I WROTE
A CHAPTER
(how has it been a year and a half since I updated this)
So… I was going to try and use Nanowrimo for visual art purposes this year, because I couldn’t settle on a fanfic to work on and I have a huge backlog of visual art to get done. As you can see, I finished Caoilfhionn’s story. And then I made the mistake of listening to some Beast in Black as a break from all the lovely K-pop/Aviators mix that I was using for plant boys.
Vivienne: I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED
So apparently I’d rather do anything but draw… And then it took me another 3 months to finish the chapter even after I started. I can’t seem to get traction with this one again. Though now that I’ve semi-committed, I’d like to keep going. Part of it is probably that it’s a bit more difficult to get immersed when I’m not subbed (I haven’t been subbed since 5.0, and have avoided spoilers since. Not sure when I’m returning still, but does it really matter when the fanfic is so far behind? D: ) The quality might be a bit lower than usual. I’ll work on it in the future for sure.
I know you don’t get more gear from the MCH 30-50 quests past the very beginning, but I wanted to mention R’nyath is progressing without getting into the whole turret business (maybe later). Also I didn’t plan for that last scene to be nearly as heavy as it was! Where did that come from? : O
Chapter 20: Shining Ishgard Among the Clouds
Chapter 21: Brothers in Arms
Vivienne strode further down the darkened alley. The more she saw here in Ishgard, there less she liked it. If she had thought the Elezen of the Shroud arrogant, self-absorbed, and occasionally pompous, the Elezen of Ishgard outdid them in spades. That Fortemps bastard was truly an outlier. So she avoided the high, clear air of the Pillars and spent her hours wandering the narrow streets of the Brume. She had stayed out late tonight. Skipped dinner. No doubt Achiyo would worry. Let the woman worry. Vivienne didn’t care. Achiyo worried too much.
There was soft muttering up ahead, echoing against the stones in the still cold air. “…Is this it? Is this all that awaits? …No… No more. Enough…”
She paused, her dark-keen eyes finding a Hyuran man’s body slumped against the wall of the alley. She walked to his side and knelt. He was covered in fierce wounds through the robed armour that covered and obscured him head to foot, but she could not tell if he lived or not. And by his side…
A soul crystal. And a familiar one, at that. She picked it up-
-and felt a jolt as its energy bound to hers. Suddenly her breath roared in her ears, her vision swam to blackness, and that voice she heard before, distorting… “Open your eyes. Look. Do you see now? Do you see? Vivienne… Vivienne!”
She blinked and shook her head, and saw the man before her had opened his eyes, pale gold in the shadows of his veiled helmet. But the voice had not come from him… had it? “Well, hello there.” It seemed it had not.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
He looked down at himself. “Try convincing a Temple Knight drunk on authority that you’re not a heretic, and this is like to be the result. Shame the pompous arse got the better of me. Name’s Fray, by the way.”
“Vivienne,” she said. “You dropped this.” She offered him the Dark Knight soul crystal.
He looked at it, then reached out and wrapped her hand around it. “It’s yours now. It has chosen you. As it once chose me.”
She looked down at it. “I have need of it. I accept its power.”
Fray nodded. “Good.” Then they both stiffened, looking down the alley to where they could hear a woman was screaming for help.
Vivienne closed her hand around the soul crystal and slid it into its place inside her armour. She’d taken care to move and reinforce its pocket since being driven from Mor Dhona. Fray was rising, and she reached out to give him a hand up, but he did not seem to need any help from her; when he had gotten to his feet, he pulled out a conjurer’s wand and healed his wounds. Though there was something odd about the spell… Also, he was lacking a sword of his own. That wand would have to do. “You want to help her, don’t you?”
Vivienne looked aside. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes.”
“Then let’s go help her. May I ask, how much instruction have you had?”
She eyed him suspiciously for a moment as they set out at a quick jog. She didn’t like talking about herself to strangers, even fellow Dark Knights, rare as they were. Actually, she was mostly self-taught, but he didn’t need to know that. “…Enough.”
“Then for now, I will watch, and see what you do.”
Vivienne humphed, and they came across an elderly woman being supported by a young man, and tearfully pouring out her story. “Please, I don’t know what to do! It’s… it’s my granddaughter… I didn’t seem him standing there – and I know that’s no excuse, I should’ve been more careful. But my granddaughter, she started yelling at the Temple Knight – and I tried to stop her, I did! But then he said she had to come with him, and… and if I could just tell him how sorry I am, maybe… maybe he would…”
“He’d take you too is what he’d do,” said the youth. “Even if you went and begged the blue bastard to intervene, it’d be too late by then. …Ain’t the first time they’ve taken a girl her age. If she doesn’t fight back, they might let her go after…”
“No, no!” wailed the old woman. “There has to be another way!”
Fray laughed bitterly under his breath. “Ah, Ishgardian justice. They might spare the girl, you know. Leave her with a few scars and a lifelong lesson. …Or we could beat every last one of them to within an ilm of their lives and rescue the girl.”
Vivienne’s lips curved in a sinister smile. “Let’s do that.”
“I knew you’d like that,” Fray said, and stepped forward to speak to the old woman. “Everything is going to be all right, madam. When I’m through with those knights, they will not dare trouble you ever again.”
“Ever again,” Vivienne muttered to herself.
“Oh, thank you, thank you!” exclaimed the grandmother, addressing Vivienne though she had not spoken aloud. “Please… please bring her back to me!”
Vivienne nodded and set off, loosening her sword in its harness.
“Assuming they didn’t just drag her into an alley, they’ve taken her to either the Congregation or the Tribunal,” Fray said, keeping pace at her side. “The honourable Ser Aymeric wouldn’t suffer such reprehensible behaviour under his roof. The inquisition, on the other hand… well.”
“So the Tribunal, then,” Vivienne said. “If the girl is still alive, they’ll spit threats as soon as we show our faces. Bullies always do. So I’m going to make it perfectly clear to them: I’m not here for her. I’m here for them.” She was the monster that hunted the hunters.
“Perfect,” Fray said approvingly. “Once they understand she means nothing to us, they’ll attack us or flee. I don’t know about you, but I’m eager to find out which.”
“You have to ask?” Vivienne said with another hard smile, and began to run, heading for the back ways up to the Pillars.
They were not challenged as they ran up to the Tribunal in the dusk, up the stairs and to the great doors, or if they were, she didn’t hear it. No one was expecting two black-clad knights charging into the last place they would appear welcome, she supposed. And inside… there was a girl in peasant clothes, squeaking away, surrounded by men in armour. “The hells with you! I’ve done nothing wrong!”
The man in front of her chucked her chin and sighed. “Why are the pretty ones always so daft…”
Vivienne grinned a feral grin and drew her sword with an arrogant flourish of her own, letting the point of it thump on the stone floor with a clank. “If I had a gil for every time I had to kill an unrepentant bastard like you…”
The knights spun, grasping at weapons. Their leader sneered, apparently not taking her seriously yet, despite the deadly aura that surrounded her. “Wh-what the…? Are you threatening a Temple Knight?”
Vivienne’s grin widened and her aura blossomed further; behind her, Fray was snickering. “Oh, you’re very clever. Yes, yes I am. Now let her go.”
The leader sputtered. Not used to anyone talking back to him, it seemed. “I… I… Enough of this! With me, girl – now!” He grabbed the girl’s arm and dragged her, still squeaking, to the back of the hall. “One more word of protest and I’ll toss your grandmother in a cell to rot! You three – seize this imbecile!”
Now there were spears pointed at her. How inadequate. “Surrender or die!” they yelled at her.
“Funny – I was about to say the same thing!” The power of her new soul crystal surged through her. She felt alive again. They were giving her a chance to let loose, and by Althyk, she was going to take it.
Fray cackled. “Show them no mercy, Vivienne!”
She whirled her greatsword and unleashed the darkness within her, with the rage she’d been storing up against every arrogant bastard in this town, blasting them with dark aether. As they reeled, she stabbed, taking out one of them immediately right through his mail. She swung the body sideways, slamming it into one of his fellows as it slid off her blade; the third stabbed towards her, striking her arm and sending her spinning back. Her armour held – was his spear even sharp? – but damn, that would bruise.
Ha! She’d been craving this, pain included, and her green eyes were alight as she rounded on him, snapping his lance in half with a well-placed strike. Fray healed her, she guessed – at least, her arm stopped stinging, and she blocked the second man from striking her similarly. The third was retreating, going for his sword, and she pressed recklessly, beheading him before he could draw. The second didn’t last long after that; without anyone else to distract her, he could only defend and block until his own spear broke, and then as he tried to run, she cut him in half.
She turned away from the brutally executed corpses and stalked towards the isolated leader, still grinning maniacally, her teeth white in her dark face. She glanced briefly at the girl; she was still unharmed. The man’s gaze flickered all about her approaching form with increasing fear. “All this for a baseborn bitch!? Do you know what you’re doing!?”
Fray answered for her. “Aye, I do! I’m killing you and anyone else who gets in my way! The next knight who bears steel against me, I’m not only going to kill him, but I’m going to kill his wife, his friends, and burn his godsdamned house down!”
“Nice,” Vivienne said, and swung through the knight’s hasty guard, knocking him down with one swing. Another thrust and he was dead.
“You all right, then?” She glanced at the staring girl, then turned and began to head out, Fray with her. They’d best be away before any witnesses stumbled in and began asking awkward questions. The girl hurried to catch up with them, staring at them and not the dead bodies and the blood spreading across the tiled floor.
“I… I don’t know what to say, ma’am! Thank you, thank you!” She bobbed several little curtsies as she tried to match their stride. “I… got a little carried away earlier. It’s just that when I saw how they were treating my grandmother, I had to say something, and…”
“You’d better run back to her,” Vivienne said, pushing open the door. The girl was all right, and that was the important thing. Still no overt hostiles. Once they got down the steps, they’d be clear. “She’ll want to know you’re safe.”
The girl smiled brightly. “Yes, I will!” She glanced back at the doors. “I suppose I ought to say that I’m sorry for what I did… but I’m not. Those knights had it coming. Halone bless you for what you did. Thank you again.” She ran down the steps and disappeared between clusters of citizens.
Vivienne and Fray followed with measured pace, and she paused on a little balcony off the main causeway, watching the passersby amble past in the gathering gloom. “Pretty sad for them that I literally cut them to pieces and she doesn’t think I’m a murderer for it,” Vivienne commented.
Fray nodded to her. “You have done well – far better than I hoped, in fact. But you have much to learn – so much further to go.”
Vivienne bristled. “I won’t ask about your tragic backstory if you don’t ask about mine. I know the Darkness.”
Fray glared at her. “But I have been trained in it by one far more experienced than either of us, and you have not. You do want to continue to improve, yes?”
She glared back at him. “…Yes.
“If you want to get better, you will have to trust in me. Can you do that?”
She huffed and swallowed her pride. “…I can.”
“Good. That’s a promise. I’ll see you soon, then, Vivienne.”
Achiyo tried to maintain her poise, but it was difficult with so much to worry about, and so few options open to her. Tam could never be contained, and she had no choice but to ignore him, but the others… R’nyath had been running about the length and breadth of Eorzea, there were rumours that Vivienne was a heretic, and Chuchupa had started three brawls in the Brume in as many days. Did they not consider the necessity of staying quiet for a time?
Less than ever, she felt like a leader. Before, in Eorzea, though some had called her the leader of the Warriors of Light, she could leave the decision making to Minfilia or other people in authority; she had only been responsible for those following her into battle. Now there was more politics than battle, without Minfilia’s authority to guide her, and she had ten people to be responsible for – Tataru wasn’t even an adventurer.
And what could she do? Nothing here – she was an outsider, and suspect on account of her race. She could lecture R’nyath, perhaps, but what good would it really do? What good could any action of hers do? The only one she confided in was Kekeniro, who made supportive sounds, but that did not help her.
But she had to make choices quickly, before Ishgard regretted its decision, so she went to Count Edmont. He did not stand upon ceremony with her, though his sons Artoirel and Emmanellain were with him. He was so like Haurchefant, and so kind and obliging. “My lord, you have been immensely kind and gracious to us, strangers in this land. We of the Scions have rested and recovered our strength and spirits this last week, and we would most gladly offer our skills to you and your house.” It was not true of Rinala yet, of course, but the poor girl might do with a distraction, perhaps. “After all you have done for us, we would welcome the opportunity to repay your kindness.” She bowed formally.
Count Edmont looked surprised, but bowed readily in return. “That is… a most generous offer, Mistress Kensaki. You are guests in my home, to whom I have extended my hospitality without obligation, let, or lien. Nevertheless, Ishgard’s need is great, and if you are willing to aid our cause, I cannot well refuse.”
Achiyo bowed again. “It would be an honour. Please allow us.”
“Then, Mistress Kensaki… I could ask for no one better than such storied veterans such as you and your more active companions to aid Artoirel and Emmanellain in their duties.”
Both the dark-haired sons straightened up from their polite indifference, Artoirel in indignation, Emmanellain in delight. “I beg your pardon?” snapped Artoirel. “I am more than capable of carrying out my duty by myself. I have no need of our honoured guests’ assistance!” Achiyo felt her tail still behind her, offended by his taking offense.
“Now, now, be reasonable, Brother,” said Emmanellain gaily. “What manner of fool would say no when a famous hero offered to do his work?” Which was more insulting?
Count Edmont rounded upon both of them. “Hold your tongues! By the Fury… the two of you will conduct yourselves with the dignity befitting your station and show Mistress Kensaki the respect she deserves! Lest you forget, you speak of a band which has bested two Imperial legatuses and some half-dozen primals besides! She is not here to steal your glory or serve as your errand girl!” Shaking his head, he turned back to Achiyo. “If you can pardon them their impropriety, Mistress Kensaki, I should be much obliged if you and yours would lend my sons a helping hand.”
She groped for the proper words of formality, still offended by the sons but too fond already of the father to withdraw her offer. “I should be glad to assist. I and all the others who are ready to join me.” Not Rinala, and probably not Alphinaud, either.
Edmont offered a complex but genuine smile. “My thanks. Fury willing, they may even learn something from you.” He glanced again at his sons.
Artoirel’s gaze was unruffled and utterly stoic. “Forgive me, Mistress Kensaki. I was… unprepared for my father’s decision.”
“You are forgiven,” she said, but coolly, with a gaze as composed as his.
And it was a better reaction than Emmanellain’s, who gave her a jaunty salute and said “I look forward to working with you, Achiyo! It’s going to be grand!”
She was not on first-name terms with such a… what had R’nyath called him in private? A fop? Such an undignified word… but he was an undignified man.
She conferred with the others, and in the end, Aentfryn, Vivienne, and Kekeniro joined her to accompany Artoirel to the Western Highlands. Tataru would be doing her rounds in the Forgotten Knight, of course, and Alphinaud wanted to do the same. Tam, Chuchupa, and R’nyath readily decided to go with Emmanellain, and to her surprise, she did not find it that difficult to convince Rinala to leave her room and go with them. Perhaps it was the allure of the fabled sky islands in the Sea of Clouds that drew her, or perhaps she had simply tired of staying still. In any case, Achiyo was glad of it… and concerned that Rinala’s companions were perhaps not the most responsible of the group.
“R’nyath,” she said, taking the archer aside, “take care of Rinala as best you can. The four of you are better suited to… work with Lord Emmanellain than the four of us, but I do not know what he might lead you into. Nothing, hopefully, and yet…”
He nodded. “Yeah, we don’t know the terrain, the people, and Tam isn’t really the sort to stand up and give orders if things start going to the moogles. You can count on me, and I’m sure Chu will help.”
There, then. R’nyath might take after Emmanellain’s debauchery a little bit, but he cared too much about Rinala to let her come to harm by Emmanellain’s carelessness.
She tried to quiet her remaining fears and turned her mind towards the journey ahead. The rumours had sharpened around Vivienne in the last day, saying she had been seen talking to a corpse, which must have some explanation, but the Ishgardians wouldn’t understand even if there was a good explanation, would they. They needed to get her out of the city more than anyone – it was well that she’d been looking more confident in recent days than previously.
Artoirel was no less arrogant in the field than at home, but he turned out to be more pragmatic than Achiyo had expected, which made it easier for her to work with him. And it seemed once he was not thinking entirely about his ego, he wanted to work with them, too. “I was on the wall when you defended the Steps of Faith from Nidhogg’s brood. I stood by Ser Aymeric as you stood by Dame Lucia below.” He paused. “I was very impressed.”
Was he seeking an opening to impress them as they had impressed him? “Thank you, my lord,” she said. “It was our honour to aid Ishgard in this small way.” She could feel Vivienne rolling her eyes, and heard Aentfryn huff, but Artoirel seemed pleased. Yes, out in the wild they could interact more equally than in the gilded halls of his home.
And what a wild it was… Western Coerthas was a vast wasteland of snow, ice, and stone. Past Falcon’s Nest, there were few landmarks beyond the great statue of Haldrath and the massive bridge, but she had seen already enough evidence of death and destruction on a scale that chilled her heart colder than the low, bitter wind. The sky was clouded, which probably prevented them from all going blind from the expanse of whiteness… but it was so dreary. So absolutely silent. So filled with ancient grief. She said little as they searched for the missing patrol. It was difficult to bear.
Aentfryn and Kekeniro discussed it softly behind her. “And this land has only lain under ice and snow for five years, yet one would think it’s been this way since the beginning of the war with the dragons,” Kekeniro said. Which was a thousand years ago, if she remembered correctly.
“Aye,” Aentfryn growled. “There are enough signs of battle half-buried in the snow… how much more lies beneath, I wonder?”
“We shall win one day,” Artoirel said grimly from ahead of her. “I will not allow all our struggle and sacrifice to be for naught.”
The icy wind blew through her hair and she wondered if the dead felt the same.
“There is Camp Riversmeet,” Artoirel said, pointing below them into a dense mist in the river valley. “Mistress Kensaki, let us split into two groups and search about.”
“Agreed,” she said. “Kekeniro, come with me. Aentfryn, go with Vivienne.” She turned to Artoirel. “I will accompany you, if you are willing.”
He nodded and set off towards the southern end of the camp; Vivienne strode north down the frozen river. The snow was deep, the remnants of civilization half-buried in it, yet there were some signs of more recent activity… such as wood for a campfire.
And a muffled gasp from a snowbank made her hand drop to her sword before she recognized the pale, frostbitten face as friendly, if frightened. “My lord! We’re surrounded!”
“To arms!” Achiyo cried as many mail-clad figures dashed from the mist, drawing her sword in the same moment as Artoirel. A wolf howled nearby. Three, five, seven… there were a solid dozen men attacking them. Her pulse was surging.
“Take the middle ones, Achiyo! Artoir– Lord Artoirel, take out the archer!” Kekeniro was giving orders already, commanding Ifrit-egi forwards, and the snow flew from her heels as she floundered forward through it. They had not clashed for long when a cackling black-clad juggernaut smashed into the hostiles from the side, Aentfryn behind her. Vivienne was almost wild with gleeful abandon. “Rein it in, Vivienne! You’ll take a chunk out of Achiyo if you keep that up!”
“She’ll be fine, little tactician!” But Vivienne’s swings became a little less frenzied.
When their attackers lay dead, Achiyo bent to look upon them. They looked like ordinary Elezen and Hyur to her. But Artoirel’s thought was for the House Fortemps knight. “What happened here, ser? Is there no one else?”
The knight stood with great effort, coughing and rubbing his frozen hands together. “We were caught in a furious blizzard north of here, my lord. Naught but white all around… until we saw shapes moving towards us ─ running towards us, with naked steel in their hands. I cut down a few of the bastards who came close, but the others… There was shouting and screaming, but after a while I could only hear unfamiliar voices… I found my way to the camp, hoping to hide while the storm passed.”
“But the heretics tracked you here,” Artoirel said.
“Aye,” said the knight, wheezing. “…My lord, the heretics’ hideaway lies somewhere to the north. We must move quickly, before the snow buries all traces of their passing. For my brothers, we… we must…” He bent over double, coughing. Aentfryn frowned and cast, and the coughing eased. “I thank you, ser.”
Achiyo stepped into Artoirel’s line of sight. “Let us find this hideaway. With the clouds this heavy, surely snow will fall ere long.”
“’Tis my responsibility,” Artoirel began, then stopped as he followed her gaze to the coughing knight. “…To ensure my knight makes it to safety. Yes, you have the right of it. I shall see him to Falcon’s Nest and gather reinforcements.” There was a fierce respect in his eyes as he gave her a cursory bow. “This plan places you in considerable danger. Rest assured we shall not be far behind you. And… Achiyo… thank you.”
“You are welcome,” she said. “We shall leave a clear path for you.”
The long journey back to Ishgard afterwards did not afford her time enough to think on all the things Iceheart had spoken of and hinted at before fleeing. Would that Midgardsormr spoke plainly – but Iceheart herself had seemed… sincere. Solemn, at least.
Why?
Emmanellain wailed as he struggled ineffectually in his bonds. “By the Fury, you’re… you’re not going to eat me, are you? That’s not what you do to prisoners, is it!?”
“Put a sock in it and relax a bit,” R’nyath grumbled at him, trying to keep him from sticking his noble boot any further down his wide gullet. Emmanellain was terrific fun at the pub, but dreadful out in the wild. He’d been whining all day, all week, even, and had only gotten louder after getting captured. Gods, could this have gone any worse?
At first it had been simple babysitting duty. Fair enough, he’d had worse back home. Looking after kittens was much worse than looking after an Elezen lordling. The lordling was just trying to get into the breeches of every lady knight in the vicinity. The kittens wanted to get into everything, except breeches, and were far more inventive, resourceful, and determined.
So the lady knight in charge had sent them to fetch fresh water from Voor Sian Siran, more to keep Emmanellain entertained and out of everyone’s hair… which was fine… until he’d wandered off to find the “best” water and been pounced on by some local Vanu Vanu. R’nyath had heard the yelling, grabbed Rinala who was nearby because he was keeping his promise to Achiyo, and ran to help, which had only resulted in both of them getting captured too! The owl-men had bound them with itchy vine ropes and hauled them up to their village, hours ago – it was dark out now – and now R’nyath was cursing himself for being so stupid as to drag Rinala straight into the middle of this.
She was quiet, but her head was up, ears back, alert. She might be depressed but she was still ready to fight for her life if given the chance. Definitely doing better than the hyperventilating lord on the other side of him. She was the best and he loved her.
He could hardly keep his tail still, but his ears were definitely all the way back. He could see their weapons, tossed in a pile nearby. His new rifle, a gift from Stephanivien after slaying the dragon Svara, lay gleaming on top. A Vanu Vanu had been looking at it earlier. They better not have damaged it…
It was weird – normally he would have taunted them, provoked them, been a sassy little shite, but now he was responsible for two other people, and particularly Emmanellain’s panic made him more focused and less laid-back. Was this was leadership felt like? He didn’t much like it.
“They’re going to kill us!” Emmanellain cried, on cue, nearly tipping himself over trying to get free.
“Shut up for a minute and listen!” R’nyath said with exasperation. Why hadn’t the Vanu Vanu gagged him? “Hear that?”
For a mercy, he did stop to listen, only to perk up again. “Tam! Chuchupa! I’m over here!”
R’nyath called out to reassure them. “We are too!”
The Vanu Vanu were trying to mount a defense, but there was a streak of purple and a ball of pink, and the Toll and the Smoll dashed up to them, not terribly out of breath, but certainly trailing a decent squad of admirers. “You keep ’em off us, Chu,” Tam said, and bent to cut them all free. Rinala straightened, her courage overpowering her fear, and R’nyath let himself smile. They just needed their weapons back and they’d be ready to kick owl tail! As he felt the ropes part from his body, he sprang up, tail high with excitement, and dashed for his bow and quiver and rifle; he also snatched up Rinala’s cane and tossed it to her as Tam cut her free too. Emmanellain was last, and stumbled to his feet, staggering over to collect his sword in a panicked daze.
“That was… thoroughly unpleasant,” he mumbled… and bolted.
“And here I thought you were enjoying my company,” R’nyath called, sighting down his rifle. No, the Vanu Vanu hadn’t damaged it. He swung it over to point at an owl, and his gun barked, felling the creature instantly. He still couldn’t make bullets dance like his arrows yet, but at this close range, it didn’t matter. Just as long as they were able to escape.
“Where the bloody hells do ye think ye’re goin’!?” Chuchupa yelled, swinging her axe like a madwoman, and Emmanellain, seeing the path ahead blocked by angry birds, skidded to a halt and cowered in place, dithering, until Tam dove in front of him, forcing the charging Vanu Vanu to back off. Rinala cast a Protect over everyone, cast a Medica to provide blanket relief of any wounds she could not see in the darkness, and R’nyath already felt much better. But the Vanu Vanu were assembling in greater and greater numbers…
“Tam! Help has arrived!” came a hearty call from ahead, and there was the yellow livery and scarlet unicorn shields of House Fortemps knights, Haurchefant leading them.
“Haurchefant, is that you!?” Emmanellain cried. “Thank heavens! Get us out of here!”
“Hey,” was Tam’s deeper, more laconic greeting.
Haurchefant grinned as he jogged up to them. “Glad am I that you are all still in one piece! Fall back, we shall protect you!”
“Go on, then,” Tam said, taking a place next to Haurchefant, and R’nyath waved to Rinala to follow him as they jogged further down the hill. He hadn’t missed the delighted look on Haurchefant’s face as his crush stayed to fight at his side, and it made him smile. Lance and sword together gleamed in defense of their friends.
And then his smile faltered as Vanu Vanu reinforcements came thundering up to meet them. He slung his rifle on his back and took up his bow as Chuchupa growled and a tinge of Berserking aether wafted off her. She lunged forward, with Rinala’s stones and R’nyath arrows behind her, too small a target to be hit by the towering owls, but there were too many of them! “Tam!” Rinala cried. “Help!”
“Reinforcements!?” Haurchefant exclaimed, as all the Elezen retreated back down the hill to their position. A lull fell in the fighting as they took in their situation, trapped on the edge of a sky island, ringed in by furious owls, with no way to access the bridge downwards, and no way to fly…
The chief of the Vanu Vanu stepped among his warriors and raised his arms furiously. “Anger of Honu, chief of mighty Vundu, roils like blackest storm clouds! Offer netherlings to the White! Cloud sea swells and He comes!”
R’nyath blinked at Chuchupa, who was sharing his confusion openly – and then he heard it, the groan of an unearthly beast. Something broke through the clouds on their right and leapt up, up, and over, huge, massive – gods, was that all one creature!? He had an impression of great feathery wings, a horned brow that shone in the moonlight, fins the size of galleon sails, and a vast white belly.
“Well… bugger,” he muttered under his breath.
“I… I concur,” Emmanellain mumbled, swallowing loudly.
The beast finished its leap and plunged into the clouds on their left, rending them into wispy shreds and blasting all the adventurers and knights with a heavy wind. The Vanu Vanu waved their fists in the air. “The White! The White! Mighty Bismarck, Lord of the Mists!”
“A flying whale?” Haurchefant said, in honest wonder, staring after where it had disappeared below. “By the Fury, it’s a primal!”
“Sure is,” Tam drawled. “Want to help us fight this one?”
“Much as I would fight anything at your side, I think for now we must away,” Haurchefant said.
“But where to?” Emmanellain gasped, glancing down into the clouds below.
“I’m ready to split all their kneecaps,” Chuchupa growled. “Set a course and lemme at ’em!”
“Hold a moment!” R’nyath cried. “We’ve got incoming: the Enterprise! And they see us!”
The Enterprise was coming in so fast R’nyath was afraid she’d bash into the sky island, but Cid was a better pilot than that, and she came scuddering to a stop with her gangplank down and facing them. “All aboard!” Cid roared, and Emmanellain didn’t need telling twice, for once.
The Vanu Vanu charged, and Tam jumped, and R’nyath loosed an entire volley of arrows. “Rinala, go!”
“You as well!” Haurchefant said to his knights, and quickly nearly everyone was piling onto the airship.
Nearly everyone, except Haurchefant and Tam, and Cid was pulling away-! Haurchefant waited until the Vanu Vanu were almost upon them and then spun, jumping for the edge of the gangplank, catching the arm of one of his knights and pulling himself aboard very stylishly, in R’nyath’s opinion. Tam waited a second longer, then did some kind of backflip-twist combo, landing beside Haurchefant with the grace of a Miqo’te. The two of them grinned at each other, and R’nyath leaned on the railing with his chin in his hands and smiled adoringly at them. They were so cute together.
Then the ship lurched as the flying whale leapt at them, nearly swallowing the Enterprise whole in its gaping maw.
“For the love o’ biscuits!” Chuchupa railed, flailing to keep her balance without grabbing onto anything. “That thing’s chasin’ us!”
“It’ll have to be a sight faster to catch us!” Biggs boasted, and Wedge nodded as he disappeared below-decks. The Enterprise began to race along, leaving the sky islands behind, heading back in the general direction of the Rosehouse, or at least that was what it smelled like.
R’nyath turned to Rinala. “How you doing?”
She glanced up at him. “I’m okay. Thanks. I was… scared… but I was glad you were there.”
He shrugged. “I tried to help. I’m glad you’re okay. I’m glad you were there!” he said to Cid, with a laugh.
“Aye, I came to Camp Cloudtop to cast an eye over the Protector, their big airship, only to learn that you lot had arrived some few days before with an Ishgardian lordling in tow,” Cid said from the wheel. “’Small world!’ I thought ─ just as said lordling’s manservant skittered into view, babbling about his master having been captured and you risking all to rescue him. And the rest, as they say, is history.”
“What happened back there?” Haurchefant asked Emmanellain. “All I heard from Laniaitte before I rushed off to find you was much the same as Master Garlond.”
Emmanellain was dusting himself off, running his fingers through his hair, and generally preening. “Well… I was on a mission vital to the survival of Camp Cloudtop, when those dastardly Vanu Vanu descended upon me, and these two here. I’ll admit it! It was an incredibly harrowing experience. I could very well have died, you know! Me! Dead!”
“Yes, I know,” Haurchefant said more gravely, and Emmanellain flinched.
But he didn’t stop for long. “On the other hand, by risking life and limb in the line of duty, I did succeed in uncovering the existence of a new primal. And that, dear Haurchefant, is no small feat! I have made an historic discovery ─ a fact even Lady Laniaitte will have no choice but to acknowledge! Yeeesss, I am rather looking forward to basking in the sunshine of her praise upon our triumphant return.” He finished his ministrations. “How do I look? Dashing as always, with a suitable sprinkling of dirt and sweat? Excellent. Let us return to Lady Laniaitte at once!”
“We’re working on it,” Cid grumbled, smirking at R’nyath. R’nyath held up his hands; sure, he was an incorrigible flirt, but he wasn’t as hopeless as Emmanellain!
Haurchefant shook his head and turned back to Tam, speaking low enough that probably his brother didn’t hear. “Even after everything he has been through, he manages to remain so… optimistic.”
“He’s a kid,” Tam said, less guardedly. “Nice timing back there.”
Haurchefant beamed. “Glad to be of assistance! Ah, I confess, I have always been rather fond of airship travel. The chill of the wind upon your face, the warmth of the blood pumping in your veins from the excitement…! I find the whole experience indescribably invigorating!” Tam raised an eyebrow; R’nyath got the impression that Tam would just as well walk, were it possible up here. R’nyath rather liked flying, himself… Haurchefant smiled sheepishly. “Or mayhap it is simply the joy of having cheated death yet again!? Haha! In any event, I would depart for Ishgard forthwith. The Holy See and the Temple Knights must be informed this new threat without delay.”
“Yes, I have the feeling we’ll be up against that in the near future,” Tam said. “Chu, that thing wouldn’t even notice if it swallowed you.”
“Oh, yes, it would,” Chuchupa said, her eyes alight with mad glee. “In fact, maybe that should be our first plan!”
“No, no, no!” Rinala said, shocked out of her quietness. “We are not starting with the plan that involves getting eaten!”
“I’m with Rinala,” R’nyath said, laughing heartily. “Unless we can feed it some Vanu Vanu – their roundness isn’t all feathers, they’ve got some meat on those bones.”
“Ye say ‘not starting‘, but what about continuing?” Chuchupa said. “What if yer first plan falls through? What then?”
“No! I veto it!” Rinala said. “You already got eaten in the World of Darkness, why do you want to do it again!?”
“Because they never see it comin’!” Chuchupa exclaimed. “Ye know how snacky Lalafells look to most monsters. It makes ’em easy prey fer me!”
“You were eaten in the World of Darkness? By what?” Haurchefant asked with more wondering expressions, and Chuchupa’s subsequent retelling of the tale – with embellishments – lasted until they returned to the Rosehouse.
Tataru looked smaller than usual, and frightened and vulnerable, from what Tam could see peering through the doors into the Tribunal, not that it would garner her any sympathy from the high adjudicator. There was a lot of dull, pompous rambling going on; he was going to fall asleep before it was time for his big dramatic entrance at this rate.
He’d beaten out Achiyo, Chuchupa, Aymeric, and Haurchefant for representing Tataru in the inevitable duel, arguing that he should be the one to stand by Alphinaud. Achiyo would have more opportunities to prove herself not-a-Dravanian, ones that didn’t involve humiliating Heaven’s Ward knights, and Alphinaud would fight better if Tam were with him.
Stars and trees, would they ever get on with it? It was all very formal and proper and spoken with oodles of space between every sentence, magnified by the silence of the audience. He knew how it worked. He’d eavesdropped enough on the scholasticate students at their favoured tea shop, glanced over their texts in passing. How did such short-lived creatures write such tedious, labyrinthine, long-winded discourses? Still, he’d caught the gist of it, filled it in with his own experience. Trial by combat? Who wrote this legal code, the griffons? The griffons were always too rambunctious for sense…
Should he kick the door in now? Hell with it, why not? His impatience warred with his sense of drama, with his instinct to manipulate. He was stock still externally, though internally his mind was spinning much too fast.
He could just about catch a glimpse of the rest of House Fortemps and their guests, clustered on the balcony above and behind Alphinaud and Tataru. “Should you begin to lose heart, look to me in the stands, and I shall cheer so loud, you will wonder how you could ever have contrived to doubt yourself!” Haurchefant had said before heading in.
“Why, I’d almost think you doubt me,” Tam had drawled back, and Haurchefant had blushed. The only reason Tam would have to look up would be to see if Haurchefant were enjoying the nonsense as much as Tam was.
“I, Alphinaud Leveilleur, am innocent of this charge, and claim my right to trial by combat!” Good lad. Nice strong voice, full of conviction. He’d had more than just arrogance scared out of him by the Crystal Braves’ corruption.
Tataru wrung her hands together, but spoke up nearly as strongly. “I, Tataru Taru, am innocent of this charge… But I am no warrior, and cannot fight, so I claim the right to name a champion!”
Almost there, almost there. “To the old and inform, the young and the weak, this right we allow,” said the judge. “Very well. Who will stand for this woman?”
Tam lifted up his foot, planted it squarely on the middle of the door, and shoved. It banged open, probably damaging it, not that he cared, and he strode in briskly, the barest hint of a smirk curling his lips and his violet coat flaring around him.
Alphinaud smiled in relief, and Tataru jumped for joy. “Just as I was beginning to doubt the efficacy of the Ishgardian justice system!” Alphinaud said as Tam joined them.
Tam laughed loudly; had that been sarcasm? “The what of the what now? Come, boy. Let’s… Show ’em you’re too bold to be heretical.” Even though Alphinaud wasn’t fanatical about Halone, and Tam was a public outburst away from being accounted one of their heretics – he certainly didn’t dislike dragons… except when they tried to chew on him… A lancer and an axeman, hm? “Stay on your toes, boy. Agility will be your greatest ally here.”
“Right,” Alphinaud said, pulling out his grimoire. Tam led the way, tall and confident as they marched down to the arena. They stepped in, the two knights in white and blue mirrored them, and the steel-barred doors closed and locked behind them. The knights were smirking. Did they think this would be easy? Just because Tam was scruffy and Alphinaud was young?
The high adjudicator stretched out his hand over them all. “O Halone, render unto us Your judgement! Raise up the righteous, and cast down the wicked!”
Tam rolled his eyes. There was too much to unpack there. “Ready, Alphinaud?”
Now that they were actually in the ring, Alphinaud’s fire seemed to have rekindled. “I shall do what I can to support you, Tam! Let us teach these noble sers the folly of bearing false witness!”
“That’s the spirit,” Tam murmured, and hefted his lance.
Opposite them, the lancer, Paulecrain, grinned wickedly under his eyepatch as he leveled his own lance at Tam. “Well, well, who do we have here? This one is mine, Ser Grinnaux. Go and play with the boy.”
So there wasn’t going to be anyone saying ‘ready set go’. Fine by him. Tam launched into the air, Paulecrain a heartbeat behind him. Alphinaud could probably dance around Grinnaux for a bit without getting hit by that axe.
Grinnaux apparently was not happy with this arrangement – but would he have been happy with any other? “Hmph. Bloody waste of… Come on, then! You wanted this, remember!”
Alphinaud’s eyes flashed coldly. That arrogance he’d had a year ago would serve him well in this moment. “I have my pride…” Magic flashed from his hand, and Grinnaux growled as it struck his shoulder, giving Alphinaud time to dash away and reposition.
Paulecrain wasn’t half bad, as ought to be expected of one of the Heaven’s Ward. He was no Estinien, but since Estinien was supposed to be the finest Azure Dragoon since Haldrath or something, that wasn’t a surprise. But Tam was finding him quick and steady, lack of depth perception notwithstanding. Fun. Spear thrust at lance, spinning and slashing; Tam hopped away, trying to preserve his coat a bit longer. Paulecrain was pretty heavily armoured, more heavily armoured than the dragoon knights, and as a result wasn’t quite as nimble. But he was going to be a hard nut to crack.
“Fight, my friends, fight!!” Haurchefant called, leaning as far forward as he could towards the barred arena. Tam glanced up for the briefest of moments to give him a reassuring grin, caught sight of the others waving with excitement or nerves. Then he had to focus again.
Meanwhile, Alphinaud was doing pretty well – at least, he hadn’t been hit yet – running and ducking around the rest of the arena. He hadn’t summoned his carbuncle, any carbuncle… why not? Tam could hear Alphinaud’s breath rasping, and every spell wrung a determined grunt out of him.
And angry growls from Grinnaux, who was getting pretty frustrated that his great big axe was too slow to hit a lithe and anxious boy. “I’ve had enough of your tricks!”
“Tam!” Alphinaud yelled in a panic as Grinnaux caught him in a steel chain lasso, yanking him from his feet and to the stone floor with a thud. Tam felt an actual jolt in his throat, though there was no time or need to show it – he shot forward, stabbing the chain with the point of his spear and twisting, both with the strength of his body and the strength of his aether, and the chain snapped as Grinnaux pulled on it.
Tam whirled as Grinnaux reeled, spinning the back end of his spear into the side of Grinnaux’s head. “You all right, Alphinaud?” Grinnaux roared and came after him, but if Alphinaud had ducked like a moth around his axe, Tam was like a dandelion puff. He pulled back from the axe, trying not to grin too hard – Paulecrain came slicing down to block Tam’s escape space, forcing him to leap high and back to avoid further attacks.
“Fine,” Alphinaud called breathlessly, rolling his shoulders as he scrambled up and blasted Grinnaux with yet another Ruin. “As long as he doesn’t do that again…”
Tam bounced off the wall and charged Paulecrain again. How nice it was to have a completely different fighting style than anyone here. “He’s still got half a chain. Keep your eyes open.”
“I will.”
“Are you done babbling?” Paulecrain taunted him, throwing out a ferocious offensive.
“I’m done playing around,” Tam said, and slid through the jabs and stabs, adjusting for Paulecrain’s reactionary dodge… the butt of his spear cracked into Paulecrain’s breastplate, sending him flat to the floor, winded. “As much as I can be, that is.”
“You… you heretic!” Grinnaux spat, swinging at him, nearly hitting him, Tam had been a bit too reckless there…
“We are not heretics!” Alphinaud cried, and Ruin struck Grinnaux square in the back, forcing him to the floor as well with a cry of pain. “And we… we have proven it!”
Tam grinned at him. “Well done, lad.”
Alphinaud still looked a little wide-eyed. “My thanks… as always.”
Tataru gasped. “Th-they… We won!!” She jumped gleefully, and as the door opened, she ran in to hug them both around the knees. Alphinaud ducked his head bashfully, and Tam had to stop short to avoid stepping on her, fighting the urge to also backpedal rapidly.
“The Fury has spoken!” proclaimed the High Adjudicator, and Tam also resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. “Alphinaud Leveilleur, Tataru Taru, you are hereby acquitted of all charges. Blessed are we who receive of Her wisdom and see justice wrought by Her divine hand! Petitioners, accused – go forth in peace!”
Somehow, Tam thought there’d be little peace between them, to see the two proud knights go skulking off on the other side of the courtroom. But they’d won a space for Alphinaud and Achiyo to figure out what they were doing now. They couldn’t stay here forever, and much as it was like to his homeland, or because it was like to his homeland, he had no wish to stay longer than necessary, whatever the others did. But he kept his thoughts to himself as they ascended back to the entrance hall, where their companions were waiting.
Achiyo was smiling, and gave them one of her formal Hingan bows – Alphinaud bowed back in confusion. R’nyath cheered and clapped to see them, and Rinala hastened to see if Tataru was all right. Chuchupa came to offer Tam a congratulatory smack on the shin; he declined. Count Edmont gave them a less grave nod than usual, and Vivienne… was looking around strangely, like she didn’t like this place at all. He didn’t blame her.
And as the others turned to head out back to the Fortemps manor, here came Haurchefant, grey eyes shining like stars, smiling fit to burst. “By the Fury, what a splendid victory! To see how you strove in the face of adversity – two brave souls bound together by the puissant bonds of camaraderie…! Why, it stirred me to the very depths of my soul!” For a moment, Tam thought he was going to throw himself at him and hug him, but he could not, not in front of all these people.
“Hey, hey, now, aren’t you overdoing it a bit?” he said, giving him a wry smile and an eyebrow.
Haurchefant shook his head vehemently. “Not at all! You are simply the most marvelous warrior I could care to name! And I have decided this is a good time for me to give you my gift.”
“Gift? What did I do to merit a gift?”
“You know my answer to that.” Haurchefant whistled, low and coaxing, and a chocobo entered through the front door that had been left open. A chocobo with jet black feathers, black as raven’s wings, as Flairé’s hair… as the black unicorn’s mane… No! Like Flairé. Haurchefant was also like Flairé. Yes. That was safer.
Haurchefant had probably not noticed his momentary twitch, and was leading the chocobo to him. It had House Fortemps barding. “Magnificent, is she not? I raised her myself. Strong yet sleek, elegant yet eager!”
“Like you, hm?”
“Ah… er… I was going to say like you, but… er, that doesn’t sound quite as good as it did in my head, does it! But what say you, Tam, do you like her?”
Tam let his expression soften for a moment as he touched the chocobo’s back gently. “Yes, I like her very much. This is a rare gift, I know. You are too generous, lad.” And it helped him a lot. He had bade his unicorn companion remain in the Black Shroud, her home, and had expected to walk everywhere as usual, even if it left him behind the others. Now he would be able to fly, and they’d be stuck with their non-flying chocobos. Or walker mechas. Or carbuncles.
Haurchefant smiled sweetly. “Not at all, ’tis my pleasure! I’m glad to-”
A nervous-looking footman hurried up to them, waving his arms. “Lord Haurchefant! Chocobos are prohibited in the Supreme Sacred Tribunal of Halonic Inquisitory Doctrine! Your steed must remain outside!”
Haurchefant looked at Tam and shrugged broadly. “Shall we?”
Tam took the bridle and obeyed the flustered footman. “Does she have a name?”
“Corbelle, her name is… does that suit you?”
“It suits her just fine,” Tam said. The wind was blustery outside, but the black chocobo adjusted her wings without alarm. “I hope you’re home for dinner tonight.”
“Of course, my dear friend! How could I not celebrate with you?”
After dinner, Kekeniro followed Tam down to Foundation to stable his feathery new companion with the rest of the chocobos. It was a lovely evening, a bit chilly as always, but lots of people about! There was Syndael, the sunny young knight Aymeric liked to send messages with, chatting to a pink-haired Hyuran woman – it sounded like he’d gotten a girlfriend? From Revenant’s Toll, of all places? Ah, there was R’nyath’s new friend Joye, running about with her pigtail braids bouncing, looking anxious, and R’nyath behind her, passing them with a wave. This place was very good at making a Lalafell feel small, without even reckoning in the towering towers.
Tam didn’t notice, of course, or didn’t seem to, and Kekeniro stuck close to him, looking about for the tall person who wasn’t an Elezen: Aentfryn. He was in the yard, grooming a greenish-yellow chocobo intently, all of his focus on the bird. Even Tam paused for a minute to watch.
“What do you want?” Aentfryn asked after a minute, without looking up from his task.
“Nothing,” Tam said, and went on inside the stable to talk to the master.
Kekeniro climbed laboriously up onto the fence and sat himself on top, hands curled in his lap to keep them warm as he could. “I wanted to chat, if you were willing,” he said.
Aentfryn grunted. “What’s there to talk about?”
“How are the chocobos?” Kekeniro asked cheerfully.
“No better for your asking.”
He put his head on one side. “Couldn’t we continue our earlier discussions on Nym?” Once Aentfryn started to open up a little, he really knew a lot about historical tactics!
Aentfryn put down the feather-comb and threw his hands in the air. “What am I doing here with all of you?”
Kekeniro blinked. “Sorry?”
“I should just head back to La Noscea. None of us are wanted, and I’m certainly not needed – you have enough fools with you-”
“Interesting,” Tam said, passing back out of the stable. “I thought that was the point of my cracking heads today. Well, Kekeniro, it’s up to you.”
“What do you mean, it’s up to m-” Tam was already gone, as he was wont to do. “Well, some people here want us, first of all – you know better than me how hard it is to even get to volunteer at these stables. And second of all, and more importantly, we need you and want you. Not just because Rinala would struggle without you, but because you’re part of our backbone. You’re part of our team, and we like you, despite your best efforts.”
“Urselmert just doesn’t want to find another healer who will put up with her recklessness.”
“Vivienne likes you because you’re tough and unemotional, but we all like you. We’ve worked together for over a year now, haven’t we? And last of all,” Kekeniro said, startling himself as he said it, “you don’t really want to leave.”
“I don’t?”
He was sure of it now. “Of course not! I still don’t know much about your past, but I know you like us more than you say, and you enjoy our adventures, even if you would rather fight Bahamut again than admit it.”
“Presumptuous of you to say.”
“Maybe it is. But I don’t know how to be tactful.”
Aentfryn sighed and came to lean on the fence next to Kekeniro. Together, they watched the chocobos for a long minute.
“My sister loved chocobos,” Aentfryn said at last in a low voice. “Loved all animals, really.”
Kekeniro glanced up but didn’t interrupt. But Aentfryn didn’t say any more. Didn’t have to say anymore, as suddenly the Lalafell winced.
Aentfryn, younger, less craggy, shorter hair, an emerald carbuncle at his heels; a young Roegadyn woman on a grey-blue chocobo with a colibri on her shoulder, bright pink against her brown hair; behind them, the hills above Limsa Lominsa; before them, the gates to a farm. “How many times are you going to let Zippy run away, Somelona?” Aentfryn was teasing the woman.
She pouted. “I don’t let him run away, he’s just skittish around the hands! Why does Mom want them to work with the animals? The oranges and apples can’t get startled…”
“The other ‘bos don’t run away like Zippy does, though,” he said. “You have to keep an eye on him.”
She dismounted and stuck her tongue out at him. “I do keep an eye on him. ‘s not my fault he’s clever as well as fast. Hello there!” Two other chocobos in light blankets were coming to greet them, cooing softly, followed by a swarm of other animals – aldgoats, chickens, ducks, a cat. “Easy, easy, I’ll get the greens.”
“Yes, do that,” Aentfryn said, his arms full with the other two chocobos begging for pets and a chicken pecking around his ankles. The cat and his carbuncle traded sniffs and quickly ignored each other. “Quickly, if you can. I’m a hostage here.”
Her voice floated out of the open barn. “You love it… Aentfryn.”
“Don’t call me that, that’s a daft name, I’ve told you a million times.”
“Then why do all the birds flock to you?”
“Seems to me they flock to you just as much. Should’ve named you Aentlona.”
“Never!” She emerged with her arms full of greens and a blanket, and the animals turned immediately from him to cluster around her. “Anyway, Zippy escaping all the time is a good thing. It means he’ll do well in the races.”
“C’mon, I know Zippy’s a good lad, but I hear tell the chocobos of Ishgard could run rings around him.”
She laughed as the animals emptied her arms of treats. “Ha! I’d like to see that. No one can beat our Zippy.” The blanket was for the grey-blue chocobo, marked with a crest of a blue chocobo on a wave-like background. Now it matched the other two. It strutted as Aentfryn gently brushed a hand over its beak and head.
Aentfryn laughed too. “I’ll take you someday. They don’t like outsiders, but maybe once I get promoted enough…”
Kekeniro came out of the Echo with a dazed blink. “You like animals too.”
Aentfryn rolled his eyes. “The Echo does not respect privacy, does it. Aye. But not like her.”
“You’ll stay a bit longer, won’t you? You don’t have to. But we’d like it.”
“When you get my age…” Aentfryn grimaced. “Yes. I’ll stay a bit longer.”