#xiran

After her bath, she took to their library. It wasn’t spectacular, but she spent many days reading books of heroes and their battles to her children here. It was a special place where anything was possible. Her latest read was a book of aetherical research by an elezen mage named Louisoix Leveilluer. Sharlayan sounds like a wonderful place, she thought, I hope to study there one day…

Well into her third chapter, the silence was broken by the main door opening followed by a child’s cheering. Her bright green eyes darted to the window. The morning was now mid-afternoon, and with it came her beloved and youngest son. She marked her page with a braid and put the book away, walking out to the main courtyard to meet them.

“Mommy! You had to see it! They hit everything with their hands! No sticks or knives or nothing!” Xiran’s eyes were flaring with excitement, his eyes bright as jade. “Oh, really?” She replied with equal enthusiasm as she bent over to hug him. “Well go get changed and you can tell me all about it!” Xiran laughed and jumped as high as he could on his way inside, trying to kick sakura petals as they fell. At 3 years old, he was barely 3 fulms high, but full of energy. She smiled as he ran into the house, his feet pattering away. She turned to see her husband, a Highlander as strong as stone. He was a mountain compared to his Auri wife, a native from the Azim Steppe. He kissed his wife tenderly. She stroked his cheek and looked deep into his dark blue eyes, like pools of the sea. “I take it you two had an interesting day?”

He smiled and stood straight. “A group of Monks from The Fist of Rhalgr came into port at Kugane today. Under strict eye, they were permitted to put on a demonstration. Boards, bricks, stone blocks, all reduced to crumbs by bare hands. Quite the spectacle, to be entirely honest!” He almost seemed more enthusiastic than his son, not having seen anything of his Ala Mhigan origins in quite some time,  However, she met his excitement with a slight tone of seriousness. Ala Mhigans in Hingashi meant her husband was there for more than just business dealings with foreigners. “So what about your transactions? Any news?” His smile left as quick as it came, lowering his arms as he took a serious face. He spoke in a hushed voice. Garlean spies were everywhere, some were said to possess powers only known to the Shinobi. Some were even said to be Shinobi, men and women who quickly allied with the Garlean Legatus upon his occupation of Doma.

“Johan Bludfyst was one of the Monks in the demonstration. He said he was able to secure a passage for us, but he’s taking serious risks even agreeing to let us aboard. He’s only staying in port tonight, and we are to either be on his ship before he embarks or we lose our chance.” His face was grave, almost hopeless. “The Fist has already set up a home for us with the essentials that we’ve managed to smuggle over, but there’s so much left to do. We haven’t even told the children that we’re leaving the only home they’ve ever known…I don’t know what to do.”

Himari hugged her husband, which took him by surprise. Her grace under pressure was always something of a mystery but always gave him the motivation to persevere in the worst of times. “There’s nothing left here but material items, Kyland. All that matters is that we’ll be away from here, away from this oppressive hold that the Garleans have over Doma. Our family will be able to grow in peace.” He returned her hug with a strong embrace. “We must pack then. Take only what we need to make the journey and leave in the night,” he said lovingly. He would do anything for her.

The sea water lapped against the pier quietly. Under other circumstances, it would be peaceful, looking out at the sea with the moon hanging low in the midnight sky. Kyland could make out the constellation of Rhalgr and took it as a sign of the future. Ala Mhigo would be their new home for a time, and from there travel to other parts of the world. Eorzea was a large continent, filled with wonders. Himari would tell him of the places she read about in the books he would bring her from the markets in Kugane. Her eagerness was his drive and wanted to give her the world she wished to see. This was his chance to do so, for her and their sons. He walked from the bow of the ship and met with Johan as he and Himari walked up from below deck. He wore a snug set of robes and pants in the event they ran into any trouble, his katana tight on his hip. It had been many moons since he held his blade in combat, but he was the cautious type. “How soon can we shove off?” he asked hurriedly. Johan met his gaze and placed a sympathetic fist on his bicep. Johan was an older monk with a silver beard and hair over a weathered face, wearing black monk garb. He spoke calmly to Kyland, attempting to ease his anxiety. “Soon, friend. We only need wait for the captain as he finalizes the manifest. Are you keeping the name Rayne? People know it here, including the empire.” Kyland gripped his katana, “Nothing in this world will ever make me abandon who I am,” his tone was serious. He looked to his wife and felt calm until he spotted a gruff looking Roegadyn with a scroll in hand making his way to the ship. His anxiety spiked. “That’s him,” huffed the Monk, “Let us make haste.” Johan walked onto the pier to untie the ropes off the bow while Kyland took to the stern. The captain scurried along, a nervous look on his face like he’d seen a ghost as he boarded. This made Kyland more nervous on top of his already heightened anxiety. He looked to his wife, who noticed as well and was just as confused. He then heard the heavy footfalls on the pier. Without looking he knew it was a squad. Ten samurai guards, Garlean cronies that sniffed out their plan. He had worked the rope to its last pass. One more pull of the knot and the ship would be free. The leader stood in front and spoke in a gruff voice. “Kyland, you are hereby placed under arrest for treason against the Garlean Empire! Cease and drop your weapon!” Kyland rose slowly, facing the squad of guards, guns drawn. Just one more gods-damned pass, he thought with grit teeth.

Johan, his ropes untied, ran and set himself back to back with Kyland. He whispered as not to be heard. “This is a harsh situation, brother. If the Empire finds out we helped you, they’ll certainly attempt to advance on us next.”

“You intend to run then, Monk?” He whispered back. The squad leader yelled again, “Do you hear me, traitor?! You are under arrest!” The squad slowly advanced, tense and uncertain. Some of these soldiers were new to their duty, and those that weren’t never had to pull a weapon with intent to kill.

Johan chuckled nervously. “I’ve never run from a fight, but with the information you’ve provided, we can’t bear to lose you as an asset or let your family come to harm. I intend to buy you time. Run, I can hold them off.”

Kyland looked at his wife. She was crying, not wanting to lose her love. They came this far, so close to freedom. She didn’t want to lose him, or their chance at a new life, but she could see in Kyland’s stern expression he had already made that choice. He would do anything for her.

“I’ll never make it to the ship before I’m peppered with bullets…Keep them safe Johan, they’ll need your protection on the journey there,” Kyland said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Johan widened his eyes in shock. “Certainly you can’t take them all yourself, you need aid!”

Kyland closed his eyes, the memories flowing. His first kiss with Himari, his ceremony of bonding, his sons’ births. “They don’t know who you are, or what you’ve done for us, otherwise they would have this harbor surrounded. You can still retain secrecy. Do me this favor…as my last request.”

The Monk spied the rope, almost undone. Kyland sensed his concern. “I’ll take care of it, and them. Go!”

“Gods’ speed, brother.” Johan took two steps and jumped from the pier to the ship. The squad followed the Monk but quickly retrained on Kyland as he took his stance. Right hand on the hilt of his blade, ready to strike. “This is your final warning, traitor! Stand down or be fired upon!”

Kyland scowled in anger. He hated the empire and always sought a way to fight them. He took one last glance at his beloved Himari. She wasn’t crying anymore, but her expression was pure sadness. Even in this dire moment, she still kept herself together. She knew she would have to be strong for the boys. She knew she would have to be there to be the mother they deserved, and the father they’ll never grow up with. Her grace under pressure was always a mystery to him, but now it all made sense. She stayed strong to give her family the life they deserved, and now he had to do the very same with his life. Her perseverance was his motivation.

“Stand down, traitor!” the squad leader yelled again. Kyland snapped back to reality, his scowl pressed harder. “My name is Kyland Rayne, and I will not stand down!”

“Open fire!” the leader retorted, and as the bullets flew, time slowed down. Kyland may not have held his sword in combat in many moons, but his skills were still sharp. In one motion, he drew his sword, cutting the rope and dashed. In the blur, Himari was running to avoid gunfire, Johan took a position over the edge of the ship and pushed the ship off the pier using every onze of his might to get the ship as far away from the port as possible. Kyland’s blade diced every bullet he could see. He was clear of danger, save for the ten samurais before him, but he had faced worse odds and won. However, he had never faced a true Shinobi.

The ninja appeared out of the shadows and met Kyland with a blade to the gut. The tip of Kyland’s katana was but an ilm away from the squad leader’s face, causing him to fall backward and retreat back with the squad, but the threat was over. Kyland coughed up blood as his stomach hemorrhaged. He never saw the ninja’s face, but it didn’t matter. His final act was what he intended, giving his family the fighting chance they needed. He pushed the ninja back and tried to strike, but a knife was thrust into his throat and up into his brainstem. He was dead before his body hit the pier with a sickening thud.

The ship was getting close to port when Xiran awoke in his mother’s arms. He rubbed his eyes as he sat on her lap, hearing the commotion above deck as they prepared to port. Three months at sea hearing stories of Gyr Abania and his father’s former homeland made him excited. He wished his father was there to see it too. His mother was on a bale of hay, and he on her. She was covered by his father’s favorite black togi. He wore it often to gatherings in the summer months, as it had no sleeves and let him stay cool. He nuzzled her shoulders to try waking her. Her response was weak, she could barely hold her head up. Xiran had never seen his mother so pale before. “Mommy, are you sick?” he asked, barely awake yet. “All is well, child,” she answered. “Can you hear them…? We’re almost there…Soon we’ll start our adventures…” Her breathing was shallow, almost like every breath was getting shorter. Johan came into the cargo hold, hearing them stirring. “Good morrow, Hiro has been on the deck since dawn, asking all sorts of questions! I never thought I could have seen a child so drawn to sea-faring as much as he!” He lifted Xiran with such ease, Xiran thought he could fly and laughed. “Go join your brother, let him know you’re awake!” He put Xiran down on his feet and the young boy ran off. Johan looked back to Himari, dumbfounded. “Come now, we’ve come all this way you must be hungry.” He went to take her hand, but it was cold. Johan’s heart dropped and he ripped the togi off of her. She lay in a dark kimono and long pants, and she lay still unresponsive. He jostled her lightly, trying to rouse her.

“Himari, come now, wake up!” He patted and lightly shook her, discovering her left side was oozing fluid from a bullet hole under her lung. She had slowly succumbed to infection, self-treating to worry about her children’s safety more than her own. “Jo...Joha-,” she answered softly.

“I’m here, Himari, don’t push yourself, I’ll get help!” he rose to find aid but Himari grabbed his wrist.

“Xiran…Hiro…teach them to be strong…like their father…” Johan took to his knee at her side again. She caressed his face. “Thank you…for giving us a chance…to live…” she lay her head back again and took her last breath. Her last thought was seeing her son, tall and strong, wearing his father’s togi into a battle. His hair was black like his mother’s, his face full of drive and determination like his father’s on his last day, his eyes bright as jade, as the day he saw the Monks for the first time.