The Path to Sin (Ikken Isshu + Griselda Banks)

[Griselda Banks]

((Lol. Well, I'll just say this: You don't know everything about Rogan yet. He's chock-full of secrets biggrin My brother always worries that he's too much cooler than Eddora, who is supposed to be my main character, but I say, who cares? The more cool characters, the merrier!

No problemo, but you do seem to be fond of knocking your characters out. Almost like Christopher Paolini >_>

My Ed post is rather short this time, since there's not much to respond to. *prepares self for a nice long post to read next time*))

Eddora was stalking forwards irritably when Jalisat abruptly collapsed in a stranger's arms. For a moment, she froze as her eyebrows shot up into her hair. Then she hurried forwards, dropping to one knee next to the boy while keeping a wary eye on the man. Had he done something to the kid? She couldn't be sure.

"What happened to him?" Then she called over her shoulder, "Venez, get over here!"

Venez had already pulled away from Aer's side and rushed forward to examine him.

~

Rogan looked away from Kenan with a sigh and crossed his arms over his chest. He deliberated for a moment, debating with himself whether he should lie or tell the truth. Finally he decided on the truth - or at least some of it. "They call me Rogan now," he said grudgingly. "I'm not the only one who can make up names, you know."

"You're avoiding the question," Kenan growled. "Rogan."

Rogan turned his gaze back to Kenan's furious face. "Why do you think I'm on a pilgrimage? The same reason I joined you and Lord Kiro."

Kenan's fist clenched around his sake bottle so tightly Rogan was surprised it didn't shatter in his hand. "How...dare..." Kenan choked out, eyes burning with hate. "How dare you utter his name!"

Rogan felt an old, familiar sadness well up in him. Hadn't they been friends once? "I utter his name out of respect. He was a marvelous summoner, and a great man, even if I did make the wrong choice-"

"You made the wrong choice?!" Kenan growled, trembling with rage. "No. I made the wrong choice when I chose to trust you! You back-stabbing, fiend-hearted-"

"Now, let's not start calling each other names," Rogan broke in before Kenan's voice could grow any louder and draw unwanted attention. "Don't you remember what your summoner said? Let's talk out our differences like reasonable men - even if one of us isn't." He narrowed his eyes meaningfully at his companion and took another swig of his drink. Kenan grudgingly followed suit, and when he'd finished off his first cup, Rogan started up what he hoped was a more friendly topic. "So tell me about your summoner. What's he like? Don't worry," he hastily added when he saw the murderous look in Kenan's eyes, "I'll keep away from him."

The guardian hesitated a moment, then scowled and muttered, "His name's Yalan. He's my brother."

Rogan raised his eyebrows in surprise, picturing the young, fair-haired man. The two looked almost nothing alike.

"We're half-brothers, really," Kenan continued grudgingly, finishing off another cup. "Same father."

Old conversations came rushing back to Rogan's mind from the corner of his mind he never poked at anymore. "Ah. The same one you had to run away from to become a guardian? That's why you never told us your real name."

Kenan nodded shortly. "He's been dead awhile now. Don't think Yalan even realized he had a brother till I showed up. He has ability, and his heart's in the right place, I suppose...but he's too trusting." His gaze had wandered over to the door behind which Yalan was probably still sitting and waiting for them. Now his eyes returned to Rogan and smoldered darkly. "I knew if he was serious about going on pilgrimage, I'd have to come along and protect him - from you."

Rogan smiled sadly at his old friend, pity welling up inside him. "And you wanted to die."  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Ooo. Actually, I think BAMFs (as Dane Cook would put it - Bad-a** Mother-F#%@ers) make better supporting characters anyway. Somehow it just makes them more intriguing. Like Grimmer-san. Monster wouldn't have been at all the same if it was about his journey. Or to choose a more culturally relevant example - What if Sirius Black was the main character of the Harry Potter books? Not only would there only have been five books (ouch - zing), but the story would have been completely different, and probably not as awesome. (I'm noticing a pattern in choosing characters that die as my examples... Think nothing of it. )

Aaaanyway, yay for seeming former Guardians of apparently-dead summoners. Drama FTW. xd ))

"He stopped me, seemed to recognize me," the white mage said, eyes closed, counting the beats he could feel in Jalisat's wrist. His voice seemed somewhat detached, but coherent enough. "He's fine. He just seemed terribly surprised. I have to say, so am I. I don't know how such a young boy would recognize me without me also knowing him. He isn't from Guadosalam, is he? Maybe he confused me for somebody."

Aer made a face. "Did he say anything?"

"As soon as he saw me, he stopped and said, 'No.' Then you came. Are you his parents? I'm sorry if I worried you. I'm Amalio. We're right outside my home - please, come in and sit down for a moment, and I'll make sure there's nothing wrong with - I'm sorry, what's the boy's name?"

Aer just looked over to Eddora, putting the decisions and answers on her shoulders.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Um, it's Sirius Black, you know. Like the Dog Star? But anyway, I get what you mean. There's an infuriating trend in stories that my favorite character always ends up dead. Sirius was my favorite character in HP (once he showed up, anyway; other than that it's good ole Dumby for me :3). I didn't really have a favorite character in Monster (there were too many good ones!), but Grimmer was definitely up there. One of my favorite characters in FMA dies no matter which version of the story you're talking about. And then my favorite character dies in one of the animes you've got on your to-watch list (but of course I can't tell you which one twisted ).))

As soon as this Amalio fellow said the word 'parents', Eddora leapt to her feet and began spluttering in horror, "Wha- parents...me...him...."

Venez, whose ministrations seemed rather superfluous at the moment, straightened up, grumbling under her breath. "He meant no offense, I'm sure," she muttered irritably to her summoner.

Ed managed to restrain herself with difficulty, and spat out, "His name's Jalisat, and that stupid boy better not have tried any fishy magic or...." Her voice died away, and her eyes glanced unwillingly in the direction of the Farplane. There was a tense knot in her stomach that tightened whenever she thought about Calaman and wondered whether it would be worse to see him there or not. Looking back at Jalisat's prone form, she almost welcomed this diversion.

~

For a moment the two men only looked at one another, Rogan's eyes filled with sympathy and Kenan's filled with a loneliness so keen Rogan could almost feel it himself. Kenan finally broke their gaze and looked down at his hand on the table. "Yes," he said softly. "I want to die. I should have died years ago." His hand clenched into a fist. "If it hadn't been for you, Lord Kiro would have been High Summoner, not an unknown name lost to history."

Rogan sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Is it really my fault? Wouldn't he have made the same choice, regardless of whether I was there or not?"

"His choice is not the issue here!"

Rogan leaned onto the table again, frowning in confusion. "You mean you're not blaming me for his decision?"

"Of course not!" Kenan snapped. "Why would I blame you for that? You were against it the whole way!"

Rogan smiled wryly. "I'll admit your argument didn't make much sense."

Kenan's glare did not abate. "Don't give me that. I'm blaming you for what you did after you left us!"

Rogan's frown deepened. Now he was really confused. "What did I do? Last time I checked, I was just sailing around for as long as the Calm lasted."

"You sold us out, that's what you did," Kenan bit out through clenched teeth. "Don't tell me you've grown so old you don't even remember that."

Rogan continued to stare at him in confusion, but then it dawned on him and his expression cleared. "Oh," he said lamely. "That."  

[Ikken Isshu]

((*rages at "Oh... that" ending of post*

That was a half-retarded uber-typo. I do at least know Sirius' name. >_>))

Aer suppressed a chuckle; Ed wouldn't appreciate it at the moment.

"I don't know about our professional healer friends," he said mildly, "but I'm not seeing anything like that in Jalisat. Whatever it is, it's different."

Amalio looked a little put out at the unknown references, but took Ed's lack of response to his suggestion as assent. He lifted Jalisat up and carried him inside; Aer followed close behind, keeping an eye on the boy in case any odd symptoms of Cal's condition should surface, though he doubted anything like that would happen here.

Inside, Amalio laid Jalisat out on a sofa in what looked like his sitting room. The sofa - and everything in the room, for that matter - was nice enough, certainly valuable when it had been made, but overuse and lack of maintenance had given everything in the domicile an ill-cared-for antique feel. The only things that looked like they got any use were an armchair by the only window in the room, and a plethora of books on shelves by the chair. There were no personal effects - no trinkets, no knickknacks, no paintings or even a clock.

Amalio brought out a small case and opened it, revealing medical instruments that looked innocent enough. He busied himself checking the boy's vital signs. Aer stood near Ed, frowning.

~

"We'll never make it to Bevelle at this rate. My love, I... I'm sorry."

"Kavindhra, stop. Please. Don't worry about that. You met Archa, didn't you? She's competent, and strong, and her guardians are more than a match for anything Sin can throw at them. And if they fail, there are others. So many others. So please, don't... don't worry about your part in it anymore."

"I'm worthless as a summoner."

"Kavindhra."

"I entered two Cloisters, attained two Aeons... and I'll go no further. Curse this demon. Curse this bed, this island."

"Kavindhra, please... Don't you see what you're doing?"

"A curse upon Sin and all it's brought upon this world. Look at me! Reduced to spitting curses at the devils I can't even get up to fight!"

"Kavindhra!"

Pale skin, trembling under a sheen of glistening sweat. Dilated eyes and matted, wiry hair coming out in handfuls. He knelt by the bed and closed his eyes - not against the ugliness, but against the fear and the anger. This was not how he wanted to remember her.

~

Jalisat opened his eyes, but the dream remained vivid. The stranger leaning over him anchored the visions in place for a few disorienting seconds until he heard Aer say, "He's awake - Jalisat, are you all right?" Then the dream faded beyond the reach of memory. He shook his head and sat up; the stranger sat back.

"I'm fine," he said. "What happened?"

"You passed out," the stranger said. "It seemed to be something to do with seeing me, somehow. Do you... know me?"

Jalisat furrowed his brow and stared at the stranger - something itched at the back of his mind, but wouldn't come forward.

"Maybe from a long time ago," he conceded, "but I don't think so."

Aer frowned. "What I want to know is why you passed out," he said. "You're sure you don't know this guy? And you didn't do anything weird or stupid, like trying to use magic, or... or, I don't know, having a stroke or something?"

"I think that's a bit of a stretch," Amalio said with a soft chuckle. "Perhaps we should just be grateful he's all right."

"Yeah," Jalisat said pointedly, with an 'Ooh-don't-you-feel-heartless-and-guilty-now' expression directed squarely at Aer, who stoically ignored it.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((BWARHARHAR. Now you get a taste of your own medicine, huh?))

Eddora wandered impatiently around the room while Amalio saw to the boy, unable to stand still and wait like Aer nor possessing enough know-how to mutter random white magic spells under her breath like Venez.

Then Aer announced, "He's awake," and Ed swooped upon the boy as well, gazing at him in confusion and frustration. She was sick and tired of inexplicable circumstances. There'd already been far too many of them on the pilgrimage thus far.

"Don't you have any idea what happened?" Ed asked Jalisat irritably. "People don't just flop over on the ground for no reason. Even if it's really strange, there's always an explanation!"

~

"My...My Lord?" Lanno asked tentatively.

"A moment," Kiro murmured, still staring at his feet. The summoner sat at the foot of the stairs, head in his hands and his elbows resting on his knees. He'd been sitting there for almost ten minutes straight, saying nothing, barely moving.

Morridan waited patiently, leaning against a broken pillar with his arms crossed. He knew the decision would come eventually, and until it did, he could wait. Over the long years, he'd learned the value of patience and deliberation. That was why he'd chosen Kiro in the first place, after all - Kiro was the kind of man who thought things through rather than rushing ahead impetuously. In that way, he and Lanno complemented each other perfectly. Lanno knew when things needed to be done quickly, while Kiro restrained Lanno when necessary. At times Morridan almost felt like a third wheel.

At long last, Kiro looked up. His face already looked several years older than it had when they'd set out from Besaid, worn from weeks of the harsh journey and the many stresses they'd gone through to reach this place. Kiro slowly got to his feet, weariness etched into every movement. He still hadn't quite recovered from their last desperate battle against that powerful fiend that had been gathering pyreflies for years. Morridan pushed off the pillar and came closer.

Kiro looked between his two guardians, resolve firming his expression. Morridan had seen that look many times before, and he prepared himself internally for the last, short leg of the journey. Kiro said, "Lanno...Morridan. I've decided." He drew a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. "I'm giving up the pilgrimage."

A shocked silence rang in their ears. Morridan didn't have to glance over at Lanno to see the emotions battling for dominance on his face as he tried to decide whether he was disappointed, angry, sad...or more relieved than words could say.

But Morridan knew what to say. "You're giving up?" he asked in a dangerously low voice, narrowing his eyes. "After you've gotten this far? After we've sacrificed so much to get you here? After all the people you've seen who are waiting for the Calm?"

"I know, Morridan," Kiro began, reaching out to put a placating hand on his guardian's shoulder. "But there are some things that are more important-"

Morridan jerked away, anger that he wasn't used to springing up within him like a coiled snake. "More important than hundreds of lives?" he demanded hotly. "Have you listened to nothing I've said? Have you completely forgotten everything I said when I joined you?"

"No," Kiro said quietly. "For the first time, I fully understand you. I can see now why you go from summoner to summoner, offering your services, helping as you can.... But it's not enough, Morridan. It will never be enough. You've lost something in those long years of hating Sin, my friend. You've forgotten that things need not stay the same forever. We can change this-"

Morridan cut him off. "You're the one who's forgetting, Kiro! I've explained to you, several times, why nothing is ever going to change! You just have to accept that and do what you can. But if you're going to abandon all of Spira now, then I'll find someone else. I'll tell them about the summoner who could have saved everyone...and chickened out at the last minute." With that, he whirled around and stomped off, leaving his summoner and fellow guardian in the ruins of an ancient city.

Rogan ran his hand over his face as memories from that day came rushing to the forefront of his mind. Well, at least it made sense now why Kenan was blaming him for everything. He sighed, then emptied his glass before he dared to meet Kenan's eyes again. "Lan...Kenan. I never told them about Lord Kiro."

"Liar," Kenan snarled at him.

Rogan sighed again. "Just think about it a moment. Why on earth would I want a perfectly good summoner dead?"

"Because he angered you. Because he wouldn't follow your plan."

"Vengeance?" Rogan asked scornfully, knowing it would rankle Kenan, who had come after him in vengeance not long ago. "You underestimate me. The only vengeance I care about is Sin's. My disappointment with Lord Kiro is nothing compared to the way I feel about Sin." Even just talking about it made Rogan's stomach clench with anger.

Kenan struggled with himself, then asked tightly, "If not you, then who? Who knew that-"

"Well, think about it," Rogan said impatiently. "Did you happen to let it slip to anyone what you were up to before you made it to Bevelle?"

"No...." Kenan frowned, then his eyes widened. Slowly his face hardened into hatred as black as when he'd attacked Rogan. "Him."  

[Ikken Isshu]

(( :XP: I'm considering a new character, but I have so many already that I'm giving it a lot of thought first. I might kill one or two of mine off just to make room. And drama, but you didn't hear it from me. mad d ))

Jalisat decided to try his luck a second time: "Maybe you should just be grateful I'm all right," he said to Ed. Aer promptly thumped him on the head - he put his hands up and yelped in surprise.

"That didn't make him pass out," Aer announced, "so I'm assuming that if you wanted to trounce him, Ed, you could be reasonably sure you won't make whatever happened worse. Just a remark, not a suggestion or anything."

Amalio was chuckling to himself. He put his hands up. "Please, please! Let me go and get some drinks, if you're not in a hurry to go anywhere." He paused to allow a chance to respond; Aer glanced at Ed and shrugged. The Farplane certainly wasn't going anywhere, and he definitely wasn't in a hurry to see what he would find there.

 

[Griselda Banks]

(( eek Killing someone off? Fine by me, just as long as it's nobody I like! mad p ))

Eddora spared a moment to glare evenly between Jalisat, Aer, and Amalio, till finally she shrugged and said, "Whatever. Long as it's something strong." Normally she would want something strong after they visited the Farplane, and she probably would need something no matter what they found up there, but it wouldn't hurt anything to have one ahead of time, right? She would just have to watch herself extra carefully to make sure she didn't get drunk again. At least they wouldn't be on the bobbing waves, but she wouldn't be much use on the road if she couldn't even walk straight. And she'd need all her wits about her when they made their trek through the Thunder Plains.

Ed naturally parked herself in the comfiest looking chair in the room, the one next to the window. She crossed her legs at the ankles and returned to glaring speculatively at Jalisat.

~

Rogan closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against his temples. "You mean to tell me that you just assumed it was me, and didn't bother to weigh any other options?"

Kenan's jaw clenched convulsively. "You were the first person who knew of it. You left in anger. You had every reason to go and do the most hurtful thing you could."

Rogan stared at the warrior in disbelief. "Truly, you underestimate me, old friend. But tell me: Who was this other person you told?"

Kenan's face darkened again as he thought of the man. "We met him in the Calm Lands, as we journeyed back from Mount Gagazet. He was a priest of some sort, seeking enlightenment or transcendence or some other such nonsense rather than doing something useful with his abilities. Since he was a priest, naturally Lord Kiro told him immediately what we had found. That black-tongued fiend told us he would go ahead of us and spread the word."

Rogan raised his eyebrows. "But obviously, he told the maesters instead? That seems fairly straightforward. But you were so keen to hate me that you never thought for a moment...."

Cursing under his breath, Kenan took a swig of his sake. "I tried to find you, you know. Tried for a whole Sin-blasted year to track you down and get some answers out of you. But then the Calm came and you were off sailing and sailing and sailing, and there was no pinning you down. And so I contented myself with hating your guts."

Rogan sighed. "Ah well. There's a price for trying to get some privacy, I suppose." He tucked his hands behind his head and looked sidelong at Kenan. The atmosphere between them was much more friendly than it had been yet; it seemed that now Kenan had finally learned the truth, he was willing to forget his anger. That was more than many men could say. He let the friendly atmosphere settle between them before he did what he knew he would have to eventually. Lowering his arms back to the table, he leaned forward a little and said somberly, "So...how exactly did it happen?"  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Taking this moment to veer off of my intended track for Calaman... the end result shall be the same, but I'm listening to some of the darker songs on the .hack//SIGN soundtrack and it inspired me. 8D))

Calaman sat in one of the overstuffed chairs, staring into the fire as he had gained a habit of doing too often lately. He wouldn't make much of a swordsman if he let his muscles go to hell while he watched the hypnotically dancing flames, but in the light of everything that had happened, he didn't know if he cared anymore. Obviously his view of the world until now had been far too narrow - since being kidnapped (or whatever had happened; he still wasn't clear on that point), he hadn't learned nearly enough to sate his curiosity, but rather, had learned enough to show him how ignorant he really was.

Perhaps it was just his imagination - in fact, it almost definitely was - but he imagined he could watch Eddora and Aer and the others through the enchanted medium of the fire. At the moment, they were in an ephemeral Macalania Forest, made all the more hauntingly beautiful by the flames that licked up around the image. Aer had tripped over something, probably a root, and Jalisat was laughing at him while Ed rolled her eyes and pretended not to be paying attention. Venez was standing a short distance away, wringing her hands.

"Ark saw visions in fire as well," Pheos said softly from somewhere to Calaman's left. The boy didn't look away from the fire. From his Summoner.

"If I am seeing visions," Calaman replied with what sounded like calm but was really only languor, "you're showing them to me."

"You do have powers of your own now, Calaman. I'm no longer the only potential source for mysterious happenings around you."

"Accidental use of magic," Calaman said, paraphrasing something, though he couldn't remember the source, "is very rare. Magic can obviously be misused fairly easily, given inexperience or carelessness, but it's very rare for a person to use magic without meaning to."

"It's also very rare for people to turn into Aeons, and to hear voices in piano music, and for men to transform themselves into purely magical beings, and for those 'men' to be fourteen-year-old boys."

Calaman shut his mouth and bit his tongue.

"Do you find it so hard to believe that I might not be a villain?"

That made Calaman look up. Something in Pheos' voice was different - some layer of armor had been stripped away, and he sounded sad, but not his usual infinitely-wise, all-knowing, past-regrets sadness. It was the kind of sadness Calaman would have expected from Jalisat if he had been resolutely barred from accompanying Ed. A vulnerable sadness.

After a second, just a second, he wondered if he could use this against Pheos - and as soon as he had the thought, the sadness was gone, and Pheos' expression was cold as ever.

"You're difficult," Pheos muttered, "but I will get through to you. Your power will inevitably grow as such things do, but I can hold you here yet."

Calaman smiled.

Pheos had just tipped his hand.

~

When Amalio returned to the room bearing an ornate but badly tarnished silver tray of teacups, a steaming pot, and a small bottle of indeterminate contents, Jalisat was already bored and eager to get back on the move. He gave Amalio a vaguely wary glare when the man entered, but said nothing; Amalio set the tray down on the low table in the center of the sitting room, and took his own seat on the end of the sofa.

"Tea," he said in explanation, "a very sweet type native to the area. Cheap as dirt here, but a coveted delicacy anywhere else. And a drink for yourself, Lady Summoner," he added, indicating the bottle, "strong, as you requested."

Aer gave an intensely disapproving frown and a tongue of his magic extended invisibly to probe the bottle. The liquid inside stirred, and Aer's frown deepened. He gave Amalio an odd stare as he withdrew and left the bottle as it was.

Oh, what he wouldn't give for the gift of telepathy right now, so that he could ask Amalio why he'd called a completely non-alcoholic drink 'strong'.

Then he recognized one of the extracts present in the bottle - Remroot, an herb that was extremely poisonous by itself, but which could be safely and completely detoxified by the tiniest amount of sugar, and Aer detected more than enough sugar in the bottle to make it safe to drink. The resulting concoction, coincidentally, tasted remarkably similar to pure alcohol, but with none of the side effects - positive or negative. It could be used as a substitute for rum in almost any mixed drink, and if Ed wasn't paying close attention, she wouldn't even notice the difference - until she realized that she wasn't getting the least bit drunk.

"So what's this tea called?" he asked blithely, reaching to pour himself a cup from the pot. Amalio smiled and leaned back on the sofa.

Completely ignoring the goings on, Jalisat had gone over to the doorway and stood looking out, primarily up the street toward the Farplane. He sighed impatiently, eager to get back on the road as if he hadn't been unconscious not a quarter of an hour ago.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((*doesn't understand where you're going with Cal, but that's fine*))

Eddora, completely oblivious to any of the exchange between Aer and Amalio, grabbed the bottle the latter had pointed out to her and tipped some of it into her mouth. She nodded with satisfaction and sat back down, jiggling her foot with almost as much impatience as Jalisat. She couldn't keep her thoughts away from that Farplane.

~

"In Macalania," Kenan said softly, running a finger over an age-old crack in the table. "At night, not too far from Bevelle. We were going as fast as we could, and we ran right into an ambush." He shook his head grimly. "We never had a chance. Lord Kiro got hit with a Silence almost immediately; he couldn't even summon. I fought them as hard as I could, but you know what the warrior priests are like. While one of them had me occupied, they killed Lord Kiro."

Kenan took a quick gulp of his drink to hide his emotion, but Rogan could see right through him. "How'd you escape, then?" he asked softly.

"They wounded me pretty good. Blood everywhere. I managed to escape through the trees, but I knew my blood was leaving a clear trail for them. So got to a river and let them see me fall into it and the current washed me away. They thought I'd drowned, since I couldn't swim much in that state, and they were almost right. But I washed ashore somewhere and an old fisherman nursed me back to health. I lay low for a while, then hung around Bevelle under my real name, since no one would recognize it there. I was waiting for a summoner with you tagging along."

Rogan chuckled humorlessly. "You defy death almost as well as I do. Maybe revenge really does lengthen your life. But you should know that I never pick a summoner right from Bevelle. I like them to show me what they can do first. In fact," he said with a lazy grin, leaning back in his chair, "the summoner I've picked this time hasn't even accepted me yet. I think it's a record."

Kenan rolled his eyes. "You enjoy being deliberately mysterious, don't you?"

Rogan's grin widened. "Of course. It gives me a more dashing demeanor."

Kenan nudged a leg of the precariously tipped chair, and Rogan had to clutch the table to keep from falling over backwards. "I find it hard to believe you're actually older than me," Kenan said, shaking his head. "You act precisely like a child."

Rogan shrugged. "Well, one has to keep up the appearance of youth if one doesn't want to be called grandpa all the time."

Suddenly Kenan was serious again. "You haven't told her yet, have you? Lady Eddora, I mean."

Rogan smiled slyly at his old companion. "All in good time, my friend. I can tell she's the one this time. She's got it in her. All I've got to do is manipulate her to the point where she can't refuse my offer."

Kenan couldn't keep back a snort of laughter. "You're a scoundrel, Rogan."

"Naturally."  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Perhaps now would be a good moment to introduce...))

The sound of breaking glass rose above the more distant noises in the tavern.

Almost simultaneous with the shattering was a feminine, "Oh!" and a serving girl immediately behind Rogan dropped so fast it was as if she had slipped, and began carefully picking up the pieces of broken glass, piling them onto the tray she was carrying.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated several times to the people who had turned to see what had happened; she squinted down at the floor after a minute, trying to discern if there were any more pieces. After another few seconds had passed, a dim white light appeared in her hand, and she passed it over the ground, looking for glass. A few more pieces went onto the tray and she hurried off to the kitchens without another word.

~

Calaman was discovering that magic was really not all that difficult. Well, the fact that it was quite literally in his blood might give him something of a predisposition for it, but even so, he hadn't expected it to be so... easy.

Pheos, it seemed, had created Calaman's prison from scratch, and was capable of revising the design at will. At Cal's request, the enigmatic man had just nodded and added an extra room, with a door by the piano leading into it. It was about the same size as the main room, but utterly empty except for a few straw dolls that, Pheos had showed him, would reform within about ten seconds if destroyed by any means.

For quite a while (his sense of time was still distorted, but it felt like several hours, and this was not the first day he'd done it) Calaman had practiced in this room, a few jars of ether attached to a belt he'd re-cut for the purpose. His application of magic wasn't quite up to the level of finesse he wanted to reach, but he was becoming quite adept at conserving magic by using the least amount of power possible for the desired purpose. That had been his first priority, since using too much power at once could potentially kill him, and who knew if he could be revived from that kind of death?

He hadn't practiced any healing magic, because he would have no way to evaluate the effectiveness of the magic without a subject. Besides, he wasn't at all sure how healing magic was supposed to be used, so for the time being, he stuck to elemental and psychic magic. The telekinetic trick he'd first learned with Pheos was now one of his most easily-applied techniques, and he'd already begun devising ways to blend it in with his style of swordfighting. He was having trouble applying telekinetic force with a fine enough area of pressure to cut with it, but he had already satisfied himself that he was proficient with a Gravity spell. At the moment, he was practicing with manipulating his own sword.

Pulling the sword back as if to slash horizontally, he threw it almost like a boomerang and immediately wrapped his power around it, allowing it to spin through the air, decapitating the straw doll, then applied the force. The sword arced around, just like a deadly boomerang, and when he slowed it down, it fell neatly into his palm.

It was far from perfect. He'd be happier if he could catch it without slowing it down, and the fast movement of the sword meant he needed to devote a lot of concentration to the magic, instead of to his opponent.

"Practice makes perfect," he muttered, and pulled the sword back to throw it again.

~

Jalisat turned away from the door and sighed loudly when he saw that the adults were having what looked like a tea party.

"Come on," he said petulantly. "I want to hurry up so we can get back on th - " He broke off, staring at Amalio. The boat.

The dream he'd had on the boat, and a very few that he still remembered from before that, came back to him, along with the image of the man from his dream.

The image of Amalio.

A cacophony of questions rang through his mind, and he seized on the first one that he could immediately articulate:

"Amalio... Did she die?"

Amalio dropped the cup that he'd been holding, and the tea in it splashed out across the frayed carpet. He cursed under his breath and grabbed the cup, then started to get up to go and get a cloth to sop up the tea. Before he'd gotten up, though, he stopped and just let himself fall back. He was staring at the stains in the carpet, but his mind was obviously elsewhere.

"Who?"

Jalisat didn't move, standing by the open door, staring at Amalio.

"...Ka... Kavindhra."

Amalio closed his eyes. Aer looked from Amalio to Jalisat and back again, intensely confused. The two had claimed never to have met each other, and yet here they were, having some kind of totally incomprehensible exchange.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, she died. I tried to save her, but I think... I was never sure, but I think it was my actions that killed her, in the end."

Jalisat looked both confused and pained; he didn't fully understand it himself, but he was somehow a part of something very painful for Amalio. Probably, the boy realized, something old, something he wanted to forget - something that was the reason Amalio's house looked like the man rarely did anything in it.

"Do you know... why I dream about her?"

Amalio's hands clutched the cup so hard Aer wouldn't have been surprised to see it break.

"We should go up to the Farplane," he said quietly. He didn't offer any further explanation.

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Sorry for the huge long delay sweatdrop Seems the aftermath of NaNo was almost more hectic than NaNo itself. We were celebrating Christmas way ahead of time because we won't see one branch of the family at the real date, so that ate up quite a bit of time. Then my brother has been writing college applications, which has meant he hogs the computer for inordinate amounts of time -_- Anyway, onward and upward!))

Eddora froze mid-swig, then lowered her drink of (apparently) hard liquor to stare at the others in the room better. Her eyes snapped from one to the other throughout this strange exchange. Ed had been under the impression that they'd met through a chance encounter, but now they were talking as though they'd known each other for years, and knew each other's secrets. But how could that be, when Amalio lived in Guadosalam and Jalisat seemed to have spent his whole life in Kilika? She kept silent at first, hoping to figure out how the heck they knew each other, but finally she couldn't take it any longer.

Setting down her drink, Ed stood up and propped her fists on her hips, glaring sternly between the two annoyingly mysterious people in the room. "Okay, hold it right there, guys. What in Yevon's name are you talking about?"

~

Rogan turned to look at the serving girl when he heard the crash, while Kenan's eyes quickly swept through the rest of the bar, in case someone was going to take advantage of the distraction. It was an old habit, picked up again after unearthing all these memories of their shared past - Rogan would always look towards the source of the disturbance, and Kenan would always look elsewhere. Such a tactic had saved Lord Kiro three stolen purses in Bevelle alone.

But neither of them saw anything out of the ordinary, so they turned back to each other to resume their conversation. "So," Kenan started. "Here we are, both halfway through another pilgrimage. Never thought I'd live to see the day."

Rogan chuckled. "Me neither. But...what are you going to do? When you reach Zanarkand, I mean." Kenan looked away, so Rogan pressed him. "You already know what your little brother will face. Are you sure you have the strength to see the knowledge and hurt in his eyes when he finds out what you - what every Yevonite - has been concealing?"

He half expected Kenan to lash out at him, to cry that of course he was strong enough...but Kenan just sighed and said, "I don't know." His face seemed to sag with weariness, and Rogan felt as though he could almost see his friend's skin wrinkling before his eyes. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Yalan has such determination. I doubt I could stop him, even if I revealed the truth to him now. What's your advice?"

Rogan looked at him disbelievingly. "You're asking me for advice? The guy who made a solemn vow to kill Sin when I don't summon so much as a pyrefly anymore? You do realize...." Rogan bit his lip and his voice grew quiet. "I have full confidence that Lady Eddora will be the High Summoner...but if you and Yalan actually made it to Zanarkand ahead of us...I'd have to kill you one day."  

[Ikken Isshu]

The girl stood in the kitchens. The broken glass had been disposed of, but her heart was still racing. She hugged the empty tray to her chest, back to the wall, eyes closed.

Idiot. So close. Too close. How could I have missed them after all this time? And then to nearly reveal myself by stumbling onto them and letting myself be surprised...

"Hey," came an unfamiliar voice. She looked up to see a large woman who must have been the matron of the establishment. "You're not one of my girls, are you? What are you doing back here?"

"Er - sorry!" she managed, and ducked around a corner into a back passage. Before anyone could follow her, she disappeared into thin air. The tray clattered to the ground. The matron rounded the corner and saw only the tray. The hallway, though, was a dead end. Too unsettled by what she'd seen, she didn't tell anyone, but quickly went upstairs to sit down and have a glass of water.

"Too much work, that's got to be it."

~

((Just realized I have no idea when that 'H' snuck into Kavindhra's name. It's not there in her profile. ))

Amalio looked at Eddora for a second and then started to laugh, but it was clearly nervous laughter, almost hysteric laughter, despite the fact that he remained quiet and didn't move from the sofa.

"Thirteen years I've eked out a living here, peddling potions and medical gimmicks for enough gil to eat, and nothing interesting's happened to break the pattern. Then, all of a sudden... Ah, I guess Yevon's not done with me yet."

He continued to laugh into the empty cup, and Aer nervously glanced between Ed and Amalio, trying not to let the phrase 'loopy' enter his thoughts.

"I guess there's no harm in pulling up the old memories now. Any pain they'd have caused me is already scarred." He set the cup on the tray and started to get up, but Aer beat him to the punch.

"I'll take care of the spill," the black mage said. "Please, tell your tale." That said, he vanished into the kitchen and reappeared moments later with a ratty-looking cloth.

Smiling dully, Amalio sat back down, shaking his head. "It's probably nothing so special as it all sounds. I used to be a guardian. Lady Kavindhra..." he trailed off as if surprised to hear the title paired with the name. "It's been so long since I've called her that," he mumbled.

Jalisat was standing between the living space and the front entrance, his face white as a sheet. He mouthed the name silently.

"She was so beautiful," Amalio said. "Maybe it was because I saw her through a lens of obsessive devotion, but she was more beautiful than any woman in Spira. But she took ill very early on in the pilgrimage. To this day I don't know what it was, what she had. I couldn't heal her." His face crumpled inward and he seemed to fold in on himself. "White magic couldn't heal her. I have to believe that. But I couldn't just let her die. If I couldn't heal her body, then..."

He closed his eyes and his expression grew disturbingly calm. "There are spells men can't learn in schools of magic. Some have been forgotten. Some are forbidden. I have... one of the latter under my belt. I thought - " He shook his head. "I thought I could help her with it. But instead..." He shook his head.

"Please," the defunct white mage said. "The Farplane may hold some answers. And if it doesn't, then I'll tell the rest of what I know there."

 

[Griselda Banks]

((Are the girl's "they" my peeps or your peeps?))

At first Eddora was going to take offense at Amalio's laughter, but when she realized he was finally going to spill the beans, she contented herself with crossing her arms loosely and listening to what he had to say. As he spoke of not being able to heal this Kavindhra person, Ed found her gaze shifting to Venez, who'd been sitting forgotten in a corner as usual. Now, however, she was leaning forward with an earnest look on her face, her hands pressed against her heart and staring at Amalio with a look of utmost pity. Apparently, she could imagine how hard it would be for a white mage to be unable to heal someone.

"Well then," Ed said into the momentary silence. "We might as well go now, right? I wanna clear this whole thing up and get back to my pilgrimage. Let's go, Aer, Ca-" She stopped herself barely in time. "Venez." And she made for the door, trying to control the backflips her stomach was performing.

~

Kenan smiled sadly. "I always knew one of us would kill the other in the end. I don't relish the thought...but I'm not afraid."

Rogan looked at this proud man he called a friend. So many like him had passed this way, ready and willing to lay their lives down even though they knew the Calm wouldn't last and Sin would just come back again. Many reached Zanarkand and learned the truth, only to harden their resolve and continue. Rogan had to admire people like that, because he could never be that brave. "Then good luck," he finally murmured.

"And to you, old friend," Kenan said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Rogan smirked as they stood up. "Naturally, I intend to reach Zanarkand first. And I never choose wrong. Lord Kiro may have turned back at the last moment, but he did reach the finish line first."

"True."

The two men strode through the tavern and stepped through the door. Immediately, Yalan leapt to his feet. "Finally!" he burst out, scowling up at his brother. "You two really like to enjoy your drinks, don't you?"

"I'll see you later, I suppose?" Kenan said to Rogan, ignoring his little brother.

Rogan nodded. "Don't die prematurely, 'cause I'm not visiting you in the Farplane." Then he smirked and left them, hearing Yalan inquisitively interrogate Kenan about what had happened between them. He let out a deep sigh as he walked through the city. He was sorry to have to say goodbye to the man who had been a constant companion not too many years ago, but he knew this was necessary. He'd already made his choice.

Rogan settled himself down near the tunnel leading to the Thunder Plains to wait for the Lady Eddora. She would have to walk this way sometime, he knew. But until then, he would take a nice relaxing nap.  

[Ikken Isshu]

(("They" are your peeps. I have a vague plan for her, but I'm playing this a little bit by ear. >_>))

Just as the sounds around Rogan began to fade, a recognizable Guado accent from somewhere nearby rose above the city's noises.

"Excuse me, miss..."

"What?" came an unaccented female voice, and after a moment it was recognizable as the girl who'd dropped the glass at the tavern. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't see you there."

"It's quite all right, miss."

If Rogan looked in the direction of the voices, he'd see a bemused Guado watching as a young woman disappeared down a side street.

~

((Followed my usual pattern of typing out long posts without givign consideration to other characters... but at least their drama should be mostly over with this post, so it shouldn't happen again... with them. >_>))

"Mad as a hatter, this one," Aer murmured from his place just behind Ed. The other males in the room heard nothing, which was all to the good.

The brief walk to the Farplane was too long, all the men (and the boy) would've agreed if they had been asked. It was Jalisat who plunged through the entrance first, heedlessly charging forward as usual; Aer remained close to Ed, of course, and Amalio hung back slightly, reluctant to enter the Farplane even though it had been his suggestion that they enter it.

Once inside, Aer found himself surprised. Jalisat was merely looking back at the group, an odd expression on his face and Amalio was standing near the entrance with his eyes closed.

"Aren't you supposed to, like... see spirits when you come here?" Aer asked.

"Lost ones whom you most long to meet again," Amalio said quietly.

"I don't see anyone," Jalisat said helpfully.

"Have you suffered the death of a loved one?" Amalio asked without rancor.

"Um... No, I don't think so," the boy said, sounding confused. Idly, he reached up and rubbed at his chest with a closed fist. "Like, my family?"

"And I suspect that the one I would see..." Amalio trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

"All right, all right, you said you'd pony up if there weren't any answers here. What were you expecting to find?" Aer put his hands on his hips, conveniently neglecting to address the question of why no one had appeared to him, either.

"It was the spell I cast," Amalio said. "Or rather, the magic I worked - I don't know if it can be called a 'spell'. It cleaved her soul from her body. I had meant to give her mine, instead. But when I worked the magic, her soul escaped from my grasp. I assumed that it either moved on by itself or, more likely, remained as an Unsent. I grieved for a long time. Never stopped, really. But now I wonder if her spirit may have done more than to simply roam."

After a pause, Aer blinked, then turned to look at Jalisat, who was still rubbing at his chest, a slightly pained expression on his face.

"You think she - "

At that moment, Jalisat dropped his hand from his chest, straightened up, and turned to look directly at Amalio. The white mage grew very still, and the two watched each other for a few seconds. Jalisat's eyes were glowing, very dimly.

"It's been a long time," Jalisat said in an unusually serene tone. It was definitely Jalisat's voice - But it was also definitely not Jalisat speaking with it.

"It has," Amalio murmured. "The Farplane?"

"It's helping. Don't expect many chances like this, though. I'm not who I was, and I'm not what I was. I only... I forgive you, Amalio."

"I knew you would. You would forgive anything. That was the worst part... It wasn't your forgiveness I needed."

"Then I'll ask you to forgive yourself. If it's a request from me, you'll try, won't you?"

Amalio just looked away. Jalisat shook his head and opened his mouth, then stopped.

"Even here, this isn't who I am anymore. I can only... remember... for so long. Please understand, Amalio. I... Kavindhra is dead. The spark of life is all that is the same. My body, my mind, my heart... I can only forgive you. That's all."

"I didn't ask you to say you still loved me," Amalio said. "I never hoped for that much."

"Then... I'm sorry, Amalio. Thank you for what you were able to do."

As if he'd been struck, the boy's hand shot up to cover his face, and he took a quick step back, then shook his head.

"I have one question," Aer said very loudly. "Does every summoner party go through all these sorts of things, or did I just get lucky?"

 

[Griselda Banks]

((@_@ Finally back! I must confess I'm now confused with each and every one of the things you have going on now...not that that's necessarily bad. Keeps me intrigued. So am I right in thinking that something's gone wrong with the Farplane too? (As if there's not enough wrong with Spira already, eh? razz )

In other news, I've finally got around to starting FFXII, three or four years after buying it. I'm definitely loving it, but I had to chuckle when I met "Amalia." Lolgasp! It's Amalio's long-lost twin sister, transported to Ivalice! D8 ))

Rogan opened an eye to watch the small disturbance, but when nothing much seemed to happen, he closed it again and settled back down. He began to breathe deeply and dream of the rolling waves.

~

"You said it, Aer!" Eddora agreed, crossing her arms again and looking between Jalisat, who seemed to have gone back to normal, and Amalio, who still had that sappy, wistful expression on his face. She was sick and tired of things happening that seemed to have little explanation, and she was sick and tired of not being able to do anything about them but feebly attempt to understand what was going on. "I fail to see how giving this Kavindhra person your soul would have helped anyway, but whatever. Now that we're here, I may as well get down to business."

She stepped towards the edge of the platform where visitors would look over the Farplane and see visions of their loved ones in the golden clouds that swarmed beneath them. Firmly holding the image of her smiling family in her mind, Ed waited for something to happen. Them to step out of the mist or something. When she'd passed this way before, they hadn't appeared, but that was because no one had Sent them yet. She'd taken care of that now.

((I feel as though I should wait for your reply before I say definitively whether she can see them or not.))