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The distant cyclone had a haunting beauty that was rather mesmerizing. Cast against the eerie green glow of the sky and utter rot of the land below – thick roots and crumbling buildings – it made Morytha appear worthy of its name. The Land of the Dead.
Brighid turned away, clutching her Core Crystal tightly. Looking out at the sky only served to heighten the dread steadily building inside of her. The longer she was apart from Mὸrag, the more hopeless she felt. Her only comfort was the warmth of the crystal embedded in her chest. It grew hotter the closer her weapons drew… she only hoped Mὸrag was the one wielding them and not those disgusting creatures they had encountered.
If Mὸrag was moving, that meant she couldn’t be too gravely injured… or she was being her typical stubborn self and pushing herself beyond her limits. Brighid sincerely hoped for the former or at least for the chance that her injured Driver had been found by Nia. Either way… she needed to find her.
A rock skittered across the ground.
Brighid slowly raised her left hand to the hilt of the whip-sword she had forged for herself. She waited, breath held, as she counted the steps shuffling toward her. Without warning, she spun and cracked the flaming whip down.
“Shit! What the Hell, Brighid?!”
Mythra dodged the attack with ease, but her brow still furrowed in anger. “You’re lucky I have foresight on my hand. What if I had been Tora? You would have cut the poor fluffball in half!”
The fire Blade smirked as she retracted her weapon. “Well, then I suppose we would have learned Nopons aren’t as indestructible as they seem.”
“Cruel. Even for you.”
Brighid’s haughty expression quickly fell as she turned back to the cyclone. “I think I would have preferred it if you were Tora.”
Mythra squawked in offense, but the sharpened retort she was ready to spit out died on her lips when she noticed the look on Brighid’s face. Suddenly, their typical banter didn’t seem appropriate.
“You’d rather know he’s alive…” She watched closely as the Blade’s shoulders slumped.
“I would hate to see Poppi lose her Driver.”
“Yeah, but that’s not totally why, is it?” The Aegis crossed her arms. “You’re thinking of Mὸrag. If we had found Tora, then maybe we’d be close to finding her… right?”
“Can you blame me?” Brighid turned a glare toward her companion. “She is my Driver after all.”
“I’m not blaming you for anything.” Mythra easily matched her glare. “I’m just saying you don’t have to pretend around me, okay? I get it.”
Brighid shook her head. “It’s foolish, really… Mὸrag can take care of herself, but I – this place unnerves me. The likelihood of finding her in a place so vast… I’m not very fond of those odds.”
“You said you could feel her, right?”
“Her weapons, yes.”
The implication of her words hung between them.
“Well, you’re still here, so we know she’s alive.”
“For now.”
Mythra huffed and stopped her foot impatiently. “Knock it off! You just said she can take care of herself so stop thinking of the worst, okay?”
Brighid turned to face her, feverish defiance written across her face as fists tightened at her sides. Mythra braced herself for a verbal onslaught, but it was Pyra who figuratively smacked her first.
“What’s wrong with you? Stop antagonizing her!”
“That’s not what I’m doing. Just go back to sleep, okay? I know her better than you do.”
“Mythra…”
The Aegis tightened her resolve. “Do you really think Mὸrag is just gonna lie in a ditch somewhere and wait for you?”
“Excuse me?!” The flames on Brighid’s head roared to life.
“Sounds to me like you’ve pretty much given up on her.”
The air between them sweltered with heat.
“How dare you! You know nothing about Lady Mὸrag. She would never let a fall like that be her end. If anything, she’ll beat us to the World Tree!” Brighid tossed a hand up. “Just look at that monstrosity – she’ll see it no matter where she is in this wretched place.”
Mythra smirked. “Exactly.”
Brighid gripped her Core Crystal as she took a step back in shock. “You…”
“You needed to snap out of it. Being all mopey won’t help Mὸrag at all… it won’t help any of us either. We need you on top of your game and you can’t do that if you’re always looking behind you.”
Brighid startled slightly at the feel of Mythra’s hand against her elbow.
“She survived, okay? That much you know.” The Aegis offered her a soft smile – one that looked an awful lot like it belonged on Pyra. “And she’s tough. She’ll find a way to keep herself going until we find her. I have a feeling she’s looking for you just as desperately as you’re looking for her.”
The flame Blade sighed as she backed out of the shorter woman’s grasp. “I’m surprised you’re being so gentle with me.”
“I kick just hard enough to get you to kick back.”
“Wow… that actually worked…”
“See? Told you. Now shut-up. This isn’t what I came here to talk to her about.”
Brighid’s lips twitched as a smile threatened to break through. “It’s good to hear you admit you need my superior might.”
“What?! I never said anything like that!”
“You need me on the top of my game… surely the Aegis of legend should be self-sufficient and yet…”
A white gloved finger jabbed into Brighid’s chest.
“Hey! Don’t kid yourself, okay? I bested you every chance I got, but I’m not an idiot. I know I can’t take on Malos alone. I couldn’t do it 500 years ago… I needed help and…”
“Shit… Pyra, stay put okay? You’re not allowed to force me out no matter… no matter what how bad it gets.”
“What? Mythra, what are you-“
The Aegis blocked out the voice in her head and took a deep breath. The fight within her suddenly deflated as she stepped back. She folded her arms tightly against her stomach as she kicked at the ground.
“Addam and I… we beat Malos because of the Drivers and Blades standing with us. And you guys… being around all of you kinda remind me of that.” A wistful smile slowly crawled over her face. “Rex and Addam are more alike than I care to admit. Nia – she’s as stubborn and loyal as Lora was… maybe a bit feistier, though.”
“Lora?”
She sighed. “Jin’s old Driver.”
“I see…”
“I met your Driver, Emperor Hugo, a few times. He was young, so he wasn’t as hardened as Mὸrag, but there’s no denying they’re cut from the same cloth. Driven by a pretty intense love of country.”
She waited for Brighid to say something. She had purposefully focused on the Emperor, trying to get the woman to open her mouth. Instead, the Blade turned her gaze to the distant cyclone and Mythra found her patience thinning.
“Were there other Blades from our party that you knew back then?”
“Ummm… yeah, I’m sure there were, but I didn’t really get to meet or know everyone that sided with us. The group I traveled with was pretty exclusive. Cole – that old playwright in Uraya – he was there, though he went by Minoth back then… and Haze… Fan la Norne used to be Lora’s other Blade.”
Brighid merely nodded.
“Then there was you and Aegaeon.”
Still nothing.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Mythra… what are you trying to do?”
“She’s being an idiot.”
“You get quite a longing look in your eyes when you speak of that time.”
Mythra stepped back, Brighid’s remark catching her off guard. “What?”
“Do you miss him?”
“Who? Addam?”
“Yes.”
Mythra sighed – this really wasn’t where she was hoping this conversation would go. Still, it couldn’t hurt to talk about. Maybe if she was a bit more open, then Brighid would finally get over herself and just ask what she really wanted to ask.
“Yeah, I do. I try not to let it show.” She averted her gaze to the cyclone. “I know Rex compares himself to Addam. It’s not healthy, but I can’t really stop him… not when he knows that I remember what it was like to be his Blade.”
“I envy your gift of memory…”
“Is that what you think it is? A gift?” Mythra gritted her teeth. “Trust me, it’s not. You really think you would enjoy these memories after Mὸrag dies?”
“You’re saying you would rather erase him and what you shared?”
“Yeah… yeah, sometimes I would.” Her shoulders slumped. “It’s hard when you remember… it makes it hard to cope with belonging to someone else. And honestly, it’s not really fair to your new Driver. You can’t fully be someone’s Blade if you’re hung up on an old Driver, can you? Especially one that you…”
“You loved him, didn’t you?”
“Mythra…”
“I said shut-up.”
Mythra felt her entire face flush. “That’s not the point.”
“I think it is.” Brighid shorten the distance between them. “It’s not unusual for a Blade to fall in love with their Driver. You were the one who told me that a Driver and Blade-“
“Are one in body and soul. I know.” The Aegis sighed. “Are you planning to give me the same pep talk you gave Pyra? Because you know I heard that, right?”
“I don’t believe there’s any need.” Burning arms crossed over her chest. “You’re the one who gave me that pep talk 500 years ago. You’re already aware. Though I suppose back then we were discussing battle, not matters of the heart. Still, I find it odd that you would wish to forget someone you loved.”
Mythra squeezed her eyes shut before she whirled around, stepping into the Blade’s personal space. “You think you’d be able to handle remembering Mὸrag? To remember how much she meant to you and how she made you feel and how no one will ever measure up to her?”
“That’s not – Lady Mὸrag and I don’t-”
“Oh shut-up! Don’t start with that, okay? I told you that you could be honest with me.” Her eyes narrowed. “Now answer me. Would you be able to live remembering every detail about her, but knowing you’ll never see her again?”
Brighid could feel her heart crack at the mere thought. “I’m not sure what a worse fate would be… the thought of forgetting her is…”
“Mythra… stop…”
The Aegis softened instantly. “I know… it’s hard to picture it now, when you’re living your life together…”
“Forgetting her feels like a betrayal.” Brighid sighed deeply. “Knowing that one day I will live on as if she never existed…”
“It’s not a betrayal, it’s just… what you are. That’s the fate of all Blades.”
“Except you. I lose myself every time my Driver dies. I have no sense of who I am when I’m re-awoken.”
Brighid sighed as she summoned her journal into her hands.
“Did you just-?”
“It’s attached to my Core Crystal… I can draw it into being much like a weapon. Well… so long as I don’t lose it.”
“Weird…”
“If it weren’t for this journal, I would be relying on word of mouth to tell me what my life had been like.”
Mythra spared a passing glance at the journal. “Well, you’re an Imperial heirloom, right? I imagine your life and Driver’s life are recorded in Mor Ardain’s history books.”
“Can you imagine what they’ll write of Lady Mὸrag? The Jewel of the Empire became the Blade of Mὸrag Ladair – the Special Inquisitor, the Flamebringer, the fiercest soldier in the Ardainian army.” Brighid shook her head. “But she’s much more than that. I want the pieces of her that I get to witness… I want those to be remembered. She deserves to have her entire being immortalized, not just her moniker.”
Mythra paused for a moment, letting Brighid’s words sink in. She couldn’t think of any way to argue against that. She had a point. Addam had suffered a similar fate. The Tornan man was more than just the wielder of the Aegis. He had been kind, brave… and an utter doofus more than half the time, but no one remembered that. His memory had been placed on a pedestal – he was worshiped in a way he never would have wanted when he was alive. He was too humble for that. She hadn’t been around to tell people about him… and she had never bothered to write things down like Brighid had…
“She doesn’t let anyone read those journals.”
“Pyra?”
“Writing about her Drivers isn’t just for preserving their history. She’s the only one who reads them. She… she’s doing it for herself. …This is what you wanted to talk to her about… isn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
“Go ahead, Mythra. I think – I think it might actually help her.”
Mythra cleared her throat as she squinted her eyes in suspicion. “Have you ever loved any of your other Drivers?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me.”
Brighid’s brow furrowed in annoyance. “Of course I loved my Drivers. What kind of Blade do you take me for?”
“Not like that. Have you loved any of your Drivers the way you love Mὸrag?”
The flame Blade scoffed. “Now who’s the one spouting irrelevant questions?”
“You haven’t… have you?” Mythra scanned her face for any hint of argument. “And yet you cling to those old journal entries… even when none of the Drivers in there mean more to you than the one you have now.”
“They still deserve to be remembered.”
“Sure, but that’s not what you think that book is about…” Mythra shook her head. “The more you write about your Driver, the better you’ll understand yourself… right? That’s how you see it. You said it yourself – you lose your identity when your Driver dies. You don’t think you can actually be you without remembering every life you’ve lived.”
“Is it so wrong to want to know who I am?”
The Aegis let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, actually it is. Especially when you decide to ask Jin for proof.”
“You heard that?”
“You weren’t exactly whispering.” Mythra curled her lips in disgust. “That’s why I followed you out here. I heard you ask him about your journal and then you took off.”
“Afraid I would be upset by his answer?”
“No. I was afraid you would believe him.”
Brighid sighed as she held out the journal to Mythra. “Jin seems to think that my chronicling is fruitless. I remain an entirely different Blade despite trying to hold onto these vestiges of who I once had been.”
She refused to take the book. “And you believe him?”
“I don’t see a reason not to.”
“Of course there is! You could ask me!” Mythra stomped a foot down. “We’ve been traveling together for weeks. You knew we fought together back then and you’ve stood here complaining about how I never forget my life… and yet you never once asked me about who you used to be.”
Brighid shook her head as she withdrew the journal and held it tightly against her chest. “Friends have a tendency to tell you what you want to hear.”
The Aegis froze, blinking at the Blade with her mouth slightly ajar.
“I believe we’ve been through enough to classify as friends, do you not?”
“Uhhh… yeah… of course.” Mythra frowned. “You think that means I would lie to you? When have you ever known me to sugarcoat anything?!”
“I suppose that’s true.” Brighid brought a hand up to her chin in thought. “You seem awfully bothered by this.”
“You’re just being an idiot about it all.” She placed her hands on her hips in defiance. “All you had to do was open your mouth. Instead, you ask our enemy – a Blade who would benefit from you being totally distracted. Newsflash! That’s exactly what he just did to you!”
“You disagree with him?”
“Obviously! You’re the same Blade, Brighid. You always have been. You’re just… more of a stubborn pain in the ass.”
The flames in Brighid’s hair flared violently. “Excuse me?!”
“I blame that on Mὸrag.” Mythra huffed as she turned away from her irritated companion. “Drivers don’t change your fundamental nature. They just highlight certain aspects of you. Just look at Theory… even when she resonated with a criminal, she had this underlying sense of what was right and wrong. She killed him to protect Praxis – a Blade she cared about a lot. Mὸrag’s just brought that part of her to the surface now.”
Brighid rubbed a thumb over the blue flame on her journal’s cover. “So, you’re saying I can trust these words?”
“You already know you can. You’re the same as you were back then… you just don’t remember me. Jin’s full of shit. He’s just trying to get into your head.” Mythra let out a short laugh. “Want proof? It didn’t take long for us to pick up where we left off. We still bicker like we always did. That’s probably why I’m always picking a fight with you…”
“A reminder of our old life?”
“Yeah.” The Aegis looked up at her wistfully. “You’re the only one I have left… the only one on my side who I actually really knew back then. Lora, Addam, Haze… they’re all dead. And Jin…”
Mythra reached out a hand and placed on Brighid’s arm. “I’m not willing to lose you, too. So, pull your head out of your ass and let’s go find your Driver.”
She turned on her heel, hoping to dash off before the fire Blade could draw her back for a longer conversation. All she had wanted to do was smack Brighid for talking to Jin – scream at her for being dumb enough to ask the man for his opinion when she had so many opportunities to learn about herself sooner. Instead, she felt raw and open, her vulnerabilities put on display for her friendly rival to observe. It was uncomfortable to feel so safe with someone.
“Mythra.”
“Dammit.”
Looking over her shoulder, she watched as Brighid slowly approached her.
“Thank you… for following me.” The Blade sighed as her gaze returned to her journal. “This journey has been as confusing as it has been exhilarating. To know that I once fought alongside you against the same foe… and yet, to not remember a single day of it… it’s made me think quite a lot about my fate. More so than usual. I suppose I was merely afraid of your answer. That’s why I never asked.”
Mythra offered her a small smile. “It’s fine just… try not to lose yourself in that book, okay? It’s one thing to want to record your life so you can remember your Drivers. I get that. But don’t try to find yourself in those pages. You’ll miss out on the life in front of you and it sounds to me like you’ve got a good one. That’s who you are.”
Brighid took a step closer, her face relaxed and almost cheerful as she let the woman’s words comfort her. The smile was quickly wiped of her face, though, when her journal was abruptly ripped from her grasp.
“Just how many pages of this are about Mὸrag anyway?”
“Give that back, you fiend!”
Mythra dodged as Brighid lunged at her, holding the journal just out of reach. “I’m serious! How juicy are the details?”
A whip of blue flames slapped at her wrist, causing her to yelp and drop the book to the ground. Brighid was quick to scoop it up, raising to her full height so that she towered over the Aegis.
“Enough that I will know exactly what she meant to me. That is all you’ll ever get to know.” The Blade’s defiant look softened as her gaze lingered on the cover.
“Brighid?”
“Would you be willing to tell me more?”
Mythra’s eyes widened. “About you?”
“Yes… I would like to remember me the way you do.”
The smile that pulled at the Aegis’ lips was wider and softer than Brighid could recall seeing. With a single nod, Mythra lifted a gloved hand and held Brighid’s fingers tightly in her grasp. They made their way back to their makeshift camp, laughing softly at the unwritten stories of the Aegis War.
---
Less than a day later, they found themselves saved by a stunning blast of electricity and blue flames. Mythra couldn’t help the warmth that filled her as she watched her fellowship reunite. She almost forgot they were in the midst of fighting a rotting monster until the damn thing screeched so loudly she thought her ears were going to bleed. With a confident nod to Rex, she raised her hand and let ether pour between them.
Brighid watched as her Driver wiped sweat from her brow - a satisfied smirk painted the Ardainian’s face as she peered down at the felled beast. The moment Mὸrag turned to face her, she was in the woman’s arms. Desperately, she clutched to her uniform, digging her burning fingers into the thick cloth that covered her back. Mὸrag was safe. She was alive. She was healed.
Lifting her gaze, Brighid traced their companions over Mὸrag’s shoulder. Tora and Poppi were holding each other tightly, Rex and Zeke were laughing with relief, and Nia’s glee was nearly blinding as she talked animatedly with Mythra. Her hidden eyes paused on the blonde-haired woman, waiting until the powerful Blade could feel her stare. Mythra’s eyes eventually found hers, drifting only briefly to Mὸrag’s back as she took in how desperately the two Ardainians clung to each other. Brighid smiled as the Aegis sent her a warm nod.
As Mὸrag continued to rub a soothing hand over her exposed back, the Blade let her attention drift further. Jin was standing off in the corner, his eyes narrowed in her direction, silently examining them with blatant suspicion. Brighid had half a mind to storm over there and slap the look off his face, but she halted at the sight of sorrow deeply buried in his icy irises.
He wasn’t her problem.
With a sigh, she turned away and buried her face against Mὸrag’s neck, breathing in her calming scent.
She was home.
She was present.
That was the only comfort she needed as her Core Crystal warmed brilliantly against her Driver’s chest.