The Forgotten Zodiac

Mewt looked at Leanne and shook his head, not entirely sure he should tell her, considering her sheltered status as a princess. "It's complicated, Leanne. Fights are different in Ivalice. You can use the engagement system so that no one ever dies. You still kill them, I mean; but no one dies. Permanently. The enegagements are a good thing, you know. Murders and all sorts of violent crimes dropped a lot, so it's... It's strange to actually kill someone, to actually end their life. I barely do it in engagements, so I'm just... I don't know." He realized she probably wouldn't know much about the engagement system, but he'd told her anyway. It helped just to tell someone; Leanne was a noncombatant as well, so it might help.
Marche started forward, grabbing Kieran by the arm to pull him along. "Glad the kid's fine, but don't you think it was a little unwise to leave everyone alone like that? He hired  help, you know. It's not like he found his way there alone." He quickly moved back through the market, now more worried about other people on the assassin's team than the assassin himself. Of course, it was an assumption that he would have hired more help or that they would still be brave enough to go after their targets after what they'd seen Mewt do. "Such great concern."
Ike responded similarly to Marche. He wasn't as worried about the defenseless nobles as Marche was, especially considering what it sounded like Mewt had done. However, he wanted to get to his wife as soon as possible considering the event. "Obliterated? How? Mewt hasn't killed a fly the whole time he's been here."

Leanne inclined her head to him slightly, a gentle smile on her face. "<i>I can understand your turmoil - I sense it within you. Would it help if I...</i>" she paused here, realizing that he did not know much about the healing power of galdrar. "<i>...if I sang to you? I'm sure the villagers wouldn't mind, they might find it entertaining and relaxing, hopefully...</i>"

"Oh, uh, I--" Kieran, for once in his life, seemed to be at a loss for words as he was directed and dragged off and questioned all at once. He decided to address the King, because that seemed to him the most important. "It looked like some kind of high-level light magic. You can ask him once we get back, I suppose..."

The prince glanced at Leanne, somewhat confused. "I don't know. I don't mind, of course. I just don't really know much about the gladrar." He frowned and glanced over at Leanne. "Am I pronouncing that right? I know I'm not always great about those things; feel free to correct me." He meant it, of course; he didn't want to continue mispronouncing something if he had it wrong. "Are those the magical songs you sing? The ones that do things?"
Syl frowned with confusion at what Kieran said. "Mewt doesn't know offensive magic. Not like that." He jogged slightly to keep up and make the pace faster. "Kieran, did he say anything to trigger the spell? <b>Ultima</b> or <b>Holy</b>? Maybe even <b>Alpha</b>, but that seems unlikely." He was listing off spells it was possible Mewt would be able to pull off in a desperate place, though none of them seemed likely or safe.

"<i>Ah... Gall-drah-are,</i>" Leanne corrected him quickly. "<i>And yes, those are the songs that we Herons sing. They are seid magic. I can sing one to calm you, if you would like?</i>" she offered. She remembered to speak a bit slower, knowing Mewt didn't have as good a grasp on the Old Tongue as Syl had.

Kieran thought about it for a minute. "He said holy," he replied after thinking a bit more. "Yes, I'm certain that's what it was. He said holy." The knight nodded quickly. "Why? What does that mean?" he asked.

"Sure," Mewt responded. He didn't truly understand what she was offering since, culturally, he didn't understand the significance of the gladrar. However, he was more than happy to oblige her by accepting her offer. If anything, it would shift the spotlight from him to her. Being stared at by the townfolk was growing tiresome, even if he most certainly deserved it. "I'd love to hear you sing."
Syl frowned as he thought about the spell linked to that word. "It means Mewt did the most powerful white magic spell currently existing. You see, the less powerful a spell is, the more words you need to define it. Stronger spells, like that one, gain a life of their own once said and direct themselves. For that reason, it's said that no truly great spell ever looks the same twice. One word and the magic you feed it and the spell comes to life, directing itself to do what you need it to do. It's a small wonder the man was destroyed."

Leanne smiled at Mewt, nodding a bit. She knew that he would understand the words of the galdr, so it might mean a bit more to him than the market-goers who did not know the Old Tongue.

<i>"What?s not music?

Everything is music.

The honeybees buzzing

With their wings flying.

The peasant folks singing

When they?re harvesting.

The crystal stream gurgling

When its water is flowing.

The ocean waves rising

As they move jumping.

The rain drops drumming

O'er the roof, while falling.

The green leaves fluttering

To the strong wind blowing.

The temple bells ringing

To the pleasure of hearing.

So, there?s music in everything

To the lovers of listening.

Life is a waste

Sans music taste."

</i>

The melody was charming and light, imbued with magical warmth and energy. All of the eyes that had been directed to Marche moved to gaze at Leanne as she sang the galdr.

Kieran seemed to be stunned into silence as he took in Syl's words, and even after that could only say, "I hope he's all right, then."

Soren had kept mostly quiet since they left the bar, but now spoke again. "That sounds impressive. I should have liked to have seen that myself."

Mewt listened in awed and curious silence, and he did manage to understand the Heron's words all the way through the song. When she finished, he stood in stunned silence. To clap seemed almost an insult to the crystalline beauty of Leanne's act; so the prince simply stood. His hands were, however, down by his sides in a much less defensive posture which evidenced the accomplishment of her desire. "Leanne, that was..." he faltered, visibly unsure how to describe how much he'd enjoy her song.
Syl shook his head and continued explaining the process. "He's fine, but that's not really the impressive part. The impressive part is that he managed to do that without any prior combat training and that spell, in the last hundred or so years, has only been performed by the Bangaa. Any Bangaa who did it had trained in magic for years."
Marche shrugged and gestured ahead. "We'll find out soon enough. Look, we're nearly there." They were almost upon the square. In fact, they could hear strains of Leanne's song from where they were. The group would be back to their comrades almost immediatley.

Kieran paused for a moment, listening to the tune of the song, and smiling. He shook his head slightly then moved faster, not saying anything to the others as he picked up the pace.

"Ah, nothing matches the voice of a Heron," Bastian said, the first to break the collective silence in the square. He turned slightly to Reyson and smiled. "Your sister's voice is stunning. I do not believe I've heard her before," he commented.

Leanne, meanwhile, was smiling away at Mewt. "<i>I am glad you found it enjoyable</i>," she said.

The male Heron nodded and smiled graciously in acceptance of Bastian's compliment. "She does, indeed, regardless of the suitability of the situation." This was a not-entirely subtle statement of his disapproval of her actions. It was hardly suitably for the White Princess to be making herself such a spectacle, but he supposed he could let it go. She seemed to have meant well, and they would be leaving soon. They were near to over-staying their welcome anyway.
Ulki, ever close to Leanne, moved closer to her side now that everyone was staring at her. "An excellent performance as always, Princess. I must say, your voice adds significant benefit to being your escort." He spoke in the Tellius language for Mewt's benefit, though he had very little interest including the Beorc in the conversation.
Mewt, now that the silence had been broken by someone other than him, was more capable of expressing his delight with Leanne's song. "It was truly amazing, Leanne. I've never heard anything like it. It was truly amazing." He looked around the square vaguely, watching for Marche and Sylvester to return, and intensely glad that not everyone was staring at him. With the end of the Heron's song, they had all begun returning to their work.

Leanne sensed her brother's thoughts and turned to him. It appeared that she was going to say something to him, but did not get the words out before Ulki came over to her. She found herself smiling at the Hawk, but wondered vaguely when he had gotten here. Then, she dismissed the thought. The Hawk King's eyes and ears were always on the Herons. She supposed they must have been watching over she and her brother for a while, and only made thenselves known now. They must have seen the assassin - the flight from the castle would have taken this long.

As it was, Leanne returned attention to Ulki and Mewt's words. "<i>Thank you,</i>" she said, blushing slightly. "<i>I appreciate the sentiment.</i>"

Janaff touched down next to Reyson. "Enjoying yourself, White Prince?" he asked, smiling at the male Heron.

Elincia glanced up as she heard familiar voices coming their way. Kieran, true to form, had returned to his talkative, boisterous self, and currently had the King involved in his conversation. Soren trailed Ike like his shadow, and the others were close behind.

The Hawks had indeed arrived recently. They had realized the Herons had left without them shortly after the group had reached the village. It hadn't taken them very long to locate the Herons, but they had also known that they could fly at a leisurely pace without fear for the Herons. They had started moving faster when they picked up on the assassin, but the Hawks had also heard, or seen, Mewt's method of dealing with the assassin. They had both immediately assigned themselves to a Heron in the case that any more dangerous Beorc were around. There were so many.
Mewt smiled at Leanne and shrugged, before turning when he heard his bodyguards arrive. He nodded to Ulki before begging his leave from the conversation, explaining, "I may have neglected to inform Marche of my offensive abilities; and, since Kieran has clearly informed them, I should probably go provide an explanation." With that, he exited the conversation and joined Marche and Syl, both of whom were analyzing the space where the assassin's weapons lay abandoned on the cobblestones. "You're back. I hope your trip proved as fruitful as my stay," he poked verbally, knowing that it hadn't.
Ike led the way over to Elincia, half wishing Kieran would stop talking. Or following him. Either was acceptable. Despite this desperate longing, he managed to half-listen until he reached his wife, at which point he blatantly ignored the knight to speak to his wife. "Kieran says that assassin was here, and Mewt killed him." He stated blandly. "You're perfectly all right?"

((-realizes the only character of mine you initiated action with was Elincia- Das cool, bro.

-puts effort into making a long reply-))

Elincia smiled at her husband, relieved to see that, he, too, was all right. "I'm fine," she answered. "And Kieran is correct. It would appear the assassin is gone," she added. she looked slightly past Ike as she noted Soren's presence, and frowned a bit in concern. The dour mage seemed to be in a darker mood than usual... of course, it could only be her imagination telling her this, but she'd been getting better at reading the mage's nearly imperceptable changes in mood. She glanced away from Soren as he turned to her, feeling her gaze, and cleared her throat, looking for words.

"How did everything go on your end? I suppose I can safely assume that there was no trouble? You all appear to be in one piece," she commented, giving Ike another once over as she spoke to reaffirm her original observation. "Nothing went wrong, I hope?"

Kieran stopped mid-tangent as Ike stepped into conversation with Elincia. The knight spent a moment searching for something to do, before turning to the Hawks and Herons. "Princess Leanne." He smiled as he addressed the female laguz. "I heard your singing," he began, launching into a fresh tangent about how delightful Leanne's song had been. The young Heronness could barely get a self-depriciating word in as the red knight spoke to her, and she realized that, though he had started the conversation out of boredom, that his sentiment was true. She therefore smiled and let him ramble on, content to listen as he spoke.

Reyson, who'd been distracted monitering his sister's interaction with Mewt and Ulki, brought himself back to reality and processed Janaff's query. "Oh, pardon me, Janaff. This excursion has been quite enjoyable, with the exception of that unfortunate interruption." He assumed the Hawks would have been aware of the assassin. Even though they had not been there, they were both well aware of their surroundings. The White Prince turned to watch Kieran speak to Leanne, somewhat amused by the knight's overabundance of words, and continued speaking to Janaff. "Shall we be heading back to Phoenicis soon? We've already stayed longer than expected."
Ike shook his head and wrapped an arm around Elincia. "Nothing at all, other than that our whole purpose of going was negated. We went to find the guy who showed up here." The King looked around and noted that everyone in their group was in the square nearby. Changing topic, he inquired "Are you done appearing publicly or are we staying longer?"
Lucia departed from Elincia's side as Ike filled that space, moving instead to stand next to Soren. Like her sister, Lucia had sensed Soren's change in mood; everyone who had left seemed more defensive than they had when they left. Having made that observation in the more easily read people, it had not been hard to see where it applied to Soren. "Anything interesting happen? Besides probably walking past the person you were looking for?" Her tone was light, despite the insult it seemed to carry; and she truly didn't mean it. Since everything had worked out okay, she found it more amusing than anything.

"It would probably be best," Janaff said, flaring his wings slightly as he moved his arms in a stretching motion. "As you said, we're getting close to overstaying our welcome. And I'm sure Tibarn is expecting us back any day now. Wouldn't want to keep the king waiting!" the Hawk said, smiling at the White Prince. "So I'd say whenever you and Princess Leanne are ready, it'd be best to clear on out of here. Though..." Janaff hesitated a bit, before saying, "I don't mind the beorc company too much." His eyes cut over to Lucia, but when they caught sight of the mage standing next to her, returned attention to Reyson.

Elincia looked around the square as she considered her reply. Many of the citizens had returned to their normal tasks; and, she thought, after the assassin's appearance, it may be prudent to call an end to the day's events. The young Queen was sure that it had been thrlling enough for everyone. "I believe we can go," she said, pushing the basket she had been holding back into Ike's arms. "We've got a good walk back, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to be late for supper," she said, smiling wryly.

Soren shifted slightly before his eyes rose to meet Lucia's. He strove to keep the hesitation from his voice and manner, but was reluctant to provide her a full answer. He sought for a deflection for a moment, before offering a murmur that vaguely resembled the words "bar fight." After another moment, he clarified the statement. "You sent us to quite the interesting location. I do not suggest making a return visit." The words, on their own, did not convey much to the order of what had actually occured, but the bitter tone they took on when they left the mage's mouth hinted at Soren's loathing for the place. He still hadn't explained what had caused this, but Lucia could at least gather that <i>something</i> had happened to disquiet the mage's temprament.

"Indeed, our Beorc friends are much more appealing than I believed before the war. In some ways, that tragedy seems almost a positive event, if only because it opened our eyes." The Heron didn't mean, of course, that he was glad the war had happened. His only point was that, in some situations, pain brought about better results. "Leanne would not have been content to leave so soon after the arrival of people she found so interesting. However, now that her interest has been abated, we will be able to return to Tibarn shortly. He was likely expecting us back today, and it would be quite unfortunate if he sent his patrols out looking for us."
Ike's eyes widened as he processed Elincia's, to him, threat. "You're right. We'd better go now; otherwise we'll-we'll-" he faltered, looking for a reason everyone else needed to go back to the castle so that he could as well. "We'll mess up the servants schedule. I'm sure that would be very upsetting for them." He took the basket from Elincia and hurried over to the groups who hadn't heard Elincia's statement. Within five minutes, Ike had the group rounded up and headed back to the castle. He now skirted the group awkwardly, trying to walk in the back to avoid leaving people behind, but also desperately wanting to move as quickly as possible.
Because of Ike's sudden hurry, Soren and Lucia's conversation was interrupted for a time period. However, on the return walk, Lucia was able to slip away from Soren's competition and rejoin her earlier partner in conversation. "Was the tavern truly so interesting?" She inquired, alerting Soren that she meant to continue their earlier discourse. "I thought it rather a dull place, other the occasional brawls that break out. With Ike and Marche with you, I doubt those would truly be a problem."

"That's true," Janaff agreed. "Shall we leave in the morning, then? It'd be a shame to miss supper, and as you well know, we can't do much traveling at night," he suggested. "How does that sound to you, Ulki?" he appealed, knowing his friend had heard the conversation.

Soren seemed a bit startled as Lucia brought up the conversation once again; it would appear that he'd been hoping she'd forget about it. He shook his head slightly, clearing his throat. "It wasn't really the tavern that was... interesting," he said. "I can assure you I've seen worse. Life as a mercenary prepares you for such. It was just..." he paused here, his lips moving as he silently tried out words upon them, hoping to place the phrases carefully. "...some things said. They weren't suitable. It's really nothing I should be worried about, really." The mage stumbled over his words slightly, and he shook his head at himself, trying to correct himself in order to divert Lucia's... concern? "I've heard worse," he uttered finally, sighing. "Not much worse, but worse." Realizing that this explanation would only proffer more questions from the lady, Soren sighed. "The barmaid drove me out. She saw my mark, and assumed..." he trailed off, knowing Lucia could fill in the rest for herself. She was one of the select few that knew Soren to be a Branded; many others that cavorted with Crimea's nobility tended to avoid Soren, and didn't notice the Brand. Those who did  assumed he was a Spirit Charmer - his magical prowess gave no indication otherwise. And what Queen would elevate a half-blood to noble status? Given the mage's standing, it was easy to assume one explanation for the mark over another. But in a tavern, among a lower populace and thrown in with travelers and hermits and unmentionables of every other kind, people were quicker to judge against others. By dwelling among the low, others assumed that Soren was among the low himself. It was simple logic, really... at any rate, the mage didn't expect to return to the bar anytime soon.

Ulki responded as Reyson nodded his assent. "Leaving in the morning sounds like a most excellent idea. Shall we inform our hosts over our meal?" He started walking down the road and looked over at Leanne who was still beside them. "What time would you be ready to leave in the morning, Princess?" Ulki knew Leanne, out of all of them, would take the longest to be ready to leave, not to mention that she would be stalling as best she was able.
Lucia watched Soren with interest as she listened to his story and thought it over in her mind. "One woman's assumption is nothing to be worried about. Considering her place of employment, I doubt anyone really pays any attention to what she says anyway." She wasn't really sure what she was trying to accomplish by informing Soren of this. He knew all of it already, and she was well aware that he preferred to handle his emotions himself. She shook her head briefly and abruptly changed the topic. "At least there's no assassin running around the city anymore. Mewt's magical prowess was quite surprising, considering I'd never seen him do a spell other than that one he does to check for poisons."

Leanne considered the question before making a reply. "<i>Not too long, I should hope,</i>" she answered honestly, although she sounded a bit dejected. "<i>Will you help me pack some of my things tonight?</i>" she asked, turning her gaze to Ulki. "<i>It would speed the process in the morning, I think.</i>"

A shadow of a smile passed over Soren's face before fleeing, chased off by some thought in the back of the mage's mind. The thought distracted him for a moment, so his reply to Lucia took a bit longer in coming. "I should have liked to have seen that spell," he said. "From the description Marche gave, it must have been impressive."

Ulki nodded immediately and arched his wings slightly. "Were we to fly back now, we could begin before our human companions arrive to begin supper." He offered. The Hawk knew the Herons did not have the stamina he did, so he would understand if she did not choose to. It simply seemed to him to be the most effective use of their time.
Lucia shrugged, not having been as impressed with the spell as everyone else seemed to be. "I know it <i>was</i> impressive, but it didn't really appear that amazing. It was just like a very high power light spell, and then the man was gone. I'm sure it was amazing, but it didn't look that great. At least we know he can defend himself; instead of leaning on Marche the whole time." Her voice sounded slightly disdainful, but that was mostly at her previous impression of Mewt and her belief that any helpless nobles deserved to be murdered. Battle skills weren't that hard to learn; one really should bother trying.
The night went by quickly. Shortly after the Bird Laguz left, the Ivalician mages completed the equations required for a directed use of the spell. According to them, once done correctly once, the entire spell was easy to repeat and redirect. After Ritz's invitation, turned demand, that they come to the wedding, the group departed, really leaving no record of their coming.

And so life went on for the Crimeans. Shortly after the departure of the Ivalicians and Laguz, Soren returned to Felirae, Bastian left to resume his duties as diplomat in Begnion, the Delbray siblings returned home, while Ike and Elincia conducted their duties as King and Queen.

Three months or so later (no doubt that Marche had been stalling for a good while - or maybe time flowed differently in their two lands?), a formal invitation appeared in the middle of the throne room. The bearer, a small Moogle, placed it into the young Queen's hand. It was obvious that he was pleased with having been given this task - the little winged creature could barely withold his excitement in a mask of formal decorum required for talking to a Queen.

"The wedding is to take place at the end of the week," he said, not unhelpfully, as Elincia opened the letter. "I am Nat, a Time Mage that will serve as your escort to Ivalice." He gave a little bow. "I am prepared to leave as soon as you are ready."

Elincia gave the little creature a smile, then looked to Ike. "I suppose we should send word to a few of the others. Ritz made it clear that they were to come as well... I fear that Bastian will not make it," she said, standing, "But the others should. Five days is certainly enough time to travel from Delbray, and it only takes half a day from Felirae."