The Scars we Bear
After initial hiccups, things had gone rather well. The effort of the Alliance and our faction had breathed new life into the Resistance and those that had been lost at Baelsar's Wall were slowly replaced by those that followed the call.
Eventually, we were ready to deal the Garleans another blow, one that we hoped would be the beginning of our march on Ala Mhigo.
But...things would turn out much differently...
It was a quiet night. Only the wind as it blew through the canyon could be heard as S'eni and the others knelt on the cliff overlooking Castellum Velodyna, their presence additionally concealed by a large rock.
Next to her, Alisaie and Alphinaud were looking expectantly at Pipin as he looked through the spyglass at the imperial bridge fortification.
The three of them had volunteered to take part in this reconnaissance mission, to assess the situation before their joint strike.
"Everything quiet?" S'eni asked in a low voice, receiving a hum of confirmation in return before being handed the spyglass. Looking through it, she spotted guards on each side of the bridge, soldiers patrolling the Castellum's compound, and a few Magitek weapons too. Add to that an unknown quantity of troops that would be inside the huge tower itself, but there couldn't be too many of them.
"The disposition of the Garlean forces are exactly as expected," the Lalafel said as S'eni handed the spyglass to Alphinaud.
"Then everything can proceed as planned."
Pipin nodded, his hand going towards his ear to press against his linkpearl. "I'll notify father and—"
The sound of an explosion in the distance cut him off.
"That sounded like cannon fire!"
"Over there!" Alisaie exclaimed and pointed in the direction of— "Oh gods, it's Rhalgr's Reach!"
Oh no... S'eni jumped to her feet as she saw thick plumes of smoke rising high into the air.
Upon hearing that, Alphinaud's hand went to his linkpearl, but pulled away from it almost immediately with a grimace on his face. "Someone's jamming our communications!"
She tried to do the same, but received only static in return.
"A coordinated attack?"
"Too early to draw conclusions. Let's return to the Reach!"
Not wasting any time, they ran back into the direction of Rhalgr's Reach, eschewing all caution they had shown on the way here. If this truly was an attack by the Garleans it didn't matter anyway.
S'eni forced herself to speed up at the thought of their friends, of Y'shtola, fighting down there alone.
Please be alright, Shtola!
They had just passed the river into the Striped Hills when she spotted a group of people heading their way from the direction of the Reach.
It was Krile and Arenvald, together with a group of injured Resistance members.
"Krile!" Alphinaud cried out.
"Alphinaud!" A look of relief formed on her face. "Thank the Twelve you're alright."
"We heard cannon fire and saw the smoke. What's going on?" he asked.
"The Garleans. They were all over us before we knew what was going on. It was pure chaos." Krile explained. "Lyse and Master Kemp rallied the guards and bought us enough time to get some of the injured to safety but..."
The smaller woman shook her head.
S'eni let her eyes wander over everyone gathered here, coming to rest on M'naago who was leaning on Arenvald's shoulder for support.
"Is that everyone?" she asked.
"Yes. The rest are still inside."
"Dammit! If we lose Rhalgr's Reach it'll all have been for nothing!" Pipin said.
Alphinaud looked towards Arenvald. "Can you guide these people to the Wall?"
"Yes, leave it to me," the young Ala Mhigan replied.
"Good." Alphinaud turned to face them. "Our friends are waiting for us. We might not be able to fight back the Garleans alone, but we will rescue as many people as possible."
"If we can hold long enough until Father arrives with reinforcements we might yet still turn the tide in our favor," the vice-marshal told them.
"Let me join you," Krile said. "I did what I could for these people and you'll undoubtedly be in need of a healer."
The young Elezen looked conflicted for a moment, before nodding. "I fear you're right. Come, there's no time to lose."
Looking out towards the smoke rising in the distance, S'eni narrowed her eyes and balled her hands into fists, before joining the others as they ran towards the battlefield.
What awaited them was a bloodbath. The bodies of the fallen and wounded were scattered about as the few that could still stand either fought or fled as fast as they could into their direction, and the scent of fire and blood hung in the air, mixing into a nauseating stench.
"Gods help us, they're killing everyone!" one of the stragglers called.
S'eni rushed towards the enemy, Pipin right at her side. Jumping into the air, she knocked her heel into the back of a legionary's neck just as he was about to bring down his sword on an unfortunate Resistance soldier, sending him sprawling to the ground.
"Are you alright?" she asked as she helped the soldier back to his feet.
"I..." He shook his head. "The imperials came from out of nowhere...started cutting people down left and right..."
"It's alright. Go, get to safety!" S'eni pushed him behind her as more Garlean legionaries came rushing towards them.
"Run!" Pipin shouted to the other stragglers after cutting down a legionary and moved to cover their escape together with S'eni.
Joined by their friends, they made short work of the Garleans, then moved deeper inside.
Almost flying down the huge set of stairs, S'eni landed on top of a Garlean soldier, knocking over two more in the process. He tried to swipe at her with his blade, but she brought her fist crashing down upon him and he grew slack.
"S'eni!" Alphinaud exclaimed as he sicced his Carbuncle towards a Garlean Signifer, causing the fireball he had aimed towards her to hit one of his comrades instead.
"Godsdammit!" Alisaie slashed her rapier across the chest of a legionary, then whirled around to shoot a blast of lightning towards an approaching Magitek Reaper, taking out its pilot and making it short circuit in a cloud of blue smoke.
After taking care of these troops as well and freeing the surviving prisoners, they rushed past the Starfall towards where they had been told Lyse and Conrad were last seen fighting. They had just made it to the tents when a howl went through the air, and from seemingly out of nowhere a group of wolf-like people appeared, dressed in Garlean, their predatory eyes gleaming a bright gold as the flames of the nearby fires illuminated them.
"What the—Beastmen!?" Alphinaud's eyes widened in surprise, jumping to the side as one of them thrust their polearm towards him. "What are these doing here?"
"Obviously—" Alisaie said as she parried a swipe. "Fighting for the empire!"
"And quite fierce at that!" Pipin added, using the back of his sword to pull the legs out from underneath one of the wolfmen before bringing the blade down upon him.
S'eni had just felled one of their archers, when an especially large one advanced upon her, brandishing a sword not unlike the one Gosetsu had carried. Its blade was smooth and curved, the reflection of the fire on it making it look like it was ablaze.
She dodged backwards, feeling the wind of the strike against her cheek amidst the heat of the fire, then ducked underneath the next, her fist shooting out to punch him in the gut, but all she received was a loud growl in return. His knee shot forward, pushing her into one of the broken pillars behind her.
Her hands shot up, barely managing to catch the sword between the palm of her hands, the edge of its blade dangerously close to her forehead, and she knew it was only thanks to her gloves that she wasn't missing part of her skin right now. The two of them struggled for a few seconds, but in the end S'eni managed to push him to the side.
It was then that she spotted a familiar shape dressed in white in the distance, lying on the ground completely motionless. Time slowed to a crawl and her heartbeat up to her neck as from one moment to the next the heat of the fire vanished, replaced by a freezing cold that made her body grow numb.
"Shtola..." she breathed out.
In an instant, the numbness was replaced by burning white fury, and every thought inside her mind was replaced by one single question: Who did this!?
Barely paying any mind to the recovering beastman, she slammed her palm into his chest, sending him flying into a burning tent before breaking into a sprint.
"S'eni!" one of her friends shouted, but it was drowned out by the sounds of battle and her own rage. She didn't slow down even as a group of Skulls came running towards her.
Was it you!? S'eni demanded when the first of them came at her, arm raised to strike her with his blade but she caught it like it was nothing.
A scream pierced the air as his arm snapped underneath the force of her punch, but was silenced almost instantly when her fist slammed into his face, leaving a huge crack on his skull-shaped mask as he spiralled down to the ground.
Or was it you!? In the blink of an eye, she was on the next, delivering a series of strikes that knocked the wind out of him. Her ears perked at the tell-tale sound of a spell flying through the air and she grabbed the Skull's shoulder to whirl him around to take the brunt of the fire spell.
As he began to burn, S'eni kicked him away from her and into his compatriot, making them both tumble to the ground and giving her enough time to bridge the gap. The mage had just managed to get his burning friend off him, when she took hold of his head and started to slam the back of it against the hard stone underneath them, only letting go again when he stopped struggling.
She rose back to her feet and looked around for more of them until her eyes landed on a familiar shock of red hair.
"You..." S'eni said and stalked towards her.
She barely took notice of the Skull that was running towards her from the side and her fist shot out towards him, smashing into his throat. He stopped in his tracks, hand going up to his throat as he croaked and she wrestled the blade out of his hand to toss it into the chest of the next Skull that came running, never once letting her prey out of her sight.
"You damned savage!" the other woman shouted, running towards S'eni to meet her halfway.
She dodged the first few swipes of the Skulls' blade, then smacked the blade aside to punch her in the face. The redhead stumbled back for a second, gritting her teeth, then resumed her attack with even more ferocity.
The other woman raised her blade for another strike, but slammed her shield into S'eni's face instead. World spinning for just a moment, a sharp pain flashed across her cheek, soon followed by the warm sting of blood.
With a growl from deep within her throat, S'eni shot forward and swung her fist up towards the redhead, sending her flying in a huge explosion of chakra.
A gasp escaped the Skulls' leader as she landed harshly on the ground.
Wiping some of the blood off her cheek, S'eni walked over to the woman, who was scrambling back to her feet, glancing towards Alphinaud and Krile as they came running towards Y'shtola for a moment before coming to rest upon her opponent once more.
No, you're not the one either.
"Who in the seven hells are you!?"
Even if she wanted to answer her, another presence soon joined them, and she turned around to see a figure dressed from head to toe in heavy armor striding towards, the horned helmet almost looking like a scowling skull. On his hip rested a strange, almost barrel-like scabbard with two swords in it, while the third, covered in blood, was in his hand.
And she knew that he was the one.
"Lord Zenos!" the redhead exclaimed.
"See to your men, Pilus," was all the man, Zenos, said.
"I—" she hesitated for just a moment. "As you command, my lord!"
As the woman rushed off, S'eni turned fully around to face him, eyes narrowed into a glare, and she could have sworn she just heard him chuckle.
"Your friends were disappointing," he said, raising his blade towards her. "But you...you will entertain me, won't you?"
They stared at one another, neither moving nor saying a word, only the sounds of the battle in the distance and her friends' frantic words breaking the silence between them.
A drop of blood dripped down to the ground—
They exploded towards one another.
—and the battle began.
S'eni's eyes shot open and she released a sharp breath. Almost instantly, her face twisted into a grimace at the soreness on her cheek and for a few seconds, her fatigued mind did not fully register why that was until she was awake enough to realize that her face was resting on soft linen sheets on an otherwise not very comfortable bed. She raised herself off the bed enough to turn her head around then let herself plop back down with a small sigh.
As she tried to move her hand to touch her cheek, she found that it was holding onto another hand, fingers firmly intertwined, and her eyes slowly travelled up the owner's arm towards her beautiful face.
Shtola... S'eni sighed again and forced herself to sit up, releasing a groan as her whole body ached. But that was nothing compared to the beating that her pride had taken.
Zenos had absolutely beaten her. Even though she apparently lasted longer than the others by his own admission, she was still left lying in the dirt by the end of it and could only watch as he walked away in disappointment.
The only solace she took from it was that the bastard broke his sword taking her down.
Two more times and he's all out of swords. Maybe I can beat him then, she thought sardonically, then shook her head. No use feeling sorry for myself, I just have to get stronger I suppose, but still...
"...what a monster," she said out loud.
It was little wonder that a mage of Y'shtola's capabilities stood no chance to him.
After an Alliance conjurer had healed her enough so that she could stand again, she had all but stumbled towards her lover's fallen body before sinking to the ground next to Krile and Lyse.
Much to her shame, S'eni hadn't even taken notice of her other friend until she had told them that Y'shtola had defended her from Zenos. But even then she didn't find the strength to respond, instead focusing every ounce of it to hold Y'shtola still enough so that Krile could stop the bleeding and, after that, carry her into what was left of Rhalgr's Reach's infirmary.
She supposed she needed to talk with Lyse later, assure her that it wasn't her fault, but for now...
With another sigh passing her lips, she looked around the steely walls of the room that had been prepared for Y'shtola here in Castrum Oriens.
While the Reach wasn't outright destroyed, it was effectively lost to them with its secret exposed, so the Alliance and what was left of Conrad's faction had retreated here to lick their wounds.
If nothing else, this place had more than enough space for the wounded...and the fallen.
Her eyes landed on Y'shtola's form once more, chest rising and falling underneath the white sheets. Ignoring the sudden pain shooting up her side, S'eni rose to her feet and untangled their hands to reach out and brush a few strands of white hair out of the other's face.
With the blood that had covered her lips washed off, it almost looked like she was asleep, but the paleness of her complexion served as a stark reminder of the wound she had received.
But she was alive...Thank the Twelve, she was alive.
S'eni moved her hand to cup Y'shtola's cheek, running her thumb across the markings on it, before leaning down to press a kiss on her lips. She let them linger there for a moment, as if hoping that it would wake her up, but the sound of someone clearing their throat made her pull back and whirl around.
Krile was standing in the doorway, looking at her with her light blue eyes.
"Krile!" she exclaimed. "T-this isn't—"
"—what it looks like?" the Lalafel finished, eyebrows rising, and closed the door behind herself.
Realizing that further denial would just dig herself deeper, S'eni shook her head and flopped back down onto the chair. "No, it's exactly what it looks like."
"I figured as much," Krile said while walking towards them. "I saw the two of you leave the other night, but didn't think too much of it, but when you decided to carry her all by yourself, the pieces started to come together—may I?"
S'eni scooted the chair away to give Krile enough space so that she could take a look at Y'shtola. She watched her pull the covers away, revealing the bandaged torso of her lover to her, before starting to examine her.
"Hmm, good..." the Lalafel murmured after a few moments, then proceeded to cover her up once more.
"How long do you think she'll be unconscious?" she asked.
"I honestly can't say. She lost a lot of blood and her body needs to heal. We've done what we could with magic and potions. All we can do now is let her rest," Krile explained and turned around. Her eyes widened. "S'eni, you're bleeding!"
"Hm?" Following the other woman's eyes, she spotted a bloody stain growing on the side of the shirt she had been given, making it cling to her side. So that's what the pain had been. She shook her head dismissively. "It's nothing."
"It's not nothing," the other woman said and took a step forward. "Let me look at it!"
Having painstakingly learned in the past that resistance was futile when a healer made demands, S'eni started to unbutton the shirt and let it slide down her arms, revealing her bare chest and the cut just underneath her left rib cage.
Krile didn't even so much as blink at her state of undress and raised her already glowing hand towards her wound.
"You know, the last person to see me like this was Shtola," she commented as the healing spell slowly did its work.
"It's an honor," Krile replied dryly.
"So was I that obvious?"
"If you're asking if the others have figured it out as well, then most likely not. I just happen to pick up on things. And don't worry, your secret's safe with me."
S'eni's lips curled into a small smile. "Thanks, Krile."
The Lalafel simply mirrored her expression then focused all of her attention on the task at hand. After a few more minutes, she was done. "There, that should do it. Try to take it easy for a bit, though. Can't have you overstrain yourself."
"I'll promise that I'll try," she said and began buttoning up her shirt.
"Good." Krile looked over to Y'shtola again. "I can tell you want to stay at her side, but just sitting here won't do you any good. How about I'll watch her for a bit in your stead while you get some fresh air."
She wanted to protest but knew that what the other woman said was right, so she nodded and slowly rose to her feet. "Yeah, I think I'll do that," she said and began walking towards the door, stopping for a few seconds to look back towards Y'shtola, before leaving.
After she stepped outside of the building, S'eni let her eyes wander a bit, taking in all the soldiers going about their business even after the defeat their endeavour had suffered. She walked a few steps until she was out of the building's shade and closed her eyes to soak up the sun, letting its rays warm her body.
She felt better almost instantly.
Remaining like this for a few more moments, she began to walk around aimlessly, not knowing what to do. That was until a soldier from the Immortal Flames approached her with hastened steps, his right fist coming to rest against his left shoulder in the Grand Company's salute.
"Lieutenant Gata!" he greeted her.
"What is it?" she asked, not really in the salute back.
"General Raubahn is asking for you to join him in his council."
She supposed it was time to actually talk about the beating they received, wasn't it?
"Tell him I'll be there as soon as possible."
The soldier did another, this time properly executed, salute and turned on his heel to leave, but stopped himself. "Pardon me, but would you possibly know where I can find Mistress Hext? I've been tasked to inform her as well."
"Lyse? No, I haven't seen her..." S'eni frowned. "But I might have an idea. Tell the General that we both will be joining him shortly."
"Right away, Lieutenant!" and with that, he hurried away. She watched him for a few seconds before turning around to head to the only place she could think of where Lyse might be hiding out if she hadn't left the Castrum; the hall where they had placed the fallen.
The first thing she noticed as entered were the bodies, each placed on the ground as respectfully as possible and covered in blankets that stood out in the almost morbidly dim lighting. And standing amidst this field of blankets was Lyse, her back turned towards S'eni.
Lowering her head, she uttered a silent prayer for the departed, before walking towards Lyse, whose gaze was lowered to the body lying in front of her.
"I saw it happen. When that woman cut down Meffrid," her friend said. "A single strike and that was it. Everything he fought for. All his hopes and dreams for the future, gone in an instant."
S'eni didn't respond. Meffrid had been a good man, who had fought tooth and nail to help his people even when Gridania had turned their back on them.
"He had family, you know?" Lyse then asked. "A wife and a child who will never see him again. And the worst part? It wasn't a Garlean who did it, it was an Ala Mhigan."
Tearing her eyes away from Meffrid's body, Lyse now turned to look at her, blue eyes filled with both rage and sadness alike. "Gods help me if I ever—" but she cut herself off, biting her lip and shaking her head.
Reaching a hand out, S'eni placed it on top of the other woman's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It wasn't your fault."
"Yeah...I know..." Lyse released a sigh. "But you didn't just come here to see me mope around. Did something happen?"
"Raubahn wants to speak with us," she replied.
Her friend looked around the room one final time, then nodded. "We shouldn't keep him waiting then."
Without another word passing between them, the two left the building, leaving those that had fallen to be prepared for their final rest.
Man, that fight against Zenos was some next level bullshit, wasn't it?