Wanderer above the sea of fog

Aila gently took a step into her hometown, if it could even be called that at this point. Instead of simple wooden buildings, there were piles of collapsed lumber and ash. Pillars of stone twice my height were scattered across the city. The only thing keeping this place looking somewhat inhabited was the overall intact dirt roads.

Moss and vines had long since overtaken the village, slowly starting to reclaim the land that had once been Aila’s.

“This is Sprine,” Aila said matter-of-factly. “The place where I grew up.”

“I see…” I stayed quiet, letting her go on.

Only one building in the city still stood, a massive stone cathedral like those in Europe. It was rather quaint, quiet, without the massive stone carvings I’d often seen in Gallai. The decorations felt far more personal.

Instead of ugly gargoyles, there were spirals and flowers carved into the stone. Two people were carved above the entrance–one man and one woman, both holding simple books in their hands. Though sadly, either time or the city’s decay had long ago destroyed several of the finer details.

It was like something in a museum, except the only ones left to witness this history were us.

“I remember back when I was a kid…” Aila spoke up. “This place used to be jam-packed. I could barely get a seat without getting squished! It was brand new after all… It took twenty five whole years before this place got finished.”

She brushed her hand against the smooth stone. “It used to be beautiful, with that stained glass imported from halfway across the world and the mesmerizing rainbow light it made. When I was a kid, I would just stare at it for hours.”

She walked through the open door and sat on one of the surviving stone pews.

Even inside, the destruction was apparent. Several parts of the ceiling had collapsed, bits of charred timber scattered across the ground. The altar was more rubble than stone, light shone in through the shattered windows, and the few surviving benches looked seconds away from collapsing.

Yet not even this much damage could take away the place’s beauty.

“We weren’t a big town, just around three thousand cat-eared people. We knew Cottol didn’t love us, but we stayed out of their way and they stayed out of ours.”

“I take it things didn’t stay that way?”

Aila scoffed. “A group of bandits heard about us and decided we were a great target. They were right.”

“I’m assuming Eastol didn’t do anything?”

“They watched. Laughed even; the guards never once bothered to help. They took care of the bandits once the village was half burnt down and left without saving a single person.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Why?” Aila turned toward me. “I hate it when people apologize for shit they didn’t do. Get those guards to apologize and I’d be interested.”

She leaped back up from the altar. “There’s one more place I want to go, come on.”

֎ ֎ ֎

We walked deep into the forest that surrounded the town. Forests here in Eastol weren't like those in Gallai. The trees stood still with trunks of hard wood, and grass didn’t retreat into the ground as quickly.

Blue and yellow birds flew all over the trees. They seemed to sing whenever we passed by, the blue ones chirping the harmony while the yellow ones hit a perfect melody.

Aila followed the remnants of what was once a path, now overgrown with long stumpy vines and tall grass that went up past my ankles.

“You know where we're going?”
“We’ll be there soon,” Aila hesitated. “At least I think so.”

That didn’t reassure me.

After an hour we finally arrived at a moss-covered clearing, and I immediately understood why Aila wanted to come here.

Simple carved stones were lined in rows around the cemetery, most listing similar dates around fifteen years ago. Though it was clear no one had been here to take care of them in a very long time.

Aila gently walked up to a larger tomb near the back. Vines covered both sides of the stone, with moss surrounding its base. Maybe it was a miracle, maybe it was dumb luck, but somehow the center of the stone had survived untouched.

“Go out and explore, our dear child,” Aila read the inscription aloud.

“Your parents?”

“Yeah…” She gently kneeled down and placed a hand on the grave. “They’re the only reason I’m alive. During the fire, my father protected me while the flames burned his skin off. We were the only two who made it out of the blaze. He died a bit after.”

“You survived, that's what he would have wanted,” I said.

“Some strange man passing by helped me bury them. I remember us digging their graves one by one–not that I was much help.”

“Lucky he was there.”

“I remember he was rather tall, and that he wanted to recruit me for something, everything else is a blur.”

“You don’t remember why?”
“I wish I could,” She slowly got to her feet. “I just remember him saying I’d figure it out in around eighteen years.” Aila’s eye glanced toward the sky. “It’s been around that long actually. Funny coincidence.”

“I doubt it's much of a coincidence," I said. “Things in this world are rarely that simple.”

“Maybe. Thank you for letting me have this. I needed to visit at least one more time before we faced Thien.”

“You’re talking like you don’t think we can win.”

“I don’t,” she said. The honesty in her face reminded me of the Aila I’d met in the forest all those months ago. Before we were forced on the run, before Thien betrayed us, back when the most I had to worry about was finding Lilly.

Things really were simpler back then.

“I don’t know why, but things feel different this time around. We can beat…” my voice trailed off. From the edge of my vision something shiny caught my eye.

I bent down and picked up the object–a coin with a bit of paper attached. One look and I recognized the coin immediately. “What’s a hundred yen coin doing here?”

“What?” Aila leaned over. “You recognize that?”

“It’s from Japan…” I gently unfolded the paper. The second I did another coin fell out.”

“That also from Japan?” Aila asked.

“Nope,” I took the coin from her before widening my eyes in surprise. “It’s American money. Were there any rescorge in your village?”

“I didn’t even know what a rescorge was as a kid.”

“Interesting,” With great care, I flattened the paper. “Theres a message on here.”

“Well, read it?” Aila was nearly shouting as her tail wagged behind her. “It has to be important if it was left here.”

I cleared my throat. “Judging by the fact you’re reading this it seems you’ve decided to come visit, Aila. If you happen to not be her, that means I have royally screwed up, but do you think I would screw up? Me? Not in a trillion years.

“I do apologize for being so vague back then. I'm writing this just after you left me for Gallai, so it sticks like a store thumb for the current me. Recruiting has always been a rather fickle job, you can't let the potential recruit have all the details from step one. Where’s the fun in that? But now that eighteen or so years have passed, I figured I could at least spill a few of my secrets.

“Now, I’ve never been the best at timing, but if Seth does his job right you should be getting ready to face Thien about now. You’ve got no idea of all the things I wish to say to that pathetic excuse for a cosmic sailor!

“Sadly, this being East’s planet, I must keep my thoughts in. Tis a shame, truly.

“Aila, someone with your capacity for energy doesn’t deserve to wither away on a planet tucked away in the boonies like East’s research lab, and I’m sure Rin is going to need all the help he can get.”

“What the hell is this?” Aila snatched the paper from my grasp. “There’s no way it says that!”
“Look for yourself!” I was just as stunned. Though that self-confident way of writing could only belong to one person.

“How the hell…” As Aila started, her jaw hanging low, I kept reading.

“I left you a little gift back when we first met. Sorry for keeping this a secret for so long, I’ve never been one to kiss and tell. Look at your right foot on your middle toe. On the right side you’ll find something very interesting.

“Oh, one more thing before I go. Rin, your friend Lilly is incredibly hot, you better not miss your chance.

“Good luck, don't die. Francis.”

I wanted to toss the note on the ground and stomp it to smithereens. All this time, Francis knew. He’d known Lilly was in this world, he knew when and where I’d be summoned! Yet apparently he couldn't say anything?

“I’m strangling Francis next time I see him.” What else was he hiding? Francis was a complete puzzle even now. Every part solved only led to two more riddles. “You have any idea what Francis meant with the foot thing?”

“No?” Aila sat down and removed her shoe. “Not that I’ve ever looked.”

We both held our breaths as she pushed back her sock.

“Holy shit…”

“There’s no way!” I leaned down, nearly jumping on her foot. “How the hell.”

It was miniscule, barely bigger than the head of a needle. But the circle of flames on her toe was a pattern I’d never be able to forget.

I nearly ripped my shirt off trying to see my Senn. The same flames, the same shape of a Senn. “But you were born here!”

Aila stammered, barely able to talk. “I-I was!”

“He did say that it was a gift.”

“But that means Francis is able to give a Senn!” I paused. “No, actually, I could see that.”

“But that’d mean–”

“Francis is the one that summoned Aila and I.” I finished Aila’s sentence. “Next time we see Francis, we're going to have a long, long talk with him.”