We Fall. Pt 2
The stairs clanked under her feet as she climbed them, step by step the sound echoed up to her ears, but she barely noticed them. A hard look had formed on her face and her hands were clenched into fists.
"History remembered the Warrior of Light, as I knew it would. And I will suffer no one else to rescue the champion whose star has charted my course. I will see this tale to a happy end, my friend. There has been enough tragedy."
Dammit, G'raha! Only you could come up with something so incredibly stupid! S'eni grit her teeth. One hundred years and this was the best plan to come up with!? Kill yourself!?
The vision she had received had answered many questions, but also gave rise to more. What she understood though was that G'raha had come from a different future where the 8th Umbral Calamity had truly happened, using the Crystal Tower as his vehicle. Ever since then he had worked tirelessly to stop this future from happening and to save her.
So that dream that she had, had been an Echo vision from his past, which had also been the future. Gods, what a mess!
She shook her head, unclenching her fists as she exhaled through her nose. Being angry at him was not going to do any good right now. She could still be angry when she found him.
And for that, she needed to follow Emet-Selch's invitation.
"I need an Amaro to head to Kholusia," she said to the Zun fronting the desk of the Amaro Launch.
He nodded his lizard-like head. "Just a moment, I will saddle our swiftest beast to fly you to the island..."
"Actually, I need it to get to the Tempest. The depths of it in fact." Where the Ascian was waiting for her.
"The depths of the Tempest!? Our Amaro can swim, yes, but reaching the ocean floor..."
"Then getting me as close as possible will have to be enough."
"Are you sure about that?"
"I am," S'eni replied, giving him a nod.
"Very well."
Bright white then flashed before her eyes as a spike of hot pain shot through her entire body. It only lasted for a couple of seconds, but it was still enough to make her stumble forward a little and make the Zun look at her in concern. Releasing a shuddering breath, she shook her head, silently telling him to continue with his work.
Her ears perked at the sounds of steps approaching.
"Ah, thou art here," she heard Urianger's unmistakable voice say and she turned around to see her friends walking over to her.
S'eni's eyes immediately landed on Y'shtola. Her shoulders were tense, and there was clear worry marring her beautiful features. Only when the group came to a stop, did she relax a little, but her pale eyes never let her out of sight for even a moment.
Oh, how much S'eni just wanted to run over and embrace her, but there were other, more important things right now. Her gaze then came to rest on Urianger.
"By thy look, I gather thou hast gleaned that which I came to tell thee," he said.
"I did." She nodded. "And once again, you had me fooled."
Walking over to her, Urianger knelt down in front of her.
"I offer no excuses. When I agreed to aid the Exarch with his plans, 'twas in full acceptance of the condemnation I would face when my duplicity was laid bare...Yet it is not rancor but resolve that I sense in thee. Thou art fully intent upon walking thy path to its end, art thou not?" his eyes found hers. "If thou canst forgive my deception─or, failing that, set aside thy displeasure for a time─I do beg leave to follow thee. What strength and wisdom I possess are thine to command."
S'eni raised her hand. With how tall he was, his head was still at chest height to her. Perfect to slap some godsdamned sense into him for lying to them again.
Instead, though, she placed her hand on top of his shoulder. "No more lies."
"Pray believe me when I say that I took no pleasure in deceiving thee. Indeed, I curse the circumstances which compelled me to do so... But no further secrets lie between us, I swear it."
"Alright..." S'eni sighed. "I forgive you. Let's go."
"I'm sorry but...I don't think this is a good idea," Ryne interjected, making everyone look at her. "Leaving the Crystarium, I mean. With or without Urianger. What I did for you won't last forever. There's no telling when the Light will break free again. Please, you must stay here, at least for a little while longer! We will find a way to cure this, I promise you!"
"How can you make promises!? We don't even know where to start!" Alisaie all but shouted.
"Alisaie, please." Alphinaud reached out to his sister. "You know Ryne was only trying to help."
She brushed him off. "Of course I know! I know it only too well! But making promises you have no way of keeping is not a kindness─it's a lie, plain and simple!" she said, gritting her teeth as her voice began to crack. "We've searched everywhere for an answer and we all came back empty handed! I'm not about to stand in her way, not after failing her in her hour of need. No, the least we can do—"
Tears began to run down Alisaie's face, and this time she didn't resist as her brother moved to comfort her. He closed his eyes for a moment before turning them towards S'eni.
"We will go with you as well," he said. "There's nothing to be gained from standing around."
"I have no intention to wait for your return either," Y'shtola said, walking towards S'eni and coming to a stop in front of her. Silvery white locked onto her own cherry pink, the worry in them giving way to determination.
S'eni's lips formed into a thin line. "I'm a danger, you know?"
"Indeed. But I do believe I speak for us all if I say that I don't care. Where you go, we shall follow and if there's any hope to be found, it will surely be by your side."
"Shtola..." she looked away from her, eyes focusing on the ground instead. A soft hand coming to rest on her lower arm made her look up once more. "Thank you. Everyone."
Y'shtola gave her arm a soft squeeze, a smile on her face as if to ask, "Did you really think I would have let you go through this alone?"
Thancred looked at Ryne. "Do you agree?" he asked.
The girl nodded.
Then, another, more unexpected voice called out, "Is there something we can do to help?"
Startled, S'eni turned into the direction from where it came and saw not one, but an entire group of people coming towards them. Lyna, Glynard, Bragi, Katliss, Chessamile, Moren, and many more, all people that kept the Crystarium going even now.
"We don't know what exactly you're planning, but it's got to import, right?" Katliss asked in good spirits. "So while the Exarch's away, it falls to us to give the Warrior of Darkness a proper send-off!"
"You told them!?" Alphinaud asked Lyna, who shook her head.
"No! Well...not in so many words."
Next to her, Glynard, laughed. "We didn't need it spelled out for us. When the night sky appeared over whichever place you went to, it was harder not to put two and two together!"
Bragi nodded. "I had my suspicions ever since I heard you share the same homeland as the Exarch," the Ronso said. "He has been waiting all this time for a certain someone to arrive...and I knew at once that it was you."
"That's right," one of the Crystarium's guards then said. "I was there when he picked you up at the gate. That spring in his step spoke volumes. I could feel his excitement!"
A murmur of agreement went through the crowd until Moren spoke up.
"We do not fully understand where you or the Exarch hail from, or why you've all done so much to protect us. But we are deeply grateful, nonetheless," he said. "So please, if there is anything we might do to aid you, you need to only name it."
Y'shtola turned towards her once more, the smile on her face now reflecting amusement. "We would be quite a crowd if we took them all with us. What do you say, O Warrior of Darkness?"
Taken aback, S'eni looked at the others, each having an expecting smile on their face, before releasing a chuckle and addressing the crowd. "Leave it to us!" she told them. "We'll see the Exarch home safe and sound!"
A cheer went through the crowd. She watched them for a few moments, clapping and saluting and talking among themselves, and she felt a wave of warmth rise deep inside of her, lifting her battered spirit. As she looked back towards her lover, she received a nod from her, and she found herself wondering if this was what Minfilia had felt in the past whenever she had spoken to them.
While no one was looking, S'eni reached out and took hold of Y'shtola's hand, gently running her thumb across the silver claw adorning her finger. "Let's go."
It became quickly apparent that traveling by Amaro was not the ideal option for their group, as even her ability to breathe underwater would leave her far too exhausted once she arrived where Emet-Selch was waiting for them.
Thankfully, Urianger seemed to have a solution for that problem, though when she asked him what it was, he simply told her that she would see once they arrived at Sullen, a fishing hamlet at the coast of Lakeland.
And now, as they stood upon its docks, S'eni saw nothing but water stretching out before them, reflecting the glow of the Light above as if to mock her about her failings. She looked at Urianger.
"So what am I supposed to look out for?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders lightly.
"There, to the west," he replied, pointing towards a lone isle in the middle of the sea. "That foliage-covered mass hideth the key to our safe descent."
"Alright?" S'eni cocked an eyebrow, but did not further comment until they were well on their way across the water in one of the boats that they managed to borrow from the villagers. "And how is that island going to help us get to the bottom of the sea?"
He smiled. "Mayhaps thou wouldst like to plunge beneath the surface to divine the reason for my insistence."
"Ah," Y'shtola chimed up from next to her. "Now I see what you mean."
"What do you see?" she asked her.
The other Miqo'te giggled into her fist. "And take away from the mystery?"
S'eni looked between the two of them before rolling her eyes with a groan. Without another word, she just rolled backwards into the water. As she swam over to the islands, the first thing she noticed was that it was apparently free-floating, which in itself was already strange. But it was only when she circled around it that something strange caught her eye.
...did that part just...twitch?
Swimming closer, she reached a hand out towards it, brushing away algae and letting it come to rest above a small gathering of barnacles at the tip.
It was warm.
Eyes widening in realization, S'eni swam slowly backwards and took in this so-called isle.
It was some sort of whale!
S'eni rose up and broke through the surface, climbing out of the water where she was immediately greeted by Alphinaud.
"Ah, there you are. Are you done with your investigation?"
"You could say that," she replied, shaking the water out of her ears and tail. "Where's Urianger?"
"If you follow that path, you'll reach the top of the island. He's waiting there."
"Well, guess I'll go talk to him then."
As she made her way up, she ran into Y'shtola, taking in the scenery a little and turning towards her when she noticed her approach, eyes twinkling in amusement. "I take it you have figured out Urianger's little mystery?"
"Yeah. Though I wish he would just say things straight for once." S'eni wrung out a part of her himation. "Mind giving me a hand here?"
Y'shtola eyed her up and down, then held up her hand. In a matter of seconds, the air around S'eni began to heat up and her clothes began to dry.
"I'm surprised you haven't learned a relatively simple spell like this yet," her lover pointed out.
"You know me. I might have focused more on the combat practical part first. Drying clothes wasn't exactly on top of the list," S'eni said.
"Well, you're in luck. It's not unlike conjuring up a flame. I will teach you later, if you would like."
If there even is a later. Instead though, she said, "Sure, Master Matoya."
Her lover huffed. After a few moments, Y'shtola pulled her hand away. "There, that should be enough."
Patting herself up and down, she nodded in satisfaction at the renewed dryness of her clothes. "Thanks. Are you coming along?"
"I think I shall stay here a little longer."
"Alright."
She found Urianger standing in the middle of a grass-covered hill looking about the area. When he spotted her, the corners of his lips curled upward. "Well? What hast thou discerned?"
"That this isn't an island at all. A little bit too alive, but you obviously knew that already," she replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Most perceptive. According to the legends of the Pixies, we are, even now, perched upon the back of an ancient Fae entity."
"A Fae?" S'eni looked down at the grass below them. How long must it have been here for it to have, well, grass grow all over it?
"Its name is 'Bismarck'." Her eyes shot up to him. "Aye, the selfsame title by which we know the great feathered whale revered by the Vanu Vanu of the Source. I would enlist its aid to bear us unto the deep, and thence banish the water with an airy sphere, alike in form to the domes which do shelter the hamlets 'neath the Ruby Sea."
"I see. Yeah, that would definitely save us the trouble of swimming."
He nodded. "And defend ourselves when the hour of battle cometh, as it most surely shall. Now, I must needs ask for silence whilst I make my supplication..."
One by one, the others came to join them while Urianger looked for a spot from which he could talk to the Fae. When he found it, he knelt down to the ground and began to speak, his voice ringing with a revering tone as said those words she didn't understand.
The ground under their feet began to shake, soon followed by a booming voice. Bismarck. They exchanged a few words and a moment passed before the giant Fae replied once more, causing her friend to hang his head.
"I don't need to speak Fae to know that didn't go well," Alisaie said.
"Looks like it." S'eni placed a hand on the back of her hip, tapping her foot a few times. There had to be something—Of course! Looking up, she called out, "We need your help, my lovely branch!"
Almost as soon as the words had left her mouth, a twinkle appeared in the sky and shot towards them, twirling around their group in a few happy circles, then stopping right in front of her.
"My Sune Yak!" Feo Ul said as they popped into existence. "You finally learned to call me at last!"
The Pixie looked around their gathered group. "And where are you all going? On a trip?"
"We're trying to get to the bottom of the Tempest to find the one responsible for all this," S'eni told them.
"I knew you wouldn't give up without a fight!" Feo Ul brought their hands together in a happy little gesture. "Oh, my precious mortal. I shall help you in any way I can!"
With a chuckle, she watched Feo Ul float over to where Urianger was and begin to speak with Bismarck as well. She glanced over to Y'shtola, who looked at her with a curious eyebrow, and gave her a shrug and a little grin in return.
After her little branch was done, they turned towards Urianger, a satisfied grin on their face. "Be sure to scrub this one's teeth for him upon your return. It's only good manners."
"It will be done, Your Majesty." Her friend bowed his head to them. "Our deepest thanks for your timely intervention."
Feo Ul nodded, then floated higher to address them all. "An agreement is reached, and your departure is at hand! You wingless ones best hold on tight!" they said, offering them all a bright smile. "May the blessings of the Fae keep you safe, In Ba!"
Bismarck released a loud whistle that shook the ground underneath their feet and spoke once more. "Guess that's our cue. Thank you, Feo Ul," she said to her little branch, earning herself a giggle before the Pixie disappeared once more.
Slowly, the giant Fae began to move and they hurried into the small cave behind them to not get thrown off as he rose into the air, higher and higher until they had passed way beyond Lakeland into the direction of Kholusia.
When she noticed that they weren't ascending anymore, S'eni rose back to her feet and walked over to the edge of the cave, sitting down there and closing her eyes. The wind tickled her face and she took a deep, calming breath.
She remained like this for a while, listening to what little she could make out of her friends words from out here and over the wind, until she felt a presence sit down next to her.
"Gil for your thoughts?" she heard Y'shtola ask, making her lips quirk upward.
"Isn't that usually my line?"
"I chose to borrow it."
S'eni chuckled and opened her eyes, looking towards Y'shtola. "Just wondering what Emet-Selch is having in store for us. Well, I suppose me, actually. I don't think he's expecting any of you."
"That's too bad for him," her lover said dryly.
"Other than that..." she shook her head. "Nothing. If we fail, that's it. Then all we fought for was for nothing. And I'll be...a Sin Eater."
A deep frown formed on Y'shtola's face.
"I'm sorry," S'eni said. "I should probably try to be more optimistic but I..."
An arm wrapped itself around her shoulder and she let herself get pulled in until her head rested against Y'shtola's shoulder. Closing her eyes once more, she inhaled her scent. Like a spring morning after a rainy night, it soothed her mind, quelling the torrent raging deep inside her soul if only just a tiny fraction.
Right now that was more than enough.
"What did I do to deserve you?" S'eni murmured.
"That's simple. You made me fall in love with you," Y'shtola replied.
"No idea how I managed that, to be honest."
Y'shtola's left hand moved to take hold of hers, giving it a soft squeeze. "By just being you."
Silence wrapped itself around them like a warm blanket and S'eni wished they could just stay like this forever. But she knew all too well that it wasn't possible. A single glance at their joined hands reminded her that time was ever ticking and that she didn't know just how much she actually still had left.
She just hoped it would be enough.
They remained like this for some time longer, until their new flying friend released another loud whistle and she could feel that they were beginning to descend.
Reluctantly, they let go of one another and returned to their friends. S'eni felt a sudden rush of vertigo as the ocean began to grow closer and closer, counting the seconds in her mind until they would break the surface.
She closed her eyes.
In the furthest depths of the Tempest sat a lone figure, looking at the magnificent skyline stretching out as far as the eyes could see, each light like a star twinkling in the darkest light, serving as a guide in uncertain times.
Amaurot.
It was nothing more than a pale imitation, created in a flight of fancy at the bottom of the sea, yet sitting here on the edge of one of the buildings, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of nostalgia.
Laid out next to him were 14 stones, each shaped the same, but holding a unique color and pattern. Absentmindedly, he reached out for a dark purple one, holding it up to look at it, his eyes scanning over the constellation engraved in it even though he knew it by heart.
A loud whistle, almost like a song, reverberated through the water, then from one moment to the next, it was gone and replaced by air.
"Well, that's certainly an entrance if I have ever seen one," he said. He put the stone he was holding inside a bag, then proceeded to do the same with the rest. Only when he reached the final, fourteenth stone, did he pause. It was a warm orange and on it the circular symbol of the sun.
For a brief second, a face flashed in his mind, half-covered by a mask but not enough to hide the smile on its soft features, as bright and warm as the sun itself. Then it was gone again, leaving only the cold stone in his hand. The ghost of a smile danced across his face, before turning into an even deeper frown.
He put it to the rest of them and returned his attention to the skyline.
With a deep exhale, Emet-Selch closed his eyes and let his mind ride on the currents of memory as he had done countless times in these equally countless years.
Riding...home.
You know, I really like this moment where we set out to leave the Crystarium on our own and just about everyone shows up. I feel like that was the moment where we, as the WoL, have truly become the party leader, with us addressing the crowd and all. It's not a ground shattering scene or anything, but it sort of made everything fall into place and click together.
Anyways, next chapter we'll take a dive into a past long forgotten. See ya.