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Some Other Beginning's End [story/closed] - Printable Version

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Some Other Beginning's End [story/closed] - Eva - 02-13-2013

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The elezen woman sat at the edge of her bed – if the slab of packed earth with a heavy woolen cloth over it could truly be considered a bed. Her heart thumped rapidly in her breast as the last remnants of the dream withered and gave way to reality. Everything was dark, but her violet eyes seemed to catch the low light from the torches that had been lit in the hallway, mostly for her benefit since all the rest were accustomed to walking about in the blackness of this place. Those eyes, usually full of warmth and peace were now filled with worry and despair. Tears streamed freely down both of her cheeks as she silently attempted to process those fractured events that led up to the inevitable conclusion of her awakening.

The nightmare had rattled her more than they usually do – and she had grown accustomed to having to deal with some pretty horrendous dreams. It’s not real – she would tell herself. It was just the product of an overactive imagination. Usually after sitting at the bedside and reassuring herself of such, the feeling would inevitably pass and the queasiness would dissipate from her stomach and the knot in her throat would eventually unravel itself somehow. This morning, even after several long ticks, there was no comfort from it – only the illusion of comfort, and she knew that she was deceiving herself to try and say that everything was fine. Everything was most definitely not fine! And the feeling in the pit of her stomach began to make sense as she began to look upon her dream as no mere coincidence, but rather a direct sign from the Spinner herself that she must return aboveground. It was left to her to make things right – and not only for Eva but for the twin babes growing inside her belly as well.

It took her the better part of a bell to compose herself, but after brushing her hair and clearing the tears from her face, she made her way to the Elder's chamber with great haste. Flynn was there speaking with the Elder, and Wyxus was playing with a ball while the two men spoke. All three hushed when Eva arrived, and three pairs of eyes all peered upon her inquisitively. Her earlier efforts were in vain, as tears once more streamed freely down her face before she could even open her mouth to speak a word. Wyxus let the ball fall against the cavern floor and meandered over to the silently sobbing woman, reaching out to tug at hem of her shirt gently.

His words were those of any concerned youngling, “What's wrong Lady Eva?”

She burst out into sobs at the inquiry, but was relieved when Flynn guided the boy away gently by the shoulders, though both remained at the entryway and looked on with worry as she spoke quietly with Elder Roven. She explained why she had to return to the surface, and recounted for him all of the details of her dream. And seeing Wyxus there, with Flynn's hands on his shoulders and both wearing concerned expressions had been the very thing she'd dreamt. This felt like more than just a coincidence. “Do not mistake coincidence for fate, child.” Where had she heard that before? Was that a part of the dream?

The Elder’s words were soothing, but they were not what she wanted to hear, and the same battle she'd waged internally before - between impulse and reason - she now found herself fighting again. His steady voice reinforced for her that she was carrying not one but two lives within her belly, and that things on the surface were very dangerous. He reminded her that it was only a dream and asked her if Vaelyn would want her to put herself in danger needlessly like that. “No, he wouldn’t,” she had quietly agreed. But none of it mattered. She had already made up her mind.

In the end she reluctantly agreed to wait for one bell's time before departing. The Elder advised that it wouldn't be wise for her to travel while so fraught with worry and anxiety, and urged her to sit and relax and reflect on her dream. So she returned to her room and picked up her journal and quill and wrote for a while by candlelight. She recalled the dream. She recalled everything. And she apologized in her written words for the risks she knew she was taking. This was to be a leap of faith, and she knew it. But as much as she knew that, she also knew that she would never be able to live with herself if something happened that resulted in the death of her children. Not again. She had already lost so much.

Saying goodbye to the Elder was hurried. Flynn and Wyxus were still there, along with a few others whom had gathered. She asked Wyxus to look after Bixby and feed him until she got back. She told him he would miss him, but knew that the boy would take good care of him. The way the creature made him smile almost as much as Eva smiled. And he liked Wyxus too, even perching on his shoulder and tousling the boy’s hair playfully. Bats were revered as something holy in that place, and for one to have been tamed was something remarkable to them. “I’ll be back for him Wyxie,” she had said smiling genuinely at the boy, “So take good care of him in the meantime, all right?”

Eva herself was much more composed after having written and taken time to let the memories of her dream sink in a bit more, but her will was resolute and her satchel was packed up for the journey back. Robes and staff were waiting for her at the mouth of the cave, several hours of climbing above, right where she had left them before she had descended. The expression on the Elder's face along with his voiced disapproval of her sudden plans for departure struck a particular chord for Eva. She had dreamt this, too – his objection and dismay at her decision to disregard him. And though it upset her to know she was defying the advice of one of the most sage-like people she'd ever met, she knew with all of her heart that it was what needed to be done. Not for herself, and not for Vaelyn, but for her children. This was all happening for some reason and they were at the center of it. She didn’t know why she knew, or how. She just did.

There was a sense of immediacy to the climbing, and a few times as she made the climb back along this path with which she'd grown familiar over the past few journeys down and back. She took only very short breaks for an occasional drink of water from her canteen, and had nothing to eat along the way. The path through the caverns wasn't as strange and foreign as it used to be, and nowhere near as frightening as the first time when she'd returned back to the surface from enscribing her father's name upon the sacred wall. Still, in her haste she'd scraped her elbow and forearm and nearly gotten her leg caught between two jagged rocks. She even ran where she was able to, when the tunnels widened enough to allow a brisker pace. In the end an ascent that normally took her between eight and nine bells she somehow managed in what she felt must have been about seven or so. There was no way to be sure exactly, and she only gave it a passing thought as she picked up her staff and threw her red-fringed white robes over her shoulders. A moment's rest would be all she needed before she stepped out into the brisk night air of Coerthas, wrapping her white mage robes close about her to block the chill as she proceeded with purpose in the direction of Mor Dhona.

As she strode along she spoke into the pearl, “Vaelyn... are you there?”

No answer came.

“...anyone...?”

The plea was met only with silence and this only heightened the duskwight’s sense of worry. Her pace quickened into a steady jog with this new urgency, and before long she found herself amidst cracked earth. She was able to perceive the sounds of battle far off in the distance – steel and cobalt and mythril clashing, the sounds of gunfire, and occasionally the sound of an explosion would serve to punctuate the skyline being illuminated off in the distance somewhere for a moment when some flare – whether aetherial or technological – would erupt. She knew it was in that direction she needed to travel – towards Brittlebark; towards war.

As she grew closer to the encampment, her pulse quickened even more and her jog gave way to a run. She heard the shouting of soldiers and managed to keep herself along the outskirts of where the battles were happening, rushing along and calling out for Vaelyn over the pearl every few minutes as she raced along. Her eyes avoided the bloodshed as much as was possible, which wasn't much at all. And when she did happen to glimpse a Garlean plunge his pike through an unsuspecting young miqo’te woman's back, she choked down the lump in her throat and turned away from the horrific scene, continuing on at an even faster pace. She sprinted as fast as she could until all the breath escaped her lungs and she could run no more.

Finding a large boulder to rest against, she tried the pearl again. No answer. Violet eyes scanned the horizon where the battle was taking place, but so many wore the same type of armor it would have been impossible to pick him out exactly, particularly with so much soot and ash hanging in the air.

The sound of footsteps behind her prompted her to spin around and she nearly clobbered the bald hyur man that stood there. Adorned in blackened armor with a mantle of fur slung over his shoulders he looked her over, his hands on his shoulders and a knowing smile touching his lips. Realizing he wasn’t Garlean, she lowered her staff a bit but still glanced at him, puzzled. His eyes scintillated a bit as he looked at her, “Kessy? I thought that was you...” There was a sense of familiarity to him but she couldn’t immediately place it. He looked to be in his 50’s and wore a patch over one of his eyes. One of Father’s friends. I remember his face from long ago. Who? How did he recognize her? How did he know her born name?

“Nae... It’s Eva.” She forced her best smile, given the circumstances, and relaxed her grip on her weapon, lowering the staff a bit more.

He grinned back and lifted an oversized sword from where it had been resting against polished black-as-night darksteel boots, “Sure it is Kes. Out here to make your ol’ man proud?” His eyes appeared to twinkle again and she almost couldn't help grinning back at him – even amidst this awful backdrop of smoke and war and soot and flame. Without another word his teeth flashed another quick smile before he raised his sword up and dashed back into the smoldering battlefield, leaving her alone again.

“Wait...” She reached out to him but he was spry, and quick for a man of his age, and it was too late. For a moment she'd thought to pursue him, but a loud explosion nearby shook the earth and drew her gaze elsewhere. One of the aerial weapons – she thought she had heard Vaelyn refer to them as ‘Juggernauts’ – had been brought down and a battalion of Eorzean fighters wearing the crest of the Maelstrom rose up in excited cheers. Were we winning?

It was a short-lived victory though, as more Garlean soldiers descended upon them and the unending sound of metal clashing against metal echoed throughout the area.

“Vaelyn...? Where are you?” She lowered her linkpearl again after not hearing any sort of reply from him, nor from anyone else.

A lone archer from the battalion that had brought down the Garlean machination a moment ago was advancing in her direction. She was a miqo’te woman, with her familiar blonde hair matted on one side of her forehead with blood. Something else was familiar as well – a ribbon tied in her hair, gray with green tips. But the owner of that distinctive ribbon, Selene, was nowhere to be seen. It took a moment for her to recognize A’eyshn beneath the soot and ash that covered her face but it appeared to take the miqo’te much less time to recognize Eva – she looked utterly shocked! For a moment the elezen’s eyes lit up, but then she realized she wasn't supposed to be up there, and recalled the threats she’d made to tie her to the mast of the Alacritie. The duskwight woman’s half-smile faded a bit further, and then was suddenly replaced by a look of dread as a Garlean with a large, serrated blade appeared from behind a nearby boulder. He was rapidly rushing towards her!

Taking no time at all to think, Eva bounded two steps forward as her hand instinctive reached beneath her robes, withdrawing the silver dagger she kept in a small sheath strapped to her thigh, and she loosed it all in one fluid motion just like Pater had once shown her. A’eyshn stopped in her tracks at the suddenness of it all, as though she thought the mild-mannered elezen woman might be attacking her. The miqo’te’s head spun to the side as the dagger whizzed not an ilm from her face, lodging in the Garlean's throat. A sickening gurgle preceded the heavy thud as he collapsed to the ground, grasping at the weapon in his final moments before laying still.

A’eyshn had only a moment to look up, offering Eva a glance that was equal parts gratitude and confusion. But another Garlean was approaching. The battle raged on, and there would be no time to talk right now; no time for her to explain why she was here. The miqo’te woman had already turned her back to Eva to face the oncoming threat, but she waved a hand in farewell anyway as she made her way on towards Brittlebark. Others from the battalion she was with were making their way back towards her, and her arrows were landing true. There was little Eva could do to help. And she likely would have been reprimanded for trying, anyway.

She was able to see the camp as she climbed over the next ridge though. A large number of soldiers and adventurers had gathered and were using it as a staging area. It seemed safer there, where people were seated resting and planning. An elderly roegadyn man was shouting orders and pointing to spots on a map placed on a makeshift table made out of tattered plywood. Others nearby were busily tending to the wounded and fallen. She spotted a withered tree away from where the crowd had huddled together and she leaned against it for a moment, picking her pearl up once more. Her voice told of obvious exhaustion, and as with each time she called out before, the sense of urgency underscoring her words was increasing.

There was a moment’s silence before the reply came back over the linkpearl. It was very clearly Vaelyn’s voice; one whose she had memorized by heart. “Eva?! What are you doing back?”

Ignoring the question, she asked, “Where are you?!”

“I’m with Blade. We're fighting-” He was cut off as something pulled his attention away from the pearl. Her cries after him went ignored for what felt like an eternity.

“Eva, are you still there?”

“YES!! I need to see you right now! I’m by a- ah- a tree. I see Camp Brittlebark to the southwest. I- I’m glad you're all right.”

“Oh, you're nearby! We'll be right there.”

Several excruciatingly long ticks passed before the elezen dragoon strode up, his armor looking somewhat battered and the telltale signs of fatigue were plain on his face. A few fulms behind him strode the hyur warrior, holding his axe at the ready in one hand and keeping a vigilant watch on anything and everything nearby. The pair looked every bit the part of the valiant knights as they strode in Eva’s direction with purpose.

It was Vaelyn that spoke first in a voice that was calm, but weary, “..Eva?”

Still exhausted herself she pushed herself away from the tree for a moment, her own face stained with soot and tears, “You- you're still alive. Thank the Twelve...”

Taking a step closer to her, he reached up carefully with his gauntlet. The metallic claws projecting menacingly from the knuckles of his gauntlets were menacing-looking, and the dried blood upon them signaled that they had been used to harm Garleans. Now those same claws lifted the hood of her robe tenderly to allow blonde hair tied with a leather cord to spill out down her back. A few tattered strands had escaped the band, and a gentle breeze blew them across her face. The reddish glow of Dalamud above gave her milky complexion and flaxen-colored hair an eerie sort of reddish glow.

“Eva, I am fine, but...” He glanced at his gauntlet beside her face a moment before lowering his hand awkwardly. “But why? Why are you here? You should be underground. You should be safe from all of…this.” He emphasized the point by gesturing with the lance he held in his other hand.

Sensing the more private nature of the conversation, Blade motioned to Vaelyn then stepped away to pursue some Imperials he had spotted nearby.

Eva responded somberly, a look of great sadness on her face, “I had to come back... I had to save you... I had to save them... I just had to... I...” Her voice tapered off gradually as she continued gibbering nonsensically.

Vaelyn stared at her, confused. Reaching up to place his hands on her upper arms near her shoulders, he grasped her gently, “Eva... what are you going on about? Everything is all right. Everyone will be all right.” The words seemed to be as much for himself as they were for her, “Now we need to get you somewhere safe. Away from all of this...”

Eva looked up at him, her violet eyes ablaze with defiance or anger or something in between, “No!” She blinked at the harshness of her own word, then stared at him for a moment before continuing in a softer tone, “No. I need to make sure that you're safe. You're going t-” She broke eye contact for a moment, looking over his shoulder and spotting an all-too-familiar Garlean soldier wielding a pike. He had somehow managed to break the line and was rushing straight for them. “LOOK OUT!!!” She shrieked and pointed to the charging assailant, pushing Vaelyn to one side as though she could somehow manage to force him out of the path of danger, though she was much too weak. Her fingers reached instinctively within her robes to her thigh again, towards a dagger that was no longer there. Panic began to set in. This was happening. Just like in her dream it was happening again and there was nothing she could do. Helplessness.

Vaelyn’s eyes widened beneath his helm as he reached behind his back for his lance, unfazed by Eva’s attempt to push him aside but without sufficient warning he was barely able to bring his weapon up to parry off the Imperial lancer's attack.

“No!!” She would not be helpless on this eve. Conjuring what little white aether she was able in her exhausted state, she expended the entirety of herself in a volatile Holy spell, powerful enough only to throw the Imperial lancer backwards where he stumbled and collapsed to the ground, stunned.

Blade’s voice came from behind as he leapt into the fray, “Yeah, I told you she was a good catch.” His eyes narrowed as he noticed the pikeman rising to his feet and grasping his spear. Metal was a blur as a francisca was twirled into his free hand and then sent forward, the small throwing axe lodging itself in the pikeman’s face and blood spraying everywhere. The Imperial reeled, then teetered to one side and fell over, lifeless.

Eva turned away, grimacing at the gruesome scene. Blade looked to her, “I thought you were in hiding?” His eyes shifted to Vaelyn and then he sighed quietly, a look of apparent sadness on his face.

The elezen woman gave no indication of hearing Blade’s question. She was still in shock and mumbled quietly as her hands covered her belly protectively, “He’ll be all right now, I think... They’ll be all right.....”

Vaelyn leaned on his polearm, lowering his chin a bit. He spoke softly, “Thanks and... It seems she came out to protect me from my death.” His lips formed a bit of a playful smirk as he gave a slight nod of his head to Blade, “...and yeah… she is a great catch.”

Standing back up, he rested the lance against his shoulders, craning his neck a bit to listen to the sounds of battle drawing nearer. “We can't stand around here much longer. They're pushing in deep. And Blade...” He turned to face his comrade over his shoulder, “Eva wasn't hiding. She went underground. Or was supposed to be underground...” the elezen turned now to face the woman before going on, “...to protect the twins she carries.”

Both elezen sighed quietly and Eva spoke quickly in a hushed tone, looking thoroughly shell-shocked. She had seen more battle in the past couple of bells than she'd been accustomed to in her entire life. The books she’d grown up reading tried to illustrate the horror of warfare, but witnessing it firsthand and being so close to the violence were entirely different and left her feeling ill. “I'm protecting them now,” was all she was able to speak. She leaned back against the tree, her eyes welling up once more with tears as she tried to quiet her stomach.

Vaelyn placed a hand on her shoulder and held her close for a moment before turning to Blade, “Are you all right?”

The hyur looked back over his shoulder. Men and women – adventurers and Imperials alike – lay slain nearby. Sadness and worry spread across his face as he glanced up at Dalamud and spoke very slowly, “I am not alright.”

Following Blade's gaze, Vaelyn also stared up at Dalamud. Looking to Eva for a moment she gave a slow nod and he lowered his head gently before speaking, “Blade... if you need to go, then go.” Reaching into his pouch, he withdrew a small linkpearl and tossed it to the hyur. “Just stay in touch, alright? I'll remain here with Eva to keep her safe.” Offering a somber smile he gave a slight nod of his head to his friend, “...I got this from here.”

Blade glanced from the pearl to the two elezen figures huddled together. A sort of disgust seemed to fill his face momentarily as some stray thought crossed his mind. “Listen, I need to find Selene. Eva, have you seen or heard from her?”

She shook her head, "I haven’t... I saw A'eyshn before, a little while ago."

Blade’s eyes lit up for a moment, "What?! You saw A'eyshn? Selene wasn't with her?"

She shook her head again, frowning, “No... she was alone, but she was wearing Selene's ribbon in her hair... I'm not sure what that m-” She paused a moment, searching for some form of consolation to offer, “I- She was all right when I left her. A'eyshn. I didn't have time to talk though. I had to find Vael-” She turned to her beloved, “I had to find you...”

Blade looked over his shoulder again, once more aware of the bodies. He grumbled quietly to himself, “Damn it Selene…” He shook his head, irritated, and looked back at the couple. “I have to find her!”

Hesitating a moment, she reached into her belt pouch and withdrew a small blue linkpearl, offering it to Blade. “You might have some luck with this – my father's old pearl. I know she also carries one of these, but on this night the only other voice I've heard over it has been Vaelyn’s.” He accepted the pearl and nodded, examining it for a moment.

She bit her bottom lip gently and nodded back at him, “And... I think I understand hon. Go on, Blade. Find her.”

Vaelyn placed his hand on Eva’s shoulder, giving a mild nod of his own to the midlander. The dragoon had remained quiet as the other two spoke, his gaze falling upon Eva for a moment before surveying the landscape again, then back up to the sky. Blade eyed the new linkpearl a moment longer before tucking it away with the other one Vaelyn had given him. “Thank you. I’ll find her.” Taking up his axe again he gave a quick bow of his head before abruptly charging back out into the battlefield, quickly to be lost amidst the dust and smoke and warfare.

Eva followed Vaelyn’s gaze back up at Dalamud after Blade was out of sight. Both duskwights stood in stunned silence for a long moment. The swollen sphere had grown even closer still. Her voice was barely audible over the clamor, a whisper, “This is all coming unraveled now... We need to pray...” She fell to her knees beside the tree, a deep frown crossing her face momentarily before her features smoothed themselves out again. Her eyes closed and her lips began moving, silently murmuring prayers.

Vaelyn watched as Eva fell to her knees. His eyes quickly returned to her surroundings, scanning what was going on around them in the moment, refusing to let pass by another attempt on either of their lives. “Eva...” He gave a somber smile and placed his hand once more on her shoulder, not wanting to interrupt her prayer, “I have to fight. They're nearby and... As long as I c-”

A loud explosion cut him off and a blast of heat washed over the both of them. The sky lit up briefly – long enough for Eva to shield her eyes – and then everything returned to smoldering darkness again. A man’s agonized screams cut Vaelyn off when he opened his mouth again, and both their heads swung to one side. An armored woman sat at her knees perched over him as another Garlean soldier grew near. Eva nodded to Vaelyn but he had already leapt towards the Garlean. A sickening ‘thunk’ sound marked the Garlean’s death as he fell backward dead, Vaelyn’s lance protruding from his armored chest for a moment before he twisted and yanked it back out. The body twitched a few times and Eva had to look away again. Meanwhile, Vaelyn dashed off towards where the Garlean had come from. There were others nearby. Of course there were others. There were always more.

She let the thought slip from her mind. Her instinct was to go after him. To make sure he was safe. But that moment with the Garlean pikeman had passed, and she felt in her heart that she had done what she needed to do. There was a strange sense of comfort, but the pained screaming of the elezen man quickly put a halt to that.

She rushed back over to where the armored elezen woman was pleading with the wounded man to stay alive. Looking up from her companion, the woman spotted Eva and lifted her head to her, "Your robes... you're a healer! Help my brother, please! Please!" There was desperation in her voice and in her eyes. The man lay still, his fingers wrapped around his sister's hand and his teeth were chattering between his tormented cries.

Nodding to the woman, Eva fell once more to her knees, this time not in prayer but to appraise the man’s wounds. His armor had been scorched from the blast and a hole had been punched in the abdomen. Her training as a nurse took over and the rest of the battlefield seemed to fall away in the moment, “Stay by his head and talk to him. Keep him awake...” There was an unnatural authority to her words, and the wounded man’s sister scooted out of the way. The command was more for her than it was for him though. She'd seen the blood glistening through the hole punched in his armor. A quick look over him made it apparent that his injuries were fatal, and he had only a few ticks left. Another illuminated blast from overhead revealed the source of the glistening wasn't blood, but rather entrails that had escaped his abdomen only to be encased loosely within his broken armor instead.

She didn’t feel sick to her stomach as she had earlier though. She’d seen this once before, and she knew that she had to be brave for the both of them as much as for herself. Placing her hand gently over the man's chest, she spoke in a low voice to the woman as her eyes closed and the flows of white aetherial energy stretched from her fingertips – wisps that were absorbed by his body. “Tell your brother that you're proud of him, lass. Tell him you love him. These are his last moments in this world and it's best for the both of you that your words be good ones before he pass on to Thal’s realm.”

His eyes looked frightened for a moment, before his sister began speaking of people with names Eva had never heard of before. And a sort of calmness washed over him as he looked up at his sister. She caressed his face and spoke of family they'd shared, and friends they'd known. She told him he had brought honor to their family, and that she wished she could have been a better sister, and how much she hated this stupid war. Tears fell upon his face from her eyes, and each sibling stared at the other, transfixed in that moment.

The wounded man opened his mouth to speak, but only blood trickled forth. Eva couldn't fix him. She could take some of his pain away though, and that's exactly what she had done. The physical pain of dying. As much of it as she could sustain through the aetherial energy that now surrounded them both.

A moment later he was gone, and Eva broke the aetherial connection between them, collapsing sideways on the ground beside him. The dead man's sister wept freely, having only a moment to grieve. Then another loud explosion! The sounds of the battlefield seemed to shake both women back into the present moment. She looked through damp eyes at Eva and opened her mouth, but before any words came out, Eva had faltered back to her knees and picked up the sword she had been carrying, offering it back to her, "Make his death mean something, sweetie."

The woman wiped her eyes quickly, took hold of the sword, and gave a resolute nod to Eva. She rushed off into the fray, but not before looking back graciously for a moment at the kneeling duskwight woman who had helped them find a sliver of peace amidst all the bloodshed.

Vaelyn returned right around the same time that Eva lost sight of the woman amidst a crowd of Yellowjackets and Garleans, and she was grateful not to be left alone there with the dead man. He glanced at the fallen elezen’s body a moment and frowned. Helping her back to her feet he spoke quickly, “Come on Eva, let's get you out of here...” They took a few steps back towards the withered tree before a glow illuminated the sky and fissures within Dalamud began to illuminate. “Come on Eva, hurry!”

Leaning against the tree again, they realized the clash of swords and spears and axes had subsided somewhat. Others nearby were also staring up at Dalamud. Something was happening. Suddenly the earth shook as an enormous mass was ejected from the great red moon and impacted forcefully not far from where they stood!

“The Twelve save us.... It’s happening....” Eva buried her face in Vaelyn’s chest and wrapped her arms around him. He held her close and watched helplessly over her head as events unfolded. Her own eyes found a lone elderly elezen man atop a precipice and remained transfixed upon him. Meteors crashed into the surrounding landscape, lighting up the sky with each explosion. She heard what sounded like a huge drake roaring loudly, and clutched herself closer to Vaelyn’s armored midsection. His arms held her close to him as they both watched in different directions. Her gaze never faltered, as the old man's efforts seemed in vain. Bluish wards formed a circle, but she couldn't make anything out apart from the expression on the man’s face as he continued – raw determination. She could have sworn for a moment she saw the sigil of Nymeia appear before her in glowing lights, but it faded quickly, if it was even there at all. Another explosion rocked the countryside and the earth trembled violently beneath their feet.

Looking up at Vaelyn a moment she wiped some soot from his cheek with her fingertips and smiled at him, “If this is the end, I’m glad I’m with you. Vaelyn, I lo-”

Dizziness cut her words short, and everything faded to blue, then to white.


--------------------------

A moment later she found herself clutching tightly not to Vaelyn’s metal armor, but rather to the bark of a sturdy tree trunk. Vaelyn wasn’t there any longer, and she didn’t recognize her surroundings at all. The exhaustion of the long trek and overextending herself while healing the dying man coupled with the shock of the sudden relocation was too much for her to bear, and Eva lost consciousness.