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year 5, quarter 3
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Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Jan 2, 2021 10:27:57 GMT -6
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Garnet stood as defiantly as she could, even as the rain lashed down on her, soaking through the flimsy silk of her jumpsuit and making her hair weigh heavily against her back. It was cold and it was vicious, but she refused to look away. This might have been a cruel facsimile, but it was still Alexandria. It might be the last time she ever got to see it, if she didn't find a way back. And she was certain, even if it wasn't her real mother, it was the last time that she would see her too. She had rejected this vision entirely, but she wouldn't turn away. She would watch it go. No matter how much pain it caused her.
The storm was back. The storm that she remembered. But this time, she refused to let it harm her like the flashbacks on the journey to the shrine had done so. She stared up into the storm, even as she saw the eye of the Invincible baring down on her, she refused to look away. She wouldn't let that eye have any control over her anymore. It had taken so much from her, but she had endured. And now it was in her memories, where it would remain. It couldn't hurt her anymore.
And then, just like that, she was out. She seemed to be in a sealed room, with an outline of a door. Before she could even begin to think about opening it however, the room began to flood. Water poured out from a waterfall, and in moments she was soaked, the water level rising quickly past her knees and to her waist. She was reminded of a phrase she had heard the others use on her travels and tried to adopt into her speech patterns; 'out of the frying pan and into the fire'. She wasn't sure it was relevant in this situation, after all, there seemed to be far too much water for anything involving fire or frying, but it crossed her mind regardless.
She spotted the crystal, and waded to it as quickly as she could, pressing it. The door opened, and the water slid away, leaving Garnet to cling to the doorframe to avoid being swept down with it. She waited a moment, until it had gone and everything was calm, and then slowly, shivering slightly, descended the slick steps, being careful as to not slip, her wet tractionless shoes being more of a risk than anything else as she made her way down.
She felt a pang in her heart to see that the shadow of her mother was gone. But the others remained. It seemed that the others were still trapped in their illusions. She supposed she might have been too if she hadn't experienced Memoria. Garnet had seen this type of thing before, but if she hadn't, how tempting would it have been to stay? She couldn't fault them, but she had to try and help them. Two new doors were open, and Garnet took them in. They could be red herrings, but two doors, two people still trapped in the illusion? Could this be the way to go to help them?
She looked at the two doors. No way to know which to pick, of course. And she figured there wasn't really time to debate, so she hurried up the nearest stairway, to see where it took her. Either way, right or wrong, she had to try and see what happened next...
Anna’s eyes glitter happily. She rubs at one with the back of her hand. ”Oh thank you, father. I was worried. More than a little worried, actually.” She sighs then looks out the window. ”It’s raining,” she says. There’s something odd in her voice. Sadness? ”It’s going to flood. It always does.”
The rain has rapidly intensified. No longer a mere drizzle, it plummets from the overcast sky. The scene that was once set in vibrant yellows and blues turns gray and desaturated. Droplets leak through the ceiling over Tellah, splashing with a slow rhythm across his brow.
”I hope it clears soon.”
”Oh.” That is all that the woman before her says at first. It lingers like a hammer upon a nail in the silence between them. The winds pick up, howling as it strikes their stone shelter. For a moment that is all there is. Then the woman begins to laugh.
It is a slow laugh, quiet and restrained behind twisted lips. She raises a hand to her chin before tilting back her head and laughing louder. She looked out at the raging skies, eyes burning yellow.
”I see.” She watches the crashing of the waves. The air is charged with magic. ”You know I can’t do that. It’s not in my power. As great as it might be.
”I am a manifestation of your heart. The korruption of which you speak. Is there nothing of which you regret? Do you not feel the sorrow of loss? That you would be abandoned? That you would be betrayed? And what of the others? Were they not forced to karry arms before their time?”
She raises a hand, studying her discolored, claw-like fingers.
”You were their protektor! Their teacher! Is there nothing more that you could do to keep them from harm?” The woman who had once been Edea turned to her, eyes blazing. ”You ask how you might break the spell? Take that pain in your heart! Konfront it! Or you shall forever be akkursed!”
Darkness overtakes Garnet as she hurries up the staircase. For some time, it is the same as the path which she left, but in time, she comes across a kind of threshold. She feels the shudder of magic and the air becomes dry, smelling of sweet desert flowers. Dim, gray light casts away the darkness. Above her, there are voices -- Tellah and the warm voice of a woman she does not recognize.
”It’s going to flood. It always does.” A heavy pause. ”I hope it clears soon.”
Tellah speaks his words as Garnet reaches the end of the staircase and finds herself in a quaint desert home. Before her is a girl in a long yellow dress, her hair tied back in a ribbon. She stands before a table spread with flowers and brilliant bouquets. Outside, heavy rain falls. It patters against the roof in a solid rhythm.
[attr=class,text] The world suddenly felt like it went cold and dark. The wind made itself known as it picked up. Everything turned twisted and felt wrong. Then, Edea was no longer her trusted matron. No, she was the OTHER. The time sorceress of the future, reaching back to the past to compress all times together. Another resemblance of her fears. [break][break] She took a step back as if slapped by her words. She felt doubt creep into her heart again. There was plenty she regretted. Plenty that she doubted. She doubted herself the most. She failed her students and the school. Got demoted for her failures. She had not been strong enough or confident enough to do as much as she wanted. No amount of magic was enough to retrieve what she lost or protect her peers from harm. What had being part of a mercenary group got her? It forced her to hide her heart and seal her softer side away. [break][break] And yet... [break][break] Quistis was suddenly burning with white magic. “It’s true...I was both mentor and protector!” And their big sister. She found her voice shaky. “But I accomplished so much more putting my trust in them. I could not have done everything alone.” She felt herself gaining confidence in each word. The whispers of blue magic were enacted in her very blood. Her skin began its dim glow. “And when they needed encouragement to follow their own hearts, I gave the counsel they needed.” Calling Squall a fool for letting Rinoa go after he risked so much to save her. Keeping Zell on his feet, and encouraging him not to give in. Apologizing to Rinoa, after realizing Quistis had criticized the wish beckoned in Rinoa’s heart. [break][break] Quistis had done some good, hadn’t she? Pushed them to be stronger and make the choices that aligned with their own morals. [break][break] “If this corrupted memory is how my heart remembers, then...” The darkness here had tainted and twisted her memories. It wanted Quistis to bend the knee to her own self-doubts and sorrow. “...it can go.” Magic shimmered as she crossed her arms over her chest and her hard gaze was as heavy as a basilisk’s. A white orb engulfed the faux-Edea/Ultimecia. The world darkened all around, until it was only the light of the orb that shined within the spell. It threatened to suck up the enemy into the sky to reverse itself into a gravitational burst of energy. [break][break] Garnet Til Alexandros XVII @tellah DM
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Jan 17, 2021 13:48:01 GMT -6
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Garnet's eyes adjusted as they took in the world she had emerged into. It was a small house in a desert. Or so it seemed. The dusty exterior and rickety roof caused a momentary pang of familiarity in Garnet's heart. It reminded her of Eiko's rickety desert home in Madain Sari, surrounded by scorched Earth. And then, it reminded her of something older. Something further away. Not Eiko's home, but her own. The small house in which she had been raised as a child. Before the storm. Before the great eye in the sky.
Her eyes waivered to the storm outside. For a moment, she was worried that she had journeyed into that memory, but this house wasn't hers. It wasn't any of the houses in Madain Sari. Garnet had explored that place thoroughly with Eiko. It was, after all, her original home. She had asked the child to show her everything. No, it was a coincidence. Another coincidence this shrine tried to force on her.
A rain drop falling from the damp ceiling managed to fall straight down her back and cause her to yelp slightly in surprise, giving her presence away. Tellah was there. Tellah, and a girl that she did not recognise. The girl must have been a similar age to Garnet, if she had to guess. Perhaps a bit older. She might not have recognised the girl, but she recognised the way Tellah looked at her. That was love. Garnet was royalty, and she was therefore not unaware of men marrying women younger than they were, but that didn't look like that kind of love. A daughter? A grand daughter? Somebody very special to Tellah? Garnet couldn't guess. But it was clear that he loved her. Just as Garnet had loved her mother. Had Garnet been cold, to reject her mother so openly, while Tellah seemed to be trapped by the illusion?
"Tellah..." Garnet said gently, stepping forward. "I... know that it must hurt, but it is... not real," she was trying to be tactful. Her eyes moved to the outside. The stormy water slamming onto the sand, turning it into what she pictured as thick mud. Soon it would engulf the house. Or was she imagining that? Was that the shrine's plan? Keep Tellah here until he drowned in the flood? "The shrine... is showing us these things. But... it means us harm. When I... tried to defy it, it turned on me. Not physically. Emotionally. My mother..." Garnet hesitated. Her mother had said such terrible things. But then again, her real mother probably would have said the same, in those final days. Maybe the illusion was accurate. Maybe Tellah's loved one wouldn't hurt him so...
"But whatever we are seeing... the city is still in danger. Surely we cannot remain here and allow that to happen. We must complete our mission. You must come with me..." she said pleadingly, hoping that the man's heart, the heart of a hero, would overcome his longing to stay. That he would see that he had to come with her to help. That he understood they still had a mission to complete...
[attr="class","tlbody"]It’s going to flood. It always does. [break][break] Anna’s voice was soft and sad as she looked out the window. Tellah followed her gaze, watching, mesmerized, as the rain beat down outside. It was a deluge, turning the desert sky to grey. Desert rains weren’t entirely unheard of, and usually they were like this: immensely powerful. But they didn’t last long, maybe five minutes. And they didn’t occur often. Something was odd, just a little off about this. [break][break] “Always?” he repeated, looking at Anna. “What do you mean by that?” [break][break] Anna didn’t have time to respond before they were interrupted. Incongruously, the girl Garnet appeared before them. The sight of her caught Tellah by surprise and he faltered, mouth opening just a bit but no words coming out. Something was very wrong here. How was this girl back in Kaipo with them, how had she slipped through time and space to follow him? [break][break] Garnet was gentle and kind as she stepped forward, explaining that what he was seeing wasn’t real. Tellah shook his head once, unable to determine fact from fiction for a moment. Anna, she seemed so real. He’d touched her, she’d felt just like his daughter. “No,” he tried to protest, turning his pleading gaze back to Anna. [break][break] But deep down, he knew Garnet spoke the truth. He knew that this had to be some trick of the shrine, some magical illusion. It was too good to be true. Anna couldn’t really be alive again. A sob shuddered through Tellah’s body that he couldn’t stop. “No. My daughter. She feels so real,” his voice was a weak plea. But it was useless. The logical part of his brain knew that he had to go, the world of Zephon needed him. He couldn’t die here. [break][break] But he couldn’t do it, not yet. He stared back at Anna. “It’s not truly you, is it? You’re just a trick of magic.”
Anna does not look surprised at Garnet’s entrance. In fact, she doesn’t look at her at all. It’s as though she hasn’t spoken, and Tellah is all that exists.
She frowns as Tellah shakes his head. ”Father?” She stares at him, concerned. ”Feels...real?” Confusion and hurt is evident on her face, and the room darkens around her. Rainwater drips steadily from cracks in the ceiling. Anna watches as the realization turns within him. Tears touch at her eyes.
”Oh father.” She clutches at her chest and looks down, heartbroken. ”Does it matter? Even if I am a memory, does that make it any less real?”
Her flowers are forgotten. Her ribbons, scattered. From beyond them, the ghostly harp picks up again in a kind of mournful lament. ”Stay with me,” she pleads. ”You cast me out, and now I…” She shakes her head. ”It hurt more than I could say.”
As Quistis speaks, the storm rages on. The sorceress’ eyes blaze a fierce yellow in the rising darkness. For a time, the howling of the winds give their own answer, fighting against their fragile stone shelter. Rain falls in a great deluge, heedless of the seeming obstruction in their way. It showers upon Quistis, soaking her through. For a moment, it seems hard to so much as breathe.
Then Edea smiles. ”I’m proud of you,” she says and then disappears into Quistis’ spell.
The cliffside trembles and threatens to break. Darkness overtakes the sky. The water is pounding, blinding, and then…
Quistis awakens in a small, enclosed room filling quickly with water. The vision is nothing more than a memory.
Quistis finds herself sitting with her back against a stone wall. A waterfall has opened above her, and the water has risen to somewhere below her shoulders. The deluge of water strikes her from above, lit by the temple’s blue-green glow. Near the other wall is a protruding sphere. Pressing it opens a section of the wall, and the water tumbles down a set of slick stone stairs.
Once Quistis has descended, she finds herself back in the mirrored shrine. The crystal hovers above a pedestal, turning slowly. Two of its shadow guardians have dissipated. Only the woman with the long hair and dress remains, protecting it. Two other doors are open, leading up to darkness. One is silent and still damp with draining water. The other echoes with the sound of rain.
Climbing the second staircase leads to a familiar sensation. A nearly timeless climb. The shiver of magic. Then the heat of a desert and the smell of sand and flowers. Quistis emerges into an unassuming desert home -- her two companions already inside. Outside, the rain has strengthened in intensity. It leaks in rivulets into the home.
A woman stands tear stricken behind a table laden with flowers. She does not seem to notice Quistis’ entrance.
[attr=class,text] Quistis embraced the rain. Her face looking up into, despite its near threat to drown her. It felt cleansing in a way. Had she done the right thing to let go? [break][break] “I’m proud of you.” [break][break] Proud of her? She looked up as Edea disappeared. Was her cheeks wet from rain or tears? Quistis couldn’t tell, but warmth filled her chest. “I’ll find you again, Matron.” And she’ll do a better job at protecting her. Then, the veil lifted. [break][break] She was inside a cold, stony room as water fell over her. It was pooling over her. She quickly found a magic sphere and did not hesitate to press it. She followed the path revealed to her. She pondered what it meant for the crystal to turn with one guardian left. Did she and another accomplish their tasks? Then, she heard the rain. The sound made her shiver. She was damp and tired, but she pushed past the feelings and moved forward to see what lay ahead. [break][break] And it appeared that in the middle of the ocean lay a desert. There was a moment of disbelief until she saw her two companions and a woman behind a table. Real or no, they needed her help. [break][break] She watched the exchange between Anna and Tellah, and she felt her heart sink. This was too cruel. How could she tell him to let go of his daughter? She hesitated, unsure what to do. She looked up at Garnet who, she knew, was trying her best to sway him. [break][break] Tellah's feelings for his daughters were true, were they not? She cautiously made her way to the older gentleman, noticing Anna paid no heed to her. She postured herself at Tellah’s level as she came to be by his side, and put a hand on his shoulder. She looked up at Garnet and gave her a nod, as she let Tellah become used to her own presence. [break][break] He sobbed and she felt her own heart torn, feeling the tears well in her own eyes. She had always had a soft heart, no matter how hard she tried to mask it. Without thought, she drew him into a soft sympathetic hug. [break][break] “It’s not easy to let go.” Quistis quietly spoke to Tellah. [break][break] She pulled back, but kept her hands on his shoulders as she tried to make eye contact. [break][break] “But, we’re not asking you to let go of your daughter.” She shook her head. No. She could never ask him to do that. Quistis couldn’t let go of her own students. She doubted if she had a daughter, she would ever let her go. “This shrine has twisted an image of her. The real one is here.” She reached out to touch a hand to his heart. “Don’t let the evil here take such a beautiful gift from you and twist it.” That’s all she was asking of him. Were there tears on her face? It didn’t stop her from continuing. She squeezed his shoulders. They couldn’t make the decision for him, he had to do it on his own. [break][break] She looked away from Tellah and turned to look at Anna. “She’s beautiful.” She said softly, “But look hard. Is this your real daughter? Is this how she wanted you to remember her?” [break][break] DMGarnet Til Alexandros XVII @tellah
[attr="class","tlbody"]The deluge outside was beginning to seep into the small house. Rain dripped steadily from the ceiling. Tellah was distantly aware of the growing threat of flood, but his focus was still on his daughter. Or the magical trick pretending to be his beloved Anna. His heart was nearly torn in two when he saw the tears in her eyes. [break][break] In this distance, a ghostly harp started up again, playing a melancholy tune. It drifted in through the pouring rain. Tellah watched in horror as Anna’s ribbons and flowers were scattered and forgotten, falling to the floor. It wasn’t her, it couldn’t be. But then this twisted image ruined him. “You cast me out… It hurt more than I could say.” [break][break] Because even if this wasn’t real, that was real. He’d done that. He’d driven her away with his cruelty and biases. He’d killed her. Tellah barely registered Quistis appearing just as suddenly as Garnet had. The other woman came to stand beside him, quietly at first. But he was too distraught, too lost in memories. It was obvious now that nothing was real here, but that didn’t change the realities of his heart and his past actions. [break][break] Quistis’ hand on his shoulder briefly roused Tellah from his spiraling thoughts. It brought him ever-so-slightly back to reality, back to the shrine and the quest for the water crystal. “I did let her go, I already did that,” his whisper was low and hoarse as he responded to Quistis’ words of comfort. “I let her go and this is my punishment. I deserve nothing less.” But he took a step away from the table. It took all the strength in the world, more than he knew he possessed. [break][break] “I will live with the shame of my failure for the rest of my life. I failed you, Anna. I loved too hard and it clouded my judgment. I wish more than anything I could take it back but I can’t. I have to live with your death every day. I’m sorry.” Slowly, he turned his back on Anna for the last time. He faced Garnet and Quistis, not even bothering to hide the sorrowful tears on his face anymore. “Let’s go, we have a city to save still,” he said in a voice devoid of inflection. Part of him seemed to have died down here with Anna.
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Feb 10, 2021 16:21:58 GMT -6
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Garnet could just watch silently, even as Quistis came to her side and to her aid. Quistis's words were as wise and gentle as any could be, but in the final moments, Garnet knew that neither her nor Quistis needed to be there. It was Tellah's strength that would break him free from this. But he spoke of tragedies that Garnet didn't know, of causing the death of his daughter, and Garnet saw inside the pain in his eyes. He truly believed that. He truly blamed himself. Garnet wanted to reach out to him when he spoke of his past. Of his desire to change it. Anything she could do or say to move on. She knew what it was like to blame yourself. She so rarely spoke of it, even to Zidane, but so much had gone wrong in her life because of her choices.
These days, she didn't blame herself for running away from Alexandria. It had caused chaos and she had no doubt some people had been hurt because of the decision, and that was a weight she carried on her heart forever, but... had she stayed, things would have been worse. She had seen what evils her mother and Kuja had performed with her Eidolons. Had they claimed them even sooner, matters would have been even worse. No. Running from Alexandria had been the right thing to do. Maybe she could have done it better. Smarter. But that had been right.
Returning though?
Betraying Zidane and Cid and the others, fleeing Lindblum and returning to Alexandria? That had allowed her mother to claim her eidolons. And those eidolons? They had killed thousands. Maybe tens of thousands. Cleyra. Lindblum. And eventually, yes, Alexandria. All destroyed by power that should have been safely locked away within her. All because of her naivete. Because she believed she had been doing something right and it had been wrong. What was it Tellah had said? That he loved too hard and it clouded his judgement?
Garnet could relate.
She had blood on her hands too. But not just her family. Her people. And the people of the other kingdoms too. She hadn't cast the spells or called the summons, but her own foolishness had handed them over to them. She knew what it was like to blame yourself. She knew Tellah's shame.
"I... know... what it is like, to carry that shame inside of you," Garnet said after a moment as she followed Tellah. "We cannot change the past. But all any of us can do is try to change the future. What we do today, by walking away from our past, will give so many people a future. I know... that seems... worthless now. But it is all we can do." She nodded. "Let us go and save the city." It seemed their journey was finally coming to an end. All in all, Garnet thought she'd have rather fought Kraken than faced this trial. She was sure that the mark on each of their souls wouldn't go away any time soon...
Anna watches Tellah with sorrowful eyes. She doesn’t seem confused -- only heartbroken. She brings both her hands to her lips, covering them as her fingers tremble. She reaches out a hand as Tellah turns. ”Father!”
There’s a sudden crack of thunder, the howling of gale winds, and then the roof of the house is torn away. Above them is a raging sky, black and tumultuous. Rain pelts them in thick drops that cloud their vision. The wind is like a living thing, snatching and grabbing and threatening to tear them away. Anna screams and throws up her hands, protecting her head. The wind pulls at her, and she shrieks in fear.
”Help me! Father!” It unbalances her and she grabs for the table to keep herself steady, but the wind is already dragging her away. She’s lifted into the air, eyes wide and fearful.
And then the vision ends.
The three find themselves in a closed room, sitting with their necks deep in water that swells higher still. Just as before, there is a button inset with a crystal. Pressing it will deactivate the waterfall, opening a sliding door and releasing the flood of water within. The dark and slippery steps lead back into the crystal room.
The three shadows have been banished. The darkness surrounding the crystal has faded away. It hovers over its altar, spinning slowly.
A terrible shadow muddies its light. Free of protections, you can see the way that it drifts within it like a thunderous sky.
There are no more obstacles. The crystal of water is before you. You can sense its silent plea.
