Like a Moth to a Flame (Imogen)

[Norani]

Glade 12, 124

Norani awoke to rays of sunlight warming her face. She sat up groggily, one hand on the spongy surface upon which she had lain, the other rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked around her, seeing ocean in every direction from her perch. It had been several days of ocean on this journey that Consul Lonelyblade had sent her on. There was no timeline, he had sent her towards Ailos with two different tasks in mind. The first was to offer Norani's skillsets to Ailos to help in the rebuilding efforts. And the second was to put her in front of as many combatants as possible for training.

She had never traveled to Ailos herself, but the winds were talking about the island often now, so she expected she'd reach it today. She looked over her shoulder there, seeing a little grey poofy elemental there. She didn't smile, but, "Hey there." It hid behind a fluff of cloud that both it and Norani were upon. "I know." She sighed. Many elementals were hesitant to approach her and she knew it was because something was wrong with her. Something was broken. Her connection, that feeling of life and love she had toward the elements was... damaged.

It made them unsure of her as an elementalist.

Still, it was her duty as an elementalist to help guide them, while also learning from them. "I bet you were really busy while the world was cold." This was said in her aether tinged Acherani. The little guy peeked out a bit further from his hiding place and nodded. "You were probably tired and scared." He crept out a bit further, still nodding. "And missed your friends from the other seasons too, huh?" He nodded and floated out. The little cloud elemental came and sat in her lap, and she ran her fingers over his pudge and she felt him calm.

"I get scared too. And tired." She sighed, "And I miss my friends."

The little elemental leaned back and looked up at her with his raindrop eyes, "I have to go soon, but you take your rest with this lovely cloud you're taking care of. And when rainy season comes back, you both will be big and strong, okay?" He nodded excitedly at her. She rubbed his belly a bit and then he lifted off from her. He gave a nod to her and she stood up, looking down at the ocean, hundreds of meters below her. And she dove off the cloud, calling to the winds to catch her, and she continued flying northwest, knowing she would hit Ailos soon.

Some hours later...

Norani could see the glowing peaks of Ailos from many miles out, even in the daylight. As she followed the light toward the island, she could saw the western mountain range, and started towards it, per the direction given by Lonelyblade. As she closed in on them, she saw the Temple of Light, covered in scaffolding in the slow state of rebuild it was in. Norani could see large swaths of the island where nature had been and had never returned. Poisoned ground, burnt and exploded down to the rock.

It was just an inkling into it, to see some damage wrought by the Imperium, by the nation all citizens were oathbound to kill. A sigh escaped her lips as she came in low, seeing a crowd of people working around some sort of frame, a structure to be, being built down the walkway from the temple.

She landed lightly upon the scarred stones, looking up at the unfinished archway that was being built. Dozens of Orkhan and others were helping to build it, mages were carving glyphs into it, others nearby were doing incredibly complex calculations and discussing something called spectroportation. But one thing was clear, all of them were focused, but more than that, she could see evident in their smiles that they were happy. Hopeful. Jokes were tossed about, stories shared.

And it made Norani feel so small. So alone. So guilty for seeing something nice like this and feeling bad about herself.

She didn't really feel like talking to strangers yet, even if she had her orders. She instead, walked over to a set of steps that led into a building that was just three walls and a missing ceiling, and she sat there, watching them work. The Isle of Light, she had been here once before, according to her mom. Her mom had flown a dangerous rescue mission here while Norani was strapped to her chest, too small to be without being breastfed.

Norani held up a hand and snagged a bit of light out of the air, creating a small glowing orb in her hand. She was grateful that Arcas had unlocked Light for her, that he'd given her that feather of his. In that... darkness, she would've been lost if she hadn't had both of those things. But... she couldn't forget what she saw there, what she heard there, what she felt there.

Would it have been better if she had just dwelt entirely in darkness? Did seeing what was there make it worse?

Would she feel something at least?

She cast the light back into the world, letting it rejoin the other rays, and she leaned back on her arms, watching the workers, trying to build the wherewithal to get up and talk to someone.

[Imogen]

As Norani sat there, trying to find the wherewithal to rise and begin to see to the Consul's commands, something bumped into her foot. Nothing was visible, at least not for a moment- then the shadow she was casting upon the weathered marble began to shift, roiling in defiance of the light and her body. After a moment, two pale golden eyes peeked out, blinking curiously as they regarded her.

A few seconds later, the eyes detached themselves from her shadow, the color deepening into black furs as Kitty stepped carefully away from Norani's feet. The jaguar was easily twice as large as he had been the last time Norani had seen him, when he'd been carried through the glade at the base of Agst’rasera by Imogen Ward... but there was really no mistaking him. You simply didn't see enough shadow-infused jaguars in life to start mixing them up.

Kitty slunk around Norani cautiously, staring at her, before letting out a heavy huff. Without warning, the big cat turned and began to scamper through the crowd, headed towards the other side of the plaza in which work on the Gate was progressing. He didn't seem to be running, but he leapt gracefully from shadow to shadow, entirely unseen by most of the laborers walking to and fro. A handful of children playing near his path pointed and shouted as he went, but he paid them no mind at all.

~~~

If Norani chose to follow the retreating familiar--not too difficult, since he wasn't trying to hide his progress--he would swiftly lead her to a bench on the other side of the square. Three Orkhan sat there; a woman hardly older than Norani herself, an older man, and...

Imogen Ward was quietly napping on the bench. She looked bad. Her cheeks were sunken, her pallor a pale grey rather than a healthy green. Her scales, which usually threw little specks of varicolored light about whenever she moved, were wan, devoid of their usual sheen and lustre. She breathed in and out heavily, with the sounds of mucus and congestion, and there was a thin layer of sweat around her brow.

“-won't tell me how she's doing this, but I doubt this is a good idea.” the woman said to the man, worried. Closer up, one could see that she bore half-starburst markings over one eye and under the other, and the organs themselves seemed almost translucent, like jewels.

"Perhaps we should press the issue of the boat...?"

“No.” the Seer responded, “She's right about that, I fear. I think we should return and- oh, hello there, Kitty.”

The jaguar trotted over to the bench, paying the Seer and her guardian no mind, and nuzzled at Imogen's hand. When she didn't budge, Kitty pressed a little harder, to no greater effect. Fed up with his mistress, the cat opened its mouth wide and gently bit her on the arm.

"MMRRMPH!" The witch's eyes flew open as she muffled a scream of surprise. As soon as she woke, the signs of sickness disappeared from her flesh so quickly that one could be forgiven for thinking they'd hallucinated them. Suddenly her brow was dry, her skin was healthy, and she looked like she'd just woken from a deep and wholesome rest.

The other two Orkhan watched with interest, but made no move to protect the witch from her familiar. Evidently they'd seen this behavior before.

"I'm awake!" she hissed at the cat, "What is it this time?"

It wasn't totally clear to the audience how Kitty responded, but after a few seconds, the witch's eyes drew wide with surprise, her mouth forming a little "o". "You saw Norani? Really? You're sure?"

This caught the Seer's attention, and her head swung around in the direction from whence the big cat had come.

Imogen jumped to her feet, her motions betraying no sign of weakness or ailment, and began making her way there. If she spotted Norani she would wave and call out, looking quite elated.

[Norani]

Norani felt a soft nudge against her foot and cast her gaze downward. She didn't see anything there. Immediately the hairs on her neck began to raise, the unseen feelings in the dark coming forth once more. That is until she saw two golden eyes. A whoosh was let loose, a few deep breaths. She wasn't there. She was out. There's light here.

As Kitty formed himself, just the act of watching his shadowy body move raised her heart rate. He wasn't from there. He wasn't part of it. He was Imogen's companion. She knew him, not well, but she knew him. But that didn't stop her throat from tightening, her nostrils beginning to flare, the tips of her fingernails slowly growing more pointed.

But the moment was shattered as the jaguar bounded away.

The darkness had never done that.

And so, Norani hefted upright. And she followed after the feline, in a more straight line and less shadow hopping manner. She moved past the children and all the others, careful to not touch any of them, avoid eye contact. She continued onward until she found the bench and the trio of Orkhan, one of which was sleeping soundly. Even at this distance, Norani recognized Imogen's markings. She kept a bit of distance. Insecurity grew. After all, Norani had failed at her portion of the quest. Did that have repercussions on Imogen? On Destyn?

She took a step closer to get a better look. Worry grew rapidly upon Norani's face, seeing the sickly state of the elder witch. Was she also damaged from their quest? What happened on their side of the mission? They had succeeded it had seemed, but how?

And as Kitty awoke Imogen in such a polite manner, Norani stepped back in surprise, eyes wide. She watched as the woman's seemingly ill state faded back to the youthful(ish) appearance Norani knew. And when Imogen waved and called out, for a moment, Norani wanted to turn, to run, to hide in shame, hide her failure from the woman she hoped would be a mentor, and was a friend.

She formed a stone in her hand and gripped it tight, remember the lessons of the mountain spirit. Stand firm, resolute, remember who and what you were, always. And Norani was someone who cared for her friends, who saw no difference between them and family. And so, before she could put on the fake smile for others, the elementalist rushed forward, embracing Imogen, her friend, and buried her face in the crook of her neck. She squeezed tight, and she let the tears flow, feeling a bit more like her real self as she soaked the elder witch's hair.

Gasping through her sobs, she was only able to utter the words to show just how thankful she was.

"You're alive."

And she squeezed tighter, not wanting to let go of the first of her friends she'd come across since she came out.

[Imogen]

It was, in fact, Norani.

Something of a shock, to be sure. For various reasons she had not disclosed to the others, Imogen had never believed Norani to be dead; but she could not be sure the girl wasn't suffering some even worse fate. Undoubtedly, she would never have abandoned them outside the tree willingly, and the strange monster within seemed pleased enough to take prisoners.

But if the witch was worried that Norani had somehow been corrupted or replaced, the better part of such fears were dispelled when the girl rushed into her arms and began crying. The Sunsinger braced herself, trying her best not to show any of the strain of Norani's weight, for under better circumstances she would not even have noticed it. To distract herself from that ever-present worry, she wrapped her own arms around the other woman, feeling tears streaming down the back of her neck.

"I'm alive," she assured Norani, softly, "You're alive, Destyn's alive."

The witch was familiar with this sort of scene, but comforting had never come naturally to her. Her mind was stuck fast in the here and now, and it took her some effort to remind herself of the feelings of worry and despair which had come over her when they'd emerged from the blighted Tree to find... nothing. Nobody. Letting herself soak in that memory, she felt her own arms tighten around Norani's back, and her eyes grew a bit mistier. That much of empathy would have to do the trick.

She wanted to ask what had happened, where Norani had gone--presumably not to Ailos, and she certainly didn't look exactly as she had on that dreadful day--but it felt wrong to frame it as a question. Instead, she found herself softly describing what had happened:

"After we freed Mr. Goron, we fled the Tree but could find no trace of you. Not in the mortal realm, nor in Wraeden's demesne, nor by the aid of the spirits of light. Even my master's spirit, the one in the mirror, just gave me a nonsense of a reply when I returned north to consult it."

It wasn't exactly uncommon for spirits of that sort to devolve into apparent gibberish, but it was strange to see the mirror spirit do so. Of all the eldritch entities Imogen had known in her short life, that was the one which had always seemed most focused and sensible... although, in truth, she hadn't seen it for a while. Not since she decided to destroy the poisoned 'aid' it had offered during her flight to the Mountain of Light months prior.

The hug lasted for some time, but finally:

“You might not want to cling too long.” the Seer warned, “We do not know if your ailment is contagious, recall.”

At this reminder, the witch reluctantly withdrew from her embrace, looking somewhat embarassed. To cover for herself, she spoke again, purporting to introduce the other woman: "Ah- Norani, this is Noko-" almost certainly not the woman's full name, but in Ecith you used what you were given "An acolyte of Galetira. Noko, this is-"

“The Windwalker.” the young Seer answered, eyes locked on Norani. She bore the obvious markings of it, tattooed about her eyes, but was plainly too young to have delved much into her profession's crafts. Still, to have been ordered to find three people and stumbled upon two...?

"She was sent to hale me back to Drathera, but I dare not travel just now." It was typical of Imogen to breeze past important details like that, every conversation an executive summary rather than a probing exploration of any particular issue. "How come you here, to the isle of light, then?"

[Norani]

Norani relaxed into the embrace to hear that Destyn was alive as well. Norani listened to Imogen's words, squeezing harder and harder as she spoke. It was comforting to know that someone was looking for her, at the least. That while she was alone, people were already trying to make it not so. True friends. Family. As Imogen pulled away, a look of concern washed over Norani's face.

"Ailment?"

However, Imogen seemed determined to ignore that moment, and introduced a Seer. Norani turned to face the woman, her brows furrowing deeply, her lips curling down into a deeply displeased scowl. She had spoken with Seers when she first returned to Drathera after escaping the darkness but she was just going through the motions, still comprehending that she was alive, that she was out, still running on nothing but pure will and fear through her exhaustion.

There was one burning question that Norani had had saved up for the other Seers, for Galetira herself. She knew Yeva was up north, out of the Astral Sea. She knew that a Charadin had been dispatched to go protect her and maybe bring her back to Ecith. Her eyes were wide, her nostrils flaring, the muscles in her neck tight. Meanwhile, nearby, a watchman on the coast was now ringing a loud, thundering bell, as the current went out from shore and never returned. Water was receding, revealing the seabed for a hundred meters from the normal beach on this side of Ailos.

As she spoke, the waters were responding to her anger, and a tsunami was forming out at sea, growing and heading for Ailos. "Why didn't you Seers find Yeva?!" Her arms were shaking as she clenched her fists, blood dripping from the one holding the stone she brought with her. Her loosed hair was floating as the winds were starting to respond as well, scared to not answer the call of the elementalist.

However, that fear is what broke Norani's rage. As soon as she felt it, she knew her duty and gritted her teeth, and the tsunami dropped back down and arrived at the beach as a slightly pushier current. Still seething, she turned away from the Seer, looking back at Imogen, with all eyes now on them.

"You like to hide your answers behind questions."

She took a deep breath and remembered her time in the cave beneath Drathera, remembering the lessons that she learned there. Embrace the darkness, do not go out of balance. However, she could feel the eyes of the many concerned Ailosians still on her and it made her feel small. She nodded up at a ray of light and fed it some aether. It glowed rapidly brighter, forcing many to shield their eyes or to look away.

"While you and Destyn went into that... heart, my challenger revealed herself. It was Juno, the dearest of friends in my childhood, taken by the Unknown. She was there, and she was with the Unknown. It is real. I have seen it. When I got back, I gave those memories to the Seers at the temple." Her voice was shaking, but she held it together. "I tried to... help her. To free her from the Unknown's touch. I thought I could move fast enough, to burn it out of her like we did with the corruption in the desert, but better." She sighed, baring her shame to any who looked upon her face.

"It was a trap set just for me."

She swallowed deeply, "I was trapped all this time in a place of darkness, of that corruption we saw, haunted by the voices of the others the Unknown still has." She dropped to a whisper, "All of them are still alive. There's millions of them Imogen." She saw the fearful look in Juno's eyes once more. "And they are terrified, trapped by this thing we call the Unknown that steals them from our world and our minds leaving scars upon our hearts."

She wiped away tears that tried to fully form, "I was always running in there, chased by darkness I could feel moving but couldn't truly see. But it," she clenched her jaw and she closed her eyes, tears burning their way through. "I don't know how I got out. Or why. But I'm back in military service now. Ward to War Consul Lonelyblade. I'm here to aid the Ailosians any way they see fit." She opened her eyes, wiping them again. "And to train."

She sniffled, looking Imogen square in the eye, "What is it that ails you?"

[Imogen]

Noko might have rightly looked flabbergasted by the accusing questions--after all, she was just one woman, hardly culpable for or even aware of the whole of her order's activities--but this genre of angry demand was not novel. Oftentimes the people who came to the Seers wanted to know why they had not seen this or that, why they had not stopped some tragic happening.

But the skies didn't usually cry out alongside them.

The Seer gathered herself in the face of the Windwalker's fury, prepared to say something; but she was stopped by Imogen. The witch extended an arm to her side between the two other women, entirely calm in the face of the emotional display of Elementalism. She waited patiently as Norani shifted between emotions, her expression unchanging as the other girl described her encounter with the Unknown; in truth, she only knew so much about what Juno really meant to Norani. She could hear the pain in the elementalist's voice, but she did not imagine that was truly understanding.

Her demeanor shifted only when Norani described what she'd seen of the Unknown, horror overtaking her face as Norani described millions of captive lives. Behind her, Noko had stiffened, staring at Norani; her bodyguard seemed less horrified, perhaps not quite understanding the magnitude of what had been described.

"Trapped in darkness," the witch muttered, softly, forgetting where she was entirely, "For so long..."

The witch sat as Norani spoke, voice verging on tears, speaking of the torture she'd endured. She found herself remembering the response the spirit had given her when she'd asked how to find Norani:

The King made the sun,
And the sun made light
And the light cut in two
Was day and night.

You give what you've got
And it's taken away
And the nothing that's left
Is here to stay.

She understood now, what it had meant; there was nothing to be done. But that couldn't be true, could it? The thought that there could be such an unanswerable horror... no, she couldn't bring herself to accept that, not at all. There must be some answer they could make.

But none of that really mattered, right now. Neither the spirit's cruel words nor heroic promises would help someone carrying so much pain. As Norani finished speaking, she stepped forward and hugged the girl again, grasping her tightly. She sighed, her breath shaking as she fought to keep her own tears in.

"Oh, Norani," she murmured to her, "Oh, I'm sorry."

The witch held the other woman for as long as she'd allow it, then stepped back, clearing her throat of the mucus which came with tears. It seemed almost... inappropriate, to respond with her own problems. But she owed the truth, and the whole of it, to Norani. Anyway, she might be Imogen's best hope, frankly.

"I will answer, but it will require some context." the Sunsinger said, slowly, "At the start of Frost, I came to Ailos to complete part of my contract with Kynne. There was--is, I suppose--a dragon which has slept here on the isle for long ages, and I was asked to awaken her. At some point during the procedure, my aether began to slowly drain away. In truth, I couldn't tell you if it was connected to that at all, or merely a coincidence."

"At first, I expected the effect to be temporary, but it has only quickened with time. I have tried bed rest, then teas steeped in Dawnstone; then teas made with crushed Dawnstone. Everything provides only temporary relief. In fact, I believe that the drain would probably have killed me, except that I have been separating the vital aether which sustains the body from my spirit and storing it in this-" Imogen reached up and yanked down her collar, exposing the broad swath of flesh between her breasts. On her right, a mirror to the place her heart should be, a smooth crystal was embedded into her flesh, glowing with more than just an ordinary sheen.

"A hydra gallstone." the witch said, by way of explanation, "I drink the teas and let the ailment take my aether, while this sustains my flesh with energies less prone to diminishment. But if it continues to increase-"

"Everything is aether." interrupted Noko, "A trick like that will not suffice forever. But she refuses to come back to Drathera, to seek the aid of the Green."

Imogen held up a hand. "Unfortunately, last summer I gained the enmity of the Silent Fisher. It chased me all the way here to Ailos, and nearly killed me before I could send it back to the forests of Wawari Bobul. The only reason it has not returned is the dragon I woke here- if I go to Drathera, it will hunt me there, and many people will die."

"They would rather fight in defense of their city than have you perish to some illness in the wilderness." the Seer retorted, anger evident in her voice for the first time.

"I'm glad it isn't up to them." said Imogen, lightly, "But there you have it. Unable to stay, but unwilling to leave. Except, that is..."

It had occurred to Imogen before that even with her neat Gallstone trick, she probably should be dead by now. Her aether reserves had been substantial, but at this point it felt like the drain was so fast and strong that it ought to have torn out her very soul. Though the dream-link she'd forged with Deravaecia had long been severed, she'd wondered if the dragon was still, somehow, preventing her death.

"I have not seen Deravaecia since she awoke, but I know she did- the beach on which she slept for long years is empty. If I could convince her to come with me to Drathera..."

[Norani]

As Imogen once more embraced Norani, heavy tears fell from her eyes, to be held, to be felt, by someone who knew her well enough. And the heavens above darkened, clouds forming, thunder cracking, and rain began to fall. As the first drop struck Norani's face, it woke her up. With a nod, the rain diffused into the air, and a gentle breeze was called to blow the humidity and the clouds back out to sea where they belonged for the moment.

Still, it was enough to get a bunch of people moderately wet.

She sniffled, wiping away her tears on her forearm. and when Imogen stepped back, Norani listened. She enjoyed how Imogen spoke, how she wove stories. She spoke differently than anyone she'd met, far differently from the people of Ecith. As she mentioned Kynne, a pang on Norani's heart. Kynne and crew was her and Yeva's mission. And Kaiko's. And Imogen and Destyn too.

There was so many things to do, she had no idea how she would ever even get back there to finish it. So many responsibilities crushing upon her. She felt the rock in her hand wiggle then still, and so, Norani too, stilled, and resumed listening. Her eyes widened at the strange ailment that Imogen spoke of, and wider still at her temporary solution.

At the mention of the Silent Fisher, Norani could not fathom how Imogen was still standing here. She had fought the Primal and was not dead. The only people she knew capable of that were Chieftains. And yet, the Elder Witch was in need of aid.

And Norani had been tasked with coming here to help.

Her mind was made up before she even started nodding, "I will seek out Deravaecia, and I will convince her. You and Destyn saved Ecith when I..." Failed. "I will see you saved."

Norani then cast her gaze, deepening into a glower, "We do not have to break ourselves upon the mountain of death that is our history to solve every problem." Her lip curled up in the beginning of a snarl, knowing that Yeva would already have sought out this dragon long before she entered the Astral Sea with Galetira. Yeva could convince the moon to stay in the sky and dance with sun, surely she could convince a dragon to travel with Imogen.

But Norani said nothing more to the Seer, shaking her head a bit. She looked at Imogen, "Where's this beach? I can ask the sands and winds there, see if I can't find her." She looked at the amulet, such a fragile thing to put one's life into. "If you're in danger while I'm gone, speak my name to the winds, I'll be here in an instant."

She took a deep breath, finding some relief in having a problem in front of her. Something to focus on would be good right now, she felt. And maybe if it all went well, and Imogen could be healed, maybe she would see if she would be willing to be her mentor. After all, she was an elder witch that consorted with spirits of all kinds, helped save the world from eternal winter, fought against primals, and staved off death with but a stone.

But more importantly, she was Norani's friend. She was family.