It was nights such as these, calm and stagnant, where I would find myself lost amidst the skies, like diamonds, pockets of light upon an endless ocean. War torn, and weary, I looked upon my scarred hands until I felt my eyes sting and I thought--surely this was what I had been searching for all this time?

The years had left me bedraggled and tired. Waking before the sun to stare upon mine own reflection and gaze at the shadow housed within. From a vantage point high above the distant snowcaps of Coerthas, names and faces flew through my mind like glimmering motes of light, like the stars themselves, fading with the coming of the sun.

Beside me, I hear commotion. My beloved emerges from their tent, scrubbing sleep from their eyes and wearing an expression that begets their familiarity with my morning habits.

“The sunrise is beautiful.” They say,

I am only a man. Weak in constitution, gorged on power beyond what I could comprehend. Destiny was a far reaching current which had pulled me upon all directions for so many years, but it was the gratitude that kept me going. The knowledge that those I had never met, and never would meet, were somehow saved by my actions. Insurmountable responsibility.

There were many things I kept close to my heart. Faces that lingered. Voices I could swear I heard when the evenings got too dark and quiet to bear. Many, I know not where they are. But one I do.

We reach the cliff overlooking Coerthas by mid-morning, and pause to gaze upon the spires of Ishgard as they challenge the heavens with precision. The age of Dragonsong had long since ended, but it was only now the people were beginning to heal. I could see signs of construction bringing broken stone and glass to life once more, and my heart leaps.

At the apex of a jutting cliff sat the snow laden stone which kept my breaths at a reverent murmur.

His shield, worn with rust sat as it always had.

I smile. Take my seat beside the stone. My beloved comes to rest beside me, and we break bread beneath a cloudless sky.


[I choose the scarf of wonderous wit if chosen. Thank you for reading!]