Altered Tundra

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

When Jaakuna had made the suggestion about climbing, it definitely was out of the question once he felt the smoothness of the gate. That's when they were at a loss until Nadeline would read some text on the gate. She would decode it and go on to say that it involved JAakuna summoning Belias. He looked at her and then motioned everyone to step back. As they did that, Jaakuna raised his right arm, and the glyph of Belias would slowly flicker. Soon, it got to the point where it would flash periodically. As it did that, it would just simply show, no flickering, no flashing. "By your title, I pronounce thee, Gigas; by your name, I summon thee, Belias!" As Jaakuna shouted out that, the glyph would shine and in front of him, a fiery shadow would soon appear and in seconds the form of the eight-foot tall Belias would appear before the group.

"You summoned me?" Belias said as his voice was deep and layered, almost echoed.

"Whoa! I could never get used to that." JAakuna laughed and stepped back. "But yes, I command you to open this gate." JAakuna ordered.

"Very well then." Belias said as he turned to gate of Giruvegan. As he commanded his own magick, Belias would unlock the holy seals that bounded Giruvegan from the outside world. "It is done." He said as Belias faded away until his next summon.

Wesley looked amazed and Savayna did too. They had no words for it. The gate had opened and looking beyond it, the group could only gaze in amazement of how bit the Ancient Capital of Giruvegan was.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

When they traversed through the area, Wesley put it together as to what this area of The Feywood was called. It was the Edge of Reason. Wesley was trying to rack his brain around what exactly this area was called and when he finally realized it, he gave himself a mental high-five. When he did that, he was smiling and nodding at how smart he really was. Savayna would look over to Wesley and raise an eyebrow. He would notice her giving him weird looks and he would instantly become red. Savayna snickered at Wesley and just focused on the task at hand.

When they came to the first altar, the group would see that beasts were slain and blood all over. That must be what it meant. JAakuna had finally put it together. "So, the blood of the monsters are the shadows." Jaakuna stated. He would also nod at himself. Savayna looked at him. "You and Wesley are truly two dweebs." She stated and just followed the group as they went ahead and Jaakuna followed.

In the minutes that followed, the group would traverse through more and more of the shrines, finding more of the blood trails and the beasts slain. It would come to the point that they were at a huge gate. As they looked at it, Jaakuna didn't know how to get through it. "Do we climb?" JAakuna asked.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

While Nadeline expressed her concern about the voice, she would state that they have no choice but to continue on to Giruvegan, wherever that may be in this snow and mist. Grant would then add to it that he felt nervous about the hurry part of the voice. Nadeline would offer up a possible identity to the voice and that it might just be the esper, but Grant would respond and state that if that was indeed the case, then Emiri would be the one to hear the voice and not Jaakuna. Speaking of which, she seemed to want to listen to the voice should it give them any form of assistance. Jaakuna shrugged at that.

After they all bickered about it, Jaakuna would speak. “Let’s just go. Like the voice said, we’re not far off.” Jaakuna said shrugging again.

After they would move forward, it wouldn’t be long until they would make their way into the next area. Of course they would fight some monsters along the way, but that wasn’t anything that they couldn’t handle. All it would take was some team work from all of them and the monsters would soon find themselves on the way to the gods for judgment. When they came to the area, a loud noise would be heard off in the distance. Jaakuna heard it, Savayna heard, it, Wesley heard it, and no doubt the others heard it. Though it only lasted about five seconds, it would soon be silent again. Well, except for the fact that the whispers of the mist was loud and clear.

As they continued forward more, Jaakuna stopped.

Follow the shadows of the fallen! It will guide you!

Gripping his head, Jaakuna fell on one knee and let out a moderately loud groan. Wesley looked to Jaakuna. “Jaakuna, you alright?” Wesley asked looking concerned for his friend.

Taking a moment to gather himself, he stood up and shook his head a bit. “Yeah, but the voice spoke again.” [/bJaakuna said getting annoyed a bit.

Wesley looked at him curiously. [b]“What did it say?” He asked.

“It said something about following the shadows of the fallen and that it will guide us.” Jaakuna said remembering what exactly the voice said.

Wesley thought about what Jaakuna said the voice had told him and he was drawing a blank. He turned to Nadeline. “Nadeline, does your tome say anything about ‘The Shadows of the Fallen.’?” He asked her.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Jaakuna was frantically looking around for where the voice came from and that’s when he heard Nadeline state that he just said it that it was in his head. Jaakuna looked back to her and he did just that. He said nothing, but just look at her. Of course it was in his head cause his ears lead to his head, but he just doesn’t understand why no one else heard it? Was he going insane due to the heavy amounts of mist or was there actually some meaning to hearing that voice? Was this person trying to call out to him somehow? Jaakuna didn’t know, but he just wanted to find out who this voice belonged to.

As he continued to think about it, he would hear Emiri ask what the voice said exactly. Jaakuna would turn to Emiri thinking that she was probably worried about him. “Umm, let me think.” He said trying to remember exactly what the voice said. ”If I remember correctly, it said — You‘re almost there! Hurry! — and then nothing after that. Jaakuna replied to Emiri and Wesley and Savayna just looked at Jaakuna wondering what it could mean.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

It was done rather quickly and without any mishaps. The group had dispelled of the Tararus monster and now as they were alone and weighing their options, Grant would ask the group on whether or not they should try their luck at the three enemies they see off into the distance or they should trek around them and not press their very limited luck. The beasts off to the distance didn’t seem like they were very weak, so going after them would indeed be a very foolish thing to do. Wesley thought about it and while he saw that it would be more difficult to go through them.

Wesley would speak. “I vote to go around them as well.”

Savayna weighed out the options. She wanted to test her strength against those beasts, but perhaps against that many amount of beasts, it wouldn’t’ be smart. “Yeah, I too vote to screw those bastards.” She said shrugging.

Without even thinking about it, Jaakuna spoke. “Let’s go around them.” JAakuna said.

The vote was unanimous. Everyone voted to go around the beasts, and so they did. They would trek around the beasts by going down certain turns and already they could feel the mist getting more intense. The party would feel it and even some might be showing some signs of it affecting them, whether it meant slowing down or whatever. Though, once they came to the White Magick’s Embrace, that feeling would wear off. It was when they came to that very portion of The Feywood that the snow was very present in the ground and the mist was still as bad as ever.

When they made their way through the White Magick’s Embrace, the group would see a few altars of sorts. As they continued through it, Jaakuna felt weird. He couldn’t explain it, but something about getting closer to Giruvegan — they were close, Jaakuna knew that — made him feel weird. It was like something was calling to him.

You’re almost there! Hurry!

Suddenly, Jaakuna heard a voice. He stopped(he was at the front of the group), and that caused the group to stop as well. Furthermore, Jaakuna looked back and then to his front. He would then look to the sides as if searching for something.

Wesley looked at Jaakuna with a tilted head “What’s wrong Jaakuna?” He asked his friend.

Jaakuna didn’t know what was the matter. He heard a strange voice.“You mean you didn’t hear that?” He said.

Wesley looked as clueless as everyone else did. “I didn’t hear a thing.” He answered back. Jaakuna kept on looking around, almost as if he was going crazy.

Savayna chuckled. “I guess the mist is finally getting to you, huh Jaakie!” She snickered.

Usually, Jaakuna would respond back to that nickname that he loathed, but this really had him bothered. “How could you guys not hear that? It was loud as fuck in my head.” Jaakuna stated, raising his voice slightly.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

As the group made their way through Antiquities End and entered through the area that Nadeline had stated was Resolent Glade, they went through it and as Nadeline had also stated, it was definitely full of mist. Jaakuna looked around and all he could see was two feet in front of him and his half-reflection from the mist. It was no wonder people got lost here. One misstep and people traversing through The Feywood will either die from exhaustion or from the fiends most likely lurking around.

Truly, when they came into the area, the first thing that any of them would see were just themselves and the snowy breeze of snow. Though, they would be alarmed as Emiri would raise her arm to them and she pointed to the direction just west to them. As they all would look in that specific direction, they would come to notice that there were some enemies nearby. It was no surprise. With mist being as thick as it was here, Jaakuna nor Wesley nor Savayna nor anyone else should be surprised that there would be monsters nearby.

When she alerted them, a giant Giruvenus, which was a much more stronger variant of the Tyranno found in The Gilmore Jungle. When Emiri pointed that out, a wolf-like creature known as a Tatarus came to Emiri and with the quick usage of her dagger, she killed it in a few strikes. However, as it cried out in pain and eventually its own demise, several other Tartarus creatures soon surrounded the party. Jaakuna would look at them and out of the corner of his eye, he could see a pair of Behemoths. Though, they seemed to be a bit far off, so killing these wolves wouldn’t alert them…yet.

Turning his attention to them, Jaakuna saw there were about four or five Tartarus wolves. He wouldn’t wait for them to go after him, nor would Savayna or Wesley. As they each threw their weapons, Jaakuna would leap forward, kicking his target in the head. That caused the wolf to be sent back, but not die. Then, with a double stab of his two short swords, Jaakuna impaled the wolf in two places: the top of the head and the center. Blood oozed everywhere and the wolf would cry out in pain as it would die. Meanwhile, Wesley would quickly take his Yagyu Darkblade and when his target would come at him, he would swiftly behead the wolf, blood also oozing out, but it was more stationary than Jaakuna’s own. For Savayna, she took her Ice Queen Sword and by slicing part of the wolf’s throat off, she would spin around and cleanly slice off his upper-body, blood oozing as well. The cries of pain it let out was much more controlled than the ones of those that Jaakuna and Wesley had just killed.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

In the minutes proceeding the little exposure of Nadeline and Wesley getting their funk on, the Ifrit was only about ten minutes out from The Feywood. Once it had gotten to a point where they could safely beam down, they would do as such. When they would touch down to the ground, the area was so full of mist that all of them would no doubt feel an overwhelming feeling of magick. It was what came with being around the mist and since The Feywood had such a high density of it, more so than anything else, it wasn't surprising that they would feel weird in some ways. When they all would look around, they would see reflections of themselves, but also snow. Yes, despite The Gilmore Jungle just being behind them, this was apart of the snowy regions of Ivalice and as such, snow is a given.

Jaakuna would look around for himself and he knew this would be a troubling journey. As he tried to secure his cloak to make sure it was properly tired up, he put the hood over his head. He had the same outfit on that he had when they all went to Stigma in the morning, it wasn’t like he was going to be cold or anything, but he just prepared for the worst. Savayna had on her usual blue dress with the armor and she also made sure her cloak was also secure and tight around her. She, like Jaakuna also put the hood over her blonde hair and made it to where her hair was inside it, much like what Jaakuna did. Wesley, who had his long coat on, also checked to see if his cloak was tightly secure around him.

Looking on, Jaakuna spoke. “So, where exactly in The Feywood are we?” Jaakuna asked.

Wesley looked around and he actually remembered the name of this place. “I believe it’s called Antiquity's End.” He said. “At least, I think that’s where we are.” Wesley said thinking about it. “Do you know where we are, Nadeline?” He asked her.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

When the suggestion came to go help Wesley and Nadeline with the supplies, Grant made the comment that Nadeline was probably bossing Wesley around. Jaakuna laughed a bit at that as did Savayna. It would only take about five minutes until they all found themselves at the supply room where Grant was the first one to walk in and the rest followed. However, what they came to see was interesting to say the least. Wesley and Nadeline were in quite the compromising position and Grant voiced off his opinion. He yelled, Nadeline yelled back and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

When Nadeline whined about how they didn’t knock, Grant would further say that they didn’t need to knock as the room they were all in was the Supply Room. Furthermore, Grant would also remind them that they are of royalty, Wesley being a Prince and Nadeline being a Princess. Jaakuna couldn’t help but smile and Savayna was right there with him. They looked at each other and just smiling. Meanwhile, Nadleine would say that they were just having fun and call Grant rude for interrupting That prompted Emiri to say that was an excuse for when one is in the bedroom. Jaakuna looked to Emiri with a raised eyebrow.

Savayna would hear all that they were saying and she would speak. “Before you get all judgy, Grant, do remember that you were almost pleading with me to get naked in front of you.” She offered up.

Jaakuna looked to Savayna, but she would return his look with words. “Oh don’t give me that look.” She said. Jaakuna would say nothing.

When they were done with that, Wesley lightly scooted to the other side of the room as he would see Nadeline starting to throw potions upon potions at the group. It was first at Emiri, which hit her and cut her; it was weird. The bottle cut her, but the potion healed her. Next an array of supplies went flying at the group and Emiri, as best as she could, try to catch them all in a comedic fashion. Thankfully, she didn’t get hit by any of them. However, Grant was whacked straight in the head and proceeded to knock him the fuck out.

Wesley’s eyes were widened. Jaakuna’s were as well and so were Savayna’s. Jaakuna wanted to say something, but he decided against it. Instead, he would guide Emiri out, and Savayna would take Grant’s arms, and drag him out. The door would close once they were out.

Wesley grabbed his jacket and put it on, strapping it around his body. He turned his gaze to Nadeline briefly. “That could’ve been worse.” He stated.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

As he lifted up her thigh and kissed her neck, Wesley would do it even deeper, and longer. He would even switch from both sides of her neck and even at the center of it. He would kiss more south and then to her lips, and that's when their eyes would meet. For that single moment that they looked into one another's eyes, they saw the love between them. This was more than exploring the sexual desire between the two of them. Sure, the sexual part was half of the reason, but Wesley felt more than that — he felt more for her. It was in that singular moment that Wesley realized how much he loved her. His forehead would touch hers gently and both hands would lightly grip her head, his fingers locking between her blonde ones."I love you, Nadeline." He said in a breathing whisper.

---

Grant was definitely flustered by what Savayna had suggested and she couldn’t blame him. For a guy such as him, what she suggested was probably something he was slightly uncomfortable doing. Regardless, Grant would say that they couldn’t do that now as everyone would probably start coming back down. She looked at him squinting her eyes. “This isn‘t over.” She simply said.

As she would sit next to him, she would place her feet on the table, arms bent behind her head and hands locked together. She would then smile a bit and then she heard footsteps coming in. She knew that foot pattern from anywhere. It was Jaakuna and Emiri. They took seats opposite of Grant and Savayna.

“Did we miss anything?” JAakuna asked.

Savayna laughed a bit. “Nothing that you need to know.” She hissed playfully.

Jaakuna groaned but let it go. “So, where’s Wesley and Nadeline?” He asked.

Savayna shrugged. “I don’t know. Last I knew they were heading to the supply room, but that was about an hour and ten minutes ago.” Savayna said.

Jaakuna placed a finger on his lips. “Maybe they ran into some trouble.” He said, “Let’s all go help them.” He suggested.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Just hearing him go on and on about how beautiful Savayna was made her laugh. He was trying his best to say what he wanted to say, but in the process he would say these things that suggested that he wanted her right in the here and now. That just made her laugh a bit more. Well, maybe it was more like a chuckle of sorts, but still. He was getting all red and she found that cute. Actually, she found it really adorable. Though, she would stop her chuckling to speak. "So you're saying you want to see me without my clothes huh? All you had to do was ask." She said as she began to remove her tank top, but only slightly as to tease Grant.

---

Though she said it lowly and barely audible, Jaakuna heard her say Vincent's name. Was that really what he had the panic attack over? If so, then what exactly made it to where Jaakuna would react in such a way? He had no clue, but maybe he didn't want to know the specifics. Perhaps knowing would make do him more bad than good. That's when Jaakuna decided that he didn't want to know the specifics. At the end of the day, it really didn't matter. It definitely looked like ti would bring Emiri pain, so he wouldn't press the matter any longer. "I can see it pains you to tell me, so don't. The important thing is that I'm fine." He said smiling. Jaakuna stood up, holding out his hand. "Let's go down now. We're probably almost to Giruvegan." He said.