Episode 15: I See Red

The sun began to rise outside of the cave The Legacy was hidden in. Trunks and Dorion had a deep conversation in regards to the future of the group while Shiva continued to attend to the injured inside the cave. There was still a sense of heaviness in the air once Dorion and Trunks entered the cave and they decided to break the ice as best as they could. Trunks opened the conversation by asking how everyone rested. Zakuro rested amongst a slab of stone, Tarno was stretching his muscles, and Tuya had found some snakes to eat and was asking if anyone wanted some. Shiva was unsure by Tuya’s idea of a delicacy while Trunks said that if everyone wanted he would look for some Chocobo Eggs for everyone to eat out in the forest.


The air was heavy and Dorion knew he needed to address what happened just a night or so ago if they were going to work together as a team. Tarno, Trunks, and Zakuro tune in as Dorion stands before the group while Tuya at the moment still felt away about how he treated them. Dorion explains that he and Shiva had a large talk about what transpired a few nights ago. Dorion has been on an endless hunt to try and defeat the Red Veil and has devoted a lot of time to make sure everyone was okay. However, this time he fails to take care of himself. Dorion begins to explain his food source and how he is often seen with a black flask. Dorion explains that the flask contains a  mixture of blood and aether and how it helps him to sustain his well-being. In the past few weeks, Dorion explained that he was starving himself so that they could journey more. When he withdrew Shiva's aether he was animalistic and had no control. Dorion vows to the group and promises to not allow that to happen again.


Although Dorion explains the situation it seems that Tuya remains unmoved by what he has said. Shiva feels uneasy about the silence among the group and tries to find common ground. Trunks agree and decide to back her up. Trunks agrees and acknowledges that Dorion is a vampire, Trunks also states that this group needs solid unity. Tuya intervenes and reminds the group that Dorion had hurt some of them really badly. Seeing Tuya’s frustration Shiva tries to calm her down. Shiva explains that what he had done was not his normal nature. However, as any creature would when you are starving. Shiva explains that Dorion lost his focus and at the first sight of a meal he was hungry. He awoke something that he had no control over. Shiva also pointed out Tuya’s power and how it consumed her in a similar way. She also noted that it was something they would both have to overcome.


Tuya listens to what Shiva says and decides to tell the group about the Will of Karash. Tuya explains that the Will of Karash is similar to a skill Warriors learn called Inner Beast. Those who are of Chaghan descent are able to tap into it. They go into a crazed state and it does not stop until either they die, or everyone around them does. Tuya also explains how it is near impossible to control it; she can go into it willingly, but at the same time it is highly based on her emotional state. As Shiva listens to Tuya explain the Will of Karash Shiva then notes how she thinks it has been heightened more so than normal due to famine.


Shiva explains that they all have these sudden deep desires and she wonders if Famine has anything to do with this. Even though they know her physical state in Eorzea is struggling, her evil ways have crossed over to this world. During this time Tuya and Trunks have a scuffle on their differences while Tarno looks on in disgust and Zakuro only feels a deeper desire to survive on her own. Shiva screams in frustration to silence the fighting. As Tuya and Trunks have a scuffle and Shiva tries to gain control of the situation Tuya feels something force her to sit on the ground, a female voice is heard in her head.


Tuya explains that the voice tells her that they must stop fighting to leave Tuya to feel a bit crazed again. Dorion uses his magick to see what was surrounding Tuya and he chuckles knowing the presence he felt. Dorion explains to Tuya that somehow Luminara has found them and was trying to channel the party through her. Dorion explains that it furthers his theory that if they work together we can defeat Famine. Shiva also states that if they are going to make this work they need to put their differences aside and come together. This causes Tuya to be triggered by saying how Dorion nearly killed them once so how could she trust them. As the group argues some more Tarno is suddenly bothered by what is happening.


Tarno explains how everyone here constantly bickers and how it is becoming insufferable. He feels that people like Dean and E’ra have died for foolish reasons because the group was not on the same page. He also notes that instead of getting stronger with their weapons they are only going to play into the Red Veils plan. Shiva agrees and mentions Zakuro. Shiva states that Zakuro has been so good to the group and has put so much of herself forward. She has control of her weapon the best right now. This explanation causes Tarno to ask Shiva; do the weapons control the emotions of the party or are the weapons the problem to create camaraderie? Shiva explains that she feels it is a bit of both and things they must continue to learn.


Tarno listens to what Shiva says and explains that he feels that there is an unbalance in the party currently. Seeing that Tarno is new to the group Tuya explains that, the world has fallen and they are doing their best to adapt to survive. Tarno understands what she says but questions her ability to be here. He asks her if she is to survive then why be here if she did not want to try and save the world as well.


Dorion trying to calm the situation as well explains how each person has a wish deep within them and that there is a life they all want back which has caused the tension they all feel every day. Shiva nods and explains how yelling and being vile amongst each other does not help the situation and that they need to listen to each other’s words if they are going to move forward. Shiva’s words make Tuya soft for a moment and how she explains that she wants to return to the Steppes someday. Shiva understands that Tuya misses her home and it may be one of the things that fuel her fire right now. Zakuro finally takes out her journal and shares something on her mind, she feels that the problem is they don't share a common goal, and they never have; their paths just happened to cross while going in different directions. Dorion agrees with Zakuro saying she is correct and they don't share a goal so if they could come together this could be resolved.
[4:12 PM]
Tarno asks Zakuro what she feels about resolving this which causes her to write more information in her notebook. Zakuro explains that she and Tuya are survivors; they have more in common with each other than anyone else.  Zakuro explains that The Legacy talks about 'saving the world' as if it's a kinder tomorrow.  Any survivor would jump at that chance to see that but she feels that for the most part, The Legacy has acted like just suicidal maniacs.

Zakuro also explains that she is not convinced of safety with this group at the current time. When Tarno asks Zakuro what she would like to see from the group moving forward Zakuro simply asks for competence. The group listens to Zakuro’s deep words and realizes that even in her silence she sees what the party needs and this weighs on Dorion’s heart. He cares for Zakuro a lot and he wants to prove to her that they can make this better.

As the group discussed the underlying issues of their group a sharp ringing sound could be heard in everyone's ears. The sound began to pierce Dorion's eardrum, Trunks had a similar feeling however not as strong. Tuya felt as if the sound was more like a mosquito sound, Tarno a light ring, and for Shiva and Zakuro, the sound was more of a whisper. The ground suddenly fills with a series of Ley Lines and the group is ported to an area of rubbles and a looming Red Spire is before them.


Although they felt that they should see what was going on for now they decided to gather their strength, eat some food and rest a bit more after all the emotional things they were dealing with. While Shiva and the others were resting it seems that Tarno and Tuya continued to argue amongst each other. At the height of the moment, Tarno told Tuya to jump off the tower if she was crazy to his surprise she did. This caused Shiva to rush to her aide to make sure she was okay. Shiva looked at Tarno and asked him why he would ask such a thing and she called upon Fenrir to rescue Tuya. Trunks in the meantime began to collect what little medical supplies he had ready to go and made his way to the scene as well. Tarno awakes Dorion and he follows to see that Shiva and Trunks were handling the situation just fine. It would seem that Tuya had a few damaged ribs but with the power of her magick she was able to heal in no time. Shiva sighed and told the men to stop the childish nonsense and head back on Fenrir with her to the tower.


Upon returning to the tower Dorion continued to drink from his flask to regain his strength while Zakuro remained resting. Dorion pointed out to Shiva that Zakuro has really exerted herself lately and that they should let her rest more. Shiva agrees but suddenly hears an odd sound in the distance. This alerts the other members of The Legacy to follow her. Dorion carefully places a blanket on the resting Zakuro and keeps supplies near her. He attaches a note saying he will prove his competence to her by keeping them safe and telling her to stay here with their supplies for the time being. Carefully the group searches around the tower to see what is nearby. Trunks and Tuya notice that below them there is the movement of a human potentially; the group remains cautious.


As the group readies to go down, the voice calls to them

"No matter how dark the night, morning always comes."

The group is left confused by such a deep voice but for one member of the legacy, a smirk comes over Dorion's face and he jumps down fastly. As the group lands near each other Dorion smiles and continues the phrase,

"Morning always comes, and our journey begins anew."

The gentleman before them gives a gentle bow and smirks to the group. He introduces himself as Doctor Leric Winters.


Trunks steps forward and holds out his hand to the man for a friendly handshake. The charismatic doctor greets the group kindly and each member of the party shares their name with him. Leric smoothly speaks to each person in the party while Dorion watches on with unease. Leric senses Dorion’s jealousy and winks kindly at his friend. Leric apologizes that his introduction has offended him and calls Dorion ‘his majesty’ This triggers Dorion to say that the title has been dropped and such formalities do not apply to Eorzea. Leric laughs in disagreement but is willing to listen to Dorion for the time being. Tarno decides to ask why Leric was here and Leric simply stated for the same reason they were; to defeat Famine.

Leric begins to explain how he was working undercover for The Red Veil. When Dorion and Leric came to this world he knew that something was off about Eden. In Dorion’s world, Leric was Dorion’s personal guard and sought to protect Dorion with his life alongside his twin brother who was not present. Over time to keep Dorion safe Leric joined the team caring for Jayne's body. When he finally made his way up the ranks he was able to join the team that helped keep Famine within Jayne. Since joining the team caring for Jayne, Leric had been the one manipulating her aether in order for her to come through to the Legacy. Famine is very unstable and The Red Veil was currently in this region trying to gather aetheryte from a primal. However, there is a serpent blocking them and it has proven to not be easy to defeat. The Red Veil did not have enough soldiers to defeat the serpent since their destruction at the temple so it was proving to be a hard task.


Tarno asks about the primal and Leric lets Tarno know the primal that once ruled these lands is no more. The primal that originally ruled the lands were killed by a series of Warriors of Light so the only worry was the large serpent hidden near the aetheryte. Shiva listens to Leric and points out to the group that if they were to go to the aetheryte and defeat the serpent they could gather from the aetheryte making the Red Veil weaker to them once more. As Leric went to commend Shiva for her smart thoughts Tuya stepped between him and Shiva blocking his access to the young mage. He promised Tuya he meant Shiva no harm and he wanted nothing but peace between them. He offered to show his kindness to Tuya by offering a satchel on his back filled with exotic meats and drinks for her. This seemed to interest Tuya for the moment but she was still cautious of the doctor.


Leric smiles at her enthusiasm while Trunks on the other hand felt uneasy still; he would like to talk to the doctor alone. As Trunks walks away to talk to Leric privately Trunks calls Shiva to join him by his side. Although Shiva would have been safe with Tarno, Dorion, and Tuya she listens and follows alongside Trunks. Trunks lights a cigarette and begins to discuss some things with Leric. Trunks ask Leric if there is a way that they can separate Jayne and Famine because he wants to save Jayne. Leric nods and explains that it can be possible. He explains that if The Legacy can defeat the serpent guarding the aetheryte they could take a portion of the crystal and trap famine inside. Leric furthered his theory by some text he had read from an ancient book on the Warriors of Light. They used this method as a way to travel from world to world. Shiva asks Trunks and Leric that if they used their gift from Jayne, The Legacy could power the auracite together.


Leric adds that having the auracite would be an advantage to take out Famine. Trunks knew it was going to be a gamble but he was willing to make it work. Trunks explains how in all of the craziness The Legacy had experienced he knew this was one thing he wanted to give to Dorion as thanks for where he has gotten them over time. Leric shuts his eyes in agreement and tells Trunks that Dorion is 'Very' Important to him as well. Leric added that for the moment he would not be able to aid past this point or else the Red Veil will know what he had been up to. Trunks understands the risks and asks him one last thing before they were heading off. Trunks asks Leric if Death was truly a danger once they defeated Famine and Leric explained that he was never afraid of anything until he saw her face to face. Hearing Leric’s fears Trunks knew now what danger was ahead and it seemed to have sparked for him to be cautious. Trunks also asked when this business with Famine was over would he join their team; Leric nodded happily with no hesitation saying he was willing to fight alongside them.

Shiva, Leric, and Trunks returned to their group from the conversation and let them know their next course of action. The group knew what they had to do and began to gather their belongings. Knowing that Zakuro was still resting, Dorion asked if Leric could keep an eye on her and he nodded that should anything arise he would call upon a linkshell. The Legacy now headed off to battle a serpent in order to get the auracite they would need.


The Legacy found themselves in a deep blue cave unaware of what was ahead. Tuya and Tarno lead the way while Dorion uses his ears and eyes to see if there was something unseen at the current time. Shiva stayed close to Trunks hand in hand a bit fearful of what was a head. Trunks reassured her that she would be fine and it was just another silly fight. Dorion lead the party through a gate to see a serpent was in fact guarding the Aetheryte. Just the sight of Dorion set the creature off and the team knew it was time to defeat this monster.


Dorion lead in with a lightning attack striking the serpent dead in the eyes. After Dorion's attack, Tuya took a deep breath and ran through two hand seals to create spikes of ice to form under the snake and strike it from various sides. Due to Tuya’s attack, the Serpent snarls and lunge in all directions but crashes directly into Tarno causing him pain. Trunks jumped in on behalf of defending Tarno and began to fire off a normal shot however it seemed at this moment his gun was not enough. Dorion leads the attacks once more Striking his weapons into the ground. Waves of electricity form around the creature causing it to shake violently. Seeing Dorion fight excited Tuya and made her giggle at the thought of the meat of the snake. With that in mind, Tuya made a sheet of ice appear under it before completely encasing the snake in a dome of mirrors, each one throwing out a rain of daggers before Tuya reappeared where she was standing. Shiva cheered Tuya on and saw that at the current time the party was okay and she did not need to heal anyone so Shiva decided to tap into her black mage power and sent shards of ice raining towards the creature striking it down! With each move, The Legacy took, it would seem that they were headed in the right direction with battling this creature.


Dorion decided to guide the group a bit more in battle and began to shout directions. Dorion suggested that Tuya take it from the right, Tarno to his left, leaving Shiva and Trunks to attack from the center. As The Legacy went into new formation the serpent saw Tuya open and struck her. Shiva jumps in front of her blocking her with an ice shield and creating daggers of her own to strike the serpent; leaving Tuya safe for the time being. Tarno aided Shiva and Tuya as he leap to the side, his blade glowing a glorious burn, Tarno quickly stepped in and slashed the beast on its side. Tarno's attacks left the monster with open wounds from his flames; the smell of burning flesh fills the room. The serpent sets his sights on Tarno and knocks the blade out of his hand.


Trunks see the blade go flying and manages to get it back for Tarno. Tarno grabs his sword back from trunks and jumped down onto the ground and launches a fury of blows on the serpent's back, he glides off the snakes and rejoins the others. Trunks grabs a smoke flash-bang from his belt and an incendiary grenade from his varied grenade-filled strap across his back and steps forward a couple of steps slamming the serpent's face to keep it from using its sight or tongue to sense the members of The Legacy. Tarno feels the fire on his sword glow even brighter, he heads straight for the serpent's head and slashes it across the face, also removing one of its venomous fangs. Dorion finally gains composure and jumps to the top of the creature, Dorion bares his claws and digs into the right eye of the creature draining it of its eyes and absorbing the aether into him. Tarno shouted and once again decides to aide Dorion. Tarno leaps in the air, his sword, bigger, stronger, longer, and fiercer than ever slashes the dragon from the head sliding down to its tail. Tarno’s attack gives Trunks a moment to create a cannon and aims directly at the serpent.


To help power the cannon, Dorion rushes to Trunks' side using his energy. Dorion channels a similar attack with his staff striking the creature and high-fiving Trunks. In a last-ditch effort, the serpent is desperate and strikes Tuya with its tail as best as it could; it sends her body scraping into the dirt. Shiva casts a spell that catches Tuya and heals her a bit from her fall. Shiva then sends another Ice Shard into the remaining left eye of the serpent. The creature is now blind.  Trunks reload the cannon and the creature struggles to fight and strikes Trunks down as well. It's struggling to stand however it's trying its hardest to stay alive. Dorion bares his staff and draws his blood onto the weapon with one swift move he sends his staff striking the creature into the chest and with a crack of Thunder the creature explodes before them.


Tuya whines that the creature exploded which causes Shiva to laugh because she knew how bad Tuya wanted to consume the serpent. Dorion praises the group and says that their talk and this battle was the momentum they all needed. Trunks agrees and says that this time the group came together and laid things to waste as a family. Dorion looks to Tarno and thanks to him for his work today and Tarno apologizes for his crudeness. His words did not mean any ill intent, but after today he recognizes the value of what camaraderie is. The group gathers their power together once more to destroy the aetheryte and they grabbed the shards they need as their next battle would prove to be the hardest.