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year 5, quarter 3
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“I actually meant… No, nevermind” Caius stopped himself before he could correct her remark, laughing softly. He had wanted to say that it was her physical appearance that made insecure people lose themselves, but… Even Caius, as oblivious as he was, knew he was playing with fire if he tried to stress that word or its meaning. He had said it objectively, and calling attention to it was just asking for trouble. Or at least, it had when it came to Celes. He wasn’t putting himself through that again.
It seems he had learned, at least a little. So he changed tact. “I think you’re selling yourself short. You’re incredibly kind and patient, and in any world, that’s nothing to look past” he pointed out. “You say you’re nothing special, but, at risk of sounding pompous… The women I know, the women I work with, they’re something else. They’ve led armies, saved the world, forged covenants with the gods, fought gods, BEEN gods. When I say you fit in with them, I don’t give that word lightly. You may not be a combatant like them, but in my time… Everyone knew of Cindy Aurum. A miracle mechanic, rumored to have been able to turn the King’s Regalia into a flying car. That’s amazing Cindy, and I don’t think you understand just how incredible that is, especially without ready access to tech from either Lucis or Niflheim. And the Cindy of my time did all of that while keeping Hammerhead running as a sanctuary from the daemons, one of the last.”
His hands had animated a little as he zoomed into an invested focus on that point. “Nobody I know can do what you can. You might not see yourself as anything special, but… I do. And I’m sure Noctis and them feel the same way.”
He took a deep breath, realizing then he had gone on a bit long. And maybe a bit too strongly. Self awareness had hit him like a truck in that moment, and he chewed the inside of his cheek. “Sorry” he blurted out, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. Cindy, true to his word about her, immediately tried to help when the unfortunate beverage got clogged in his nose. He nodded in thanks as he managed to fix his breathing. Though it’d take a bit more work on his part to get rid of the discomfort. The bitter beverage really stung his nose. “You’re welcome to the Rest at anytime, just let me know.”
He’d rather forget about Alex, honestly. He wasn’t worth losing sleep over. Even if he did chuckle a bit at her next remark about Sorel. At least she seemed open to the idea of having a break day with the group of them when the opportunity came. His attention was piqued at her talk of a custom car though. “What kind of vehicle are you trying to build?” he inquired curiously. “I’m nowhere even remotely near the genius in machines that you are, but I did build my own from scratch once so I might understand a bit at least.”
And maybe getting it out of her system and out of her brain would help her stress on it a bit. He couldn't do anything about that road trip right now, but he could at least try to help in the here and now where he could.
Why did he have more than one copy? Why did he bring more to the boat? That was weird, but Caius tried not to judge too much. If he had other hobbies besides pyromania, that was fine with him. Whatever kept him from causing people harm, honestly. Caius smirked slightly as Genesis claimed he thought he was the hero of his own story. “Hmm, I think I’d more like to be a hero of someone else’s story, strange as that might sound.”
Oh, it sounded so arrogant on paper – even Caius was aware of that. The entire idea of being a hero to other people just reeked of having a complex. And maybe he did? He didn’t really know. Honestly? Caius wasn’t even sure if he cared.
“So many critical points where I could have used a hero, but none came. When one finally did, that being my Liege, I understood their importance more than ever. So I guess I just want to be there for others’ “critical points” – if that makes sense. Nobody should have to prematurely lose a loved one, die before their time, or degrade away without someone to support them.”
Perhaps “degrade” was an apt choice of words. And perhaps Genesis was the strangest person for Caius to even remotely open up to. But it seemed like the fitting time to say it. Genesis was probably just mocking him, but Caius had no reason to do it back. If he judged him for it? That was his problem.
Maybe it was the scenery that had gotten him talking, he didn’t know. But the view of the waters sparkling below did set him at ease a bit. Genesis meanwhile, was more than happy to answer his questions about LOVELESS. It sounded… Overly complicated, but he supposed that’s what happens when you adapt an “incomplete” work. Caius nodded to acknowledge that at the least, he understood the explanation. Then Genesis came up with a question of his own.
“Eos, is where I’m from” he answered then, as if the idea of actual Kings didn’t give away that he wasn’t from Gaia. Nobody from Gaia he’d met had mentioned them, anyway. “From Lucis, specifically, governed by King Noctis. I’ve met people from Gaia, though. Mostly heard stories about SHINRA.”
He left the nature of them unsaid for now, since he didn’t know if Genesis might lose it if he spoke ill of who Caius suspected may have been his employer. While Genesis claimed he hadn’t served anyone worth it, people were often different when it was someone else doing the talking.
Post by Caius Dragelion on Jun 11, 2024 15:57:11 GMT -6
Caius Lucis Caelum
It was over. The Kings were gone. The visions had stopped. Caius felt the chill of the ring’s space disappear, and even if part of him wanted the late King to explain himself – part of his anxiety still went with it. But it didn’t stop the pain in his chest. It didn’t stop how he felt. How hurt he felt, how pained he felt.
How -betrayed- he felt.
Caius would take hundreds of battles, a gauntlet of them, one after another until he keeled over – over this. He didn’t want this, he didn’t want to feel this. He didn’t want to remember any of this. But it was there now, and he couldn’t take the genie out of the bottle. All he could do was stare forward, the stream of tears starting to stain poor Cindy’s living room. He wasn’t even sobbing anymore, he just… Stared blankly, as if he were in a dream. Gods, did he wish this was a dream.
But Noctis speaking up said no, this was not a dream. This was his reality to live with now, and Caius slowly turned to look to him. Slowly, he wiped his face, trying to keep the reserved gait he always had with Noctis, even just subconsciously… But he didn’t have the strength anymore.
“I… I guess, yes.”
It was a weak answer to his question. Caius didn’t know the answers to what Noctis was asking, because quite frankly, Caius didn’t know who he was anymore either. How could he, when his entire life had just been turned on its head like that? He finally let go of the breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding, as he tried, tried very hard, to find some level of lucidity in this.
“I’m… S-s-I’m sorry. For yelling. At your dad.”
No, there was no composure to be kept. He couldn’t do it. All of this was just too much. Combined with everything that he had come here in the first place to handle, it was far too much. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean…”
He didn’t mean to lash out. It had just… Happened. Again. Like it had back in Sonora. Why was he like this now? Why couldn’t he reign himself in as he had for years? Why, to Noctis of all people, who he owed the world to – couldn’t he go back to being that person? He was supposed to be supporting Noctis in ensuring he got back to Eos safely, not… Him trying to help him in whatever the hell this was. Not him yelling at Noctis, or his dad or… Any of this. Caius lowered his head and clenched his fists, not sure if he was more frustrated at the Kings, the Gods, or himself.
“I got mad. At the kings. Because they refused to help against the scourge. And… And then…” he tried to formulate some kind of explanation. Some indicator of where his head was at, some level of apology. He couldn’t justify what he had done, even if part of him resented the idea that he felt he had to. He hadn’t yelled at Noctis, he had yelled at those incompetent, selfish, arrogant kings and the man who had indirectly killed his mother. They did that, why should he have to apologize?
But Regis was still Noct’s father, and one he had still only just lost recently. This was for Noctis, and nothing else.
“Everything just… I don’t know. I think I lost that first memory when I came here. I started regaining some memories over time, starting about a year ago. But those came quietly, that one…”
Didn't. It was painful. The most pain he had ever felt.
“The second one, I’ve… I knew it was there. But I uh… I… I don’t know how to explain this. But I think I’ve been unconsciously repressing the details of that for the last decade. For the longest time, it was probably the only way I could cope. I was alone, my family was gone, I couldn’t trust anybody after what those bandits did. I kept everyone at arm’s length, for years, until I came to Zephon. I just… Squashed it down, until now. Until it just... Hit me. Just like that.”
The weight left his chest a bit as he just let it all out. His fists unclenched and his arms fell to their sides.
“I… Don’t think I can do that anymore. I’ve already tried. I didn’t want to remember that. I still don't want to.”
That was the worst thing of all, really. He didn’t need to know any of this, and he didn’t need those events at the forefront of his mind. He had a life here that he was happy with, and one that he had come here to ensure would continue being happy. The people who had caused this were no longer alive to answer for it. They had either long passed, or in the case of the bandits?...
… He couldn’t remember. Another repressed memory? He didn’t know. He didn’t dare try to remember it, and pushed the thought away as quickly as it came.
“I don’t… Know what to think about us being related. I don’t know what that makes me as far as Lucis goes. I don’t even know if it matters” Caius admitted then. In the end, did it really? This didn’t magically make him hold anymore importance than the little he already held before. He wasn’t the Chosen King, or anything at all really. Because… “I wasn’t chosen by the crystal. All I was chosen to do…”
He looked down at his hands. Accepting this fact would probably be the hardest of all.
Post by Caius Dragelion on Jun 11, 2024 6:05:27 GMT -6
Crapbaskets/div]
Unfortunately, the vendor was out of actual water. Thus was reality in the desert city of Aljana, isolated as it was. The resource was scarce enough for its people, much less suspicious strangers.
“Here, take my canteen — I have extra. You need to cycle vendors a bit to find water. It’s best to bring more than you think you’ll need.”
This was a reality Caius had learned the last time he was here, as he held out the spare canteen to the stranger in strange black clothes. Caius detested Aljana, as much as he was used to Torensten the heat here was beyond unbearable. Caius would always thank His Majesty for his abilities whenever he came out here, considering the glaive could hold a lot of canteens, and kept them preserved. Otherwise this would be far more difficult. Even then, he didn’t like coming out here and would avoid it if he could. But there had been a pretty distressed message sent out to the Dragonblades, and with no official base for them out there, help was difficult to find.
So despite everything he had going on right now, Caius had made the difficult trek out. It was pretty common for him to see outlanders end up here and struggle to find water, and he didn’t want to imagine how many had died out in this suffocating heat. Since he had his glaive, he brought enough water to accommodate for that. This wouldn’t be the first of possible lives he had saved by doing this, and even if they weren’t in danger, it was the least he could do for a wandering stranger.
“I would swap out the black clothes, though. You won’t retain water as well in them during the day. Pack them until the night falls” Caius advised about a few seconds before the figure would presumably turn around, and the face staring back at him caused Caius to go pale within moments of the canteen moving from his hands to Ardyn’s.
Perhaps immortalizing “Ardyn Izunia, AKA Ardyn Lucis Caelum” in a holographic record, smug face and all, had been His Majesty’s noble attempt to do right by a man whom had claimed to be erased from history. To allow him to rest, forevermore. But this meant Caius, who had spent far too much time studying the archives, knew that face very well.
He quietly slipped from his pack and took a sip from a different canteen, but even without the heat addling his senses? Nope, Ardyn was still standing right there. Did it really have to be here, of all places? But Caius knew that if he didn’t act… Even if here, alone, it was unwise… Others would suffer. But he knew that he had to be sure. So he claimed a name he knew would get the needed reaction.
He remembered. That had been a surprise for Caius, who had figured with how delirious he had been, Ignis hadn't remembered a thing of him healing the blinded Crownsguard and bringing him to a proper medical professional for treatment. It was almost as much of a surprise as it was to see him actually sitting up and working with needles again. Caius almost spoke up about that, worried about Ignis hurting himself. But something told him that would only create unnecessary stress for someone who needed anything but.
Ignis didn’t remember much, but Caius wasn’t surprised by that. It had been a long time ago, and he was pleasantly surprised there was anything at all he recalled. He even managed to inject some humor in there, though Caius didn’t quite feel humorous at the moment. Ignis offered a chair, and while Caius didn’t want to intrude on Ignis’ space, he didn’t want to be rude either. So he took a deep breath and then took a seat where requested. “No, nothing you can do for me, sir. I actually wanted to see how you were doing. And if there's anything I can do” Caius responded in kind. Perhaps calling him “sir” was strange, but considering Ignis’ importance, rank and status in the Lucis he had known, it came out as force of habit.
He had managed to get better at separating Noctis from the King he knew, but not with Ignis. “This… May be strange to hear. But I’m a Kingsglaive from a time that, looking at you now, is likely far in the future from where you were taken. If you were taken from anywhere near where His Highness and Prompto were, that’s about twelve years before my time.”
Caius dipped his head slightly. “Lucis and its people owe you a great debt of thanks for your part in ending the Starscourge, or, well… A version of you, anyway. I can’t thank that world’s Ignis for it, but the least I can do is ensure you’re doing well.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek in thought. “For Noctis’ sake, as well.”
He and Prompto had risked everything to free Ignis. The least he could do was visit. No matter how tense and weird things were right now.
"Good. It would be a shame not to see you around" Caius brought up with a slight smile. At least the nerves seemed to finally be settling down. Maybe that was just what he needed. A good, soothing environment, and someone he could comfortably talk to. Was this how being able to relax was supposed to work? Though her remarks about being stuck in circles with women who treated her with scorn over their men actually got a genuine, surprised belly laugh out of him.
“Wrong area, indeed” Caius managed out between bouts of a jolly cackle. “You’re beautiful, I’m not surprised someone insecure enough would deem you a threat” he cheeked far too offhandedly given the words he had used. It was meant completely objective, stated so quickly and matter of fact, with no hesitation before he just, moved on. Perhaps his use of language could still use some work. "Come down to the Wyvern's Rest sometime, I doubt you'll be able to go more than a few steps without meeting at least one of them. Some of them run the charity clinic in Provo, too, which is where my co-leader is right now. Was supposed to take a vacation, but... She saw a struggling charity clinic and couldn't help herself."
Caius missed having Celes around, but he was proud of her for what she had done. He wasn’t all that surprised, either, though. Celes was a perpetual workaholic who just couldn’t look away when someone was in need, or when there was busywork to be done.
Caius had just taken a sip of his drink when Cindy spoke of Alex, and then that sip was immediately shot straight up his nose when he processed it. “Well, you definitely fit in” Caius remarked, coughing and hacking a few times as he tried to get the unfortunate beverage cleaned out of his nostril gutters with his sleeve. Alex was lucky he had just gotten off with a slap. “I was trying to look for a place to sleep when the proprietor of some sleazy bathhouse tried to coax me to find a second to qualify for a free bath. Then Alex shows up and pretty much shoves me in. Get maybe a few minutes before he says he’s going to target one of my… Friends, over her powers.”
He didn’t get specific this time. He hadn’t thought Yuna’s abilities would make her a target before, but now he knew and wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“Also said he could help Lumina, save her from dying. But not to ask because he doesn’t want to” he added, wiping his nose using his sleeve again with a look of disdain. “Bastard.”
He took a breath to see if he could actually, y’know, breathe correctly around the time she confirmed that she indeed had pulled many all-nighters. Caius made a few clicking noises and shook his head as if to say “called it.”
“Well, if we all do. You’re coming with us” Caius challenged then with a light smile. “You played your part, after all. Though I doubt Alex will be along for the ride, so I wouldn’t count on getting much sleep.”
Caius had asked himself that question many times since his visit with Noctis. Who was he, really? He had thought himself a lad raised in the country whom had lost his family, scratched and clawed his way through a world of daemons and proved himself as a Kingsglaive, dying in the line of duty after ensuring his King's prophecy was fulfilled. For the longest time? That had been enough. Sure, some questions had gone unanswered, but he wasn't too curious. If those answers had gone with his parents to the grave, it was fine. If he couldn't have his family back, what difference did it make?
Now he had answers. And he wished that he'd never gained them. He wished he had stayed ignorant, because how could he face Noctis now?
Caius Lucis Caelum. Urged to exile without any knowledge of his family name before he was even old enough to have a choice. Go figure.
A prophecy that had ensured there would be no Crownsguard to save them when their place of, essentially, exile would be targeted. Regis had done what he had thought was right, Caius understood that. But if he hadn't called the Crownsguard and Kingsglaive back behind the Wall, if anyone who knew of their existence as part of the royal line hadn't perished when Niflheim attacked the Crown City... Maybe his family would still be alive right now. Sure, Regis had no reason to believe they would be targeted, but still.
That blasted prophecy. All this talk of a "Last King" this, the "last of the Lucian line" that. If their damned gods hadn't added that caveat to the prophecy, maybe they could have escaped Insomnia with the remaining Crownsguard, maybe they could have survived the target on their backs. Maybe he could have had a childhood, had a life.
Caius had done his best to accept his lot in life, but to know that it didn't have to be this way? To, in a sense, be betrayed by the prophecy he championed? That the very Royal Family he had served and died for, had ensured his family didn't exist? Regardless of the reasons, they had played a part in the brutal, gruesome deaths his family suffered, and all that had happened to Caius since.
He didn't know how to process any of it. Who he was, what had been done to him, everything he had said and done up to this point... He couldn't figure any of it out, or how he felt.
This pain... Was this what Ardyn had felt when he became Adagium? It wasn't the same, no, but to feel betrayed by your own bloodline, and then some. How did someone come to terms with that? He didn't know. Caius didn't know if he ever would.
But life went on. Time didn’t stop just because he was hurt. Even if things were awkward with Noctis now, they still had a job to do. Stopping the starscourge and saving Claire. That had to come first. They could sort out their… Relation, later. So Caius had done his best to distract himself with busywork. However, he had found himself with a bit of spare time after a job, and it occurred to him that he had been told Ignis was now cognitive again.
Considering they had risked everything to free him, Caius thought it best to visit him at Yuna’s clinic. Someone had recognized Alex Sorel at some point after he had fooled the reception staff to see Ignis himself. If Alex was skulking around, though, perhaps it was best he went to take care of Sorel himself, Caius noted. Yuna would want to go too, so perhaps before he left Provo, he would need to take Yuna and pay a visit to the Rising Stones to settle this once and for all.
For now though, Caius slid into the clinic and asked the wait staff to see Ignis. Caius, at least, was a face they knew. Considering he and Celes had funded the operation, it wasn’t hard to get wherever he needed to be. It was, however, suggested he make sure Ignis wasn’t asleep. So Caius very slowly opened the sliding door to Ignis’ room.
“I’ll be sure to keep checking in on them. I owe Mr. Scienta for his contributions in my time, even if he hasn’t done them yet. Though I don’t remember him being…”
Back before things got weird, that had been what he’d told Noctis. He had met Ignis prior to his incarceration, and his eyes had clearly been damaged. While Caius had taken him to a healer, he hadn’t seen him after that. To find out he had been jailed all this time since… Was there any chance left to save his eyesight? And when had he been blinded in the first place? He wasn’t blind in Caius’ time, just what had…?
“Mr. Scienta?” Caius spoke softly, trying to see if he could catch Ignis stirring, or if he was asleep. “My name is Caius, I don’t know if you remember me.”
Hopefully Noctis hadn’t told him about the Lucis Caelum thing yet, but Caius doubted he would be that fortunate.
Post by Caius Dragelion on May 26, 2024 22:06:46 GMT -6
Caius Lucis Caelum
"Fishing? I'd be happy to join you, if you'll have me."
Famous last words, and with that — Caius took a deep breath as he heard Noctis call for the Kings. And then all was still. Like time itself had come to a halt. Caius' breathing grew shallower as his nerves grew, unsure of what awaited them. But something else, he could sense, was Noctis' energy draining. But not in the same way as if he had used magic normally. It was like...
As the Kings of Yore materialized, it became abundantly clear quite quickly that they were, in some form, surrounded. Caius didn’t like that feeling. Too many bad memories behind that. Caius opened his hand, just in case he needed to wield a weapon. Perhaps it was insensitive to prepare to draw in front of the Kings of Yore themselves, but Caius refused to be taken off-guard by anybody. This mission was too important to risk any possibility. If they took offense to him being here and wanted a fight, he'd give them one if he had to. He would protect Noctis, and Lumina both. He had to. There was no other option.
While Caius waved nervously towards the Kings, he stood tall the best he could. He refused to show weakness. His King, even if just a Prince now, had called the Kings to help Lumina. Even his speech reminded him of the awkward duck King he had known. And he didn’t want to embarrass him.
The spokesman, who by imagery Caius had studied was likely The Mystic, Somnus… Was, well. Quite frankly? Really rude. Caius almost stepped forward to set that little ghostly trashbag straight when he treated Noctis that way. Caius hadn’t forgotten the story he had learned about the “Founder King”, and he was certainly living up to the legend alright. More like Shodder King. But as much as he wanted to intervene, out of respect he let the Prince handle it for as far as Caius could stomach.
He did interject once, however.
“I uh. Did actually swear my vows to him. Future him. Long story.”
Caius had to hide a face of pure disdain at “We will pardon him for daring to-“ yadda yadda, oh Astrals would trash king just shut the hell up? Gods, this was far worse than he had expected. He’d spent all this time serving a royal line whose spirits had this spiteful and patricidal maniac as a spokesman? That was one way to make one question their loyalties. To the line, anyway, not Noctis. But the rest of them sucked. The rest of them really sucked. If they weren’t going to help with the starscourge, what did they get all dolled up inside the ring for? Caius was ready to just tell Noctis they could leave this trainwreck and find another way. Seriously, was this song and dance ring statue crap just for show-
-Did he say royal blood?
Caius froze as he processed it, and when Noctis would loudly curse at that. He blinked a few times, slowly, as he looked from Noctis, to the Kings, to Noctis….
Then he began to laugh.
“Ok, I’ll admit, Your Highness. You had me going for a minute. I did not expect the legendary Old Wall to have such a sense of humor” Caius belly laughed nervously. That made sense, right? The rejection, of course they wouldn’t refuse to help. He almost believed that, but him being royal? Ridiculous.
“They honor me with their levity, and being called family is touching. But we really need to focus and get to work on fighting the stars-“
They weren’t laughing. None of them were laughing. Caius’ laughter quickly started to die down as a sudden kick of room-reading situational awareness hit him like a truck.
“They’re uh. Not joking, are they? That-that. That-“
Caius couldn’t process it. Not even remotely process what he was hearing. But that was-that was impossible, right? Sure, he hadn’t been chosen by the crystal so that would explain why he’d not developed in his power until he was trained, but-
Nobody budged. Nobody laughed. Nobody said it was a joke.
No. No way. How? This made no sense. There was nothing he could remember that could make sense of-
His head hurt. His head hurt a lot. One hand went to his head as he winced. He could feel it buzzing. Last time it buzzed like that was on his date with Celes. It had been a gentle buzzing, and then he started talking about his mom and flowers as if the memory had been always there.
This wasn’t like that. His head started pounding as the buzzing intensified. He didn’t want to worry Noctis, so he opened his mouth to speak, to say something comforting. But nothing came out.
He couldn’t form words, his throat felt dry and hoarse. The pain was splitting, but he kept trying to contain it until… The pain got too much, and finally Caius doubled over. Caius would lean against Noctis, and with his other hand begin to tap against his arm. He was in too much pain to speak, but if Noctis was paying attention to the taps, he might recognize a pattern — code used by members of Lucis military. One he would have possibly been taught himself. The taps corresponded to..:
S.O.S.
In other words…
Help.
Help him, he silently pleaded. It felt like his head was splitting in two. Caius was stubborn as a behemoth, for him to ask for help meant the pain he was feeling was beyond imagination.
Then, a vision began to take over his sight. By some horrific side effect of being in the Ring…
Noctis, and the Kings, could see it too.
“Another payment. That’s it! He can take his gil and shove it, who does he think he is, Olivia?”
“I don’t like it either, Cailan, but that was the decision, and I know it to be best. Please respect my family’s wishes.
“For years I’ve respected it, Olivia! I’ve bit my tongue long enough! I don’t get it, we lived and worked at the Citadel for years without an issue! I was so close to a breakthrough in my research! Then after they find out you’re pregnant with Caius, all of a sudden we’re “offered” a cushy retirement and sworn to silence. He can’t just expect us to disappear for the rest of our lives!”
“It had nothing to do with my being pregnant. It’s peaceful here, Cailan. His Majesty has given us a wonderful place to raise the children, they are safe and will want for nothing.”
“I know that! But it’s not a gift, it’s exile! We would have been safer in the Crown City, under the Wall’s protection! This wasn’t a problem before, why push us into “retirement” in the countryside, away from the Crown City, now? I don’t understand, and you know something, even if you won’t tell me.”
“You’ve been patient long enough, I agree. But I can assure you, this was the only way.”
A pair of hands that looked to belong to a child around five propped up against the door of the kitchen, it was this child’s eyes they could see from. In the loud kitchen, they could see a tall man with blonde hair, and a woman whose hair was a blueish-black…
“I don’t understand. How could he do this to you? His own family? You were like a sister to him, Olivia!”
“The True King has been chosen, Cailan.”
“The True King? So, what? We disappear, because of some prophecy?”
“It is the will of the gods.”
“What, because they think our children could rise against his brat?”
“No! The prophecy must come to fruition, Cailan. Only the True King may purge our star of its scourge. And for the prophecy to happen, the last King must rise. His Majesty feared that one day, when the prophecy comes to fruition, there will only be the True King left alive, and that Insomnia would fall. As the gods proclaimed to him…”
“I don’t understand.”
The child began to sneak into the room, hoping to get a closer listening spot. Or maybe a juice box. The body language of their movements seemed disinterested, like their parents’ words held no meaning to them. At that age, why would they? The child was likely just overly curious about why they were shouting.
“He asked me to do this to spare us the fate of our line. I agreed to disappear, Cailan, because it is the only way to save our children. The end of the line of Lucis Caelum is nigh… And to this sanctuary we must disappear, if we are to survive.”
“So that’s it? You give up your name and any claim to the throne, and pretend Olivia Lucis Caelum doesn’t exist? We stay here, as ghosts?”
“For Silas, Caius and Emily’s sake, yes. Please understand, Cailan, and trust me as you have all these years. For our children’s sake… It must be as though we are long gone, and forgotten.”
While trying to quietly sidle under the table, the child clumsily smacked his head on the table's back. The impact caught the attention of his parents as he rubbed his head and seethed. But it also caused something to fall to the ground before him. Just before his parents could snatch it away, he glimpsed upon it...
The royal seal of Lucis.
"I... I remember."
It was like he had been submerged, and only now just narrowly managed to come out for air. His throat was still hurting, his head still buzzing. But he managed to finally speak.
"My mom, she... I didn't understand what they meant back then, but she was... She was..."
His breathing began to grow rapid, sharp, and inconsistent as the pain started to increase again. This time, far worse than before. His chest had started to hurt, his arm hurt too, and his heart was beating hard in his chest. As those pains began, Caius started to tap on Noctis’ arm again. This time frantically. Over and over again, the same code in excess, growing more and more rushed and sloppy with each one. But the code was clear as day.
S.O.S. S.O.S. S.O.S. S.O.S. S.O.S.
Caius didn't care about the stupid kings and their stupid, trash leader right now. They had vanished from his sight, because before him, he could see that symbol on the letter all over again. And with it...
He screamed.
"AHHH-AHHH--AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!"
He screamed at the top of his lungs as pain coursed through him. It was amongst some of the worst pain he had felt, and in those moments, Caius was partly convinced he was about to die. Both hands moved to hold his head, but with them already being here, it didn't break them from the ring's space.
Instead, the buzzing began again. But this time, the vision that came felt different. For this was not a memory Caius had lost to Zephon.
This was a memory he had repressed.
He could see the symbol again, this time on a dagger strewn across the hay in what seemed to be a barn for housing chocobo. The hands this time were larger, depicting someone older. But not by much. Before them were two men on his side, one the father from before, and another a young man. In front of them was the prone forms of a young girl, and the mother from before. Both sporting cuts, bruises and looking like they had been beaten within an inch of their lives. The little girl cried for help, cried their names in desperation. The child tried to move, but stumbled over when they tried. Something was definitely broken, and before they could try again their head was stomped back into the ground by the brigands looming over them.
He could hear voices, faintly. A cry from father to spare their family. A half-conscious mother trying as well. The mockery of "Whatever you say, 'your highness.' Not that anybody cares. No one is coming for you" from one of the bandits. The continued mockery for trying to escape...
Then the torches lit. The bandits were gone, but the barn was in flames. Debris fell on the mother and sister, and they disappeared from view as all present screamed in agony.
"Silas, Caius. Take these and run. I'm going to try to rescue your mother and sister. Please, if I don't come back, take care of them. These are sacred to your mother and I. Go, and be safe!"
That was the last they saw of the father. He had been pulled out by the brother, and hopping on one leg, supported on the shoulder of the brother, pushed to run. The burning barn came down, and with it, the homestead soon caught fire with it. Any hope of their loved ones' survival was...
Then they were upon them. They were caught. There was fighting. The child tried to fight, but he was injured. The child found the weapons -- the longsword and the bloodied twin daggers with the symbol of the royal family on them -- shoved into his hands.
"Go, I'll lead them away and catch up. Don't stop, keep running! If they catch you, fight until you get to Lestallum!"
"But Silas-"
"GO, CAIUS! GO NOW!"
Caius had run, no matter how painful it was. He soon could hear the agonized and pained cries of his brother, but he would never get there in time. He looked back, he saw him fall, but all he could do was keep going...
All he could do was run. Even as the night grew silent.
The pain in his head finally stopped. The breathing, the chest pains, his heart pounding in his ears, his arm throbbing however, didn't. At some point, tears had started running down his face. That was a memory he had, perhaps unconsciously, repressed and refused to think about. But having that lost memory return now, it had...
It was undone. He would likely never be able to get away from the memory now. He had re-lived it all over again, and Caius couldn't stop the waterworks from forming. He couldn't stop himself from sobbing uncontrollably, as he tried and tried to process all that was happening.
He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he raised his head to stare up at the Kings.
"Is THAT what you called PROTECTING THEM!?" Caius suddenly screamed out at the Kings in an unchained, unrelenting growl. Filled with pain, hurt, and pure rage. "Is that what you consider SAVING THEM!? I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, ANSWER ME, REGIS!”
He didn't care about the other kings anymore, not King Trash, not any of them. All he could see was the man his mother had loved like a brother, who hadn't been there when-
"Just SENT THEM AWAY, kept your stupid crownsguard behind your STUPID WALL! And when the darkness came, and then the bandits came, NOBODY came for us! NOBODY came to save them! She was your FAMILY, and nobody came to help them! Nobody probably knew you even had family OUT THERE! My mother, your family... My father, Silas, Emily... I watched them suffer, and hurt, and die, they died alone and in pain all because of your..."
Your prophecy. That was what he wanted to say. But he couldn't say it. A little part of him remembered Noctis was there. Even as he lashed out amongst his renewed grief, something kept him from hurting Noctis in particular. And maybe deep down, Caius knew he was being irrational. Regis had been dead, he couldn't have helped personally. But if they hadn't called the entire crownsguard and kingsglaive back behind the wall before that wedding, if somebody knew they existed, maybe they would still be...
Instead of speaking further, he grew quiet. Slumping over and lowering his head as he quietly let the tears streak down his face. He brought his right hand to the opposing arm to try and nurse it, but his breathing was still rough. Softer now than before, but...
"Yeah. Yeah, we have" Caius spoke softly, his gaze darting away a moment as Yuna brought up what was still a very difficult subject for him. He had mentioned it, sure, but it was difficult for him to even fathom getting into detail about his family. He was pretty sure that "date" with Celes had been the last time he'd felt comfortable enough to open up about them, and scarcely any mention had been uttered since. He didn't know if he could talk about them so easily. Teedus' death, by the sounds of it, had been heroic. He went out on his terms and lived his life to the fullest in the time he got. Of course Yuna would want to honor him, he was a hero and a hero, as Teedus was, deserved to be held in the highest regard.
Caius' family didn't get that. They didn't even get an honorable death. They were slaughtered like animals on some vindictive bastard's whims, their bodies manipulated like puppets purely out of spite. And Caius had unconsciously done everything possible to repress that horrific sight since. He didn't know when he would be ready to talk about it, if ever.
He was, thankfully, driven from some difficult thoughts as Yuna told him her initial guess about his age. Caius made an insulted face at that, though he didn't seem to actually take it that seriously. "Sheesh. I'm 22, maybe 23. Talk about a headache" Caius remarked with a small laugh and a huff. "Guess keeping this beard looking professional backfired. Maybe I should shave after all" he mused aloud as he raised a hand to cover his beard, just for her to see what it would probably look like. The face that stared back at her might provide some deja vu in retrospect, however. "Or go all in and just grow it out. Lean into that rugged mercenary look."
Unfortunately, it didn't sound like Yuna would be able to do anything about older injuries. If Ignis really had lost his sight... It might be too late to save it now. The mercenary's shoulders sagged a bit as he realized this. Caius had brought it up with slight hopes she might be able to do something, but he supposed even her healing magic had its limits. He decided not to vocalize this disappointment, knowing she was doing more than enough while she was swamped with work as-is.
"Tired, not injured" Caius answered truthfully when Yuna seemed to figure out what he had been inferring. "My part was... Frustratingly miniscule compared to what the others are going through. I wanted to do more, but I couldn't risk going inside. I had you and the others to think about."
He'd gone through his own food pretty quickly once he put his mind to it, and he began to drink it, and his parched throat, down soon after. "Alex was part of the group that went in. Ironically enough, I told him to be the distraction myself because the others refused to go anywhere near him after what happened," Caius admitted quietly. "He was there for the planning. It was... Rough. He tried to put a woman we knew to sleep when she walked in. Then everyone started fighting. Alex said some really nasty stuff to Prompto, humiliated him while knowing he had been soft on that girl back in Eos. Almost came to blows. Afterwards, I tried to find a hotel to sleep off the headache, but the manager of some sleazy bathhouse tried to get me to try it if I could find a second person. Then my headache followed me. And that's how I found out about Alex's intentions for the astrals of this world."
He let out a long sigh at that. No wonder he had taken to drinking. "Then I run into Lumina. Whose been hiding out in Sonora because the starscourge in her's spreading. As mentioned I've been using my magic to keep it away, but it's incredibly draining on me. Sonora doesn't have too much aether, either, it's harder to replenish my magic. Physically and mentally, I'm exhausted. Still worried about Noctis and them, too."
Caius buried his cheek in his palm. "Can't even bring myself to be the kind of person that hopes Alex is dead. Not even after he basically wished death on Lumina. Asshole."
"Yes. While I was in Sonora," Caius almost growled at the question. "Overheard my impassioned plea to His Highness to save the woman I love from being consumed by a parasite. Alex went out of his way to say that he could save her... But not to bother asking him because he doesn't want to."
He wouldn't bother telling her everything that Alex had done, he had said enough, and he didn't want to tell a prospective Dragonblade that he had just broken a criminal out of a Sonoran gulag, either. He didn't want to scare her off before Celes could even get a chance to test her. It sounded like this Zenos could be a problem, as well. "Why don't you talk to Celes about Zenos once you're there? You've had an incredibly arduous time, and it may help you if you can get time to relax and settle down before delivering that report. If this Zenos is a threat, it would be good for us to get as much information as we can."
Renitra proceeded to ask him a question, then hyperfixate on the subject before Caius could answer. While she was talking, they came to their destination. An airship terminal just a ways from the border between Provo and Torensten's territories. Caius scratched behind the ears of the chocobo he had been riding, part of him wishing he could take the creature with him. Maybe he should take on chocobo raising again someday, when his adventuring days slowed down? Regardless, he led the chocobos to the stable and dropped them off before buying two tickets for an airship to Torensten.
Because quite frankly, it would take too long by chocobo to get all the way there, and Caius had found out maybe half a day ago that some maniac had attacked Torensten, who Celes had to stop. So he needed to get back, and soon.
He had been listening, though. So when she eventually went back to her question, Caius took a moment to think on it.
"For us, magic was a rarity. Only exhibited by a handful. There was aether which could be harvested, but only the Nifelheim Empire knew how to do that, and they used it to power their magitek troops. Then there was the magic gifted to the Lucis Caelum and Nox Fleuret bloodlines by the gods. The Kings and the Oracles. The Kings of Lucis had a duty to protect the crystal, which was the source of magic created by the gods, to one day use it to protect the world from a blight called the Starscourge. A plague that turns people into daemons and when spread far enough, may blot out the sun itself."
He decided to start with one subject at a time, figured that would make it easier. "The King of Lucis was granted magic through the Ring of the Lucii, and with their passing, the soul of each King would be transported to the Ring to be worn by the next. Using their power as a conduit with the Crystal to make the next King stronger. Until the day the True King could rise and destroy this Starscourge. To protect Lucis and its crystal in the meanwhile, the King used this power from the Ring to form the Wall. A magical barrier that protects Lucis. And to empower those chosen to aid in that protection."
When security wasn't looking, Caius summoned his sword to his hand in a burst of blue light.
"Those chosen are called Kingsglaive. Borrowing the magic of their King to protect Lucis with their lives."
