Traveler

Azlyn woke up in a throng of bodies, pillows, and bed sheets hanging over them like a huge makeshift tent. Kida had sprawled herself out, her pillow up against Azlyn’s thigh as she slept. Koroko Koko had been on her side side, curled up to her side. Mjnt had slept adjacent to Kida, curled in several pillows hugging on to her face. Roll was the only one who made some space between them, but she had wrapped herself in several of the blankets, cocooning around her. 

All five of them had been up a bit late in the evening after they left the guys—only to gossip for several hours and then finally pass out from their long day. The morning came too quick, as N’thuzu Tia awkwardly popped his head in. 

“Errr... are you up?” 

Azlyn grumbled a response for everyone. “Give us like—five minutes?” 

“Cid says the ship will leave in five minutes.” N’thuzu Tia replied back. He left their room abruptly, probably wanting to give them some privacy to wake up.

Azlyn reached over and shook Kida’s shoulders. “Wake up. We gotta slay a primal.” 

“Ten more minutes...” The blue haired Auri replied, rolling off her and into the pillow used by Mjnt. Roll had been the easiest to wake, and the hardest had been Kida—who Koroko convinced to wake her with the smell of a candy that smelled like coffee. 

By the time Azlyn got them all moving, Ozwin had swung the door wide with a wide grin. He had a metal pot and a wooden spoon in hand, banging it like an alarm. “Good morning ladies, time to fly.” He was smirking as Kida shot him a darkened expression, but she said nothing as she stumbled by. 

Azlyn stretched as she walked, Roll had been quickly disassembling their mess they made with Mjnt’s assistance. Koroko Koko followed Kida, with Ozwin following close behind them. It seemed he found his source of fun for the next hour. 

By the time they all gathered by the airship, Cid had walked over holding his report from his tests. He gave a warm smile to the group. “According to my tests, the device is now functioning in perfect harmony with the crystal—meaning we can leave whenever you’re ready.” 

Kida sucked on the candy that tasted like strong coffee. “—so I couldn’t sleep in for ten more minutes?” 

Alphinaud shook his head. “The longer Garuda exists, the more devastation she’ll create in her wake. We must strike hard, and we should do it soon before she gains too much power.”

Azlyn asked to look at the tests. Cid handed over the sheets as she peered through the results. It seemed as if the crystals and barrier would have a good chance up against Garuda’s might wind gale. 

Cid seemed to guess her trepidation, and tacked onto what he said. “But you all must understand that tests can only tell one so much. Until we approach the Howling Eye—until we attempt to breach the barrier itself—I cannot be sure that this will work.” 

The Auri nodded, passing back the papers. “Indeed. But it’s a start in the right direction.”

“I think it only fair to tell you that there is a small but statistically significant chance that the crystal could trigger a massive—”

Azlyn smiled raising a finger up to her lips. “Probably better to remain positive, but I understand.” 

Richiro had been hanging on Cid’s words wondering what he was about to say. Roll seemed to pick up on it, frowning to herself. 

Cid spoke loudly to each of them. “I want to thank you all. For reuniting me with my ship. For trusting in me to develop this plan—for everything. You’ve helped me to rediscover a part of myself I’d forgotten, I am not the man I once was, and I do not know if I ever shall be. But I do know one thing: this feels right. All it took was a good nights slumber after yesterday to understand that much.” 

Richiro Wichiro gave him a thumbs up, while Ozwin and N’thuzu Tia nodded their heads. Mjnt smiled warmly, while Koroko Koko chuckled into her hand. 

Azlyn placed both her hands on her hips as she grinned. “Good. I’m glad.” 

The engineer gave a sheepish expression moments after, as his face flushed a tinge of red. He looked away, lifting a hand to his lower jaw. “My apologies for the sudden outpouring of sentiment. I would have waited until after the mission, but well—you understand.” 

Alphinaud punched a hand into his open palm, as he called out to the group. “While the wind is in our sails, we should proceed into Garuda’s nest. Together we shall accomplish the inevitable. Today is Garuda’s end!” 

They all jumped into action, boarding the ship while Cid gave some orders to Roll and Ozwin to help prepare for their flight. Mjnt went to help Roll, while N’thuzu Tia assisted Ozwin. After five minutes of preparing the sails, pulling up the anchor, getting waved through by the Twin Adder guards in the dock... Cid approached the wheel of the ship, his eyes steeled on the prize in front of him. 

“There—she’s ready.” Cid activated the engines, as the ship roared to life. 

Alphinaud smirked as they all felt the jolt of power through the entire ship. 

Cid reached for the wheel with both hands, he closed his eyes while the party looked at his straightened back. After several moments, he looked over his shoulder to see them waiting. Azlyn nodded to him, a warm smile upon her face. 

“To Coerthas.” Alphinaud shouted, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “And an audience with the harpy queen Garuda!” 

Koroko Koko took a seat next to Richiro Wichiro. Mjnt stood at the back of the ship, reaching up to hold the ropes to keep herself steady as the ship started to lift off. The ship flew out from the hanger, where the Twin Adder guards waved goodbye to them as they went off. 

After they got a good distance up into the sky did Cid set the auto-pilot on the ship, and let go of the wheel. He sighed in relief, as they drifted just under the clouds. The canopy of the trees below were green and vast—like a sea of trees that continued all through Aldenard. 

The wind constantly around them, its brisk touch continued as they flew. The group relaxed as the ship settled in it’s course, while Cid reached up to remove the goggles from his head. Azlyn looked up to the man, seeing his grey jeweled third eye upon his forehead for the first time. He didn’t mind her stare as he looked to his goggles. 

“Damn it.” He stammered, lost in his thoughts. “I-I once flew in this airship. And I was not alone.” 

They all stopped what they were doing to look at Cid. 

“There were adventurers on board. Adventurers like you all.” The engineer struggled to remember, as if it had been on the tip of his tongue. He seemed lost. He gripped his forehead, as if in pain. Azlyn reached out to help—only she felt a burst of energy come from her. It pulsated as the rest of the party also reached up to their heads in pain. 

Azlyn could remember the look of worry cross Cid’s face as he stared to her. The world turned from black to white, her body felt listless as she felt herself floating. And she wasn’t alone, next to her she could see the rest of the free company. Ozwin widened his eyes in horror as he stared all over, Koroko Koko and Richiro Wichiro floated a few meters away from him. She could she N’thuzu Tia let go of his head as they circled, Roll and Kida were next to him. Mjnt joined them, taken in by the strange light. Together all eight circled in slow motion in the air above what looked like the scene changing. 

While Cid was not with them in the visions, they could hear him speaking. The view changed to Cid, as he stared to the goggles in his hand. 

“Just how long have I worn these damn goggles?” 

Azlyn looked to the group, and saw Ozwin harden in his expression. He scowled at the vision. She wanted to ask him what upset him, however the scene changed once more. A young boy with stylish black clothes, white fluffed white—no facial hair, held a hammer. The young lad looked no more than eleven or twelve posing proudly. 

Cid’s voice overcame them. “Ah, yes. I fancied myself a trendsetter in my younger days.” 

Kida laughed, as they watched the young Cid running through a white landscape. “The young prodigy, admired by all, exactly like his father.” The scene shifted once more, changing into a small workshop. “Born and raised in Garlemald.” The child Cid sat in a chair, as the scene stayed within the moment. He sat for a bit in his chair, then it transitioned to the young lad balancing atop the toolbox with more items strewn on the floor. Next the young lad was working on a perfect miniature version of a magitek device standing on the desk. He had books upon books with a lit lantern where he worked. It appeared the young Cid worked late on his projects into the nights. 

“It was only natural that the precocious young student should become an engineer. Had his father not done the same?” Cid’s inner monologue played for them all to watch. 

Once more the white landscape jumped from the work space to the young Cid standing by himself. He had a saddened expression on his face, as his eyebrows furrowed in worry. His lip quivered as his eyes hardened to avoid the tears from falling. 

“Father, when did we stop seeing eye to eye?” 

The child moved away from the scene, walking now into the next place of the vision. A familiar sight, the glowing red moon that ended the Battle of Carteneau. It’s ominous glow grew as Cid spoke slowly. “When did Meteor become your everything, and your loved ones ceased to matter?” 

The younger cid stepped into view, now a bit older, growing some facial hair on his chin—but not like it presently was. He couldn’t have been more than twenty or twenty one. He was standing by himself, the white landscape had shifted into a darker background—a mental reflection of loss or a sense of grief in his time growing up. Azlyn saw an armored individual walking up to him from behind. She noted one of their party members narrowed his eyes at the sight of his appearance. 

As the armored man reached out a hand to Cid’s shoulder in the vision, the monologue explained. 

“You abandoned us all. But he was there for me, father. There for me when you were not. Though he proved to be no better in the end. Gaius was just another man with an all-consuming obsession.” 

Azlyn winced at the realization that the man standing with Cid’s younger self was no other than the Black Wolf. The man that may as well killed her parents in cold blood during the Calalmity. If it wasn’t for his drive to conquer Eorzea, her parents may have still been around. The Au Ra clenched her fists at her sides, as the scenes shifted once more. 

Cid stood at the wheel of the ship—this exact ship that they were on—with two familiar engineers behind him. She could see Wedge and Biggs working in the background as Cid pushed forward in his life. 

“And so I ran—left the Empire behind and came to Eorzea. Where I built the Ironworks.” 

The scenes shifted to before the Calamity, where Cid had been standing by himself one night. The ship had been anchored in an open field where several groups of adventurers were chatting amongst themselves. Azlyn’s eyes wandered, looking as one adventurer—a young Midlander Hyur with black hair stepped up to Cid—they all watched in mock surprise as the vision of this individual brightened as they handed the past Cid a pair of goggles. The same ones that the engineer wore. 

Ozwin grimaced as he watched the scene, knowing now that they all were piecing together who that younger person was. The bright light from his form burst before the party turned to him. 

A calm voice—one not filled with his usual sarcastic tones—spoke to the younger Cid with a warm smile. “Let us fly together to end the war. For the peace of Eorzea.” 

The younger Cid stared down at the gift, the goggles that had all started this road of visions. “It was then that I first donned these goggles with the promise of our work together.” The younger Cid stared up to the luminescent moon. It almost was a full moon that night when the monologue continued. “Eorzea opened my eyes. It was home to so many manner of people, each with their own hopes and dreams. People worth saving. And so I fought beside them.” 

They all turned to Ozwin, who crossed his arms over his chest. He ignored their stares as he looked to the scene unfolding. 

Cid continued speaking, the voice entering their minds to draw them back. “I wanted to prove that my knowledge could serve a nobler purpose. I wanted to prove that there was another way. And it all began that day, when I found my new home.”

The scene darkened—changing and shifting until the smell of fresh air returned to her senses. The cold air brought them out from their stupor as Alphinaud had grabbed the steering wheel, awkwardly looking over his shoulder to all of them. Each slowly roused, getting up from the ground as the vision ended. Cid slowly pulled himself up from the ground, looking at the goggles in his hand still. 

“I forgotten how wonderful it was. The wind in your hair. The endless skies.” Cid spoke aloud, finally awake from the dream. 

The rest of the party stirred. 

“No wonder Azlyn’s wiped after a vision like that.”  Kida replied slowly, shaking her head.

Cid turned to Ozwin then, as the midlander Hyur turned away to look at the clouds in the distance. He was purposely avoiding eye contact with the group. “That person... it was you—wasn’t it?” 

Ozwin didn’t say anything, just grunted in response. 

Cid gave a wry grin. “It’s surprising how few people know this, but all pureblood Garleans have a third eye.” He pointed to his forehead, not touching it with his finger. “Perhaps mine helped me recognize you—or perhaps it was a lucky guess.” 

Mjnt smiled, looking between the two men. “It seems you’ve been blessed for sometime.” 

Ozwin sighed heavily. “Can’t seem to hide that anymore, can I?” 

Kida shrugged. “The vision kind of outed you, but it explains a bit more about you.” 

“The Enterprise was made for this! To carry Eorzea’s protectors into battle! I am proud to be able to call her my own!” Cid replaced his goggles upon his forehead once more, as he walked up to the wheel. He gave the Sharlayan a warm grin. “Thank you for watching over her while we rediscovered my memories Alphinaud.” 

“What exactly do you remember?” The young Sharlayan asked, staring between all of them with a bit of surprise. “I was a bit alarmed when you all slumped and dropped.” 

“My name. My people. My purpose. Everything.” Cid spoke, and turned to the young Elezen. “My boy—sorry to have been such a burden.” The engineer turned to the wheel, gathering his energy as he gripped the wheel. Cid turned off the auto pilot and focused on the task at hand. He could feel everyone watching him. “Come! It would be rude to keep Garuda waiting!” 

They travelled for a distance, the airship had been filled with excitement as Cid carried them through piercing cold air entering Coerthas from Aldenard’s northern shroud. Azlyn could feel the winds pick up, as the aether convulsed and built itself in a rapid manner. 

It continued to grow more and more the closer they flew toward the eye of the swirling aetheric storm. The soft greenish glow of the aether acted as a beacon of sorts, as Cid brought them through the first layer of the tempest. 

Slowly they floated downward, feeling the intensity of the winds push toward the airship, and deaden upon impact. Richiro checked the component holding the corrupted crystals as it glowed bright. 

“It’s working!” 

Cid smirked, pushing them through the next layers of the tempest, flying further and further into the tempest. Azlyn peered over the side seeing broken boulders and tall towering rocks as the wind sliced into them haphazardly. She then looked over to her cousin, who paled at the sight. 

Kida reached over to touch her shoulder. “You okay Roll?” 

The healer gave one curt nod, not a word escaped from her tightened lips. 

Alphinaud noted the change in demeanor in the young healer, but he did his best to draw the rest of them in. “All our efforts and our travels. All of it was for this. Make ready everyone, for the end if nigh.” 

Ozwin stepped up at last, pulling his spear forward. Mjnt mirrored his stance as the rest drew their weapons. 

Roll was the last to pull her astrologian globe from her weapons pocket, and drew a single card of the top of the deck. It happened to be an inverted Spire card which she grimaced toward. “...Be it hers...or our own.” She murmured and stowed the card back into her deck. 

N’thuzu Tia stepped up with his axe at his side. He walked over to Azlyn, leaning down to speak solely to her. “Keep an eye on your cousin. She looks unnerved.” 

The girl nodded once, seeing Kida had kept close to Roll. “I will. Are you going to be okay taking on Garuda at the front, or do you want me to?” 

The Miqo’te Warrior smiled to her, he easily hefted his axe to his shoulder as Cid pushed the anchors down to hold their ship. “I can take the lead. If anything changes mid-fight, I’m sure you’ll jump into the rescue.” 

Azlyn brought out her summoner’s grimoire. “Then I’ll keep to the mid-ground, keeping watch to see any weak points.” 

Mjnt’s red hair floated all around, as she pulled it back into a lofty ponytail. Her ears remained alert as she listened to the howling of the wind. After a moment, she turned to the party. “I hear...laughter. Loud, and shrill.” 

“That’d be Garuda.” Roll replied softly. Her voice cracked a smidge. “She’s a bit unhinged.” 

Kida gave her a worried glance. “You doing alright?” 

“Not really.” 

Azlyn watched her cousin shake her head.

Koroko Koko walked over to her now, reaching up to pat her hand. “You’re not alone. You have friends with you.” 

Alphinaud walked off the airship, which led the rest of them to file off in groups of two to three each. They could see the Ixal had set up several barricades to get through first before reaching Garuda’s grounds. 

It was a short time, as all of them pushed through each set of wooden gates. The winds continued to get rougher and harder the more they traveled inward. The ship was still in sight, as they reached the second gate that would lead further in. 

“Ready?” Alphinaud asked, putting his back against the gate’s wall. 

The group nodded, some more enthusiastically than others. N’thuzu Tia reached up to the wooden gate, pulling it aside with a strong pull. Once the gate opened, a burst of gale wind rushed out of it, showing them a sight of a floating harpy woman. Her wings—all four of them—beating vigorously as she laughed. Her hands, sharp talons curled inward to the claws. Her legs soon led to sharp taloned claws that one would see on a predatory bird. She was tall, massive in size as she rivaled both Ifrit’s and Titan’s height. She must have been well over three stories tall.

Azlyn noted the strikingly beautiful complexion on the primal’s face—and the crazed gaze she held as she called out. “Who dares to intrude upon my sanctuary!?” 

They poured into the area, as the winds picked up ferociously. The wings of the woman struck the small tornados of wind outward in anger as she spied them come forth. “Your insolence shall not go unpunished, land walkers!” The primal gazed to each of them, her black eyes examining each of their faces before landing upon Roll’s. 

She cackled aggressively, her eyes lingered upon the healer of the group. 

Alphinaud took a slight step back. “Twelve preserve—she’s huge!” 

“As I live and breathe.” Cid muttered in astonishment. 

The murmuring and squawking on their side drew their attention away from Garuda—as a huge tribe of Garuda-tempered Ixal had their weapons drawn. Ready to attack them and issuing commands. 

One squawked angrily. “Land walkers!”

Cid clenched his fists at the sight of the warriors. “Over there—look.” 

Behind the Ixal warriors, Azlyn gasped in mid shock as she saw groups of tied up Kobolds and Amalj’aa. They were struggling against the ropes that bound them. 

“Amal’jaa and kobold prisoners. But why would the Ixal bring them here...?” 

Roll paled more, as she stared at the primal eyeing her. “She’s planning to gain more followers. The more she has worshipping her. The more power she’ll obtain.” 

Garuda cackled loudly, her laughter bursted in loud shrieks. “Heehee HAHA hahaha HEEHEE haha HEEEEEE!!!!” 

The whole party winced at the sound, the shrillness of her laughter echoed in the sanctuary. “Wherefore come you hither, foolish mortals!? Does the one spared last not know the reason for why she was spared?! HEEHEE haha HAHAHA!” 

Alphinaud ignored her jabs made to Roll who faltered in her step. Kida stepped forward, notching an arrow in front of her. “Garuda! We are come to put an end to your reign of terror!” 

Garuda turned to her Ixal warriors, laughing. “Hear you this blasphemy, my children? These landwalkers would bring me low! But we have learned from last time—this time we shall leave devastation in our wake—this time we will kill all who are not our own!” She turned to the whole party, grinning vivaciously wicked. “You who are bound to crawl upon the earth should revere me—FOR I AM THE WIND!” She snapped her four wings outward as the winds started to slice upward and out, hitting the rocks and carving into the mountainous terrain of Coerthas. 

“Did we not take to the skies, and slip into your defenses!? We are bound by nothing, Garuda!” Cid shouted over the winds. He confidently stood with the group. 

“You think your playthings give you strength?” Garuda began to postulate with her talons, gesturing inward and outward in her explanation. “They will not help you here, landwalker! This is my realm, where none can challenge my supremacy! Struggle though you may—I shall slake the roots with your blood, and festoon the canopy with your ENTRAILS! HAHAHAHAAAHAA!” She stopped her laughter, eyeing the healer Auri with a growing grin. “What will you do landwalker?! Run and hide like last time!? Shall I start with them first! HEEHEE HAHA!” She snapped her wings forward, as the winds crashed into Mjnt and Richiro Wichiro. Both were slammed backward and knocked off their feet. 

Azlyn snapped her head back to see the pair struggling to catch their breath. Roll snapped out of the reverie, running back to them. She cast a quickened mass heal spell that blanketed over them. The pair slowly brought themselves up from the ground. 

All around the top of the paths, the Ixals squawked in glory. “Slay the unfeathered ones, we shall! As an offering to Garuda, they will serve!” 

Cid clapped Ozwin on his shoulder. “Leave the Ixal to us. We will keep them distracted while you deal with her!”

Ozwin nodded, while he called out to the pair Roll healed. “You two! Let’s pay it forward—now let’s go!”

Alphinaud shouted over to the Aura with white hair. “Do not fall! Remember, you fight for the Scions! For Eorzea!”

Azlyn nodded, as her Ifrit-Egi was brought to life with a flick of her hand. “Be safe!”

Cid, Alphinaud, Ozwin, Mjnt, and Richiro darted up into the sides of the terrain—the fighting started with the Ixal as they started their own charge against them. Azlyn, Roll, Kida, Koroko Koko, and N’thuzu Tia readied themselves for battle as Garuda roared in her aggressive nature. 

N’thuzu Tia readied his axe, calling over to the purple eyed Au Ra. “I didn’t think I’d have an opportunity to see a primal this quickly in our time together.” 

Kida snickered as she strung her harpsichord upon her weapon. “Let’s hope this isn’t your last one!”

The Harpy-like titan sneered, snapping her talons out in anger. “These worms would die by mine own hand! Come, then—I shall grant you that which you seek!” Garuda cackled once more, as a huge tornado erupted around her. A countless rain of feathers struck outward, as the five of them split apart to find a place to hide behind the rocks. Azlyn watched the feathers impact the ground and rock with sharp accuracy—and then commanded her egi to move through the torrent of winds. 

The winds expanded outward, creating a barrier between the outer layers of the sanctuary from the inner parts—where the five of them were locked in with the cackling primal of wind. The Lady of the Vortex flew high in the sky, before snapping her attention back downward. Her grin widened in crazed glee as she welcomed their attempts to slay her. “Come at me then. Let me see THE WORTH OF YOUR WORTHLESS LIVES.”

N’thuzu Tia pulled himself out from the rocky pillar he hid behind. Azlyn watched as he quickly entered melee with the flying primal who cackled loudly at his attempts to cleave her. 

Koroko Koko began casting, she noted the fire aspected energy floating around the Lalafellin as she sent bursts of fire to the primal when N’thuzu Tia positioned her into a vulnerable spot. The fire had been put out moments prior to hitting her back, as her wings beat the winds harsh enough to smother the fire from existence. 

Kida fired several arrows, but the wind knocked them off the mark. They snapped upon the contact against the swirling vortex trapping them within, and carried upward into the tornado. 

Azlyn could see that N’thuzu Tia and her Ifrit-Egi were attempting to cleave and strike her, but she was quick to adjust and knock them backward a few feet. 

Roll stepped up, bringing forth a mass healing spell for them. A moments after the energy poured into their stinging cuts from the wind, she pulled a card from her deck, and then looked to Koroko. “Blast her!” She transferred a burst of energy to the Lalafellin caster, who smiled devilishly at the increase of magical output. 

She finished her initial cast, as another fire spell—a larger one—went spiraling to the primal. They watched as Garuda tried to beat the fire away like she did the last time, however, the fire wasn’t stopped. Two of her wings burst into flames at the impact, and she screeched in pain. She jumped up into the air, and Azlyn felt the air shift and change. 

Roll called out, rushing to the rock pillars. “She’s going to send a cleaving strike! Get behind something!” 

Azlyn darted to the same pillar that Roll hid behind, as Kida and Koroko retreated to the opposite side. N’thuzu Tia ran to the pillar to his left, the one where both their ranged members hid. 

The cackling emerged as Garuda landed back down. She released a huge burst of wind, as it cleaved against the pillars and cut the tops off them. The debris scattered upward into the tornado. 

“Soon you will see the depths of your folly, mortals!” Garuda angrily cried as her wings were charred black from the fires. She looked in pain, screaming as N’thuzu Tia jumped right back into combat. Roll patted her cousin. 

“Keep an eye on her aether. It will fluctuate depending on her moods. The more angry she gets, the harder she hits.” 

Azlyn nodded. “Keep an eye on the others, I’ll see what I can do.” 

The summoner stepped out from the pillar’s protection, seeing her summon attacking and aiding the Miqo’te. He was getting bloody from the wind attacks she continuously cleaved into him, but Roll’s magick to heal him settled his wounds. 

She ran forward, enough to not draw attention to herself, but close enough to start casting her own magic spells. She sent out a miasma spell, soon to follow it with a poison spell. The spells hit the primal’s injured wings, and Garuda arched her back in pain—she turned to glare at her, only for N’thuzu’s axe dug deep into her collarbone. She cried in agony, the piercing scream echoed. She reached upward with her claws, snapping at N’thuzu and sending him flying into the tornado trapping him. He was carried tens of feet in the air before Roll rescued him from his plight. 

Garuda ripped the axe out from her chest, and tomahawked it to Azlyn who retroactively summoned Titan-egi to her side. The earthen wall snapped up just in time, as the blade of the axe crunched into the face of the dirt barrier. 

Kida screamed out over the winds, firing arrows after arrows, and then she brought forth the harpsichord attached to her bow. She strung the strings with quick strokes of her fingers. “A mage’s ballad is best at hand, for our caster’s deserve a powered stand!” The song exploded outward, as the power surged in each of them. 

Azlyn didn’t have time to move, as Garuda trampled against her Titan’s wall with ease, breaking the earth. Azlyn ducked downward, finding the axe N’thuzu lost before darting to Roll’s side. 

Koroko drew Garuda’s attention with a powered Ice block into her side, while Kida supported her. The pair drew the primal away from Azlyn as she ran over to her cousin. It seemed to her that Roll had enough time to heal the Miqo’te’s wounds when Azlyn placed the axe in his hands. 

“Need a break?” 

The male shook his head. “No. I got her. You four keep it up. She’s tiring.” He was having difficulty breathing, keeping his sentences short and simple. 

Azlyn nodded. “I got your back Thuzu. On your mark.” 

He perked his ears, as the winds started to shift. “She’s changing tactics.” 

Roll stiffened up as she saw Garuda jumped to the center of the pillars. Countless feathers emerged from the outside of the tornado, swirling inward to them. “Get rid of the feathers! They’re powered by Garuda’s wind!” 

Azlyn rushed out, seeing packs of the feathers rolling into them. She let Titan go to trap and squish the feathers within the earth. Roll blasted some of the feathers on the other side, while N’thuzu Tia charged to help the other two. Kida continued to snipe the feathers, tethering them to the ground while Koroko transposed between ice to fire. Her fires set aflame most of the feathers that started to gather into what looked to be a growing tornado. 

Roll then called out to the group. “Get behind the pillars! She’s going to send a burst of wind energy out! Watch out for the debris!” 

“THE RECKONING COMES!!!” Garuda shouted gleefully as she charged her aether from the eye of the storm. Even with charred wings and a bloody chest wound, the primal still raged as the winds broke into an enormous cyclone. The winds crashed into the rock pillars. Roll, Azlyn, and N’thuzu Tia clung to each other, flying the wind pick them up off the ground, while they noticed Kida and Koroko being lifted up from the pillar. 

Azlyn looked to the ground, and focused her energy to her familiar. “TITAN!” She roared, as the earth exploded upward from underneath Garuda. It pierced into her back as the magic died from her, but it wasn’t enough to stop the fight. The five of them crashed back to the ground, rolling and crawling backward as Garuda caught her own breath. She spat the blood from her lips before turning to the three on the ground. 

“I WILL SLAY YOU WHERE YOU LAY!” 

Azlyn watched as Kida shook away the pain, her head bleeding from hitting it on debris. She notched an arrow sending energy into the tip. Azlyn quickly summoned a gaol of earth to clench upon the primal’s foot to prevent her from noticing their bard’s sneak attack. Koroko also began casting her fire spell, focusing all of her arcane focus into it. 

N’thuzu clenched his axe, jumping upward to his feet. 

“THERE IS NO ESCAPE! NO HOPE! NONE!!!” Garuda struggled to break the earth that trapped her foot. Only for Kida to shout in fury. 

“You’re right! Not for you anyway!” The shot was fired off, the tip blazed with a bright light as it impacted into her lower back. The impact caused an explosion on her side, which blew off the lower wing in the process. 

The Primal screeched, as puddles of blood poured from her back. “No...my power!” Her voice lost the tinge of winded fury as the group hankered for breath. The tornado trapping them started to die down, revealing the outer sanctuary and the Ixal being knocked around by their group outside. 

They looked like they had faired better than they had as they turned to see Garuda crying in anguish and pain. “No....Noooo....NO! NO!” Her face contorted in pain as she kicked her foot from the gaol. The five of them slightly pulled back, just as the other rejoined them. Richiro casted a full healing spell over them as the Primal started to stumble on the ground. 

“Nice!” Richiro called out in triumph, but Ozwin winced. The flow of aether changed as the Ixal behind them started to chant loudly. As the group chanting continued, they watched as the aether wrapped itself around Garuda. In horrific fashion all of them watched as the wounds they inflicted started to mend and replenish. The wings that had been blown off or charred by the arrow and Koroko’s fire healed. 

“Hehehe HAHAHAHA!” Garuda cackled, snapping her wings outward as the winds picked up. She flew upward as if the pain she just went through was nothing more than an ant bite to shake off. 

Cid gaped in horror. “What!? How in the hells!?”

Garuda cackled. “HAHAHAHAHA! This is—MY REALM! You have no hope here! None! NONNNE!” The Primal swung her arms one after the other, the winds knocking them back in clusters. Roll and N’thuzu Tia were hit first, being knocked backward. Kida and Koroko Koko went next, rolling in the grass and knocked to the side. Ozwin got hit by a cleaving shot by himself skidding backward, and crumpling in pain. Mjnt and Richiro were the last to be knocked aside, leaving Cid, Alphinaud and Azlyn the last three standing. 

“Guys!” Azlyn called out, seeing her friends struggling on the ground. 

“Did you truly believe you could defy a god, landwalkers!?” Garuda cried out, floating downward to the three. More energy transferred from the Ixal, intensely praying to her. The group watched as she cackled in joy, devilishly grinning wide to them.