Faded Memories
Alisaie's worries were honorable, but there I had made up my mind. I would test this vessel before I would subject my friends to it. Time was very much not on our side, and with every passing hour, it became less and less so. While Beq Lugg and I were making preparations, the others were busy fighting Elidibus' minions wherever they could.
As for our hero...a trial and a revelation were waiting for her at the bottom of the Tempest.
Her footsteps echoed through the empty hallways of the Anyder, their walls just as tall as those in the fake Amaurot. But that was where the comparison ended, she supposed, as unlike the city, those who stood in opposition to Zodiark had gathered within these walls. To summon the Light to shackle the Dark.
Hydaelyn.
All under the leadership of a woman named Venat who, in the end, had offered up her body to serve as the vessel for their summoning.
Just like Elidibus apparently did for Zodiark. But how could he be here then? Was it perhaps his predecessor on the Convocation? Y'shtola seemed to think otherwise.
Gods, just thinking about it made her head spin. Hopefully, Y'shtola had found something.
Arriving in the hallway leading to the archive, she quickened her step once more. She had barely entered the chamber when her eyes spotted a form dressed in dark robes lying on the floor. Unmoving.
"Shtola!" she cried out, immediately breaking into a sprint towards her lover. Just as she was about to reach her, a portal made of darkness opened in front of the other Miqo'te and Elidibus stepped through, forcing her to slide to a halt. "You—!"
"Excellent. I had intended to speak with you alone." She glared at him, prompting the Ascian to glance behind him at Y'shtola. "None of my doing, lest you misunderstand. The link between her body and soul wavers."
"What do you want!?" she spat back.
He didn't answer at first, instead choosing to look around. "I do not know what you hoped to find here, but it will avail you nothing to learn of our past."
S'eni suddenly grimaced when the all too familiar pain of the Echo shot through her head and her vision was flung into the past...
Two figures stood in front of her, dressed in long robes, their faces obscured by masks. They looked just like all the other Ancients, but she knew that these two were different; they were part of the Convocation.
"Reviewing the records yet again? Really? You worry too much, Elidibus," one of them said, his tone light. "This dedication to your duty verges on obsession."
The other one, a woman, then spoke up, "To think some believed you ill-suited for the role. How wrong they were." A little chuckle echoed through the darkness surrounding them. "But come, turn your gaze outside the window, my friend. The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day."
Even as she spoke, the two figures began to float away, making her, no, Elidibus reach out towards, only to stop as his hand became transparent as tiny shards of aether broke off it. Raising his other hand, he looked at them.
"It fades. Fades away into oblivion. Does the world no longer have need of me? No—" his hands balled into fists. "I am Elidibus. And I must─I will fulfill my duty."
His gaze shifted around until it landed on an armored figure.
"Sundered though you may be, you fought for the world's salvation. For hope." Elidibus floated towards the man, his hand reaching towards him. "Hope."
Before her vision grew dark, she managed to catch the glimpse of a helmet, adorned with a pair of horns.
"Ahhh, it swells within me. Empowers me. Now I may carry out my mission. And yet..." he hesitated for a moment. "Why do I yearn for this? Why do I struggle?"
...as she returned to the here and now, she came back face-to-face with Elidibus, looking at her with an unreadable expression. Wordlessly, he raised his hand and Y'shtola vanished.
"Shto—"
"I shall take her into my safekeeping. If you want her back, you will do as I ask," he said, locking eyes with her. "Show me your strength. I would take your measure."
A dark portal opened up next to him.
"I have prepared a suitable arena. You only need to ride the flow of aether."
With that, he too vanished, leaving S'eni alone in the chamber. Gritting her teeth, she balled her hands into fists then and began to shake. With a loud cry, a fist came crashing down into the floor, breaking the stone and leaving a sizeable hole in it.
She exhaled and stood up straight again, focusing her eyes on the portal, then slowly walking towards it. If Elidibus wished to test her, he could have it.
I'm coming, Shtola.
Without any hesitation, she stepped through...
...only to emerge in Amaurot. She looked around for but a moment before her attention was once more on the approaching Elidibus.
"You are familiar with this place, I believe. This...remembered Amaurot," he said, and there was almost something akin to nostalgia in his voice as he cast his gaze about as well. It was gone instantly when he looked at her. "Proceed to the Capitol. I shall return your comrade to you there."
The corners of her lips rose faintly. "Really, that's it? Surely you need me to reapply for a visitor's writ."
"You speak as if you were disappointed in me. Why?" he shrugged. "I am your enemy, and you are mine. Our goals are in conflict, and we are fated to clash. Or had you hoped that feigned sympathy and false understanding would cast your crimes in a less reprehensible light? That I would come to look upon you as a friend? You who has slaughtered my people and would tear down everything we have built."
S'eni averted her eyes momentarily, but it was long enough for Elidibus to pick up upon.
"Very well, let us change the cast of this trial so you truly will know what you have stolen us." The Ascian then turned towards the three clerks behind their counters and raised his hand. In a matter of seconds he had changed their Ancient appearance into that of Miounne, Baderon and Momodi; each one a liaison to the Adventurer's Guild whom she had relied on in the past.
She could only stare at them in surprise until the sound of opening doors made her tear her gaze away from the sight and back towards Elidibus. Standing in the doorway, he glanced over his shoulder at her, his face obscured by his red glowing sigil.
"But do not imagine I crave remorse. Only justice," he said and stepped outside.
Knowing there was little else but to play his game, S'eni followed. Elidibus was already waiting for her, the Aetheryte behind him floating idly in the center of the small plaza. On the grass, she spotted groups of these black, blob-like creatures that she had seen during their previous visit here.
"Rest assured there are no tricks. You only need to defeat the enemies before you." He held out his hand to present the four nearest to them. "First, something easy. Those whom a budding hero might encounter at the beginning of her tale. And I believe I have the perfect subjects."
Beams of aether shot out from his hand towards the creatures, wrapping around them, twisting and turning their forms until they transformed—
She gasped out in shock.
—into Thancred, Papalymo, Lyse, and Y'shtola, looking just like they had when she first met them.
Elidibus vanished.
The four of them advanced on her, and for a moment she felt herself hesitate. Until, that was, she had to dodge the combination of a rock and fireball being hurled towards her. Keep it together, they're nothing but monsters wearing their faces!
And indeed, once she truly fought back, they fell as swiftly as many other beasts before. She watched their fallen forms convulse and turn back into black ooze that slowly seeped into the ground. It was only when she felt Elidibus' presence appearing next to her once again that she looked away.
"All too easy, I see, but at least you now understand the rules."
"That was in poor taste, even for you." She glared at him.
"That appearances should unsettle you... I was under the impression you simply destroyed all who barred your way. Sparing no thought to the possibility that your foe could be someone's beloved." He turned and began to walk. "But come, we shouldn't dwell on the beginning when so much of your story awaits."
Looking back to where the last remnants of creatures were slowly disappearing, she closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose.
Let the game begin.
Like he had said, there was much more waiting for her. People she had met ever since, friend and foe alike, it was a cruel mockery of all she had experienced. If he desired to break her spirit before the inevitable battle between them, he was sorely failing, as all it did was fuel her rising anger.
When she had finally made it into the Capitol, she found him waiting for her at the exact same spot Emet-Selch had stood before he invited them to bear witness to the Final Days.
"An impressive show of strength," he said and turned around to face her. "But surely no more than a foretaste of—"
Before he could finish his sentence, S'eni jumped and slammed her fist into the ground, sending a bright shockwave of aether towards the Ascian, forcing him to dodge to the side.
"Do you just love to hear the sound of your own voice or did you already forget what I told you when you still pretended to be Zenos?" she asked while glaring at him. "Now let's stop this godsdamned charade and get this over with."
"Very well..." The red glyph vanished from Elidibus' face and he reached behind him to take hold of Ardbert's axe, swinging it once before letting it come to rest on his shoulder. "Come, S'eni! Show me what you can do!"
Raising her hands, S'eni cracked her knuckles, then entered her battle stance as well.
They dashed forward.
"I may not be the real Ardbert," Elidibus said as he swung his axe. "But you'd do well not to underestimate me."
She easily dodged the attacks, only to be suddenly caught off guard by the pommel smacking her right in the face. Stumbling backwards a little, she spun around and raised her leg, slamming her heel against the side of his head. Not giving him time to recover, her fists shot forward, striking his chest in rapid succession, then she threw an uppercut towards his chin.
But just as it was about to connect, he caught her wrist, and, in an impressive display of strength, tossed her across the room. Twisting around mid-air, S'eni managed to land on her feet and immediately vanished from sight only to appear right in front of him again.
It became quickly apparent that, just like with Zenos, he had an intimate knowledge of Ardbert's techniques. Everything that made him the fighter that he had been was now part of the Ascian. But...so was it with her too. Every blow and every strike held something within it; a familiarity deeper than what she had once witnessed first hand, like a whisper from within her very being that guided her away just at the knick of time.
Jumping backwards with a speed that rivaled her own, he swung his axe up and sent an explosion of aetheric energy towards her. Instead of dodging though, S'eni stood her ground and brought her fist down onto the floor once more, causing a wall of flames to shoot out towards him in return. Opposing aethers met violently, swirling around each other in a twister before dissipating with an angry howl.
In the blink of an eye, they were upon one another again.
"Good...I can feel your murderous intent." The faint hint of a smirk danced across Elidibus' lips as he sidestepped a kick, using the momentum to spin around and swing his axe at her, only to be met with air when she ducked out of the way. Shooting back up, she drove her knee into his gut and slammed her palm into his face, forcing him back a step as his head jerked back. When he looked at her again, a dribble of blood trickled down towards his chin. "Yes, you'd murder me in an instant. Do you wish to recover this body?"
He smacked her with the blunt side of the axe.
She spat blood on the ground. "Shut up!" she shouted. Before he could make another move, she lunged and punched him in the chest.
"Then prove that it's no use to me!"
"Shut up!" another punch.
"Come! Come at me with everything you've got!" His axe descended—
Ardbert's smiling face flashed through her mind.
—and stopped as S'eni grabbed the shaft. Her eyes locked onto his. "As you wish!"
Thrusting forward, she headbutted him square in the face, then immediately spun around and kicked him high into the air. With a cry, she jumped after him, delivering two more swift kicks that sent him ever higher. Using her own momentum, she flew past the Ascian and was about to bring her entire weight down upon him, when a fireball suddenly came flying through the air and into Elidibus. The resulting explosion flung him across the hall where he crashed against the giant doors and dropped to the ground.
Eyes widening, S'eni whirled around midfall to see none other than Y'shtola enter the Capitol, her staff still faintly glowing from the spell she just cast.
"Shtola!" she called out as she landed and hastened over to her. "Thank the gods you're alright!"
"My apologies. I freed myself as soon as I awoke, but rather too late, I see," the other Miqo'te said, offering her a little smile before turning her attention to the fallen Ascian, who was pushing himself back onto his feet, clearly in no condition to continue this now that it was two against one. "Now, Elidibus, if you have ceased trading blows, I would trade words with you."
He didn't reply, which was as good as any invitation.
"I have a theory, one concerning what you seek to accomplish. It stems from who, or rather what, you truly are: a primal."
S'eni looked at Y'shtola in surprise. "What did you just say? A primal?"
"The Ancients created Zodiark to save the star from destruction. If the method that brought Him forth is the precursor of what we know as summoning, then Zodiark would have been instilled with a presiding desire..." Y'shtola explained to her. "I found it among the records at Anyder. And it came as no surprise. Were I faced with the world's destruction, I would wish for the same...Salvation."
Salvation... Her gaze returned to Elidibus, who simply stared at them.
"I know that you sacrificed yourself to become Zodiark's heart. How you became separated from Him is less clear. But if you are a fragment of His being, it stands to reason a desire for the world's salvation would drive you. And so you seek to inspire the masses to rise up as Warriors of Light, even going so far as to use Ardbert's body as a symbol of hope."
"Correct on all accounts. Such is my nature, and such are my methods," he then said, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his hand. "I have aided heroes. I have made them. I have even become them. This served not only to strengthen me, but also to facilitate the work of my brothers, such as Emet-Selch, with his penchant for nation-building."
Create empires and those that would step up and fight them, and when it was over, do it again. An endless cycle to further the Rejoining. She had to admit it was ingenious.
"Then you are all too familiar with the fickleness of man," Y'shtola said. "We change. We forget. And what little we do remember becomes twisted and fragmented over time. But are you yourself free of these foibles? As the last witness of the Final Days, do you remember everything that was lost? Or even the things you cared about?"
Elidibus narrowed his eyes. "Get to the point."
"A primal is shaped by the hope that fuels it. Even should this hope be something as simple as the world's salvation, it is the collective desire of innumerable disparate souls crying out for deliverance. Having drawn your strength from such a cacophony of voices, can you truly be sure you still speak with your own?"
Lowering his head, he closed his eyes and something akin to a sigh passed his lips. A moment of silence passed in which none said a word. Then his eyes snapped open once more, glaring at them from underneath lowered brows.
"Your question is irrelevant. No matter how much I should change, no matter how much I should forget, I shall always remember my duty." He raised his right hand towards his heart. "At times I stand with my brethren. At times I stand against them. All that I might steer mankind and the very star upon their true course. For my name is Elidibus. And my mission. Guiding my every deed."
An aura of darkness began to surround him.
"But enough talk. You have shown me which I desired to know. As I am now, I would struggle to defeat you. Yet I have still to play all of my cards," the Ascian said, walking over to the falling axe. After picking it up, he turned to glance at S'eni. "If I could offer you some semblance of sport, your lessers would pose no threat to me. Would you not agree, Warrior of Darkness?"
Not waiting for her reply, he vanished in a portal of darkness, leaving them behind. The other woman sighed and turned back towards her.
"Well it's been an eventful morning—if it is morning. I have no idea how long I was unconscious." Y'shtola gave her a quick once over before reaching out to cup her chin, immediately followed by the pleasant warmth of a healing spell flowing towards her split lip.
"Actually, it's noon," S'eni pointed out, receiving a little muttered "Of course" in return. When the spell was done, she ran her tongue over her now fully healed lip.
"In any case, I'm gratified to see that my efforts at Anyder have borne fruit. We have confirmed the nature of our foe and his plot. Now then, what are the tidings from the surface?"
She filled her in with their current situation, that the connection to their bodies was growing weaker and that G'raha was doing everything in his power to get the spirit vessels ready, as well as their friends hunting Elidibus' Ascian minions and that they agreed to meet at Eulmore later.
"I see." Her lover frowned. "Then let us leave for Eulmore at once. We have much to share with our comrades. Ah, but forgive me. It would seem my belongings didn't accompany me here. I will need to retrieve them from Anyder. With luck, the aetherial stream you traversed still remains. I won't be long."
As she made to leave, S'eni remembered something she had almost forgotten in all of this. "Wait, before you go," S'eni said, making Y'shtola stop in her tracks. Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out the bundle of Archon loaf. "From Tataru."
Y'shtola took the bundle with a raised brow and gave it a long look. "Oh my," she said after unwrapping it, a note of amusement entering her voice. "It's been a long time since I had this."
"She made it so that you all had a little piece of home until you're back." She shrugged. "I'm surprised it's still intact actually."
"Well, I will thank Tataru profusely once we are back." Y'shtola took a bite out of it and grimaced.
"Just like home, eh?"
"Very much," she replied, a few crumbs flying through the air that S'eni narrowly dodged. "I will be back shortly."
With a chuckle, she watched her leave.
Now that she was alone, S'eni looked around a bit. She hadn't expected that this illusion of Amaurot still existed. It just showed how powerful Emet-Selch had been when the magic he used still persisted well after his death.
Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention then and she turned to see what it was. What the...?
Lying on the ground, its crimson color standing out on the dark floor, was a crystal. Furrowing her brows, she walked over and took a closer look. It had a peculiar shape and etched on it was what looked like a constellation.
Reaching out, she picked it up, weighing it in her hand. It sort of reminded her of the job crystals back home...
All of a sudden, a distorted voice echoed within her mind, making her almost drop the crystal.
"...day forth...bring honor to the seat of..."
As sudden as the voice had appeared, it was gone, leaving its sentence unfinished. Was this a memory?
She turned it around in her hand, before putting it into her pouch and placing a hand on her hip. 'Bring honor to the seat of...', was this the memory of a member of the Convocation?
Before she had time to process the thought, she noticed another, similar glint further ahead and, walking over, found three more of these crystals. Similar in shape, but different in color. As she picked them up one by one, more words rose up in her mind, and she tried to concentrate to better hear them.
"Behold, my friends. Embraced by the earth and caressed by the wind, vibrant life flourishes. All is right in creation," spoke the voice from the yellow crystal.
"There can be no greater joy than to use our wisdom for the good of our people. No greater pride." The green crystal.
"May all know happiness, now and forevermore." The grey one.
S'eni placed them in her pouch as well and looked about. That seemed to be all of them here. Her eyes then landed on the doors leading outside and, following a hunch, left the Capitol.
Her hunch was soon proven correct, as more of these crystals were waiting outside, scattered like a line of breadcrumbs for her to follow; each of them holding words of despair, hope, determination. One by one she picked them up, placing them with their brethren, until she stood in front of a singular light purple crystal.
The thirteenth.
And while the words rang in the language of the Ancients, she knew exactly who this voice belonged to.
"Gone is the brilliant radiance of life, replaced by the sickly glow of malformed creatures," Emet-Selch, Hades, spoke. "Is this to be how it ends? For we who loved the star with all our being? No. I will not suffer it to be so!"
"Well, well. We meet again, my new old friend," another voice said, pulling her attention away from the crystal and towards the figure standing just ahead of her. It was—
"Hythlodaeus."
"How good of you to remember." There was a note of a smile in his echoing words. Lowering his gaze, he looked at her hand. "Heh heh... I see you have been collecting stars."
"Stars? Oh, you mean these?" she held up the crystal in her hand.
"Indeed. They have constellations etched upon them, yes?" He walked over to her, raising his hand to point up. "High in the heavens, those stars shine their guiding light down upon the lives below. Fitting symbols for the Convocation of Fourteen, wouldn't you agree?"
"Hm, I suppose so." S'eni looked at the crystal, taking in the fine lines etched into it and trying to imagine them shining brightly amongst the sea of stars.
"As you will have gathered, each crystal bears an account of the life of a member of the Convocation as remembered by the unsundered," he explained. "Lest you worry, they aren't concepts; they are far too incomplete to be so. But they suffice for imbuing memories within sundered souls, so that they might be restored to their office."
"So this is how..." she shook her head and held the crystal out for Hythlodaeus to take. "I shouldn't—"
"Keep them. I'm sure Emet-Selch wouldn't mind."
A part of her wanted to argue against it, but deep inside she knew that he was probably right. Closing her hand around the crystal, she placed it into her pouch.
"So how are you faring?" he asked. "You are feuding with Elidibus this time, I believe?"
S'eni nodded and began to explain. After she was done, Hythlodaeus remained silent for a moment before saying, "...I shall refrain from passing comment on your struggle. It's not my place to do so, long-departed as I am. But if I may give voice to a personal desire...I would rather you lived. If you don't, how will you keep your promise to Emet-Selch? The promise to remember?"
Before she could reply, he walked over to the nearby stone balustrade, prompting her to follow him.
"It must weigh heavy, the burden of all those memories," he said, looking out towards the streets below, watching as his fellow shades went about their business. "To one who has lived a life such as yours, I can well imagine how Elidibus's existence might seem hollow, how empty his single-minded pursuit of a half-forgotten cause must appear...But know that his devotion is not without reason. Even if he himself can no longer remember what that reason is."
After a few more seconds of looking into the distance, he turned back towards her and when he spoke again, his tone was considerably lighter.
"Well, that is quite enough talk about Elidibus. I would rather see you reunite the wayward stars."
S'eni blinked and tilted her head. She was pretty sure she had gathered all of them. "What do you mean?"
But instead of answering her with words, he raised a finger to his unseen lips, then pointed towards her. Out of thin air, another crystal, shaped just like the rest, appeared in front of her, wrapped in gleaming white.
"I mentioned before that there was a member of the Convocation who opposed Zodiark's summoning and defected. One whose office was left vacant..."
"Yeah..." she stared at the crystal in front of her, mouth slightly agape. "A...woman, I believe."
He nodded. "Defectors having been deemed unworthy of commemoration, no crystal exists for the individual in question." The Ancient shade paused. "...Or shouldn't exist, at any rate─and wouldn't, had a friend not created one in secret. A crystal bearing the forgotten name of her office, along with a power of her own conceiving─a singular incantation embodying her spirit."
Her spirit... Slowly, S'eni looked back towards Hythlodaeus. "Who was she?"
"Among all the offices, the Fourteenth was the most unusual. For while the rest sat in Amaurot, its holder was charged with gaining an intimate knowledge of the wider world. In the course of her duty, she traveled the length and breadth of every land, and befriended countless folk. She encountered troubles too, of course. Matters which she could simply have referred to the Convocation. But that was not her way," he explained to her. A chuckle escaped him. "No, more often than not, she would call upon her comrades, and together resolve matters themselves. Such is the power sealed within that crystal. The power to summon the stars to your side. In time of greatest need, should you wish upon it with all your heart, it will surely answer your call."
The crystal floated towards her, landing in the palm of her hand. It glowed for a few seconds longer, before growing dim and revealing to her its warm, orange color and the symbol etched inside of it.
"And now it is where it belongs." When she looked at him questioningly once more, he just shook his head. "Oh, there is no need for thanks. But nor will I hear any complaints about it either. Heh heh...After all, I can't say whether I act of my own volition or by the will of my recreator!"
Not being able to help herself, she too chuckled and glanced down at her hand, taking in the circular symbol etched into the crystal. When she looked up again, he was gone. Just like last time.
Yes, she was starting to see how Emet-Selch and he used to be friends.
"Ah, I was wondering where you had disappeared to," S'eni heard and glanced over her shoulder to see Y'shtola walking towards her. When she came to a stop, a searching look entered her pale eyes. "Is something troubling you?"
Looking at the object in her hand one last time, S'eni smiled and put it with the others. "No, I'm alright."
"Really?" she nodded. "...Very well. I have everything. Let's hurry back to the surface."
"Yeah." The others would probably be waiting by now.
And they would soon be learning what Elidibus had meant when he said that he had yet to play all his cards.
Man, sure wonder who that woman was. She sounds pretty awesome if you ask me...