
She spoke to a few Eidolons on her walk—congratulations were exchanged and wishes of good fortune for the rest of her journey—but Rydia had a specific place in mind. Her feet brought her to the garden where she had always felt the most like herself.
She had just sat down on the large stone by the pond when a smooth voice startled her from her perch.
"This is the second time in two days that you've come here. This place must be special to you."
"Edge!" she hissed, whirling around.
Chuckling, he stepped out from behind a nearby tree, and walked toward her with his arms folded across his chest.
She didn't protest when he seated himself on a nearby rock, but she hoped her glare would deter him from staying long.
"Have you come to tell me how stupid it was to challenge the Lord of All Waters?" she asked lightly.
He gave her a long, measured look, and then a quick smile. "I came to tell you it was impressive."
"What, challenging him?" Rydia inquired.
"No—you," he replied.
"Me?" she laughed, and hurriedly looked away, out across the pond.
"There's no use in being embarrassed," he said, getting her to glance back at him. "How you handled yourself, and how you trapped him—it was impressive."
"It didn't work," she protested.
Edge shook his head, his stormy eyes dazzling in the light from the pond. "It did work," he argued. "He was immobilized. He wasn't going to let you kill him—that would be counterproductive to the test itself. He escaped when it was convenient."
"I can't believe we won," Rydia murmured, thinking back to the battle itself.
"We didn't win," Edge corrected her. "He let us win."
Rydia sighed. "You speak in so many riddles, I can never figure out what you're saying," she complained.
He shrugged with his hands spread wide. "Take your small victories where you can," he laughed.
They fell silent for a moment, but Rydia could still feel his eyes on her, studying her. "You still haven't answered my question," he pointed out.
She looked him square in the eyes, fighting to keep a grin from her lips. When he noticed her weakness, his own grin widened.
"This is your favorite place, isn't it?"
Rydia exhaled through her nose, smiling. "This place reminds me of my mother."
He looked at her askance. "Was there a garden like this in Mist?" he asked, trying to draw her out.
She hummed. "There was. We had a garden with a pond, and she would tell me stories and teach me magic for hours. I miss those days," she said, her smile fading. She looked back at him. "Did you ever have somewhere you spent time with your parents? A place from your childhood that you remember?"
A smile crept across his face.
"There was…" he said, trailing off.
"Sorry—" she hastily added. "Is that bad to bring up?"
Edge shook his head slowly. "No, it's just…it's hard to remember the better times so soon upon their deaths."
"Were you very close to your parents?" she ventured.
"Yes. Well, my mother mostly," he answered, frowning.
Rydia watched him, noticing that there really hadn't been many moments since he'd entered the Feymarch that he hadn't been frowning. "Is your headache still bothering you?"
"I'm not sure what it is about this place, that makes my head feel like it's in a vice," he answered.
"Why didn't you have Rosa do something about it?"
"I don't think she could. Too much magic," he reflected, looking across the pond.
"Too much…magic?" Rydia asked, curious.
He was silent for a stretch and then his grin returned. "Look at you—asking all the questions, now."
Rydia sensed he was redirecting her, but wasn't sure if she had the energy to figure out why. She sighed. "Fine," she replied. "I won't ask any more questions. No," she added an instant later. "Just one more—why did you follow me here?"
He laughed. "Impressive and sharp," he mused. "You seemed worried so I decided to ask you why."
"I'm not worried," she retorted.
"You're not?" he asked innocently. "Your friends are irritated with you, you're about to leave your home for the second time, possibly the last, if the war doesn't end well, and we're searching for a man who has a penchant for taking over the world. You're sure you're not at least concerned?"
She made a face at him, narrowing her eyes. "Maybe a little."
"One thing at a time, Rydia," he told her, looking at her quite seriously this time. "One thing at a time."
She gave him a cautious smile. For once, he'd said something almost…comforting?
"Well," he said, standing up. "I can see you want to be alone, so I'm going to leave you to your thoughts."
Rydia watched as he took a few steps away. "Wait," she said. "I'll walk back with you."
He seemed surprised and more than a little pleased. "Who am I to be graced with the High Summoner's presence?" he laughed.
When she caught up to him she swatted him on the arm. "Keep talking and you'll be walking to the airship by yourself before the day is done," she warned with a smile.
He shook his head but his smile was devilish. Together, they returned to the house in companionable silence—and the victims of more than one Eidolon's raised brow.
0-0-0-0
The following morning, Shiva and Mist returned to see them to the portal of the Feymarch. Ramuh had spent much of the morning finding crevices in which to store food in their packs, and Rydia felt like she was carrying the weight of a whole person on her back.
When they approached the portal, the king and queen were waiting for them, as well as several other Eidolons. Fenrir was there, along with Black, Ifrit, Titan and even Halcyon.
Rydia bowed to the king and queen and received hugs from several Eidolons, including grunts of general approval from Ifrit and Titan.
Mist stepped forward with an item draped in silk. She approached Cecil and held the item out for him.
"Take this shield—it is imbued with special protections that will keep you from harm against beings of magic," she told him.
Cecil slipped the silk from the shield and a fearsome hexagonal disc with a haunting face greeted the light. Looking at it filled Rydia with fear, she could only imagine its effect on fiends. Cecil thanked Mist for her gift, and then Ramuh stepped forward and offered Rydia a coiled bundle. She accepted it, discovering it to be a whip woven together with leather and what appeared to be tail feathers from some manner of bird. It had a luminous sheen.
"Un-coil it," Ramuh advised her.
She did so and the whip came alive with sizzles and sparks, falling to the ground at her feet with a flail made of what seemed to be small bolts of lightning. Rydia gasped at the novelty of this new weapon.
"A Blitz whip," Ramuh explained. "Rumor has it those feathers are from a god-being of old," he added with a wink.
Rydia smiled suspiciously. She had her own ideas of who had imbued the whip with their power, but she wasn't allowed to divulge such information in the presence of her human friends.
Lastly, Shiva approached Rosa with a folded parcel. At first Rosa seemed reluctant to accept it, but then she accepted the package and folds of elegant fabric slipped out of the wrapping.
Rosa held a robe of gold and silver, embroidered with runes in the hems. It caught the light and shimmered spectacularly. "It's beautiful," Rosa murmured, turning the robe this way and that.
"A Luminous Robe," Shiva told her. "This will protect you from more than magic. Wear it with the blessings of the Feymarch—bearer of the life-giving magic."
"Thank you," Rosa said to the Eidolon, overwhelmed by the gift and by the benediction.
"Oh, Rydia, one last thing," Black said, dragging a sack with a corded neck along the ground. "More books for you. These are bestiaries collected by your people as well as a few other things. They might prove useful if you need a reference and I'm not there to save you."
Rydia stared at the pack on the ground. "Black, how on earth am I going to carry all of that? I've already got a full pack."
Black stared at the pack and then back at Rydia, not comprehending. "They've been miniaturized," he said as if this was obvious. "They'll fit."
Rydia drew her brows together incredulously. "You've shrunk them?"
"How else do you think I was able to carry them?"
Rydia shook her head, sighing. She picked up the pack and was surprised that it was indeed light.
"Thank you, Black," she told the Eidolon, though she noticed that his eyes were pinned to someone standing beside her.
Rydia glanced to her left and saw Edge entrenched in some staring contest with the smaller Eidolon.
"I'm watching you, Son of Shadow," Black warned with a bit of a growl in his throat.
"Go ahead, you pint-sized—"
"Edge!" Rydia hissed.
Edge looked at her, offended, and even Black seemed disappointed that she'd interrupted their sparring match.
"Humans," Asura interrupted them. "It is time you were on your way."
Rydia stepped to where the queen was standing and bowed again.
"Rydia, child, it is my pleasure to offer you my assistance. Go with my blessing once more. May you ever find success in your endeavors beyond this land."
"It is also my honor to endow you with my blessing," Leviathan added. "Please call upon me when times are dire and you require the fury of the sea. And now for the paladin—please accept these maps. They will guide you to the place you are seeking. May you also have success in what awaits you."
"Your majesties, thank you for everything," Rydia told them. "And to everyone else—to all of my friends and family—without your strength I am lost."
The Eidolons nodded to her, and Rydia felt compelled to bow out of sincere gratitude.
"We are here for you always," Mist assured her with a gentle smile.
Rydia then stepped toward the portal that would take her away from this place—away from her home for this second time. She turned to look at her Eidolon family, feeling tears prick the corners of her eyes.
"Goodbye," she said, and was whisked away to the real world.
Moments later, Cecil and the others had joined her in the cavern. Rydia was trying her best to maintain her composure, and kept her back to her friends.
"Rydia, are you alright?" Cecil asked.
"I'm fine," she replied, her voice tight with emotion.
"Our next step?" Rosa asked.
"We find the final crystal before Golbez does," Rydia replied, walking onward, refusing to show the tears streaking down her face.
"The final crystal it is," Cecil agreed, and with resolute steps, the five of them left the Feymarch behind them.
0-0—0-0-0-0-0-0-0
A/N: Writing this was somehow like writing Sakura facing off with a clow card…strange.
Underwater/water battles are difficult, I've decided. Not my favorite, lol.
Hopefully it lived up to the previous chapter :)
Thank you all for reading and to all of you reviewing!
Hope you're all enjoying Spring Break!
Till next chapter
~Myth
p.s. Moonclaw, you are now obligated to post your fic!