Poe's Journal Entry
The opposing page is filled with an unrecognizable language, the script hurried, perhaps sloppy though the reader would be unsure.My head has been spinning. I hope I can remember it all…all this…
After my brief nap on the ship, I left for Gridania. Not without first entering the room where Daevien was resting. I left my note and the pearl there for him. I hope when he wakes he will contact me. I also left a quick note down on the table near where the crew often gathers. Just kept it simple, said anything anyone needed, contact me via the pearl. That I would be there as fast as I could.
I left quickly after, my things were still packed from the previous night. I arrived in Gridania later this morning and immediately went to meet with E-Sumi-Yan. Raya-O-Senna was waiting with him. Great… The two walked with me throughout Old Gridania, finally stopping by the falls. E-Sumi-Yan asked me many confusing questions, things that didn’t seem to have relevance and I became frustrated. He simply patted my hand and returned to the guild while I sat by the water with Raya-O-Senna. Suddenly another Padjal appeared near us and stood in front of me. Inspected me like a damn bug. I was introduced to her, Lan-I-Mata, such peculiar creatures. She finally smiled at me and offered her hand. I didn’t know what I was supposed to it…I shook it…then kissed it and then she huffed and hauled me to my feet. “We must get started.†That was all she said.
We took the small trek to Fallgourd by chocobo, she didn’t answer any questions and I finally just became silent. Once at Fallgourd we stabled our creatures and Lan-I-Mata said we would continue on foot. She stopped by the inn and got us two large mugs of tea, commenting, “You know your plants well. I have always enjoyed the blend of herbs you bring to this particular innkeeper for their tea.†I was stunned, how did she know?! Lan-I-Mata mixed some crushed power into my tea and handed it to me. I must have given her a look, she told me I would need to drink up.
But I didn’t, not right away at least. She finally forcefully told me to stop intruding. I didn’t know what she meant and sputtered so. She remained silent until we found a small path that brought us out to a point overlooking the land…and those strange floating crystals. Standing on the land’s edge, she started to explain. I still don’t fully comprehend it, but something with how I connect…use, maybe bend the aether. My emotional energy is somehow entwined with that. Lan-I-Mata asked me if I had been feeling drained when around others, especially others with strong abilities with aether. Ace came to mind and she immediately smiled, “So yes then…†I immediately inquired how she knew such things. And then again, another answer I don’t want to hear, “We all have our gifts…â€
She urged me to drink the tea with whatever she added and I did. Tasted a bit bitter but…I was here for training, correct? We sat down on the edge in silence for a bit longer until I started feeling edgy. I wanted to know what this was all about. Again she responded, “Stop intruding.†I had had it and got up, angry now. She patted the stone again, telling me to sit and started to explain. Whether I was aware of it or not, my curious nature was more than it appeared, stating that she could sense my energy all but pressing her for answers. “Many will not be sensitive enough to notice…but you need to learn how to control this, or you will simply drain away to nothing. You can not leave a leak like that to just drain into the aether surrounding you. It’s like a gate…you leave it open and you are susceptible to being infiltrated emotionally as well.†By now I was starting to feel odd. I demanded to know what was in the tea. She would not tell me the herbs, only stating it was time for me to practice shutting that gate. With each passing moment, as frustration grew, it…it felt like, shocks? Pulses perhaps? As I sat, wondering what to make of it all, before I could ask a question, I could feel it in my body. She would repeat again to stop intruding.
And then…I was blinking…I could see this…sparkly mist in the air, around us. I asked what it was. Lan-I-Mata smiled, “It appears different to different individuals, based upon your skills and gifts…†She told me to not frown before I even had the chance to. She lit a small fire as I was starting to feel chilled and she had me lay back on the ground and look up to the sky. I knew daylight would be ending soon…I needed to go back. Daevien, I needed to see Daevien.
My voice sounded far away…slow…vacant. She was speaking and I couldn’t keep up. I caught that the herbs were to help reduce my ability to manipulate aether temporarily. I could feel my skin become cold and clammy. She sat me up and made me face her. And then…I felt this odd sensation, as if she had drawn close to me. But she clearly wasn’t, she was sitting on the other side of the fire. Again, I asked her what she was doing and she told me I needed to shut the gate…on my own power, not something borrowed by the aether around me. I struggled…I sat, I tried. I started to feel sorry for myself…and she scoffed at me. “This is just the beginning…†In anger, I visualized slamming a door loudly right in her face and she suddenly broke out into a smile. Moving to sit beside me, this odd Padjal patted my hand and nodded, telling me I had indeed cut off her access. I was woozy…my head spinning. She muttered I had been letting my very essence just drain away and had been careless. I would have been angry if I was not exhausted.
Raya-O-Senna showed up…I don’t know if she was there for any of this…she just was there suddenly. She wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. I tried to speak and she gently wrapped her arms around me…all I could do was weep. I am not sure now what I was even crying about…maybe it was for all of us…and for all the pain. I may have drifted off, I am not sure. When I became more lucid, Lan-I-Mata looked at me sternly, stating, “You should go some place safe and rest. But I know you won’t. You have foolish plans. Being a martyr doesn’t suit you, so listen to me closely. These herbs will keep you from being able to manipulate aether for another day, perhaps two. That means, if you become injured, you will not be able to heal yourself. Do you understand me?â€
So this stubborn, nosy, horned creature had intruded enough into my thoughts to know I had planned on going to the underground fighting ring… I turned my head, Raya-O-Senna caught my gaze and I didn’t speak. I heard Raya-O-Senna murmur something to Lan-I-Mata and she grabbed this very journal, writing down something on the sheet of parchment. I don’t understand now, looking at it…but I remember being able to understand it briefly. Regardless…Lan-I-Mata told me she would see me soon, that I needed to rest.
Raya-O-Senna allowed me the use of her chocobo back to Fallgourd. I should have gone to the inn to rest, but I have sat by the falls, staring at the swirling water, thinking and writing.
No word from anyone on the pearl…no word from Daevien. I hope he is still resting then. I will head to the Limsa now. Whether I have my abilities or not, I need to do this. I need to believe I can…or no one else in the crew will.
