So my grandparents gave me a bonus gift this year, so I used it to buy like 5 FFXIV books, including the first Ishgard artbook and both Encyclopedia Eorzeas! I have no idea when they will arrive but since I think the Encyclopedias are being reprinted they probably won’t arrive until I’ve finished HW. Sure, all the info is also on the wikis, but it’s nice to have it in book form to flip through. (Also the Primals Blueray concert, let’s go!)
Vivienne isn’t actually ice-aspected; she’s Umbral Earth (Althyk, December birthmonth) and I headcanon that Fray is lightning-aspected. So when Alain mentions elements he’s really speaking more poetically.
Chapter 29: On the Hunt
Cid had been enlisted into the chase, naturally, as the archbishop had left upon an airship heading into dangerous territory, and who better to aid them than the man with an airship and no fear of danger? The engineer was delighted to bear them on another adventure, and sailed them cheerfully into the Sea of Clouds to the far north.
Tam had shown up the morning of their departure, looking… normal. There was something off about his eyes, but he moved with the same energy he had before, and nodded pleasantly in greeting to Cid.
That all changed when he stepped onto the Enterprise, however. Suddenly, almost abruptly, he became cold and silent, and stood apart from the others more than he had previously. Achiyo watched him anxiously as they flew, and nearly left him alone – he didn’t look like he wanted support – but they had not spoken since… since the Vault, and as the one most bereft, he was the one who needed to hear it most.
So she went to him. “If there is anything you need, we are here for you.”
“Don’t,” he said shortly. “Focus on our goal. I am not your concern.”
She refrained from being offended, but it took her a moment to figure out what to say next. “I do not want to achieve our goal only to lose you, in one way or another.”
“I will be fine,” he said, staring steadily out at the clouds.
He wasn’t going to be fine, not while he was stubbornly like this. But who could change his mind? At least he was with them so they could support him tacitly.
They were all reeling still, quieter, grimmer. She still could not believe what had happened. It didn’t seem real, though her mind couldn’t help but circle around those cruel images, the vision of Haurchefant lying there with that fatal wound, hearing his last struggling words to Tam, and every time she saw it her heart ached. She wanted to weep as Rinala did, as Kekeniro did, but she could not, somehow. She was only filled with cold, restless pain.
She knew what she had to do with it. She did not entirely want to do it, for the archbishop was still Aymeric’s father, and his knights were not necessarily all evil, but such misgivings were minuscule next to her conviction. They had taken a good man with no remorse, no understanding of what they had done. They would be made to understand, and to pay for the pain they had caused. If he would not listen to her words, he would listen to her sword, even if it meant she must slay him in the end.
There were a lot of places in the northern Sea of Clouds where a little airship like the archbishop’s could hide. Cid put down on a larger island from which they could move about on foot, to find vantage points from which the eleven of them – the eight Warriors of Light, with Alphinaud, Lucia, and Lilidi – could keep watch for any sign of the Soleil.
Vivienne had looked about. “I’ve been in this area before, I think.”
“How’d you get here?” R’nyath asked.
Vivienne sighed. “Walked. From Camp Cloudtop. It was a very long way.”
“The islands are so interconnected?” Achiyo asked.
“Seems the Vanu Vanu built bridges enough to connect all the islands they could. They don’t fly, as you’ve seen, though they have beasts that do.”
“Sure, just seems like a lot of work,” Kekeniro said. “What were you doing up here?”
“None of your business,” Vivienne said. “But if you come across any mouldering Temple Knight corpses, just know they had it coming.”
Lucia rounded on her. “I beg your pardon, what was that?”
“They had it coming,” Vivienne repeated. “They were trying to murder someone I was protecting. Not all your knights are as upright as you are, Dame Lucia. I’ve cleaned up after them several times since I came to Ishgard.”
Lucia gave her an angry look. “You should have come to me, or Ser Aymeric, or even Ser Handeloup. We can investigate without resorting to-“
“If you’re about to say ‘murder’, why do you think I killed them?” Vivienne said, and though Lucia tried to keep speaking, talked over her. “They picked the fight, not I. They were hunting for her. Out here, with no way to call for help, I will do what I must to keep myself and those I’ve sworn to protect alive.”
Lucia subsided, but her eyes were still hard when she looked at Vivienne. “Speaking of which, I have some arrangements to make.” She stepped away from them all and activated her linkpearl.
Vivienne looked at Achiyo and shrugged. Achiyo looked back at her and wondered if she appeared as tired as she felt. “Let us split into groups of two or three and go each to a different direction.”
One thing – a ‘chance’ encounter with the Empire – led to another – the giant flying whale primal, Bismarck – and now they needed a way to destroy said primal in order to recover the key that led to Azys Lla, the mysterious land which the archbishop sought to find. Lucia and the Temple Knights were working on it, but it was going to take time, so Vivienne left the group and returned to Ishgard to check on Sidurgu and Rielle. He’d sent her a note asking her to return when she could, and though she was keen to exact revenge upon the archbishop, Haurchefant would still be dead no matter her actions, and Rielle was yet alive to benefit from them. True, too, a quest would stave off her impatience.
Her fellow Dark Knight greeted her with a certain eagerness, but kept his voice low – it was past midnight, and Rielle was asleep. “I’ve an idea of where to go next for answers. We must travel to Gridania. Have you the time to make the journey with us now?”
“I think so,” Vivienne said. It would be several days there and several days back, for Rielle could not Teleport, but Lucia had told them it would be at least a sennight to make all ready. Transporting the necessary equipment so far into the Sea of Clouds was a moderately large undertaking, and harnessing an island was no mean feat. “What’s in Gridania?”
“The conjurers,” Sidurgu said. “They commune with spirits regularly, so it is said.”
“So it is true,” she said. “I did not grow up in Gridania, but I did grow up in the Black Shroud. So you believe they might be able to explain the ‘great spirit’ the Vanu said to be within her?”
“Aye. And even if they do not… perhaps they can tell her other things. Fray told me she had an aptitude for conjury. What had taken him moons to learn, she mastered in days. Sometimes these talents run in the family, he said.”
“Did Fray grow up there?” Vivienne asked.
“No,” Sidurgu said, and frowned at her. “There are teachers of conjury here in Ishgard too, you know. The Fane does not have all the conjurers in Eorzea.”
She shrugged. It wasn’t worth getting embarrassed over. “Then we shall leave tomorrow morning?”
“Before the sun rises,” he said, looking to the window. His tail flicked with anxiety. “I do not think we shall give her pursuers the slip by going so early, but it’s worth a try.”
“I can call other Warriors of Light,” she said. “They would not dare attack so many of us together, not after we fought them all up through the Vault.”
Sidurgu shook his head. “I would prefer to keep her known to as few as possible, even your companions.”
Paranoid, illogical, but he and she would be able protectors anyway.
They made it to Gridania, despite a couple of ambushes, and Brother E-Sumi-Yan agreed to see Rielle soon after they arrived, which was well – Achiyo was already nagging Vivienne about returning in time to fight Bismarck, though the magic of the linkpearl was weak at this distance and Vivienne could resort to telling her she couldn’t understand her words. They wouldn’t start without her, she knew. She’d be back in time.
Her little group decided to stay the night and return to Ishgard over the next couple days; it was unlikely that Temple Knights would come this far without triggering Wood Wailer investigation, so they’d be safe enough for the night here, but after that, Sidurgu wanted to get back to their hiding place as quickly as possible. In this unfamiliar environment, he fretted that his senses would be dulled and he’d be unable to properly protect his young charge without Vivienne. Vivienne thought he was being overly paranoid again, but it didn’t matter to her, she could accommodate it.
The actual interview only took about half an hour, and afterwards, they went to the Carline Canopy so Rielle could rest. Sidurgu was enraged the whole way there, though he bottled it in until they were within an inn room. And even there, he was mindful of the wooden walls and kept his anger to low snarling. “Faerie tales and fantasies!? This is what he has to offer us!?” He gave Rielle one of the apples they had bought at the market and stalked back and forth across the room, tail rigid, shoulders hunched. “Heretics, I understand, but I expected better from the bloody head of the Conjurers’ Guild!”
“We don’t have hardly as much animosity towards dragons down here,” Vivienne told him, leaning against the wall. “Must be why Alphinaud got that crazy idea to speak to them instead of killing them.”
“I’m not talking about the dragon part; I’m talking about the made-up story part.” He rounded on Rielle. “And you – why didn’t you speak up for yourself?” Rielle did not look up from where she sat and took another large bite of her apple. Sidurgu’s fists clenched. “Rielle!”
Rielle swallowed, put her apple down in her lap and did not raise her head. “…There were no windows. Just walls of stone with little cracks to tempt your fingers, and iron bars colder than ice. I couldn’t tell when it was raining – whether it was day or night…” Her voice was hardly above a whisper. “She didn’t say I drank blood. All she said was… ‘It’s better this way’.”
Finally she looked up, with eyes far too old and tired to belong to a fourteen year old girl. “At least, if they catch me, they’ll just kill me this time…”
Sidurgu and Vivienne stared at her silently, with slight horror. Vivienne knew she was not the only person in the world to have a tragic childhood, but that someone would be this deliberately cruel to a child, that this pain was not caused by collateral damage as happened to her herself, was still shocking to her. Perhaps she still had some naivety to stamp out.
Rielle looked back down. “…Can I finish my apple?”
He turned away and crossed his arms, hunching around himself again. “…Go ahead.”
There was a long silence in the room, broken only by soft crunching and the muffled tavern sounds from outside.
“…It’s not a sin if someone made you do it,” Sidurgu said quietly.
“I didn’t,” Rielle said.
“I won’t let them hurt you,” he said.
“…I know.”
Another silence.
“…You want another one?” he asked, about the apple.
“…No, thank you.”
“…Right, then.”
“Oh, for gods’ sakes,” Vivienne said. “I’m going out if you two are going to be this awkward around each other.”
She didn’t miss the look of panic in Sidurgu’s eyes as she walked out, but she didn’t care, either. They could hash out their problems without her butting in. Or maybe they couldn’t, but she was hardly the one to help them.
She went up to Miounne to get a drink. The graceful innkeeper gently pressed her for news in return for the drink, and Vivienne allowed her to learn some. The knowledge that a Duskwight had helped to end the war between dragons and Ishgardians would raise her people’s esteem and pride. Miounne herself was Duskwight, though she didn’t advertise it.
But she had not gotten far in when she sensed someone behind her, and turned to see her brother Alain. “I see you’ve deigned to return to us, here in the boring old Black Shroud,” he snarked at her.
“I see you’ve deigned to leave the village,” she retorted. “How have you been? Juliennias? Any trouble?”
Alain shook his head. “A boar broke Juliennais’ leg before I shot it. That’s why I’m here, trading for potions to get him on his feet faster. Hunting has been good recently, though. I had some very fine tusks to trade for them.”
“No one gives you trouble?” she demanded.
“Of course not,” Alain said. “I drop your name everywhere and they let me do what I want. Hells, I could probably go visit the Elder Seedseer if I had a reason to and they’d at least consider it.”
She thought about it for a moment, but she believed it. “You’d still need a damn fine reason… though I don’t suppose anyone’s told you about what happened when she came out to the Churning Mists?” The Elder Seedseer was extraordinarily accommodating when she felt like it, like when performing menial chores for moogles.
“No? What happened? She went to the… where’s that? That’s gossip in itself, you know, sister.”
“I do know.” She glanced around some more, casually, and saw… Alphinaud, with a Miqo’te in brilliant scarlet garb. “Hold a moment, little brother,” she said. “I’ll be back to satisfy your curiosity – and Miounne’s – in full, as soon as I’ve satisfied my own.” She got up to approach the teen. “What are you doing here? Should you not be overseeing your ‘skyfishing’ expedition?”
Alisaie looked up at her with some irritation. “I would have thought you could tell us apart by now, Mistress Vivienne. I am Alisaie, not Alphinaud. What is my brother doing?”
“Skyfishing for a primal,” Vivienne told her. Truly, this was an evening of coincidental meetings. “My apologies. I wondered why your clothing was different.”
“If he’s fishing for a primal, why are you not with him, and I presume the other Warriors of Light?” Alisaie shot back with an arch eyebrow. Vivienne knew she liked her.
“It’s not like I know how to harness a flying island to an airship like a cart to a chocobo,” Vivienne said with a rare smile. “Who is your companion, then? What brings you to Gridania?”
“I am X’rhun Tia, noble Warrior of Light, and I am instructing the most indomitable Alisaie in the art of red magic. A pleasure to meet you.” The Miqo’te somehow gave her a flourishing bow without leaving his seat.
Alisaie frowned. “I had wanted it to be a surprise. Don’t tell Alphinaud, would you?”
“I see,” Vivienne said. “I shall not mention that I even saw you.”
“My apologies, my lady,” X’rhun said. “You did not mention it was a surprise.”
“Well… it’s a surprise to Alphinaud,” Alisaie said. “He may be off aiding everyone he can, but I feel the need to become stronger first. I won’t let Tam side-line me again.”
“Oh, yes, Tam’s opinion rules all,” Vivienne started, but relented. He wasn’t her favourite person, but even he didn’t deserve the irritation at the moment. “No one has given you any trouble for looking like your brother? Crystal Braves or anyone?”
“Not that they succeeded,” Alisaie said with a little smile.
“Good,” Vivienne said. “Grow strong, then. We’ll be waiting for you.”
“Safe travels,” Alisaie wished her, and X’rhun waved with irritating affectation.
She returned to Alain then. “My apologies. It was not who I thought it was. Where was I?”
“The Elder Seedseer,” Alain said. “The Churning Mists. Scandalous gossip.”
She talked much more freely to her brother than she did to Miounne, and Miounne was shamelessly eavesdropping… but she didn’t mind. It was just easier to talk to someone she was familiar with. She left out plenty still, of course, but it was an hour before she felt she had gotten the gist of everything that had happened imparted to her brother.
“Well, haven’t you been up to everything short of shooting down the remaining moon from the sky,” Alain said sarcastically when she’d wrapped up. “What a show-off.”
“Dumbarse,” she told him. “It’s not like I went out expecting to become some sort of saviour. I just wanted to be an elite mercenary.”
“Well now you are at that. You’ll never come back to the village again, will you? Boring as shite, eh? Juliennais didn’t break his leg fighting a dragon.”
“Hardly,” she said. She did visit every few months, and certainly on that anniversary in late spring, though she showed herself to few then. “You’re the reason I fight.”
He was quiet a bit. “You know, I can’t say for certain because I haven’t seen you fight. But you seem… different, somehow.”
She tilted her head at him. “Different?”
“I can’t quite put my finger on it. More… at ease, but… less… I don’t know. Contained. Some of your ice has been replaced with fire.”
Her hand drifted to her soul crystal – Fray’s soul crystal. “Maybe. It’s possible.” She was a little surprised he could tell at all. But he was her brother. Even if they hadn’t spent a lot of time together in the past few years, he still knew her like no one else.
“You’ve been through a lot of insane things,” he said. “Figures it would change you.”
“Hm.”
“Not too much, don’t worry,” he said, with a grin. “You’re still a bitch.”
“Always, Alain.”
All had at last been made ready for their strangest adventure yet, and the Warriors of Light had fought Bismarck through the sky, through wind and storm, on the back of the small island towed by the Enterprise. Chuchupa had thrown herself into the fight with extreme gusto; Achiyo wondered why. But there was not the opportunity to ask her right after the fight. As their prize, an Allagan artifact, dropped from the resulting explosion of aether, Kekeniro waved his arms. “Hey, everyone, the island took a few hits from that whale, and I’m worried about its integrity, so everybody off! Teleport back to Ok’Zundu before Cid has to catch us out of the sky! Achiyo, you have the thing?”
“I have it,” Achiyo said. “Do as Kekeniro says.”
“Works for me!” R’nyath said. “C’mon, Rinala, I’ll give you a Teleport so you can save your energy.”
“Ooh, me too,” Chuchupa said, latching on to the end of the bard’s sash. R’nyath chuckled and Teleported both of them back. Achiyo felt the tug of friendly aether beckoning her, but she ignored it. She would be the last to leave, as was only proper. She tapped her linkpearl. “Cid, we have slain the primal. We shall leave as soon as we may, not to risk the island breaking beneath us.”
“Understood!” Cid answered. “I’ll just keep the island steady for now until you let me know everyone’s safe. Good work!”
“Going to need a minute here,” Aentfryn said, kneeling beside Tam. The dragoon had taken a nasty blow and been thrown across the island, luckily not falling off. He had gotten up again, but now that the fighting was over, he had dropped into a crouch, holding his side. Eos fluttered around him, pulsing with healing magic.
“Okay, just keep an eye on things,” Kekeniro said, and Teleported.
Achiyo looked down at the artifact in her hand, and winced as the Echo called to her. Hydaelyn was slowly, piece by piece, reforming the connections with the crystals they had collected the year previous, rebuilding the Blessing of Light that Midgardsormr had deafened her to. She thought she caught words – a warning, perhaps? But they were too scattered and indistinct to make out.
She turned to Tam and Aentfryn. “You will be all right?”
Tam gave her a disconcertingly normal smile. “I told you, Gyoriing. I am not your concern.” He blinked. “You’re too short to be Gyoriing. He’s taller than me.”
Her breath caught in concern. He remembered his words to her, but not who she was?
“Tam Salmaiire,” Aentfryn said. “It’s Aentfryn. We have to leave. Do you remember how to get back to Ok’Zundu?”
Tam frowned at him. “You don’t have to talk to me like I’m an idiot. Just because I’m insane doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”
“You can do a good impression of being both,” Aentfryn grunted, and gave him a hand to his feet.
Achiyo turned and froze, her heart in her mouth. A dark portal opened before her and an Ascian stepped through – and the archbishop. “What-“
Dark chains shot from the Ascian’s hands, binding all three of them in place before she could reach for her sword. Achiyo tried to struggle but she could not move, hand nor foot nor tail, could not speak… all she could do was let her eyes flood with fury, impotent as it might be to ward off both Ascian and archbishop.
“So falls the Lord of Mists, as did all others before him,” said the Ascian… a woman. They had not met a woman before. “How many times does this make, Warriors of Light? Ahhh, how much you have grown – far beyond the limits of mere mortals.”
“She has what we seek?” Thordan asked the Ascian, gesturing to Achiyo. Oh, please let Cid look back now and see something was wrong!
“That she does,” said the Ascian. “The key to Azys Lla and the secrets of Allag. I see you have regained the Blessing of Light – albeit at a fraction of its former strength.” She twitched a finger, and the Allagan key inexorably removed itself from Achiyo’s grasp and floated to the archbishop, who put out his hand to receive it.
“My thanks to you, Ascian,” Thordan said. “And to you as well, Warriors of Light, for saving us the effort of slaying Bismarck.” He turned to the sun. “Now that the key is within our grasp, the path to the heavens shall at last be laid bare!”
He raised the Allagan key, and it began to float on its own power. Achiyo stared in amazement as it opened, revealing two mechanical wings, and rings of blue light appeared above it. The rings aligned and an intense, narrow beam of blue-white light lanced into the limitless blue sky. Far away, on the edge of sight, there was an answering sparkle on the end of the beam.
Thordan laughed. It was a cold, self-satisfied laugh, of a man who sees power within his grasp. “By our deeds shall the wrongs of antiquity be righted, and Man reclaim the reins of history!”
The Soleil came cruising in – surely Cid would look now? But even if he looked, what could he do now to aid them? It was too late…
The Archbishop reached up and recovered the key, and turned to the Soleil, where Zephirin welcomed him aboard with a low bow. The Ascian took a last look at the three of them, and followed the archbishop, releasing them from their dark chains with a contemptuous gesture.
Achiyo was drained from fighting the dark magic and reeled to one knee when she was free to move. Tam somehow staggered through, seizing his lance and letting out a roar that echoed from the very heavens. “Zephirin!” Such hatred she had rarely heard, and never before from him…
But the Soleil was already pulling away, and Tam was too slow, still too weak to go after. Would he realize it…? For a moment it seemed that he would try to jump after them anyway, but he stopped at the edge of the island, watching the airship dwindle, his knuckles white around his lance.
They’d failed. But what more was there to do, here and now? Their course was still set. They would not let the archbishop succeed in the end. She’d sworn to Aymeric that she would stop him, and she still intended to do that, no matter what obstacles appeared before her. She went up to Tam and stopped a few paces away. “Tam. We’ll be in Ok’Zundu.”
He turned abruptly to look at her, and she shivered to see the madness in his eyes. But she met his gaze steadily, and whatever he found in hers he seemed to find acceptable, for he turned back away to watch the sky.
She Teleported, and felt Aentfryn come with her.
They reconvened on the edge of the island where they knew Cid would be coming in to land. Kekeniro had already told Chief Sonu informally of their victory, but of course they ought to wait for Alphinaud to be present before continuing. So they gathered a short way outside the village. At least now she had the opportunity to talk to Chuchupa. “You fought hard today.”
“Ah, ye noticed,” Chuchupa said. “Yeah, I’m tryna step up my game.”
“May I ask why?”
Chuchupa shrugged. “Estinien.” As R’nyath nearby opened his mouth, she cut him off. “Don’t get any funny ideas! I’m not challenging ‘im to a rematch. That’d be cheap. He won, and that’s that. But I gotta show that I’m keepin’ up with the rest o’ ye, and havin’ ‘im to measure against when ‘e’s already ahead of me works fine.”
“Hm.” That sounded just like Chuchupa, always looking for a fight.
“But, you know, it could turn into…” R’nyath began.
“No,” Chuchupa said. “Just ‘cause ye’re a pushover for any pretty face don’t mean the rest of us are. Ye know I hate sap.”
“You can’t even see his face,” muttered Vivienne.
“I know, but the rivals-to-lovers trope…” R’nyath tried again, for some reason.
“Don’t apply to me. Get outta here, fuzz-butt! I was talkin’ to Achiyo.”
“Okay, see ya,” R’nyath said, and removed himself from the vicinity, trying to look casual.
“I’m fine,” Chuchupa said to Achiyo. “I just picked a new goal for meself, that’s all.”
“As long as it does not become an obsession, trying to best Estinien,” Achiyo said.
“Don’t fret, Princess. I ain’t gonna be like that Nero, tryna catch up to Cid. Fer one thing, my rivals will know I’m there, I’ll make sure of it.”
“I know you will,” Achiyo said. “Thank you for fighting so hard.”
“Ah, don’t be so formal, Princess. ‘Tweren’t nothin’ but my pleasure. Where’s Cid at? He should be back by now.”
It was not long before the blue sails of the Enterprise appeared through the clouds, bereft of its towed island. Tam had still not come with them, and Achiyo tried not to worry. He had often gone missing before, and even in his current state he could take care of himself.
“So what happened back there?” Cid asked as he disembarked, glancing at them but more interested in checking his ship for damage. “The Soleil sailed right past us and I didn’t hear a word from you.”
“Yes, forgive me,” Alphinaud said. “Had I known what was happening, mayhap I could have done something to stop them… Alas, Wedge and I were still sealed within the engine room and heard naught of the struggle until it was over.”
“I apologize,” Achiyo said to them. “The archbishop is allied with an Ascian who bound us with magic. He took the Allagan key.” She lowered her head. “By the time I had the strength to call you, they were already gone.”
Cid shook his head and smiled. “In retrospect, we should probably have seen that coming. Still, you fought well, everyone – better than that, in fact. Chin up, eh?”
“That’s right,” R’nyath said. “We still killed a whale.”
“We yet live, and we know their destination!” Alphinaud said. “Let us give chase and bring an end to their machinations! Ah, after we inform Chief Sonu of our victory, of course.”
“Considering what we just put the old girl through, I’d say she’s due a little tender loving care,” Cid said. “Be back in a bell or so and we’ll be ready to continue.”
“I understand,” Achiyo said. “Perhaps we could dine with the Vanu Vanu, if they were willing to have us. We shall bring back a share for you, if you wish.” If they were going from one major battle to another, they needed sustenance while they could get it.
“An excellent plan,” Chuchupa said. “I’m sure they’ll feed us, we did them a favour!”
They headed back in the direction of the Vanu Vanu village, and were indeed on the outskirts, when Alphinaud stopped walking. “Wait. Something is amiss…” And indeed Achiyo noticed the village was oddly quiet.
R’nyath sniffed. “Ceruleum. The Empire? We were just here!”
“Everyone get down,” Vivienne said. “Go carefully.”
“I’ll get a closer look,” Rinala said, looking to Achiyo. “I can go without being seen.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Achiyo said. “I don’t want you to go alone.”
But there were too many of them to be concealed, and they were already too close. A legatus with another ridiculous helm turned away from the bound Vanu Vanu prisoners in the centre of the village and called to them: “Reveal yourselves at once!”
Vivienne swore under her breath, but all nine of them stepped out of hiding as ordered. “The entire village looks to be held hostage,” Achiyo warned the others in a low voice, just in case Chuchupa got any ideas. “Do not move suddenly.”
The legatus tilted his helm in confusion. “And there I was expecting more beastmen. Who are you!?”
“We are the Warriors of Light, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn,” Achiyo said.
“The Warriors of Light? Then it was you who bested van Baelsar!?” exclaimed the legatus.
Another Garlean, taller than anyone Achiyo had ever seen, walked out of the Imperial shuttle on the edge of the village. “I thought Ishgardians responsible for the disappearance of our scouts, but I see now that I was mistaken.” Every soldier saluted him, even the legatus. His armour was heavier even than the officers around him, and he had a strange tall helm on his head that did not cover his exceedingly grim face. His hair was long and golden like straw, and he wore an ostentatious cloak. “It would seem that the famous heroes of Eorzea seek Azys Lla as well. Hardly unexpected. The secrets of the Allagans’ power to bind eikons to their will could scarcely fail to interest the Scions of the Seventh Dawn… You know as well as we what will ensue should these insatiable creatures be allowed to roam free – that their very existence threatens the life of this star. We but disagree on the solution to the problem.”
“Who in the hells is that?” Chuchupa whispered to Achiyo, but she did not know.
“Only the Emperor of Garlemald, Varis zos Galvus,” Aentfryn said, and a ripple went through the Warriors of Light.
Alphinaud, though, stood firm, mastering his surprise quickly. “Genocide has ever been the Empire’s favoured recourse – and that is why we will continue to oppose your every attempt to claim Eorzea!”
The Emperor raised an eyebrow at his audacity. “You do not hesitate to speak your mind… even when your every word could be your last. Alas, your sentiments betray the narrowness of your view. The fate of Eorzea and its inhabitants is of little concern next to the fate of the world.” He turned to the helpless Vanu Vanu with a swirl of his huge cape. “’Tis my solemn charge as emperor to bring the eikons to heel. If this requires the extermination of certain elements, then so be it.” The soldiers raised their weapons to attack – to slaughter the Vanu Vanu.
“No, don’t!” Alphinaud cried, and the Warriors of Light drew their weapons, about to charge. The situation couldn’t get any worse for them attacking now. “They are not his thralls!”
But before Achiyo could do more than raise her sword, a fiery blast from the sky struck a cluster of soldiers out in the open, missing the Vanu Vanu cleanly. The Imperials flinched, even the legatus, and they shouted to each other in alarm, looking upwards. “Where did that come from!?” demanded the legatus.
“Take cover!” called Lucia’s voice, from a great but rapidly diminishing distance, and a white magitek walker slammed down onto the ground, skidding to a halt beside Chief Sonu. There was a purple flash and a green streak, and Tam and Lilidi jumped from the back of the walker, weapons drawn and ready to fight.
The soldiers formed up with great discipline, but they looked uncertain in the face of their own equipment being wielded against them. “Your Radiance, we must withdraw!” called the legatus.
“Then withdraw,” said the Emperor. He looked up at the Scions. “We shall meet again, Warriors of Light. On that you have my word.” He turned his back with another swirl of his cape and strode for his shuttle.
“What, ye’re runnin’!?” Chuchupa cried, but there was an explosion from the north, and a Vanu Vanu hut near them burst into pieces with a gout of flame. Achiyo looked up to see a truly vast Imperial ship, nearly the equal of the Agrius crashed in Silvertear Lake. It had fired on them, and a chill shot through her as she saw the size of its cannons.
“Find cover!” she cried to the others, but as the Emperor’s shuttle lifted off, all the flagship did was linger long enough for the shuttle to join it before heading to the north. With the danger passed, the Scions set to the business of freeing the Vanu Vanu.
“Sheesh, if he’s got such a hatred fer primals, why didn’t he fight the damn whale?” Chuchupa asked as they regrouped. “His ship’s sure big enough! He’s big enough. A giant square.”
“An excellent question,” Aentfryn said. “What’s the matter, Alphinaud?
Alphinaud looked up. “ …Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would stand less than twenty paces from the Emperor of Garlemald… Varis zos Galvus in the flesh… I assume the commander that accompanied them must be the legatus of whom the centurion earlier spoke…”
“Van Hydrus, wasn’t it?” R’nyath said. “He seems a bit dramatic.”
“Pot, kettle,” Vivienne said.
“So Garlemald, too, has designs on Azys Lla…” Alphinaud said, staring in the direction the ship had gone, rubbing his chin in thought. “But why would the Emperor himself elect to lead the expedition?”
“I’m going to check on Cid- oh, here he comes,” Kekeniro said. “Are you all right?”
“I was going to ask you that!” Cid said. “Thank the Twelve you’re all still alive. When that battleship appeared and fired on the village, we feared the game was up for you. What in the seven hells happened out there?”
A chorus of voices answered him all at once, telling him about the Emperor and his words. Somehow, he managed to understand them all, and he looked amazed. “First the archbishop turns up with an Ascian in tow, and now the godsdamned Emperor pays us a visit!? What is this, a procession of notable bastards? Who’s next? The Keeper of the Seventh bloody Gate!?”
“No one so notable, Master Garlond,” Alphinaud said. “But we all owe a debt of thanks to the exceedingly capable pilot of this suit of magitek armour.”
Lucia had dismounted to help in freeing the Vanu Vanu, and bowed slightly. “I had thought we might be pursued, so I had it sent here as a cautionary measure.”
“We thank you for your foresight,” Achiyo said to her.
It was incredible that Lucia’s magitek armour fit on the deck of the Enterprise, but Cid acted like this was perfectly normal, and though the sun really was setting now, they took flight again. If they could catch the archbishop before he had the chance to use the key, who knew what further grief they could avert?
Lucia caressed the jaw of her magitek armour. “I did not think that I would ever have occasion to pilot a suit of magitek armour again – least of all under these circumstances. It has been too long in storage, yet it does not do well in fighting dragons.”
“What’s her name?” Kekeniro asked, still finishing the dinner they’d brought from Ok’Zundu. The chief had been more than happy to feed them, but they’d taken their food to eat on the Enterprise. This was no time to sit still.
Lucia blinked at him. “I… did not name it.”
“Oh, you must name her,” Rinala said, her ears pricking up. “I’m sure she’d like it.”
Lucia began to shake her head. “That’s… it’s not important.”
“It is, though!” R’nyath said. “When we captured some from Castrum Centri, we named them Maggie and Wally. I think Vivienne still rides Maggie.”
“I’m more interested in why a knight of Ishgard is an expert in magitek armour,” Vivienne said.
“I should be pleased to explain,” Lucia said. She reached up and removed her circlet, revealing a Garlean third eye in the middle of her forehead. “My full name is Lucia goe Junius, and I was born a citizen of Garlemald.”
“Ah, that explains it!” cried Cid cheerfully. “When we first met in Ishgard, I very nearly called you Livia.”
Alphinaud stared with round blue eyes “Livia…? Livia sas Junius? The tribunus who served under Gaius van Baelsar!?”
Lucia nodded to him. “Aye, she was my sister – though we spent little time together. After our parents were killed in an uprising, we were sent to live in different households, setting us on separate paths… Livia felt at home on the battlefield and chose to become a soldier, while I underwent training to become a spy.”
“Then… Ishgard was…?” Achiyo could not finish the question delicately.
But Lucia understood her readily enough. “My mission. ‘Twas believed that Allagan relics of great worth were stored in the Vault, and I was sent to investigate. Though I was given little information at the time, I now suspect I was searching for the key we but recently lost. And then I met Ser Aymeric.”
She walked to the rail of the airship and looked out towards the setting sun. “’Twas his usefulness to my mission which prompted me to approach him, but I soon found myself drawn to him for other reasons. He too was a prisoner of his past – judged for his heritage as a bastard son of the archbishop. Yet unlike my sister and I, he did not curse his fate. He simply rose above it. In time, I came to realize that I had found a man worth following, and a new home besides. And when I subsequently confessed all to Ser Aymeric, he was good enough to accept me into his service.”
“I do not question your loyalty to Ser Aymeric,” Alphinaud said. “‘Tis your loyalty to your sister which concerns me.”
“I have long been of the opinion that those who dwell in the past risk losing sight of their future. My sister fought for her convictions, and for those she held dear. So do I. So must we all.” Lucia looked at Achiyo, and there was some sort of challenge in her eyes, that Achiyo could not interpret.
Cid, flying the ship, did not notice. “Well, I for one am happy to welcome a fellow Garlean to our merry band – especially one who can make magitek armour sing!” He turned to grin at Lucia, who cracked a smile back, perhaps relieved to be so easily accepted. Achiyo retreated. Lovely as it was to see Lucia smile, and though she had no more problem her heritage than Cid did, she could not understand her hidden message. Did she think Achiyo did not fight hard enough? But that was maybe not surprising, for she had only just found herself, and Lucia had not really seen her fight since.
And what Lucia said was true. Aymeric-sama was a man worth following, and Ishgard, despite its flaws, wounds, and imbalances, was becoming a new home to her. Perhaps Lucia was setting her path as an example for Achiyo.
Was it too far-fetched to think the opposite? That Lucia was warning her away from Aymeric? Livia had fought to the death to protect Gaius. Lucia would fight to the death to protect Aymeric, of that Achiyo had no doubt… but would she fight her?
It was a stray thought. Perhaps Achiyo was jumping to conclusions. It was not like there was any special understanding between Aymeric and her, despite all the insolent rumours. She admired him in every way, but she would not let that admiration interfere with their perfectly good acquaintance. If that was Lucia’s concern, she could rest easy, though telling her so would be vastly inappropriate.
A few minutes more, and they burst through a wall of thick cloud into a strange murky twilight realm. Shrouded in mist, a huge, impossible tangle of land and magitek floated before them. Achiyo could make neither heads nor tails of it all, and every soul aboard the Enterprise stared in amazement and disbelief. Huge emerald and scarlet lights, massive chains, great domes and spires above chaotic twists of earth and stone, held aloft by what she could only assume were gigantic aetherial generators. And they were still some distance away, so large as it looked, she knew it must be even larger.
“So this is Azys Lla,” Aentfryn said, and that was the moment they struck the aetherial barrier.
Azys Lla, thanks to its barrier, was out of their reach for the time being, and thus so was the archbishop and the Ascian. The Warriors of Light hurried to find a solution, and that search led them to the Black Shroud on the path of Y’shtola.
Rinala was full of jitters. The others had told her many times that without bodies, there was no cause to believe that their other Scion friends were lost forever. Yet while they were still missing, it was hard to hope, and she’d found it especially hard in between everything else they were doing. But now, now there was absolute definite cause to hope, and she seized it and wouldn’t let go.
She was grateful to Kekeniro, who somehow knew Y’shtola’s sister, and she was grateful to Kan-E-Senna and Raya-O and A-Ruhn for the ritual, and she was grateful to the Twelve and to Hydaelyn as she saw Y’shtola’s body coalesce from the very aether beneath the Guardian Tree. She was going to cry again, but this time of happiness, and with everything that had been happening recently, that was maybe not a bad thing. She’d cried so hard when Haurchefant had been killed, poor dear kind friend, cried harder than she ever had before – for she hadn’t hardly cried at all when she thought Thancred was dead, only felt numb, the shock overwhelming even her tears for the Sultana.
But Y’shtola was back, and she wouldn’t let anything else overshadow the importance of this.
Even the next day when they were able to meet her, and she saw how the colour had gone from her beautiful blue-green eyes, she was no less happy. Y’shtola only wanted a few minutes of banter and a very stylish change of clothes from Tataru before she was back to her old self, if still a little weary. Rinala wanted to throw herself at her and hug her, but she held back, though her tail twitched mightily with joy. Yda would absolutely love a big hug, but Y’shtola would not.
But as they all sat to dinner together, Rinala contrived to sit next to her. Everyone wanted to sit next to Y’shtola right now, it seemed, but Rinala made sure she was lucky. Her rogue training was very helpful! “Y’shtola! I’m so glad you’re back. I missed you so much.”
“I’m sure you have been keeping everyone in good health in my absence,” Y’shtola said, with a smile. “Have you been keeping up your studies?”
“Um… well, practical studies, with the Seedseers,” Rinala said. “We haven’t really been back to Revenant’s Toll.”
“The Seedseers know much,” Y’shtola said. “It is an honour to be taught by them.”
“Oh, yes,” Rinala agreed. “Y’shtola, can I ask what it’s like to be in the Lifestream?” Everyone nearby perked up to listen to the answer.
Her fellow Miqo’te thought for a moment. “It is hard to say. One does not… perceive there, not sight, not sound, nor sensation. Even the passage of time is obscured. All that I really knew was that I must needs remember myself, that I should not fragment into the aether about me. And that it was difficult.”
“I’m sorry,” Rinala said. “I wish we’d been able to find you sooner, but we only just found out that the tunnel had been cleared and they found your wand, which Urianger used to point us to the Black Shroud.”
“There is no need for apology,” Y’shtola said. “I can see in you that you have spent your time well. You are already stronger than you were when last we met.”
“What about me?” R’nyath put in eagerly. “Am I stronger? I have two whole new job crystals!”
“Yes, you are stronger,” Y’shtola said to him flatly, dismissing his plea for attention, but turned to musing. “You have all been made stronger by the challenges you have faced in recent days. It seems I must recover my strength as quickly as I can so I can catch up.”
“We should be very glad to have you again,” Achiyo said to her.
The others were on yet another long journey to Dravania, but not everyone needed to go, and so Vivienne returned to Ishgard and the Forgotten Knight. Sidurgu had yet another idea for helping Rielle, and it involved dragons.
So Vivienne hauled them on the long, arduous journey northwest to Sohm Al, to Vidofnir’s home. It was quite nice to see Rielle brighten up for once, excited to go on another journey, to see another new place. Even to see dragons, and speak to them as to Spoken peoples. It was good to see her acting more like a girl and less like a sad ghost.
If the Temple Knight hunters knew where they had gone, they did not follow to these lands. Yet there was still danger about, and Sidurgu and Vivienne fought it side-by-side. Now he was able to show her things that he knew which she did not. Almost they were having fun together, tackling the wildlife with greatswords and magic, and Rielle cheered them on, healing them with her little wand when really necessary, which was not often. It was slightly irritating, on reflection, that his technique was so much better than hers – he’d dropped that he was only twenty-six, and she was already thirty-three – but of course, he was not self-taught as she was. She watched attentively, determined to take everything she could to become stronger.
And in the land of Mourn, the belly of the volcano where the dragons went to die, a dying dragon told them, if Vivienne understood correctly, that Rielle’s parents had drunk of dragon blood. Thus she had some in her spirit, giving her great power.
And marking her as a target. It was all too clear now. The Temple Knights had found out that Rielle was the child of heretics, even if the girl herself had been ignorant of it, and despite the knowledge spreading that Nidhogg’s war had been caused by Ishgard’s leaders drinking of dragon blood themselves, they would not relent. And if they would not relent, neither would Vivienne.
They returned to the Forgotten Knight. Sidurgu had almost lightened up himself while showing Vivienne his techniques, but since the dragon’s pronouncement, had become sullen once again. And when they had gotten inside the inn, he did not send Rielle immediately to their room, but lingered at a corner of the bar with an overly-strong drink. “…This changes nothing,” he said eventually. “I swore an oath to protect her, and I mean to uphold it – no matter the cost.”
“Of course it doesn’t change anything,” Vivienne said. “I don’t understand why you’re getting so worked up about it.”
“I’m not getting worked up about it,” he retorted, but the tension in his shoulders gave him away.
“I think you have a choice,” Vivienne said to Rielle. “Either you can be patient and stay here, in this place you call home, until change comes such that you can live openly, or you can go somewhere else entirely and not have to repress your entire existence indefinitely. Limsa comes to mind. It’s full of such odd folk that even Sidurgu wouldn’t stand out overly much. I’ve seen Xaela there.”
Rielle opened her mouth to answer, but she stiffened and stared past Vivienne suddenly. A strident voice rang out behind her. “So these are the ‘knights’ who would defy the will of Halone.”
“She… she’s found us!” Rielle gasped, and ducked behind Sidurgu.
Sidurgu raised himself to his full imposing height, putting out a hand protectively to shield Rielle, and glowered vehemently at the clergywoman who had sauntered over to them. “My lady surely knows she will find few friends here.” To be sure, everyone else had gone quiet and was watching the woman carefully, even Tataru over on the other side of the room. Clergy didn’t come here often, even if knights and nobles occasionally did, and Vivienne felt that when they did come it was entirely bad news.
The woman just stared at him with an odd smile on her lips. “Blessed are we who abide in Her grace, for we shall never be forsaken. One day I, Ystride de Caulignont, shall walk in Her halls… and you shall answer for your deeds. Will you stand before Her and claim that you were righteous? That it was just to take so many lives in defence of that abomination!? Repent of your sins and surrender it to me. The Fury may yet spare your souls.”
“The Fury may yet pull the cane out of your arse,” Vivienne muttered to herself, already enraged by this woman’s arrogance, by her calling Rielle ‘it’.
Somehow Sidurgu was maintaining an icy calm. “So yours is the righteous cause? To condemn a girl to death for her parents’ deeds – this is the will of Halone?”
“…Yes. Yes, it is.” The woman gave him a look like she could not understand his question. “If you will not see reason, even with full knowledge of the facts, then I make to you all a final offer: submit to a trial by combat. Survive, and you may go in peace. Fall, and it is mine.” She stared at Rielle with an unsettling, obsessive gaze. “Refuse, and I will put this tavern to the torch and have the heads of every man, woman, and child here. Anyone who dares harbour you will suffer the same, here or elsewhere. This I swear to you.”
“Bring it, bitch,” Vivienne growled, reaching for her sword, but Sidurgu put out a hand to hold her back.
“Would that we could settle this here and now… but I’d wager your men at the doors would take offence. As you wish, my lady. You shall have your trial.”
The woman nodded with satisfaction. “I shall send a messenger with details.” She turned to go.
Rielle pushed past Sidurgu and reached out her hand. “M-Mother, wait!”
The woman paused only for the briefest moment. “…I should have had them cut out your tongue,” she said, without turning, and hurried on up the stairs.
When she had gone, and the noise of conversation had returned to a normal level, Sidurgu rounded on Rielle. “Rielle, what in the seven hells is going on!?”
Rielle was shaking and couldn’t look at him. “She… she told them to take me. She said I wasn’t hers… that I was…”
Sidurgu snarled, trying desperately to keep his voice down. “Why didn’t you tell me this was all your mother’s doing!? I bled for you! Fray died for you! We had a right to know!”
Rielle broke down into tears. “I… I didn’t mean for…” She buried her face in her hands.
“Godsdammit all!” Sidurgu turned to punch the wall, then thought better of it. “…I need time to think.” He strode towards the lower exit, leaving both of them behind.
Vivienne sighed and turned to Rielle. “Do you want to go to the room?” Rielle nodded silently, wiping her eyes ineffectually, and Vivienne went with her into the back.
“If only I’d gone straight here when we’d gotten in!” the child burst out when the door closed behind her, and she threw herself on the bed, weeping.
“No,” Vivienne said. “She knew what we all looked like. This isn’t on you. In fact, it’s better that you were where we could see you. It’s better that we all were seen, else she might have tried to take us on in this room. But don’t be surprised if Sidurgu doesn’t let you out of his sight again when I have to go back to the Warriors of Light.” She hoped it wouldn’t be too awkward. She was not the best person to take care of a child, and really neither was Sidurgu, definitely not when he was sulking. But while he was unwilling to let anyone else take care of her, they were stuck.
Rielle sat up and wiped her eyes, sniffling. “I hate it. I wish he didn’t have to. But you heard what she said. Even if we went to Limsa Lominsa she’d follow us.”
“And she’d burn down all of Limsa,” Vivienne said sarcastically. “Your mother is raving.”
Rielle sniffled again. “I… I don’t want to talk about her.”
“Fine.” She wanted to know, but not as badly as Sidurgu did, it seemed.
After a pause, Rielle looked up. “You sounded just like Fray when you yelled at her. That was how they always were, Sid and Fray – Fray would become all heated up, and Sid would have to calm him down before he got into too much trouble.”
“And who would calm Sidurgu down?” Vivienne asked. It sounded horribly unhealthy. The man was going to pop sooner or later, keeping so much pressure inside. Not that she was one to talk.
“…Me,” Rielle said. “When I can.”
“Well, Fray is in here somewhere,” Vivienne said. “But I don’t think that was entirely him. I am the one in control, and that’s how I always act to bullies. Like for Fray, it does not always go well for me… but it’s gotten better since I have this bizarre group to travel with.” She snorted. “You should have seen me when the Crystal Braves tried to invade our headquarters.”
Rielle lay down. “Would you… would you tell me a story about them? About your adventures?”
Neither of them knew when Sidurgu would be back, and whether it would be his oath that drove him. “Sure.”
The Ascian drew back before the four of them – Y’mhitra, Captain Dancing Wolf, Lilidi, and Kekeniro. “How…? We were raised unto greatness by Lahabrea himself… My master is wary of your strength, Bringer of Light – and rightfully so, it would seem. But your day will come…” He turned, as if to run, perhaps to Teleport.
“You’ll not escape us this time, Ascian!” Dancing Wolf cried, charging forwards, but the Ascian dodged his blade.
“Now, Kekeniro!” Y’mhitra cried.
Kekeniro’s eyes snapped open, deep in the Dreadwyrm Trance, and he inhaled, reaching out to that immense wellspring of aether that led to Bahamut’s power. His eyes were glowing blue, unseeing and yet seeing everything, channelling so much magic… nearly as much magic as when he’d unleashed Teraflare – but this was under his control, as he let it take him, drawing him into the air, Bahamut’s head described in ethereal blue above him…
And he blasted it out. A massive column of blue flaming light slammed into the Ascian – Dancing Wolf jumped back in shock and alarm – and erupted into the sky before dissipating in a trail of residual blue sparkles. Of the Ascian there was no trace but a slight cloud of dark aether.
The others turned to look at him as he floated back down, lightheaded. “You did it!” Lilidi cheered, and hugged him. He laughed and leaned on her, happy for her support. His legs felt quite noodly. He could do it again, but it was going to take some getting used to, controlling that amount of energy.
Y’mhitra clapped her hands, her ears standing up with delight. “It is done! The Paragon is no more!”
“A most impressive spell, Kekeniro,” Dancing Wolf told him.
“And I didn’t even need the book,” he panted. He’d really just built on what he’d learned from Teraflare, just in a much more sustainable form. The Dreadwyrm Trance really was the key to it all. “I still want to read it, though.”
Y’mhitra laughed heartily. “My apologies, everyone. But in order to deceive one’s enemies, ‘tis best to begin with one’s friends. There was never any such book. All that Kekeniro truly required was the catalyst of battle to focus his energies.”
“Wait, but… there’s no book!?” Kekeniro stared up at her in pouty disconsolation. “I wanted to read the book! I was all excited…”
Lilidi patted his shoulder. “Oh well, look on the bright side – you still mastered tremendous magic.”
“But I wanted to read the book…”
Lilidi laughed at him. “That’s my man, he doesn’t even care about the power!”
Kekeniro couldn’t keep pouting when she was laughing like that. He did kind of care about the power; it would be very helpful against those primal-infused knights of the Heavens’ Ward, if nothing else. Just… “Well, look, we can still go inside and see what they have on summoning, if anything. I was here with Achiyo when we… er… pacified the place, but we didn’t really get to look around since we were looking for a very specific book at the time.”
“I should be glad to, but what exactly do you mean by ‘pacified’?” Y’mhitra asked.
“There’s a lot of old aether hanging around in here,” Kekeniro said. “We cleared the wildlife out, but the further in you go, the more you’re likely to meet… things that just came to life. So it could be dangerous. But look, I have Deathflare-“
“And you’re not using that in the library,” Y’mhitra said, wagging her finger at him.
“Oh. Right. Um…”
“I should be getting back to Ul’dah,” Dancing Wolf said. “I will have a gravestone for Tristan laid beside his brother’s. We may not have his bones, but it will be a place where the survivors from his unit can pay respects to the man he once was. I bid you farewell, my friends – may we meet again under happier circumstances.”
“Goodbye, and thanks for coming!” Kekeniro said, and they waved as the Roegadyn began to walk down the road away from the library. “Come on, Y’mhitra, it would be a shame to come all this way and not look at one single book. We don’t have to go very far in. You’re okay with it, right, Li?”
“Of course,” Lilidi said. “I don’t care about the books myself, but I’ll help you get whatever you need.”
“Oh, all right,” Y’mhitra said. “They’ll be easier to read than tomestones, at least.”
Author’s note: I do enjoy the meme of Aymeric introducing Lucia with the words “Behold! A lesbian.” and it’s nice to have two people in authority just be close friends/work partners instead of romantic interests like they always are, (and how many times has a character betrayed their country for love?? so overdone) and love angles are silly and overused, but… uh… it came out like this anyway. There are a number of Lucia’s lines that one could interpret as being someone hiding their feelings, and as a shipper, I’m a sucker for that. : P