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“As a child, my father told me that the truth of our eye rests with Allag.”
When G’raha Tia was young, he was spirited off to Sharlayan, so that the secrets of the Allagan Eye would be kept safe. The Gryphon tribe had spent thousands of years protecting those secrets and passing down the Eye from one generation to the next, although their numbers dwindled over the generations and eventually, only one child per generation was born with the Eye. In the past, they had had two Allagan Eyes, but at some point there was only one, and two eyes were forgotten, lost to time and memory.
Before he was taken away, before anyone realized they needed to send him away, there were rumors that Ilsabard was being invaded by a northern conquering force. The dreaded Garleans had set their sights on the beautiful, fertile land upon which the Gryphon tribe made its home. The tribe was not yet worried, though, as their neighbors had fought off the Garleans like pesky flies in the past, and they hadn’t lost yet. Some of the women even joined the fighting forces to keep the peace—and keep the Allagan secrets safe.
Raha, a child who could not be more than ten summers old, was presented to the tribe’s mystic. Folta was middle-aged and beautiful, but most importantly, she was able to calm the boy enough that she could read his future.
It was—it was exciting and dreadful all at once.
“You will travel far, little one,” she first declared.
“Really?” Raha’s eyes were wide in wonder.
“All over the star… beyond… I see a tower made of crystal.” Her breath hitched. “The Crystal Tower, the one ruled by our ancient masters.”
He was frightened by her tone, and fell silent, unable to stop her from continuing.
“You will reach for the sun, the moon, and all the stars, and it will burn you.” Folta faltered, and couldn’t meet his eyes. “I see death, a hundred times over, agony in crystal and blood and gunpowder. Fear will consume you. Nowhere will be home for you, something will always set you apart. But there is hope.”
There’d better be, with a future like that, I’d rather just give up now! He almost crossed his arms, but managed to keep his frustration to clenched fists instead.
“You may reach too far, Raha, but if you stand still, love and friendship will come to you. Knowledge will be at your fingertips, and if you do it right, you will—you will—”
“I’ll what?” The boy leaned forward, unable to stay seated on his cushion.
“You will save not one star, but multitudes.” Tears trickled down her face and she covered her mouth. “Your actions will allow a hero to live.”
That sounded amazing. And dreadful. Terribly dreadful. But to save a hero! Maybe he could be a hero someday too! Maybe then he could be accepted by the tribe and viewed as worthy.
Then Raha was sent away, away to a cold island to the north called Sharlayan. He was G’raha Tia then, and only a handful of people called him Raha. His life with his tribe began to feel like a dream, haunted by one thing: the truth of our Eye rests with Allag.
He grew up on that island, surrounded by books and learning—knowledge will be at your fingertips—and became a scholar. His favorite topic was epic poetry, of heroes vanquishing evil and inspiring those around them, of valor and honor and true love. Yet his area of study was primarily the Allagan Empire, and all its remnants and ruins. His Eye could not allow for anything but the empire and its secrets. Someday, somehow, he would find the truth.
The Crystal Tower rose out of the earth from the Seventh Umbral Calamity, and G’raha remembered what G’folta had told him, all those years ago when he was but a child. A tower, the Crystal Tower—it was his destiny, calling for him like a beacon. He didn’t try to resist its call, and that was how he became entwined with the Warrior of Light.
She was the moon, in every way. Her eyes, teeth, and ears showed that she was a Keeper of the Moon, opposite to his Seeker of the Sun traits. She had light hair, a pretty lavender color, that was pale in the moonlight. Her name showed she could not be anything but the moon, since it was the very first syllable—Moonflower.
Somehow, he knew instinctively that she would be the star to guide his path, that she was destined for great and glorious things. She was the catalyst for everything that occurred in the Crystal Tower; she proved her bravery from the very start, and that was what allowed Doga and Unei to approach NOAH, which then led him to having his other eye awakened and the ancients’ pleas whispered in his ears.
G’folta was right. Nowhere would be home for him, because his eyes set him apart. The Royal Eyes of Allag sealed the Crystal Tower, and he was left to face the future alone.
If you stand still, love and friendship will come to you.
The lost Ironworks crew, full of weary yet friendly faces, surrounded by death a thousand times over. “You don’t have to, G’raha Tia, but if you could… if you could help us save the past… it would make all of this worth it.”
“I’ll do it, for everyone’s sake!”
Once more, he was displaced, his Royal Eyes blazing, and he found himself farther in the past than he ought to have been. The lost people of the First gathered around him, and he felt that perhaps—maybe he had a home, even if he was set apart by his crystal skin and mysterious hood. The crystal, which was painful.
His guiding star—he reached for her—and crashed and burned, pulling five of her friends down with him. But he managed to pull her at the last, and finally he would be able to save her.
Plans going awry ought not to have surprised him, but being shot by Emet-Selch wasn’t in his plans, and he despaired that he had gotten it wrong.
Folta said… if I did it right… but I’ve failed.
G’raha Tia should have believed in Moonflower, for she snatched him from the jaws of death at the feet of Hades, and although it wasn’t as he intended, she had saved the First and the Source. His actions had allowed a hero to live.
Satisfied that he had fulfilled the future laid out for him, G’raha chose to be free. While his eyes would always set him apart, he did have a home now, amongst the Scions. They welcomed him with open arms, giving him their love and friendship. He was reunited with the Students of Baledsion, reduced though they were, and basked in the close ties that still called him Raha.
You will save not one star, but multitudes.
The end of the universe meant being consumed by the fear that was destroying their home, even though it meant death. He thought G’folta had been exaggerating, but no… if they played their cards right, the Scions would allow their champion to save not only their home, but all the homes that still existed across the vast expanse of space. They all made that sacrifice, even the Leveilleur twins after him.
Your actions will allow a hero to live.
It was an easy choice to make, a hundred times over. G’raha Tia did not think of himself as a hero, but he could save the heroine and help her shine her light. He had his home, his place, his people.
He hoped that G’folta knew he would live out his destiny, and maybe one day have his own name written down in history.