The Rule of the Steppe
To be accepted as warriors of the Steppe we each had to take part in a trial that would have us retrace the footsteps of a great and ancient warrior called Bardam. Reaching the place was a challenge in and of itself, but it was still nothing compared to taming a Yol in battle.
After successfully completing the trial, we were about to return to Mol Iloh on top of our tamed birds, when we were approached by warriors of the Oronir, who demanded we should accompany them.
Sensing an opportunity, Hien agreed. But little did we know that the leading Khan had specific things for us in mind.
A sigh escaped S'eni, as she stared into the water in front of her. Small ripples danced across its surface as a wind blew past her from the south. It was deep. So deep that she could barely make out the plants growing at the bottom of the lake.
Turning her head, she looked at the guards standing in front of the gate leading to the top of the Dawn Throne, watching her every move. One of them held a little smirk on his lips.
When the Oronir had practically ambushed them outside of Bardam's Mettle, she didn't exactly expect that they would be running errands once they arrived here. But as new warriors of the Steppe, it was apparently expected of them to pay tribute to the Khan.
And in her case, that meant diving deep into a lake and gathering plants.
She sure had to swim a lot these days...
Ah, Seven Hells... she thought to herself and began to strip down to her underwear, not feeling any desire to run around in soaked clothes again. After she had dropped everything onto the stone walkway that led across the lake, she sent the two guards a glare.
"If I find even one thing missing I'm going to take it out of your scales, understood?" Not waiting for a response, she dived in.
As soon as she had entered the water, S'eni became increasingly glad for the Kojin's blessing since even a good swimmer like her would be hard-pressed to scour this lake without having to come up for air multiple times. Something she was sure the Oronir themselves were very much aware of.
Well, they were in for a surprise.
Now, where is that swordgrass? She asked herself while trying to recall the description that she had been given. Long, narrow, white stems...there!
Swimming over to them, she pulled out a handful of them. It didn't take long for her to find the next bundle, as they seemingly grew in abundance down here, but it still took her a while until she had gathered the necessary amount and by the end had done one huge circle around the Dawn Throne.
With a loud splash, S'eni emerged once again, making the guard that had come over and looking down into the water jump and whirl around towards her.
"What?" she asked while pulling herself out of the water. "Never seen a Miqo'te having a swim before?"
He simply looked at her, dumbstruck.
"Yeah, figured as much." Shaking the water out of her tail and ears, she gathered her things, did a little check that nothing was gone, then marched over to the gate where she was silently allowed to pass.
After heading up the stairs, S'eni stepped out onto the grassy ground that had been planted on the Dawn Throne and cast her gaze over the area in search of a very specific Au Ra.
Baatu.
Luckily, he was not standing too far away from her, talking with one of his fellows. When he noticed her walking over, he stopped what he was saying and turned towards her.
"She returns," he said, taking in her appearance until his eyes landed on what she was holding in her hand. "And with swordgrass too."
"Yes," she replied and slapped the still dripping bundles into his hand. "And now she would like something to dry herself with."
Baatu looked at her, then down to the swordgrass, then towards the Oronir he was just talking to before sending him away with a nod.
"You have braved the depths of Azim Khaat. Well done," Baatu said, shaking the swordgrass a little before putting it into a bag. "Your tribute is accepted. Meet me in front of the palace once you made yourself presentable again and we shall meet our most radiant brother."
With that, he turned around and left.
Watching him for a moment, S'eni dropped her things to the ground and simply waited, choosing to ignore the looks she was receiving; especially those of the women, who sized her up as if she had just challenged them to a duel to the death.
The Oronir soon returned with a blanket made out of woven fur that he handed to her. After drying herself as thoroughly as possible and putting her clothes back on, she made her way over to the palace where Baatu was waiting for her.
Let's see what else the Khan has in mind for us...
The clacking of Gosetsu's geta echoed through the air while they walked down the steps of the Dawn Throne. Not a word was spoken between him and S'eni. Occasionally, his eyes shifted towards her and his brow creased at the clenching and unclenching of her fist, yet he still held his tongue until they had reached the gate that would them outside once more.
"Are you... alright?" he asked her.
"I'm fine," she replied curtly and kicked the doors open, causing the two guards from earlier to jump and point their spears towards them.
Raising her hand to brush aside the one pointing at her, she sent them a glare but otherwise ignored them as she walked past them.
"Are you sure?" Gosetsu raised his eyebrows as she began to shake.
How dare he...
How dare he...
She whirled around and it was only through the Samurai's sheer strength that she was being held back.
How dare Magnai call her unfeminine!
"You seem quite upset," he said dryly, his large hands holding her in place even as she struggled against him.
"Let go of me! I'm going to tear every scale off his body!"
"I am afraid I cannot let you do that!"
They wrestled for a good few minutes, almost looking as if they were having a comical dance with one another if not for S'eni growling and hurling insults at a certain Khan all the while until finally, she had calmed down again.
"Fine, let's go," she said, turning around when Gosetsu finally let go of her. S'eni stomped away from the Dawn Throne, rubbing one of her earrings. "Not feminine, pfah!"
Back at the gate, the two Oronir just looked at each other and shrugged.
She should actually feel glad that she wasn't a potential prospect to be his 'moon', but dammit if it wasn't vexing!
Once they had put some distance between themselves and the giant monument, and she had further calmed herself, S'eni turned towards Gosetsu. "So, where do we begin?"
After the four of them had completed their tasks, they had immediately received their next and final one, to act as spies. And to make sure that they wouldn't get any funny ideas, Hien and Lyse were to remain behind as leverage.
The older man pulled out a map and unfolded it.
"According to this, we have to travel southwest from here until we reach the desert. There is a colossal wreck that should prove as a good vantage point here—" he tapped on the location. "It is not far from Dotharl Khaa."
"Hm, not exactly around the corner though..." she said, drawing a finger along a potential route. "Should we fly?"
"That would certainly be the quickest way about it, but would also draw attention to us. Even if we would just travel halfway, the Dotharl would be bound to spot our Yols in the distance."
"Yeah, you're right. But traveling the entire way on foot would take a long time." S'eni put her hand on the back of her waist and tapped her foot in thought. "How about we travel to Reunion first then?"
"Reunion?" he asked. "But that is in the opposite direction."
"Yes, but it's nearby and we might be able to get our hands on some less conspicuous mounts, which would shorten our travel time considerably," she explained. Sadly, she had left Zack with Alphinaud and Alisaie since she thought they could be in need of a swift pair of legs if they needed to reach Kugane, but she doubted even he would be strong enough to carry her and someone as massive as Gosetsu at the same time.
"Ah, I see. That does indeed sound like a reasonable course of action. To Reunion then!"
Not wasting any more time than necessary, they began their journey across the area that the Xaela of the Steppe called the Sea of Blades.
"I do hope we can be quick about this," Gosetsu said after a while. "It is clear they expect us to never return and keep my lord and Lyse as slaves. I shall enjoy disappointing them."
"They are an arrogant lot, I'll give you that. They believe it's their duty to protect and guide all other Xaela," S'eni replied and went to explain what Hien and she had learned earlier from that elder. How Azim and Nhaama created the Raen and Xaela respectively to wage war in their stead and how when their children had grown past their hatred and came to love one another, so too did their gods. But the two gods, being of the sun and the moon, would have to forever be apart. Until one day, Azim created an avatar of Xaela likeness to walk amongst his beloved's children; the first of the Oronir. "But Hien believes that will make them reliable allies. If we can convince them we share a common enemy."
"I hope my lord is right then. But before that, we will have to win the Nadaam."
"Yeah."
"That was a fascinating tale though."
And one that made her think. It was an odd coincidence that the sun god of the Au Ra and the sun goddess from Eorzea had rather similar names.
Perhaps something that she could ask her Sharlayan friends about at a later date.
While not a particularly long journey, it still took them a while before they arrived at the Azim Steppe's sole trading hub. Just like on the day of their arrival, the stands were filled with merchants from throughout the entire Steppe, peddling their wares and offering regional delicacies.
Thankfully, the rations that they received from the Mol for their trial managed to keep their hunger at bay or S'eni would be very tempted to buy some of the food right now.
"Hmm, now who here might be willing to part with two of their horses?" Gosetsu wondered, letting his eyes wander across the market.
"Let's just ask the people in charge," she replied and walked over to a woman dressed in long robes and a mask covering the lower half of her face.
A member of the Qestir tribe, the ones who founded and ran Reunion.
As S'eni approached her, she could see the Au Ra's eyebrows rise for a moment before drawing together in a silent question. She offered her a bow in return, then asked her in the only way they would appreciate.
In silence. After all, as Cirina had explained on their first day, spoken words were lies to them.
'Telling' the other woman that they were in need of two horses, S'eni watched her eyes dart towards Gosetsu for a moment before nodding and leaving towards the largest yurt.
The woman soon returned with a man who she assumed must be Qestir's current Khan. Upon coming to a stop, he looked at her with welcoming eyes filled with interest. But his expression soon grew serious as S'eni told him their reason, waving a hand in the direction of the Dawn Throne for emphasis.
A moment passed in which the Khan looked her in the eye, silently judging her intentions. Eventually, he too nodded, then gave the other Qestir a look.
With a smile, S'eni turned towards Gosetsu, who had a more than confused look on his face. "They agreed to lend us two horses. Under the condition that we bring them back safe and sound."
"How?! They did not utter a single word."
"Sometimes words aren't the only way to tell someone what you're thinking," she replied with a shrug.
After receiving the horses, Gosetsu and her began to ride westward. It felt a little weird at first, since she was so used to ride on Zack, but she soon got the hang of it and slowly, brought it to a steady gallop alongside her comrade that swiftly carried them away from Reunion across the grassy plains in record time.
They were passing by the Dawn Throne and turning south where the grass began to turn into sand when the distant sound of thunder made her ears perk up and she looked out towards the horizon. There, in the sky above the desert, she spotted clouds, having gathered together into a wall of dark gray and greens.
A flash of lightning made them light up and S'eni began counting the seconds until the roar of thunder reached them.
It was still far away, but with how the wind began to pick up and delivered that clean, sharp scent to them, it was only a matter of time before it closed in on them.
"Of all the things," Gosetsu muttered as he brought his horse to a stop. "It seems like the Kami have deigned to challenge us as well."
"We should find shelter," she said, already looking around for something that might protect them from the elements. Her eyes landed on the cliffs east of them and the corners of her lips curled upward when spotted what seemed to be a cave nestled into the side of the mountain. "There!"
"Good eye!"
Not wasting any time, they spurred their horses towards the cliffs, always keeping an eye on the approaching storm. They eventually found a small mountain path leading up the side of the cliffs but were forced to dismount and gently lead the horses along it.
With every flash of lightning, the roar of thunder drew closer and closer, and they had just barely made it inside when the sun was blotted out by the ominous squall line that rolled over the turquoise sky like a blanket, followed by a sheer endless torrent of rain.
S'eni observed the storm for a moment before plopping down onto the ground. "Well, looks like we'll be here for a while."
"Indeed," Gosetsu replied, though she could hear the note of frustration in his voice. If they were lucky, the storm would only last for a few hours. Still more than enough time to finish their mission.
She watched the Samurai guide their surprisingly calm horses away from the entrance, then joined her on the ground as well, removing his sword from his side and placing it in front of him. Pulling out a small wooden box that he put next to it, he opened it and began to spread out its contents around himself. A small flask, a few wiping cloths, a small hammer, and some sort of ball-looking thing on a stick.
After he had done so, he grabbed his sword and unsheathed it, taking a long look at the blade. Letting out a hum, he used the hammer to remove the hilt and took one of the wiping cloths to carefully run it across the edge.
"Looks almost like you're performing a ritual," S'eni said, watching in fascination as grabbed the ball-looking thing and tapped it along the blade, applying what seemed to be some sort of powder.
"It is, in a way. A Samurai and his katana are tied to one another. We live and die by it, so we also learn to take care of it." He examined the sword before turning it and repeating the process on the other side. "To die because of a blade that has dulled from mistreatment would be shameful indeed."
"It looks well used," she noted. "How long have you owned it?"
Gosetsu stopped what he was doing for a moment, closing his eyes instead. "Ever since I became a full-fledged Samurai and pledged my services to Doma, back when these bones were still young."
S'eni let out a playful scoff. "When were you ever young?"
He laughed at that, the sound echoing off the walls and even drowning out the thunder for a bit.
"Believe it or not, but I too have once been a spry young man, hot-headed and eager to serve my king." Gosetsu's expression then became one of contemplation. "But even the mightiest warrior cannot defeat time, and I sometimes find myself wondering what will break first. This blade...or this body?"
"Gosetsu..."
"Ah, do not pay attention to the ramblings of an old fool." He waved his hand and grinned. "There is still quite a bit of energy left in me!"
Wiping the powder off the blade, Gosetsu then took the flask and dribbled some of its contents on it before using the other wiping cloth to apply it evenly across its entire length.
After he was done fully cleaning it, he inserted the blade back into its hilt and nodded in satisfaction.
She watched as Gosetsu sheathed his sword once again and began gathering the utensils he used to clean it with in the same, almost ritualistic, fashion he had taken them out before. In a way, it reminded S'eni of her meditations. Where a Samurai used their blade to fight for their lord, a Monk's body was their weapon, and meditation was their way to keep it sharp.
Turning her gaze away from the older man, she looked out towards the sky, where cascades of rain were soaking the dry soil and not looking like they would end anytime soon.
Yes, perhaps a little bit of meditation would be good right about now.
Crossing her legs, S'eni closed her eyes and began to breathe deeply, letting the clean scent of the rain help her find her center and drown out everything else.
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
And then...absolute tranquillity.
Ah don't you worry Little Sun, you'll be getting what's coming to you soon enough...
I find it hilarious that the WoL, by virtue of being a 'silent protagonist', just seems to get other people or even animals that don't talk either. Wonder if that could be applied to a poker game?
Well, in any case, have a nice weekend! :)