Leafdusk Fete: Reunion [Legendseekers]

Pantalaimon and Yin sat in the courtyard after their consultation with Queen Ryu. The moon hung above them sadly, 

Yin had coiled up their sinuous, snakelike body to rest their head and feathered wyvern wings at the top of the pile. Pantalaimon watched, concerned, as they watched Yin sighing deeply, trying to soak in as much moonlight as they could from whatever remained of Yanwei's light shining down on them. After the Moongazing session, their brilliant color of their eyes and the iridescent sheen of their feathers seemed to have lost their luster significantly; and Yin was staring off into space. All of Yin's majesty- despite their size they seemed quite small and frail now, just as both of the queens had when they entered the throne room.

"Yin... what did you see when you Moongazed... with the Queen...?" Asked Pantalaimon, hesitantly.

Yin closed their eyes, and shook their head.

"I will tell you this, Pantalaimon... All of Lunerest succumbed to the Corruption flooding the lands. No living thing could have been spared. All around me were xyns crumbling into moondust, silently, as if they could not cry before they passed; the skies, the earth, the water were stained black and grey from the remains of the dead and the corruption that seeped into them. I saw a relic, like a sphere, radiating with such an unspeakable malice that it sickened me to see it."

Yin slowly opened their eyes. The periphery of their vision was a blur, and they struggled to focus on Pantalaimon, who startled. Their long, silken strands of pale grey hairs nearly covered their eyes as they spoke again.

"There is no doubt that this prophetic vision is an ultimatum that will come to fruition should we fail to change fate itself... It's truth cannot be denied." They winced in pain; their horns were seething with a piercing ache, and they slumped down.

"No..." Pantalaimon said. They rushed over to "Do you want me to get you a nurse for you?!"

"Don't worry about me. I simply need many nights to rest. I'll inquire about that to the palace staff after I've had a moment to moonbathe here..." Yin sighed. They used their magic to bring the fine glass of moonwater to their lips, and their iridescent forked tongue flicked at it to slowly lap it up. Pantalaimon did the same, taking slow sips of their own glass of moonwater as they watched Yin.

They continued after they had finished their glass. "The day of the Sunrise Celebration will be the day of the full moon as well; I will be at the height of my power when my waning markings have vanished; it is possible, then, for me to help you should you need it. Until then, I cannot be of further assistance to you. You have a friend that I have heard much about, haven't you...? What have you both seen...?"

"I certainly do," said Pantalaimon. "In fact..." They explained everything that happened to them up until now; how they and Troia chased after the villain in the Corrupted Lands, what they saw in their cavern of eggs and the relic itself, their frantic escape and Troia nearly sacrificing herself to send them back to Moonreach. They described the visions that Athens had provided them: glittering chalk, otherworldly and vibrant pink clovers, a apparatus' dial spinning, the note of a song, the mixture of pure black and white into grey, and Troia vanishing into a shimmering cavern before Athen's astral conjured vision failed entirely.

"...how fascinating. Yin tried to face Pantalaimon. "Especially that vision of black and white. I wonder... if your friend's vision had seen Yang..."

Pantalaimon blinked. "Yang? Beg your pardon?"

Yin sighed. "It is a long tale to explain our past together. To put it succinctly: Yang is a starborn vexyn, much like me. On the very same day that I became Moonstricken, Yang was infected with the Suneater's Curse... Lately, Yang claims to have been hearing voices in it's head to come to Lunerest. But on one particular day- Yang tore a dimensional hole to arrive here in it's Suneater form without warning- I tried my best to stop it but couldn't, fearing that it would destroy this realm it came to- but to my shock, Yang had vanished, and left Lunerest unscathed. I followed it through the dimensional hole here, and thus I stand before you."

"Yang thinks that it's fate is to save Lunerest from that villain that's hiding away in the Corrupted Lands- and it is the type of xyn that will stop at nothing to achieve what it believes it is fated to do. From where we were outside of Lunerest's dimension itself, once we saw Oborn and Trellisa fall, it demanded me to use my Moongaze to show it a vision of what would happen, telling me that it heard a plea from somewhere calling to it to save it; but I refused, afraid that Yang would inevitably destroy what it sought to save. It was enraged by my words, and it seems that it took matters into it's own paws by escaping to a place where I can't find it... I'm sure that to this end it is hiding somewhere on this earth to wait for the next Sunrise Celebration to arise and defeat this villain. But knowing how that villain can control corrupted xyns, how do we know that villain isn't trying to lure Yang closer, slowly trying to control it for it's own purposes...? I am terrified that part of the great devastation that I had envisioned may in part come from Yang's release on the day of the Sunrise Celebration. Yang had always spoken of being a weapon of last resort for the greater good of the innocent- but I can't shake the feeling that this villain may possibly use it and turn it against us, if that is even possible. I can't tell if your friend in the Corrupted Lands has even seen Yang... I fear the worst if she has..."

Yin's body shuddered, and they winced in pain again- the once-brilliant sheen of their lustrous horns seemed to duller now.

"I have spoken enough; I must rest for a long time. I will tell the Queen and her advisors of the matter of Yang when she is ready to speak to me..."

Pantalaimon stood up from their seat. "What should I do then?" they asked. They were painfully aware that their ears had drooped, slightly, from listening to Yin's tale.

Yin gave them a weak smile. "I'm sure that you know that your friend's astral visions are ones you are fated to follow, no matter how vague they may seem. I cannot advise you. And remember: no matter what you do... if you see Yang... do not, under any circumstances, free free Yang during the Sunrise Celebration. You may spell the doom of Lunerest if you do. Your friend must know this too, should you find her..."

Pantalaimon nodded. "Right, then. I'll certainly keep this in mind. You have my gratitude for everything you've done to advise me and the queen- thank you, sincerely." They grinned, and got up to leave the courtyard- leaving Yin to rest in solitude for the evening.

Pantalaimon left the castle and returned to the Knight's headquarters to ask the Scouts and Captains if they could have possibly known anything about Troia's status. All of them shook their heads; none of them had recently been as far as the Corrupted lands, nor had they seen anything of her. 

It was nearly impossible to warp to the Corrupted Lands with almost every telestone shattering upon use. They certainly couldn't run away on their own unauthorized like they had last time without suffering the consequences... they had no way of contacting or finding out about Troia's status through Telestone without one of those shattering either to see if anyxyn around Valorise or Wingfell might have seen her- if she even had escaped.

They left the knight’s headquarters, dejected and uncertain.

Pantalaimon overheard from some xyns passing by that this night there would be a Leafdusk Fete celebration to rouse the spirits of the xyns in Moonreach before the arrival of the Sunrise Festival the following moon; they figured that they might as well enjoy themself, and spend their company with others. Nothing else could be done at this time.

They arrived at the center of a square within Moonreach where a sizeable number of xyns were celebrating; a fire was set in the center of the square with numerous stalls of xyns  selling whatever goods they had on hand; whether they were crafts or treats baked specially for the occasion. There was a larger amount of locally crafted items available for sale due to the ongoing shortages of imported goods from other cities around lunerest; Pantalaimon opted to buy a mug of mulled apple cider, holding it up to their snout with their magic and sipping it slowly as they watched xyns sing and dance around the fire. The planted trees in the square had already changed colour; but from the lack of moonlight, many of their leaves were brittle, brown and dried; not the rich and warm colours that everyone was accustomed to seeing in autumn. The air of the festivities was generally cheerful, though Pantalaimon noticed that many of the citizens seemed exhausted, and moonlight deprived- the vendors were clearly anxious for income.

If only the queens were able to enjoy the festivities together with everyone else, Pantalaimon thought to themself. It was difficult for them to see Ryu and Yuhi lying on their pillows, barely able to hold themselves together, when they would normally play amongst the populace and hide dawnberry flowers for a scavenger hunt. Would it ever be possible for the Queens, and everyone else, to return to doing so after all of this…?

The sound of triumphant shouting echoed nearby, and the sound thundered ever closer; numerous celebrating xyns looked up to see what the commotion was as it approached the square. Pantalaimon turned to look as well- it was a troop of xyns that had just returned to Moonreach after a long journey from Valorise.

And Troia walked amongst them. She was thoroughly exhausted, but alive and well. Spearbie followed her dilligently- and they noticed that she had two new enchanted weapons, Axebie and Macebie, trailing behind her as well.

“Troia?” Pantalaimon’s winged ears immediately perked up. Their tail began to wag- smacking some xyns standing behind them. 

Troia immediately glanced around at her surroundings, and turned to face them. “Pantalaimon…”

“TROIA! YOU’RE BACK!” Pantalaimon bounded over to her and pounced on her, licking the face of her mask halo happily as she laid on the ground. “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe it! You’re here! You’re really back! I thought you would have been left for dead, I was so sad when I couldn’t find out how to rescue you! I’m so glad you’re back!” 

Troia was about to growl and swat her claws at Pantalaimon, but she was so thoroughly exhausted that she gave into their affection and let them slobber all over her.

“I’m glad to see you too,” she said, and finally struggled to rise and sit once Pantalaimon stepped off. Pantalaimon grinned before embracing her in a tight hug with their forearms and wings. She didn’t want to admit it, but she appreciated how warm and soft their chest feathers felt, and so she let simply them embrace her for as they wanted.

Pantalaimon laughed, burying their head into her neck. “You’ll have to tell me everything that happened! I have so much to share with you too!”

Troia didn’t say anything, too tired to.

Numerous other xyns happily greeted the returning xyns, warmly welcoming the vexyns from Valorise and inviting them to celebrate their evening of the Leafdusk Fete together. The air was filled with the warmth of fire magic burning the bonfire’s logs and laughter. 

For once, in a very long time, it felt as if things might have had a chance of working out in the end- this one night could end peacefully.