Okay, I can't possibly pass this kind of prompt up. Decided I would write up something really quick. Didn't do any editing or revising or anything, so if it's kinda choppy and sloppy, that's why... And oh god, I totally didn't expect it to end up being so long. I also can't figure out for the life of me how to get Spoiler tags to work. Sorry! D:
What if... Xheja had never left her tribe to join the Twin Adders?
[youtube]QfkqY2yGCW0[/youtube]
(I'm totally a sucker for mood music.)
- - - - - -
The Black Shroud, One Week After the Calamity..
 All in the forest was still that day, save for the quiet babbling of the nearby stream. Even when she strained to hear, the young miqo'te woman couldn't hear even the faintest chirp of a bird nor call of insect. Even the wind was calm, blowing so softly through the trees as to not rustle the leaves. It was as if the Shroud was yet in mourning for its fallen children.
Only a few days prior, all had not been so calm and quiet. That day still haunted the Keeper's dreams in explicit detail. They would for the rest of her life, that much she knew to be true. Explosions rocking the forest like nothing she had ever experienced before, debris and Hellfire raining down from the sky. Trees groaning and cracking from impact, just as sickening to the ear as if they were bone snapping. The forest's multitudinous creatures crying out in fear and agony as fire overtook their homes, thick black smoke clouding their eyes and choking their lungs. A dark shadow swooping down over the Shroud on fell black wings that blocked out the sky. The memories of that day would not leave her, no matter how hard she had tried to forget..
- - - - -
Whispers that something was to happen had pierced even the heart of the wood as droves of Twin Adder troops passed through on their way to battle. On their way to Carteneau, she had heard them mention, though she knew not the details of what was to transpire there. She hadn't been sure that she wanted to know the details, to tell it true. It terrified her, deep down in her very being. The Garleans. Dalamud. The queer happenings all across Eorzea. It all boded ill.
She could recall only a few months prior when the Adders had come calling on their tribe, asking them to join forces to combat the growing threats. Several of their members had agreed. Even a few of their leaders had decided to join up with the grand company. She had not. A part of her, deep down, had wanted to enlist. Yet more than that, she had been afraid. Never before had she dared even think of leaving the safety of the Shroud. Even knowing that the wood was becoming much less secure daily, she just couldn't bring herself to leave in its defense. The miqo'te woman had felt shame for her cowardice then, and such shame she still felt now, tenfold, after all that had transpired.
Her eyes had been locked onto the swollen red moon with worry as the sun descended towards the horizon that day, a sickened feeling growing in her gut with each passing hour. She had to wonder, were her tribemates there on the plains of Carteneau that eve? Would she ever see them again? How many would fall upon the swords and spears of Imperial soldiers, never to return home to the forest? To never again witness the beauty of the morning sun breaking through the lofty canopy? To never feel the thrill of an arduous hunt? To never revel beneath the stars in the light of the moon to please Menphina?
All of her thoughts had ended sharply and suddenly the moment that she heard the first explosion, a sound so uniquely horrifying that it had been as if it had played in her head on repeat for days now in an unending loop. The moon had bust open, birthing forth a terrifying wyrm the likes of which she couldn't believe. Yet she had not scarce had time to gawp in awed and horrified silence before the running began.
Distant screams filled the air as the sky seemed to fall upon their remote village, panic and chaos enveloping the small Keeper tribe. It took only seconds for her to hop to her feet, running as hard as she could to her home from the small clearing she had been skywatching from. She had to get to her family. Come what may, coward or not, they were her everything. She would reach them, or she would die trying.
As she had reached the village, what she had found was the stuff of nightmares unimaginable. Homes destroyed, fire everywhere. A few who had been unfortunate enough to be close to the impact laid limp on the ground nearby. She was unsure whether they were knocked unconscious or if they had perished. She hadn't the time to check. Her family came first.
Her hurried steps brought her to her home, and instantly, a sinking feeling took her in its tight grasp. The small hut was burning, set ablaze in a Hellish inferno. Just as quickly as the fear had gripped her, it was gone. She started in a dead run towards her flaming home.
She had only made it halfway before someone caught her by the arm, clinging desperately and dearly to her. She struggled in their grasp, screaming in a thin, high-pitched voice. Cursing. Let me go! She could hear the voice trying to plead with her not to walk into the burning, collapsing death trap, and in the very back of her mind, she could sense the familiarity in it.
Only the sound of another massive piece of debris hitting the ground very close to them pulled her back from her panic-driven state, her head snapping around in the other woman's direction from whence the sound had come. And then, as if Althyk himself had caused time to slow to a crawl, the next few seconds seemed to last a veritable eternity.
The giant slab of stone had slammed into a tall tree not far from her home. In her mind, she could see flashes of memory. This was the tree amongst whose boughs she had once climbed as a child, laughing and playing with her brothers and sisters. Now, split in half, the once welcoming, almost protective figure of her childhood was bearing down on her like Byregot's hammer. All she could do was stand and stare in stunned silence, breathless.
She was shoved hard, catching her completely off-guard and sending her crashing off to the side. As she hit the ground, snapping back to reality, she had just enough time to look back towards the spot she had been standing in only seconds ago. She found the other miqo'te woman standing there, and it finally dawned on her just who it was.Â
Her mouth opened to scream her name, to tell her to run. But it was too late. There was no escaping it now. She watched the woman throw up a hasty barrier in a last-moment effort to save herself. Yet the spell broke under its weight the instant the tree fell upon it, shattering like glass. Tears filled her eyes and her lungs burned with both smoke and her own choked screams, weakly trying to get to her feet to run to where the massive sentinel had fallen upon her. She had scarce made it to her feet before, attracted by the noise and screaming, another small band of fleeing tribemates had grabbed her and dragged her with them to escape their burning home.
She could recall only a few months prior when the Adders had come calling on their tribe, asking them to join forces to combat the growing threats. Several of their members had agreed. Even a few of their leaders had decided to join up with the grand company. She had not. A part of her, deep down, had wanted to enlist. Yet more than that, she had been afraid. Never before had she dared even think of leaving the safety of the Shroud. Even knowing that the wood was becoming much less secure daily, she just couldn't bring herself to leave in its defense. The miqo'te woman had felt shame for her cowardice then, and such shame she still felt now, tenfold, after all that had transpired.
Her eyes had been locked onto the swollen red moon with worry as the sun descended towards the horizon that day, a sickened feeling growing in her gut with each passing hour. She had to wonder, were her tribemates there on the plains of Carteneau that eve? Would she ever see them again? How many would fall upon the swords and spears of Imperial soldiers, never to return home to the forest? To never again witness the beauty of the morning sun breaking through the lofty canopy? To never feel the thrill of an arduous hunt? To never revel beneath the stars in the light of the moon to please Menphina?
All of her thoughts had ended sharply and suddenly the moment that she heard the first explosion, a sound so uniquely horrifying that it had been as if it had played in her head on repeat for days now in an unending loop. The moon had bust open, birthing forth a terrifying wyrm the likes of which she couldn't believe. Yet she had not scarce had time to gawp in awed and horrified silence before the running began.
Distant screams filled the air as the sky seemed to fall upon their remote village, panic and chaos enveloping the small Keeper tribe. It took only seconds for her to hop to her feet, running as hard as she could to her home from the small clearing she had been skywatching from. She had to get to her family. Come what may, coward or not, they were her everything. She would reach them, or she would die trying.
As she had reached the village, what she had found was the stuff of nightmares unimaginable. Homes destroyed, fire everywhere. A few who had been unfortunate enough to be close to the impact laid limp on the ground nearby. She was unsure whether they were knocked unconscious or if they had perished. She hadn't the time to check. Her family came first.
Her hurried steps brought her to her home, and instantly, a sinking feeling took her in its tight grasp. The small hut was burning, set ablaze in a Hellish inferno. Just as quickly as the fear had gripped her, it was gone. She started in a dead run towards her flaming home.
She had only made it halfway before someone caught her by the arm, clinging desperately and dearly to her. She struggled in their grasp, screaming in a thin, high-pitched voice. Cursing. Let me go! She could hear the voice trying to plead with her not to walk into the burning, collapsing death trap, and in the very back of her mind, she could sense the familiarity in it.
Only the sound of another massive piece of debris hitting the ground very close to them pulled her back from her panic-driven state, her head snapping around in the other woman's direction from whence the sound had come. And then, as if Althyk himself had caused time to slow to a crawl, the next few seconds seemed to last a veritable eternity.
The giant slab of stone had slammed into a tall tree not far from her home. In her mind, she could see flashes of memory. This was the tree amongst whose boughs she had once climbed as a child, laughing and playing with her brothers and sisters. Now, split in half, the once welcoming, almost protective figure of her childhood was bearing down on her like Byregot's hammer. All she could do was stand and stare in stunned silence, breathless.
She was shoved hard, catching her completely off-guard and sending her crashing off to the side. As she hit the ground, snapping back to reality, she had just enough time to look back towards the spot she had been standing in only seconds ago. She found the other miqo'te woman standing there, and it finally dawned on her just who it was.Â
Her mouth opened to scream her name, to tell her to run. But it was too late. There was no escaping it now. She watched the woman throw up a hasty barrier in a last-moment effort to save herself. Yet the spell broke under its weight the instant the tree fell upon it, shattering like glass. Tears filled her eyes and her lungs burned with both smoke and her own choked screams, weakly trying to get to her feet to run to where the massive sentinel had fallen upon her. She had scarce made it to her feet before, attracted by the noise and screaming, another small band of fleeing tribemates had grabbed her and dragged her with them to escape their burning home.
- - - - -
The sudden loud croak of a bullfrog from the nearby stream pulled the woman out of her thoughts, watery eyes opening. She was shaking, just thinking about it. It felt as if her heart was stuck in her throat. She wanted to turn and walk back to the small encampment that her and the other survivors from the Calamity had settled in, not far from their battered and torn home. But that was the cowardice speaking, and she knew that there was something here that she must do.
Slowly, the Keeper woman stepped out into the clearing, fists clenched into tight, white-knuckled fists at her side as she steeled her nerves. Here, they had laid to rest their dead - if there had been anything left of them to bury at all. She hadn't yet stepped foot here, such was her shame, and it took her breath away to see just how many freshly-dug plots there were. Tears stung at her eyes as she walked through the quiet graveyard, reading the all-too-familiar names of those buried there etched into makeshift headstones. She would mourn them all in due time, of course. Yet first, there was one particular grave that she had best pay her respects to.
Finally, she stopped at one of the plots, sucking in a deep breath and slowly dropping down to one of her knees. Her hands reached out to brush the stone to which her name had been affixed, reading it over and over again with an ever growing sense of sadness and loss.
"I have not the words to thank you for saving me," She whispered quietly, her throat tight. A soft sob escaped her lips, her head hanging. "You did not have to sacrifice yourself for me. I am not worthy of being saved. I'm just.. just a coward."
Yet she knew that, had the woman been there, she would've assured her otherwise. That was the kind of person she had been, even since they were but children. Her savior had only been one year her elder, but she had looked up to her in many ways, for many years. She had been a bright child who had grown up into an equally bright and giving young woman, who had been set upon the path to leadership one day. She was warm and kind, and wise beyond her years. She was a skilled conjurer with a deep reverence for the Gods and Elementals both. She would've made an excellent Matriarch, if only she hadn't thrown herself into harm's way on her account.
"If only I had been brave.. If I had went to war with the others. You would not have been there, rescuing me from my own sudden bravery.. From my foolishness." Her voice was barely above a whisper, tears rolling over her cheeks and down the bridge of her nose to land in the loose dirt beneath her. "I swear, I will become brave.. Truly brave. For you and your memory."
Slowly, shakily, the woman pushed herself to her feet. She sniffled, raising an arm to wipe the wetness from her eyes, and straightened her posture. She looked down at the headstone one last time, giving it a resolute nod.
"I pray the goddess keep you, Xheja."
