Title: A Dragon’s Gift (CW: WoL x Count Edmont de Fortemps, Major Heavensward + Patch Spoilers

Title: A Dragon’s Gift (CW: WoL x Count Edmont de Fortemps, Major Heavensward + Patch Spoilers, Expanded Dragoon Lore)It was all Rae could do to keep herself together as she stumbled down the hall. “Please, not here. Not now.” She blinked hard, vision blurring in her retreat. Another surge of draconic power bubbled up in her chest and she bit back a curse, throwing herself through the first nondescript door she found. It turned out to be a small storage room. Brooms, mops, spare linens in white, red and gold were placed neatly on the shelves, alongside a few odds and ends of seasonal decor. The faint smell of cleaner and moth balls stung her heightened senses. Good enough for her purposes. Rae found a corner in the small, dark space and quickly sunk to the floor. This place was far better than the Fortemps gathering she had just fled or the stone floors of Anyx Trine. The air around her crackled with energy and despite every effort, she could not catch her breath. Her heart pounded so thunderously it felt as though it would burst out of her chest. Too soon. She thought in her panic, I’ve returned much, much too soon.Tataru’s message over the link pearl a few days ago had urged her to return to Ishgard. There was some political wheeling and dealing to be done between House Fortemps, the Scions, and the other High Houses and the Warrior of Light’s presence was requested. Rae had been away from Ishgard for several weeks, revisiting the sites that she’d traveled with Ysale, Estinien, and Alphinaud. This journey was an opportunity to honor Ysale’s deeds, duty, and memory. The woman deserved that much after what she’d given. During the pilgrimage, the dragoon met with Hraesvalgr’s brood and did her best to calm the more riotous members of Nidhogg’s. Over and over again Rae found herself struck by their many similarities. Dragons bickered, fought, loved, died and mourned as much as any man.It was this journey that brought her back to Anyx Trine and Vidofnir. They spoke often and Rae stayed for many days, finding comfort in helping the hoard of hatchlings that flitted about. The young dragons’ problems were simple. Hunt and fish. Learn to fight. Try not to get caught by predators still larger than they. A much needed reprieve for her war weary heart.It was Vidofnir herself, who approached Rae with the idea. Taketh mine eye, she said. I choose thee as ambassador to dragon and man both. Tis not only a gift, but a joining. Show all a union built on peace and what comes from using thy power to protect. Know that wherever you may fly, I fly beside you.There was no question in Rae’s mind whether or not to accept Vidofnir’s offer. An eye, freely given, as an act of goodwill between two peoples. An opportunity to build a bond that time could not corrupt or break. So the viera knelt before Hraesvalgr’s daughter and forged a new pact for the future of Ishgard and the wider world. Merging the eye with her own soul proved to be complex. It was an alien thing, not of this star, and the immense well of power threatened to sweep her mind away entirely. She had no way of knowing how long she’d lain on those cold stone floors, struggling desperately to find herself again, but slowly and surely she had tamed the new storm of power within her. Perhaps it was the gathering itself that had triggered the relapse. They all knew she was awful at these things. Usually Alphinaud had the good sense to make up some excuse for her and get her as far as possible from any kind of political maneuverings. She swore again, burying her face in her hands as another wave crested over her. It hadn’t helped that the last time Rae had been in the manor she had shouted at it’s former Count, called him a fool for abandoning his title, and leapt off his balcony. It pained her to be forced into the same room as the other lords who had villainized him - expected to smile and make pleasantries. To ignore the looks they gave her. The whispers they spoke when they thought she couldn’t hear. The thick-skinned viera had encountered enough in her lifetime for most of these slights to have no effect, but the comments about Lord Edmont, combined with her own current instability had pushed her over the edge. Gods I really shouldn’t be here, Rae thought as another breath shuddered from her lungs. Her head pounded and she gingerly reached up to touch the horns just below her ears. She’d discovered the things during her first painfully lucid moment in Anyx Trine. It made sense in hindsight that there would be physical side effects. After all, Estinien had taken on several forms while under the influence of Nidhogg’s eyes. At least there were no scales or wings or claws to accompany the horns, for which Rae was grateful. They were easy enough to explain away as some kind of headpiece. Adventurers wore all manner of odd outfits and accessories and after returning to Ishgard, she had yet to be questioned about them.Rae froze as knock on the storage room door and a sliver of light pierced the dark room. She shrank away as the silhouette of Lord Edmont Fortemps filled the frame. “I saw your retreat. Pray forgive me, I worried you…” Edmont’s voice faltered as he looked down at her, “…were unwell.”No. The voice inside her whispered. Leave. Run. Get out now.“Rae, what has happened to you?” The former Count closed the door behind him quickly and the small room fell again into blessed darkness.“You shouldn’t be here.” The viera choked out, though her heart pulled in opposite directions. The Lord was far from safe in her presence, but so desperately she wished him to stay. She has missed him fiercely, and it was no small number of times she’d clung to the thought of Edmont Fortemps while fighting to control the eye’s power on the cold stone floor of Anyx Trine.“I will send for a chirurgeon.” As he moved towards the door, Rae flung herself after him, grabbing the tail of his coat.“No. Don’t. Please. There’s nothing-” The dragoon coughed and clutched at her head as another wave of power crashed through her. “It’s the eye. Vidofnir’s eye." ”Fury forfend, what have you done to yourself?“ Edmont was crouching, her face cradled in his hands, and he frowned deeply. Had she always felt this feverish? Rae thought. His hands felt like ice against her skin. Her body was burning and her thoughts were a jumbled mess. But it was good to see him again. To have him this close, holding her. Did he know how desperately she had needed him? Too stubborn and stupid to return to Ishgard after their fight. All the wrong things said in the wrong way."I’m sorry.” Her vision was clouding over again. Rae fought desperately against the tide. She had to say this. “I’m sorry for what I said. You’re not a fool.”I’m drowning. Losing control. Slipping away. Edmont was saying something but she couldn’t hear it over the roaring in her ears.“You need to leave, now.” Rae growled. The air was crackling.“I will not.” He replied.Power exploded off of the dragoon, lighting the dark room in an instant. Rae moved fast, fueled by fire and fury, throwing him back and pinning him to the floor. The move took his breath from him and he coughed horsley. The air was thick with aether, and all around him items in the small room had begun to float. The viera’s eyes had been completely swallowed by the violet light. She raised a clawed hand, the other wrapped around his throat. Try as he might, there was little he could do to free himself from her supernatural grip. Lord Edmont stared at the woman in horror. She had always been fierce, but this? It was madness.“Rae.”She answered only with a primeval growl. The fingers in her raised hand twitched. One wrong move could mean death. So he did the only thing he could think to do. He spoke.“Return to us Rae,” he pleaded. His voice was barely a whisper. She blinked, shaking her head. Her raised arm drooped but did not lower. “We need you back Rae. Master Alphinaud, Mistress Tataru, Mistress Y'shtola.. they need their Warrior of Light.” Lord Edmont moved slowly, raising a hand again to her cheek. She flinched at his touch, hesitating, before finally lowering her raised hand to the floor. “I need you Rae.” She had sunk low enough for him to kiss her and he did. For a brief moment Lord Edmont forgot the cliff’s edge he stood on, rejoicing in the moment he had her in his arms again. It was fleeting, for a second later the dragoon was hissing and scrambling backwards. One of the hovering mops clattered to the floor and the rest of the items in the air followed as the bubble of aether in the room finally burst. A burst of wind knocked more things off the shelves and in the chaos, Rae staggered backwards, head in her hands and fell hard against the wall. Lord Edmont was free of her grip and sat up stiffly. He was battered and shaken, but otherwise unharmed. It would be an interesting challenge to explain the bruises to his valet, but that was a problem for the morrow. He stared long at the woman huddled in the corner. She was breathing fast and hard, her eyes squeezed shut. Aether still poured off her, an unearthly purple light that flooded the small room. It was an easy choice for him to make, despite his own fear, he would not leave the dragoon in her current state. “Rae. I need you to look at me.” Edmont whispered gently. The Lord approached slowly and crouched beside her.“I shouldn’t be here.” Her voice was a low growl. She had lost control. Not for very long, but just enough to almost kill the former Count. Terror gripped her and she flinched at his hand on her shoulder. She covered her face with her hands. No. No no no no. “Please go. Leave me.” Rae pleaded.“I will do no such thing,” was his firm reply. “Now, please name four things in this room you can see.”The request was enough to get her attention and Rae lowered her hands to look at him through aether-clouded eyes. Lord Edmont had the good sense not to smile at the bewildered expression on the dragoon’s face. It seemed like a ridiculous request considering what they’d just gone through. “Indulge me.” He replied.“I…” Rae stopped and shook her head, forcing herself to focus and see through the purple light at the edges of her vision. “I see an old broom, red linens, three glass bottles, and the Fortemps crest.” Her eyes flicked from the crest on his coat, back to his face. The man’s hair was a mess, she could still see the red marks from where she’d pinned him down, but he looked at her with a carefully schooled expression. Whatever illusion of strength and control the viera maintained had been shattered before him. She felt more exposed than she had ever been in her life. Lord Edmont saw the shift in Rae, because he moved on quickly. “Tell me three things you can feel, if you please.”Rae blinked, but shifted her focus as he asked. “I feel the floor beneath me. The wall at my back.” She fought back tears. “Your hand on my shoulder.”You almost killed him.“It’s alright.” Edmont moved closer. “You’re doing well. Now, two things you can smell.”Rae returned to her senses, letting the intrusive thoughts come and go. “Cleaner. Mothballs. Scotch.” Edmont chuckled at the last one, giving her a wry smile. “This evening has been far from easy, as you are well aware.”She choked again, a strange sound that was both a laugh and a sob. The violet light had all but faded, the room returning to its natural darkness. The eye’s power was almost spent.“Edmont, I-” Rae bowed her head forward, exhaustion setting in. The aftermath of these outbursts usually had the dragoon stumbling to find food and water. The elezen pulled her into an embrace as she fell forward. “I’m so sorry. I came back too soon. So stupid.” The viera was mumbling wearily into his coat. Lord Edmont just shushed her kindly, “I’m glad you did. I imagine you’ve been suffering through this all on your own, yes? Where have you been all this time, pray tell?”“Dravania. Anyx Trine.” They shifted so Edmont could lean comfortably against the wall, with her head in his lap. He began to stroke her hair and ears, and Rae thought of the evenings they’d spent together in his study. She sighed, closing her eyes, feeling more like herself with every minute. “I survived, and I didn’t put anyone else at risk.” She rebutted. Edmont graced her with a sad, knowing smile but did not chastise her - though he very much wanted to. Rae’s tendency to shoulder every burden alone was not new to him. Her fierce independence was something he admired and feared in equal measure.“It’s not about power. Vidofnir gave her eye willingly.” Rae continued. “It was a gift. We spoke of forging something new. A way for both of our peoples to move forward. How could I refuse?”“I see no reality in which you would not.” He replied with a sigh. The viera met his eyes. “We need to build something that cannot be shattered or forgotten. We can’t afford to forget.”For Ysale, for Haurchefaunt, for Ratatoskr, even Nidhogg, Rae would see that the world remembered. Edmont leaned down and wrapped his arms around her. “We will not forget.”—————————— The Ones Left Behind - Heavensward Fic More About My WOL Rae -- source link

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