A small mercy
Amh Araeng. The place where it all ended, and my century-long journey began.
Before the Flood, it was known for its Talos construction and mining industry, but also for the dangerous creatures roaming the vast desert.
Today, all that remained was its name, and the few people too stubborn and foolish to leave.
And those who were doomed to die...
The sand crunched under her feet, as she walked across it, looking around the area for any possible danger while simultaneously taking in the scenery.
Gods, what a dreary sight. Sand as far as the eye could see, with only a few solitary plants scattered across the area and mountains surrounding it. It reminded her a bit of Thanalan, but unlike on the Source, where Ul'dah drew people into the desert from far and wide, the only thing waiting here were ruins that were slowly being swallowed by the dunes and the only mercantile endeavour were the settlements scattered throughout the area.
From what she had heard at Mord Souq, the biggest town in the area, run by Kobolds, or Mord as they were called on the First, it was a little better beyond the mountains to the west. Emphasis on little.
Yet, the people kept going, living on even in these conditions.
It was admirable.
A sudden gust of wind sent a shiver down her spine right into the tip of her tail and she resisted the urge to hug herself. She glared at the sky.
Unlike in Lakeland, you could really tell what time of day it was around here even with that accursed sky. A chuckle drew her attention away from it and towards the woman walking next to her; Tesleen, an acquaintance of Alisaie that she had made during her time on the First.
"Yes?" S'eni tilted her head.
"It's nothing," the other woman replied. "Just amazed with how easily I recognized you. Alisaie really told me a lot about you."
She smiled. "I hope only good things."
"Oh, absolutely." Tesleen nodded, shifting the supplies she was carrying a little. "And given your performance at keeping the beasts at bay, I can tell that she wasn't exaggerating a single bit. Though I have to say, I wasn't expecting a Mystel when I heard your name for the first time. It's quite exotic."
As it turned out, the races that inhabited the Source could also be found on the First, but under vastly different names, with Mystel being what her people were called around here. It was something that would take some getting used to and she was pretty sure she had already mixed up some of the names in her mind.
She should probably ask the Crystal Exarch again when she returned, just to be sure.
"It's the name I was given," S'eni replied with a little shrug.
"Ah, I'm sorry. That was rude of me."
"No, it's fine. So what exactly did Alisaie tell you?" S'eni chuckled.
Lips curling into a smile, Tesleen was about to reply when a growling from up ahead made them pause in their steps. It was two coyotes and neither of them looked like they just wanted some head pats.
"Excuse me for a minute." S'eni cracked her knuckles and headed over to the two predators, the gold chains adorning her new outfit clinking slightly with every step she did. Seeing her approaching, they hunched lower before running at her.
The first one jumped, intending on burying its fangs deep into her jugular, but a wide kick catapulted it sideways through the air. As soon as her foot touched the ground once more, S'eni dashed towards the second one and slammed her fist between its eyes. A crack went through the air and the coyote flew backwards, dragging a trail through the sand as it landed. It didn't get back up.
Hearing a loud snarl, she stepped to the side, dodging the next attack, and immediately lunged forward to grab the coyote around its neck. They wrestled for a few seconds until another crack echoed through the air and the predator went limp.
Exhaling through her nose, she looked around if there were any more, then let go of the coyote and headed back towards Tesleen, who was looking at her in awe.
"So, where were we?" S'eni smiled.
"I always thought Alisaie was strong, but compared to you...No wonder in her mind she was never—hmmm. Now it makes sense."
"What makes sense?"
A twinkle entered the other woman's eyes. "It's best if we push on. I need to get these supplements back to the Inn."
Tesleen walked past her, leaving S'eni with a look of confusion on her face and no choice but to follow her. What was that about?
Thankfully, the other coyotes in the area must have taken note of their fellows' demise and stayed clear of them, making the rest of the journey rather uneventful and in time they arrived at their destination. The Inn at Journey's Head.
Belying its name though, it wasn't a building but a formation of large rocks forming into a circle, its large spires visible even from Mord Souq.
"Well, here we are, and I didn't even have to put down my shopping thanks to you. Looks like you escorted me in the end," Tesleen said. "But we should head inside."
As they stepped inside, S'eni immediately noticed the aetheryte in the center of it, something that she hadn't expected if she was being honest. Linen had been haphazardly strung up between the rocks, to shield the people from the bright sky and the occasional rain she wagered, and there were quite a few beds with people in them.
But...something was strange.
"Welcome to the Inn at Journey's Head. It's not much, but it's home to the afflicted and a handful of carers."
"The afflicted...?" she asked, facing Tesleen, who was in the midst of putting down the supplies, only to stop and look at her in surprise.
"You...don't know?" S'eni shook her head. "I don't think I've met anyone besides Alisaie who was unfamiliar with our situation here. Most folk have grown up knowing someone who knew someone..."
"I see...so these people are sick." That explained quite a lot.
"Hm. I might leave out something obvious, so it may be best to have Alisaie explain everything. Now where is she…?" After placing the supplies on a nearby table, the other woman looked around. "I think she might be out on patrol. You could wait, I suppose, but why not go and surprise her? She usually takes a look at things from the watchtower first, so you might be able to catch her there."
"Sounds good. Where can I find it?"
"It's not far. Just head out the south side and you'll soon see it. I'll stay behind in case she comes back while you're gone."
After thanking Tesleen, S'eni followed her directions towards the watchtower in question but, after having a good look around, found no trace of her friend. What she did find though were some rather familiar footsteps that she began to follow north-westward. They led her quite a distance away from the Inn, and after a while she was honestly wondering how much further out they would take her when, all of a sudden, the trail stopped.
Kneeling down onto the ground, she ran a hand along the edges of Alisaie's footprints, trying to figure out where she could have gone. A cry in the distance made her look up to see a Sin Eater flying away. The erratic way it flapped its wings told her that it was wounded.
"Not so fast!" a voice shouted from above and when S'eni looked up, she saw none other than the young woman she was looking for leaping off a nearby building. As soon as she landed on the sand, Alisaie drew her weapon and finished the Sin Eater off without a problem.
"Nice work," S'eni said while approaching her friend.
"It was a small one. They're easily taken care of," Alisaie replied, glancing over her shoulder for a second before returning to watch the fallen creature dissipate into aether. "I always knew you would arrive sooner or later. You really took your sweet time, you know?"
Slowly, the young woman turned around, a smile forming as she breathed out, "Thank the gods you're finally here. How are you?"
"I got dragged into another world, learned of how long each of you stayed here and that we're trying to stop a future in which another Calamity struck the Source," she replied, raising her shoulders and letting them slump back down. "I'm adjusting."
"It's a lot to take in, I know. I can hardly believe it myself. But come, we should speak somewhere else."
Giving the dissolving Sin Eater one last look, the two left, heading back towards the Inn. After a while, they stopped in front of a series of graves, some older with actual headstones and some obviously still quite new, with only simple, long wooden sticks marking the mounds of sands. Undoubtedly of the many people that didn't make it.
"I was worried about the war when I came here," Alisaie said as they came to a stop. "After I was done giving the Crystal Exarch a piece of my mind, he told me that the worst had passed, but who can honestly tell with how time works here."
"Have you been in contact with the others?" S'eni asked.
"I met Alphinaud and Urianger shortly after I arrived. I told them everything that happened up until I was called here. I haven't seen Y'shtola or Thancred yet, but they're in contact with the Exarch so they should know as well."
"Hm. Alright."
With a sigh, Alisaie faced the graves. "Whenever I think of Tataru and the others back on the Source, I want nothing more than to return home. But we don't even know-how. Besides, first, we need to make sure there even is a home to return to and for that we need to liberate this world of the Sin Eaters."
"Well, we liberated two countries in the past. I guess liberating a world is the only logical step up," she said, the corners of her lips rising.
"Glad to see that unwavering optimism is still there. Here, take a look." Alisaie nodded towards the large crystalline wall that she had already seen from a distance earlier. "It's what remains of the Flood of Light. Normally, every life form possesses aether from various elements, but the Flood washed away all other aspects and shattered their aetheric harmony, causing their natural form to break down. Then they either die or...turn into mindless creatures."
"The Sin Eaters."
"Yes, they used to be living creatures, or people like you and I. But now they're nothing more than beasts hunting for aether. For them, we're nothing more than food." The Elezen turned her attention back to the graves. "Or their brood. The stronger Sin Eaters can plant Light inside their victims, corrupting their aether until they too turn into monstrosities. Feed and multiply, there's nothing more to them. Which is why they must be destroyed. Every last one of them."
"Then these graves..."
"Hm." Alisaie nodded. "Here we take care of those unfortunate souls that spend their final days waiting for the change to overtake them. The Inn at Journey's Head."
So the Inn was a hospice...
"...and life was the journey," S'eni mumbled. Now it made sense.
"It's just a matter of time, more for some, less for others, but they all will become monsters in the end. And to add insult to injury, they're feared, cast out of their homes, and sent here to the edge of the world. The only good thing about this place is that it served as a great training ground. Tesleen and the others have also been kind enough to share their knowledge about the Sin Eaters..." Her friend's face then brightened and she gave her shoulder a friendly pat. "Which I can share with you...while you help me finish my patrol."
She released a chuckle. "Of course. Let's go then."
If Amh Araeng reminded her of Thanalan, then she supposed Mord Souq reminded her of Ul'dah, if only because it housed the biggest marketplace in the entire area. Not like that was saying a great deal since it was a far cry from the pearl of the desert back home.
After they finished their patrol, Alisaie and her had helped Tesleen with some of the patients, giving her a little closer look at what the carers at the Inn had to deal with every day.
If what Alisaie had told her didn't already paint a grim picture, then her interactions with the afflicted surely did. These people were clearly suffering. Some of them couldn't even speak anymore or worse, like that boy Halric, didn't even seem to be able to recognise the world around them.
Seemingly having sensed her mood, Alisaie had offered to head out to Mord Souq, an offer she had eagerly accepted. Before they had left though, Tesleen had asked them to fetch something from the market—
She looked at the fruit in her hand.
—a single nectarine.
"Hmhmhm," a voice suddenly echoed in the back of her mind. She was startled for a second until she realized who it belonged to.
"Feo Ul," S'eni said and a light began dancing in the air in front of her for a moment before the Pixie in question popped into existence. A smile of amusement danced across her lips. "Already tired of exploring my world?"
"Not at all! But I would be a very bad branch if I didn't check up on my little sapling now, wouldn't I?"
As a way for her to access some of her possessions on the First, like money, the Crystal Exarch had asked Feo Ul to make a pact with her. In exchange for their help, they would also be able to travel to the Source through her connection with it.
"Did you deliver my message to Tataru?" she asked them.
The Pixie nodded. "What a strange little woman, that one. 'Huh? What manner of creature are you?' she asked. Like she's never seen a Pixie before."
"Probably because he hasn't. As far as I know, we don't have any Pixies on the Source."
"Oh…" Feo Ul deflated just a tiny bit, fluttering over to her shoulder and letting themselves come to rest upon it. "What a strange world…"
"The closest to your kind would probably be the Sylphs living in the Black Shroud, a very large forest."
"Oho, so like Rak'tika?"
"I guess? I'm not really familiar with Norvrandt, as you probably can imagine."
"In that case, why don't you just ask then?" Tiny fingers drew across the pattern of her gold shoulder ornament. "I've been all over Norvrandt and if my sapling wishes to sate her curiosity, I'll be happy to oblige."
"In that case," S'eni hummed in thought. "What do you think of Amh Araeng then?"
"Such a gloomy place. Not a lot of fun to be had here," Feo Ul said and began to flutter around again. Their arms hugged their tiny body. "And way too cold or hot all the time. Also, the sand is rough and gets everywhere."
A little laugh escaped her. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
"Did that satisfy your curiosity?"
"Yeah. For now."
"Well, then I'll be heading over to your world again to see about these 'cousins' you mentioned, but don't hesitate to call me if you need help!" giving her a tiny wave, the Pixie vanished once again.
Now alone again, her eyes landed on the nectarine in her hand, plump and full, and looking absolutely juicy. Rhon Ron had a whole bunch of them for sale. So why only a single one?
As she wondered about that, familiar steps came walking over to her and she looked up to see Alisaie approaching her, holding a jar in her hand. "Done with your errands?" she asked, standing up from the steps she was sitting on and putting the fruit into one of the pouches resting at her hip.
"I am," her friend replied. "Honestly, how much did you spend here? I have never seen a Mord hand out so much for free."
"I'd...rather not talk about it." her stomach was still very much recovering from that ordeal. "What you got there?"
"Just some honeyed worms. No, they're not for me, so don't give me that look. They're an offering of sorts."
"An offering?"
"You'll see," Alisaie said and motioned for her to follow. "Come, there's something I want to show you."
They walked over to the sole tower in town and, after bribing the Mord standing guard with the honeyed worms, headed upstairs. Stepping out onto the platform, S'eni was offered a view over the entire area, the seemingly endless sea of dunes looking suddenly rather small and even the Inn which had been a good distance away from town didn't feel so far away now.
But she quickly realised that Alisaie wasn't here to show her the nice view.
"There," her friend said, pointing over to the remains of the Flood of Light. "See that gap over there?"
"Yeah," she replied, holding a hand up to shield her eyes from the glaring light as she tried to get a better look at what was beyond it. "Is that a plateau?"
"That's right. It's the land left behind by the Flood. Scrubbed entirely clean, empty. Which is where it takes its name from: the Empty," Alisaie explained.
"Have people tried exploring it?" S'eni asked, looking away from the white surface and towards Alisaie. "Maybe there's still something out there."
"I doubt that. Anyone who has ever stepped on it had their aether corrupted by the Light. Nothing survives there."
"I see..." With a frown, she glanced back at the barren white beyond the wall of glowing aether.
"That boy, Halric...he loves to eat nothing more than nectarines," Alisaie then said.
A look of realization dawning on her face, S'eni reached into her pouch and pulled out the fruit. "So it's for him?"
The younger woman nodded. "You heard what Tesleen said. That his time may be near."
Silence set over them for a moment as Alisaie gazed out towards the hospice.
"Sooner or later they all turn into Sin Eaters. Tesleen and the others know that. They're ready to end their suffering before the transformation is complete. One final act of mercy, a little bit of poison in their last meal, that's how it always ends." She released a shuddering sigh. "We fight without end, yet it still isn't enough."
"Alisaie..."
Shaking her head, she looked away from the Inn.
"Remember how I made you promise not to leave me? Shortly after I was the one who left you," Alisaie said. "I felt terrible for abandoning you on the battlefield, so I swore to myself that I would continue to fight here instead. No matter how hard it would be."
She glanced at the fruit in S'eni's hand. "Let's head back. We have kept Tesleen waiting long enough. The nectarine will be a kindness."
As Alisaie began to head back, S'eni remained where she was, looking out towards the white nothing beyond the wall. After a few seconds, her eyes shifted over to the Inn and she wondered for what felt like the hundredth time just how in the seven hells they were going to fix this.
"A kindness, huh?" turning around, she began to follow her friend on her way down, carefully placing the nectarine back into her pouch.
It was quite heavy.
Okay, real story here: I actually went to Amh Araeng first on my playthrough and I so was not prepared for what was awaiting me there. I feel like while the arrival on the First definitely set the stage for the story, it was Amh Araeng that set the mood for what you were dealing with.
And then I did Kholusia and, well, that's a different can of worms.