Traveler

It had been one week since the awakening of the new Primal at the beginning of the Seventh Astral Era. When Azlyn and her friends had went to investigate the whereabouts of this new entity, they had come to the understanding that the Beastribes were using the chaos to bring about their own Primals. And there was another thing; They still didn’t know who this new primal was.

And given these troubling times...

and everyone’s expectation for them to handle the primal threats...

Azlyn and her friends were the ones assigned to defeat them. 

It was all a means to an end—as Azlyn mentioned one night. 

The reason why they should deal with the threat had been partly due to the fact Urianger needed more information about the influx of aether energy when the Primals were defeated; and how it connected to this new Primal that reawakened in Eorzea. If they wanted to stop that new Primal entity, they needed to get any and all the information they could—even if it felt like it was backpedaling. 

From Ifrit—to Titan—to Garuda, the Free Company known as Fated had their hands full playing Primal clean up. 

On the seventh day, the same eve that they defeated Garuda—the party of eight had been nursing their wounds in the Waking Sands. Tataru had brought them refreshments. 

“Excellent work everyone!” Tataru smiled warmly. Her pink hair had been tied up masterfully under her hat with a feather. 

“Who knew we’d be working nonstop.” Richiro placed his cheek upon the table. He grumbled. “I’m exhausted.” 

Ozwin stretched his arms over his head, he let his head fall back as he closed his eyes. “You and me both Richi. You and me both.” 

On another side of the storage room sat a few of the girls. Kida had been restringing her harpsichord, tuning the instrument carefully. When she got the right sound, she moved to the next string—until they all were in tune. 

Mjnt and Koroko Koko were sitting next to her, enjoying the time to rest their tired feet. They’d been walking, running, sprinting—practically almost everything those past seven days. 

Kida smirked to Mjnt. “If you knew this was in our future, would you have ran back to Coerthas?” 

The Viera with red hair smiled, she interlaced her fingers together on top of the table as she hummed to the tune Kida absently played. “Hmm—I don’t believe I would. In fact, I’d have sent my letter of leave for a longer absence.” 

Koroko Koko chuckled into her hand. 

Roll sat at a table nearby the three, her plate of fruits forgotten about as she was lost in crafting some jewelry pieces for a client. She had some custom deliveries she needed to make, however her week deadline had soon turned into the night’s deadline. 

Everyone knew not to interrupt her while she worked. 

N’thuzu Tia had been one of the only two in the group to be actively moving. When they first came to the Waking Sands, he was immediately snatched by some of the Scions who needed help lifting and moving some heavy palettes. 

Then there was Azlyn, who was standing by Urianger with a pile of opened books surrounding them. While the scholar from the Scions murmured to himself, Azlyn was knee deep in research. 

Currently she was in the Ancient Allagan history—she’d had a general idea of it from her friend, however when she did the research herself, it felt like she was hitting a brick wall. Azlyn didn’t know if it was because of her personal attachment to the event itself, or if she didn’t want to investigate it. 

Urianger was good at keeping her on track though. 

“When the senary moon did wane, there sounded a bloodcurdling roar. A new primal had roused, the portents gave us to believe, one whose identity yet lieth beyond our ken.” 

Azlyn looked up from her notes to see the Elezen murmuring to himself. She gave him a small smile. “We’ll figure it out eventually.” 

The cloaked Scion nodded. “By thy hands, three primals have since been vanquished. As each returned to the aether, ‘twas observed that tremors foreshadowing this fourth grew in strength and frequency both.” 

This was accurate. When the party had slain a primal, shortly after the lands shook—and a deafening roar occurred. 

“The being doth quicken, and in time it shall become a scourge upon the land.” Urianger snapped his book closed, as he walked over to his desk. There was a folded letter addressed to him that drew his attention. He didn’t open it in front of Azlyn, however she knew it was something about this situation. “Yet even as we pondered a course of action, a benevolent soul did arise, one who would forestall this threat. Though she be tender in years, she is true of heart and steadfast of resolve.” 

Azlyn quirked an eyebrow. “So—you want us to meet with her to fight against this new Primal?” 

“She solicits thine aid, aye. If thou art willing to proffer it. Lest thou wonder, this maiden is of our order. Thus did the Antecedent straightaways consent that thou shouldst assist her howsoever thou mayest.” 

“Someone from the order...and young.” She wondered who this maiden was—and why she hadn’t met her yet. 

“Tomorrow morn when the sun doth riseth, hie thee to Wineport, where thy petitioner doth await thee. Thou shalt for a certainty find her visage strikingly familiar.” The man paused in his speech as the young Sharlayan scholar—Alphinaud Leveilleur—stepped up to the bookshelf. He had an apple in his hand, biting into the skin as he perused the titles. 

Azlyn and Urianger both stared at him, watching as he hummed. His finger stopped at one of the books, before plucking it off the shelf and then opening it with one hand. He bit into his apple once more. 

“Strikingly familiar.” Urianger spoke once more, giving a small smile. “Enjoy thee a night of comfort Azlyn.” He gave her a slight bow, and then returned to his own books upon the desk. 

Alphinaud stopped in his reading to look to Azlyn still staring at him. “—What?” 

“Nothing.” Azlyn chuckled at last. “I was thinking an apple sounds pretty good right about now.” 

The boy smiled, gesturing back to the kitchen. “Tataru bought some Granny Smiths and Honeycrisps this morning in market.” He bit into the apple he had before walking away. 

Given Urianger’s hints, she had a feeling she’d be meeting with his twin: Alisaie. While the man spoke in tongues and riddles, when he got to the meat of his topic—he was pretty upfront and forthright.

Azlyn decided to clean up her research books, putting the books all back where she found them. As she placed the last book in it’s spot, she wondered how best to ask her group to go with her. Given they were tired from the week’s events, she would have to promise them something as a form of reward—or something to look forward to. 

When she approached the center of the room, they all stopped conversing between one another to look to her. Even Roll stopped in her work to give her cousin a look. 

“What’s the news?” Mjnt asked. 

The Au Ra smiled warmly to them. “We’ll rest tonight and go to Wineport in the morning. I believe we have all the research we need to fight.”

Ozwin called out from his chair. “Did we find out where its nesting grounds are?” 

That was still an unknown. “I—I don’t know that. But I have a good feeling about tomorrow. We’ll probably learn more from our point of contact.” 

He stood up, stretching out his back. His hair was darker in color, a dark brown now that contrasted to his green eyes. “Alright—Wineport tomorrow morning. Then I’m going to pass out on a cot.” He rubbed his tense shoulder with a hand. “Fighting Garuda twice in a two week span is enough to spend anyone’s energy.” 

He disappeared to a side room, the resting room with cots had been prepared for the Scions—but they also allowed Azlyn’s group to sleep there. There were a couple of them that weren’t Scions due to their own beliefs, but they were still treated like one. 

Mjnt stood up, looking to the time. “I shall give a call to my Lord and tuck in for the night. Excuse me.” She excused herself, also retreating to the resting room. 

Soon one after the other, they all slowly made their way to rest—by the time Azlyn went to sleep, she found that there wasn’t a cot available. She opted to sleep outside, climbing up the side of the building to the roof. She set up a sleeping bag, and a small lamp light to allow her a moment to write. 

When she finished her letter, she stowed it safely into her bag and turned to stargaze. The stars were bright that night, the smell of the ocean, the crashing of the waves—she took in all her senses as she rested. 

She worried about that last vision she had—the one where a giant crystal was darkened; dead in space. It flashed in her mind, not as a vision but a memory. She hadn’t had an immersive vision like that since...since then. 

Azlyn gripped the sleeping bag. “No use worrying about it.” She tucked her head under the fabric, opting to go to sleep. 

She woke up with the sun, the heat rose up the building as she shook off her sleep. She finished packing her belongings when she heard the door below open. A rambunctious group of voices caught her attention. 

“Where did she go?” Richiro said. 

“She wasn’t in the building.” Roll spoke quietly. 

Azlyn peered over the roof, and whistled loudly. They all looked up, seeing her smiling from up above. “Took you guys long enough!” She teased. 

Ozwin crossed his arms. “I don’t want to hear that from the girl who disappeared off the face of the planet.” 

“Good morning.” Mjnt waved up to her. “Are we all ready?” 

Kida rubbed her eyes. “Gimme some coffee—and we’ll be golden.”

Richiro pointed up to the blue haired Xaela. “Wineport doesn’t have coffee! They have wine!” 

The Xaela grabbed her face in anguish. “I knoooooow that!” 

Roll stepped back into the Waking Sands, her voice rung in the doorway. “Tataru! One coffee to go please!” 

Azlyn went to climb down the side of the building to rejoin her friends. They were discussing the best way to arrive—whether they should just teleport over—or to allow Kida time to sip her coffee in peace. 

Tataru had fulfilled the delivery, giving each of them a small breakfast to go. Azlyn stared down at the yogurt in a cup with the bits of blueberries and strawberries. She even gave Azlyn a second bag, but tutted her. “That’s for the person you’re meeting with! Don’t be greedy and eat both!”

Roll chuckled. “Yes because Azlyn can eat more than a morsel.” 

“I resent that.” 

The banter left their group in a jovial mood, even Kida who had sipped her coffee in a loving way. They all thanked the bookkeeper, as she warmly smiled. She then pointed up to their group with a stern look. “Now you be safe out there! And come back soon!”

Ozwin lifted the cup of yogurt with a hand. “Aye Aye Miss.” 

Koroko Koko pointed to the docks. “If we want to enjoy our breakfast we should take the ferry to Limsa Lominsa—and then over to Costa Del Sol.” 

Azlyn lifted the second breakfast bag. “We should just teleport over and enjoy breakfast in the vineyards. We can get acquainted with our new friend.” 

Richiro tilted his head, “Do we know who this friend is?” 

Roll looked to her cousin. “Someone we know?” 

“I think it’s Alphinaud’s twin: Alisaie.” 

Kida looked up from her drink, a twinkle in her pink eyes. “We get to meet the sister! I’m super excited, let’s go, let’s go!” She already started to teleport over to the port in Vylbrand. Bidding goodbye, they teleported one after the other to the aetheryte in Wineport. 

The last to arrive had been Azlyn who got a bright block of sunlight in her eyes. She raised a hand up to cover her eyes, looking through the white pavers and seating areas. She spotted Kida speaking animatedly with a younger Sharlayan in a blue and white tunic. The white pants and white boots gave her away. If it wasn’t for the red ribbon in her hair, Azlyn would have confused the twin for Alphinaud himself. 

Azlyn lifted up the extra breakfast for the girl. “Tataru sends breakfast.” 

“Oh good!” Alisaie accepted the bag. “Come, let’s discuss what we know while we enjoy Tataru’s breakfast.” The young Sharlayan directed them to a table large enough to seat all of them comfortably. Alisaie sat between Kida and Azlyn, as she popped the cap off her yogurt. There was a small spoon that went with it. “It has been awhile, hasn’t it Azlyn? As I recall, my brother took the liberty of introducing us when we first met. But to the rest of you, allow me the honors. Alisaie Leveilleur. I thank you all for coming.” Alisaie lowered her spoon. “I have heard much and more of your exploits. By your hands, the Black Wolf’s slain, and his Ultima Weapon destroyed. You all are possessed of great strength and courage—that much is plain. With your strength combined with mine, we can see my mission to its conclusion.”

“Which is?” Ozwin questioned, pointing a spoon to her. “Slaying this new primal? Saving Eorzea? Why does it feel like you’re buttering us up for another helping hand in primal thrashing?” 

“I’m curious about this as well.” Mjnt smiled warmly to the girl. 

Alisaie raised a hand up. She smirked. “It was not my intention to ‘butter you up’. As you all are aware, the violence of Dalamud’s fall changed not only the face of the realm, but also the base of the realm. Specifically, it played havoc with the aetheric currents, creating vast confluences of aether below the surface. Among other phenomena, this led to the formation of subterranean caverns at key points of stress.”

Richiro looked around the quiet port of Wineport. “Is that why we were meeting here?” 

Alisaie nodded to the healer. “Indeed, one such cavern lies beneath Castrum Occidens, and extends to only the gods know where. Despite appearances, Castrum Occidens is as much a research facility as it is a fortress. Gaius van Baelsar chose the site for no other reason than to probe the caverns without interference.” 

Kida was the first to finish her breakfast, wiping her face with a napkin. “Are we going to explore into the unknown?” 

“Yes,” She answered with a small smile of her own, “You went about vanishing the returned primals, and I went to observe the repeating patterns within the aether that corresponded exactly to the dates you fell those primals. Ifrit, Titan, Garuda.” She listed them off of her fingers. “Upon closer examination, it became clear that these unique wavefronts emanated from deep beneath the aforementioned stronghold.” 

Ozwin ate his yogurt in silence, happy that some of their work this past week did some good.

Azlyn chuckled. 

“During the recent celebrations, I also recorded the same pattern—which gives me an understanding that this phenomenon bears a disquieting similarity to the one observed shortly prior to the Calamity.” 

“I wonder what it is that came into being.” Azlyn replied, looking down at the table. “Based upon your conjectures and research—it seems like we won’t know what we’ll find down below.” 

The Sharlayan resumed eating her breakfast, giving them time to process what she presented. After a few minutes she finished. “Five years ago, my grandfather invoked the power of the Twelve that he might contain Bahamut. Alas, his efforts failed, and he vanished together with his foe. I would know the truth of what transpired that day—of Grandfather’s fate, and of the metamorphosis of this land. In casting light upon these mysteries, we will find a way to cure what ails this world.” Alisaie explained. She raised a finger up beside her as she started to conclude. “It is my belief that the answers I seek lie hidden within the depths of these caverns. And I would have you all accompany me on this expedition to find them.”

Kida jumped up from her seat. “Sign me up!”

Roll bobbed her head in agreement. “Yeah, I guess I can pencil you into the work schedule.” She pulled her satchel bag from behind her to pull out a handwritten calendar. She started penciling in Alisaie’s name for the next three days. “I have to deliver an item to Rowena sometime today though. It’s due.”

The Sharlayan twin with the red ribbon in her white braid hair smiled. “Does it matter if you are the one to deliver the item in question or no?”

“Doesn’t have to be me.”

Alisaie tapped her linkpearl. “It’s me, can you meet in Wineport? I need you to deliver something for me.” There was a pregnant pause before she ended the call. “Thank you, we’ll see you in the hour.”

Roll started to pencil in Alisaie for the rest of the week. “I think I can give you more days with that.”

The girl chuckled. “No worries. What about the rest of you?”

“I will assist so long as the others need me.” Mjnt adjusted the collar of her turtleneck. “My name is Mjnt. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Kida gasped in horror. “GODS ABOVE, I didn’t even introduce everyone! I just talked your ear off when we first met. My name is Kida—Kida Vescura. Then we have Thuzie, our resident axe wielder.”

The Miqo’te gave a curt nod over to her. “N’thuzu Tia, but everyone except Kida calls me by Thuzu.”

“—And over there is our resident fisher: Ozzie—”

“Ozwin.”

Kida ignored Ozwin’s jab, repeating his nickname once more. “—Ozzie; and sitting next to him is Rich-Rich.”

“Richiro.” Ozwin corrected the Au Ra once more. Richiro didn’t bother to correct her, just shrugging his shoulders.

“Beside our Lalafellin Healer is the enigmatic Koko—Oh, and you already know Minty.”

“Koroko Koko, at your behest milady.” Koroko smiled to the twin.

Roll introduced herself before Kida could get the chance to butcher her name. “Roll is my name.”

Alisaie chuckled to their lively group. “Such fascinating nicknames between you all. What’s Azlyn’s?”

Everyone perked at this. “Azzie.”

“Green horn.” Ozwin spoke differently from everyone else.

Azlyn stuck her tongue out to the man before shaking her head. “Kida also nicknamed your brother.”

“Oh?” The twin’s interest had been piqued.

“Alphi!” Kida clapped her hands together. “It fits him!”

Alisaie burst out laughing, clasping her sides. “Gods—gods that’s brilliant. Alphi!”

“And you’ll be Alie, short for Alisaie!” Kida announced, grinning from scale to scale. “And thus, do we start a long journey into the depths below—to uncover the secrets that lie under the belly of the Castrum!”

Ozwin leaned back in his chair. He regarded the young Sharlayan with a keen eye. “Adventuring into the unknown is all and well—but can you handle yourself?”

“If truth be told, I am not wont to rely upon others, and have thus far handled matters alone.” Alisaie gave a short pause, her mirthful expression turned to worry. “Yet I am not blind to my limitations. Unescorted, I cannot hope to succeed in this endeavor. I swore that I would find a way to restore peace to Eorzea. If you desire the selfsame, then aid me, as you aided my brother and the Scions.”

The Midlander Hyur exhaled slowly, he seemed to mull over her answer. “Between you and me, I’d probably aid you over your brother. He’s a bit too regal for my type of work. At least you’re upfront and brunt.” Ozwin stood up from his spot, accepting her answer for what it was. He walked over and held his hand toward her. Alisaie stared at his palm before he rolled his eyes. “I go by handshakes to accept deals.”

“Oh! Oh, right.” She stood up to grab ahold of him. They shook briefly before Ozwin looked to N’thuzu Tia. “I am in your debt.” She smiled up to them. “I sense we will accomplish much together in our time.”

Azlyn suspiciously glared to the Midlander. “When have you ever asked for a handshake?”

“Handshakes tell a lot about people.” He snorted over Azlyn. “And I didn’t need one from you—I could tell right away what type of person you were.”

“Oh? Let me guess—gullible, clumsy, a pushover?”

Ozwin gave her a disbelieving look. “I was going to say good natured. Maybe we should work on your self esteem instead of your fighting skills.” He shook his head, as the Au Ra flushed red.

“Look, you can’t blame her—she’s been through quite the ordeal: Seeing people die, finding out one of her friends had become a meat puppet by an Ascian, constantly on the go without a break—She’s stressed!” Kida emphasized the stressed part.

“Anyroad—” Azlyn sighed, fanning the flush on her face. “What’s the game plan?”

“Thuzu and I will scout ahead—he has a good working knowledge of the area, and I can skulk on my own. We’ll clear any particular areas that the Garleans may be sneaking about.” He turned to Azlyn. “You, Roll and Alisaie should prepare a bullet journal to jot down notes on what we find. I’m sure if the imperials were down there, they probably have something worth hiding.”

Roll pondered aloud. “Hopefully not another Ultima Weapon.”

“As long as I’m not in charge of the reports, I’m content!” Kida announced

Richiro shuddered. “I don’t want to see another Allagan doomsday artifact for the rest of my life.”

“Kida, you would write that report in crayon.” Azlyn chirped happily, “And we know there are more relics out there—it’s possible we could see one at some point.”

The Lalafellin buried his head in his arms, pretending not to listen. “Nopenopenopenope!”

Mjnt stood up, looking around the port. “Anything we should prepare? Some rations, ropes, pittons?”

Kida tapped her chest three times. “Guys, guys, guys! Leave the shopping to myself, Mjnt, Rich-Rich and Koko! We’ll be plenty prepared!”

Ozwin gave Kida a long look, before he turned to Koroko Koko. “You’re the appointed supervisor. Make sure she—” He pointed to the Xaela, “doesn’t buy anymore dynamite.”

Kida laughed deviously. “There’s no need because I have leftovers from the Praetorium!”

Alisaie chuckled behind her hand.

With their jobs determined, the large group of nine split into three smaller groups. Time seemed to go quick. Roll handed over the jewelry pieces she crafted, and a sealed envelope to the messenger Alisaie summoned who accepted a quick payment from the girl. With his payment in hand, he carefully stowed the items for Roll’s delivery in his bag and bid them all to have a good day.

Shortly after that the group of four arrived from their shopping trip. Kida explained to them how they somehow were able to get some freshly squeezed orange juice, along with other essential items.

“We’re back.” N’thuzu Tia announced, he placed his axe in its holster while Ozwin rolled out a piece of long parchment. It appeared that he drew out the compounds’ layout for them.

“We found the cavern Alisaie spoke of—it’s a bit off the beaten path in Castrum Occidens.” Ozwin tapped upon the paper. “We’ll need to follow the path here and up to the northwest corner of the stronghold.”

N’thuzu Tia nodded. “We took care of the Vanguards protecting the gates, so it’s all a matter of breaking in.”

Kida ruffled through her stuff, before she pulled out a set of picks. “Don’t worry you guys, I have my picking tools!”

Ozwin gave Kida a low smile and dropped a keycard in front of them. “Or we use the ID card I snatched.”

“Party pooper.”

“I’ll make it up to you next time.” He gave her a shrug as if he couldn’t help that it was locked by a scanner.

“You better! I’m holding you to it!” Kida pressed back with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Alisaie smiled at the quick findings of the cavern. She gathered her belongings as she smiled to them. “Well, if there’s nothing else to do, we should be on our way!” The young scholar forged ahead, giving them little choice but to follow.

Just a few hundred yalms from the imperial stronghold’s gate they were welcomed to the site of the Imperial Exploratory Site—a stronghold infused with aetherically charged clusters of corrupted crystals that arched up in spiraling archways.

Azlyn whistled at the walkways that boxed and zoned themselves further within the cavern. “This is something I haven’t seen before.”

Kida cupped her hands over her mouth to shout: “Echo!” and they all heard her voice channel the word repeatedly overhead and around.

“If we had the element of surprise, we lost it now.” Mjnt spoke with a lilt in her tone.

Roll looked over the rail’s walkway. “Do we know if there’s oxygen?”

Alisaie wondered curiously. “I don’t know how deep this goes, but we should be vigilant. If anyone starts to feel sick and lightheaded, we’ll need to evacuate immediately.”

“It’d be too late by that point.” Azlyn murmured.

They eerily stood in silence.

“Right…” Ozwin drawn his word out. “So, who’s leading? Thuzu?”

The Miqo’te readied his axe, “Sure, follow me.”

They travelled through the caverns, coming across ancient allagan devices that had roused to their arrival. Given that the Imperials hadn’t pushed beyond their ramps, most of the terrain after the rails were the natural pathways of the cavern. Giant slabs and formations of aether infused crystals staggered all over the caverns—and all were infused within the paths they walked.

After clearing the first area of the clicking Ancient Allagan node orb, they moved beyond to the interior of the cavern—where beasts and golems attacked. Again, they worked together in unison fighting off the threats with no problems. An hour into their journey to the subterranean they came across a honeycombed patterned area layered in different levels—and a giant reptilian snake that hit hard, spat venom all over, and ate slimes that would magically appear. At one point the snake replicated itself into two—and a comical moment of Richiro being chased by the replica ensued where both Azlyn and Ozwin both chased after.

It took some time to whittle the snakes down—as N’thuzu Tia bloodied, cleaved the neck of the creature he was attacking with ease. Ozwin, Mjnt, and Azlyn worked in conjunction of one another—until Mjnt gathered enough aether to divebomb it into ashes. 

They took a moment to heal, jotted down what they found in the bullet journal, and went further below. They travelled about a little over nine hundred yalms, stepping into more cavernous and Allagan-enriched sites—the tunnels soon split into two pathways.

“Should we stay together or divide and conquer?” Koroko Koko asked curiously.

That was the question. Azlyn rubbed her chin in thought. “Divide and conquer never hurt.”

Ozwin directed his attention to the left pathway. “I’ll go this way.”

N’thuzu Tia moved to the right pathway. “I’ll take the right.”

They split their damage dealers appropriately. Azlyn would go to the left, while Koroko went to the right. Mjnt and Kida were split apart as well, where the dragoon went to the right side and Kida went to the left. The healers, Roll and Richiro, were able to choose which side they wanted.

“Come on Rich-Rich! It’ll be like in Haukke Manor! You, me, Azzie, Ozzie together as a group!”

The Lalafellin made his way over. 

Alisaie chuckled, opting to throw her lot in with the right side. “I guess I’ll take the right and offer whatever support I can.”

With their groups evenly split, they started to clear out their selected pathways. Ozwin took point, while Azlyn and Kida focused on damage output. Richiro healed them when it was needed. When they started attacking the Allagan nodes, they started to click—audibly announcing a complete charge at a certain click range.

A series of explosions rocked the right side, as Azlyn figured the black mage caster had probably decimated a node on their end. Five minutes went by and they rejoined together in the middle, where another Node, like the one at the beginning of the imperial site started to attack them. They used the same tactics from the first defense nodes that attacked them previously.

“So—many—nodes!” Kida wiped the sweat from her face. “Why does it feel like we were soooo close to death in this last fight?”

Azlyn thought back to the clicks, and estimated each click was about a minute long in length. Given that it was completing its charge at the twelfth click, the Au Ra thought that may have been the danger to these nodes.

“Well no use crying over spilt milk.” Alisaie smiled to them.

Roll started to scribble in their bullet journal about what they encountered, and then Kida popped over to tell them about their experiences.

“And then it exploded outward like BOOM!”

The Au Ra handed Kida the journal. “You write it.”

“Give me a box of crayons!” Kida announced, and happily started to scrawl when Azlyn presented her with her desired object. She drew on the back of Azlyn, humming in beat of her drawing, and then stared at the masterpiece.

“It’s beautiful!” She cheered, and everyone peered over her shoulder to see the nicely drawn orb and four stick figures blasting it. Each stick person had a specific weapon in hand—although she paid closer attention to detail on Eos, the fairy Richi summoned. She wasn’t a stick figure—but drawn to scale.

Azlyn smiled at their journal exposition, seeing the gentle handwriting of her cousin’s at the top of the page and the bottom of the page scrawled in crayon. It definitely fit the dynamic of their group. 

“There’s a stairway leading down.” Ozwin pointed out the strange glyphs on the pathways. “It’s starting to look less and less like a cavern and more like a facility.” 

Azlyn walked to the stairs, examining the ground and seeing the lines that ran downward. “This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.” 

Alisaie quirked her head to her comment. “What is it?” 

The white haired Raen tapped the luminescent lines with her knuckles. “This is a power source. Energy—or aether—running through and powering this facility.” 

Mjnt tapped her chin. “Where is this aether coming from? And where is it going to at the end of this site?” 

They all mused in thought. 

“Let’s go find out.” Azlyn stepped forward, following the stairs down.