Part 30: Layna

Chapter 17- Layna

Saturday

Evening

I don't really know what I'm doing any more. Gig's still silent, and every time I try and sleep I can still hear Feinne weeping. I guess maybe writing will help me calm down.

After I killed Feinne, we all got together to discuss what needs to be done next.

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Haaahh... Yup, I don't believe it myself!
Hey, you did okay out there. You might make a decent fighter, after all.
Gig lent me his powers.
Huh?
And you accepted? Hah! He just did that so he could take over your body!
Ain't that right, Gig? Go on, tell us all how stupid we are! ...Gig?
He's not there...
Maybe he's sleeping...?
But if he's gone for good, that saves me the trouble of having to snap your neck.



What should I do?
They're right. Forget about it for now.
Right now, you should be thinking about getting back to Lady Layna and telling her what happened.
Whatever else you have to say to her is none of my concern.
Yeah, we should go back to the village.
Hey, hold on a sec.
I'm worried about my sister. I wanna head back to Astec for a while. I'm gonna catch up with Master Christophe.
Don't worry, I think I remember how to get to your village. I'll meet up with you after I check on Sis.



And off he goes...
That Vitali fella's been gone awhile now, too.
Erm, young lady... I don't like bringing outsiders to our village, but if you really want...
Don't worry about it. I'm not going with you.
I have my own things to take care of. I must help tend to the humans still under Nereid care.
Good luck, then.
Besides, I want to see Penn again. I guess it won't be so bad to have human friends.
If it makes Penn happy, it makes me happy.
Take it easy.

And so it was down to just those of us from the village. Well, and maybe Vitali. You can never tell with that guy. We returned to the Hidden Village to report.

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But I must thank you all.
Thanks to you, we are one step closer to rebuilding our broken world.
For that, I will always be grateful.
But anyway, welcome home. I'm glad you're both doing well.
Lady Layna...
And Grunzford...
It's good to see you again. I look forward to some of your ever-illuminating lectures.
I've prepared a few just for you.



The fusion is still intact.
Why, are you worried about him?
He saved our lives.
Is that right, Gig?
Perhaps you've finally remembered?
Lady Layna... The Sepp girl has gone through two separate awakenings of her own.
Yes, I felt that, as well.
Lady Layna... Um... I... what's wrong with me?



I hope you'll watch out for her, too.
Of course.
B-but... I don't want to be protected. I can take care of myself!
Now, now. Don't be stubborn. We all want someone to look after us.
You'll feel much better once you can admit that.
Lady Layna...
But you must all be exhausted! You can rest your weary bones here tonight.
We'll wait until tomorrow to talk about what to do next.

I still had so many questions, though. I decided to talk to Layna afterwards.



Why do you sleep for years at a time?
Haha. Why, indeed...
Well, it's mostly so I can get in touch with my other self... or rather, a very close friend of mine.
My unnatural longevity stems from a promise I made long ago. And I'm slowly running out of energy.
This body was not meant to exist for so long. I must sleep even longer from now on.
I'm sorry I have to leave you for so long.
By the way, have you been having... dreams?



But now I must get some sleep. Don't worry, it's just for a few hours this time.
Now get some sleep.
Good night.

Still, it seems everything I find out about what's going on just leaves me with more questions. What do we even really know about Layna? I wish I could ask Gig what he knew about her, but he still hasn't said a word. I'm going to try and get some sleep now.

Sunday

Morning

Another dream. I can at least be certain Gig's still around, because this was definitely one of his.



Layna the Firebrand, they call you...
You're not human!
I just killed you! How the hell are you still alive?!
How many souls do you have?
Hmhmhm... for now at least my soul is not human.
The soul of the human, Layna, departed this body when you clashed with her. Call it a draw, if you will.
?! What the hell is this about?
Gig...



If you're gonna kill me, just do it!
...
I'm not here to kill you.



And now, my own time has come to step away from the stage of destiny.



Layna the Firebrand...?
...
Gig, where are you?

How does any of this make sense? Who the hell is Layna? How did she defeat Gig, and how does she look exactly the same 200 years later? And how did she know about Vigilance and Virtuous? I could ask her, I suppose, but I can already guess she'd give me a reply with no answer.

Afternoon

Hell yeah, I'm finally back in action. Oh hell no, you did not see me getting beaten in a dream. Dammit! Not even back an hour and you're bitching. Like you have anything to bitch about. Not like anything bad's happened to YOU today. Oh, please keep whining about what happened. I'm totally interested. Anyway, I'm no longer sure what the point of all of this is after today. About midmorning we met with Layna again. It seemed she had some information for us.



But I do know that the third one is sealed away near Orviska, a powerful country far to the south.



You'll be able to use this to meet with Orviska's queen.
That title... and such power...
Are you the legendary Firebrand? Daughter of Median the Conqueror? No, that's impossible...
So you figured it out, huh?
But, no, I'm none of those things. I'm just an old woman who's lived far too long.
Huh? Someone's just arrived...

Levin ran in. It seems he finally caught up with us.



You weren't gone very long, boy. Did you get a chance to visit that sister of yours?
Well... she wasn't there.
It was getting pretty dangerous, so Master Christophe sent her to a place called Corsius before he left.
So you didn't get to see her?
What? No, I just ran to Corsius! She's doing great!
You ran... all the way to Corsius... and back?!

It was then that Grunzford noticed something, and everything started to go badly. Levin had been followed.



You've brought along some uninvited guests!
Crap! How'd they get here?!
Lady Layna, please seek shelter!



Levin had led the Thurists right to the Hidden Village. It was like a nightmare come to life. I'm not sure why, but Danette seemed especially horrified.



?!
Girl, what's wrong?
Nng-! M-my head hurts...
I'm sorry. This battle's going to be pretty tough on you...
What do we do without Gig?
Hm? Someone say my name?
Gig...!
*yaaawn* Geez, can't the reincarnated form of a demi-god get a little peace and quiet around here?
Gig!
Yeah yeah yeah! Stop shouting! I heard you the first time!
What? A fight, huh?



Well, good morning Gig.
Did you sleep well?
Hell no! It was awful.
You woke me up right in the middle of the best sleep ever! I am not in a good mood right now.
You guys just stay outta my way. Maybe beating the piss outta these guys will cheer me up.
Okay kid, let's go.

We charged towards the Thurists. But as Danette approached their lines, she clutched her head in agony again.

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Gah... Ngghh!

She recovered, though. We were able to stop the Thurists from advancing, but the cost...



This is absolutely, 100%, without a doubt, all man-cow's fault.
I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to...!
It's my fault... all of it.
No, no... it's okay.
The village served its purpose. There's no need to beat yourself up.
What will you do?
Well, I supposed we'll join the other villagers staying with the Nereids.
So it's farewell for now.
Although... Danette, how are you?



I'm sorry you had to go through that.
But know that the spirits of those who loved you will be with you forever.
Even death cannot touch love. Do you understand?
I think so...
Lady Layna...
You must do what you think is right.
I have done what I can. I will accept whatever path you choose to follow.

The village had to be abandoned. Even if it weren't in ruins, Thuris knows where it is now. We can't afford to stay and wait for him to come to us here. I couldn't save the only home I've ever known. What the hell good is this damn power? What the hell do you mean? It's awesome. You can kick anyone's ass any time you want. How is that not awesome? You just don't get it. And you never will.

And what's more, Layna's left this all up to me. Well, at this point I only see one option. We have to try and find this Orviska and the third World Eater. Thuris can wait. I'm sure he'll show his ugly face sooner or later in some attempt to get revenge on us. Someone mentioned that the merchant town of Zazana was on the way to Orviska, so we're going to head there. I'll write more then.