@Amaterasu

The Rak'tika Greatwood. A beautiful forest housing those who want for shelter from the blinding light that plagued the first. Deep within the forest dwelled staunch defenders—those who would protect the interests of ancient Ronka. Those who trespass on this sacred ground were met with swift elimination.

All but one man.

Resting quietly under one of the forests large trees was none other than Emperor of Garlemald revealed Ascian. Arms behind his head, a small smile twisted his lips as he enjoyed his respite in the shade. However his nap was short-lived, as he heard a feminine voice call out.

"You. On your feet."

Bleary-eyed, the man began to pick yourself up, raising his arms up in the process, "Well, well, well...." Yawning compulsively, the man moved to cover his mouth when one of the women raised their weapon at him. Raising his arm up once more, he beamed, "If it isn’t the fabled Viis. The staunch defenders of Ronka! What an absolute honor it is to finally meet you! You know, they say that the Viis shoot first and—"

A lance made of ice fired dangerously close to the Ascian's head, plowing into the bark behind him. The one holding the threatening weapon was a youthful-looking Viis, shorter than most, with locks of red tied into a ponytail.

Spitting, the other woman spoke, pro-offering her spear to point it at his head, "Do men always drivel on like this, or is it just you?"

Smirking, the tired man retorted, "You'll be relieved to know that I am unique."

The purple-haired Viis was clearly agitated, throwing out her spear-less arm, "Enough! How were you able to sneak past our patrol? Outsiders are forbidden from entering or even gazing upon the ruins!"

Shrugging, the man finally put down his arms, "You aren't asking the right questions. Perhaps an introduction is in order?" Not waiting for a response, he continued, "I am Emet-Selch, and I believe you have met my acquaintances. The Allies of Ronka I believe you called them?"

Frowning, the red-head glared daggers into him, before offering her remark, "And why should I believe you?"

Looking almost offended, the man's eyes widened, "Why don't you ask them yourselves? They surely can attest to the credibility of my story."

Rolling her eyes, the purple-haired Viis put away her lance and gestured for him to follow, "Fine. Follow me, but if you try anything, it will be the last thing you do. Am I making myself clear?"

Sighing, he began to follow along, "Crystal."

Now within Fanow, the pair of Viis escorted Emet-Selch to his supposed companions. The entire way, the man couldn't help but look over his shoulder in worry, as the woman guided him in such a way that made him feel less than welcome. Finally within view of the Scions the man's eyes fell downcast.

"Oh, look who it is." The gunbreaker's gaze bore into the Ascian, disdain clear in his voice.

"Well... this is embarrassing. In my defense, they are surprisingly tenacious."

The purple-haired woman behind him seemed unamused, but the other appeared quite proud of herself.

"So—what trouble have you gotten yourselves into this time?"

@Ninian

"She is alive. She is alive, damn you!" Droplets of tears ran down the well-built Ronso's face; none could utter a single word of reassurance. Each one of them deep down wanted to believe the same, but seeing the endless abyss with their own eyes was proof enough to assume anyone who even made it to the bottom in one piece would've met their demise.

"Forgive me for interrupting, but our scouts have apprehended an intruder.", a sudden voice broke the grieving silence. What followed was definitely not an interruption the Scions welcomed, especially at the current atmosphere. The Warrior of Light barely spared the Ascian a glance, merely giving a small sigh in response at his ever sarcastic behavior.

"So—what trouble have you gotten yourselves into this time?"

People present at the venue all turned to face the Miqo'te, Lumina, for an explanation of the situation. While it didn't feel it to be a necessity to inform the immortal being of their every move, the dancer obliged to answer his inquiry. Retelling the events from the time after he 'conveniently' vanished in front of The Night's Blessed, to their current predicament had taken some time but finally, she ended with, "Y'shtola, she... She entrusted me the antidote to save her comrades but... I could've reached for her, had I reacted sooner..."

Clenching her fist in utter regret, the Warrior of Light fell silent once more with her gaze upon the bottle of antidote in her hand. Though anyone who fell into the pit would definitely face death, there was something about the sudden gust of wind that bothered her...

@Amaterasu

“Well, well. What an intriguing turn of events.” Though sincere, the man’s tone was solemn, and considerably less flamboyant than their previous encounters. Looking to the Miqo’te, his brows furrowed, “My condolences, by the way. ‘Tis never easy to lose the ones we love.”

His gesture was halted when he caught sight of the gun breaker, Thancred’s murderous glare. Offering a hand in gesture, he responded, “Well she is dead, isn’t she? Wishing it were otherwise will not make it so.”

The blonde-haired man responded with anger and frustration, “That you should be indifferent to her loss is no surprise. But to us, she was a friend. The best of friends.”

The sorrowful words of regret from Lumina caused Emet-Selch to wilt some. “Come now, my dear. One cannot change the follies of the past. Perhaps you could have saved her, but think for just a moment. She sacrificed herself so that countless others might live. Is that not a noble death?” Frowning some, he continued, “Moreover, no one is perfect. Not even the vaunted Hero of the Source. You did the best that you could with the knowledge of your present situation.”

Ears twitched in slight irritation as the Miqo'te parted her lips to speak once more, "A harbinger of chaos like you would never truly understand a loss of a loved one." Realizing this was not the appropriate time to be starting a quarrel, Lumina calmed her annoyance. After a meaningful pause of silence, she added, "Can one even be called a hero if she fails to save those close to her?"

A series of flashbacks plagued the Warrior of Light's mind, one of which was the time at The Vault, in the snowy lands of Ishgard. Before taking his last breath, the Elezen man who had saved the hero's life wished for a hero's smile until lying still in her arms. Another image was of the time on the Baelsar's Wall, moments before a sinister primal's summoning. Despite the protest from the Miqo'te to stay and fight along side him, the Lalafell scholar flung her into the airship with a magic spell and bid them farewell before sharing a similar fate to his master.

After a painful reminiscing of her past failures, Lumina once more attempts to recall the recent incident. As Y'shtola fell into the deep, bottle of antidote tossed to the other, she can't help but wonder what the gust of wind afterwards was. Noticing the bothered expression upon her face, the young Minfilia questioned, "You have something on your mind. What is it?" It may or may not be relevant to the problem at hand but there was no harm in sharing a doubt on her mind. The hero explained the details of the strange gust of wind after the fall with the rest.

The other Scions recognized it as the same spell the Miqo'te sorceress casted at the time they were cornered in the cave. It seems that she was still alive but to extract her out of the Lifestream proved to be a challenge as people fell silent to their thoughts once more.

Though accustomed to getting insults hurled at him by this group in particular, he could not deny the last one stung, especially considering who it came from. Averting his gaze awkwardly, he said naught in response. This time. Though if she brought it up one more time, he would be forced to correct her.

Much to the group’s fortune, their presumed deceased friend was quite intact. Though they clearly did not trust him, they did accept his offer of aide. He figured it was only because they stood to gain, but he was not one to squander such an opportunity. Trust was not easily won, and after all his kind had wrought, it was proving more difficult than he anticipated.

With Y'shtola now reunited with the group, Emet-Selch felt like a third wheel. Sure, the dark caster had begrudgingly given her thanks, he still felt underwhelmed.

The group was now discussing amongst themselves how they were going to go about taking down the area's Lightwarden. A conversation the Ascian had little interest of. His gaze would linger on Lumina for a few moments before quickly averting his gaze.