"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Arcadia."

As the shuttle doors slowly opened, a wave of warm, salty air greeted them, intermingled with the sweet scent of tropical flora. The sun's rays pierced through, revealing a panoramic view of an untouched island paradise. The shimmering blue waters, powdery white beaches, and lush forests painted a picture that looked straight out of a fantasy holovid.

The crew stood for a moment, awestruck. Liara's eyes gleamed with wonder, while Garrus, ever the cool turian, tried to hide his obvious amazement. Tali let out a sigh, her suit's filters probably not doing justice to the fragrances all around. Joker, leaning on his crutches, muttered, "Bet there's no wheelchair access here."

Shepard took a deep breath, letting the natural beauty soak in. It was a welcome contrast from the metallic, cold interiors of the Normandy and the constant pressure of the war. But before she could step forward, Arius stood in front of her with a hand out to stop her. "Not you, Shepard. I have something special planned for you." He passed her a compact hiking pack he had prepared. "You're going for a run."

She eyed him incredulously. "A run? What? You can't be serious."

"I am. You'll thank me later." Arius pointed towards a narrow path leading uphill. "Start there."

Shepard frowned but noticed the teasing glint in Arius' eyes. "You do remember we're in the middle of a war, right? And you bring me here to make me run?"

He chuckled, "You asked me for a reprieve. I'm giving you one, especially tailored to you. Trust me." Arius opened his omni-tool and transferred something to hers with a flick of his wrist. "We will be dropping you off here. Follow the waypoints I've just set for you. With your usual pacing, you should reach us before nightfall," then, with a smirk, he added, "hopefully."

Shepard could only shake her head, half in annoyance, half in amusement. As she stepped off the shuttle and adjusted the small pack on her shoulders, she watched the shuttle carrying her teammates fly away and disappear, no doubt heading towards some scene of tropical debauchery. Grumbling to herself, she accessed her omni-tool, checking the first waypoint. It was atop a mountain in the far distance, and when she squinted at it, she spied at what looked like an ancient ruin atop its summit. With a deep breath, she began her run.

.

Shepard's pace was steady but mechanical. Without realizing it, she had marched blindly ahead for the first few kilometres, the thoughts in her head swinging between emptiness and replaying the devastating events on Thessia, her gaze trained on the first waypoint as if it were a gruelling checkpoint on another mission. Her burnout had immediately dictated that she conserve her mental resources, sparing little for her surroundings. It wasn't until kilometre seven that her mindless ambivalence began to thaw, and she truly began taking in her environment: the terrain had shifted from dirt to rugged, rocky paths, slowing her down. The dense canopy above created a mosaic of light and shadow, making the journey feel like a dance through a kaleidoscope of natural beauty. As she passed through wide, lush vegetation along the trail, she heard unusual bird calls and the darting movements of small, colourful critters around her. Some paused to watch her as she passed, curious about what unknown beast had appeared in their midst, then departed to resume their lives.

The path inclined steeply when she reached the mountain, and the forest canopy grew denser, offering a respite from the powerful starlight overhead. The waypoint drew closer with each determined step Shepard took upwards, the dirt and pebbles crunching under her shoes. Her lungs burned with the exertion, but it was a good burn, a clean burn. It was the sort of purity of effort that had nothing to do with surviving the next Reaper attack or negotiating the next alliance. It was just her, her breath, and her body working in unison. She couldn't deny there was a certain peace in this - a feeling of solitude she hadn't known she needed.

The ruins began to appear on her path. As she approached, her military instincts kicked in. The large structures, overrun by vines and moss, stood as a silent testament to a civilization long gone. Shepard cautiously moved through the crumbling arches and broken pillars towards the summit, half-expecting some forgotten defence system to spring to life. But there was only the whisper of the warm, tropical wind and the occasional call of a distant animal.

Finally, she hauled herself up the final, broken steps and arrived at the summit, and the ancient ruin Arius had marked was fully before her. A majestic, though devastated structure resided at the top of this mountain, a marker to some bygone era. The architecture seemed to flow with natural designs as if its foundations grew from the ground. The remnants of its walls were covered in a mosaic of plant life, and its collapsed material told stories of lost ages past. It was sad but beautiful in its decrepit way as she imagined what it once might have been. She approached a crumbling wall, outstretching her hand to brush against the moss that had claimed it.

Her omni-tool beeped. Reaching the waypoint had unlocked a recorded message. It was a simple audio file, and Arius' voice arrived clear and informative when she played it.

"Once upon a time, I did a stint on a Prothean anthropological reconnaissance team, responsible for scouting worlds for colonization or observation. The team had inadvertently found me years prior, and I thought it provident to join them in searching the galaxy for evidence of what had become of my people. I never found them," his voice admitted with a hint of sorrow, "but I found other things. Among them was this planet, which reminded me so much of the homeworld I had lost. This world, hiding its idyll, was once part of a much older network of planets, home to a civilization we know little about. Their existence predates even the Protheans, making these ruins one of the few remnants of their time."

Shepard traced her fingers over the moss-covered stones, feeling the weight of history in their cool, rough texture. Her fingers brushed a section of the wall that felt different, and she paused, her attention drawn to the anomaly. Clearing away some of the moss with careful movements, she revealed an intricate, symmetrical emblem carved into the underlying material of the ruin. The emblem depicted a stylized plant or tree, its roots spreading deep and branches reaching skyward. Though heavily worn, the craftsmanship was exquisite. Perhaps it once belonged to a civilization that valued art and nature in equal measure? Was it a symbol of life, a representation of the planet's ecosystem, or perhaps a revered icon in the lost civilization's mythology?

The recording continued: "These ruins, among others elsewhere, were once centers of knowledge and culture. The Protheans repurposed some for their own use, but the original builders' intentions remain a mystery. Some theorized they were a place of worship or a monument to their achievements. Others suggested they served as a gathering place for learning and the arts. I always thought it was a good place for an observatory; the elevation and the drier air up here help. Though you can't see it during daytime, a faint ring system still orbits this planet, which can sometimes be glimpsed at night. Take a look just north of your position. There should be what seems like a wall missing from the structure, which I think was left open on purpose."

Shepard paused the recording, searching for the ruin to the north of her with the missing wall. She quickly found a small clearing, which could have once been the site of a large building from which a spectacular island view was provided. From this vantage point, she could see the vast expanse of the ocean merging with the sky at the horizon. The serenity of the scene was overwhelming.

She resumed the playback. "Hopefully, you've found it. It has, hands down, the best view. If you look hard enough and if the foliage has not completely overgrown, you may spot some of the next stops on your journey from this vantage point."

She glanced at the locations on her omni-tool, then upwards at the panoramic view and saw that Arius had planned a route to take her through various landscapes of the island.

"This island was the product of volcanic eruption when tectonic movements of this planet's crust were more frequent. It lies far beyond the main land mass and cannot be seen from any of its shores. It exists only beyond the mainland's horizon, somewhere on the other side of the vast sea. As I mentioned, my people once believed that somewhere just over that thin line was paradise. I once believed this to be true, too, and it is my hope I can share some of that with you today."

She felt the tension in her shoulders ease, the weight on her chest lighten. She walked to the edge of the ruin, looking out over the panoramic vista into clear skies and dense greenery, and for the first time in a long while, she allowed herself the luxury of stillness.

The recording ended, and her omni-tool beeped, indicating the next waypoint to move towards. Accompanying the notification was a bubble of excitement that floated up from the center of her being. It was a surprising feeling that signalled her emotional exhaustion was beginning to ebb, and she welcomed the gradual return to herself.

Breathing deeply from the pristine air, she hurried towards the next landmark, wondering what she would find next.