While she'd grown accustomed to making a living by bringing the dishes of her realm to this one, and only occasionally having to actually get serious in combat (the average thug she'd have to contend with when she spotted them usually only took a punch or two before they'd fall on their faces, out cold), rarely did anyone pay attention to her singing anymore. Granted, she'd never sung all that much to begin with-it was more just an idle habit she'd picked up, and it wasn't as if she could actually read any sheet music presented to her, she learned entirely by ear-but she still did occasionally sing nonetheless. But it hadn't really been noticed by anyone else on the island, until recently, in which a customer at the cafe had caught wind of her voice, and very much insisted she show off something at this new place being built, in the music hall. She'd really only agreed just to shut the bastard up, but it wasn't as if it was an unpleasant experience for her.
She'd occasionally be joined by other musicians, usually playing instruments, though for the moment, she was alone in the music hall. A pianist was supposed to come by later, as well as some brass, but not quite yet. They'd heard her singing that strange song she'd first started hearing via her Echo when she abandoned her previous life as a member of the Dragoon order (though she'd forever fight like one-it's what she knew best, and she'd even improved on it over time), and had become more clear once she had no choice but to return after being framed for the Sultana's supposed death, and only continued to become more and more clear as she continued fighting to end the Dragonsong War, eventually becoming the most clear as she went to cut down the reborn Nidhogg.
She later concluded it was a song the actual Shiva was imparting to her, though why in the seven hells she would choose to impart that song to a war veteran who still had a taste for battle and tended to prefer solving her problems with her spear rather than her tongue, Selenie would never know. Maybe it was because, out of everyone she'd met with the Echo, Selenie was the only one who had the proper Blessing of Light as well? She didn't know, and quite frankly, it didn't matter anyways.
All of that in mind, sitting on a large wooden platform they'd brought out, she sang the song anyways...
Children of the land, do you hear?
Echoes of truth that once rang clear...
Two souls intertwined, one true love they did find,
Bringing land and heavens near.
But flames that burned full bright soon fell dark,
Memories dimmed by shadowed hearts.
In the waxing gloom did wane the lovers' moon,
Watching as their worlds drifted apart.
Before she could continue with the next verse, her keen ears picked up on footsteps approaching. She turned to look in the direction of the footsteps, and blinked a few times when she saw a familiar face walk in.
"Seven hells, do my eyes deceive me, or is that really you, Gaius? I never really took you for one to visit this sorta place, so what brings you here?"
Of all of the things that had happened in this godsforsaken realm, this had to be one of the absolute strangest, and also one of the absolutely most irritating things to happen.
Overnight, the realm had been covered in a thin layer of what, at first, seemed to be snow, but upon closer investigation, was some sort of enchanted substance that could only be damaged by itself. This left many entrapped wherever they were, unable to do much of anything, as even if they could get their hands on a shard of the substance, not many had what it would take to properly break themselves out, and even then, it seemed to come right back in mere minutes.
It irked Selenie to no end, to the point where she had a stash of shards of the strange stuff and some rope at all times. Why? So she could tie the shards to her spear, and break the damn stuff so she could fly!
Of course, during these trying times, having food delivered to them was quickly becoming a necessity for those poor souls who just couldn’t really escape. And she’d recently heard in passing that they’d finally gotten a delivery worker for Pandora Cafe. Selenie honestly wasn’t surprised-Susie seemed to be the type to seize any opportunity to ensure that the business prospered, and if that meant hiring someone to take food to people, then so be it.
With this on her mind, she supposed she might as well get to know the one who’d been charged with delivering the food. Given that it seemed literally anyone or anything from anywhere could be dragged here at any time, Selenie wasn’t sure to expect, as she hadn’t listened too closely to mere rumors, she wasn’t one to take stock in words alone-
And, evidently, the whole “anyone or anything from anywhere” included a decently-sized, golden-and-orange-colored dragon with black spines, black horns, and some black patterns on its back. And, seven hells, were those damselfly wings?! Yes, those were damselfly wings on its back. Selenie was no stranger to the idea of dragons being around (she’d killed more than she cared to even try to count), and, admittedly, was still somewhat getting used to the idea of friendly dragons being a thing, but she’d never seen one with damselfly wings. Besides, there were just enough differences in how it was overall shaped to finalize the idea in Selenie’s head that this was not a dragon from her realm.
“Err... you’re the one who’s supposed to be delivering food for us, right?” She tried. Damnit, this was still so very awkward for her... “...The name’s Selenie. I’m a chef here. We’ll be dealing with each other a fair bit, I imagine, especially given... whatever in the seven hells is going on right now.” She managed, deciding quickly it wasn’t worth the trouble to avoid swearing.
Well, of all of the possible events to end up taking place on this island, some bizarre version of All Saints’ Wake was a more tame option, Selenie supposed. And, given what she’d seen, both in and out of this absolutely-insane realm, tame was a very, very, very good thing, as far as Selenie was concerned. But that didn’t make this any less... bizarre of an occurrence.
And, of course, he just had to get himself involved. It would seem that being magically restored to his supposedly-adult self did not remove all of his... childish tendencies. As indicated by him evidently looking for her, with some strange, small treats in one hand, and dragging a full-sized pixie-looking costume behind him. Said costume was clearly designed to be worn by him, and he couldn’t look any happier if he tried, it seemed. Selenie stared at her lunar friend.
“Err... do I want to know why you have small treats in one hand, and are dragging a full-size costume of some bizarre pixie-looking creature behind you, clearly in your size? And do I want to know why you decided to drag it here, to me?” She questioned, already regretting doing so.
It had started as any other day in this strange realm for Selenie. Get up, get ready for the day (thank the Fury it wasn’t shedding season for the poor Elezen), head to work via flight, and then, do whatever after-
Selenie blinked. Was that... Menphina? Or did he have a kid when she wasn’t looking? Maybe it was one of his spells? She was rather... confused. She strode over to him, and knelt down in front of him.
“The hells is the meaning of this? Is this one of your weird spells, Menphina? Or did you have a bloody kid while I wasn’t looking?” She mused, trying to make sense of the sight before her. She looked him over several more times, before standing back up to her full height and crossing her arms.
“Well, if you’re his kid, I have no idea who your mother could be. I can only assure you that it isn’t me. Think I’d remember... well, those things. Although, given that he’s a mage... for all I know, this is just some weird trick of his... ah, hells, why do you mages have to go and make everything so bloody complicated?! I get that not everyone’s good with a spear, but why do mages always have to go and make things so godsdamn complicated?!” She groaned, facepalming towards the end. She sighed heavily, and knelt back down to his level, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Sorry if that scared you. Didn’t mean to... I just find most magic pretty damn confusing. Most of it never made sense to me. And that frustrates me a lot. You’ve done nothing wrong, half-pint, so don’t worry about it.” She assured.
Though Selenie never used the strange device that she’d been given upon first arriving, instead opting to just leave it in her own part of the place she’d been assigned, it still lingered. The damn thing required one to be able to read well to be able to use it, and, while Selenie was a woman capable of many things, reading well was not one of them. Not in the slightest. Whatever was wrong with her that she couldn’t make sense of the words, combined with her lowborn start to life, and then, just spending all of her life devoted more to combat than anything else, all made it so she’d long since given up on learning how to even try to read well.
...This also meant she’d never bothered to figure out how to shut the damn thing up. That had never been a problem before, either, as she’d never set it up to let others on the island contact her, so it never made much in the way of noise. Until today, that is.
“Fury fucking preserve me!” She swore as an ear-shattering alarum sound tore through the apartment. She quickly turned over in her bed to discover it was the device. She growled, annoyed.
“The hells do you want, you damn device-!”
Then, a voice came over it, explaining everything. The idea of having a possibly-evil duplicate wasn’t too foreign to her, but she sure as hells did not like the idea. She was not about to let someone who even remotely looked like her continue to get away with Gods alone know what. For the first time since she arrived here, she actually took the... whatever in the hells it was with her, opened the door, sprinted out, and leapt over the balcony’s edge, snapping her tail downwards as she did so to put more force behind her takeoff. She allowed herself to fall to gain move speed, pressing her arms against her body, her legs together, and her tail into that small space along the back of her legs, where they met, all to streamline herself and gain more speed. Then, when the moment was right, she spread her draconic wings, and she was airborne.
An old routine, sure, but an effective one that hadn’t failed her yet. As she soared through the skies, she kept her eyes peeled for her target.
It didn’t take her long to find her prey, also airborne, seemingly on a hunt of her own. However, the copy didn’t seem to notice her. The disgraced Dragoon smirked. Perfect.
Before the clone could even blink, Selenie flew as fast as she could manage, and rammed as hard as she could into the back of the clone from above her, knocking the wind out of the fake and sending her at maximum speed into the ground. Selenie dove down, and, with flames enveloping her, landed once more on top of her target.
The clone was still alive, but thoroughly dazed and damaged. Perfect. Selenie sighed heavily, closed her eyes for a brief moment, and then, opened them.
“You’re just as miserable as me, aren’t you? Been through all manner of hells and back... and now, whoever made you wants to end you, and is making you suffer in the process... enough. Rest easy.” She said, rather somberly and softly.
Though it took her several moments, and the copy started to stir in the time, she eventually figured out how to use the device to send the pitiful thing on to a better place. It let out one last anguished sigh, and then, vanished into tiny particles, looking far too electronic to be aether.
At least the creature could rest easy now, Selenie hoped.
The mists had arrived so suddenly, and if the Sea of Clouds alone had taught her anything, it was that mist suddenly surging in from seemingly nowhere was not to be trusted, especially when it was avoiding certain areas. It almost meant something was lying in wait, ready to kill. Spear drawn and hackles raised, Selenie was ready for anything...
Or so she thought. But when an all-too-familiar chuckle echoed around her, she couldn’t believe it. Her heart pounded and her eyes widened in sheer horror as an all-too-familiar figure emerged from the shadows. Covered in midnight black scales and those bloodthirsty, crimson red eyes...
It was him. The dragon who had ruined her. Yilbegan.
“How?! I fucking killed you! I cut you to pieces! You’re dead!”
Again, he chuckled.
“Am I, though? Just because thou didst unleash thy full fury upon me does not mean I am truly dead... I shan’t ever truly perish, so long as thou drawest breath!”
“SHUT YOUR GODSDAMNED TRAP, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I TOOK YOU DOWN BEFORE WITHOUT THE POWERS I HAVE NOW! I’LL CRUSH YOU AGAIN!” She screamed, before bringing her spear to bare, aetheric dragonflame enveloping her as she charged him.
“Thou canst never banish mine shade!” He taunted, only earning a bloodlust-filled shriek from her as dragon and dragoon met in the air in vicious, aether-ridden aerial combat.
This realm was a very... unpredictable place, Selenie had long since concluded. Sometimes, it would be peaceful, quiet, and entirely uneventful, with the residents of this strange island just doing... well, whatever the seven hells they felt like doing in that given moment. And yet, in the next fleeting moment, something would happen, either good or bad, and everything would change drastically. It honestly pissed her off-she had been forced to beat up innocent civilians because some swiving whoreson decided he was bored thanks to one of these little incidents!
So, when she began to hear voices booming throughout the island, over the built-in communications (whatever they were called, she was no machine master, and quite frankly didn’t care about that detail), she tensed instinctively, and drew her beloved spear off her back. She barely had time to spread her wings before she felt herself being pulled to... well, she didn’t know where this was.
On the surface, it appeared to be almost some sort of warm, beachside paradise, like Costa del Sol if said area in Limsa had never been colonized by anyone. Crystal clear waters off to her right, a lush, tropical jungle to her left, and sand underneath her heel. A brilliant, shimmering sun blazed bright in the clear, perfect sky above her. She blinked a few times, and nothing changed.
“What in the seven hells?” She muttered, not even remotely recognizing this area. It seemed that, as time passed, Selenie was just more and more confused by this strange realm as a whole. Were there even rules to how things worked here? She wasn’t honestly sure there were rules when it came to how things worked in this godsforsaken realm!
She let out an exasperated sigh. She knew how to survive in the wilds on her own. She heard her own stomach growl, and shrugged. First order of business.. something good to eat. She heard rustling in the bushes, and saw dinner on four legs emerge from the lush greenery before her. She licked her lips, and charged forth, spear bared, easily taking down her prey.
With practiced ease, she cleaned her kill, using the hide and bones to make a passable shelter in a clearing she found deep in the wilds. Selenie was never one to waste everything, and what wasn’t used in the construction of her shelter or to feed her raging appetite was reserved as a... deterrent, ready to throw. She had a small fire going, roasting the meat and organs. She couldn’t help a small, somber smile. Oh, how this brought her back to the early days of her adventuring life... before she was discovered by the Scions. Before she slew her first primal. Before she became the bloody Savior of Eorzea. Before she became something she never once would’ve dreamed of being during her time as a lowborn on the streets of Ishgard, shivering from the unrelenting cold, and vicious and hostile towards practically everyone else around her.
Violence had always been her life, she supposed. That had not changed, and probably would not change. Not now, and not in the foreseeable future. Such was the life of a soldier. Such was the life of an adventurer. Such was the life of the Warrior of Light. She chuckled, and shook her head. When had she become so damn sentimental?
(Mun note: Warning, there is some implied mild nudity under the cut! You have been warned!)
Could it get any worse for Selenie? Trapped in this strange realm, unable to awaken, and forced to relieve her torturous past? She doubted it could, but then, she realized... she was reliving them in sequence of when they occurred. Which meant that the next one was very likely to be...
She “awoke” (though she knew that, at the current moment, she was not truly awake-still very much in that forced dream trance), feeling groggy and exhausted. Her mind was in somewhat of a haze-what had happened?
“Oh, look! Roror, she’s awake! I think she’s confused, but she’s awake!”
She blinked a few times upon hearing the chirpy, high-pitched voice. When her vision finally settled, she couldn’t believe what was sitting on her chest, flashing a toothy, childish grin at her.
An off-white scaled hatchling. A dragon hatchling! What was a dragon hatchling doing on her chest?! Moreover, why was it happy that she was awake?!
Instinctively, she swatted the hatchling off her chest, blushing fiercely, shooting up into a sitting position, and wrapping her arms around herself. The hatchling whimpered a bit, before regathering itself and scowling at her.
“Why did you do that?! I didn’t hurt you!”
“Instinct, little one. You must remember, she is a daughter of Ishgard. Or rather, she was a daughter of Ishgard. She knoweth not the truth.”
A low, rumbling voice, calm yet powerful, spoke, and then, a much larger dragon descended from higher in the tower she just realized she was in, landing as gently as possible on the same level she was resting on. She was confused, but then, upon looking down at her arms...
They were covered in scales. The talons were still very much there. Her eyes began to glisten. It wasn’t a horrible nightmare. That bastard really did manage to have the last laugh. She couldn’t go back-not like this! She’d be viewed as a heretic and executed on the spot!
“Fear not, daughter of man. You are safe under my wing. No spell, no fang, no claw, no steel will harm thee.” The larger dragon spoke. Selenie curled in on herself.
“I’m a freak of nature! I’m a monster! What in the hells am I meant to do now?! I can’t go back home, and there’s no way in the seventh hell I’m joining him-”
As her emotions ran high, a light began to shine in her hand. Soon enough, it detonated, sending her flying into the air. However, when she didn’t feel the sensation of slamming into something hard, nor solid ground beneath her, she was confused. As the dust settled, she realized... she was in mid-air! How in the hells was she in mid-air and staying there?! She hadn’t used any sort of Jump, and even then, a Jump would not have her staying in the air!
“Hm, so thy wings are not merely for show. Another skill to master, but I do not mind teaching thee.”
She blinked, and looked back. She hadn’t even realized she’d unfurled her newfound wings, let alone that they were keeping her in mid-air. And the most disturbing part? It felt so natural. Like this was how her body was meant to be. She looked to the large dragon, who was lying there patiently.
“...How do I come down?” She finally asked.
“Search thy instincts, daughter of man. Just as your body knows how to fly, so too it knows how to land.”
With reluctance, she closed her eyes, before finally figuring out how to maneuver her wings to land. The large dragon was pleased as she wrapped her wings around herself.
“Well done. Tell me thy name, child of man.” He asked.
“Selenie. Selenie Armour.”
He hummed.
“A beautiful name. Mine is Roror, son of Hraesvelgr. Unlike Yilbegan, who thou didst slay, I have no desire to participate in the Dragonsong War. Many of my brothers and sisters feel the same way. Even our sire remains neutral and aloof. Now, I shall begin mine teachings, so hearken well to mine words...”
The time passed by so very quickly. At first, she struggled, often waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, screaming. Eventually, the nightmares began to lessen (or perhaps she just came to terms with them enough that they simply didn’t affect her as strongly) in potency. The truth was painful and difficult to swallow, but she couldn’t deny it-so she just let it be.
Despite the fact she was the daughter of the nation that was supposed to be their enemy, Roror and his hatchlings seemed to have infinite compassion for mortals. Selenie was not the first he’d taken in under his wing, but evidently, she was the first proper dragoon that had been put under his care. Most of the others were forgemasters, who were kind enough to refit her armor to fit her new form, and forge a new spear for her, without asking for a single gil. And while it was all too easy to adapt to her new armor and spear, not everything was so easy.
The new powers, however... those proved a bit difficult to learn properly. Well, some of them, at the least. Flight and her newfound senses were practically instinctual from the start, and learning to contend with enhanced versions of her existing abilities wasn’t too hard. But learning how to channel her newfound magic into other techniques that she’d never even contemplated before? That was hard. But she managed to come up with a few tricks-mostly offensive abilities, but new tricks nonetheless.
In other words, life was okay. Selenie loved playing with the little dragonets, and found a simple joy in flying anywhere she pleased. But she was not the type to be able to settle down forever, and she wanted to truly get away from it all. She wanted to start over-to be a ser no longer.
“I do not fault thee for wishing to spread thy wings and leave the nest. Head to the south, far beyond the reaches of dragon or Ishgard, and I have no doubt that new adventures will await thee.” Roror suggested.
“Head south, and become an adventurer... it makes sense.”
She stood up, stretched, and smiled at her draconic caretaker.
“Thanks. For everything. I won’t let it go to waste.”
“Fare thee well, little Selenie.”
She sprinted out of the spire that had been her sanctuary, before leaping off the edge, spreading her wings as she began to fall. She caught a strong wind, and let it carry her away, heading south to the other nations of Eorzea.
