I actually wrote Loki's at launch, but never got around to writing Armi's, maybe for the one year anniversary I'll actually do that.
Loki Aethertide:
Loki Aethertide:
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SpoilerIt was amazing, the silence that filled the air the moments before swords began to clash. Both sides hesitant, waiting to see what the other would do. Everyone was looking around, waiting for the words to either end the war or start it officially. Fear could be seen in the eyes of most, glee could be seen in some. The air whipped around them, thousands – no hundreds of thousands – of people and all that could be heard was the wind through the trees.
The roar that could be heard when the battle started was completely deafening.
It was chaos, though that was to be expected. Some people didn’t even get to fight; they were, instead, trampled underneath the armored feet of the combatants. A shame, but she had no time to mourn them. Her focus was only on survival and she was as quick as she could be with her bow. The first few arrows went into a few heads, but she missed with the next one. She had no time for such mistakes, not if she wanted to get out of this alive. Not if she wanted to protect the others who were on the battlefield with her.
When the fighting started the Crimson Blades were quick to scatter, she had no idea where any of them were or how any of them were doing. Ellion, she was sure, would be able to take care of himself and, knowing him, he would probably be one of the only ones to survive. Siben and Stanzie were both wild cards, could go either way. She frowned as she thought of Lloire. A seventeen year old had no place on the battle field, but regardless of how much any one told him, he simply didn’t listen. She could only hope he was as tough as he thought he was. Her mind then went to Armi, the priestess she was training to use a bow. The girl had really only been a medic, sometimes entertaining people with her guitar. Could she survive something like this? Her mind flash over each member of the Crimson Blades she could remember as she rocketed arrows into Garlean skulls.
She tried to ignore the carnage around her and focus on the task of staying alive, though that wasn’t easy with the screams of pain from places unknown and puddles of blood beginning to form underneath her feet. She could block most of it out, she was good at such things, but reality hit her in the face whenever someone was slaughtered within close range. She sighed in annoyance; she was quickly running out of arrows, she would have to pull back soon and find a way to get more if she kept up this pace. Her arms started to ache more and more with each pull of the bow string, exhaustion setting in after a while. She wasn’t sure how long she had been out there – an hour, maybe two? Time was meaningless to her brain, but her body was letting her know she couldn’t keep it up much longer.
“Flank their East side!†She heard a familiar voice yelling next to her. She turned to see Ellion, commanding a team of about 10 or so people. As soon as they heard Ellion’s order, they took off running in the direction he had ordered. The Miqote Male looked battle worn and tired, but he was standing as upright as possible, as if trying to seem more leader-like. She ran over to him, pushing people out of the way in the process and gave him a small, but meaningful, salute.
“Ellion.†She said in her usual monotone voice as she struck a Garlean soldier in the shoulder with a well-placed arrow.
“You’re still here.†He ran over to the soldier and stuck his sword into his neck, blood spraying over his face and chest as the soldier fell. Ellion’s cat-like ears curled back into the top of his head and his tale twitched ever so slightly, “I’m glad.â€
“Is that surprise I hear in your voice, Goto?†They stood back to back as they fought off the onslaught coming toward them.
“Only a little, I assure you.†There was laughter in his voice, though she couldn’t see his face to confirm. Ellion would be handling the situation well, she thought to herself, he had been training for this kind of thing for years, “You should find higher ground, it would be easier for you.â€
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you giving me orders.†She told him as one of her arrows went into the head of another Garlean soldier. She pushed the grim reality of that out of her mind and turned toward Ellion. His skin was dark; blood was nearly invisible on him. He was like a shadow on the battlefield and his lithe figure, a staple of all male Miqote, made him quick and agile; a deadly force even among the weapons of war. She was glad he was on her side.
“It’s safer for you up there.†He grunted out, “You’ll be a harder target to hit.â€
“Concerned?â€
“A bit.†He sighed, “It doesn’t matter what Fillion did, you are my commanding officer.â€
Despite the fact she wanted to argue, he did have a point. An archer in the thick of the battle field was hardly useful, so she nodded and patted him on the shoulder, “You won’t die down here, alright?â€
“Is that an order?â€
“You bet your ass it is.â€
“Then I must obey.†He bowed. A Garlean soldier took that as an opportunity to attack from behind him, but Ellion merely plunged his sword into the soldier’s belly and thrust it upward, nearly cutting the man in half. He fell to the ground and pieces of his insides spilled onto the battlefield. Loki flinched; Ellion merely blinked.
“I’ll see you on the other side.†She smiled at him and turned around, looking toward the hills along the battlefield. She didn’t have the nerve to turn around again; if she did she might burst into tears or something equally pathetic. Ellion had been her right hand man in the Crimson Blades almost as long as she had been an officer. He was just as close to her as any of the crew on her ship, the thought of him not surviving was one she couldn’t bear. Instead, she immediately pressed forward, looking at a small hillside where she could get a better view of the action. It looked practically untouched, people were just going around it, but the problem was getting there.
Fighting through hundreds of people, she kept her eye on the prize and used her arrows as little as possible. That required creative use of the terrain, bobbing and weaving her way around the many battles being fought. This proved extremely difficult with her prosthetic leg, she wasn’t exactly known for speed with it, but she managed to make it to the base of the hill with very little fighting. She sighed and looked up at the sky, the large red moon Dalamud hung there as if mocking everyone involved in the fight. She cursed, and then began the climb to the top of the small hill.
Or at least she would have if an arrow hadn’t hit her shoulder, sending her to the ground in an instant. She roared in pain, letting out a few more curse words for good measure and immediately pulled the thing out. Unfortunately for her, another pierced her right hand, pinning her to the ground below. Great, someone had it out for her. A dark shadow loomed over head and she saw the armor of a Garlean archer, now close enough to get the killing blow. He pulled back his bow, aiming for her head. With her hand pinned to the ground there was nothing much she could do… except for kick him as hard as she could with her prosthetic leg. That thing was heavy, and it was certainly heavy enough to knock the archer off balance, which gave her time to pull the arrow out of her hand and stab him in the leg. He let out a groan and pulled out a dagger, thrusting it down toward her quickly. She tried to dodge, but he stabbed her in her side.
“Twelve!†She cursed and tried to kick him away again. He fell backwards. Giving her time to try and get upright to get to her bow.
“Hey, get away from her!†She heard a familiar, female voice yell from an unknown location. She turned toward the voice and saw Stanzie, running toward them at top speed.
“Stanzie! No!†She tried to yell as loud as possible, but the dagger in her side made her voice come out almost like a whisper. Stanzie had no front line experience and she barely had combat experience – just what Loki and Ellion managed to teach her when she wasn’t on duty. This was a recipe for disaster.
The man turned toward Stanzie and began to pick himself up quicker than before. This gave Loki some time to find her bow and stand. With him paying attention to Stanzie she was able to aim her bow and fire, an arrow hitting the man in the back of the neck. He fell, gurgling at first, then going completely silent. Loki collapsed again, looking at the large dagger sticking out of her side. She was pretty sure Stanzie didn’t have the healing power to heal that.
Stanzie ran over to her, nearly tripping on the newly dead body, “Loki, are you okay!?â€
“What are you doing yelling at him!? This is war, not a game of tag!†Loki yelled and tried to smack Stanzie with her good hand, though it really only looked like a small pat. She was getting weaker, losing too much blood.
“I had to do something!†Stanzie frowned.
“Then use a spell on him, yelling literally does nothing.â€
“Sorry! I just… I can’t think out here! It’s so… fast… I can’t…†Stanzie looked on the verge of tears, making Loki let out a defeated sigh.
“You shouldn’t be out here at all.†Loki let out a groan as she looked down at the dagger in her side, “Can you heal this?â€
Stanzie shook her head; the Miqote’s ears lay drooped atop her red hair, “Not strong enough. We should get you to the medical tent.â€
“Stanzie! What are you doing running off like that! You could get hu—Loki, by the gods.†Siben appeared above her, his blue hair covering his pointed face. He kneeled down immediately and grabbed Loki’s good arm, putting it over his shoulders to hoist her up, “Let’s get you healed, huh?â€
“I’ll help, too!†Stanzie flanked her other side and together they both walked her over to the medical tent, far from the middle of the battle. Siben was quick to make sure no one was following them with his bombs and they made it there without any more scratches or dings. They sat Loki on one of the beds and when they were sure she wasn’t going to fall, Siben turned pointedly at Stanzie.
“We need to talk.†He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Loki’s view. He was probably going to tell her what Loki had, that she shouldn’t be out there. It was too dangerous for her, and she was basically useless.
“Miss, are you okay?†A healer came to her bed, an Elezen woman with long blond hair. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the large Garlean dagger in Loki’s side and she quickly took a potion from her apron, handing it to Loki, “This should heal your smaller wounds, I’m afraid that dagger is going to have to come out before we can heal it properly.â€
Loki mocked a salute with her pointer finger, “Understood.â€
“I’ll return with a White Mage.†The Elezen nodded and quickly took off. Loki was quick to down the potion and she could feel the wound in her shoulder start to heal. However, it did very little for the hole in her hand… or the dagger in her side. She sighed and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling of the tent. She was dizzy, the pain was almost unbearable.
“Loki!†Another familiar voice. This one sounded far away, locked behind the rushing water in her ears. A face appeared above her, looking wide eyed. A young Hyur boy with long, dark, hair and an innocent face. Lloire.
“Kid.†She suddenly felt concern, “What are you doing here?â€
“Huh? Oh! Aliya is hurt.†He answered, “I’m fine.â€
Aliya Otori. Lloire’s friend. She hadn't many dealings with the girl, but as far as she knew they were close, “Is she okay?â€
“She’s fine, better than you.†Lloire motioned toward the dagger in Loki’s side with his head.
“Nothing a good cure won’t fix.†She put on a smile, “This… is where I’m supposed to tell… you to get off the battlefield.â€
“But you’re not going to?†He asked.
“No, kid, I’m not going to.†She leaned her head back, “I am thinking it really hard, though.â€
“I’m doing good. You can ask Aliya.†He smiled, “You’d be proud.â€
She patted his shoulder, “I’m sure I would be. You need to promise you’ll be careful out there.â€
“I’m always careful, ma’am.â€
“Don’t call me ma’am.†Loki let out a few coughs. Not as many as she wanted to however, she wanted to make sure the kid wouldn’t worry, “You should get back to your friend.â€
“I won’t let any of you down. Not Ellion, not Aliya, not you.†He shook his head.
“I believe you.†She chuckled, “You’ve grown up. Might be time to stop calling you Kid.â€
“Really!?â€
“We’ll talk about it after the battle, go back to your friend.â€
Lloire merely nodded and walked away from her. Loki frowned as soon as he couldn’t see her anymore. The last place he needed to be was in the middle of this battle, but he was trying so hard to prove himself she couldn’t tell him that. She didn’t want to let on that she was worried. They had grown fairly close during their time with the Blades and he had a lot of spirit. He reminded her a lot of herself when she was his age. She only hoped that he would get out of this in one piece, so he could live to see all that potential of his realized. That would be the biggest tragedy she could think of.
“Miss…†A Hyur male with short, brown hair came over to her, pulling her out of her thoughts, “We’re going to heal you now okay? We just have to get that dagger out.â€
Loki didn’t say anything as he reached for the dagger and pulled it out. She did, however, let out a scream so loud she swore it shook the entire tent. The man was quick to heal her though and pretty soon the only things left on her skin were two small scares where the wounds used to be.
“Are you okay?†Siben walked over to her as the healer walked away. Stanzie was right behind him, looking particularly annoyed.
“All patched up and ready to go back.†Loki planted her feet on the ground and rolled her right shoulder.
“Yeah, let’s get back out there!†Stanzie said with a bit of defiance in her tone.
Siben looked at her and sighed, “I thought we talked about this.â€
“We did.†Stanzie nodded, “And I disagreed.â€
“Lover’s spat?†Loki asked.
“I don’t think she should go back out there.†He said, ignoring Loki’s comment, “She’ll only get herself killed.â€
“I agree.†Loki looked at Stanzie, who looked at her with a frown.
“What am I supposed to do, run away!? I’m fighting with you guys!†Stanzie yelled so loud half the tent looked over to the three.
“You’re a walking target out there.†Loki replied calmly, “Siben is just looking out for you.â€
“But who’s going to look after you!?†Stanzie wailed, again, loudly, “I want to help!â€
“Why don’t you stay here?†Loki asked her, “You have experience in Conjury and you’re pretty good at making potions. They could probably use the extra hand.â€
“That’s a good idea, actually.†Siben nodded toward Stanzie, who looked utterly frustrated at the idea.
“What!? I need to be out there, with you guys!†Stanzie crossed her arms.
Loki stood up and grabbed the large dagger that was once in her side from the table next to her. She looked at it and stuck it in her boot, “We don’t have time to argue this, Stanzie.â€
Siben sighed, “You’ll make a bigger difference here than you ever would on the field.â€
Stanzie paused then let out a heavy sigh, her cat-like ears drooping yet again, “Fine. I guess you guys are right.â€
“Of course we are.†Loki told her as Siben put a hand on Stanzie’s shoulder.
“You’re making the right decision here, Stanz.†Siben tried to reassure her, but Loki could tell it wasn’t working.
“I’ll go and find someone to volunteer my services.†Stanzie said in a quiet voice with a bit of a bite to it. Once she was gone, Siben looked over to Loki, fixing the glasses on his face.
“Thanks for helping me out.†He looked at the ground, as if afraid to look her in the eye.
“I wasn’t helping, it was the most logical thing for her to do. “ Loki blinked.
Siben chuckled, “Yeah, yeah… I should head back out there.â€
“Good idea, our side needs your explosive expertise.â€
“Hey, I do other stuff. I can heal some and I know quite a bit of Thaumaturgy.â€
“Which is still blowing things up.â€
“Yes, but with magic.â€
Both of them laughed softly, but soon silence came between them. Loki didn’t know what to say, it felt like every time she talked to someone she was giving them a goodbye. Now she was about to do it here, with him. She cleared her throat and tried to sound nonchalant, “Just… don’t draw too much attention to yourself out there, okay?â€
“Same goes for you.†He smiled, a forced kind of smile that only came from this situation, then turned on his heels and walked out of the Medical tent.
Loki stretched and braced herself for another round of battle before heading out of the tent herself. She had to be honest, the break was nice and there was a small part of her that just wanted to lie on one of those uncomfortable cots until the end – whenever that was.
“Lloire? Lloire!?†She heard Aliya yelling for the kid and turned around quickly. The Hyur girl was rushing around, her black hair no longer tied in the ponytail that usually held it, her eyes looked paniced and the medical staff looked at her as if she was going absolutely bonkers. Loki cleared her throat and walked over to the girl.
“Something wrong?†She said, making Aliya whirl around.
“I can’t fin’ Lloire!†Aliya answered a bit panicked, “I think he took off by ‘imself.â€
Loki raised an eyebrow, “He wouldn’t just leave you here.â€
“I dunno…â€
“I’ll help look for him, come on.†Loki patted the girl’s shoulder reassuringly and told her to take one half of the large tent, while she took the other. It took about 10 minutes to go through the place, but Loki still came up empty handed. She cursed under her breath, Lloire was never a reckless kid, but he had a lot to prove. With his illness, and being the youngest member of the Crimson Blades actually on an active team, he had always felt the need to prove he was not, in fact, a kid. Would he really leave his friend behind though? It was unlike him, but the fact she couldn’t find him answered her question.
“Anythin’?†Aliya asked with a hopeful tone.
Loki shook her head, “Seems you were right.â€
“I was afraid of tha’†She sighed as worry filled her eyes, “He’s only seventeen. If anythin’ ‘appens to ‘im…â€
“He’s a tough kid, I’m sure he’ll be fine.â€
“Yeah… dun know why he took off without me.â€
“I’m sure he thought you could handle yourself.†Loki told her, “You’re a decent fighter when you want to be.â€
“Much better at tha' blacksmithin', than I am fightin’†Aliya chuckled.
“Just hit a bunch of people over the head with that hammer of yours, pretend they’re all metal.â€
Aliya nodded, “Imma go out there and fin’ him. Good luck, Loki.â€
“You too.†Yet another goodbye. She watched the girl walk away and leave the tent completely. She didn’t know Aliya that well and now she felt regret that she hadn't gotten to. She was close to Lloire, someone she thought of as a student or a younger brother; why hadn’t she gotten to know his friends? Aliya was a talented blacksmith, she had even worked on the inner parts of Loki’s prosthetic leg. She had a style about her, when she was working it was almost like she was dancing; graceful and full of life. She was worth getting to know… why hadn’t Loki made the attempt? She sighed, it was too late now. It was too late for a lot of things. She wanted to be positive but she knew the truth – hardly anyone she knew would make it out of this alive. Loki gathered her thoughts and took a deep breath before grabbing her bow and quiver and heading outside. What she saw outside made her stop in her tracks.
Bright red streaks of light flew across the sky in every which direction, barreling toward the ground at breakneck speed. Meteors. They hit the ground with a loud thwak, exploding the ground around them, hurling people unlucky enough to be close high into the air. Other meteors flew past the battle field all together, hitting areas that Loki couldn’t even see. She followed the path they were coming from and felt her jaw drop, mouth agape. The moon, Dalamud, was cracking. Blue, glowing lines began to pattern themselves onto the moon, as giant pillars began dropping from different points. There was no way that was a good sign.
She ran back into the tent and found Stanzie healing a random Elezen male near the back.
“Stanzie, whatever you do, do not leave this tent.†Loki told her with panic in her voice.
Stanzie stood up and looked toward her, “What’s going on?â€
“Just don’t leave, okay?†Loki ordered, but Stanzie stood there dumbfounded, “Stanzie!â€
“Yeah, okay okay.†Stanzie nodded and Loki immediately bolted from the tent, diving right into the battlefield to look for anyone else she knew. They had to get out of there, this was about to get so much worse.
She tried to avoid fighting as much as possible, calling for people she knew in order to get them evacuated. In her haste she didn’t see the man in the metal armor charge toward her and hit her smack in the face with his gauntlet. She fell, hard, into the ground below and he brought his shield over her head to smash it down on her. She pulled out the large dagger from her boot and stabbed an opening in the leg of his armor and pulled it out, trying to stab it in the other leg. The man screamed and kicked the knife out of Loki’s hand, sending it flying in an unknown direction, before he collapsed to his knees. Loki scrambled up quickly, grabbed for an arrow in her quiver, stabbing the man in his neck. She didn’t have time to see him fall, instead she took off running hoping to find someone, anyone she knew.
She fought through the crowd, firing arrows as fast and as often as possible, trying to get through as many Garlean soldiers as possible. After a while she stopped to catch her breath, exhaustion settling into her bones. She hadn’t found anyone, in this crowd it would be almost impossible. She couldn’t give up though, not if she wanted to try to save some lives.
“Look out!†A voice said from far away and through all clamoring and yelling and screaming, it seemed to stand out. She turned toward the voice, only to see a large pillar that had descended from the moon suddenly shoot downward, landing hard on the ground below. The impact was explosive, throwing people from the area and throwing a cloud of dirt in the general vicinity. Loki closed her eyes and ducked down to avoid the debris, luckily she was far enough away to only be impacted by dust and dirt from the ground it kicked up. When she opened her eyes she didn’t even have time to catch her breath, the moon exploded in red fire and as it crackled and broke it flung more pillars to the ground. Rising from the broken moon came a large, dragon-like beast. Illuminated by the fires of the moon, it looked like death and as it extended its wings she knew that was exactly what it was. She didn't even wait for it to do anything, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She heard an explosion behind her, the moon had broken into thousands of pieces which were now hurling themselves toward Eorzea, destroying everything in their wake. She dodged what she could and prayed to the twelve nothing would hit her. She could see people all around her injured from the destruction, but she didn't have time to stop. The only thing she could do is run.
“Loki!†She heard someone call her name. She recognized the voice and it made her stop in her tracks. Siben.
“Siben!?†She yelled and looked around, “Where are you!?â€
“I’m so glad I found someone!†Siben ran over to her, trying to catch his breath.
“I don’t know what’s going on!†She yelled through the noise.
“I think it’s the end of the world!†Siben joked then extended his hand, “Come on, let’s get out of here!â€
She was about to take it when an arrow was flung between them. Looking over she saw three Garlean soldiers, weapons at the ready, with smiles on their faces.
“Where’re you goin?†One of them said.
Loki rolled her eyes, “The war is pretty much over, don’t know if you got the dragon shaped memo.â€
“Ain’t over, just means we’re winning.†Another one spat. Loki looked over at Siben. He looked exhausted and his face told her he was not ready for another battle.
“You got bombs?†Loki asked him, he shook his head sadly.
“Out. Out of bombs, out of mana, out of time.†He answered with a sigh. Loki checked her quiver; only 5 or 6 arrows left. Not enough to put up very
much of a defense. The world around them exploded in red and Loki was starting to lose hope in the current situation.
Then, out of nowhere, a bright white light hit one of the men. The others went to go examine him but found themselves hit as well. It was quick, but it was effective, the assault of magic made them fall to the ground, unmoving.
“Was that…?†Loki started.
“Not me.†Siben put his hands up. They both looked around, from the smoke and dust a small figure appeared with a smile on his face.
“Need some help?†Lloire looked at his handy work and dusted off his hands.
“Where were you kid?†Loki asked, relieved to see him alive and well.
“Doing my duty, what were you—“ Lloire looked up to the sky with wide eyes, “I guess now isn’t the time for a reunion.â€
“What do you mean?†Siben asked him as him and Loki both turned to look at what Lloire was staring at. The giant dragon beast was emiting white,
missile-like objects from his wings, and began throwing them down to the ground below.
“We gotta go. Now.†Loki ordered and both the men nodded. They ran as the missile’s impacted the ground, hitting objects, people; anything in their way. They were heading in the direction of the medical tent, which made Loki wonder if Stanzie was okay. Was it hit? She shook her head, she should be worried about her own survival right now. They needed to find cover, like a cave or something. She stopped and looked around.
“Where are we going!?†Siben yelled.
“I think if we go this way there’s a—“
“LOKI! SIBEN! BEHIND YOU!â€
What happened next happened so slowly she would have sworn time had slowed down. She turned and saw Lloire push both Siben and Loki out of the way using his magic. He knocked them a good 7 yalms away and she landed hard on her back. Milliseconds later a white missile hit the ground where they had stood… where Lloire was currently standing.
“LLOIRE!!†Loki screamed, but there was no answer. The dragon beast was behind them, assaulting the area with his missiles, everytime she tried to run to where he was, a missile would hit near her, forcing her and Siben farther and farther away, “Lloire!!â€
“We have to go Loki!†Siben yelled to her.
“No!†She screamed, “Lloire!â€
The assault was getting worse, they had to go, she knew that. Still, she couldn’t leave the kid behind.
“Loki.†Siben put a hand on her shoulder and she sighed. They both knew the truth, there was no way he survived that. She looked up at him and nodded, and they began running once again, hoping to find somewhere safe.
“Look! We’re saved!†A strangers voice said, making Loki turn to look over at where it was coming from. A young man was pointing upward and she turned to look. The beast was being imprisoned in a giant ball of white light. Had the Twelve decided to save them? Everyone around them began to cheer as the beast was enveloped in another circular prison and Loki herself even began to feel hopeful that this was truly the end.
That hope only lasted until the beast was able to break free and start his carnage all over again.
If the Twelve couldn’t help, who could? She wondered. Exhaustion overtook her, she dropped her bow and fell to her knees, totally unsure of what to do next.
That’s when everything went white.
The roar that could be heard when the battle started was completely deafening.
It was chaos, though that was to be expected. Some people didn’t even get to fight; they were, instead, trampled underneath the armored feet of the combatants. A shame, but she had no time to mourn them. Her focus was only on survival and she was as quick as she could be with her bow. The first few arrows went into a few heads, but she missed with the next one. She had no time for such mistakes, not if she wanted to get out of this alive. Not if she wanted to protect the others who were on the battlefield with her.
When the fighting started the Crimson Blades were quick to scatter, she had no idea where any of them were or how any of them were doing. Ellion, she was sure, would be able to take care of himself and, knowing him, he would probably be one of the only ones to survive. Siben and Stanzie were both wild cards, could go either way. She frowned as she thought of Lloire. A seventeen year old had no place on the battle field, but regardless of how much any one told him, he simply didn’t listen. She could only hope he was as tough as he thought he was. Her mind then went to Armi, the priestess she was training to use a bow. The girl had really only been a medic, sometimes entertaining people with her guitar. Could she survive something like this? Her mind flash over each member of the Crimson Blades she could remember as she rocketed arrows into Garlean skulls.
She tried to ignore the carnage around her and focus on the task of staying alive, though that wasn’t easy with the screams of pain from places unknown and puddles of blood beginning to form underneath her feet. She could block most of it out, she was good at such things, but reality hit her in the face whenever someone was slaughtered within close range. She sighed in annoyance; she was quickly running out of arrows, she would have to pull back soon and find a way to get more if she kept up this pace. Her arms started to ache more and more with each pull of the bow string, exhaustion setting in after a while. She wasn’t sure how long she had been out there – an hour, maybe two? Time was meaningless to her brain, but her body was letting her know she couldn’t keep it up much longer.
“Flank their East side!†She heard a familiar voice yelling next to her. She turned to see Ellion, commanding a team of about 10 or so people. As soon as they heard Ellion’s order, they took off running in the direction he had ordered. The Miqote Male looked battle worn and tired, but he was standing as upright as possible, as if trying to seem more leader-like. She ran over to him, pushing people out of the way in the process and gave him a small, but meaningful, salute.
“Ellion.†She said in her usual monotone voice as she struck a Garlean soldier in the shoulder with a well-placed arrow.
“You’re still here.†He ran over to the soldier and stuck his sword into his neck, blood spraying over his face and chest as the soldier fell. Ellion’s cat-like ears curled back into the top of his head and his tale twitched ever so slightly, “I’m glad.â€
“Is that surprise I hear in your voice, Goto?†They stood back to back as they fought off the onslaught coming toward them.
“Only a little, I assure you.†There was laughter in his voice, though she couldn’t see his face to confirm. Ellion would be handling the situation well, she thought to herself, he had been training for this kind of thing for years, “You should find higher ground, it would be easier for you.â€
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you giving me orders.†She told him as one of her arrows went into the head of another Garlean soldier. She pushed the grim reality of that out of her mind and turned toward Ellion. His skin was dark; blood was nearly invisible on him. He was like a shadow on the battlefield and his lithe figure, a staple of all male Miqote, made him quick and agile; a deadly force even among the weapons of war. She was glad he was on her side.
“It’s safer for you up there.†He grunted out, “You’ll be a harder target to hit.â€
“Concerned?â€
“A bit.†He sighed, “It doesn’t matter what Fillion did, you are my commanding officer.â€
Despite the fact she wanted to argue, he did have a point. An archer in the thick of the battle field was hardly useful, so she nodded and patted him on the shoulder, “You won’t die down here, alright?â€
“Is that an order?â€
“You bet your ass it is.â€
“Then I must obey.†He bowed. A Garlean soldier took that as an opportunity to attack from behind him, but Ellion merely plunged his sword into the soldier’s belly and thrust it upward, nearly cutting the man in half. He fell to the ground and pieces of his insides spilled onto the battlefield. Loki flinched; Ellion merely blinked.
“I’ll see you on the other side.†She smiled at him and turned around, looking toward the hills along the battlefield. She didn’t have the nerve to turn around again; if she did she might burst into tears or something equally pathetic. Ellion had been her right hand man in the Crimson Blades almost as long as she had been an officer. He was just as close to her as any of the crew on her ship, the thought of him not surviving was one she couldn’t bear. Instead, she immediately pressed forward, looking at a small hillside where she could get a better view of the action. It looked practically untouched, people were just going around it, but the problem was getting there.
Fighting through hundreds of people, she kept her eye on the prize and used her arrows as little as possible. That required creative use of the terrain, bobbing and weaving her way around the many battles being fought. This proved extremely difficult with her prosthetic leg, she wasn’t exactly known for speed with it, but she managed to make it to the base of the hill with very little fighting. She sighed and looked up at the sky, the large red moon Dalamud hung there as if mocking everyone involved in the fight. She cursed, and then began the climb to the top of the small hill.
Or at least she would have if an arrow hadn’t hit her shoulder, sending her to the ground in an instant. She roared in pain, letting out a few more curse words for good measure and immediately pulled the thing out. Unfortunately for her, another pierced her right hand, pinning her to the ground below. Great, someone had it out for her. A dark shadow loomed over head and she saw the armor of a Garlean archer, now close enough to get the killing blow. He pulled back his bow, aiming for her head. With her hand pinned to the ground there was nothing much she could do… except for kick him as hard as she could with her prosthetic leg. That thing was heavy, and it was certainly heavy enough to knock the archer off balance, which gave her time to pull the arrow out of her hand and stab him in the leg. He let out a groan and pulled out a dagger, thrusting it down toward her quickly. She tried to dodge, but he stabbed her in her side.
“Twelve!†She cursed and tried to kick him away again. He fell backwards. Giving her time to try and get upright to get to her bow.
“Hey, get away from her!†She heard a familiar, female voice yell from an unknown location. She turned toward the voice and saw Stanzie, running toward them at top speed.
“Stanzie! No!†She tried to yell as loud as possible, but the dagger in her side made her voice come out almost like a whisper. Stanzie had no front line experience and she barely had combat experience – just what Loki and Ellion managed to teach her when she wasn’t on duty. This was a recipe for disaster.
The man turned toward Stanzie and began to pick himself up quicker than before. This gave Loki some time to find her bow and stand. With him paying attention to Stanzie she was able to aim her bow and fire, an arrow hitting the man in the back of the neck. He fell, gurgling at first, then going completely silent. Loki collapsed again, looking at the large dagger sticking out of her side. She was pretty sure Stanzie didn’t have the healing power to heal that.
Stanzie ran over to her, nearly tripping on the newly dead body, “Loki, are you okay!?â€
“What are you doing yelling at him!? This is war, not a game of tag!†Loki yelled and tried to smack Stanzie with her good hand, though it really only looked like a small pat. She was getting weaker, losing too much blood.
“I had to do something!†Stanzie frowned.
“Then use a spell on him, yelling literally does nothing.â€
“Sorry! I just… I can’t think out here! It’s so… fast… I can’t…†Stanzie looked on the verge of tears, making Loki let out a defeated sigh.
“You shouldn’t be out here at all.†Loki let out a groan as she looked down at the dagger in her side, “Can you heal this?â€
Stanzie shook her head; the Miqote’s ears lay drooped atop her red hair, “Not strong enough. We should get you to the medical tent.â€
“Stanzie! What are you doing running off like that! You could get hu—Loki, by the gods.†Siben appeared above her, his blue hair covering his pointed face. He kneeled down immediately and grabbed Loki’s good arm, putting it over his shoulders to hoist her up, “Let’s get you healed, huh?â€
“I’ll help, too!†Stanzie flanked her other side and together they both walked her over to the medical tent, far from the middle of the battle. Siben was quick to make sure no one was following them with his bombs and they made it there without any more scratches or dings. They sat Loki on one of the beds and when they were sure she wasn’t going to fall, Siben turned pointedly at Stanzie.
“We need to talk.†He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Loki’s view. He was probably going to tell her what Loki had, that she shouldn’t be out there. It was too dangerous for her, and she was basically useless.
“Miss, are you okay?†A healer came to her bed, an Elezen woman with long blond hair. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the large Garlean dagger in Loki’s side and she quickly took a potion from her apron, handing it to Loki, “This should heal your smaller wounds, I’m afraid that dagger is going to have to come out before we can heal it properly.â€
Loki mocked a salute with her pointer finger, “Understood.â€
“I’ll return with a White Mage.†The Elezen nodded and quickly took off. Loki was quick to down the potion and she could feel the wound in her shoulder start to heal. However, it did very little for the hole in her hand… or the dagger in her side. She sighed and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling of the tent. She was dizzy, the pain was almost unbearable.
“Loki!†Another familiar voice. This one sounded far away, locked behind the rushing water in her ears. A face appeared above her, looking wide eyed. A young Hyur boy with long, dark, hair and an innocent face. Lloire.
“Kid.†She suddenly felt concern, “What are you doing here?â€
“Huh? Oh! Aliya is hurt.†He answered, “I’m fine.â€
Aliya Otori. Lloire’s friend. She hadn't many dealings with the girl, but as far as she knew they were close, “Is she okay?â€
“She’s fine, better than you.†Lloire motioned toward the dagger in Loki’s side with his head.
“Nothing a good cure won’t fix.†She put on a smile, “This… is where I’m supposed to tell… you to get off the battlefield.â€
“But you’re not going to?†He asked.
“No, kid, I’m not going to.†She leaned her head back, “I am thinking it really hard, though.â€
“I’m doing good. You can ask Aliya.†He smiled, “You’d be proud.â€
She patted his shoulder, “I’m sure I would be. You need to promise you’ll be careful out there.â€
“I’m always careful, ma’am.â€
“Don’t call me ma’am.†Loki let out a few coughs. Not as many as she wanted to however, she wanted to make sure the kid wouldn’t worry, “You should get back to your friend.â€
“I won’t let any of you down. Not Ellion, not Aliya, not you.†He shook his head.
“I believe you.†She chuckled, “You’ve grown up. Might be time to stop calling you Kid.â€
“Really!?â€
“We’ll talk about it after the battle, go back to your friend.â€
Lloire merely nodded and walked away from her. Loki frowned as soon as he couldn’t see her anymore. The last place he needed to be was in the middle of this battle, but he was trying so hard to prove himself she couldn’t tell him that. She didn’t want to let on that she was worried. They had grown fairly close during their time with the Blades and he had a lot of spirit. He reminded her a lot of herself when she was his age. She only hoped that he would get out of this in one piece, so he could live to see all that potential of his realized. That would be the biggest tragedy she could think of.
“Miss…†A Hyur male with short, brown hair came over to her, pulling her out of her thoughts, “We’re going to heal you now okay? We just have to get that dagger out.â€
Loki didn’t say anything as he reached for the dagger and pulled it out. She did, however, let out a scream so loud she swore it shook the entire tent. The man was quick to heal her though and pretty soon the only things left on her skin were two small scares where the wounds used to be.
“Are you okay?†Siben walked over to her as the healer walked away. Stanzie was right behind him, looking particularly annoyed.
“All patched up and ready to go back.†Loki planted her feet on the ground and rolled her right shoulder.
“Yeah, let’s get back out there!†Stanzie said with a bit of defiance in her tone.
Siben looked at her and sighed, “I thought we talked about this.â€
“We did.†Stanzie nodded, “And I disagreed.â€
“Lover’s spat?†Loki asked.
“I don’t think she should go back out there.†He said, ignoring Loki’s comment, “She’ll only get herself killed.â€
“I agree.†Loki looked at Stanzie, who looked at her with a frown.
“What am I supposed to do, run away!? I’m fighting with you guys!†Stanzie yelled so loud half the tent looked over to the three.
“You’re a walking target out there.†Loki replied calmly, “Siben is just looking out for you.â€
“But who’s going to look after you!?†Stanzie wailed, again, loudly, “I want to help!â€
“Why don’t you stay here?†Loki asked her, “You have experience in Conjury and you’re pretty good at making potions. They could probably use the extra hand.â€
“That’s a good idea, actually.†Siben nodded toward Stanzie, who looked utterly frustrated at the idea.
“What!? I need to be out there, with you guys!†Stanzie crossed her arms.
Loki stood up and grabbed the large dagger that was once in her side from the table next to her. She looked at it and stuck it in her boot, “We don’t have time to argue this, Stanzie.â€
Siben sighed, “You’ll make a bigger difference here than you ever would on the field.â€
Stanzie paused then let out a heavy sigh, her cat-like ears drooping yet again, “Fine. I guess you guys are right.â€
“Of course we are.†Loki told her as Siben put a hand on Stanzie’s shoulder.
“You’re making the right decision here, Stanz.†Siben tried to reassure her, but Loki could tell it wasn’t working.
“I’ll go and find someone to volunteer my services.†Stanzie said in a quiet voice with a bit of a bite to it. Once she was gone, Siben looked over to Loki, fixing the glasses on his face.
“Thanks for helping me out.†He looked at the ground, as if afraid to look her in the eye.
“I wasn’t helping, it was the most logical thing for her to do. “ Loki blinked.
Siben chuckled, “Yeah, yeah… I should head back out there.â€
“Good idea, our side needs your explosive expertise.â€
“Hey, I do other stuff. I can heal some and I know quite a bit of Thaumaturgy.â€
“Which is still blowing things up.â€
“Yes, but with magic.â€
Both of them laughed softly, but soon silence came between them. Loki didn’t know what to say, it felt like every time she talked to someone she was giving them a goodbye. Now she was about to do it here, with him. She cleared her throat and tried to sound nonchalant, “Just… don’t draw too much attention to yourself out there, okay?â€
“Same goes for you.†He smiled, a forced kind of smile that only came from this situation, then turned on his heels and walked out of the Medical tent.
Loki stretched and braced herself for another round of battle before heading out of the tent herself. She had to be honest, the break was nice and there was a small part of her that just wanted to lie on one of those uncomfortable cots until the end – whenever that was.
“Lloire? Lloire!?†She heard Aliya yelling for the kid and turned around quickly. The Hyur girl was rushing around, her black hair no longer tied in the ponytail that usually held it, her eyes looked paniced and the medical staff looked at her as if she was going absolutely bonkers. Loki cleared her throat and walked over to the girl.
“Something wrong?†She said, making Aliya whirl around.
“I can’t fin’ Lloire!†Aliya answered a bit panicked, “I think he took off by ‘imself.â€
Loki raised an eyebrow, “He wouldn’t just leave you here.â€
“I dunno…â€
“I’ll help look for him, come on.†Loki patted the girl’s shoulder reassuringly and told her to take one half of the large tent, while she took the other. It took about 10 minutes to go through the place, but Loki still came up empty handed. She cursed under her breath, Lloire was never a reckless kid, but he had a lot to prove. With his illness, and being the youngest member of the Crimson Blades actually on an active team, he had always felt the need to prove he was not, in fact, a kid. Would he really leave his friend behind though? It was unlike him, but the fact she couldn’t find him answered her question.
“Anythin’?†Aliya asked with a hopeful tone.
Loki shook her head, “Seems you were right.â€
“I was afraid of tha’†She sighed as worry filled her eyes, “He’s only seventeen. If anythin’ ‘appens to ‘im…â€
“He’s a tough kid, I’m sure he’ll be fine.â€
“Yeah… dun know why he took off without me.â€
“I’m sure he thought you could handle yourself.†Loki told her, “You’re a decent fighter when you want to be.â€
“Much better at tha' blacksmithin', than I am fightin’†Aliya chuckled.
“Just hit a bunch of people over the head with that hammer of yours, pretend they’re all metal.â€
Aliya nodded, “Imma go out there and fin’ him. Good luck, Loki.â€
“You too.†Yet another goodbye. She watched the girl walk away and leave the tent completely. She didn’t know Aliya that well and now she felt regret that she hadn't gotten to. She was close to Lloire, someone she thought of as a student or a younger brother; why hadn’t she gotten to know his friends? Aliya was a talented blacksmith, she had even worked on the inner parts of Loki’s prosthetic leg. She had a style about her, when she was working it was almost like she was dancing; graceful and full of life. She was worth getting to know… why hadn’t Loki made the attempt? She sighed, it was too late now. It was too late for a lot of things. She wanted to be positive but she knew the truth – hardly anyone she knew would make it out of this alive. Loki gathered her thoughts and took a deep breath before grabbing her bow and quiver and heading outside. What she saw outside made her stop in her tracks.
Bright red streaks of light flew across the sky in every which direction, barreling toward the ground at breakneck speed. Meteors. They hit the ground with a loud thwak, exploding the ground around them, hurling people unlucky enough to be close high into the air. Other meteors flew past the battle field all together, hitting areas that Loki couldn’t even see. She followed the path they were coming from and felt her jaw drop, mouth agape. The moon, Dalamud, was cracking. Blue, glowing lines began to pattern themselves onto the moon, as giant pillars began dropping from different points. There was no way that was a good sign.
She ran back into the tent and found Stanzie healing a random Elezen male near the back.
“Stanzie, whatever you do, do not leave this tent.†Loki told her with panic in her voice.
Stanzie stood up and looked toward her, “What’s going on?â€
“Just don’t leave, okay?†Loki ordered, but Stanzie stood there dumbfounded, “Stanzie!â€
“Yeah, okay okay.†Stanzie nodded and Loki immediately bolted from the tent, diving right into the battlefield to look for anyone else she knew. They had to get out of there, this was about to get so much worse.
She tried to avoid fighting as much as possible, calling for people she knew in order to get them evacuated. In her haste she didn’t see the man in the metal armor charge toward her and hit her smack in the face with his gauntlet. She fell, hard, into the ground below and he brought his shield over her head to smash it down on her. She pulled out the large dagger from her boot and stabbed an opening in the leg of his armor and pulled it out, trying to stab it in the other leg. The man screamed and kicked the knife out of Loki’s hand, sending it flying in an unknown direction, before he collapsed to his knees. Loki scrambled up quickly, grabbed for an arrow in her quiver, stabbing the man in his neck. She didn’t have time to see him fall, instead she took off running hoping to find someone, anyone she knew.
She fought through the crowd, firing arrows as fast and as often as possible, trying to get through as many Garlean soldiers as possible. After a while she stopped to catch her breath, exhaustion settling into her bones. She hadn’t found anyone, in this crowd it would be almost impossible. She couldn’t give up though, not if she wanted to try to save some lives.
“Look out!†A voice said from far away and through all clamoring and yelling and screaming, it seemed to stand out. She turned toward the voice, only to see a large pillar that had descended from the moon suddenly shoot downward, landing hard on the ground below. The impact was explosive, throwing people from the area and throwing a cloud of dirt in the general vicinity. Loki closed her eyes and ducked down to avoid the debris, luckily she was far enough away to only be impacted by dust and dirt from the ground it kicked up. When she opened her eyes she didn’t even have time to catch her breath, the moon exploded in red fire and as it crackled and broke it flung more pillars to the ground. Rising from the broken moon came a large, dragon-like beast. Illuminated by the fires of the moon, it looked like death and as it extended its wings she knew that was exactly what it was. She didn't even wait for it to do anything, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She heard an explosion behind her, the moon had broken into thousands of pieces which were now hurling themselves toward Eorzea, destroying everything in their wake. She dodged what she could and prayed to the twelve nothing would hit her. She could see people all around her injured from the destruction, but she didn't have time to stop. The only thing she could do is run.
“Loki!†She heard someone call her name. She recognized the voice and it made her stop in her tracks. Siben.
“Siben!?†She yelled and looked around, “Where are you!?â€
“I’m so glad I found someone!†Siben ran over to her, trying to catch his breath.
“I don’t know what’s going on!†She yelled through the noise.
“I think it’s the end of the world!†Siben joked then extended his hand, “Come on, let’s get out of here!â€
She was about to take it when an arrow was flung between them. Looking over she saw three Garlean soldiers, weapons at the ready, with smiles on their faces.
“Where’re you goin?†One of them said.
Loki rolled her eyes, “The war is pretty much over, don’t know if you got the dragon shaped memo.â€
“Ain’t over, just means we’re winning.†Another one spat. Loki looked over at Siben. He looked exhausted and his face told her he was not ready for another battle.
“You got bombs?†Loki asked him, he shook his head sadly.
“Out. Out of bombs, out of mana, out of time.†He answered with a sigh. Loki checked her quiver; only 5 or 6 arrows left. Not enough to put up very
much of a defense. The world around them exploded in red and Loki was starting to lose hope in the current situation.
Then, out of nowhere, a bright white light hit one of the men. The others went to go examine him but found themselves hit as well. It was quick, but it was effective, the assault of magic made them fall to the ground, unmoving.
“Was that…?†Loki started.
“Not me.†Siben put his hands up. They both looked around, from the smoke and dust a small figure appeared with a smile on his face.
“Need some help?†Lloire looked at his handy work and dusted off his hands.
“Where were you kid?†Loki asked, relieved to see him alive and well.
“Doing my duty, what were you—“ Lloire looked up to the sky with wide eyes, “I guess now isn’t the time for a reunion.â€
“What do you mean?†Siben asked him as him and Loki both turned to look at what Lloire was staring at. The giant dragon beast was emiting white,
missile-like objects from his wings, and began throwing them down to the ground below.
“We gotta go. Now.†Loki ordered and both the men nodded. They ran as the missile’s impacted the ground, hitting objects, people; anything in their way. They were heading in the direction of the medical tent, which made Loki wonder if Stanzie was okay. Was it hit? She shook her head, she should be worried about her own survival right now. They needed to find cover, like a cave or something. She stopped and looked around.
“Where are we going!?†Siben yelled.
“I think if we go this way there’s a—“
“LOKI! SIBEN! BEHIND YOU!â€
What happened next happened so slowly she would have sworn time had slowed down. She turned and saw Lloire push both Siben and Loki out of the way using his magic. He knocked them a good 7 yalms away and she landed hard on her back. Milliseconds later a white missile hit the ground where they had stood… where Lloire was currently standing.
“LLOIRE!!†Loki screamed, but there was no answer. The dragon beast was behind them, assaulting the area with his missiles, everytime she tried to run to where he was, a missile would hit near her, forcing her and Siben farther and farther away, “Lloire!!â€
“We have to go Loki!†Siben yelled to her.
“No!†She screamed, “Lloire!â€
The assault was getting worse, they had to go, she knew that. Still, she couldn’t leave the kid behind.
“Loki.†Siben put a hand on her shoulder and she sighed. They both knew the truth, there was no way he survived that. She looked up at him and nodded, and they began running once again, hoping to find somewhere safe.
“Look! We’re saved!†A strangers voice said, making Loki turn to look over at where it was coming from. A young man was pointing upward and she turned to look. The beast was being imprisoned in a giant ball of white light. Had the Twelve decided to save them? Everyone around them began to cheer as the beast was enveloped in another circular prison and Loki herself even began to feel hopeful that this was truly the end.
That hope only lasted until the beast was able to break free and start his carnage all over again.
If the Twelve couldn’t help, who could? She wondered. Exhaustion overtook her, she dropped her bow and fell to her knees, totally unsure of what to do next.
That’s when everything went white.