public service announcement, NPC for hidden achievment up at [Saltspray Roost] after every successful Dragon's End meta. to this day there are five to ten people climbing up there when I shout it out every time, so maybe some folks here also had no idea!
New expansion thoughts and spoilers (along with IBS and EoD spoilers):
I am SO happy we are getting to adventure with many of our old friends again!! After Icebrood Saga I was worried Braham wouldn't join us again due to everything he experienced so that's a really nice surprise to see him in the trailer! And especially since we met her again in SotO I'm wondering if Livia will be joining us, given the theming and region and that Anise will be there it would only make sense o:
What I'm still hoping for and have been hoping for a long time (and feel slightly more hopeful now that some old friends returning is confirmed) is that the expansion will start with us attending the wedding of Marjory and Kasmeer. I'd be SO upset if it happened while we were busy with SotO or something, give us our own screen lesbian wedding Anet, please!!! I wanna dress my Commander in fancy clothes and bring my gf's Commander as my date/+1, it would all be so cute and wholesome and would make me so happy ;u;
I was inspired by @idrawtoomuch-gw2's prompt after I finished EoD, so I wrote some emotional EoD fanfiction!
Taimi calls Caithe with concerns about the Commander, and Caithe intervenes in her own distinctive way. (2k words, female charr Commander, END OF DRAGONS SPOILERS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)
“Hey Caithe, do you have a moment?”
Caithe’s communicator crackled to life, Taimi’s voice coming through clear despite the long distance the signal needed to travel from New Kaineng City all the way to The Eye of the North.
“Of course, Taimi. It’s good to speak with you,” she glanced down at the tiny readout, “It looks like this isn’t the usual channel; did you want another interview regarding dragon magic?”
“Oh you would? It would be super incredible to get your perspective on how things have changed now that the–” She stopped herself, “Maybe soon. Definitely soon! Actually I, uh, wanted to know if you’ve seen the Commander recently.”
“Ah yes, every few days she stops by here. She’s been helping oversee the trainees and install these new devices to gather readings on magic here.” She laughed gently, “Honestly, it’s about the only time I can get Trainee Saba out of my hair.” She craned her head to peer outside Aurene’s chamber, “I don’t believe she’s here right now.”
Taimi’s voice came through quietly, as if she was talking to herself, “Oh no, not there too…”
“If you like, I can let her know you’re searching for her next time she’s here. Although I can’t imagine she’d ignore her communicator if you needed to speak with her.”
“What? Oh! Sorry, that wasn’t about her not being there. Actually, it was more about her being there.”
Caithe paused. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean, Taimi.”
“It… Well…” Taimi stammered, before launching herself into her next sentence, “The Commander’s been REALLY busy here in New Kaineng City working with Joon and me on researching alternatives to dragon magic for the jade batteries, and she’s been trying to smooth things over diplomatically between Cantha and Tyria too.”
“Ah, so that’s where she’s been traveling to and from.”
Taimi pressed on, worry evident in her voice, “Yeah, well, a week ago she made a weird offhand comment about having to work hard to not mix up Canthan and Charr diplomatic techniques.”
“Politics in Cantha does seem very different than in the legions.”
“That’s… not what bothered me. I had a hypothesis, but it wasn’t until I reached out to Rytlock that I was able to confirm it. Caithe, she’s been working with Crecia and Rytlock in the Black Citadel on dealing with the fallout of the Dominion!”
Taimi paused, as if for dramatic effect. The line was quiet for several seconds before Caithe responded.
“Taimi, the Commander is a charr. It makes sense she would be interested in the future of the charr legions.”
Taimi let out an exasperated cry of frustration, “Gahhh, I KNOW that! That’s not what I mean! I talked with Kasmeer too and she told me how the Commander’s been ‘the busiest little bee’ helping out with Canthan-Tyrian diplomacy AND working with Logan to figure out what to do with the Pact.”
Caithe let out a noise of understanding, “I’m beginning to see the problem here.”
“And Kas talked with Marjory and guess what? Apparently the Commander’s been helping her, Gorrik, and Detective Rama with their new detective agency. I don’t even know WHAT she could possibly help with there. I did some calculations on what her travel schedule must be like and even my most generous estimates of her sleep schedule is appalling! To think she could even consider that acceptable after our conversation in Arborstone about me taking time to rest properly and–” Taimi’s voice caught in her throat.
Caithe gave her a few seconds before responding, “Taimi?”
“Caithe, I’m really worried about her. The last– the last few times we’ve worked together I could see her hands shaking when she was working on our prototypes. She’s thankfully smart enough that she lets the technicians do the heavy lifting when it comes to operating the machinery, but I’m worried that she’s going to hurt herself,” Taimi paused, before saying quietly, “or… that she’s already hurting herself.”
Taimi’s words wavered as she continued, “Alchemy, I thought of anyone I would be the one she’d listen to about this sort of thing, but every time I try to bring it up she brushes it off and gets really distant. And the more insistent I get the less serious she seems to take me! She’s even lied to my face about how much she’s been working! I wanted to tell her that I figured out what she’s been up to but I just know that it’s not going to get through to her and–” Taimi swallowed, collecting herself, “I’m sorry, Caithe, I didn’t mean for this call to end up like this. You can– I need to–”
“It’s alright Taimi,” Caithe interrupted. “I understand.” She looked out across the chamber, her eyes lingering on the flowers growing along the edge of the scrying pool. “Thank you for telling me about this. I think I have a solution.”
Taimi sniffed, “You– you do?”
“I believe so. Let me make a call first, then I’ll talk with the Commander.” Caithe smiled warmly, hoping it came through in her voice, “We’ll chat later about that interview. When you have the time.”
“When I have the time,” Taimi repeated. “I– thanks, Caithe.”
----------
The sun shone bright over Southsun as a skiff cut through the water along the south coast. Caithe directed the rudder, but her eyes were focused on the Commander staring out at the beach passing by. The charr was fully dressed in her usual battle gear. Caithe hadn’t seen any shaking in the Commander’s confident movements, but she had noticed the dark spots underneath her eyes and tense angle of her ears. What had struck Caithe upon making those observations wasn’t that she looked different, but rather how much like her usual self she appeared, standing there in the front of the boat. Caithe wondered if the signs had always been there, or if the changes had been too subtle to notice in their seemingly never-ending battles against the Elder Dragons.
The Commander cut through the silence, turning her head to look back at Caithe, “So… a secret mission, huh? Would have thought we’d have had more time to rest before something new came up.”
“Indeed,” was all Caithe responded with.
“Care to give me the details?” the Commander prodded lightly, clearly in good spirits to be out in the field.
“I’ll fill you in once we arrive.”
“Of course,” The Commander turned back to stare at the beach, “Southsun, eh? Didn’t expect to be back here of all places. Did you hear that Logan apparently bought a beach house here?”
“Did he now?”
“According to him,” she chuckled. “Hard to imagine a guy like Logan taking a vacation. Hard to imagine any of us taking one.” She breathed in deeply, taking in the smell of saltwater and seaweed. “I’m glad you asked me to come along for this mission. It’s a good excuse to get off my rear and stop sitting around doing nothing.” She gave a relaxed sigh, stretching her arm and testing the heft of her mace. “Everyone else would always talk about what they’d do once things calmed down. In the moment it was nice to imagine, but– well, you understand me, right?”
“I do, Commander,” she replied. “We’re here.”
The Commander gave a short nod before turning to study the coast while Caithe pulled in as close as she could to the shore. A small cabin stood on stilts halfway between the water and the cliffs further inland, stairs leading from where the sand met earth up to a door.
The Commander disembarked the boat as Caithe dropped anchor. She started up the beach without Caithe, scanning first the cliff tops and then the house for any signs of trouble.
“Shouldn’t be many karka this side of Southsun,” she remarked as Caithe caught up, “Not that I’m complaining. Are you expecting a fight?”
Caithe thought for a second before replying, “If there is, it’s nothing the two of us can’t handle.”
The Commander bared her fangs as she grinned, “Excellent. Have any intel on this shack? Someone or something that we’re looking for?”
“I’ve got some idea. Why don’t we take a look inside?”
“You don’t even need to ask,” the Commander replied, taking the stairs two at a time as she climbed up to the cabin. Her grip tightened on her mace as she swung open the door and strode inside, moving quickly and quietly despite her size. Caithe stopped at the entrance as the Commander finished her sweep of the cabin, before beginning to examine the items inside.
“Hmm, lots of supplies in here,” the Commander thought out loud. “It looks like someone’s stocked up for the long haul. No signs of recent habitation though.” Caithe watched as she knelt down to examine some crates. “That’s strange… These boxes are the same ones the Pact uses for transporting supplies. And these here–” she stepped over to some more crates, “These are from Kryta. Look, there's the Krytan Seal there.” Caithe saw the Commander’s brow furrow as she furiously put the dots together.
“Caithe,” she said finally, turning back to the door, “Remember how I said Logan bought a beach house? I think this is his beach house.” They looked at each other, Caithe watching the Commander’s mind working overtime as the Commander stared at Caithe’s calm expression.
“Caithe, speak to me,” the Commander said finally, “What’s going on here? Is there trouble?”
“That depends on you,” Caithe said simply, before vanishing.
The Commander froze for a second before bolting to the door, eyes darting wildly around looking for danger. Her gaze locked on the skiff where she saw a small blue figure pulling up the anchor. She heard her communicator crackle, then Caithe’s voice.
“I do understand you, Commander,” Caithe told her, and the Commander saw the distant skiff power up and begin to move. “I understand you enough to know that if it was your choice you would put all of Tyria before yourself every single time. And maybe we needed that spirit then. But not now. So I’m making that decision for you. I’ll be back in three weeks to pick you up. Logan assures me there’s plenty of food and water to last until then, and Gorrik has kindly donated some reading material. Except for his and Taimi’s research on dragon magic. Wouldn’t want you finding a way to worm in some work now would we?”
The Commander shook her head in bemusement, laughing, “And what’s stopping me from just walking back to the Consortium outpost and catching a portal back to Lion’s Arch? Certainly not you?”
“No,” Caithe admitted, “But if you did that, I might have to ask Aurene to bring you back here herself. And maybe put up some crystal walls around the area for good measure. I’m sure she would happily agree to that.”
The Commander made a low whistle, “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Do I seem like the kind of sylvari to make idle threats, Commander? I’ll be back soon. Enjoy your vacation.”
The Commander watched the skiff as it sailed back the way it came, disappearing behind a rocky outcropping. She stood there for a while before shaking her head again and turning back into the cabin.
Setting her mace down against the wall, she picked up a fishing rod, turning it in her claws as she examined it idly. She imagined Caithe tattling on her to Aurene, and Aurene, the little dragon that she and Caithe had raised, carrying her in her claws all the way back here. Or perhaps she would just give an exasperated sigh and dump her back on this beach with a portal, along with a few words of admonishment.
The Commander smiled at the thought and, still holding the fishing rod, began to search among the supplies for bait and tackle.
