Chapter Text
The smoke had barely cleared before Erend and Aloy were back to work. The Spire was littered with rubble and downed machines, and the pained moans of injured warriors could be heard all around them. Erend did a quick headcount – he had brought three vanguardsmen with him onto The Spire, the rest had stayed in the city to fight there. No doubt lives had been lost, but he wondered if these three had survived. He saw Roan helping an injured Nora woman nearby. He could barely make out Ando through the smoke of the deathbringer, but he was there and he was moving. Erend couldn’t tell if he was injured or not, but if he was it didn’t appear to be serious. Where was Kort? He turned, scanning, but couldn’t see him. He clambered over the remains of what had been a stone wall, and there – he was pinned under a bellowback. But he wasn’t moving. Erend rushed over to his man, and when he approached he could see that he was injured, but it didn’t appear to be life threatening. He knelt and slid off the vanguardsman’s helm.
“Heh Captain, you made it!” Erend smiled down at him and nodded. “Did we win?” Kort asked, coughing.
“Yah, we kicked their asses.” Erend replied, bringing a grin to the soldier’s face.
The battle was won, but Meridian was not yet in the clear. Erend, Aloy, and the other uninjured fighters evacuated The Spire, helping the injured down the long path. Erend and Roan carried Kort on a stretcher, as his leg had been broken when the bellowback fell on him.
Once the group reached the Maizelands, Erend’s jaw fell. He had spent the entire battle at The Spire, and while he had known that the fighting down below would be bad, he hadn’t been prepared for this level of destruction. He was quickly snapped out of his moment of disbelief when Kort moaned at the jostling of their sudden stop. They resumed their trek, hurrying to find where the healers had gathered. Thankfully, Erend had sent Ando on ahead, to scout for the healers’ location, so no time would be wasted wandering.
The injured had barely sat down when Erend saw Aloy rushing off. He was right behind her, aware of the risks that the city still faced. She had a determined look on her face, the joy of their victory no longer brightening her eyes. They immediately began putting out fires. The people of Meridian looked to him for leadership, and so he organized the effort. Every able citizen was there, with buckets of every size, gathering water or soil to throw on the nearest fire. An inferno raged near the gate that had borne the brunt of the attack. It took hours, but they were finally able to get it under control and stop it from spreading. The buildings at the centre of the blaze were lost, but at least they could prevent the fire from consuming the surrounding parts of the city.
Erend and Aloy were both coated in a thick layer of soot by the time the fires had been extinguished. Erend looked over at her, the triumphant look returning to her eyes as the last flicker of flames died out. Rivulets of sweat streaked the grime on her face, her hair was a matted mess, and yet somehow she was still the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. How could that be, he wondered to himself. What unknown power does she possess, to be so amazing in every way?
His reverie was interrupted by an old woman, hurrying towards them. “Come quickly”, she shouted at them, urging them with the waving of her arms “my husband is trapped!”
It was times like this where Erend felt most useful. He wasn’t always the brightest star to have shone in the sky, he told himself as they rushed after the woman, but brute strength was something he could do.
The rest of the day was spent moving rubble and lifting beams, helping people who had been trapped when buildings collapsed around them. Some had injuries, having been crushed by falling debris. There were undoubtedly many within those buildings who were beyond help. But Erend rescued as many as he could, Aloy still by his side. Again, her intelligence shone through. He marveled at how she was able to quickly solve the puzzles required to extract someone from twisted buildings, indicating to him which rock or timber to lift or push if she wasn’t able to do it herself. It was brutal, backbreaking work, and yet somehow he found that he didn’t mind doing it. Aloy was beside him, and everything was going to be OK.
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Nearing collapse, night having fallen hours before, both Erend and Aloy realized that they could not continue, at least not until they had had a chance to rest.
Olin’s apartment had been repurposed as a temporary shelter for a few of the many families who had lost their homes. Every inn in the city was past capacity, with people sleeping on benches and on floors. Erend looked at Aloy, who had also obviously come to the same conclusion as he. Too tired to even talk, he gave a little wave of his hand in her direction and they stumbled to his house. They both fell asleep on his sitting room furniture, still in their armour and covered in grime. Neither of them had had the energy to crawl up the stairs to the bedrooms.
The first rays of the sun were just beginning to peak over the horizon when they awoke. Erend grabbed a few pieces of stale bread from the kitchen and handed one to Aloy as they headed out the door. Blameless Marad was just down the street, obviously having intended to visit Erend. Avad, Marad explained as Erend and Aloy chewed hungrily on the bread, understood that Erend was not able to take the time to give reports in person. The wellbeing of citizens of the city came first, and Avad knew how important it was to have two people as capable as Erend and Aloy to lead the rescue efforts. Marad had been sent to find Erend, to get a brief report, and to bring it back to the king. Erend gave Marad all of the information that Avad would need, and Marad turned to go. Aloy, having finished her bread, jerked her head impatiently, as if to say “Let’s go!”. Erend was right on her heels, gobbling down the last few mouthfuls of bread.
Neither of them spoke much for the rest of the day, other than to give instructions. Blameless Marad appeared again as the sun was beginning to set, and Erend filled him in on the day’s events as he braced his shoulders under yet another thick beam. Marad watched in amazement as Erend’s legs straightened, a seemingly impossible feat, and saw a young woman wiggle out from behind the wood. He took a step back when he heard Erend ask “Clear?” before stepping out from under the beam and allowing it to come crashing down to the ground. A thick cloud of dust and soot rose up into the air around the fallen timber, swirling behind Erend as he moved on to the next task. Oh yes, Avad would be proud to receive this latest report.
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Days passed in a blur. Both Erend and Aloy worked to the point of exhaustion each day, never resting. There were people trapped that needed to be rescued. There were machines to break down and cart away, before they could attract Glinthawks and Scrappers. There was rubble to move, to allow carts carrying the injured people to pass through. Eventually, however, the biggest emergencies had been handled, the more urgent work done. Meridian was not yet in the clear, but the road to rebuilding would be a long one.
Erend and Aloy, along with several members of the vanguard, were shifting some rubble that was blocking one of the streets when they saw a commotion nearby. Curious, Erend wiped his brow and made his way over to where they had gathered.
A sun priest stood on some nearby stones with a scroll in his hands. Once the people gathered around him and quieted down, he unfurled the scroll and began to read.
“The Sun King Avad, 14th Luminance in the Radiant Line, has decreed that, in honour of the hard work and sacrifice of the people of Meridian, tomorrow shall be a day of rest and renewal. All of those who are able are encouraged to take time to enjoy the day. The work of rebuilding our beloved city will begin once we have had the chance to mourn the fallen, and to celebrate our victory. Tomorrow night, a celebratory feast will be held. The Sun King Avad thanks each and every one of you for your service to Meridian.”
An excited buzz passed through the crowd. A day of renewal, followed by a feast hosted by the Sun King? Erend wasn’t sure if the Captain of the Vanguard was included in this ‘day of renewal’, but he was glad that Aloy would finally have some time to rest. The dark circles under her eyes worried him, and he couldn’t remember the last time either of them sat down to eat a proper meal.
Once the work of shifting the last of the rubble was done, Erend and Aloy headed back to his apartment. Once they reached his door, he waved Aloy inside. He wanted to check in with Avad, he explained, and finally give him a proper report. Aloy smiled at him, and nodded. Erend continued on towards the palace, which wasn’t far from where he lived. Being Captain of the Vanguard had its perks.
As he approached the throne room, Erend hesitated. He hadn’t even taken the time to change his dirty armour, or wipe the thick layer of grime from his face. Oh well, he thought as he shrugged his shoulders, Avad would just have to deal with it. He was too tired and too sore to turn back now.
If Avad was offended at the sight of him, he gave no sign of it. In fact, Avad’s face lit up, and his eyes gleamed with – what was that – pride? Erend stood well back of his normal spot, though, suddenly keenly aware that he had not bathed since before the battle. No doubt, he thought, he probably stunk like a carcass that had been in the hot sun for a week. Avad just smiled at him, listening intently to his report. Blameless Marad had done a good job of keeping Avad up to date with the advancements of the rescue efforts, so there wasn’t much more to report on.
“Erend” Avad finally said once the report was finished. “Your dedication is unmatched. Thank you for all that you have done, for me and for this city.”
“I must say, I realize that I my attentions have been elsewhere, and that my regular duties have suffered as a result” Erend replied. “I apologize for that, sir, and will spend tomorrow catching up.”
“Nonsense!” Avad exclaimed, giving Erend a bit of a start. “I came up with the idea for the day of rest and renewal specifically for you! I knew that this was the only way that I could get you to stop, if I ordered you to do so. So, consider this an order. You are to do no work tomorrow, not one little bit. No paperwork, nothing. I insist.”
Erend just stared at him, speechless. This took Avad somewhat by surprise, never having seen an Oseram speechless before.
“Why don’t you take Aloy somewhere outside the city” Avad continued “The Sun knows that she’s been working just as hard as you have, and is just as unlikely to voluntarily take time to rest.”
Erend finally nodded his head in agreement, which brought a smile to Avad’s face. He dismissed Erend, proud to have someone such as him by his side.