Why wasn't she waking up? Mom you need to wake up!
N'yami shook her mother's lifeless body she held in her arms, G'lewra wasn't responding to anything. The two were enjoying the fresh air outside while they waited for the group to return. Telling stories of how the Synch kids were growing up do fast.
All while doing this N'yami could feel the tug on her mothers aether increasing, Yami’s own aether battling with the dark entity that had latched on to the Scholar a couple moons ago. Even with how much she was battling to keep her mother's aether within her body it felt like Yami was grasping at smoke, and all she could do was watch as it slipped between her fingers.
And then it happened.
Without warning G'lewra collapsed, and N'yami had been quick enough to catch her mother before she hit the ground.
“No….nonononono! MOM!! They're comin’ back! Dad's comin’ back to help! He always does! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME!!”
N’yami wasn't a healer, she didn't know how to fix this. She's just a damn blacksmith. Learning healing was pointless in her eyes because G’lewra was always around to patch her up. But now she was gone.
The Seeker's breathing picked up as she felt the swirls of emotions erupt from her dark aether, red aether flickered around her while her ruby gaze gave off an ominous glow. A blood curdling howl escaped her lungs as he shouted towards the sky as the emotions took over, the pulses of aether coming off the Dark Knight becoming stronger with each passing moment.
She needed help. Dad knew what to do with this sort of thing, Tynos wasn't a master of aetherical manipulation for nothing. N'yami fumbled with her linkpearl for a moment then let it spring to life.
"I NEED THE OLD MAN NOW!" N'yami's panicked voice shouted over the linkpearl. She wasn't able to steady her breathing, quick and hurried breaths as her body was heading into a panic attack. "She's gone!” And with a final attempt she tried calling to her mother again. “WAKE UP DAMNIT! MMMOOOOMMM!" Her breathing became more panicked as she tried to think of who else was there that could help. Aislinn. "LINN!" Crying out to the hyur like a younger sibling that needed protection.
With the last effort, N'yami clicked off the linkpearl as she cried over G'lewra's form, clutching to the lifeless body as if her mothers body would slip away from her just as the aether did.
“You know how to fix this.”
She tried to drown out the voice in her head, the voice that always came to life when it was a fight or flight situation. N'yami’s body didn't understand the meaning of flight, and so this voice always came around to encourage the Seeker to keep fighting. No matter what.
Looking up with tear stained cheeks N'yami saw an image of herself standing in front of her clad in armor that put the shadows to shame. Spikes jutting out in random directions, and the red aether made cracks along the armor to empower it.
“There's one right here, and she's the cause of all this, right? Actions have consequences.”
Xha.
A low growl rumbled through N'yami while her grip on G'lewra's body tightened while thinking about the ex cultist.
“They're allowing her to walk freely, and yet we still lost someone. She took mom away from us. It's her fault. You FOUGHT with everything to keep her here and NOW SHE'S GONE BECAUSE OF THESE CULTISTS! They don't get to live!!!”
The more the aether spoke to N'yami made the glow in her eyes brighter, with so much emotions you'd expect to see those feelings flooding her ruby orbs but they were hollow. So empty but yet so dangerous to look at. The look of a killer, and the voice in her head was winning. There was no one there to calm the Dark Knight. Usually she did so well to contain these emotions, use them to protect those she loves. But now one of them was gone, and she blamed herself for it.
“She needs to die…” Her voice barely above a whisper and sounding as though she had just gargled nails from all the screaming she had been doing.
“We can't lose more.”
“N'yami!”
Looking from the aetherical form the Seeker's attention slowly turned to the new voice, and there she saw Aislinn standing on the other side of the barrier the aetherical formed had put around them to talk.
All she could do was stare blankly at the Hyur before looking back to where her aetherical form once stood. It had vanished just within the few moments of looking away.
N'yami still held G'lewra close, but the barrier started to break into pieces, and it crumbled to the ground before mixing in with aether around her. She could hear Linn talking to her, trying to reach her, but it sounded so muffled. So far away. Her head lazily lulled to look back in Linn's direction but that's when she caught sight of Augusta carrying a limp Tynos back to the Heartwood estate, and she felt her world crumble all over again thinking that not only had she lost her mother but also the man that didn't hesitate to adopt her as his own. So lost in her own world crumbling around her N'yami didn't even notice how Riylli had stood in the background watching Linn talk the Dark Knight down.
“Alright, Yami, listen to me. I know what this looks like. Hells, I know what it feels like. Like the world’s stopped and the earth might as well open up and swallow you because you can’t see how there’s any way forward from here. Anything to stop this from being true.” Aislinn knew grief. Life had given her plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with it. She knew people liked to say it was something you got used to. Like jumping in a cold lake. But damn if it wasn’t a shock every time. “I understand but right now I need you to help me. We have to get her inside. Hey, Tynos’ll be alright. He just went and overdid it out there. But listen. You’ve gotta let me take a look at her. We don’t know for sure what’s happened and until we do we can’t give up on her. Right?”
N'yami tried to focus on Aislinn’s words, trying to hear them over the commotion happening within her mind.
“Ok…” she sounded so defeated but Yami knew she could trust Linn. She had become one of the Seeker's safe places. That rock a younger sibling needed.
Her arms were shaking as she let go of G'lewra so Aislinn could do what was needed. While the medic worked Yami kept out of the way but kept close, without thinking Yami's hand had reached out to hold onto Linn's coat tail. She needed grounding but also wanting to stay out of the way.
That aether.
Looking away from G'lewra and Aislinn for a second, N'yami saw the one she thought was responsible for all this. Xha stood in the yard staring at them, and all the Dark Knight did was stare the Keeper down with a murderous intent before she was pulled from her thoughts. G'lewra needed to be carried inside, and N'yami didn't hesitate to carry her mom inside for Aislinn.
“The hunt can wait, mother needs us.”
Heading inside the clinic, N'yami placed G'lewra on one of the beds closest to Tynos. God's. He looked like shit was the first thing that went through her mind.
She let the medics work, and stood out of the way but close enough to her parents to look after them. N'yami found herself mindlessly following Aislinn around the clinic like a duckling, clutching onto the other woman's coat when the Hyur was at a stand still. She felt so lost. Mind numb and not knowing what to do so she latched to the next family member.
“Oi. There you are, Yami!”
Her head peaked out from behind Aislinn, it paid to have a taller sibling it seems, and there stood her husband Neville. There in all his smiling glory.
“We're having a sleepover in the workshop, and I already got the kits set up. Better hurry before they take yer spot.” He was grinning the whole time while talking to her. N'yami wasn't sure how he was able to smile in such a situation or how he knew he was needed here. But before the Seeker left Linn’s side she pressed her forehead against the medics shoulder in a pathetic attempt of a headbutt, even with G'lewra gone N'yami remembered how her mother told her how Linn had issues with physical touch and to not overwhelm her with them. She wanted to show appreciation but still respect the boundaries.
Slowly making her way towards Neville she paused for a moment before looking back at Linn, and a few tears slid down her cheeks. Not only was Yami's mom gone but so was Linn's.
And N'yami blamed herself for not being able to keep their mom safe.
Here she was falling apart where Linn was probably going through the same thing. How selfish she was being.
Looking back to Neville for a moment she went to back to Linn for a moment. Her hand glowing a bright red, and when she opened her palm a flat stone almost resembling a ruby sat in the Seekers palm. But the aether that swirled within flickered between the colors of red, black, and purple. Almost mimicking a storm.
“For when yer….overwhelmed.” N'yami's gaze shifted around as she tried to explain it in her emotional state. “I can…feel the emotions. A way to vent to me…without words if they become too hard.”
Leaving the stone with Aislinn and returning to her husband's side she let him guide her to the workshop where her children greeted her. Falling into the pile of blankets and pillows N’yami gathered her children close to her, and of course her obsidian carbuncle Whackara that was a gift to her from her mother curled on top of her chest for pressure therapy. Neville had curled around his family to keep them close, he knew this was something N’yami needed. Thankful their wedding bands kept them connected aetherically.
It took N’yami awhile to fall asleep, everytime she closed her eyes all she could see was her mother falling before her.
“You need to sleep. A hunt awaits for us.” The voice returned to lull the Seeker to sleep. But the voice was right, and there was one thing that crossed N’yami’s thoughts before she finally let sleep take her.
Neville was at the work bench the four "guns" were already on the table what was in front of him was the aether infuser, it was a small box that looked perfectly normal to keep at ones side for cereluem, however there was not even an ounce of it much to Yami's sadness, As the man's goggles were zoomed in four times akin to an old man as he had a tiny allag rod in one hand as he started to adjust some of the inner mechanics.
Neville Synch: "Almost got it again.. This is why we can't have you test these.. your aether just makes holes in the target dummies.. I swear.. you need to control it more.."
N'yami was sitting off in her 'grounded' chair for blowing up another dummy after trying to test the weapons. "Not my fault the dummy couldn't stay standin', maybe the carpenters guild should make dummies that can actually withstand aether blasts." Legs kicked up on the table Yami hand her arms folded behind her head while balancing a screwdriver on her nose while Neville worked. "Yer the one that also asked me to test them so really whose fault is it?"
Neville: "Yer supposed to be able to control yer aether better than that.. And Don't you put it on the poor dummy, you went all "LETS REALLY TEST THESE OUT" And channeled enough of your aether to rip a head off."
Neville used a variant of her excited voice for the LETS REALLY TEST THESE OUT.
Having got word from Yami that her weapons were ready, Aislinn peeled herself away from her work at Heartwood with a rush of excitement. After being let in by one of Neville and Yami's children, she made her way downstairs in time to hear the exchange. "I dunno...making holes in things is what I want to do with these, right?" she said in that way of hers that made it difficult to decide if she was joking or not. She lifted a hand in greeting as a subtle smile crossed her face. "I received your missive. Are they truly ready?"
Neville: "Ah Ey Aislinn, Yes, Yes, just have to re-adjust the main aetherical converter.. I even out did myself this time, Yer old ones you brought in I modified the back crystals with Allag Linking protocal, auto adjusting of course, I've added a ring to em as well so if you want to control em manually rather then purely through aether the option is there too."
"The back of em is the real trick, The crystal housed there will create a linking invisible ley line with the converter here, and I've added slots for up to eh.. six or so crystals.. so most of the aetherical types, I worked with Kaiya the former heartwood medic a bunch and was her test subject so I remembered a lot of the scholar shit, rest I hired an adventurer i helped before.. course feel free to use your own augments but I have the standard glyphs on each crystal.."
N'yami leaned forward so the screwdriver landed in her lap. "See? Ya know how funny it would be if she threatened someone at Heartwood if they weren't listenin'? I'd pay to see someone ask Aislinn to test that theory."
Neville continued on, "And if you want to get extra fun, you can place just good ol regular crystals and fire off multi elemental blasts as well.. Course you'd need to bring some extra crystals with ya as it wears out fast."
Neville finished the adjusting and then gently covered the precise mechanics with a heavy shit of garlon steel, and sealed it, the outer shell was ornate but there was heft and if this thing fell or was even shot it'd likely not be damaged.
Aislinn was no slouch when it came to technology but even she had to take a moment and work through all Neville had just explained to her. "Manually." she grabbed onto that word. "You mean in a pinch, I can shoot one of them off like a traditional firearm?" she liked the sound of that. Mostly because it was what she knew and what she was used to. She was under no delusions that learning to control these instruments on aether alone was going to be a learning curve. "It sounds like you thought of a hells lot more than I was expecting. Assuming I can get the handle of these, I shouldn't need much else to get the job done." She slid N'yami a sidelong glance of amusement at her comment. "Pretty sure you needn't pay for it. It's only a matter of time, the way they carry on."
Neville nodded his head, "They have their own aetherical supplies that will last a bit of time, but the ring lets you control their course of action, and.. because Yami was part of this project, he walked over to a small switch on the ring, and pointed," If you get in a pinch and aether doesn't work, I've loaded 4 slugs into each of em that if you ran your inner finger across these, You'll be able to swap from casting to well.. Ya know.. Blasting someones head open."
Aislinn looks at N'yami with something akin to deep affection
"They'll still float and all that so just move the ring around and aim yer finger at em, It's like finger guns.. but ya know....More deadly."
N'yami made an explosion motion with her hands and made the sounds for it. "Gotta be prepared for all things."
Neville: "You'll really make a point in combat with that."
Aislinn a huff of amazed laughter escaped her. "Finger guns. I never imagined that'd be a viable tactic, but here we are." She watches the way Neville points out the details, committing it to memory. "I'm assuming you tested them...hence the obliterated dummies but did you find them hard to get a handle on?"
Neville: "Thats a Yami question my aetherical prowess is that of a dead fish."
Aislinn blinks and opens her mouth but refrains from asking the question. Recognizing at the last second, that despite her curiosity, it would be rude. Instead she nods and looks questioningly to Yami.
N'yami "Nah, took me a second to get used to them since I've never worked with four weapons at once but after some time ya get used to it and it'll feel like second nature to ya. So don't feel discouraged the first couple tries!"
Neville: "The converter is key to get used too, if you can get quick at swapping shit out.. The guns will work perfectly. Course you can use em normally as those Sharlayans too.. But thats normal and boring."
A touch of relief eases into Aislinn’s expression as she eyes the weapons. "That's good to know. It's been awhile since I've had full use of my own aether, I'm honestly a touch nervous about it but from everything you two have told me, there's so many modifications made to these there's more than enough ancillary backups should things go sideways." Reaching out she lifts up one of the guns, turning it over in both hands, the heft and weight reassuring and close to what she knew. Smiling a genuine smile, she looked at both of them. "I really can't thank you enough for everything you thought of."
Neville: "If you think of something or want something more you can yell at us.. it was a pretty interesting project. I've never created a link like that.. The one between the guns and the converter."
Aislinn scoffs in a good-natured way. "More?" she asks incredulously. "I'm not sure what more you could do them."
N'yami: "He's the one that came up with everythin'." She said tilting her head back in Neville's direction. "I got grounded from the project after testin' them sssoooo....I just helped get supplies mainly." She laughed as if it were a normal thing when she got grounded from projects.
Neville: "I could add a magitek rocket launcher to auto seek targets if the slugs run out.. An ancillery.. Magitek Ishgardian shielding device to the converter.."
Neville Synch: "An ADS node's programing to auto select different glyphs.. Need The old mans help with that one.. That sort of thing.. But I didn't want to overload ya.. and Yami got angry at me for dipping into my own budget.."
N'yami: "Aislinn would be the most feared healer in Heartwood if she had a rocket launcher, like to see someone run away from healin' after bein' threatened with that."
Aislinn laughed along with Yami, though the way she saw it, Yami testing things was how she ended up getting good ol' regular slugs added to her weapon, so she wasn't opposed. But the resulting damage Yami usually left in her wake wasn't /normally/ Lin's problem either. She blinks, eyes going wide at Neville's rundown of further modifications. "You honestly had me at rocket launcher." she held up a hand.
N'yami seemed to start vibrating in her chair and eyes went wide like a child on Starlight. "Let's make a rocket launcher." She sounded way too excited about this.
"Let me get used to these as they are...but that ADS system sounds interesting and a way to further streamline the process. I may be back." Aislinn chuckled.
Neville nodded his head," Aye.. The old man spent.. nearly six or seven months cooped up between Gubal and his own studies figuring that shit out. Some madness about using Asya Llha primal recreation machines to simulate aetherical travel through an immense void or some shite. It goes far over my head, but the end result was him figuring out how to manually program the lil drones."
"In truth, it goes too far over mine as well. Not to mention I've enough sense not to mess with the void." An understatement. It freakin' terrified Aislinn. "I've not met him but if G'lewra sees something in him, he must have more than a decent head on his shoulders."
Neville: "He's an idiot."
Aislinn bursts out laughing
N'yami: "He's...yea a little bit."
Neville: "That says something when Y ami says it.. considering how she is."
Aislinn: "Then I suppose there's a different appeal."
Neville shrugs
N'yami slowly turned to look at Neville and gave him a questioning look. "Whatcha mean considerin' how I am?"
Neville: "Yer an idiot too. Just look how you treated our Dummy."
Aislinn North looks down at the weapons once more. "I should get out of your way. Is there anything further I should know before I make off with these and get to training back at Heartwood?"
Neville: "Couldn't resist, Ah right, Go forth and bring healing pain to all those who stand in yer path.. And Yami will work our whatever she wants to charge ya."
N'yami: "Yea well! You married this idiot!" She huffed before looking back at Linn. "Think we went over everythin', if ya need repairs or need a small tweak to it just give us a call we're always around."
Neville: "And I love you my perfect idiot" He said with a toothy smirk looking back towards Lin, " Really though was a fun.. project, let us know if you want to add anything or add tweaks."
Aislinn dips her head as she accepts Neville's words of commission before nodding to Yami "I will. I'll give you an update after I've had a chance to warm to them."
Aislinn carefully collects the weapons, slipping them into a long leather knapsack made for hauling sniper rifles around. Because of course she had one of those. The ring she takes up and slips into her pocket before smiling and tipping her head in farewell. "Thank you both again. So much. Good luck with your other projects and let me know if I can do anything for you." she said as she turned to make her way out.
Neville offered a wave," Have a good day there Aislinn!"
N'yami: "Nah, thank you for lettin' us work on the project. Have fun and update us on how it all works!" She grinned at the hyur while offering a small wave goodbye.
