After leaving the passageway, the pair made their way out of the city proper as quickly and inconspicuously as possible. They exchanged very little words, just a nod and gesture now and then. It was only after they were a good ways away from the Gates of Judgement that they finally stopped in their tracks.
His journey close to its end, Kasrjin made a mental checklist. Karadwr had been sold to a reputable chocobo breeder, and any excess funds that he'd had, the Xaela had already given to the children he had been training in the Brume, along with any new equipment he thought they might need.
Roen glanced around before looking up at him. "I hope you had some success. We could not stay there much longer."
A short nod served as a confirmation. Kasrjin maintained his habit of reaching into the bag where the sphere lay, checking every few minutes that its presence was still there. "I did. And if what Valencourt told you was correct, then I also have the truth behind my kinsman's death, as well. With this, my endeavour is complete. Or will be, once I return." In some way, it was a bit gratifying. While losing Kaizhan was unfortunate, Kasrjin was inclined to believe that it was pure circumstance. There was some small comfort in that.
Roen nodded, although there was a slight crease to her brow. "Good. I am... glad." She glanced toward the direction of the gate. "I suppose sooner the better. They will be looking for you soon, I am certain of it." She gave the Au Ra a sidelong glance. "How do you plan to return?"
Kasrjin pulled off his left gauntlet and rolled up the sleeve of the tabard as far up as he could. Tied to his left forearm was a slim piece of obsidian, fastened with twine. On its surface was a glowing rune that pulsed softly with a dim, warm light. "I've kept this with my person, and it will lead me back to my vessel within the forest. After that, it is nearly one moon to return to Othard."
Roen glanced at the rune up his arm, her gaze lingering on it. Her expression grew solemn. "Will you leave right away?"
Another nod as Kasrjin replaced the sleeve and gauntlet over the rune. "I must. Bearing in mind the nature of my mission...keeping this object with me is also discomforting, in a way." As if to illustrate his anxiety, he reached into the pack strapped to his waist to feel the sphere again. "And you? Will you...return?"
Roen nodded, almost sternly. "Aye, of course. We cannot risk them finding you as they did your kinsman." She pursed her lips to one side. "Return to Ishgard? Perhaps, with care. These people still... remain. We may have foiled their plan, but they still want what they want. And who knows what they are willing to do to achieve their goals." She looked toward the gate again. "Besides, I think... I may know who their alchemist is that is working on this." Her tone lowered. "If I am right, I cannot let her be."
Kasrjin shook his head. "I did not refer to Ishgard. I mean the place that caused you to come to Ishgard."
The paladin blinked and looked back at him, remaining silent for a short time before answering with a nod. "I believe so. I too... was shown things, in Ehs Daih." Her words were quiet, but her expression had softened, her lips curling slightly. "It gave me some answers."
A small grin graced the Xaela's face. "Then my presence here was not wasted. Nor were the apparent secrets of my people. That is good. I understand that duty is not the same cornerstone to your people as it is to mine. Nonetheless, it grants a certainty that few things can match." He nodded in approval. A sharp glance towards the city turned his expression somber. "You had best be careful moving within that city going forward. Doubtless there are new enemies to be made there."
A long released breath plumed in front of Roen's face. She nodded and then stepped closer to him, bringing her gaze upwards as she stared intently into his shimmering eyes. "Your presence here... has helped me greatly. Thank you." Her last words were nearly whispered, and would be lost to the winter gales if it was at its full force. But it was a quiet offering, as the snow drifted down around them peacefully.
"There is one more thing." She glanced down for a moment, as if to collect her thoughts. "You said something in the cave. That happiness meant nothing." She shook her head, a small frown drawing her brows. "I know your people live different and very directed lives, but I hope when you return, if you find your place with your people again, that you also find... and seek happiness. I believe in the end, it is something that everyone should seek. In their own way."
Kasrjin tilted his head. "I expect that the seeking of something so transient will remain a point of contention between your peoples and mine. Nonetheless, I accept the sentiment."
Roen curled a small grin in response. "Very well."
The Au Ra glanced south, towards the Shroud. "It would be best of we parted before we lost whatever lead we had upon our pursuers." She nodded again and glanced to the ground. She glanced back up at him, before frowning again. She was hesitating. She looked back at him once more. "Stand still for a moment." Though a puzzled look crossed Kasrjin's face, he did as instructed.
She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, and laid her head against his chest. It was a firm embrace. "I will miss you." Roen whispered. "Stay well."
He was not sure how to return the gesture, but placed his hands atop her shoulders briefly, before she stepped back and looked up at him intently. "I do not know if I shall see you again, so I am committing your face to memory." Roen reached into her pouch and held up that linkpearl they shared. "And if you ever return south, you can always contact me."
Kasrjin pursed his lips in thought for a brief moment, trying to recall some lessons of the Aljai. "There is a place on Othard, where the tribes of the Xaela meet, far from our glaciers. Look for the Xaela wearing adornments of obsidian, and you will find those of my people." He paused momentarily. "...you may tell them of your association with Kasrjin of the Khadai, and should it please you, we may meet again."
She nodded at his instruction, then paused. Her lips broadened into a smile. "Kasrjin... of the Khadai," she echoed softly. "It is... good to know you, Kasrjin."
And with a low nod of his head, Kasrjin turned to leave. "Henyn il enfath dwyr. May your suns find fair weather, Roen." His sabatons crunched in the snow as he marched south, towards home.
--
Some time later, amidst the glacial valley...
"Who was Tsuven?"
Tsanai was startled by the presence of a sharp, feminine voice at the entrance of her yurt, causing her to drop the chisel she had been using to carve another rune into a piece of Karaad-El's obsidian. Standing with her arms folded was Alaqu, the latter's crimson hair having grown somewhat longer since the departure of the expedition.
The Tsenkhai breathed deep before turning back to the piece of obsidian. "Someone not of your concern," she huffed with some indignation.
"It does concern me when it causes you to interfere with my role," Alaqu snapped in a severe tone, sauntering over to Tsanai's workstation and dropping a small tablet upon it, causing the slight wooden frame of the desk to shudder from the impact. Inscribed upon the tablet was a series of runes, conveying a discrepancy in the materials needed for the expedition to the Western Continent. There was more information inscribed there, but Tsanai dare not glance at it, for she had an idea of what it was.
"Logistics is the duty of the Aljai. I was suspicious of you from the start when you proposed this, so imagine my surprise when I find that you saw fit to needlessly appropriate extra resources for the sake of one lone Khadai. Your favourite Khadai, Kasrjin." The Aljai raised a hand to stop Tsanai from protesting. "I also know that...you lied about having been to the Western continent. The other Tsenkhai said Karaad-El's memories had no record of you, one of its own Tsenkhai, ever leaving our shores. And you lied to the Erdegai to convince them to make Kasrjin a sword. That you stole in order to have it made. The conclusion I had to draw is that the expedition to the Western continent was...nothing but folly, based only off of your fabrications. And that for some reason, you did it for Tsuven."
Tsanai sighed again, moving the tablet off to the side. "If you have spoken to Albei, then you know who Tsuven is. Was. He was a...traitor, one who conspired to destroy everything we held dear."
"And you truly believe that, do you?" Alaqu frowned. "Which is why you spent so much time favouring his former vessel. Which is why you lied to the Erdegai to make that sword for him. And you lied to the other Tsenkhai about what he was to you. Why you lied about having been to the Western continent!" Alaqu uncrossed and recrossed her arms, foot tapping the ground with impatience. "I have let your transgressions pass out of...some twisted form of respect that you knew what you were doing, and because you are Tsenkhai. If you do not confess before me, I guarantee that I will have you confess before Karaad-El itself if that is what it takes."
"You step outside your role, Aljai," Tsanai snapped, standing up and turning to face her, her dreadlocks flying with indignation.
"My role is the welfare of my people!" Alaqu shot back. The two Xaela were of similar height and build. "I believed that your role, the role of all Tsenkhai was the same. And yet you did so much just for a vessel!"
Tsanai bit her lip.
Alaqu exhaled, as if trying to expel whatever anger she felt. "I am coming to you to let you speak because...my instincts tell me that you must have done all of this for a reason. And having you dragged before the Tsenkhai and forfeited to Karaad-El will not help me understand that reason. The reason why you sent so many of our people on such a wild chase, a chase they might not return from! Not your precious Kasrjin, not Jalaq, not...Kaizhan." Alaqu winced. "For all I know, you may have just killed all of them. So I need to know why."
The Tsenkhai could do nothing but turn away. She was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Tell me who he was," Alaqu repeated with a combination of solemnity and exhaustion. "And why you did this, and mayhaps we can think about repairing the results of your crimes."
Tsanai took a deep breath, her hands clenched to her elbows until her knuckles turned white. She didn't turn to face Alaqu, speaking slowly, softly.
"I...wanted to change things. I was sick of it. Being locked inside that temple, for years, doing nothing but interpreting the Correspondence. I was told it was my role, my duty. It was more than fifteen cycles before I ever saw the sun. The true sun, not some mental fabrication that Karaad-El devised to keep me docile."
"Tsuven, he...followed me. I showed him what I wanted and convinced him that it was what he wanted as well. Freedom. Not being tied to this role, this name, but the freedom to..." Tsanai trailed off, as if she didn't know what to say. "I conspired to...break Karaad-El. To burn away the Correspondence, so that we would be free of our role. A naive plan, one that I was so sure would work. Tsuven helped me. And when the time came, it failed. The Tsenkhai caught on, and they warned Karaad-El, and Karaad-El was...angry."
Tsanai sank to her knees, arms curling around her legs. "He took the fall for me. They didn't know what I had done, what I had planned. And Tsuven forfeited himself, for me. And for my crime, they devoured his essence until his vessel was hollow and empty, and saw fit to replace him with a mindless warrior from a hundred cycles ago. Or, at least I thought he was mindless. He was more like Tsuven than I could tell him. And he had...his face, his voice, his mannerisms."
"Tsuven was the one who had been to the Western continent, but those memories were banished when he was devoured. It was his knowledge I was using to convince everyone that the expedition was needed. And I sent his vessel so that...he might be free. Even if he spends the remainder of his life searching for a fabrication, he would at least be someplace where he could be a person."
Alaqu's lip quivered. "All of them? You decided to strand all of them there...for him?"
Tsanai only nodded slowly.
The Aljai let out a low exhale. "Even with what you have told me...the lives you have cost, the sedition you have committed. I cannot let this pass. It was foolish of you to think that you could pay penance to Tsuven by saving his vessel."
The Tsenkhai didn't move.
As Alaqu turned to leave. "May you find some redemption for the ruin you brought to others," she murmured softly.
His journey close to its end, Kasrjin made a mental checklist. Karadwr had been sold to a reputable chocobo breeder, and any excess funds that he'd had, the Xaela had already given to the children he had been training in the Brume, along with any new equipment he thought they might need.
Roen glanced around before looking up at him. "I hope you had some success. We could not stay there much longer."
A short nod served as a confirmation. Kasrjin maintained his habit of reaching into the bag where the sphere lay, checking every few minutes that its presence was still there. "I did. And if what Valencourt told you was correct, then I also have the truth behind my kinsman's death, as well. With this, my endeavour is complete. Or will be, once I return." In some way, it was a bit gratifying. While losing Kaizhan was unfortunate, Kasrjin was inclined to believe that it was pure circumstance. There was some small comfort in that.
Roen nodded, although there was a slight crease to her brow. "Good. I am... glad." She glanced toward the direction of the gate. "I suppose sooner the better. They will be looking for you soon, I am certain of it." She gave the Au Ra a sidelong glance. "How do you plan to return?"
Kasrjin pulled off his left gauntlet and rolled up the sleeve of the tabard as far up as he could. Tied to his left forearm was a slim piece of obsidian, fastened with twine. On its surface was a glowing rune that pulsed softly with a dim, warm light. "I've kept this with my person, and it will lead me back to my vessel within the forest. After that, it is nearly one moon to return to Othard."
Roen glanced at the rune up his arm, her gaze lingering on it. Her expression grew solemn. "Will you leave right away?"
Another nod as Kasrjin replaced the sleeve and gauntlet over the rune. "I must. Bearing in mind the nature of my mission...keeping this object with me is also discomforting, in a way." As if to illustrate his anxiety, he reached into the pack strapped to his waist to feel the sphere again. "And you? Will you...return?"
Roen nodded, almost sternly. "Aye, of course. We cannot risk them finding you as they did your kinsman." She pursed her lips to one side. "Return to Ishgard? Perhaps, with care. These people still... remain. We may have foiled their plan, but they still want what they want. And who knows what they are willing to do to achieve their goals." She looked toward the gate again. "Besides, I think... I may know who their alchemist is that is working on this." Her tone lowered. "If I am right, I cannot let her be."
Kasrjin shook his head. "I did not refer to Ishgard. I mean the place that caused you to come to Ishgard."
The paladin blinked and looked back at him, remaining silent for a short time before answering with a nod. "I believe so. I too... was shown things, in Ehs Daih." Her words were quiet, but her expression had softened, her lips curling slightly. "It gave me some answers."
A small grin graced the Xaela's face. "Then my presence here was not wasted. Nor were the apparent secrets of my people. That is good. I understand that duty is not the same cornerstone to your people as it is to mine. Nonetheless, it grants a certainty that few things can match." He nodded in approval. A sharp glance towards the city turned his expression somber. "You had best be careful moving within that city going forward. Doubtless there are new enemies to be made there."
A long released breath plumed in front of Roen's face. She nodded and then stepped closer to him, bringing her gaze upwards as she stared intently into his shimmering eyes. "Your presence here... has helped me greatly. Thank you." Her last words were nearly whispered, and would be lost to the winter gales if it was at its full force. But it was a quiet offering, as the snow drifted down around them peacefully.
"There is one more thing." She glanced down for a moment, as if to collect her thoughts. "You said something in the cave. That happiness meant nothing." She shook her head, a small frown drawing her brows. "I know your people live different and very directed lives, but I hope when you return, if you find your place with your people again, that you also find... and seek happiness. I believe in the end, it is something that everyone should seek. In their own way."
Kasrjin tilted his head. "I expect that the seeking of something so transient will remain a point of contention between your peoples and mine. Nonetheless, I accept the sentiment."
Roen curled a small grin in response. "Very well."
The Au Ra glanced south, towards the Shroud. "It would be best of we parted before we lost whatever lead we had upon our pursuers." She nodded again and glanced to the ground. She glanced back up at him, before frowning again. She was hesitating. She looked back at him once more. "Stand still for a moment." Though a puzzled look crossed Kasrjin's face, he did as instructed.
She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, and laid her head against his chest. It was a firm embrace. "I will miss you." Roen whispered. "Stay well."
He was not sure how to return the gesture, but placed his hands atop her shoulders briefly, before she stepped back and looked up at him intently. "I do not know if I shall see you again, so I am committing your face to memory." Roen reached into her pouch and held up that linkpearl they shared. "And if you ever return south, you can always contact me."
Kasrjin pursed his lips in thought for a brief moment, trying to recall some lessons of the Aljai. "There is a place on Othard, where the tribes of the Xaela meet, far from our glaciers. Look for the Xaela wearing adornments of obsidian, and you will find those of my people." He paused momentarily. "...you may tell them of your association with Kasrjin of the Khadai, and should it please you, we may meet again."
She nodded at his instruction, then paused. Her lips broadened into a smile. "Kasrjin... of the Khadai," she echoed softly. "It is... good to know you, Kasrjin."
And with a low nod of his head, Kasrjin turned to leave. "Henyn il enfath dwyr. May your suns find fair weather, Roen." His sabatons crunched in the snow as he marched south, towards home.
--
Some time later, amidst the glacial valley...
"Who was Tsuven?"
Tsanai was startled by the presence of a sharp, feminine voice at the entrance of her yurt, causing her to drop the chisel she had been using to carve another rune into a piece of Karaad-El's obsidian. Standing with her arms folded was Alaqu, the latter's crimson hair having grown somewhat longer since the departure of the expedition.
The Tsenkhai breathed deep before turning back to the piece of obsidian. "Someone not of your concern," she huffed with some indignation.
"It does concern me when it causes you to interfere with my role," Alaqu snapped in a severe tone, sauntering over to Tsanai's workstation and dropping a small tablet upon it, causing the slight wooden frame of the desk to shudder from the impact. Inscribed upon the tablet was a series of runes, conveying a discrepancy in the materials needed for the expedition to the Western Continent. There was more information inscribed there, but Tsanai dare not glance at it, for she had an idea of what it was.
"Logistics is the duty of the Aljai. I was suspicious of you from the start when you proposed this, so imagine my surprise when I find that you saw fit to needlessly appropriate extra resources for the sake of one lone Khadai. Your favourite Khadai, Kasrjin." The Aljai raised a hand to stop Tsanai from protesting. "I also know that...you lied about having been to the Western continent. The other Tsenkhai said Karaad-El's memories had no record of you, one of its own Tsenkhai, ever leaving our shores. And you lied to the Erdegai to convince them to make Kasrjin a sword. That you stole in order to have it made. The conclusion I had to draw is that the expedition to the Western continent was...nothing but folly, based only off of your fabrications. And that for some reason, you did it for Tsuven."
Tsanai sighed again, moving the tablet off to the side. "If you have spoken to Albei, then you know who Tsuven is. Was. He was a...traitor, one who conspired to destroy everything we held dear."
"And you truly believe that, do you?" Alaqu frowned. "Which is why you spent so much time favouring his former vessel. Which is why you lied to the Erdegai to make that sword for him. And you lied to the other Tsenkhai about what he was to you. Why you lied about having been to the Western continent!" Alaqu uncrossed and recrossed her arms, foot tapping the ground with impatience. "I have let your transgressions pass out of...some twisted form of respect that you knew what you were doing, and because you are Tsenkhai. If you do not confess before me, I guarantee that I will have you confess before Karaad-El itself if that is what it takes."
"You step outside your role, Aljai," Tsanai snapped, standing up and turning to face her, her dreadlocks flying with indignation.
"My role is the welfare of my people!" Alaqu shot back. The two Xaela were of similar height and build. "I believed that your role, the role of all Tsenkhai was the same. And yet you did so much just for a vessel!"
Tsanai bit her lip.
Alaqu exhaled, as if trying to expel whatever anger she felt. "I am coming to you to let you speak because...my instincts tell me that you must have done all of this for a reason. And having you dragged before the Tsenkhai and forfeited to Karaad-El will not help me understand that reason. The reason why you sent so many of our people on such a wild chase, a chase they might not return from! Not your precious Kasrjin, not Jalaq, not...Kaizhan." Alaqu winced. "For all I know, you may have just killed all of them. So I need to know why."
The Tsenkhai could do nothing but turn away. She was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Tell me who he was," Alaqu repeated with a combination of solemnity and exhaustion. "And why you did this, and mayhaps we can think about repairing the results of your crimes."
Tsanai took a deep breath, her hands clenched to her elbows until her knuckles turned white. She didn't turn to face Alaqu, speaking slowly, softly.
"I...wanted to change things. I was sick of it. Being locked inside that temple, for years, doing nothing but interpreting the Correspondence. I was told it was my role, my duty. It was more than fifteen cycles before I ever saw the sun. The true sun, not some mental fabrication that Karaad-El devised to keep me docile."
"Tsuven, he...followed me. I showed him what I wanted and convinced him that it was what he wanted as well. Freedom. Not being tied to this role, this name, but the freedom to..." Tsanai trailed off, as if she didn't know what to say. "I conspired to...break Karaad-El. To burn away the Correspondence, so that we would be free of our role. A naive plan, one that I was so sure would work. Tsuven helped me. And when the time came, it failed. The Tsenkhai caught on, and they warned Karaad-El, and Karaad-El was...angry."
Tsanai sank to her knees, arms curling around her legs. "He took the fall for me. They didn't know what I had done, what I had planned. And Tsuven forfeited himself, for me. And for my crime, they devoured his essence until his vessel was hollow and empty, and saw fit to replace him with a mindless warrior from a hundred cycles ago. Or, at least I thought he was mindless. He was more like Tsuven than I could tell him. And he had...his face, his voice, his mannerisms."
"Tsuven was the one who had been to the Western continent, but those memories were banished when he was devoured. It was his knowledge I was using to convince everyone that the expedition was needed. And I sent his vessel so that...he might be free. Even if he spends the remainder of his life searching for a fabrication, he would at least be someplace where he could be a person."
Alaqu's lip quivered. "All of them? You decided to strand all of them there...for him?"
Tsanai only nodded slowly.
The Aljai let out a low exhale. "Even with what you have told me...the lives you have cost, the sedition you have committed. I cannot let this pass. It was foolish of you to think that you could pay penance to Tsuven by saving his vessel."
The Tsenkhai didn't move.
As Alaqu turned to leave. "May you find some redemption for the ruin you brought to others," she murmured softly.
