Episode 19: The Village

After a deep battle in Central Shroud, The Legacy tried to return to Trunks' home for some safety however, the roads were blocked by caravans of new Red Veil members. It would seem in this short period of time, Eden was creating more Veil Cult members. This troubled our group so they headed to the North Shroud for the time being. During their travels to the North Shroud, they found an abandoned village where they could stay for the time being while members of their party recovered. During this time Dorion also brought Jai along to rest in hopes of somehow returning him to his brother at a later time. For now, the group was left with an injured Shiva, Jai, and Tarno.


Shiva’s recovery seemed to be headed in a good direction as the bleeding to her wound had stopped for now. Shiva's pulse seemed normal however there was a change to her that made her skin look paler than ever. Not only did her skin look different to the group but, her normally dark cerulean hair seemed to be lighter as well. Ljrn carefully monitored Shiva for the time being but, there was no actual time frame of when the young woman would awake. Even for the new people to join The Legacy, there was a concern present.


Dorion sat next to his longtime friend Jai in fear of what Trunks said earlier. It would seem that Trunks was experiencing a mania unlike what they had seen before. He was unpredictable and ruthless to anyone who laid a hand on The Legacy. During their travels to this village, Dorion carried Jai on his back in hopes of showing Trunks that Jai was not a threat. In fact, Dorion was very worried about Jai as he is Leric’s twin. The more time went on the more Dorion began to hate himself for opening up the portal to this world. He caused the people in this room such turmoil and situations; would Eorzea ever be able to forgive him for what he had done or would his efforts to kill his father be enough. For now, he sat listening to the winds and trying to rest his body of battle.


Ruby was a new female among the group and she seemed to be okay with the situation they were all in for the time being. She took this time to stretch out, her armor melting off her body and being instantly replaced with a more casual outfit. Dorion looked at Ruby and watched her gear fade away and told her he understood how her magick worked. She smiled at his comment and told him how it made life for her very easy. Ljrn also seemed to grow more comfortable with the group as she removed her mask and donned a set of glasses. She seemed to be really focused on Shiva being her patient. Dorion, Ljrn, and Ruby continued to talk amongst each other trying to get to know each other better while another member of the party would struggle with what was going on.


Trunks stared at Shiva's resting body with glazed looking eyes and no expression to be found. For the moment he excuses himself from the room which prompts Ruby to ask if Trunks is okay. Dorion explains how Trunks was a soldier and with the way things have happened lately he tells the women, he has some post-traumatic feelings developing the more things happen. Ljrn and Ruby both share that they have seen some things out there but what Trunks feels should not go unchecked. Dorion agrees with them and says he is unsure what they can do to help him.


Meanwhile outside Trunks seems to be lost his thoughts thinking of many things. He often thinks of Dean and how he feels that he failed to protect his friend. He also seems to be thinking that the disappearances of Tuya and Zakuro were his own doing. In his mind, he felt that he pushed the two away and which is why they left the Legacy. Now Shiva jumping in front of him getting attacked, his mind struggled with the thought of losing her. Although Ljrn was caring for the young female it would seem that in Trunks' mind, she would die like the rest. Due to all these traumas, Trunks was feeling his mind could not decipher what was real or what was a vision. As he continued to drink his whiskey alone, a young passerby was scavenging the village for food. However, due to the nature of Trunks' mind and alcohol assumption, he saw the boy as a threat and decided to approach him with his gun raised high.


The young man pleaded for his life and begged for Trunks to not shoot but Trunks saw otherwise. His vision flickers, the man's clothing becomes that of the red veil member, a man looking up at him with a malicious grin, then flickering back to the boy he found however, it kept flickering between the two Trunks could only see this young man as a threat to the women and the remaining members of The Legacy. With uncertainty, he raised his rifle to the young man's head and angrily shot the young man dead. The sound alerts the group inside and Dorion tells the women to stay put as he shuts the door behind him. When Dorion comes outside of the building a few feet away he could see Trunks standing there with the young man dead. In a fit of rage, Dorion rushes over and punches Trunks in the face and begins to yell at him.


Dorion listens as Trunks tries to justify his attack but Dorion is well aware that with what he and the women talked about before Trunks was not okay for the time being. With Dorion unsure of what was going on with Trunks he grabs his staff and begins to mutter a spell. The spell begins to show the trauma Trunks was visualizing and he could see how reality was being altered. For now, Dorion needed to use his magick to compel Trunks to let him know that he was okay and until he felt that Trunks was ready he had no right to possess his weapon and fight. The spell seems to lock Trunks into a deep focus and he seems to be bothered by the tone in Dorion’s voice as he has never sounded so aggressive with him. Without a moment's hesitation, he takes the weapon from his sling and hands it over to Dorion afterward stepping inside the shelter and leaning against a wall close to the door.



Dorion sees that Trunks tries to lean against the wall but with his spell, he forces Trunks to sit down and continues to use a mantra that tries and calms Trunks for the time being. Ruby takes notice of Dorion’s spell and it would seem that she wants to know more about him. Ruby tells Dorion that she knows he uses Aetherial Persuasion and asks what kind of creature he is. Dorion shares with both Ruby and Ljrn that he is from another shard and that he is an aetherial creature that survives on magick, among other delicacies that are uncommon to this world. He explains that in order for him to get magick and the power he needs he feeds off of blood from the creatures of this world or of those who possess it. He explains that he does not like to feed on mortals as much because it creates a lust in him to feed to a point where he could hurt someone so he often feeds off of the beasts in this world. Ruby seems to be the most understanding whereas Ljrn for the time being does not.


As they talk among each other Ljrn shares her concerns with Shiva’s condition. She points out to the group that Shiva does not have a fever but seems cold to the touch. She knows that she has done what she can to save the woman but, she fears her body temperature. Ruby also observes Shiva and points out to Dorion that her aether feels different than some of the other members of the group. Dorion explains to Ruby and Ljrn that Shiva is from Snowcloak and holds the powers of Saint Shiva's within her. He also mentions that he is uncertain that she is the primal herself however, she holds a lot of aether. Ruby seems a bit confused as she has heard odd stories of the past but to Ljrn she seems to understand now as to why her normal ways of healing were affecting the girl.


As the group sits among each other a large crack of lightning strikes the ground outside. Although Ljrn was trying to make Shiva rest, it would seem that the sound startled her greatly, she sat up rather quickly and let out a huge gasp. It would seem that the storm awoke her however, her fast movement reminded her of her wound. Although her wound did not reopen and she felt pain from it. As Shiva awakens Ljrn and Ruby feel strong energy around them. It was as if they felt safe and comforted by her presence. As the two women looked at Shiva, each felt something unique. For Ruby she could see a gentle light as for Ljrn the thought was a bit unclear at the moment but, she could feel something gentle and cool about the female. A bit unsure Shiva begins to look around the room to see new faces with Trunks and Dorion.


Shiva listens to both Ruby and Ljrn introduce themselves and Shiva slowly remembers that Ruby fought alongside them in the battle against the wolf form created by the device of Jai’s neck. Shiva learns that the creature they fought against was one of Ruby’s creatures from the void and somehow Death got her hands on it. Ljrn seemed to be a very old age however, her skills in medicine seemed to draw interest from Shiva. Shive was very grateful for what she had done for her. As Shiva continued to listen to the women, another sound could be heard outside the building; it seemed that something was nearby. Dorion begins to lower the lights from some of the candles and Trunks' ears perk up immediately as he stealthily slides over the table keeping Shiva's hand in his.


It would seem that someone was searching for them and Trunks tried to reach the rifle off of Dorion's back. Dorion pushed Trunks away and ordered him to stay quiet so he could see what was going on. From the opening in the boarded window, Dorion could see an Ixali walking out calling for The Legacy. They knew it was only a matter of time until they were discovered so the group gathered together to discuss fighting the creature alone. Shiva began to grow concerned that she wanted to help the group but, she was in no condition to fight just yet. Trunks suggested that Dorion and the girls go on ahead while he spoke to Shiva a moment alone. Dorion agreed and held on to Trunks' weapon for the moment. When Trunks was outside only then he would get his weapon back.


The door shut leaving Shiva and Trunks alone for a moment and Shiva expressed that she couldn’t let them go out there alone and fight on her behalf. Trunks called Shiva by her former name Selene and told her once more she was in no condition to fight. If she were to go out there her wounds would only reopen and she needed to rest. Dorion, Ruby, Trunks, and Ljrn could handle the fight without her, and this one monster stood no chance against them. Shiva listened to his words unsure and he reminded her that both Jai and Tarno were here healing as well and that she could look over them while they were away. That seemed to spark Shiva’s interest for the moment and she gave Trunks a hug and wished him well. Shiva’s hug prompted Trunks to reach his arms around her and kiss her leaving her a bit shocked; was something sparking further between the two of them.


Meanwhile Ruby, Dorion, and Ljrn observed the creature outside. They noticed that it did not move like a normal Ixali which prompted Dorion to question it. It wasn’t long before Trunks joined them once more and they knew it was time to approach the creature. As the group came closer out of the building the glamour disappeared from what looked like an Ixali. A weird robotic creature stands before the group. Dorion notices that it is a tracking robot from the Red Veil and they would need to destroy it before it gave away its location. Disappointed Trunks grabs his weapons and instructs the party to destroy the robot.


Ruby opens the fight by using her magic to split the ground open near the robot. Ljrn considers that the machine may have a quick moment, as she casually reaches down and picks a stone off the ground, about the size of her palm. She lightly tosses it into the air, then points the top of her staff at the robot. The stone takes off at incredible speed, creating a pressure wave through the air as it collides with the robot. With Trunks being in the right state of mind for the moment Dorion breaks his compelling spell and allows Trunks to use his weapon. With a smirk, Trunks fires off a few rounds at the robot. The Robot shudders at Trunk's attack and although they were in battle Dorion watched cautiously of Trunks, he was concerned about what may happen with him but for now, he watches. Dorion grabs his staff and uses the storm above to create lightning strikes upon the creature. Following Dorion’s attack, Ruby once more walks up to the robot and pulls the sword from her back. She stabs the weapon into the ground and manifests spikes of dark energy around her, snapping onto the machine once more. Dorion smirks and watches as the group seems to be destroying the robot. Dorion focuses his lightning onto the shoulder of the creature knocking off a piece of it and exposing some wires, it was a matter of time before they destroyed the robot.


Ruby goes to attack the robot once more, but then... She just stops seeing that it was going to strike her. The robot notices her and it shifts its weight and knocks her back into Dorion as he catches her from a fall. It would seem that the robot was mustering up some strength in order to fight the party as it took each member down one by one with a few blows. At the moment it would seem that the robot’s focus was on their new healer Ljrn. Dorion uses his magick to help Ljrn out and bring her back over to the group as soon as she is free, Dorion launches another magic attack at the creature shaking it to its core. Ljrn nods to Dorion in appreciation for the help. She jams her staff into the ground, water flows up from the ground, coiling around the staff until it reaches her hand. Then it coils around her arm, across her back, and down her other arm in a continuous stream. She then fires a portion of it at the machine; the water is compressed into a thin, high-pressure stream that quickly punctures the machine. As Ljrn uses a water attack she feels a sudden strong connection to it. What could that mean? However, as she fires the water towards the robot the exposed wires from earlier begin to spark!

Hit after hit it would seem that the robot was targeting Trunks which began to trigger his visions once more. He seemed to be losing focus in the battle and thinking that the new members in the party were Red Veil members. Dorion was so focused on Trunks that he missed his chance and with no fear Dorion snaps out of his trance and realizes that if they are going to win this battle he would need to end this fight fast and strike the robot down. With his final strike, the robot explodes before the party. As the Robot Explodes, a small crystal falls at Ruby's feet. The crystal is pure yet calling her name. As Ruby pics up the crystal she can make out something blurry and big...perhaps a weapon of sorts...although she could see in this vision right now she could not claim it however, for the moment it made her very sleepy. She rubs her eyes a bit and lets out a huge yawn and mentions the name, Astrid a few times. Dorion suggests that for now they regain their strength inside and let the others recover before they look into what Ruby has discovered. The group was headed back to the cabin to rest and discuss their next move.