#head toward the sky. towards light and ardbert towards the ground. to dark

[impossible-rat-babies]

"of all the corpses i have carried, yours is my favorite by far."

[karoiseka]

Slosh

And the piece that sparked the flood of words and posts tonight.  The random twitter comment about my thoughts on this moment.  This is my take on it since we don’t have anything official right now, and just what I could picture. #26  Gonna try and type up #28 (#27 was posted at the beginning of May in response to getting to the top of Kugane again).  Wheeeeee!  I like this one too, though I stumbled a bit finding all the words I wanted.

The glow of victory burned in Karoiseka’s mind and soul as she walked along the Tempest floor.  The filtered light from the sky above pierced the shadows as the group trudged up from the depths of Amaurot.  The Bard noticed that her companions were subconsciously flanking her and the Exarch in a protective formation, forming a loose diamond shape.  Perhaps it was just as well with Karo being gobsmacked at the passing events in the last few bells.  Not only had they gained access to the Capitol, re-lived Amarot’s final days, but then had the Exarch find them, and they as a group, together took on and won against Hades.  The final helper, hero, and healer of her soul, still residing there a brilliant warmth filling her full of pride, sadness, and happiness.  Oh Ardbert….

They had been heading in a general direction back towards the land above the sea, the Eastern trek filled with puddles to slosh through and sea creatures to fight back against, angry about the lack of natural habitat.  Nothing could deter the group though, spirits higher than any of them could imagine.  Making it through this battle was more than they could have hoped for, much less without losing anyone in the group.  They had all been so distraught, so terribly desperate to save each other, it was beyond comprehension they were all walking together, alive and whole.

Ryne, the youngest, was almost bubbling over with happiness, her joy showing through the clearest as she was finally letting her emotions show with her new family.  Her steps almost didn’t touch the ground as she nearly skipped along the ocean floor.  Thancred led the group, trying to stay stoic, yet turning to look at everyone staring for long moments before looking to the edge of the air bubble to find their way.  His gaze caught someone new each time, but his eyes flickered between the Warrior of Light and Darkness and Ryne before he turned each time.  The twin’s had both taken substantial hits in the battle before, but Karo could barely tell.  Alphinaud’s shoulders were held back in pride, but his eyes  darted around and his hand never strayed far from his book.  His carbuncle trotted at his side, adding an extra layer of protection to the group.  Alisaie’s sword still hung at her hip, but her eyes shone bright as she kept watch.  The Red Mage hid her hurts well, steps confident, her body tilted to guard the Warrior of Light and her brother both from any threats that might come their way.  Y’shtola and Urianger kept watch at the back, the mage’s sightless eyes seeing all atheryic threats before anyone else could sense them, the Elezan’s cards at the ready to protect the group at a moment’s notice.  The white-haired miqo’te seemed to not believe her senses, every step forward bringing joy.  Guilt and grief had lifted themselves from the yellow-eyed elf, his eyes not straying far from those that yet again had forgiven him.

The noise of the water swirling around them got louder the closer they got to the edge of the air bubble.  None of the wildlife at the ocean’s floor had bothered them besides a few--perhaps acknowledging the predators in their mist.  Karo was attempting to not hold the Exarch’s hand as the group tightened up, the wall of water towering above them.

“Well, this is it,” Thancred stopped an arm’s length from the edge of the bubble, eyeing it suspiciously.  “Do we just step through?”  The thought had obviously not crossed the groups’ mind as Uriangier and Alphinaud staggered back, eyes widening in terror at the barrier in front of them.  Alisaie snickered at her brother’s discomfort, while somehow still seeming sympathetic of Uriangier.

“How else did you think we were getting home, dear brother?  Bismark clearly wasn’t going to wait around for us.” the red tie in her braid caught a strand of light as she placed her hands on her hips, smirking.  The blessing of the Kami was something she enjoyed flaunting over her brother who was just starting to get over his aversion to swimming.

“I-I might be able to help us get to the surface, but I don’t think I have the strength to hold such a spell for much longer,” G’raha softly spoke looking at the depths in front of them.  Karo’s hand instinctively went to cup his face, moving to gently grasp his shoulder at the last moment to hide such an intimate gesture in front of everyone.

“Are you sure?” her blue eyes bored into his as she was not going to brook even a little white lie about this.  “He had you down there for quite some time-” 

Ruby eyes drilled back into her hers as he shrugged off her hand and she quickly returned it to her side as if burnt.  “I’m certain.” his voice as strong and sure as it had been as he had summoned champions to her side to fight--as strong and as sure as she was certain it had been when he had summoned her all six times.  The Bard nodded--as she seemed to always do, and turned away before any of them could see the hurt in her eyes.

“Then let’s dive in!” she ran at the barrier and plunged headfirst into the sea, spinning as the cold water hit her senses to look back at the rest of the group.  She wasn’t surprised to find her companion in the blessing join right on her heels as Urianger and Alphinaud were deep in conference with G’raha.  Thancred was talking to Ryne quietly, probably giving her tips on how to hold her breath better and Y’shtola listened to them all with a quiet smile on her face--her eyes having followed the Warrior of Light into the water.  After conferring with each other for a little bit, the Exarch seemed to decide what spell to use.  He touched each of their brows with a word, and hurried everyone into the water, immediately swimming up to the surface. Alisaie had headed towards the surface with the first few people, as Karo waited to bring up the rear to make sure no one was left behind.

G’raha waited until everyone else was in the water before running in himself.  Karo pushed through the hurt from moments earlier and grabbed his hand before starting to swim upwards next to him.  His eyes widened as he looked at her with surprise before looking to the surface above, his hand gently squeezing hers. They had made it.  They were on their way out of the darkness to the sky above, back home--together.