FF: Two Worlds (Chapter 32: From the Ashes)

["cilia" <cilia@xxxxx>]

Hey,
<steps onto the stage>
well gang meet my enforcer Brndn
<points to the shadowy figure behind him>
That's all,
<steps down>
Well it's here, the aftermath of the Battle Of Necris and this IS
the turning point in the story, from here on it will take a new direction.
Now I'd love feedback and your takes on if this turn of events is good or
bad? and now the bad news: There will be some time before the next chapter.
Why you friendly looking mobs ask? Well take a pick: Midterms, burn-out
these last few chapters took a lot out of me and then there are term
projects, real life, trying to find a soulmate and so on.
But enjoy, please,
Cilia, Bard who's fishing for votes

-Two Worlds-
Cilia

Chapter 32: From the Ashes

Buffy woke slowly. With a stretch and a yawn, she rolled over to face her
smiling wife. She loved to wake her with little kisses to her nose or
sometimes her ears. But there was no one there, just the smell of her on the
pillow. Then it hit her all over again, the green lights bathing the city
and the thunder when the dome had collapsed onto her wife. The mighty Slayer
curled into a helpless ball and wept as she relived that moment a thousand
times over. Then she remembered the dreams, they had been almost like a
children's song. In an effort to preserve it's own sanity, her mind focused
on the dreams as a beacon, but as they floated around the back of her mind,
the fragments danced just out of memories reach. Like a neon sign, one part
of a dream, however, did remain. She could remember what it had said, it was
telling her to go east towards the sea.
Three days had past since the end of the battle, two since the dwarves had
finished digging out the throne room and come up empty. Yesterday, Piratess
had come to her, promising a great monument in honor of the Red Mage and
those who had died. The queen tried to say something, anything to console
the lost Slayer, but she had failed, just as Al'x, Theris and Angel, in a
way, Amy and Cordelia had failed. They had all tried to comfort her, but
they had problems of their own. Al'x was dealing with Joyce's death and
Amy's grief over Willow was almost as strong as hers was. Almost.
Now on the evening of her third day, she found the strength to rise again.
The dreams had given her hope, however shallow. With spirits renewed, she
was determined to find her wife, or least answers. Tomorrow she would
oversee the funeral pyre for those from her division that had fallen in
battle, and then she would head out. She would go to the Hall of Clan
Thunderfoot, then east across the mountains and down to the sea, just as her
dreams had told her. Willow might be alive, or maybe she was just clinging
to straws, but somewhere across that sea, an answer lay, she was sure of it.
So with an aggressive nod and renewed strength and determination she got out
of bed, dressed in her now cleaned and repaired forest greens and crawled
out the back of the tent. First, she would have to go visit the supply wagon
for something to eat, and then she would go see her mother's body.

Wandering through the city, she could hear the sounds of various wakes and
celebrations, but she passed them without a sound. She snuck in through the
backdoor of the dwarven headquarters and made her way to the part of the
building set aside for the God of War. Stepping into the well-lit room, she
saw her mother lying on stretcher on top of the altar, wearing full armor
with her sword between her hands. Around the altar laid the offerings, gold,
weapons, barrels of mead and various other bounties, all there for the God
of War in hopes he would return her mother. Before the altar, Ziel knelt in
prayer.
"Is she...." Buffy asked quietly as she knelt next to the priestess.
"General? It is good to see you up and about," Ziel greeted never
taking her eyes off the altar. "Your mother is... in-between," she then
answered.
"In... between?" Buffy asked as she stood and walked up to the
altar. Her eyes passed sadly over her mother's prone form.
"Her spirit is in limbo, neither on the physical nor ethereal
planes," a voice, sounding like it hadn't been used for some time,
explained.
"Al'x, is that you?" Buffy asked as she squinted and peered into the
shadows.
"Guilty," Al'x said as he stepped out of the shadows. He was still
wearing his armor, stained with Joyce's blood, but his wounds had been
healed. His face was unshaven, his eyes red, and his hair in shambles. His
nose was still swollen though and his wrist was bound in wrappings. She was
amazed that he'd been able to carry her back to her tent after he'd found
her by the collapsed throne room.
"You look like hell," she exclaimed.
"Thank you," he said as he sat on wearily in chair set up beside the
altar.
"Have you been standing guard since they brought her here?" Buffy
asked looking her friend over.
"Pretty much," Al'x answered as he spun his sword.
"Then I guess I wont ask you to go with me," she said.
"Go where?" Al'x asked.
"Further east, towards the sea," Buffy answered as she knelt by his
chair.
"No... I... I want to stay here, with Joyce. Until we're certain
of... things," he answered.
"I figured as much, but I had to ask," Buffy said as she stood.
"Do you think you'll find Willow out there?" he asked.
"Maybe, maybe not, but I could never forgive myself if I didn't at
least try," she answered.
"Good luck to you then and please, take care of yourself," Al'x
said.
"Thanks, Al'x," Buffy said and kissed his cheek. "And it really
means alot to me that somebody is staying with mom," she added and walked
quietly away, leaving Al'x to his vigilant watch.

Stepping outside the building, she caught sight of a dwarf walking alone
with a bottle in hand. She weighed her options, but shook her head, turned
away and headed towards the Imperial Palace; she had to talk to Tessa.
Slipping past the guards without notice, her stomach clenched at the sight
of the pile of rubble in one corner of the courtyard. The dwarves had moved
every last piece of rock out of the throne room in their search for the Red
Mage, to no avail. Stroking her stomach as she walked past it into the
palace, she quickly found Piratess's study as the sounds of giggling drifted
out into the hall.
"Ahem!" she said as slipped into the room, causing Grimm and
Piratess to jump apart.
"General," Piratess greeted as she straightened her hair and crown.
"I'll just be going," Grimm said as kissed the Queen and blew past
Buffy.
"Nice kid," Buffy commented with a small smile.
"We were just talking about that," Piratess said as she sat down in
front of the hearth.
"What? Grimm being nice?" Buffy asked as she sat down.
"Well, among other things. He's leaving," Piratess said.
"But, I thought, you two..." Buffy asked and pointed between the
Queen and the door.
"We are," Piratess nodded.
"Then what?" Buffy asked, "It can't be because of the Royals-"
"He wants to follow you... His... gut tells him that you're
leaving," Piratess said.
"Oh. Well, yeah... I mean, I hate to confirm it, but, yeah, I'm not
staying," Buffy said.
"Will you return to the Forest, then?" Piratess asked.
"No, I plan to head east... I think... Willow is out there
somewhere," Buffy answered, her voice saddening at the mention of her wife's
name.
"Towards the sea, I can't blame you. I would follow you if I could,"
Piratess said with a small smile.
"It would be... fun having you along," Buffy said with a hopeful
smile.
"My duties are here now, with Stjar'a and the Alliance," Piratess
answered.
"I understand," Buffy nodded as she stood and removed the large
sword from her back.
"This belongs here," she said and handed Piratess the sword she and
Willow had found in the armory. That seemed awfully long ago now, she
thought as she blinked back a tear.
"I will guard it," Piratess said as she accepted it. "Until you
return," she added and placed it on a stand above the hearth.
"Thanks, Tessa," Buffy said and hugged the Queen, who, to her
surprise, hugged her back.
"Will you be alright?" Piratess asked with genuine concern.
"I think so. Maybe being just plain Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead
of General Buffy Summers for awhile is what I need," Buffy answered as she
let go.
"Then I wish you luck..." Pirates said. "...my friend."
"And I wish you many fun-filled meetings with the Royals," Buffy
said with a grin. Walking through the palace, she debated whether or not she
should visit Cordelia and Stjar'a but decided against it, instead she headed
back out into the city.

Gymli wandered through the city of Necris, bottle in hand, and his axe in
his belt. His friend was dead. Yet another seemingly lost to him. His
daughter was still in mourning over the death of the avatar and General
Buffy hadn't come out of her tent in three days.
"Bloody war indeed," he muttered and took a swig from the bottle.
Drinking alone was not fun, he missed his partner in crime, but she was
dead, or near dead. Nobody could tell for sure since here aura didn't seem
to be disappearing. He huffed and sat down heavily on a stone bench at one
of city squares.
"Gymli, isn't it?" a low voice asked from the other end of the
bench.
"Yah... 'at's me name," he answered, studying the face of the
speaker.
"It's Buffy, Joyce's kid," the speaker answered to clear up the
confusion.
"Ach, I've 'ad 'nough a dis," he said and placed the bottle on the
ground. "I be sorry 'bout yer mum," he said sincerely.
"Thank you, but you seem pretty worried about her, too." Buffy
remarked.
"Aye, but I worry fer me friend, ye losin' yer mum, thar be a
diff'rence, ya know?" he said in his gruff voice.
"I guess I haven't really had time to think about it that much. With
the dwarves not finding my wife's... body... in the remains of the palace,
my second's body is gone and my friends trying to piece themselves back
together. Then there are my soldiers, or what remains of them..." she
trailed off.
"No un' sees ya have ta carry the weight o'da world," Gymli said
after having listened to the girls rant.
"I know your right, but..." she trailed off again with a shrug,
"Have you seen Grimm around?" Buffy asked kicked at small stone and watching
it skip down the street. Knowing that the thief would be looking for her,
after he returned to Piratess.
"Snuck off wit'da Queen agin," Gymli answered.
"At least he came out of all this with something. Good for him, I
guess. What about Theris, you know where is she?" Buffy asked, she had been
unable to locate the High Elf on her walk across the city.
"High Elf's likely ta be ahelpin' wit'da healin', thar's still so
many ableedin'" the dwarf answered dryly, having himself found it hard to
accept the High Elves return from the dead when so many others lay dead.
"Don't blame her, somebody up... there... must like her," she said
and pointed up.
"Guessin' so. We ain't needin' no more dead friends," the dwarf
huffed.
"I'll drink to that. You guys mind if I sit?" a new voice asked. It
was Cordelia, now dressed in fresh green clothes, with a bow slung over her
shoulder and two scimitars resting in her belt.
"Cordelia, how did it go? Talk to Stjar'a?" Buffy asked as she
scooted over to make room for the ranger. Cordelia couldn't help but to
admire the Slayer's apparent strength in face of the current events.
"I, ah... can't stay with Stjar'a," Cordelia said in a low voice.
"Ya wanna share wid'us, lass?" Gymli asked and handed her the
bottle.
"We're still engaged and I'll become her consort and all that,
but... I think I need some time to get used to her as Princess Stjar'a of
Necris. So we both... agreed to spend some time a part," Cordelia explained
and then took a long swig from the bottle.
"But you did... consummate the engagement right?" Buffy asked, some
of her old humor returning to her eyes briefly.
"Oh yeah!" Cordelia breathed as the liquor burned its way down her
throat causing her eyes to water.
"'Aye, dos' be da queen's swords?" Gymli said and pointed to the
swords.
The ranger had to cough a couple of times, clear her throat and wipe her
eyes before she could continue, "Stjar'a gave them to me," Cordelia
explained. "I intend to return them one day."
"You better, Piratess wants them back," Grimm said as he slumped
down on the bench.
"Grimm did you go and finish... the you know what?" Buffy asked
under her breath.
"Yes, no thanks to you. But I'll have you know that I'm faced with a
similar dilemma as Cordelia here. It's not really fitting for a Queen to
consort with a thief," he answered and grabbed the bottle.
"So you're leaving for real, huh?" Buffy asked.
"Yep... As soon as the ceremonies and the burials are done I'm
taking my gold and heading out," Grimm answered. "Want company?" he asked.
"You're leaving?" Cordelia asked, the question directed at the both
Buffy and Grimm.
"Correction, I'm going to seek some of that honor thing you guys
seem to be so hung up on," Grimm answered. "And the General, sorry Beth, is
the right one to follow... for that sort of thing," he added.
"What about you Gymli, feel ready for an adventure?" Buffy asked.
"What are you planning, Buffy?" Cordelia asked with a raised
eyebrow.
"Just a little trip down to the beach," Buffy answered cryptically
with a small smile.
"You think Willow's alive, don't you?" Grimm asked.
"I don't know, but I've been having these weird dreams and I just
can't ignore them," Buffy answered.
"Well count me in," Cordelia said and placed her hand out. Buffy
smiled and placed hers on Cordelia's,
"You know I'm in, the whole honor thing and all," Grimm said and
placed his hand on Buffy's.
"Da Red Mage a'saved me, so I'm wit ya," Gymli said and placed his
stubby hand on the pile.
"You blokes mind if I joined in," a distinctly British accent asked
as it placed a pale white hand onto the pile. "Or is it a private party?"
"Spike!" Buffy exclaimed and for some reason things didn't seem so
dark anymore.
"Told you I'd be back, luv," the Prince of the undying answered with
a wink. He wore the same red cape, but now he wore armour more fitting to
the surroundings. It was a white affair, much like the rest of his clothing,
but this had beautiful golden linings. It definitely was dress armour fit
for a king. On his shoulder rested a well-used duffel bag.
"But how..." Buffy asked looking him up and down approvingly.
"Al'x gave me..." Spike said, placed the bag on the ground, and
fished a silver chain out of his armor. "...this, before you lot left."
"A Travel Stone," Cordelia said as she inspected the stone.
"Thought you could use my help," he said with a shrug.
"We're glad to have you Spike," Buffy said with a smile as she
placed her hand on the top of the pile. Maybe things would work out after
all.
"Spike, meet Grimm and Gymli," she then said and pointed to the
thief and the dwarf.
"Yer dead," the dwarf pointed out as he studied the man with
infravision.
"Correct... Well, an undying actually," Spike said with a grin.
"And I'm guessing a Royal by the looks of it," Grimm noted with just
a hint of distaste. He had had his share of being looked down upon by Royals
lately.
"Well, I am a Prince, yes, but not by choice. You see it was like
this..." Spike explained as he launched into the story of the how it came to
be that a bad ass like him became Prince.
Buffy listened to the banter with distant look in her eyes as her
mind drifted towards the sea and what tomorrow would bring.

We watched as the pyre burned down, taking the bodies of the fallen into the
afterlife.
The Rose banner was illuminated by the glow of the fire. We stayed until the
last embers had completely died out before turning away from it, leaving the
banner to mark the spot.
We departed after having witnessed Stjar'a's coronation as Princess of
Necris then and my declaration as her consort and a Knight Of Necris. Then
each of us said farewell to our loved ones, well, those of us who still had
them... around.
The Alliance's stability was largely connected to Willow's heroic death.
She had become a symbol of the Alliance. That legend was carried on with Amy
rising to the task and taking over leadership of the War Council in honor of
her mentor and friend.
It would be some time before we, the Companions of the Rose, as we came
to be known, would return to serve the Alliance. For our path lay to the
east, away from the war against the darkness and into the Eastern Kingdoms,
the home of the humans.
- The Writings of Ranger Knight Cordelia Moondancer.

Somewhere across the Great Sea, in the Eastern Kingdom of Tharon, in the
highest mage tower, a red haired girl sat and meditated. She was trying to
piece together her shattered mind and memory. One name repeating over and
over in her mind along with a woman's face was all that was clear.
Everything else was forgotten.

To Be Coniuted... soon!