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A Seat at the Last Stand
The sun began to set on the waters of the Northern Empty, baskiing much of the city of Old Sharlayan in its warm reddish hue. The waves crashed gently against the rocks near Scholar’s Harbor, the overall atmosphere very calm for a people once on the brink of oblivion, one would think. Zelia sat by herself at the bar at the Last Stand, frustrated and deeply lost in thought, the blue haired seeker’s ears twitched gently in the breeze, her tail swishing around silently as her mind dwelled elsewhere.
She thought about Hades and the various wonders of the world that he had bade her set out to see, her responsibility for bearing the seat of Azem, he had said. Her brow furrowed at the thought. She could not deny the man was an enigma that she could never quite grasp, she assumed it must have been something that her unsundered self had figured out, much to Hades’ chagrin. Alas, she gave the idea some thought, interested in a new adventure to pick up now that her time as a Scion had largely come to an end. The idea was a great one that Zelia wholeheartedly agreed with, if a little saddened by the lack of excitement that her time with the Scions had afforded her.
“What brings you to the bar tonight, Warrior of Light” came a singsong voice, pulling Zelia out of her thoughts.
She turned to see a Xaelan bartender looking at her rather curiously, her silver hair hiding very expectant vermillion eyes. “Ah, just a bit lost in thought.” Zelia muttered sheepishly. The au’ran woman looked amused, “Lost in nostalgia, more like.” She replied smugly before offering the miqo’te a menu, “Can I get you started with anything?” Zelia, caught off guard by the remark, opened her mouth to retort before admitting defeat and accepting the menu. “A coffee, if you would.” She said quietly, placing a handful of gil on the table. The au’ran shook her head, “It’s on the house,” she said, pushing the gil back towards Zelia, “IF, you can humor me for a conversation or two, these studious types are rather dry.”
Zelia let out a chuckle at that, earning her a few dirty looks from the other customers. She paid them no mind however, as she straightened her hair and looked humorously at the bartender. “Well alright,” she started, “My name’s Zelia Caenis, Artisan.” she said, adding on the last part rather sarcastically. The Xaelan woman placed a cup of coffee on the bar in front of Zelia, before leaning by the bar, “My name’s Athena Ignia,” she said happily, before looking questioningly at Zelia as if sizing her up, “now tell me, what does the famed ‘Savior of the Realm’ do when there’s no threat facing the land now, hmm?”
Zelia pondered the question as she held her coffee cup. She found herself asking the same question, frequently caught between living a more normal life and picking up some obscure hobby to keep herself busy or searching for the next thrilling challenge that came her way. At the thought of the latter, she remembered Zenos’ words to her after their duel in Ultima Thule, and a small smile crept upon her face. “Find a new adventure to pursue.” she said finally, before taking a sip of her coffee. Athena seemed satisfied by her answer as evidenced by the smile on her face, and nodded, “Then here’s to a newfound adventure!” she said cheerily, raising an empty wine glass to Zelia’s for a toast. Zelia beamed back at her, and made an excited toast with her coffee cup, causing coffee to spill over onto the bar, “To forging ahe- oops!” she said excitedly, before setting her mug down earnestly. Athena buckled over with laughter as the famous Warrior of Light proceeded to frantically attempt to clean up the spilling coffee.
Eventually the laughter faded and she helped the poor miqo’te out, the two of them continuing to chat long after the ordeal until the sun had disappeared from the horizon. Zelia finally bid farewell to the energetic bartender that she quickly became friends with, and began her way back to her apartment, this time overcome with joy and a new sense of excitement for the adventures that yet lie ahead. Once inside, she began scribbling through pages of her journal where she had written a number of requests and the like from people she had met in her travels, and eagerly awaited for the time she now had to go through them all. She excitedly pored over a number of tomes and requests she received from the Twin Adders and the Adventurer’s Guild, her research going late into the night.
Yet even new adventurers had to wait, for exhaustion quickly overtook the Scion, and she dozed off at the desk in her apartment, surrounded by a mountain of tomes and Adventurer’s Guild requests, dreaming of yet another exciting story that the bards would sing, of an epic adventure and the challenges she would face. Though that possibility was not quite within her reach, she was content with the idea of it for the moment, and she had to think Hades would be fine with at least that much.