3.5 ahoy! I’m feeling a bit more inspired for this one. Maybe because Aymeric is more in it? Apparently I need a husbando around at all times for maximum investment lol.
I was really tempted to name this chapter ‘Border Walls Don’t Work’ but I thought that might be in poor taste lol.
I recommend Hyper Rainbow Z from the OST for the tea break shenanigans. : D
R’nyath wears the Holy Rainbow Shirt of Aiming, but like… more.
Chapter 46: An Echo Across Worlds
Chapter 47: The Edge of Gyr Abania
R’nyath sat with Hilda on a wall high up in Foundation, looking out at the Stone Vigil. The castle was no longer the abode of dragons, which was great, but there was now no need to repair it either since there would no longer be any dragon attacks. From what little R’nyath knew, the Ishgardian parliament had decided to spend their national budget elsewhere, leaving both the Vigils to fall further into ruin. At least they were pretty ruins.
Hilda seemed fidgety, and it gave him an uneasy feeling. She had the look of someone steeling herself for something, and he didn’t get the sense it was a marriage proposal.
So it wasn’t the biggest surprise he’d ever received when she turned to him and said: “I don’t think this is workin’ for me. I think we should break up.”
“Oh,” he said, ears and tail wilting instantly. “Okay.”
She looked startled. “That’s… all you have to say?”
He shrugged. “What should I say? Beg you to stay? Ask what I can do better?” He knew she wouldn’t have said it if she wasn’t sure. She was direct as her bullets and that was one of the things he liked about her. Even when it hurt.
She was still fidgeting uncomfortably. “I’m really sorry. You’re super sweet, and very cute, and you’re good in bed, but it’s just… Something’s just not clickin’ for me. I had a long think while you were out runnin’ around after those Warriors of Darkness you told me about, and… I thought it would be better to let you go sooner rather than later. It’s not goin’ to get… easier.”
He nodded numbly. “Yeah. I understand.” He sighed and turned to her, holding out his hand to shake. “Well, thanks for giving it a go anyway. You…” He had to pause and try not to get choked up.
She ignored the handshake and gave him a hug. He could feel all her emotions – pain, that she’d hurt him, worry, that he would carry the hurt with him, relief, that she had said what she had to say. “I’m sorry, hon. I hope you can recover soon. You deserve a good partner who’ll love you the way you love them.”
He couldn’t help clinging to her a little, inhaling the scent of leather and lightning aether. “I’ll miss you, you’re so amazing in every way. I… I hope you find someone for you, too.”
“Thanks, hon.” She pulled back and patted his head. “I won’t be adverse to being friends in the future, after some time apart. You take care, all right?”
“Yeah.” He managed a shaky smile. “You too.”
She smiled back, hopped off the wall and walked away.
Well, that was it, then. Yet another rejection. Wasn’t the bard supposed to seduce all and sundry, not the other way around? Was he just cursed that his longest relationship so far had lasted a year at most? Was he constantly aiming out of his league?
The only thing he knew for certain was that it was starting to hurt, and he needed to get under cover and quick. He dropped from the wall and ran for the Pillars.
Edmont de Fortemps walked into the drawing room with a news-sheet and sat down on a sofa with a contented sigh. Ishgard at peace was everything he could have wished. Ser Aymeric was doing a marvellous job at keeping the House of Lords together, Artoirel was proving himself a worthy successor to House Fortemps, and even Emmanellain… Perhaps Emmanellain was the greatest surprise of all.
And Achiyo, of course, spent much time with her Scion friends doing great deeds, and yet she was often about the manor, bringing a fresh air to the house and bringing him a new sort of affection in his aging years. Her reserve was yet slow to disperse, but she was so eager to please, and to learn their ways, and to share her own customs, it was incredibly charming. One might hardly guess, seeing her dressed in pink and speaking on tea ceremonies, that she faced down gods regularly and won.
Scuttlebutt on the now-admired Silver Lady, the Savior of Ishgard, was popular, as might be guessed. It seemed the gossips were divided on who was courting her from week to week, mostly completely baseless conjecture, perhaps mixed with wishful thinking – but then, the older noblewomen did not have much else to talk about once they had finished speaking of their own children. He often heard Artoirel’s name put forward, but he had seen no sign of partiality from either of them so that was mostly likely simply based on the two of them spending time together. Half the other names, both men and women, he was not sure Achiyo had even met. He personally thought he detected some partiality from Ser Aymeric, though the young man was probably too busy to court her properly. If that was true, and it ever bore fruit, Edmont for one would rejoice in it.
In any case, he was proud of all the young people he watched over. He unfolded the news-sheet and began to read.
He suddenly became aware of odd sounds from the end table next to him. Sniffles and stifled breathing. He reached over and lifted the cloth that covered the table. “R’nyath Tia?”
“S-sorry,” gasped the catman, huddling further under the table, his eyes red and streaming tears, his tail wrapped tightly around his legs. “I didn’t think I would bother anyone here…”
“‘Tis no bother,” Edmont said, wondering why R’nyath had preferred the table to his room. “What troubles you?”
More tears fell. “Hilda broke up with me. Like, just now. I needed somewhere to hide…”
Romantic troubles of another kind. “Ah, I am grieved to hear that. Watch Commander Hilda is indeed a remarkable woman, bold and determined and possessed of wit and charm. But even she is a bit of a fool to reject you…”
“No, she’s not,” R’nyath defended her. “If she’s not in love with me, then that’s just how it is. Most people don’t fall in love as easy as me.”
“Ah.” He was not quite sure how to handle this. Artoirel did not show his emotions easily, and Emmanellain had not had the chance at a serious relationship yet – and was too accustomed to casual rejection to become overly emotional over it. Haurchefant, now, had loved easily and deeply. He had known his own emotions and dealt with them in a healthy way, but he had needed the occasional encouraging word.
He told him so. “Haurchefant was rather like you. He loved with a wide-open heart, come what may, men and women. He had the most fervent loyalty, I think, of any man in Ishgard.”
“I believe it,” R’nyath said, and buried his face in his knees. “It’s a curse for me. I haven’t had a steady relationship that lasted longer than a year in all my life.”
“How many summers do you have?” He was still quite young, from his looks.
“This will be my twenty-seventh summer coming up.” Yes, he was young. But saying that probably would not help.
“You will find someone,” Edmont told him encouragingly. “You are an adventurer, going out into the wide world, meeting all sorts of folk. Your open heart is not a curse – would that more folk had such hearts! But surely it makes such wounds harder to bear. Grieve your loss, but remember the joy that you had with Hilda. You will heal in time.”
“Yeah,” R’nyath said, muffled, and Edmont put the cloth back down over the table to give him some privacy.
“Ah, Rinala, just the hero I wanted to see!” Tataru said. “Would you mind doing me a small favour?”
“Um, okay,” Rinala said, looking up from her cup. She’d been sitting rather sadly at one of the café tables in the Rising Stones, contemplating yet again how sad Thancred was without his Minfilia and how hopeless was her own lot. She should maybe start thinking about taking the others’ advice and find someone else to fall in love with, but… but she was in love with him! Except… he seemed so much like a different person now. Was she in love with him? She was in love with someone who had died in the tunnels beneath Ul’dah, and that person did not seem like he would come back. Yet… sometimes she had seen flashes of it, and it gave her painful hope, and then he ignored her, and went off to be upset by himself, and that was depressing agony. But how did she just… decide not to be in love?
Tataru was waiting for her. Helping Tataru was much easier. “What can I do?”
Tataru smiled brightly. “I need you to meet me at the Diamond Forge. This won’t take long, I promise!”
“Okay,” Rinala said, getting up and putting on a more cheerful face. Anything for Tataru, she worked so hard! “I’ll be right there.”
At the Diamond Forge, she found Tataru with an entire posse of crafters. “As I said, this won’t take long!” Tataru said. “I just need you to stand perfectly still for a few moments… Right, everyone! Ready to go to work?” The crafters all nodded with looks of glee. Rinala cowered as they looked at her like hungry cats around a mouse. She was the cat, for Menphina’s sake! “No squirming now!” Tataru called, and giggled madly. “Oh, and you might want to close your eyes.”
Rinala squeaked and she did close her eyes as they descended upon her. In a few minutes it was over, but what a whirlwind those minutes were! “There!” Tataru said, writing frantically in a notebook. “All finished! Rinala Sweetwhisper’s every measurement, from heroic head to intrepid toe!”
“Your measurements were rather larger than I expected,” said the Roegadyn lady on her left. “And no, I shan’t tell you which ones.”
“Oh nooo,” Rinala moaned softly. She’d been eating too much cake in her sadness! She would stop at once, and step up her ninja training with the help of the kind Domans – the kind Domans – at Raincatcher Gully. …She hoped it was her bosom instead. “What are you making? Wait, are you making me clothes?” She made most of her own clothes, but they were mostly in Thanalan style. What would Tataru come up with?
Tataru winked. “Well, wouldn’t you like to know! All in good time, Rinala! All in good time.”
“Well, thank you very much in advance,” Rinala said, overwhelmed by even the hint of the gesture.
The door opened and Yda poked her head in. “Aha! Found you! Alphinaud wants everyone in the solar for a meeting. I don’t know what it’s about, but he seemed to think it was very important.”
“Go on, we have everything we need,” Tataru said, and shooed them both out the door.
“Unless aught can be done to reverse Coerthas’s cursed eternal winter, we must needs build new farms and orchards in the Sea of Clouds, it is true,” Aymeric proclaimed to the House of Lords. “Yet the proposition to immediately and drastically strengthen our position within the Sea of Clouds invites a return to conflicts we have only recently left behind, for the Vanu Vanu will only see us as seizing their ancient territory by force. We need look no further than Limsa Lominsa to see the outcome of such actions – or indeed, some might even compare us to the Garlean Empire.”
He went on that vein for a bit, but really internally he was reminiscing uselessly of a vanished Coerthas, of green vales and sparkling pools and streams in spring, of rich lush meadows and dense forests in summer. All of it was gone beneath the ice and snow these… nearly seven years now, and he missed it dearly; now their summer was as cold as their winters had been previously, and the winter nigh-unbearable. That first year had seen so much suffering… Was it divine punishment for not being present at Carteneau? Could the astrologians look into the source and any possible solutions, now that they no longer had to track the Dragon Star? In the long run it would be easier than angering the Vanu Vanu.
The House of Lords was in a bit of a stir as he sat down in his high seat again, and then the real debates began. A lot of the older lords and ladies thought he’d gone too far, especially with comparing them to the Empire, since Ishgard really did need more resources and Garlemald patently did not, but the younger ones understood what he was getting at.
It was a long morning, and he was thankful that the afternoon was promised to be a quiet time to catch up on some duties of the Lord Commander that he had been putting off. Yet a bare bell after he had settled into his paperwork, Lucia knocked upon his door. “The Warriors of Light have come upon urgent business,” she said as he looked up.
“How urgent?” he asked, though he was already rising and setting his work so that he would be able to pick it up again later.
“It is regarding the Alliance and the Empire,” she said. “The Ala Mhigan Resistance plays a bold game; they will assault Baelsar’s Wall in an effort to draw the Alliance into their conflict.”
“I see… And the Alliance will wish for Ishgard to be involved, of course. We will need an envoy to whatever council they hold.” He was already in his mind running through the procedures he would need to follow, and deciding which ones he could cut through for expediency.
“The council shall be in Gridania,” she said, falling into place at his right shoulder as he made for the lift.
He came from the lift and saw Achiyo, Rinala, Chuchupa, Vivienne, and R’nyath, which last looked as though he had recently been unwell. He could not help but smile to see them all, though matters were serious yet again. “It is good to see you, my friends. ‘Tis but a pity it must be under such circumstances. Had Lucia not informed me of the urgency of your suit, I would certainly have sent for some wine.”
“Bring it anyway!” Chuchupa said, and he chuckled.
“Now, now, you offer us wine so often! Do you really want to see us all drunk that badly?” R’nyath asked with a too-bright smile.
“Far from it,” he assured him, banishing the thought that an inebriated Achiyo would undoubtedly be adorable beyond words – but truly, that was never his intent. He just enjoyed wine. Especially with friends. “But to business. I thank you for bringing these developments in Ala Mhigo to our attention. Ishgard will of course send an envoy to attend the council in Gridania. I cannot say who will represent us, however, as the choice is not mine to make – not mine alone, at any rate. Given the imminence of the threat, we may forgo the formalities of a full assembly, but I will still need to consult my counterpart in the House of Commons prior to proceeding. Will you permit me some time to make the necessary arrangements?”
“No,” Chuchupa said, joking.
“Certainly,” Achiyo said calmly. “Your understanding is most generous.”
“‘Tis only meet to the situation, but I thank you,” he said, and turned to Lucia. “Our representative, whomever we select, will require a suitable escort. Make your preparations, and inform Ser Handeloup that he is to lead in your absence.” Her presence would prohibit Teleporting, but she was the best knight in the Temple Knights and all knew it.
“Yes, Lord Commander,” said Lucia, saluting him. She already knew his plan, he was sure, but she was playing along for now.
“I presume that you will be going as well,” he said to the Warriors of Light, who nodded. “Pray accompany Lucia to the Gates of Judgement. I will have our envoy join you as soon as I can. Fury speed you on your way.”
The envoy was Aymeric himself, rather obviously, R’nyath thought – who were they going to send, some kid of Count Durendaire? Aymeric had met the rest of the Alliance leaders before, he knew Ishgard’s strengths inside and out, and he was super eager to make better connections with the Alliance that maybe other Ishgardians would be too prideful to do. Now all R’nyath had to worry about was whether Hilda was going to get involved, or if the Watch would remain in Ishgard for this one. It would make sense for them not to go, wouldn’t it? Even if they’d been getting a bit of formal combat training from the Temple Knights, the Watch still was more of a militia… So he probably didn’t have to worry about upcoming awkwardness.
No, there were more important things to worry about – whether Yda’s poor Miqo’te Resistance friend would pull through, whether the Griffin would succeed in his plan, whether the Empire would get riled up enough to invade again. He didn’t want a repeat of the past seventeen years, thanks! But none of that was under his control. All he had to focus on was not making the others worry about him.
They’d stopped for a tea and snack break on the road between the Gates of Judgement and Camp Dragonhead, just off the road by a little copse of trees that made it a bit drier and warmer than the rest of the frigid open air. Their chocobos nibbled at their feed bags and kwehed softly to each other.
“Have you heard from the dragons recently?” Rinala asked Aymeric.
“The dragons on the whole maintain a strong diplomatic… indifference,” Aymeric said lightly. “Neither of us has much reason to venture to each others’ territories, and when our paths cross now it is much without incident. Though I have had word a couple times from Vedrfolnir. I think he is fond of me.”
“That’s good to hear,” Rinala said.
“No more trouble with the Gnath?” Vivienne asked.
“They yet desire more land,” Aymeric said, with a slight frown. “But they do not wish it from us. The dragons are their opponents, and Ishgard is free to not intervene, though of course we have taken steps to restrict the crystals they can obtain from us. The Vanu Vanu are of greater import to us, for we are encroaching upon their lands. We need farmland after the Calamity, for though we have survived on slim resources to this point, we shall need much more to thrive again. And while I have tried to deny the Vanu Vanu any sources of crystals, it is impossible to control the sky, and I know there are sky pirates and smugglers aplenty who could bring them what they seek through other means. So I have tried to seek their friendship, in light of what you have told me of Vylbrand.”
“I am glad,” Achiyo said, and when Aymeric glanced at her questioningly, went on. “You show them the same understanding and integrity you show to all others. I believe they will hear you, sooner or later.”
He smiled. “I hope so, too.”
“Hey, Achiyo!” R’nyath said. Pretty much everyone had finished eating, and all these politics were sitting rather heavy. So he threw a snowball at Aymeric’s crush.
“Ha!” Chuchupa intercepted it neatly before Achiyo had time to raise so much as a hand to ward it off. “Weak! Ye’ll have to do better ‘n that to get past me!” She retaliated with a hail of little snowballs, and R’nyath squawked as he was pelted. “C’mon, Princess, get ‘im!”
“You guys aren’t just going to let her beat me up!?” R’nyath protested, laughing, throwing more snowballs back. At least he had good aim, even if Chuchupa’s defense was pretty solid – not solid enough, he caught her full in the face with a big fluffy pat of snow and she sputtered.
Achiyo rose to her feet, undecided for a moment… then scooped up a snowball and threw it. It was not the best snowball in the world – had she ever thrown a snowball before? – but she had the spirit. “I shall take you on!”
“Don’t worry, R’nyath, I’m with you!” Rinala cried, jumping up so he wasn’t outnumbered.
“Is this really the time, everyone…?” Lucia began. “Is this not childish?”
“We go no farther than Camp Dragonhead today,” Aymeric said, getting up quickly and scooping up snow of his own. “We have time.” But R’nyath was pretty sure the wide, unguarded grin on his face convinced Lucia far more than his words did. “Lucia, join us!”
“Oh boy,” R’nyath said, hamming it up. “We’re in trouble now, Rinala! The Lord Commander’s involved!”
“Indeed, and my aim with a bow is equal to my skill with a blade- Gah!” Vivienne had snuck up behind Aymeric and dumped an entire armload of snow down the back of his hood, and the high-pitched yelp he made was most undignified. Achiyo giggled merrily. “An ambush!”
“That’s right!” Vivienne said. “If we’re going to play games, we’re going to sodding well play games. Prepare yourself!”
“Yeah!” Chuchupa roared. “Here we go!”
The clearing devolved into a mad scramble, to duck snowballs and to find fresh snow to make more. Lucia had been convinced to join in by the dastardly attack upon her commander, and she surged fearlessly ahead, showing her mettle as First Commander, catching snowballs and throwing them back at their originators. R’nyath did a flip, sashes fluttering, unleashing a wide barrage of snowballs across a spread of ground. Achiyo did not throw so many snowballs, but she was a difficult target, sliding fluidly between shots, her tail swaying for balance. Chuchupa didn’t seem to be certain which side she was on, throwing snowballs indiscriminately at everything that moved, not even looking where she aimed half the time. Rinala whirled and spun, her rogue moves on full display as she tossed snowballs out like flying daggers. Aymeric had thrown caution to the wind, eyes flashing in defiance, blue coat swirling, a perfect team with Lucia. And Vivienne stood, dark, unshakable in the midst of it all, snowballs shattering against her armour, flinging out tight little snow missiles like her dark magic spells.
And everyone was laughing fit to burst, even R’nyath.
At length, everyone grew weary of Chuchupa’s wild throwing, especially after she started throwing snow-covered pinecones, and Vivienne and Lucia held her down while everyone else rolled snowballs around her until she was a little Lalafell snowwoman with pink hair. Then they caught their breath.
Everyone’s hair was tousled beyond belief, clothes and armour covered in snow, faces flushed red with the cold and the exertion, and the laughter flowed again. “Ah, forgive me, friends!” Aymeric cried, still brushing snow out of his coat; Lucia helped him get the back. He looked more alive than R’nyath had seen him before. “I know we go into a grave situation and yet I do not regret this moment.”
Chuchupa flexed with a warrior’s growl, and a burst of fiery aether set her free from her snowy prison. “Good, that means ye don’t have too big a stick up yer arse.”
“I have not enjoyed snow since I was a child,” Achiyo said, combing through her silver-green hair to straighten it out again. “I am very glad of the opportunity.”
“We shouldn’t feel guilty about taking a minute to have fun,” R’nyath said. “It makes the hard parts easier to bear, and it’s not like any of us goof off during actual serious moments. And it’s good to see everyone smiling!”
“You speak truth, Master R’nyath,” Lucia said, straightening her circlet. “We cannot – should not – be only serious simply because there are troubles afoot, for there are always troubles afoot. ‘Tis a lesson I often forget myself.”
“Aye, you work too hard, First Commander,” Aymeric told her, and she gave him a sharp but fond look.
“Don’t you work two full-time jobs?” Rinala asked, and Aymeric had the decency to look embarrassed.
“You have the right of it, Rinala – and the fault is only mine that Lucia is overburdened. Yet I cannot give up either of them…”
“Would you be allowed to promote Lucia to Lord Commander?” R’nyath asked. “Lady Commander? Since she’s doing so much anyway? Or would that not be allowed because she’s not from Ishgard?”
Aymeric looked at Lucia; she looked back at him quizzically. “Lucia would be an outstanding Lord Commander, but yes, traditionally one must be born of Ishgard to receive the rank. I would make it legal and confirmed in an instant, would it not confine me wholly to a life behind a desk. I am a knight first in my heart, and I… cannot give it up, selfish as that may be.”
“Well, you’ve both got my respect for making it work,” Vivienne said, and stretched. “Shall we get on?”
They stopped the night at Camp Dragonhead, where Emmanellain had been appointed the new commander. He seemed sheepish, proud, and anxious all in turn. “Surprised to see yours truly at the helm?” he said to R’nyath after dinner. “You and me both, old boy. I doubt I’ll ever feel worthy to sit where he sat…” They looked over to where a framed portrait of Haurchefant was hung over the commander’s seat. His soft smile and fierce eyes greeted everyone who entered.
“Anyone would feel that way,” R’nyath said. “But give it some time. You’ve been here, what, a sennight? A fortnight? He was a great friend, but you still have to use the chair.”
“He was surprisingly disorganized,” Honoroit put in. “I am constantly finding all manner of records in all manner of places. I am putting them in order, of course, for my lord’s ease of use. And I am doing my utmost to see that he is not overwhelmed by his duties. He can be surprisingly diligent when he puts his mind to it. If he puts his mind to it…”
“What would he do without you, Honoroit?” R’nyath said, smiling.
“What indeed,” Emmanellain acknowledged, and Honoroit turned a little pink. “Ah well, we can but play the hand we’re dealt. And with a little help from the veterans – and Honoroit’s ceaseless chiding – I’m sure I’ll muddle through. So worry not, old boy! I shan’t waste my time attempting to replace him. I can but be my best self and hope that that’s enough!”
R’nyath shook his hand. “You saying that tells me that you’re going to be just fine. I’m proud to be your friend! Both of you!”
Now Emmanellain turned pink. “Th-thank you! Er… I should be about my duties! Good evening!” He strode off, and after a quick bow to R’nyath, Honoroit trotted after him.
Achiyo came up to him after. “Are you well, R’nyath? You seem… I feel you are unhappy.”
He’d been trying so hard to keep a positive face on. Too hard? After that one good cry and Lord Edmont’s help, he thought he’d be able to power through until the next quiet moment he could cry in. “I don’t want to be a distraction now.”
“I shall be distracted by not knowing,” she countered, but she only looked concerned. “And you deserve our help even in times of greater troubles.”
He sighed. “H-Hilda broke up with me.”
Her face fell. “I’m very sorry. You must be… I’m sorry.”
“So if I overcompensate a bit… I remembered how I was after G’raha left, and how it affected the team, and I decided I didn’t want to do that this time.”
“If there is anything any of us can do to help, you have but to ask,” she said. “Do not struggle alone.”
“Yeah, we all tend to do that, don’t we?” he said with a little smile. “I’ll try. But also I figure if we head anywhere near Baelsar’s Wall ourselves I might be able to visit my family and moan to them, and then the Scions don’t have to take the brunt of it, at least.”
“Ah, surely your family will help,” she said, and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Knowing how she felt about touch, he appreciated it. “I hope your heart can find ease.”
After more chocobo travel, they arrived in Gridania. There was no time to rest; the council was due to begin that same day, almost that same hour. Raubahn had already arrived, and Kekeniro, Alphinaud, and Alisaie were to meet them at the Lotus Stand. “Diplomatic duties have brought me here on several occasions, but I find that I am as enraptured by the Black Shroud’s beauty now as when first I laid eyes upon it,” Aymeric said as they passed through the Yellow Serpent Gate. “I fear that this time, however, events shall not afford us the luxury of enjoying the splendour of the forest…”
Yet the council itself was surprisingly brief. R’nyath had hardly time to start letting his mind wander, wondering who among his old friends might be in town, when it was already over, a course of action planned. They walked out in small groups, but the Scions rather quickly coalesced into a larger group by Nophica’s Altar.
“…That the council was able to reach an accord so swiftly is a heartening development in itself,” Alphinaud said. “I only hope my misgivings prove unfounded…”
Kekeniro sighed. “I can see what is happening strategically, but I can’t see why. I wish Tam was here. He could tell us why even if he didn’t know what was going on. He should have come to the council after all.” Tam had showed up at the Rising Stones with a blood-covered M’naago in his arms and immediately taken off again to go investigate in his own way.
“Yes, where is that arse?” Vivienne said. “Lost in the wilds again, no doubt, and hells take the rest of us for all he cares.”
“I will call him,” Achiyo said. “Though as ever he may not answer.” If he was in enemy territory of course he wouldn’t answer.
“And where’s Aentfryn again?” Kekeniro asked.
“He went to the Rising Stones to help Krile take care of the Resistance fighter,” Rinala said. “Otherwise I would have stayed.”
“Ah, good, you have yet to depart. I feared I had missed you.” Aymeric and Lucia returned to them from the discussion they had been having with Merlwyb.
“Ser Aymeric!” Alphinaud cried.
“Master Alphinaud, a pleasure as always,” Aymeric said with a little bow to the twins. “And Mistress Alisaie, how wonderful to see you thus recovered. Pardon the interruption. I had hoped to thank the Warriors of Light for serving as our escort before other duties called them away.”
“It was a great pleasure, as ever,” Achiyo said, and there was maybe a bit more sparkle than usual in her eye – thinking of that snowball fight, no doubt. R’nyath felt he could pat himself on the back a little more for that one.
Aymeric’s answering smile hinted that he was thinking of it too, but then he looked over to the trees. “I also wished to thank our Doman ally…”
Yugiri came forward hastily. “Forgive me, my lord. I was but awaiting an opportune moment to join the conversation, and force of habit made me keep to the shadows.”
“No apologies are necessary, Mistress Yugiri,” Aymeric said. “I was most grateful for your interjection when I offered Ishgard’s support. My nation’s historic failure to heed the Alliance’s pleas for aid is a matter of record. Even so, the Alliance leaders were plainly unprepared for my impromptu apology. The resulting air of awkwardness might have lingered longer were it not for your timely offer of cooperation, which allowed the Elder Seedseer to accept us both. I very much appreciated the gesture.” Oh, so that was what had happened when it got quiet. R’nyath had not been paying attention at all.
“I only did my duty, Ser Aymeric,” Yugiri said. “The Empire is an enemy to us all, and we are grateful for the opportunity to fight at your side.”
“And full glad are we to have you,” Aymeric said, and looked around at them all. “Pray convey my regards to the Scions, my friends. We must return to Ishgard.” He and Lucia bowed, and left.
“And we should determine who among us shall return to the Rising Stones, and who shall remain to provide added support for Yda and Papalymo,” Achiyo said.
“Ah, a moment, if you would, Achiyo-dono,” Yugiri said. “I wished to speak with you ere you depart.”
“Certainly, Yugiri-dono,” Achiyo said, and the two Auri stepped apart from the group.
“Whatever is wrong with a simple ‘sorry’ or ‘thank you’?” Alisaie demanded in exasperation, staring at Aymeric’s retreating back. “Must these politicians always make a speech out of everything?”
“That is how we adults speak, dear sister,” Alphinaud said pompously, teasing.
Alisaie crossed her arms. “Hmph. Mayhap the ones who like the sound of their own voice.”
“Shh,” R’nyath said, glancing at Achiyo ahead of them. “The more he talks, the more Achiyo gets to listen to him.”
Alisaie looked back and forth between them and rolled her eyes. “In any case, our business here is concluded. We should be on our way as well.”
Setting armies in motion took time, and while some of the Warriors of Light – Achiyo, Vivienne, Kekeniro, and Aentfryn – were heavily involved in the Scions’ planning, R’nyath, Rinala, and Chuchupa were needed less immediately. So R’nyath took advantage of the delay to drag them to his family’s large home near the Mun-Tuy Cellars. “Dad! Mother? Ma! I’m home!”
“R’nyath!” exclaimed the mother of his younger siblings, R’zefu, the one he called Ma. “Welcome home. Are these your friends we’ve heard so much about?”
“Yeah, that’s Rinala and that’s Chuchupa. The others are busy, political stuff. Guys, this is R’zefu, my Ma. Who’s around?”
“Dad is around somewhere, and Mother, and Selhah and Lhifre. How is Inwa?”
“He was good last time I saw him. Did you see him after he got back from Radz-at-Han? Did you see his tan?”
His youngest sister R’lhifre came tumbling into the room. “Nyath! You dummy! I was going to spend the day with Selhah, her leave got cancelled after tomorrow, and you’re going to get in the way!”
“Go ahead and do that! I won’t bug you. Much.” He still caught her up and gave her a noogie as she wiggled in protest. She was seventeen now but that was still his prerogative.
“Gerroff! And give me your green sash, I’ve been waiting for it.”
“No it’s mine! …Only if you give me your blue one!”
“No, the blue one’s pretty! I’m keeping it! You have four, you won’t miss one!”
“Absolutely I will, I need the aesthetic!” She reached out for his waist anyway and he jumped away, climbing a bookshelf – which was built into the wall – to get away from her. Rinala looked alarmed. She wasn’t used to big families, was she? Where you had to fight for your personality and attention and indeed ownership of possessions and privacy.
R’selhah, his second-oldest sister and a Serpent lieutenant, walked in and took stock of the tableau before her. “Nyath, do up your shirt, you absolute hussy.”
“No,” R’nyath said, still clinging to the top of the bookshelf and scooping up the ends of his sashes before R’lhifre could grab them and start pulling like the kitten she was. His tail lashed irritably. “I need it open to attract mates.”
“Hence you being a hussy. I thought you were dating a leather-clad stunner from Ishgard,” R’selhah said, folding her arms, and he couldn’t control a flinch. “Oh… Oh, did something…?”
“Oh dear,” said Ma. “Come down, Nyath, it’s okay.”
“Wait, you broke up?” Rinala said. “How come you didn’t tell us?”
He dropped off the bookshelf and swallowed. “I didn’t want to distract you guys like the last time I had a break-up. There’s too much important stuff going on.”
“Screw the important stuff,” said Ma, and pulled him into a hug. R’selhah joined in, and R’lhifre did too until he felt her fumbling at the sashes. “Lhifre, leave Nyath alone. He can have the green sash, he’s sad.”
R’lhifre sighed and pouted. “Okay, I’ll trade you the blue one.”
“Deal.” He turned to his friends. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you find out that way. I told Achiyo, anyway. She reminded me I can rely on you guys, but I wanted to tell my family first. Chuchupa would just tell me to get in a fight and get over it, anyway.”
“Yeah…” Chuchupa said, though there might actually have been a twinge of shame in it. “Right, the next best thing is booze. R’nyath’s ma, I already forgot yer name. Ye have beer, right?”
“I should be happy to serve you beer,” Ma said. “Nyath, I’ll get Dad and Mother in too.”
Rinala came up to him and gave him a hug as his family went off to prep drinks. “I’m sorry. If I can help…”
“Thanks, Rinala.” He hugged her back, taking solace in her warmth and sweetness. Being close to a living, breathing person brought him the most comfort of anything. “I just need some time.”
His family was cheerful chaos as beer was passed around, and it eased his heart. After a while, he even felt like he could stop pretending to be happy. His own mom was out hunting, she often was, but Ma was there, R’vezoso, his older siblings’ mother, was there, and R’mon, his dad, was there. Rinala went to play with R’lhifre and her clothes, and Chuchupa challenged R’selhah to a sparring match in the yard, and R’nyath could sprawl over half the sofa and his dad’s lap and finally wail about Hilda as much as he wanted. “She’s so cool… I guess I should have known it wouldn’t work out, that I’m lucky it lasted as long as it did. She was always holding back a little. I thought it would get better.”
“Mm,” Dad said, grooming his ears soothingly like he was a kitten. “She sounds pretty tough. I bet you pursued her too hard.”
“Nooo, I don’t think that’s what was wrong,” R’nyath said, tail tapping rhythmically. “She always said I was too sweet.”
“Yeah, that’s what Dad meant,” Mother said. “She probably wants someone as tough as she is. And/or she wants to do the chasing.”
“When you were dating that G’raha boy, or Erminelle, or Ben, you said you just had to stand around looking hot,” Dad said. “They came to you, at least halfway.”
“Yeah… but Hilda was just so amazing I couldn’t help myself,” R’nyath whined. “Seriously, the way she smirks when she’s ready to throw down…”
“I bet she misses you,” Ma said. “In her own way. She said she wanted to be friends, right?”
“Maybe you should be checking out other Sunseeker tribes,” Mother said. “A Warrior of Light should have no trouble finding a pride of his own.”
“I don’t want a pride, Mother. Being Nunh would mean I’d have too many responsibilities to be a Warrior of Light.” He’d told them that. Before, it was just that he wasn’t ready to settle down, that he wanted to be an adventurer. Now he was a little older, and he didn’t feel like he should settle down.
“Oh, well, it’s an option,” she pointed out.
The door opened, and R’megi, his mom, walked in with a string of rabbits. “Dinner’s here! Oh, Nyath, baby, sorry about your break-up.” She handed the rabbits to Ma and opened her arms.
“Mom!” R’nyath jumped off the couch and snuggled her, the adult who always made him feel safe, and sniffled. “Thanks, mom.”
“There, there,” she said. “We’ll get some home cooking in you and it’ll help.”
Dad stood up. “I’ll help with the rabbits, Zefu. Don’t worry, Nyath, you’ll be admiring the bottoms of Eorzea again in no time.”
“Dad!!”
Dinner was noisy, even with only three of R’mon’s children present, and R’nyath felt obligated to protect shy Rinala against the worst of it, but he couldn’t help joining in – old arguments over who ‘accidentally’ dyed R’selhah’s uniform with beet juice, who pushed R’lhifre in a stream in front of her crush when she was ten, that kind of thing. His mom tried to help, talking quietly to her about what it was like being a White Mage. “You must be friends with the Seedseers. I’ve heard they’re very kind.”
“It’s true,” Rinala said. “They have their quirks, but they’re really not as scary as I thought they would be when I first came to Gridania to learn conjury.”
“Does Raya-O-Senna really have imaginary friends?” Mom asked.
“No?” Rinala thought for a bit. “Oh! She has Moogle friends. I guess not everyone can see them.”
“Oh, of course! I only saw a Moogle once, when I was hunting up in the Bramble Patch.”
Chuchupa, of course, thrived in the chaos, and compared their family shenanigans to hijinks on the high seas. R’nyath supposed he should be grateful that she didn’t start swashbuckling off the dining room chandelier – though ‘chandelier’ was a bit of a fancy word for something made of wood and candles. She seemed perfectly fine to be utterly surrounded by cats; even if Rinala was a Moonkeeper she was still a Miqo’te. “That’s like the time when I was a wee able seaman we hung the bo’sun’s underpants from the tops’l, and he had to climb all the way up there – and there’s a swell that day too! Course, we paid fer it later – pretty sure the cap’n didn’t need the entire brig scrubbed spotless that very day, but we had t’ do it anyway.”
“At least the heavenspillars don’t sway except in a high wind,” Selhah said. “Just got to make sure whatever I hide up there is nailed down or it’ll get blown across half the Twelveswood and never seen again.”
“Yes, I still remember what happened with Sahza’s skirt,” Mother said. “I don’t think Zefu was with us yet, but you two were at odds for nearly a year after that.”
“And now they’re both Serpent lieutenants,” Dad said. “And my sons are Scions of the Seventh Dawn. And my other daughters are skilled and talented, the pride of the R tribe.”
“Even me?” whined Lhifre.
“Even you,” Ma said. “Though you need to work on your aim more.”
“Ma!”
R’nyath sat back. This was exactly what he had needed. Even if his family was messy, it was familiar, homely mess. “Thanks, guys.”
The meeting place for the Scions was the Hawthorne Hut, and at the appointed hour, R’nyath, Rinala, and Chuchupa travelled there, meeting most of the other Scions on the way. Yda, Papalymo, Thancred, and Yugiri were already there, and Achiyo quickly filled R’nyath in – those four were going to venture beyond the wall to find the Griffin.
“Fancy meeting you here,” said Thancred, as they all gathered once more. “We were about to set forth.”
“Indeed,” Alphinaud said. “I was about to say ‘Twelve watch over you’, but I doubt you have need of divine protection, even if you are venturing into enemy territory…”
“Don’t worry, Alphinaud!” Yda cried. “We’ll have the Griffin by the scruff of the neck before you know it!”
Papalymo frowned. “Do make up your mind, Yda. Nary a moment ago, you seemed ready to shake the Griffin by the hand rather than the neck. So, which is it to be? ‘Twould be best to decide before we enter into negotiations.”
“Trust me, Papalymo: I’ll shake whatever needs shaking,” Yda said firmly. R’nyath had to chuckle. “The talking part I leave to you!”
Papalymo rubbed his head. “…I think I feel a headache coming on. Let’s be on our way, shall we?”
“Ah, some things never change…” Alphinaud quipped, watching the infiltration team vanish into the dusk. “Well then, shall we make for Amarissaix’s Spire? Our Alliance friends will doubtless have news for us.”
There was a command centre set up on the top platform of the spire. Hilda was there. R’nyath immediately hid behind Aentfryn. But he wasn’t quick enough. She saw him, bit her lip, and looked away awkwardly. Hiding was probably… not helping? He came out and tried to make a sheepish smile. “Hey.”
“How are you?” she asked.
“…I’m fine,” he said, looking at Baelsar’s Wall instead of her. “Didn’t think you’d be here.”
She shrugged. “Ser Aymeric needed more time to mobilize the knights, but we could be here quick as y’like so he sent us on ahead so Ishgard wouldn’t look lazy. Got less stuff to bring, see. The Watch’ll be glad to see you lot – the sight of you might remind ’em why we bothered.”
He nodded. “That’s good.” If he didn’t say anything else it was going to get even more awkward very quickly. What did the Watch think of him after the break-up? Would they still be friendly with him since it was perfectly amicable? Or would they scorn him as being, as predicted, unworthy of their beloved Hilda? “Anyway, take care.”
“You too,” she said.
“Report!” snapped old Vorsaile Heuloix suddenly to his linkpearl. “…What? Seven hells…” He turned to the others. “Fighting has broken out on top of the Wall! A full-scale assault!”
“So the Griffin has made his move,” Pipin said. They all looked sharply to the Wall as the echo of an explosion burst there, and they saw the red glow of uncontrolled fires burning into the night.
“Someone has…” Vorsaile said, still listening to his linkpearl.
“And what’s that s’posed to mean?” Hilda demanded.
Tam landed on the platform’s railing from a dragoon jump from the nearest heavenspillar – a good fifteen yalms away horizontally. “The attackers are wearing Grand Company uniforms.”
“Impossible,” R’ashaht said. “We gave no such order.”
“Yes,” Vorsaile said, looking up in shock. “How did you know?”
Tam rolled his eyes at her. “Do keep up. They’re impersonating you. I looked in their camp a little while ago. Unfortunately, that was too late to prevent Eorzea from playing right into their hands. But maybe you want to do that? I don’t know what the goal is.”
“Of course,” Alphinaud and Kekeniro said at the same moment. Alphinaud continued. “The Wall was never the Griffin’s target – it was bait. We have been goaded into deploying our armies nearby, thus lending weight to this deception!”
“But what else could we do…?” Achiyo asked weakly, and R’nyath agreed. If the Empire did not think there was anyone there, they definitely would attack Eorzea! They would have been drawn into conflict either way.
“If those uniforms were convincing enough to deceive my scouts, the Empire will surely think we’ve launched an offensive,” Vorsaile said. “This could mean war!”
Alphinaud frowned, thinking further. “Even so… this may yet be no more than a diversion. With the armies of the Alliance occupying the Empire’s attention, it would be comparatively easy for the Griffin’s supporters to slip into Ala Mhigo. He could then incite a rebellion amongst the populace which the Imperial reserves would be hard-pressed to contain. Eorzea, meanwhile, would be plunged into chaos.”
Kekeniro let out a breath. “Nasty, but clever. Sometimes I wish I could think like that.”
“So we don’t want to help the Griffin,” Tam said. “It’s very confusing with you people.”
“We must make for the Wall at once,” Alphinaud said.
“What, just the nine of you?” Pipin cried. “I know you are the Warriors of Light who stormed the Praetorium, but-”
“Our companions embarked on a mission to sway the Griffin from his course, and are likely halfway to his command post by now,” Alphinaud said. “They will emerge in the midst of a raging battle and I do not mean to abandon them to their fate. It will be dangerous, aye, but the confusion may work to our advantage. If we are careful to avoid the skirmishing, it may yet be possible to reach the Griffin… and if we can do that…”
“The Immortal Flames shall prepare a feint to cover your passage.” Pipin turned to Hilda. “Lady Hilda – might I ask that you have an airship ready to bear the Scions to safety?”
Hilda snorted. “Ha! I don’t know who this Lady Hilda is, Marshal, but you can count on me.”
“We must prepare for Imperial reprisals,” R’ashaht said, signalling her subordinates. “May the Navigator guide us through the storm!”
The Scions hurried down the hill. “I shall make straightways for the tunnels, and attempt to intercept our comrades ere they stumble into a bloodbath,” Alphinaud said.
“You’ll never make it fast enough,” Tam said. “I’ll go with you.”
“Do you need a defender? A healer?” Achiyo asked.
“No, we’ll be fine with me guiding,” Tam said. “I assume you’ll be stopping the Griffin? He’s probably in the middle of the fighting.”
“Isn’t this going to reinforce the deception even more?” Vivienne said. “The Warriors of Light, attacking from the Eorzean side to meet up with Grand Company colours from the Ala Mhigan side.”
“It can’t be helped,” Alphinaud said. “Make the Griffin see reason – by any means necessary.”
“With pleasure,” Vivienne said, and looked at Achiyo.
Achiyo drew her sword and shield. “Come. We must be as quick as we can. Fortune go with you, Alphinaud, Tam.”
The Garleans on the Eorzean side of the wall were ready for attack, but they still seemed surprised to see such a small group charging them head-on. Pipin’s distraction must have been working. It only took a few minutes of heated swordwork to grant them access to the towering Wall itself, and inside the defences seemed largely automated – there were a great many robots, both large and small. True, some of them were new models that Achiyo had never seen before, that had fearsome new weapons. But they fell before the seven Warriors anyway.
At last they made it to the top of the Wall, and looked about for their bearings. “That way, probably,” Kekeniro said. “There’s a large concentration of conflicted aether there.”
“An’ all that’s where all the fire is,” Chuchupa said.
Approaching the highest point of the Wall, they met folk in Grand Company uniforms. “Where is the Griffin?” Achiyo called to them. “We wish to speak with him.”
“Go no further!” cried a Hyuran man in a Maelstrom coat. “You’ll not spoil our moment of glory!”
“The Griffin has spoken – kill them all!” snarled a Miqo’te woman in a Serpent jacket.
Achiyo had not been expecting that, and was a little slow to react – but Vivienne moved to protect her from their lances. “We’re the Warriors of Light. You won’t even slow us down! Pull back if you want to live!”
But they did not pull back. What was this, this waste of life, when they might have had a common enemy!? Achiyo felt her heart begin to ache with grieved frustration.
The way ahead was clear, but for the bodies of those who tried to stop them. They came to a landing platform for airships. There the Griffin stood, alone, watching the chaos below. “Griffin!” cried Achiyo. “Why do you do this?”
He turned, looked at them for a moment, then removed his mask and pushed back his hood.
It was Ilberd. She gasped. He smirked at her surprise, then drew his sword. “I’ll give you a glorious end, Warrior of Light! Come! See what awaits you at the far edge of fate!”
“It’s seven on one, buddy!” Chuchupa yelled, but Achiyo put out her hand to stop her.
“Let me deal with him,” she said. “Ilberd! If ever you once had a shred of that honour you claimed to have, listen to me!” She still felt a personal grudge against him. Yet she would show him her honour and fight him one-on-one. Simply because he was faithless did not mean she had to abandon her own principles.
“Get him, Achiyo!” Rinala called. “He hurt Raubahn!”
Ilberd spat as they slowly circled each other, watching for holes in each other’s defences. “Raubahn is a traitor. He would waste away his days, his power, his strength in service to a child!”
“Raubahn is loyal to those who are loyal to him,” Achiyo said. “As am I. You told me that I was being used; that none cared about us beyond our usefulness. You asked me what I had ever risked for my own nation, what conviction drove me.” She lunged, but he slipped aside, and she withdrew before he could knock her off balance.
“It seems my words hit home if you’ve considered them all this time,” Ilberd said, counter-attacking towards her head. His blade grazed her helm and she winced at the sound. “Sloppy!”
“Not really,” Achiyo said truthfully. She had pondered them for several days before events had driven them from her mind. But seeing him again had brought it all rushing back. “I have found my answers, and I think I know why you asked.” The Fortemps family, Aymeric, none of them had ever assumed or expected her cooperation, and when she gave it to them anyway, they gave her back pride, hope, life. Ilberd wouldn’t care, though.
Their swords and armour glinted red in the firelight. There was still a cacophony of battle below them. Every moment wasted in fighting here was another moment in which the Resistance was not retreating. She struck to disarm, but he was too canny for such moves, and flames flickered from his sword, reminding her of when she had fought Raubahn.
“I think you have been defeated a long time ago,” she said slowly, concentrating on the duel as well as the thoughts that had floated, half-formed in her mind, for some time. “You were defeated when you lost your hope. When you decided that the only way to fight was your way. When you decided there was no point in honour.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” he growled. That had pierced his skin in a way that simple defiance would not, and his strikes became faster, heavier. “You know nothing about me, or Ala Mhigo, or anything! Ignorant Hingan girl!”
“Then why do you think Raubahn is a traitor for walking the road in front of him?” A river and a canal both reached the sea, though they took different paths. “Why do you feel you must ‘trick’ us into this fight? You say you are tired of inaction-”
“Tired does not begin to describe it!” he shouted. “I am sick, I am weary, I am enraged at how you all abandon Ala Mhigo to her fate! You would never join me if I asked, and I’ll not humiliate myself to beg again! Enough! Let’s see you squirm out of this!” He flung out his off-hand and she was tangled in aetherial chains once again.
“Nah, that ain’t on!” Chuchupa called, and bounded up to sever the chain with her axe. “Ye fight fair as Princess wants, or not at all!” Ilberd growled, but Chuchupa retreated with an exaggerated bow to Achiyo.
Achiyo fell free and panted for breath. “You know nothing of me, either. I am sorry you have destroyed yourself for the land you love, but your despair has driven you too far. You have placed yourself against me for no reason, and if I will not be used by nations, I will certainly not be used by you!”
He roared. “I will not be denied by a naive girl! For Ala Mhigo!” The flames on his sword blazed more brightly than ever, blinding in the darkness, difficult to predict where it would strike next. He hammered against her defences, driving her backwards across the landing platform. She was fully immersed in the battle, every onze of her focus on parrying and deflecting his blows, angling her shield anew every moment, her tail flicking to balance her. Her steps were light as she backed away from his heavy tread, her breath hissing in her ears. If this went on forever, she would lose.
But he could not attack perfectly forever, and she saw her chance, her heart leaping in triumph. She struck out at his chest, his hands. He was thrown off-balance from her sudden onslaught and she struck his flaming blade from his grasp. Her shield drove into him and he stumbled to his knees. Before he could reach and snatch up his sword again, she kicked it behind her. Then her sword was at his throat. “Yield. Or I shall be forced to slay you.”
He grinned up at her from his knees. “You’ve beaten me, aye… But you cannot stop what I’ve begun. Behold – a glimpse of things to come!”
He gestured to the courtyard beyond the wall, and she glanced towards it, listening to the cheers of his soldiers as they gathered there. “We did it! We showed the bastards!”
“Aye! Victory is ours!”
“And who knows, lads? Mayhap the Eorzeans’ll finally see sense… when the enemy forms up on their bloody doorstep!”
There came a… quavering shout from the Imperials on the far side of the Wall. “Vanguards! Attack!”
Horrible great spider-like machines sprang and bounded and scampered forward into the courtyard, green lights gleaming in their heads. The Resistance fighters were trapped, screaming as their victory turned to death in an instant. “War machines… How did they get here so quickly!?”
“S-stand your ground! For the Resistance!”
“We must go to them!” Achiyo cried, taking an involuntary step towards the edge.
Aentfryn grabbed her arm before she did something truly foolish. “No – there’s no way to get down there safely in time!”
All they could do was listen to the screams as the Resistance was crushed, burned, zapped, impaled. They ran, futilely, seeking anywhere to escape the horrific death that was upon them, no organization or leadership among them. There had been several hundred of them – there was maybe half that already, and the survivors were dropping quickly.
Ilberd was watching it all impassively, as if he had expected it. Achiyo turned on him. “You brought them here! ‘A glimpse of things to come’!? They believed in you! Why? Why!?”
Papalymo, Yda, Alphinaud, and Tam came running up to the platform. “There you are!” cried Papalymo.
“Lady Yugiri is sending for the airship even as we speak,” Alphinaud panted.
“What do we do?” wailed Yda. “This is a massacre!”
Ilberd laughed, low and triumphant. “How wonderful to see you… Commander.”
“Ilberd!” Alphinaud growled. “I should have known.” He ran forward, reaching out earnestly to Ilberd. “This has to end! It has to end now! Do you not see your countrymen dying? Have your ideals rendered you blind even to that!? Order the retreat, and we will help your soldiers to safety!” What few remained. The screams were growing farther apart.
Ilberd smiled and got to his feet. “Retreat? With the moment of my triumph so close at hand? You truly are a sheltered child, Leveilleur.” He reached into his pack and drew out… the Eyes of Nidhogg, locked in unmelting ice, brimming with aether so powerful even Achiyo could sense it.
“Nidhogg’s eyes!” Alphinaud cried. “No abyss is too deep for you, I see. But trust me when I say that such power was not meant for mortal hands!”
Ilberd bared his teeth fiercely. “How long have I struggled to reach this point! My countrymen so inured to the taste of defeat, they no longer balk at its bitterness. Shouting my throat raw with rallying cries, only to be greeted with dull eyes and blank faces! My ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ in Ul’dah have surrendered to their apathy and their appetites. Were it not for the glint of Lolorito’s coin, I doubt even those here now would have answered my call! ‘Take back our homeland! Free Ala Mhigo!’ Hah! They’ll happily mouth the words, but they won’t spill the blood!”
“You cannot make that choice for-” Achiyo began, but Ilberd kept going.
“You say no mortal should wield these eyes? Then I shall gladly become a demon! I will suckle on the souls of the hopeless, and liberate the homeland they no longer deserve!”
“What exactly do you mean to do…?” Alphinaud asked in utter horror.
“Did you hear their cries as victory was snatched away from them? Even with their dying breaths they cursed the Empire! Never has their desire for vengeance been so raw, so true! A god has no need of faith when summoned by so pure a purpose!”
“Summoned?” whispered Papalymo.
“You cannot mean to fight the Empire with a primal!” Alphinaud cried. “You know full well the danger – the futility of relying on such power!”
“Oh, yes, I know their limitations,” said Ilberd. “Which is why I will call upon a deity more terrible than the very black wyrm of the Calamity itself!” He raised his hands and the ice evaporated in an instant as the Eyes began to glow, scarlet and malevolent.
“No!” Achiyo cried, and raised her sword, fear in her stomach.
“Like hells you will!” said Yda, and together the two women ran forward.
But Ilberd slipped past both of them, Yda’s punch and Achiyo’s stab, and he jumped away to a narrow ledge they could not easily follow. “An ending to mark a new beginning!” he shouted to the heavens. “My pain! My longing! You shall have it all!” And he let himself fall. Achiyo flinched as he struck the ground and blood splashed.
For a long moment, all was still but for the crackling fires and the twitching of the mechs below. Achiyo could feel her heartbeat in her throat, hard and rapid.
Aether swirled below, drawing together – and erupted into a beam spewing into the sky, gathering into a huge sphere.
“This light, it…” Alphinaud began.
“His death completed the ritual,” Papalymo said grimly. “The primal is taking shape.”
“Well, can’t we stop it?” Yda screamed. “There must be something we can do!”
“There’s no way to stop it without cutting off the aether, and the aether is already there,” Kekeniro said.
Papalymo shook his head. “There is… one thing.” He squared his shoulders and walked to the edge of the platform.
“What? Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” Yda said.
“Master Louisoix briefly contained Bahamut by means of a potent spell of sealing. I will now attempt to do the same,” Papalymo said.
“But that’s impossible!” Alphinaud said. “We would need hours to collect the necessary aether, i-if not days!”
“We have a way,” Kekeniro said, and reached out his hand to Achiyo. What was he asking…? Suddenly she remembered. Tupsimati. She gave it to him and he brought it to Papalymo. “But… Papalymo… this is…”
“Ah, Alphinaud… Though I concede it may not always be apparent, I was ever your grandsire’s finest pupil,” Papalymo said, and brandished the staff. “This is my choice, young Kekeniro. I would we could have continued our collaborations. But you may someday surpass both me and Louisoix.”
“Tupsimati, of course!” Alphinaud said. “The staff still holds enormous power, broken or not.”
“Don’t you dare, Papalymo!” Yda shouted. “I know how that spell works!”
An airship came zooming in, touching down at the edge of the landing platform. Yugiri waved urgently. “Come, it is time to leave!”
“Quite right!” Papalymo said. “Quickly, now! Off you go! The further away the better!”
“No!” Yda said. “If you’re staying, then so am I!”
“No, Yda!” Papalymo said, turning to face her, to look her in the eyes. “There is a path only you can walk, and it must not end here – not like this!”
Yda stared at him, speechless.
“Take her!” Papalymo called to the others. “Please, you have to take her!”
Tam nodded and scooped her up. She struggled and fought, punching and kicking wildly. “Wha- No! Damn it, Tam! Put me down! Tam!”
“This is one battle you cannot fight,” Papalymo said to Achiyo. “Away with you! Go!”
“…Farewell,” she said, for surely it was a farewell, the way he was acting. She could not think of what else to say, so she ran for the airship with the others.
They flew away, watching anxious at the airship’s rail, as Papalymo raised the broken staff. A huge jagged dagger of light materialized over him, and another, and another. The dozen or so blades of light surrounded the shining cloud of aether and stabbed into it, and a perfect sphere coalesced around it and locked into place. It looked like a little Dalamud, hanging a few hundred yalms over Baelsar’s Wall, glowing softly and ominously as the airship fled in the dim morning light.
I feel like Papalymo gets half his character development in this patch, right when they kill him off. Unfortunate.