Our Journey
"By the gods..." S'eni gasped out and looked about as her feet hit solid ground. All around them there was nothing but a barren, jagged wasteland. Green steam was rising through cracks from the ground, wrapping the area in a strange sort of fog that seemed...strangely familiar.
"Is this...a dead star?" G'raha asked.
"I don't know..." was all she could reply as her eyes traveled up towards the giant, burned-out sphere looming above.
"As I live and breathe..." Livingway took a deep breath. "I live and breathe. The environment itself shouldn't kills us."
"In that case, let us search for Thancred while we're exploring the area," Y'shtola said. "Livingway, we leave the ship in your care."
"So—" S'eni tore herself away from the sight and looked at the others. "—where to even begin?"
"Let us begin from the prow of the ship," Alphinaud suggested. "It seems as good a direction as any. But we shouldn't stray far from one another."
"Agreed. There is a dizzying, disorienting feeling about this place..." Estinien frowned. "...We must be careful."
S'eni gave an affirmative hum and began to walk towards the prow, but stopped when she noticed Y'shtola lagging behind while looking around. "Shtola. Do you need help?"
Blinking a few times, Y'shtola then turned her eyes towards S'eni. She shook her head. "No, not at all. I can...see."
She raised a brow at that, sensing that there was something more to it, but decided to not press it further right now. After they caught up to the rest, they wandered across the barren wastes. Here and there, she spotted a bit of plant life having somehow managed to grow its way through the cracks in the ground, but it all looked like it was about to wither away. And yet there was something else...a presence of sorts, like shadows in the corner of her eyes. There one moment, then gone the next, but always watching.
For a while she thought that perhaps it was Meteion, keeping an eye on them now that they had trespassed her territory, but that notion was quickly pushed aside when they came across the first sign of 'life' in the area. A set of ruins, but of what, she didn't know. Yet no sooner had they set foot into the ruins, did S'eni realize how grossly mistaken she had been about what was watching them. Where the shadows had kept their distance during the journey here, they were now awfully close, standing amidst the ruins. Large and—
"S'eni?" she heard Alphinaud ask, and she whirled around towards him. He frowned. "Is everything alright?"
"I—" S'eni glanced back towards the shadow, which remained where it was. Simply staring. "Y-Yeah. What is it?"
He furrowed his brows. "I said that perhaps we can find something that helps us understand this place. A relic of some sort, or an inscription."
"Ah, yes. Good idea." She nodded.
"And be careful. Something strange is going on here..."
I'll say... she thought and looked back towards the shadow. It showed not even the slightest inclination of moving. Slowly, she took a step towards it, reaching out her hand, but stopping just shy of touching it. Now that she stood close to it, there was no mistaking its shape. It was that of a dragon. But...how?
A sudden chill went down her spine as something cold and...dark, no, mournful radiated from the form in front of her, washing over her like a wave of exhaustion. She retracted her hand and stepped away, the feeling slowly vanishing as she put distance between them. The 'dragon' just stared at her. After a few, long seconds, she walked away.
She headed over to where Y'shtola was standing, eyes drawn to a structure nearby. A metallic pillar or perhaps a tower. It was hard to tell because it was partially melted. But from what she could tell, the damage wasn't inflicted purposefully. Instead, it seemed like collateral damage from an intense battle.
"Eni, this structure...it's partially melted, isn't it?" Y'shtola suddenly asked and pointed at where a good chunk was missing. "Especially there?"
"Yeah. So does that mean there's some aether here?" she asked right back.
"If there is, I can't tell."
"Then how—" Her eyes went wide and she looked at her lover. "Wait, does that mean...?"
Y'shtola nodded and cast her gaze around the area, before settling back on S'eni. "It feels almost like a dream, but yes. I can see all this, can see you, like I used to."
Her heart skipped a beat at those words. She had long since come to accept that the other Miqo'te would never truly perceive the world as she did. And now, due to some twist of fate, she was able to do so here of all places. "Shtola..."
"I don't know how. Perhaps what I'm seeing are but images that Meteion is etching upon my heart right now. Considering that this entire place is of her making, I have little doubt it would be well within her power," Y'shtola said, brows furrowing slightly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Still, it changes little about what we have come here to do. Why don't you go check up on Estinien? He seemed a little out of it when up that hill a few minutes ago."
"Alright..." S'eni said with a nod. "But should something change with your sight—"
"Then you'll be the first to know." Her lover sent her a little smile. "Now off with you. We still need to find Thancred."
True. And that they hadn't seen sight of him so far worried her. As she began to head towards the exit of whatever this area was once meant to be she came across G'raha looking at a relatively intact structure. He pointed out that, due to the intricate designs, that this place had to be man-made, though he suspected its builders were not men how they would envision. Especially the design of it all seemed to be familiar to him in a way, and she had to admit that she too couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen it before.
After telling him to keep his eyes peeled, she made her way up the huge hill outside, where she found Estinien looking down at the area below. Or rather what little could be spied through the darkness and the fog that seemed to shroud everything. Once again, that strange familiarity overcame her at the sight.
"Coming up here was a poor decision in hindsight," Estinien said after a moment. "Besides the light from the Ragnarok, all is shrouded in darkness. If Thancred is here, I wouldn't be able to tell. All I know is that we're near the edge of some sort of island, surrounded by floating debris."
"Yes, I see what you mean. And from the look of things, it seems to be held in place by that thing." She pointed up towards a sphere floating high above. What was that?
"In any case, we won't find anything up here. Come, let's go back. And watch your step, if you fall you might just end up tumbling through the great expanse for all eternity."
"That's reassuring to know..." she muttered under her breath and followed him back down.
Back at the ruins, they found that the others had gathered together, and were immediately approached by Alphinaud upon their arrival. "Were you able to find anything?"
"No, it's far too dark and there's too much fog to really see past the area," S'eni replied. "And I guess none of you really found anything either?"
"I'm afraid not." Alphinaud shook his head. "And no sign of Thancred either."
"Nothing but emptiness as far as the eye can see. Though I can't help but feel like someone or...something is watching us. There are times when I sense it drawing close, followed by a chill washing over me that leaves me exhausted..." Alisaie said, rubbing her arm and looking around a tad nervous. "Leaving me with feelings of death and anguish."
"I felt it too," S'eni admitted, glancing over to the shadow from earlier. "When I approached that thing..."
"Hm?" Alisaie blinked and followed her gaze. "What do you mean? There's nothing there."
She can't see them?! Eyes growing wide, she stared at her friend, who only looked back at her in confusion.
Y'shtola looked between the two of them and frowned. "Perhaps we should search elsewhere before we jump to any sort of conclusion?" she suggested.
"Agreed," Alphinaud said. "We've only encountered more questions while searching for answers here."
"There's quite a bit of terrain near the ship's starboard we've yet to explore," Estinien said.
"Then let us continue our search there."
While the others nodded in agreement, S'eni turned back towards the draconic shadow, staring at it. It stared right back. A sigh then escaped her and she made to follow her friends when an armored hand placed itself on her shoulder.
"S'eni. A word," Estinien said and she nodded. Eyebrows drawn, he sent a quick glance towards the shadow. "You can see them too. The dragons."
A small breath of relief escaped her. "Yeah. But why are we the only ones?"
"No doubt because of your bond with Midgardsomr and mine with Nidhogg. Hmm, could these apparitions be related to the dragons now living on Etheirys?"
"Now that you say it, doesn't this place kind of remind you of the mountains of Dravania?" she asked. Much more dead and desolate...but the similarities were there.
"Hmm..." his frown deepened, before throwing up his hands. "Bah, let's leave conjectures like this to the others. We must be careful, we may soon find dragons the others can see as well."
"Agreed. Come, we shouldn't fall behind."
Estinien would soon be proven right in his assumption, as their search eventually led them to a spring that was inhabited by dragons. Unlike their shadowy brethren from earlier though, these ones held a more ghostly appearance, almost glowing in the darkness that filled this place. The others, of course, were quite shocked at the sudden sight.
"Surely, mine eyes deceive me. This cannot be possible," Urianger exclaimed.
"Do you think those are...ghosts?" Alphinaud wondered.
"I don't think so," S'eni replied and pointed at one of them drinking of the brackish water from the spring. A ghost would hardly feel the need to quench his thirst.
"But...how is that possible?" Alisaie wondered.
"What you are seeing here is nothing more than my memories of the withered stars I encountered on my journey," the answer came from above and they all looked up to see Meteion stand in mid-air. "They have become a part of me so that I might deliver their end."
"You mean to say their world is long gone and you are keeping them as a keepsake?!" Alphinaud asked.
"I do. Their star has long since faded away. All that remains of it are empty rocks floating through the great expanse," the girl replied matter-of-factly, turning her head to look at one of the dragons. "These shades are as lifeless as their former home. The dynamis has simply given their suffering and hopelessness a form."
Gods... S'eni thought and stared at the shades. Memories given form...
"We seeketh our comrade Thancred. Dost thou know where he is?" Urianger asked.
Meteion looked almost amused. "What a silly question. After all, he is right next to you. He is...everywhere, one with our nest. If he still had a form, he would most likely tell it to you himself."
"What?!" A look of shock formed on S'eni's face, while Meteion briefly closed her eyes, lips curling upward into a smile. And when she spoke, it almost sounded like the gentle chiding of a mother to a child.
"Ah, all this anger and fear resonating within you. I believe you have yet to understand why you are able to survive here. Just as I deliver Etheirys its ultimate destiny, so too do I let the dynamis consume your aether. The first to succumb was the noble Thancred, who spent his last breath to confront me. Brave, but useless. It only took a moment and he vanished into nothingness." Meteion's expression then became slightly annoyed. "And yet, somehow, a part of him persists. His essence...that which you call 'soul'...remains. Together with his last thoughts: '...I must protect them'."
Urianger gasped, a hand shooting up to cover his mouth.
"This emotion, this desire to defy me and protect you, was apparently stronger than despair. It has changed the dynamis of this place and granted it a new form. That you can survive here is proof of the unshakeable will of your companion. But I fear it will only be a matter of time until he is fully consumed."
"Then we should put an end to this now!" Estinien shouted, grabbing his lance and hurling himself into the sky, before descending down on Meteion. But just as the tip was about to bury itself into the girl's head, she vanished, causing him to strike nothing but the barren ground.
"It is useless. Your lance cannot touch me," Meteion said, suddenly standing off to the far side. "I told you already: emotions dictate reality here. You may have moved a single drop within the wide ocean, but it is still just that. It changes nothing. You may see me, but never touch me. You may follow me, but never reach me."
And with that, she vanished. A heavy silence hung in the air, lasting for a few, long seconds until Estinien put his lance away with a curse. Taking a deep breath, G'raha looked at S'eni. "What are we supposed to do now? Meteion clearly has the advantage. Who knows when she will appear again to taunt us? Or worse."
"I don't know..." she said and lowered her eyes to the ground.
"Let us venture forth," Urianger said. "In sacrifice he hath afforded us a chance to prevail. We should not squander it."
"Urianger is right. There's no turning back. If what time Thancred bought us runs out, all will be lost," Y'shtola said.
"'Tis true that the situation is quite dire, but I choose to believe he is not forever lost to us."
"...Yeah." S'eni nodded and looked back up. "Should we look around?"
"Mayhap these dragons can enlighten us. I would ask thou and Estinien to accompany me in speaking with them," Urianger said, then looked at the rest. "The rest of you I would ask to survey the surrounds. If there is a path that may lead us to our quarry, we must find it."
"Very well. We can reconvene here when everyone has finished," Alphinaud said. "But please be careful. If what Meteion said about them is true, then they are but shades that seek oblivion and not welcoming of company."
"Don't worry. We will," S'eni promised and watched them leave, before turning towards Urianger and Estinien.
"Let us split up and gather what knowledge we may," the former said.
"Alright..." Turning around on her heel, she walked off and towards a dragon not far, staring out into the distance. She tried to spy what he might be looking at, but try as she might, her eyes could not pierce the fog. "Um...excuse me?"
At first it seemed like he did not hear her, and she was about to call out to him again, when he finally turned his head towards her. He regarded her with a curious look. "Thou art mortal...not of this star..."
"Yes. My companions and I have come here with a ship that can travel the stars. I would like to ask you a few questions...if you don't mind."
"Ah, how I wish thy slender hands had brought plague. That thy breath would freeze my blood and extinguish life's flame." He released a long-suffering sigh. "For we await naught but death here, the long awaited moment in which time taketh its toll."
"What do you me—"
"We crave only silence. Thou disturb us with thy questions. I bid thee leave...and never return," the dragon said and turned his gaze back forward. With the conversation clearly over, S'eni continued on. Most of the other dragons close by simply ignored her, caught in their own lamentations. Until, at last, she encountered one who actually initiated a conversation.
"Life, meaning. So beautiful...yet so far far away beyond the distant veil," this one, a female, said and looked at her, eyes filled with sorrow. "Once upon a time, we dragons knew love. We were prideful and strong. Until the day they came."
"Who are 'they'?" S'eni asked.
"Warriors of black and silver. Metal monstrosities connected by neither blood, nor conviction. We lost the war, and our dignity. Leaden was the shame which pressed us into the dirt. We fly no more, only sink into oblivion..."
The dragon fell silent and S'eni, getting the hint, left her in peace. She doubted she would get any more information from this side, so she made her way past the spring towards the other side. But halfway there, she stopped and stepped closer to the water instead. Kneeling down, she dipped a hand into the brackish water to gather some of it and raise it towards her nose. She grimaced and tossed it back in.
This wasn't just slightly dirty, but downright polluted!
No way anyone could drink of this without getting seriously sick, or worse. And yet, these dragons were drinking from it. Perhaps it was due to their nature as living memories that they suffered no ill effects from it, or maybe it did and it simply was just another slow step towards the death they all sought.
Was this what you wished to save your brood from, Midgardsomr? S'eni asked in her mind and actually felt glad that the ancient dragon couldn't reply. She wouldn't want for him to have to see this echo of what remained of his former home.
Continuing onward, she eventually found another dragon, perched on a hill that was overlooking the area, that seemed willing enough to talk. "Thou wouldst ask me questions? What folly, for I have no answers to give," he said. "This world turned my heart to stone. And stones are only silent and still. They neither fly, speak nor roar. But one memory yet stirreth my heart: Ahm Nohl, cradle of unsung dragons. No words, no songs are possessed of the weight to describe such tragedy... Go, if that be thy will. I shall remain, like stone."
"Where can I find it?"
He moved his long neck and pointed his head in the general direction, then turned back to watching the area below. With a 'thank you' that, of course, remained unanswered, S'eni left to search for this place that seemed to be the sole lamentation left to that particular dragon. In the end, she didn't have too much trouble finding it, as none other than Estinien was standing just outside.
"S'eni. They sent you here as well?" he asked after she called out to him. "It seems to be the source of their woes and I'm beginning to see why. Come, take a look."
She stepped up next to him and immediately had to cover her nose at the foul stench that greeted her. "Gods, this smells like..."
Decay.
The Dragoon's eyes narrowed slightly. "This was a hatching ground. I've seen similar places on Etheirys. Not surprising, I suppose. Midgardsomr's kind must have thrived in a place such as this."
"Before the war."
"Hm. I doubt there's anything to salvage here, but maybe the eggs can tell us more about what happened here."
Descending to the hatching ground, S'eni felt her stomach churn at what they found. Shattered eggs, some filled with decomposing corpses of unborn dragons, while others were but formless masses within contaminated embryonic fluid. It was a heartbreaking sight, and she could understand now why these dragons had given up hope. To have lost the war against Omega's kind was one thing, but having to live with the knowledge that this was all that remained of their children?
Yes, she was beginning to understand why they had given up hope. And it made her all the more glad that, despite past conflicts, Midgardsomr had found a place where his kind could thrive again. Not like that would help them in their current predicament, though.
Then she stumbled across it. An egg unlike the others, looking much more healthier than the rest. And more important: it was broken from the inside out!
"Estinien, come over here!" she called out to her friend and lifted the egg up to show it to him.
The Elezen's eyebrow rose. "Would you look at that? Seems like one managed to hatch after all. No sight of it, or its sire, though."
"Looks like it hatched rather recently, so maybe it went looking for its parents." She placed the egg back down. "Should we go look for it?"
"It can't hurt. You start with the clifftops, and I'll search the plains."
S'eni nodded and hurried out of the hatching ground and towards the nearby cliffs. She was about halfway there, when her ears began to perk up at a sound she had grown quite familiar with during her dealings in Dravania. It was the telltale cry of a dragonet, but there was something...odd about it that she couldn't place, so she picked up her pace.
Eventually, she reached the place from where the cries came, finding a dragon whose disposition seemed even more lethargic than the others, simply staring out into the great expanse. Behind her was the little dragonet, flapping its wings and crying out to the dragon, and now that she was close, she saw why its cries had a strange ring to it. It was malformed, and its scales held a sickly palor where they weren't covered in boils.
As she stepped closer to the two, the dragonet turned around and, with a violent cry, began to attack her. She dodged its claws and tiny maw, trying to get it to calm down with words, but it wouldn't listen and its eyes held only the look of a feral beast. In the end, she put it out of its misery as painlessly as possible.
"At last the miserable howling hath been silenced...was it your doing?" the female dragon asked, but didn't look at her.
"What happened?!" she heard Estinien call out, as she came running. "I thought I heard a dragon, or something resembling one."
S'eni just wordlessly nodded towards the malformed body lying on the ground.
"Ah, I see..." he then turned towards the dragon. "Was that your child?"
"Perhaps. Some eggs within Ahm Nohl are indeed mine. If life within one did quicken, the beast thou hast slain may be of my blood. But thou hast seen it, twisted and malformed. No dragon in truth, but another punishment for our sins; a testament of our shame."
"Because of the war that ravaged your home?" S'eni asked in turn.
"Aye. A war we could not win. A war that laid waste to our star. So great was the destruction, that our invaders deemed it unfit and abandoned us to our ruin," the dragon explained. "The survivors sought to put away their shame. To rebuild. A futile effort. In purest soil replete with aether did we once cultivate our nesting grounds. But our lands were barren, and any eggs nurtured in such desolation were fated to rot. What few survive to hatch emerged as...abominations, their lives short and filled with agony. There is no future for our kind."
"Why didn't you try to travel to another star?"
"We have. Many have made the attempt. But the most promising stars were already inhabited and the arrival of incited war once more. When the fires faded, the wars lost and won, they too were reduced to ash and waste. 'Tis the curse of those who seek life. To be drawn into conflict, to conquer or be conquered. A vicious cycle we now choose to break. We tire of conflict. Of everything...We wait now in sweet, merciful silence. Free from strife and suffering. Still as stone..."
The dragon fell silent, obviously having said what she wished to say.
"Wait! You claim your kind is doomed, but there is another star─"
S'eni stopped him with a hand on his arm and just shook her head. Estinien gritted his teeth, clearly frustrated, but ultimately relented and followed as she began to head back down. Once they were away from the dragon, he sighed.
"They only want to brood in silence. But I suppose we at least know the source of their grief."
"There's something gnawing on you about this whole thing, isn't there?" she asked him and he sighed.
"I know the dilemma of which she spoke all too well. Senseless bloodshed because we feel there is no other way...it was the same with Nidhogg and I," he replied. "And yet..."
"And yet?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. For now we should head back to the others."
As they made their way back to the dragons' settlement, they passed by the hatching ground once more, the rotten smell in the air a reminder to everyone just what awaited them inside. Next to her, Estinien's face darkened and he muttered something under his breath that she could only partly hear. "If only there were winds..."
Upon their return, they found the others gathered at the place where they had split off earlier. "It is good to see you made it back in one piece," Alphinaud greeted them. "Say, how did it go with the dragons?"
"Not good, I'm afraid. They're all despondent, most not even wanting to talk, and those that do lament their existence. Estinien and I eventually came across one who was willing to explain the reasons for that. They wish to escape the endless cycle of conflict that has haunted their kind and await their death," S'eni explained to them.
"I see, that really does explain their lethargic nature. Thank you. We also learned something, even if it is not much." The young man frowned. "There seems to be no way off this island."
"Are you sure?" Estinien asked. "With all the debris floating around, there ought to be a way across."
"Not possible. I tried throwing a stone across...but it only ended up falling down on my head. It seems that Meteion is right and nothing here is as it appears."
"Even the systems of the Ragnarok couldn't find anything," Alisaie added. "Apart from the surroundings of the ship, everything seems to be unstable. The Loporrits said that we can't possibly take off in these conditions. So no way of using the ship either."
"I tried it with emotions as well. Given that they shape reality here, I wished to reach one of the other islands, but that, too, failed," G'raha said.
Estinien crossed his arms. "So we are stuck."
"If it's indeed true that Ultima Thule is ruled by emotions...then could it be because of the dragons that we can't move forward?" Y'shtola asked. "They are tired of fighting and only wish to die. Here, in this place. They don't need a way off this island."
"Hmm..." A look of realization suddenly formed on S'eni's face. "So it's their overwhelming desire to die that shapes this area."
"An interesting theory," G'raha noted.
"But if that is the truth, what recourse do we have?" Alphinaud asked. "We will be hardly able to persuade them to assist us. Their suffering was long, and I could not imagine a way to prove to them that there is yet hope..."
"Perhaps we don't need to. At least not with words." At the Elezen's questioning look, Y'shtola continued, "Thancred has paved our way with nothing but determination. Determination to protect us from Meteion. And it was that very same determination that has changed Ultima Thule. So why should it not work a second time around?"
Alphinaud furrowed his brows and his expression became one of deep thought. Urianger, meanwhile, turned towards S'eni. "Alas, simple words will not suffice to sway their hearts. We needst form a connection with them. Though I did not mark a leader among them as such, I did chance to encounter a dragon possessed of despair far more potent than most. Potent enough, mayhap, to dictate the course for others, and thus, their domain, to follow. Though I fear my vaunted rhetoric availed me naught against his calcifying heart. But mayhap one of you will fare better...?"
"Well, better than simply waiting around," S'eni said. "Lead us to him."
"Very well, we wilt find him not far from here, his eyes fixed upon the waters. An ancient dragon. Al End, they call him."
A fitting name... she thought as, one by one, they all began to follow Urianger. Only Estinien remained standing where he was, his eyes closed. After a brief moment, he opened them and followed as well.
Urianger led them out of the settlement and towards another lake not far from it. Just like he said, they found Al End lying near the shore, staring into the contaminated water. Even as they approached him, he didn't do so much as acknowledge their presence.
"As thou can see, he is less inclined to conversing than even his brethren. Naught but his name didst he reveal to me."
"Then perhaps I have more—" Alphinaud stepped forward, only to be stopped by Estinien.
"I'll take care of it," the Dragoon said and stepped towards the dragon, who continued to ignore him. "Hey! Are you all really just waiting to miserably croak?"
That managed to get a response out of the dragon. "Aye. Our pride is broken, our souls corrupted. The winds of hope hath long ceased and with them the wish to fly unto the heavens. We wait until time claimeth our bodies, until we taketh our last breath. We shall be as stone, until rain and storm grinds it to dust."
"And yet there are dragons who braved the great expanse to reach our star. There, they found a home to raise their brood, flying free and proud, their calls echoing even to the most distant corners of the world."
Al End moved his head, his glowing, green eyes finding Estinien's.
"There are dragons on thy star...?" he then sniffed the air. "Then pray tell...is that not the blood of mine brethen I smell upon thy lance...? So is strife and destruction aught they know on thy world...?"
"You got a good nose. I won't lie to you, yes, blood has been shed. On both sides," Estinien admitted.
A deep, sardonic laugh rumbled from within the dragon's chest. "As I thought. Wherever we fly, 'tis an unbreakable curse. 'Tis our fate to bathe in a sea of blood and suffering. A ceaseless cycle of destruction, until naught but ruins and bones remain. But within me rests what remaineth of our pride, and with mine death shall we at last be free of this cycle once and for all! Our extinction shall hail bloodshed's end!"
"It's true, if the dragons on our star had resigned themselves to this fate, then my family might still be alive today...But someone who wishes for true peace wouldn't just wait for death to claim him while wallowing in self-pity. He who wants peace needs the conviction to fight for it. Yes, sometimes that means blood will be spilled. But above all else, you need to be willing to offer your hand first before baring your fangs. The cycle can always be broken. That is what a friend taught me at the risk of his own life. There is nothing honorable about what you are doing here, nothing to be proud of. It's just the pathetic whimper of those who have given up on living a dream!" Reaching behind him, Estinien brandished his lance. "But I carry the dragon's legacy upon my shoulders and will not back down. We won't give up!"
Al End roared in anger and his body began to twist, dark mist pouring from him like with the victims of the Final Days on Etheirys. His form collapsed into itself, leaving nothing but a small, black bird. It exploded outward into a storm of darkness that enveloped the area where Estinien stood, trapping him within its eye.
"Estinien!" Alphinaud cried out and made to rush towards him.
"Stay where you are!" Estinien called back.
The storm grew fiercer by the second, their friend's form barely visible through the darkness, and Al End's voice, no, feelings resonated from within.
"Tired...so tired of all the bloodshed...all this suffering...too much to bear...end it...end our agony...this misery..."
"So that is how she has veiled the way from the abyss," S'eni's heard Estinien say. "Heh, very well, little bird, let's dance!"
From one moment to the next, the storm imploded...and Estinien was gone.
"Oh no, is he—?!" Alisaie exclaimed, but was interrupted when a sudden gust of wind shot forth from the spot where Estinien had stood only a few seconds ago, chasing away the fog that clouded the entire area and filling it with fresh air.
"The veil is gone...we can move forward..." Alphinaud said after a stunned silence. Despite his best efforts to keep his composure, his eyes began to brim with tears and his voice cracked. "He sacrificed himself for our sake...just like Thancred...gods, Estinien!"
With a loud sob, he covered his face with his hands, but it did little to quell the stream of tears running down his cheeks. Alisaie was immediately at her brother's side, putting an arm around and softly speaking to him. It didn't last for long, and he swiftly managed to gather himself, resolve piercing through the wetness of his eyes.
"Let's go," he said, his jaw set. "We follow the wind. It will guide us the way."
They all nodded solemnly and began to leave. After a few steps, S'eni stopped to look at the spot where Estinien had stood. She closed her eyes, her thoughts going back to his muttered words.
If only there were winds...
She breathed in the now fresh air, letting it quell the storm raging within her, before opening her eyes and continuing onward...
...ever following the wind.
Are we all ready for the pain train? :)