Unlikely Alliances
Not long after that evening, the situation took a turn for the worse, as not long after they had left to save Flame General Raubahn from his impending execution, news came that the Dravanian horde was gathering its forces for another assault on the city.
But instead of fleeing like I had urged them to, they came up with a daring plan to avoid any further bloodshed on both sides. They did not know that the decision they made that day would be the first broken piece of a moment built on a millennium of lies, that would serve as the stepping stone to lasting peace.
Darkness.
She was surrounded by nothing but darkness. The crippling pain in her chest that had struck her just mere moments ago was slowly ebbing into a throbbing ache with every second that passed.
As her eyes opened, darkness slowly gave way to a familiar image. Six crystals surrounded her, their once bright light taken away and turning them into a dull grey, making them no better than the rocks they now shared their color with.
They just floated there, as if to mock her.
"Make thine destiny, special one," she heard Midgardsomr's voice echo all around her. "Break free from mine claw with thine own strength. If thou truly hath special power, thou can end the battle of judgement."
All of a sudden, an almost blinding light surged out from underneath her, concentrating in front of her for a moment before shooting towards one of the crystals.
It absorbed the light, welcoming it with open arms like one would an old friend, and soon after it started to pulse in a bright blue as its power slowly returned.
"S'eni." A voice echoed in the distance. Calling her. "S'eni!"
"S'eni!" Her eyes shot open and she jumped a little as she returned to the here and now. Alphinaud stood in front of her, concern reflecting in his eyes and his gloved hand resting on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked.
That was...unexpected, she thought, taking a breath before nodding.
The young Elezen didn't seem fully convinced. "A long journey is lying ahead. If you need a rest just say so."
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Really," she assured him, the corners of her lips curling into a smile. "Let's go, we don't want to keep the other's waiting."
The others in this case being the esteemed Azure Dragoon, Estinien Wyrmblood, and none other than Lady Iceheart herself, whom the three of them had come here in hopes that she would help them in parlaying with the dragons.
Accepting her words, Alphinaud nodded and turned around to follow the other two. S'eni released another breath, a cloud of warm fog forming instantly, and looked around.
Snow as far as the eye could see. If one thought the Central Coerthas Highlands were bad they have never seen the western ones. Cold, inhospitable, and roaming with monsters looking for their next meal.
Truly the perfect place for the heretics to hide.
Marching down the hill, S'eni frowned as the feeling of being watched overcame her, and she turned slightly to glance over her shoulder. Her eyes scanned the area for a moment but could find nothing besides the dissipating residue of the purple smoke they had used to call Iceheart to them.
She shook her head and resumed her walk to where the others were waiting for her.
"Are we done staring at the air?" Estinien asked as soon as she had caught up with them.
"Yeah," she replied. The famous Azure Dragoon was an imposing figure in his black Drachen scale armor and abrasive in nature, bluntly saying things that she was sure had offended more than one noble in the past. It was refreshing, in a way. Even if he could do with toning it down just a little.
"Then let's not waste any more time." He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
She was about to retort when Iceheart approached her. With her pale skin and long silver-white hair, you could easily confuse her for a mirage created by the snow. But that beautiful exterior was hiding tremendous power not only of the Echo but of a primal as well.
"Your name is S'eni, yes?" She asked.
"That's right."
"Then please address me as Ysayle, if you wish."
S'eni nodded with a smile. "Alright, Ysayle. Nice to meet you and, you know, not fight each other."
"It's strange, isn't it?" the Elezen woman then asked. "That fate brought us together. Never did I think that I would walk alongside the Warrior of Light."
A sigh escaped her, followed by a small smile forming on her lip. "But I suppose history is full of such alliances. Shall we make our way to Dravania then?"
"Sounds like a plan," S'eni said, burying her hands into the pockets of her coat. "Can't wait to get out of this weather."
"Yes, the cold around these parts is quite unrelenting. I would rather be under the canopy of the Chocobo Forest as well."
Her ears perked up. Chocobo Forest?
"Then I would say we better make haste," Alphinaud cut in, obviously not remotely comfortable with the cold as well. "Please, lead the way."
"Very well," Ysayle said and turned around. As she passed Estinien, the Dragoon let out a snort before following soon after.
For a while, the sound of the snow crunching under their boots was the only companion, as a heavy silence set in between the four of them and S'eni found herself watching the Elezen woman. Her thoughts went back to what she had told them, the story of Shiva and Hraesvelgr, and how it was the woman's sacrifice that had brought a peace that lasted for two centuries only to crumble away in the face of a great betrayal.
Whereas if you believe the Holy See, it was Shiva who was the betrayer.
But she supposed it was like Estinien said, it didn't matter what version you believe in; ending this conflict before even more innocent blood would be shed was what mattered.
Yet—
Her eyes flicked over to the Dragoon.
—opinions were clearly differing on how they were to accomplish that. She just hoped it wouldn't come to blows because of it.
Either way, it was going to be an interesting journey.
The Dravanian Forelands were a sight to behold indeed. She had been expecting quite a bit, yet she still couldn't help but feel amazed at the size of the trees that were towering over them, their foliage so thick there was barely any sunlight passing through the leaves.
It was no wonder the local hunters managed to hide from the dragons here.
After they had arrived, Ysayle had wasted no time leading them to the settlement of Tailfeather, where they decided to rest and gather some information before continuing onward further west, to the foothills of Sohm Al.
As she walked around the hunter's village, S'eni perked her ears as she heard the familiar sounds of Chocobos in the distance. It was too bad that Zack wasn't with her, he might have liked it. But then again, wild Chocobos were apparently quite aggressive, so perhaps it was for the best.
Let's see how the others are doing, she thought to herself and headed back the way she came from, passing a few hunters that were going out on their next tour as she did so.
The first of her companions that she encountered was Estinien, sitting on the steps of one of the huts and looking about as cheerful as always with a face half obscured by his helmet. It made her wonder if he ever took it off.
"I see you're already done too?" she asked him as she approached.
"They're all saying the same thing: head west, be careful of the Gnath because they're very territorial," he replied, taking a bite off a piece of jerky he was holding.
"Do you know anything about them?"
"No. But that doesn't really matter. We're not here to deal with some local beast tribe. And if they get uppity—" he nodded towards his spear. "they'll face the consequences."
"Let's hope it won't come to that," she said, crossing her arms. Estinien just snorted and took another bite. "Do you know where the others are?"
"Last I saw, Alphinaud was at the south end."
"And Ysayle?"
"Talking with Marcechamp," the Dragoon said, and S'eni frowned at the tone in his voice.
"It wouldn't hurt to be a little more civil, you know?"
"I'm not here to play nice, I'm here to end this war. One way or another." He spit an especially tough piece of jerky into the grass. "I only promised not to harm her."
"Still, she's helping us here. Not going out of your way to antagonize her would go a long way."
"Duly noted."
Feeling dismissed by the man, S'eni let out a sigh and left, heading towards the south part of the settlement. It didn't take long for her to locate Alphinaud, standing at the edge of Tailfeather facing slightly westward and looking out into the forest, a thoughtful expression on his face.
He didn't even seem to register her as she approached.
"Gil for your thoughts?" she asked, making him jump and turn towards her.
"S'eni," he said after the initial moment of surprise passed. "Is there something you need?"
"Just wondering what's on your mind."
"Ah. It's nothing of consequence." He turned back towards the direction he was facing. "It's just...Sharlayan lies in that direction. The colony that is."
"The one that was abandoned years ago, right?" Y'shtola and the others had told her a little about it in the past.
"Yes. Alisaie and I were born there, but as you can imagine we don't recall anything about it. Now being so close to it feels strange," Alphinaud said.
A smile forming on her lips, S'eni stepped close to him and patted his shoulder. "Let's go check it out when everything's over," she said.
"I doubt there is anything but abandoned ruins there."
"So? It's still better than never having seen it all, right?"
The young Elezen chuckled. "I suppose you're right. Yes, let's do that."
"That's the spirit!" She gave him one more pat, then pulled her hand back. "I'm going to head back. Are you coming too?"
Alphinaud nodded. "Yes. We should probably discuss our next steps anyway."
Together, they headed back to the center of the settlement, where its Aetheryte was located. There they found Estinien and Ysayle, apparently just having had another argument if their body language and the metaphorical thick cloud of animosity hovering above them were anything to go by.
"Alphinaud, S'eni," Ysayle greeted them. "Then we're finally complete."
"I'll take it, that means we're heading out?" S'eni asked.
"Indeed. We will follow the forest trail until we reach the remains of an old statue called the Stained One, but we will have to pass through Gnath territory to get there, so we should remain on our guard. From there we will head straight towards Anyx Trine and when we reach there...please let me do the talking."
Alphinaud and her looked at each other, before nodding in agreement. They then turned to look towards Estinien, who threw up his hands.
"Fine. Whatever," he said.
After giving the hunters their thanks for their hospitality, the four of them left Tailfeather, heading westward.
As soon as they stepped out of the forest and into the open, S'eni found her eyes drawn skyward, to the towering peak that casts its shadow over the entire forelands; Sohm Al.
What awaited them there, she did not know. But hearing the roar of dragons in the distance, she knew that the hardest part was yet to come.