I will go whither the wild rose blooms

I've been waiting...

Waiting so many years for this moment, those words echo in my mind as I kneeled in front of this woman, a viera with royal blue hair. The one who is blessed by the light of the crystal. Sirona Iratus, The Warrior of Light. When Sirona defeated the lightwarden and returned the night to everyone at Lakeland, I knew she was the right woman for this task. A task that I would pray she would agree to. She will be the one who will save The First. So I kneel in front of her on the cold stone ground where we fought on the battlefield together and I begged her. Like asking the twelve themselves to bring life back to this land. Begging her to save this star by becoming The Warrior Of Darkness and bring back the night sky. A hero who will end this flood of light and destroy the remaining light wardens who still plague other parts of this world. By using their sin eaters to feast on every inch of aether they can find. She will put an end to all of it. Sirona will be the one to give this despair filled star, hope at long last!

I know I am not the right person to ask this of her. I took her friends away from her when I tried to summon her here. She must have felt angry when she saw me the first time. I know she doesn't trust me after all I did. But I am willing to give my life to save this dying world. And by saving this world also means saving her's as well from a future filled with death. The only thing I could do was plead to her at this moment. I know I am at fault for summoning her here against her will. And I do promise her to atone for my wrongs, but for right now I want to save both worlds and I can finally save my-

"I will become the warrior you need." 

To hear those words from Sirona, it was reassuring to me. I thanked her from the bottom of my heart. Then one of the twins, Alisaie, spoke up and asked me a question that almost took me by surprise. Why was going through so much to save this star? Why risk so much of my aether to summon Sirona here? I won't lie, I have another reason besides wanting to save every single life in Norvrandt, but there was another reason. One that I can't risk to lose and I must do anything I can to play my role in all of this, like it was fate who's pulling my strings. I laugh as I must have seemed so strange to the young red mage, listening to an old man's rambling. I then spoke using the power of the crystal tower, used much of my aether for this battle and we decided to return to the crystarium for the day. Even the warriors of darkness deserve a good rest.

=============

Once we had returned, everyone turned in for the evening, well not everyone, it seems Musica Universalis and the pub is still a bit more lively since the night has returned to Lakeland. It's been a long time since I heard laughter and music playing about. As long as they believe the warriors of darkness are out there, fighting for them. It will give my people the hope they need to go forward. But I thought it was best for Sirona and the others to keep their new found title to themselves for now. I fear our friends(or foes one day)in Eulmore won't be too happy to know that a slayer of lightwardens and sin eaters has appeared and is here, in the Crystarium. 

All I can do for now is shield their identities and plan the next movement. For now, we will have peace for the night and enjoy the stars. How long has it been since I gaze upon such a beautiful sight? I think I will step out for a bit and enjoy the view, I thought to myself before stepping out of the tower. The guard that is always there wasn't at their post as normally, mayhap they were off to enjoy the celebrations as well? Not that the crystal tower needed to be protected at this time, so there was no harm in it, I thought before reaching the bottom of the stairs outside of the tower. Speaking of unusual sights, I noticed a certain viera was at the walkway above the aetheryte plaza. Stargazing, how long has it been since I have done that myself? As I thought of this, I walked towards the plaza and then up the metal stairs to see a very distracted Sirona, she was staring at the night starry skies. She doesn't seem to notice my presence as I reach the top of the stairs. She must have so many thoughts and burdens running through her mind. So much for one woman to bear, if only I can help her as...

No.

Everyone has a part they must play.

Even in this hero's tale...

"Lovely sight, isn't it?"

"...!?"

My voice must have pulled her away from her thoughts before she looked over her shoulder, finally noticing me there. She stared at me in surprise to see me out and about. After today's battle with the first lightwarden, I know I should be resting or planning the next move on what to do about the other lightwardens. But with a moment of peace, I didn't think it would hurt to take a small walk in my own city. The same could be said however for our warrior of darkness here. Instead of resting, she is stargazing. I offered her a friendly smile from under my cowl as I spoke again.

"Might I join you? That is unless my presence is unwanted here...?"

"No...! I mean...Um, please join me. I-I did wish to speak with you."

"Oh? Hmmm...I know of another place where we can see the stars much clearer and we can talk while everyone else is enjoying their night. Come." I replied before turning back down the stairs and she followed after me.

We walked across the area where the amarokeep is and up to a platform that was about three levels of stairs. Yes, it was a bit of a walk, but Sirona seemed rather excited judging by a few glances I caught a glimpse over my shoulder as we climbed the stairs together. If I had to be honest, it was nice to see her smile a little. I haven't seen her smile since...since she arrived here. Seeing the horrors unleash from the flood of light, she must have seen what I too had to witness. Death, fear and hopelessness. Compared to Sirona's other adventures and heroics, this is maybe the toughest trials of all. It’s not that I am doubtful of her abilities. Of course not! I know she’s strong enough to defeat them all. But it won’t be achieved without pain. I just hope she can bear it till the time comes. Until then, I can only watch over her and guide her and the other members of the scions to their goals. I know I have a promise to keep to the scythe wielder of getting everyone home. But if this works, they would have to-

“Ah, we finally reached the top.” I said as we reached a large platform that was closer to the city’s entrance gate and it was almost taller than the walkway by aetheryte plaza. And it was the perfect place to see the starry night sky and all its glory. As if the stars were made of diamonds, floating up high in the sky. I look over to see Sirona staring at the sky in awe. Her gold amber eyes were wide as they could be. I could even hear a small voice saying ‘wow’ escaping her lips, “Lovely, isn’t it?”

“It really is. I forgot how beautiful nights like this can be. But it means a lot more to everyone else here than I. I’m-I’m happy I was able to do that for them.”

“I’m glad. Even if they don’t know it was you who did it, they are indeed grateful to the warrior of darkness nonetheless.” Now it was time to ask my viera friend what she had to say. I have a feeling she had a few words for me. When she first arrived here, she walked up to me and asked where her family was. I could see the anger in her eyes, but she didn’t attack me or threaten me like I thought she would when we were alone. All she did was glare and her words were full of distrust towards me. I understand why she wouldn't believe me at first. Honestly she had every right to hate me as well. But I can’t lie and say they don’t hurt. Still I wish to hear her thoughts, harsh or not. “Now, you said you wanted to speak with me?” She at first didn’t speak when I asked her. She looked to the side with her eyes cast down. She was hesitating. 

“...Yes, I do. I wanted to apologize to you.”

I think it was hard to see from under my cowl, but I was indeed shocked to hear those words from her. I had a slight frown on my face. Why would she apologize? She has done absolutely nothing wrong. “Apologize? For what, may I ask?” If anything, it should be me who should apologize to her and the rest of the scions, whether they accept it or not. 

“I was wrong for the way I acted towards you when I first got here. After what happen to not only what Alphinaud, Alisaie, and the rest of the missing Scions had to go through for years, but seeing people like Tesleen who died to save a little boy from a fate worse than death and Kai-Shirr who was almost killed for wanting to be part of some twisted paradise. Even the people of Eulmore are all victims! It’s all because of The Flood of Light. I just couldn’t leave this be. You were wanting someone to save them. You were only doing what was right for your people. And…if I were to leave things as they were and take my family home, everyone back at the source would die with The First. So that’s why I want to say I was sorry that I thought you were lying to me. I’m sorry for thinking you were an enemy instead of a friend.”

“Sirona…Please, don’t apologize. I understand why you distrust me or think of me as an enemy, however, I would very much welcome the thought of you wanting to trust me after knowing what my intentions are. And mayhap we can be friends or allies even if you prefer.” 

It sounds nice either way.

“Yes, I would like that very much. But I…I didn’t mean to ruin the night with this kind of talk. You should be happy that we defeated the first lightwarden and the night has returned. Do you…still wish to enjoy stargazing with me?”

A smile forms on my lips at the last question she asked me. A feeling that feels all too familiar, when I was a boy who once dreamed. Someone who also asked me to watch the stars with them after the first night we met. I remember it all too well. We shared stories, and it mostly was about her adventures. We shared laughs as well. We even trained together at one point. She was amazing with a bow and was gifted with songs. What an amazing bard she was. So of course I gave my answer tomy new-old friend .

“I would still be delighted and would love to hear some about your adventures if I can.” 

The royal blue haired Viera gave me a soft smile and shared her tale of one of her many adventures. It was such a nice expression on her face. Honestly that suits her more than what I witness on the battlefield. When we were facing off against the first sin eater we encountered before facing the lightwarden, she and the twins were in danger while Lyna and I were holding back the other pack of sin eaters that the angel(or I should say a demon) sent us after. Alphinaud was running out of energy quickly from healing Sirona after she was sent flying from the Angels attack and her bow broke. Alisaie was doing what she could by using her red magic to put up a shield to protect all three of them. But when Sirona opened her eyes and saw that the shield was breaking and realized they were all three in danger, she let out a scream that still chills me to the very bone even now. It wasn’t a scream for help nor of fear. It was anger, one who has finally reached their limit. 

Seeing the two people who she considered to be her younger siblings in mortal danger must have finally pushed her after witnessing so much death. Then a void sent appeared and grabbed a hold of the angel’s neck, slowly piercing its skin  as if it was hell bent on crushing their neck with their own sharp claws. Everything was happening fast before I could understand it all right away. Sirona was no longer a bard, she was what they call a reaper. She changed her job stone and summoned that void sent to stop the sin eater’s attack. Then she used her new weapon, a scythe, to cut the angel’s arm that was holding the sword.

The Void Sent then batted the angel away with its dark energy of some kind and it was knocked down to the ground. I watched as the sin eater was struggling to get up to fly away, but Sirona was faster with her bladed weapon pressed against the back of the angel’s neck. I never seen a sin eater show an expression of fear before, but that one did. Sirona’s golden amber eyes back then were almost empty. As if she was a hunter finally ready to kill their prey without a second thought.

In a swift motion with the handle of her scythe, the blade cut across clean and the angel like sin eater was beheaded. The rest of the sin eaters were defeated by then, but all of us couldn't stop staring at what we all had witnessed at that end. I only wished I knew what she was thinking of before she defeated that sin eater. The twins were the first one to call out to her and Sirona just apologized to them. I think Alphinaud wanted to say something back then, but Alisaie told us we had to keep moving, which she was right of course. I even agreed and we pressed onward.

To now see her smile, I think I understood what that scream really meant back then. It wasn’t anger like I thought of at first. No, she was in pain. Not physically but emotionally. To witness so much death not just from here, but from her time during The Dragonsong War and The liberation of Ala Mhigo. While I don’t know the details in full, I think she was thinking of all of the allies she lost during that time. The people she couldn’t save. 

My poor friend…

“So then that’s when Alpha took Nero’s glasses and then…Hey, look at that!” She points upward to the sky. Two small lights move across the sky leaving a trail of white light.

“Ah, two shooter stars.”

“Let’s make a wish! Oh…um, sorry that might seem a little out of character for me and yes, it was a bit childish. But I haven’t seen a shooting star in so long…”

“Oh?” I chuckled, do I dare say she was adorable like this? Getting excited over seeing shooting stars and then blushing out of embarrassment like a child would. In a way it reminded me so much of the past when I was a boy. “Well there’s two stars for one wish each, so let us both make a wish together.”

“Mmhm!” She nodded happily.

We both bow our heads and pray to those stars for our own wishes. The air was filled with our silence, none of us muttered a single word nor sound as we prayed. The quietness was rather calming if I had to be honest. And while I wasn’t alone, it was nice to enjoy the silence with company in a way. I know that doesn’t make sense, but being in her presence was just nice. Like visiting a long lost friend you haven’t seen in years. We stayed in silence for a while till finally Sirona was the first one to speak. “Well Exarch, what did you wish for?”

“Haha, you do know you’re not supposed to share your wishes, unless you don’t want yours to come true, Sirona?”

“.Of course not!...Fine.” She sighs in defeat but gives me a small but mischievous smirk before replying with, “How about we make a promise then? When our wishes DO come true, we’ll then tell each other what we wished for. Promise?”

“Hmm, very well then. When both of our wishes do come true, I’ll be happy to tell you what I wished for.”

“Good, I try to never break a promise with anyone. But…well, I guess it’s not really true now…”

“Hm? In what way, my friend?” A frown formed upon my lips when I asked. She was so cheerful for a while, why did she sound so sad at the end?

“Before I came here, I used to write letters to someone. Do you remember when I asked you if you knew anyone by the name G’raha Tia?”

“...Yes, I remember when you asked me that.”

“Well, I remember the night before that my friend wanted to come with me on my adventures. But his fate was changed and he had to go away. So he went to sleep inside of that tower. However, just before he went to sleep, G’raha told me he couldn’t wait to hear all of my adventures and hero’s tales in the future when he woke up. So I started writing to him every time I went on an adventure. And I put them inside of any glass bottles I could find. And a lot of them were potion bottles, yes, but it was the best I could do at the time. And I write about all the places I went to. Earoza, Ishgard, Ala Mhigo, The Far East and so much more. And I would put them all inside of the tower in front of the door. So when he wakes up, those will be the first thing he sees. And I hope he reads them all! But maybe not the last one I wrote.” She then pulled out a small glass bottle with a piece of yellow parchment paper folded over inside of it, “I didn’t have time to put this one with the others. It was a message about me going away for a while and I wanted to apologize to him for not being able to write as much. And when I get back, I would tell him all about it in a new letter. I…just feel guilty for not getting it to him before I came here.” I didn’t say a word. I just listened to her story about a boy who dreams to travel. Just like the heroes of old. Every time she said his name, I felt a tug at my own heart. I can feel my ears twitch inside of my cowl. I felt something I haven’t in years. Was it my memories at the time when I was foolish and carefree? A young student who wanted to investigate the crystal tower itself for its secrets and then sleeps for eons till mankind has caught up with allagan technology. He did accept his fate, but he did have one regret. One that was left unsaid for thousands of years to the girl that soon became…I may not behim anymore, but I refuse to have another regret added to my list of them!

“Sirona, you don’t have to feel guilty. You can still keep your promise to him. I…” I started to rub my arm as I was a bit nervous to ask, “I can send that to him, with the help of Feo UI and the crystal tower. We can send it to his dreams if he is still indeed connected to the crystal tower from your star in some way.”

“You can do that!?” Her eyes were wide as she was shocked at my proposal.

“Yes, if you give it to me, I’ll be sure he hears this letter even while he’s in your star and afterwards, I’ll give this back to you. Is that fine with you, my friend?”

“If It’s possible then of course!” Sirona willingly handed over the bottled letter to me. As I was reaching for it with my crystal cover hand I carefully took it from her hand. “Please, make sure it goes to him! And..please be careful with it…”

“I assure you, that it will be handled with the utmost care.” I placed the bottle inside of my robe pocket, carefully making sure it couldn’t fall out of it, “Now then I do believe it’s getting a little bit for us. Even the warrior of darkness herself should get some rest before the morrow.”

“Haha, you’re right.” The viera walked past me towards the stairs. I then followed behind her as we made our leave, “I think Alisaie would scold me if I were to sleep in-…!!!” She then let out a gasp as her legs were about to give out on her. Without thinking,  I quickly grab hold of her. My right hand on her waist and my left hand holding hers. I feared she would have fallen down the stairs if I didn’t grab her in time! “Are you alright!?”

“…I got a little dizzy. I think it was the ale I had earlier. I didn’t think it was so strong. O-oh…!” She then noticed that I was holding her the best I could. With her being so much taller than me, I didn’t know how else to grab her.  

“D-do forgive me!” I said as I let go of her once I knew she had regained her balance. I don’t think she could see it on my face, but I was indeed blushing madly and my voice did sound a bit panicky compared to my normal way of speaking. “I-I know that was out of line, more so for a man like me! But I was worried about your safety!! Please don’t think ill of me otherwise!!”

“No, um-please don’t worry!! I was just surprised. But thank you for catching me.” It honestly didn’t help that she was blushing a bit as well. By the twelve, why does this kind gesture suddenly take an awkward turn!? So I quickly changed the subject by letting out a cough to clear up my voice and spoke to her formally as I did before.

“Um, mayhap I should escot you back to The Pendants. Just in case of another misstep or worse you pass out on your way back. You did speak of the ale that was pretty strong, did you not?”

“Okay…” Sirona nodded as she agreed with me. And together we slowly walked down the long flight of stairs(we both agreed to take the aetheryte shard for a faster trip back). At first we didn’t speak to each other till we were safely on the ground. I then told her what I had planned for in the morning. With the twins, they should come to the tower so we can discuss our next move. As promised, I escorted her to her room and we bid each other a good night. But before I could walk away from her, she called back to me.

“Exarch?”

“Yes?”

“Um, is it okay if we can talk more next time? Just when we have a moment of rest I mean! Like tonight…? We’ll invite Alphinaud, Alisaie and even Lyna as well to watch the stars with us next time too!”

“Of course. I would enjoy that very much so. I bid you a good night, Sirona.” I then took my leave just as she was waving goodbye. I hope tonight she will have a peaceful sleep. She has indeed earned it after everything today. Now it was time for me to return to the tower and plan my next move.

======

I return to the ocular and then I enter my private study that I have locked behind a door. Only Lyna and I are the only ones with the key to this place. This was the same room where I spoke with Urianger about the truth. Who I really am, what my goal is and why. Who am I? I used to be the boy who was asleep inside of this tower. The one who used to dream. The name G’raha Tia has long since been gone from the moment I became the Crystal Exarch. I removed my cowl once I knew I was alone and then let out a sigh. What is my goal? To save both star’s futures from a deadly weapon called black rose and the flood of light. Urianger is also part of this plan as he will tell everyone that he saw this vision in his echo. It’s the only way they will believe this story instead of a man, who was from a future timeline after black rose turned the world into a land of death. I took a seat in front of my desk and pulled out the bottle that Sirona let me borrow. And on my desk were filled with empty bottles and a stack of letters in the middle of my desk next to a book titled ‘Heavensward’. Why am I doing all this? Why go to such lengths? Saving mankind and both stars was indeed part of my plan, but….

I pulled the cork to open the bottle and took the letter out of it. Carefully I unfolded it and read the contents inside. I have read all of her letters ever since I woke up from the other timeline. To know that she was dead and this was all that was left of her hero’s tale…It broke my heart. Having all the memories and emotions from the past coming up all at once as I read each and every one of those letters, it was almost too much for me. But I had to read this one since this was the last one I know I will ever read.

G’raha, my family’s souls have left this world. Someone took them away and I have to find them, bring them back home! My answer seems to be at the crystal tower from what that man said. Crystal Tower might be key to finding them. I wish you were here since you know more about it then I do. I might not be back for a while to tell you more about my adventures. They have to wait, I’m sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me for breaking our promise this time. But I swear to come back and tell you about my adventures from the far east, about omega and so much more I want to tell you. I hope you wake up soon so we go on an adventure too. At least before I get gray hairs anyway. It might be wishful thinking, but I want to still hope. It would be better for you to see it in person then reading about it in a letter. 

                                                          Farewell, 

                                                                      Sirona

I read the letter so many times. If only she knew. But she can’t. If she knew what my true plans were, she would stop me. So it was better to be someone else. I can’t be him anymore since I gave up my dream. I’m the Exarch, the one who will take the light from her and vanish with it. Besides, I rather she would hate me as the Exarch then the sleeping youth she writes to. It would be better this way. If my wish does come true, then I would be happy. I guess I would be the one who would break their promise then. Not her. My wish is to let her live a long and happy life, with a bright future full of happiness waiting for her.

Sirona Iratus.

The warrior of light.

She is the other reason why I am doing this. 

She is my friend 

My hero , 

My inspiration , and…