“He’s a terrible beast.” Phekda leans in close to the fire, illuminating her face as she speaks in a hushed tone. “Easily three times taller than any man, even when on all fours!” Her gaze slowly drifts to me. “...Well, maybe only twice as tall as Erden. But he’d crush you under his giant claws all the same! With every step the earth trembles as fires spew forth into the heavens, and none who behold him are able to leave with their sanity, save those chosen few heroes of Hydaelyn who are blessed with the echo.”

“I think I can tell where this is going.” I gently prod and stir the crab pot in front of us.

“There’s been a few years of…relative peace since the calamity, but you should not confuse that peace with a lack of tension, just the opposite.” Phekda crossed her legs and raised her hands up to the flame. “After all these years, everyone has finally started to recover…but we have reason to believe that nothing but doom and war lies on the horizon for us.

“You see, the conflict between the Amalj’aa and Ul’dah has been around for a frustratingly long time. Before there even was an Ul’dah, there was a city known as Belah’dia, and this city was constructed in land believed to be sacred to the Amalj’aa, supposedly blessed by their god Ifrit, the lord of the inferno.”

“Why would the Belah’dians build on sacred ground?” I cross my arms. “That’s practically begging to start a holy war.”

“While I wouldn’t pretend to have all the answers, they likely had to choose between building there or dying.” Phekda turned to face me directly. “This happened directly after the Sixth Umbral Calamity, also known as The Calamity of Water. While the tides have lowered quite a lot since then, there wasn’t much room to work with at the time.” She paused. “I guess they could have moved once things began to settle…”

“Wasn’t the death toll of that calamity gigantic?” S’olahr interjected. “They’d need to focus on regrowing their small population, and needing to move an entire settlement wouldn’t help with that one bit.”

“That’s for sure, imagine how many people would suffer to get that done!” I exclaim. “And if you tried to do it now? Forget it! As if there aren’t hundreds of refugees trying to find a place to live in Ul’dah already.”

“Indeed.” Phekda leaned back. “That is the backdrop we start with. In the present, Ul’dah feels a need to expand its territory to try and account for its influx of refugees, but doing so only makes a bad situation even worse. The Amalj’aa may seem like they have a large amount of land, but that is only because they are actually several distinct tribes, so they all need their own space to live their lives. This expansion is making them worried, and that brings us back to Ifrit again. Do you remember everything that Minfillia told you about Primals?”

I nod attentively.

“We’ve observed an influx of crystals heading toward Amal’jaa settlements, and you and I both investigated cases of random visitors of Camp Drybone going missing.” Phekda moved her hands as she spoke for emphasis. “As a result, we believe that the tribe of Amalj’aa nearby are planning on attempting a summoning, and soon too.”

“Unless we can stop them!” S’olahr excitedly shouted. “When we arrive, we’ll want to focus on any priests they have first, since they’re almost ALWAYS the ones who are involved in the summoning itself. Once they’re taken care of, we can rescue the prisoners and escape with them and the crystals.”

“Alright, got it. Prison break tomorrow morning.” I consider the fight ahead of us. “Um…I should probably get a claymore, right? I can use an Axe, but I’m honestly not very good with it, and this fight is going to be a real matter of life and death.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Phekda perked up. “You lost all your old equipment when that Nophica fanatic attacked you, right? I got to see what it looked like thanks to that echo flashback I had of you.”

“Let me guess, he looked like a psychopath.” S’olahr said smugly.

“Mhm!” Phekda nodded. “But like, with big wings on the helmet. It was kind of cute!” She turned back to me. “It’s already late, though. Will any markets even be open now…?”

“Probably not, no.” I cross my arms. “...But, there is one place I could go to get restocked.”

“...You mean your old boss, right?” Phekda crossed her legs and leaned back. The crackling fire filled the silence as S’olahr gave me a long, agitated glare.

“That’s a ridiculous sugg--” S’olahr began.

“That’s fine.” Phekda interrupted, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Just don’t do anything reckless, alright?”

“Phekda!” S’olahr shouted. “You can’t seriously think that letting him go see his crazy master is a good idea-- certainly not at least without you going with him!”

“S’olahr…” She turned to him slowly.

“No, wait, that’s a bad idea too! They could completely isolate and capture you, and we’d have no idea where to look!” He really got into a tizzy. “Here’s a better idea, we ALL go, and when we get there--”

“S’olahr!” Phekda raised her voice ever so slightly, but it was more than enough to shut him up. “We are not going to doubt Erden, nor stalk him, nor make him lure his dark knight teacher into a trap. All we are going to do is believe in him, since in case you forgot, tomorrow we will be putting our lives in each other's hands!” She grabbed his shoulders. “This only works if we can all trust each other. Even if you don’t agree with his methods, you should know by now that Erden really does care about helping people, and know that because of that he won’t just abandon us.

“Because there really is nothing worse than a primal.” She turns to look me in the eyes. “They rob people of their lives, of their mind, and rip the life from the very planet itself. Not even the most well-intentioned summoner could possibly hope to withstand their ever-increasing list of demands, and so it’s up to us to deal with the situation before more and more innocent people die for it.”

“No need to tell me twice.” I turn back to the pot to assess it. “This is going to need at least another hour, but hopefully I’ll be back by then. Do you think you could watch it for me, S’olahr?”

“...Yeah, I can do that.” He crosses his arms and looks away from me moments before Phekda wacks him on the back of the head. “Ow!” He rubs it and notices her fierce glare. “A-And, um, I’m sorry for being so…critical of you.” He turns back to me. “Just make sure you aren’t walking into a trap too, alright? There’s no telling what kind of reunion you are returning to.”

“Right.” I nod, turning back to Mortar. “Keep the fire steady for me! I’ll be back soon enough.” She immediately fixed her attention back on the flames. “Good girl.” I say with a modest smile before I reach into my pocket and pull out the crystalline teleportation lodestone that Phekda had given me. “I’ll be back soon.” I channel into it and float gently into the air. After a few consecutive seconds of focus, I am whisked away through the aether and back to Wineport.

The way back to I’shanta is familiar, but that doesn’t make it any less tedious. Bereft of my usual mask, I quietly hope that Ruby isn’t back from her extended ‘trip’ to Coerthas yet. As I made my way along the cliffside, I met a grim sight-- a collection of dead bodies, still warm and pooling fresh blood. Examining them closer, they appear to be brass blades, poorly armed for a proper fight and traveling light. A scouting party. I quietly draw my axe with my right hand as I investigate my surroundings.

I hear the faintest of creaks from within the cave itself-- the magical entrance having already been opened. Reaching for the torch that Ruby had left on the ground, I ran jolts of lightning across its top until it gave rise to fire. As light filled the cliffside, I immediately saw a shadowy figure rushing towards me and preparing a devastating swing. In my panic, I drop the torch and hold my axe forward with both hands to block.

CRACK! The wooden handle snapped clean in two as steel met it, and the force of the swing sent me flying back, but my assailant wasn't giving up any ground. I see them go for a wide horizontal swing, so I drop to my knees and deliver a leg sweep, knocking them off the ground and allowing me to take the offensive. I rush forward with lightning cackling through the head of my broken axe and raise it up before the faint, fading torchlight is enough to allow me to see I’shanta before me.

“Hmph.” She scoffed as shadowy chains seized my limbs and pulled me to the ground. I grunt in pain as I am forced to kneel, dropping what remains of my weapon in the process. “I see you have begun your training with lightning as I asked, and yet this magic is nowhere near as powerful as I would have expected you to be at this time.” She kicked the broken axe head away from me. “And what’s worse, you let me get the drop on you and hesitated before striking back.”

“My lady--”

“Where is your damn soul crystal? I mistook you for an overenthusiastic thaumaturge riding the line of void corruption.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Count yourself lucky you possess The Echo. Without Hydaelyn’s gift, I have no doubt you would have transformed into a full-blown voidsent by now. You do know that part of the crystal’s design is to help moderate the astral magic you attempt to wield, yes?”

“My crystal is safe. I keep it off my person unless I absolutely require it, so I do not succumb to…” I pause. She raises an eyebrow. “My vigilante tendencies.”

“By the gods above.” She rubs the bridge of her nose. “Have you forgotten the importance of confronting the darkness within? Repressing the thoughts outright will only exacerbate the desire in the long-run. This kind of foolishness I would expect from Ruby, but from you?” I look shamefully at the ground. “...Apologies, Erden, I have lost myself to my anger. It has been…” She prods one of the scouts with her claymore. “A very long night.” She releases the chains on me and helps me stand up. “What brings you here?”

“Several moons ago I was attacked by a paladin of Ul’dah-- A man named Daiki who goes by the title of Nophica’s Savior.” I cross my arms. “The attack caused me to lose my equipment, and what little remains of it is in very poor condition.”

“Mmm.” She sheathed her blade. “I did warn you that you would struggle to take one down without growing significantly stronger first. Despite your recklessness, I retrieved your equipment before it was found by any zealous yellow jackets.” She let out a sigh. “Unfortunately you are right that it is damaged a bit beyond repair. The bastard did something to your claymore with his paladin magic too, and now it can barely conduct any astral aether at all.”

“So I’m out of luck, then?” I nervously chuckle.

“Well, not quite. I generally avoid doing this when possible, but I do have the equipment from your predecessor, and you seem to be about the same height.”

“Huh?” I tilt my head. “My predecessor?”

“The previous bearer of your crystal.” She paused. “Normally I wouldn’t mind talking about these things, but as you know it is a sacred vow of Dark Knights not to reveal those of us who are in hiding. While most of us simply die, your forebearer cast his crystal aside to pursue a more…‘honest’ and peaceful life instead. As much as it pained me to see him leave, I had to respect his choice-- it was obvious how badly he wanted it.”

“...I see.” The topic forces me to ask the same question of what exactly I want out of my life. Before I can get too sucked into it, she continues.

“If you focus, you will certainly be able to derive wisdom from him through your crystal.” She chuckled to herself. “Though he was an absolutely terrible spellcaster, so I don’t think you’ll get much more than ‘wisdom’ out of it.” She turned back to the cave entrance. “Let’s get you suited up then, shall we?”

She led me down the tunnel, though each step felt tense. The dim light of the torch barely illuminated the edges of the wall, leaving brief moments where the tunnel seems much larger than it really is. As the cave opened, I’shanta unleashed a stream of orbs from her palm that emit a gentle white glow. As they were created, they harmlessly floated upwards and filled the area with light.

She takes a sharp right turn through a set of crudely hung blackout curtains, behind which sits a cozy living area. Mostly designed for practicality, the sparse collection of photos and strange knick-knacks stand out. Before I can get a good look at any of them, she pushes me back.

“A moment.” She says sharply, tugging the curtains shut. I look around the geode-filled room to pass time as she mutters to herself and sifts through a few boxes. She brings out the armorset one at a time, starting with a somewhat plain-looking black helmet with horns added on both sides that point straight upwards. To my surprise, there are large gaps in the sides that are readily able to accommodate my own horns, though it’s a little tight of a squeeze.

The rest of the armor follows a similar pattern-- close enough to fitting me perfectly that after a moment of wearing it, it feels perfectly natural. Far be it from me to complain, but it’s not every day that you happen upon armor so readily fitting a male Au Ra in Eorzea of all places.

The suit itself is brimming with astral aether, and makes conducting electricity through it a cake walk even without my soul crystal. The claymore I get is slightly heavier than what I’m used to, but it’s hard to tell if I’ve just gotten used to how comparatively easy it is to swing an axe.

“There.” She says as she hands over some final accessories to me. “Better on you than sitting here collecting dust.”

“Thank you, my lady.” I say stiffly as I put on the necklace and earrings she has given me.

“The earrings have potent healing liquid in them. If you find yourself in a pinch, you can break it and drink what's inside. Just…try not to swallow any of the shards of glass with it.” She shakes her head. “Such shit design…but it’s better than nothing.” She waves her hand dismissively. “Now quit this place, and fast. I suspect that those damn paladins will be swarming this place sometime tonight, and I don’t want you getting caught up in that and ruining all this good equipment.”

“At once.” I take the torch from her and begin to make my way back through the tunnel.

“Wait!” She commands, and I freeze up. “I have a mission for you, but you’re still too weak for it. I need you to be at least twice as proficient in magic by the end of the year, got it?”

“...I can get stronger by then.” I say confidently while trying to weigh the complex options before me. If I try to do more missions, S’olahr will probably send me to super elemental jail, and Anah’to will at least be upset about it, and worse, Phekda will have to admit that S’olahr was right. If I don’t, I’shanta will kill me…probably? But at the very least I can get stronger and just avoid this area for the rest of my life.

“Good.” I’shanta hands me a large sack to store the armor in, as lugging it around like that is slightly less conspicuous than just wearing it. “Meet me here the day after the anniversary of the calamity-- by then, I am confident they will have given up searching these soon to be empty caves.”

-

By the time I make it back to The Waking Sands, Anah’to has arrived to join S’olahr and Phekda, and the three are enjoying the cod stew that S’olahr had been preparing. I set the large bag of armor down next to the still-roaring fire outside that Mortar has dutifully kept watch over.

“Probably another hour still on your crab.” S’olahr said confidently.

“I got you some stew.” Anah’to says with an awkward smile before handing it over to me. “It’s actually quite good.” I take it and sit next to them, surprised to feel that it’s still warm.

“And YOU said--” S’olahr puffed his hair before putting on an overly dramatic and stuffy accent. “SO sorry, Olahr, but I simply can’t STAND fish.”

“Maybe I just can’t stand bad fish, then.” Anah’to crosses his arms. “Not exactly getting Eorzea’s finest cod out in Ul’dah!”

“Please.” Phekda scoffed. “The distance between here and Ul’dah is half a day’s ride. What you’re tasting is S’olahr’s top-notch cooking and seasoning!”

“Awh.” S’olahr rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks, Phekda. It means a lot.” After a few moments go by in silence as everyone eats, Phekda speaks up again.

“Did you get everything you need, Erden?” She has a casual tone about her as she continues to eat.

“Everything and more, yeah.” I say in between spoonfuls.

“Good!” She rises up with a finished bowl. “We leave at dawn.”