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༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
Dormi cara columbula, O columbula mea
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
When Lillium fused with an Elemental his parents and followers had captured, all he could remember was searing pain and a gentle lullaby.
The words were whispered by many. Many spirits, both beyond the living and from the soft energies of the forest around him. It soothed the raging heat in his veins, the pulsating migraine pulling his skull apart.
Sheer agony begets absolute power…
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
Splendeat fenestra, adsint somnia flora, O cara filia lunae
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
He distantly recalled being soaked in sweat and blood. Small sobs left him as he leaned into the cool breeze that carried the words being whispered to him on the wind. No thoughts were fathomable; the viera thought distantly that he was dying.
Of course he was. There was no way he could be living now… everything was just.
Pain and Suffering.
He felt his eyes close before he was standing at the edge of the Lifestream.
He had been here before.
Had been learning to guide spirits to the stream to be reborn anew… Even if he was about to turn 13… Lillium was diligent in his studies.
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
Neve plumam pulvis foedet tuam, Nec iam complexum alma
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
The elemental he was absorbing came close to him. Its voice was soft and sad.
"I do not wish to kill you, Seer."
Tilting his head to the side, Lillium felt sorrow and shame wash over him. "I didn't want to force you to fuse with me, Elemental Spirit…" He stepped closer, the echoing lullaby all around him as he held out a hand. "I never wanted this life… but being a Seer, as you say… everyone thinks if they combine my power with yours, even if my vessel is lacking, then they can overthrow Gridania…"
I didn't want this. I just wanted… to help the spirits and pick flowers.
"I guess we have no choice now, Seer. If you die in full, I shall die too, and while I am not the most enthused to become one with you…" The elemental trailed off, and Lillium felt it looking at him again. "I gather there can be worse. You wouldn't use my powers for their power struggle, will you?"
Shaking his head, Lillium got even closer to the spirit, his hands clasped together as if in fervent prayer. "I-I would never! I just want to help as a Seer… and guide the spirits beyond… help the forest stay pretty…"
A small laugh left the ethereal being. "Childish dreams, Little Viera. But I can sense your soul. It has ever been kind and full of love for all things living and not."
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
Capias bona, somnias a luna, Dormi cara columbula
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
A beat passed between them, and the being relented. "If we tarry any longer, we will fall into the stream. I will form with you, Seer. But you must help the forest… this star… it was once your duty, and it can be so again."
Lillium had started crying, the guilt eating him alive. "I-I am so sorry… I never wanted them to hurt you." A small sob left the young kit as he pulled the elemental spirit into a hug. "I promise I will do everything to keep the forest happy. I just want us to be friends."
He looked at the spirit, lip wobbling. "Can we be friends?"
The elemental sighed. "We can… but I am not sure how much of myself will remain once the fusion is complete."
Squeezing the spirit, Lillium could feel them slowly becoming one.
"I will make sure to talk to you… and-and try my best… to do you proud." He promised.
The world around them started to twist and shatter; he was being forced back to the realm of the living, pain creeping back up his spine and into his head.
I'm sorry…
I'm so, so sorry…
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
O columbula mea, Splendeat fenestra, adsint somnia flora
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
He awoke with a strangled breath, the pain agonising to the point that he wished he would pass out again. Everything around him was blurry and smelled too strongly of iron.
"She is awake!" Came the voice of his mother. "Leifur? Can you hear me?"
Lillium let out a soft whine; he wanted to talk to the spirits again… not wake up in the dingy basement of their house, surrounded by thick incense and damp stone.
"Leifur, it looks like you were successful." His father's voice sounded above his head. "Now we will be able to get our revenge."
No… I won't do it…
Hands touched his cheek, and he tried to flinch away, but every twitch set the nerves in his body alight once more. Don't touch me, please!
The hands raised up to a particular part near his hairline, and when they touched against the tender skin, Lillium let out a cry of pain. But the person's hands kept prodding them.
"Horns? Strange, we will have to document it… I think I have seen a few in Gridania with similar horns…"
They finally receded and focused elsewhere. "Halo too… how strange. I don't remember seeing this as something that could happen." His father then cursed. "Seven Hells, it will be hard to keep her hidden with all these changes."
"She can just stay down here. She has to heal anyway." His mother scoffed. "I will send Emilie in to clean her up. It's rather disgusting."
Not able to keep focused on anything, the panic of being trapped in the basement was won out by sheer exhaustion, and so he let himself go into the oblivion of sleep. Desperate to escape the pain, if even for a while.
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
O cara filia lunae, Neve plumam pulvis foedet tuam
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
Several years had passed. Lillium had lived in the stone prison under his house without the ability to see sunlight. He could hear the elementals call for him. Crying out in pain and rage at the loss of one of their own.
Sometimes he wondered if he would be driven to insanity by it.
Still, he talked to the elemental as often as he could. It never responded, but he could feel it in his chest. Almost like it was lucid… asleep to him, but he was still able to draw upon its power.
I am sorry. I promise I will never use this to hurt the world around me…
But then everything changed the day Lillium was forced out of the basement to make a march towards Gridania. He had refused, his sadness overflowing as he just wanted everyone to stop.
He had started begging his parents to listen, to hear the forest crying, and leave them alone.
He would placate the spirits, but only if his parents agreed to give up on their greed. They could just live a happy life in Issom-Har… he could heal the forest, and they could live off the bounty the spirits would surely grant them in thanks.
His parents refused… and when they tried to make him march by force, his emotions welled, and he found himself losing control.
"I just want you all to stop! Stop it, please just STOP!"
That day, a bright light had been seen from both the Quarrymill and Camp Tranquil, and when soldiers from Gridania had arrived to survey what had happened, they found destruction in their wake.
Issom-Har was gone. Bodies littered the surrounding area, having been struck down in a violent storm, bloodied and broken.
Only one young viera remained, sobbing near the bodies of an elezen man and a vierain woman.
When asked his name, he refused to speak, but spelled it out on the palm of a guard.
Lillium Roseus.
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
Nec iam complexum alma, Capias bona, somnias a luna
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
"Lillium?"
The viera in question looked towards his new teacher, one he secretly called father. The padjal E-Sumi-Yan. He nodded and signed to him. <Sorry, Teacher. I was lost in thought.>
E-Sumi gave him a look, awash with concern and love. "That's alright. I had a task for you to fill, if that is alright by you… I know you are often nervous to leave the Fane with so many new adventures around."
<I can do any task you ask of me, wood's will be done.>
"Well, there was an incident near the Banook, at Lifemend Stump. An Ixali Chieftain stabbed the stump with his sword, and the spirits are upset. And your lullaby does much to soothe them."
Lillium smiled. While he refused to talk to many, especially when there were others around, he always remembered the song that he had heard the day he had become one with the elementals. A ballad that seemed to soothe the rage of the forest. <I can do that for you, for the Elementals. I will mend the stump more and then after…>
He trailed off. Despite being only thirty-or-so summers younger than his teacher, he still found himself feeling shy to ask for things.
Sensing his nerves, E-Sumi ruffled his hair. "Yes, you can have sweets. I will ask Miounne if she has some acorn cookies."
Beaming, Lillium felt as if flowers could form under his feet. <I will go now to set up for when it gets dark. Thank you, Teacher.>
"May the elementals continue to guide you, Lillium."
Nodding, the viera turned on his heel and set off for Lifemend Stump- unaware that his life was about to change for the second time in his life.
When he would meet another Warrior of Light…
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻
Capias bona, somnias a luna
༺☆༻_______☾✧ ✩ ✧☽_______༺☆༻