Home of Scholars and Sages
Reunited with her friend, the Warrior of Light and her companions soon travelled westward into Dravania once more. Their destination: the abandoned colony of Sharlayan, where knowledge gathered over generations remained buried even to this day, lying forgotten after the great exodus many years ago.
It was that knowledge which they hoped would be the key to entering Azys Lla and to stop whatever scheme the Archbishop and the Ascians had conceived.
She didn't expect to be back in the Dravanian Forelands so soon after their initial journey to parlay with the dragons. Hells, it almost felt like yesterday that they had climbed atop Sohm Al.
But there was something...different in the air, she could feel it. Uncertainty seemed to pervade everything. Was it because of Nidhogg's death?
What do you think, Midgardsomr? She asked in her mind. The ancient wyrm remained silent. Yet ever since Sohm Al, she could feel his presence more keenly, just like in the days after he had first sealed away Hydaelyn's blessing; watching her in interest as she loosened the grip of his claw little by little.
S'eni looked around as their group entered Tailfeather. If the hunters had taken note of the change, then they managed to carry it off well, going about their business like it was any other day and only sparing them a few glances until they recognised Alphinaud and her.
"The last time we were here, Estinien and Ysayle were with us," Alphinaud mused as they reached the Aetheryte. He looked at her. "It wasn't long ago, but I still find myself feeling a little nostalgic."
She chuckled, giving the young Elezen a nod. A weary sigh made them both look towards their other companion.
"A long soak in the Lifestream followed by a long journey..." Y'shtola said, walking past S'eni and lowering herself to sit down at the base of the giant crystal. She shook her head, her now free flowing bangs moving with the motion. "I wouldn't recommend it to anyone."
"Are you alright?" she asked, a concerned frown forming on her face.
"Just a little fatigued," the other woman admitted. "But I can feel my strength returning to me. Not much longer and I'll be back to my former self."
"I guess we'll be taking a break then," S'eni said. Putting her hands on her hips, she looked around a little, wondering if it might be alright to bother the hunters for a meal for Y'shtola. But knowing her, she would probably say no anyway. Still, it might be worth a shot.
As she searched for one of the hunters to ask, her eyes fell on something else that made her pause. Domesticated Chocobos.
The corners of her lips rising in a smile, she said. "I've got an idea."
"Oh?" Y'shtola tilted her head a little. "What is it?"
"Just something that might make the rest of our journey easier." Turning her head, she glanced at Alphinaud. " I was thinking maybe we should ask Marcechamp to lend us some Chocobos."
"That's an excellent idea, S'eni!" he said, eyes lighting up. "We would be saving a considerable amount of time that way. I'll go ask him right away."
"I—" she started, but Alphinaud had already begun to walk towards the hunter's hut. "—could have done that too..."
Looking at Y'shtola, she earned herself a shrug, then released a sigh before sitting down next to her.
"So I take it no complaints on your end?" she asked.
Y'shtola cocked an eyebrow. "Why would there be? It's a sensible plan."
"You know exactly why." A grin splitting S'eni's face, she playfully nudged her friend with an elbow.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Yeah, right."
With a huff, the other Miqo'te shook her head again. "You're impossible."
Her grin turned into a smile and she bumped her shoulder into Y'shtola's. "That's why you like me..."
Y'shtola didn't look at her, but she could still see the corners of her lips as they curled upward. "Perhaps."
They shared a little laugh, before letting a comfortable silence set in between them. Soon enough, Alphinaud returned to them, but the expression on his face already told her that things didn't go as planned.
"Marcechamp agreed, but there's a problem," he told them.
The two women shared a look. "Well, what's the problem? Do I have to run some errands?"
That was usually the case.
He shook his head. "They can only spare one Chocobo."
"Hmm, that's unfortunate," Y'shtola said, crossing her arms.
"Not really," S'eni replied and got back to her feet. Walking past Alphinaud, she gave him a little clap on the shoulder before putting her thumb and index finger between her lips and blowing.
A loud whistle rang through the air, echoing far and wide into the distance, and the hunters that had largely been paying them no mind turned to see who had made the ruckus, some of them even sending her impressed looks.
A moment passed, but nothing happened.
"What—" Y'shtola began, but found herself shushed by S'eni who perked up her ears.
Another moment passed.
"Wark!" they all turned to look into the direction the cry came from to see a black feathered Chocobo running towards them at top speed.
For a second, it looked like S'eni was about to be run over, but the Chocobo came to an abrupt halt and slid the rest of the distance, right into her waiting arms.
"Hey, big guy!" she greeted him, immediately starting to ruffle his feathers and receiving coos of delight in return.
The others could only stare at the display in front of them.
"W-where did he come from?!" Alphinaud asked in shock, mouth agape.
"Oh he's been with us the entire time. I let him roam, but he's never too far away," she explained, then returned her attention to Zack. "Isn't that right?"
"Kweh," the big bird replied, earning himself another pat before S'eni turned to fully face her friends again.
"He's strong enough to carry two of us," she explained.
"Ah, I see..." the young Elezen said. "Then I suppose I will go and get the Chocobo."
After he had left, Y'shtola slowly rose back to her feet and walked over to them, eyes focused on Zack.
"You have your own Chocobo," she said matter-of-factly.
"Not just any Chocobo. A black Chocobo!" S'eni replied with an enthusiastic grin, taking a step aside and posing like an Ul'Dahn merchant revealing the newest addition to his goods. "He can fly!"
An awkward silence set in, only to be broken by Zack walking a couple of steps away from them. After a short moment, he started doing squats on the spot.
"What is he doing?" Y'shtola asked, eyebrows rising.
"He does that sometimes. His..." S'eni cleared her throat. "His name is Zack."
"I...see. He seems energetic."
"Oh, he sure is." Walking over to him, she made him stop his little exercise by putting a hand on his back. Not a moment too soon either, as Alphinaud was arriving on top of the Chocobo so graciously loaned to them.
Climbing on top of Zack, she reached her hand out towards Y'shtola, smiling. "Shall we then?"
Her friend mirrored the expression before taking the offered hand and letting herself be pulled up.
S'eni took hold of the reins, looked over to Alphinaud and exchanged a nod with him. "Hold on tight," she told Y'shtola, who circled her arms around her waist.
And with that, they were off.
The Dravanian Hinterlands were as beautiful as she had imagined. Situated in the westernmost part of Abalathia's Spine, it was filled with lush greenery thanks to the Thaliak River that flowed through it, splitting the entire landscape into two.
And in the midst of it all, the colony of Sharlayan.
Having lost most of its former glory in only 15 years, the smooth, domed buildings and decorative towers made of tan stone that remained were nevertheless a sight to behold and made S'eni wonder how their distant island home must look like if this once prosperous city was just a colony.
But while these glory days were now over, as Y'shtola had put it—
A loud bang echoing through the air, followed by a cloud of dark smoke made her look to the right where a group of goblins was tinkering with what she assumed was a machine.
—it was certainly not lacking in keepers.
To say that they were surprised when they found out who was now calling the abandoned colony their home, was to say Coerthas was a little cold. That they were working together with a group of treasure hunters turned settlers was just the cherry on top of the cake that this entire revelation was.
After the initial shock had worn off, they had agreed to fulfil a few tasks for them in exchange for their help to clear the path leading to the other side of the river and their destination, the cave of Master Matoya.
Currently, they were in the midst of deactivating a group of golem sentinels that were prowling the area and getting in the way of the expansion plans. Luckily they were constructed by the Sharlayans in such a way that a simple command could disable them, and it just so happened that Y'shtola remembered it.
Or so she claimed.
"Noughts and Crosses," S'eni said to one after she approached it. The walking construct slowly turned and stared at her with its glowing gaze, before the light faded and it collapsed onto itself. She looked at the pile of stones, kicking one just to make sure, then turned her eyes towards Y'shtola. "...I was actually expecting it to malfunction and attack me."
"I take it you have been burned more than once in that regard?"
"You should come join me and my fellow guild members," she replied as they began to walk towards the next golem. "Then you can see first hand how quickly things can go sideways."
"Perhaps when my interest is sufficiently piqued," Y'shtola said lightly. "But you can rest assured that everything will work as intended around here. Unless someone has started to tinker with things they shouldn't have."
The other Miqo'te sent a look towards the group of Goblins that seemed to have managed to get things under control again.
"Still mad?"
"I'm not mad." Y'shtola shook her head with a sigh. "It's like I said, it feels like having strangers take over your home in your absence. Yet I can't truly fault them for it."
Approaching the next Golem, the other Miqo'te said "Noughts and Crosses" and continued on her way, not even waiting for a reaction, instead letting the sound of collapsing stone speak for itself.
"In a way, I'm glad that these empty halls will serve as someone's home once more. It's a complicated feeling."
"I'm sure it is."
After deactivating two more golems, they made their way back to the Cenotaph, towering over everything even in its broken state. There they found, amongst the goblins and treasure hunters, Zack prowling about, clicking his tongue while digging in the dirt for something.
The people around him gave him some amused looks but otherwise didn't do anything as he wasn't getting in the way.
"That reminds me," Y'shtola started, watching as he plucked a bug from the ground. "I haven't asked where you got him from yet."
"While I was away on some errands, Tataru and Alphinaud were accused of heresy and I served as her champion in trial by combat," S'eni explained, feeling her mood darkening. "Afterwards, Haurchefant gave him to me as a present."
A little smile formed on her lips, but it soon fell at her friend's next words.
"Tataru has told me what happened," Y'shtola said. "I'm sorry. I know you two had been friends for some time."
"Yeah..."
The two fell silent, choosing to instead watch Zack some more. After apparently either having had his fill or due to slim pickings, he headed over to the remains of a wall. They watched as he proceeded to spread his wings before taking off into the Hinterlands.
"Is he really going to be alright?" the other Miqo'te asked.
"Oh yes. You've seen how easily he could carry us around. Believe me, you don't want to be hit by a kick from those legs." She chuckled, feeling her spirits lift once more. "Guess all those squats are good for something."
"He must have had a good trainer."
"The best."
"Do you...want to talk about it?"
"Not really, but thank you," S'eni said gently. Walking over to the wall that Zack had just flown over, she made sure that it wouldn't collapse anymore than it already was before climbing on the rubble and looking out into the distance.
She could see the entirety of the Dravianian Hinterlands from here. Sitting down, she waited for Y'shtola to join her before speaking. "It must have been amazing back then."
"It was," Her friend replied. "And I suppose it will be again. Only this time it will be called Idyllshire."
Idyllshire. It was a simple name, but it held within it a dream of home.
"So, where will we be going once we cross the river?" S'eni asked.
Y'shtola looked out towards the western bank and pointed towards the buildings there. "We will travel through the Answering Quarter to the swampland and from there we will head towards the mountains."
"Answering Quarter?"
"It's where the majority of our education took place." A look of melancholy crossed her features. "I spent many hours a day there, always learning, even after I became Master Matoya's apprentice. Well, if I had the time that was."
"I don't even know her and she already sounds like a handful." That earned her a chuckle from Y'shtola.
"Oh most definitely. The first few months were the hardest, but I adapted soon enough. In the end, I learned a great deal from her and walked out of her cave an Archon, eager to join my fellows." The other Miqo'te turned her head towards S'eni and furrowed her brows when she saw her starting to count on her hand. "...What are you doing?"
"Trying to figure out your age," she replied nonchalantly. The glare that her friend sent her made her pause for a second. "What? I lost 5 years of my life. I'm 27."
Y'shtola only shook her head and sighed, muttering. "Impossible..."
"Whatever." S'eni decided to dismiss the issue and pointed forward at the large dome of light right in the middle of the river. "What's that?"
After ignoring her for a moment, the other Miqo'te relented and turned her gaze the way she pointed. A frown formed on her face. "...I have no idea. That wasn't here 15 years ago."
S'eni watched her narrow her eyes, clearly trying to decipher whatever it was with her new eyesight, but gave up after a while.
"Want to check it out?"
"Yes, it worries me a bit to be honest. But we don't have the time to spare. It will have to wait until after more pressing matters have been taken care of," Y'shtola said. "Thankfully whatever it is seems to be dormant."
"Maybe Matoya will know something about it?" S'eni offered.
"Perhaps."
"S'eni! Y'shtola!" Looking over their shoulders, they saw Alphinaud heading towards them, a satisfied expression on his face.
"Seems like everything went well on his end too," she said, rising to her feet and offering her friend a hand to help her up.
Taking the offered hand, her friend nodded. "Indeed."
After climbing down from the rubble, the two met him halfway. "I saw your handiwork on the way here. That ought to take care of the golems. I say we go and tell Slowfix that we're done with his task."
"Yeah." S'eni nodded. "But I can already tell there's more work waiting for us."
"Adventurer's intuition?" Y'shtola asked as they started to make their way to where the leader of the Goblins was waiting.
"That's right!" she replied with a little wink. "So we should better get this over with before this turns into another Company of Heroes situation."
Her friend released another sigh at the mention of that incident. "Yes. Yes, we should."
Alphinaud could only tilt his head in confusion.