Memories of Light and Waves
Everything was quiet, except for the slow, steady rhythm of breathing filling the air. The sound of proper rest, of sleep well-earned. A peaceful moment.
...that was suddenly, and rudely, disturbed by a short, loud snore.
S'eni's body jumped, disturbed by the sudden sound, and her ears twitched lightly as if expecting more of it. None came, and her ears slowly lowered themselves while her mind drifted back to sleep. Only to snap back up when her eyes cracked open.
She lightly raised her head and peeked through the dark, but could make out little else other than the rhythmic rise and fall of a back lying in front of her. That, and the first signs of dawn that slowly creeped inside. A grin danced across her lips.
Carefully, as to not make any noise, she got up from her bedroll and climbed over the sleeping body, before tiptoeing over to the tent's entrance. Pushing the flap aside to make sure the coast was clear, she stepped outside and made her way past the other tents towards the edge of the village.
Once she made it there, she released a giggle and broke into a run. S'eni followed the familiar trail leading down to the pier, passing by the waterfall and skipping across a few rocks of the stream flowing from it. As soon as she arrived at the beach, she walked over to her favourite spot and looked eastward to the horizon, where the sun was beginning its slow ascent.
With a sound of amazement, she watched as its rays chase away the dark of the night to usher in a new day. She'd seen this sight a couple of times now, but she doubted she would ever get tired of doing so. There was just something...she didn't know how to describe it. But most of all, she wondered if it was the same elsewhere, at those places far beyond the horizon.
S'eni remained where she was, losing all sense of time while watching the sun rise with a huge smile on her face. So engrossed was she by the sight, that she failed to notice the sound of footsteps on the sand, nor them stopping directly behind her. She yelped and jumped in surprise when a pair of hands slipped over her eyes. Her immediate reflex was to struggle, to fight off whoever it was that had sneaked up on her, but she stopped when that all too familiar deep chuckle entered her ears.
"Papa," she whined, her small hands going up to remove the far larger ones covering her eyes. With expected results.
"And what are you doing here you little rascal?" S'gata asked. "Shouldn't you still be asleep like a good little girl?"
"I'm not little!" S'eni puffed up her cheeks. "I'm already six summers!"
"Ooohhh, six full summers you say? That doesn't answer my question though."
"Agna's snoring woke me up."
"Is that so?" the grin was audible in his voice. "And of course took that as an excuse to come out here. Honestly, if you're keeping this up we're going to have to tie your legs every night."
Before she could protest, her father removed his hands and picked her up, drawing excited laugher from her as he placed her on top of his shoulders. She immediately buried her fingers into his spiky hair, much to his chagrin. He sighed, though it was more fond than anything. "Not that I can blame you. It's an amazing view."
"Is it elsewhere the same?"
"The same? No," he replied. "Some places it's nice, but nothing special. Others it's downright breathtaking. And then there's somewhere you can't enjoy a quiet sunrise at all. Like Limsa Lominsa."
"Why's that?"
"Because you're more likely to encounter some singing drunk on his way home," he chuckled while S'eni just tilted her head questioningly. Reaching up, he ruffled her hair, and they stayed for a little bit longer to watch the dawn before eventually turning around. "Come on, let's go back. I'm sure you'll have an earful waiting for you."
"Aww."
His laughter echoed across the beach as they left.
Voices pervaded the air around the Turquoise Port. Like most days, it was packed with people from near and far seeking to trade. The first few times, it had amazed S'eni quite a bit, but she had long since gotten used to the sight by now.
Seated at the pier that some of the locals were amusingly calling 'her spot', she absentmindedly swung her legs while looking out to the cerulean vastness stretching out in front of her. In the distance, she watched the familiar silhouettes of ships pass by, many of which would regularly stop by the port to stock up on wares from the isles to sell to foreign countries. Not today though.
She had just finished observing a vessel from this East Aldenard Trading Company many of the folks here talked about, when her attention was caught by another. One that appeared quite unfamiliar. With a raised brow, she followed it with her gaze while rising to her feet. Yes, she was pretty sure she had never seen that one before.
The shape of its sails was vastly different from the ones she knew, as were their colors. Much more vibrant. The hull, too, was rather distinct from those ships she had seen before.
S'eni watched in silent fascination as the ship sailed towards the port, when a voice from behind called, "Eni!"
Ears rising from the sound of her name, she glanced over her shoulder. There, at the end of the pier stood her older sister, S'aria, hands on her hips and tapping her foot. "Are you going to help me, or what?"
"I'm coming!" she said, giving the ship one last look, then turned around to hurry over to her sister.
"Really now..." S'aria shook her head, making the braided strands of her tangerine blonde hair sway from side to side. "...we're here to—"
"Not stare at the sea all day, I know I know!" S'eni finished with a roll of her eyes.
"Good, then come help me unload our wares," her sister said and began to walk over to where their boat was anchored, with S'eni following close behind. "Honestly, Eni, you're ten now. You should be acting more your age."
"And you're twelve! Stop pretending that makes you more mature!" Being one of the oldest among the kids, S'aria acted as if she was already one of the adults, always taking her duties seriously and making sure they did too. What a killjoy.
"Someone has to keep you all in line. Or you'd be all shirking your duties."
S'eni just sighed.
After unloading all their wares, they headed over to their stand and began their work. While S'aria was taking care of the selling, S'eni's duty was to call out for potential customers. Not much of an exciting job, since most people from the Cieldaleas were already well acquainted with their wares, and with a general lack of trading vessels today, she found herself with not a lot to do.
She was just debating about asking S'aria if she could go and see if there was something for them to buy when her attention was caught by a small group of people coming their way. They were dressed in clothes she had never seen before, their robes made out of brightly colored fabric embroidered with gold. Those must be from that ship earlier...
S'eni could only stare as the group passed by them, faintly whispering to one another while not even sending their stand a hint of a curious glance. She watched them for a few long seconds, before rushing over to her sister's side, who had just sold something to a customer. "Aria, Aria!"
"What is it?" S'aria asked as she counted the coins.
"Over there. I've never seen these people before."
"Hm?" Raising her head, her older sister looked in the direction in which she was pointing. A thoughtful look formed on her face. "Ah, those must be the foreigners..."
"Foreigners...?" she asked.
"I overheard some of the other merchants talking about how there was a ship from far away coming. That can only be them."
That certainly did explain why she didn't recognise the ship. "Did they say where it was from?"
"Thavair, I think," S'aria replied with a shrug, going back to counting coins. "Some place Papa's been to."
"Thavnair..." S'eni repeated.
The rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully, the foreigners only coming into her field of view one last time while the two of them made their way back to the boat. As they set sail to head back to their island, S'eni kept her eyes on the ship till it was out of sight, and otherwise held a thoughtful frown on her face for the rest of the way. It wasn't until evening had set in and everyone had settled down for supper, that she approached her father about what she saw.
"Thavnair?" he asked, a bowl of soup raised halfway to his mouth.
"Uh-huh." She nodded vigorously. "I want to know more about it!"
Taking a sip from the broth, S'gata tilted his head slightly upwards to think about it. After a few long moments, he swallowed and nodded. "Alright then," he said and waved his arm. "Gather around, everyone! Eni wants to hear another story!"
"Of course she does," one of her siblings' mothers said in an amused tone as everyone came together.
"Tonight, I shall tell you about the most magnificent place I ever had the pleasure to lay eyes upon—"
"You say that about every place you've been to," one of the others threw in, earning a round of laughter while S'gata just waved her off.
"Far to the east, across the Sea of Jade, lies the sea we call The Bounty. A fitting name, for it is rich with many exotic fish and other sea life. But most of all, it harbors the island of Thavnair, home of dancers and alchemists..."
With a smile on her face, S'eni hugged her legs and listened intently, silently promising herself that, one day, she would see it for herself.
A shout went through the clearing, followed by a loud smack as her punch was caught.
"Good!" S'gata said, releasing her fist and bringing his free hand up to catch the other one. Pulling herself free, she then threw a kick towards his head, which he blocked with his arm. He smirked. "Also good."
Lowering her leg, S'eni stepped back and hunched over a little, putting her hands on her knees. After taking a few breaths, she raised her arms back up again. "Wouldn't it more sensible to let me practice with your old cutlass?"
"Maybe." He blocked another strike. "But there's more to battle than swinging a sword around."
He blocked a couple of more strikes, never losing his cool. When she aimed another kick towards his chest this time, he dropped to the ground and pulled her remaining leg right from under her. She fell into the grass with a surprised cry and scrambled to get back up, when a fist stopped just shy of her face, keeping her in place.
"Always remember: a blade can be taken away from you. But your fists are part of you," he said, opening his fist to offer her his hand, smiling. "A lesson I learned in Ul'dah, when I picked a fight with the wrong fellow. Turned out he was a Pugilist working for the Platinum Mirage. My mates didn't let me live down that beating for weeks."
She took his hand and let herself be helped back up. "Hard to believe someone would be able to beat you up."
"There's always someone stronger. Someone you can't beat," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a frown. A faraway look entered his eyes.
"Papa...?"
His eyes shifted back towards her, and the corners of his lips curled up again. He reached a hand out and ruffled her hair. "You've grown quite tall, haven't you?"
"Not as tall as Agna," she giggled and playfully swatted his hand away.
"Well, yeah...no idea what happened there. Still, how time flies."
Indeed. With her sixteen years, the days when she would ride atop her father's shoulder were long gone, though she was pretty sure that, even now, he would have little problem lugging her around. He was the strongest person she knew.
"Now then—" he raised his hands again. "—let's continue."
S'eni sighed through her nose and raised her fists, ready to continue their lesson. During the course of it, she ended up falling to the ground a couple of more times, as her father pulled out a few new tricks to catch her off guard, but to her personal delight, she did not fall for the same one twice. Quite the progress in her opinion.
This went on for quite some time until a crack from nearby made them both stop and turned towards its source. S'gata smiled. "Ah, Neena. Come to spy on us?"
Her sister stepped out from behind a tree that only partially concealed her, a far too innocent smile on her face. "Me? Of course not!"
S'eni and her father exchanged a look of disbelief.
"So this is what you two have been up to these past few days," S'neena said, folding her hands behind her back and walking over. As she came to a stop, she reached out and grasped S'eni's arm, giving it a little squeeze. "Oooh. And here I was wondering if you appeared fitter than usual."
"Papa made me train first before teaching me how to fight." S'eni shrugged.
"What for?" her sister tilted her head. "Do you plan on becoming Nunh?"
S'gata released a snort of amusement at those words, while she shot her sister an incredulous look. "Why would you think that!? Besides, I can't be Nunh anyway!"
"Oh I don't know. S'eni Nunh has a nice ring to it," her father said with a grin, bursting into hearty laughter when she glared at him. S'neena joined in on it, leaving S'eni to sigh and shake her head.
"You're impossible..."
After their laughter subsided, S'gata looked at S'neena and asked, "Now what's really the reason you're out here? I can tell it's more than just idle curiosity."
S'neena's face grew serious. "Mother sent me. She said a young man of the S tribe arrived at the Turquoise Port, asking for our village."
"Speaking of would-be-Nunh's." his eyebrows rose and he placed his hands on his hips. "Do you know when he will arrive?"
"No, but it can't be long."
"Guess we should head back then. I'll have to tell Agna to arrange a warm welcome for him."
And much to the annoyance of her dear older brother, who didn't see the reason for why they should indulge someone who wanted to fight for the place of Nunh. But their father was big on hospitality, so when this young fella by the name of S'rahz Tia arrived, he was offered a warm meal and a place to rest. The following morning, everyone gathered in the center of the village where their wannabe Nunh would pose his challenge which their father readily accepted.
As the two fighters got into position, S'eni stood next to S'agna, who watched the entire thing with a disgruntled look. Without tearing his gaze away, he said to her, "Little shit is going to receive quite a lesson."
S'eni hummed in agreement, watching intently as the fight began. There was no way her father would lose to him.
They both would be proven quite right.
Bubbles filled her vision as her body sunk into the crystal-clear water. It was almost liberating, to simply let herself drift in its embrace, watching the light of the sun reflect through its surface and dance about. So peaceful...
Her ears twitched when the dull sound of another body entering the water reached them, snapping S'eni out of her momentary reverie. She tightened the grasp around the spear in her hand, spun around and cast her gaze around the area. A few long seconds passed until she caught movement from within a bundle and swam towards it. As she got closer, she slowed down, carefully raising her spear while keeping her eyes peeled for any sudden motion.
S'eni waited for just the right moment...then thrust her spear forward!
She felt a small amount of resistance as its tip pierced the fish, but what little struggle it had left soon faded together with the last of its life. Pulling the spear back, she inspected her catch. Medium-sized, not bad.
A little smirk formed on her lips, but it fell away when the lack of air was starting to make itself known, and she swam back to the surface. After catching her breath, she made her way over to her boat and dumped the fish into the basket where the rest of her haul was. Resting her elbows on the gunwale, she watched the others who were on fishing duty today resurfacing. If only they could breathe underwater. That would make things far easier.
Hah, as if that was possible, she thought, took a deep breath, and dove back in.
This went on for a couple of more hours until she and the others decided that they had enough and they headed back to the island. On their way, S'eni found herself looking back towards the horizon, letting her mind wander. And she felt it again. That pull that wanted her to see what was beyond it. It had been growing stronger for the last few months now, but...something was holding her back, and she didn't know what.
As they arrived back on the island, they unloaded their hauls and were preparing to carry it back to the village, when a voice shouted from up ahead. It was S'neena, and when S'eni turned her head to see what her sister might want, saw her come running down the path, waving her hands while calling out their names. She exchanged a confused look with the others, before stepping forth to meet her.
"E-Eni!" S'neena panted, all but collapsing in her arms. Did she run all the way here?
"Neena!" she exclaimed, a bad feeling welling up inside of her. "What's wrong?"
"It's...Papa!" her sister managed between gasps. "He collapsed."
"What!?" she grabbed S'neena's shoulders. "When!?"
"A...bell ago..."
S'eni immediately let go of her sister and ran back to the village. On arrival there, she spotted the large crowd that had gathered in front of his tent and, ignoring the burning in her lungs, rushed over. She came to a stop near S'agna, who had his arms crossed in front of his chest with a grave look on his face.
"He was training with S'rahz when he suddenly grabbed his chest and fell unconscious," he answered her silent question. "Aria's been seeing to him since then."
Over the years, S'aria had acquired an interest in healing and, whenever she could, traded books from Eorzea to further her studies on the topic. So if there was anyone who could find out what was wrong with him, it was her. Long minutes of silence followed her arrival, and little by little, S'neena and the others arrived back in the village. They waited and waited until, at long last, the tent's flap was pushed aside, and her older sister stepped through.
S'aria's face was a mask of stoic calmness, but it was obvious that a storm raged within her. After taking a deep breath, she cast her gaze around and said, "He's awake."
A collective breath of relief passed each of them.
"So, what's going on with him?" S'agna asked.
"It's his heart. A malady I don't know," she replied and, with a sigh, her shoulders dropped. "I'll have to consult my books, but I can't say when or if he will get better."
Averting her eyes from all of them, S'aria left towards her tent. A stunned silence set in over the rest of them. S'eni watched as worried looks appeared in the eyes of her siblings and their mothers. What would they do if he didn't get better?
S'eni looked down to the ground, biting her lip, before stepping forth and entering the tent. The sight that greeted her immediately broke her heart. Her father, her strong strong father, was lying on his bedroll, looking almost...fragile. Never had she thought she would ever see him like this.
He turned his head upon her entry and sent her a fatigued smile. "Aria gave you all the news?"
She didn't reply, kneeling down next to him instead. S'gata chuckled.
"I'm sure she will spend all night trying to find a cure for it...but she needn't bother."
"Papa...what are you saying?"
"That I know my body well enough." Slowly, and under effort, he pushed himself into a sitting position, despite her protests. "I've been feeling it for a while now. Like a grayness within my chest. But I chose to ignore it. Heh, I guess my misspent youth finally decided to catch up to me..."
"Come now, Papa," she said, her eyes starting to burn as tears began to well up inside of them. Her voice cracked slightly. "This is you we're talking about. You wouldn't just die."
Her father looked at her for a moment, then reached out to put a hand on her cheek. "I still remember how tiny you were after your birth, how we weren't sure you would survive the night. And look at you now: a grown woman, with dreams of her own." His thumb gently brushed away a stray tear. "So don't cry and look to the future instead. Your future. Don't let an old man like me be the shackles holding you back."
A tiny gasp escaped her, eyes widening at those last words. Her father smiled knowingly and raised his hand to ruffle her hair. After he was done, he lowered himself back on his bedroll.
"Now off with you. Your sister says I'm supposed to be resting and for once I'm inclined to agree with her," he said, his eyes already closing. S'eni remained where she was for a few moments longer, before wiping the back of her hand over her eyes, standing up to leave her father to his rest.
As he had predicted, S'aria was unable to find a cure within her books, and any tonics she made only managed to temporarily alleviate his symptoms. The days passed slowly while their village returned to a semblance of normalcy, everyone going about their duties despite what happened. But everyone felt it, the heaviness that had placed itself over their home. Until one night, almost three months to the day of his first attack, he passed away in his sleep.
The entire village had been stricken with grief. Even S'agna, whom she had never seen cry before, couldn't hold back his tears. Only she found herself unable to cry. There was just a deep-seated numbness that dulled all of her senses.
Like had been his wishes, they released his body into the sea. Nobody spoke during the whole ceremony, their prayers kept silent as they put jars of offerings next to his flower-covered body on the boat they had placed him on. S'eni watched him being pushed out towards the water, the emptiness inside her growing the further he floated away until he slowly sank beneath the waves. And then, he was gone. Just like that...
After a full day of grieving, the village had to make a decision now that their Nunh was dead. In the end, everyone voted for S'rahz, despite not having beaten him, to be the next Nunh. Well, everyone, except for S'eni. She just numbly watched the proceedings from afar. It all just seemed so insignificant.
A couple of days later, she found herself lying on the cliff just behind their temple, her eyes drawn up to the starry sky. In the past, her father had used this very same sight to navigate the vast seas, traveling far and wide. Seeing places that had fueled her dreams.
His smiling face suddenly flashed in her mind and for the first time in days, she felt a stab of pain inside her chest. It grew, further and further, until the dam that had shut away her emotions finally burst and tears began to run down her face. Her fingers dug into the ground, and her lips parted in a silent scream as she cried her heart out, washing herself of all the grief she felt.
She didn't know how much time she spent like this, only that, when she was finally done, she felt at peace. Free. Unshackled.
Wiping the last of her tears away, she rose off the ground and headed back to her tent. Once there, she immediately went for the chest tucked away behind her bedroll and opened it. She reached inside and pulled out a set of clothes. They were nothing fancy, but perfect for traveling. Taking off her skirt and top, she put them on, then reached back into the chest to take out the small sack inside of it. The coins in it jingled when she shook it.
She pocketed it, gathered a few more things, then made to leave, but stopped just short of the tent's entrance. Exhaling through her nose, she went to her table and wrote a note. After checking her words, simple and to the point as they were, she placed it down to be easily found and stepped outside. Everything was quiet, and S'eni found herself oddly reminded of when she would sneak off to the beach in the early morning hours as a child. But this time was different.
Leaving the village, she made her way down to the beach and towards one of the boats. She pushed it out into the water and climbed in, grabbing a paddle to get some distance before opening the tiny sail attached to it. Favorable wind. Good, that would see her swiftly to her destination. Sitting down, she briefly closed her eyes while releasing a deep breath, then glanced over her shoulder towards her home. She watched it grow smaller with a small twinge of sadness.
This was goodbye.
She was sure they were going to be furious, especially S'agna, but she needed to do this. For herself. To follow her dream; to finally see what was beyond the horizon.
When she arrived at the Turquoise Port, S'eni tied the boat to the pier and headed straight for the inn. The owner was quite surprised at the late arrival, and even further when he saw who it was. She wasn't exactly unknown, after all. After renting a room for the night, she asked when the next ship would arrive and, in another stroke of good fortune, was told that a ship bound for Vylbrand was set to arrive in the morning.
Sleep mostly eluded her that night, a mixture of worry but also excitement keeping her awake. Thankfully she still managed to catch a few winks so that when she walked down the pier to the ship, which would hopefully carry her far away, she didn't look like a total wreck. Passing by sailors going about their work, she stopped in front of a Lalafel that seemed to be in charge of this lot… at least, that was what she assumed from the list he was holding.
"This is the ship heading for Limsa Lominsa, right?" she asked.
"Who wants ta know?" the man shot right back, not looking up from his work until she held out the bag of coins towards him.
"I'd like to buy a passage to Eorzea. I know it's not much, but I hope it'll be enough."
His gaze shifted from her to the bag, and he took it. He gauged its weight for a second, before opening it and peeking inside. He hummed and looked back up. As his lips parted, a flicker of recognition entered his large eyes. "Say, aren't ye the lass that used ta always sit over there?"
He pointed to the pier behind her. She nodded. "Yeah. I decided to leave. There's nothing holding me here anymore."
Maybe it was the tone in her voice, or maybe it was what he saw in her eyes as he searched them, but he only pulled out a couple of Gil from within the bag, then closed and tossed it back to her. "Yer in luck. Another passenger who already paid in half couldn't make it," he said, pocketing the coins and nodding towards the gangplank. "Get on board. We'll set sail in a couple o' bells."
The corners of her lips rising, she put the bag away and did as she was told. Once on the ship, she found herself a corner near some other passengers and let her eyes fall closed as relief washed over her. It was enough for her to nod off, as the next time she opened them up again, a collective "Aye aye!" echoed across the ship and she saw that they were leaving port.
All but jumping to her feet, she rushed to the poop deck, dodging a few sailors along the way, and watched the Turquoise Port as they left. While watching it grow smaller and smaller, the finality of her choice fully began to set in, and she began to laugh. She finally did it.
She was going to see the world!
And absolutely nothing bad happened from here on out :D
Anyway, a little "flashback episode". What better time to do that when our dear protagonist is knocked out good, eh? We'll get back to our regularly scheduled chapters next week.