Episode 14: Silent Night ( A Starlight Episode )

Starlight Season...a time to be together with those you enjoy being with...or share fond memories with...for The Legacy it was a unique set of people together to save Hydaelyn. On this day the group came together after a month of recovery...it had been a month since the great battle on Mor Dhona. What would take place?

Once more those signature sounds of cussing and hammering can be heard throughout the building. Normally the sounds of chaos came from the crafting room upstairs, but this time the sounds came from one of the private rooms. The sounds would continue for a bit before there was suddenly...silence. As silent as it was the silence concerned everyone before a shake and maniacal laughter could be heard once again.

"When did Anthi come home," Dorion asked confused.

“She has well…been home for a few weeks,” Leric chuckled.

Looking up from where she sat Valerie decided to speak, "At least it... shake things up a bit."

"Oh Anthi is good for that sometimes," Leric snickered.

Across the room Yukio sat in her own place trying to get her mind right. After everything that happened in Mor Dhona, Yukio found herself shutting down once again. She spoke less, only speaking when it was necessary or if she was addressed specifically. She felt a mix of things: defeat, weakness, sadness, rage... all of which she wasn't sure how to process again. She was told to wear something somewhat formal for a celebration of sorts...so she picked out an old gown she had of mourning. It was all she had as she made her way to the main room to join the others, her eyes downcast as she leaned against a nearby wall. As she made her way to the wall to hide, Yukio saw Yue come out of her chamber and he signaled for her to stand with him. Using his magick he spoke to her before she came over to him.

"That looks beautiful on you...you know."

Yukio's eyes shifted over to Yue, a weak smile crossing her lips, "Thank you…you're looking rather handsome yourself. I've never been one for dresses... what is it we're celebrating?”

Yue whispered into her ear, "Its a Holiday called Starlight...something the people of this world celebrate for some reason Shiva felt that we needed to celebrate it this year."

In the kitchen Jayne continued to work on the food the company was going to have as she carefully moved around.

Dorion turned to his wife and sighed, "I can help you know."

"No, the kitchen is mine...with babies or not..."I" am doing this right now,” Jayne smiled.

Jayne did not let her babies stop her. She was due in a few weeks, and she knew that being off her feet would be best but she needed to keep things moving for everyone. She knew that having this starlight dinner would bring them together in this hard time since losing Persephone; after all, it was Persephone herself that decorated the house prior to the battle. As Jayne finished up in the kitchen, the front door opened as Trunks made his way inside; the members of The Legacy welcomed him to the scene as more people emerged from their rooms.

Making her way down the stairs, K’enion came downstairs in a festive starlight gown that caught Valerie’s attention right away.

"You're looking rather festive, K'enion! Makes me regret leaving my more festive attire behind when I evacuated Ishgard. Ah well, green is still a seasonal color,” Valerie said kindly.

"I guess it is? This was the last color they had...I am glad it was not...some odd color...,” K’enion smiled back.

“It looks nice,” Delgado smiled as he and his boyfriend made their way out of the room.

Yue kept silent on the matter for now…seeing his son with the prince…but he knew that what happened in Mor Dhona changed their hearts more than anyone had anticipated. As everyone spoke amongst each other from the stairs everyone could see that Shiva was finishing the decorations on the Starlight Tree. She came down the stairs happily and signed that the tree was done.


Bursting through the door Anthi finally came from her chambers and shouted, "HAPPY STARLIGHT!"

Just as Anthi shouted in excitement, Ziero also entered home returning from his training. Yue kindly greeted him and welcomed him home. For now Ziero smiled and stood silently wanting to here everything the others had to say.

“You've done a wonderful job, Shiva! I didn't expect to ever celebrate Starlight with this kind of atmosphere ever again. It brings a warm pang of nostalgia,” Valerie complemented.

Shiva smiles and blushes a little before signing to Valerie, "I have to admit not all of this was my doing. After the battle...I came home to this…I think Persephone did most of this…I just added the final touches.”

"All the more reason to praise it, I say. The extra touch goes a long way,” Valerie added.


Trunks walked over to Dorion and Leric wanted to start up a conversation, "Hey, is Hades anywhere around? I kind of made him something for our Starlight celebration...a gift if you will."

Leric shook his head yes but with caution, "Please, do not bother him right now...he has his door sealed with magick at the moment."

"Yeah I kind of expected as much." Trunks responded with a sigh, "I know how he feels, I'd have done the same thing."

"To be honest...I have not seen him since the night we came home. He waits until everyone is in their chambers and comes out for a meal or to shower.... that’s it,” Dorion sighed.



“It’s finally ready,” Jayne called, “Let us gather together.”

The Legacy took their seats at the table as Jayne carefully made her way to the front of the table.
"I am so happy to have you all here," she began, "We haven't had a moment like this in so long."

"Right! Right! Last time was... I think.... Actually, I don't know when the last time was for this timeline,” Anthi mumbled.

"The last time we were here...we were headed off to fight Lady Death...and we also found out I was having a baby," Zena smiled.

"All the more important we do so, then! It is easy to lose sight of what we have when confronted with what we've lost,” Valerie explained.


"Right! I died that night! Ahh... Memories,” Anthi said with dark humor.

Yue buried his face into his hands, “Anthi...please..."

"So...what do you guys know about Starlight or what does it mean to all of you? Do you have fond memories from it,” Dorion asked.

"I could give a brief version of the story that started it all,” Valerie explained.

"Valerie that would be lovely...please share it with us,” Dorion smiled.

"The tradition of what we now call Starlight is one that started generations ago inside Ishgard. The story goes that, upon one particularly bittercold week in winter, a patrol of knights found several orphans out in the cold. Though bringing children into the barracks was forbidden, these kindly knights dressed the children like squires in what was, at the time, traditional red jackets, and invited them in out of the cold. These children, when in turn they grew older, paid forward that act of kindness, bringing warmth and gifts to other war orphans while dressed in red coats. Over the generations, the traditions have gotten more elaborate, and more stories have been added, but the kindness and charity of those original knights to the children has remained at the heart of Starlight,” Valerie explained.



"In a time of war...good always prevails...I truly admire that. The holiday itself...brings people together in times when things are dark,” Leric smiled to Valerie.
“Oddly enough... I don't know much about Starlight. Being an observer of the timelines, this is also my first time celebrating it with anyone...Assuming we ignore the other timelines I've been to with this group,” Anthi chuckled.

"Helping others can be the greatest feeling for someone,” K’enion smiled.

Jayne agrees with K’enion, "It’s something I feel little by little we will make possible."

"Indeed. It could be said that the celebration is rooted, not in forgetting what we've lost, but remembering and treasuring what we have. Especially our children, which I'm sure several people here present can personally relate to," Valerie says, glancing at the recent parents and parents-to-be with a smile.

"I want to teach that to my children in hopes someday they want to help others."

For a moment everyone dined on their food and Zena looked up from her meal.

"Who would have thought so long ago when some of us met that children would end up in the mix...I never imagined myself a mother."


“Things happen for a reason and although we may not know the answer in this moment…they bring us joy,” Yue explained, “I look forward to seeing the young grow up that is for certain.”

As the group dined together, they began to remember more starlight memories they had as they grew up. Trunks leaned back a bit remembering what he calls the good old days a smile sweeps upon his face.

“Bon and I used to go down into the basement of the house and watch Dad go to town forging toys and trinkets for the people of Ala Ghiri an the surrounding villages, towns, hell even to tourists just passing through. Shame we moved so far away but it was an amazing time we had handing them out to everyone and seeing their smiles,” Trunks shared.

Shiva smiled and began to sing: "Mother would come home with her findings from her gatherings and I often made small crystal necklaces for the children in town. I was often in the shop and could never travel to the Starlight Events all around. Mother and Father would celebrate with me later on in the season."

“The most memorable would be the many Starlight Galas that the High Houses threw. Whole dance halls, decorated to the rafters; dancing, games, and drinks well into the night; and overly-complicated dresses with ridiculous amounts of layers and accessories. It took almost as long to get into the dress as the gala itself, I swear! By the fury I hated those dresses..." Valerie laughed at her own expense.

Shiva turned to Yue and decided to sign him a question, “Did you have something like Starlight in your other world?”

"On our Crystal...we had a similar holiday...except for a man would be dressed in red and have magical creatures that delivered gifts to the children in one evening. For many years Dorion, and his siblings would cause havoc for the "mortals" of our world and fly around and try to scare them...made the holiday difficult for me,” Yue said eyeing the siblings.

Delgado looked quickly at Yue, "Hey! Those were fun times!"

Zena chuckled, "We wanted to be the "nightmares" of the holiday."

"Unlike my family my father use to throw a huge ball here...many Ul'Dah officials or people of other regions would come. The kids like me we often played in the library while the adults talked politics and showed off their fancy clothes," Jayne explained.

Anthi just slowly looked at Dorion and grinned, "Oh... I'm going to remember that one. Auntie Anthi has a few ideas... Hehehehehehehehehe"

"Please don't teach the twins to act up...I don't even know what the combo is just yet...is it two boys one boy one girl or two girls,” Dorion sighed a bit.

"Oh trust me. I'm not the one you have to be worried about. I just...enable them,” Anthi smiled.

As everyone dined and learned more about each other the group couldn’t help but enjoy the meal that Jayne had cooked. She had made a lovely meal of meats seasoned with spices and fresh steamed vegetables. She always had a unique way to make a dish and the juices that were squeezed complemented the meal. Everyone seemed truly satisfied with it. As the group dined Shiva got up a moment and stood at the front of the table. The room grew a little cold and in a blink of an eye Saint Shiva was before the group with a gentle look.


Saint Shiva began to sign, "I don't mean to make the moment somber...but...this holiday does make me remember those who are not with us. To be frank...while the battle in Mor Dhona was happening...A lot of this decor was put up by Persephone...even I found her a bit...much...but Shiva really cared for her...so as we have this meal, I hope we can all remember her."

“As Crazy as she was...we gotta hand it to her...for doing this,” Jai smiled looking up from his meal.

"I would like to raise a toast..in memory of her…,” Dorion began, “If it was not for her last efforts…I am unsure of where we would all be.

"She was mad as rabbits...drove me up the wall but...no matter what that woman had a positive spin to put to any dark situation. I'll be honest Shiva...I miss her…from now on my efforts shall be tripled if not quadrupled to see that this evil before us is lain low. I suppose it is indeed only fair to propose a toast to honor her aye,” Trunks said raising his glass.


"Crazy? The woman was bat-shit insane! ...But the good insane. That kind that brought a smile to the faces of people,” Anthi smiled.

"I agree...she was one hell of a woman but someone I will never forget,” Leric shouted.

"To Persephone.. you will be missed sorely,” Yukio whispered as she looked to the décor Persephone made.

"I liked her a lot, she brought joy to all of us, and she will be truely missed...I was hoping to learn a few things from her as well...what was it...yoga,” K’enion chuckled.

"To our honored dead! May we honor their sacrifices by living long and well in their stead,” Valerie shouted.

As the group cheered and drank in honor of Persephone the door to the chambers began to open. Peering out Hades made his way into the room cautiously. The Legacy hadn’t seen him for over a month…his cheeks looked sunken in and his hair had grown quite a bit.

"I guess...I picked an odd time to come out," he said a little sad.

Yukio's ears twitched at the creaking door, setting her cup down and standing up almost immediately, staring down that hallway with concerned yet intense eyes. She looked to Yue for a moment and passed behind him, letting her hand slide across his back before going over to Hades and grabbing both hands in her own.

"I'm glad you're here.." she whispered as she only wanted to comfort her friend.


He looked to Yukio and slightly smirked, "Were you all celebrating...starlight?"

Valerie filled a cup and carried it over to Hades, offering it to him, "We are indeed, Sir Hades. The evening would not be complete without you. Will you join us?"

Hades takes the cup and nods , "Thank you Ser Montagne...your kindness is appreciated tonight."
"Valerie is right. We're celebrating Starlight, but also remembering those we've lost...Myself included, odd as that may... Okay, it's not that odd. At least three of the people in this house have died at least once already,” Anthi tried to make Hades smile.

As Hades take a drink from the cup he decided to speak, "You know...as hard as this is...seeing what she has left here for all of you...isn't the only thing she has done. There is this unique box Persephone left in the room."

Hades pulled out a box with a series of letters and numbers. Each time The Legacy touched it it would light either green or red and then a series of Eorzean letters began to appear. Hades explained that within the box it was an infinity device that held things of all shapes and sizes once the items came out the box, they would be the size they were supposed to.

"Indeed. Just like her to leave us a little Starlight Game,” Valerie chuckled, “Ah, I'm beginning to understand the objective better!"

The phrase began to look a little more obvious as the group messed around with the device as a series of words began to appear.


Anthi thinks, "Hmm... Open?"

As Anthi Speaks the box begins to light up and make a series of sounds like whistles. As the box lit up Hades begins to look around and see random little packages appear. Hades first points to the package closest to Valerie.

"Oh! Let's see..." Valerie carefully lifts the lid, so as to not lose the ability to use the box. "It's... an Orchestrion Phonograph , and a collection of music from Ishgard! I didn't know orchestrions could be so... compact!"
K’enion opened her gift next, "Well...it is a picture of the holy see...and of the Azure Dragoon...is it supposed to be like me? I remember this! They were so....I wanted to be one so badly!”
As Trunks opens the box and peers inside holding the ribbon to his heart as the box flies away. Holding the model of a Magitek Predator F1 he holds it to his chest and tears start to fall down his face. He quickly nabs a handkerchief from his coat pocket and wipes them away after removing his glasses, "How like her indeed. Gods be good."

The group smiled as they each opened the remainder of the gifts something special she had chosen for each person. Persephone’s love language was gifts and it would seem at this was her very last gift to everyone.

"Oh! Hades! That reminds me,” Anthi smiled.

"Yes,” he asked.

Anthi ran over to the box she left on the counter and held it out to him.

"Here. I was gonna let you find it on your own, but... I think you need this now more than anything."

Images begin to flash before Hades...from the moment they met in Kugane...to the moment he first brought her to Limbo...sights of ancient worlds...areas yet to be discovered...Tears begin to flow heavily in Hades eyes as a voice could be heard from within the box.

"There was a man in a world that you took me to...he said...don’t cry because it’s over...smile because it happened...I love you...stay strong...and protect The Legacy."


The Legacy would be able to hear Persephone's voice one last time....

Saint allowed Shiva to come through...as tears fell from Shiva's eyes she signed to the group: "She will be with me Forever & Always."

Yue closed his eyes as he leaned on the wall...he was actually silent.

"Whenever you want to hear her voice again, just press that button on the side. I used my special magic on it too, so it will last for all eternity,” Anthi smiled.

"You know...as hard as this may be...I have all of you...with all of you...I don't feel alone this Starlight,” Hades smiled.
"While I cannot pretend to understand the depth of Sir Hades' grief, I am all too familiar with the bittersweetness of the mingling of joy and loss. I think it is a blessing to feel it, like a gentle shield against despair,” Valerie explained.

As they stood together the Starlight Tree upstairs began to glow. From within the Tree Hades pulls out what seems to be an ice weapon but from what the group can feel it feels as warm as the fireplace. Hades chuckled

"Damnit...her favorite weapon...this is" Hades sighed as he read the card, "And I kid you not of the name "Persephone’s magical hell has frozen over stick of doom."


"She was so original with the name I can't even fault her for it." Trunks says bursting into laughter.

Hades smiles, "We will defeat the Sins and we will take out Haruka...for all those lost...and those we have yet to meet."


As Hades held the weapon members of The Castellano Clan made eye contact with each other. Without speaking it was obvious that they knew no more blood needed to be shed. They would need to come up with a better plan so that no more lives were lost to Amara. For now they would cherish this moment but they knew it would come with great cost.


For others losing Persephone was hard…for members of The Legacy like Yukio, Trunks, and Shiva they loved her so much. Even through all of her crazy antics she was always a bright light in their eyes. They knew in their hearts they would keep her alive as best as they could. As the group gathered by the tree and prayed, downstairs A’mara talked to herself.

"Persephone? Are you sure this was the right move. I still haven't gained my power back...I mean...it’s here...but I have to gather it first...will they help me? I mean who wants to help a Goddess of Death? I hurt them once...why would you bring me back here?...Goddess...I hope you are right about what you have done."