Seasons Of Change [Story][OOC Comments Appreciated!]

[Bexy]

Twenty One Cycles.

 

She purses her lips, brushing her hair from her face as the cold winds blew against her. She trudges through the snow.

 

Coerthas had changed a lot since she had last visited. What once was beautiful, rolling hills and valleys of green, had now been smothered with a carpet of snow. She didn’t find it so unpleasant as many Ishgardians did, however. Merely seeing it as another terrain to explore.

“Hm...” She pondered, pausing for a moment. A small group of armour clad Knights passed by her, seemingly coming from the direction she headed in. Wary glances examined her, at least from the eyes that weren’t obscured by the helmets. She only gave them a silent nod, and continued moving. Eventually stopping aside an alcove, hoping to garner some shelter from the ensuing blizzard, she unravels her map.

 

“Natalan...” She sighs, and looks ahead. A strange settlement was in view. Twisted metal... Wooden gates. She didn’t recognize it.

 

“Zarya... Sister. What on the Twelve brought you here...?” She questioned. Her words fall silent, and she approaches the gate. Not a sound. Not a guard in sight. Strange. She pauses for a few minutes to check and recheck, just to be safe.

 

 

Nothing.

 

Cautious, yet curious, she heads through the gate, walking only a few paces forward before she bolts behind a broken gate. A creature... Unlike one she had ever encountered. It squawked, and emitted a low cawing, as it peered down towards something slumped into the snows, dappled with a vivid red. After some moments, it moves on.

 

She carefully scouts her way around the fences and railings. Another of the strange black and feathered creatures laid on the floor. It didn’t appear to be moving. Frowning, Bexy passes by, not before stopping to garner a closer look.

“An Ixal...?” She silently wondered to herself. Then it became apparent. Those Knights with solemn expressions and bloodied blades... This must have been their doing. She had only scarcely heard of the Ixal’s doings whilst buying provisions in Dragonhead, vaguely remembering the Ishgardian merchant there cursing them about an attack on a caravan. She gives a firm nod, and continues to delve deeper into the stronghold.

 

No stone unturned. No hideaway unsearched. She sighs. Not a trace of her sister could be found, despite what everything pointed to. Shaking her head, she almost turns to leave, before gritting her teeth.

 

Something catches her eye.

 

Wrinkling her nose with an odd curiosity, she approaches. Strange things littered the floor, in what seemingly looked like an old room full of broken scraps, and things that once resembled weapons and armour. Picking the twisted white frame from the side of the heap, she widens her eyes.

“But... Where have i seen this before...?” She thought. A cawing was heard again outside, and she made the hasty decision to leave the accursed place. Indeed... Her sister was nowhere to be found. At least... Not this time. Eventually managing to exit Natalan as easily as she had entered, she smiled, finally reaching the confines of Dragonhead once more.

 

Arching the frame, she again frowns.

“Curious...” She ponders. The bow, which she had recognized it to be on sight, was in better shape than she thought. It needed restringing, reinforcing... Certainly a good clean, but it was useable. Her fingers trail to the strange decorum at the top of the bow. She tilts her head in curiosity, and after a few short moments, her eyes widen.

“Twelve... No way...”

 

The night passes. It takes a fair while for her to succumb to sleep, with the new thoughts racing through her mind. But she smiles, for the first time in Moons. She would head to Gridania. She knew of someone who might know what this bow truly was.

 

She sighs quietly, fidgeting with anticipation. She’d made the trip from Coethas to Gridania faster than she’d ever known, and was stood waiting inside the Ebony Stalls, an Elezen with glasses glancing about the frame. He finally stands, and offers it back to her.

“Mm... Not the real thing, of course. But i can see why you’d think so” He speaks. She gives him a puzzled look.

“Oh...? Why would you say so?”

The Elezen again sighs, and smiles. “The craftsmanship is admirable. Such a thing will likely serve you well, young Miss.” He glances away for a brief moment, and nods. “I’ll restring it for you if you like. The upper half will need... A different kind of string.”

Bexy smiles at his offer. “Many thanks, Ser. I appreciate it”

He merely nods in reply, and sets about his work.

 

She draws the bow, and steadies it. Shroud air fills her lungs, as she narrows her eyes, trailing them across the form of the bow. She fires.

The arrow flies from the bowstring, and embeds itself within the tree she aimed at. Not an ilm off its mark. She blinks, almost in slight bemusement as she sets herself down aside the tree.

“Twelve... It handles like a dream” She muses, grinning. Her fingertips trace the elegant swirls adorning the instrument, and she absentmindedly plucks at a string. “And so beautiful, too...” She pauses a moment, looking to the trees and sighing.

“A replica you may be... But yes... I do think you shall serve me well” She beams. Her fingers trace across a strange engraving, and she glances down.

“Larx....?” She speaks, clearly confused, the four letters she did not recognize taking her attention. “Curious...”

 

She sits there for a handful of bells, before finally rising to her feet. A chill sweeps through the air, and she proceeds to continue on her journey, her new bow in tow.