(no subject)

[monolike]

[The first thing Sorey thinks as he falls is what Lailah said as they left Camlann; that without his domain, all of them would instantly be hellions. The ground collapses beneath his feet, the wind drake behind him snaps up his cloak in its jaws and he sees the terror on Mikleo's face just before Symonne's laughter shrieks out and he and the drake fall together.

If they're too far away from me-

He can still feel their connection. He can still feel them, even if they can't go to him, and Sorey prays that's enough.

Wind rushes past them and Sorey tries to wrench out of the drake's grip (It's gotta be a wind seraph, Zaveid had shouted as they were thrown into the thick of battle in the tight corridors of the fortress), twisting and turning, sword in his hand. They'd weakened the drake considerably as a team but he's not sure he's powerful enough on his own to purify it, not even with all the strength he's gathered. Not without the others.

Hopefully, because Rose is there, they'll be okay. Please, please, I can't lose anyone else-

They fall far but hit a collapsed spire at an angle; in the mess the drake releases Sorey (or maybe his cloak tears, he can't tell) and he tumbles, bumps against it and hits the ground hard enough to rattle his teeth in his head and jar his bones. He pushes himself up, ignoring the bruises and aches, the constant, thumping worry of his heart and puts his sword between he and the drake as it sways up to its feet.]

Don't worry, [he promises the poor thing, because thank god, thank god it's not a dragon yet. There's still hope.] I'm going to save you. Don't worry, it'll be over soon.

Comments

[monolike]

Wow...how long has it been, actually? Hundreds of years, right? [It's so hard to comprehend, so Sorey's not going to try and wrap his brain around it just yet. He's not going to think about how maybe the books in his house are crumbling now, he's not going to think about how maybe Elysia will be missing some faces. He can deal with it as it comes.]

[sylphystia]

[Dezel offers Sorey a spoon with raw cookie dough on it.]

It's... been a while, [he says haltingly. He isn't sure how Sorey will take the news.] About a thousand years.

[monolike]

[Well he's gonna drop that spoon into the dirt, for one. Stare blankly at Dezel before reacting late to what he just did.] Ah- Shoot! [He plucks it back up but the dough is hopelessly filthy. There's no salvaging this.] Oh, I'm- I'm sorry, sorry, Dezel. I'll go clean- there was a stream back that way, right? I'll just-

[He needs a minute. He needs a few minutes.

Sorey kneels there beside the water, washing a spoon long since clean as he tries to absorb that. He knew in his heart that it must've been at least a few hundred years. It had to be long enough to erode that temple, to eat through thick stone and coat everything in dust. It had to be long enough for that tree near the altar to grow tall and strong, but-

A thousand years?

A thousand years?

What place could he possibly have in a world a thousand years older?]

[sylphystia]

[Dezel just stares after him for a minute. Well, he could've taken it worse...? God, he's bad at this. He lets Sorey have a few minutes to think about it, maybe ten at the most, but then he slinks up to the stream to check on him.]

Sorry, [he mutters.] I should've-- let someone else tell you. Lailah, maybe. [She's better at this sort of thing. But she's also busy, and seeing another Shepherd might make Sorey feel worse.]

I'm not... [... not the kind of friend Sorey needs right now, and he's vividly aware of it, but he can't just leave either. It's funny in a sad way that a thousand years hasn't made him any less awkward. He's a fairly adult seraph now, but he still feels so confused, so helpless, with the man who saved his life aching in front of him.]

[monolike]

[He's not crying again, at least. Though he hadn't realized he was staring down at the water for quite so long until Dezel comes up beside him. Sorey glances at Dezel, a little numb, but finishes washing off the spoon and holds it out for him to take.]

One time when I was little, I got in a fight with Mikleo over something dumb. And I was so frustrated, because I felt like I couldn't explain myself properly to him because I was a year younger and not good with words yet. Gramps- [Sorey's throat closes up and he has to work his tongue in his mouth before he can speak again. He hasn't even had time to mourn Gramps.] ...Gramps told me that whether or not someone was suited to something didn't depend on whether they were good at it. Just that they were willing to try.

[Sorey dries his hands on his pants as he lets that sink in, and he reaches over to squeeze Dezel's shoulder, briefly.] ...I'm glad the first face I saw was yours. After all, I did promise.

[sylphystia]

[Dezel takes the spoon in silence. He'd been there-- he'd heard Zenrus' adoptive grandchildren weep over him. He heard the tears in Lailah's voice.]

... That's good advice.

[He ducks his head for a moment. He can't handle how earnest Sorey is sometimes. I'm glad the first face I saw was yours-- god, he hopes he isn't blushing. He adjusts his hat just in case.]

Come on. The madeleines are done.

[monolike]

[the trek to elysia is slow and quiet. sorey hasn't ever been one for mindless chatter, but he almost always has something to say about something. the weight of that number sits heavy on his heart (one thousand years, one thousand years) and though he'd never thought of himself as a major part of his world, it still feels very much like being left behind. he wonders briefly if this is how seraphim always feel, constantly outliving human culture, then banishes the thought as borne from hubris. seraphim's lives don't revolve around humans' as much as the reverse is true, no matter how they might get along now.

there are a lot of tears when sorey climbs that hill and passes through the gates. they're more faded than he remembers, crumbling a bit more, but if there's anything that looks the same it's this mountain top. it makes it hard to believe that time has passed when melody and natalie are there the same as ever, looking like they haven't changed in the least and holding his cheeks while they weep.

sorey spends a few hours in his house, looking at all the new furniture, the fabrics. of course, all of it would have rotted away centuries ago. but there's hardly any dust or cobwebs, and most of the books have been replaced with copies or different ones. it almost seems as if the house's occupant has only been gone for a few months.

Mikleo will be thrilled. He's away overseas now, I think. You should chase after him!

his family kept his house alive for him.

after a few days of rest, sorey heads out to see if dezel ended up sticking around elysia. he both does and doesn't expect it; wind seraphim tend to be flighty by nature, but dezel hovers. and dezel wouldn't leave his side without telling him, not without good reason. it doesn't stop sorey from feeling relieved when he finds dezel at the same place he'd always been when they visited before, at that cliffside near the monolith, overlooking the mountain peaks piercing the cloud cover. he already has a travel bag slung over his shoulder, has already said his (temporary) goodbyes to his family.]

Hey.

So, what do you think about crossing the ocean?

[sylphystia]

[Of course Dezel is still here. He didn't expect Sorey to stay too long; there's still so much of the world left for him to explore, new places for him to see, messages from his old life to pick up. He's spent the past few days not resting, but gearing up for a trip with a human stomach. Been a while since he did that. And he's also sent off a message to the Sparrowfeathers. He thinks he'll probably hear back sooner rather than later.

It's... strange but exciting, traveling with Sorey again. He feels like he's stepping into someone else's shoes (for the second time). Sorey represents that one part of his old life, the one focused on revenge and nothing else. He's changed so much because of Sorey. Because of Rose. It's-- it's painful, but in a good way. He's never really learned how to heal, and Zaveid couldn't teach him that. Not really.

So he lingers. He lingers, and he thinks about what he'll do with the next seventy or so years. Sometimes he talks to the villagers but mostly he just keeps to himself, stalking the forest or helping out the human village at the base of the mountain.

But when a few days pass, he's there-- right where Sorey expects him to be. Dezel's always had a good sense of timing.]

You wanna cross the ocean, huh?

[The breeze picks up, a little cold yet full of promise. Dezel tucks his hat down but his soft smile is still visible.]

Ladylake's a port town now. What do you say?

[monolike]

To the ocean?! Wow, yeah! [Eagerly falls into step beside Dezel as they make their way back down the mountain. Probably shouldn't go cliff-jumping this time with his family standing right over there. Dezel would catch some SERIOUS hell.] Is Uno still there?

[sylphystia]

[Yeah, probably not. Dezel takes a bit of a chance here and wraps his arm around Sorey's shoulders-- ostensibly to steady him-- but they both know the truth.]

Yep. The people have taken to worshiping Lailah and Mikleo, too, since they're around a lot.

[He clears his throat.]

There's a-- a library. A big one. A top notch nerd like you will probably want to check it out before we leave the country.

[monolike]

Oooh, I definitely wanna see it! We should check it out for a bit. [Sorey would usually go for just camping out in the damn thing and never ever leaving, eating optional, but...he really wants to see Mikleo. He might've just seen him himself a few days ago, but for Mikleo it's been a thousand years. Scared as he is to see how his friend's changed, he knows if their roles were reversed he'd want to see him as soon as possible.

Still, this arm, the library? Dezel's definitely, totally, completely doting on him and Sorey would be lying if he said he didn't love it. Not just because Dezel is being obviously affectionate (well, for him) and that's something he's struggled with, but also because it makes it obvious how happy Dezel is that he's back.

Of course Dezel's happy. He'd been the only one to scream and throw a fit over Sorey deciding to go to sleep. Leave it to Dezel to voice what nobody else is willing to.]

I totally want to see everybody's shrines. Hey, do you get worshiped anywhere? Do the Sparrowfeathers do anything for you?

[sylphystia]

[Don't call it doting. He's just happy to have his friend back. It's... unfortunate that they had to wait so long, but Mikleo said he'd wait forever, and Dezel did, too. Their human friends are gone but they gave everything to make sure Sorey's world would become a reality. And it is. And he's here, living in it, finally... like he should have been all along.]

We'll visit the shrine, don't worry. [Dezel sounds both vaguely amused and resigned to his fate.] I told them not to, but they made one anyway. It's in Pendrago. [Of all places. Gods. The Scattered Bones like to leave offerings, too. Dezel isn't sure he'll ever be comfortable with it after the truth of his blessing was revealed-- but he hasn't had anything bad happen since Symonne and Heldalf, for which he's grateful.] Zaveid and I travel with them all the time, so it's not really needed.

[His grip tightens a little, not enough to be painful or anything, just to remind Dezel that Sorey's there.]

... You have your own shrine, you know.

[monolike]

Pendrago? Oof. [Talk about awkward. It's not like anybody outside of their group could know how crass that is so Sorey can't blame them, but geez. Dezel's clearly not inhabiting whatever vessel they have set up there, but if Sorey knows him he must be worried about his blessing affecting the city. With that many people around...well, maybe they can look into getting it moved somehow.

The news following that though-] Me? [He laughs a little incredulously.] But I'm human. Why's there one for me?

[sylphystia]

[He's safe and happy just traveling with the Sparrowfeathers like now. Everyone thought he might fall to malevolence after Rose went, but she had a long fulfilling life. Dezel could honestly say he didn't regret a moment with her. You need to wait for Sorey, she said. And then give him a good kick in the ass for me. Which had made Dezel laugh.

It was so long ago.]

Well, you got quite a few followers for reviving the Shepherd legend like you did.

[He tugs a little at Sorey's sleeve.]

... Besides, we had a theory that Maotelus would make you a seraph, since normally humans can't live that long. So us seraphim ended up making pilgrimages, too.

[It was a sad possibility they'd all prepared themselves for, because like the infant Mikleo, Sorey would wake up without any memories.]

[monolike]

Ohhhh... [It feels so weird to say he'd 'revived' the Shepherd legend, knowing what he does about Michael, the man who'd erased himself from history.

Of course, he'd never considered himself to be really that big or important, even when people started to recognize him and do weird things like ask him to kiss their newborns and stuff. It just seemed like odd things that happened now and then, but they spent so much time in dusty ruins and in nature and so little time in cities that Sorey never really picked up on the weight he had on human civilization, despite Lailah's constant warnings about it. Hrm.

Then again, he didn't stop to consider the fact that he'd die, being asleep so long, also. That his body would just age into a withered husk, and then bones, and then dust while he slept. Maotelus clearly had something to do with it; maybe because as a seraph, he couldn't continue to act as a vessel? ...Sorey should go back and ask him. Maybe Maotelus can still be reached at those old ruins where he woke.] I guess that...makes sense.

I'm glad it didn't. I wouldn't want to forget everybody if I did.

[sylphystia]

[Dezel is quiet for a long moment as they hike down the mountain. Birdsong fills the silence, a breeze rustling through leaves, the faint tapping of a woodpecker. This is the pure world that Sorey helped guarantee, not just for his friends but for everyone who came after him. Sorey's legacy is tangible and Dezel is so very grateful that the former Shepherd gets to finally live in it.]

You probably wouldn't forget everything.

[Dezel has had some experience with this.]

You'd look at your friends and know them, even if you don't remember their names. You'd still like the same things you did before. And I bet you'd love to explore the ruins here all over again.

Your heart would be the same. You'd be accepted no matter what.

[monolike]

[The pause in the conversation is so long that Sorey almost startles when Dezel starts talking again, half-lost in thought and wonder in the world around them. Aroundight Forest has sideways been beautiful, but it feels even crisper and cleaner than usual. Is it because of Maotelus? Sorey doesn't recognize the pathways Dezel leads him down, his own familiar routes long since overgrown, but still somehow everything looks the same.

But then Dezel speaks and Sorey is pulled back to the present. He can't help himself; Dezel always had this way of saying the kindest things as if they were simple truths. For someone who Sorey remembers tending toward the negative side of realism, Dezel has been unendingly gentle with him.

He slings an arm around Dezel's shoulders, hugging him roughly as they walk before letting him go.] Well...maybe one day it'll happen. [Sorey's not arrogant enough to think he deserves to be a seraph, but he'd be happy if that was the case. It feels so far off into the future, but he knows that Dezel must already be looking past those few short decades Sorey has left and thinking about what will happen after.

Sorey has every confidence that his friends will be fine without him; they're beings of immortality, the earth and wind and rain itself, but he understands enough to know that he could never understand what it feels like to watch a friend be born and then die at your side, long before your own end is in sight.]

[sylphystia]

[Dezel doesn't pull away from the hug. He's practically been hugging Sorey this whole time, so it's no big deal, but don't you dare call him out. He's not overprotective or doting. Not at all. ... Gods, who is he kidding. He hasn't seen the young man who saved him in a thousand years. Of course he's acting like every breath counts, because it does. Once Sorey is gone, that's it. That's everyone who was a part of his old life, for better or worse.

He won't take this time for granted.

Their first stop, however brief, is the village in Aroundight Forest. Dezel explains the history. At some point, humans realized the forest was fairly rich in resources due to the fresh water trickling from Mt. Mabinogio. It was also very, very close to the village that the great Shepherd Sorey was born in. The pilgrims seeking to follow in Sorey's footsteps began as a trickle, and then a steady stream, so settling here made sense.

And then their children's children began to see seraphim.

As it so happens, the pair are absolutely swarmed by little kids chanting 'Shepherd! Shepherd!' and tugging on Sorey's cloak. Dezel gently waves them off, but not before conjuring some candy from his coat pockets. Apparently he does this a lot. The reason for the visit is to ask the item merchant to pass on a letter, and then it's off to Ladylake.

The beautiful granite Sorey remembers is still there. Civilization spilled over the lake until the surrounding land was dotted with houses and streets, creating a sort of suburb. Elegant white towers rise from the center of the floating city, distinguishing both the palace and the sanctuary. Where the land curves around it, there is another group of very tall buildings-- the port-- and a second bridge.

As they cross the main bridge, the guards don't even bat an eye. Dezel leans in slightly.]

It's a little busy this time of day. Don't wander off.

[There are still plenty of stairs and platforms, but it seems like the city has gained a few layers it didn't have before. Narrow gondolas slip through the canals below. Judging by the amount of people in the boats, it's a good way to get around the usual carriage and foot traffic. The streets are wider, too. But the best thing?

It feels pure. There's not a trace of that suffocating malevolence anywhere. Uno's done his job well.

After snagging some fried food from a cart, he leads Sorey to the center square of the city. There used to be a water wheel here, but it was destroyed a long time ago. In its place is a huge fountain made with Hyland's signature embellishments... as well as seraphic artes. The fountain is unique in that it is made for people to walk through it. Arches of sparkling water and artisan marble throw rainbows around. In the center is a curtain made of water, beautiful and curved and totally breaking the laws of physics; surrounding it are several stepping stones making a circle.

Dezel doesn't tell him to step on them. He just casually shoves Sorey forward. The centerpiece comes alive, then, painting light onto the surface of the water. This particular hologram depicts the Shepherd pulling the sword from the stone, but the others feature various locations from the Celestial Record, or illustrations of Ladylake's long history.]

Thought you might be interested in this. [He can't see it, but he doesn't mind the water parts.] Mikleo had his hand in it.

[monolike]

[Sorey has to hide his smile when he spots Dezel handing out candy to kids, human children. It's so unexpectedly soft-hearted; not that Dezel was a cruel person, but he never offered much kindness that wasn't hidden behind a thin veneer of realism. It's...really nice. Very nice. If nothing else, getting to see Dezel like this with his heart open to the world makes waking up a thousand years later worth it.

It's less weird to have children swarming and elders nodding to him in respect than it is to see them bowing to Dezel. Dezel had told him but only now is he really seeing it; humans can really see seraphim. And they must think of him as a new Shepherd, with Dezel as his Prime Lord; there isn't the same kind of desperate hope in people's eyes here either as they take him in. Shepherds are still around but they aren't a sign of dire times or a single flickering light in the darkness. They're simply people working to keep the world clean, because a world with humans is one with malevolence, but that doesn't mean it has to be a cruel world.

Sorey stays to talk with the villagers as Dezel wanders off to complete a task. He gets made fun of for the way he says a few things, and his choice of words here and there; elders chuckle and call him old-fashioned, and Sorey laughs with them as they tell him new words, new sayings. "Yer from across the ocean, aren't you kiddo?" ask a few curiously and Sorey hates to lie, so he just shrugs and holds up his hands to the little girl using him to play cat's cradle.

It's not until they get to Ladylake that Sorey truly begins to understand the scope of how the world has changed. The city, already impressively gigantic has tripled in size, the great bridge that once led to the outskirts of town now a historic feature and a tourist spot. Sorey doesn't have any traveling papers but Dezel produces his own, and his cloak is enough to mark him as a Shepherd so he's given a pass.

Trying to take in everything is making his head spin, so Sorey allows Dezel to lead him around (and buy him food that is delicious, a fried snack that is reminiscent of the salted fish of a thousand years ago) and just tries to keep from being overwhelmed. It's like walking into a new city, except it isn't; the streets are familiar, the architecture arches and flourishes like it did forever ago. Sorey could spend months just studying the layout of the city and buildings, but that's not anything new. Are the aqueducts still around?

Dezel leads him over to a fountain and Sorey starts inspecting the nearest placard when Dezel nudges him forward so hard he stumbles. Once his feet touch the stones the water flashes to brilliant colors, images filtering across of-]

Is that-

[Sorey goes bright red at seeing himself rendered so beautifully on the water before it moves on to historical moments, ruins and mountains, gigantic lakes and sparkling shores.]

...Mikleo's a bigshot now, isn't he? [It makes him swell with pride, to know that Mikleo who'd wanted strength so badly is now able to make something like this, something beyond Sorey's ability to even understand. It also worries him, because the Mikleo he keeps hearing about feels so distant from him that he's not sure who he's going to find when he finally meets up with him again.]

[sylphystia]

Most of the research into seraphic artes is done by other people, but he lent his talents to the places that mattered to him. [Ladylake, the altar...] ... He probably wanted to impress you.

[He doesn't elaborate, thinking perhaps that's enough.] Come on, there's more to see.

[They pass beneath the shadow of the sanctuary, which is impossibly grand. Stained glass windows adorn the outside, and it seems like the stonework has been reformed by masterful hands. Water features prominently in the outside, as well as a statue of an unknown person holding Lailah's sword to the sky. Fire runes are inscribed all along it, so that it glows with a pure and golden light.

Dezel leads him inside. There are a few priests who look up when Sorey enters, dressed as he is, but they assume Dezel is his Prime Lord like the rest. He's not sure how he feels about that, but he doesn't dwell on it. The center of the room where the sword rests is, of course, vacant. In its place is a stone shrine housing not only Uno's pure water and bowl, but a sweet-smelling red candle and a glass ball with some opals in it.

Uno is surprised to see Dezel but downright shocked to see Sorey again-- and quite relieved. He mentions that the others will be excited to see him, too. Sorey must have so many questions.

Dezel shifts uncomfortably. He might be more well-adjusted than the last time Sorey saw him, but he's still feeling a bit like a third wheel. He leaves Sorey to it, then, and attaches himself to the wall to wait.]

[monolike]

[Sorey doesn't know how long he spends with Uno.

When he sees his friend again he throws himself into his arms, surprising them both, he thinks. While it feels as if he'd seen everyone just recently, at the same time he can almost feel the distance of time between them until the moment they touch.

They sit together on the steps leading up to his shrine and talk enthusiastically; well, Sorey remains enthusiastic, Uno is as serene and unflappable as ever. Sorey asks about Father Breunor, about Alisha, about what came of the Council that gave her so much grief. He asks about the growth of Ladylake and its fortune under his care. Uno speaks of the people and generations of Ladylake with such tender kindness that Sorey can't help but throw his arms around him again.

When they finally leave, Sorey is on cloud nine. He can't stop touching Dezel, grabbing at his wrist or arm or shoulder only to pull away, not wanting to overwhelm him with too much. He points at just about everything they pass by and subjects Dezel to a barrage of questions until he comes to an abrupt stop in front of a clothing shop.]

...should I change?

[He'd picked up on your discomfort, Dezel. Don't think he didn't.]

[sylphystia]

[Dezel puts up with it, surprisingly. At this point he's used to Zaveid draping on him, which Sorey doesn't really do. He knows Sorey likes his little physical reminders and, after a thousand years of slumber, Dezel isn't going to deny him. Sometimes he returns it but only when other people aren't looking, like a hand on Sorey's back to help direct him through a crowd, or on his shoulder in an alleyway. He's still the dark, silent sentinel that Sorey remembers.

The sudden stop has him puzzled, though. And then it hits. The way Sorey looks at him, the near-threadbare cloak that has seen more than its share of calamity...]

... You don't-- you don't have to change. [He isn't sure how much the cloak means to him, exactly, but he'd learned at some point it was gifted to Sorey from Alisha.] It's not like you smell terrible.

[... Yeah. That's what Sorey is worried about, sure.]

But I have money if you want something different. People might start recognizing you and asking questions.

[monolike]

[Maybe the way he was holding onto his cloak was obvious. ...yeah, that was probably obvious. Dezel is being kind to him, but if it was sincerely a problem that they couldn't handle he'd have suggested it anyway.]

No...that's fine. If it's all the same to you, I...

I'd like to wear this a little while longer. [He might not be able to travel with Rose and Alisha anymore, but wearing this, it makes him feel a little closer to them both.

He sends a smile up at Dezel and bumps his chest with his shoulder.] I'm starting to feel seriously pampered. Next you're going to tell me that we're getting an inn tonight instead of camping out.

[sylphystia]

[It's true. Dezel could care less how people look at them. He's had a few hundred years to get used to being seen on a regular basis. He's never given a damn what people think, and he's not about to start now.]

Then wear it. It's yours. [He can't see the smile but he can hear it in Sorey's voice, and it's confirmed by the friendly bump. Of course, his words-- they're enough to make Dezel scoff, and he has to tuck his head down over his eyes because he knows he's blushing.]

I just won't tell you. [That would be a yes. He clears his throat.]

There's something in this city that I still need to do. I'll leave you at the library while I take care of it-- shouldn't be long.

[monolike]

Mysterious, [Sorey muses. Scattered Bones things? Maybe he's just organizing a surprise meetup. Either way,] C'mon, I'm not your toddler, you don't have to worry so much about me. I'll meet you back at the inn, okay? Is it the one by the gates?