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There was nothing quite like the smell of the sea. Or, more specifically, the smell of the sea when the wind is coming down from the mountains, and the clay underfoot feels like home because it is, and you can hear the River Galahd only a few yards away.
Eyes closed, Nyx took a deep breath, soaking it all in. Savoring it, because he wasn’t sure it wouldn’t all drop away in the next heartbeat.
But another breath passed, and it didn’t.
Instead, a voice broke through the tranquil sound of the river.
“So…is it how you remembered it?”
Nyx released a soft noise that wasn’t quite a laugh, eyes opening to see Prompto Argentum standing a little ways away. He wasn’t quite fidgeting, but looked a little out of place in his black Crownsguard attire against the green of Galahd.
Or at least, what Nyx could see of it in the darkness of the (so-far) permanent night that had dropped around them.
That was part of why he was listening instead of looking. The other part was…Galahd wasn’t unchanged.
He’d been able to hold it in his mind as it had been when he was young. Green and whole. Not completely free of the empire, but better than it was when he’d gotten older and they’d tightened their grip.
Any fragments of the empire that were left now were refugees now. Hiding in the barricaded scraps of towns that were left, hiding from the daemons that prowled.
The harbor town they’d stopped in was one of the only left. Supposedly, there were other settlements, deep in the mountains, but it was anyone’s guess if they were still there. The daemons could have wiped them out, too, without any real light.
“Not exactly,” he said, replying to Prompto’s question. He’d told the younger man that he was from Galahd once, and was a little impressed that he’d retained it. Most of their time interacting had been after Altissia, which had been rough on everyone. Particularly the prince, and Ignis.
And then there was the train incident—or maybe it was more of a Bisithia incident. Regardless, Prompto had had other things on his mind. But he remembered. Nyx half smiled. He’s a good kid.
“Nothing under the empire could remain the same,” he finally said. “But the river, the wind, the sea…that’s all still Galahd. The empire can’t change those parts of home.”
Prompto nodded, the barest corner of a smile struggling to life. “Good.” He glanced back at where the lights of the town wavered against the long dark, only a little ways away. Nyx had stepped outside of the barricades around it, just for a moment. He’d wanted a breath of pure Galahd, unsullied by the fear of those left behind.
Nodding at the town, he said, “How’re Ignis’s negotiations going?”
“Oh, you know.” Prompto’s grin was only slightly strained. Nyx, who was deeply familiar with fake smiles, was a little impressed. “He’s in his element, arguing people into helping out. But, uh, the people here don’t want to go anywhere. And they don’t want to sell us any boats, either.”
“Yeah.” Wincing, Nyx said, “The fishing boats are their livelihood. And gil won’t get us very far right now.” If this darkness was going to stick around, gil wouldn’t be a real currency for long. Barter would be of more value—but he had no doubt that Ignis, with his sharp mind and diplomacy, would have connected those dots by now.
Even if he was distracted by the events in Zegnautus Keep. And if he was, Nyx would hardly be the one to judge.
None of them were immune to the shock of what had happened. Of what they’d lost. Even if they coped with it in different ways.
He wanted to ask Prompto how he was holding up, but there were no words that fit well enough. None that wouldn’t pull at the wound, the hole where there should have been one more member of their group. So instead, he glanced up at the sky and muttered, “There’s a moral to this somewhere.”
“Don’t annoy your ride back to Lucis so much she dumps you on the first island you pass?” Prompto suggested, and Nyx snorted.
“That’d be it, yeah.”
Originally, Aranea Highwind had been giving them a ride back from the ruins of Gralea. Nyx hadn’t realized the king’s retainers were on such friendly terms with an imperial mercenary until they encountered her in Tenebrae. But friendly they were, and helpful she turned out to be. So he hadn’t complained.
Instead, he’d accepted the help. And when her interactions with Ignis had shifted in tone, in a way he’d seen among his fellow Glaives a few times too many to not catch here…well, old habits die hard. Libertus would have done the exact same amount of teasing, maybe more.
Unfortunately, Highwind didn’t seem to appreciate it. Hence, their unceremonious arrival in Galahd, and the fact they were stuck there.
Which was kind of a problem, as they were supposed to be heading back to Lucis.
But Nyx hadn’t been home in 13 years. He wasn’t complaining about time on Galahd’s shores again.
He’d have stayed, if he hadn’t made a promise to the king.
(King Regis, first, to protect the princess. And against all odds, she was still here. But there had been a moment, back in Gralea, when the new king had been by his side, both of their blades at the ready. They’d realized there was no way for them all to make it to the Crystal. Noctis had readed to make a break for it at Ignis’s command.
And then he’d looked back at Nyx, just a quick glance. “Keep them safe,” he’d said, an echo of his father’s voice in his tone.
In the next moment, he was gone. And then, he was really gone.
Permanently? Lady Lunafreya doubted it. But without any sign of a return, the grief was just as heavy.)
Nyx didn’t break promises. Besides, he’d asked around, and Libertus was gone. Back to Lucis, by all rumors, which was incredibly irritating. Nyx had been looking forward to surprising his friend, to being back in Galahd together.
At least he’s where I’m going. They were long since due a reunion. Nyx had just been…a little busy.
So Lucis it was, once Ignis and the princess could negotiate a route back to Lucis. But Nyx would drink in every moment on his home shore.
“It’s really pretty here.” Prompto’s voice was quiet. “Seems like a nice place to grow up.”
“It was,” Nyx told him, memories flooding his mind. “Our mom took us to this same town a few times when we were young. Buy fish or whatever other new things came in. And—” he pointed into the growing twilight, outlining a mountain against the sky. “See that peak? Mount Tychus. I climbed it when I was 17.”
Prompto’s jaw dropped. “Whoa. Seriously?”
“Yeah.” Nyx grinned a little at the look on his face. “It’s no Mount Orpheus, though. Tallest mountain on this island. That was one I always wanted to summit. My parents climbed it when they were young.”
“Got it,” Prompto said, nodding. “So crazy runs in the family.”
That surprised a laugh out of Nyx. “When we get back to Lucis,” he told Prompto, “I’m introducing you to Libertus. He’s gonna love you.” Actually, he’d probably adopt the kid within two seconds of meeting him, knowing Libertus. I really miss that guy.
Prompto turned a little red, straightening with a smile of his own. “Nice. I hope I get to meet him soon. He sounds great.”
“He is.” There wasn’t much more someone could add to that without years of history and backstory. Talking about how they’d watched each other’s backs, getting into trouble with more ease than getting out of it. It had started when they were kids, then when they were fighting the empire, first as rebels and then as Glaives.
They’d always been together. The past year without him had almost been stranger than the 12 years away from Galahd, in a way. Even when he’d had nothing else, Libertus had been there.
So in that sense, maybe there was something else he could say. “Home is a place,” he told Prompto as they started back toward the town in the distance, the clay sturdy underfoot. “But it’s people, too. That’s Libertus.” Not just him—there were others, too, but…they were all gone. Crowe. Selena. My parents. Adamaris. Even the Glaives who’d turned on them, in a way.
He wasn’t sure if Prompto had heard him, he was so quiet. But as they reached the lights of town, he said, “Yeah. That…makes sense.”
Nyx could have smacked himself. His person like that is gone now. For however long. Silently, he dropped a hand on Prompto’s shoulder for a moment. “Just because he’s not here doesn’t make him not home. And it doesn’t mean he won’t be back.”
Any other time, he’d doubt. But he’d been steps from death, only for fate to reverse itself. In comparison, disappearing into a Crystal was an easy thing to recover from. At least, that was what Nyx hoped.
“I know.” Prompto took a shaky breath. “Thanks.”
There was a guard waiting at the barricades to let them in. They got a few strange looks—in Nyx’s case, probably due to the strange silvery scars still tracking up and down the side of his face and neck. He gave the guard a nod all the same, and headed down the empty street to the building near the harbor where they’d left their companions.
Gladio was visible first, arms folded and stance aggressive. Ignis was, of course, at his side, one hand settled on his cane as he calmly spoke to the Galahdan man facing them.
On Ignis’s other side was the Oracle. She wore a long black coat over her white dress, pulled close around her. Nyx was pretty sure he remembered the king giving it to her. Her expression was one of utter serenity, no sign of the silent tears she’d shed on the way here. Nor of the grief that still had to be twisting inside her.
Not for the first time, Nyx wished he’d had the opportunity to leave a knife inside the imperial chancellor, too.
She looked up at their approach, offered a smile as she stepped away from the conversation to meet them. “Visiting your home?”
“A little,” Nyx said with a shrug. “We’re about an hour’s drive away from my hometown, but it’s still Galahd. How are things going here?”
Lunafreya frowned a little, glancing at where Ignis and the Galahdan man seemed to be reaching an accord. “I believe we’re bartering hunting skills for a ride to the nearest harbor in the mainland.”
Which would be either Caem or Galdin. Nyx wasn’t quite sure which. “Hunting skills?” he asked, lifting a brow.
Silently, Lunafreya gestured toward where Ignis and Gladio had just finished shaking hands with the man facing them. As they approached, Nyx said, “What did you two just sign us up for?”
“A simple hunt,” Ignis said briskly. “There are a pack of daemonified coeurls a few miles outside the town. We’re being sent to take them out.”
If they don’t kill us first, Nyx thought. “You fought those before?”
“Those are the ones with electric whiskers, right?” Prompto checked. When Nyx nodded, he said, “Ohh, yeah. This is gonna be great.”
Nyx laughed, and even Gladio snorted. Ignis’s lips curled upward slightly. “It won’t take long. And it’ll bring us one step closer to Lucis.”
Which is home for them. Given what they’d lost, Nyx wasn’t about to hesitate to do anything he could to help them get back.
Besides, he had promises of his own to keep in Lucis. “Let’s get this done, then,” he said.
“Piece of cake!” Prompto said cheerfully.
That turned out to be an overstatement, to say the least. Mainland coeurls were vicious and formidable opponents. Galahdan coeurls were twice as mean, and the ones they went up against were massive.
It didn’t help that they were fighting with one less man on their side. They were all skilled warriors in their own right, each and everyone of them. But that didn’t change the fact that the battle felt out of balance without Noctis. That the space each of the three left for him felt empty, and that they should have had another member flying around the battle at top speed, warp-striking the enemy with reckless abandon.
But he wasn’t.
They finished the battle with only minor injuries, and returned weary but triumphant. The man who’d asked for their assistance was pleased enough at their hard work that he offered them a meal. It wasn’t quite Ignis level cuisine, but there was something comforting about the familiarity of the food. These were the meals he’d eaten growing up, the ones that had colored his childhood.
It was the perfect goodbye for now to Galahd. As was the view of the mountains against the stars as the boat took them away from its shores, and back to the country he’d protected for years now.
One home was behind him. But another needed him now. As did his friends, and his king. He still had those promises to keep, after all.
Until next we meet, young king.