Chapter 6: Oculi Mundi Aspiciunt - "The Eyes of the World are Watching"
The cool air of the morning swept over Na'el's bare arms as her fists shot through empty air, cooling the sweat that pooled on her skin. Her breaths came out in little puffs of condensed air in the higher mountainous climate of Coeia's Crown as she continued to move through the training set.
Her stance shifted about on the rocky ground, not quite flat on her boots. She spun into a backspin punch, shifting her view of the pine trees to the Capital of Omrantha far below. Even the towering Chernaya Bashnya looked relatively small from here.
If she closed her eyes, she could pretend it was one of her and Matthew's training sessions with Grandad. She could practically hear him chiding her for her form, and her stance adjusted accordingly to the phantom's strict instruction.
But the smell was wrong.
The resinous scent from the pine trees was off, and no breeze came in from the Erythia Sea. The silence of the plateau emphasized the lack of sounds of construction and maintenance that would come from the nearby City. No Matthew to joke along with under Grandad's strict eye.
And no children came out to gleefully 'interrupt' her fighting with her grandad.
This early in the morning, no one was on the summit of this mountain but her.
She breathed in deeply, then let it out, focusing, and she saw the familiar orange aura of her Ouroboros power flare out of her body, ready for the last strike of the set. But, she hesitated, looking down on her arms and the rest of her body. Sure enough, wisps of the black fog started mixing in with the aura.
The blast from the annihilation event slammed into her ether shield, propelling her end over end before she slammed into the cliff, the boom deafening her ears as the explosion of light tore through the night and-
Instead of following through with the last punch, which would normally be a surge of pure Ouroboros power, she stopped. Rising out of her combat stance, she looked down to her arm, watching as the Ouroboros power dissipated. Like before, the wisps of black fog lingered before oozing back into her.
Her mind expected that to feel unnatural, or even chilly like the touch of morning fog on the Erythia Sea, because the black fog didn't do that. But this didn't feel like much of anything.
That the black fog seeped out of her everytime she tapped into her Ouroboros Power was a worrying constant.
She sighed, and moved over to a nearby boulder and sat down, hard, grabbing her water canteen from her small pile of things; she unscrewed it and started sipping.
"'Go clear your head,' he said," Na'el muttered. "'Take a hike up Coeia's Crown, It'll help,' he said." She took another gulp of water. "Maybe for your bloody writing it would."
Minoth of course, wasn't here to respond, still watching over the boy back in the Smotryu Inn.
She set the canteen aside and leaned back on her hands, fingers pressing into the grainy rock as she looked up to the ever present World Tree far in the distance, currently closest to the Titan's right side. Its iridescent glow softened as the sun slowly peaked over the white horizon of clouds.
Her gaze lifted to the World Tree's top.
"A…god?" she asked.
"Some call him that," Minoth had responded. "The Praetorium of Indol chief among them. But in the end, he's a creator, if the title of 'Architect' didn't give it away."
"And…people can talk to him?"
"If only," he responded, laughing as if the very notion was ridiculous. "Though I wouldn't mind a chat with him. No one's ever met the Architect, so I'm hardly unique there. They just say he lives at the top of the World Tree."
"Hold on; didn't you say that someone climbed the World Tree? What about them?"
A small grimace on his face came and went. "Far as I know, he never met the Architect either. Just brought "divine revelations' back with him."
Of course, it wasn't just this 'Architect,' that her mind was still spinning its gears on. Titans, Core Crystals, Blades, Drivers, aptitude, awakenings.
Birth. Death Alongside the Driver. Forgetting. Rebirth.
"But…why?" she asked. "What's even the point?"
"Some say it was to guide humanity. Others say the Blades were sent as companions, to help them grow alongside the Titans." He shrugged. "But, who could say, really? It's just the way of the world. And every person, every nation interprets it a little differently."
It wasn't the same as what Moebius did with the soldiers of Keves and Agnus. This wasn't total control of information to perpetuate a war to sustain their own existence. But…something about this didn't sit well with her.
She eyed her jacket, set in a bundle to the side of her with her small pack. After a moment, she grabbed it and fished into the pocket on the right side. Alpha's crystal glinted as lay across her hand.
"I don't suppose you know what this all means do you?" she asked.
The red crystal remained silent.
"Figures."
The warmth from her workout was fading, so she shrugged her jacket back on, and began gathering up the rest of her things back into her small pack. After finishing and settling the pack on her back, she sighed, staring back down into the mesmerizing horizon of the crystal a little longer before shoving it back into her jacket pocket.
She looked down from near the top of Coeia's Crown, towards the circular clock-shaped capital of Omrantha. Even from this far up the mountain, closer to the Titan's head, it seemed so large and sprawling. From here, it was easy to see just how much the massive tower in its center, the Chernaya Bashnya, rose above it all.
She breathed the mountain air in, and then out, and started back down the trail.
The door to their room in the Smotryu Inn shut behind her, and Minoth looked up from his seat at the room's small writing desk.
"How was Coeia's Crown?" he asked, setting down his pen.
"It was fine," Na'el answered noncommittally, shrugging off her pack off onto the bed she'd claimed last night.
"Just fine?" He raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
She sat down on the edge of her bed — the one nearest the window, which was cracked open, letting in the noise of the street below along with a light breeze — leaning on her hands on the soft bed covers as she stared at the wooden rafters of the room. The muscles in her legs sung with relief after her mountain hike and workout. "The view was great, if that's what you're asking."
"It really isn't." She heard his chair lean back, and she could practically his stare prickle on her skin. "They give you any trouble at the gates?"
She shifted her gaze down to him, finding his grey eyes about as piercing as they usually were. "Nothing like last night's fuss. Especially with my 'shadow' waiting for me at the gate."
One of his eyebrows ticked up. "The Midnight Guard?"
She nodded. "They matched your description. Dark navy cloak with silver stars stitched near the bottom over some sort of dark silvery looking armor. They were following me this morning before I went up the mountain, too." Na'el glanced over to the bed with the boy. "Any change?"
Minoth sighed, letting his chair fall back into place before he stood, making his way over to the middle bed. He crouched down and placed the back of his hand over the boy's forehead. "His fever broke while you were gone, and he's been turning in his sleepover since, groaning and what have you."
"That's good, I guess."
"It's progress."
He rose from his crouch, stretched, and walked over to the room's door. He paused with his hand on the handle of the door.
"Kid was badly hurt, but I think he's through the worst of it. Just keep an eye on him in case he wakes up. No doubt he'll be confused once he wakes up."
"...Right."
Confused was an understatement. The boy had had his entire world turned on its head in just a night.
Minoth glanced back at her. "Did you get some food before you came up?"
She shook her head.
"I can bring some up for you, if you'd like."
She sent him a small smile. "That'd be nice. I've already gotten enough odd looks this morning. Don't really want any more." She sighed and let herself flop back on to the bed. "Does it get any less irritating?"
"Huh?"
She tapped the crystal on her sternum with finger, feeling it clink under her nail. "The stares? The uneasiness? The questioning looks?"
The look he sent her wasn't piteous, just resigned. "I guess I'm just used to it."
She heard him grunt, and the door opened, momentarily letting in the quiet buzz of people preparing for their day. The door shut behind him, leaving her behind with just her own breathing mixed with the quiet breathing of the boy.
Her right arm flopped over her eyes, and she stayed there like that — back sprawled on the bed, legs dangling — for a while.
"But I'm not even a Flesh Eater Blade!" she had insisted.
"And do you really think anyone here will know the difference?" Minoth countered, pointing straight at her blue and red crystal. "To them, that Core on your chest marks you." He sighed. "Coeia's last ruler was murdered by a Flesh Eater Blade. Even though it was decades ago, the sentiment in the capital hasn't shifted much."
"And I already told you, I'm not one of them."
"Even if you aren't, it doesn't matter. The power you possess is undeniable, rivaling what I've seen from some of the pinnacle of Judicium's Flesh Eater technology. And for some, that's all they'll see."
Her hand went to hover over the crystal, supposedly a Flesh Eater Core Crystal, for all that it sounded like it didn't really didn't apply to her.
"…and to you?" She asked, haltingly. "What am I?"
"C'mon, you really have to ask? What do you think?"
"Someone's been following us."
Na'el frowned, and turned from her seated vigil over the still sleeping boy as the inn room door closed behind Minoth later that day. An unusually grim expression was set on his face.
"You'll have to be more specific," she said with a hint of vitriol. "Seems like lots of people have been keeping an eye on both of us since we got here."
"Friend Na'el is alive!"
Her attention was drawn to the ball of yellow fluff bouncing on his stubby feet by Minoth's legs. The Nopon shouted with glee racing over from the door and promptly attaching himself to her legs in a fluffy, feathery hug. "Teemu thought would find Na'el as fluffy red splatter on cheap inn rug!"
"Oh, um." Na'el was caught off guard by the sudden display of affection from the Nopon. It wasn't like they were on bad terms, just that he'd never done something like this before. "Glad to see you too, Teemu?"
She looked up desperately from her legs being smothered to Minoth for some form of clarification.
"I'd say he's being dramatic," Minoth said with a hint of humor in his voice, though his expression remained stern, "but something is wrong."
"Scary person follow friend Minoth and Teemu and give ominous message when confronted!" Teemu said, finally releasing her legs and looking up to her with watery eyes. "Teemu know friend Na'el very strong, but Teemu couldn't help but worry."
"Was it more of the Midnight Guard?" she asked. With their dark navy cloaks over the silver armor underneath, they were fairly intimidating.
"No," Minoth said. "After I met up with Teemu and he presented his merchant documentation — along with your contract with him — the Guard that was following us left, thank the Architect. Didn't have causing a political scene on my bucket list for Omrantha, and I want to keep it that way. However, the person who gave us the message wasn't them."
"They look like bad mercenary!" Teemu said.
"You can tell that by looking at them?" Na'el said, incredulously.
"Teemu has merchant's instinct that not steer Teemu wrong yet."
She crossed her arms and eyed the Nopon skeptically. "Is that the same merchant instinct that nearly got you killed by a pack of Volffs in the middle of nowhere?"
The Nopon planted his small arms on whatever passed for hips in the furry blob that was Nopon anatomy. "And Teemu was saved by friend Na'el, leading to Teemu's best partnership so far! So Teemu's instinct still right."
"Hah!"
She looked up at Minoth's laugh exasperatedly. "Really?"
Minoth's smile vanished, and he cleared his throat. "Whoever it is that gave us the message, they're trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" she asked.
"The kind that had them giving the message to 'Tell that other flesh eater to come to the Materials Storage Warehouse in Omrantha's port at midnight tonight, or the blond kid will die.'"
"What?!" She glanced over at the still sleeping boy. "What kind of monster would be willing to use the death of a comatose kid to get their way like that?"
"Teemu think they're out for bloody revenge! Friends must bash whoever it is on head soon or get own heads bashed!"
"Quite the Nopon mentality of doing it, you overgrown nopopomouli," Minoth replied coolly. "But there's no reason to play into this game."
Teemu gasped. "Teemu is not overgrown!" The Nopon let out a 'humph' "Teemu is exactly the right size for maximum cuteness."
"Uh-huh."
"Alright, alright, rein it in you two." Na'el breathed deeply in, then out, clearing her mind. "So whoever sent the message probably wants to do me harm. Any idea why?" She gestured vaguely to her crystal. "Something to do with this, maybe?"
Minoth shook his head. "No. People here might be wary of Flesh Eater Blades, but I don't think someone would send a threat like that when we haven't even been in the capital for a whole day. I doubt they'd be so brazen in the middle of Omrantha during Ascension Week. This is almost definitely something else."
"Is very rude to interrupt festivities!" Teemu nodded sagely in agreement.
"Quite," Minoth agreed. He crossed his arms, gaze distant. "I just didn't think they'd move so quickly," he muttered. "We're they following us the whole time?"
"Hold on, who's 'they?'" Na'el asked.
He looked her square in the eyes. "The raiders, from back in the Village of Estham."
She blinked, not quite sure she'd heard him right. "But, they're all…"
"Everyone caught directly in your 'Annihilation Event' is dead, yes, and the shockwave after took care of the rest. I checked." He glanced over to the bed where the boy still slept. "Well, nearly everyone," he amended, "because I found tracks leading away from the camp. Some of them must have fled before it went off."
"So some of them survived?" Her hands curled up into fists, her voice edging close to a breaking point. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Her anger was met by his stoic stare. "I had other things to worry about at the time, like getting your unresponsive ass out to safety." He glanced at the boy. "Same with the kid. You're welcome by the way."
"Right." Her fists unclenched, and a small bit of shame bloomed in her chest. "Sorry."
He shook his head dismissively. "It's fine."
"So midnight meetup mean mercenary mean to maim friend Na'el, yes?" Teemu asked.
"Assuming it is the remnants of those traffickers, I have no doubt they want payback, and Na'el would be the main target. She dismantled their whole operation in seconds after all, and whoever escaped was desperate or stupid enough to stage whatever this is. Possibly even kill you in revenge."
Na'el cursed under her breath.
Minoth tilted his head towards her. "Something up?"
"It's nothing. Just a familiar situation, that's all."
"You've had mercenaries out to kill you before?"
She shook her head. "Not mercenaries, no." In the City there hadn't really been much of a point for mercenaries to kill other Citizens. But then, there wasn't really a common enemy like Moebius here for people to band together against and for protection from, was there? "Just soldiers."
Minoth frowned. "I feel like that's worse."
"Not really," she said dismissively. "Doesn't matter anymore, anyways."
She could practically feel Minoth's, confused yet pointed stare, which she just as pointedly ignored.
"So what friends going to do?" Teemu asked, clearing his throat.
Minoth's gaze dropped off her finally. "We could ignore it," he said.
"But what about threat against littlepon?" Teemu asked worriedly.
"You really think they could take on both of us if they tried to follow through with their threat?" He looked back at her. "Especially with your annihilation events?"
She huffed, crossing her arms. "I can't exactly do that on command. And even if I could, I wouldn't do it in the middle of an inn."
And honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know if she could create another annihilation event on command.
"But friend Minoth forgetting, even if is only one messenger, messenger part of Bloody Lobsters! They very big dangerous mercenary group! Most infamous group in Coeia! Will definitely follow through. Is in reputation!"
Minoth turned sharply to look at the Nopon. "Wait, how are you sure about that?"
Teemu tilted his head. "Did friend Minoth not see tattoo of red lobster on mercenary's wrist?"
She saw Minoth's eyes widen before he let out a curse. "Why didn't you lead with that?!"
"Teemu thought Minoth saw as well!"
Minoth kneaded his brow with his hand. "We should probably run if they're involved" Minoth proposed evenly after taking a deep breath. "The Bloody Lobsters are a massive group, but with the Ascension Week crowd, we might be able to get out of Omrantha unseen. It's unlikely they'd be able to follow us directly if we keep moving. And even though I know they have other units off Titan, they're based in Omrantha, so they might leave us alone once we're-"
"No."
The sound of her own voice harshly cutting through Minoth's plan almost surprised her.
"Na'el?"
She shook her head. "No, I won't stand for it. I didn't come here from Aionios just to live in fear again."
"Architect give me strength…don't tell me you're thinking of-"
"I'm going to confront whoever sent that message directly, and have them lead me to the rotten remnants of those traffickers." She glanced down at the child. "And then I'll root out their blight on this world."
She heard Minoth sigh. "…you really have no idea what you're getting yourself into, do you?"
"Maybe not, but threatening to kill a child for one's own gain?" Her hand went to rub Chyra's bracelet on her wrist, and she felt Alpha's crystal Hit her leg from inside her jacket pocket from the motion. "I won't let it be part of this world."
"…Fine. But don't do it alone."
"No." She glared harshly at him. "You stay and protect the boy and Teemu. Move around if you have to, but don't be reckless. No need to give them a hostage to work with."
The memory of the fear in the eyes of that scared woman as the raider's knife bit into her throat flashed in her vision.
Minoth crossed his arms, finger tapping irritably on his arm. "I don't like this."
"Teemu agrees! Friend Na'el putting self in very dangerous position doing this."
"I'll be fine." She stood up, heading to the door. "I'll even scout it out before tonight, find exits and whatnot." She paused with her hand on the door handle. "How do you get to the Port from here?"
She heard Minoth heave a sigh.
The cable of the lift groaned ominously, gears grinding loudly in Na'el's ears as the platform slowly lowered her towards Omrantha's port. Set past the wall of the capital, the lift cut down through the rock of the Titan on the side facing the World Tree, methodically bringing her closer to the cloud sea below.
Through the metal grate that protected her from falling, she could see other lifts like this one carrying more people up and down. She spotted even larger and sturdier looking lifts carrying crate loads of cargo.
She glanced to the side to the other people in the lift, and found their eyes darting away guiltily as if she hadn't just caught them staring. They gave her a nearly metri-wide berth, especially the older ones. Even though she understood part of the reason now, it hardly seemed fair, blaming her and anyone else who had a crystal that looked like hers for a regicide that she hadn't even been alive for, much less even in the same world.
"Is friend Na'el nervous about lift? Teemu can assure is very sturdy despite creakiness. Not as fast or advanced as fancy new Tornan lifts, but Coeian lifts very reliable."
She looked down near her leg where Teemu's big brown eyes stared up at her with worry.
"It's not that." She sighed. "You really shouldn't have come with me, Teemu."
"But is still daytime." Teemu's yellow-furred head wings spread out indicating the still bright sky. "Only helping friend find and scope out Materials Storage Warehouse. Friend Minoth more than capable of protecting littlepon."
"I just don't want to give whoever this is more of a reason to target you as well."
"Friend Na'el is being big silly." His headwings folded around the told of his body again as he stared solemnly out past the still defending lift. "Teemu would go to war against message sender and Bloody Lobsters if Teemu had funds like Nopon Trade Guilds have."
"…huh?"
"Did friend forget?" Teemu eyed her with a raised brow. "Na'el save Teemu's life."
"But…that was nothing, really."
"Maybe for Na'el. But Teemu could practically feel jaws of Volff before Na'el snatch Teemu away from it." The Nopon averted his eyes. "Teemu cannot fight. Would have died with Teemu's dream unfulfilled if Na'el not whoosh Teemu to safety."
"I don't…where is this coming from?" It was making her feel guilty about treating him as little more than a useful, if overly talkative nuisance since they'd met.
"Is fine to Teemu if friend Na'el want to keep relationship transactional on Na'el's end. But Teemu cannot do same. Teemu owe debt of life which cannot repay. Cannot weasel out of, or spirit of dead mamapon thwack Teemu so hard he bounce like ball into Cloud Sea."
"Er…"
"So Teemu cannot bash baddies like Na'el can, but Teemu will help however Teemu can."
The lift shuddered to a stop, and the metal grate clanked open. The rest of the people spilled out of the lift in a hurry, leaving just her and Teemu there. The Nopon stepped forward, partway out the gate, before turning back to her.
"Is Na'el coming? Would not want to have to go back up slow lift again, yes?"
"Teemu…" She smiled. "No, probably not."
He waved his headwing forward. "Then please to be hurrying up!"
She followed the Nopon out, through the crowd gathered at the lift to go back up to the capital proper. She glanced back, up the cliff and could make out the top of the Chernaya Bashnya and its twelve spires above the cliffside. Her gaze dropped back down, stopping at a massive, glassy looking sphere protruding from the cliff.
And then the sphere in the cliff turned and looked at her.
She jolted reflexively and yelped.
"Na'el alright?"
Her heart slowly calmed down as she realized no one else was freaked out by the several metri wide eyeball. She pointed up to it. "Is there a reason no one's even a little freaked out by that?"
"Oho!" Teemu smirked. "Na'el never seen Titan eyeball up close before?"
"Well, no."
Teemu chuckled a little. "Is nothing to worry about. Titan is very big. Could be looking at many much things in general direction. Na'el is awesome, but hardly something Titan stare at. Barely even big enough to be snack for it. Besides, if Teemu's scientist friends correct, big Titans might not even see world like we do. Different 'light spectrum' they say."
She glanced back up to the eye, and it still hadn't moved, looking for all the world like it was fixated on her. "But-"
Teemu extended a headwing to one of her hands and started pulling her. "Should please to be moving along. Na'el not want to stand out even more by gawking like tourist."
She yanked her hand out of the feathery grip. "No need to pull me. I was just surprised is all. Sorry."
"Then should get going."
She did, starting to follow Teemu into the port proper, past another archway with a group of three symbols, one of which she recognized as being for "safe departure." She did glance back again to the eye, and its gaze had turned elsewhere off towards the cloud sea.
Maybe it had been a coincidence, but…
Be careful. They are watching.
Alpha's warning seemed to ring through her head. He couldn't have been talking about the Titan, could he? Or was she being unnecessarily paranoid?
She tucked the occurrence into her head regardless, and focused on the port opening up ahead of her. Like the rest of what she'd seen of Omrantha, its port was well organized and the structure behind it felt very intentional.
The metal grating of the walkway near the lift had turned into square sections of wood platforms lined with dark metal around the edges of each section. On her left were groups of several warehouses, and she could see dockworkers busy loading and unloading crates in and out of them.
On her right however, were the actual docks of the port. Teemu led them that way first, and she wasn't surprised to find a small group of shops and what looked like a canteen or tavern, along with several benches lining the actual boardwalk of the docks themselves. Several piers jutted out towards the cloud sea.
But it was what was docked in the piers that surprised her the most. Those weren't like any boat or ship she'd ever seen before.
"What are those creatures in the port?" She asked, as they walked nearby to them.
Teemu gave her an odd look. "Na'el cannot be serious, right? Those are Titanships."
"Titan…ships? Those are Titans?" She glanced back at the rock that made up the side of the head of the Coeian Titan, careful to avoid looking at its eye. "But I thought Titans were…."
"Na'el not seriously think that Titans only came in huge nation supporting variety?"
She felt her cheeks flush a little. "I mean, kind of," she muttered before looking back up at the Titanships. "So how does it work? They don't really look small enough that you could just ride them."
"No, silly. While it depend on type of Titan and nation using, most have ship portion attached on somehow. Whether hanging below or attached on top."
He lifted a feathery appendage towards the closest ship, one that had metal plating and looked like the ship was integrated into the insides of the Titan somehow. "That one look like it built in Mor Ardain, though it look fancier than other ones that Teemu has seen before. Maybe it owned by someone important?"
"Are there no regular ships?" Her mind darted back to the City's Armories, and their fleet of regular sailing vessels. "You know, ones that just run on ether, no Titan involved?"
"Regular? Only Torna have Titan rich enough with ether reserves to build ships that run without Titan. Is much more economical for rest of world to feed Titan pollen orb to tame and domesticate. Titan more than willing to take passengers wherever they want after that."
"Really? That's…"
Teemu grinned. "Genius?"
"I was going to say 'bizarre'."
He seemed to deflate a little. "Na'el should not make fun of process that work. Especially when Teemu's many many many great grampypon help patent original technique and pollen orb recipe many yonks ago. Even help tame original Titans for Nopon Trade Guilds!"
"Still doesn't make it feel any less weird to me."
Teemu let out an annoyed huff and continued on. They made their way further, and Na'el could make out even more varieties. Some with a ship strapped to the back of the Titan that sat directly in the cloud sea, but there were several that had cables attached to Titans that floated in the air.
Eventually they stopped at a station where a blue-furred Nopon in a fancy looking jacket and hat — the dockmaster, Obuena, as she introduced herself. Na'el started tuning out what very quickly became what she could only describe as a very Nopon negotiation, for a spot in the Materials Storage Warehouse and looked around. She was still Teemu's bodyguard, friend or not.
Her gaze passed by the eye of the Coeian Titan again — still not looking at her anymore, thank goodness — to some of the benches along the boardwalk. And then she paused, squinting at a figure in white and red on the bench. Wasn't that…?
"I'll be right back, but I'll still be within sight," she promised Teemu, before darting away. Sure enough, as she got closer, she could make out the same woman she'd mistaken for an Agnian Queensguard.
As she drew closer, the resemblance to the Queensguard uniform was still uncannily similar. She stopped a few metri away from her. At this distance, she could tell that there was no dog tag, or the two patches on her left arm that would have denoted her as assigned to both Agnus Castle and the Queensguard. Na'el had been too exhausted in the Ministry of Health to notice anything else but the clothing.
However, Na'el must have been staring too long, as the woman seemed to notice her stare and her golden eyes — which had been turned out towards the cloud sea past the piers — seemed to finally notice Na'el's scrutiny.
Internally, Na'el panicked as their gazes met. She quickly turned elsewhere, pretending like she hadn't just been staring, and started walking away.
"Wait!"
Na'el took a deep breath and turned around, and saw that the woman had stood up, and moved slightly closer to her. What had she said her name was again?
Na'el swallowed her discomfort and embarrassment and answered. "Yeah?"
"You were at the Ministry of Health last night, yes?"
Not a question and she definitely remembered. Made sense considering the scene Na'el had made. "I was, yeah."
"That boy you brought in. Is he alright?"
Na'el nodded stiffly, though her tone softened. "He's doing way better. Um…thanks for that, by the way."
She smiled brightly. "Of course! It was my duty and pleasure to help." The smile dropped slightly. "Are you here waiting for a Titanship as well?"
"Oh, no." Na'el indicated back towards the dock's central exchange where Teemu and Obuena were still in negotiations. "I'm just here with Teemu, that's the yellow furred Nopon."
"Oh, are you a business partner?"
Na'el couldn't help but let out a laugh. "No, just a bodyguard. I'm a freelancer."
"Then I'm sure you make for a wonderful bodyguard." Her hand went to her chin, and her brow scrunched in thought, almost exaggeratedly. "Hmm…are you hungry?"
Na'el blinked in confusion at the sudden change of topic. "Huh?"
"Not for anything big," she assured her. "Just a snack. You wouldn't even have to get out of line of sight of your charge. In fact…"
The slightly taller woman darted behind Na'el and set her hands on Na'el's shoulders. With surprising strength, she steered her towards the bench she'd been sitting on earlier, plopping her down, "You just wait there. I'll be right back!"
"What." Na'el blinked, then came out of her surprise and stood. "No, wait!"
The woman paused, tilting her head curiously. "Not hungry?"
"I mean, sort of, but what was your name, again?"
"Oh, my apologies. It's Haze." She dipped her head in a slight bow. "And you?"
"Na'el."
"Then it's a pleasure to officially meet you, Na'el."
Haze smiled brightly, and then darted into a group of food stalls nearby. When she reappeared, she was holding a basket of thin, glistening, ribbon shaped pieces of dough, dusted with something white and powdery.
"Titan's Wings!" Haze said cheerily, sitting down next to Na'el on the bench and placing the basket between them. "They're a traditional Ascension Week faire here, or so the vendor said. Try one!"
Na'el did so, crunching through the thin sweet, crisp pastry that tasted like it had been deep-fried. The powder was some kind of sugar that melted in her mouth. It reminded her of the fried dough balls the City would make to celebrate Remembrance Day, just a lot thinner and crispier.
Her eyes shot up. "Wow, that's pretty good."
"Right?"
They slowly ate through the confection in silence, staring out to the Titanships moving in and out of the port, and the cloud sea beyond. The lull that stretched between the two was…amicable. Not quite comfortable, but not the tenseness Na'el had felt when they first stumbled on each other again. More awkward now than anything.
When the treat was mostly gone and the provided napkins were coated in wiped off grease, Haze looked over hesitantly. "The other day, in the Ministry of Health. When you saw me, you called me…Queensguard." She frowned. "What does that mean?"
"Oh, that." Na'el shook her head. "It was a mistake. Your outfit, it just looked similar to theirs, that's all." She hesitated, but something about Haze's curiously warm gaze pushed her forward. "Back where I'm from, there was a nation called Agnus. They had a queen, and the best and most loyal of her warriors were tasked with directly protecting the queen. The Queensguard."
"Ah, I guess that makes sense. Well, I'm definitely not that."
"Like I said. Just your outfit. It's almost a dead ringer for what they wore."
"Hmm…" Haze picked at the white cloth of her upper sleeve. "I wonder if they were originally Tornan colonists. Though I find it odd that they would pick Tornan shrine maiden attire for their special guards. What do you think?"
"Doubt it." she figured Tornan, meant from Torna, which was probably another Titan. "Doesn't really matter. Whole nation is gone now. Good riddance."
"Oh…I guess…" Haze trailed off uncomfortably. And Na'el winced. The destruction of an entire nation probably wasn't something these people thought about a lot. Haze glanced back at Na'el. "Judging by your…visceral reaction, you must not have liked them very much."
"No," Na'el admitted. "The place I'm from…we weren't on good terms with Agnus. I guess you say we were descendants of rebels. They hated us."
"Oh, I see."
"I'd never actually seen a Queensguard in person, just pictures, but they were picked from the best of the best in the Colonies. You mess with them, and your whole squad is liable to be toast. Especially since they were always backed by some of the best equipment and war machines."
"Well, while I do pack a mean punch, I'm hardly dangerous to you."
"I get that now, but…"
Haze shook her head dismissively. "You looked exhausted and you were worried for that boy's safety. Considering what you said, it's no wonder you'd react the way you did."
"I'm sorry."
Haze let out a bright chuckle. "It's perfectly alright. You were far from the scariest patient I faced that day." She smiled at her. Na'el smiled back, though she wouldn't exactly call her own a comfortable smile. Just mirroring the other woman.
"So…" Haze began again hesitantly after some time had passed. "What brought you to Omrantha? Was it that boy?"
"Sort of. But really, I'm looking for someone. My brother, Matthew."
"Your brother, huh?" Na'el caught Haze glancing down at her crystal, but it didn't feel malicious, just curious. "He must be pretty important to you."
Na'el nodded. "He is. I know it's a long shot, but," she gave a brief description of Matthew. "Have you seen or heard of him?"
Haze shook her head. "I'm sorry, I haven't."
Na'el gave a sad smile. It was still the same answer as everywhere else on Coeia. "Figures."
"Don't give up hope, Na'el!"
"Huh?"
Haze was leaning forward, looking intently at her, hands balled into excited fists. "I'm sure your brother's out there somewhere. You have to believe that. I'm sure some sign of him will turn up eventually. You said it's only been about a month and a half now, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"Then you can't give up hope yet! Something's bound to turn up eventually."
"Oh." The enthusiasm in that response surprised her, but made her feel nice inside nonetheless. "Thanks."
"Of course! Though, that reminds me," Haze said, "It's something of a longshot, but I'm looking for someone too. Her name is Rynea, a woman, late middle aged, with red hair, golden eyes. Should have dark tattoos under her eyes running down her face. Sound familiar?
"No. Sorry."
"Thought so. But I had to try."
"Why are you looking for her?" Na'el asked.
"Rynea is my Driver's mother. They were separated sixteen years ago, when she was just ten."
"That long?" Na'el said, aghast. "And your…Driver," she almost stumbled over the word, unused to the context it had here, "she's been looking for her all this time?"
"Well, not all of it. It was only after Lady Lora awakened me that she was really able to start looking. Since she has her mercenary duties to attend to, I switch off with Jin to help do the legwork when she's busy with jobs."
"Did you find anything on Coeia?"
"Sort of. Unfortunately, Omrantha's a big place. There were some people who say she might have lived here for a while, but they said they haven't seen her for years now. So nothing concrete I'm afraid."
"That's rough."
"But it's alright! It just means that I get to cross off another of the major Titans off the list."
"So you're heading out soon?"
Haze nodded. "Later today, actually. I'm headed back to Torna to regroup with the mercenaries before tackling another big Titan. I think Gormott is the next one on the list."
"Gormott?"
Haze tilted her head. "You don't know it? I would have figured you would have since you have…you know." She put her hands on top of her head and stuck out a couple of fingers, wiggling them back and forth.
"My ears?" Na'el asked.
"Yeah! They're adorable by the way. So fluffy!"
Na'el flicked one of her ears. "Um, thanks. But I don't understand what you mean."
"Well, all of the Gormotti have ears like yours. I know you're a Blade, so it's not the same, but maybe you'll find some kindred spirits there."
"A Blade," Na'el murmured. "…right."
"Hmm?"
She shook her head. "It's nothing."
"You don't have to go of course, but I just think it could be fun. Or," she tapped her chin in thought, "I guess you could come to Torna and visit sometime? Humans and Blades live in harmony there, so you won't have any trouble with that like you find here. Your Driver would be welcome too, of course."
"Oh, right." Na'el shook her head. "I don't have one."
"You don't?" Haze's eyes widened and she seemed genuinely taken aback by that. "But then, how are you still…" She trailed off, eyes slipping down to Na'el's crystal. "Does it have something to do with that color? I've never seen a Core Crystal that has red mixed in with the blue like that before."
"Something like that," Na'el said, remembering Minoth's talk from last night. "It's…complicated."
"Oh! I didn't mean to pry. I've only just heard rumors of Blades that could live without their Drivers before, but I guess I never thought I'd meet one. There's no reason to treat you any differently because of it."
Na'el smiled. "Thanks, Haze. That means a lot."
"Of course!"
"Na'el!"
Na'el looked up, and saw Teemu shouting and waving with his headwings in her direction. "That's me. I've gotta go now."
Haze grabbed her hand with both of her. "Hopefully we'll meet again sometime, Na'el. This was fun!"
"Yeah." Na'el almost reflexively asked for Haze's contact by Iris before remembering that wasn't a thing here. "I'd like that."
Haze let go and waved goodbye as Na'el went back over to the Central Exchange where Teemu waited. "Sorry for leaving you back there."
"Is no big worry," Teemu said. "Negotiation went well even without Na'el's intimidation." He indicated Haze. "Was that friend of Na'el?"
"Huh? Oh, no. Just someone I met yesterday."
"Really? From eyes of Teemu, seem like Na'el enjoy talking to Blade lady. Is good to have friends. And in Teemu's eyes, Na'el deserve many much friends."
"Hey, I have other friends," Na'el protested, thinking back to her Procurement squad in the City. Of Matthew, Dillon, Clarity and little Mickey. Of all the children she looked after. "They're just…not here right now."
Besides Matthew, none of them had been near the circle of light that would lead to a new world.
"Well, regardless of Na'el's friend situation, Teemu got permission to check out Materials Storage Warehouse. It on premise that Teemu looking to store goods there. Much better than Na'el just using sneaky sneaks to get it in middle of daytime."
"Well, lead the way."
Na'el landed in a crouch on the metal catwalk, wincing at how the sound echoed around the darkness of the Materials Storage Warehouse. She rose from it, looking around the area. It was a lot spookier in the middle of the night than it had looked when she and Teemu had visited earlier in the day.
She kept the window she'd slipped through open as an option for escape and quickly found the switch that turned all the overhead ether lights on. She flinched at the sudden flood of light compared to the dark night outside.
Like she and Teemu had seen earlier in the day, the high shelves below — at least a half metri taller than her own short stature and stacked two high — were stacked with crates full of all sorts of goods. All completely "non-hazardous and very legal," according to the Nopon who had shown them around.
Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she moved in, walking carefully, ears peeled forwards to find even the slightest errant sound. She kept glancing back and forth between the catwalks and the isles of shelves below, still finding them both empty of people. So far it seemed like she was alone, but…
She checked the clock in her Iris — another feature that still worked and had been weirdly accurate despite not being connected to the Iris Network. Only a couple of minutes until the meeting, and no one else was in sight. She watched as the seconds slowly tick towards midnight.
23:59:58
23:59:59
00:00:00
She tensed, ready to summon her Blade at a moment's notice, unsure of what was going to happen.
00:00:05
00:00:06
She slowly started walking further along the catwalk now nearly above the warehouse's center, eyes darting around, ears still straining.
00:00:22
00:00:23
The ether lights shut off.
"So you decide to show your face."
Na'el whipped around as the window she'd come in through slammed closed. Her Ether Accelerators were immediately summoned and spinning around her hands.
"It seems you aren't as gutless as I was led to believe."
No one was there.
"Sheathe your weapon."
Her heart jolted and she took a step backwards as she heard that same voice nearly right next to her. The darkness seemed to coalesce into a humanoid figure.
The most notable feature was his red helmet, with two pinpricks of light sticking out for eyes. And on his sternum a blue crystal shaped like a throwing star.
"Who're you?" she demanded, her Ether Accelerators still out. "You don't look like one of those traffickers."
She would have remembered someone so distinct, even in the haze of that night.
He inclined his head. "I applaud your caution, but you have nothing to fear from me."
Considering that appearing from the darkness act, she highly doubted that. And that blue crystal — or Core Crystal, she supposed — on his chest made him a Blade from this world, so more dangerous than even his monstrous appearance belied.
"So if you aren't going to attack me, what's this about?"
"I am your escort, Flesh Eater."
"I have a name," she growled. "Na'el."
"Then I shall extend you the same courtesy. I am Perceval, Heartless Judge of the Bloody Lobsters. However." Those yellow pinprick eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms and a spurt of flame shot out from his head. "Should you step out of the bounds my client has set or attempt to harm them, I shall be your end."
A/N: Teemu snuck back into this chapter and grabbed it by his furry little headwings. Haze was planned, but the conversation went on way longer than expected, so I cut the confrontation until next chapter.
Anyways, you all remember that document I talked about from last chapter? Well I played through Future Redeemed again with that same scrutiny and it's now 7 pages longer.
Help.