"Curious..."
The first words I heard were from a source below me. My eyes flickered open, the ceiling's depths were obscured in shadow, but its features were illuminated by the careful light born from the flame of a lantern.
"Ah, awake are we?"
I tried to sit up. A stinging pain made itself known and racked my body.
"Don't move boy. You're in quite a state. A little longer and you've been subject to Thal."
He paused while I stayed still. I didn't die. But I was close. Thal represented the Keeper of the Dead. Most would say they pray to Nald'thal, however in Ul'dah, this god was prayed to separately. The other half was his twin brother, Nald, Keeper of the Living.
I understood where I was, but I was upset. Almost to the point of tears. What the hell was going on? Why could nothing ever go smoothly? Would I be cursed to dance on the edge of death with every fight?
I had read too many of these stories. There was a worrying trend where protagonists would be brought to the edge of death and then just barely craft a victory.
My situation was far different. The odds were not at all in my favor. I was forced to use magic that I had only just learned to create.
And it was my only Spell.
I wanted to have a cheat. I wanted something tangible that could put me above the rest. I didn't want to dance with death. To feel that cold sinking feeling. To be pulled so slowly to the other-side.
"You've had visitors worried for you. I shall retrieve them."
The leader of the Thaumaturges' guild left my ward. Yes, I was in the Arrzaneth Ossuary. Instead of being brought to the Alchemists' guild to heal, I was brought here. It had to be related to my over-usage of Aether.
I slowly tried to move. My body didn't ache, but if I moved at the wrong angle a sudden shock of pain would pierce through me. I configured my body in such a way that I could finally sit up.
I drove away the bad thoughts. I thought I was good at being fearless. I was wrong. I thought the protagonist would come and fix everything. I was wrong. My arrogance had to be corrected. Else, I would not last in Eorzea.
The room was non-descriptive. Another sandstone room with dim lighting and no windows. The bed, wrapped in linen sheets was the only one in the small chamber. A courtesy I reminded myself to thank them for.
"Brother!"
I recognized that voice anywhere. 3 months of hearing it day in and day out, I couldn't help smiling despite the pain I was in.
"Momo-nee..."
A cute Lalafell with her red hair knotted into twin buns sprinted across the ancient stone floors of the Ossuary and took my hand in hers. Tears dotted her cheeks. She was crying.
"Who told ya' to go n' play hero ey?!"
She was so upset that her accent came out. I couldn't blame her. Maybe Thancred would have been fine without me. Perhaps he had another trick up his sleeve. I saw how quickly he ended the fight. How powerful must he be to kill it with one stroke of his blade?
"I'm... sorry Momo-nee... I couldn't stop myself. I didn't mean... to worry you."
That part was somewhat true, but I understood what I was doing, jumping from my room. Or at least, I thought I did.
Momo-nee shook her head fiercely and wiped her forehead on the back of my hand.
"No no no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't blame you. You saved many lives that day. If you didn't fight that beast..."
That day. If it was just yesterday she'd say 'yesterday'. I lost time. Multiple days of time. The calamity drew ever closer.
"Thancred-"
"Aye. I heard boy. Its okay. Thancred is okay. Everyone is okay."
Momo-nee gently patted my hand. Soothing my nerves slightly. I didn't realize I was so tense.
"Everyone?"
"..."
Momo-nee kept petting my hand with a gentle touch. She kept her head down and stayed silent.
"Momo-nee..."
"It wasn't your fault, ya' hear me?"
Momo-nee turned stern. Looks like there were indeed casualties.
"I saw a man there. He was hit."
"Sigh. Aye. The girl's father. I saw what happened sweetie. No one is blamin' you for that. If they do, they'll be answerin' to me!"
My little big sister continued after I gave her an amused chuckle. So much ferocity was packed within her tiny form.
"The Goobbue went out of control. That's the responsibility of its handler. There are talks to expel him from the city now."
"Is the father-"
"No. He's not dead, but he's not doin' well."
Something stirred in my chest. That man was important. I didn't understand why, but my intuition said so. It hadn't failed me yet.
"Momo-nee. I need to speak with Thancred."
I still felt that something was wrong about the whole affair. What was the goldsmith's son doing there? What was that white powder? The flowers. The clockwork mammots. The Allag Collar. The lack of guards. A parade with no holiday attached to it. What the hell was going on in this city?
"Absolutely not! You must rest!"
Momo-nee firmly denied me.
"You may not understand what your affliction is, but the Thaumatuges do. Your Aether went wild! It-sniff"
Momo-nee started tearing up again. I felt an unfamiliar panic grip my heart. With as much haste as I could muster, I carefully angled my body to avoid whatever positions granted me immense pain and leaned over. I took the small Lalafell into my arms and hugged her tightly. She was light and soft. Smelling of spiced rum and flowers.
"I'm sorry Momo-nee. You're right. I'll rest, but you must rest too. Okay?"
I spoke slowly and stroked her head as I did so. I internally questioned if I should be doing such a thing with a woman who was entering her 40th summer.
After a minute of silence, I pulled her from my embrace and stared deep into her dusty red eyes. A bright flush colored her features. Her tears had stopped falling. It was the right choice. I couldn't help a smile cracking upon my face, making her blush deeper.
"I-I-I-I... Mm."
She simply nodded. I gently set her back down. I couldn't let this happen again. Fainting doesn't just waste my time, but it breaks hearts. I didn't want to ever see Momo-nee cry again. I had to do better. The future was hell, but I couldn't succumb to it. If not for me, then at least for her. Oh and of course Fridurih. Anything for Fridurih.
"I-I'll leave you to recover. If you need anythin' and I mean ANYTHIN' at all you t-t-tell Mumuepo and I-I'll be back! Okay!?"
She said okay with a warped tone.
"Yes Momo-nee. Thank you so much. For everything. I'm so happy that you're my big sister."
I gave my little big sister the brightest smile I could conjure. It must've been satisfactory because she blushed deeply again and tottered- or perhaps skipped out of the room.
---
I was sat still, counting the lines of grout that made up the masonry on the ceiling. I was here to judge symmetry. To dole out rewards and punishments.
If I tried to meditate, I feared that the Aether would forcibly enter my body like water being drawn into a dry sponge. The expansion would undoubtedly be painful.
'12. Impressive. Very nice. Now, how does horizontal look?'
I equated my state internally to a dried raisin. My Aether dissipated entirely and unless I very slowly brought it back in, I would be doomed to the life of a shriveled fruit. A life that Momo-nee would likely cheer me on for.
'26? Surely I miscounted.'
My Aether was, of course slowly coming back to me. When I cast Blizzard, I thought I would be throwing the raw Aether that I could touch as an attack, thus keeping my internal MP Pool safe.
'26. I did not miscount. Uneven. Sloppy. Unlike a justified 24, 26 is unacceptable. Henry, I'm afraid we will have to take your job. You're going back to the Mason Academy.'
Reality didn't work that way however. For the Aether to become a true spell and not a harmless mistake, I had to personally channel it through myself. Maybe it wouldn't always be that way, but it certainly was now.
'Not the Mason Academy!!!'
"How are you feeling, young one?"
'Yes, you must return to the Mason Academy... in Brazil...!'
'Noooooooo!'
A colder raspy voice entered my ears and pulled me from my dramatization. Henry had children to feed, but he deserved his fate. Should have stuck to painting fences.
In front of my eyes was the Lalafell currently named the master of the Thaumaturges' guild. Mumuepo. I was already very familiar with him under a different title.
Mumuepo the Beholden.
The final boss within the dungeon Halatali: Hard Mode.
One couldn't be blamed for skipping the Hard Mode dungeons. After 2.0 was released, the development team was on fire while still coping with the disastrous launch of 1.0.
Patch 2.0 had an unusual stretch of time where instead of progressing the story in a linear fashion, the team found it easier to expand the game horizontally.
As a result, Patch 2.0 was not only the longest patch cycle, but also the most bloated. Every dungeon and trial received a sequel in the form of a hard mode. This would later be expanded into even higher tiers such as extreme and in some cases, Ultimate.
Halatali was simply one of many dungeons painted over with the sequel brush. By time the game truly got popular with patch 3.0, these old dungeons were legacy content that not many were interested in doing.
It may have been difficult when it came out, as the level cap was 50, however before I crossed over I think the level cap hit 100. I wouldn't have even bothered to play those older dungeons if my friends didn't want to do their weekly challenges there.
Halatali was a series of tunnels dug by the Gladiators' guild to house their monsters and fighters. After the Calamity, the tunnels and everyone inside were abandoned.
The Warrior of Light takes on the task to clean those dead and undead halls of their corpses and then, reclaimed Halatali once again was turned into a training ground for criminals meant to fight for sport.
Mumuepo was a disgraced guild master sent to that place on charges of corruption. He tamed a strange lizard-like beast, but when the Warrior of Light came knocking-
"I'm feeling better sir. Thank you."
This Lalafell was one that I killed myself. I knew of his staff. His ability to warp minds. And of how his story ended. An odd feeling to encounter.
"That's good. Though your state wasn't, until not too long ago."
His analysis was blunt, but not hostile.
"Thank you for saving me sir. How much will I owe-"
The dead guild master waved his hand.
"Your associate paid for you with the Goldsmith's own coffers."
That arrogant piece of shit did? Or perhaps someone else with access to the guild's money?
"Its been difficult figuring out how, but when you came in, your Aetheric levels were in the realm of the dead. Would you mind explaining what happened to you out there?"
How much did he know? Without the echo I couldn't resist mind-altering effects. I needed a shield.
"I'm sorry sir. It's all still a bit foggy. If you were curious, you could ask Thancred or Miss Momodi for details. They could see what happened."
The little fiend's interest in me diminished sharply.
"It's of no matter, merely a curiosity."
Thaumatuges weren't exactly popular. Their magic was originally created as a method to perform burial rites. Despite being what other fantasy would consider to be a simple elemental mage, in the world of XIV, they were closely tied to the concept of death.
It was not at all surprising that he hadn't heard that I cast magic of his guild despite not being a member. But all knowledge spreads eventually. Soon I'd need to-
knock-knock
"Hrm?"
Mumuepo leisurely turned around and tilted his head towards the door, as if asking it a question. To my surprise, the door actually opened. And then to my shock and slight horror, I saw the visitor. My eternal arch nemesis. The ender of all worlds. Thancred.
"My, another visitor already? You sure are popular, child."
I had no clue as to how old Mumuepo was. It was difficult to tell Lalafell ages apart unless you actually were one. Even Momo-nee's age was only something I stumbled upon while browsing wiki articles.
Thancred, the masonry expert who surpassed Henry by leaps and bounds, entered without a word and Mumuepo likewise left without a word.
As the door closed, the door which Thancred was keeping a careful eye on, he, wielder of trowels, finally looked at me with a serious look on his face. I made a mental note to hold my thoughts back properly.
"Little Winter, you saved my life out there. Did you know that?"
Thancred was rubbing his thumb over his fists. It seemed like a soothing action one would act out when stressed. But maybe I was just overthinking it. I knew the kind of man Thancred was. When he committed mistakes, he was beyond brutal to himself. This brutality was the catalyst that brought the downfall of the Scions temporarily. It was sobering.
"And beyond that, you almost died becau-"
"You're wrong Thancred."
I took a strong stance. No more tears. I didn't want anyone else to cry. At least not today.
"What I did was my choice. I knew my limits and directly bypassed them."
"But you-"
"Knew exactly what I was getting into when that thing started rampaging."
I felt that perhaps I was speaking a bit too harshly. So I threw out something lighter. Payback for our initial meeting.
"Though, I was expecting you to use your special kick. Maybe we would be in a better position now, no?"
"Ha! Maybe you'd be. I'd be in bed for days if I gifted the beast an attempt!"
"Sounds like someone hasn't trained his hips enough then, ey?"
We stared at each other for a while before the laughter infected us.
It wasn't boisterous, but it was enough to dispel the gloom.
Thancred's fists stopped shaking. That's what I wanted.
"I was sloppy."
"You were ignorant and so was I. Now that we've made that mistake once, do you think we'd make it a second time?"
"Of course not!"
It felt strange that he was playing along with my attitude. Maybe it was a welcome distraction from his troubles. It felt like I was speaking to a brother. My words were candid and his replies were smooth. We had a bizarre chemistry.
"Then it's settled. We'll learn from this. We're alive. That's what matters."
"Heh, to be given a spritely talking to by a boy who's multiple summers my junior. Haaaaa~"
'Multiple summers?'
"Sometimes even your younger siblings can display uncanny wisdom."
I accidentally let my thoughts slip into my words. Wasn't this situation familiar?
"However, my younger brother speaks beyond his years! It's frightening!"
Without letting a second pass, Thancred replied like that. Our laughter rang out stronger than the last round.
Yeah, the chemistry was insane.
"Even still, you saved my life. It's a favor that this bard shant forget."
Thancred expressed his debt to me. I knew he'd uphold it come hell or high water.
"We do what we must. Now, surely you didn't come to visit me simply to bemoan your lack of wisdom."
"When in the hells did you earn that glib?"
"Momo-nee."
"Of course."
And what did he mean by multiple summers? He thought I was years younger than him? Wait, how old was Thancred when 1.0 started? How old was I?
"But once again, you're correct."
Thancred walked closer.
"Those beasts broke free of their fetters. Not simply at the same time, but despite their rampaging, the amount of souls claimed was rather low."
There he was. The Thancred I knew.
He closed his eyes, tilted his head, and rapped his knuckles on his chin. An emote that any XIV veteran could recognize, played before me.
"Little Winter, pray tell-"
"Little Winter?"
He had called me that twice now.
Opening his eyes he gave me a slick grin.
"Well, you were already nameless. Calling my brother "stranger" would be crass at this point would it not?"
"So you call me Little Winter? If I had used Fire instead of Blizzard, what would you have called me then?"
Thancred tilted his head and thought for far too long to justify his answer.
"Sunshine."
This crazy son of a bitch-