Chapter V: Honeymoon

“This view is beautiful,” remarked Jinxie as she stared out into the crystal waves of the ocean. From the docks of Mhaura, out beyond the great rock formations of Buburimu, one could see the endless stretch of sea, clear waves lapping frothily at the sandy shores. It was a sight Jinxie had never seen before, and taking it all in was exhilarating. The smell of the salty air, the feel of the warm breeze blowing off the water, the way the sun reflected off of those boundless waves; she was thrilled to finally be taking a break from her normally hectic life to enjoy this vacation.

“I agree,” came a voice from behind her, and a powerful set of arms wrapped themselves around her waist, careful not to disturb her carrying the newborn infant in her arms. Hubby kissed the back of her head as Jinxie smiled, both of them peering down at the son they had brought into the world. The infant boy was the primary reason for them both taking an extended leave of absence from their adventurous lives, and settling in for a long and relaxing trip to see the world in peace for a change. As the bell at the pier began sounding, announcing that the powerful ship which crossed the ocean was coming in, Jinxie closed her eyes and let the feelings of joy with her family sweep over her. She opened them again, bemused, letting her gaze lazily drift across the inhabitants of Mhaura in the town proper below them.

The hefty sailors threw burgeoning loads to and fro on the wharf, merchants haggled over the prices of goods newly arrived from Selbina. Fishermen brought in their daily hauls, and the local townspeople went about their lives. Here and there in the landscape she caught a few unfamiliar styles and realized them to be visitors from the Empire, or tradesmen from Tavnazia. There was even the odd adventurer or two in the crowd below, merely taking a break in the peaceful setting of seaside Mhaura. One person caught Jinxie’s eye in the midst of it all. It was a Mithra, wearing a black-and-red tabard traditional of Red Mages – Jinxie had one just like it herself. This Mithra, however, as the blonde-haired Hume looked at her, seemed to be looking directly back, eyes not moving, or, at least, they seemed not to be moving. Jinxie could not tell, since the Mithra wore a thick blindfold.

“Alright, alright, enough admiring the scenery,” the Tarutaru with them said in an irritable, yet joking tone. “Your boat’s pulling in, let’s get you two on it and out of here.”

“Thank you, Qwid.” Hubby said, smiling down at their self-appointed “escort.” Hubby and Jinxie were often so caught up in their lifestyle of following Those Guys around from one end of Mindartia to the other that when they had announced they were taking a break, Qwid had practically imposed himself upon them to make sure it actually happened. It was a good thing, too, because when rumors about the return of an Elder Wyrm began surfacing, they almost reconsidered, but Qwid wouldn’t hear it.

“You two deserve some time off more than anyone,” he had said, staring up at them through his bright brown eyes which clearly brooked no argument, “and if I have to force you to take it, then so be itaru. I mean, it. Bah.”

Jinxie smiled at the memory, and was grateful Qwid was there to see them off. She did not think it was necessary for him to take their pearls away while they were gone like he had, but like he said, their boat was pulling in. Jinxie looked over with slight breathlessness as the great steamer began making it’s approach towards the village. Within a few days they would be in the Empire of Aht Urhgan, enjoying the sites and sounds of the Near East for as long as their gil would hold them. Hubby, his raven-colored hair and dark eyes gleaming in the sunlight, took his wife by the hand and brushed his other one lightly across the face of his son. Jinxie gave her husband a light kiss on the lips, but then turned as something caught the corner of her eye. Even as the ship pulled in to the harbor, other passengers eager to make for the Empire preparing to board, Jinxie turned her head back out to face the crowd.

The blindfolded Mithra was still there, her hand outstretched, her finger pointing directly at Jinxie.

“You,” she said, and somehow Jinxie could hear her words even over the dull roar of the activity going on throughout Mhaura, “you must survive what happens now.”

And just like that, the sky exploded.

The residents of Mhaura screamed as an enormous ripple ran throughout the sky, and a fearsome wind, blowing far too hot for even the sun-dappled beach, began roaring through the air. The clouds surrounding them whirled and collided, and they could plainly see out in the distance, over the dunes of Buburimu, a tear into nothing opened. The wind picked up, and debris from all around them began whipping through the air. Jinxie screamed and clutched her child, who had begun crying, as a section of a roof tore itself free from the house it belonged to and whipped straight into them. Qwid was suddenly there, calling forth magic even as the crushing object bore down on him. With a blast of energy from his hand, a bolt of air magic broke the segment of roof into fragments, and it whipped away harmlessly in the wind.

“What’s going on?” Jinxie shouted. “Hubby, what’s happening?”

“I don’t know!” Hubby said, eyes narrowed against the wind as he tore his great katana from the sheath at his waist. “Stay close to me, Jinxie!”

The wind died down, just as suddenly as it had began, pieces of shrapnel and wreckage in the air dropping to the ground harmlessly. The panicked residents of Mhaura ran about in confusion, some staring at the sky in dismay or disbelief, others screaming at each other or nothing. All Jinxie knew was that her baby was crying.

“Hubby . . . “ Qwid started to say, and then it was too late.

When the demons came, they came in force. Sweeping on leathery wings through the village, they struck down everyone unfortunate enough to be in their path. Several of them landed on the dusty streets of Mhaura and gave awful cries, paralyzing those around them and then cruelly cutting them down where they stood. Off in the distance there were beastmen, though they seemed to be made out of a dark stone rather than flesh, and they surveyed the carnage from the hills outside. The demons covered the skies, and Jinxie desperately flung out her hand, summoning a bolt of lightning from her palm as one flew close to her. It fell, stricken, and did not rise again.

“Get to the ship!” She heard Qwid shout. A demon’s claws shredded into him, but caught nothing save a mystical shield he had conjured which blinked out of existence with the strike. The demon quickly realized it had not killed the tiny spellcaster, but by then Hubby’s great katana had struck it down in one fell chopping motion. Hubby closed his eyes, putting two fingers in the air in front of his face, and spoke an ancient incantation known to those truly trained in the art of the Samurai. As he mouthed the chant, a circle of protection began forming around him, and a moment later an aura of light cascaded through the air surrounding himself, Qwid, and Jinxie. A demon swooped down into them as Hubby completed the spell, only to be struck down by it’s power. It fell to the ground howling, and Qwid angrily jammed his thin-bladed sword directly through the creature’s burning yellow eye.

“Jinxie,” Hubby called out, taking his wife in his arms, “get to the ship, get out of here. I’ll hold them off.”

“No!” Jinxie cried, her eyes going wide at the prospect, “you can’t stay here! I won’t – “

Jinxie had no time to finish her sentence. The world suddenly seemed a very tiring place indeed, and for some reason she felt that instance would be an ideal time to take a nap.

Hubby cried out as Jinxie fell, catching her in his arms, even as his son was caught by another. He looked up to see a young Mithra, wearing a blindfold, standing behind his wife. She cradled the infant carefully, and then turned her unseeing eyes directly on Hubby.

“She will be fine, she merely sleeps.” Spoke the blind Mithra as Hubby stood agape. “I will bring her and your child to safety, but it will not be possible if you do not ensure our safe passage. Trust me, Samurai.”

Hubby regarded the Mithra for only an instant before nodding, and making a beeline for the ship, the crew of which was in a panic and desperate to take off. As soon as the steam engine started, it would be gone.

“Keep our child safe, my love.” Hubby said quietly, laying down the body of his wife on the deck. The Mithra behind him stepped onto the boat emotionlessly, still holding their son. Hubby stroked his hand across the face of his child one last time, and then looked dead into the covered eyes of his mysterious benefactor.

“If anything should befall my family because I trusted you,” Hubby said, his voice steady and unwavering, “the grave shall be no bar to my vengeance.”

The Mithra but nodded and replied “Your family shall survive. The world decrees that they must.”

Hubby gave his family one last look, and then leaped from the boat to shore as the demons, seeing the ship departing, began to swarm towards it. A blast of lightning took one in the back, and Hubby spun around to see Qwid still with him, his face a ball of fiery determination. The two exchanged but a glance, and then returned to the fray, their single-minded goal to allow the ship time to depart.

Still, even with a samurai as formidable as Hubby and the power of Qwid’s magic to help him, the demon swarm was simply overwhelming. It seemed no matter which way he spun his sword, there was a demon there to meet him. Against so many, his circle of protection could only do so much, and Qwid dare not take even a moment to restore his magic for fear of being struck down at the pivotal moment of a Red Mage’s weakness. Hubby heard the engines of the ship roar to life, even as the demons closed in around him. “Qwid!” He cried, knowing that if he faltered they would swarm upon the ship in an instant. The Tarutaru was either unable to hear him over the noise, or already dead, Hubby could no longer see him amidst this dark swarm. “Qwid, I can’t do this alone!”

“Ha HA! NOT alone!”

There was a sudden blur to his left, and one of the shadow-skinned beasts cried out in shock as it was rent in twain. Then to his right, he heard the distinctive sound of steel through bone, and another horrible demon cry. It was hard to distinguish one scream from the next in the midst of all the terror breaking loose, but the cry of a demon was unmistakable. Hubby was dumbfounded as just like that, the demons that had been moments away from breaking through his defenses vanished, sealed away by a powerful technique, or were simply cut down where they stood. Still they came, like the oncoming tide, but all at once Hubby realized he was not alone in his fight; nor was alone in forming the Warding Circle.

She stood with a look on her face that was half a fearsome glint in her eyes, and half a smile of feline teeth. Her armor appeared crafted of Damascus steel, and a crimson gauntlet Hubby recognized to be the kind used by the Yagudo adorned her hands. She held her great katana aloft before her, almost daring the demons to come forward and take her on. It was another Mithra, a Samurai, seemingly from nowhere, standing now directly in front of Hubby.

The two exchanged only the briefest of glances, and then brought their weapons to bear against the enemy before them. Hubby’s body suddenly felt lighter, and he realized that Qwid was still with him, not dead after all, using his magic to help the Samurai in their fight. His movements became faster, more lucid under the power of Qwid’s spell, and his spirits soared as he heard the shouts of sailors and the protests of the citizens of Mhaura as the ship took to the sea. In just a few moments, it would be in the open water, headed far away from all of this. He allowed himself only a brief glance backwards, to see the blindfolded Mithra staring back at him, still holding his son in her arms.

Then his attention was brought completely forward as a piercing shriek rang out across the horizon. Though it seemed perhaps even miles away, far across the stretches of the Buburimu Peninsula, something clearly came out of the rift. It was enormous, roaring as it dropped from whatever world it called home into Vana’diel. Hubby had seen things vaguely resembling it in the far distant arctic wastes in the north, but this creature was huge beyond all reckoning. Mounds of decaying flesh, two sunken, deadened eyes, wings made of splintered bone and torn, leathery skin. It tore through the intervening distance, growing closer by the second, bearing down on Mhaura like the apocalypse itself.

Hubby took a single step forward, so that he stood side-by-side with his Mithran counterpart. He held his blade out before him, eyes forward, watching as the horde before him grew ever closer to the village. “I would know the name of one who would die by my side,” Hubby said, not turning to face the other Samurai.

“HA!” She laughed, with genuine mirth in the barking exclamation, drawing her sword back into a defiant stance. “No one else is dying today!” She thrust her sword forward, casting a sideways glance at Hubby, a single fang touching her lower lip as she turned her attention back towards the demons surrounding them, and the beast quickly closing in. “But you can call me Luma!”

Hubby nodded, a smile crossing his own face now. He had faced many adventures in his life, many situations of terror and despair, but this living nightmare bearing down upon him now, and him standing hopelessly outnumbered with two fellow warriors, ensuring the lives of his wife and child – this was a good way to die.


It was some time before the Sleep spell wore off, and Jinxie came around with a start to find herself below deck. She instantly swung out of the bed she was lying down on, only to come face-to-face with the same Mithra from before. Immediately, Jinxie saw that her son was being held by the blindfolded woman, and she instinctively dove for him, the Mithra surrendering him without issue. Jinxie cradled her child and rocked back and forth, saying words in a soothing tone, but the child seemed calm and relaxed already.

“Where am I?” Jinxie demanded of the Mithra. “And where is my husband?”

The Mithra did not falter from Jinxie’s gaze as she spoke. “He stayed behind, to ensure the lives of you and your child. We are on the ship bound for Al Zahbi.”

“No!” Jinxie cried out despairingly, “no, you can’t have left him back there!”

“He knew what he had to do,” the Mithra said, her tone not changing, “his fate awaited him in Mhaura, just as yours, Jinxie,” she spoke now with her eyes raised, almost as if through the blindfold she were appraising the young mother before her, “is in the Empire of Aht Urhgan.”

“Who are you?” Jinxie asked in a whispered tone, grief and confusion battling for control of her mind. “What happened back there in Mhaura? And how do you know these things?”

“You may call me Xaerus,” she responded, turning away from Jinxie and walking towards one of the portholes, the waves slipping by them as the ship steamed onwards to the Empire across the Gugru Blue. “What is happening, Jinxie, is Dynamis, and I know . . . .” there was a pause there, a hesitation as if she almost did not want to remember something, but finally, she finished, “because I have been there.”