Chapter Text
“Oh, you wouldn’t believe the performance I witnessed this morning!”
Aruna was just making his way through Limsa Lominsa’s Aetheryte Plaza, which was more crowded than usual for this time of day, when this exclamation caught his attention. An energetic Elezen woman was nearly bursting with excitement as she recounted her experience to a dour-looking Elezen man. Ishgardian nobility, judging by their attire. Curious, he stopped for a while to listen.
“Marvelous, simply marvelous, I tell you!” She kept gushing. “Oh, I am so glad we decided to stay in the city for a while! Just imagine, if we headed for Costa del Sol yesterday, I would have missed this performance of a lifetime!”
The man sighed. “Yes, my dearest, I know you like music.” He said in a monotone, unimpressed voice. “Limsa Lominsa is famous for its spontaneous bard performances, or so I hear.”
“Pfft, bards. Don’t speak to me of them!” The woman waved her hand dismissively. “Limsan bards are adventurers, darling. Some are talented in their craft, I admit, and yet they pale in comparison to true professionals who dedicate their whole life to the art!”
“You witnessed a true professional, then?” The Elezen man asked, looking slightly more interested.
“Yes indeed!” The noblewoman nodded. “And not just one, no, it was a whole troupe of professionals!” Her excited voice took on a breathy and dreamy tone as she announced: “The incomparable, the transcendent… Troupe Falsiam of Radz-at-Han!”
‘Radz-at-Han, huh…’ Aruna thought to himself. In his travels, he’s been all over Eorzea and a significant part of Othard, but the mysterious island of Thavnair was a complete enigma to him.
“My, sounds intriguing.” The Ishgardian nobleman said with some degree of amusement. “What kind of troupe are they?”
“A dance troupe!” His wife explained excitedly. “They perform the ancient art of Kriegstanz, a dance form that is as beautiful on stage as it is deadly on the battlefield, or so I hear!” She sighed dreamily. “Oh, the dancing… It’s breathtaking, my darling, simply breathtaking! It grips your soul, it lifts your spirit, makes you forget all your worries! Why, I haven’t felt this exhilarated since I witnessed the performance of the legendary songstress F'lhaminn!”
“Truly?” The nobleman seemed genuinely surprised for a second. “That is high praise indeed. Perhaps I should consider…”
“Oh yes, my darling, yes, please do!” The Elezen woman grabbed her husband’s hand and held it close to her chest with both her own. “They’re giving another performance this evening, about three bells from now. Please, I would love to see them again with you!”
“Oh, alright.” Her husband acquiesced with a small smile. “Mind you, we will be late for our transport to Costa del Sol if that is the case…”
“Ah, pish-posh!” The woman waved her hand dismissively. “The beach can wait. I don’t even know if I’ll like swimming in the sea. But what I do know is that I will absolutely enjoy the performance! And so will you.”
“As you say, my dearest.” The nobleman bowed courteously and kissed his wife’s hand.
The Warrior of Light looked thoughtful as he watched the Ishgardian couple leave the square. Three bells was just enough time for him to finish his errands and grab a bite to eat before the show. After all, with such a glowing review, who wouldn’t want to see what the fuss is about?
Aruna arrived at the performance venue early… Or so he thought, because the square was already quite packed. Dragoon armor had become like second skin to him in the past few months, and he barely noticed the weight of the spear on his back, but such crowds called for casual attire. He hid his weapon and changed into a simple glamour of a white short-sleeved shirt and black pants before making his way through the crowd.
He spotted the Elezen couple from earlier - the lady was fanning herself animatedly, whether from the heat or from excitement he could not tell, while her husband was looking as dour and stoic as before.
“Hey… hey, check it out!” He heard a whisper from somewhere to the side. Curious, he glanced in that direction, trying not to betray the fact he was listening in. It was a Miqo’te, elbowing her Auri companion. Both women were adventurers, judging from their garb and weapons. The Xaela had a rather impressive-looking axe…
“What?” The Au Ra looked annoyed.
“A male Viera!” The Miqo’te nearly squealed. “Oh, he’s so cute, I just can’t!”
Aruna rolled his eyes. He wasn’t that pretty. Not compared to some other males he’d seen in his life. Straight reddish-brown hair in a simple and practical slicked-back style, held in place by an elaborately-decorated coronet that prevented it from ever getting into his eyes. Thin pointy ears a bit on the shorter side. Pale skin that sun tan just refused to stick to… He always liked his violet eyes, though. Yet for some incomprehensible reason all other races seemed to find Viera the epitome of beauty, males and females alike. He really didn’t see why.
“Hey, do you think I should approach?” The Miqo’te whispered again.
“I thought the other one was more to your tastes?” The Xaela raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, are you kidding?” She put hands on her hips and lashed her tail in an agitated way. “That one’s waaaay out of my league… This one, though…” Her voice gained a purring undertone at that.
Aruna turned to look the Miqo’te straight in the eyes. “Sorry, ladies, I’m taken.” He stated bluntly, channeling his best impression of Estinien. She gasped, startled, all the fur on her body bristling. She either didn’t know or forgot that Viera hearing was just as sensitive as that of a Miqo’te, which should’ve been obvious from the large ears. The Xaela burst out laughing, and the coeurl-girl blushed a deep red, then dragged her friend deeper into the crowd. Aruna watched them go with a soft and amused smile.
One thing did catch his attention, though. The Au Ra said ‘the other one’.
Viera were a rare sight in Eorzea, and males even more so. So rare that some Eorzeans believed male Viera didn’t exist at all, which was ridiculous. He wondered where those two had seen one…
He didn’t have to wonder for long, for a group of musicians in exotic Thavnairan garb approached the venue from the other side of the square. And leading them was…
Aruna gasped. Tall, lanky, agile… Long and wide ears… Auburn-brown hair, like the bark of a pine tree, short, poofy and unruly… Narrow lavender eyes, dark freckles dotting his pale skin… An attractive face, pretty even by Viera standards…
He knew this male.
The exoticly-dressed Viera immediately grabbed the attention of the crowd, both with his appearance and the sheer presence as he took centerstage and addressed the audience:
“Welcome, welcome one and all!” His melodious voice rang loud and clear as he raised his arm in a beautiful, graceful and poised gesture. “Thank you for gracing us with your presence tonight! From the distant shores of Thavnair, from the magnificent city of Radz-at-Han, we come to share our ancient art and light up the streets of Limsa Lominsa with our performance! Troupe Falsiam!” The crowd clapped, whistled and cheered. “The performance shall begin shortly, as soon as our dearest musicians finish tuning their instruments and the opening act gets over her jitters.” Soft laughter and giggles passed through the crowd. “Yes, the first act of tonight’s show is none other than our very own rising star, Ranaa Mihgo! Followed by yours truly, Kamil Kamalan.” He took a deep bow as the audience clapped once again. “I would also like to remind you all that tonight is our last performance in this fair city ere we depart for Ul’dah. So I bid you, ladies and gentlemen… For just this night, leave your worries behind. Let all sorrow and strife be washed away by the flow of our music and dance! We’ll make sure it’s a night to remember!”
The crowd cheered as the beautiful Viera bowed deep once again, and then walked over to the musicians. He leaned closer and said something to the flutist, who looked into the crowd and nodded. Aruna watched the Hyur approach the audience.
“Hey you, Viera!” He made a beckoning gesture with his arm, then looked somewhere behind Aruna. “No, not you, the male one!”. The Warrior of Light rolled his eyes and made his way through the crowd, muttering apologies to the people he bumped along the way.
The crowd murmured as the musician led Aruna over to the other Veena, who immediately smiled and held his arm out in invitation. Smiling back, the Warrior of Light clasped hands with him, and the two pulled each other close, giving each other a heartfelt pat on the back. That seemed to placate the audience, who realized that the two male Viera were clearly acquainted, and thus this unfair opportunity to be close to the star was perfectly excusable.
“Sorry for not approaching myself.” The pretty male addressed him in Vieran. “Last time I made that mistake, my costume suffered quite a lot, and I do have a performance coming.”
“No offense taken.” Aruna smiled. “Kamil, was it?”
“Indeed. Kamil Kamalan, at your service.” The performer, whose real name was Kjali, introduced himself. Thanks to the power of the Echo, the Warrior of Light understood the meaning behind his names. Though not as straightforward as Vieran Rune-names tended to be, the forename implied beauty and perfection, while the surname invoked an image of a lotus flower. “And you? What is your name out here?”
“Aron.” Aruna introduced himself. “Aron Devraix.” He picked this name in honor of his parents, Arnur and Ronja. And while ‘Devraix’ was a horribly misheard and misspelled ‘Rehw-Dvre’, he ended up liking the Elezen meaning of ‘true’.
“Aron… Hmm…” Kjali said thoughtfully. “I feel like I heard that name somewhere before…”
Aruna chuckled. “Oh yes, I’m an adventurer of… some renown.” He didn’t want to deal with the excitement and awe that his title as the Warrior of Light would inevitably bring. “And you? It’s so bizarre to run into you of all people, in Limsa of all places, leading a performance no less! I don’t know what I expected… but definitely not this.”
The pretty Veena laughed softly. “A strange coincidence, is it not? Though I’ve seen stranger.” He sighed wistfully. “How many years has it been? Thirty-four? Thirty-five? Last time I saw you, you were not fully grown yet…”
“We can reminisce and talk of home later.” Aruna interrupted him. “For now, I am dying to know how you ended up joining a dance troupe of all things.”
Kjali chuckled. “Oh, it was through extreme luck, or perhaps Fate.” He pointed to a couple standing in the back near the musicians: an elegant-looking Hyuran woman with grey hair was coaching an elaborately-dressed Miqo’te girl. “See the Hyur? That’s Nashmeira. I chanced upon her debut performance in Rabanastre pretty soon after I left. She made a mistake in her act, and one of her chakrams went flying towards the crowd. I caught it.” He smiled warmly at the memory. “Even made a little game of not giving it back right away, putting on a fun little bit for the audience. The old troupe master, Radhesh Kamalan, gods rest his soul… He was so impressed, he offered me to join the troupe and become a Dancer, which I of course accepted.” He sighed. “It’s not like I had many other options… Dalmascan Viera do help each other out, but work was scarce, hunting regulated by law, and living on handouts is… degrading.”
“I can relate.” Aruna nodded. It was natural that Vieran males, whose very lives depended on being self-sufficient and providing for themselves, would find it hard to depend on the mercy of others. “I didn’t have to rely on any, thankfully. The Eorzean Adventurers’ Guild is a godsend. Even simple tasks can earn you coin…”
“So I’ve heard.” The pretty Veena nodded back. “Anyroad… Me and Nashmeira, we used to be co-stars for a while. Quite a long while by Outsider standards… Thirty years or so.” He chuckled bitterly. “Other races wither so fast… It seems like only yesterday she named me Kamil… Now she’s training her replacement.” He sighed and looked at the Hyur with fond sadness. “I may carry our master’s name, but she’s the actual troupe leader, not me. And I’m sooo thankful for that… Sometimes I feel just as lost in the Outside as I did when I left the Jungle…” He shook his head. “I’m just a showman, you know? I’m helpless when it comes to organizing, or funding, or inventory, or balancing the books…” He paused. “Unless you mean literally. That I can do quite well.”
“Oh?” Aruna raised an eyebrow.
“Yes… I went through hell to fix my posture.” He glanced at Aruna. “And you could work on yours too.”
The Warrior of Light rolled his eyes. “Not interested in performing, thank you.” He replied, catching the unspoken meaning.
A grin appeared on the pretty Veena’s face. “Ah, but would you perhaps be interested in the combat capabilities?” He said alluringly with a glint in his lavender eyes, showing off one of his chakrams to Aruna. “Kriegstanz is more than a performance art. The chakrams are not just for show. And the threats we deal with are…”
But before he could elaborate further, the two Viera were approached by Nashmeira.