It’s All In The Name

((This story is about Aatrix Makar, Selene’s former husband.  They were divorced for about 7 years before Dalamud struck.  This story takes place about 3 years after the Calamity.))

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“FUCK!”

The wineglass crashed into the wall as a sheaf of papers slid to the floor. Aatrix slammed a fist down onto the table. There wasn’t anything left to see. The trail was cold.

Pippin sighed, busying himself cleaning up the shards of the broken wineglass, damping at the hardwood floors with a cloth just in case. Aatrix had already emptied it out, but it never hurt to be careful. These floors were hard enough to keep clean.
Aatrix slumped violently into his plush chair, pushing his glasses up his nose. His hair had long since broken free of its ponytail, strands shooting off into the air. He tapped his temple, staring at the map pinned to the wall of the study.

Pippin had started referring to this place as the “Hunt Room”. It was not a term he used with endearment. In fact he almost spat it out every time he had to say it. Aatrix didn’t seem to mind. Deep down he felt that it was appropriate, but he would never admit it.

The Hunt Room was a place in the house that served one purpose, and it was laid out with that in mind. The specially constructed room was shaped like a pentagon. Two meeting walls on the opposite sides of the door were dedicated to two giant maps each; one of La Noscea, and the other of the mainland. One wall was from before the Calamity, and the wall on the right was Eorzea as it was today. The chair Aatrix currently occupied was situated in the very center of the room, facing the maps. He grumbled under his breath as Pippin stood at attention, draping the rag over his shoulder as he resumed his post next to his Master.

Aatrix focused hard on his maps, but he knew that there was nothing more that he could glean from them. Color-coded pins were punctured into various locations on the maps. Large red circles encompassed key areas. Notes were everywhere. Little flags marking spots of interest. The map on the left was chock full of data. The map on the right was mostly bare.

“It’s cold, Pippin,” Aatrix grumbled. “I’ve been staring at this for days.”

“Indeed, sir, against my better judgment,” the lalafell quipped. He adjusted the cuff of his monkey suit. “I’m sure that there are much better uses of your valuable time.”

“Where could she be…” said Aatrix as he ran his fingers through his hair, staring at the map.

Aatrix was searching for a woman. The Hunt was for a person. A woman from Aatrix’s past that had slipped through his fingers. He had always made it a point to never lose track of anyone, or at least make sure that he had that information close at hand for when he needed it. But this person had somehow fallen through the cracks. Disappeared into the aether for all he knew. She was gone.

Once, a long time ago, she had been his wife. For only a year, they had been happy. Or so he thought. Then it was over. She was gone. It became a blur after that. His political career was on the upswing while his personal life fell apart. He remembered singing some paperwork, even offering up some unheard of terms, but he had been in a daze.

He hadn’t lost her then though. He’d followed her. Kept tabs on her. Had a man following her. His maps were marked with all that data. Places she’d lived and worked. There were drawers filled with dossiers on some of the people she’d interacted with. Even her safehouses, the locations that she had stored emergency supplies to use to disappear into the wilderness, had been marked and mapped. Every little bit of data he could collect had been compiled and pored over. It had started with him wanting to make sure she stayed out of trouble; had everything she needed. But then it started to become an obsession.

And somehow she was still gone.

Aatrix had been hunting her for five years. Her trail went cold right up to the Battle of Cartenau. She’d gone to the battle, and then nothing. The official Twin Adders records indicated that she was dead; listed as a casualty. But Aatrix couldn’t accept that.

It was the return of the Warriors of light that had tipped Aatrix off. He had forgotten all about his search after the Calamity. She was dead and gone; out of sight out of mind. But when reports reached his desk of people reappearing as if out of nowhere something tickled in the back of his memory. A chance encounter with two such survivors on a fishing dock had cemented his resolve. He found himself wandering down the long, lonely corridors of his mansion, back towards the forgotten Hunt Room.

The collected dust was swept away and the search began anew.

Nothing had turned up though. She was still an enigma. Pippin was sure that she was a charred corpse, but Aatrix refused to concede. His search had started by trying to dig up her old contacts. Her old haunts. Many of them had died or disappeared in the intervening years, most all of them had disappeared. The trail was dead and cold.

Aatrix could hear Pippin talking to someone over a pearl at his side. He wasn’t paying attention though. He was zeroed in on his maps, looking for any connection at all.

“Sir,” the Lalafell piped in after a moment, jarring Aatrix from his thoughts. “It is… that seamstress woman from over a moon ago. She is wondering if you have any need of any garments that she might be able to provide.” He rolls his eyes. “Some rubbish about client satisfaction, I believe. Business must be slow at the Sunsilks.”

Aatrix sat up, slicking back his hair. “It’s her…” he mumbled. “That woman, the seamstress. The one that changed her name.” He’d made the connection later, after an informant had brought him a drawing of her. The images matched up perfectly. It was hard to hide a tattoo like that. He didn’t know why he hadn’t recognized her that evening on the docks. It was her… the former employer. She’d disappeared into the deserts of Thanalan after taking his order, and once he’d made the connection she had slipped through his fingers.

But she’d walked right back in.

“Tell her I don’t need any more clothing,” he said, leaning back into his chair with a grin and brushing a gray hair behind his pointy ear. “I have enough to last me til the next age.”

“With pleasure, sir.”

“But arrange a meeting for me. As soon as possible. Do whatever it takes.”

“With displeasure, sir.”

Runaway: Chapter 1: Desert: Part 7

Selene snapped her arm back quickly.  There was a small splash of water, but the crab didn’t seem to notice.  If it did, it wasn’t moving.  Maybe it was dead.  She couldn’t tell if it was breathing or not.  She looked around in the darkness, trying to find that small point of blue light she had seen earlier.  She needed to get out of here, and fast.  She was breathing heavily, panicking slightly.  This was not the place she wanted to be.

She started moving, making the smallest motions possible.  Her arms held up above the surface of the water, feet tired and sore stepping along underneath.  The cave was silent, the water mostly still, the faint blue light the only beacon she had.  She kept her eyes trained on the light, listening behind her to see if the crab stirred

An eternity seemed to pass.  The light grew slowly closer as she inched her way through the water.  Off in the distance she could hear water dripping from some unseen stalactite, plinking into the perfect stillness of the water, the sound echoing throughout the cave.

*plink*

*plink*

*plink*

Selene took another step forward.  The sandy ground beneath her most recent foothold shifted slightly, pulling her down slightly into the water.  The sudden shock of falling in the total stillness made her let out an involuntary shout in the dark.  She caught herself, not falling into the water.  But the damage was done.  She clamped a wet glove over her mouth, silently screaming inside.

There was a roar, and a churning of water.  Selene glanced over her shoulder as she heard the chattering of claws and mandibles.  The megalocrab was rising from its rest, disturbed by Selene’s shouting.  She could see its form against the blackness, lit ever so faintly by the blue light she was trying to desperately to escape towards.

The jig was up.  The water churned around the base of the crab as it turned to locate the source of the scream.  Abandoning all sense of stealth, Selene started running as fast as the waist-high water would allow.  The crab locked in on her position, letting out a shrill, ear-piercing screech that echoed off the walls of the cave.  Selene didn’t look back.  She focused on moving her exhausted body as fast as it could go.  The crab was having just as much trouble as she was moving through water this high, and this was its natural habitat.

As Selene sprinted towards the light, she could tell that it was coming from behind a wall.  The cave took a twist up ahead, and something blue was emanating from behind it.  Selene didn’t even know if she was heading the right way to find the exit; she was putting all of her hope on this – the only thing she could see.  She could hear the crab behind her, but with all the echoing in the chamber she couldn’t tell if it was gaining or not.

Selene rounded the corner of the cave, desperate to uncover the source of the light.  It was brighter than she anticipated, the blue glow growing hot white at its source to her light-starved eyes.  She groaned, unable to see in the sudden brilliance, shielding her eyes with a glove as she continued to press forward through the water.  She tried to open one eye, peering out from under her guarding arm as she ran, trying to get her bearings.  The light was coming from flowers, large aquamarine orbs of light.  Her eyes started to water, looking around the room.  She tried to look around, see if this chamber had any branching paths, but the light was so overpowering she couldn’t see around.

She could feel the water level lowering as she moved forward.  The ground must be sloping upward.  She could move faster, but she still couldn’t see two feet in front of her in order to get her bearings.  She wandered over to a cluster of the glowing lights, ducking down in the middle of them, remaining perfectly still.

They were plants.  As her vision slowly began to return and sharpen, she could tell that she was sitting in some foliage.  The orbs were some kind of luminescent flower that she’d never seen before.  She bent one slightly, trying to hide her shape in the light.  Her eyes were watering, and her heart was racing.  She was listening closely for the crab.  The splashing lessened, she could hear its mandibles clicking as it searched for her.  She continued to look around the room, searching in earnest for a way out or.

There was a screeching noise at the crab rounded the corner to the glowing room.  Its’ light-sensitive eyes were in revolt.  It shied away, ducking slightly back into the darkness of the cave.  It still wanted to chase her, she could tell, but it was now hesitant.  Selene squinted through the light to see her assailant for the first time.

It had been nighttime when the megalocrab first attacked her in the Thanalan sands.  She had only seen it illuminated for a split-second  in the lightning before the two of them had been flushed into the caverns by the flash flood, and it was pitch black down here in the caves.  Now here, in the glow, she could see it.

It was massive; larger than any she had ever seen before.  It was old, scarred by battles with who knows what kind of assailants.  She counted a few distinct kinds of wounds.  Axe wounds, marks that looked like it had been attacked by other crabs.  Small puncture wound that looked as though it had been shot by arrows or stabbed.  This crab had been through seven hells and back.  One of its eyes was dead, white and opaque.  She watched the crab as it hesitantly walked into the glowing room.  Selene was perfectly hidden.

Selene had been in plenty of encounters with megalocrabs in La Noscea’s outskirts to know how they fought.  Their primitive eyes could only see changes in light and dark, and they were sensitive to sound.  Crouching here like this, surrounded on all sides by light-emitting orbs, she was literally invisible to the massive crab.  She took the opportunity to look around her.

Selene scanned the walls, her eyes finally adjusted to the bright lights.  The room she was in was a dead end.  The only path was back the way she came, into the water.  The megalocrab was now in the center of the circular alcove, turning around in the middle to try and find her.  There was nowhere else she could be.

The crab turned around in its search, mandibles clicking.  As it rotated in place, a glint caught Selene’s eye.  Something shiny was stuck on the surface of the crab’s carapace, shining brightly in the light of the orbs.  Selene squinted, trying to peer through the glare to see what it was.

It was an old sword; a straight blade wedged into the hard surface of the crab’s shell.  Its design was strange; perfectly straight with almost no hilt to speak of.  A rotting strip of leather was wrapped around the handle, barely hanging on by a thread.  It was obviously sharp enough to pierce… and stick.  Selene took a deep breath.

The crab clicked its mandibles angrily.  It turned sharply, obviously frustrated that its prey had escaped.  It turned away from Selene, gnashing its claws.  She steeled her nerves, fighting back all of her mental urges to stay put.  True, she was safe where she was, for the moment, but it was a dead end.  There was no way to sneak out now that the crab was in here, and even if it backtracked down the tunnel there’s no way she’d be able to sneak past it.

Selene moved her hands as slowly as she could, moving them up towards one of the glowing plants.  She slowly twisted the orb around on its stem until it snapped of silently.  To her surprise, it stayed lit.  She held it back behind her, primed and ready to throw.

Selene took a deep break.

It was now or never.

Selene snapped like a taught bowstring, sprinting from her hiding place and running towards the crab.  It turns to face her, screeching as it gnashed its claws.  Selene chucked the glowing orb in her hand, throwing it over the crab’s head.  It turned, following the source of the motion with a screech.  Mustering up all the strength her sore legs still had in them, Selene launched herself onto the crab’s back.  It skittered after the orb, so excited that it might have found its target that it was completely ignoring the woman on its back.  Selene clung on for dear life, climbing forward hand over hand towards the embedded sword.

The crab reached the orb, lurching forward and stabbing at its target with a giant claw.  It pulled back, stabbing repeatedly in a frenzy of rage.  Selene stretched out, fingertips finally reaching the sword.  Pulling herself forward, she braced her feet against the shell and ripped the sword out of the crab’s back.  It squealed in pain, turning in place, searching for the source of its pain.  It couldn’t see Selene, sitting atop it and trying to maintain her balance.  She gripped the sword wound, using it as a handhold to stay atop.  The crab was suddenly aware of her, bucking wildly to get her off.  It tried to reach up and grab her in its pincers, but Selene was just out of range.

The crab went into desperation mode.  It scuttled as fast as it could towards the nearest cave wall, trampling glowing plants beneath its feet.  It slammed into the wall, the sudden jerking motion sending a shudder through Selene’s bones.  She maintained her grip, trying not to fall off.  The crab repeatedly smashed its side against the wall trying to dislodge her.  Selene stood up on the balls of her feet and then launched herself into the air, landing awkwardly on the ground in front of the crab.

She scrambled back onto her feet as the crab turned to face her, gnashing its claws wildly in the air in frustration that its prey could evade it for so long.  Selene jumped up, slamming the sword into the crab’s last good eye, feeling a satisfying squish as the old blade pierced the juicy organ.  She ripped it out violently, trying to lock herself into a defensive position.  Juices sprayed from the crab’s eye as it flailed about wildly, no completely blind.  It staggered as it tried to walk, unable to locate Selene.  Its behavior erratic, Selene readied her sword and ran forward, lunging and thrusting her blade into the crabs screeching mouth, stabbing the soft flesh.  She twisted the blade and tore it out, blood flying into the air.  She ducked under a wild incoming claw, then struck the crab again with the blade, aiming for the soft roof of its mouth, aiming for the brain.

Selene let go of the hilt, falling down to the ground in exhaustion and scooted out of the way, just in time to avoid a crab claw lunging into the ground where she had been standing.  She back away, the crab physically incapable of following her.  Its legs buckled and one side fell into the dirt.  It tried to scream, but the sword stuck in its throat reduced it to a pathetic gurgle.  Blood spattered out onto the floor as the crab gave a final wheezing lurch towards her before collapsing.

Dead.

Selene’s chest was heaving with exertion and panic.  Sweat beaded on her forehead as her muscles stiffened back up.  The adrenaline flooded from her body as she collapsed back against the ground, closing her eyes.  Her breathing slowly returned to normal and she slowly sat back up, fighting back the aches in her body.  She pushed herself to her feet, crawling to the corpse of the dead megalocrab.  She planted a foot on its old dead eye and reached a gloved hand down to the old blade.  She grasped it by the hilt and slowly pulled it out of the crab’s brain with a sickening pop.  She gave the crab one last look, and limped out of the cavern.

 

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End of Chapter I

THE BEGINNING OF THE END AND AFTER – PART 2

Selene never made it to Merlwyb’s force. The blood-soaked paladin stumbled forward, choking back worry. Bodies swirled on all sides, some advancing and some making slight retreats to regroup before rushing back towards the main battle. Selene sheathed her sword, still coated in blood, and removed a metal gauntlet. She stopped advancing, reaching into one of her side pouches and bringing out a cloth to wipe the blood of her foes from her brow and eyes. The rag came away soaked, and Selene cringed as she tossed it to the ground. It would never be of use to her again. She looked up as she slid her fingers back into the gauntlet, watching as Dalamud slowly advanced, crackling and spinning with menace.

“So this is how I die,” she thought. Her world was falling apart around her. Aysun was… she was most likely dead. She knew Blade was here somewhere, probably trying to rally whatever forces he could. Vaelyn was probably trying to be the valiant hero somewhere, monologuing to whatever foe he was fighting about things being right and just. She was glad that Eva had kept the good sense to flee to safety in her homeland. Her babies deserved a chance to live. Nel and the others were safe wherever that island was, that was good. She wondered what her parents had done. She had no idea where they were. She prayed that they had the sense to flee somewhere. She wasn’t worried about Aatrix either. He was-

She shook her head violently. Why was she thinking about that bastard at this time? He’d probably try to /buy/ Dalamud before he’d think of running. But she was sure he was safe, unfortunately. He wasn’t a fool.

Suddenly, something strong pushed her to the ground. She fell to her knees, looking up to see what had shaken her from her thoughts. A large Roegadyn leading a column of troops towards the front shouted down at her.

“Oi! Watch yer arse, ye damn fool!” he spat as he marched past her. “You’ll end up dead if you keep staring up at the sky!” He points at a few other people marching in the column. “You lot, pick her arse up and bring her with. We’re making this charge as soon as we reach the line!” Two elezen broke formation to walk towards her, reaching their gangly arms down to lift her to her feet. Selene swatted their hands away with a metal glove. “I can stand just fine,” she snapped as she got back on her feet.

She was suckered into this new charge now, she thought. Not that it mattered. She wasn’t aligned with any one particular company or squad; she would just fight forward until everything in front of her was dead, or she went first. Strength in numbers was never an unwelcome thing though, and having a small band to fight with would improve her chances of survival. The column picked up speed as it marched, staying well behind the front line and moving parallel to it. There was no real formation to be seen, as people constantly had to break ranks in order to maneuver around corpses or craters left by explosions. Selene marveled in awe at the dead husk of an Imperial Magitek armor suit, its legs melted away by some powerful magic spell. The driver was slumped atop, an arrow piercing his throat and his mouth contorted in agony.

“We’re all the same,” Selene thought to herself as they marched past piles of the dead. “Under our respective banners, under our helmets, we’re not so different; Just the pawns of leaders that can’t seem to agree.” She was once again pulled from her thoughts by her newfound Roegadyn squad leader.

“Alright, ye daring basterds!” he shouted, turning around to face the assembled troops. The moment was haunting, as they stood there standing in the dirt while explosions wracked the earth nearby and plumes of fire and smoke rose up from behind the main line. “There’s a battalion entrenched on the other side of the line, and they’re raisin’ hell over here for us. It’s the only place where they can bombard some of our key locations, but the positionin’s bad for them!” he shouted, grinning. “They’re right up against a cliff! An’ we’re gon’ DRIVE THEM OFF THE TWELVESDAMN FACE OF IT!”

“So this is how I die,” she thought. In a medium-sized handful of troops foolish enough to try and rush a key Garlean strategic position. There was no doubt already a large amount of fighting going on there. The Eorzean Alliance would be foolish to not try and take out a stronghold like that as soon as possible. Now Selene had found herself in the middle of a spearhead group, running on a suicide mission into the heart of the storm.

The column cheered, pumping their fists and weapons into the air. The Captain continued his motivational speech, spewing hate and venom. In the heat of the moment, the soldiers around her began to whip up into a fervor, but Selene tuned it out. She wanted to keep a clear head. The crowd mentality wouldn’t help that. The Captain raised his axe, and lowered it with a roar. The column began its charge, pushing through the front as they rushed the Garlean battalion.

As soon as they breached the front, people began dropping. Arrows, errant sword swipes; Selene was nearly crushed when a roegadyn in front of her in the column was struck in his neck and fell backwards into her. She dodged quickly, and started pushing her way to the center of the column. The more bodies between her and the entire Garlean empire, the better. She risked a glance behind at the front line, and her mouth dropped open.

Their psychotic push through the front had broken the Garlean line, and a swarm of soldiers from the Eorzean alliance was pushing forward behind them. They had been a rallying point, a beacon, and others were now following suit. Selene stayed tight in the middle of the advancing force, wincing every time someone along the edge of their line was cut down.

They hit the enemy artillery camp like a blacksmith beats his anvil. The Garlean force consisted of several Magitech ride armors, several archer bands, and a meager defensive unit. The spearhead had positioned most of their shields at the front of the column, and they pushed in hard and quick while the heavy hitters behind quickly made short work of the Garlean footsoldiers. A black mage in the column quickly launched several powerful spells into one of the Magitech suits, immobilizing it in seconds; the metal twisting and melting in the intense magical heat. Selene readied her shield as they pushed forward.

The Garlean force was caught off guard. They didn’t realize that the front line had been breached, and the spearhead was charging with such ferocious speed that it was almost too late. The magitech machines were of little use at such close range. Their firepower was too intense to fire behind the main line; there would be too many casualties. They couldn’t flee either, since they had set up with their backs to the edge of a gorge. They were sitting ducks, and the Eorzean archers knew it, concentrating their fire on killing the magitech pilots.

The Garlean archer columns were a different story. Selene watched them over the top of her shield. They panicked for a moment, but quickly made the spearhead their main target. As she saw them re-train their arrows on her position, she dropped to her knee, slamming her tower shield into the earth like a wall. Arrows pinged off the surface of it as they fired. The spearhead began to crumble slightly, its focus now divided between the three targets in the encampment. All they had was the element of surprise, and that was slowly crumbling as the Garlean force regrouped.

“So this is how I die,” she thought. Selene hunkered down, not moving, and unsure of where to proceed. Arrows pinged off her shield as she looked around, trying to decide on a course of action. As she deliberated, a Garlean warrior landed on the ground next to her, screaming in pain. An arrow was lodged in his knee, under an armored plate. He was too fixated on his wound to notice Selene, sitting there and watching him wide eyed. She stared at him for a few moments, then reached to her side and drew her knife. She turned it in her hand a few times, pondering as he remained oblivious to her. A quick flick of the wrist and he was dead, throat cut and bleeding out onto the dirt. She pulled the body close as the last of his lifeblood drained out, propping it up to use as a human shield. And then she waited.

 

 

The Garlean front line was broken. The spearhead had done its job in rallying their troops, and they quickly laid waste to the Garlean forces. Selene could hear their cheers behind her, staying put even as the sounds of arrows deflecting off of her shield began to fade away. Maybe the Garleans had forgotten that she was there, but moving to try and check now was still suicide. One woman against a whole column of archers? Not a chance. She looked up at Dalamud, still hovering in the sky. If there was even the smallest chance that she wouldn’t get crushed to death, she didn’t want to risk throwing it all away in this foolish battle.

She felt the rumble first, before the heard the roar. The ground beneath her began to shake, and she looked around behind her makeshift wall to identify the source. Her eyes widened and her lips broke into a smile; there was still hope. The Eorzean line had regrouped, and was making its charge on the battalion. The spearhead was scattered and dead, but it had done its job. The magitek armor was all but destroyed, the shields they had to protect the encampment had been the first to go. All that remained were perhaps four score of archers, the ones that Selene was hiding from. One crippled magitech armor exploded, sending metal shards flying everywhere as a frontline mage finished him off.

Selene waited until the front line had passed her and she was back among the bulk of the Eorzean force. She stood slowly, discarding the dead Garlean onto the ground. She began to run with the charging force, her sword drawn but not at the ready. The archers stood little chance against their numbers, and within moments the entire Artillery position had been overrun. The Eorzean Alliance let out a collective cheer at their success, fists pumping into the air. Selene was nonplussed. She was about to sheathe her blade, but something caught her attention.

Off to the side, near the edge, a lone Garlean was holding on to the edge of the cliff. His nails were digging in to the lip, trying to haul himself back up to safety. Nobody among the Alliance seemed to notice him but Selene. She broke away from the main group, walking over to him slowly, her sword swinging idly at her side, stopping a few feet away from him.

He stopped his struggle, looking up at her with fear in his eyes. He tried to adjust his grip, his eyes locked on her blade. He looked back up at her, his eyes pleading with her.

“Please,” he begged. “Don’t kill me, please.” Selene stared down at him, her face blank as he blubbered. “Please, I can pay you,” he said, his nails digging into the dirt. “I… please, I don’t want to die, not here.”

Without warning, a massive explosion echoed about, sending shockwaves across the landscape. Selene staggered slightly, looking about to see where something of that magnitude could have come from. The Garlean’s grip faltered slightly, and he lost a few inches. His feat dangled wildly, trying to get back up on the lip to no avail. Selene looked up to where Dalamud hovered, and her mouth dropped open in fear.

Giant blue glowing stones appeared like knives along its burning surface, piercing and plummeting to the ground. Cracks of fire began to trace across the sphere, meteors and chunks of stone falling like fire down to the ground. The sky darkened, reddened, and the battle about her came to a halt as both sides looked as one towards the heavens.

The blue stone dislodged from the egg, plummeting through a haze of smoke down to the surface. Cloud plumes billowed forth as it collided, making Selene stagger again. She fell to her knees, dropping her sword. The Garlean soldier saw his opportunity, reaching out and grabbing her ankle and pulling her towards the edge. She screamed, managing to twist as she was dragged just in time to catch herself on the edge. The two of them hung there, dangling. Selene lashed out with her feet, trying to kick him down to his death.

“So this is how I die,” she thought: Hanging off the edge of a cliff in Cartenau Flats, waiting for gravity to inevitably take her life while a moon exploded above her like a volcano suspended in midair. She slipped a little bit, barely hanging on.

“Stupid bitch!” the Garlean laughed at her as he swung his legs about, trying to use his momentum to push himself back up onto the ledge. “You should have killed me when you had the chance!” One leg was up, and then the other soon followed. He stood up, victorious above her. Selene tried to climb, but couldn’t. There was nothing for it. This is how she would die. The Garlean crouched down in front of her, drawing a small knife from his pouch. He raised it above his head, ready to plunge it down on her head.

Selene let go.

 

RUNAWAY: CHAPTER 1: DESERT: PART 6

When Selene opened her eyes, she was positive that she was already dead. There was nothing to see, just infinite blackness. Her body was stiff and sore, but she found herself able to move. There was a buzzing in her ears, and her throat was stiff and scratchy. She tried to lift an arm in the darkness but met with resistance. She strained, felt something break free, and she fell over with the sudden loss of tension.

There was a splash as her hand jerked forward, breaking the surface of the water. Suddenly things started to come clear to Selene. She wasn’t dead, she wasn’t blind. She was underground, up to her chest in water. It was dark because there wasn’t any sunlight down here. She leaned back, her head resting against what felt like a rock wall. She took a deep breath, and thought.

It was a flash flood that had brought her down here. Deserts were strange like that; you could go weeks without a drop of rain, and then suddenly out of nowhere, torrents. Down in the gorge that she had found herself in, it was particularly deadly. She was surprised that she hadn’t broken any bones as she was swept through the winding maze of pillars and down whatever chaotic mountain tunnels had brought her to where she was now. She only hoped that she’d be able to find a way out. But she had no light, and no inkling of where she was.

She tried to move. She was sore, probably covered in bruises. She hadn’t broken anything, but she’d still been slammed around quite a bit in that downpour of water. She braced herself against the rock wall, slowly shifting herself upward and bringing her legs beneath her, pushing up and rising precariously to her feet. Most of her weight still pressed against the wall, she tried to let her legs readjust to bearing her weight. She listened to the soft plinking sounds of water dripping from her clothes, dripping into the water below. She needed to get out of here, and soon. Who knew how long she’d been sitting here soaking in water. No time but the present to get started. She tested the ground in front of her, then took a step. Her legs didn’t buckle, even though they did protest. She paused, taking a deep breath. She looked around, then squinted.

Off in the distance, in some far corner, things seemed a little brighter. Bluish, maybe green. Perhaps it was just her light-starved eyes playing tricks on her, but heading that direction seemed like the best bet. She took another deep breath and took another step out, her hand remaining against the rock wall as a guide. It wasn’t long before she fell flat forward onto her face once the wall wasn’t there anymore.

She came up for air quickly after she splashed into the water. She stood up again, reaching out in search of the wall, but there was nothing there. She flailed about a bit, trying to get her bearings before common sense took over and she stood stark still. She peered out carefully, pinpointing the faint bluish area she had been headed towards. Her position confirmed, she reached out again to where the wall had been. There was nothing there.

Realization dawned. There had never been a wall. Selene reached for her belt, only to find that her sword was missing; no doubt carried away in the downpour. She was unarmed, and worse yet she was beginning to think she wasn’t alone. She listened carefully, but heard nothing. She held her hand out to where the wall had been, then lowered it to the surface. There she found something, hard and tough.

“Not like a wall,” she thought to herself. “Like a carapace.”

Alone in the dark with a megalocrab, unarmed and without her eyes, Selene began to panic.

The Beginning of the End and After – Part 1

Selene looked up from the clear pool as she heard the rumbling of feet. The march was beginning… she could feel the trudging of thousands long before she could hear them. She taps Aysun gently on the knee, looking towards the mouth of the cave.

“The soldiers, Kitten,” she says. “Sounds like they’re starting.” Fireflies spritz around cave plants as the dull echoes of nature are disturbed by the oncoming war. Selene fidgets in her armor, suddenly uncomfortable in its steel trappoings. She doesn’t want to be here. She doesn’t want to die.

**

Aysun had been quiet for some time now. Lost in thought, so it seemed, but really, her mind was just blank at this point. When Selene tapped her knee, she looked up from where she’d been staring at the pool of water. Soldiers, adventurers.. they were both, as were most of the people walking by outside the cave. She may have even seen familiar faces among them, had she looked.

She stood and nodded to Selene’s words, leaving her satchel where she had been sitting. She wouldn’t need it anymore, after all, it would just be a burden here.

She was teetering on words. They had been failing her for awhile now, and it wasn’t surprising they were again. She could tell Selene that she didn’t have to be here, but she needed her to be. She could tell her she didn’t want to be here, but she had to be.. But those words didn’t come.

“Come on, we don’t want to fall behind,” she said as she headed to the mouth of the cave, beckoning Selene with a hand if she didn’t follow straight away. Watching the mass of people heading west to meet battle for a moment, she then looked back to Selene again, asking cautiously, “You alright?”

**

Selene nods, putting a hand on her knee to push herself to her feet. She rises slowly, but steadily. Every moment a little more of the fear fades away, to be replaced only by dull acceptance. “I’m fine,” she says, stretching her muscles and taking a few deep breaths. She kicks a small rock into the pool and turns to face the entrance, stepping towards Aysun. Her sabatons crunch the dirt beneath her feet as she looks out towards the advancing army.

She holds a moment of silence as she thinks. This is the end. There’s no turning back here. She is prepared to die, prepared to let Dalamud crush her to pieces even if she should somehow survive a thousand enemy swords. She doesn’t plan on falling to them. But a meteor from the heavens… there is little a shield can do against that.

The thought of the heavy shield slung across her back made her falter again. She still remembered the day that Eufrasi had given it to her, a gift for finally becoming a paladin. It had been too heavy for her to use effectively then, but she had pushed herself and pushed herself until it just felt like another appendage. Oh Twelve, just thinking of Eufrasi made her smile. A silly little period in her silly little life. Her thoughts turned to Blade then, and she pushed them out as she reached her hands up to her head. Some wounds were still too fresh.

Hands wrapped in gauntlets slowly undid the blue ribbon knotted into her short hair. She’d done her best to try and make her chop job look passable, but the results had been… well, not particularly impressive. She pulled the thin strip of cloth out, placing a hand on Aysun’s shoulder and turning her slightly to get a better look at her. She reached out and tied the ribbon into Aysun’s hair, quickly and deftly. She smiles, stepping back to admire her handiwork.

“There,” she says. “That should be better than any spell of protection.”

**

Aysun let the silence hang thick in the air after Selene’s response. For a moment she watched the spot where the pebble Selene had kicked landed in the pool. Her gaze was drawn back to Selene as she approached, and she forced a small smile.

‘Fine’ she had said. Yea, she was fine. As fine as Aysun herself no doubt, which meant she was likely on the verge of just letting the aether take her away from the cave, away from Mor Dhona and Dalamud. That would have been the smart thing to do. No sense being here, fighting a losing battle. Even if the battle was won, Dalamud was their end. Oh how she hated that particular spiral of thoughts.

Still, the forced smile remained as she looked back out of the cave entrance to those they’d be joining shortly. Did all of them know the fate they were to meet? Surely they would know. They were just brave, or devoted, or trapped, or maybe they were just misled..

She blinked, turning slightly at the pressure on her shoulder to look back to Selene again. Her smile wasn’t forced this time as she held still a moment and the ribbon settled on her shoulder, surprised. She nodded as Selene stepped back, though she promptly stepped forward in persuit to pull her into a hug briefly. It may not have been the time or the place for such a thing, but what other time was there?

“Thank you for.. for everything,” she said quietly, and she left it at that.

**

Selene embraces her as warmly as a woman whose hands are wrapped in steel can. She smiles and exhales happily, running a hand down her back reassuringly. “You too, Aysun… you too.” She pulls back, holding Aysun at arms length with a confident, motherly smile.

She doesn’t call her Kitten… no need for nicknames now. How many times had they embraced like this? Had a poignant talk? Shared a moment of confidence that they’d never shared with another? Selene had lost count… and now this was going to be their last one. The thought was enough to break her heart.

“Come on,” she half-whispers, more out of a desire not to cry than an inability to formulate words. “We don’t want to fall behind,” she says, mimicking what Aysun had just said. She slips her shield from her back and slides it over her arm, nodding at the young Miqo’te and making confident strides towards the mouth of the cave.

**

Aysun took a steadying breath and nodded to Selene. This was probably one of the reasons she had asked her to come fight with her in the first place. She was beyond needing “comfort” or some such at this point. No, now it was simply that Selene hid her fear well, and it was motivation for Aysun to hide her own too and push onward.

She followed without another word initially, reaching back for her bow and an arrow to nock. She dreaded the march west they were joining. But it likely wouldn’t be as far as she thought before they met the opposing force. Once out of the cave, she could not help but look up. It was hard to miss what she was looking at as she walked.

**

Selene didn’t look up. She knew full well what was up there; she’d been staring at it growing ever larger for moons. Looking up would be the worst decision in the world… she’d probably succumb right then and there. At the mouth of the cave they stopped as the force marched past. Picking a thin patch in the crowd, she motions to Aysun and slips in, matching the pace of the rest of the army quickly.

The march wasn’t fast. This many people trying to move in unison, people that had never marched together before, was almost impossible. All manner of people were assembled here; soldiers, adventurers, various standard bearers of the various companies. There had been no time to train, no time to practice as a cohesive unit. They were throwing everything they had at the enemy, and praying to the Twelve it did the trick. Selene stuck close to Aysun, her hand gripping the shield’s strap so tightly her hand was beginning to go numb. She glanced over at the Miqo’te every now and then, but tried not to let her gaze linger, and showed no emotion on her steeled face.

**

Aysun tore her gaze away from Dalamud, mostly because she had tripped over some uneven earth and stumbled. It was enough to draw her attention back to the present. She fell into step next to Selene quietly, wishing she could see over those infront of them. She was sure there were some Lalafell riding on shoulders up there, how unfair.

“I’ll have to fall back-” she said after some time, seeing a pillar of smoke a little ways ahead of them, “-When we meet them.” She motioned with her bow, as if to explain why they would need some distance between them. She looked to the taller Hyur woman momentarily before letting her gaze wander the terrain, attempting to figure out where she might go. She needed distance, but she needed to keep Selene in sight as well.

“Do you see anything ahead?” she questioned quietly.

There was an explosion further ahead then, a tremble that seemed to shake the ground. Then some distant cheers, though they quickly stopped as those making them were rushed by a wave of imperials.

**

Selene looks back at Aysun as she explains her tactical plans and nods. Of course she’d have to fall back… she was ranged. And naturally, Selene would be at the front. There wasn’t really any way for them to stick together efficiently in this fight. The very nature of their styles said so. But Selene would stay by Aysun’s side if she had to. She was here to protect HER, not to kill their foes. She could care less what happened to these other strangers.

“Do you see anything ahead?” Aysun asked. Selene didn’t need to stretch much to see over the heads of most of the assembled. There was nothing really to see but an endless sea of heads, bobbing and weaving without rhyme or reason. She glanced back down at Aysun and shook her head. “No, nothing at all.” She didn’t tell her that she could see the glow of fires in the evening sky, see embers flickering into the air not far away, see a hill far in the distance with enemy artillery encamped. They were close. There was not much left to march now.

She heard the cheers first. “Nock an arrow,” she says to the girl, her own hand inching towards the large sword at her side. She rested her palm on the pommel, not ready yet to draw it. She adjusted the grip of her shield, brushed a stray hair out of her eyes. The end was coming.

The cheers that were silenced were replaced by the roars of combat. Hundreds of men and women shouting their own personal shouts of self-encouragement, two opposing forces trying desperately to keep their morale up. Men at the front lines who knew they were as good as dead needed /something/ to justify their sacrifice. Both sides cheered for their families at home. Both sides cheered for their brothers in arms at their sides. Both sides cheered for the causes they believed in. Selene would not be cheering this day.

Then the explosions came. Mages launching powerful spells down into the fray. Garlean magitech unleashing the full brunt of their weapons. Gunblades discharging. The clang and clamor of metal on metal could start to be heard. Selene could see the forward lines starting to charge, making a wave back to where they were standing. She turned back to Aysun.

“We’re going to charge soon!” she shouts over the din of warfare. “Stay close to me! I’ll keep you safe! I promise!” she shouts, finally drawing her sword. It glints in the light of the fires, perfectly sharpened and shined.

**

Aysun seemed a little unnerved by Selene’s response of ‘nothing at all,’ one finger plucking at her bow string a couple times. Not that she didn’t believe her, she was just anxious by this point. Ready to fight, even if she wasn’t ready to die.

She tilted her head slightly at the cheers, glancing to Selene as they transitioned to something else entirely. War cries, pain and exertion, met her ears. Even more anxious now, she set the arrow she’d pulled previously in place properly, ‘nocking’ it as instructed. ‘Nothing at all’ huh.. now she didn’t believe her.

She heard the battle, it was closer now. She looked to Selene, alittle wide-eyed as she shouted to her, and nodded. No time to dispute, or figure out any real plan. The wave of movement had reached them and it was either run or be trampled from behind. Aysun didn’t yell like many of those around her as they rushed forward to push into the opposing force. She saw the juggernauts now, above the sea of fighting they were running towards, and that amongst other things took her breath away; she couldn’t have yelled if she wanted to.

As the two forces merged and mixed, the nameless, faceless man in front of her suddenly staggered and fell as a bullet hit him somewhere clearly critical. Instinctively she drew back her bowstring, and fired on the Imperial that had been opposite him. As he fell, she sidestepped to follow Selene and nocked another arrow.

**

Warfare like oil and water. Two sides are separate, they merge into a sea of chaos, and when all is said and done they return to how they were. The women were somewhere in the middle phase now as the lines began to blur. Selene set her shield firmly and stepped forward as quickly as she dared, not wanting to lose track of Aysun in the swirl of bodies. Her sword arm was taught, ready to spring as her eyes darted around looking for a target. The corner of her eye caught a Garlean approaching with his halberd set to thrust – she angled her shield to accept his oncoming thrust, deflecting it upwards into the air. His body was wide open now, throat open to a blade. Selene obliged with a quick thrust, grunting as she pulled it back out of his neck, blood spraying onto the clean steel. Target dealt with, she looked around wildly, trying to keep Aysun’s position locked. Bullets whizzed by overhead, explosions and sprays of dirt echoed across the Flats. The charge was over, there was nothing to do but search and destroy now.

She spied Aysun and shuffled back over to her, keeping shield ready and eyes peeled. Aysun was a ranged fighter, focusing on targets far away. Selene would protect her from foes nearby that might be out of her focus. It didn’t take long for her to find another enemy, this one wielding a sword. It was a simple strategy; defend, parry, destroy. Blood flew into the air, a few specks landing in Selene’s hair.

“Are you okay?!” she shouts blindly over her shoulder to Aysun. “I’ve got your back!”

**

Aysun scanned the crowd, turning her head slightly to Selene’s yell. She backpeddled a little, so they ended up back-to-back somewhat. That would make it easier for her to keep track of things, she hoped.

“I’m-” she paused, letting loose an arrow as a man with a lance rushed towards her, “-fine!” He fell.

She glanced back, checking that Selene was still near by and alright as well, before whipping back around to scope out another target in her line of sight. Selene was certainly right in thinking Aysun was not focussed on the ‘near’ at the moment. It was difficult to be in the middle of such a thing armed with a bow. She’d be much better off if she’d found somewhere to perch and rain arrows down. Instead, she had to keep reminding herself to watch her sides, and behind her, for Selene, rather than just what was in front of her.

She darted forward, grabbing the feathered shaft of an arrow she’d fired not long ago and pulling it from the body it was lodged in with a grunt, before letting it fly at another in her line of sight. She had to be conservative and gather back what she could. To run out would cause a whole different world of trouble.

Or would it? She looked up, then. Searching out Dalamud–not that it was hard to find. Lightning crackled and raced over the cloud layer that had settled over Eorzea for a moon now. Dalamud hung low, lighting the battlefield with its eery glow. As long as she didn’t run out before /that/ happened.

**

Selene had never experienced war before. It was something completely unlike regular combat. Thousands of little fights breaking out. It was relentless; a man goes down, another took his place. Two, three, like a hydra. She could cut a man down without trouble. Four, five, that was simple. But she was well past a few dozen now, and her pace was slowing. She was already starting to run on gut and not finesse. Selene rammed her blade into the gut of a Garlean, lashing out with a foot to kick another one in the side. She hastily ripped the longsword out, entrails and blood spewing behind it as she brought it down in an arc onto the head of the off-balance foe, cleaving through armor and bone. She took a deep breath, spitting enemy blood out of her mouth onto the ground. She looked back over at Aysun, over her shoulder. Her eyes widened.

“AYSUN! YOUR LEFT!” A Garlean with a spear was charging at her, screaming a battlecry while Aysun was busy aiming elsewhere. She shouted, dragging herself back over to the Miqo’te. She wouldn’t get there fast enough. “AYSUUUUUN! SPEEEAAAR!”

**
Aysun heard Selene’s shout, even if she had not noticed the Garlean’s as he ran at her. It had just been more noise to her, after all, adding to what was a deafening mixture of sounds already. She’d let her arrow loose mere moments before, and as she turned her attention to her left she desperately readied another. There was no time to aim, and she fired as quick as she could. The arrow struck the Garlean in the right side of his chest, and he staggered slightly in his charge a few mere fulms from her.

He didn’t stop though, not for a second. The stagger had destroyed his attempt to impail her and so, injured, the lancer fell back on more primitive means of accomplishing his goal. Without a moment’s hesitation, he swung his lance at her, a bastardization of the art that only a desperate man would think to do.

Surprised, and with not even a chance to get another arrow to finish the job, she cried out, “Sele–!”

The Garlean’s lance struck her head, and she collapsed in a heap abruptly. The Garlean shouted, and rounded on Selene, an arrow still sticking from his chest. Adrenaline was an amazing thing, and although his breathing was labored as he adjusted the grip on his lance to a proper one, he charged at her, ready to meet her. Battle did not stop for anything.

**

Selene’s eyes widened in horror as Aysun crumpled to the ground. She roared in anger, rage and hatred fueling her movements. She charged headfirst at the spearman, her sword tip dragging against the ground. The distance between them closed quickly, Selene’s vision going read with fury. She swung her blade, using the ground’s resistance to propel her blade tip upwards, underneath the spearman’s guard. She twisted her body, losing her balance but dodging his vicious thrust. She fell to the ground, but not before her longsword embedded itself deep in his belly. Blood gushed out over her arm, and his dying body landed on top of her with a thud. She struggled against his weight, pinned.

It took a moment, but she managed to free herself from his bulk. Her vision still clouded with fury, she picked up her sword and brought it down again on top of the spearman’s corpse, twice, three times. She collapsed to her knees, face and body covered in his blood. Exhausted, she looked back over at Aysun, suddenly remembering where she was: in the middle of a battlefield. She readied her shield as she rushed over to her friend’s side.

“Aysun! Come on, Aysun, talk to me!” she shouts, taking her by the shoulders and trying to wake her up, not realizing that she’s spreading blood everywhere.

**

Aysun was surprisingly unmarred by blood, save that which Selene had splattered onto her previously while fighting, and now as she shook her limp form. However, it was also matting her hair above one eye, trailling down her face, stemming from a mostly hidden wound. She was unmoving, unresponsive to Selene’s cries. Fingers were still curled around the grip of her bow loosely, eyes only mostly shut, unseeing.

But the battle still didn’t stop, and Selene was a sitting duck. It was not surprsing that she was noticed and targetted quite quickly.

**

Selene looked up just in time to see an axeman charging at her. She raises her shield just in time to deflect a blow, getting knocked back on her ass in the process. She turned it into a roll, managing to put some distance between her and Aysun. She didn’t want a fight breaking out right over her unconscious friend. The axeman recovers quicker than she expects, and charges at her with another heavy swing. He’s telegraphing his hacks, and she has plenty of time to dodge… but her sword is still over by Aysun. She leaps clear, easily dodging the slow hack, retrieving her blade and turning around, planting her sword in the man’s back, she ends another life. She looks around, making sure she’s in the clear before she sheathes her blade and runs back to Aysun. She picks the unconscious miqo’te up in her arms, beating a hasty retreat.

“WHITE MAGE!” she shouts as she heads back towards the Eorzean Alliance’s main headquarters, seeking anyone that can help between here and there. “WHITE MAGE! DAMMIT, WHITE MAGE! SHIIIIIIT!”

“Here!” calls back a voice. Selene spins around, careful not to put too much force on Aysun. A hearty rogaedyn dressed in white robes and carrying a large staff runs over. He looks at the blood-soaked hyur, and then at the unconscious miqo’te. “Which one needs it more?” he asks, picking a strange time to try and crack a joke. Selene forces a smile, wiping up blood trickling from her forehead and gesturing down at Aysun. The Roegadyn nods, reaching out his arms to take her, and Selene reluctantly lets her go. “She’s still breathing,” she says. “She’s going to be fine, right?”

“I’ll do what I can,” the white mage says as he lays Aysun down on the ground. Soldiers and adventurers swirl about them, either regrouping or rushing back to the front lines. Bodies are strewn about, many injured beyond any hope of being saved. A young hyur girl, no more than 17 cycles, lies off to the side, holding her own severed arm in her hands as she chokes on the blood that fills her lungs. Selene looks away, back down to the white mage. He looks back up at her.

“What are you still doing here?” he asks. “Go join Merlwyb and her second wave, they need more shields.”
“I’m not going to leave her here,” says Selene forcefully.
“GO, SOLDIER!” shouts the white mage, his brow furrowing as he begins waving her arms. “There’s more lives at stake than this one!” Selene grits her teeth together, then nods and storms off. “I’m coming back for her!” she shouts over her shoulder.

She didn’t want to leave. She needed to stay here with Aysun, make sure she was going to be okay. She’d already fucked that up; she was unconscious. She hadn’t done her job as a paladin. She was a failure. She couldn’t even protect her best friend, the only person that really meant anything to her. She stopped dead in her tracks, about ready to run back and check on her, the consequences be damned. She’d desert if it meant saving Aysun’s life. She turned around, but then something caught her ear. A whistling sound, growing louder and louder. She looked up.

Against the glowing backdrop of Dalamud, a streak was flying through the air. A volley from a Garlean’s magitek artillery, screaming across the sky. It was headed straight towards the area where Selene had left Aysun with that white mage. Her mouth opened in horror. She started to sprint, running full tilt. There was no way she could outrun something like that though. She watched as the blast fell down into a sea of soldiers as if in slow motion. She couldn’t see the exact landing spot for all of the warriors in the way, but she felt the rumble in her feet as it landed, detonating.

An explosion rocked her, a column of fire spewing up from the ground as it sent bodies flying in all directions. A wall of smoke and dirt came flying at Selene, and she shielded her eyes as she was buffeted by the aftershocks. She stumbled forward blindly, coughing and hacking. The dust settled, and she kept running, trying to find the point of impact. She arrived at a smoke crater, charred corpses on all sides. Her head swiveled wildly, trying to find any sign of Aysun or the white mage.

“AYSUUUUN!” she screamed in horror. “AYSUN WHERE ARE YOU?!” She runs around to the other side, searching, seeking. But there was nothing to see. Just strangers, all trying to stay alive as best they could. A tear ran down her face as she bit her lip, feeling hopeless and alone out there on the battlefield. She felt a lump in her throat, fear rising. There was nothing left for her to do. She turned, slowly sprinting back towards the front line, ready to join the charge.

“Let her live,” she prayed to whichever of the Twelve might be listening. “Let Aysun still be alive”

A Note Left on the Kitchen Table

Dearest Aysun~

I told you I’d be leaving this sun, and I’d like to think that I’m true to my word. It’s been a few suns since our last conversation of note; things were shared that I found very difficult to get off of my chest. Talk of times gone by are not the easiest words to roll off my tongue, but I am glad that I was able to muster the courage to share them with you. I’m sure the liquor helped, but nontheless, the truth is out there. Truths I haven’t spoken aloud to another soul, even the ones I’ve claimed to love. I feel a great weight has been lifted from me.

BUt even so, I must still make this last pilgrimage. I will be gone three suns, a personal test. Don’t worry about me… unless a fourth sun passes. I’m planning on going to Tiger Helm Island for my seclusion. I trust you not to follow me unless you really think I’m in danger. It’s a dangerous place, but there are many areas where one can rest without garnering the ire of the local beasts. A place for reflection, with no disturbances from the outside world.

Should anything happen to me, please contact my mother, Arrava Artemis. I’ve written her address on the reverse of this page… I pray it never comes to this, but I won’t be so callous as to not recognize it’s a possibility.

Be well, Aysun. I’m sure that Halone will see me back home before long.

~Selene Artemis

Mending A Still-Burning Bridge: Arrava’s Response

A letter arrives in Eva Ianeira’s mailbox, addressed to a Selene Artemis. The paper inside is stained thoroughly with tears and frequent inkblots, but no spelling mistakes or signs of correction. Written with a flowing, elegant script with great care and precision.

Dearest Selene,

I will not pretend that I have not waiting for many cycles for a letter of such nature from you, hoping to hear that you’d found a place for yourself wherever in Eorzea your travels have taken you. I praise Nymeia that you have found something that makes you happy, and I praise all of the Twelve just to know you’re alive.

I’ve known for quite a while, actually. As a matter of fact, your father and I knew almost immediately. It was an awkward evening, when Aatrix knocked on our door to tell us that you finally invoked the last part of the contract; that you were taking up a house here in Gridania of all places. Your father was silent, I couldn’t contain my tears, knowing that you hadn’t ended up dead in a cave in some far off corner of the Thanalan deserts.

Despite our knowing, I begged your father to keep his distance. If you hadn’t contacted us, I knew that there was still bitter blood. Jzhoshief wasn’t very interested in standing by, but I did manage to keep him at bay. It took quite a strong arm, and you know how he hates to be pushed like that.

I know you want to know what is on his mind, dearest, and how he feels, but I honestly couldn’t begin to say. He has spoken ever so little of you since you left, and simply deflects any questions or conversations about you. It does break my heart, on an almost daily basis these days. Especially knowing now that you are just down the lane from him.

He came home incredibly drunk the night you were checked into the Fane. Lying there unconscious, your neck bandaged and bleeding. He spoke to a woman that was with you. I am glad you have found such friends that care about you. The next night, when you checked yourself out, he came out, went straight to his study and locked himself in all night. No amount of crying and pleading at the door would even issue forth a mumble. Again, a broken heart.

But enough of such talk… your letter brought me such joy. An inexplicable happiness issuing forth from the very core of my being. If it is still too soon for you, I want you to know that there is nothing in this world that I want more than to see you, and see how you’ve changed.

All my love,
Arrava

P.S. – A tattoo? On your face? I was a bit disappointed, but, it will pass.

Mending A Still-Burning Bridge: Selene to Arrava

Arrava Artemis-

Much can happen in six cycles… a million waves have crashed against the shores of La Noscea, the sun have set behind the deserts of Thanalan countless times, and through all of it I’ve thought of you, nestled in the boughs of the Twelveswood.

I assume that you have already know that it’s me writing this to you. Selene. I’d hazard a guess that you also already know that I have been back in Gridania for quite some time. I can’t imagine that there would be any way for me to spend time in the Fane and not have Jzhoshief see my name on a ledger. He probably even saw to it that he was assigned to me for the brief period I was there. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume, that’s his way. He did it all the time when I was young, why wouldn’t he do it now? Also I’m sure that Aatrix has spoken to him at least a few times about my taking a house… and then the subsequent handing over of the deed after only two moons.

But I didn’t write to talk of him. I apologize for getting carried away with my thoughts.

I know it has been quite a long time since we have spoken. Things have happened, people change. I lived in Limsa Lominsa, then Gridania, and now I find myself in the sands of Ul’dah. I’ve taken up the shield; I live now to protect my new friends and compatriots. I draw and sketch when I can, but lately I just live day to day, trying to enjoy myself and find pleasure where I can. Things were difficult for a very long time, and I have only just recently begun to find a place where I can consider myself home in this world.

I understand if you are bitter… I harbor no ill will towards you, and this letter is my feeble attempt at expressing that.

I will understand if you don’t, but should you wish to write back to me, please send mail to the address on the envelope. It is not my home anymore, but that of a very close friend who has agreed to offer me the use of her home as neutral ground. I hope you understand my hesitancy.

I am more sorry than I can say,
Selene-

P.S. – Please don’t tell Jzhoshief about this letter. I’m not ready to deal with him personally quite yet. I hope you understand.

Runaway: Chapter 1: Desert: Part 5

*paf* *paf* *plik*

Selene’s eyes opened slowly, trying to focus on the tip of her nose. Everything was blurry, red was in her eyes. She tried to sit up, but could barely move.

*paf paf paf*

Realization dawned on her foggy eyes. Rain. It was raining in Thanalan. Droplets pinged off her nose, her forehead. She slowly, with whimpering gasps, tilted her head back and feebly lowered her jaw. Errant drops found their way in, some pooling and rolling down her face where her tongue attempted to hungrily lap them from her lips. A smile splayed across her lips in the darkness, a laugh emitting that sounded more like choking than enjoyment. With every ounce of energy in her body she pulled her canteen from her belt, fumbling with the cap and opening it to catch what little rainwater could find itself into the spout. It wasn’t a lot, but Selene had just been given a bit more time. She relaxed against the rock wall, trying to focus her mind.

She laid there, slowly regaining consciousness, focus, getting soaked with rainwater. She could feel the ground beneath her turning to mud and sucking at her shawl. She tried to start conditioning her legs for moving, stretching out a body exhausted from dehydration. She needed food more than anything, but that was as good as it was going to get at the moment. Rain continued it’s steady descent as the night wore on.

*paf paf paf*

Selene tried to stand, bracing herself against the piller. The rain was refreshing not only physically, but spiritually as well. The thought of scorching to death in the middle of the desert began, for the first time, so seem a little bit further away than it had before. Using her sword as a walking stick, Selene managed to stagger to her feet, her legs protesting. She cupped her hands to catch rainwater, pouring a bit more down her throat.

*paf paf /click/*

Selene’s ears perked up. Her head turned slowly, looking around. She thought she’d heard something coming in through the rainfall. Something hard and sharp, definitely not the sound of water hitting earth. She couldn’t make anything out through the darkness and veil of water; no shapes, no movement. Selene stayed perfectly still, holding her weight.

*paf paf paf*

She shook her head. Trying to focus. Was she going delirious?

“Damn…”

*click click click*

The sound again. Her head snapped around as quickly as it could, searching for something. Still nothing.

*click*

Selene looked up just in time for something to land on her from the top of an outcropping.

Runaway: Chapter 1: Desert: Part 4

Selene walked behind a caravan wagon and closed her eyes, lightly banging her head against the side in frustration.

“Oh hey, come on Selene, don’t be like that,” said Becolana, sauntering around to her side and leaning against it with a grin. “I was just trying to say that it’s been a while since I last saw you and I missed you,”

Selene shot the Lalafell a vicious sideways glance. “I would have liked to keep the combo going,” she spat, “lucky for you I owe Redrick quite a few favors.”

Becolana stuffed his hands into his pockets, whistling a little tune. “You seem to be deadset on pretending you aren’t just thrilled with my presence,” he shrugged, “Ah well. Have fun with your stupid woman games.” Giving the wheels a light kick, he meandered off back to the other side of the wagon.

Selene was desperate to keep her cool. It shouldn’t be a long trip; three days at the most. She could put up with him for that long, couldn’t she? The more she thought about it, the more the signs pointed to fisticuffs in the near future.

A squat merchant started chattering on the other side of the cart. Selene sighed, regained her composure as best she could and then walked over to where the rest of the caravan crew was waiting. The merchant leader was in the midst of an overview of their trip.

“-and then we’ll be landing in Ul’Dah. It’s a two day trek from Ferry Docks to the capitol over the route we’re taking. We’re making a pit stop at an outpost that’s going to require going the long way around and there’s some pretty harsh desert between here and there. Supplies are limited, and we’re going to be heavily rationed, so be careful not to outdo yourself. I trust you all know basic desert survival skills or Redrick wouldn’t have contacted you about this one.”

Selene half listened. All of these escort jobs ended up being pretty much the same; follow target, kill baddies, collect reward, wash rinse repeat. They didn’t take a lot of ingenuity and you didn’t even have to learn the route; that was someone else’s job. At this rate of pay she’d be foolish to turn the job away even if it meant she had to spend half a week with someone as irritation as Becolana, who was currently tapping her on her thigh to get her attention.

“What do you want?” she spat flatly, refusing to make eye contact.

“I wedged a bottle of Emerac into my pack before we left. The seasonal brew. One of your faaaavoriiites. What say tonight we start our own campfire and uh… ‘reminisce’ about the good old days.”

“Day, Beco, day. Singular. We had one good old day, and that was the day I met you. The very next day I hated you.”

“Ach, ye’re just jealous of my ladies and my blade!” he said, doing some fancy footwork and kicking up a bit of dust. “Both of them could be yours if you’d like, and I’m not talking about my lance. Well, I amtalking about my lance, but not my LANCE-lance, you know.”

“YES Beco, I get it. Shut up.”

“Why do you have to be like this all the time?! I come in, buy us some really nice beer, and you’re just a bitch to me. All day.”

“Well, you’re an ass. All day.”

Beco smiled, putting his arms behind his head and stretching. “Aye, that I am, and I’m damn proud of it. I don’t make no apologies for who I am.”

Selene sighed heavily, shaking her head and walking up to the front of the caravan to talk to the guide. She’d be damned if she was going to sit there and just listen to Beco prattle on for the rest of the trip. The fewer outlets she gave him to ramble, the better.

“Fine, just walk away!” shouted Beco, rolling his eyes. “You’ll be back for that bottle!”

Selene cringed ever so slightly as she walked away, but she refused to give in. Dealing with Beco required finding a strong balance between snarky dismissal and completely ignoring him. She’d done the first, now it was time to do the second. Giving him even an inch would result in an instantaneous explosion of bravado and machismo, and Selene didn’t have nearly enough alcohol in her system to deal with that at the moment, especially if he tried to grab her butt. Unfortunately that wasn’t out of the question. She found the driver and started trying to get a feeling for the route they’d be taking.

It was too bad though. It was going to be a shame to let such a good bottle of Emerac go to waste.