Soul Searching
Thancred, and now Y'shtola and Urianger as well. When I heard the news that they too had collapsed, I could barely keep myself from running off to the Rising Stones. But I wasn't a Scion anymore. My duties to Ala Mhigo bound me and I couldn't just abandon them.
So all I could do was wait and pray as the others tried to find a way to return them to us.
S'eni wondered what time it must be. She knew that it wasn't the same day anymore but that was about it. If someone asked her, she couldn't tell them what day of the week or time of day it was. It all just blurred together inside this windowless chamber, its only source of light the lamps on the wall.
A sigh escaped her as she stared at the wall ahead, the pattern on the gray stone, the small uneven gaps and random cracks in it having grown so familiar to her that she could almost make sense out of them.
She blinked, keeping her eyes closed for a moment to soothe the dryness that had begun to plague them. When she opened them again, she tore them away from the wall towards the other, way too familiar sight lying in bed in front of her.
Y'shtola, entirely motionless save for the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest
The hand gently clasping still fingers raised them to her lips, pressing a kiss on their knuckles as if that would make her wake up.
But she wasn't waking up. None of them were.
She turned her gaze towards the right, where her Thancred and Urianger too were lying in bed.
Was she going to be next? Her soul plucked from her body as Kan-E-Senna had put it?
With another sigh, S'eni dropped her lover's hand back onto the bed as the door slowly opened and steps began to approach her. The heavy sounds of the footfalls already told her who it was way before their owner's voice spoke up.
"Mistress S'eni. I see you haven't left their side." It was Ocher Boulder, Hoary's younger brother and one of the Scions' other healers. Looking up at him, she saw a deep frown on the Roegadyn's face. "But you really should take some rest. Clemence and I can take it from here."
She glanced over her shoulder to see the young woman standing near the door, an expression of concern on her face.
S'eni first reflex was to lie; to tell them that she was fine and there was no need to worry, but she knew neither of them would believe her anyway, so she nodded and rose to her feet instead. "Yeah...you're probably right."
"Don't worry. Should there be any change you'll be the first to learn," Clemence assured her. "Promise."
Ocher nodded in agreement.
The corners of her lips curled into a small smile. "Thanks."
After leaving the two to do their work, S'eni headed down the hallway. She had barely managed to make it past the next door, when a wave of exhaustion hit her, and she rubbed her face for a few seconds. She had hardly slept and it was starting to show.
Guess I should change that, huh? She thought and began to head in the direction of her room. As soon as the door had closed behind her, she walked over to her bed and let herself collapse on top of it.
Burying her face into her pillow, S'eni closed her eyes...
...
...
...
...she opened them once again when a knock resounded on her door. With a groan, she sat up, stretching herself a little before slowly getting out of bed. A quick glance over to the chronometer on her desk told her that five hours had passed, and while she was still not at a hundred percent, she felt much more refreshed and good enough to tackle whatever news was waiting for right now.
Opening the door, she found Ephemie standing there.
"Hey, sorry to disturb you," the Elezen said. "But Alisaie and Krile want to talk with you."
What little tiredness remained was immediately dispelled when she heard the second name.
"Krile's here!?"
Ephemie hummed in confirmation. "Arrived an hour ago. Immediately went to check on the others."
S'eni exhaled through her nose. Krile had been busy with the Eureka expedition, something that she knew was very personal to her friend. But with her here, maybe they could make some sense out of this whole calling thing with the help of the unique abilities her Echo bestowed her with.
"Where are they?" she asked.
"They're waiting for you in the main hall."
"Thanks!" Brushing past the other woman, she all but ran down the hallway and into the direction of the main hall.
She found the two of them standing near the bar, deep in discussion.
"...Yes, the Elder Seedseer made a similar observation—ah, S'eni." Alisaie turned to look at her. "Krile was just telling me her analysis."
"What did you find out?"
The Lalafel shook her head. "They're in perfect physical health. For all intents and purposes, they look sound asleep, but I couldn't sense a single trace of 'them' inside their bodies."
"I see..."
"I've also read the report. When you heard that voice, you described it as feeling as if you were pulled somewhere else, correct?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Hmm." Krile rubbed her chin, walking up and down a little. "If we assume the aether comprising your essence is being drawn to another place...then it should be possible to follow the trail it leaves behind—"
"—just like with Thancred!" S'eni finished, her face brightening.
"Exactly." The smaller woman smiled.
Alisaie looked between them, then shrugged. "I wasn't there at the time, but I can't imagine it was easy."
"Oh it wasn't, but that doesn't mean it's not worth a try," Krile replied. "Of course for that, I will need to use Master Matoya's Crystal Eye. So I suggest we pay her a visit."
"Alright, let's go then."
"You know, I heard that Master Matoya was a bit of a recluse, but this seems a little...extreme," Alisaie said as the rocks that covered Matoya's cave began to move aside. "Still, I suppose I can overlook her eccentricities if she agrees to help."
"Believe me. You've seen nothing yet." S'eni chuckled.
Walking inside, the first thing that greeted them was one of the witch's magical brooms, ever diligently sweeping the floor free of dust and she couldn't help but smile as it began to scurry in the opposite direction, as if to announce their coming. Of course, their arrival was hardly a silent one, and she soon could hear the familiar exasperated sigh followed by the rhythmic sound of the bottom end of a staff on wood.
"Coming to disturb my peace again, aren't you?" Matoya asked as soon as she saw them. "I hide away in a cave and you people still insist on pestering me with your problems."
"As cheery as ever, I see."
"Hmpf." the old woman looked away from S'eni and towards Alisaie. She tilted her head a little, eyes narrowing as she did so, before raising her eyebrows. "Ah, I nearly mistook you for young...whatshisname there, but I see you're the sister. Weren't you supposed to be the lively one? I've seen happier faces at a rain-sodden burial."
"Well, sorry to disappoint you!" Alisaie scowled. "But the situation is a bit too serious to be joking around!"
"Now that's better! Shtola used to hiss and spit too when she was younger. A young thing like you should be filled with fire and leave the doom and gloom to your elders. Now then, what does this situation have to do with me?"
Krile stepped forward. "If I may, Master Matoya, but we are in need of your Crystal Eye once more..."
She then proceeded to explain the situation to her. While listening, Matoya's face began to darken and her eyes occasionally shifted over towards S'eni.
"And Shtola is one of the afflicted?" the old woman asked Krile, but S'eni could tell she was actually addressing her and replied with a nod.
"Very well then. She may be an ungrateful stray, but she's my ungrateful stray and I'll not see her buried before me." She slammed the pointy end of her staff into the ground with more strength than was expected from an old lady like her, startling all three of them a little, then shuffled off to retrieve the Crystal Eye.
When she returned, she placed the artifact on top of the table and they all gathered around it.
"Right, now let's see...I'll start where our friends collapsed," Krile said and reached her hand out towards the crystal ball. Closing her eyes, she guided some of her aether into it, and from there cast out her senses to follow the trail of Y'shtola and the others. Seconds turned into minutes which felt like hours and not a single sound passed between the four of them bar the occasional croak from the Poroggos and ShhhShhShhh of an enchanted broom passing by.
Then, from one moment to the next, the Lalafel dropped her arm, staring at the ancient crystal of light in pure disbelief.
"What is it? Did you find them!?" Alisaie asked.
"Th-This doesn't make any sense. How's that even possible…?"
"How's what possible!? Krile, what did you see?!"
Tearing her gaze away from the Crystal Eye, Krile stared at them. "The threads, they just ended. And, no, I didn't lose track of them. I followed them as far as they went. It's as if—" she paused for a second to find the right words. "It's as if they were cut off."
"Could their aether have dissipated? If it has—oh gods…" Alisaie's eyes widened in horror. "Their bodies are just husks. It's like with the broodmother's daughter."
S'eni felt a bead of sweat form above her brow as dread began to creep through her at the memory of that poor Ananta girl, nothing more than a living corpse brought back to life by the 'benevolence' of the Qalyana's primal. If Y'shtola was now just like her…
Thankfully, Krile was quick to dissuade these thoughts. "No no, this is different. The girl was already dead, body and soul, when Lakshmi resurrected her."
"Yes, let's not jump to conclusions," Matoya concurred. "If their bodies still breathe and show no signs of wasting, then that means their souls must still be intact somewhere."
"But where!?"
"That's the question, isn't it? Death hasn't taken them to the aetherial sea, yet there are no tracks for us to follow."
Alisaie took a deep breath and slowly nodded. "You're right. We might not have found out where they are, but knowing their souls still exist is a relief. We just have to keep looking."
A linkpearl chimed.
"Please, excuse me." Hand going to her ear, Alisaie walked a few paces away from them before answering. "Yes?"
As the younger woman talked, S'eni found her eyes locked with Matoya's. Old and wizened, they seemed to pierce right through her skin and into her very soul, and it took all of her willpower not to flinch back like a scolded child. But if the witch had anything scathing comments to say, she decided to keep her piece.
Alisaie returned soon after. "That was Lyse," she explained, a sound of urgency in her voice. "Apparently a group of Populares have defected to Ala Mhigo. Maxima, the envoy Alphinaud left with, is one of them! I'm sorry, I know we've barely begun here, but—"
"Go, girl," Matoya interrupted her. "You've made up your mind anyway, and life's too short for dithering."
"In the meantime I'll do some digging and see if there isn't another method to search for the others," Krile said. "If that's alright with you, Master Matoya?"
The old woman snorted. "Do as you like. You know where the books are."
"I do indeed." The Lalafel giggled.
Alisaie then turned to look at her. "Are you coming along?"
"Of course." If Maxima was indeed in Ala Mhigo, then he might have some information on where Alphinaud was. And it was better than to just sit around doing nothing.
Lips curling into a grateful smile, the younger woman nodded and began to turn around when the sound of something clattering made them both stop.
One of the enchanted brooms had just fallen to the ground.
"Bah! The enchantment barely seems to take these days," Matoya grumbled. "I'd chalk it up to old age, but I doubt it's that simple."
With a wave of her hand, she enchanted the broom again and it began to sweep the floor once again.
"Hmm. Before...it happened, Urianger and Y'shtola were talking about a 'thinning' of aether," the Elezen girl explained. "It seems to happen all over."
"Does it now? And here I was prepared to blame it all on that creaking mountain of scrap clogging up the Thaliak." The old Archon's almost perpetual scowl turned into a frown. "I fear something has gone awry..."
"A Calamity is about to happen. A Calamity of Light, burning all form and life away." The voice's words echoed unbidden in the back of her mind.
"In any case, we should be off. Thank you again, Master Matoya," Alisaie said.
Matoya rolled her eyes. "Yes yes, a pleasure to meet you and all that."
Sharing an amused look, Alisaie and S'eni began to leave.
"S'eni." She stopped at the sound of her name, glancing over her shoulder to see the old witch looking at her. A gnarly hand beckoned her.
"Go on ahead. I'll join you soon," she told the younger woman.
"Very well."
S'eni waited until Alisaie had left before walking over to Matoya, feeling a little like she was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and dragged towards a sound spanking the entire time. She stopped in front of the woman, who once more locked eyes with her.
"...How are you holding up, child?"
"I..." she looked over to Krile, who was looking through one of the many stacks of books around the large room, then let her shoulders slump, sighing out, "I don't know what to do."
"Hmm."
"Ouch!" S'eni exclaimed when, out of nowhere, Matoya clocked her on the head with her staff. "What was that for!?"
"And when has not knowing what to do stopped you? Age has not yet made my memory fail so I can clearly remember the day Shtola and you walked into this very cave, the fire burning in those eyes that now look like the ones of a confused child." a harsh sigh passed the Archon's lips. "The way she spoke of you would make one believe that nothing could keep you down, but here you are. What do you think Shtola would say if she saw you like this?"
Rubbing the spot she had just been hit on, she glared at Matoya.
"Well, look there. Seems like you haven't lost it entirely yet. Good. Shtola survived being cast adrift in the Lifestream, didn't she? Her soul is nothing if not resilient, and the same goes for all of Louisoix's students. So instead of worrying, you should focus on what you can do in the here and now."
S'eni gave Matoya a hard stare, holding it for a few seconds before averting her eyes.
She was right, wasn't she?
Y'shtola wouldn't want her to worry over something she couldn't change any more.
Slowly, she nodded. "You're right."
"Hmpf. About time one of you realized that. Now hurry along, I'm sure the world is already in need of saving again."
Feeling her spirits oddly lifted after this exchange, she gave her lover's old teacher a thankful smile and, since she was clearly dismissed, left to join Alisaie.
She may not be able to help Y'shtola and the others right now, but there was something that she could do.
And right now, that involved heading to Ala Mhigo.
Just leave it to good old Matoya to get her out of that momentary funk. Can't have her like this when shit's about to go down in Gyr Abania after all.
But more on THAT on Monday. Have a good weekend until then!