A Mother's Love(Story)

[Arlon]

When the dreaded king Bahamut emerged from his prison and started his relentless attack on Eorzea, fire filled the skies and soon it seemed that the world itself was ablaze with his arrival. That was true, at least as far as could be seen from the battlefield where soldiers were fighting Garlean forces.

 

In the short amount of time it took for Bahamut to rain down fire and death upon the world, time seemed to stop. The fighting stopped as people were disintegrated, injured or killed by the dragon king’s attack. A blue haired Midlander Hyur Paladin stood, frozen, along with the Garlean soldier who he was battling as they watched the carnage around them unfold.  Vance used this opportunity to shield bash the soldier in the head, knocking him backwards into the air. An echoing  ‘clang’ could be heard when the shield made contact with the soldier’s helmet, which Vance found entertaining and couldn’t keep a grin from forming on his face as he watched his opponent fall to the ground. The grin didn’t last long due to a blast from a Magitek cannon landing on the ground near him and blowing him several meters away, causing him to lose his shield and some of his armor as he skid on his stomach. The force caused his body to fly across the ground before he slammed into a boulder, knocking the wind out of him.

 

 

When he caught his breath, it was nothing but ash and burned like fire in his lungs. As soon as he looked up he was blinded by the light of Bahamut’s mega flare attack. He closed his eyes quickly but the damage was done. With his eyes closed, he could only see a dim blue light which appeared and disappeared in two seconds. The heat of the battlefield was replaced by the heat of the sun on his body and he could feel grass on his partially bare legs. Most of his armor had been torn off, leaving exposed skin and the black shirt and long pants that he was wearing. He still had his broadsword in his hand, but the blade was broken, almost in half.

 

 

He tried to open his eyes, which began to water. He found out, painfully, that this wasn’t possible. He wasn’t sure if they would ever heal, but he reached down and tore off a piece of his shirt, wrapping it around his head to save what was left of his eyes until he could find help. He still had no idea where he was or what happened on the battlefield. Had he died? Was this the afterlife? He wasn’t sure.

 

 

He started to walk slowly with weakened legs and stumbled a few times, nearly falling over. For days he wandered the land in search of help. He kept his hands reaching outwards, occasionally following a rock wall wherever it led. After three days of exhaustion and starvation, he used what little magic he had left to keep himself going for a little while longer. He would occasionally try to sing a song from his days as a bard, but the ash in his lungs from the battle burned when he would simply breathe.

 

 

He heard a low growl behind him and stumbled over something on the ground.  He walked a few more feet and stumbled again, this time falling to the ground. He slowly made his way to his feet, using a rock wall for support. Again, he heard the low growl but it was closer this time. Something was starting to nudge his back, causing him to nearly fall again but he caught his balance and steadied himself. He could feel a fur covered head pressing against the small of his back, trying to guide him. Vance gripped the sword handle and was ready to try and defend himself, but he didn’t sense that he was in any danger and by this point in his exhausted state, it wouldn’t do much good.

 

 

He started to walk again, being guided by a beast. After nearly tripping again he felt the beast’s head move away from his back and heard it walk in front of him. As soon as he reached out his hands again, he felt the whiskers of a Coeurl. The beast was trying to help him. He took a few steps forward and ran into the body of the Coeurl, which was standing sideways in front of the Hyur. By moving its two huge whiskers in Vance’s hands, the beast guided him closer to her, lowering her body so he could mount her back. Vance climbed onto her back, keeping his hands on her whiskers and laying his head sideways against her back. She took off running with him hanging onto her and for the first time in a long time, he felt safe. She cared for him as if she were one of her wounded young.