Dynamis

While you were gone, doing whatever with Meteion, we were talking to Hermes. And no, you may not know what was shared between us. Ultimately though, he wished for some more time to consider the invitation, forcing us to busy ourselves with further inspection of Elpis.

It was all the same to you of course, with that oh-so-secret mission of yours. And just like fortune seemed to ever smile upon you, you practically stumbled across another piece of the puzzle you so longed to solve; delivered upon pure, white petals.

S'eni's eyes watched the bright white bloom in front of her, swaying slightly in the gentle breeze as their petals performed a joyful little dance. As if they wished to celebrate a heartfelt reunion. Though in this case, it was probably right to call it a first meeting. And one of chance at that.

She had practically stumbled across them while their little group was accompanying Hermes while he was leading them around the area. According to the man, they were a happy little accident created by a former researcher, thus earning them the name of the place that brought them forth. But while that little tidbit was fascinating for sure, it was his explanation of how exactly they managed to reflect the emotional state of those nearby; through the influence of an unseen energy apart from aether.

Akasa, or rather, dynamis, as it was called in this day and age.

And those few entities in existence who could actually interact with it were called...

Entelechies... S'eni thought and reached out to gently brush her fingertips across one flower. It briefly changed its hue at the touch, but swiftly returned to its pure white state. And it wasn't just these flowers. No, Meteion, too, was one. It certainly explained why she possessed the abilities she did.

And while there was still a lot she didn't understand, she knew she was on the right track. Whatever it was that caused the Final Days, it must somehow be related to dynamis. But the what and how...that was the big mystery yet to be uncovered.

Better catch up to the others, she reminded herself and stood back up. They must already be waiting.

Following the route the others had taken, it didn't take long to locate them. But when she arrived, she found them in what looked to be a deep conversation. That was until Hythlodaeus spotted and waved her over with a smile. "S'eni! Good, I was about to go looking for you."

"What's the matter?" she asked and, looking around, saw that someone was missing. "Where's Emet-Selch?"

"He's taking care of a specimen we were just talking about."

"A Charybdis. It is based on aquatic creatures we have imbued with an affinity for wind to make them able to fly. But something happened to shift this particular one's aether leaning back towards water," Hermes explained, then grew a bit...embarrassed? "I...suggested transforming myself, so that I could fly alongside it to teach how to manipulate the winds. But Emet-Selch thought it quite excessive..."

"Really?" she tilted her head in question. "Why's that?"

"While transforming allows one to transcend their limits, doing so in company is seen as a bit vainglorious," Hythlodaeus explained, pausing briefly to give his best Emet-Selch impression. "Uncouth and unseemly. Shameful."

S'eni's eyebrows rose ever so slowly, and she blinked. The way that sounded made it seem more like someone stripping and going on a streak through Limsa Lominsa after a few too many drinks, rather than unleashing one's power. She was just not going to question that logic. Especially not after having had to deal with one such transformation in the past.

"But thankfully, now that you are here, we can proceed with a plan that won't require Hermes to put his dignity on the line."

"And what plan would that be?"

Hythlodaeus smiled and raised a finger. "Simple: we have Emet-Selch train the Charybdis. Aside from being able to fly without transforming, he can also see aether currents. And with his spellcraft he can employ the wind to guide it along."

"While he is indeed capable of what you are saying, it isn't his duty. And I would loathe to trouble him with it," Hermes said.

"Oh this is all for his own sake as well, so no need to worry," Hythlodaeus assuaged him with a grin, before returning his attention back to her. "Now then, let's proceed. S'eni! I want you to go to Emet-Selch and tell him you have a favor to ask."

"Me?" she pointed at herself, an incredulous look forming on her face. "The 'thing' he doesn't trust?"

"Yes, you. Of course he won't agree, at first. But the trick with our friend is to be unflaggingly persistent. Now then, off you go. He's just waiting over there."

Looking at Hermes and Meteion, then back towards Hythlodaeus, S'eni shrugged with a sigh and began walking to where Emet-Selch was. She found him standing not far from a winged, serpent-like creature which must be the Charybdis. When he noticed her arrival, he slightly turned his head in her direction and raised a curious brow.

"Emet-Selch," she announced. "I have a fav—"

"Oh no you don't," he cut her off. "I'm not lifting a finger. Ugh, I have no idea what Hythlodaeus is up to now, and I absolutely have no desire to learn what it is. I refuse!"

Just like Hythlodaeus predicted, not like she expected anything else here. So just keep pushing... "Please, Emet-Selch. You're the only one who can do this!"

"No, not under any circumstances. I won't let myself be cajoled into this nonsense!"

Steps echoed towards them as Hermes and Meteion came running. They stopped next to the Charybdis, their gazes coming to rest on Emet-Selch. "I have heard that it lies within your power to help the Charybdis, and that you would be quite willing to do so," the chief observer said. "Please, most benevolent Emet-Selch. Help this creature fly!"

"If you don't, Hermes will transform. Right now!" Meteion added.

So that was why she was to go first. To be the spearhead of a brutal onslaught. And from the way Emet-Selch's jaw dropped, it was utterly effective.

"And we would rather avoid that, don't you think?" Hythlodaeus asked as he joined as well. "Surely you won't mind offering your help?"

"It seems to me like you offered my help here!" Emet-Selch pointed an accusing finger at his friend.

"Not at all. I have merely given some helpful advice."

She watched as Emet-Selch backed away a little, clearly overwhelmed by the four of them. Meteion then took a step forward to look at him with big, blue eyes to deliver—

"Please, Emet-Selch! Please!"

—the killing blow.

With an expression that could only be described as someone being forced to have all of their teeth pulled out in an excruciatingly slow manner, Emet-Selch looked at the girl. After a few seconds, he released a weary sigh and said, "I haven't traveled this far just to fulfill menial tasks at someone's bidding...this is the first and last time, you hear?"

Meteion simply beamed. With a shake of his head, he turned around, raised his hand, and snapped his fingers. From one moment to the next, a magnificent, horse-like creature appeared a few steps away from him.

"I will take care of it once it has taken to the sky. How it will get there is up to you," he said to Hermes, receiving a nod in return.

As Emet-Selch guided his mount to the edge of the floating island they were on, and Hermes began to speak to the Charybdis, the sound of a chuckle next to her made her look towards Hythlodaeus.

"I dare say this will be quite entertaining. Shall we watch?"

She smiled. "Yeah, let's do that."

Finding themselves a nice little hill overlooking the area, they sat down in the grass, watching as Emet-Selch climbed onto his mount and rose into the air like it was nothing. It took a few minutes, but the Charybdis, too, slowly began to rise from the ground, only tentatively though. After a little while longer, Hythlodaeus began to speak once more.

"You were wondering earlier how Emet-Selch came to join the Convocation," he said.

"I did." She had asked him earlier, but of course, the man himself had shot down the notion almost immediately, as seemed to be his eternal wont.

"To tell you the truth, he wasn't the first choice for the office. I was. Because I can perceive the aether like no other. But I declined."

"Why? You make it sound like a great honor after all." And unlike Hermes, she doubted he had a crisis of conscience about his predecessor.

"Because, apart from my exceptional vision, I'm quite poor at everything else. Take the manipulation of aether for example, I'm absolutely dreadful at it. I can't even transform. So what good is it if I can see a problem, but cannot act to address it?" he shrugged lightly. "Emet-Selch on the other hand has no such shortcoming. He can perceive the aether and manipulate it to an extraordinary degree. There is no mage more powerful than him."

"I see..." she said and looked up at Emet-Selch atop his mount, idly playing with a few blades of grass. Yes, having witnessed his abilities firsthand, she could truly say that he was second to none.

"So that is why I recommended him for the office in my stead. And I was not alone in that. From all across the world, people vouched for his skill and character. People he had helped in one way or another. Oh, how surprised he was. And modest as he is, he denied having ever done anything exceptional." He giggled into his fist and turned his attention back forward. "You see, Emet-Selch and I have a mutual friend. A very special person. One, who enjoys nothing more than to stick her nose into other people's business and rush from one excitement to the next."

Azem...

"Her antics exasperate Emet-Selch time and again, but only because he truly is concerned for her. Whenever she calls, he never fails to answer and lend his aid. And over time, he too made himself a name as an ever-reliable helper. They're both truly remarkable people, and I am proud to call them my friends." The look in his eyes grew warm and he smiled. "Helping them realize their dreams is my contribution to the star. And when they have finally fulfilled their purpose...so too shall I have fulfilled mine, and we shall return to the star together..."

Eyes widening slightly, he looked at her and chuckled. "Look at me, spilling my innermost secrets. I just seem to not help it with you. It must be because of the color of your soul. I just don't understand how you can be so alike, yet different."

"I—"

"Yes! You're doing great!" Meteion's voice interrupted her and they both turned their heads to see the Charybdis doing an elegant circle in the air.

"Looks to me like the flying lessons are over," Hythlodaeus said and rose back to his feet. "Why don't you head over to Emet-Selch and give him a signal to let him know that his arduous task is over?"

"Sure," she replied with a nod and got back up as well. But as she began to walk over, she found herself stopping to glance back at Hythlodaeus. A bittersweet twinge of warm nostalgia echoed from deep within her soul, resonating with the words she had just heard...and the knowledge of what was to come.

A few hours later saw S'eni in the sole company of Meteion yet again. After they had helped the Charybdis, they continued on their way for Hermes' inspection. They had barely left the area though when another observer came running due to a different creature having gone violent. Making their way over to where it happened, they sought out the researcher in charge, and while Hermes clearly hoped that there was something to be done, all signs seemed to point towards the creation being far too ferocious to be released into the wild. And as Hermes, Hythlodaeus, and Emet-Selch had gone to discuss the matter, Meteion had wisely chosen to stay behind, knowing that she would likely grow upset through Hermes yet again.

But that very same reason was also why they were currently wandering around the area known as the Twelve Wonders, looking for a gift to cheer him up. Flowers, to be precise. Yet for all the greenery of Elpis, it was surprisingly tough to find suitable ones.

"How about these?" she asked, pointing towards a bed, holding an array of beautiful flowers.

"These would be better for him...but they're hedged in." Meteion looked at her. "That means they're either under observation or poisonous."

"Huh. Well then let's best leave them alone. It wouldn't do if we gave Hermes a rash on top of cheering him up."

The girl hummed in agreement and looked around. "Let's try looking further out. Don't worry we won't go far."

But even further away from the research complex, there was little in the way of nice flowers. All they really encountered was something looking quite a bit like a Landtrap, and according to Meteion, it also shared the same penchant for spitting seeds. Yes, this would definitely not do...

"Oh! Over there S'eni!" Meteion said suddenly and gently slapped her arm to get her attention. "Something big!"

S'eni turned her head but stopped mid-motion when a sudden gust of wind told her more than she needed to know. A putrid stench reminiscent of a dancer's shoes after a day-long performance that had been stowed away with rotten eggs forced its way into her nostrils, making her face contort in disgust. Do different, yet so very very very distinct. And sure enough, as she dared to look, she found a very Morbol-like creature wriggling about on its tentacles.

"It's an Adonis! See the things around its mouth?" she wished she didn't. "They may look like petals, but it's actually the orbs on its head that are the flowers!"

Indeed, it was a bit of a visual departure from the Morbols she was familiar with, but there was absolutely no doubt about it; this was the origin of hours spent bathing and still not feeling clean. Of all the 'concepts' that were being observed here...

"Hermes inspected it a while ago. It swallowed him up and spit him out again," Meteion explained. "Afterwards, he didn't leave his room for days. What do you think, S'eni? Would he like it?"

"Seems more like a memory Hermes would rather forget," she replied. Not that she could blame him for that.

"Hmm. Finding a good flower is harder than I thought." The girl frowned. "Can we search over there in the fields? I'll pick something after that, I promise."

"Alright." Walking for a few more minutes, they soon arrived at the lush, green field stretching before them and ending only where the sky began. But while the view itself was absolutely breathtaking to behold, there was nothing that stuck out to her in terms of flowers. That was until Meteion spotted something shining in the distance, tucked away behind a large rock. It was...

"Oh, Elpis flowers!" Meteion rushed over to a small bed of the white glowing flowers and knelt next to them.

"So they're here too," S'eni said and a thought came to her. "Want to bring Hermes one?"

"Uhm...I don't know..."

"Why?"

"Because Hermes likes and dislikes them at the same time. Like me, they're Entelechies. Like me, they feel his pain and turn dark," Meteion explained. "But only for him. For others, they're always white and bright..."

S'eni watched the girl idly running her hand through the flowers. She still remembered how ashen they had looked when she first saw them in Labyrinthos, their color reflecting the stress that everyone was feeling at the time. Were so many people here just at peace with what they were doing that their petals just stayed the same color?

She didn't know if that wasn't even sadder than them losing their luster...

Kneeling next to the girl, she said, "Where I'm from, I've seen them go dark."

"Really!?" Meteion's head whirled towards her in surprise. "They were dark in your home!?"

She nodded.

"Then...you have them too? Dark emotions...?"

"Yeah." Her expression darkened. "Sorrow, fury...doubt. I've experienced them all..."

"Hermes has felt them too, all of them. Yet no one notices. No one understands," Meteion said. "Will you lend it to me? The darkness inside you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I want you to make the flowers dark. In front of Hermes. He has been in a dark place. Since before he created me. He needs to know that he isn't alone. That others are sad too."

Show him that others are sad too... Perhaps that would be a better alternative than simply bringing him a flower to cheer him up. Smiling slightly, she rose back up and offered the girl her hand. "Then let's do that."

"Thank you, S'eni! Thank you! It means more to me than I can say!"

They returned back to the Twelve Wonders, where they had to wait a while before Hermes finally emerged from the building he had ventured into earlier. Upon noticing him, Meteion called out his name, earning them both a look of surprise. "Oh...were you waiting for me?" he asked.

"Did you come to a decision?" Meteion asked right back.

"Yes. We have." His masked gaze landed on S'eni. "Thank you, for keeping her company. Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus have retired for the evening. I've taken the liberty to have a room prepared for you too. If you would follow me."

But just as he moved to turn around, Meteion stepped in front of him, saying, "Wait! We want to show you something!"

Curious as to whatever it could be that they wished to show him, he agreed and they made their way back to the Elpis flowers. He briefly looked at them, before turning a questioning gaze towards Meteion. The girl turned towards S'eni.

"Go on. Show him!"

With a nod, she closed her eyes and released a deep breath, focusing her thoughts on all the things she kept locked away. All the loss and sorrow she endured in the past. All the worry for those important to her back home. And all the anger at herself, for not having been able to prevent it.

She heard Hermes gasp and slowly opened her eyes again. The flowers, which had been a beautiful white, were now a deep shade of purple. It almost looked like they were weeping.

"You're not the only one, Hermes. Others feel sad too. You're not alone," Meteion said.

Hermes looked at S'eni, then at the flowers, and back again. "It seems like Meteion shared a lot with you," he said and reached up to remove his mask, revealing the deep green eyes hidden beneath it. He smiled and nodded towards the rock. "May we speak for a moment?"

"Of course," she replied. They walked a few steps away to stand beneath the rock's shade while Meteion quickly found her attention caught by a few fireflies that danced across the field. From out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something in the high grass; a tiny hedgehog that scurried away the moment it noticed her. She chuckled.

"I...do not think it is wrong to live for this star," Hermes said after a few moments. "And yet there are times I'm plagued by doubt while carrying out my duties. Do you remember what Hythlodaeus said when we first spoke of my nomination?"

"Those who fulfilled their duty choose to die," she said. "And when they return to the star, it's to be celebrated as a beautiful moment."

"And it is...but only for us." He looked at her. "Creations that are deemed useless are discarded without a second thought. Just born into this world, without any chance to develop. They suffer no pain, of course. But they still feel what is about to happen. They rage and cower–and there is nothing beautiful in that. And who cares? No one. Our eyes are so fixated on making the star a better place, that we forget those who get left behind for it."

He paused briefly, his eyes going to the ground.

"One has to only look into the eyes of these poor creatures. To see the fear, the despair, and the rage at this injustice. Yet nothing wipes away our smug smiles, and the flowers glow ever white."

Yes, she had noticed that. The downright dismissive way that some of the observers were about returning these creatures to aether. Even the robes she was wearing right now were made from the aether of creatures that Hythlodaeus claimed wouldn't be missed. It brought to mind the time on the First when Emet-Selch had once told them that, to him, they weren't truly alive.

"My doubts grew ever heavier. Like a dark weight on my heart that threatened to crush me. I wanted to scream, to tell everyone that what we were doing was wrong. But then I became afraid...afraid that I might be the one who was wrong..." he looked down at the flowers, still shining purple. "But now...now I know I'm not the only one for whom the flowers grieve. I won't ask what lies within your thoughts, perhaps you even only did it because Meteion asked you to. Nevertheless...thank you. To know that there is more than bright white, more than one path, offers me much-needed comfort."

"Believe me, I've been through quite a lot," S'eni said with a sigh.

Hermes' eyes widened. "M-My apologies, I did not wish to open any old wounds!"

"You didn't, don't worry." The corners of her lips rose. "So let's try not to brood too much, alright?"

"Indeed. Even if it might be difficult to do so. But seeing you gives me hope that I can succeed. Hmm, you truly are an odd one."

"I've been told that from time to time," she said, making him chuckle. She then watched him walk a few paces and look up to the sky.

"The stars...do you know what they truly are?" he asked her after a brief silence.

"I never really gave it too much thought if I'm being honest," she said and stepped up next to him, eyes traveling up as well to watch as the faint twinkle of stars began to grow ever stronger, signaling the end of the day.

"They are too far away for us to ever see...but each glittering light is a world like ours. Perhaps even grander. We live for our world, to make it a better place, but there is so much else out there. What gives their lives purpose? That is what I wish to know," he explained, and for the first time since she had met him, she could hear the excitement in his voice. "For that, I created beings made of dynamis, which can traverse the vast emptiness between the stars. Meteion and her sisters."

"Did you just say...sisters?" S'eni asked, tearing her eyes away from the sky to look at him in surprise.

"Yes. She has many of them. They travel from one star to the next in search of life. Of course, such a journey is rife with difficulties and so far there have been no results. Yet it could be any day now, that news of discovery will arrive. And when they do, I wish to share them with you. As thanks for your kindness."

"It would be a great honor," she said with a warm expression that he mirrored.

"It's getting late. We should head back. It wouldn't do for both of us to be sleep deprived when we meet with Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus tomorrow."

"Oh yes. Best not to give him any more ammunition."

He raised a brow at her, but thankfully didn't comment, and instead chose to look towards the still-playing girl. "Come, Meteion! Let's head back!"

"I'm coming!" Meteion called back and came running towards them. Partway, though, she stopped and turned around, looking towards the sky. She remained like this for a few seconds, before resuming her run once more, smiling brightly at the two of them.

On the entire way back, S'eni let her eyes linger on Hermes, thinking about what he had told her. He was a kind man. Perhaps even too kind. A noble soul, just like Elidibus had described him as. And yet, he too had to wrestle with his own demons that plagued him. Was it maybe an echo of exactly these dark feelings within his soul that would come to influence Amon?

She supposed, in the end, that it didn't really matter. With a small shake of her head, she turned her gaze back skyward. Countless upon countless worlds twinkling in the vast emptiness beyond their own. And somewhere between them, Meteion's many sisters.

Amazing...

I like to imagine Emet-Selch's hair is so white because he has to endure Azem and Hythlodaeus all the time :p